Newbie USF player seeks 2v2 advice.

Hello strategists. Ive been playing coh2 for about 250 hours, mostly campaign and 2v2 as USF. I find USF to be terribly punishing of mistakes, and losing even one squad to a grenade or mortar hit can send me into a backslide I can never stabilize from. I have trouble with Axis MGs and Armor, and havent really improved from rank 5 where this replay is from.

I feel this is a pretty average game for me. My apm isnt particularly high, I do my best to retain units and build proper counters. I feel like the game is lost around 13 minutes when the enemy player pushes with a 222 and p4 and simply runs me over and takes my fuel,despite having an AT gun, and I never recover with any armor or AT of my own outside of the RE and Capt Zooks that seem to never be enough. Any advice is appreciated, feel free to point out any glaring mistakes or even minor slips that add up and leave me with a loss.

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  =U= Meow

  Clockblocked B) maxfire

  Tough as Rails

  by: Clockblocked map: Rails and Metal

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Adding a couple of 1v1 losses I had tonight. My general build is 3RM-Ambu-Capt-Weapon-Nades-ATGun.
I feel like I am never able to use my ATGuns effectively as well as Axis MGs ruining my day. Smoke/Flank doesn't really work, and even though I get a few wipes it never seems to be enough. In the first game I feel I am simply outplayed, and in the second I wanted to tear my hair out because my opponent constantly had units capping my side of the map any time I tried to make a push, eventually locking down the sides with MGs and getting a panther out before I could afford a Sherman. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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  bikiranguha

  Clockblocked B)

  1v1 vs OST loss

  by: Clockblocked map: Kholodny Ferma

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  Armistice

  Clockblocked B)

  Clock loses to superior okw backcapping

  by: Clockblocked map: Unknown

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I'm a heavy 1v1 player and strategist and I'd be more than happy to help you with your 1v1 games. 2v2s are not my strong suit, so I will allow another strategist to look into that.

select all units, mark them as " 1 ", blob over everything coz vet 3 terminator rifles.

For Ostheer game

Show Spoiler

For OKW game

Show Spoiler

Thanks for the feedback! Such in depth analysis is exactly what I was hoping for when posting here. You made a lot of great points and shed light on some things I didnt know about, mainly that rifles can fire on the move for a greater chance at wiping. I think ill be replacing airborne with rifle company as I find I lean on the doctrine to fill holes when I make incorrect teching choices. Ill be sure to delay the ambulance slightly, and be more effective with my BARd rifles as well as remembering to try and use a mortar or two in each game. Thanks again for your time. I hope that these games find more discussion in the coming days.

@Strafinki - Ha. I wish that were true. While I do enjoy how versatile and powerful riflemen can be, those pesky MGs tend to dash any hopes I have of blobbing them up and running over my opponents like the tornado I wish it could be.

Feel free to post as many replays as you like and the strategists here will help.

P.S. I forgot to put in both games to put your AT gun on prioritize vehicles 99% of the time. It just reveals your AT position so your opponet can flank it, kill it etc. The damage it does to infantry is insignificat anyways. Best to have the element of surprise on their armor.

Oh wow. 250 hours in and still learning! I always thought prioritize vehicles was toggled on by default on AT guns and tanks, and that clicking it made it fire at will, since that what the icon displays. Whoops! Good call.

Hey man like dota, you never stop learning. 4k hours in that game and I was still learning every day.

Planning on getting a few games in tonight. A pair of 1v1s and 2v2s in which I focus on unit retention, mortar use, and a proper teching path. Any tips or suggestions of what doctrine I would use or tactics the strategists think I should employ? Open to build order and opening suggestions as well. Cheers boys!

I assume you're asking for USF meta openers since your playercard has only 1 other game as another faction. 1v1 standard meta atm is 3 rifles into LT m20 or AAHT, or 4 rifles in CPT stuart. A rifle may be traded out for 81mm mortar if needed. From then on it's map and opponet dependant what you go. 1v1s it's common to go from the stuart to a ranger squad, major, or pershing. Weapon racks when you can as well.

You thought right! I'm trying to stick with USF until I feel proficient in CoH2 in general since the army seems pretty well rounded and not too specialized, allowing for victory through flexibility and adaptation.

At my level, I can't help but feel that 3Rm->Mortar is only viable opening vs ostheer who almost always open with HMG42 first in the most central or Fuel covering building. Is that normal as the ranks increase? Id hate to get comfortable with a strategy that only works at low level.

So far I have been preferring captain tech against ostheer as he offers howis for garrisons, atguns and a zooka to deal with 222/444. I go for LT more against OKW as they tend to be a bit blobbier, so the AAHT helps a bit for that. My main problem comes when they have a stealthed raketenwerfer that eats up my m20 and AAHT, or shreks combined that really ruin my early midgame.

The worst thing in the world though is the P2 Luchs. Unless I get a lucky m20 mine hit or he runs it into a bunch of vet rifles and zooked REs, its almost undoubtedly game over as the Luchs rampages across the map, chewing up my AAHT and m20, running circles around atguns and mortars, wiping rifles trying for their short range snare, and killing bazooka REs before they ever fire a shot. Throw in any infantry support for it and every engagement becomes a critical failure. Even landing a hit or two from a zooka or Stuart isn't much to be proud of, as it simply sneaks off to repair and flank with a vengeance when it returns. I'm pretty traumatized from these experiences, even once having 2 OKW players in 2v2 both rush a Luchs out, rout my army, and chase all the way to my base where they proceeded to eat my ambulance and the rest of my army shortly thereafter.

Many Ostheer players open with an MG because you can grab it immediatly and it's also the best rounded MG and does its job well. So you'll probably see MG42 most games at any rank. While LT tech is alright, I'd prefer CPT because of how busted the stuart is with its stun rounds. Currently the stuart can 1v1 any light vehicle and win due to those stun rounds. However the patch is going to drop next week supposidly and they're being moved to vet 1 instead of vet 0 so we'll see how powerful the stuart will be after the patch. The AAHT is going to be a better suppression platform post patch with less damage. Also currently if you go m20 don't forget the m20 crew starts with a bazooka. Next patch you'll have to upgrade it for the zook but it's still nice. So if you can get a snare off with a rifle you can surprise the 222s or luchs with a couple zooks.

Hi Clock,

I will take a look at the first game and post feedback today. Please don't submit multiple replays in the same thread, it is hard to keep track of what is going on for us. I do appreciate your attempt to clarify problems.

If you are losing by 15 minutes as Allies it means you lost the early game and just hung in there. Allies have a clear advantage in the first 8 minutes, in general, and so should exploit that.

AT guns are powerful, but only when your opponent cannot get to them. Make sure to screen them with rifles to prevent them being overwhelmed.

Thanks for the reply, Bean. I posted the 1v1s as I understand some strategists specialize in 1v1 and it would be easier to point out my own mistakes in a 1v1 setting rather than a team game. Also I didn't think it would be best to clutter up the forum with several topics from the same poster with similar questions. Ill be sure to keep that in mind in the future.

The 2v2 is the only real question mark I have left at this time. I haven't been able to post any more good replays like I mentioned I would try to do as the advice given by ShadowLink has been invaluable and markedly improved my play. (As is to say, ive been winning more than losing, and can identify my own mistakes in my losses).

Looking forward to your feedback on the 2v2 game. Thanks again!

Ok here we go:

You open with a very non-traditional build, double RE's is not recommended. Either go Rifle, rifle mortar, or rifle, rifle, rifle.

You are extremely passive as the game begins. You are playing Wehr which requires them to build a base structure to get their units, go ahead and push up with the RE to cap points. Just make sure you keep the RE between the enemy and the building you want to take later.

In your first engagement you fought a battle you couldn't win to take no territory. He was in green cover, had more men shooting and had an MG covering his flank which suppressed your other squad. If you lose a fight realize right away and retreat. Better to lose a battle and some ground than lose a battle, the ground, and the MP.

On flanking MGs: Once you flank an MG continue to move towards it. This way if it tries to set back up you can simply go behind it again. You pulled off a flank at the start of your game and then didn't move so he simply backed up and suppressed you.

You way overinvest in AT early. You bought the zook/bar upgrade and loaded up your RE's with zooks to deal with a AC. AC's have so little health that a single rifle nade will force them back and then you can get Bars to help your infantry deal with his MG42 upgrades. You also can get the zook on the Cpt easily and push back the car. Do not blob the RE's with the Cpt.

Your mortar was far too aggressive over and over, and if often failed to be firing. If you don't have a target use attack ground and hit likely areas. If you see something you can switch to the barrage. Don't let it just sit there.

You built a cache long before you had secured the point. Only build a cache in areas that won't be attacked or after you are well on your way to map control.

Your AT gun is left behind to fend for itself. This cannot happen it has no way to fight back. If you retreat make sure you bring it back with you. In fact, it is good practice to pull the stakes and have it move back before your men retreat if you can.

You need to not blob into MGs that you know are there. You smoked one and then just sat there with your men and fought some grens. Be on the move.

They got armor before you because you did not control your own fuel for as long as they held it and they held their own fuel all game.

Overall I would recommend staying focused on the purpose of the game, capture points and VPs to win the game. Make sure you are not too timid with units when there is no risk to them and make sure you are careful with units when there is.

Feel free to post another review in a few weeks when you have had a chance to try out these tips. Also I would recommend watching one of the live streams for 15 or 20 minutes to see how high level players move around the map.

Much appreciated! Agreed on all fronts. Ill be sure to take this advice to heart, especially about pulling the AT gun back before/during retreats, as well as getting BARs before investing heavily in AT.
Is it usually best to wait until armor hit the field to build AT reactively instead of proactively? What is a healthy amount of AT at different stages of the game and how are they best microed? Is it worth putting an ATguns' crew in yellow/green cover?

Is there a way to reduce the scatter on the US mortars barrage ability? How long does barrage last, and how many shots are fired at an increased rate? Is there a database with these types of nechanics listed? Are mortars more accurate while autoattacking or attack ground, with/without direct vision? Thanks again for the feedback and answers! Sorry about the long list of new questions.

You need to be a little proactive against armor, don't wait around for it to arrive. But if you get a cpt with a zook, you won't need more AT for another 5-6 minutes in most cases. If he goes heavy light vehicles then is the time to get a 2nd or 3rd zook.

For each tank you want an AT gun, and some form of infantry AT (rifle nades, zook, etc.) or a tank of your own. If he makes more tanks than AT guns or tanks you won't be able to focus fire them down faster than he can switch targets.

AT gun crews firing the gun are in green cover, except the rakenten which gets no cover. The other crew members are in whatever cover they find. If you try to place an AT gun in cover what will generally happen is the shot from a tank can miss the crew but impact the cover, when it does this it acts like a grenade thrown on your troops and can kill them. Therefore, leave the crew out of cover but far enough back to prevent them being sniped by infantry. You will probably need to recrew or reinforce AT guns fairly regularly.

The USF mortar scatter is reduced by range and vet. The shorter the range the more accurate the fire. I believe the barrage fires three shots, but you can cancel it anytime. Increasing the rate is on the cooldown the crew should fire at the same rate as normal.

Barrage is usually more accurate than attack ground. Targeting a unit is more accurate than firing blindly. If you can see a unit your scatter on that unit will be reduced by 25%. Which is why if you can dual with infantry the mortar will appear to snipe the squad over and over. If you want to get into the depth of the game, and all these little mechanics, head over to Cruzz's thread at: https://www.coh2.org/topic/36347/cruzz-s-the-more-you-know

Many of those stats were changed a while ago, but some of the mechanics still exist and plenty of insight into how the game functions. Also make sure to read the patch notes so you can see how things change.

Really great advice here. Much appreciated. I think thats all i've got for now, feel free to mark this topic green.