Halo Wars 2 Leaders Guide

This Halo Wars 2 Leaders Guide will help you learn all about all the leaders in the game, their Leader Powers, and how to play them. Your strategies in the game should largely depend on your choice of Leaders.

Leaders in the game come with unique set of Leader Powers which, sometimes, focus on a specific type of playstyle or strategy.

Leader Powers in the game are of high significance and can turn the odds in your favor, provided that you use them at the appropriate time. These Leader Powers are acquired using Leader Points which are earned by completing objectives, destroying enemy units, construction, research, etc.

Halo Wars 2 Leaders

These Leader Powers are categorized into Active Leader Powers and Passive Leaders Powers. Active Leader Powers require additional resources and should be used with care.

UNSC Leaders

Captain James Cutter

This Halo Wars 2 Leader excels at pressuring the map and restricts the opposition from expanding. The Raid Leader Power is helpful in the Multiplayer Modes, but is extremely useful in Domination.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
UNSC Raid I – Passive
Increases capture speeds for all units. Increases movement speed for infantry units.

Isabel

Isabel’s Leader Powers can be used both offensively and defensively. Once you’ve a good enough army, try to invest your resources in expansion and research.

You should try and prolong the game in order to get your hands on Accelerated Assembly. Until then, try to boost your economy and construct production buildings as well as research upgrades. Once you’ve your hands on Accelerated Assembly, charge in with your ground force and you should be good to go.

You should also consider saving your Combat Salvage to deal with direct-damage Leader Powers. I recommend saving it for your best vehicles and aircrafts whenever you sense they are danger.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
Heavy Metal I
Targets own units. Affected units gain a defensive boost. Slows targeted units while active. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Heavy Metal II
Increases Heavy Metal’s target size, defense boost, and duration. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Holographic Decoy I
Targets own units. Creates decoys of affected units. Decoys can be used to scout and trick enemy Turrets and units. It has a cooldown of 150s.

Holographic Decoy II
Increases number of decoys that can be produced. Decoys last longer. It has a cooldown of 150s.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Turret Drop I
Drops a temporary Turret into battle. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Restoration Drones I
Heals all buildings and units within a targeted area. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones II
Increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones III
Further increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
MAC Blast I
Fires a large kinetic slug at the battlefield. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 195s.

MAC Blast II
Increases MAC Blast impact size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s.

MAC Blast III
Further increases MAC Blast impact size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Accelerated Assembly I – Passive
Reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.

Accelerated Assembly II – Passive
Further reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Lotus Mine I
Drops a line of cloaked mines. Once armed, mines explode on contact. Does not damage air units. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Lotus Mine II
Increases damage and explosion size of Lotus Mines. It has a cooldown of 105s.

The Best Offense – Passive
Scorpions and Nightingales gain shields and increased health. Increases Scorpion canister shot size.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Combat Salvage
Causes the next eight non-infantry units to respawn at home base. Units must die within the Power’s set time frame. It has a cooldown of 330s.

Ghost in the Machine
Temporarily takes control of enemy vehicles and aircraft. It has a cooldown of 330s.

Professor Ellen Anders

As Anders, you need to focus on building your economy and research during the early game. Try to scout so that you don’t go overboard with counter-units and have an array of inexpensive units.

You need to research in order to unlock the true potential of your army. As the game progresses, switch to building more units go aggressive. As long as you play to your strengths, you should be good to go.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
R&D I – Passive
Reduces costs and build times for global infantry, vehicle, and aircraft upgrades. Turrets gain shields.

R&D II – Passive
Further improves all currently provided bonuses. Turrets gain improved shields.

R&D III – Passive
Further improves all currently provided bonuses. Turrets gain further improved shields.

Restoration Drones I
Heals all buildings and units within a targeted area. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones II
Increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones III
Further increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Turret Drop I
Drops a temporary Turret into battle. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Protector Sentinel – Passive
Unlocks the Protector Sentinel for purchase at base.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
Ark Defense I
Calls in six Aggressor Sentinels. The Sentinels temporarily guard a set area. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Ark Defense II
Increases Ark Defense duration and area. Adds two more (eight total) Aggressor Sentinels. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Ark Defense III
Further increases Ark Defense duration and area. Adds another two (10 total) Aggressor Sentinels. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Lotus Mine I
Drops a line of cloaked mines. Once armed, mines explode on contact. Does not damage air units. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Lotus Mine II
Increases damage and explosion size of Lotus Mines. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Sentinel Beacon – Passive
Kodiak and Siege Turret attacks summon friendly Aggressor Sentinels.

Sentinel Synergy – Passive
Adds more Sentinels to Sentinel Beacon and Ark Defense. Upgrades all Protector Sentinels with a small shield, increased health, and greater damage.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Sentinel Network
Calls in three waves of Protector Sentinels. The Sentinels sweep out across the map wave by wave.

Retriever Sentinel
Summons a powerful controllable Retriever Sentinel.

Sergeant John Forge

As Forge, your primary focus needs to be on vehicles with Grizzly being one of the best vehicles available in the game. However, it goes without saying that the opposing players will expect you to build an array of vehicles.

Moreover, it takes quite some time to reach the stage where you can have an impressive display of tanks at your disposal. Keeping this in mind, you should consider building vehicles, but try to mix things up so that you don’t get wiped away.

You should also consider investing in the Rolling Economy Power which should allow you manage your economy in a much better way.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
Rolling Economy I
Reduces costs and build times for Supply Pads, Generators, and their upgrades.

Rolling Economy II
Improves all Rolling Economy bonuses.

Heavy Metal I
Targets own units. Affected units gain a defensive boost. Slows targeted units while active. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Heavy Metal II
Increases Heavy Metal’s target size, defense boost, and duration. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Heavy Metal III
Further increases Heavy Metal’s target size, defense boost, and duration. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Accelerated Assembly I – Passive
Reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.

Accelerated Assembly II – Passive
Further reduces costs and build times for vehicle production.

Pelican Transport
Transports own units anywhere in range. It has a cooldown of 150s.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
Scatter Bomb I
Drops a scattered salvo of bombs. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Scatter Bomb II
Increases damage and number of bombs fired by Scatter Bomb. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Restoration Drones I
Heals all buildings and units within a targeted area. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones II
Increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Restoration Drones III
Further increases area, healing amount, and duration of Restoration Drones. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Vehicle Drop I
Deploys a veteran Kodiak. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Vehicle Drop II
Adds a veteran Warthog to Vehicle Drop. Transport Pelican is upgraded to a gunship. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Lotus Mine I
Drops a line of cloaked mines. Once armed, mines explode on contact. Does not damage air units. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Combat Salvage
Causes the next eight non-infantry units to respawn at home base. Units must die within the Power’s set time frame. It has a cooldown of 330s.

Grizzly Battalion
Pelican Gunship drops off three veteran Grizzlies. It has a cooldown of 330s.

Banished Leaders

Atriox

As Atriox, it’s important to note that your Powers focus on mounting up an early defense and stalling the game. While playing as this leader, you need to make sure that you deny the opposing force an early rush in.

In order to do this, you need to make sure that you build enough defensive units in order to sustain and control important points. In addition to this, you should also consider scouting your enemies to know what they are up to.

Finally, focus on expanding and fortifying your bases and continue to produce more resources.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
Countermeasures – Passive
Drops mines around newly captured points. Slows enemy de-capture rate. Jump Pack Brutes drop trip mines when in flight.

Fortifications I – Passive
Reduces costs and build times for the Stronghold upgrade, the Fortify upgrade, and Turret upgrades. Reduces costs for base-level Turrets, shield towers, and Outposts.

Fortifications II – Passive
Improves all benefits provided by Fortifications.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Plasma Mines I
Drops a line of cloaked mines. Once armed, mines explode on contact. Does not damage air units. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Plasma Mines II
Increases number of mines dropped. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Dying Breath
Targets own units. Affected units continue fighting after death for a set time. It has a cooldown of 120s.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
Atriox’s Bulwark I
Creates a healing area. Grants brief invulnerability. Heals units and buildings. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Atriox’s Bulwark II
Increases area, healing amount, and duration of Atriox’s Bulwark. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Atriox’s Bulwark III
Further increases area, healing amount, and duration of Atriox’s Bulwark. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Spirit Assault I
Drops off two Suicide Grunts. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Spirit Assault II
Drops off two upgraded veteran Suicide Grunts and one veteran Jump Pack Brute. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Spirit Assault III
Drops off two upgraded veteran Suicide Grunts and two veteran Jump Pack Brutes. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Glassing Beam I
Fires a controllable plasma beam. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Glassing Beam II
Increases Glassing Beam size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s

Teleport I
Teleports own units to any location within range. Does not require line of sight. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Unbreakable
Grants temporary invulnerability to all your deployed units. It has a cooldown of 333s.

Eradication
Unleashes eight converging plasma beams. Once converged, a massive blast is triggered. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 300s.

Decimus

If you like to go all in and be as aggressive as you can be, you cannot go wrong with Decimus. This leader’s Powers are all about rushing in at the earliest and encourages being aggressive.

The Killing Frenzy allows you to mount early aggression without worrying much about retaliation. Even if you have units, you should be able to go with Siphon and Fury to overcome effective defenses.

If you’re careful and go in with a plan, you should easily be able to disrupt the opposition’s plans with a small army.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
Killing Frenzy – Passive
All units gain damage boosts when they kill enemies.

Vortex Lightning I
Fires a controllable vortex that stuns enemies and lowers their defense. Stuns units for 0.5 seconds. Can hold on targets for prolonged stun and damage. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Vortex Lightning II
Increases Vortex Lightning size, debuff duration, and strength. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Siphon I
Targets own units. Affected units gain health while in combat. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Siphon II
Increases Siphon target size, duration, and healing amount. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Siphon III
Further increases Siphon target size, duration, and healing amount. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Fury I
Targets own units. Boosts damage and speed of affected units. Drains health while active; units cannot die from this effect. Drains unit health for duration of effect. Requires no resources. It has a cooldown of 120s.

Fury II
Increases selection area of effect, unit damage, and movement speed. Drains unit health for duration of effect. Requires no resources. It has a cooldown of 120s.

Fury III
Further increases area of effect, unit damage, and movement speed. Drains unit health for duration of effect. Requires no resources. It has a cooldown of 120s.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
Glassing Beam I
Fires a controllable plasma beam. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Glassing Beam II
Increases Glassing Beam size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Glassing Beam III
Further increases Glassing Beam size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Spirit Assault I
Drops off two upgraded veteran Suicide Grunts. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Spirit Assault II
Drops off two upgraded veteran Suicide Grunts and one veteran Jump Pack Brute. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Teleport I
Teleports own units to any location within range. Does not require line of sight. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Boundless Siphon – Passive
All units gain a permanent minor health siphon when they damage enemy units. Effect stacks with Life Leech.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Decimus Drop
Drops Decimus into battle. Only one Decimus (per player) can be in use. It has a cooldown of 330s.

Boundless Fury – Passive
All units gain a permanent increase to speed and damage.

Shipmaster

Powers at Shipmaster’s disposal primary encourage stealth and mobility. As Shipmaster, you should go for disrupting your enemy’s production and whatever they are planning on doing.

Since you’re particularly good at setting up ambushes and scouting your enemies better than anyone else, you should do this and try to catch your enemies off-guard.

It goes without saying that Ghosts are more efficient and cheaper than other scout units which should give you a massive advantage when it comes to resource collection and gathering intel early in the game. Moreover, you always need to consider keeping your scouts out in the field for maximum duration of time.

In order to ensure this, always flee whenever you come across a formidable enemy out there.

Tier 1 Leader Powers
Banished Raid I – Passive
Increases capture speed for all units. Increases infantry line of sight.

Banished Raid II – Passive
Allows Ghosts to capture points. Increases vehicle line of sight.

Banished Raid III – Passive
Increases movement speed for Ghosts, Wraiths, Choppers, and Marauders.

Teleport I
Teleports own units within a set range. Does not require line of sight. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Teleport II
Increases range of Teleport. Increases number of units that can be teleported. It has a cooldown of 165s.

Tier 2 Leader Powers
Scout Mine I
Drops a cloaked Scout Mine. Mine provides vision within a small area and explodes on contact. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Scout Mine II
Increases mine damage and vision range. It has a cooldown of 105s.

Extraction I
Teleports own units to main base. Units heal upon arrival. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Extraction II
Increases number of units that can be teleported (via enabled toggling between larger/smaller selection radius). Increases healing amount. It has a cooldown of 210s.

Tier 3 Leader Powers
Glassing Beam I
Fires a controllable plasma beam. Damages all unit types and buildings. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Glassing Beam II
Increases Glassing Beam size and damage. It has a cooldown of 195s.

Advanced Cloaking I – Passive
Reduces costs for Cloaking Generator and Shroud production. Marauder gains cloaking.

Advanced Cloaking II – Passive
Increases duration of all cloaking abilities. Increases size of Shroud’s cloaking field.

Tier 4 Leader Powers
Spirit Support
Deploys one Elite Ranger, one Hunter, and two Engineers. Spirit provides prolonged cover fire. It has a cooldown of 180s.

Displacement
Teleports enemy units. Does not require line of sight. It has a cooldown of 240s.

Tier 5 Leader Powers
Mass Cloaking
Cloaks all own deployed units. While cloaked, units gain a speed boost and a small siphon effect. It has a cooldown of 240s.

Tactical Gateway
Places two connected teleportation nodes. Can be used by all players. It has a cooldown of 270s.