How to attack with grenadiers and flamethrowers?

[MLGCrab]

They attack entrenched infantry just fine when they stand next to them but sometimes when I click directly on the enemy they go into melee mode and join them in the trench.

So how do you properly control them?

[Apathetic11B]

Make sure your own barrages aren't suppressing them. Grenadiers specifically do not need long to wipe a trench, usually I just right click attack them and let them roll in. If your barrage is placed correctly it wont suppress the Grenadiers until they are in the trench. If that still isn't working, don't click the enemy unit icon and instead just click just outside of the trench but still in range, they should stand there and throw grenades if they are not suppressed, but this will be risky and require micro because you need to move them into the trench ASAP after it's done.

Flamethrowers I'm having a much harder time with, their range is even smaller than their unit sprite formation length, so sometimes your sprites will be right next to the enemy but they aren't in range due to the range circle not extending far enough, so where they are facing really matters. They also can't wipe a trench in the same way the grenadiers can so quickly, requiring more time. I've been using them to hit trenches lengthwise or to quickly jump out of a trench and spray a communication trench with enemies moving through it.

Ultimately I've found the Flamethrowers hard to use due to their range and their damage doesn't seem to make up for the lack of it, so I generally just use the Grenadiers instead unless I am pushing multiple points or am out of grenadiers. Grenadiers though are immaculate. They can straight wipe double stacked trenches on their own in a heartbeat along with their ability to quickly kill tanks.

But first things first, quicksave before a battle so you have a load point, then go into that battle and just play around with your barrages. Figure out exactly how far you can place your barrages and still suppress the enemy but behind them so your own troops aren't running into it. I usually like to (after the patch with the expanded suppression barrage icon) put the edge of the green circle right on the edge of rear piece of the actual trench. This usually is enough room to still suppress the enemy and your Grenadiers to toss grenades in without themselves being suppressed.

[MLGCrab]

Originally posted by Apathetic11B:

Make sure your own barrages aren't suppressing them. Grenadiers specifically do not need long to wipe a trench, usually I just right click attack them and let them roll in. If your barrage is placed correctly it wont suppress the Grenadiers until they are in the trench. If that still isn't working, don't click the enemy unit icon and instead just click just outside of the trench but still in range, they should stand there and throw grenades if they are not suppressed, but this will be risky and require micro because you need to move them into the trench ASAP after it's done.

Flamethrowers I'm having a much harder time with, their range is even smaller than their unit sprite formation length, so sometimes your sprites will be right next to the enemy but they aren't in range due to the range circle not extending far enough, so where they are facing really matters. They also can't wipe a trench in the same way the grenadiers can so quickly, requiring more time. I've been using them to hit trenches lengthwise or to quickly jump out of a trench and spray a communication trench with enemies moving through it.

Ultimately I've found the Flamethrowers hard to use due to their range and their damage doesn't seem to make up for the lack of it, so I generally just use the Grenadiers instead unless I am pushing multiple points or am out of grenadiers. Grenadiers though are immaculate. They can straight wipe double stacked trenches on their own in a heartbeat along with their ability to quickly kill tanks.

But first things first, quicksave before a battle so you have a load point, then go into that battle and just play around with your barrages. Figure out exactly how far you can place your barrages and still suppress the enemy but behind them so your own troops aren't running into it. I usually like to (after the patch with the expanded suppression barrage icon) put the edge of the green circle right on the edge of rear piece of the actual trench. This usually is enough room to still suppress the enemy and your Grenadiers to toss grenades in without themselves being suppressed.

Wow...thank you for all this detailed info! This is really good to know. Gonna try it out right away^^

[Brutallisck]

Would be cool if grenadiers and flamethrowers were a bit harder to suppress, maybe had a slightly longer range, maybe had double the company size too.

They can be useful, but I'm not enjoying using them at the moment, AI does very poor job of using them too.

[bwc153]

Originally posted by Brutallisck:

Would be cool if grenadiers and flamethrowers were a bit harder to suppress, maybe had a slightly longer range, maybe had double the company size too.

They can be useful, but I'm not enjoying using them at the moment, AI does very poor job of using them too.

They're even worse when Sniper Training is researched. Will be destroyed before they even make it near the frontlines.

[Stiglitz]

For real I was so damn excited to unlock and use flamethrowers and they just seem underwhelming, In my mind i was thinking curtains of flame and smoke but in reality they just seem like grenadiers with a few extra points in health.

What a fail, there's a lot in this game to be praised but they really messed up in a few spots.