Greetings fellow commanders! Today, I'm going to answer most of the frequently asked gameplay questions regarding Tom Clancy's EndWar. Feel free to ask any questions I might have missed in the comment section and I'll do my best to find the answer your question. Also please let me know of any errors you find or answer other frequently asked questions and I'll add them. Note: While I am playing on the Xbox 360 version, most of these answers will also apply to the PS3 (and eventually PC) version(s).

1. What's this Theatre of War all about?
"The Theater of War mode is an online persistent campaign of World War III where thousands of players compete to lead their nation to world domination. Your victories contribute to your faction’s overall war effort, ultimately allowing it to move the frontline forward and come one step closer to winning the war. You can fight alone or cooperatively along with another human commander, bringing units from your respective battalions and sharing command points, Uplink benefits, and supports. After each battle your surviving units gain ranks, and you can review and upgrade them in the barracks. At the end of each day of fighting, territories are won or lost and new fronts open and new battlegrounds become available. Watch the turn report to hear the latest news from the front lines and check the status of the war at http://endwargame.com/tow to oversee your faction’s expansion or demise, and prepare for the next battle."(Source)

2. Is there a web-based Theatre of War viewer? What about more detailed stats about each individual map?
The web-based Theatre of War viewer is at http://endwargame.com/tow. A dedicated fan of the game, Supad, has also deciphered Ubisoft's XML feed in order to give us dynamically updated win/loss details for each map, at http://supad.net/endwar/stats/index.php5?gs=XBOX360 (note this site is not affiliated with Ubisoft, so visit at your own risk, see caveats here). I am also providing turn by turn reports in this Xbox.com Forums thread: http://forums.xbox.com/23825041/ShowPost.aspx. Another live XML viewer is available here: http://www.endwar.h0b0.org/?

3. Why did (insert faction here) seem to get a free territory that wasn't contested? Why did we lose the territory we were attacking from? Can you explain the TOW rules in a little more detail?
See the post by Kuldean, an EndWar developer here for some more details on the peculiarities of the Theatre of War. Note that the rules of the TOW are subject to change at Ubisoft's discretion. ( http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8911019745/m/5791010507 )

4. Why can't I upgrade my uplink to (air support/force recon) / What do the icons on the maps mean?
Certain off-map supports such as Air strike and Force recon can only be used when you have an air or army base nearby. When choosing a map, you will see an airplane icon if there is an airbase and a soldier icon for an army base. If there is a building icon, this indicates the map is in proximity to a capital city, so both contextual offmap supports will be available. Electronic warfare is available on every map.

5. I want to change my battalion / faction - what penalties will I incur? How do I change my faction?
If you change your battalion but stay within your faction, you will keep your upgrades and credits but all your unit ranks will be reset. If you change your faction (i.e. from JSF to RSGB or EFEC), you will be completely reset and have to start over fresh (though you may get some credit reimbursement). To change your faction, select "Change battalion" in the Barracks menu. The first option presented is which faction you wish to fight for.

6. Are the battlions reset in between each Theatre of War phase?
No - not at all. After the Theatre of War is completed the map is reset, but your battalion retains all of its ranks, upgrades, and credits earned.

7. How do I play in a 2v2 match? / I only want to play 1v1 but quick match puts me in a 2v2! also, How can I find fellow commanders from my faction for 2v2 matches?
If you use the "Quick match" feature, you may get automatically placed in a 1v1 or 2v2. In order to force the game to put you into a 1v1 or 2v2 you must select an individual map. Press "Start" to select the options and you can change it to either 1v1 or 2v2 according to your preference. Note there are several gamertags set up to help find commanders from a specific faction. For EFEC, send a friend request to "EFEC" and for RSGB, send a friend request to "SPETSNAZ Russia". I'm not aware of a JSF tag at the present time. I control the EFEC account so if your friend request goes unanswered, feel free to drop me a line and remind me.

8. I am having trouble finding games in the Theatre of War. Is there any way to speed this up?
Personally I find it's often best to try using the "Quick match" feature at first, and then wait a few minutes in the map it puts you into. If you don't get opponents joining, try "quick match" again. If you still don't find opponents, consider queueing up manually into a map against the most populous opposing faction (as of 11-17 the JSF is the most populated faction on the 360). If you find yourself waiting for too long, quit out, and try quick match again. If you are on the most populated faction and find yourself always waiting for games, you might consider switching to a less populated faction.

9. I won a game in the Theatre of War but I did not receive credits for the victory! What gives?
This typically occurs in 2v2 matches when one of your opponents leaves very early in the match. You are not given credit for the match because you have been fighting 2v1+AI. You do, however, still have the ability to lose units ranks if they are killed (a bit of a one-sided equation). See more on this, or post your own experience about not receiving credits at the EndWar Technical Help forum.

10. There are some achievements for "killing" or not killing units. What is the difference between "downing" a unit and "killing" it?
You will notice that typically when you defeat an enemy unit, or have a unit defeated, they remain on the battlefield for a short period of time while a helicopter evacuates them. This unit is "downed" and if they are evacuated successfully, they will be available for use in future battles and retain their rank and any XP earned in that battle will be credited to them. If you command your units to continue firing on this unit, it can be killed entirely. When units are killed they lose their rank completely and are replaced by a fresh recruit unit.

11. Is there any bonus or penalty for killing units (other than the achievements)?
There is no XP or other bonus for killing an enemy unit other than the fact that you possibly depriving the enemy of a ranked unit to use in future battles. This may be a strategically sound decision in terms of the overall MMO battle - you are helping your fellow commanders by taking the enemy down a notch. While there is no "game-imposed" penalty, you may find that some commanders will retaliate in kind and kill your units. Sometimes they will even shift their focus from winning the battle to killing off your units. Personally, I don't kill units unless they've killed mine. It's typically not the best decision as your units likely have something more important to be doing rather than killing off a unit that is out of the battle. In the end, this is decision is left up to the individual commander.

12. Can I choose the order of deployment in terms of lower/higher ranks? / Can I select a specific unit from my battlion in the initial deployment?
You can choose to deploy your units in order of "highest ranked first" or "lowest ranked first" from the Settings which is accessed from the Main menu of the game. This will allow you to either deploy your strongest units, in order to give you the best chance of defeating your enemy, or your weakest units, in an attempt to keep your battalion balanced. Keep in mind this cannot be changed on the fly, so choose wisely. There are pros and cons to each option. During initial unit deployment, you can select any of your units from your battalion by continuing to press "Up" on the D-pad.

13. How do I put my infantry into a transport to move them around faster?
Infantry fighting vehicles, more commonly known as transports, can be used to move your infantry quickly around the map. In order to load your units into a transport, select them and point at the transport and click "Enter". Alternatively, you can use the voice command "Unit (X) plus Unit (Y) [command]" where X and Y are the unit numbers for the infantry and transport (order does not matter) and [command] is what you want them to do - i.e. move to, secure, etc.

14. How do I change my deployment location to deploy my units closer to the front lines?
One of the most valuable upgrades (in my opinion) is the "Forward command" ability, purchasable in the Barracks under "Mission support". This allows you to change your deployment area, so that you can deploy your units closer to the front lines. It costs 6 CP. To use it, simply press "LB" and select the icon and then choose which captured uplink you wish to deploy from. Alternatively, you can issue the voice command "Landing zone (X)" where X is the desired uplink. Your units will then deploy there instead of at your end of the map. Note that if the uplink is crashed or captured, you will revert to the default deployment location.

15. How do I use the deep strike ability to deploy my rifleman anywhere on the map?
After purchasing the upgrade in the battacks, you can use the deep strike ability. You'll need at least 10 command points to use deep strike normally and 8 during the defcon stage (2 or 4 CP to pay for the rifleman, and 6 CP for deep strike itself). As soon as you deploy your rifleman, select their unit card, and then point at where you want them to go and press A twice. Alternatively, you can use the voice command "Unit (X) move to (Y)" where X is the unit number and Y is the desired location (being an uplink, or simply "target" if your cursor is pointing where you want them to land). You must do this before they descend from the chopper into your default deployment area.

16. How the heck am I supposed to stop an airstrike with electronic warfare for the "Air Defense" achievement?
The air strikes come in from behind the enemy deployment area. You have to have a spotting unit near there and hit the incoming fighter jets (they will have a red IFF icon) with an EMP. You need to be fast, and the target of the air strike has to be somewhere between halfway and all the way across the map otherwise the EMP won't hit in time. Needless to say this is bloody difficult and damn near impossible to do in the heat of battle. It is possible to obtain this achievement in skirmish mode, though I've never been a huge advocate of boosting. (Source: barbarism2008) Note that you do not actually need to prevent the strike fighters from dropping their payload; as long as the EMP hits them before they fly off the map, it counts towards the 5.

17. I've purchased the "Target designator" upgrade for my rifleman and the secondary attack (MLRS/Grid smashers) for my artillery. So how do I use the rifleman to laser designate a target for my artillery's special attack?
This is a passive ability. Camera to your rifleman ("Unit (X) camera" or hit X while selecting the unit card) and then select the artillery's unit card. From your rifleman's point-of-view, you can now select any unit in their line of sight and fire the artillery's secondary Y-button attack even if the enemy would be out of range of the artillery on its own. (Source)

That's all folks! As I said above, feel free to ask questions in the comment section, point out errors, or answer other frequently asked questions.

Note: Please do not reproduce this document elsewhere without permission. Feel free to link to it, as it will be updated regularly.