How to play USF midgame?

Usually I open with 3x rifles -> LT -> 50cal. Sometimes 4 rifles if I lack the fuel due to poor earlygame, be that map dependant or sloppy play. I choose LT usually due to the 50 cal which can help repel pushes and support pushes well. I try to avoid light play and go for medium rushes, but if I do get a light vehicle it is the m20 hands down. Lethal up close and can plant lethal immobilizing mines.

My question is what do I buy midgame. This is aimed at Dave primarily since he is one of the best USF players. I find all allies have "medicore" indirect when trying to dislodge ostheer mortars. And on maps that heavily favor ostheer cough* faymonville approach cough* its almost impossible to attack them let alone wipe. I find the 81mm mortar is taking hits before it can deal them due to shorter range, and the pak howitzer seems inconsistant. Sometimes it will brutalize squads it hits, other times it won't land a hit for 5 shots. And do you use the 3 shot barrage? Or just the auto attack? That question is for the pak howitzer but I'd like an answer for the mortar as well.

Lategame I find the HE sherman coupled with jacksons is amazing, up until you get to about 3-4 mediums where your micro becomes over taxed. Leading to missplays and accidental retreats. Especially on decrewed vehicles which can be really bad.

I want to know how to incorporate a commander as well. I try airborne because it'll give me an AT gun which is good for flaktrack meta and possible 222 defense for my m20. Paras feel semi squishy though, and I'm not really sure how to use pathfinders.

Thanks in advance.

(Definitely-not-Dave).
.50s. Just put .50s everywhere.

Usually the best way to deal with ostheer mortars is to be harrassing them so as to limit their up time. The m20 and AA HT can usually do this in the early parts of the mid game.

Alternatively (which also ties into your question about commanders), theres the mortar halftrack, preferably from infantry company. The barrage rate of fire on it is insane, it has equal range to the ostheer mortar, and ostheer motars cant really do anything in return. Its probably the hardest counter to axis indirect fire.

To expand on infantry company, mines and sandbags are always nice. .30 cals give you a super huge mid game spike in the anti infantry department (getting 3 lmgs for 210 beats the 3-4 bars you could otherwise get), and time on target can help with schewerer take downs (or any other hardpoint).

Recon is also really great, but getting the most out of it usually means playing a very different style of usf. You could always use it as pseudo-airborne though.

(Definitely-not-Dave).
.50s. Just put .50s everywhere.

Maybe ;b

On a more serious note it does depend on what faction you're playing either OST or OKW.

By the point you're in mid game is where I considered USF is at it's strongest as your armor is equal to Axis medium tanks more or less and Axis hasn't had the opportunity to make a late game defense.

If playing on a map where certain buildings dominate the entire map flow or urban heavy I'd recommend Rifle or Armor company for flamers and use the USF mortar to smoke MGs out of buildings and use to smoke to force OST relocate or use the USF mortar just like any other mortar against OKW. If either of those companies don't suit you then the mortar half track hard counters OST mortars whilst also being incredibly strong against infantry squads. Not to mention the WP rounds can actually do more damage than a normal barrage when a MG is in a building.

Airborne I find actually more useful for CPT as you only have to wait till 2 CP to .50cals where LT has to wait till 4 CP. .50cals sorely provide that ability to lock down sectors, help reduce bleed, and assist in assaults due to it's quick set up time. Paratroopers also find more use in CPT tier than LT due to CPT while still being good at AI with a BAR isn't as good as LT due to his veterancy. LMG or Thompsons work well either way depending on map, your micro, and ability to combine abilities (i.e. CPT using On Me! on Thompson paratroopers) Path finders are also generally a manpower sink as they don't suit that long range combat when you need to be mobile, aggressive, and close to maximize damage with USF (mostly). Now if you do float manpower they can be decent due their great line of sight. Might actually use them more and get back to you.

Now shockingly if you're far enough ahead or have the chance to place munition or fuel caches, going grenades and weapon upgrades can really catch people off guard. No USF players really go grenades anymore till late game and even then half the time they still don't go it. Using smoke and BARs to assault a position lets you not only dominate OST in close range, the grenades can give you that edge against OKW.

Anyways, hope this helps and good luck.

Thanks for the tips guys

EDIT: new question. Currently my commander loadout is heavy cav, airborne and rifle co. I might wanna change something out for infantry co so I can get the mortar HT and 1919s for long range maps like langres. Any suggestions on the 3? personally i'd pick rifle.

Personally, I dont take rifle because im an okw main and im used to the lack of flamers. In general though, heavy cav has fallen down in priority in the current meta.

No USF players really go grenades anymore till late game and even then half the time they still don't go it. Using smoke and BARs to assault a position lets you not only dominate OST in close range, the grenades can give you that edge against OKW.

Why are grenades so unpopular? I find them to be great.

Why are grenades so unpopular? I find them to be great.

Generally grenades are worse the better your opponent is because they can just dodge them.

Why are grenades so unpopular? I find them to be great.

Generally grenades are worse the better your opponent is because they can just dodge them.

Exactly as DevM said as in top level plays the easiest grenades to dodge are Allied frag grenades (expect Cons molo at vet 2, Shocks, and Guards grenade) as they have the longest wind up (aka throwing) animation so it's easy to dodge generally.

Also, the grenade upgrade isn't cheap being 25 fuel and I believe 150 manpower. 25 fuel is a major investment not to mention needing the munitions to throw said grenades. BARs and Bazooka's are also a one time investment and always provide a return in combat by making your squads stronger in AI or AT capable.

Side note is Rifles smoke being removed was a big deal to boot.

Thanks for the tips guys

EDIT: new question. Currently my commander loadout is heavy cav, airborne and rifle co. I might wanna change something out for infantry co so I can get the mortar HT and 1919s for long range maps like langres. Any suggestions on the 3? personally i'd pick rifle.

I actually dislike Heavy Cav as while the Pershing is strong and all it doesn't mesh with USF game play of attacking from multiple angles with medium tanks i.e. shermans. Not saying it's a bad doctrine just hard to fit into my play style. It does provide off map smoke which can be key in a engagement at the cost hefty cost of 50 munitions and Rangers do provide some more AI power to the CPT tier at the cost of high reinforcement. Combined Arms is fine but not worth imo most of the time. However Heavy Cav is usable for the call in aspect as if you're behind you can go LT + CPT tier and use support weapons to hold off and take territory until you get the Pershing.

Rifle Company is always useful due to flamers and getting double RE isn't a bad thing as one can get Bazooka's and sweeper while the other gets flamer and eventually a BAR. E8 is good against OST T3 rush and spam which is hugely popular of late and the Riflemen Fire Up! makes for some surprisingly fast flanks and negating damage from range. WP barrage is decent as it can force a pak wall to move or lose HP quickly.

Airborne has always been a personal favorite of mine due to it's versatility and I stated the other reasons in a earlier post.

Infantry isn't bad either as J4J likes to use but for myself I do dislike it as M1919s while strong do force you to remain still which is a big no no in my book when playing USF. Again however it comes to personal preference. Mortar Half track is really strong right now and hard counters OST mortars and can provide mobile support to force Volksgrenadiers out of sandbags which helps immensely. Priest is okay against OST but more useful for OKW to constantly bombard their bases. Finally Riflemen being able to build sandbags and mines is quite useful as it allows you to hold territory more effectively and surprise enemy infantry and tanks with them as no one expects them.

Unfortunate I'm going to remove heavy cav it seems. I've always found the pershing very useful but I was a major user of the double tap, which is now gone. I do love E8 spam though since those tanks are IMO OP for their fuel investment. Flares I love as well as fireup, just don't like the debuff of fireup. WP barrage I havn't been able to find extremely useful in 1v1, but I may try it eventually to cover advance on schwer HQs or pak walls as suggested.

White Phosophorus barrage is just awesome, cheap 120 or 130 munitions (don't remember exactly) and fast landing, your opponent has to insta-click retreat button to not suffer from it. Use it to assault a location with your men, nothing will stand in it and you be able to finish of any squad with your shermans
As I say it forces retreat, your opponent cannot relocate a HMG/Mortar/pak that would be in the center of the barrage without losing at least half of its life and being slowed by the phosphorus effect.

As ClassyDavid, my actual favored doctrine is Airborn at the moment, I use it with T2 Captain. The main cons of this doctrine are MP heavy and lack of off-map indirect fire to clean/deny an area.

Usually I open with 3x rifles -> LT -> 50cal. Sometimes 4 rifles if I lack the fuel due to poor earlygame, be that map dependant or sloppy play. I choose LT usually due to the 50 cal which can help repel pushes and support pushes well. I try to avoid light play and go for medium rushes, but if I do get a light vehicle it is the m20 hands down. Lethal up close and can plant lethal immobilizing mines.

My question is what do I buy midgame. This is aimed at Dave primarily since he is one of the best USF players. I find all allies have "medicore" indirect when trying to dislodge ostheer mortars. And on maps that heavily favor ostheer cough* faymonville approach cough* its almost impossible to attack them let alone wipe. I find the 81mm mortar is taking hits before it can deal them due to shorter range, and the pak howitzer seems inconsistant. Sometimes it will brutalize squads it hits, other times it won't land a hit for 5 shots. And do you use the 3 shot barrage? Or just the auto attack? That question is for the pak howitzer but I'd like an answer for the mortar as well.

Lategame I find the HE sherman coupled with jacksons is amazing, up until you get to about 3-4 mediums where your micro becomes over taxed. Leading to missplays and accidental retreats. Especially on decrewed vehicles which can be really bad.

I want to know how to incorporate a commander as well. I try airborne because it'll give me an AT gun which is good for flaktrack meta and possible 222 defense for my m20. Paras feel semi squishy though, and I'm not really sure how to use pathfinders.

Thanks in advance.

Pathfinders can crew team weapons (AT Guns and MGs) and thanks to their extended vision, they can spot for themselves and take advantage of the range of their weapons. A normal infantry crew has sight range shorter than the weapon, thus, you need to place Pathfinders a little bit ahead of them to help them spot incoming infantry/vehicles. It consumes population gap, so it's adviced to use them to crew your team weapons.

Unfortunate I'm going to remove heavy cav it seems. I've always found the pershing very useful but I was a major user of the double tap, which is now gone. I do love E8 spam though since those tanks are IMO OP for their fuel investment. Flares I love as well as fireup, just don't like the debuff of fireup. WP barrage I havn't been able to find extremely useful in 1v1, but I may try it eventually to cover advance on schwer HQs or pak walls as suggested.

One of my favorite uses of WP Barrage is for OKW truck city turtlers - it can be game ending if you drop it on their forward retreat point/ ISG battery and then follow up with mortar/pak howie pressure and/or Sherman dive and clean up with pintle .50 cal fire. Flares are also a godsend for Flak HQ sieges with AT Guns, Flare + 2X AT Gun = gone in seconds.

Personally I've been struggling with whether to have both Airborne and Recon in my loadout - I feel like it has too much overlap but I like the flexibility to go either Recon + LT or Capt + Airborne and cover myself with Support Weapon Drops either way. Just not sure which one I would take out if I wanted to add a different commander.