Slitherine

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2025 1:56 pm**

Few comments:
- The 7.5 cm ATs will start to get eaten by enemy tanks, especially unexpectedly with inclement weather and in cities, where they can appear out of nowhere. Strongly, strongly suggest moving almost all SE to infantry.
- Wurfrahmen is excellent; it's the panic button for "I need to suppress an IS/KV 6 hexes away in inclement weather," unless of course, you have:
- Some spotting heroes transferred to superheavy guns, which can almost guarantee 2-4 points suppressed/killed on the very heavy tanks.
- Air is going to be difficult for you. I think you will need to play extremely defensively and use as many 8.8/12.8 cms as you can muster. Note that overstrengthening fighters too much can be a bad thing; if you completely wipe an enemy bomber fighter-trapped over your Tiger II, you no longer have air cover over it.
- Nashorn and by extension 8.8 cm PaK are excellent for ambushing on roads. Need to make sure you're aware of any SU-76Ms and take them out immediately, however, or you may just lose your unit on the following turn.
- IMHO defense is actually quite wasted on infantry. Enemy armor will never fire on them, and it's a blunder to rely on them to cover open hexes, even with very high defense. Guards '43 will definitely not hesitate to attack infantry, but you should have at least 1 artillery cover.
- Since you have the prestige I think, I would really recommend moving some initiative heroes on the most impactful units: high experience infantry (to guarantee no casualties while mowing down enemy armor in cities; see the initiative math a couple pages back) and your best tanks.
- I don't think you will be able to safely use your air force effectively and may just have to take some traffic jam marginal victories or even losses in '44/'45.

(I am on an extended lack of will to play hiatus staring down Berlin!)

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:29 pm**

goose_2 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 22, 2025 3:00 pm Thanks for this breakdown this gives me real hope seeing stats like this by the end of 43. Maybe I can get 50% to 2nd hero status. You seem poised to actually get quite a few more to 3rd heroes then I thought even possible.

I started Orel, I had to bring some units I was hoping to rest before Kursk, but other than a couple of mistakes it is going really, really well. I am going on my family vacation tom, but should be back up to regular postings come Sunday.

Thanks again for the breakdown.

Good to hear that you are still moving forward. I was indeed please with the stats at the end of '43, hope you can get some nice heroes as well.

@eskuche/locarnus: thanks for the detailed feedback again, some quick comments:

- SE: I'm fully aware that the 7.5 AT's will be no match for Soviet tanks going forward. However, I'm just having so much fun at the moment with my ambush-based tactics that I don't want to switch yet. If needed I can easily switch to INF, which I already did with my Cavalry.

- Tanks: Definitely will use the JgdPzIV, even the /48 version looks like an excellent deal with that 18 GD at only 420 prestige. One of the StuG III will go there. The Pz IIIN has become a Panther D, to become a Panther G later on (I decided to treat the dg's as breaking rule of 1). I've received another bunch of INI heroes in Korsun Pocket: now have 5 (!!) 1M/1I units, one of which I'll make a "camo Nashorn". The 2A/3D StuH is now a Pz IV H+ to see if he can survive on the front line like that. The Marder IIIM is benched to be transformed into a Jagdpanther later (that crew will be happy!).
My final INF unit without a 2nd hero got a 3D hero in Korsun, so plenty of DEF heroes now on my infantry. Might mean a big round of swapping with the 1M/1I units once my tanks can no longer survive the Soviet onslaught.

Arty: I'll get me a Wurfrahmen, but what type of heroes would you advice for it? As much attack as possible? Or also one range hero? The switchable 15 sFH only has ROF 7 on it's range 4 mode, so does not seem to be a useful upgrade for the 10.5 sK 18.

Air: I tend to play the air game quite defensively, so am doing quite well so far. It's very nice that no Soviet SPAAG has range 2 yet, they are rarely able to touch my units. Not really afraid of the one-shot-kill issue as the Bf109 is lacking attack power -> only one trap in Korsun resulted in a full kill (on a 1 star 10 strenght bomber)

Am fully prepared to take some cheap MV's/losses if I cannot keep my core intact otherwise.
Current overstrenght policy: everything max except tanks and AT's

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2025 6:00 pm**

No Soviet SPAAG has 2 range period, something I only noticed very very late. So your fighter cover 1 hex back is almost always safe. This is nice.

Wurf doesn't need a specific hero, but range helps some tricky positioning or opening a position to air bombardment if there is a second row SPAAG.

I honestly think that if you really really really wanted to you could take full mission losses to Berlin and still probably end up fine.

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:15 pm**

goose_2 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 23, 2025 4:26 pm Quick Update before I leave for Holiday with family.

This morning I recorded a shorter middle broadcast, but only able to play four days, which means the last part will be a marathon 9 day broadcast. Hope I can do it.

By the by I counted 10 units capable of getting 3rd heroes for thejf, that has me very hopeful for my playthrough as the 2nd heroes are extremely sparse right now, but looking at al the kills he acquired in 43 makes me think it is doable.

See you Sunday!

Yep, enemy overstrength really improves the kill count in 43, hopefully hero rng will be ok.
9 turns is a lot in 43, at least 43e3 gives lots of prestige for 43e4 repairs and upgrades.

eskuche wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 1:56 pm - Some spotting heroes transferred to superheavy guns, which can almost guarantee 2-4 points suppressed/killed on the very heavy tanks.

They are certainly a great way for "promoting away" a less useful hero unit. Since practically non of the heroes drastically improve their effectiveness anyway. At least if you have the prestige surplus to purchase them.
I'm still not sure about changing some of those rof/strength restrictions. But I'm having limited time at the moment and spending most of it on the Fw 190 and twin engine fighter bomber balancing problems (see next post).

eskuche wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 1:56 pm - IMHO defense is actually quite wasted on infantry. Enemy armor will never fire on them, and it's a blunder to rely on them to cover open hexes, even with very high defense. Guards '43 will definitely not hesitate to attack infantry, but you should have at least 1 artillery cover.
- Since you have the prestige I think, I would really recommend moving some initiative heroes on the most impactful units: high experience infantry (to guarantee no casualties while mowing down enemy armor in cities; see the initiative math a couple pages back) and your best tanks.

I agree that the defense heroes are more valuable for protecting eg overstrength on some of the very expensive tanks.
For infantry I like high defense heroes for making the SdKfz 250 transports more useful. 8 half-track movement can make the difference for an encirclement and the defense buff can make the difference for the counterattack. But that is not everyones cup of tea.

eskuche wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 1:56 pm (I am on an extended lack of will to play hiatus staring down Berlin!)

Fully understandable, you really sprinted through the GC!
To regain motivation for the quasi final Berlin, it might help to just go all out on some of the more niche or even paper units, eg Sturmpanther, Jagdsturmtiger, Do 335 and so on.
That still leaves room to complete Berlin with your normal core at some point, while allowing a more care free first attempt?

thejf wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:29 pm - Tanks: Definitely will use the JgdPzIV, even the /48 version looks like an excellent deal with that 18 GD at only 420 prestige. One of the StuG III will go there. The Pz IIIN has become a Panther D, to become a Panther G later on (I decided to treat the dg's as breaking rule of 1). I've received another bunch of INI heroes in Korsun Pocket: now have 5 (!!) 1M/1I units, one of which I'll make a "camo Nashorn". The 2A/3D StuH is now a Pz IV H+ to see if he can survive on the front line like that. The Marder IIIM is benched to be transformed into a Jagdpanther later (that crew will be happy!).

Some of that hero rng makes me doubt the randomness. Some games use other stats to influence the rng.
Camo Nashorn can hurt a lot, both the enemy and yourself. I guess the Jagdpanther would supercede the Nashorn as the StuG IIIs replaced the Marders. Unfortunately the powerful Jagdpanthers were built in so limited numbers.

thejf wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 3:29 pm Arty: I'll get me a Wurfrahmen, but what type of heroes would you advice for it? As much attack as possible? Or also one range hero? The switchable 15 sFH only has ROF 7 on it's range 4 mode, so does not seem to be a useful upgrade for the 10.5 sK 18.

As eskuche said, range would be good to either keep it a bit further away or alternatively being able to hit enemy units further back with that great alpha strike. Though it also works fine without heroes, just needs more care due to low ammo and low defense.
10.5 sK 18 with rof 9 is significantly better for eg suppressing lower defense soft untis like infantry, but worse when suppressing heavily armored units like IS-2, compared to the 15 sFH range 4 with rof 7 (and roughly equal when suppressing enemy T-34-85s). The neat thing is, that for most situations you can use the 15 sFH in range 3 mode with rof 8 (which is nearly always stronger than the 10.5 sK 18 rof 9) and only use the range 4 mode when needed.

Posted: **Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:36 pm**

So, with limited time atm, I tried to focus on finding a way to rebalance the Fw 190 and most of the currently overpowerd twin engine fighter bombers.

For the twin engine fighter bombers, I think I'll nerf either their ini OR air defense rating, depending on the particular unit.
This would still keep them strong in the escort role, but makes them weaker in a direct 1 on 1. Thus enouraging enemy fighters a bit more to pick on them, as was the case historically.

For the Fw 190 balancing, a +2 ini for -1 air defense trade-off is the most viable option I see at the moment.
This would make them weaker in some situations, eg in equal experience 1 on 1 fights, but would give them a considerable boost when used with mass attack ini support and/or when they have considerably more experience than the enemy fighters (eg 5 vs 3 stars).

I'm still not sure how to deal with early and late Fw 190s, but that would imho be a decent option for roughly 43 and 44.

Posted: **Sun Apr 27, 2025 7:32 pm**

Hello,

I am discovering this mod. Nicely done BTW. I am playing Grand Campaign East 1944.
I also tried various scenarios.
When I select France scenario I have a scenario versus USSR. Is it a mistake since all other standalone scenarios are working (Poland, Norway, Barbarossa) ?

In Mc Guba version 2.4 (so without your mod on top of it), I can play France as standalone scenario.

Thx for your answer.

Posted: **Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:12 pm**

Locarnus wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:15 pm Some of that hero rng makes me doubt the randomness. Some games use other stats to influence the rng.
Camo Nashorn can hurt a lot, both the enemy and yourself. I guess the Jagdpanther would supercede the Nashorn as the StuG IIIs replaced the Marders. Unfortunately the powerful Jagdpanthers were built in so limited numbers.

The amount of MOV and INI hero's I'm getting is indeed becoming quite extreme.
I've just reached Poltava after relatively easily getting through the Korsun missions and JassyKishinev, so now also have the Jagdpanther and King Tiger in my arsenal. So the Marder now got his Jagdpanther upgrade. Decided to not take risks anymore with my Nashorn and put him in the King Tiger. He is 5 stars with 1M/1I heroes so should become a killing machine even without high os.
No reason to change anything else yet, am still dominating the Soviets in both ground and air.
Only got a few new heroes in the past two missions: 2D on a flak to put him at 3D (will swap him with my 3A/1D T-34 to get more AA hitting power) and 1M on a arty putting him at 2M (maybe something for an 8.8 AA?)

Locarnus wrote: ↑Fri Apr 25, 2025 7:15 pm As eskuche said, range would be good to either keep it a bit further away or alternatively being able to hit enemy units further back with that great alpha strike. Though it also works fine without heroes, just needs more care due to low ammo and low defense.
10.5 sK 18 with rof 9 is significantly better for eg suppressing lower defense soft untis like infantry, but worse when suppressing heavily armored units like IS-2, compared to the 15 sFH range 4 with rof 7 (and roughly equal when suppressing enemy T-34-85s). The neat thing is, that for most situations you can use the 15 sFH in range 3 mode with rof 8 (which is nearly always stronger than the 10.5 sK 18 rof 9) and only use the range 4 mode when needed.

I've now moved my 1R Nebel into it, with my trusty Polish arty becoming a Nebel and the mountain arty becoming a stuH 44 to try and also get them a second hero. The 10.5 sk 18 is the +2M unit, I'll put him in the new switch arty for now and move the "old" sFH into a Hummel. I'm going to try to do without the big siege guns, can see their value but don't feel they belong in a GC run. Might eat my words later on though...

Posted: **Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:32 pm**

2M might be good on the 8.8 cm PaK or the large 30 cm nebel, both of which are cheap, very strong units, with positioning issues. If you don't have a morser yet might be worth that too. I don't think the siege guns are mandatory, but they made breaking/holding certain positions a lot easier. In Sonja's D2R campaign, I think I very significantly invested in 4-6 (!!) Gustavs, using a huge percentage of my prestige.

Posted: **Sun Apr 27, 2025 10:30 pm**

RobertCL wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 7:32 pm Hello,

I am discovering this mod. Nicely done BTW. I am playing Grand Campaign East 1944.
I also tried various scenarios.
When I select France scenario I have a scenario versus USSR. Is it a mistake since all other standalone scenarios are working (Poland, Norway, barabrossa) ?

In Mc Guba version 2.4 (so without your mod on top of it), I can play France as standalone scenario.

Thx for your answer.

Welcome to the Addon!
Oh, Grand Campaign East 1944, thats a tough one. Did you import a core from 1943?
I'm not sure I adjusted the starting core of GC East 44 (which is used when not importing the core from end of GC East 43). If I forgot to do so, you might have some different units, especially powerful bonus SE tanks and so on. I'll have to check this, thank you for reminding me!

Hm, "BE France" scenario seems to work for me.
You speak about Barbarossa scenario. That scenario name should not show up in in the scenario menu, it should be called "BE Battlefield Europe" instead, like "BE France" and "BE Poland" and so on (to differentiate from the other scenarios like "aTest" and "AK Brevity" and so on). Something might have gone wrong with your install?
It sounds like files from the "2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon" are missing (step "3 of 5" from the install instructions in the first post of this thread), which has to be installed after Battlefield Europe 2.4 (step "2 of 5" and the latest Addon update (step "4 of 5", currently version 2025-04).
I highly recommend doing a clean reinstall from step 1, especially if your current install was started on BE 2.3.

thejf wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:12 pm The amount of MOV and INI hero's I'm getting is indeed becoming quite extreme.
I've just reached Poltava after relatively easily getting through the Korsun missions and JassyKishinev, so now also have the Jagdpanther and King Tiger in my arsenal. So the Marder now got his Jagdpanther upgrade. Decided to not take risks anymore with my Nashorn and put him in the King Tiger. He is 5 stars with 1M/1I heroes so should become a killing machine even without high os.
No reason to change anything else yet, am still dominating the Soviets in both ground and air.
Only got a few new heroes in the past two missions: 2D on a flak to put him at 3D (will swap him with my 3A/1D T-34 to get more AA hitting power) and 1M on a arty putting him at 2M (maybe something for an 8.8 AA?)

5 star King Tiger with move and ini hero is indeed a monster, especially with the rof improvement first and the full strength version later. The only ground unit that has to fear no other unit, not even a late IS-2, and can even hold out in close terrain against enemy infantry.
I'm always torn regarding the late T-34-85. Better than a late Panzer IV (and faster), but overshadowed by the equally fast Panther. I mostly like to keep one for variety.

thejf wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:12 pm I've now moved my 1R Nebel into it, with my trusty Polish arty becoming a Nebel and the mountain arty becoming a stuH 44 to try and also get them a second hero. The 10.5 sk 18 is the +2M unit, I'll put him in the new switch arty for now and move the "old" sFH into a Hummel. I'm going to try to do without the big siege guns, can see their value but don't feel they belong in a GC run. Might eat my words later on though...

I'm also a bit hesitant regarding the Gustav, since they had to build special "aiming curves" whenever they wanted to deploy it. I personally favor the 28cm Kanone 5, even though it does less reliable damage against hard targets. But then again, I also prefer the 17cm K 18 towed arty over the 21cm Mrs 18, maybe I just like the increased range.

eskuche wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 8:32 pm 2M might be good on the 8.8 cm PaK or the large 30 cm nebel, both of which are cheap, very strong units, with positioning issues. If you don't have a morser yet might be worth that too. I don't think the siege guns are mandatory, but they made breaking/holding certain positions a lot easier. In Sonja's D2R campaign, I think I very significantly invested in 4-6 (!!) Gustavs, using a huge percentage of my prestige.

I like 2m on an 8.8, either Flak or Pak. Perhaps slightly leaning towards Pak due to camo move in dry conditions. I could not warm up to the towed 30cm Nebel due to the 4 ammo, though I like the Wurfrahmen with 3 ammo for some reason.
4-6 Gustavs? Thats a lot of firepower depending on the rail network! I'll have to take another look at Sonja's stats for it.

Oh, before I forget, next update is roughly planned for Thursday (1st of May), but no guarantees at the moment. It will be much smaller than the last ones anyway due to lack of time in April.
If there are any really small requests or bug reports, I could take a look.
Will also check the Grand Campaign chapter starting cores, when not importing cores from GC 1939 throughout!

Posted: **Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:11 pm**

Locarnus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 10:30 pm 5 star King Tiger with move and ini hero is indeed a monster, especially with the rof improvement first and the full strength version later. The only ground unit that has to fear no other unit, not even a late IS-2, and can even hold out in close terrain against enemy infantry.
I'm always torn regarding the late T-34-85. Better than a late Panzer IV (and faster), but overshadowed by the equally fast Panther. I mostly like to keep one for variety.

Same here regarding the T34/85, as long as I cannot fill all my slots with big cats I'll keep it around. But it needs some good heroes. It is quite cheap however, which cannot be said of the KV-85 which is top of the list for replacement now.

Locarnus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 10:30 pm I like 2m on an 8.8, either Flak or Pak. Perhaps slightly leaning towards Pak due to camo move in dry conditions. I could not warm up to the towed 30cm Nebel due to the 4 ammo, though I like the Wurfrahmen with 3 ammo for some reason.
4-6 Gustavs? Thats a lot of firepower depending on the rail network! I'll have to take another look at Sonja's stats for it.

I'll go PAK, think he needs the extra move more then the Flak who is pretty much stationary with good initial positioning.

Locarnus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 10:30 pm Oh, before I forget, next update is roughly planned for Thursday (1st of May), but no guarantees at the moment. It will be much smaller than the last ones anyway due to lack of time in April.
If there are any really small requests or bug reports, I could take a look.
Will also check the Grand Campaign chapter starting cores, when not importing cores from GC 1939 throughout!

Just one small typo from my side: in the purchase screen the FW 190 G8 uses the full name of the G3, which is a bit confusing.

Posted: **Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:45 pm**

thejf wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:11 pm Just one small typo from my side: in the purchase screen the FW 190 G8 uses the full name of the G3, which is a bit confusing.

Ah, thank you, will correct that!

I also did another check regarding the Fw 190 A rebalancing and some significant issues showed up.
I'm really having trouble with the game engine mechanics in that regard.
Might have to settle for some more minor adjustments for now.

The rounding can also skew the perception in that regard, eg if a Fw 190 is predicted to take 1.6 damage and a Bf 109 is predicted to take 1.4 damage, the former is shown as 2 and the latter as 1 in the non-detailed map view.

But the biggest issue is balancing either for normal strength, equal experience and 1 vs 1 (current balancing)
OR overstrength advantage, experience advantage and mass attack advantage.

Posted: **Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:32 pm**

Locarnus wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 6:45 pm
Ah, thank you, will correct that!

I also did another check regarding the Fw 190 A rebalancing and some significant issues showed up.
I'm really having trouble with the game engine mechanics in that regard.
Might have to settle for some more minor adjustments for now.

The rounding can also skew the perception in that regard, eg if a Fw 190 is predicted to take 1.6 damage and a Bf 109 is predicted to take 1.4 damage, the former is shown as 2 and the latter as 1 in the non-detailed map view.

But the biggest issue is balancing either for normal strength, equal experience and 1 vs 1 (current balancing)
OR overstrength advantage, experience advantage and mass attack advantage.

I was pretty sure it always rounded up but correct me if I'm wrong.

Posted: **Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:14 am**

any chance I can see your thoughts on the saved game I sent you?

Posted: **Tue Apr 29, 2025 6:04 pm**

eskuche wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:32 pm I was pretty sure it always rounded up but correct me if I'm wrong.

Just checked again, 2.48 expected kills is shown as 2 in the map prediction (or rather -2 since expected losses are displayed). So commercial rounding seems to be used, eg [1.5; 2.5) is rounded to 2.

goose_2 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:14 am any chance I can see your thoughts on the saved game I sent you?

GC 1943e4 start upgrade recommendations
8684 prestige, after elite replacements to full strength for all understrength units and selling excess captured units.

>> The kill and experience count is from 43e3 start, no time to update those numbers at the moment. <<

red marker for a) no heroes, b) <500 kills, c) <300 experience
blue marker for a) r1 or 2nd heroes, b) >=1000 kills, c) >= 400 experience

UnitType ....... transport ... Hero ... SubscriberName ... KillCounter ... Experience with elite replacements

45 Ground units

8 non-hero bonus SE units
Std Kav 42 ...................... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 1054 ... 313 ... ==> 42M Toldi IIa
Standard Inf 42 ................... d1 ... PatrickLee ........... 747 ... 315
Marder I ............................ i1 ... Dimitri ................ 565 ... 315 ... ==> Marder III ?
7.62 Pak 36(r) /RSO ............. m1 ... PaulWilde ............ 391 ... 268 ... ==> 7.5 Pak 40 /RSO
Flakpanzer I r12 ............... m1a3 ... Makorin .............. 901 ... 368
7.5cm FK 16 nA /Horse .......... ?? ... Eskuche ................ 51 .... 72
plus 2 non-hero bonus SE units for the current 43 and the later 44 &45 grand campaign years
If bridge engineer is used, imho PatrickLee is best. But the transport costs for the bridge engineer are on top of that.
PaulWilde takes over 7.5 Pak 40 main AT duty from Gigiduru.

6 Infantry
Pioniere 42 .......... L3000 ..... m1 ... Soljaism .............. 661 ... 278 ... ==> Opel Blitz+ transport
Grenadiere 42 ...... Sd250/1 ... d2 ... RichardMartin ....... 665 ... 300
Jäger 42 ............................ d2 ... Artemis .............. 509 ... 275
Fallschirmjäger 42 .............. i1a2 ... Pullig ................. 758 ... 297
Kradschützen 42 ................... a1 ... PeteMitchell ........ 584 ... 304
Bersaglieri 42 ...................... a2 ... Kostia ................ 473 ... 250 ... ==> Sahariana ?
Not many new options here. The L3000 transport of the Pioniere can be upgraded to the Opel Blitz+, which has better defense and fuel for negligible price increase (and nice camo paint).

1 Towed AT (plus any bonus SE towed AT guns)
7.5 Pak 40 /Sd 11 ............. m1a2 ... Gigiduru .............. 604 ... 314 ... ==> 7.62 FK 288(r) r11 AT/Arty
This is imho a must do upgrade for training up experience. The recently added 7.62 FK 288(r) is outdated in the AT role, but when switched to arty mode it offers 3 range with 11 rof. And it is an in-family upgrade from the 7.5 Pak 40 (despite showing up at the end of the upgrade screen due to its late addition! You just have to purchase a new transport for it. The Opel Maultier is a nice compromise between mobility and price. But it also is in that GebG upgrade family when in arty mode, so it also has access to the SdKfz 250 and 251 transports.

2 Recon
Panzer II L+ ........................ d2 ... Goose .................. 727 ... 327 ... ==> Pz II Luchs 5cm
SdKfz 233 r9 ..................... s1s1 ... DanielS ................ 629 ... 334 ... ==> SdKfz 233+ r9

8 Tanks
Tiger I H r9s8 ....................... d2 ... Temis .................. 523 ... 409 ... ==> Tiger I H
Tiger P r9s8 ........................ m1 ... Gooseboy ............. 561 ... 326 ... ==> Ferdinand s8
Panzer III M ......................... a2 ... NightPhoenix ......... 703 ... 341 ... ==> Flammpz III r12 only for 43e4 ?
StuG III G ........................... m1 ... DoktorG ............... 803 ... 346 ... ==> StuG III G+
Panzer IV G+ ........................ s1 ... Rimski ................. 779 ... 277 ... ==> Panzer IV H
Panzer IV G ......................... s1 ... Soren ................... 587 ... 235 ... ==> Hummel r8, but wait until 43e5
T-34/43(r) r9 ....................... a3 ... 7Bowls ................. 652 ... 259
KV-1C(r) ............................. d2 ... Paramecium .......... 688 ... 275
Although the normal Tiger I has much better late upgrade options with the Addon than without it, I would only go with one normal Tiger. Just so expensive compared to other options. Instead of a second Tiger I, I would recommend getting another full strength long 8.8 into the fight, besides the understrength Ferdinand and the 8.8 Flak 41. See arty section below for my Nashorn proposal.

Imho Gooseboy should take the Ferdinand, whichs gets more kills and is less dependent on experience than the Tiger P+, as long as it is fighting enemy tanks in the open.
I know you are skeptical regarding the Flammpanzer III and the Panzerwerfer. But I used your savegame and just tested using both of them with 12 strength as a strike team against entrenched soft units in fortifications (Night Phoenix with Flammpanzer III and Singer with Panzerwerfer). It was devestating for the enemy and brought in so much more experience for Singer than eg using a Wurfrahmen instead of the Panzerwerfer against soft targets. It also required fewer own units, leaving more of them for other tasks. NightPhoenix can then take the StuH 42+ in 43e5 or 43e6.
I agree with Soren going Hummel, but imho only in 43e5, because the Hummel is needed for a transition in 43e4 (see below in the towed arty section).

10 Mobile Arty
Grille r8 ........................... m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ...... 663 ... 316
Wespe ............................... i1 ... Blast ................... 611 ... 313
Bison I r7 .......................... m1 ... Reoguru ................ 413 ... 305 ... ==> Lorraine GW r8
StuIG 33B r8 ..................... a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 564 ... 344 ... ==> Brummbär r8
Bison II (SturmPz II) r7 ............ d1 ... Festival ............... 600 ... 378 ... ==> Panther D
StuG III E+ r11 ...................... r1 ... RayCaster ............. 542 ... 429 ... ==> StuH 42+ only for 43e4 ?
10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............ m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 605 ... 391
Semovente 75/34 .................. d2 ... RightSide ............. 478 ... 354
Wurfrahmen 40 r8 .................. r1 ... Dneos ................. 705 ... 430 ... ==> Wurfrahmen 43
SU-122(r) r8 .......................... ?? ... Kapl ................... 126 ... 235 (accept only a2 or a3 hero)
Brummbär with that +4 attack on Locarnus is probably better than another Tiger I in many open terrain direct fire situations. With the added benefit of being able to switch to arty mode on top of that. Great choice.
RayCaster could take the StuH 42+ while NightPhoenix uses the Flammpanzer III. And then use the StuIG 33B in 43e5 or 43e6, when NightPhoenix takes over the StuH 42+. Also a 4 star 3 range StuH 42+ is practically an armored Hummel with 10 instead of 8 rof. For the first 2 Kursk scenarios requiring a DV, Soren with Hummel can join that in 43e5.

7 Towed Arty
10.5cm Polish arty ... Blitz ...... a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 790 ... 438
10.5cm leFH 18M .... Horse ..... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 641 ... 435
10.5cm sK 18 r9 ...... Horse ..... a1 ... ForestLaw ............. 637 ... 404 ... ==> Hummel r8 ==> Nashorn in 43e5 or 6 ?
15cm sFH r8 ........... Sd7 ........ r1 ... Raduku ................ 395 ... 396 ... ==> 15 sFH range3 r8
17cm K 18 r6 .......... Sd8 ....... m1 ... Kei ..................... 650 ... 364
21cm NblWf 42 ........ Horse .... m1 ... ElBaron ................ 491 ... 383 ... ==> Tiger P+
15cm NblWf 41 r11 ... Horse ..... a3 ... Singer .................. 509 ... 276 ... ==> Panzerwerfer for experience gain
ForestLaw via Hummel to Nashorn! In 43e4 upgrade Forest Law to Hummel and use as such and end Hummel in tank mode, then in 43e5 or 43e6 upgrade from Hummel tank mode to Nashorn tank mode (freeing up the Hummel for Soren). All are in-family upgrades, retaining the overstrength. And 43e6 has lots more enemy armor, where another long 8.8cm would be really useful, while 43e4 and 43e5 require DV, so a 4 star Hummel could help with that.
Raduku could take the 15 sFH range3 rof8, which can be switched to range4 rof7. Combined with the range hero, this could help the 17cm K 18 against the deeper enemy defenses, while retaining shorter range rof depending on the situation.
Singer should get 2 overstrength to 12 strength, then upgrade to Panzerwerfer. When used against soft targets, the Panzerwerfer with a3 hero is probably the fastest way to gain him experience. I guess 200% to 300% experience gain compared to the Wurfrahmen, which is massive on double FM! The 43e4 and 43e5 scenarios with all those soft targets in fortifications are practically made for a strike team consisting of 12 strength a3 hero Panzerwerfer and 12 strength a2 hero Flammpanzer III.

3 Anti-Air
8.8cm Flak 41 ........ Sd7 ....... m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 721 ... 313
Cannone 90/53 r8 ... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo ................. 462 ... 274 ... ==> Lancia da 90/53 r7 ?
SdKfz 7/1 r13..................... a3a1 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 603 ... 329 ... ==> SdKfz 7/1+ r13 or 7/2 r11
I think the SdKfz 7/2+ becomes available in 43e5, but like the SdKfz 7/1+ it only adds armor and thus makes it a hard target, while neither changing attack values nor rate of fire.

15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
Bf 109 G-6 .......................... d3 ... vonThüringen ......... 453 ... 325
Bf 109 F-4+ ......................... d3 ... CouchOffiziell ........ 408 ... 311
Fw 190 F-2 .......................... a2 ... MafujKhan ............ 372 ... 303 ... ==> Fw 190 A-5
Fw 190 G-2 .......................... d2 ... Alvarez ................ 280 ... 277 ... ==> Fw 190 F-3
Re.2002 .............................. a3 ... Noxush ................ 440 ... 350 ... ==> Re.2005
MC.205 ............................... a2 ... BlackVulture ......... 302 ... 316 ... ==> MC.205+
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945
I switched the recommendations for the Fw 190s. With the upcoming Fw 190 rebalancing, MafujKhan with his 3 stars and a2 hero could try the new A-5. While Alvarez could take the F-3 fighter bomber to gain experience.
Imho the MC.205+ is well worth the lower initiative. Just such a massive boost to air attack over the earlier MC.205 series.

2 Multi engine Fighter Bomber
Bf 110 G-2 ........................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 632 ... 317
Ju 88 C-6+ ........................... i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 545 ... 343 ... ==> Ju 88 A-4 or R-2 ?
The twin engine fighter bombers had to be nerfed. With several single engine fighters now having high air attack values, their niche will diminish. Bf 110 will have some more cannon ground attack options in the future.
Ju 88 general upgrade family will also have some more options, but much later.
If you want to boost Slender1870 experience, the Ju 88 A-4 is available, since AI181 can upgrade to Ju 188 now.

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
Hs 129 B-2 r11 ...................... a3 ... AratoBela .............. 717 ... 346 ... ==> Hs 129 BK
Ju 87 D-3 ............................ a1 ... cmbbfan ............... 672 ... 320 ... ==> Ju 87 D-5
Hs 129 BK is considerably better against hard targets than Hs 129 B-2+, despite having lower rof. But weaker against soft targets and enemy fighters.
Not sure about Ju 87 alternatives. Not too many enemy tanks in 43e4, but many soft targets and bunkers in 43e4 and 43e5! The Ju 87 non-G variants are afair the only aircraft with fortkiller trait, so they get +5 attack against those bunkers. With the Hs 129 BK being available for tank hunting, I'm leaning towards the Ju 87 D-5 for 43e4 and perhaps also 43e5.

1 Tac/Strat Bomber
Ju 88 A-4 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 438 ... 437 ... ==> Ju 188 E-1

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
Do 217 K ............................ d1 ... Richard ................. 307 ... 434
He 111 H-16 ........................ a1 ... RMA901 ................. 384 ... 432
The He 177 is finally available, but still has issues. Making it easy to postpone that purchase. The Do 217 K is still better and the Ju 188 is much more versatile.

Posted: **Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:51 am**

Locarnus wrote: ↑Tue Apr 29, 2025 6:04 pm

goose_2 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:14 am

8 non-hero bonus SE units
Std Kav 42 ...................... a3s1 ... Brodrick ............. 1054 ... 313 ... ==> 42M Toldi IIa
Standard Inf 42 ................... d1 ... PatrickLee ........... 747 ... 315
Marder I ............................ i1 ... Dimitri ................ 565 ... 315 ... ==> Marder III ?
7.62 Pak 36(r) /RSO ............. m1 ... PaulWilde ............ 391 ... 268 ... ==> 7.5 Pak 40 /RSO
Flakpanzer I r12 ............... m1a3 ... Makorin .............. 901 ... 368
7.5cm FK 16 nA /Horse .......... ?? ... Eskuche ................ 51 .... 72
plus 2 non-hero bonus SE units for the current 43 and the later 44 &45 grand campaign years
If bridge engineer is used, imho PatrickLee is best. But the transport costs for the bridge engineer are on top of that.
PaulWilde takes over 7.5 Pak 40 main AT duty from Gigiduru.

Toldi make ttal sense, thanks for that idea as I wanted to utilize one of those, but did not see it until you said it, so thanks. Paul Wilde makes sense based on what you said about Gigiduru, I was thinking utilizing a Marder 1 and Marder 3, but for now these make sense. If I decide on using a Bruckenpionere again I will utilize without a truck, but not sure I will utilize at all.

1 Towed AT (plus any bonus SE towed AT guns)
7.5 Pak 40 /Sd 11 ............. m1a2 ... Gigiduru .............. 604 ... 314 ... ==> 7.62 FK 288(r) r11 AT/Arty
This is imho a must do upgrade for training up experience. The recently added 7.62 FK 288(r) is outdated in the AT role, but when switched to arty mode it offers 3 range with 11 rof. And it is an in-family upgrade from the 7.5 Pak 40 (despite showing up at the end of the upgrade screen due to its late addition! You just have to purchase a new transport for it. The Opel Maultier is a nice compromise between mobility and price. But it also is in that GebG upgrade family when in arty mode, so it also has access to the SdKfz 250 and 251 transports.

You finally sold me on the arty switch for this one and of all things it was this item that did it: But it also is in that GebG upgrade family when in arty mode, so it also has access to the SdKfz 250 and 251 transports. I have been wanting to utilize that transport.

8 Tanks
Tiger I H r9s8 ....................... d2 ... Temis .................. 523 ... 409 ... ==> Tiger I H
Tiger P r9s8 ........................ m1 ... Gooseboy ............. 561 ... 326 ... ==> Ferdinand s8
Panzer III M ......................... a2 ... NightPhoenix ......... 703 ... 341 ... ==> Flammpz III r12 only for 43e4 ?
StuG III G ........................... m1 ... DoktorG ............... 803 ... 346 ... ==> StuG III G+
Panzer IV G+ ........................ s1 ... Rimski ................. 779 ... 277 ... ==> Panzer IV H
Panzer IV G ......................... s1 ... Soren ................... 587 ... 235 ... ==> Hummel r8, but wait until 43e5
T-34/43(r) r9 ....................... a3 ... 7Bowls ................. 652 ... 259
KV-1C(r) ............................. d2 ... Paramecium .......... 688 ... 275
Although the normal Tiger I has much better late upgrade options with the Addon than without it, I would only go with one normal Tiger. Just so expensive compared to other options. Instead of a second Tiger I, I would recommend getting another full strength long 8.8 into the fight, besides the understrength Ferdinand and the 8.8 Flak 41. See arty section below for my Nashorn proposal.
Imho Gooseboy should take the Ferdinand, whichs gets more kills and is less dependent on experience than the Tiger P+, as long as it is fighting enemy tanks in the open.
I know you are skeptical regarding the Flammpanzer III and the Panzerwerfer. But I used your savegame and just tested using both of them with 12 strength as a strike team against entrenched soft units in fortifications (Night Phoenix with Flammpanzer III and Singer with Panzerwerfer). It was devestating for the enemy and brought in so much more experience for Singer than eg using a Wurfrahmen instead of the Panzerwerfer against soft targets. It also required fewer own units, leaving more of them for other tasks. NightPhoenix can then take the StuH 42+ in 43e5 or 43e6.
I agree with Soren going Hummel, but imho only in 43e5, because the Hummel is needed for a transition in 43e4 (see below in the towed arty section).

The Nashorn idea has merit, and I appreciate the idea, I am assuming that the artillery upgrade is within family? As far as the Panzerwerfer Flamm combo goes it does not make sense to me, but I will try it out based on your feedback. It made sense to me to have 2 wurfrahmen, because those Wurfrahmen are soft boy shredders, but I will submit to your suggestion. Also no 2nd Tiger.

10 Mobile Arty
Grille r8 ........................... m1 ... PanzerVorwärts ...... 663 ... 316
Wespe ............................... i1 ... Blast ................... 611 ... 313
Bison I r7 .......................... m1 ... Reoguru ................ 413 ... 305 ... ==> Lorraine GW r8
StuIG 33B r8 ..................... a2a2 ... Locarnus .............. 564 ... 344 ... ==> Brummbär r8
Bison II (SturmPz II) r7 ............ d1 ... Festival ............... 600 ... 378 ... ==> Panther D
StuG III E+ r11 ...................... r1 ... RayCaster ............. 542 ... 429 ... ==> StuH 42+ only for 43e4 ?
10.5 leFH auf B2(f) ............ m1a2 ... Pierre .................. 605 ... 391
Semovente 75/34 .................. d2 ... RightSide ............. 478 ... 354
Wurfrahmen 40 r8 .................. r1 ... Dneos ................. 705 ... 430 ... ==> Wurfrahmen 43
SU-122(r) r8 .......................... ?? ... Kapl ................... 126 ... 235 (accept only a2 or a3 hero)
Brummbär with that +4 attack on Locarnus is probably better than another Tiger I in many open terrain direct fire situations. With the added benefit of being able to switch to arty mode on top of that. Great choice.
RayCaster could take the StuH 42+ while NightPhoenix uses the Flammpanzer III. And then use the StuIG 33B in 43e5 or 43e6, when NightPhoenix takes over the StuH 42+. Also a 4 star 3 range StuH 42+ is practically an armored Hummel with 10 instead of 8 rof. For the first 2 Kursk scenarios requiring a DV, Soren with Hummel can join that in 43e5.

7 Towed Arty
10.5cm Polish arty ... Blitz ...... a3 ... MichalGolaszewski ... 790 ... 438
10.5cm leFH 18M .... Horse ..... m1 ... Raunosavolainen ..... 641 ... 435
10.5cm sK 18 r9 ...... Horse ..... a1 ... ForestLaw ............. 637 ... 404 ... ==> Hummel r8 ==> Nashorn in 43e5 or 6 ?
15cm sFH r8 ........... Sd7 ........ r1 ... Raduku ................ 395 ... 396 ... ==> 15 sFH range3 r8
17cm K 18 r6 .......... Sd8 ....... m1 ... Kei ..................... 650 ... 364
21cm NblWf 42 ........ Horse .... m1 ... ElBaron ................ 491 ... 383 ... ==> Tiger P+
15cm NblWf 41 r11 ... Horse ..... a3 ... Singer .................. 509 ... 276 ... ==> Panzerwerfer for experience gain
ForestLaw via Hummel to Nashorn! In 43e4 upgrade Forest Law to Hummel and use as such and end Hummel in tank mode, then in 43e5 or 43e6 upgrade from Hummel tank mode to Nashorn tank mode (freeing up the Hummel for Soren). All are in-family upgrades, retaining the overstrength. And 43e6 has lots more enemy armor, where another long 8.8cm would be really useful, while 43e4 and 43e5 require DV, so a 4 star Hummel could help with that.
Raduku could take the 15 sFH range3 rof8, which can be switched to range4 rof7. Combined with the range hero, this could help the 17cm K 18 against the deeper enemy defenses, while retaining shorter range rof depending on the situation.
Singer should get 2 overstrength to 12 strength, then upgrade to Panzerwerfer. When used against soft targets, the Panzerwerfer with a3 hero is probably the fastest way to gain him experience. I guess 200% to 300% experience gain compared to the Wurfrahmen, which is massive on double FM! The 43e4 and 43e5 scenarios with all those soft targets in fortifications are practically made for a strike team consisting of 12 strength a3 hero Panzerwerfer and 12 strength a2 hero Flammpanzer III.

3 Anti-Air
8.8cm Flak 41 ........ Sd7 ....... m1 ... Jemhadar .............. 721 ... 313
Cannone 90/53 r8 ... TP40 ....... a2 ... Zyavoo ................. 462 ... 274 ... ==> Lancia da 90/53 r7 ?
SdKfz 7/1 r13..................... a3a1 ... MalcolmRichardson ... 603 ... 329 ... ==> SdKfz 7/1+ r13 or 7/2 r11
I think the SdKfz 7/2+ becomes available in 43e5, but like the SdKfz 7/1+ it only adds armor and thus makes it a hard target, while neither changing attack values nor rate of fire.

15 Airforce

8 Single engine Fighters & Fighter Bomber
Bf 109 G-6 .......................... d3 ... vonThüringen ......... 453 ... 325
Bf 109 F-4+ ......................... d3 ... CouchOffiziell ........ 408 ... 311
Fw 190 F-2 .......................... a2 ... MafujKhan ............ 372 ... 303 ... ==> Fw 190 A-5
Fw 190 G-2 .......................... d2 ... Alvarez ................ 280 ... 277 ... ==> Fw 190 F-3
Re.2002 .............................. a3 ... Noxush ................ 440 ... 350 ... ==> Re.2005
MC.205 ............................... a2 ... BlackVulture ......... 302 ... 316 ... ==> MC.205+
+ 2x bonus SE hero fighters in 1945
I switched the recommendations for the Fw 190s. With the upcoming Fw 190 rebalancing, MafujKhan with his 3 stars and a2 hero could try the new A-5. While Alvarez could take the F-3 fighter bomber to gain experience.
Imho the MC.205+ is well worth the lower initiative. Just such a massive boost to air attack over the earlier MC.205 series.

2 Multi engine Fighter Bomber
Bf 110 G-2 ........................... d1 ... FighterAce ............ 632 ... 317
Ju 88 C-6+ ........................... i1 ... Slender1870 ........... 545 ... 343 ... ==> Ju 88 A-4 or R-2 ?
The twin engine fighter bombers had to be nerfed. With several single engine fighters now having high air attack values, their niche will diminish. Bf 110 will have some more cannon ground attack options in the future.
Ju 88 general upgrade family will also have some more options, but much later.
If you want to boost Slender1870 experience, the Ju 88 A-4 is available, since AI181 can upgrade to Ju 188 now.

2 Dedicated Tac Bomber
Hs 129 B-2 r11 ...................... a3 ... AratoBela .............. 717 ... 346 ... ==> Hs 129 BK
Ju 87 D-3 ............................ a1 ... cmbbfan ............... 672 ... 320 ... ==> Ju 87 D-5
Hs 129 BK is considerably better against hard targets than Hs 129 B-2+, despite having lower rof. But weaker against soft targets and enemy fighters.
Not sure about Ju 87 alternatives. Not too many enemy tanks in 43e4, but many soft targets and bunkers in 43e4 and 43e5! The Ju 87 non-G variants are afair the only aircraft with fortkiller trait, so they get +5 attack against those bunkers. With the Hs 129 BK being available for tank hunting, I'm leaning towards the Ju 87 D-5 for 43e4 and perhaps also 43e5.

1 Tac/Strat Bomber
Ju 88 A-4 ............................ a1 ... AI181 ................... 438 ... 437 ... ==> Ju 188 E-1

2 Dedicated Strat Bomber
Do 217 K ............................ d1 ... Richard ................. 307 ... 434
He 111 H-16 ........................ a1 ... RMA901 ................. 384 ... 432
The He 177 is finally available, but still has issues. Making it easy to postpone that purchase. The Do 217 K is still better and the Ju 188 is much more versatile.
All comments are above are in red, and as far as the other ideas I will have to consider what way to go with Kei, as would it be better to have big boomy hits are more important to have deep range shots. The deep range gets greater exp growth, but the big boomys are so helpful as almost guaranteed suppression or kills. It makes sense to use an opportunity to change Slender to a strat for brief period to easily acquire a 4 starred Fighter eventually, maybe even work him up to 5 stars? As far as the Hummel upgrade it will have to be in house upgrade to consider, but the build up to utilize a strong os'ed Nashorn by the time I get to Prokharovka sounds delicious, but dangerous as I always seem to play. My greatest struggle is using game mechanics to overcome the absolute grueling struggle to get the needed experience to make this playthrough possible. The switches we are utilizing are overcoming these restrictions and keeps me hopeful that this playthrough is possible despite the upcoming grueling slogs that will be coming in 44 and 45. Thejf's and Eskuche's playthroughs demonstrate what is possible and gives me hope for what may happen in mine.

Posted: **Wed Apr 30, 2025 12:37 pm**

By the by, I have today and tomorrow off from work so the sooner that update xcomes the better so I can get a chance to play around with Ponyri. I have 4 hours of toothe cleaning to look forward to. Yikes, 2 hours each day so I took the time off.

Posted: **Wed Apr 30, 2025 2:00 pm**

goose_2 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:51 am The Nashorn idea has merit, and I appreciate the idea, I am assuming that the artillery upgrade is within family? As far as the Panzerwerfer Flamm combo goes it does not make sense to me, but I will try it out based on your feedback. It made sense to me to have 2 wurfrahmen, because those Wurfrahmen are soft boy shredders, but I will submit to your suggestion. Also no 2nd Tiger.

ForestLaw to Hummel in 43e4 is an in-family upgrade. Just make sure you end 43e4 in tank mode with the Hummel, so you have the option to in-family upgrade to Nashorn during the deployment phase of 43e5 without losing a turn for switching. So you could keep all your os all the way through.

Just plugged in the numbers for
Panzerwerfer and Wurfrahmen with Singer (os to 12 strength, 2 star, +3attack hero) versus 1 star 57mm Soviet AT gun and that Conscript unit, both of them having 4 entrenchment (3 of that from fortifications). So the exact situation you face at the first, southern most river crossing bridge.
Wurfrahmen vs 57mm AT gun: 7.4 expected killed and suppressed, with expected experience gain of 0.46 on double FM
Panzerwerfer vs 57mm AT gun: 5.6 expected killed and suppressed, with expected experience gain of 2.8 on double FM!
Wurfrahmen vs Conscripts: 8.1 expected killed and suppressed, with expected experience gain of 0.51 on double FM
Panzerwerfer vs Conscripts: 9.1 expected killed and suppressed, with expected experience gain of 1.71 on double FM!

So while the Panzerwerfer is mostly weaker in terms of kills and suppression, it gains Singer 3 to 6 times as much experience! Which is massive beyond belief and is really important on double FM where experience gain is so valuable.
It also makes up for the combat performance, since it brings relatively much more experience in the situation it does worse in terms of kills and suppression, compared to the situation where it already is better than the Wurfrahmen.

goose_2 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 30, 2025 10:51 am All comments are above are in red, and as far as the other ideas I will have to consider what way to go with Kei, as would it be better to have big boomy hits are more important to have deep range shots. The deep range gets greater exp growth, but the big boomys are so helpful as almost guaranteed suppression or kills. It makes sense to use an opportunity to change Slender to a strat for brief period to easily acquire a 4 starred Fighter eventually, maybe even work him up to 5 stars? As far as the Hummel upgrade it will have to be in house upgrade to consider, but the build up to utilize a strong os'ed Nashorn by the time I get to Prokharovka sounds delicious, but dangerous as I always seem to play. My greatest struggle is using game mechanics to overcome the absolute grueling struggle to get the needed experience to make this playthrough possible. The switches we are utilizing are overcoming these restrictions and keeps me hopeful that this playthrough is possible despite the upcoming grueling slogs that will be coming in 44 and 45. Thejf's and Eskuche's playthroughs demonstrate what is possible and gives me hope for what may happen in mine.

Agreed, now that you have the 15 sFH that can switch between range 3 and 4 (with that range hero boosting it to range 5), the longer range stuff is covered and Kei can take the 21 Mrs again for more reliable damage.

With fighter mode still getting +2 attack per experience level, Slender would gain a lot from having 4 stars instead of 3. So a stint as a Ju 88 A-4 strat bomber would imho make sense. Not sure if 5 stars are attainable, but 4 is already a big boost.

@goose_2: Sent you a pm regarding the coming update.

I might have to postpone the public release of 2025-05 to adjust some stuff regarding GC starting cores when not coming from GC 39. Also there is something I have to test regarding Battlefield Europe balancing.

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2025 7:16 pm**

Status update regarding the 2025-05 Addon version:

The majority of the work regarding Battlefield Europe scenario would take more time and thus has to be postponed to some future Addon update.
Still some stuff to do for the 2025-05 version, but should not take more than 1-2 days.

Decided to go with the Fw 190 A rebalancing after all, which gives it more ini at the cost of defense.
The current balancing just resulted in the Fw 190 A being viewed unfavorably compared to the Bf 109 by eskuche, thejf and goose_2 during the GC playthroughs.
While the rebalancing is not without issues, hopefully it allows the Fw 190 A to find a more prominent role, closer to its historical significance.

Posted: **Sat May 03, 2025 11:53 am**

Hi Locarnus,

Welcome to the Addon!
Oh, Grand Campaign East 1944, thats a tough one. Did you import a core from 1943?
I'm not sure I adjusted the starting core of GC East 44 (which is used when not importing the core from end of GC East 43). If I forgot to do so, you might have some different units, especially powerful bonus SE tanks and so on. I'll have to check this, thank you for reminding me!

Hm, "BE France" scenario seems to work for me.
You speak about Barbarossa scenario. That scenario name should not show up in in the scenario menu, it should be called "BE Battlefield Europe" instead, like "BE France" and "BE Poland" and so on (to differentiate from the other scenarios like "aTest" and "AK Brevity" and so on). Something might have gone wrong with your install?
It sounds like files from the "2025 base version of the Locarnus Addon" are missing (step "3 of 5" from the install instructions in the first post of this thread), which has to be installed after Battlefield Europe 2.4 (step "2 of 5" and the latest Addon update (step "4 of 5", currently version 2025-04).
I highly recommend doing a clean reinstall from step 1, especially if your current install was started on BE 2.3.

It works properly now. by mistake I installed game version 1.32 at the end of the process in GSME instead of doing it at the beginning.
In fact Mc Guba Battlefield Europe works with 1.31 game version, I never noticed this.
Highlight again the neeed to put game version 1.32 before doing anything else! then Mc Guba mod then your mod base version then your mod 2025-04.
No I did not import anything from 1943.
I like very much the icons of arty and AD units.
I also like very much the unit sounds.
I hate big maps so I prefer playing original campaigns or DLCs (or small scenarios like France or Italy in Battlefield Europe now modified by your mod).
Maybe one day you will also modify DLCs (Germany in the Western front) and Allied campaigns.
I admit your mod is great when playing on the German side.
The full campaign takes too much time to play (99 turns) but holidays are coming

Keep up the good work!

Posted: **Sat May 03, 2025 1:00 pm**

RobertCL wrote: ↑Sat May 03, 2025 11:53 am Hi Locarnus,

[...]

It works properly now. by mistake I installed game version 1.32 at the end of the process in GSME instead of doing it at the beginning.
In fact Mc Guba Battlefield Europe works with 1.31 game version, I never noticed this.
Highlight again the neeed to put game version 1.32 before doing anything else! then Mc Guba mod then your mod base version then your mod 2025-04.
No I did not import anything from 1943.
I like very much the icons of arty and AD units.
I also like very much the unit sounds.
I hate big maps so I prefer playing original campaigns or DLCs (or small scenarios like France or Italy in Battlefield Europe now modified by your mod).
Maybe one day you will also modify DLCs (Germany in the Western front) and Allied campaigns.
I admit your mod is great when playing on the German side.
The full campaign takes too much time to play (99 turns) but holidays are coming

Keep up the good work!

Ah yeah, the 1.32 patch problem (unfortunately there are even two version of that 1.32 patch), I'll emphasize the order of the install steps more!

When starting GC 1939 there is a message about some of the design choices and difficulty recommendations for the Addon (eg rule of 1, switchable aircraft, bonus SE unit balancing).
I'm in the process of accounting for other starting points of the GC now due to your feedback (eg 1944 and so on).
Those still have the unmodded core composition in 2025-04 (eg bonus SE Tiger tanks and so on).

Credit for the sounds and icons goes mainly to McGuba and the original BE, most Addon icon additions are from guille1434 and rezaf (DCS), with some more from phcas, Birgeria, flakfernrohr, zombiehunter1977 and Messmann!

Ah, the original campaign, potentially to America!
Some time ago this original campaign was made technically compatible, but I had not yet time to actually test it.
If you are interested in being the trailblazer, I would really appreciate feedback on that original campaign (especially regarding the difficulty, due to the AI inability of purchasing/spamming units, which it heavily relied upon).

Grand Campaign West is on my todo list, I'm just having a lot of trouble and frustration with the balancing.
It is differently built compared to GC East in that regard, eg with some late war super units joining rather early. I'm making occasional baby steps towards West, hoping for a "eureka moment" at some point.

The next Addon update 2025-05 will be published later today.

Slitherine

Locarnus Addon 2025-10a, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East

Re: Locarnus Addon 2025-04, for Battlefield Europe, Afrika Korps and Grand Campaign East