Focusing on an alternative history of the Cold War, WARNO is a response to what would happen if NATO and the Warsaw Pact ever fought each other in Europe. Being a fast-paced RTS, WARNO puts players into action as soon as the game begins, tasking them with capturing the strategic zones and holding them long enough to win.

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As a competitive experience, WARNO features many historically authentic divisions that either belonged to NATO or the Warsaw Pact at the time. Each division comes with some advantages and disadvantages. Some are heavy on the ground, while others offer strong air superiority. Either way, the players have to choose a division before entering a match, which might be a confusing task for newcomers with an abundance of options available.

10

11th Arm Cavalry

NATO, United States

For those looking for a strong presence on the ground, 11th Arm Cavalry might not be the best option available on the blue side. The division units in artillery, tank, and infantry categories are mostly decent at the very best.

That being said, this division is a haven for F16-C lovers. The airborne category includes all variants of F16-C, including two air superiority versions, cluster, SEAD, high-explosive, and anti-tank. There are also a few A-10A bombers available at a cheaper price, but no Napalm carrier.

M1A1 Abrams is the best tank model offered by 11th Arm Cavalry, which is not bad by any means, especially when coupled with the West German’s Jaguar 2 anti-tank units.

9

K.d.A. Bezirk Erfurt

Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union

Featuring the strongest artillery units among all available divisions, K.d. A. Bezird Erfurt will come in handy for every 10v10 match, especially when pushing forward. This division comes with BM-30 Smerch, which is the best artillery unit in the game, featuring the highest penetration and longest range with clustering bombs. It’s just an amazing choice to force enemy units to retreat from their position. Next to it, the division also has access to the Napalm variant of BM-21 as well as BM-24, both of which are mid-range multiple rocket launchers.

The airborne unit is nowhere close to artillery, as it’s filled with older variants of MiGs and Sukhois, but it does offer at least one aircraft for each type, including SEAD, Napalm, Cluster, High Explosive, Rocket, and Anti-Tank.

The anti-air unit, on the other hand, has been saved by 9K37 units, which come with radar-based missiles with an impressive range of 6 KM and an accuracy of 55%. The next best thing is 9K33 which delivers approximately 50% weaker stats.

8

8th Infantry Division

NATO, United States

As one of the capable defense-focused divisions in NATO, the 8th Infantry delivers a good array of anti-air units, including the I-Hawk system that comes with impressively strong surface-to-air missiles with an accuracy of 55%.

In the artillery category, the 8th Infantry offers the High-Explosive variant of the M270 MLRS as well as M110A2 howitzers that deal devastating damage.

Speaking of air superiority, the division comes with anti-air and cluster variants of F16-C. While not better than the F15C Eagle, but F16-C is still a challenging opponent for both MiG-29 and Su-27S.

Looking at the infantry and recon categoriesnits, this US division has a wide variety of options available, which is where it excells at. Most infantry squads come with strong anti-tank units that give them a strong survival chance against tanks and other armored vehicles.

7

1st Armoured Division

NATO, United Kingdom

Being a worthy opposition for both 39-YA and 79-YA, the United Kingdom’s 1st Armoured Division is the country’s best division when it comes to tanks and air superiority units. Phantom F.3 can go toe to toe with MiG-29 and Su-27S at some stats, though it falls behind on some others, but they can still challenge each other at a high level.

That being said, the 1st Armoured Division is quite empty when it comes to anti-air and artillery units. The only vehicle-based anti-air option is the tracked rapier that comes with manually guided missiles with poor High-Explosive and Suppression stats. The artillery also lacks any Multiple Rocket Launcher (MRL) unit.

This UK division delivers many options in the tank unit. Starting with the best one, Challenger Mk.3, which is a considerable opposition to the Soviet Union’s T-80UD, though it never manages to outrank its opponent in stats. But what makes the division even stronger is the solo anti-tank units that are capable of launching up to 16 missiles with a penetration score of 23.

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6

79-YA GV.

Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union

79-YA is one of those divisions that offers a few decent units for each category. It has a good amount of infantry units, to begin with, and also offers a significant amount of recon units to be used on the ground or in the air. The artillery units, however, are not the strongest that the Warsaw Pact offers. The only great option here is BM-21 Grad which comes with High Explosive ammunition, which is great for vehicles but not effective enough against infantry.

Looking at the airborne units, 79-YA offers Napalm carriers that could help a lot with burning down opposing infantry units, especially in forest-heavy maps. The only option for air superiority is the MiG-29 which is, of course, not as good as Su-27S when it comes to combat range or ECM quality, but the former is more agile and can pull itself out of a situation faster.

When it comes to the tanks, 79-YA has multiple variants of T-80, including T-80BV IZD, which is the best variant after T-80UD. So, it’s safe to say that the division is strong enough for a ground push.

5

5. Panzerdivision

NATO, Federal Republic Of Germany

Challenger Mk.3 might be the UK’s best to offer in tanks, but it is by no means the best among NATO units, as West Germany’s 5. Panzerdivision delivers Leopard 2A4. While dealing more damage than Challenger, Leopard 2A4 still stands slightly behind the Warsaw Pact’s T-80UD, especially when it comes to the vehicle’s front and side armor panels.

5. Panzerdivision also has better anti-tank units compared to the UK’s 1st Armoured Division. The German Jaguar 2 units can shoot TOW2 missiles at opposing tanks with a penetration score of 25 and an accuracy of 65%.

After tanks, artillery is the next best thing in the 5. Panzerdivision, especially with the MARS rocket launcher that is a rough equivalent to the Warsaw Pact’s BM-30 Smerch.

Speaking of the weaknesses, this West German division is too shallow in the air. The majority of aircraft are F-4Fs that are way weaker than what the Soviet Union has, but there are also a few bomber variants of Tornado that strengthen the division’s focus on ground dominance.

4

39-YA GV.

Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union

39-YA can be considered an upgraded version of 79-YA in helicopter, airborne, and artillery units, though it comes with a shortcoming in tanks. 39-YA delivers Su-27S as an air superiority unit, which is the best that the Warsaw Pact can offer, but the division lacks an offensive SEAD aircraft. Although it comes with an Electronic Warfare Su-24MP, it features no weapons, which means while it can disrupt the opposing anti-air units, it cannot destroy them.

A broader range of helicopters is another plus for 39-YA, as it comes with a Mi-24V [RKT] variant that shoots stronger air-to-ground rockets to a longer range with higher accuracy. And this costs less than Mi-24P which only has a better cannon.

Speaking of tanks, 39-YA only features T-80B and T-80BV variants, both of which are weaker than T-80BV IZD in their penetration effectiveness for the anti-tank missile. And they are slow slightly slower in movement.

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3

119-Y OTD

Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union

Considered one of the most balanced divisions of the Warsaw Pact in the air and on the ground, 119-Y is the only division that offers access to T-80UD, the strongest tank on the red side of the battle that comes with amazing stats for the main gun and the anti-tank missile.

The division is also equally strong in air superiority, allowing access to both Su-27S and MiG 29 fighters. There are SEAD and High-Explosive options available as well, but no Napalm carrier is present in the squadron.

The artillery only features howitzers for long-range targets, with the only available MRL being TOS-1, which can only hit targets no further than 3.5 kilometers away. The anti-air and helicopter categories are decent though, delivering a handful of capable units.

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2

82nd Airborne Division

NATO, United States

There is no better division than 82nd Airborne Division in WARNO for aerial domination. offering the best aircrafts in the game for air superiority and ground strike, 82nd Airborne Division comes with F15C Eagle as the main interceptor with an array of F16C fighters with SEAD, cluster, Napalm, and high-explosive ammunition. There are also a few F-111F variants for those looking for cheaper options. The division also comes with the best of United States’ helicopters for air-to-air and air-to-ground battles.

Thanks to coming in heavy with aircrafts and choppers, almost all infantry units of this division feature airborne deployment, which allows the player to spawn them far beyond the starting zone and capture the strategic zones much faster.

M551 TTS Sheridan is the only tank model that the 82nd Airborne division has access to, and while having a mediocre main gun, it comes with decent anti-tank missiles. The artillery and anti-air categories are all below average, as the division’s focus is only on air domination.

1

3rd Armored Division

NATO, United States

If a ground war is supposed to take place on the battlefield, then the 3rd Armored Division is one of the best that NATO can deploy. It’s the only division that has access to M1A1 [HA] Abrams tanks, the only nemesis of T-80UD on the other hand. These two tanks go toe-to-toe in many stats and their superiorities over each other are minimal.

When it comes to artillery, this US division comes with M270 MLRS, which is NATO’s best response to BM-30 Smerch, though still less powerful than that.

Even in the air, the 3rd Armor Division has a lot to say. It delivers F15C Eagle aircraft, which is the best in the game for air superiority, coming with an ECM rating of 40%, making it difficult for anti-air units to target it successfully. The ground-targeting aircrafts are either F-111 or F-4, all of which are just mediocre.

Real-Time Strategy

War

Action

Simulation

Indie Games

Released

May 23, 2024

Developer(s)

Eugen Systems

OpenCritic Rating

Strong