Units I have learned to love

[Stmcla]

Has anyone got units they first didn't value but have come to love.
Mine is the strategic bomber. I know lots of people said how good they were but I couldn't see the point as they seemed to do little damage. I only got one when I needed help in 42 at Sevastopol with the Soviet ships. Since then it has been great, the damage they do is better than I thought, they suppress units like artillery, and they are gaining exp really quickly.

On the other side of the coin I tried to love my recon unit and it was doing very well up to 41 when the soviets killed it every scenario, at which point I gave up.

Anyone else have recommendations of units worth a go which you might not consider normally?

[Resolute]

I really started to like StuGs either as AT or their artillery counterpart. The StuG III do last a long time and can later be transformed into StuG IV which are very decent artillery units. Whenever I get a range hero bonus on an artillery unit I turn them into a StuG IIIA, especially in scenarios like Stalingrad they really shine. Apart from that probably Nebelwerfer, the sound is awesome and they bring down infantery in no time. Almost forgot, captured SU-122 are excellent too.

[Anfield]

Strategic bombers are pure gold, if people arent using them they are really missing out. Apart from great ship killers, I find them key to taking fuel and ammo away from big tanks that are hard to kill. There im talking when you play AC but they work just as well late war for helping the Germans deal with the big Russian tanks too.

I also agree that the AI seems to feast on killing your Recon units, and I to no longer use them, I use airpower to recon ahead.

Number one unit I love is infantry, always has been and the new updates make them even more effective, Id like to see more people running more infantry in their cores as they really can be very effective. Units I just cant get to like and want to are are ATG. Id really like to use them but that move 1 just makes them impossible to play unless its a defensive battle. Id like to see medium and smaller ATG gets a 2 move so more useful. I bet that almost no one ever buys them as it stand now.

[ExiledZebra]

Can't really say I've come to love a unit that I hate, I've always tried to put at least one of everything in my core to add flexibility. Although in general I tend to be heavy on infantry and tanks, followed by artillery and aircraft. Last are usually antiaircraft and TD which, as Anfield mentioned, are quite shit certainly when they're static and you're 90% of the time on the offensive. Although Self propelled antitank and anti aircraft are part of my core in small numbers since they cost a butt load of prestige.

[antoniocapo]

The He-177 Strategic bomber is absolutely ridiculously awesome. They never get hit by non-AA attacks, those pesky American units that all seem to have (1) air attacks always hitting my tactical bombers. They have replaced all my tac bombers now, except for Rudel. Also the suppression from Strategic bombers is a money maker forcing surrenders of almost full strength units. I usually surround enemy tanks (juicier prestige), suppress all the strength points with a combination of artillery and Strat bombers then attack with a weak unit, so the tanks surrenders with more strength for more money.

Ever since the patch 1.20, i started to love the infantry. They really got bumped, and really hard to dislodge when in close terrain.

Im currently trying to get in love with the Stug III artillery as they are inexpensive and can take a pounding. Also despite that i dont see it doing much, it gets experience really fast. But i dont know, that range of 1 is frustrating me too.

[ThorHa]

StuGIII do deliver defensive cover as if they were range 2, though. Not documented but easy to spot. So the sequence where they really shine is: Drive it adjacent to attacked unit, attack. Drive suppressed unit out of its position. Get an own unit into that position, the StuG will cover an eventual counterattack next turn.

[Cromm10k]

The 8.8 Flak ... I always start campaigns and don't want to get any AA but when hords of enemy tanks enter the battlefield and swarms of allied bombers show up I get at least one of this beasts. Great tank killers and always good to keep your artillery save from bombers. Softening up fighters like the Spitfire before the Me Bf 109s go in for the kill is just icing on the cake. And it feels just wrong to do not bring an 8.8 around in France or at the Hellfire Pass in Northafrica.

[janscas]

The towed anti tank guns. They really are impressive in a defensive role and uncomparable when in a fortress hex.
The problem is that there are not a lot of defensive scenarios so they really get unused.

Also the recon units are impressive till 1941 and extremely usefull. I tend to use them "as tanks" but thats not the role they excell.
Use them to encircle pockets, force surrender, and go behind the line. All in the same turn. That's the clue. Also they are really usefull to capture cities and not lossing a turn in your tanks or infantry... (not to mention the spoting range).

The other units I love are the Stugs. Their high armor keep them safe while moving them around.

Strategic Bombers are one of the best class units. At the begining I tend to buy only stukas but strategic bombers are priceless.

[Stmcla]

Thanks guys for your suggestions. I have decided to buy another strategic bomber. My only concern is whether they are so useful when on the defensive which I guess I will be after 42. I have also bought a StuG AT. I have a Maurder AT and it has been doing OK but I never trust it in the front line, I tend to use it kill off damaged units. I’m hoping to upgrade to better AT units later and then maybe it can then go head to head with the Soviet armour.
I have 3 StugGIII and really like them. The range of one does mean you have to use them in the front line but supported by other units. The enemy do like attacking them so they do take a lot of damage, which means I do have to add replacements in game, something I generally try and avoid. They are tough and can take a lot of attacks. However they are cheaper than other units and if the enemy are attacking them they aren’t attacking more expensive units. The defensive range of 2 is very useful for helping other units. I read that someone uses them in pairs so they provide defensive cover for each other. I might try this method.
I have a couple of mobile AA units which have been doing OK. They move well across the map to attack enemy planes. I also place them next to trucks and artillery (planes favourites) and that seems to deter attacks. However they can spend long period inactive, so my love is not total. I also have two 88’s so I’m really down on those Soviet palnes.

[Naxor]

Panzer II luchs: Soft attack 6. Recon movement. Price only 219! Good cost effective infantry killer unit.

M5 Stuart: Good alternative to recon units. Spotting range 3, close defence 5, soft attack 6. Price 277.

M7 Priest: 3 range self propelled artillery for 258 prestige points. Not bad.

[Stmcla]

Enemy units I HATE.
Any AA units especially the pesky mobile ones that jump out of no where and lop 2-4 points of my expensive planes. I not sure there is any tactics against this unless you restart. I don't think the AI minds nearly as much when I do the same to him. There was a programme on BBC TV last night about human psychology and it said we feel loss far more greatly that gain. So if you lose £10 that will hurt more than the joy of winning £10. The recon that you would have to win £40 to cancel the loss of 10. I think it is exactly the same for PC.

[captainjack]

I loathe all those T90 SPAAG - I thought there were only about six of them made in total but I must have wiped out about 30 already in 4 scenarios!

I have started to love mobile AT, especially Elefants - in 43 East I now have three - one at 4* and two at 2*. The 4* one at 14 str can eliminate a KV1C in a single attack. Well worth the expense of the overstrength! In AK I had 5* Stug 3 with +5 attack heroes - with an effective HA of 30 or 31, this could take out a Churchill in one go! In AC the portee guns were quite good, though as soft targets they needed a bit more care where to put them, but they were dirt cheap.

Following someone's advice I read in a forum, if any Arty get a range hero they get converted to 21cm nebelwerfers once they become available. At range 2 they are a bit limited but a pair at range 3 is great for entrenched troops and for effective defence agains overstrength Soviet infantry. I don't like the low ammo of the 30cm, so I don't upgrade past 21cm.

My favourite tank has to be Churchill crocodile - acceptable HA and SA but with 140% ROF and high GD. With a bit of suppression, you can empty a fortified hex as fast as you like.

[timek28]

Enemy units I HATE.
Any AA units especially the pesky mobile ones that jump out of no where and lop 2-4 points of my expensive planes. I not sure there is any tactics against this unless you restart. I don't think the AI minds nearly as much when I do the same to him. There was a programme on BBC TV last night about human psychology and it said we feel loss far more greatly that gain. So if you lose £10 that will hurt more than the joy of winning £10. The recon that you would have to win £40 to cancel the loss of 10. I think it is exactly the same for PC.

I feel you man. SPAAGs are probably the most hated units, as you can not do too much to prevent them from crippling your planes (it seems they come out of nowhere). Especially the US half-track (MGMC) which has I think movement range of 8!! In that way it can sprint from deep within allied controlled territory. That is probably why you should never scout with planes too much ahead of your spearhead. In that way you could spot SPAAGs before they could fire on your planes. Even more annoying is air defense of most of allied tanks of 1. That 1 sometimes can take several SPs of your bombers.

The bottom line is caution when attacking and advancing. Good recon scouting, artillery and AA support and suppression are the only way to go.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

KV-2 is my worst enemy - even more annoying than IS-1s because you fight it with PZIIIs and IVs instead of Tigers

- BNC

[El_Jairo]

Strange to see that SP AA is only named as units that are hated and not loved to use yourself. I always want to add one ZdKfz 7\2 to my core but it can't be used as AT, so I stick to 88 AA/AT. I would like the mobility of a SP platform but I can't stand the idea that the unit will become useless after air targets are gone.

Or maybe I have overlooked this switch option and I have found a new unit to add.

PS: I played a little Flames of War and there the SP AA could shoot either defensive AA or offensive AT.

[antoniocapo]

PS: I played a little Flames of War and there the SP AA could shoot either defensive AA or offensive AT.

In the original Panzer General series the sp AA could attack ground targets too. That was actually done historically so i dont understand why they cant shoot ground targets in Panzer Corps. Thats the reason I never use any AA, and instead add extra fighters that i cultivate its experience methodically as to gain air superiority. Fighters are good at strafing tanks and trucks and finishing escaping weakened units. And AA cant defend your bombers, fighters can. Also hero tac bombers are great AA: Rudel, Helmut Lent and Bauer (Do335 from West Campaign).

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Reason I gave up on most airforce (exceptions WWI and Vanilla Campaign) is that they cost so much and then die quickly. Nothing like my WWI units - red baron in uk18 is the best unit the game will (probably) ever offer a player - almost equal to the best enemy fighter, plus 599 exp, plus 7 overstrength (ridiculous amount of power!)

- BNC

[Horst]

I would like the mobility of a SP platform but I can't stand the idea that the unit will become useless after air targets are gone.

My thought when I started to play PC and my initial motivation to start modifying the game. If you check out the Scenario Design forum here, then you will find a couple of threads about mods and icons where people are busy creating AT (or Arty) modes for existing units, and plenty other new units too.
Number one topic for AT modes: viewtopic.php?f=147&t=36536

No need to sit and sulk. Modifying games can be very fun (and addictive) and can change a game the way YOU want it. It's no rocket science learning to modify Panzer Corps. It's especially fun if you add more and more historical units to the game to use them in battles afterwards.

[ksasaki]

Yes, I've tried SP AA before, and they just sit around for 10-15 turns, it's pretty worthless...I also tried shooting down their biplanes on the first mission and my AA was struggling to shoot even those down.....

[antoniocapo]

Yes, I've tried SP AA before, and they just sit around for 10-15 turns, it's pretty worthless...

Agree. They feel great the one or 2 times a plane comes flying by (or doesnt cause they avoid the AA). But then theres nothing to do with them except pray for more airplanes attacks? Its a waste of core space. Perhaps they be a little more use if they cost 1/2 a deployment cost and could at least make weak ground attacks.