Operation guide: Howling Desert
| Operation | Contracts | Guide |
| #6 (Wild Scales) | Permanent Site |
|---|---|
| #7 (Pine Soot) | Rotating Site (Day 8 and 10) |
| #8 (Dawnseeker) | Rotating Site (Day 4 and 9) |
| #9 (Deepness) | Rotating Site (Day 6 and 13) |
With a Sandstorm that gradually drains the HP (even more so with the Environment: Raging Sandstorm contract) and lowers the ATK of friendlies exposed to it (and extends the redeployment cooldown of friendlies knocked out this way) but thankfully slow down enemies exposed to it (unless with the Objective: Desert Walker contract), Howling Desert may look deceptively simple, but if the player does not exercise caution, this can be quite a hard operation to beat. There are several Dirt Mounds that blocks the Sandstorm, allowing friendlies to be safely deployed behind them, but take note that the Mounds are affected by the Sandstorm in which they will lose HP over time and, to make things more complicated, the player will have no Reinforcement Devices they would otherwise receive in operations featuring Sandstorms (but the Mounds have a much higher HP than usual to offset this) and the Sandstorm's facing can be changed with the Environment: Howling Winds contracts, thus making the operation essentially a race of time; the player must defeat the opposition before the Dirt Mounds crumble and the Sandstorm cripples their forces!
The enemy forces will also make things even harder, combining the Acahuallan Tiacauh warriors last seen in The Great Chief Returns and "Redmark" mercenaries last seen in Operation Originium Dust:
- Tiacauh Braves: These Archosaurian myrmidons will prove to be a formidable opponent due to their glaringly high stats and the ability to take no damage from friendlies other than the one blocking them and lowers each other's DEF in the event they are blocked, so typically using Operators capable of dueling strong enemies is usually a sound strategy against them. However, the Tiacauh Brave contracts will render the usual strategies against the namesake impotent by pumping up their HP, ATK, and RES which allows them to withstand more damage while dealing as much, and bestow additional properties to make them even harder to beat:
- The Fearless contracts will buff the Braves' ASPD from Level 2, and at Level 3, they will also become invisible, forcing the player to block them or use means of detection to dispatch the Braves.
- The Duel contracts will buff the Braves' HP more than Fearless contracts, in addition to reducing their DEF penalty when blocked to 40% at Level 2 and removes it altogether at Level 3, thus making them almost invincible regardless of whether they are blocked or not, forcing the use of Pure damage sources as the most reliable way to dispatch them.
- Tiacauh Fanatics: These Archosaurian fistfighters have a rather high attack rate and their attacks will also reduce the victim's DEF in every hit which can stack indefinitely, allowing them to break through even the most resilient of Defenders when given the chance. The Objective: Tribal Stomp contracts will make the Fanatics more difficult to dispatch by buffing their HP, speed, and weight, and more dangerous by buffing their ASPD and the DEF reduction they made in each attack.
- Tiacauh Ritualists: These Archosaurian witch doctors use a ranged Arts attack when not blocked and a much stronger melee Physical attack when blocked, so it is best to take out the Ritualists with burst Physical DPS (due to their unusually high RES) before they can get too close to friendlies, particularly those with low HP. The Objective: Tribal Scheme contracts will make the Ritualists hit harder and more durable by buffing their HP, ATK, DEF, and range. And to make thing more difficult, the Ritualists become invisible at Level 3, thus the player must use detectors to take them out safely or block them with a very durable unit.
- "Redmark" Infiltrators: These mercenary saboteurs are not too strong at first glance, but the main problem lies in their ability to spawn a Holographic Mirage on their position when attacked, which makes the Infiltrator unblockable and gives him Negative Taunt so long as the corresponding Mirage is present, not to mention that the Infiltrator can dodge Physical and Arts attacks when he is exposed to the Sandstorm.
- "Redmark" Eradicators: These mercenary snipers are invisible and will use a lethal ranged attack against friendlies exposed to the Sandstorm with a global range, but despite so, they are not much of a problem as long as the player deploys their Operators carefully.