Locarnus Addon 2025-08, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

[goose_2]

Hm, maybe the StuH could be moved into the 10.5cm leFH upgrade family (when in arty mode).
So many new self propelled arty units become available, mostly between March 1943 and the first Kursk scenario, making new bridges between upgrade families and classes:

Wespe, between Panzer II tank family and 10.5cm leFH arty family
Grille, between Pz 38(t) tank family and sIG arty family
StuH 42, between Pz III tank family and 10.5cm leFH arty family
StuIG 33B, between Pz III tank family and sIG arty family (already available in 42e11 scenario)
Hummel, between Pz IV tank family and 15cm sFH arty family
Brummbär, between Pz IV tank family and sIG arty family

and Nashorn is also both in Pz IV tank family and 8.8cm AT family


I'm still not sure how to best exchange units between arty and infantry classes.

Well there is always the expensive method of upgrading through that car unit that is in every class, it is time consuming, and costly but possible. I was even thinking during my walk today that that is a way to maneuver units with large experience, but few kills to switch to tank class to maximize kills, and possibly get more units the possibility of getting 3rd heroes.

Are you going to be able to do a unit breakdown?

[Locarnus]

GC 1942e11 start core unit roster recommendations
9131 prestige, after elite replacements to 10 strength for all understrength units (except those marked to become understrength Tigers) and selling excess captured units!

red marker for a) no heroes, b) <300 kills, c) <300 experience
blue marker for a) r1 or a3 or 2nd heroes, b) >=600 kills, c) >= 400 experience

UnitType .................. transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements


45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
BridgeEngineer ..... NAG500 ... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 933 ... 296 ... ===> Std Kav 42
Cavalry .............................. d1 ... PatrickLee ........... 661 ... 301 ... ===> 7.62 FK 36(r) /UE(f) => Marder I ?
ItalianInf 42 ......... Pack ......... i1 ... Dimitri ............... 427 ... 296 ... ===> Std or Blue Division
7.62 Pak 36(r) /RSO ............... ?? ... PaulWilde ............. 240 ... 227 ... ===> 5 Pak 38 in Sd10 => SdKfz 10/4+ ?
Semovente 47/32 ................. m1 ... Makorin .............. 806 ... 353
plus 3 non-hero bonus SE units for the later grand campaign years

6 Infantry
Pioniere ............... L3000 ..... m1 ... Soljaism ............. 530 ... 244 ... ===> 42 version
Grenadiere ........... Sd250/1 ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 629 ... 295 ... ===> 42 version
Jäger 42 ............................. d2 ... Artemis .............. 385 ... 240
Fallschirmjäger 42 .................. i1 ... Pullig ................. 691 ... 277
Kradschützen 42 .................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 524 ... 281
Bersaglieri ........................... a2 ... Kostia ............... 309 ... 197 ... ===> 42 version or Sahariana ?

1 Towed AT (plus any bonus SE towed AT guns)
7.5 Pak 40 /Sd 11 ................. m1 ... Gigiduru ............. 502 ... 303

2 Recon
SdKfz 222++ ........................ d2 ... Goose ................. 556 ... 304 ... ===> Panzer II Luchs
SdKfz 233 r9 ..................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 606 ... 339

9 Tanks
Marder II /131 ...................... i1 ... Blast ................... 480 ... 282 ... ===> Bison II
Marder III .......................... m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 533 ... 282 ... ===> Marder III H in 42e12
Panzer III M ......................... a2 ... NightPhoenix ......... 664 ... 338
StuG III F/8 ........................ m1 ... DoktorG .............. 668 ... 329
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Rimski ................ 597 ... 241 ... ===> Panzer IV G+ in 42e12
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Soren ................. 550 ... 227
Matilda II(e) ........................ a3 ... Singer ................. 464 ... 241
T-34/42(r) r9 ....................... a3 ... 7Bowls ................ 495 ... 234 ... ===> T-34/43(r) r9
KV-1C(r) ............................. d2 ... Paramecium .......... 621 ... 256

8 Mobile Arty
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 ............ m1 ... Gooseboy ............. 438 ... 317 ... ===> Tiger P r9s8 in 42e12
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 .......... a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 475 ... 322
Bison II (SturmPz II) r7 ............ d1 ... Festival ............... 541 ... 375
StuG III E+ r11 ...................... r1 ... RayCaster ............ 492 .... 411 ... ===> StuIG 33B
10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............. a2m1 ... Pierre ................. 521 ... 350
Semovente 75/18 r11 ............. d2 ... RightSide ............. 415 ... 372
Wurfrahmen 40 r8 .................. r1 ... Dneos ................. 558 ... 415
SU-122(r) r8 ......................... ?? ... Kapl ..................... 45 ... 172

7 Towed Arty
10.5cm leG 41 ....... Ketten ..... d2 ... Temis .................. 416 ... 382
10.5cm Polish arty ... Blitz ....... a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 689 ... 422
10.5cm leFH 18M .... Horse ..... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 544 ... 423
10.5cm sK r9 ......... Horse ..... a1 ... ForestLaw ............. 537 ... 374
15cm sFH r8 .......... Sd7 ........ r1 ... Raduku ................ 332 ... 352
21cm Mrs r5 .......... Sd8 ....... m1 ... Kei ..................... 583 ... 340
21cm NblWf 42 ....... Horse .... m1 ... ElBaron ................ 375 ... 351

4 Anti-Air
8.8cm Flak 36 ........ Sd7 ....... m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 581 ... 289
Cannone 90/53 ...... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo ................. 383 ... 252
Flakpanzer I r12 ................... m1 ... Reoguru ............... 353 ... 286 ... ===> Bison I
SdKfz 7/1 r13....................... a3 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 438 ... 309


15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
Bf 109 G-4 ........................... d3 ... vonThüringen ......... 369 ... 307
Bf 109 F-4 ............................ d3 ... CouchOffiziell ........ 408 ... 311
Fw 190 A-4 ........................... a2 ... MafujKhan ............ 277 ... 262
Fw 190 A-3 ........................... ?? ... Alvarez ................ 219 ... 253
Re.2002 .............................. a3 ... Noxush ................ 313 ... 318
MC.202 ............................... ?? ... BlackVulture ........... 211 ... 285
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945

2 Multi engine Fighter Bomber
Bf 110 F-2 ........................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 545 ... 298
Ju 88 C-6+ ........................... i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 463 ... 329

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
Hs 129 B-2 r11 ...................... a3 ... AratoBela .............. 612 ... 330
Ju 87 D-3 ............................ a1 ... cmbbfan ............... 620 ... 316

1 Tac/Strat Bomber
Ju 88 A-4 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 401 ... 414

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
Do 217 E-2 .......................... d1 ... Richard ................. 262 ... 411
He 111 H-11 ........................ a1 ... RMA901 ................ 353 ... 413 ... ===> He 111 H-16 in 42e12

[goose_2]

thanks I am doing deep dive

[goose_2]

GC 1942.9 versus 1942.11 progress and deep dive, sorry no color differential
10122 prestige, after elite replacements to 10 strength for all understrength units, and selling both captured Shermans!

red marker for a) no heroes, b) <300 kills, c) <300 experience
blue marker for a) r1 or a3 or 2nd heroes, b) >=600 kills, c) >= 400 experience

UnitType .................. transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements


45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
(eg 6 inf, 1 towed AT, 1 tank destroyer)
BridgeEngineer ..... NAG500 ..... a3S1 ... Brodrick .............. 833 933... 274 296 > Cav 42 Holy Cow 100 kills in 2 scenarios, but only 22 in exp good grief
Cavalry .............................. d1 ... PatrickLee ........... 588 ... 272 >Reg Inf
ItalianInf 42 ......... Pack ......... i1 ... Dimitri ............... 365 ... 265 > 7.62 FK 36 to take advantage of initiative hero
HungarianInf......................... ?? ... PaulWilde............. 149 240 ... 171 227 ... ===> Marder 1
Semovente 47/32 ................. m1 ... Makorin .............. 752 806... 339 353
plus 3 non-hero bonus SE units for the later grand campaign years

6 Infantry
Pioniere ............... L3000 ..... m1 ... Soljaism ............. 417 530... 214 244 Good Grief 113 kills and only 30 exp
Grenadiere ........... Sd250/1 ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 503 629 ... 263 295 so close based on number of kills leaving back until 43, maybe in Kotelnikova because of mobility in crappy weather
Jäger 42 ............................. d2 ... Artemis .............. 385 ... 240
Fallschirmjäger 42 .................. i1 ... Pullig ................. 597 691 ... 250 277 leaving back to exercise other units to get them kills
Kradschützen 42 .................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 427 524... 242 281
Bersaglieri ........................... a2 ... Kostia ................ 309 ... 197 > Sahariana

1 Towed AT (plus any bonus SE towed AT guns)
7.5 Pak 40 /Sd 11 ................. m1 ... Gigiduru ............. 408 502 (How did this go up?) ... 303

2 Recon
SdKfz 222++ ........................ d2 ... Goose ................. 489 556 ... 283. 304 SdKfz 233 r9 ....................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 527 606 ... 325 339... maybe I should leave it back as it is getting op

9 Tanks
Marder II /131 ...................... i1 ... Blast .................. 454 480... 273 282 (Bison 2 and leave back Festival?)
Marder III .......................... m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ...... 485 533... 265 282
Panzer III M ......................... a2 ... NightPhoenix ......... 507 664 ... 326 338... ===> such little exp for all of those kills, I think I need to leave him back but I am leaning on him so much not sure I can handle not having him on the back bench?
StuG III F ........................... m1 ... DoktorG .............. 604 668 ... 323 ... 329===> think will be leaving out until 43, maybe needed in Kotelnikova?
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Rimski ................ 486 597 ... 215 241
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Soren ................. 550 ... 227 will deploy Soren to keep up with kill count of Rimski
Matilda II(e) ........................ a3 ... Singer ................. 464 ... 241 Reg Tiger in 43
T-34/41(r) r9 ....................... a3 ... 7Bowls ................ 400 495... 222 234 …T-34/so many kills so little progress
KV-1B(r) ............................. d2 ... Paramecium .......... 485 621... 222 256 ... ===> think I need to leave him back based on kills again. But am I leaving myself to vulnerable to non tank units?

8 Mobile Arty
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 ............ a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 382 475... 306 322
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 ............ m1 ... Gooseboy ............. 420 438 ... 310 317 > Tiger P
Bison II (SturmPz II) r7 ............ d1 ... Festival ............... 482 541... 355 375 leave him back to use Blast?
StuG III E r11 ....................... r1 ... RayCaster ............. 451 492... 384 411... ===> StuG 33b 1st turn in Ruins
10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............... m1A2 ... Pierre .................. 391 521 ... 324 350…look how the brief period as the Flamm racked up Pierre’s kills to a respectable amount, this switch for units to tanks from arty’s may need to really be explored.
Semovente 75/18 r11 ............. d2 ... RightSide ............. 369 415 ... 337 372
Wurfrahmen 40 r8 .................. r1 ... Dneos ................. 472 558 ... 407…415 should leave him back, but do not know I can afford
SU-122(r) r7 ......................... ?? ... Kapl ................ 2 45 .... 20 . 172 really illustrates the huge discrepancy in exp gaining

7 Towed Arty
10.5cm leG 41 ....... Ketten ..... d2 ... Temis .................. 368 416 ... 361.. 382 switching Artemis with Temis makes sense, but would be expensive…Thoughts?
10.5cm Polish arty ... Blitz ....... a3 ... MichalGolaszewsk .... 611 689 ... 407 422 I really should leave back both Michal and Rauno, not sure I can afford leaving back both
10.5cm leFH 18M .... Horse ..... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 470 544... 405 423
10.5cm sK r9 ......... Horse ..... a1 ... ForestLaw ............. 500 537 ... 343 374
15cm sFH r8 .......... Sd7 ........ r1 ... Raduku ................ 296 332... 329 352
21cm Mrs r5 .......... Sd8 ....... m1 ... Kei ..................... 534 583 ... 329 340
21cm NblWf 42 ....... Horse .... m1 ... ElBaron ................ 304 375... 326 351

4 Anti-Air
8.8cm Flak 36 ........ Sd7 ....... m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 525 581 ... 267 289
Cannone 90/53 ...... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo ................. 355 383 ... 245 252
Flakpanzer I r12 ................. m1 ... Reoguru ............... 283 353... 262 286 > no Bison for him as FlakPanzer is such an important tool in Ruins
SdKfz 7/1 r13....................... a3 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 438 ... 309


15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber All of my Fighters are struggling to get kills and exp, but they have slowly built up exp enough to be relevant, but what will the latter years hold. I am unsure what the future hols for these guys, but also unsure what to do about it, as I just keep training and hoping for the best. 44 and 45 will be real rough
Bf 109 G-2 ........................... d3 ... vonThüringen ........ 369 ... 307 ...
Bf 109 F-4 ........................... d3 ... CouchOffiziell ......... 408 ... 311
Fw 190 A-4 ........................... A2 ... MafujKhan ............ 215 277 ... 239 262
Fw 190 A-3 ........................... ?? ... Alvarez ................ 163 219 ... 219 253
Re.2002 .............................. a3 ... Noxush ................ 279 313... 310 318
MC.202 ............................... ?? ... BlackVulture ........... 177 211 ... 261 285
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945

2 Multi engine Fighter Bomber
Bf 110 F-2 ........................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 483 545... 261 298 It has been so hard to build him up to respectable exp, at least his kills are getting up there.
Ju 88 C-6 ............................ i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 417 463 ... 318 329... wouldn’t it be crazy if he becomes my best Fighter

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber I see myself waiting to use these guys in 43 and 44 to help eliminate their tanks forces, 2nd and 3rd heroes very possible.
Hs 129 B-2 r11 ...................... a3 ... AratoBela .............. 612 ... 330
Ju 87 D-3 ............................ a1 ... cmbbfan ............... 620 ... 316

1 Tac/Strat Bomber
Ju 88 A-4 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 274 401... 396 414

2 dedicated Strat Bomber
Do 217 E-2 .......................... d1 ... Richard ................. 170 262 ... 405 411
He 111 H-6 .......................... a1 ... RMA901 ................ 221 353 ... 390 413

Strats are going to be used at least 1 or 2 every scenario, to suppress and generally harass the enemy. Now that they mostly have 14 strength they are serious ammo drainers.

I am going to do some deep thinking about what I need to bring for Ruins, there are only 2 playthroughs on the internet that show a DV, so I will be using those playthroughs as my research, but it will need to be a big plan for Ruins, it is not easy, but sure is fun. 37 units 24 turns...share your thoughts

[Locarnus]

Yep, the non arty units got lots of kills, but little experience!

Using my later list to have the current 42e11 unit types and stats as a basis.

I added your decisions from your post, plus your comments in green-ish, my new comments are in orange-ish


GC 1942e11 start core unit roster recommendations
9131 prestige, after elite replacements to 10 strength for all understrength units (except those marked to become understrength Tigers) and selling excess captured units!

red marker for a) no heroes, b) <300 kills, c) <300 experience
blue marker for a) r1 or a3 or 2nd heroes, b) >=600 kills, c) >= 400 experience

UnitType .................. transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements

45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
BridgeEngineer ..... NAG500 ... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 933 ... 296 ... ===> Std Kav 42
Holy Cow 100 kills in 2 scenarios, but only 22 in exp good grief
Cavalry .............................. d1 ... PatrickLee ........... 661 ... 301 ... ===> Std Inf
ItalianInf 42 ......... Pack ......... i1 ... Dimitri ............... 427 ... 296 ... ===> 7.62 Pak36(r) because initiative hero
7.62 Pak 36(r) /RSO ............... ?? ... PaulWilde ............. 240 ... 227 ... ===> Marder I
Semovente 47/32 ................. m1 ... Makorin .............. 806 ... 353
plus 3 non-hero bonus SE units for the later grand campaign years
Yeah, I guess that works out well. The new bonus SE unit in 1943 can then become a Flakpanzer or SdKfz 10/4 once those are introduced with the next patch. Leaving Reoguru as a Flakpanzer I until then . So that you have only 2 bonus SE infantry for the time being, thus hopefully making up a bit of the missed core infantry training due to my too limited bonus SE choices until now.

6 Infantry
Agreed, that the other infantry can use this final Stalingrad scenario to train up a bit as well.
Pioniere ............... L3000 ..... m1 ... Soljaism ............. 530 ... 244 ... ===> 42 version
Good Grief 113 kills and only 30 exp
Grenadiere ........... Sd250/1 ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 629 ... 295 ... ===> 42 version
So close based on number of kills leaving back until 43, maybe in Kotelnikova because of mobility in crappy weather
Jäger 42 ............................. d2 ... Artemis .............. 385 ... 240
Fallschirmjäger 42 .................. i1 ... Pullig ................. 691 ... 277
Leaving back to exercise other units to get them kills
Kradschützen 42 .................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ......... 524 ... 281
Bersaglieri ........................... a2 ... Kostia ............... 309 ... 197 ... ===> Sahariana

1 Towed AT (plus any bonus SE towed AT guns)
7.5 Pak 40 /Sd 11 ................. m1 ... Gigiduru ............. 502 ... 303
[Kills difference between 42e9 and 42e11 lists] (How did this go up?)
Whoops, seems like I forgot to update the kills for the 42e9 list, he actually already had 502 kills there.

2 Recon
SdKfz 222++ ........................ d2 ... Goose ................. 556 ... 304 ... ===> Panzer II Luchs
SdKfz 233 r9 ..................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 606 ... 339
Maybe I should leave it back as it is getting op
Perhaps I could reduce that SdKfz 233 rate of fire, but I think you should still use it for Ruins. To make up for some arty you can then leave behind. And there is always something that might be a bit too strong or a bit too weak, sometimes for the AI, sometimes for the player (keeping SMG Inf in mind). Imho it is not gamebreaking, since using it in arty mode also means that it is used less for recon purposes, with its double vision heroes.

9 Tanks
Marder II /131 ...................... i1 ... Blast ................... 480 ... 282 ... ===> Bison II
(Bison 2 and leave back Festival?)
I have an alternative proposition for Festival, see below
Marder III .......................... m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ....... 533 ... 282 ... ===> Marder III H in 42e12
Panzer III M ......................... a2 ... NightPhoenix ......... 664 ... 338
Such little exp for all of those kills, I think I need to leave him back but I am leaning on him so much not sure I can handle not having him on the back bench?
I would deploy both him and DoktorG if it helps and does not take away a spot from a Panzer IV, those need training the most I think. Imho make the best of the units when they are the most effective, they will become outdated soon enough, when the Tigers and Panthers take the lead.
StuG III F/8 ........................ m1 ... DoktorG .............. 668 ... 329
Think will be leaving out until 43, maybe needed in Kotelnikova?
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Rimski ................ 597 ... 241 ... ===> Panzer IV G+ in 42e12
Panzer IV G .......................... s1 ... Soren ................. 550 ... 227
Will deploy Soren to keep up with kill count of Rimski
Matilda II(e) ........................ a3 ... Singer ................. 464 ... 241 ... ===> Reg Tiger in 43
T-34/42(r) r9 ....................... a3 ... 7Bowls ................ 495 ... 234 ... ===> T-34/43(r) r9
So many kills so little progress
KV-1C(r) ............................. d2 ... Paramecium .......... 621 ... 256
Think I need to leave him back based on kills again. But am I leaving myself to vulnerable to non tank units?
KV-1C will have one less ground defense with the heavy/late tank rebalancing in the next update, so I say use him now, until the Tigers take his place in the near future .

8 Mobile Arty
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 ............ m1 ... Gooseboy ............. 438 ... 317 ... ===> Tiger P r9s8 in 42e12
15 sFH 13 Lorraine r8 .......... a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 475 ... 322
Bison II (SturmPz II) r7 ............ d1 ... Festival ............... 541 ... 375 ... ===> StuIG 33B ?
Leave him back to use Blast?
Hm, how about upgrading him to StuIG 33B (in family upgrade during deployment phase, since he is already in arty mode)? Then use him as a StuIG 33B for this single scenario, either as range 1 arty or in tank mode. Then end the scenario with him in tank mode, so he can become either a long barrel StuG III or a Panzer III in the deployment phase of the next scenario for practically next to no prestige difference.
StuG III E+ r11 ...................... r1 ... RayCaster ............ 492 .... 411 ... ===> StuIG 33B 1st turn in Ruins
If Festival is a StuIG 33B during Ruins, you could use him as the current StuG III E+ during Ruins and then end the scenario with him in tank mode (so that he can then upgrade to StuIG 33B in the deployment phase when he is used next) or not deploy him for Ruins at all.
10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............. a2m1 ... Pierre ................. 521 ... 350
Look how the brief period as the Flamm racked up Pierre’s kills to a respectable amount, this switch for units to tanks from arty’s may need to really be explored.
Yep, double FM really shows the lopsided experience distribution of the PzC engine!
Semovente 75/18 r11 ............. d2 ... RightSide ............. 415 ... 372
Wurfrahmen 40 r8 .................. r1 ... Dneos ................. 558 ... 415
Should leave him back, but do not know I can afford
SU-122(r) r8 ......................... ?? ... Kapl ..................... 45 ... 172
Really illustrates the huge discrepancy in exp gaining

7 Towed Arty
10.5cm leG 41 ....... Ketten ..... d2 ... Temis .................. 416 ... 382
Switching Artemis with Temis makes sense, but would be expensive…Thoughts?
Thinking about it some more, perhaps neither of them are good fits for arty class, with their d2 heroes. Though not sure if it is good or bad to wait for second hero, since range hero can only come to arty class. I guess it depends on your willingness to reload for heroes or your willingness to play with few range heroes. Once the unit leaves arty class, it will probably not gain much experience. Not sure when it is best to leave arty class, or even where to go from there with a defense 2 hero.
10.5cm Polish arty ... Blitz ....... a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 689 ... 422
I really should leave back both Michal and Rauno, not sure I can afford leaving back both
Yeah, experience limit is practically reached. Would probably still work without those 2, but cost a bit more in damage taken. Might be worth it.
10.5cm leFH 18M .... Horse ..... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 544 ... 423
10.5cm sK r9 ......... Horse ..... a1 ... ForestLaw ............. 537 ... 374
15cm sFH r8 .......... Sd7 ........ r1 ... Raduku ................ 332 ... 352
21cm Mrs r5 .......... Sd8 ....... m1 ... Kei ..................... 583 ... 340
21cm NblWf 42 ....... Horse .... m1 ... ElBaron ................ 375 ... 351

4 Anti-Air
8.8cm Flak 36 ........ Sd7 ....... m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 581 ... 289
Cannone 90/53 ...... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo ................. 383 ... 252
Flakpanzer I r12 ................... m1 ... Reoguru ............... 353 ... 286
No Bison for him as FlakPanzer is such an important tool in Ruins
SdKfz 7/1 r13....................... a3 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 438 ... 309


15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
All of my Fighters are struggling to get kills and exp, but they have slowly built up exp enough to be relevant, but what will the latter years hold. I am unsure what the future hols for these guys, but also unsure what to do about it, as I just keep training and hoping for the best. 44 and 45 will be real rough.
Yep, hard to say with double FM. The Fw 190 is certainly not as overpowered as it was in the base game. So both of them having 3 stars will be a necessity. One of them can become a fighter bomber at some point, worked will for Noxush. The MC.202 family will get some significant upgrades in 43, making it more competitive. So I would prioritize training Alvarez at the moment. And maybe make one of the Bf 109s an elite fighter by deploying him every time now, so that you get one fighter with 4 stars and good defense to be able to take the first shot in future engagements.
Bf 109 G-4 ........................... d3 ... vonThüringen ......... 369 ... 307
Bf 109 F-4 ............................ d3 ... CouchOffiziell ........ 408 ... 311
Fw 190 A-4 ........................... a2 ... MafujKhan ............ 277 ... 262
Fw 190 A-3 ........................... ?? ... Alvarez ................ 219 ... 253
Re.2002 .............................. a3 ... Noxush ................ 313 ... 318
MC.202 ............................... ?? ... BlackVulture ........... 211 ... 285
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945

2 Multi engine Fighter Bomber
Bf 110 F-2 ........................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 545 ... 298
It has been so hard to build him up to respectable exp, at least his kills are getting up there.
You could make him an F-4 and let him feast on enemy bombers for 1-2 scenarios. Until he goes back to a ground attacker with the new Bf 110 G-2 or alternatively Me 410 A-1 version in the first 1943 scenario.
Ju 88 C-6+ ........................... i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 463 ... 329
Wouldn’t it be crazy if he becomes my best Fighter
Might even be your deadliest one at the moment in terms of raw damage, only the Bf 110 F-4 can dish out harder at this time (see above). But the ini hero helps a lot against enemy return fire.

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
I see myself waiting to use these guys in 43 and 44 to help eliminate their tanks forces, 2nd and 3rd heroes very possible.
Hs 129 B-2 r11 ...................... a3 ... AratoBela .............. 612 ... 330
Ju 87 D-3 ............................ a1 ... cmbbfan ............... 620 ... 316

1 Tac/Strat Bomber
Ju 88 A-4 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 401 ... 414

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
Do 217 E-2 .......................... d1 ... Richard ................. 262 ... 411
He 111 H-11 ........................ a1 ... RMA901 ................ 353 ... 413 ... ===> He 111 H-16 in 42e12

Strats are going to be used at least 1 or 2 every scenario, to suppress and generally harass the enemy. Now that they mostly have 14 strength they are serious ammo drainers.

I am going to do some deep thinking about what I need to bring for Ruins, there are only 2 playthroughs on the internet that show a DV, so I will be using those playthroughs as my research, but it will need to be a big plan for Ruins, it is not easy, but sure is fun. 37 units 24 turns...share your thoughts

Hm, yep, just looked briefly at the one from NightPhoenix. At the end he mentioned that the timing might be problematic, from first going all north and then pushing south again versus enemies that have retaken your positions. With your more limited core, it might be better not to give them up in the first place. Though he said that he limited his core as well with house rules, since he is not using Fw 190 despite them being so overpowered in the base game...
And even left an SE unit undeployed.
I will try to watch a bit more and look at other Ruins playthroughs later.

[caesar67]

Hi guys! What are you doing in your conversation? Is it live
modding?

[goose_2]

Hi guys! What are you doing in your conversation? Is it live
modding?

It is on going feedback based on scenario by scenario playthrough on excruciatingly difficulty challenge

[Locarnus]

Hi guys! What are you doing in your conversation? Is it live
modding?

Hi, how are you?
How did your BE playthrough go? Last time you were in early 1944?


Goose_2 is playing the Grand Campaign (east) on youtube, with Locarnus Addon, but also special custom difficulty settings and house rules (Richard Martin named it "Napoleon" difficulty)!
Double Rommel (so 25% player prestige), double Field Marshal (25% player experience) and a bunch of other developing rules plus the "rule of 1".
"Rule of 1" means, that he self restricts himself to deploy max 1 unit of each version. Thus instead of upgrading and using 10 Tiger I once those are available, he can only do so with 1 unit. While the rest of the tanks have to each be a different unit type/version, if he wants to deploy them together (eg a StuG III G, a StuG III F/8, a Panzer IV G and so on).

This playthrough with that custom difficulty really shows some issues with the Panzer Corps engine (arty and strat bombers get experience much faster than all the other classes, while strat bombers hardly get kills if they are not sinking ships).
It also provides lots of feedback for modding, so in the posts above we are trying to figure out how best to develop his core force under those circumstances.

The stats in the post above show his core composition at the beginning of Grand Campaign 42 East, scenario 11 "Stalingrad Ruins". With possible upgrade options on the right side.

While the previous core list from 26th December 2024 shows his core stats at the beginning of scenario 9 "Storming Stalingrad". In his last post, goose_2 compared the lists in terms of kills and experience points.

Here are the youtube playlists:

Grand Campaign 39 playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2K7D34 ... GemIYGigms

GC 40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUZL3Mo ... UtpUHhNayZ

GC 41
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAJHNRn ... fgms3eFbUP

GC 42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWX3kMr ... f5zjfOJJn9

It is on going feedback based on scenario by scenario playthrough on excruciatingly difficulty challenge

But so fun to watch with those raised stakes!

Oh, btw, it seems that your GC 41 and GC 42 playlists are backwards? They start with the latest scenarios instead of the earliest.

[goose_2]

Oh, btw, it seems that your GC 41 and GC 42 playlists are backwards? They start with the latest scenarios instead of the earliest.

I know it is doing this with my playthroughs. I have no idea why, and not sure how to change that.

[caesar67]

Hi Locarnus!
Thank you and Goose for your detailled explanations! Now I understand! But what is the meaning of those named at the right side like Pullig, Kosta, Gigiduru etc.?
Well, I had to give up after invasion in Normandie. I will try an easier setting next time. Can someone play BE with those rules Goose is playing GC??
I read that there will be an upgrade for BE by McGuba. Is this true and shall I wait for this?
Greetings!

[goose_2]

Deployed a little bit this morning before coming to work. I ended up with around 8400 in prestige after updgrades and os. Some notes are as follows.

all enemy units have only 1 exp star which will make breaking them a lot, lot easier than Storming. Locarnus is who I decided to upgrade to StuIG 33B, as he lost 1 os in Docks and it made sense to take advantage of his great attack advantage.

No upgrade for Goose, saving the Luch's upgrade for Kotelnikovo, as the wheeled recon advantage is still advantageous in Ruins.

I am bringing all inf, except prob Richard, as the city landscape is just crushing for these units. I am bringing all arty except Michal as he is the only unit that needs to rest as enough kills, exp, and hero is just too awesome, other units need more kills.

Not upgrading to Sahariana, but Bersaglieri 43 and will do Sahariana as I get 2nd star. All standard in the air, as need to get kills and exp up on the weakened air force before I work on my Bf's but hoping to get to deploy 1 in Kotel

so far I am leaving back Doctor G and Night Phoenix, leaving them for Kotel.

That is how I see it so far, but will need to work on finishing up the set up and hoping to destroy and take most of the map, based on my layout and overwhelming power at this stage in the battle. So many aux units to utilize as bait and my last chance to build up to 3 stars for almost all units before the big dogs of Kotelnikova require my 3 starred beasts their chance to shine.

Hoping that the last 2 scenarios garners 4 to 6 2nd heroes. 4 should be attainable, where 6 will be a stretch I am eager to attain.

See you Sunday for a great discussion and hopefully an analysis of the start of Ruins.

[Locarnus]

Hi Locarnus!
Thank you and Goose for your detailled explanations! Now I understand! But what is the meaning of those named at the right side like Pullig, Kosta, Gigiduru etc.?
Well, I had to give up after invasion in Normandie. I will try an easier setting next time. Can someone play BE with those rules Goose is playing GC??
I read that there will be an upgrade for BE by McGuba. Is this true and shall I wait for this?
Greetings!

For hist youtube playthrough, goose_2 named the units after his subcribers. Eg if one of his youtube subscribers wants one named after them, they can just drop a youtube comment on the latest video of the series and ask for a specific name.
Next unassigned unit will be the coming bonus SE unit that joins at the start of the 1943 chapter of the grand campaign.
Since those units sometimes change from eg arty to tank class based on their randomly assigned hero traits and so on, custom names keep them trackable and referenceable through the whole campaign.

Oh yeah, those invasions are often devastating when encountering them the first time.
Eg the US invasion of Tunisia and then the capitulation of Italy was often the end for first time playthroughs (eg for myself).
Something to note with BE is, that the second and subsequent playthroughs will be significantly easier than the first, because those large scripted events are not such a shock anymore.
I often hear that it is a bit like a pendulum for BE, between too hard and too easy until the right difficulty is found.
So there is an argument to be made to not decrease the difficulty for the second attempt.

Nope, the difficulty goose_2 is using for the grand campaign is totally impossible for BE, since BE balancing is much tighter overall. I'm not sure what the highest possible difficulty for BE would be (where the Axis can win), but it will be considerably below the one goose_2 is using for GC.

BE main updates are now mostly many months if not years apart, and for the Locarnus Addon it takes additional time to adjust to those as well.
So if you are not doing multiplayer, I would not wait for that.
However you could wait for the next Locarnus Addon update, planned to be released some time in the middle of next week. It includes a rebalancing pass for late tanks and some more changes to the BE scenario based on the ongoing youtube multiplayer match between Duedman and HerzogSieg.

[...]

That is how I see it so far, but will need to work on finishing up the set up and hoping to destroy and take most of the map, based on my layout and overwhelming power at this stage in the battle. So many aux units to utilize as bait and my last chance to build up to 3 stars for almost all units before the big dogs of Kotelnikova require my 3 starred beasts their chance to shine.

Hoping that the last 2 scenarios garners 4 to 6 2nd heroes. 4 should be attainable, where 6 will be a stretch I am eager to attain.

See you Sunday for a great discussion and hopefully an analysis of the start of Ruins.

Ah yep, Locarnus unit already has 2 heroes, and would make a great StuG III or Panzer III unit for the foreseeable future.
Good to use the last Stalingrad battle for training as much as you can.
Wishing you luck for those second heroes!

Unfortunately I did not have the time to watch more of the Ruins videos yet, hopefully I can do so until Sunday.
See you there!

[goose_2]

Hey Everyone,
I am riding a serious high this morning. I went to bed thinking about what I can try and pull off on Ruins based on my camo capabilities. Love that about this game, that it occupies my mind as I go about my day and just find myself thinking what I can do to improve my play with the parameters I am playing with.

So anyway, I woke up super early this morning so got a chance to work out and think more about the game, and even had enough time to test out some of my thoughts and drove to work listening to just the best 60's music ever. Just hit after hit where I am dancing and singing to each song. Just the best feeling.

So here is the crazy thing all my thinking has come up with and why I love all of the 3 Stalingrad Scenarios in the Grand Campaign. Storming, Docks, and Ruins are some of the best this game has to offer. I created, so far, a pretty awesome set up so their units get ambushed BIG TIME in such an incredible way.

Here is the problem I am finding that is just driving me nuts. So the traps are with my AT units that are camoed in city hexes. So the Initiative cap kills all my advantages these units naturally have. It is maddening to see me ambushing their units, like their T-60's and instead of just crushing their units and mine taking no damage I watch them win the random dice roll and do me 1-3 damage before I fire and hurt them. So frustrating watching all my hard work not get rewarded, but it is the limits of the game. Nothing can be done, it is my problem for setting up traps in the city hexes. I probably should rethink the traps, but I love the intricacy of it so much I will stick as is for now.

I am hoping to be prepared to start recording Saturday morning.

[Locarnus]

[...]
Here is the problem I am finding that is just driving me nuts. So the traps are with my AT units that are camoed in city hexes. So the Initiative cap kills all my advantages these units naturally have. It is maddening to see me ambushing their units, like their T-60's and instead of just crushing their units and mine taking no damage I watch them win the random dice roll and do me 1-3 damage before I fire and hurt them. So frustrating watching all my hard work not get rewarded, but it is the limits of the game. Nothing can be done, it is my problem for setting up traps in the city hexes. I probably should rethink the traps, but I love the intricacy of it so much I will stick as is for now.

I am hoping to be prepared to start recording Saturday morning.

Yes, it is fun to think about those situations and then try to implement them later.

Imho the PzC engine is a bit counterintuitive in that regard. Eg placing AT units in forests should give them an advantage when attacked from the open terrain next to them. But with the PzC engine, unfortunately only the attacked hex is taken into account.
And the class specific boni are hardcoded, allowing only infantry class to not be limited by the terrrain initiative cap.
Thats also what prompted my to recommend initiative heroes to go infantry, after doing some Stalingrad tests with your Fallschirmjäger inf with ini hero.
Infantry is the only class where the ini hero is taken into account regardless of terrain.

On the other hand, an ini hero on infantry is useless, when the gap eg between inf and tanks is 5 or greater anyway in terrain without ini restriction.
So I'm still not sure if tanks or tank destroyers are the better option (probably so, if you can keep them out of close terrain).
Especially for the thin skinned TDs, where ini advantage can make lots of difference in terms of damage taken, and tanks are more expensive to reinforce than infantry.

[goose_2]

2 last things...

Thinking about the discrepancy between the progression of arty and tanks.
I foresee in 44 the desire to go switch roles for tanks and arty's through the Mobilwagon.
So, I have my tanks that get that 3rd hero, but still only has 3 stars exp, while at the same time I have my arty with 4 maybe even 5 stars in exp, but still only 1 hero. Switch those 2 units for a few scenarios in order to boost the exp on the one, and the number of kills on the other. That way I may get more 3-5 units with 3 kills, and more than just arty and Strats at the max 5 star exp.

Thoughts?

By the by my son will be on today for his West broadcast for 30 minutes if you can chat with him.

Blessings, and I am ready to record Saturday

[goose_2]

2 last things...

Thinking about the discrepancy between the progression of arty and tanks.
I foresee in 44 the desire to go switch roles for tanks and arty's through the Mobilwagon.
So, I have my tanks that get that 3rd hero, but still only has 3 stars exp, while at the same time I have my arty with 4 maybe even 5 stars in exp, but still only 1 hero. Switch those 2 units for a few scenarios in order to boost the exp on the one, and the number of kills on the other. That way I may get more 3-5 units with 3 kills, and more than just arty and Strats at the max 5 star exp.

Thoughts?

By the by my son will be on today for his West broadcast for 30 minutes if you can chat with him.

Blessings, and I am ready to record Saturday

[Locarnus]

[...]

Yeah, double FM seems to be so harsh that it really shows the issues with experience progression.
I guess all the tank-arty switchable units that become available in 1943 will give ample opportunity to make those transitions.
Question is, do you plan for two transitions (eg from tank to arty and back again) or would it make more sense to transition only once if heroes allow (eg from your highly experienced arties to then permanently become a tank or inf).
In the latter case, it might make sense to wait with the transition a bit more (eg 5 stars?).
But the problem is, that range heroes only appear on units primarily in arty class (thus earlier transitions to their final form would make sense).
A dilemma, I'm not sure which is more important.


I would still argue to move away from a "balanced" core training and instead use an "elite" system.
Where eg 1-2 inf, tanks and fighters are deployed more often and accumulate a lot more kills (and a bit more experience), while the others fall a bit more behind.
Especially if you have two very similar units. I would allow one to pull ahead and perhaps get a second hero.
Eg for your two Panzer IV (both s1 hero), your two Bf 109 (both d3 hero) and one of your infantry.

[goose_2]

[...]

Yeah, double FM seems to be so harsh that it really shows the issues with experience progression.
I guess all the tank-arty switchable units that become available in 1943 will give ample opportunity to make those transitions.
Question is, do you plan for two transitions (eg from tank to arty and back again) or would it make more sense to transition only once if heroes allow (eg from your highly experienced arties to then permanently become a tank or inf).
In the latter case, it might make sense to wait with the transition a bit more (eg 5 stars?).
But the problem is, that range heroes only appear on units primarily in arty class (thus earlier transitions to their final form would make sense).
A dilemma, I'm not sure which is more important.


I would still argue to move away from a "balanced" core training and instead use an "elite" system.
Where eg 1-2 inf, tanks and fighters are deployed more often and accumulate a lot more kills (and a bit more experience), while the others fall a bit more behind.
Especially if you have two very similar units. I would allow one to pull ahead and perhaps get a second hero.
Eg for your two Panzer IV (both s1 hero), your two Bf 109 (both d3 hero) and one of your infantry.

Thanks for jumping on with my son, he must not have been able to comment while it was broadcasting, but he does very much appreciate the feedback, so thanks.

About your thought on elite units. I am not convinced that is the correct course of action. I do not like that thought of certain units getting constant exercise while others get the bench treatment. My big problem with that is creating units that never get attacked, while other units become the focus of their ire and become extremely vulnerable. I may be facing this very problem anyway with the serious increase in exp the ai will have in future scenarios, especially as they start to outdistance themselves form my exp level. I am envisioning large enemy units with 4 stars exp while I am still struggling at the 3 star category. Overcoming that may become an even bigger problem if I concentrate on heroed units versus the entire army to stay in line for exp progress.

Getting to change units roles mid campaign may be the trick to get over that hump and I look forward to exploring that issue as I start to mor and more play around with what I have my se units utilizing. This is becoming extremely apparent when Brodrick has been struggling in the 2 star range for a very very long time, but should get right up to 3 stars quickly in Cavalry role. Makorin will be my first at/recon to reach 4 stars even if it takes him until 43 to do it. Using recons as a change/chance to garner exp growth and training will be a gamechanger that I am looking forward to exploring more in 43 with the se aa I plan on using.

[Locarnus]

Thanks for jumping on with my son, he must not have been able to comment while it was broadcasting, but he does very much appreciate the feedback, so thanks.

I only read your post shortly before the broadcast started.
No worries, youtube shenanigans are not uncommon. I'm surprised your son has the dedication to pull through with the long grand campaign itself, let alone the commentary and youtube stuff on top of it.

About your thought on elite units. I am not convinced that is the correct course of action. I do not like that thought of certain units getting constant exercise while others get the bench treatment. My big problem with that is creating units that never get attacked, while other units become the focus of their ire and become extremely vulnerable. I may be facing this very problem anyway with the serious increase in exp the ai will have in future scenarios, especially as they start to outdistance themselves form my exp level. I am envisioning large enemy units with 4 stars exp while I am still struggling at the 3 star category. Overcoming that may become an even bigger problem if I concentrate on heroed units versus the entire army to stay in line for exp progress.

If I remember correctly, the default experience level will cap out at 3 stars for the grand campaign, both for german aux units and soviet units. Which is reduced to I think 300/4 = 75 experience for aux, because they are affected by double FM setting.
Only manually assigned Soviet units have higher than 3 star experience.

Having eg one Pz IV or Bf 109 be better or have more heroes than the other opens up a choice to convert them into something else. While currently they seem to be bound to each other in terms of progression, competing with and thus hindering each other for deployment.
Though for the Pz IV that will probably change once the crossover options become available in 1943 (Nashorn tank destroyer, Hummel arty & Brummbär TD/arty).

Getting to change units roles mid campaign may be the trick to get over that hump and I look forward to exploring that issue as I start to mor and more play around with what I have my se units utilizing. This is becoming extremely apparent when Brodrick has been struggling in the 2 star range for a very very long time, but should get right up to 3 stars quickly in Cavalry role. Makorin will be my first at/recon to reach 4 stars even if it takes him until 43 to do it. Using recons as a change/chance to garner exp growth and training will be a gamechanger that I am looking forward to exploring more in 43 with the se aa I plan on using.

Yep, looking forward to the progress.

Since the Feb update will perhaps be the one where you transition to GC 43 East, do you have any requests for that?

I guess there will be a short break after Kotelnikovo?
For me to make the final GC 42 unit list, then after that for you and Richard Martin to discuss the state of affairs.
I'm doubtful that I'm able to include more minor axis units in the bonus SE lineup, at least ones that are actually viable compared to the other ones. But the 2cm Flak units will at least provide a bit more choice.

[goose_2]

Quick Update. I got my Steam back and everything is ok. This morning I recorded another 4 days and have it paused right now to finish the 2 more days later. So excited with how it is going. This battle is so much fun as it feels so German in its execution with little Scwerhpunkt's all over the map, with the aux acting as reserves to draw out their units so I can use my forces to just crush them. It is so much fun and I am really glad I chose to go this route. See you tomorrow