About to start my first Grand Campaign, have some questions

[drw61]

ORIGINAL: Dreamsicle

3) Where is a link for Ironman Nasty Nasty? I can only find one for Ironman Nasty.

Thank you everyone so far! [:D]

I think this is it

tm.asp?m=3352052

[GetAssista]

1) You can combine LCU components as soon as all of them are at the same place, same move mode and same upgrade status if devices are in different components. Destroyed components do not count and do not obstruct combining.
2) TRACOM accepts only 81+ xp pilots so you can use it as a special ace reserve. Also helps by speeding up off map training. Not really as useful for Allies as it is for Japanese
4) LCUs can gain experience when idle but only up to a threshold, around 50 for Jap, maybe slightly different for other nations. After that it's combat. Massive battles with lots disabled and few destroyed squads help the most.

[BBfanboy]

Early in the game when there are a lot of LCUs with low experience scores, simply marching them from one base to another helps the experience gain. That only works for so long, and then you just leave them in "Rest/Training" mode to gain training experience. The cap on training experience for US units this way seems to be around 65 points. It takes a long time to get from 60 to 65. It may be possible to go to 70 but presumably that would take even longer.

There isn't always an opportunity but if the enemy leaves a small unit in an exposed position (like an SNLF alone on Baker Island) you can gather up a bunch of LCUs you want to give experience and do a landing with massive overkill. They should all gain some combat experience and amphib landing points from the operation. Just make sure the troops are well covered by your fleet during their time aboard ship.

[rustysi]

The following table details the maximum level a unit may train to, based on its Nationality:
IJ Army 55 IJ Navy 50
US Navy 50 US Army 60
US Marines 65 Australian 65
New Zealand 55 British 55
French 55 Dutch 50
Chinese 45 Soviet 60
Indian 55 Commonwealth 55
Philippines 45 Canada 50

From page 187 of the manual.

[m10bob]

Nice to see you are playing with China active as well.Some folks avoid China altogether.
China can retake their entire country but they must pool their forces and retake one city at a time and not try to place forces in 3 or more cities at once.
China does not need many airfields so don't build too many.
Do build airfields from Chittagong to Akyab and keep them supplied by ship.
Base scads of air cargo planes on those fields and fly the "hump" to supply China as soon as the planes become available.
(Ledo, Mandalay and Kowloon are good midway points for those cargo routes.)

[Dreamsicle]

So I'm currently a month and a half in my current game and the Japanese have surprised me by taking Lunganville and some of the Phoenix Islands. Obviously this is going hurt the Japanese in the long run, but I'm worried about future Japanese expansion into Efate and perhaps the Line Islands, the former of which is undefended as I can't find any surplus base units. What can I do to stop future expansion in the direction of Efate (carriers should be close enough to save the Line Islands) and how can I counter this if a PBEM player was to do this?

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Dreamsicle
What can I do to stop future expansion in the direction of Efate (carriers should be close enough to save the Line Islands) and how can I counter this if a PBEM player was to do this?

Search and SCTF raids. AI is poor at covering its invasions, but persistent in securing the scripted objectives.
In PBEM Japan can take just about anything in SoPac if it commits carriers and stuff. You can't stop it in the first months of the war, but you can make Japan expend a lot of fuel with offering some resistance (not carriers though unless 100% safe).
Not a big deal of you lose some islands, they are future POW camps and supply/fuel hogs before that. Australia is very hard to cut off because Allies would just reroute convoys southward together with taking Capetown route.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: jmalter

ORIGINAL: Dreamsicle
1) a) I know my immediate objective in China is to keep the Burma open. However once I eliminate enough Japanese units and consolidate enough strength where this becomes trivial, in which direction should I start advancing, Korea or Indochina? Shanghai is going to be a mid-term objective before I start going in either direction.

I think you've made some bad assumptions re China. Their troops can defend (when fortified) but have *really poor* offensive capability, & the supply level in China will always be marginal, even when the Ledo air-bridge is fully developed. If you are *extremely conservative* in China throughout 1942, you can hold ground & develop a bit of combat power by upgrading the ArtRgts (to 105mm Howitzers) & a half-dozen InfCorps (to Chinese Inf Squad 43).

These guys can do good duty attacking west to Nanning & Hanoi, eventually meeting strong British/Indian LCUs (if they've won through north Thailand & Indochina - that can happen by late '43.

An early Chinese-only offensive to Shanghai won't ever happen. Once you've re-captured Singapore, Indochina & Canton/Hong Kong, you might be able to develop an offensive against Shanghai around mid-'45, *if* you're able to bring supply to China by sea.

You must have never played the AI. I routinely liberate all of China against the AI by the end of '42.

It is indeed easy to liberate Shanghai long before making a move on Canton and Hong Kong.

The AI comes at you with a mega death star stack, it takes everything in its path, but garrisons nothing in its wake.

Its easy to predict where along the line of its advance you can get sufficient AV into its path to bog it down into a siege.

Once stymied, the Chinese army, like an amoeba, simply swarms around it isolating it until it can be reduced.

The AI will quickly lose its entire army in China this way.

Defeating the AI in China in '42 is child's play.

[Sun Tempest]

As I like playing the japs, I complied a tentative list of houserules for games against Allied AI:
- reliable US torpedoes ON
- no hunt for Force Z
- only A5M Claude and B4Y Jean used on CVEs
- only Glens for subs
- no dive bombers on CVLs
- separate IJA si IJN operations (as much as possible)
- shipping of fuel solely by TK/AO

Any other ideas to give an extra chance to the AI?

Thanks,
M

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Sun Tempest
Any other ideas to give an extra chance to the AI?

1. Play historically in DEI and Burma - try to not offer excess resistance and force concentration.
It is easy to make stand against AI in Singers/Moulmein/Java that would bloody AI enough to ruin his game, since AI will not pursue next objectives unless previous on the list are secured.

2. Do not bomb his oil, he can't defend it

3. Play on Very Hard, or Hard but switching to Very hard for some days each month to load AI up on supplies.

4. Play Nasty scenarios from Andy!

[Dreamsicle]

Burma - try to not offer excess resistance and force concentration.
It is easy to make stand against AI in Singers/Moulmein/Java that would bloody AI enough to ruin his game, since AI will not pursue next objectives unless previous on the list are secured.

He's playing as the Japanese so that might not really work out for him. [:D]

On a similar note, when playing as the allies does that extend to Rangoon? It's the only area I've bothered reinforcing however they are really taking their sweet time at Java and their push into Burma is unexpectedly light in spite of their capture of Singers and Bataan. It's already April 1942 and Soerabaja is still in Dutch hands which I have not bothered to reinforce. I must wonder how many troops they've sent to the Solomons which they took in February.

[GetAssista]

ORIGINAL: Dreamsicle
He's playing as the Japanese so that might not really work out for him. [:D]

On a similar note, when playing as the allies does that extend to Rangoon? It's the only area I've bothered reinforcing however they are really taking their sweet time at Java and their push into Burma is unexpectedly light in spite of their capture of Singers and Bataan. It's already April 1942 and Soerabaja is still in Dutch hands which I have not bothered to reinforce. I must wonder how many troops they've sent to the Solomons which they took in February.

Oh gosh, where were my eyes... [:D] April is not too late for Java yet.

Playing against allies AI (which I usually do):
- Be modest with Japan capabilities. It is possible for Japan to conquer the world against AI by summer 1943 if powerplayed using all AI weaknesses
- Hard/V.Hard juggling and Nasty scenarios from AndyMac
- No deep invasions during expansion phase, it is better to restrict yourself to historical area and tempo of operations
- Restrict yourself from excess maneuver warfare in Burma/India/China. AI lets itself be easily provoked and surrounded on land and is rather passive in breaking out, so it is possible to isolate and eliminate large masses of AI troops on the regular basis
- No impenetrable fortresses on strategic atolls else AI will impale itself again and again. It's not easy for him to concentrate overwhelming force to storm atolls properly.
- Do not resize your IJN airgroups and in general be modest with R&D and pilot training
- Try and activate Russia in 1942
- Play Downfall scenario for a taste of endgame as Japan, do not plan to achieve plausible endgame in GC

[Alpha77]

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

ORIGINAL: Sun Tempest
Any other ideas to give an extra chance to the AI?

1. Play historically in DEI and Burma - try to not offer excess resistance and force concentration.
It is easy to make stand against AI in Singers/Moulmein/Java that would bloody AI enough to ruin his game, since AI will not pursue next objectives unless previous on the list are secured.

2. Do not bomb his oil, he can't defend it

3. Play on Very Hard, or Hard but switching to Very hard for some days each month to load AI up on supplies.

4. Play Nasty scenarios from Andy!

I can attest to better play "historic", I took to much from the AI I believe. Now it is confused what to do. In India it wants Calcutta back ofc but they divide their troops . The others want to take Imphal instead. But even if they would concentrate I meanwhile destroyed some of their stuff. SO I beleive even if they would concentrate they could not take anything back really. I pulled out of most cities meanwhile and only hold basically the area around Calcutta witht the hope they take back the now open places. But seems they do not want these places back at all even if no one from me is there anymore. Same in Australia actually instaed taking back eg. Brisbane they bomb it They even bomb the city LOL. I can imagine the conversation if it was real:

" HOOORRRAH the Japs have left. Now our glorious Aussie army can take it back with just one company"

"Hey man do you hear that..... bombers.... "

"OH no the Japanese lied, they left but will bomb the city to the ground...bastards"

"NOW !!! Get cover!!!"

BOOOOOOOM BOOOOM etc.

15 mins later:

"You know what - those planes these were American and British models. So ours"

"Oh well ...........*sigh* do they know not a single Jap is here anymore???

"YEAH they should cause we radioed it all to them"

"WHY TF are they bombing us then ?"

"Guess they need practice...."

[Dreamsicle]

Ok so I've been researching aircraft for future carrier groups. I am considering using the F4U-1D and eventually F4U-4 instead of the Helldiver by 1945 due to the payload as seen in the WitpTracker. However I do not believe that the Corsair can dive bomb and thus accuracy is reduced compared to the Helldiver. What tactics should be used for Corsair bombing?

[Alpha77]

ORIGINAL: Dreamsicle

Ok so I've been researching aircraft for future carrier groups. I am considering using the F4U-1D and eventually F4U-4 instead of the Helldiver by 1945 due to the payload as seen in the WitpTracker. However I do not believe that the Corsair can dive bomb and thus accuracy is reduced compared to the Helldiver. What tactics should be used for Corsair bombing?

100ft low.