Profile of Esxile

I tried couple of time Reco company and it is a bit like a joke to play them.


They lack of big units that make the difference at some tiers make it really difficult to imagine how the commander can bring something useful to your regular troops.

Forwarded Observer 1CP. I don't really know why this ability is at 1CP since it doesn't bring much in term of power to riflesquads, it is not like they become furtive while in cover and not moving or get a special ability that can do the difference in a combat.
It comes too late to be effective vs sturmpio in the early game and is redundant with Pathfinder later.
The effectiveness of observer only occurs while in cover and not moving, but you are always moving with you rifles. This ability requires a ton of micro, going from a cover to another, way the ability to start so you can see further, and again jump to the next cover etc...

IR PathFinders 2CP. Pathfinders with a barrage ability do the same job as the Major. I have the feeling they are only here because of Paratroops so you can deploy the reinforcement box.

M8 3CP. This M8 is a joke - it is an 100% AI unit. I'm not sure if it can even damage the OKW half-truk. His only utility and ability is the canister shot. It is a really poor version of the COH one.
As I imagine it as a T2 AI units, his strength is between the utility car and the half-track so I believed the idea behind the unit was to skip T2 and go T3.

Air Recon 4CP. Nothing to say, air recon is always a good ability. By the way did you know the Major has it already? Relic loves redundancy some time.

Airdrop combat group 7CP. Two Para squads and an AT. The AT is still coming with no crew so do not expect to send it far away from your base. And since paras are coming with random weapons, it is not like you can be sure to get what you wanted...

M8 and Airdrop abilities scale terribly badly. So or I'm wrong or there is something wrong with it designs. M8 is a T2 unit with no AT power, and somehow, makes you directly go T3 to pump out an AT gun and Stuarts because you need AT. I'm fine with that and in fact M8 + stuart are doing good together.
But next, your 7CP abilities, which come really late are also composed of T3 units. A At gun empty and 2 small para squads with bazooka or SMG or LMG. It is not like you will be able to make the difference with them, 7CP is too late for paratroops, half of squads on the field are Vet2 at least when you get them, they will be raped by any of them. the AT gun also come late and is terribly redundant with your T3 + captain ability. At least it needs to come with crewmen so you can deploy it far from your base with Para in cover.

What can be modify:
M8 being AI + AT for an highest cost. Make it able to deal with half-truk and Puma as in COH. So USF player can decide if he wants to play T2 or T3.
AT gun deployed with a crew.

Elite Riflemen
Just an idea: Why not just an option to reinforce riflesquad with vetted models?
You build your squad, you fight, you lose models, you reinforce them with vetted models so the overall squad gain veterancy.
The downfall is obviously that you need to fight, lose models and pay to reinforce your squad.
vetted Models could be more expensive or the ability to need 1CP, don't know but this could bring a bit more strategy in the game.

Soviet Support team
Maxim spam is a consequence of conscript/penal poor performance. At first step, instead of looking into a way to modify his dynamic, found a way to make other T0/T1 units more efficient. And if people still prefers to use Maxim spam, here you start thinking of changing it.

Long range weapons
Reduce speed pace of any unit handling a long range weapon + Apply a cover penalty to them like green covers have yellow covers value, and yellow covers have no covers and no covers red covers.
The objective to increase their micro management and make them more vulnerable from flanking.

also as a slightly related note: the best map to do this strategy on is probably crossing in the woods (which also happens to be my favorite map). Sturmpios can quickly cross the river due to their movement penalties being removed and the big hedges offer a good place on the front line to palce your medic truck. much of the map is in range of a support gun and your cutoff can be easily protected by your t4 flak truck.

True, the biggest issue to counter your strat is that damned Cutoff.
Bar aren't that expensive, having one before you can push the cutoff should not be a big deal but sometime it happens.
As I said before, I'm more confident vs this strat now that I have the mechanized commander. going 3 rifles + jeep helps a lot vs double pio BO.

Hi,

Coming from the other side, I would like to bring some comments from an USF player.
This strat is really powerful and gives me every game I'm facing it hard times. If I play well, nor being to much unlucky (luck is sometime important...) the game can last really long... until I finally win


As USF

1- Do not engage fight with Sturmpio. riflesquads are meat for sturmpio for the 3-4 first minutes of the game. So until you have your BARs, just avoid the fight with them.
2- Can and decap. This game consists in a Cap and Run. It is really similar to old COH USF versus PE GE early spam. As the OKW has 2 really expensive sturmpio squads, his capping power and map presence on the field is lower, use it as an advantage to be everywhere else on the map and retreat when sturmpio are coming.
As LemonJuice said, it requires him a lot of micro, so keep an eye to any of his micro mistake, for sure he would do some so try to punish him at this time, but do not force your luck - sturmpio are terrible and can reverse a situation faster than you expected.
3- BARs, When you have BARs, it is time to regroup and fight. Focus fire on Sturmpio with BARs. Here come all the usual strats to fight I'll not go in it into details.
4- Fuel Cache. If you performed well your Cap and Run, you should'nt have any MP issues, so use it to build a least 1 fuel cache. 2 can be really decisive for a fast sherman later on.
5- NO T2 ==> T3. With this amount of firepower, OKW doesn't no need more AI stuff, so for sure he is going to a Puma expecting you to build a halftrack.
6- Captain is on the field.
-- If it is a Puma: you do not really need to worry, Puma is bad vs infantry. Your riflesquads should be vetted now so one or two AT grenade is enough to keep it away.
-- If it is a HT: you'll need more micro, it is up to you if you prefer going first Stuart or AT gun.
Use your captain to take out a Stuart or a AT gun faster and keep them close on the field, why not using the stuart as a bait?.
In both cases, you need both before going T4. So you make sure he is not going to try a Puma spam.
7- First Sherman and T4 stuff. Not sure it is really necessary to enter into more details here. Everyone manages it on his own. But as you maybe have 2 fuel caches you should be able to counter any OKW fast T4.


Note one: Focus fire on Sturmpio is sometime not the best option, sturmpios don't have AT, if you have the opportunity to wipe out a volks squad, do it. It will reduce his AT soft power.
Note two: As I haave dropped the USF mechanized commander, it is obviously easier to me now to counter this strat with a fast jeep
Note three: If there is 2 sturmpio and a Kubel, it means far less capping power for the OKW player. he only relies on forcing you to fight, so avoid them before BARs.

Hello,

I would like to know how do you pick your commander. Are you more an early commander or a late one? Since 90% of my 1vs1 game are vs OKW, my vision exposed below is strongly influenced by them.
I have try all three commanders many times in 1vs1 situation, and tried different tactics with the CP0 and CP1 options. And I’m bit disappointed as I feel them kind of useless.
So to reply myself first, I’m a late commander, I prefer to know what I’m facing and being able to reply with the best late game commander options.

To explain why, I just want to provide a feedback on early USF CP options. I don’t know if you share it, and if not or have some tricks I didn’t use, let share them!

Armor Doctrine:
Assault Engineer are really weak to be efficient, overall for their price. If their damage is reasonable, their survivability is horrible. You cannot leave them alone, First I tried them as a fast pushing squad, to counter sturmpio, but they just don’t do the job, after I tried them as a capping unit but since you always need to keep them in screen otherwise they get just wipeout too fast before you can even react to warnings, especially vs sturmpio I do not use them to cap anything. Finally I decided to pick them for their flamer but here again you lose the flamethrower if the carrier die (and it happens randomly and quite fast), it just doesn’t worst 60 ammo. At the end I succeed couple of flanking with them and it took too much time to burn a squad… Better use a RE with volley fire or a riflesquad.
Crew Thompson, they die as fast as assault engineers, I tried couple of time in different situation to use them with their Thompson, the result was the same each time, a quick death.

Infantry Doctrine:
Half-track mortar CP2. I had great hopes on it, overall since USF does not have any indirect fire unit before T3, and howitzer being so bad. So I had been greatly disappointed by it, damage dealt by it is incredibly random and the AOE of shell too small. I remember a game where it took 3 round of barrage fire to take a single MG34 squad (not full health) in sign of vision. I don’t know how many shells are drop during a barrage but it was unbelievable. I finally manage to kill them with another unit. This unit is just unreliable in term of firepower, and investing on it only to drop smoke shell is too expensive.
Riflemen squad amelioration CP2. As far as I tried it, mines are only affecting armored vehicles and not human squads. In COH, it was a great deal, because it was affecting human and also because Werhm vehicles had a shorter range of fire like the sdfk. Or you were able to manage a proper disengage (not a retreat) to drive a puma on the mine. Here, vehicles range is bigger and they can wipe a squad too fast to be able to drive them on a trap, of course it is still possible to mine so shockpoint where you know a vehicle will come soon or later but it is still a bet. The rest is situational, only sand bags have are interesting to defend a position or a vehicles.

Airborn Doctrine: Pathfinder are interesting, the vision they provide is great. But what else? They are a support unit that can deal reasonable amount of damage but not more than any other unit already on the field, you cannot really use them as capping unit and need them have them following other unit. So is an additional range of vision really necessary at the beginning of the game? Not really from my point of view. This unit doesn’t not bring anything before line of combat are more of less settled up.

I just dropped the mechanized Commander after my last game. Early jeep looks so nice I’ll try it my next game!