What are these colored dots on units? Manual says nothing.

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bairdlander2: Posts: 2392; Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:25 am; Location: Toronto Ontario but living in Edmonton,Alberta

What are these colored dots on units? Manual says nothing.

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Post by bairdlander2 » Fri Jun 19, 2026 10:54 pm

I’ve searched the entire TOAW IV manual front to back, and there is zero explanation for the colored dots that appear on some map counters. Not a single mention. The manual talks about “Health Indicators” and “Loss Tolerance pips,” but those are completely different systems and don’t match what’s actually shown on the map.

In my scenarios, some units show green/yellow/red dots, some show nothing at all, and it’s inconsistent even within the same formation. For example, in the scenario I’m playing now, only tank units show green dots — infantry, artillery, HQs, and support units show no dots whatsoever, even though they have readiness, supply, and combat values.

I’ve checked every option in-game and in the scenario settings. There is no toggle for this. The manual doesn’t explain it. Nothing in the editor documentation explains it either.

So what exactly are these dots supposed to represent, and why do they only appear on certain units?
If they’re readiness, why don’t all units show them?
If they’re health, why don’t they match the manual’s color ranges?
If they’re tied to icon sets, why isn’t that documented anywhere?

Here’s some