Ostheer MassGrenadier to T3 Strat

Hey all

Ive been playing a lot of COH2, was in since alpha and all betas and have had a lot of success.

I have tried many strats, from fast Tier 2 build (which I did not copy from anyone...not saying I was first doing it in Alpha, but I figured it out myself), to various regular Tier 1 builds going Gren,Gren,MG,MG,Mortars (back when the MOrtars were actually good)or simpler Gren,Gren,MGs to Tier2, to heavy Tier1s (which I saw first from Inverse) going Gren,Gren,MG,MG,MOrtar...and varying that.

I feel PanzerGrens are not as good as before (in Alpha and closed Beta), but am finding out that Grenadiers are insanely powerful!....and recently I have come up with a new and quite effective Ostheer Strategy using the Grens!

Know this...This strat relys heavily on early game. You must secure fuel and fuel Outpost!

Here goes:

- OPENING BUILD ORDER : Gren, Gren, MG, Gren, Gren. (I know thats a lot of Grenadiers!) ...Build Fuel Outpost..Tech to Tier 2..then Tier 3..Then Otswind/Stug!

EARLY GAME: So early game with this BO is very easy. The 4 Grenadiers are great for map control and WILL beat conscripts (and light vehicles) in well played engagements (..effective use of cover, buildings etc..).
Here the point is to secure as much map control as possible, and very importantly ...SECURE FUEL POINT AND BUILD A FUEL OUTPOST..this is key for the mid game follow up.

How to play early game: Use Grens in groups of 2 as much as possible! ...this will ensure you win most fights and...WILL HELP YOU DEAL WITH THOSE PESKY LIGHT TRUCKS! 2 panzerfausts will take care of the early Soviet trucks. Be aggressive!..you want to justify your heavy tier 1 spending by grabbing as much territory as possible!!

Spend munitions very liberally in this early game...to UPGRADE GRENS WITH MG42s...these are very potent. Just dont forget to stop and fire, as they do not fire on the move! And to kill vehicles with your PanzerFausts.

The single MG is great for support...I like to garrison important buildings (ex: The church in Kholodny) and/or keep it on the move to support my Grens (will move it between bridges on Prypiat)Use it defensively. Something your Grens can soft retreat back to when overwhelmed. Most importantly! Keep it alive!!

By the end of Early game..you should have at least half the map if not more..you should control at least one of the 2 fuel points AND have a fuel outpost.

MID GAME:
Tech to Tier 2, then as soon as possible directly to Tier 3...Get your first Tank out!

The point of this fast tech is to catch your opponent off guard (a bit like the Fast M8 in COH1)...You want that first Tank out ASAP! I usually get an Ostwind at the 10min mark.

The Choice between Ostwind or Stug is simply a matter of reacting to your opponents build.

SO...
-If you see special weapons crews (Soviet MGS, Mortars, Snipers etc..) All these out before the 10min mark indicate large amounts of resources spent in infantry units. Meaning you will not see the dreaded T34 so soon.

GO FOR OSTWIND!

- If all you see is 4-5 conscript squads for all of early game. Be wary your opponent is potentially going for a fast T34!
- If your opponent has control of fuel , if you find a soviet fuel OP...this again indicates possible T34!

GO FOR STUG!

Now make this Tank count! ...

if vs Infantry....Make sure no AT gun is in the way...flank your Ostwind with upgraded Grens...and Rush the soviet player....dont be afraid to chase down retreating squads. (I have base rushed many russians with this Fast Ostwind..often securing the win at that moment!)

if vs Tank....Approach the Tank with your Grens ...and Faust it! ..damaged engine critical will ensure your Stug can chase it down and kill it (tip: Dont A move when chasing with the Stug, move it close then fire, as it has great range and you will potentially get a lot more shots off then if you attack from full range). DO NOT SEND YOUR STUG IN UNSUPPORTED! ...it will die to AT nades, AT gun and T34 combo!

Be smart with your Tank use. Scout for AT guns. Keep out of range of AT nades. Use the roads for maximum speed. Keep infantry with your tank for support. Repair your tanks!!! (consider getting a second Engineer during mid game for faster repair)

LATE GAME

At this point I focus on vehicles. I will add Ostwinds if I see more infantry...add Stugs vs vehicles...Artillery PanzerWherfers vs Clumps and Weapon crews!

Consider back teching to T2 for PAK40s or Panzergrens if you lose map control and fuel becomes scarce.

Keep your Grens (upgraded them with MG42s, even G43s with doctrine) in the front(in cover)..Tanks in the back...and push the Soviet to his inevitable end!


DOCTRINE CHOICE : As of now, Oshteer Doctrines are very bad IMO (where the F is the Tiger Tank!?). But with this strat I will often go with the Howitzer Doctrine (Festung Support). I love to get the mid-late game Howi to put pressure on my opponent. Use it wisely, dont spam it. Also I will often get a mid late game Mortar Truck to counter ennemy mortars (which I have seen often from Soviets)

The Jaeger Infantry doctrine is also very good here. G43s and Camo upgrades are great on Grens and MGs, just make sure you use cover so your squads are concealed AND get that great damage upgrade. The later off map Artillery is also very useful/powerful.


TROUBLESHOOTING:

-Things dont always go perfectly. This strat relys on you having a STRONG EARLY GAME! You must secure fuel! ... But if you dont secure fuel early...DO NOT TECH TO TIER 3!...go for T2 get some grens and PAKs to regain Map control!

I dont think this beats everything...nor do I think I know everything..so please feel free to try this out and let me know what you think!


Thank you!

This is interesting, personally i have never skipped building the T2 as I still feel HT and Scout Cars upgraded can secure the mid game easy as long as you use them with support. I will try it out and see how it goes.

with such great MP spend, you will have a Stug on the field vs like 2 T-34's

But before, you will get probably rofl stomped by flamer HT's, shock troopers or just conscript spam

Well no exactly, depending on how your opponent plays, whether he rushes out one flamer HT or wait till he gets two will be crucial to this strat. If he rushes out one then with two squads of Grens. they can easily take it out with two shots from the panzerfausts.

However if they do decide to wait and rush out two it will be much harder to kill both and you might end up losing some ground. I just played a match with this strat, improvised a bit but the progression was the same.

I rushed out an Ostwind at around the 10 minute mark after capping fuel and building a fuel CP. With it I was able to gain alot of ground before he was able to get out his first T34.

I can give replay if you guys want, but so far its a half decent strat, as long as they don't bumrush you with flamer HTs and Shock troopers.

I have never faced more than one T34 at the time my first Stug comes out. Its just too early. At least this is what Ive experienced.

Try it out!

with such great MP spend, you will have a Stug on the field vs like 2 T-34's

But before, you will get probably rofl stomped by flamer HT's, shock troopers or just conscript spam

show me a replay vs a good and well-known players, and not vs random scrubs

Ive seen nystrom doing a lot of T1-T3 with G43's. It can be easily over-run by Shock Troops and HT's though. Grens are just not good enough to deal with a heavy inf strat.

Never try to play vs Shock spam without a MG though if you spammed the LMG upgrade with field reinforce and heal bunkers maybe it could work.

June 13th patch may have greatly helped the strategy....T3 vehicle costs are Way! down!

http://www.coh2.org/news/3711/big-big-patch-june-10th/page/3

Ostwind:
- Price from 400mp/100fuel to 320mp/115 fuel

Panzer IV:
- Price from 480mp/120 fuel to 320mp/115 fuel

Stug
- Price from 400mp/85 fuel to 280mp/95 fuel

June 13th patch may have greatly helped the strategy....T3 vehicle costs are Way! down!

http://www.coh2.org/news/3711/big-big-patch-june-10th/page/3

Ostwind:
- Price from 400mp/100fuel to 320mp/115 fuel

Panzer IV:
- Price from 480mp/120 fuel to 320mp/115 fuel

Stug
- Price from 400mp/85 fuel to 280mp/95 fuel

scroll down in page to see newest patch

Yep, they also nerfed the flammenwerfer halftrack alot so it might be better to skip T2 now and go straight for T3. Will try it out myself when I get the chance.

This sounds similar to the Inverse: Evolution video on YouTube. My real question/concern is dealing with early soviet vehicles. Any ruskie worth his salt with decent micro can kite Grens with M3. Now with reduced range on Faust making it even more difficult to knock one out. Really only worried about M3 and T70.

Thoughts/suggestions for counter?

Yeah, I agree with Warhound. IMO This strat has big problems especially against m3+sniper combo. You simply cant faust it with grens because of kiting.

Yeah, I agree with Warhound. IMO This strat has big problems especially against m3+sniper combo. You simply cant faust it with grens because of kiting.

That is the reason why you always have two squads of Grens next to each other.