Profile of LemonJuice

Really hectic and intense early game fighting between maxims conscripts volks and sturmpioneers. Playing against Sagwa (wow!)

The Oberkommando West set up defensive positions across the Minsk Pocket, awaiting further reinforcement. Allied units bring in heavy artillery to destroy the valiant Germans from afar, but High Command sends in 2 Konigstigers to aid the weary units. In a swift combined arms utilizing support weapons, elite veterans, heavy armor, and devastating artillery, hordes of enemy armor, artillery, infantry, and anti tank guns are exterminated with extreme prejudice

the raketen doesnt one shot a jeep. it doesnt make sense when every other troop carrier has this innate risk of losing men.

No problem, feel free to ask any questions

Hey fellow Field Marshals, some of my stream viewers wanted me to write up a guide to 2v2s as OKW. As the #2 player for 2v2 OKW w/ Random Teammates, I feel I am somewhat qualified to write this up. Its a rather long read, but I really want the community to improve in playskill and put a lot of work into it. Lets start off with a review/breakdown of the current available doctrines:

Breakthrough Doctrine:
This doctrine is a fairly solid choice. It provides decent capabilities through all stages of a game, while particularly enhancing your late game. Your early and mid-game are boosted by Panzerfusiliers (which are basically stronger Volksgrenadiers) and the Sturmoffizier, and the late game is secured by the Jagdtiger, the most powerful tank destroyer in the game. Dont forget that it has the ability to shoot through shotblockers like the Pak43. The Breakthrough ability is also an often overlooked ability. Use it to quickly capture cut-offs and valuable fuel and munition points to boost your own economy and cripple the enemies. It lasts for a minute, so try to get as many territories without overextending. The Assault Artillery provided will probably not net you many kills, but if you're floating munitions its worth using on a sector you know the enemy is camping in.

Luftwaffe Ground Support
Probably the most picked doctrine in higher levels of play, this doctrine gives the OKW a reliable suppression unit in the form of the MG34. This doctrine is most powerful in the early game, and steadily falls off as the game progresses. The MG34 is a cheap unit but with its recent buffs is very effective at suppressing. Use them with Sturmpioneers to win engagements quickly. The Flak Emplacement you can build is fairly useless. A two man crew that is easily destroyed, and shots that are often blocked by terrain. Despite this, it can 1-3 models PER BURST. Fallschirmjagers are most useful when flanking an annoying MG or to quickly dispatch Soviet snipers. Spawn them behind enemy lines while youre pushing to boost your firepower and ensure a quick rout. Valiant Assault is a very niche ability. The most common use is to give your Volksgrenadiers a burst of speed to hunt down fleeing vehicles. The Airborne Assault is also a very niche ability. Use in tandem with an assault from your main forces. The aircraft will pin enemy squads and you'll be able to make short work of them.

Special Operations Doctrine
This is my favorite out of the three default OKW commanders. This commander grants a few abilities that are very niche but at the same time very powerful. Radio silence is practically useless in 2v2s, so I wont even talk about it. Infiltration Tactics is probably the highlight of this doctrine, allowing Volksgrenadiers to really live up to their grenadier name. Use this cheap ability to punish enemy blobs and to quickly decrew enemy machine guns as well as clear out structure in short order. The Infrared STG44s basically turn Obersoldaten into Shocks, but I feel as if the LMG34 already kills infantry fast enough, and I'd rather my expensive Obers be far away from enemy units rather than closing in where they can be focused down quickly. The flares are exceptionally powerful in 2v2s. It allows you to scout out enemy hardpoints to determine where to attack them from. You can use it to spot for artillery such as the Infantry Support Gun, Stuka, or Panzerwerfer. Finally the Commander Panther rounds out the late game for this doctrine. It gives good buffs to all allied armor near it, and its Mark Target ability is a cheap way to quickly deal with many Shermans and T34s you'll likely face.

Elite Armor Doctirne
This doctrines pretty shit and you shouldnt use it. Offers no early game advantage like most of the other doctrines do, and the Panzer4s are not that strong compared to other tanks, and are extremely hard countered by Jacksons. There is no stage in the game where this doctrine particularly excels.

Scavenger Doctrine
This is the doctrine I use the most. Its heavily geared towards the early and mid game. Enhanced salvaging is useful as a way to get free resources. Remember to salvage whenever the oppurtunity comes up! As mentioned before, Infiltration Tactics is an extremely powerful ability through all stages of the game. Use liberally and with extreme prejudice. The Jaeger Light Infantry serve a similar role to Fallschirmjagers, use their initial deployment to really wreak havoc in an engagement. Take out support weapon crews, snipers, low hp retreating squads, or to simply turn the scales in your favor. They deal significantly more damage at close range with their G43s, so try to get close and personal during their deployment. Shock and awe. However, they become fairly useless afterwards, and almost become a liability unless they get veterancy levels. They have a high reinforcement cost at 43 manpower, and are easily killed when focused by enemy infantry. However once they get vet they are quite strong and capable long range skirmishers. Dont forget they have salvage! Once Vet 2 they can hide in cover, allowing them to salvage vehicles while cloaked.
The Ostwind comes in at 8 CP, a time where you will likely need a way to quickly kill infantry. The Ostwind performs extremely well in that role. Just remember to avoid enemy armor and AT guns. Use the Stop command (S hotkey) to immediately stop the tank to gain an increase in accuracy to quickly destroy infantry units. The Ostwind is also capable of dealing damage to Stuarts and T70s. Finally the infamous Scavenger artillery. The more munitions you have stored, the more rounds are dropped in the AoE. However, it takes a rather long time for the artillery to drop in the first place, and your opponent will have a lot of time to get out of the rather large AoE. Despite that, you can use it to force your opponent to move out and relocate or else face imminent destruction. If you have around 600-700 munitions stored, you can guaranteed destroy the entire US base with one artillery strike.

Fortifications Doctrine
An alternative to the Luftwaffe doctirne, Fortifications emphasize a more defensive play style. You gain access to the MG34, like the Luftwaffe. Once again the Flak Emplacement is rather useless. Trenches are interesting as theyre technically the best form of cover in the game. Not only are they structures, but garrisoned infantry can shoot 360 degress around. Garrisoned machine guns and Raketenwerfers are restricted however. The ability for Volksgrenadiers to build MG nests and S-mines are decent. Use the MG nests and S-mines like a Wehr player would, to lock down areas of the map. The Pak43 is very powerful damage-wise but in the current metagame is very weak due to the power of indirect fire. It will get decrewed rather quickly once discovered by enemy artillery, but for 400 Manpower its not a bad investment. Build them behind shotblockers and line of sight blockers since they can shoot through anything. Initially their range is rather short but they gain range and damage with veterancy. Use them to quickly destroy any vehicle that overextends. Be sure not to place it too close to the front so that it is less likely to be decrewed and used against you. The Zeroing Artillery is an extremely powerful ability if utilized correctly. At a whopping 300 munitions, you can potentially wipe out an entire army. The trick is to keep constant vision of the enemy. Flares from the Special Operations doctrine are the best way to keep vision and to keep the shells coming, while pushing in with armor or recon units such as Panzerfusiliers will suffice as well.

Commanders for 2v2
I would highly recommend Breakthrough, Scavenger, and Special Operations for flexibility against enemy strategies. If your personal strategy is dependent on the MG34, you can replace the Scavenger with Luftwaffe or replace Special Operations with Fortifications Doctrine.


The First Engagement and the Early Game
The first engagement is extremely important for every faction. In most cases it sets the pace for the majority of the game, and whoever wins the first engagement will generally have the momentum. Make sure you can win the first engagement. That means either having fire superiority or straight outplaying your opponent through use of cover etc. If you dont think you can win a fight, done take it. You'll need ever bit of manpower. Focus on capturing nearby points until you have a group that you think can force the enemy to retreat. The OKW have a slight advantage in the early game for two reasons:

1. Sturmpioneers
2. Medic truck

Sturmpioneers have the highest DPS out of all units you will see in the early game. They are a soft counter to basically everything you will see in the first 5 minutes other than snipers. Flank, flank, and flank. Use cover to advance, etc. A Sturm squad with 2 Volks will completely destroy an M3 Scoutcar rush while taking minimal casualties. If in heavy cover, this group will usually destroy an American Jeep rush. However in most cases you'll want to retreat as soon as you see these two vehicles because more than likely you wont have 2 Volks squads standing right next to your Sturms. If you do though, you can shred the incoming light armor in a hail of lead.

The Medic Truck is the second reason why the OKW have an advantage in the early game. I highly recommend you place your medic truck as soon as possible after your second Volks squad is out. Most of the time my Medic Truck is under construction when the first engagement breaks out. Placement is also important. I always place my Truck near important sectors, but behind shotblockers. Here are a few good spots on the 2v2 maps.
Semoisky


Trois Point (Veto this map, allies have a huge advantage here)


Vaux Farmlands (One of the best maps to have an early Medic Truck since the map is so large)


Rails and Metal


Moscow Outskirts


Minsk Pocket


Hurtgen Forest (Veto this map, the North side has a disadvantage, and this map is basically 2 1v1s instead of a 2v2)


Ettelbruck Station (Sturmpioneers will have a field day here. Beware of Machineguns)


As you can see, the locations I highlighted give good access to important sectors. Remember to place them behind shot and sight blockers for more protection! Dont be afraid to experiment with Medic Truck locations either, you may want to place your truck closer to your allies so they can use it as well. Remember that the enemy will eventually discover your truck and will attempt to kill infantry around it using indirect fire. Remember this as the game progresses. There is always the 'safe' option of just plopping your Medic Truck in your base sector, but you lose out on having 'home field advantage' in the early game.

With the Medic Truck, you can afford to take a few losses in the early fights. You do not have to fully retreat back to base. You can simply walk back to the Medic Truck, reinforce, and go back to fighting. This is EXTREMELY powerful. The trade off is that you'll only have 3 squads on the map during this time. Micro these squads well, and if they go below 50% hp pull them back to the truck to reinforce. Then send them back out to the front lines. This will allow you to push the enemy off by sheer attrition as no other faction has a forward reinforcement point this early. An additional benefit is an early grenade unlock. On some of the larger maps you'll be able to use a grenade in the very first engagement! This is unbelievably powerful and can tip the scales in your favor even more.

If you or your teammate gain control of your respective side and force the enemy to retreat, quickly heal up, reinforce, and call in more units and brace for enemy counter attack. If you can hold onto at least half your map, youre doing a decent job. If you can hold both munitions or both fuels, excellent!

If you were forced to retreat and cede territory, dont despair. Consolidate your forces and push towards important sectors and drive the enemy back. On some maps such as Rails and Metal, you can voluntarily cede a section of the map and stick closer to your ally. If I start on the left hand side, I generally cede the north fuel and VP and opt to try and hold the two munitions points and the center VP as well as the bottom VP and fuel. With your ally at your back you should be able to withstand the onslaught of incoming allied attacks. Another similar strategy I've discovered is on the summer Moscow Outskirts. If you start on the North side, completely cede the left hand side of the map and instead rush the right hand side and the South's natural fuel. If the North controls the South's natural fuel, there is no threat of cutoff and with forward Medic Trucks it is easy to control.

Its ok to have both players go Medic Truck, but you will have to have a good number of shreks and Raketenwerfers to counter light armor in the mid game. If one OKW player goes the Repair Truck, then the Puma can be used to hunt light armor, and the Stuka halftrack is a powerful artillery unit.

If your ally is Wehrmacht, you might want to consider placing the Medic Truck in a more central position on the map, so he can also use it to reinforce and heal.

Mid Game and Preparing for Enemy Armor

This is when things can start to fall apart if youre not vigilant. In an ideal situation you have gained control of the important sectors, i.e. the village in Semois, the center + fuel in Rails and Metal, etc. Brace for incoming counter attack. The enemy will likely bring light armor as fast as possible, so upgrade to Shreks whenever you can. By this point you'll want to have 3-4 Volks squads with Shreks and a Raketenwerfer if you went Medic Truck. Upgrading to a Forward Retreat point is also suggested when you have the manpower to. The Infantry Support Gun is a good unit against certain strategies such as maxim spam or if your opponent loves to use structures/machine gun nests, or if they just blob in general. You can keep the Support Gun in your side of the map to cover that region, or you can also bring it closer towards your ally to cover more of the central area of the map.

Usually Shocks and Guards will appear during this time. The hard counter to Shocks is the Luchs, and once you get the Luchs you can bully Shocks and force retreats. Only use aggresive movements with the Luchs if you know the enemy doesnt have any form of AT in the area. If they do, just place it behind a shotblocker or in reserve and wait for enemy infantry to advance and cut them down before displacing to avoid their AT. Guards are a little more trickier since Volks dont quite cut it against Guards and closing in with Sturms can be rather difficult with their DP LMGS. Using Obers is probably your best bet against Guards. However a Luchs supported by Volksgrenadiers is also a decent counter. Just dont be too aggressive with your Luchs and keep it behind your Volks so it doesnt get caught out of position. You always want to deal damage without taking damage in return.

If you went Repair Truck instead of the Medic Truck, you'll still want to bring in more Volks squads for increased map presence, but your Puma will serve as an AT deterrent instead of the Raketenwerfer. With the Puma its very easy to kill enemy light vehicles. The Flak Halftrack is also quite powerful, but one mistake and it can be destroyed easily. Be careful with it.

Remember to check up on your ally every now and then! Ask them if they're doing OK or if they need support. If things are really going bad, coordinate a joint assault to crush a single enemy player and gain territory. If your ally is struggling with light vehicles, send a Puma or a few Volks with Shreks to help him! If he's struggling with a Machine Gun nest, use the Support Gun barrage to destroy it! If theres a large firefight on his side, rotate a few units over and flank the enemy!

If you went Medic Truck, I highly recommend you construct the Flak Truck as soon as you have the fuel for it. Place it near your Medic Truck so it provides covering fire incase your enemy tries to rush your Medic Truck. The Flak Truck will deal good damage to light vehicles and even medium tanks. Make sure its not too close however, so that artillery will only be able to hit one of the trucks, not both. With the Flak Truck, you can call in Obers, and a variety of armor.

Occasionally you'll see Russian players rush a Katyusha. Once it has made its appearance, it should become your TOP PRIORITY to destroy it. There are several ways to deal with them. One rocket from a Walking Stuka will destroy a Katty, and the Luchs is a very proficient Katty hunter. Similarly, the Ostwind from the Scavenger doctrine is also a possible counter. Sneak around the edge of the map using the Luchs or Ostwind and rush wherever the Katty is and quickly dispatch it. This is a very good way to kill Katyushas. Mines and the Guard's button ability are the main counters to this. AT guns are a threat, but use your speed to avoid them.

It is worth noting to try and probe around the sectors on the edge of the map. Often times there will be no enemy units guarding them, so you can just cap them at will. Usually its best to send an un-upgraded Volks squad to 'back cap' these points. Keep capping points until the enemy sends a force to fight your Volks. Retreat, rinse and repeat.

Late Game
Its time for medium and heavy armor to make an appearance. If your unit preservation is good, then most of your infantry will be high level veterans. Volks are very good infantry as they do not fall off as the game goes on. Their Shrek will always be valuable and if they happen to pick up a BAR or a LMG they become quite the fighting force. Remember to always use your armor in tandem with your infantry. In fact, I would heavily discourage using armor to lead the charge. Instead use infantry to draw out AT fire, and then move in your tanks to destroy the opposition. Leading with your tanks can lead them to their doom.
The OKW have a wide variety of late game options, ranging from Panthers to Sturmtigers and of course the mighty King Tiger. With efficient use of combined arms and coordination from your teammate, you'll be able to hold territory effectively against the more numerous allied armor.

There are two very difficult threats that you will face during the late game.

1. ISU-152
2. EZ8 spam

Against a decent player, the ISU is extremely extremly EXTREMELY difficult to destroy. You basically HAVE to use a Jagdtiger to destroy it, as flanking attempts from Infantry will be stopped by enemy Snipers and Guards, and flanking attempts from vehicles will be button'd by Guards until the ISU can turn. Its all rather risky and you run the risk of losing high vet squads in the process, something that you want to avoid at all costs. The Jagdtiger is basically the only way to safely kill the ISU, but you still need to get line of sight somehow. The Special Operation flares are probably the most safest way to do so.
Against not-so-good players that use the ISU as more of a battering ram than a sniper tank, you can get away with flanking Volks squads and other armor to destroy it. Once you get an ISU out of position ,its very easy to destroy. Getting the ISU out of position is a completely different matter.

EZ8 spam. Currently the EZ8 is extremely easy to spam and very difficult to counter. As soon as you see Veteran Riflemen you need to be thinking about HOW youre going to deal with the 3-9 EZ8s that will hit the field after 9CP. Mines, Raketenwerfers, and Volksshreks are all VITAL to defeating them. The problem is that once the American player has achieved critical mass with Ez8s, they can literally run you over and just run past your Raketens and kill your Volks. Using multiple lines of defense will help mitigate the tank rush but you also need mines to stop a few tanks in their tracks. A Jagdtiger will only be able to get a few shots off before the EZ8s reach it and encircle and destroy. Some players will also abuse the American decrew system to exceed the Popcap and call in even more tanks. This is practically impossible to beat in my experience and is incredibly broken. Mass Scots will destroy any infantry you have while Ez8s and Jacksons deal with any armor that appear. You'll want to avoid this situation at all costs by destroying armor as fast as you see them and hunt them down with extreme prejudice.

Potential Matchups

vs USF
If you secure the early game with the fast Medic Truck, its very easy to force American units off the field. Use your Sturmpioneers to maximum efficiency and cut down advancing Riflemen. Getting fast Panzershreks , decently timed Raketenwerfers, or Pumas are also important as American light vehicles are very dangerous. Their 'armor' is a joke when there are a few, but become incredibly deadly as they grow in number and you take no efforts to actively hunt and destroy their armor.

vs Soviet
This matchup is probably the hardest matchup for you. Snipers are THE counter to OKW infantry, especially high reinforcement costing Sturmpioneers and Obersoldaten. If you see Snipers I recommend either using Luftwaffe or Scavenger for the ability to spawn elite infantry in buildings. Use them to kill off Snipers at close range with extreme prejudice. The M3 Scoutcar is not too big of a problem since Sturmpioneers and Volks soft counter it fairly well. If the Soviet player opts to go Maxim spam, use good positioning, flanking, and the Infantry Support Gun to win the early and mid game. Katyushas and B4s pose a significant threat to forward bases, so once revealed it is top priority to destroy them. As mentioned before, you can use a Luchs or Ostwind to suicide into their base to kill it, use Stukas, or other doctrinal artillery. Shocks are hard countered by the Luchs as well. If you see Guards, you can expect an ISU to hit the field. If you havent chosen your doctrine yet, I recommend you go Breakthrough to get the Jagdtiger to counter the ISU152

Wehr partner
Having a Wehr partner is very useful. Wehr have access to a wide variety of Doctrines that excel in 2v2s. Luftwaffe airdrops, Mortar halftracks, fuel and munition caches all help in team games. You can give your partner the Medic Truck for forward healing, to keep up the pressure. OKW and Wehr synergize well together, not much to say here.

OKW partner
Having an OKW partner allows one of you to go Medic Truck while the other can go the Repair Truck for the Puma. Remember that the Sturmoffizier and Command Panther bonus also applies to your partners units.


General Tips

Unit Preservation. Try not to engage in fights that you know you will not win. It is simply a waste of manpower and time. Back off, and wait for more units. If you come under attack, try to hold the line if there are reinforcements nearby. Houses are good for holding the line until more units arrive to turn the tide of battle. The early game is all about who can bleed the most manpower.

Cover. Use cover! Its common sense. Dont charge over open ground, beware of negative cover, etc.

Check up on your teammate! Dont forget there is another player on your team. That players success is necessary for your own success. Coordinate assaults together, send units to help him if he is struggling, etc.

Dont lose an unnecessary amount of men to vehicles. Sometimes armor will catch you unaware. If you do not have any AT available, just retreat. Fight on your terms!

Dont float resources! Unless you're saving up for something specific, try to keep floating to a minimum. There is no reason why you should be floating 500 manpower when you could be calling in Volks or Raketenwerfers, or Obers, or Upgrading your Medic Truck, etc. Once you have the munitions, immediately upgrade your Volks to have shreks!

Additional Reading
http://www.coh2.org/topic/21165/corp-s-rifle-company-build-video
Corp.Shepard has a really good video. He explains a lot of his decision making and there are good tips to maximize efficiency with your troops. Even though its focused for the USF, its still a good watch.

http://www.coh2.org/guides/21246/okw-special-operations-double-agent
An official Coh2.org guide, its a good read with a much more detail build order. I purposefully left my own guide a little open because I want people to experiment with their own strategies.

http://www.coh2.org/topic/20684/storm-that-position-okw-build-order
A guide for 1v1s I wrote a two weeks ago. I no longer use this build order since with double sturmpioneers the reinforce cost is extremely high. However, the section about Sturmpioneer combat usage is worth reading to maximize their potential.

http://www.coh2.org/topic/20576/ciez-s-okw-vs-soviet-guide
Ciez's guide against Soviets is also a good watch, and provides an alternative to the early Medic Truck strategy. Like Corp.Shepard, he explains his decision making and gives good tips.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApmrrrPr20ncdGF4VURuYjVGZXlIN3ptbV8tbzRzN0E&usp=drive_web#gid=0
A DPS spreadsheet of all infantry units in the game. You may learn a few things you didnt know before.

http://www.reddit.com/r/CompanyOfHeroes/comments/2c64p4/a_look_at_volksgrenadiers_or_grab_that_damn_weapon/
An indepth look into the underappreciated Volksgrenadier.