Budwise: TalesofValor40, dart_striker,

Welcome to the program gentlemen. We're all here to learn from each other and to have some fun but to do that you need to commit to being active here. If you want to drop out or have lost interest please say so as there are 20+ others waiting for a mentor.


Most of you have Mic's according to your signup so get them ready and install Ventrilo. (deafkid don't worry about this)

Vent Info:
IP: chitown.ventriloservers.biz
port: 4407
You'll be locked down to the lobby at first but an admin will sort you out permissions to move.

Also add me on Steam @ Budwise.


I'd like you to check in here and give me and the other mentees some basic info about yourself.

1) What is your Steam name?
2) What will your name in Ventrilo be? (so we can recognize you)
3) How long have you played?
4) What factions do you want to play or focus on if any?
5) What do you feel your strengths are?
6) What do you feel are your weaknesses?

7) Post a replay of a LOSS, I don't want to see wins. Or better yet once you start seeing other mentees in here get a game vs them and post it here.


Here's some light reading compliments of two of the greats from back in the old days of vCOH but 95% of it still completely applies to COH2.

QUOTE
QUOTE(12azor @ May 29 2007, 11:53 AM) *

General Tip


Floating Resources

Floating any resource in a large amount is a mistake and a huge irritation to me! This especially applies to the early and mid-game with Manpower which is directly linked to the size of your forces on the field and is almost always on a par with that of the opponent and therefore can dearly cost you if he spends 500 Manpower on 2 extra units and then attacks your army, which is two squads down. Floating Munitions should be spent on mines unless you have a specific plan for those munitions e.g. late-game strafing/bombing/AWM/Manpower Blitz or mid-game Shrecks/LMG/Suppression Fire. Floating fuel should only ever happen in the late-game when you simply have such a great amount of fuel that you are unable to use it. However, floating fuel as Allies is a huge mistake as it can be spent on teching-up to the powerful Shermans or Crocodile tanks, which are always extremely useful in the battles due to their damage out-put and their ability to absorb damage. Floating fuel as Axis can be spent on Veterancy or teching to T3 or T4 depending on the situation, veterancy is far more potent with Blitzkreig Doctrine because fuel is not required to get Vehicles as they come from off-map groups. However, Blitzkreig off-map groups in combination with some T4 tanks and infantry can be absolutely unstoppable if you are able to get to that stage in the game.

Floating resources is always situation dependent and the best way to avoid doing so at a critical times is to have a tried and tested Build Order and strategy before going into the game, knowing when you should have what on the field and when the next unit should be built and suchlike. I would therefore suggest to all of you that you experiment with the most effective build order for you and try to get it worked into the most efficient spend of your resources as they come in. These build orders should not be rigid to too great a degree but should be an outline to give you an idea of where you should be at which stage in the game. These build orders should also be varied depending on the map as different maps have different income values, Angoville has 6 High Points compared to only 2 on Semois and 1 on Beaux etc.

First General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ May 29 2007, 11:56 AM) *

General Tip
Angoville Strategy

Always focus on one side and then cross-over to the key strategic point near his base in order to cut him off from all his resources, this works best when focusing on the left side initially then crossing over to the building near their base and garrissoning and capturing his strategic point. Always be aware that this is the best option no matter where the battles may develop.

Second General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ May 29 2007, 12:00 PM) *

General Tip

Back-teching

Always be aware that back-teching is an option and can often turn the battle in your favour, the only issue with back-teching is the manpower spend in order to do it and this must be taken into account when doing so. However, back-teching may well get you out of many difficult situations and can distrupt your opponent's macro tactics a great deal if done correctly. When to back-tech and when not is mostly a case of experience but this guide should help you to understand the idea and power of back-teching better. Please read it all mentees.

Third General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ May 29 2007, 16:43 PM) *

General Tip

Idle units

Every unit you have should be constantly performing a task, it should serve a purpose every second it is on the field. If you have a unit which is not fighting, moving, capturing etc. for more than two seconds then it is an idle unit and could be serving a useful purpose elsewhere. The only time you should have immobile units is if you are defending a specific important area and even then this should be done with the required forces to absorb their expected impact whilst other units deal with other matters. This tip applies most often to units in buildings as you can forget about them very easily but it is vital to have every unit performing a useful task constantly and often simply having your units being useful constantly will be the key to victory as your opponent will be idling units and you will overwhelm him with your forces or capping power.

Fourth General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ May 30 2007, 14:59 PM) *

General Tip

Targetting in large scale engagements

In most games there will come a stage at which you have one exceptionally powerful unit, this may be the early Quad or the late-game Pershing as Allies or the Puma/Tiger as Axis, in both cases these units main role is to remove the obstacles in the path of the rest of your army and not to serve as a universal counter to everything on the field on their own. I will explain by an example - if you have a Pershing and a large number of BAR'd riflemen and you are engaging Storms/MG/Tiger then the battle is not won or lost on the Tiger/Pershing head-to-head as many may focus on but rather on the removal of the support, the Pershing should target the MG and allow the riflemen to over-run the stormtroopers and then sticky the Tiger and thereby give a huge advantage to the Pershing when it turns to confront the Tiger. Similarlly the Tiger should target the BAR'd riflemen to storm them being able to sticky the Tiger or over-run the storms and the storms should target the Pershing to soften it up for the Tiger. The powerful units are refered to as impact units and they should always be used to facilitate the rest of your armies abilitiy to win the battles, do not disregard your lower tier units and support as your impact units become more powerful because in a close game it is always won or lost on the lower tier units survivability and not on impact units.

Fifth General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ May 30 2007, 15:12 PM) *

General Tip

Fighting Against Axis Tier 2

This tip applies to Allied play only. When fighting against Axis Tier 2 they are playing a defensive game and specifically to counter your teching and vehicles, therefore the best way to counter it is to not play into their hands but rather go with a similar infantry based tactic - the WSC. This guide will help explain somewhat but I shall also explain here. Due to the nature of T2 it has no really aggressive units unlike T3 with the Puma and so when fighting against T2 the game is likely to develop into a stand-off situation and which point mortars become invaluable at constantly shelling and removing their defences and obstacles to your hordes of BAR'd riflemen, 2 mortars can almost instantly wipe out an AT Gun or an MG and will also quickly dispatch bunkers or units waiting in cover for your forces. Snipers are the aggressive end of the WSC as they allow quick removal of units and can cause massive manpower damage to the small squads of the Axis player, as well as dispatching MGs and ATs with efficiency and so if you need to make a push quickly against an infantry based Axis player then a Sniper will serve you well. However, with Snipers it is important to keep them covered by BAR'd riflemen at all times in case the Axis player attempts a rush of the sniper and one must also be wary of counter-sniping, although a suicidal jeep will usually succeed in taking out an Axis sniper whilst the bike is unable to return the favour. The HMG is the defensive side of the WSC and can hold positions extremely well, much in the manner of an Axis MG except with less range, less suppression rate but higher damage out-put.

As mentioned in the above statements BAR'd riflemen are key against infantry based Axis strategies and so always get BARs against a T2 player and indeed always tech to BARs against any player in any tier when you are able to do without hurting your response to their tech.

The only impact unit you may encounter against a T2 player is the flammenwerfer, which can be 1-shotted by an AP round from an AT Gun or 2-3 stickies will normally do the job, as will AP shells from an HMG. However, the best counter to the flammenwerfer is a series of well-placed mines and luring it into them, especially M8 mines if you are able to place some in key locations.

These tips also apply to the Blitz/KKC strategy or any other infantry-based strategy of the Axis opponent although it is most effective against Tier 2.

Sixth General Tip



QUOTE(13laded @ May 30 2007, 21:14 PM) *

General Tip

Machine Guns this is primarily for axis players

MGs are not to use primarily as static location defenses. They are mobile supression machines capable of completely negating one or more enemy squads whilst at the same time doing damage to them. Use volks/pios/bike to scout for MGs as they have greater range than LoS and so can be used from outside your opponents LoS (he won't know what's happening until his squad is supressed if you're using MG42s). This is invaluable as he will almost certainly use remaining squads to try and flank and then volks can be used to destroy the flanking squad as it runs due to movement penalties. The only times MGs should be used as static defenses are locking down a base entrence or when you do not intend to push any further on that side.

Seventh General Tip



QUOTE(13laded @ May 30 2007, 21:59 PM) *

General Tip

Shrecks against Motor Pool Units this is an axis tip

Motor Pool units are very powerful and will cause a lot of problems for axis players, especially early on (the quad is devastating and a well used M8 is a unit for precise surgical strikes against units such as mgs). These units are however very weak to Shrecks (if you are tier2 you can use Paks which are more effective) A quad will go down in usually three shreck hits and an m8 in two (four/five with armour skirts). However they are much faster than your shrecked infantry and therefore you will not catch them. Attempting to chase is foolish as they will certainly be retreating to a safe location and so following will just get your shrecked infantry killed (especially against a quad which will supress you). Only chase if the unit is going to die the next shreck hit. The best way to counter motor pool units is to bait them (eg cap a point with just a volk) and have three shrecks stealthed nearby, or one shreck and a camo'd pak as this will usually suffice. The Allied player will be unable to resist a single volks and will charge in at which point you unleash three shrecks or a pak onto them and instantly kill it.

Eigth General Tip



QUOTE(12azor @ Jun 6 2007, 23:12 PM) *

General Tip

Unit Preservation

Unit Preservation is the key to victory, never fight a battle you are going to lose and never lose a squad, even if you surrender map control you cannot afford to lose too much Manpower or units at any stage, this applies especially to early game and Vehicles but is true throughout. The only time that you should allow units to fight in a losing battle is if you are holding for some reinforcements that will massively change the tide in your favour and need to buy time.
Tenth General Tip



QUOTE(13laded @ Jun 16 2007, 16:24 PM) *

General Tip

Capping Priorities

Make sure you cap the correct resources first to suit your strategy, sometimes it is decapping their fuel/mun to slow their tech, sometimes it's fuel for fast tech. If you are going tier3/blitz for example you should focus on capping your munitions and decapping their fuel. This will lead to you being able to put more shrecks on the field by the time they get MP units. Shrecks will keep you in the game where pumas will simply aid you in killing rifles.

QUOTE(12azor @ Jun 1 2008, 08:05 AM) *


Mines

Mines are a pivotal part of CoH as US or WM and must be used correctly and as often as possible. I would suggest getting down one or two mines in the early-game in key locations - the middle of the road in Angoville, next to key strategic point cut-offs, any gap in between houses, any choke-point area that is close to your expected front-line.

Mines will not only slow down enemy advances but will also cripple vehicles if they run into them and used in the right locations are the most effective spend of munitions in the game. If you have an idle pioneer/engineer squad then look for a location to place a mine.

Any kind of heavy cover is also a good position for mines as they enemy player will automatically run to the nearest heavy cover in any engagement and thus you can negate the cover bonus and win the fight with a simple 25 munitions.

Steam Name: flauffingauffen
1) What is your Steam name? flauffingauffen
2) What will your name in Ventrilo be? flauffingauffen or dart_striker
3) How long have you played?: 1 year
4) What factions do you want to play or focus on if any: OKW
5) What do you feel your strengths are: When I'm paying attention I believe I have some good micro abilities, understanding core mechanics, and strategies.
6) What do you feel are your weaknesses: Over extending my expensive units, not paying attention to units in grenade range of enemies, learning effective counters. Knowing when to hold more territory, or when to safeguard just what I have.

Welcome Dart.

Our replay from yesterday. I'll go through it tonight probably.

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  VS

  Flauffingauffen

  Budwise

  Mentoring Replay

  by: Budwise map: Langreskaya

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From our game last night there was a few things.

1) You struggled for map mainly because your entire force was Volks and PF's. This is a very MP intensive build that relies basically on brute force. If you're going to do that I'd suggest instead of 3-4 PF's get 1-2 PF's and 1-2 Obers since you did go T4. They are far more deadly and could have pushed back much harder on my Cons.

2) Consider if you generally have problems with early map control going a doc with an MG34. With the current buff they're pretty good.

3) As axis vs an aggressive Russian, you generally want to make sure you hold 1 fuel and 1 VP for the first 10-15 minutes. You don't have to split your forces if you don't want to and if not splitting means you get a good fuel income until the more powerful units arrive then it's a good plan.

4) Consider a stop gap unit for map control such as a Luchs if you're going fast T4. Yes it will slow down the P4 in overall fuel spent BUT if it allows you to hold your high fuel the entire game the P4 will be faster not slower most likely.

5) Make sure you utilize cover as much as possible.

Would use suggest fortification or Luft for the MG34? I usually have scavenger, fortification, and breakthrough on my bar.
My usual play is if I see lots of enemy MGs to go for Scavenger for grenade assault, fortification if I'm fighting enemy tanks, and breakthrough if I'm getting spammed. Sometimes the PF spam works, but probably only when I'm fighting people much less skilled than you. I'll have to rethink that strat.

Fortification is probably the most popular doctrine and for good reason imo. The PAK43 is super powerful especially vs a commander that lacks the offmap to kill it and MG34 is extremely good now to hold map control. Volks mines are also really nice to be able to spam if you float muni.

I personally enjoy Spec Ops for the IR STG44's and Command Panther but the lack of MG makes it slightly more important to stop for a Luchs or Flak HT.

Luft is also very good and pretty well rounded.

I can't tell you what to go since every map/player/situation is different but I can tell you that PF spam straight to P4 is probably going to be rough vs anyone good.

My most common build is Kubel, 3-4 Volks, T1 healing, T4, Luchs, Obers, then Panther or P4.

Another common one is Kubel, 3 Volk, T2, Flak HT, T4, Obers, Panther or P4.

Think about these and take them as a guidebook with plenty of spaces to read between the lines to respond to your opponent. Respond accordingly such as IST vs Maxims etc etc.

Thanks, like I mentioned I'm in the process of moving to a new place so I've been kind of busy lately. I move in on august 12th, I've been playing a little lately but I'll get into once I'm settled with this a little more.

1) What is your Steam name?: Talesofvalor40
2) What will your name in Ventrilo be? (so we can recognize you): Tales
3) How long have you played?: I originally played the first installment of Company of Heroes a couple years ago. I have played 204 hours of Company of Heroes 2 so far, and I plan to add a lot more than that.
4) What factions do you want to play or focus on if any?:I prefer to focus on Allied factions. I'm big on the Soviets and some USF. I am willing to play some Ostheer if I am in a team game.
5) What do you feel your strengths are?: Most of my strength comes in team games. Including 2v2s and 3v3s. My teammates tell me I am a decent teammate that compliments their strategies. I recently returned from a 3 month long break, so I have not visited 1v1s yet.
6) What do you feel are your weaknesses?: 6) At this time, I have many weaknesses. My micro is poor at times, I become distracted, I construct improper units for a situation, I poorly time construction of units and tend to float. The list goes on, but I get better with every game.

Notice: I would like to apologize for the late arrival and response. Recently, I went on vacation beginning the 25th, I returned today on July 30th. Hopefully I am not to late to the party.

Welcome Tales. Let's focus on 2v2 for you since its pretty tough to try and critique 3v3 games.

Nice to meet you Tales, I'll add you to my steam. Feel free to send me a message when you see me in game!

que crickets

Hey sorry, I finally moved into my new places but comcast isn't going to get here until the 21st of August. I'm posting at my local free burger king wifi spot. I'm probably going to not be around to much until then. I apologize in advance.