OKW Firestorm Doctrine

Firestorm Doctrine

Although I am very aware about this doctrine not being an OP doctrine, I for one am very fond of the flamethrower ability to equip one or more Sturmpioniere with.
I wish to use this doctrine simply for nostalgic reasons and my preference to play with fire, lets say I like to live dangerously.

I have read many articles about OKW and sadly only a few were written about the OKW Firestorm Doctrine, those that were written about it are mostly negative and not very helping strategic wise.

My question to all the experienced players is if you could tell me how I could use this Doctrine usefully. I am an aggressive type of player that likes to overwhelm opponents early on.
My preference is to do this with Sturmpioniere + Flamethrowers (for buildings/green cover mostly)

There are lots of tips I am sure that can be provided, also I could use some nice intell about manouvres to cut off people on the most popular tournament 1vs1 maps (can someone make a top 3 1vs1 map with names).

I would like to learn these tactics with the new intell on these maps so I can try some ranked matches later.

Auf wiedersehen,

Propaganda/Link

Although I don't quite play Firestorm Doctrine, I could give you a couple of pointers on the early game rush.

My early game strategy has served me alright in 2v2s and in 1v1s (~55-60% WR), and it revolves around the kubelwagen and a pair of sturmpioneers. I have both the mobility bulletins for kubelwagen and a third bulletin that changes from time to time, but is usually either a PzIV or JpzIV bulletin.

I tend to min/max and play very aggressively in the early game, and my build order is always kubel -> volks -> sturm -> volks -> truck. With a total 9% increased movement, 5% increased accel, and built right at the start of the game, the kubel can rush fuel while your pioneers capture the territories leading up to it.

0) Before you finish loading, hover over F1 and W (min/max)
1) Send your pios to the closest point between base and desired fuel point
2) Set rally point to fuel before kubel is out. Queue your volks.
3) After kubel is out, set rally point to another neutral resource point

During this time, if you feel like min/maxing, you can closely monitor your sturms capping and start moving them before cap finishes so they can capture it while walking out of it. As your kubel makes a beeline for fuel, your pios should be also eventually headed toward fuel. Generally, the kubel will either capture or partially capture the point when enemy forces move in on it, and your pioneers haven't reached the cap point yet. Just let the kubel sit and engage (unless there is an MG) and stall until your pios can catch up to it. Pull the kubel back for a bit and let your sturms mop the floor against a weakened enemy squad. Afterward, you can repair your kubel as if nothing ever happened and send them to rush another point in the same fashion. Keep in mind that, while this will not always work perfectly, when micro'ed well it is capable of forcing the enemy to either overcommit to your kubel + pios allowing you to cap other points or to force their forward cappers to retreat, also buying you time.

4) By the time the engagement with the enemy starts, you should have 1 sturmpio, 1 kubel, and 1 volks. The volks should be capping a point via rally point. Feel free to use them in either way, as combat troops or as your cappers, as the situation requires. You should also be able to queue up your next sturmpio squad
4.5) You can choose to set the rally point to another neutral point if you wish. Queue up the 2nd squad of volks.
5) By the time your 2nd volks comes out, you should have enough staying power and unit variety to invest in a truck. Play from there.

A few other tips:

Thorough salvage allows you to get 15 (I think) munitions from any weapon or vehicle wreck in addition to the base 5 fuel. Because this is a munitions-heavy doctrine, this can be very helpful if you have a squad of volks or sturms to mop up after every battle.

The volks can save their StG upgrades for later. As Firestorm, you'll want to keep munitions for your flamethrower and grab that ASAP as the shock value of the flamethrower is most noticeable in the early game when players are scrambling for key buildings. You'll want some form of longer-range damage other than the kubel's crappy MG. In addition, if your flamethrower gets forced off, you still have anti-garrison.

Don't go overboard on the flamethrowers. You want at least either one squad with a shrek or a puppchen to deal with clown car or UPC. I tend to keep a pair of pioneers, one upgraded with shrek, and one without for anti-infantry. In this case, the dedicated anti-infantry squad receives the flamethrower. Of course, I'm not saying you should limit yourself to 1 flamethrower, but sturms are expensive, and you'll want the ability to engage at least light armor with something.

Recoup losses is great for big fights, as it eases your reinforcement costs. It gives 20 manpower per infantry model (doesn't matter what kind of infantry) lost for 30 seconds. Use it often when the game heats up as it allows you to be even more aggressive with your infantry play, knowing that losses hurt only fractionally.

The flammpanzer is good for blobs and dislodging defenses, and unlike the 251 flamethrower can wade through all small arms fire and to a point bofors fire relatively unharmed. It's very weak to AT, as one would expect. If you are fortunate enough to steal a mortar, you could use the smoke to great effect in making sure the flammpanzer can close the distance if there are AT guns in play. Alternatively, in team games, a well-coordinated OKW assault artillery or OKH mortars can be just as useful. If needed to attack something behind the protective smoke, don't forget there is always attack ground.

I would recommend investing in some form of AT in the mid game more than just a sturm with shreks, since keep in mind that the flammpanzer costs 100 fuel, which will hurt your chances of getting medium armor out at the same time as your opponent. I would also recommend JgdPz IV as the first item choice from PzHQ, because it is quite likely at that point your opponent has some form of medium or heavy armor, maybe more than one. Rounding out your unit selection with dedicated AT helps keep him on his toes when engaging your flammpanzer with armor.

The Stuka barrage is useful because it's a circular pattern, and saturation fire is something OKW lacks. Oddly enough, the firing sounds like a Katyusha or Panzerwerfer barrage instead of a Stuka barrage, which may make it less obvious in a team game.

Hope my experiences has helped!

Hey everyone on coh2.org ... Would anyone know how the flamerthrower works vs mp 44's on sturm pios. Im confused as to whether they improve dps outright or are just a counter to garrisons.

Hey everyone on coh2.org ... Would anyone know how the flamerthrower works vs mp 44's on sturm pios. Im confused as to whether they improve dps outright or are just a counter to garrisons.

Flamethrowers deal AoE damage in short bursts and the damage is dependant on model spacing. If models are clumped like in cover, all models hit will take damage. Each model can take a fixed damage per flame burst but the damage is amplified by green cover and garrisons and reduced by water.

StG 44s are potent mid to close range weapons that has an exponentially higher DPS the closer you get to your target. The damage output is all based on rate of fire, damage and accuracy of the bullets. When standing at close range for maximum StG DPS, the StG 44 will outdamage the flamethrower if a squad is not clumped so the flamethrower is hitting only 1 model. If models are clumped the flamethrower can be more effective.

Essentially: If models are clumped the flamethrower is more effective, if not the StG is probably stronger but I'd say it's still always worth the upgrade for the flamethrower if you don't need the sweeper or the schreck because it will force your opponet out of cover and to space out. Of course the flamethrower is stronger for garrisons as well.

Before Sturmpios upgraded to shrecks it was decent for using the flamethrower for veterancy on sturms, so in my opinion the doctrine only got worse aside from recoup losses which i think is the only good ability on the doctrine. Sturms have quite a loaded role right now.

You could use recoup losses in combination with volk blobbing trading muni for manpower is pretty powerful, and lastly trolling with flamehetzer jagdpanzer

If you would like some examples of good usage of said doctrine, go watch some vonivan streams. He is a top player that uses this doctrine very often in his okw matches and had success with it.

i wouldn't advice using it vs soviets, without sweepers you are vulnerable to possible demo charge

Not saying im a good player or anything but my standard early game revolves around 2x kubels, 2x flamer sturmpios, 2x volkz, followed up by a puma. Kubels cap w/ sturms rushing to deny key points and quickly repair vehicles. Puma and volkz round out my aggressive style.

Hey everyone on coh2.org ... Would anyone know how the flamerthrower works vs mp 44's on sturm pios. Im confused as to whether they improve dps outright or are just a counter to garrisons.

This doctrine totally rekts urban maps like Stalingrad, right side of Angoville... so it really depends. On maps like Langres nobody fears flamer Sturmpio. Also haven't used flame hetzer for a while is it worth using it now?

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I myself think this doctrine is great for certain urban maps like arnhem, semosky or la glieze.

Sturmpioneers with flamer are really OP unit in urban maps, it´s like giving pgrens a flamer.

It doesn´t mind that you S-pios will be overworked, you can have 1 for sweeping things and build another 2 as your elite urban unit, because that´s what essencially they are. Lategame you will have 3-4 volks, 3 spios. And so what, you won´t have any additional elite infantry, because obers are bad.

Later on doublerakettens and hetzer are great. Hetzer is really strong against units in cover/garison, use him like that. Not tank like oswind, rather support gun that will help your infantry win any engangenemt.

Later on call in kingtiger or panther, what you need more.
Stuka barrage will help you to clear enemy AT guns in oder to create "ending assualt"


Really good doctrine on urban maps, rather meh elsewhere

This doctrine totally rekts urban maps like Stalingrad, right side of Angoville... so it really depends. On maps like Langres nobody fears flamer Sturmpio. Also haven't used flame hetzer for a while is it worth using it now?

Hetzer? not really. This is the weakest spot of the doctrine. You can possibly use one if there is still lots of camping in buildings at that point but normally luchs will serve you much better.