Campaign Mission 03: “Battle of Savo Island” Ironbottom Sound

Battle of Savo Island – Ironbottom Sound

Protect your supply lines into Guadalcanal.

This level is considered the first real challenge, the first two levels being considered tutorials. It is also the first naval unit level, with two paths of exclusively naval units approaching from the top right corner, coming together at the thin part of the inlet, then splitting back up where the mini island sits in the middle of the wider portion of the water’s path before meeting up again at the base. You will also encounter these Sneak Attack enemy units which do not head for your base but will sit around shooting your turrets, discernible by their red outlines.

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Secondary Objective

Supplies are low. Collect them all to help the war effort.

You will need to utilize bombs and careful turret placement to break open all the crates scattered around the map before the end of the level to complete this secondary objective.

Supply Crates: 5

Victory Points Spent: 40

• Machine Gun Lvl 3
• Cannon lvl 2
• Bomb Turret lvl 2

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Perks used for this mission:

Greenback I, Bombardier I
As with the previous mission, having an extra bomb and extra starting cash is incredibly helpful. In this case, the bomb is another big help for the secondary objective as well.

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Hidden Target

The secret hidden target building in Battle of Savo Island can be found just to the bottom right of your base. The building is a brown, small warehouse type building almost completely covered by the nearby trees near where one of the groups of three soldiers will sneak attack from.

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Turret Placement

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Turret placing in this level is pretty straightforward and simple. Place a pair of Machine Gun turrets near the choke point where the paths merge and the inlet thins. One of them on the south side upgraded to level 3 can hold off the few initial waves while your top turret shoots at nearby crates. Also try to get a pair of Bomb turrets in the first wave or so. Focus on dropping bombs on the crates near these turrets first, eventually striking one of the sneak attack groups that park itself near the crate next to the Y shaped dirt path that runs through the woods. Once you are at wave 6, both MG turrets are needed to fend off the waves. Bombs are a big deal here, so once you can get both off the front MGs to level 3, work on your pair of Bomb turrets and getting them to level 2.

Wave 8 will bring the sneak attack of one of the large cruiser sized vessels, which will look like a regular wave unit but stop short of your base, parking at the wide part of the water by the mini island. You should try to ignore it for now while you focus on your secondary objective, but eventually a MG turret placed just to the north of it can take out both the cruiser and help shoot up the nearby crate. Upgrade that MG placed by that crate to level 2 and find the funds for a Cannon placed by the entrance to your base, which will also help shoot the nearby crate on the west side of the inlet into your base, and you are pretty much gravy for this mission.

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Veteran Difficulty Video Guide