Warhounds Base Management — Running the Mobile HQ
Between every mission, you return to the Warhounds' mobile headquarters — a hijacked cargo vessel operating somewhere off the East African coast. The decisions you make here directly shape which missions become available, what resources you enter the next contract with, and whether your veteran roster is intact or depleted.
The mobile HQ is the strategic layer of Warhounds. Every spend here has consequences for what you can do in the next contract.
Recruitment
The Warhounds' squad is built from two pools: ten unique veteran operators (with fixed identities, traits, and story arcs) and a broader pool of recruitable mercenary soldiers. Recruitable soldiers can be customised with cosmetics; veterans cannot (they have their own exclusive skins).
Prioritise squad depth over individual power. With high lethality in the field, a bench of competent replacements — several recruits at each class — means a wounded or lost veteran does not leave you short-handed on the next contract. Recruit broadly rather than pouring resources into a single elite operative.
Medical
Wounded operatives require time and medical resources to recover. Veterans who take serious hits in the field must be rotated out to heal before the next mission — sending a wounded veteran in without treatment risks losing them permanently. Keep medical supplies stocked and factor recovery time into which contracts you take. If two veterans are in medical, your available combat strength is smaller for that contract cycle.
Intel
Intel is the primary currency for the strategic layer. It is spent to access contracts, unlock faction relationships, and fund base improvements. Key principles:
- Do not spend Intel on the first available upgrade without checking what it locks out. Some Intel expenditures close off contract paths that would have been more valuable.
- Faction relationship investments often pay off with access to unique soldiers, weapons, and support options that generic Intel buys cannot unlock.
- Keep a reserve. Running out of Intel leaves you without contract options and removes your ability to respond to unexpected campaign events.
Faction Diplomacy
Five factions compete for influence across the campaign: the antagonist Daamat, the African People's Front, the Shield Corps, and the armed division of the Cai-Shen Corporation, in addition to your own Warhounds PMC. Building relationships with the non-Daamat factions unlocks unique soldiers trained in their doctrines, access to faction-exclusive contracts, and support options not available through general purchases.
Your alliance choices have consequences. Aligning heavily with one faction can close off opportunities with another — the campaign is designed so that not every faction path is available in a single playthrough. See the Factions guide for details on each faction.
Equipment and Loadouts
Weapons and gadgets are purchased and assigned between missions. Available weapon categories include rifles, SMGs, LMGs, sniper rifles, and launchers. Gadgets include drones, combat scanners, smoke grenades, and optical camo.
Match loadouts to the intelligence you have about the next contract. If the mission involves a fortified position, prioritise smoke grenades and Grenadier ordnance. If visibility is the main problem, equip the Specialist with scanners and drones. The loadout screen is where preparation becomes execution — a squad with the wrong gear for a mission fights at a significant disadvantage.
Covert Operations
Alongside standard contracts, the HQ allows you to execute covert operations — off-the-books actions that gather intelligence, sabotage enemy resources, or establish contacts with factions. These do not put your squad in direct combat but affect the strategic map: reducing Daamat's operational strength, opening contract access, or building faction goodwill.
Contract selection involves more than mission difficulty — which contract you take shapes which allies and gear become available afterward.