AA units OP?

[Helsingor]

Anyone else feel that AA units are too powerful defensively vs. infantry? I understand their defense value vs. tanks (the German 88 mm was of course originally a flak gun that proved to be a great tank killer, and I think there were similar examples in other militaries), but can't tell you the number of times I have attacked an AA with one or more Armies and gotten meager or no results. Supply and Entrenchment levels don't seem to make a difference. I know that at this scale, there is a level of abstraction and an AA unit in SC: WaW should not be thought of as merely a bunch of flak guns, but still they often seem better at defending key points than Armies or Corps

Is there something I'm missing?

[Umeu]

Before infantry upgrades, the AA gun has the same defense values vs hard/armored units as a corps (1), while being 33% cheaper. And only 1 less vs soft (2 instead of 3).

A tank has 4(soft) and 3(hard) attack values, but only 2 vs AA. While an army has 5(soft) and 3(hard, AA). A corps, on the other hand has 4(soft), 1(hard) and 2(AA), so they're as good vs an AA gun as a tank.

That said, 2 attack vs 1 defense is not so great in this game, especially if the AA gun is entrenched. So yes, early on, AA guns are pretty great in defense if they're entrenched and have high morale, or if situated in favorable terrain. They are also cheaper and therefore more cost-effecient. However, you can't counter attack with them. As upgrades come in, they become less effective quite quickly.

They are probably better than a corps in some cases (because more cost-effecient), but unlikely to outperform an army though. Armies are also the best unit to dispatch of AA guns.

[LoneRunner]

A few years ago AA units were good for defending against amphibious transport attacks. I don't know if that's true anymore.