Noob Questions

[Ebusitanus]

Hello!
First off, apologize if this question has been made hunderd times already and there is even a sticky for it. Not see it.

Anyways...

I have been looking into Panzer Corps for a few days now watching youtube AAR and what not.

I am interested and would like mto try it out.

Where do I start in February 2016? The Africakorps stand alone and then the Grand Campaign megapack on top of it? Any other combination you would suggest to someone who has loved board games since the eighties and would like to give this game an honest try.

Thanks in advance!

[braccada]

Well, there is no single "right" answer to that.

I think the regular Wehrmacht campaign is still a good starting point. Followed by one of the "themed" shorter campaigns like Afrika Korps, Operation Sea Lion or Allied Corps. Which one only depends on your liking. The Grand Campaign on the other hand is massive. So reserve quite a bit of time for it. I have not started that one myself, but I hear it is great

Maybe another point: If you do not like turn-based victory conditions you could skip the Wehrmacht campaign or grant yourself extra turns via the advanced settings.

[Ebusitanus]

I understand that the original game is the one that came with the Wehrmacht campaign, right? So, unless this original game is bought there is no way to "skip" it with the more modern releases that might have gathered it as part of their new packaging.

I understand that it is preferable to play this original game and then one of the scenarios (Africa/Seelöwe..) before even thinking about touching one of the major campaigns.

[goose_2]

I understand that the original game is the one that came with the Wehrmacht campaign, right? So, unless this original game is bought there is no way to "skip" it with the more modern releases that might have gathered it as part of their new packaging.

I understand that it is preferable to play this original game and then one of the scenarios (Africa/Seelöwe..) before even thinking about touching one of the major campaigns.

I bought the Vanilla Campaign, back in December 2014 and was so hooked after playing through the Tutorial.

I started the Wehrmacht Campaign and after going straight to Norway after winning the first Polish scenario I decided that was too quick, so I bought the entire Grand Campaign.

I have not finished the Wehrmacht campaign as I have been hooked on Multiplayer and Grand Campaign ever since.

So in answer to what I believe you are asking in your question, no you do not need to finish the Wehrmacht Campaign to go on to any other Campaign.

You can start any Campaign at any time, and have fun in each and every sandbox these creators have developed.

This game is so much fun, enjoy every aspect of this great game.

[Ebusitanus]

More doubts..

So..I went ahead and bought the Africa game and then the 39 Grand Campaign. I have not found any sort of tutorial missions there though. Can I access those?

Second issue.
While I was looking over the new adquisitions I get an email were I am offered all the expansions to download through steam

http://store.steampowered.com/app/268400/

Are these compatible? If I would take advantage of this massive offer would my game get updated the same as I would from downloading the titles from the official website?
How does this work?

Thanks!

[Ebusitanus]

I beg for a reply to my doubts. I would like to start playing away but do not want to miss out neither on tutorials nor good deals to get more titles.

Thank you for your time

[TSPC37730]

So..I went ahead and bought the Africa game and then the 39 Grand Campaign. I have not found any sort of tutorial missions there though. Can I access those?

I believe that the tutorial scenarios are available only as a part of the base PC game. Since you bought AK & the 39 GC game, they wouldn't be included.

You can also try a search on YouTube - there's a number of PC videos out there.

If you have any experience with the old Panzer General game from the 90's, the game play is very similar. There are a few important tweaks & changes which make a difference though. Good luck!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Try pressing the gear symbol on the campaign selection screen. This *should* load the tutorial (unless it is locked because you don't have PzC Wehrmacht, but I don't think that will be the case)

- BNC

[verstaubtgesicht]

I beg for a reply to my doubts. I would like to start playing away but do not want to miss out neither on tutorials nor good deals to get more titles.

Thank you for your time

go and watch Braccada's videos on youtube. The best tutorial you'll ever get (but watching him play out scenarios might be a spoiler...)

[Ebusitanus]

Hello all again,
I finally bought the whole package deal up to and including Sealion and Allied Corps hahaha

Anyways..I am dutityfully watching the Youtube tutorials and trying to learn the finer arts of this game.

On the same time I started today the tutorial missions and this brought me a few quick questions I hope you might help me out with. Here they go and many thanks in advance.

As the first missions come by I am being asked to build say core units up with Recon cars, more inf, more tanks, upgrade them, buy Falischirmjäger and Stukas, etc...

- Are these units I am buying going to stay with me when I eventually start the real war?

- Is there a list somewhere to know what sort of units I should be using given the available units? I do not want to start building up something that is a dead end.

- Should I buy grenadiers and ditch the wehrmacht infantry? How does one sell or get ridd of units he wants exchanged?

- I have seen several tutorials noticing the players do not fill their unist up with reeplacements and wait up until game end. Why? Only to save some prestige points?

[terje439]

Hello all again,
1. As the first missions come by I am being asked to build say core units up with Recon cars, more inf, more tanks, upgrade them, buy Falischirmjäger and Stukas, etc...

- Are these units I am buying going to stay with me when I eventually start the real war?

2. Is there a list somewhere to know what sort of units I should be using given the available units? I do not want to start building up something that is a dead end.

3. Should I buy grenadiers and ditch the wehrmacht infantry?

4. How does one sell or get ridd of units he wants exchanged?

5. I have seen several tutorials noticing the players do not fill their unist up with reeplacements and wait up until game end. Why? Only to save some prestige points?

1. Have not played the tutorial, so cannot help with that, sorry.
2. Imo, the only dead end for the Germans are the Pz38s. ALthough you will need to use them early on as they are some of the better tanks at the start. However, try to upgrade into 2 classes of tanks, PzIII and PzIV when they become available. As the PzIII and PzIV starts to upgrade, upgrade within the class. Aka, PzIIIe -> PzIIIg, PzIVc -> PzIVd etc, as this saves you alot of prestige.
3. It is a matter of taste I suppose. I only have my SE units as grenadiers, the rest I use engineers, since they are better at attacking entrenched enemies than the other infantry classes, both engineers and grenadiers have lower movement though, so it is a tradeoff.
4. You want to upgrade your units, not sell them. The experience you have in a unit is kept if you upgrade them. This can be done during the scenario (leave the unit in a town for a turn and press the upgrade button), but is usually best done between scenarios.
5. Yes. Espesially at higher difficulty levels, prestige is not something you can afford to waste.

[Ebusitanus]

Any hint to what should be my 1939-41 troops set up then? What would you change, how many of each and so on.

[Aloo]

Hello all again,
1. As the first missions come by I am being asked to build say core units up with Recon cars, more inf, more tanks, upgrade them, buy Falischirmjäger and Stukas, etc...

- Are these units I am buying going to stay with me when I eventually start the real war?

2. Is there a list somewhere to know what sort of units I should be using given the available units? I do not want to start building up something that is a dead end.

3. Should I buy grenadiers and ditch the wehrmacht infantry?

4. How does one sell or get ridd of units he wants exchanged?

5. I have seen several tutorials noticing the players do not fill their unist up with reeplacements and wait up until game end. Why? Only to save some prestige points?

1. Have not played the tutorial, so cannot help with that, sorry.
2. Imo, the only dead end for the Germans are the Pz38s. ALthough you will need to use them early on as they are some of the better tanks at the start. However, try to upgrade into 2 classes of tanks, PzIII and PzIV when they become available. As the PzIII and PzIV starts to upgrade, upgrade within the class. Aka, PzIIIe -> PzIIIg, PzIVc -> PzIVd etc, as this saves you alot of prestige.
3. It is a matter of taste I suppose. I only have my SE units as grenadiers, the rest I use engineers, since they are better at attacking entrenched enemies than the other infantry classes, both engineers and grenadiers have lower movement though, so it is a tradeoff.
4. You want to upgrade your units, not sell them. The experience you have in a unit is kept if you upgrade them. This can be done during the scenario (leave the unit in a town for a turn and press the upgrade button), but is usually best done between scenarios.
5. Yes. Espesially at higher difficulty levels, prestige is not something you can afford to waste.

re 1. I didnt play it for a very long time but I think they dont go over to the other campaigns.
re 2. You can play without the Pz38(t). I think its worth working on the PzIII and PzIV ASAP. You should know that Me 110 upgrades later on to Me 410 so its nice to have one or two in your core after a while. The IIRC the best strat bomber is the Ju188 to which the Ju88 upgrades.
re 3. You will learn what works best for you. I like to have a few Fallschirmjäger, grenadiers and normal inf. A good idea is to upgrade to Grenadiers if your inf gets a movement hero.
re 4. selling only makes sense with non-experienced captured units or if you really need the prestige. You get prestige for disbanding during setup phase.
re 5. The difference in prestige cost to replenish the unit while in battle and in setup phase is bit and it compounds in the course of the grand campaign. If you dont need the wounded unit to win the battle let it stay back and fix it in base.

I didnt play for a while so I hope there were no big changes.

[terje439]

Any hint to what should be my 1939-41 troops set up then? What would you change, how many of each and so on.

I do not recall from the top of my head how many spaces you have in your core, but I would try to get something like;

a) 4 infantry
b) 5 tanks (2xPzIII, 3xPzIV)
c) 2 artillery
d) 1 self propelled tank destroyer. This unit class starts out rather weak, but when you get the StuGs they are really worth it imo
e) 3 fighters
f) 2 tactical bombers
g) 1 strategic bomber

Why I use these units;
a) you need those to dig the enemy out of cities/forests/mountains etc
b) well, they are tanks... USe them to attack enemy hard targets, and protect your own soft units
c) bombard with these before sending in infantry or tanks.
d) they have good hard attack value, and when they are upgraded into the StuGs, they are REALLY good at taking out bunkers.
e) you need these for air supremacy, and when that is achieved, use them to attack ground targets. Granted they will not do alot of damage, but they will reduce enemy entrenchment levels.
f) When you face the heavy French/USSR tanks, you will be grateful for your Stukas.
g) very good against naval targets and for causing suppression on enemy units. Can also be used to neutralize enemy cities, preventing them from building new units there.

Something like that is a good mix imo that allows you to take on most of what the enemy will throw at you, but I will rather say that you should try a few scenarios and get a feel on how your style of play is, as the setup of your core depends upon how you play.

[RVallant]

Hello all again,
I finally bought the whole package deal up to and including Sealion and Allied Corps hahaha

Anyways..I am dutityfully watching the Youtube tutorials and trying to learn the finer arts of this game.

On the same time I started today the tutorial missions and this brought me a few quick questions I hope you might help me out with. Here they go and many thanks in advance.

As the first missions come by I am being asked to build say core units up with Recon cars, more inf, more tanks, upgrade them, buy Falischirmjäger and Stukas, etc...

- Are these units I am buying going to stay with me when I eventually start the real war?

- Is there a list somewhere to know what sort of units I should be using given the available units? I do not want to start building up something that is a dead end.

- Should I buy grenadiers and ditch the wehrmacht infantry? How does one sell or get ridd of units he wants exchanged?

- I have seen several tutorials noticing the players do not fill their unist up with reeplacements and wait up until game end. Why? Only to save some prestige points?

1 - The tutorial is stand alone if I remember right. It is just to get you used to the mechanics. I would play the tutorial 2-3 times, read and re-read and get the basics down. It does teach useful things there.

2. There isn't really a 'dead end' in terms of units as you should be able to upgrade them (at a cost). There are units that become obselete as the years go by (Grand Campaign) - For example Stuka bombers are excellent anti-tank planes, but in the later years they are a liability because they get destroyed with comparative ease by superior enemy planes.

3. If you're in the grand campaign, normal Wehrmacht infantry is a good versatile option. They have 3 movement and so you don't need to give them transports. - In the GC the time limit is very forgiving, so you don't need to rush as much. In the normal campaign, Afrika Corps, Allied Corps, Soviet Corps etc the time limits are short, so you need speed, so you're better off with Grenaiders etc + transports.

The way I break it down is like this:

Infantry - I like them, I use them a lot - In the GC you need them early and mid-war because there is a lot of poor terrain and city fighting (tanks are useless there). Late war, enemy forces will one-shot infantry even in forests and cities if they're not backed up with lots and lots of artillery etc. =/

Normal Infantry - Most balanced type.
Mountain - Have special movement, higher Anti-Infantry but weaker vs Tanks. Some people 'game' the system and use Mountain infantry early on and then upgrade to normal Infantry in 1943.
Grenaiders (Heavy weapons) - More 'defensive' units, good for holding cities etc.
Engineers - "Offensive" units, they don't get rugged defence events, so they're good for attacking enemy cities - However, they have poor defence, and poor initiative. You shouldn't attack with them unless you have used artillery and bombers first, and don't defend with them. Initiative = who shoot first, so they will usually fire last.

Paratroops - Offensive units with low ammo, these guys are great early war but are very situational. Later on they are weaker because the AI stacks lots of units 'behind the lines', so they can't deep-strike as well as you might expect.

Bridge - Create bridges, situational, keep out of combat obviously!

Tanks - Early war of Grand Campaign you don't need too many. Late war, you need loads. Early German tanks = crap. Late German tanks = Great, but very expensive. Russian tanks? Awesome. British tanks? Slow, but very hard to get rid of. In Grand Campaign you will probably capture and use British/French/Russian tanks because they're usually better.

Tanks come in four/five different types (they combine)

1 - Anti-Infantry Tanks - These tanks have high soft attack, low hard attack - Early war tanks tend to be like this. The Panzer IV starts out like this.

2. Anti-Tank Tank - These tanks have very high hard attack, but low/medium soft attack - The Panzer III series starts out like this.

3. Balanced Tank - Late war tanks tend to have a good mix of Anti-Infantry and Anti-Tank weaponary - The Panther tank for example.

4. "Heavy" Tanks - The Tiger and King Tiger Tanks (Germans) or the KV and IS series (Russian) or the Matilda (UK) tanks. These are slow, but have very high defence, you use these to lead the line and defend your units. Note, these tanks have a movement of 3-5, which means they can stay ahead of normal Infantry, perfect.

5. "Fast" Tanks - The Panther (Germans), or the T-34 (Soviets) or the Cruiser (UK) tanks. These tanks are fast, but they don't have as much defence as the heavy tanks. You use these to 'strike' at the opposition and flank them or bypass areas. But you need to be careful, because the AI will target them and destroy them with their heavy tanks. Use them for emergency, or to help infantry or whatever. Never use them to run away and attack without Heavy tanks to support them.

So, you can have Heavy Anti-Infantry tanks (UK/France have a lot of these) or Light Anti-tank tanks etc. Mix and match. In the end you will usually have your Heavy Tanks and your Fast Tanks, but early game for Germany you will have Anti-Infantry and Anti-tank models.

Anti-Tank Guns:

Come in two varieties;

1. Static - These are very hard to use for Germany, but are great for Soviets. You use them on defence = great. Late war? Not so good, because Tanks become so powerful that they one-shot them sometimes.

2. Tank Destroyer - These are Anti-Tank guns on wheels, they look like Tanks, but they are very bad vs Infantry. Tank Destroyers = great, Soviet TD Guns = Amazing. German TD guns = very situational. Germans did TD research far, far too late. Sometimes you can use them, sometimes you can't. When you get Stugs = fun times, when you get PanzerJagers = Fun times. Before then? Oh dear. Still, very good units to use, because they're cheap and cheerful!

Artillery Guns:

Also 4 types:

1. Static = These NEED transport, but are very good.

2. Mobile = These don't need transport, you send them with tanks for fun times. However, they are weak vs air, so need to protect them.

3. Normal Artillery = The smaller artillery = Suppress enemies. You want small artillery (3 range) when you fire vs Infantry and cities. Big artillery = More damage = Good Vs Tanks, not so good vs Infantry. Early on, you can stay with small guns, it is better in every way. Later on, a mix is better because enemy tanks will laugh if you point small artillery at them...

4. Rocket Artillery = Boom, boom. Anti-Infantry. Get these ASAP and use them with Engineers to destroy enemy cities and Infantry. Not good vs tanks though, you need the normal artillery with big guns for that.

Anti-Air Units:

Lots of people ignore these. Very bad people. Anti-Air = VERY good units, cheap, easy to replace, do lots of damage, protect your tanks and artillery. = Better than fighter planes? It will save you money in long run.

Two types:

1. Static = Only good in defence, say, if you are defending city, you put artillery behind Infantry and you put the AA gun behind Artillery. Planes will cry when they see it. Big guns like 8.8 Ack Ack (Germans) = do massive damage to enemy planes. Also, some of these can switch into Anti-Tank guns. = All good. In Soviet Corps these are great weapons because early Soviet planes = crap.

2. Mobile = These you use to travel with your tanks. Tanks = weak vs bombers, doesn't matter if you have Heavy Tank or Light Tank. Bomber sees them? Bye bye tank. Mobile AA = ruins enemy plane's day. Also, very cheap, very cheerful. Get AA with half-tracks or tracks. Wheeled AA = good but needs roads, won't keep up with tanks cross-country. These guys on attack = 2-3 damage, crap right? On defence? 2-6 damage. If you use Anti-Air units, enemy planes = weaker, means when your own planes attack you don't lose damage = saves you more money! And you NEED money, late war Soviets (Grand Campaign) will take all your money.

Fighter Planes:

Too many people buy 20+ Fighter planes. Don't do this. Fighter planes = very expensive. Fighter planes have two roles:

1. Escort bombers.

2. Rule the skies.

Early war (Germany, grand campaign) German planes = the best, you fly, enemies cry. Late war? You fly, you give Russians £1,000. Or US laughs at you.

Two types of fighter planes:

1. Anti-Fighter planes - These have high initiative + high air attack. You use these to fight enemy fighters, beware, if both teams 10/10 and equal you will be looking at 4-5 HP loss each battle. This makes planes expensive, you want fighter planes to swoop in, make kill with 0-1 loss. How to do that? Having a better plane = one way, but second way is to use Anti-Air to weaken enemy air force so you can wipe them out nice and quick.

2. - Anti-Bomber planes - These have good attack but low initiative. Don't use vs enemy fighters, use vs bombers, because Initiative doesn't matter vs bombers.

Best example? Anti-Fighter plane = Spitfire. Anti-bomber plane = Hurricane. Spitfire has better initiative than Hurricane, means that Spitfire will fight better vs German ME planes than Hurricane will.

You have two choices; Either buy two types of plane, or buy best plane all the time. Second option = more expensive, more painful, first option = you might not get enough planes. Always need to think about this, depending on your playstyle. A lot of people feel 5 planes = enough. But beware, bad weather = planes do nothing (same applies for AA though.)

Tactical Bombers:

Bombers = fun, bombers = anti-tank, don't use them vs infantry, don't use them vs Cities. Two types:

1. Anti-Tank bombers - Think of the famous Stuka. See tank? Bye bye.

2. Mixed-role bombers - These are bombers that can also fight other planes. Very good because you can use them to fight enemy bombers and then bomb tanks later. Means they can help your fighters to win the air-war.

Early Grand Campaign = Stuka rules, late on? Nope.

Strategic Bombers:

Anti-Navy, see a boat? Send these guys, bye bye boat.

Second thing, Strategic bomber = Flying artillery. You need extra bombs on a city or infantry unit? Send these guys in. These guys help you maintain mobility, if artillery runs out of ammo, or you need extra bombs, these guys fly in and do the job. The more experience = the BETTER they get. 15 Strategic Bomber Vs City = all infantry suppressed.

Also, they destroy enemy ammo, means you can bomb tanks, infantry, whatever and they end up with 1 ammo left. Means it is easier for you to kill them. Strategic bombers = very, very under-rated units. I always try to bring 2-3 of them, love them, but same problem as all air units = very expensive, don't lose them.

I think that's everything?

[Ebusitanus]

Thank You SOOOO much for this veritable essay worthy almost of a sticky

I am skipping the Wehrmacht Campaign and going straight for the 39 Gran Campaign down the long road towards the US West Coast

[goose_2]

Grand Campaign does not take you to the US West Coast, but have fun.

I am having fun slogging through in the East and am at the 1942 campaign having a grand ole time.

I go heavy on the arty as they are the work horses of your assault.

Love me some Force Surrender