Soft Cap

[hugh2711]

I dont normally overstrength infantry except for the Movement +3 hero you get given which i keep withiot transport). Occasionally you do need that extra point or two to do a one shot kill or force a surrender but They are cheap to replace unlike tanks. Very important: As cerberus said force surrenders. I get loads of prestige from them. in ALLthe DLC's I look for opportunities where the computer has a task to take a certain thing or move a certain direction e.g over a bridge or river and I can corall them onto a killing field by squishing them. I use lots of artilliary so I largely suppress them with artilliary and then force a surrender and then they just keep coming. This has the added bonus of racking up kills/experience/heroes. I dont consider myself a very good player but i am sure if you managed to do a replay someone more experienced might have a look. Yes now that you mention it I have never done a replay iether

Also use mass attack when you can as this gives easier kills/less losses.
there is also somewhere an upgrade chart which gives all the units upgrade families in a timeline in an easy to read/glance at format. sorry tried to attatch it but it didnt work

[joe6778]

Most of what you said I already do (force surrenders, block crossings, mass attacks, etc.) it's just the number of Soviet units and counterattacks after 42 that frustrates, and ultimately defeats me. Starting in 43, there doesn't seem to be much strategy or tactics - just hold off the swarms of enemy units. By the time I do that, my units are so beat up that I can't take the victory locations for DVs.

I will certainly follow your suggestions in regard to spending/saving prestige. I always thought overstrength units were needed to defeat stronger Soviet units.

[turn4441]

To create a replay, all you have to do is click on the 'Save Replay' button when at the Scenario End screen where you see 'Triumph', 'Decisive Victory', etc. It is on the right end beside the 'Proceed', 'Review Battlefield', etc. buttons at the bottom of the screen.

I concur, 43 East is a bear, I'm at Prokhorovka and my progress in the game has slowed as I have gotten tired of the pounding. Anymore, I typically count how many Russian units I've killed and even if I think I've pretty much killed them all and there is little space left on the map, if I haven't killed somewhere around 160, I know there's probably more to come. I don't know how people do it either. Even heroed, overstrength Tigers suffer when they are attacked numerous times, turn after turn. You finally fend off one wave, only to be hit by 20 fresh overstrength units before you can reload or get replacements. You try to protect your air assets, but AA and fighters only shoot once and that doesn't help when they keep bringing more new overstrength units. I'm on turn 17 of Prokhorovka and so far I've killed 123 units (20 of them fighters) and just got hit by another wave of at least a dozen 12-14 strength T-34s and KV-1Bs. There are currently 34 units that I can see and I'm sure others that I can't yet. I think it's telling that the number of 'Let's Play's declines significantly after the first 3 DLCs.

I've also tried mirroring others, including playing the exact same moves as Braccada for early missions when our units are the same and it is apparent that his opponent does not roll nearly as luckily as mine. I may have to try dice chess too (even though he isn't using it). My irritation is not from the occasional 'lucky' roll by the AI, it's that they consistently have higher dice rolls than I do (recorded from the combat results screen). It probably evens out, but my high rolls are usually wasted when I'm rolling 10 against 2 (both suppressed). The AI consistently rolls more 90+ values especially when it has a very low kill chance. For example, at Prokhorovka, a 2 strength infantry with 1 entrenchment in clear terrain, first rolled a 98 for a rugged defense and then 2 '99's on a 6% kill chance taking 2 points off my Tiger while my 6 strength Tiger rolled 6 values of less than 20 on an 80% kill chance so it didn't even scratch a unit it should steamroller. Yes, I've monitored it and the AI averages about 56 on dice rolls while I average in the upper 30s. Guess I'm just incredibly unlucky.

Anyway, good luck.

[hugh2711]

there are some scenarios in gc43 that just drain your prestige but there are some you can gain it overall. If you give me some way of sending you a small file; a 'save game' from just after starting gc43 but before upgrading. It will have lots of prestige and a good selection of units. If you play that scenario and save it after, i will have a look. I will also do the same and we will swop. Its on general level (I usually play on field marshall).
You may be surprised at the amount and strength (heroes and experience) but as I said before the later dlc's are 'won' (not that you can actually 'win') by the little choices you make in the earlier ones.

I upgrade tanks as soon as available but only overstrength the se ones. Its the heroes and experience that make them stand up to whatever attacks. The reason I disband captured tanks for the prestige is the time and effort you spend nurturing them to get a hero and experience could give you a strong german one and remember the captured ones have no upgrade path, they are a technological dead end. I tend not to buy or use AT untill the stug 3 comes out. I can do that as I usually have enough tanks. As for arty I go straight from the 10cm to the 17cm, specially if I have a range + 1 hero. I use wufrahmen alot, they are awesome with range hero. I use a mix of towed arty and sturmpanzer, thses get upgraded to sig 33/88 when available. I tend to capture and use two out the three available su-122's because they are tough. the captured arty from warsaw north becomes a wufrahmen. I nurture a strong airforce plus at least one 88 AA, also an sdkfz 7/1 AA but dont always use them in every scenario.

[joe6778]

I totally agree with turn4441 about the relentlessness of the AI starting in 43. I used to dread even starting up another scenario because the punishment never ended until the scenario did.

I started a new 39 campaign and I'm now beginning 40 with 7578 prestige and 22 core units. I'm using dice chess and no soft cap.

I can usually breeze through the early campaigns, but I want to see if my game improves on Colonel difficulty after following all these tips you have provided.

[hugh2711]

I think 22 units is a little low. Have you lost some core ones? What have you got? what heores and experience do they have?

[joe6778]

I lost a core unit in Warsaw.

My units have at least 200+ experience except for an airborne unit I purchased for Eban Emal.

I have movement +1, initiative +1, defense +1 on INF units, a fighter with a +1 attack, the recon pilot I got at the beginning of 39, and one +2 attack, +2 defense, +2 spotting tank.

2 Eng
1 Gren
2 Gerb
1 Fall
3 38ts tanks
1 Sd Kfz 222
1 SE PzIVD
5 10.5 ART
1 captured 105 wz 29 ART
2 Me109s
1 Ju 87B
1 HE111
1 Bf110c (recon hero)

[hugh2711]

The last time I started gc40 I had similar infantry:
2 pionere
1 gerber.....(M+3 i+3 hero)
1 para
1 grenadier
1 inf (D+2)
I am not worried about infantry because they are cheap and you get alot more free infantry with bonus heroes along the dlc's.
4 x 105 cm arty (2 star)
4 x sturmpanzer (2 star)
1 captured arty
I suspect you are a little light on arty hence you dont get enough covering fire when attatcking or defending.
Airforce:
3 109's and this is the least I have ever had, normally i have at least 4
1 x 88 (2 star) + 1 x sdkfz 7/1 (the 4 barralled one with the high rate of fire) + he111 (2 star)
1 x bf 110 2 star which is a freebie A+1 i+6 hero from spoils of war which because of the high initiative makes a good fighter (as well as bomber) in the early dlc's. Its the only reason I do the spoils of war scenario.
Since your air units are a bit light I suspect? you are not winning the air war early on which you need to do in the early dlc's while you still can. otherwise thier air power will take points off your units all scenario perhaps this is where the prestige is going?. You may want to focus on your initial air strategy. As I said earlier When they are not doing anything else I wil strafe with my fighters to build up experience and kills level for those all inportant heroes and of course if you press 'l' after a combat you will see how important experience (and heroes) is in the calculations. I dont just defend with my air power I will always seek to exterminate units so they dont come back when restored. If I attack I usually make sure there is enough to outright destroy. Much later on you cant be so aggressive. Usually in thier first move thier airforcce has set targets/places they go to. you (early dlc's) can set traps or units in place already.
Tanks: by this time I have the two heoroed up freebie tanks (3f's) AND I have 2 free SE tanks (immediately upgraded to max) and I am expecting a third soon as that is the max se for this dlc. Because they are all free thats cheap and they tend to be the busiest and get stars quick. In the early dlc's I rarely have to repair them as I have already killed the airforce and have lots of covering arty.

yes some the gc43 east scenarios are just depressing

[joe6778]

I'm having no problems with my air force at this stage of the campaign- 3 ME 109s and the Bf100, plus a JU 87B and an HE111.

You think that my six ART units aren't enough?

[joe6778]

I've noticed that by not overstrengthing my tanks and INF, I'm losing core units and having some of them very badly damaged.

Do you reinforce during the scenario? If so, do you use elite reinforcements?

[TSPC37730]

You don't even overstrength INF?

I bet this is at least part of your problem. If you use overstrength too much, you'll burn through your prestige way too fast. I try to limit my overstrength use to artillery, AA & strategic bombers. These units don't take damage very often & therefore the prestige won't be quickly wasted.

How soon do you upgrade units like tanks and ART?

IMO, the tanks you start out with should be upgraded twice. Once to Pz III's or Pz IV's in '40, and then to Panthers & Tigers in '43. I'm not counting upgrades within the family here however. I don't upgrade artillery that much, unless it's to take advantage of a movement or range hero. The one upgrade that you can't afford to miss is the upgrades of your infantry to their respective '43 versions. It make a huge difference. Good luck!

[TSPC37730]

I lost a core unit in Warsaw.

My units have at least 200+ experience except for an airborne unit I purchased for Eban Emal.

I have movement +1, initiative +1, defense +1 on INF units, a fighter with a +1 attack, the recon pilot I got at the beginning of 39, and one +2 attack, +2 defense, +2 spotting tank.

2 Eng
1 Gren
2 Gerb
1 Fall
3 38ts tanks
1 Sd Kfz 222
1 SE PzIVD
5 10.5 ART
1 captured 105 wz 29 ART
2 Me109s
1 Ju 87B
1 HE111
1 Bf110c (recon hero)

The one thing I don't see here is a flak 88. Generally I keep mine next to artillery units. They're also excellent in their secondary AT role against some of the heavier French & British tanks.

Don't forget to upgrade the Rudel recon unit to a 110D.

I'd also upgrade a few of your artillery units to the 150mm sFH 18 versions. You get a little more punch for a loss of 1 ammo.

[Psyx]

Over strength is good...in the right place. Over-used it leeches your Prestige badly.

Infantry invariably needs in-field reinforcement, so a point of overstrength is always worth it for them. Given that a point of in-field reinforcement is comparable in cost to a point of overstrength, it's best to pay up-front and at least briefly have an extra attackdice. In the case of mountain troops, or other infantry that does not has transport, a second or third overstrength is well worth considering, because it is so cheap.

Other things that I overstrength:

All AAA [overstrength to maximum]: It sits back, so seldom takes casualties.
Strategic bombers[overstrength to maximum]: Overstrength really helps them sap ammo, they have high defence, and they should not be getting shot at.
Some arty [overstrength to 11 or 12]: Specifically high defence stuff and guns witha lot of range, which should not be taking casualties.
Some of the multi-role/long range assault guns [to 11-12]. Again, these should not be getting shot much, as they are either pounding at range, or picking on suppressed targets.
Flametanks: These are only used to hit fully suppressed foes as part of mopping up, so are 'safe' fromenemy attack, generally.
Recon [to 12]:So cheap that it's worth getting the inevitable repairs in early!

Around '43-44 I consider a point of over strength on some armour. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I do not. It depends on if I think the unit will need repairs in-field.

[joe6778]

You don't even overstrength INF?

I bet this is at least part of your problem. If you use overstrength too much, you'll burn through your prestige way too fast. I try to limit my overstrength use to artillery, AA & strategic bombers. These units don't take damage very often & therefore the prestige won't be quickly wasted.

How soon do you upgrade units like tanks and ART?

IMO, the tanks you start out with should be upgraded twice. Once to Pz III's or Pz IV's in '40, and then to Panthers & Tigers in '43. I'm not counting upgrades within the family here however. I don't upgrade artillery that much, unless it's to take advantage of a movement or range hero. The one upgrade that you can't afford to miss is the upgrades of your infantry to their respective '43 versions. It make a huge difference. Good luck!

I'm not overstrengthing my INF based on the advice I've received here; only my SE units, ART, and air units. The problem is, I'm losing core units or having them so damaged that they're useless for the rest of the scenario. That's why I was asking should I replace damaged units during the scenario and if so, should they be elite replacements?

[goose_2]

I am enjoying see the advice and assistance being given on this thread.

Just to add minor points to join conversation.

First 2 Campaigns, limit any elite replacements especially in 39 as they will likely hit the experience max relatively easy.
Only overstrengthen arty's and Bomber's.
If you are going East train as many extra units as you can in a given scenario so that your troops can take losses when you get to the later part of the war. (especially extra arty, infantry, fighters, bombers)
You do not need to buy anything more than 2 to 4 tanks, instead use the tanks that you are awarded for capturing extra objectives, I am talking about Somua, Char B's, and Matilda 2's. Especially in Russia just a ton of great equipment, that you can work to get a great first hero and then save in reserve to upgrade to Tiger 2's later in the war.

Buy and use a lot of artillery.
Easy to build up experience and what they get as their First hero is oh so important. (Only keeper's are attack, defense, movement, and Range heroes. Spotting heroes sell and retry.)
Sell off anything but SE Panzers. Upgrade them to Tiger's when you can, upgrade to Tiger 2;s as soon as they become available. Overstrengthen them later in the war because it does not effect your soft cap.
Avoid buying replacements in scenarios as much as you can and if you are playing with a lot of artillery and proceed cautiously and only attack when suppressing the enemy or when it is close to fully suppressed.
You should have over 20k by the end of 1940 with at least around 50 to 60 units that you are working to build up if you are going East, if West just be working with your best units and work mainly with your super heroes as they are about the only units you will be taking into the cut off scenario.

That is off the top of my head and all I have time for at this point.
Hope this helps.

[joe6778]

I'm trying to follow what you're saying but I'm still in the dark.

Main question: what do I do about losses during the scenario to my units? Elite replacements, regular, or just pull them away from the battle? I'm losing core units, or having them severely damaged during the scenario.

What do you mean about training as many units as I can?

Buy only 2 to 4 tanks? That won't be enough for 43-45 East when the Soviets have endless amounts of units.

I try to proceed cautiously, but sometimes time is of the essence and I have to push things.

[goose_2]

My suggestion is to watch Night Phoenx's postings.

He started out in 1939 buying only elite replacements and focusing only on his core forces that he would be bringing into every scenario.
And he is playing on Rommel difficulty.
In 1940 I figured out how to start posting comments on you tube, yes I am that dumb, and started giving advice.

He started applying my advice along with another poster amed Von Chocker and he is now doing such a marvelous job with his lay out and strategy that his postings will be helping me as I battle on Manstein level.

Battling on Manstein level is insane and requires buying replacements during the battle, but I limit replacements to almost always exclusively regular replacements during a battle, at least in 1939 and 1940.
Between battles it is much cheaper to buy elite replacements and free to give them regular, but if you are playing with enough artillery back up and proceed cautiously and steadily you can almost avoid any casualties, at least watching Night Phoenix's playthroughs on Rommel.

Just because it says you will hit 4 versus them hitting 0 does not mean it will happen that way, especially if they get a Rugged Defense, that is why arty and Full Suppression is very important.

At Manstein level, you cannot avoid casualties, but you can absorb losses if you build up a strong enough base of core units.

On Guderian You have to rush forward quickly to get Decisive and you have to take risks, but any other level can be proceeded with caution as on Manstein you will have to settle for a lot more Marginal Victories.

[joe6778]

I don't think I'll ever play on the higher difficulties because Colonel is insane enough after 42.

I lost my SE PzIVD during the French counterattack at Amiens. And it was overstrength!

Is there a link to night phoenix?

[hugh2711]

was your se p4 protected by any artilliary?.
I only take on tank to tank contests if I think I will win.
I still think you should not be needing to do so much replacements during the game although I am at a loss to see where the damage is coming from.
Presumably you are taking into account terrain effects in all contests? i.e. not attacking on hills, forests or towns with tanks? .so not attacking with infantry head on to tanks?

remember for gc43 you should have an extra 6 se tanks, gc44 have seven extra, gc45 eight extra although that last one is a little weaker as it is not 'trained' i.e. have experience and hopefully heroes.
As I suggested before I suggest you start a multiplayer game with someone a little more experienced who would be prepared to suggest strategy tweaks that might stem these losses.

[NightPhoenix]

Haha Goose_2 is too modest about his own role in this. I must admit that his teachings together with those of von_choker, have taught me the ropes about this game. Especially when it comes to managing your army, replenishments, how to deal with SE units, surrenders, how to build up your force, heroes etc. etc. Pretty much everything.
The links to my playthrough are here, i'm currently starting the GC 41'. I can only recommend you to the playthroughs of Goose_2 on the forum here for manstein and guderian runthroughs, if we are lucky enough, we might even get to see more replays, we'll see.
Unfortunately i have no advice to give you on the 43' and later scenarios as i've never played those, but it seems to me that having the right composition of army with some decent heroes and saving prestige should give you the results you want? =P basically what other people were saying indeed. Testing a certain map to get a feel for where the enemy comes from and what their composition of forces is would help tremendously as well, then do a run for real afterwards.

39': https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... QZnmSozBp4
40': https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... lxMpGtu0pm