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

[Locarnus]

The development of Slender I find absolutely intriguing as he has an exciting number of kills, quickly approaching the 4th star, maybe in 2 more scenarios. Perfect timing for Slender to do some amazing stuff in Prok. The fact that a unit I never expected to see as a Fighter become my strongest most effective fighter is quite exciting.

Slender had advantage of getting a significant experience boost due to starting out as a strat bomber. Like eskuche did systematically for his airforce.
Now that your single engine fighters are on the same experience level, they will probably be a lot better.
Well, at least the very versatile Ju 88 family is not finished yet.

The Soviet tanks have been extremely difficult to get to 3 stars, but hopefully once they are their can become better than they are currently.

Yeah, seeing the captured soviet equipment as well as the two Panzer IV struggle for experience was quite different to see.
25% experience setting really hits different and exposes so much more of the non-moddable game mechanic issues.

Some quick comments regarding your thoughts, alhough my situation is a bit different because I have more XP:

- I found SE AT units very useful in '43 for providing flank cover and guarding bridge crossings with ambushes
- Your bombers might get some second hero's in '43, but your fighters would need to be very lucky. Most of them will have to wait for '44. But by then the lack of XP will start hurting them, I'm facing mostly 3 star Soviet fighters at this point
- I found mid '43 to be the toughest point for tanks and AT's. From that point forward the Soviets only get a few new units (IS-2, T34/85 and the ISU's), of which only the T34/85 is encountered in significant quantities. Meanwhile you'll get more Panthers, good TD's and good all round upgrades to the rest. The StugG is indeed awesome and will remain so until you'll start encountering a lot of T34/85, at which point the Hetzer and Jagdpanzer IV can take over (Hetzer has 19 GD!).

3 star soviet airforce is a real jump, especially when the own forces do not have 5 stars in return.

Yeah, all those tank projects and variants are coming through at that point. Even the rule of one shows its limits there.
I had many problems with late war tank balancing, especially concerning TDs. I'll step the Hetzer down again, from 19 GD to 18 and from 3 close defense to 2.
The early version of the IS-2 is pretty good already, but the later version only has to fear the heaviest german units, like King Tiger, Jagdtiger and Elefant (with the latter two being either rof or strength restricted nearly until the end).

I'm about to start Budapest so expect to be able to complete '44 in the next few days. Will post my core then, for now some observations of '44:

- XP is hovering around 55k, so very comfortable still
- Got MV's in Minsk and Return to Kishinev, in both cases I was 1-2 turns away from a DV. DV is definitely possible if not playing blind. DV'd everything else quite comfortably.
- My ground force is able to stand its ground against the Soviet hordes quite comfortably. I have everything at max OS except recons, tanks and AT's, who tends to take some damage due to air attacks. My Cats never get attacked at base strenght except by the odd IS-2, the Soviets tanks and weaker AT's take hits occasionally but are never in danger of getting killed. Even the T34/85's of the Soviet are usually just sitting around doing nothing. I feel that some of the TD's need to have their GD reduced, especially the Hetzer.
- Because my ground force is so comfortable I've been able to focus my air game on getting air superiority. Usual deployment has been 4-5 fighters, 2-3 fighter-bombers and 1-2 tac/strat bombers. This has been sufficient to wipe the VVS from the skies with moderate losses every time. But full OS is absolutely necessary for my fighters for this.

Congrats on going the Kishinev route and doing well there!
I have not tried it with a rule of one core, but remember it being a lot harder than other GC scenarios, even without extra difficulty already.
55k is indeed very comfortable at that point! Max overstrength really helps there as well.
TD balancing is an issue, though I'm not able how to solve it. Agree with Hetzer getting nerfed again.

Will be very interesting to see your forces after GC 44.
Especially your airforce, which had to deal with some tough hero rng.

[thejf]

Thanks for the heads up and warning. I will definitely do a deep dive on Minsk an Kishinev before I get there so I can try and pull off the DV.

I am curious if Prokhorovka proved difficult for you? When I look at that map it intimidates me seeing all of those tanks and trying to wrap my mind around deployment. With the rule of one did you find it difficult pushing everywhere like you need to do or did you focus on pushing up the center solely? I usually push the 2 corners while simultaneously pushing up the center but nt sure how I can do that on the Rule of one difficulty.

Prokhorovka for me was really a tale of two halves. First half of the mission was easy, second half was brutal. But I think my overall tactic was sound: I put a small force in the southeast to wipe out the forces on my side of the river and defend the river crossing. Also stationed one fighter there to take care of the odd Soviet aircraft showing up on that side. I slowly pushed across the river mid-mission but did not venture further out.
In the Northwest I put a small force of mostly infantry and arty's which slowly moved through the Soviet defense. In the last 10 turns some of those units assisted in the attack on Prokhorovka.
In the center I went all out: no infantry, just tanks, AT's, arty's and flaks. All the big cats and most of the air force, especially the tank busters. Captured the central objective and the hills, then concentrated this entire force before moving on Prokhorovka. The counterattack triggered there is brutal and you must at all costs avoid it outflanking your army. Use the Big Cats to create zones of control to channel it.
Once that attack was contained, I sent part of my force south to capture the final objective. The tank force east of that objective did not move, probably because its trigger is related to movements coming from the southeast.
This way I was able to DV it with some turns to spare, but the big counterattack led to some scary moments.

3 star soviet airforce is a real jump, especially when the own forces do not have 5 stars in return.

Yeah, all those tank projects and variants are coming through at that point. Even the rule of one shows its limits there.
I had many problems with late war tank balancing, especially concerning TDs. I'll step the Hetzer down again, from 19 GD to 18 and from 3 close defense to 2.
The early version of the IS-2 is pretty good already, but the later version only has to fear the heaviest german units, like King Tiger, Jagdtiger and Elefant (with the latter two being either rof or strength restricted nearly until the end).

It is, but my fighter force can handle it. Key has been max OS and getting as many 14 INI fighters as possible. This allows the combination of 1-2 flak hits + swarming to be executed on most Soviet fighters without suffering any casualties.
I feel that the IS-2 is now much less of a threat then in vanilla. There I remember it completely shredding everything except the Tigers, here I remember in Korsun seeing a battle between a full strength 1 star IS-2 (1943) and my full strenght 4 star 2A/3D Pz IVH which my tank won 4-2. Even a 2 star '44 model could not do better then draw 3-3 against one of my 4 star Panthers recently. The only unit which gave me a big scare was the 3-star 13 strenght named hero in Kremenchug.

Congrats on going the Kishinev route and doing well there!
I have not tried it with a rule of one core, but remember it being a lot harder than other GC scenarios, even without extra difficulty already.
55k is indeed very comfortable at that point! Max overstrength really helps there as well.
TD balancing is an issue, though I'm not able how to solve it. Agree with Hetzer getting nerfed again.

Will be very interesting to see your forces after GC 44.
Especially your airforce, which had to deal with some tough hero rng.

The RNG has improved for my air force fortunately. I have, however, still only 1 3-rd hero in my entire army.

I was really afraid of Kishinev 2 as it has been mentioned on this Forum as one of the toughest missions around.
Also, I played a lot of Open General (PG2) in the past, including the custom Romanian campaign. The Jassy-Kishinev mission in there might have been the hardest mission I ever played in a PG game. Think of playing Return to Kishinev but then with 90% Romanian units and not a single river to defend behind. Compared to that this was actually easy...

[eskuche]

I skipped the NW section of Prokhorovka, and blitzed it after the big counterattack.
For return to Kishinev, threat management in the front line as defender is key. Using my best infantry in forests to ensure no attacks on me on unpredictable rain turns was the way (make sure they cannot be hit by katyushas at the beginning of turn obviously)

[thejf]

Budapest turned out to be the first mission where the Soviet force really became scary. Lots of 3/4 star units, several IS-2's and a huge airforce with multiple new LA-7's. Thankfully the weather was great: after turn 6 the snow melted and did not come back, allowing me to set up a simple defensive line on the Danube. First mission where I did not come even close to a DV, but also did not come close to losing any units.

Starting core for '45 with 58750 prestige before repair and upgrade

Class........Unit..................Transport.......Hero.......Kills.....XP
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1D-1I.......1575...491
SE...........7.5 Pak 40..............RSO...........1M-1I.......1051....498
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1A-1S.......1250....479
SE.............Hetzer.................................1D-1I........782....458
SE...........Gepard..................................1A...........760....447
SE...........7.62 Pak 36 (r).........RSO............1D..........346....336
SE...........7.5 cm FK 16.........Horse.........................126....413

Made good use of these guys in various secondary roles. The Pak 36 is too feeble now and will also become an infantry.

INF..........Grenadiere '44....SdKfz 251/1+.....1A-1A.......1552....471
INF...........Pioniere '44.......SdKfz 251/1+...1D-1I-1M.....1479....461
INF..........Wehrmacht '44....SdKfz 251/1+......3D-2D......1287....476
INF.......Fallschirmjager '44.......................1A-1A.......1308.....475
INF.........Gebirgsjager '44 ........................3D-1S.......1299.....496
INF..............Jager '44..........................1A-3D-2D......1311....485
INF.........Kradschutzen '44........................1S-1S........786.....422

Excellent heroes have made these guys the kings of rough terrain, none of them have ever been in any danger. Getting them to 5 stars has been slow going however, so I'll need to keep using them heavily.

TA.............Panther G..............................3D-1D......1682.....497
TA.............Pz IV J BeWg...........................1I-1S........651.....500
TA.............Pz IV J..................................2A-3D......1644.....479
TA.............JgdPz IV/48............................1D-1D......865.....509
TA.............Elefant.................................1M-1S......1440.....469
TA.............T34-85 (r)..............................2D-1D......1253.....510
TA.............Tiger I 44...............................3A-2D.......1705....510
TA.............KV 85 (r).............................1A-1D-1D.....1579.....473
TA.............Jagdpanther............................1A-1I.......1052.....482
TA.............JgdPz IV/70..........................1A-2D-1I......1347.....483
TA.............Panther A.............................3D-1D-1M.....1827.....512
TA.............Tiger II B+.............................1M-1I.........1153.....561
TA.............8.8 Pak 43............ Sd7.............1M-1I........1233.....517

Just great progress all around with multiple units ready for third heroes and all of them close to 5 stars. These guys have been, and will be, the backbone of my army as they take limited damage and dish out a lot, even without overstrenght.

REC...........SdKfz 234/2.............................1S-1I.........930.....531
REC..........Pz II 44 5cm..............................1S-1M........977.....541
AA............12.8 cm Flak 40........................................13 .....216
AA............Wirbelwind...............................2A-1S.......1004.....408
AA.............SdKfz 7/2 43............................2A-1A.........907.....468
AA.............Mobelwagen.............................3A-1D.......1431.....462
AA.............8.8 Flak 41..............................1A-1M.......1339.....431

Love that movement hero on the recon. The flaks are solid and might even get some third heroes, but they are a pain to get to 5 stars. But am not in the mood to switch them around to force that 5-th star.

ART..........15 sFH range 3/4.......SdKfz 7..........1M-1I........997.....477
ART..............17 K 18...............SdKfz 8..........1S............606.....537
ART............21 Nblwf 42...........Maultier..........1A...........868......582
ART...............StuH 44+...............................1A-1I.........797......560
ART.............Hummel 44..............................1M-1I.........900.....484
ART...........Wurfrahmen 43...........................1A-1R........862.....585
ART.............10.5 leFH 18/40......Maultier.........1A-1M.......627.....525
ART............Sturmpanther.............................1A-1R.......887.....521
ART..............Wespe ...................................2A-1S.......1030.....528
ART............Brummbar MG............................1A-1I........1199......508
ART..............SU 122 (r).................................1S...........538......499

Other then hunting for the final second heroes not much will be going on in this class. Still like the mix of towed and SP units. For Berlin I might convert some other units into more arty's to shore up my backline.

FIG..............Bf 109 G-6++.............................3A-1A.......932......449
FIG..............Bf 109 K-4................................1A...........923......477
FIG..............Me 262 A-1...............................2A-1A.......1013.....485
FIG..............Bf 109 G-14...............................1A-1S........932......449
FIG..............Fw 190 D-9................................3D...........510......515
TAC..............Fw 190 F-8+...............................1A...........906......479
TAC............HS 129 B-2 BK..............................1A-2D........941......479
TAC..............JU 87 G-2.................................2D...........274.......357
TAC..............Me 410 B-2................................1D-1M.......929.......466
TAC..............Bf 110 G-4.................................1S...........318.......337
TAC..............JU 88 P-4.................................1A...........891.......500
STR...............Do 217 M...............................................287.......516
STR..............He 111 H-20...............................1D..........247.......500
STR...............JU 88 A-2.................................1A...........488.......506

Some decent heroes with several new heroes coming up. But I'm not too worried about this anymore as my fighters can rule the skies even without proper heroes. The Me-262 got this 2A hero after I made the switch to it, which was annoying. Would have swapped it with one of the fighter bombers otherwise. Several aircraft have not been used for a long time and may only come out if I reach Berlin (redux).

[Locarnus]

3 star soviet airforce is a real jump, especially when the own forces do not have 5 stars in return.

Yeah, all those tank projects and variants are coming through at that point. Even the rule of one shows its limits there.
I had many problems with late war tank balancing, especially concerning TDs. I'll step the Hetzer down again, from 19 GD to 18 and from 3 close defense to 2.
The early version of the IS-2 is pretty good already, but the later version only has to fear the heaviest german units, like King Tiger, Jagdtiger and Elefant (with the latter two being either rof or strength restricted nearly until the end).

It is, but my fighter force can handle it. Key has been max OS and getting as many 14 INI fighters as possible. This allows the combination of 1-2 flak hits + swarming to be executed on most Soviet fighters without suffering any casualties.
I feel that the IS-2 is now much less of a threat then in vanilla. There I remember it completely shredding everything except the Tigers, here I remember in Korsun seeing a battle between a full strength 1 star IS-2 (1943) and my full strenght 4 star 2A/3D Pz IVH which my tank won 4-2. Even a 2 star '44 model could not do better then draw 3-3 against one of my 4 star Panthers recently. The only unit which gave me a big scare was the 3-star 13 strenght named hero in Kremenchug.

Yep, the fighters still getting +2 attack per experience level works like a multiplier in combination with high ini and overstrength.
The IS-2 suffers a lot from its abysmal rof compared to vanilla. The 1944 model could arguably do with one more ground defense. But while it remedied the giant frontal hull weakspot right in the center, it afaik retained the same turret from the 1943 model (which was frontally vulnerable even to Pz IV guns from 1000+ meters).
In that respect it is quite similar to the Panther, where the hull front was a lot better armored than the turret front. And the opposite of the Tiger I, where the turret front was much better armored than the hull front.
Actually quite astonishing how those painfully obvious armor layout issues made it past the design stage.

Class........Unit..................Transport.......Hero.......Kills.....XP
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1D-1I.......1575...491
SE...........7.5 Pak 40..............RSO...........1M-1I.......1051....498
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1A-1S.......1250....479
SE.............Hetzer.................................1D-1I........782....458
SE...........Gepard..................................1A...........760....447
SE...........7.62 Pak 36 (r).........RSO............1D..........346....336
SE...........7.5 cm FK 16.........Horse.........................126....413

Made good use of these guys in various secondary roles. The Pak 36 is too feeble now and will also become an infantry.

INF..........Grenadiere '44....SdKfz 251/1+.....1A-1A.......1552....471
INF...........Pioniere '44.......SdKfz 251/1+...1D-1I-1M.....1479....461
INF..........Wehrmacht '44....SdKfz 251/1+......3D-2D......1287....476
INF.......Fallschirmjager '44.......................1A-1A.......1308.....475
INF.........Gebirgsjager '44 ........................3D-1S.......1299.....496
INF..............Jager '44..........................1A-3D-2D......1311....485
INF.........Kradschutzen '44........................1S-1S........786.....422

Excellent heroes have made these guys the kings of rough terrain, none of them have ever been in any danger. Getting them to 5 stars has been slow going however, so I'll need to keep using them heavily.

Agreed, infantry experience gain is a pain. And the more bonus SE units become infantry, the less training time for your normal core infantry. Which also was the motivation to expand the bonus SE unit roster. Though viable bonus SE unit variety kind of falls off after 1943. I'm not sure how to usefully increase it for the late war.

TA.............Panther G..............................3D-1D......1682.....497
TA.............Pz IV J BeWg...........................1I-1S........651.....500
TA.............Pz IV J..................................2A-3D......1644.....479
TA.............JgdPz IV/48............................1D-1D......865.....509
TA.............Elefant.................................1M-1S......1440.....469
TA.............T34-85 (r)..............................2D-1D......1253.....510
TA.............Tiger I 44...............................3A-2D.......1705....510
TA.............KV 85 (r).............................1A-1D-1D.....1579.....473
TA.............Jagdpanther............................1A-1I.......1052.....482
TA.............JgdPz IV/70..........................1A-2D-1I......1347.....483
TA.............Panther A.............................3D-1D-1M.....1827.....512
TA.............Tiger II B+.............................1M-1I.........1153.....561
TA.............8.8 Pak 43............ Sd7.............1M-1I........1233.....517

Just great progress all around with multiple units ready for third heroes and all of them close to 5 stars. These guys have been, and will be, the backbone of my army as they take limited damage and dish out a lot, even without overstrenght.

Nice, that Pz IV J with vision buff finding a home with a spotting hero unit!
Yeah, armor really carrying the day now, against all those enemies. Great experience levels on them as well, over or close to 5 stars.

I can highly recommend a Jagdtiger for open terrain against heavy enemy armor. Even in its r8s8 state it is pretty comparable to the Elefant s8. With the Elefant having considerably weaker armor and ini, but benefiting from each overstrength point (no rof impairment).

3 star germans against a 3 star IS-2 (1944) r7 (current 2025-05 stats):
..................... No overstrength on any unit ...... 2 os on german and soviet
Elefant s8 ............... (-1.32 vs -2.80) ....................... (-1.54 vs -3.5)
Jagdtiger r8s8 .......... (-0.68 vs -2.64) ....................... (-1.02 vs -3.52)

3 star germans against a 3 star T-34-85 (current 2025-05 stats):
..................... No overstrength on any unit ...... 2 os on german and soviet
Elefant s8 ............... (-0.45 vs -4.64) ....................... (-0.60 vs -5.80)
Jagdtiger r8s8 .......... (-0.55 vs -3.78) ....................... (-0.55 vs -5.04)

Like the IS-2 r7, the Jagdtiger r8s8 somewhat struggles against normal rof enemies. But it is considerably stronger than the Elefant against the enemy big boys.

REC...........SdKfz 234/2.............................1S-1I.........930.....531
REC..........Pz II 44 5cm..............................1S-1M........977.....541
AA............12.8 cm Flak 40........................................13 .....216
AA............Wirbelwind...............................2A-1S.......1004.....408
AA.............SdKfz 7/2 43............................2A-1A.........907.....468
AA.............Mobelwagen.............................3A-1D.......1431.....462
AA.............8.8 Flak 41..............................1A-1M.......1339.....431

Love that movement hero on the recon. The flaks are solid and might even get some third heroes, but they are a pain to get to 5 stars. But am not in the mood to switch them around to force that 5-th star.

Oh, testing a 12.8cm Flak?
Also like that Pz II, it is such a little beast with great mobility and recon move.

ART..........15 sFH range 3/4.......SdKfz 7..........1M-1I........997.....477
ART..............17 K 18...............SdKfz 8..........1S............606.....537
ART............21 Nblwf 42...........Maultier..........1A...........868......582
ART...............StuH 44+...............................1A-1I.........797......560
ART.............Hummel 44..............................1M-1I.........900.....484
ART...........Wurfrahmen 43...........................1A-1R........862.....585
ART.............10.5 leFH 18/40......Maultier.........1A-1M.......627.....525
ART............Sturmpanther.............................1A-1R.......887.....521
ART..............Wespe ...................................2A-1S.......1030.....528
ART............Brummbar MG............................1A-1I........1199......508
ART..............SU 122 (r).................................1S...........538......499

Other then hunting for the final second heroes not much will be going on in this class. Still like the mix of towed and SP units. For Berlin I might convert some other units into more arty's to shore up my backline.

The higher ammo count on the towed arties might help in Berlin, against the constantly flooding in enemy units. Just for needing fewer resupply turns.

Will you change the SU 122 to the SU 100 tank destroyer? Low rof also hurt it a lot compared to vanilla, at least with the SU-100 camo trait it can perhaps make some better use of that spotting hero?

FIG..............Bf 109 G-6++.............................3A-1A.......932......449
FIG..............Bf 109 K-4................................1A...........923......477
FIG..............Me 262 A-1...............................2A-1A.......1013.....485
FIG..............Bf 109 G-14...............................1A-1S........932......449
FIG..............Fw 190 D-9................................3D...........510......515
TAC..............Fw 190 F-8+...............................1A...........906......479
TAC............HS 129 B-2 BK..............................1A-2D........941......479
TAC..............JU 87 G-2.................................2D...........274.......357
TAC..............Me 410 B-2................................1D-1M.......929.......466
TAC..............Bf 110 G-4.................................1S...........318.......337
TAC..............JU 88 P-4.................................1A...........891.......500
STR...............Do 217 M...............................................287.......516
STR..............He 111 H-20...............................1D..........247.......500
STR...............JU 88 A-2.................................1A...........488.......506

Some decent heroes with several new heroes coming up. But I'm not too worried about this anymore as my fighters can rule the skies even without proper heroes. The Me-262 got this 2A hero after I made the switch to it, which was annoying. Would have swapped it with one of the fighter bombers otherwise. Several aircraft have not been used for a long time and may only come out if I reach Berlin (redux).

Yep, better heroes helps a lot, but the +2 air attack per experience level dominates.
Lots of tac bombers. With so much prestige, you can afford to splurge, though probably don't need it. Eg for He 177, more jets or even unicorns like the Do 335.

Will you keep the two bonus SE campaign heroes that join in the first 1945 scenario and in Berlin?
Imho due to them being irreplaceable bonus SE units, they would be fine to stay. Their hero stats by far can't make up for their limited experience level, especially on FieldMarshal difficulty.

[Intenso82]

On an Nvidia 1060 GTX, big maps are playable in 2560*1440 but not anymore in 5120*1440).

Wow!
Can you show some screenshots from the game in 5120*1440,
a usual one and a unit detail. Here or pm.

[goose_2]

Olkhovatka is a ball buster

I tried 3 times yesterday and not able to get it right yet. So much coming at me that I need to be better prepared for. Of all the units to give me heartburn it is those stinking Sherman's. I do not remember those units being a problem in the normal game, but man they are now.

[Locarnus]

Olkhovatka is a ball buster

I tried 3 times yesterday and not able to get it right yet. So much coming at me that I need to be better prepared for. Of all the units to give me heartburn it is those stinking Sherman's. I do not remember those units being a problem in the normal game, but man they are now.

Yep, the 75mm armed Shermans have pretty bad stats in unmodded PzC, especially in terms of armor.
And the Soviet ones have even worse hard attack than the US and British ones in unmodded PzC.

M4A2 Sherman (unmodded, US) . : 8 ini, 9 hard attack, 11 ground defense
M4A2 Sherman (unmodded, SU) . : 8 ini, 7 hard attack, 11 ground defense
M4A2 Sherman (Addon, US & SU) : 8 ini, 13 hard attack, 17 ground defense

So they are a whole different power level now.
While retaining their -1 air attack rating, making air attacks on them with anything but strat bombers a risky endeavor (which does not even drain their ammo).

For comparison:
Pz IV H (with Addon) .............. : 9 ini, 15 hard attack, 15 ground defense

[thejf]

Yep, the 75mm armed Shermans have pretty bad stats in unmodded PzC, especially in terms of armor.
And the Soviet ones have even worse hard attack than the US and British ones in unmodded PzC.

M4A2 Sherman (unmodded, US) . : 8 ini, 9 hard attack, 11 ground defense
M4A2 Sherman (unmodded, SU) . : 8 ini, 7 hard attack, 11 ground defense
M4A2 Sherman (Addon, US & SU) : 8 ini, 13 hard attack, 17 ground defense

So they are a whole different power level now.
While retaining their -1 air attack rating, making air attacks on them with anything but strat bombers a risky endeavor (which does not even drain their ammo).

For comparison:
Pz IV H (with Addon) .............. : 9 ini, 15 hard attack, 15 ground defense

Indeed the Shermans have gone from cannon fodder to being the best Soviet tank in '43 (think it's better then the KV1/42 due to the abysmal speed of the latter). Rightfully so imo as their stats, especially GD, were way too low in vanilla. Although that 17 GD now might be a bit high.
@Goose: later in '43 the 76mm Shermans will also turn up, which are at least as much of a threat as the T34-85.

Agreed, infantry experience gain is a pain. And the more bonus SE units become infantry, the less training time for your normal core infantry. Which also was the motivation to expand the bonus SE unit roster. Though viable bonus SE unit variety kind of falls off after 1943. I'm not sure how to usefully increase it for the late war.

I don't think the SE roster can be fixed late war with all the big Soviet tanks running around.
Just as a thought: might it be interesting to add some captured tanks to the SE lineup, after they have fallen out of general use?

Nice, that Pz IV J with vision buff finding a home with a spotting hero unit!
Yeah, armor really carrying the day now, against all those enemies. Great experience levels on them as well, over or close to 5 stars.

I can highly recommend a Jagdtiger for open terrain against heavy enemy armor. Even in its r8s8 state it is pretty comparable to the Elefant s8. With the Elefant having considerably weaker armor and ini, but benefiting from each overstrength point (no rof impairment).

With my recons now at 5 stars and 2 heroes I've started using the "recon" Pz IV and it's working well!

I was not really considering the Jagdtiger due to its price tag and reduced strenght and ROF, but your argument is quite compelling. I ran through Goldap yesterday which saw a marked increase in the number of IS-2's. So I'll make the switch using the 1M-1I Hummel, which will then be replaced as a Hummel by the 2D JgdPz IV/48.

Oh, testing a 12.8cm Flak?
Also like that Pz II, it is such a little beast with great mobility and recon move.

The Flak is a leftover from Poltava, not planning to use it actively. Maybe if I get to Berlin Redux in one piece it will be deployed.

The higher ammo count on the towed arties might help in Berlin, against the constantly flooding in enemy units. Just for needing fewer resupply turns.

Will you change the SU 122 to the SU 100 tank destroyer? Low rof also hurt it a lot compared to vanilla, at least with the SU-100 camo trait it can perhaps make some better use of that spotting hero?

I indeed like the higher ammo count for the towed arty's against hordes. Usually deploy them in city or rough terrain defenses to prevent them being shot up by range 3 Soviet arty's.
I'm a bit torn on the SU-100. It looks nice but I can't really afford to cut down on my arty lineup and I don't see any others units which I would like to convert to arty.

Yep, better heroes helps a lot, but the +2 air attack per experience level dominates.
Lots of tac bombers. With so much prestige, you can afford to splurge, though probably don't need it. Eg for He 177, more jets or even unicorns like the Do 335.

Will you keep the two bonus SE campaign heroes that join in the first 1945 scenario and in Berlin?
Imho due to them being irreplaceable bonus SE units, they would be fine to stay. Their hero stats by far can't make up for their limited experience level, especially on FieldMarshal difficulty.

Might indeed use some of the endgame Wunderwaffen if I have the prestige.
Goldap netted me a great 3A hero on the JU-88P, putting it at 4A and Rudel level killing power at 15 strenght.
Also got a spotting hero on one of the 1A fighters and the Strat Bomber unfortunately.
I binned the SE hero received in Goldap as I found him to be too powerful already. He quickly reached 2 stars and with his excellent hero stats and state of the art aircraft was already dominating the Soviet airforce.
The Berlin one I might keep as he cannot be improved much more anyway.

[Locarnus]

Indeed the Shermans have gone from cannon fodder to being the best Soviet tank in '43 (think it's better then the KV1/42 due to the abysmal speed of the latter). Rightfully so imo as their stats, especially GD, were way too low in vanilla. Although that 17 GD now might be a bit high.
@Goose: later in '43 the 76mm Shermans will also turn up, which are at least as much of a threat as the T34-85.

GD for the Shermans differs for the models.
The Soviets got the pretty good M4A2 variant, which soon had far fewer frontal hull weakspots than eg the M4 (16 GD) and the M4A1 (15 GD) and a diesel engine setup that the Soviets continued to produce and develop long after the war.
Frontal hull line of sight armor thickness of the M4A2 was very comparable to the Tiger, though turret and sides were much weaker.

Yep, the 76mm Shermans are far too early, due to them simply taking over the KV-85 unit ID.
Perhaps when I find the time, I'll try to manually adjust some of those enemy units in the Grand Campaign. But that can be a slippery slope.

I don't think the SE roster can be fixed late war with all the big Soviet tanks running around.
Just as a thought: might it be interesting to add some captured tanks to the SE lineup, after they have fallen out of general use?

I'm a bit torn on the SU-100. It looks nice but I can't really afford to cut down on my arty lineup and I don't see any others units which I would like to convert to arty.

Good idea, captured tanks would help the bonus SE unit roster variety a lot.
I'm a bit hesitant regarding the mainline soviet captured ones (T-34, KV, SU), since the player can nicely start those lines with the captured ones. But the Soviets used plenty of Valentines and Matildas. And the french Somua could be available earlier as well for bonus SE. Later on the then rather obsolete Panzer III and perhaps even the late StuG III could bridge the gap to the Hetzer (which could be moved back as a bonus SE unit to end 1944).
So tank line: Panzer I with recon switch -> Pz 38(t) ? -> Somua -> soviet Valentines & Matildas -> late Panzer III -> ?
TD line: existing bonus SE Marder III variants -> some StuG III versions after Kursk? -> existing bonus SE Hetzer later

StuG III could also be seen as a continuation for the Panzer III. Many german TDs in the late war. Or perhaps the cheaper produced Panzer IV J as a final bonus SE tank unit? It does fall off compared to the Panzer IV H+ combat stats and the vision utility of the "Panzer IV J BeWg".

I'm also considering joining the german T-34 and SU lines into a single upgrade family, since they use the same chassis anyway and thus it would fit with the normal german upgrade families. The availability dates line up pretty well, so players can either only have 1 more up to date unit for the combined family or still have 2, but start both of them earlier than waiting for the late SU-122 capture (eg starting with a T-34/40 and a T-34/41).

Might indeed use some of the endgame Wunderwaffen if I have the prestige.
Goldap netted me a great 3A hero on the JU-88P, putting it at 4A and Rudel level killing power at 15 strenght.
Also got a spotting hero on one of the 1A fighters and the Strat Bomber unfortunately.
I binned the SE hero received in Goldap as I found him to be too powerful already. He quickly reached 2 stars and with his excellent hero stats and state of the art aircraft was already dominating the Soviet airforce.
The Berlin one I might keep as he cannot be improved much more anyway.

4A on Ju-88P is devastating.
I came to tolerate spotting heroes on strat bombers a bit more, imho not great, not too terrible. At least strats are pretty resilient to enemy AA and can thus be pretty decent for recon.

[goose_2]

thejf wrote: ↑18 May 2025 05:24
Class........Unit..................Transport.......Hero.......Kills.....XP
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1D-1I.......1575...491
SE...........7.5 Pak 40..............RSO...........1M-1I.......1051....498
SE.........Standard Infantry'44....................1A-1S.......1250....479
SE.............Hetzer.................................1D-1I........782....458
SE...........Gepard..................................1A...........760....447
SE...........7.62 Pak 36 (r).........RSO............1D..........346....336
SE...........7.5 cm FK 16.........Horse.........................126....413
Made good use of these guys in various secondary roles. The Pak 36 is too feeble now and will also become an infantry.
INF..........Grenadiere '44....SdKfz 251/1+.....1A-1A.......1552....471
INF...........Pioniere '44.......SdKfz 251/1+...1D-1I-1M.....1479....461
INF..........Wehrmacht '44....SdKfz 251/1+......3D-2D......1287....476
INF.......Fallschirmjager '44.......................1A-1A.......1308.....475
INF.........Gebirgsjager '44 ........................3D-1S.......1299.....496
INF..............Jager '44..........................1A-3D-2D......1311....485
INF.........Kradschutzen '44........................1S-1S........786.....422
Excellent heroes have made these guys the kings of rough terrain, none of them have ever been in any danger. Getting them to 5 stars has been slow going however, so I'll need to keep using them heavily.

In looking at Thejf's lay out for his se units and infantry I have a few thoughts.
First incredible job building up your SE units I see patience and not overuse in looking at your se kill count. I am accustomed to kills in the multiple thousands by the time a player reaches the 45 Campaign.

In looking at your kill count for your infantry gives me much hope as you have multiple infantry with over 1000 kills. This gives me hope for my units as their utility has been difficult to gain based on the lack of defensive battles thus far, but I know they are coming so hopefully I can acquire something similar by the end of 44.

Thanks for the breakdown as it made me very hopeful

[thejf]

Really like this idea of an outdated tanks SE lineup. Some rough ideas from my side for progression, only looking at tanks:
- 1940: Pz I
- 1941: Early Pz II, weak French tanks like the R35 and H35/39
- 1942: Late Pz II, short barreled Pz III, Pz 38(t), medium French/British tanks like the S35, Matilda and Valentine
- 1943: Short barreled Pz IV, T34/41, maybe Char B?
- 1944: Long barreled Pz III, T34/43, M4A2

Think joining the T34/SU lineups would make sense.

In looking at Thejf's lay out for his se units and infantry I have a few thoughts.
First incredible job building up your SE units I see patience and not overuse in looking at your se kill count. I am accustomed to kills in the multiple thousands by the time a player reaches the 45 Campaign.

In looking at your kill count for your infantry gives me much hope as you have multiple infantry with over 1000 kills. This gives me hope for my units as their utility has been difficult to gain based on the lack of defensive battles thus far, but I know they are coming so hopefully I can acquire something similar by the end of 44.

Thanks for the breakdown as it made me very hopeful

I've not put any effort in farming kills other then repeatedly shooting up some Conscripts once in a while and have made some effort in spreading out my kills, hence the relatively low numbers. The SE INF units will slowly get their kills, the AT's can farm a lot in the upcoming defensive scenario's as camo bridge guards if you so desire.
'44 is really the year for infantry to shine, they are vital as cornerstones of defensive positions.

Keep grinding, I actually found '44 to be easier then '43 so am curious to see what your experience will be there!

[Locarnus]

Really like this idea of an outdated tanks SE lineup. Some rough ideas from my side for progression, only looking at tanks:
- 1940: Pz I
- 1941: Early Pz II, weak French tanks like the R35 and H35/39
- 1942: Late Pz II, short barreled Pz III, Pz 38(t), medium French/British tanks like the S35, Matilda and Valentine
- 1943: Short barreled Pz IV, T34/41, maybe Char B?
- 1944: Long barreled Pz III, T34/43, M4A2

Think joining the T34/SU lineups would make sense.

For the time being I would keep the T-34, SU and KV in the normal lineup, until trying the joined T-34 & SU family a bit more. Will have to look a bit more into the Pz II and Pz 38(t) in tems of recon switch and so on.

My current thoughts about bonus SE lineup, taking your feedback into account:

1939 ......: Pz I
1940 ......: Polish tank?
1941 early: R35 or H35 or 39
1941 mid.: Somua, the rof of 8 makes it pretty weak despite the other stats.
1942 early: Valentine
1942 mid.: Panzer III J or Matilda ?
1943 early: nothing ? Not many battles until mid 1943 anyway in GC East.
1943 mid.: Panzer III M+
1944 early: M4A2 Sherman(r)
1944 mid.: Panzer IV J
1945 early: M4A2 76mm (r) ? Though that would be stronger than the best Panzer IV H+.

[goose_2]

Really like this idea of an outdated tanks SE lineup. Some rough ideas from my side for progression, only looking at tanks:
- 1940: Pz I
- 1941: Early Pz II, weak French tanks like the R35 and H35/39
- 1942: Late Pz II, short barreled Pz III, Pz 38(t), medium French/British tanks like the S35, Matilda and Valentine
- 1943: Short barreled Pz IV, T34/41, maybe Char B?
- 1944: Long barreled Pz III, T34/43, M4A2

Think joining the T34/SU lineups would make sense.

For the time being I would keep the T-34, SU and KV in the normal lineup, until trying the joined T-34 & SU family a bit more. Will have to look a bit more into the Pz II and Pz 38(t) in tems of recon switch and so on.

My current thoughts about bonus SE lineup, taking your feedback into account:

1939 ......: Pz I
1940 ......: Polish tank?
1941 early: R35 or H35 or 39
1941 mid.: Somua, the rof of 8 makes it pretty weak despite the other stats.
1942 early: Valentine
1942 mid.: Panzer III J or Matilda ?
1943 early: nothing ? Not many battles until mid 1943 anyway in GC East.
1943 mid.: Panzer III M+
1944 early: M4A2 Sherman(r)
1944 mid.: Panzer IV J
1945 early: M4A2 76mm (r) ? Though that would be stronger than the best Panzer IV H+.

This morning I finally finished the first 5 days of Olkhovatka. Took some nasty nicks of damage, that always frustrate me, but am overall pleased with my progress and positioning for this stage of the battle. It took me 2 days to finish recording as needed to take pauses to go to work.

I really want to emphasize minor country participation in SE options, especially Italian and Hungarian units. Prototype units should be on the table since I am running with a prototype unit right now in the 5cm Luch's and I will get Maus's to play with towards the end. So, let's not shy away from some of the equipment I already suggested like the TAS and the P-26/40, and other such fun stuff.

[Locarnus]

This morning I finally finished the first 5 days of Olkhovatka. Took some nasty nicks of damage, that always frustrate me, but am overall pleased with my progress and positioning for this stage of the battle. It took me 2 days to finish recording as needed to take pauses to go to work.

I really want to emphasize minor country participation in SE options, especially Italian and Hungarian units. Prototype units should be on the table since I am running with a prototype unit right now in the 5cm Luch's and I will get Maus's to play with towards the end. So, let's not shy away from some of the equipment I already suggested like the TAS and the P-26/40, and other such fun stuff.

Oh yep , real life can be an annoying interference

I did consider the P26/40 and the TAS. But the former seems to be very weak for early 1944, while the latter is strong enough for the regular core and thus overpowered for the bonus SE roster. I'll see what I can do to for the TAS with a different approach (which I still have to run significant tests for).

Maybe my previous lineup was a bit too much influenced by my desire to get the late Sherman in there. Going more towards the late powerlevel from thejf could incorporate the P-26/40:

1939 ......: Pz I
1940 ......: 7TP(p) r9
1941 early: H39(f) r8
1941 mid.: Somua S35(f) r8
1942 early: Valentine(r)
1942 mid.: Matilda(r) ?
1943 early: Panzer III J
1943 late.: P26/40
1944 early: Panzer III M+
1944 mid.: M4A2 Sherman(r)
1945 early: Panzer IV J

[goose_2]

This morning I finally finished the first 5 days of Olkhovatka. Took some nasty nicks of damage, that always frustrate me, but am overall pleased with my progress and positioning for this stage of the battle. It took me 2 days to finish recording as needed to take pauses to go to work.

I really want to emphasize minor country participation in SE options, especially Italian and Hungarian units. Prototype units should be on the table since I am running with a prototype unit right now in the 5cm Luch's and I will get Maus's to play with towards the end. So, let's not shy away from some of the equipment I already suggested like the TAS and the P-26/40, and other such fun stuff.

Oh yep , real life can be an annoying interference

I did consider the P26/40 and the TAS. But the former seems to be very weak for early 1944, while the latter is strong enough for the regular core and thus overpowered for the bonus SE roster. I'll see what I can do to for the TAS with a different approach (which I still have to run significant tests for).

Maybe my previous lineup was a bit too much influenced by my desire to get the late Sherman in there. Going more towards the late powerlevel from thejf could incorporate the P-26/40:

1939 ......: Pz I
1940 ......: 7TP(p) r9
1941 early: H39(f) r8
1941 mid.: Somua S35(f) r8
1942 early: Valentine(r)
1942 mid.: Matilda(r) ?
1943 early: Panzer III J
1943 late.: P26/40
1944 early: Panzer III M+
1944 mid.: M4A2 Sherman(r)
1945 early: Panzer IV J

Special Broadcast set up for today as working from home, same bat time, same bat channel.

[thejf]

I did consider the P26/40 and the TAS. But the former seems to be very weak for early 1944, while the latter is strong enough for the regular core and thus overpowered for the bonus SE roster. I'll see what I can do to for the TAS with a different approach (which I still have to run significant tests for).

Maybe my previous lineup was a bit too much influenced by my desire to get the late Sherman in there. Going more towards the late powerlevel from thejf could incorporate the P-26/40:

1939 ......: Pz I
1940 ......: 7TP(p) r9
1941 early: H39(f) r8
1941 mid.: Somua S35(f) r8
1942 early: Valentine(r)
1942 mid.: Matilda(r) ?
1943 early: Panzer III J
1943 late.: P26/40
1944 early: Panzer III M+
1944 mid.: M4A2 Sherman(r)
1945 early: Panzer IV J

This looks good, think the placement of the P26/40 would be OK here. For the TAS, both from flavour and balance perspective I would suggest making it available at Budapest '45. It is too strong to be made available earlier.

[goose_2]

Budapest also needs 43M Zrínyi

[goose_2]

or even 44M Zrínyi I

[thejf]

The Zrinyi's would be a nice addition as well, also the Maresal.

Progress update on my campaign: I've blasted my way through the first half of '45 with relative ease. The IS-2 has become more of a common sight so I've finally decided to max OS all my tanks and AT's to deal with it. The Jagdtiger has proved useful against the top Soviet tanks but I've been unimpressed with it otherwise.
The hunt for 5 star/3 hero units is going well. 60% of my army is now at 5 stars, of the rest 25% is at more then 475 XP so all are expected to reach 5 stars before Berlin.
8 units have triple heroes, all of them have been bad but I'd don't really mind anymore at this point.