Halo Wars 1 Unit Stats: DPS, Cost & Upgrades
by Team Respawn· ~5 min read
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition still has one of the punchiest console RTS rosters ever shipped — Marines, Scarabs, Cobras, and everything in between. This guide lists every trainable unit in our reference dataset with base DPS, cost, and how many upgrades each unit supports in skirmish. For a sortable table with filters, plus timeline, tech, and leader references, open the HW1 hub page. Continuing into the sequel? See our Halo Wars 2 campaign walkthrough or the HW1 Legendary co-op walkthrough.
How to read these numbers
- DPS is base skirmish damage output before veterancy and before most upgrade tiers.
- Cost uses the in-game format: supplies / population (for example, 500 / 3 pop for a Scorpion).
- Upgrades counts how many tech lines the unit has in Definitive Edition skirmish — HW1 generally offers more per-unit upgrades than Halo Wars 2.
- Unlock-only entries (ODST, Grizzly, Hawk) show their War Council or Armory unlock cost instead of a standard train price.
Highest base DPS at a glance
These five lead the roster on raw DPS alone — veterancy, leader powers, and upgrades can push real combat output much higher.
- Scarab (Covenant vehicle) — 585 DPS, 3000 / 20 pop
- Grizzly (UNSC vehicle) — 332.5 DPS, 500 / 3 pop + 1800 unlock
- Locust (Covenant vehicle) — 283.5 DPS, 300 / 3 pop
- Cobra (UNSC vehicle) — 215 DPS, 350 / 2 pop
- Elite Honor Guard (Covenant infantry) — 180 DPS, 125 / 1 pop
UNSC units
Infantry
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spartan | 180 | 300 / hero cap | 3 |
| Cyclops | 117 | 125 / 1 pop | 2 |
| Flamethrower | 40 | 100 / 1 pop | 3 |
| ODST | 17.2 per marine | 1800 unlock | 0 |
| Marine | 11 per Marine | 100 / 1 pop | 4 |
Vehicle
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grizzly | 332.5 | 500 / 3 pop + 1800 unlock | 0 |
| Cobra | 215 | 350 / 2 pop | 2 |
| Scorpion | 170.5 | 500 / 3 pop | 3 |
| Wolverine | 164.5 | 300 / 2 pop | 2 |
| Warthog | 119.7 | 150 / 1 pop | 3 |
| Gremlin | 100 | 200 / 1 pop | 2 |
| Elephant | 60 | 400 / 2 pop | 3 |
Aircraft
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawk | 158 | 250 / 2 pop + 1350 unlock | 0 |
| Vulture | 97.5 | 900 / 6 pop | 1 |
| Hornet | 70.15 | 250 / 2 pop | 3 |
Covenant units
Infantry
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Honor Guard | 180 | 125 / 1 pop | 2 |
| Brute | 102 | 150 / 1 pop | 2 |
| Hunter | 90 | 250 / 2 pop | 3 |
| Jackal | 42 | 100 / 1 pop | 3 |
| Suicide Grunts | 16 | 160 / 1 pop | 2 |
| Grunt Squad | 8.8 | 100 / 1 pop | 3 |
Vehicle
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarab | 585 | 3000 / 20 pop | 0 |
| Locust | 283.5 | 300 / 3 pop | 2 |
| Brute Chopper | 120 | 200 / 2 pop | 3 |
| Ghost | 85.5 | 100 / 1 pop | 3 |
| Wraith | 60 | 350 / 3 pop | 3 |
Aircraft
| Unit | Base DPS | Cost | Upgrades |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banshee | 90 | 200 / 2 pop | 3 |
| Vampire | 75 | 250 / 2 pop | 2 |
Quick takeaways for skirmish
- Scorpion vs Grizzly: Grizzly nearly doubles Scorpion DPS (332.5 vs 170.5) but costs an 1800 supply unlock on top of the same 500 / 3 pop train price — Forge’s premium tax.
- Anti-air backbone: Wolverines (164.5 DPS) and Vampires (75 DPS) anchor each faction’s AA; Hornets and Banshees trade lower DPS for mobility and harassment.
- Infantry scaling: Cyclops (117), Brute (102), and Flamethrowers (40) punch far above basic Marines (11 per Marine) or Grunt Squads (8.8) once you invest in production buildings.
- Population hogs: Scarab (20 pop), Vulture (6 pop), and Elephant (2 pop) define late-game army shape — plan pads and economy before you queue them.
- Modded rosters: Custom unit packs change the math entirely; see our All the Units mod tour if you play with expanded UNSC content.
Keep reading
Related by topic — chronological neighbors are below.
Why Arcadia City is the hardest Halo Wars mission: cargo ships win (not civilians), dual-site defense, Hornets, Forge Hog, and Heal and Repair tips.
Scarab mission tips for Halo Wars (original): pylons, Scorpions and Wolverines, Forge and MAC, reading the beam, and closing on the core.
Archived July 31, 2008 Halo Wars developer update from halowars.com: E3 awards, Legendary AI difficulty and the first look at Leaders, with citation.
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