AAR 2nd War Campaign Very Hard

[nexusno2000]

Hi,

EDIT: BECAUSE OF THE WEIRD BEHAVIOR (UNDER-STRENGTH UNITS & NO EXTRA STR POINTS FOR THE ENEMY) ON MY FIRST MISSION, I BEGAN THINKING MY INSTALL WAS CORRUPT. SO I RE-INSTALLED, AND NOW THINGS ARE WORKING AS THEY SHOULD!

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This will be an ARR on the Very Hard setting, starting with the tutorial.

I'll be saving - and loading - on occasion, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum. If I screw things completely over I might reload for example, but if I'm simply unlucky or dumb I'll live with the effects and try to regain the initiative.

My aim is to become a better player - and to see if it's more fun when (if?) I'm challenged.



Hello Trelssa, good to see you (again).

[nexusno2000]

Commander MAXIMUS' Guardsmen quickly push forward, taking absolutely no return fire.



Things become more tricky as my recon Salamander spot an under-strength Wyvern. It has range 3, so can hurt the lads :'(

I'll weaken it with my infantry (they're expendable) and finish with autocannon/hvy bolter fire from the Sala.



Goodbye evil mortar carrier!

After this it's just a matter of pounding the last enemy unit with range 3 fire; he's not going to come out of the objective, so I'm entirely safe.



Victory is ensured after 7 turns. Total losses: None. Jaxxon: you suck big time!

[nexusno2000]

Tutorial mission 2.

Jaxxon is bragging - what a douche!



I have 3 new core slots and what seems to be enough Requisition.

I upgrade one Inf to command. I'm going to need it for assaults mostly. The other two Inf I leave alone, except I give all of them Chimeras. I like Chimeras; they give extra movement, plus their Range 3 wpns come in handy sometimes...and their higher Defense are sometimes useful as well (imagine the Inf hiding inside their vehicles as massed, but low Str enemy fire just bounce off the armored Chimeras).

I take another Salamander. At 200 it super-cheap. Great bang for buck. I also take 1 artillery piece. The mortar isn't that good, only range 3, but I need to start them gathering XP. In the end I settle for another Griffon as my last pick; I considered taking another Salamander, but I had enough Req, so why not.



I deploy thus.



The first enemy held town has a Wyvern backing up the defenders. I need to remove it first, so I send my Command dudes to frag it. Only way to do it AFAIK.



The Wyvern dies at the cost of only 1 point of Inf. That's a bargain.



I mop up the defenders w/o taking any return fire. I'm also positioning my Griffons for the next turn.

[nexusno2000]

The next obstacle are the two turrets. Fortunately there is some LOS-blocking Dense Jungle around, so I move my prepositioned Griffons into range and hammer them w/o danger of return fire.



Salamanders sweeps up, blasts some enemy Inf. My command squad mounts up, and enjoys blasting the rest of the enemy at Range 3.



I've spotted a Tauros. These suicide-vehicles are incredibly flimsy, but I better blast it or it will attack me on its turn. If I'm unlucky it could really hammer one of my lightly armored units.



Turn 2 ends. One of the Griffon batteries are badly positioned, but I won't really need it again so who cares.



To remove the 6 Str lascannon battery my Command platoon rushes forward (its just within range) and assaults it, taking 3 losses in the process. If there is a better tactic Commander Maximus would like to hear it!



Next I move the Salamander into the trenches, granting it a bonus to Def. That's needed to deal with the other lascannon battery w/o taking heavy losses. With the trench only 1 Salamander dies.

[nexusno2000]

My battalion moves forward, taking up better positions. Another Wyvern spotted. Griffon battery 2 is mucking around down in the left corner...



Turn 4 has no shooting, only movement. For lack of useful things to do the damaged Sala takes a turn to repair. The Griffon battery has spotted the rest of the battalion and is moving towards their position. They are going to be very late to the party.



I use my disposable SL Inf to weaken up the Wyvern before the Command platoon wipes it out. The Command platoon has been worth every point, but despite 3 very good assaults, it's lost 25% of its strength. It doesn't have much XP yes, so the loss of experienced men won't be too bad, but still...Inf is vulnerable.



After the Wyvern is gone it's only a question of hammering the enemy at long range.



Turn 6 victory. In your face Jaxxon!



I hope this gets harder. It's only the tutorial, but on VH I'm getting no opposition. Maybe Orks will be more challenging.

[nexusno2000]

Tutorial mission 3.

Half-decent...well thank you Goryle, I like you too!



I immediately pick 2 Lemans. The upgraded version. No question. The 2 hvy bolters are gold IMO, particularly at this stage.

I also upgrade my Griffons to Medusas. Why? Range 4 baby. Range is king, so I'm going to need it.



Since this is VH I can't afford anything fancy for my last slot. I end up with Flamers w/Chimera. Not my usual fare, but I need another Assault unit and I can't afford another Command, so there goes.



I divide my forced in 2. That bridge isn't big enough for my entire force, so I must split. My force isn't big enough to split in 3, so no going down the left flank as well.

[nexusno2000]

That 4 Str Destroyer is bad news. Fortunately my Leman can be positioned behind 2 hexes of LOS-obscuring terrain. That's good enough to reduce return fire considerably; any other setup quickly results in dead Lemans.



I follow up with some hvy bolter fire from the corner building. Again this reduces return fire.



Resilient bastard! One of JAxxon's platoons actually fight hard; flamers are required to defeat the Destroyer.

[nexusno2000]

My flanking force quickly moves towards the objectives, wiping out some useless Tauros platoons in the process. The crews of these sorry vehicles are either very brad or very stupid (or maybe they have lots of Commissars?).



Aeronautica casualties? Didn't know we had aircraft...well this sort of explains it



And this is why Medusa batteries are better than Griffons in open terrain! Range 4.



The flanking force moves into position for next turn.



After cautiously approaching the bridge last turn Commander Maximus personally leads the assault across the bridge. If his artillery could actually out-range the enemy tank destroyers...well, never mind: for the Emperor!

(I really hate those Range 4 high-Def Destroyers!)



Maximus' courageous charge has paid off (own losses as predicted, enemy losses somewhat higher). He get's awarded the Imperial Star for his heroic effort.



Armored elements move forward to secured the bridge.



(the other Leman needs to repair a bit, so remains stationary)

[nexusno2000]

The cautious approach proved wise; the enemy are a bunch of cowards - there is NO return fire or enemy movement. Jaxxon is such an incompetent. Premonition: he'll get executed for criminal incompetnce in the not-so-distant future!



The Medusa blows a hole in the enemy lines. My vehicles rush through the gap. I will need to secure those objectives to win...but no rush; I'll do it later. A true Steel Legion commander pushes forward when he can!



The Leman platoon wipes out the enemy Inf and settles down in the trenches, gaining a nice Def bonus. My Command platoon hits the enemy battery once my Range 4 Medusa (love you) has punished the enemy.



The Steel Legion pushes forward - and the enemy fails to return fire again!

[nexusno2000]

Turn 4 starts with my lovely Medusas hammering the enemy Basilisks. Since the enemy guns are Bulky they won't return fire. Eat that Jaxxon!



Steel Legion secures the town (taking care not to overexpose themselves - for some reason Inf in buildings is quite vulnerable to long-range fire).



The flank links up with the main force as they wait for the Medusas to deal with the enemy Wyvern. Again the enemy does...nothing. Shouldn't they be moving, spotting, and firing? They've plenty of units...oh well, Jaxxon's fault I suppose.



I take it back. A sole enemy unit, almost destroyed already, gallantly charges the objective, inflicting 1 point of damage on my least-valuable unit



Bye bye Griffon. Go back to the Eye.



My expendable flamers take a few hits clearing away a turret. The rest of my units wipe out most of the remaining enemy units.



The enemy Destroyers (I briefly spotted another on the left bridge) still don't fire back. They have poor Spotting - and abysmal leadership!

I take my sweet time setting up the attack (I could have left it alone, but I want to try something). Oh, and note the other Leman on the topmost bridge - completely forgotten by an overly aggressive commander!



I take out the other destroyer with 0 casualties. A combination of a Leman firing from behind obscuring terrain, ditto with a Medusa, and finally some Command squad power sword action!

Victory is mine!

[nexusno2000]

Tutorial mission 4

Jaxxon, Jaxxon...badmouthing an Imperial Commissar...not very wise of you, my old 'friend'.



Hugely disappointed to see that my Requisition for mission 4 is actually lower than for mission 3. It's not enough to fully recover my units, that's for sure.



Checking the scenarios both seem to start with 3300. Hmm, that's a bit odd...how could I afford those units in the first place, if can't pay to have them replenished? Maybe cost increases with experience?

Anyway...my infantry is missing 1 point, my flamers 6. I'll have to live with it.

[nexusno2000]

I managed to get my force back to full strength by getting rid of my Chimeras. This will be a defensive mission, so I'm not going to need them much I think. I make one Inf into a hvy bolter, since they are good on the defense. And since I'm going to be defending BOTH objectives, I'm going to need one on either side of the mountains.

I also swap my flamers for another Infantry. In hindsight that might have been a mistake. Or maybe not, flamers have 0 Pen - what I really wanted was another Command with their fancy power sword. I could have afforded the keep the flamer. It's only 25 points extra. We'll see if I'll regret my decision.

I'm going to defend both objectives. For the challenge - and because dividing the enemy is a good thing. It'll mean more units for him to push through my TWO grinders.



I pound his penal legionnaires on the right. They only shoot at my mines...



Some on the left: while the enemy kills mines, I butcher his units.



All he's got left are penal dudes, facing my armor backed by a hvy bolter platoon. He won't try to attack (kind of strange really, as penal legion are nearly suicidal)

[nexusno2000]

Enemy tries to rush me. It doesn't work very well, on account of mines, heavy bolters - and general lack of willingness to advance in the face of fire.

It feels wrong. This is 40k - AI units should no be so hesitant to throw their lives away!!!



I clean up my right with 0 casualties.



Same on the left - although the Russes get damaged. I pull back a bit, anticipating another wave of attackers.

[nexusno2000]

Nothing much happens on the next turn. I just consolidate my positions.



On the left I fall back some more to max out distance and def bonuses.



More defensive work on turn 4.



The Leman gets repaired. The enemy dies.

[nexusno2000]

And here they come...the enemy's armored reserve. TWO Destroyers with STR 7!!!

On my right I have only a normal Infantry. I'm regretting not having had enough points to purchase another Command. Or had the forethought to keep the flamer - it MIGHT have helped now. Not sure about that though; Destroyers have very good Defense and flamers not much Pen.



On the left I move the hvy bolter into the mountain and open up. It does a little damage - and takes 4 in return. Next is the Russ - hull down in the trenches. It also takes some damage, but now the Destroyer has lost enough Str and Moral for my Command to wipe it out rather easily.



The right is MUCH harder. The terrain doesn't give my units good bonuses and the lack of a power sword is KEENLY felt.

In the end the tactic is much the same: hvy bolter, Leman attack, Infantry attack...only I have to pile on my Medusa and my Salamander as well. All of them take some damage. Not a whole lot each, but the total is staggering compared to my losses thus far. Would a flamer have helped? Commander Maximus will never know

[nexusno2000]

Last turn I spotted one Basilisk (shiver). And I'm betting there are more. For some INSANE reason the Basilisk charges up the road and attacks my Inf in the woods, with predictable results. Jaxxon is the worst commander EVER in the Imperium. His penal legion fails to charge - but his artillery does!



I can't leave that other Basilisk unattended. Sensing the enemy's advance is slowing down, I counter attack on the left.



After that it's just mopping up. The enemy is broken.



I spot some Range 3 turrets down south.



While waiting for the wargames to end I shell the turrets with my Range 4 artillery, gaining some pretty XP.



Victory! Overall I'm pleased, but the loss of 2 Russes, one Medusa and 2 Salamanders, plus 5 walkers and some inf...it hurts my pride a bit, but against Destroyers and Basilisks you have to accept casualties.

[nexusno2000]

Tutorial mission 5 (final one).

The cowardly JAxxon mouths off again...



...leading finally to some GOOD NEWS!



Way to go Goryle!

[Kerensky]

Very interesting so far, I thoroughly enjoy the abundant images of combat and unit positioning to go along with the text. Keep it going!

[nexusno2000]

Thanks. I finished the last tutorial yesterday. I'll post it later today. With plenty of images

[nexusno2000]

Tutorial mission 5.

The map is fairly constricted, with the hive on top, some rivers, urban areas, and impassable terrain along the bottom (the Machine graveyard is only walk able by Inf AFAIK). So I'll be doing a fairly straightforward run along the road, with artillery supporting my clearing teams, tanks blocking enemy counterattacks, and some vehicles to provide mobile fire support.

Seems I have 1 slot and LOTS of Req!

I immediately give my Inf their Chimeras back. Only 360 points for all 4. I swap the Inf around a bit; ending up with 1 Command, 1 Flamer, 1 HB and 1 Mortar (I like Hvy bolters better, but with so much urban terrain at the start, the Indirect mortar will be handy). I also make sure my most important Inf has the most XP.

Next I turn my Russes into Annihilators. It's only a hundred points each. For 2 less Initiative you get the double lascannon, which is FAR superior to the lousy battle cannon. The Russ options are kind of sad really; the plasma cannon upgrade is kind of nice, until you realize it has range 2. The Conqueror just has a worse cannon, and the Punisher has range 2 again (I have Salamanders to kill infantry, so I really don't need it).



Another super-important upgrade is Medusa --> Bombard. It has a worse gun (and no hvy bolter - but it will almost never need it anyway)) and higher cost, but it has Range 5 AND indirect fire capability...on a map with lots of LOS-blockers...you do the math! I but a THIRD Bombard with my remainig slot.

As you can see I have to points to upgrade some more. Could have turned a Sala into a Command variant. Extra Init and Leadership is nice, but the price is steep and you lose 1 Spotting. So I decide against it.