How do they do it?

[barkman44]

I have been reading the latest aar's and am astounded on how big their stacks are.
My biggest stack is Mclellan's at 2000 av.I'm in late feb.'62.
The biggest handicap is ws,I currently have 1954 money and 1353 conscipts and 409 ws.
I've built iron works,arsenals and armories but ws go up very slowly.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
I drive a truck so can't respond till tomorrow night,gotta sleep sometime thx in advance.

[Ol Choctaw]

Are you building a lot of ships and artillery?

Do you have much in the way of command penalties?

It is hard to tell without more information.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: barkorn45

I have been reading the latest aar's and am astounded on how big their stacks are.
My biggest stack is Mclellan's at 2000 av.I'm in late feb.'62.
The biggest handicap is ws,I currently have 1954 money and 1353 conscipts and 409 ws.
I've built iron works,arsenals and armories but ws go up very slowly.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
I drive a truck so can't respond till tomorrow night,gotta sleep sometime thx in advance.

You actually have a huge stockpile of material there; you can easily build an entire stack with that amount of money, WS, and conscripts.

Check back once you run out of something; usually, money will be the limiting factor

[Lecivius]

I am coming here to throw my 2 cents in. I'm in Late July 62 as Federals against the AI with default settings using the latest beta patch. The south has Kentucky, with an army of 2316 AV in Louisville. I thought "ok, the AI is using that theater is it's main axis". I just got beat around Manassas, which I held, and had dug in to level 4. I had my AoP there, 1 corp of 2236 AV. I just got completely destroyed by Beauregard's AoN, which held an astonishing 8946 AV. So, says I, let's go look at the other side.

I have discovered to my horror that I am outnumbered about 3 to 1. There are 5 divisions of 4-5 hundred running amok in MO & KS, as well as a multitude of Ranger units. There is a much larger army in KY than appears to the union eyes. There is an army of 1825 in Mobile, another similar army in NOLA, and divisions of 7-800 in the major eastern ports. Every town with industry is garrisoned with 80-120av units. And there is over 11 thousand AV in VA [X(], in 2 separate armies of the AoV and AoS. Discouraging, to say the least.

I use the excellent strategy of training militias. I have noted HQ units do not train well, at least for me. I have training generals in Cairo, Cincinnati, and New York. Every division has 3 artillery units in it, to bolster the AV. I note here that no one else is complaining, so obviously the error is on my side. What can the Union side do to raise an army of roughly 22-23k AV by the middle of '62, just to keep pace with the south? I suspect a lot of this is the AI "cheating", which all do. And that's ok with me, I understand the reasoning. But while it is now easy to beat the AI on 'newb' mode, standard mode is a bit...challenging.

[Q-Ball]

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

I am coming here to throw my 2 cents in. I'm in Late July 62 as Federals against the AI with default settings using the latest beta patch. The south has Kentucky, with an army of 2316 AV in Louisville. I thought "ok, the AI is using that theater is it's main axis". I just got beat around Manassas, which I held, and had dug in to level 4. I had my AoP there, 1 corp of 2236 AV. I just got completely destroyed by Beauregard's AoN, which held an astonishing 8946 AV. So, says I, let's go look at the other side.

I have discovered to my horror that I am outnumbered about 3 to 1. There are 5 divisions of 4-5 hundred running amok in MO & KS, as well as a multitude of Ranger units. There is a much larger army in KY than appears to the union eyes. There is an army of 1825 in Mobile, another similar army in NOLA, and divisions of 7-800 in the major eastern ports. Every town with industry is garrisoned with 80-120av units. And there is over 11 thousand AV in VA [X(], in 2 separate armies of the AoV and AoS. Discouraging, to say the least.

I use the excellent strategy of training militias. I have noted HQ units do not train well, at least for me. I have training generals in Cairo, Cincinnati, and New York. Every division has 3 artillery units in it, to bolster the AV. I note here that no one else is complaining, so obviously the error is on my side. What can the Union side do to raise an army of roughly 22-23k AV by the middle of '62, just to keep pace with the south? I suspect a lot of this is the AI "cheating", which all do. And that's ok with me, I understand the reasoning. But while it is now easy to beat the AI on 'newb' mode, standard mode is a bit...challenging.

That shouldn't be; you must not be maximizing your production somehow. Some items to check:

--Punch every Treasury Option, and collect the $1200 every six months
--Initially as Union, pay $2 for recruits. You may dial that back in later culls, but always get the free volunteers at any rate
--Look at the regional cards; Draft and Requisition cards are a pretty good deal
--I would not go with the Mobilization options unless you are desparate, or have high morale. But they are there

Try all those, and I bet you'll be able to build alot more

4 Artillery per division is a good benchmark, doesn't sound like you are going too crazy there

Sounds like you just need to build more infantry

[Lecivius]

Cool, thanks Q! Treasury I do, but I have not used the other cards to minimize impact. I'll fire up another game & see how it goes [;)]