Free Leaders?

[patton]

There is a chart in the GS manual (v. 1.05) which says that countries get certain free leaders in certain years. Is this like how Germany gets Runstedt in the queue in turn I? Am I going to get Manstein and Guderien in '41 for nothing? So am I a fool if I buy them earlier?

[pk867]

Hi,
You only get free leaders for those scenarios, 41, 42, 43, 44.
Scenarios that start later get the previous leaders also.

In the 1939 & 40' scenario you get Rundstedt and Graziani.

Paul

[patton]

OK, thanks.

So this leads me back to my earlier question. Why does it seem that I am consistently able to buy only about 50% of what everyone else is able to buy?

[Plaid]

OK, thanks.

So this leads me back to my earlier question. Why does it seem that I am consistently able to buy only about 50% of what everyone else is able to buy?

I never read AAR, when someone had Manstein + Guderian + Rommel for Barbarossa, maybe I missed though, but if I read about lots of german leaders in early game, most of them were cheap ones like Blaskovitz or Paulus, not all 3 best.
Leader's effects don't stack and range is 8, so you can easily play all pre-barbarossa with single Rundstedt, and for barbarossa buy someone else good (6+), two of them would cover all front line. So why do you want more leaders this early?
Adding +1 attack-like leaders to armour, for example, just to get +1 attack is very costly, it can pay off for soviet union in late game, when you have lots of spare PP and don't have room to deploy more units into frontline, or it can pay off in places, where unit numbers are limited by terrain features (italy, africa, greece, etc). But in 1941 russia you are not limited in space, so its better to purchase another armour + corps for same PP, then 3rd leader.
Also you should have sence, where you need leaders. Good ones cost lots of PP, and benefit for every single unit is not this great. Good idea, when leader covers entire frontline sector in russia - 10+ corps, some 2nd line mech/arm and airforce; but when you want to enhance with leader group of 2-3 corps (norway, finland, minor allied invasion in france,africa etc) maybe its just better to send 2 more corps and overwhelm opponent by numbers.

[patton]

In the game I am playing now, I have two rather than three leaders on the Eastern front. Working out so far. But before long the lines will get so extended that I will need three.

[Tordenskjold]

Interesting. Still, I have never been able to quantify the advantage a commander gives me. Can anyone do that? That will help a lot because as the Axis I can see no chance to get many of the good ones, they are too expensive compared with much needed war material.

[Plaid]

Unit's max effectivenes = 53 (or 57?) + effectivenes tech + commander's leadership * 2.
So commander increase max effectivenes and effectivenes regeneration rate of all land, sea and air units withing 8 hex range from him.

[patton]

Yes, I definitely see the effectiveness of units rise with good leaders. They can get up into the 90s. Never seen any with 100.

[Plaid]

Here you go.

I was sending it to my opponent, so it was slightly edited.