Lab priorities

[Arkady]

What's your strategy for labs ?

Do you invest into five labs in one category or do you spread your labs in all techs ?

What's your primary focus: air, armor, general or other ?

In current games I first invest into Armor, focusing on tank destroyers and Air, without extra focus, two or three labs in each before I add labs to infantry and general area.

[Dave Ferguson]

I am surprised that you have the pp to invest in labs at all! You have to invest in at least 2 areas to get more than 1 lab and as labs are expensive I would try for the allies:
 
USA - strategic air and ASW
UK - ditto
France - forget it
USSR - forget it until late 42, if you are around late 42 in strength you are probably going to win anyway!
Germany - not sure, air and armour possibly
Italy - forget it
 
The problem is the game should rarely last beyond 1943 as either the axis wins rushing the allies or russia wins by overwhelming the axis by sheer force of numbers. In one game as the allies I invested in infantry and armour for the russians and when they came through could not afford to upgrade because the war was taking all the pp, Next time I didnt bother and had more corps instead.
 
I suppose 1 or 2 labs is OK but you wait years for any benefit. If you use random labs the benefits arrive much faster so this needs agreement for PBEM.
 
Dave

[Arkady]

I usually invest in tank destroyers, it seems to me that it helps better then two or three tank units that I should have insted.
Level 3-4 in tank destroyers in late 1942 give me edge and I can knock tanks with just one shot