Brand new player looking for advice

Hi all,

After years of watching streams and casts, I decided to pull the trigger on the game during the deep Steam sale this past weekend. I'm interested in focusing primarily on Brits as I get used to automatch, but I can't seem to get a handle on a reasonable build order and general strategy. I know there are some factors that depend on the map and matchup, but right now I don't feel I'm building very efficiently. I generally run Vanguard Ops, Special Weapons, and Mobile Assault commanders. My current BO is generally something like:

Tommy
MG
Platoon CP
Sappers
AT Gun

And then eventually teching up to Company Command, Hammer, and Cromwells while filling in infantry with Sappers if I have too much manpower float, getting more AT if needed etc. Since 2 of my commanders cap at Crocodile, there comes a point where I'm waiting for that to close the game.

I'm curious, though:

-Should I go for a UC with the MG upgrade over MG ever?
-Is AEC worth building before Sappers?
-Is a third Tommy before Platoon helpful?
-What sort of capping order is best? Prioritize fuel?
-Is the increased squad size worth adding to my build?
-How aggressive should I be about capping up the map early?
-When do I build weapon racks?

Thanks!

Here is some advice from a middle-of-the-road player.

- the UC with vickers and vickers MG team are not mutually exclusive and serve quite different functions. the standard vickers is used for crowd control and locking down areas, whereas the UC+vickers is a dedicated mp drainer with a situational times suppression ability. on open maps and especially OWW the UC is nice, because it hardcounters kubels and can push around infantry until they lock down the first truck. However, be careful that this will most likely make the opponent build a raketen, so after the first encounters it should be used with caution and screened by infantry.

- I would generally not get the AEC before sappers. The reason for this is that in the early game you want field presence and dominant capping and the AEC first needs to be teched and then built, and even then it will still not be able to cap.

- I would never build the Platton CP before getting AT LEAST two Tommy squads out. These guys are your backbone and primary healing option so 2-3 of these are necessary to carry you confidently into the mid-game.

- Capping order depends on the map, but in general the most important thing is to connect everything to your base. if it is not connected you don't get ressources from it. Brits are quite a defensive faction especially in the early game, so you should probably focus on consolidating your own ressources before pushing into the enemy territory.

- The increased squad size is good for a number of reasons, one being as a new player you might be prone to suffering from wipes and the extra man gives you significantly more time to react to a crisis plus it makes the squad more resistant to being wiped from explosions. The pro players in the current tournament are also consistently upgrading the fifth man quite early so that is a good indication that this is a solid strategy

- As mentioned earlier you should probably not be overly agressive in the opening game when playing brits. as soon as you start spitting out AEC's and Cromwells you have much better conditions for agressive brit play.

- You should probably not build weapon racks before you can at least arm a couple of your men with bren guns. Also, if playing special weapons you might consider skipping this step entirely and focus on your supply truck, which can even perform admirably in combat (just remember that it is made of glass!)

Here is some advice from a middle-of-the-road player.

- the UC with vickers and vickers MG team are not mutually exclusive and serve quite different functions. the standard vickers is used for crowd control and locking down areas, whereas the UC+vickers is a dedicated mp drainer with a situational times suppression ability. on open maps and especially OWW the UC is nice, because it hardcounters kubels and can push around infantry until they lock down the first truck. However, be careful that this will most likely make the opponent build a raketen, so after the first encounters it should be used with caution and screened by infantry.

- I would generally not get the AEC before sappers. The reason for this is that in the early game you want field presence and dominant capping and the AEC first needs to be teched and then built, and even then it will still not be able to cap.

- I would never build the Platton CP before getting AT LEAST two Tommy squads out. These guys are your backbone and primary healing option so 2-3 of these are necessary to carry you confidently into the mid-game.

- Capping order depends on the map, but in general the most important thing is to connect everything to your base. if it is not connected you don't get ressources from it. Brits are quite a defensive faction especially in the early game, so you should probably focus on consolidating your own ressources before pushing into the enemy territory.

- The increased squad size is good for a number of reasons, one being as a new player you might be prone to suffering from wipes and the extra man gives you significantly more time to react to a crisis plus it makes the squad more resistant to being wiped from explosions. The pro players in the current tournament are also consistently upgrading the fifth man quite early so that is a good indication that this is a solid strategy

- As mentioned earlier you should probably not be overly agressive in the opening game when playing brits. as soon as you start spitting out AEC's and Cromwells you have much better conditions for agressive brit play.

- You should probably not build weapon racks before you can at least arm a couple of your men with bren guns. Also, if playing special weapons you might consider skipping this step entirely and focus on your supply truck, which can even perform admirably in combat (just remember that it is made of glass!)

Thanks for the response! Good points all, though I wonder if 2 or 3 tommies is better for the midgame, which seems really important. I think I can run fewer tommies if I go vanguard or mobile assault since I'll be sinking midgame mp in a commando, but for special weapons running 3 tommies seems good for the half track drops. Is that sensible?

Here is some advice from a middle-of-the-road player.

- the UC with vickers and vickers MG team are not mutually exclusive and serve quite different functions. the standard vickers is used for crowd control and locking down areas, whereas the UC+vickers is a dedicated mp drainer with a situational times suppression ability. on open maps and especially OWW the UC is nice, because it hardcounters kubels and can push around infantry until they lock down the first truck. However, be careful that this will most likely make the opponent build a raketen, so after the first encounters it should be used with caution and screened by infantry.

- I would generally not get the AEC before sappers. The reason for this is that in the early game you want field presence and dominant capping and the AEC first needs to be teched and then built, and even then it will still not be able to cap.

- I would never build the Platton CP before getting AT LEAST two Tommy squads out. These guys are your backbone and primary healing option so 2-3 of these are necessary to carry you confidently into the mid-game.

- Capping order depends on the map, but in general the most important thing is to connect everything to your base. if it is not connected you don't get ressources from it. Brits are quite a defensive faction especially in the early game, so you should probably focus on consolidating your own ressources before pushing into the enemy territory.

- The increased squad size is good for a number of reasons, one being as a new player you might be prone to suffering from wipes and the extra man gives you significantly more time to react to a crisis plus it makes the squad more resistant to being wiped from explosions. The pro players in the current tournament are also consistently upgrading the fifth man quite early so that is a good indication that this is a solid strategy

- As mentioned earlier you should probably not be overly agressive in the opening game when playing brits. as soon as you start spitting out AEC's and Cromwells you have much better conditions for agressive brit play.

- You should probably not build weapon racks before you can at least arm a couple of your men with bren guns. Also, if playing special weapons you might consider skipping this step entirely and focus on your supply truck, which can even perform admirably in combat (just remember that it is made of glass!)

Nice tips.

Thanks for the response! Good points all, though I wonder if 2 or 3 tommies is better for the midgame, which seems really important. I think I can run fewer tommies if I go vanguard or mobile assault since I'll be sinking midgame mp in a commando, but for special weapons running 3 tommies seems good for the half track drops. Is that sensible?

Remember to make every matches decisions based on the current situation. You may have to stray from build orders based on map or opponet opening. Also don't forget for special weapons regiment you can call in AT tommies with the 55. boys AT rifles. These units are good consistant DPS against armor and are still fairly decent against infantry. They also carry AT snares which is something the UKF standard infantry lack.

Of course, I get that there are situational picks.
My main concern is being efficient in the early game without over investing in tommies (my usual error) or over teching and not having enough units to fight.

forget AEC, the unit is a hunk of junk now. Either go bofors to hold your cutoff or save fuel for fast cromwell.

you can survive mid game with 6pounder + sniper + mines.

Thanks for the response! Good points all, though I wonder if 2 or 3 tommies is better for the midgame, which seems really important. I think I can run fewer tommies if I go vanguard or mobile assault since I'll be sinking midgame mp in a commando, but for special weapons running 3 tommies seems good for the half track drops. Is that sensible?

It might be a stretch to for me to say that there is no such thing as too many tommy squads, but in most cases I would still advice against getting less than two squads of them before teching. Infantry Sections get very good veterancy so you will want to build that up as soon as possible. But even if that dosen't convince you, then remember that they are the only reliable source of healing that you get as Brits, which will save you a lot of manpower in the long run.

If I really stretched my imagination I would say there could be two scenarios where you would only open with one section:
1. You go special weapons and build one or two tank hunter sections when they become available, since they can also upgrade medkits and thus offer you the same vital healing on the move.

2. You are playing team matches with Soviet or US players who offer you a consistent spot where you can rally and heal up your men, thus mitigating the need for med kits.

I would advice against relying on commandos over tommies. Commandos are glass cannons and flankers and can not fill out the role as meat shields in the ways that tommies can.


But ultimately what makes this game so great is that there is no one way to go about it. Even after years of playing I'm still impressed with what strategies people can make viable.

So go fourth and find explore new ways to play! At worst you get a good learning experience and at best you find the next UK meta. I would seriously love nothing more and wish you all the best

When I use vanguard I usually end up with 2 tommies, a vickers, a commando squad, a sniper, a sapper unit with piats, and if I think I need it, an aec. That gives you a pretty well-rounded force, but can be pretty micro intensive and lacks an indirect fire counter. Aec is mediocre but I find that a lot of times I regret not building it, and it has some saving graces. It can "sort of" fight mediums (like a puma can "sort of" fight a Pershing) but better than nothing, and does good damage if you manage to pull off a flank with its glorious pathing and acceleration. The ability is pretty good now too though, and combine that with the sniper's turret lock, it usually means a dead tank. The vickers and tommies can hold the main line, especially with brens, and commandos add some much needed mobility and close-quarters power, and their ambush bonuses are insane.

forget AEC, the unit is a hunk of junk now. Either go bofors to hold your cutoff or save fuel for fast cromwell.

you can survive mid game with 6pounder + sniper + mines.

Is an AEC not still able to two-shot a 222? I agree that it has been better in previous patches but it has certainly also been worse and I personally think it provides a fine amount og firepower and supporting abilities (smoke and thread shot) for the cost.

When I use vanguard I usually end up with 2 tommies, a vickers, a commando squad, a sniper, a sapper unit with piats, and if I think I need it, an aec. That gives you a pretty well-rounded force, but can be pretty micro intensive and lacks an indirect fire counter. Aec is mediocre but I find that a lot of times I regret not building it, and it has some saving graces. It can "sort of" fight mediums (like a puma can "sort of" fight a Pershing) but better than nothing, and does good damage if you manage to pull off a flank with its glorious pathing and acceleration. The ability is pretty good now too though, and combine that with the sniper's turret lock, it usually means a dead tank. The vickers and tommies can hold the main line, especially with brens, and commandos add some much needed mobility and close-quarters power, and their ambush bonuses are insane.

I find myself teching AEC early against OKW to combat the Luchs rush, as I'm not good enough to micro AT guns against it and always find my AT tommies out of position against it, unable to deliver the snare. I suppose when I get better at predicting where the luchs will initially push I could skip it, but right now it feels crucial.

If you're playing as Brits, a favourite strat of mine is to build 3 IS, tech and get 1-2 Sappers out. This allows you a huge amount of field presence, contests 1 Sturm and 4 Volks of OKW very well and depending on your micro, throw in a sniper =OR= AT gun as well. IS in green cover is god, absolutely murders Grens/Volks and even when unupgraded can still stall them off until you get reinforcements very well.

The first IS is to cap the first connected point, then rush his cutoff, park your IS in a garrison if possible and watch him throw a lot of units to force you off as your second IS caps your side of the map relatively uncontested. Send the third one to flank any MG if available and support the first IS in cutoff. Abuse the insta exit/enter garrison until this get fixed as this allows you to "technically" control the garrison(as his squads are still far away from the garrison and you can just teleport into the garrison to pop some shots and exit out if too much fire is being taken. Then send every single squad you have to his side and not only your opponent has to fight back the cutoff, he also has to contend with a huge wave of reinforcements coming in. Make sure that any low health squads but still have 3 models are pulled back, not retreat and heal them up with medkits. If two models, cap the backlines of your base and queue the retreat so at least they get something useful out. Skip AEC, go for Crom rush. If you have Tac Supp only pick them if Luchs/Flak HT/Ostheer Flame HT comes out. Otherwise just do your best to hold your side until your Crom gets out.

Once the Crom starts rolling you get all attack mode on them. Get the extra man upgrade if you want, if you're comfortable with 4 man just roll with it and get weapon racks. From there pick the most OP doctrine you want and flatten those Jerry bastards with your OPAF abilities. I prefer Balance Mattress and skill commandos with their skill nuke bombs.

How do we retake a position we lost as the british?

Routs are hard to recover from.

How do we retake a position we lost as the british?

Routs are hard to recover from.

The Brits are like a wrecking ball, hard to gain momentum but once they do they wreck everything. If you lost a position you need to consolidate your forces and move in a concerted push(not blobbing). If you have HMGs position them where they can cover the main push but not too far forward that they can easily be wiped. Pits also help a lot vs entrenched positions, they are still worth to build even in the very late game where the opponent is turtling hard, or if you feel like it Balance Mattresses work well. Arty first then move in with everything you've got, use REs to mine the back lines as you push forward and take care of any attempts of harassment by Axis.