Noob questions

[narly bird]

I’m a newbie to the game, having played through the training missions and first few maps of the single player game only. It’s a great game, but I am slightly frustrated with the interface, as I’m still getting used to it (I have accidentally moved units sooo many times!). Anyway, I thought I would fire off some questions before I proceed too far into the game whilst making fundamental mistakes:

1. I’m a bit confused with what units will follow you into the next map/scenario from the current one. The terminology refers to these as “core units” I think. Is there any way I can tell in-game which are core units and which are other units that won’t follow me? It makes a big difference when I decide to reinforce units with elite or standard troops, but can’t tell which units are going to follow me to the next scenario.

2. Prestige – so there’s a balance between buying heaps of units, reinforcing with standard and reinforcing with elite units. That I understand. What I cant really figure out is the right balance. I guess this will come to me in time as I play the game more, but for the moment it seems that you are better off just maxing out on units than having a small superstar core force. Am I right? Wrong? Depends? Is there some kind of standard core you should go for (eg. 1 fighter, 1 tactical bomber, 2 panzers, 5 infantry, 3 artillery 1 scout), or does it heavily depend on each scenario/map?

3. One of my units gets a star and can go overstrength. It costs some prestige and a turn but they go from 10 to 11 strength. Is this worth it? I have no idea whether overstrength units are something worth going for or not? More likely than not they will suffer –1S on their first attack, so they go back to normal strength again. So did I just waste a turn and prestige upgrading them?

4. Is it just me or is it infantry and artillery that are the guys who win you the game? I pictured my force mostly consisting of tanks and of my tanks overrunning the enemy, but in actual gameplay I much more rely on infantry and artillery than tanks. And whilst I still win in the allotted time (mostly) the game comes down to a slow grind where I bombard a city, surround it, attack with infantry, capture it, move on to next city. The computer rarely leaves anyone out in the open (except for maybe anti tank guns) and so I find tanks mostly just move around and provide support to the infantry, perhaps by taking out opposing artillery hiding behind their cities. But that’s it. Am I just playing it wrong or do other people find this too?

Thanks in advance for tips. I should probably just play the game more and figure it out myself, but thought I’d be able to get some useful suggestions from the forum.

[El Condoro]

1. Core units have heavy gold border.
2. Depends and experience is the key. There are some threads that discuss this (here and at Slitherine forum)
3. Overstrength is very expensive. I tend not to do it. I also tend to use less expensive 'green' replacements rather than elite *unless* by doing so the unit will lose a star. Hovering the mouse over the replacement buttons will tell you what the effect of each will be.
4. I agree. Given that it is *Panzer* Corps, they are less useful and powerful than tanks used to be in PG/2. Infantry is vital for difficult terrain and taking cities, which most flags are. Tanks are still useful but much less so without overrun (PG2). That said, they are still generally vital against enemy tanks and are excellent for holding infantry in place in a city while reinforcements can be brought up. Just put one next to a flag and it can't be used for reinforcements or transport. The defender won't attack because combat occurs in the defender's hex. When the infantry and artillery arrives the defender will likely be toast.
 
It's much more complex than these responses in reality but for a start. Cheers and happy hunting.

[narly bird]

Thanks a lot for the tips so soon after my post. I have another question about entrenching. Does it happen automatically by just leaving a unit sitting there and doing nothing for a few turns or do you have to somehow activate it?

[Josh]

Entrenching goes automatically, just let the unit sit and they dig in. One level per turn... if I'm correct, the max. level is nine I think. And the higher the level of entrenchement the higher the chances of a rugged defense.
 
2) Yes, max out on units, buy as many as you are allowed to use in a scenario. Then when you still have some prestige left upgrade them or overstrengthen them (only between the scenarios; see 3). There are many ways to play this game, I tend to use combined arms because that is how I play all wargames. So first is airsuperiority, then Bombers and Arty, then the rest. Pretty mixed I'd say. But some rely on Inf units only, or no fighters at all, or no bombers ( because of the weather). And so on.
 
3) Overstrenghten your units *only* between the scenarios as it costs a fraction of what it would cost during a scenario. Furthermore, overstrengthen your unit during the deployment phase *before* upgrading it! Because overstrenghtening a Mark IV costs say 30 prestige per unit point, if you already have upgraded that unit to a Mark V that same point would cost you 40-45 prestige. So do not waste a turn during a scenario upgrading that unit, rather have that unit accumulate some more exp. Some 15 point units tend to be ... pretty devastating just like the old PG. [:D] Whammo blammo gone... so unrealistic and sooo much fun.
By using "green replacements" you don't necessarily lose a star, when you mouse over the replacement button it tells you what will happen.
 
4) I agree too, tanks are hardhitters when you need them, but certainly not indestructable, use them wisely.

[terje439]

ORIGINAL: narly bird
2. Prestige – so there’s a balance between buying heaps of units, reinforcing with standard and reinforcing with elite units. That I understand. What I cant really figure out is the right balance. I guess this will come to me in time as I play the game more, but for the moment it seems that you are better off just maxing out on units than having a small superstar core force. Am I right? Wrong? Depends? Is there some kind of standard core you should go for (eg. 1 fighter, 1 tactical bomber, 2 panzers, 5 infantry, 3 artillery 1 scout), or does it heavily depend on each scenario/map?

3. One of my units gets a star and can go overstrength. It costs some prestige and a turn but they go from 10 to 11 strength. Is this worth it? I have no idea whether overstrength units are something worth going for or not? More likely than not they will suffer –1S on their first attack, so they go back to normal strength again. So did I just waste a turn and prestige upgrading them?

2. There are some units I will ALWAYS use elite replacements for, these being aerial units, pioneers and paratroopers. If I can afford it, I will use elite for my other units as well, but these are not that important to me.
My playstyle tends to utilize a heavy aerial force. This is to reduce my own losses in two ways;
-fighters will provide cover so my own units do not get bombed
-tactical and strategic bombers will supress the enemy units and reduce entrenchment, meaning my forces will face less opposition when attacking an enemy position.

I tend to buy two fighters in Poland, add another in Norway as well as a strategic bomber or two, then I will add another fighter and tactical bomber in the Lowlands, and the same again in France.

3. The only units I tend to overstrength are aerial units and arty. As the game progresses, a 14 strength fighter can take out an enemy fighter unit all alone. A 14 strength tactical bomber can take out an arty unit all alone, and a 14 strength strategic bomber can sink a light cruiser in one attack. Arty will get overstrength to add to their supression ability, and these units are usually to the rear and usually do not take damage, so they tend to keep their overstrength points from scenario to scenario.


Terje

[Bentusi]

ORIGINAL: narly bird


Is it just me or is it infantry and artillery that are the guys who win you the game?

They do sieges and assaults, but you need everything in my opinion. One example was my last try in France where I went from my customary 1 or two 88mm flaks to three and got air superiority in just two turns when this combined with my 3 fighters. With just the fighters it would have taken at least 5 rounds, maybe 6.
Similarly with the panzers, you can band them up and punch through the front to reach stratpoints before they`re fully defended, or sometimes not defended at all. With a good recon unit with them you can also easily pick up as many towns and airfields as possible early, giving you resources for upgrades and reinforcements. Also never overstrength infantry unless you station a garrison somewhere. Save it for the planes and after you reach IVi or j the tanks. Artillery might also get overstrength, but only if you have flaks next to them all the time for protection.
The most undervalued early unit in PG and PC is the 88 which is quite possibly the best unit in the game until you get tigers. Since you can switch the cannon from AD early on to AT after you gain air superiority they never need to stand idle like the rest of the AD units. They do go out of date later on as AT but they work perfectly fine at Stalingrad where I`m currently playing.
Instead of listening to the plane-fetishists try starting with three 88s in France and you`ll see a huge difference both in clearing the skies and cutting down the initial armor north of Paris.

In general I try to play the way I know the Germans fought and you`ll be surprised at how well this works in almost every case. So get cracking on the history books as well:)