Slitherine

Hi everyone!

I purchased the gold edition of Panzer Corps on Steam and first completed the Wermacht campaign on Corporal difficulty. I figured that this was the easiest campaign (aside from the tutorial) and meant to be played first. I made lots of mistakes during this playthrough but I think I understand most of the rules now.

Next, I started the Soviet Corps campaign at Corporal difficulty and found that after I had amassed enough KV-1s, most of the scenarios were a breeze. I quickly became bored, stopped playing this campaign and decided to play the Wermacht campaign again on Field Marshal difficulty this time. I'm now at Kiev and doing pretty well - except for that fighter I forgot about in the corner for 4 turns that ran out of fuel.

Once I'm done, I'd like to play the rest of the campaigns and Grand Campaigns in order of difficulty. In your opinion, in which order should I play the campaigns?

Also, I understand that additional difficulties become available after a base campaign is completed on FM difficulty. How would you rank these difficulties in relation to Field Marshal and to each other?

For overall challenge, you have a few options : put up the difficulty level to General or Field Marshall ; maybe try using the slider controls to restrict prestige (probably 70 or 80% would be tough but still OK); or add a point or two of strength to the enemy. There's some AARs that should give you some ideas fo what approach might work for you.

As for which campaign next, personally I think that Soviet Corps is not as challenging as it should be but last time I played it I enjoyed it. Afrika Korps provides a good mix of scenarios (it's probably my favourite), the Grand Campaigns are good (most people think that West is slightly easier than East), Allied Corps, though very generous with prestige, is quite a challenge at times because you don't have many units and they often aren't that good. US Corps can be suprisingly tough as you are often facing more experienced enemy who also has better equipment.

There is also the option to develop a more historic core, e.g. limit the number of units per unit type (e.g. to two or three) and therefore develop a more diverse force composition. This can also make things more difficult very easily...

captainjack wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:22 am For overall challenge, you have a few options : put up the difficulty level to General or Field Marshall ; maybe try using the slider controls to restrict prestige (probably 70 or 80% would be tough but still OK); or add a point or two of strength to the enemy. There's some AARs that should give you some ideas fo what approach might work for you.

As for which campaign next, personally I think that Soviet Corps is not as challenging as it should be but last time I played it I enjoyed it. Afrika Korps provides a good mix of scenarios (it's probably my favourite), the Grand Campaigns are good (most people think that West is slightly easier than East), Allied Corps, though very generous with prestige, is quite a challenge at times because you don't have many units and they often aren't that good. US Corps can be suprisingly tough as you are often facing more experienced enemy who also has better equipment.

So it sounds like I should play Soviet Corps, then Afrika, then Allied, then US Corps. I'll try the GCs after that. Thanks captainjack!

PeteMitchell_2 wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:17 am There is also the option to develop a more historic core, e.g. limit the number of units per unit type (e.g. to two or three) and therefore develop a more diverse force composition. This can also make things more difficult very easily...

Pete, while that will make the game more interesting, it would feel like I'd be doing that just to make the game artificially more realistic of that makes sense.

In terms of the unlocked difficulty levels, which is considered the most difficult?

Well, could be... however, I think trying to play with a more diverse core can make things a bit more difficult/complicated as well, especially after 1943 (e.g. at the Ostfront without a full core of Tigers). Ah and by the way, there are also adjusted equipment files, e.g. from deductor, maybe compare here: http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40391

In terms of the unlocked difficulty levels, it can depend on the scenario, e.g. if you need to reach something on a big map, five less turns make it more difficult while if you need to defend something, five less turns can make it easier... in general, I would say Manstein kind of combines the challenges of Rommel and Guderian (and therefore Manstein is the hardest) but that's just my view. Others might have different opinions...

Equipment restrictions can provide a good challenge - maybe one upgrade per scenario, or try to stick with a reasonably historic mix (France with mostly panzer 2s is quite interesting). Apart from avoiding the temptation to play the overstrength Tiger steamroller, it can be a good way to improve your play as you have to think harder about what works best, focus more on critical objectives and rely more on concentration of forces over relying on overstrength and quality (which may mean you need a thin defensive line somewhere to get the odds you need for your attack, which can be nerve wracking).

There's been some suggestions for other non-standard "higher difficulty challenges" but haven't seen any feedback other than they looked interesting.

I'd suggest playing them in loosely the order they were made:

Vanilla, GC East, GC West, Africa, Allied (British and US), Sea Lion (all three versions), USA, Soviet

PeteMitchell_2 wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:02 pm Well, could be... however, I think trying to play with a more diverse core can make things a bit more difficult/complicated as well, especially after 1943 (e.g. at the Ostfront without a full core of Tigers). Ah and by the way, there are also adjusted equipment files, e.g. from deductor, maybe compare here: viewtopic.php?t=40391

In terms of the unlocked difficulty levels, it can depend on the scenario, e.g. if you need to reach something on a big map, five less turns make it more difficult while if you need to defend something, five less turns can make it easier... in general, I would say Manstein kind of combines the challenges of Rommel and Guderian (and therefore Manstein is the hardest) but that's just my view. Others might have different opinions...

Is Deductor's E-File still valid? It looks like it was last updated for 1.14, at least if judging by the last update date in that thread. Another Thread is sometime mid 2014, but thats for 1.21 and we are in 1.30.

ragingrondo wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 12:15 am Is Deductor's E-File still valid? It looks like it was last updated for 1.14, at least if judging by the last update date in that thread. Another Thread is sometime mid 2014, but thats for 1.21 and we are in 1.30.

Haven't tried it recently, maybe best to check with Richard Martin... he got it to work nicely I think: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnEalp ... akd4khIcXw