COMPANY OF HEROES – Game Guide – Skirmish AI

[irfanraja2008]

Company of Heroes is TOUGH.

Even on normal mode. It's as simple as that. Is it unfair? Absolutely Yes, the rate at which the computer spawns units is simply impossible. Can games be anxiety ridden and tense affairs with little to no fun? Again, absolutely yes. I ONLY ever play skirmish, maybe 5 or 6 times in ten years against an opponent (I don't have the time or the patience to find an opponent).

Regarding difficulty, I’ll say this much there’s no shame in playing on Easy mode. At the end of the day a game is meant to be enjoyed. If playing on Easy means you enjoy it then ... well... play on Easy. Life’s too short to worry otherwise about difficulty levels and what being unable to play on harder modes says about your competence with gaming or by extension life (trust me, for some people, when gaming is an important part of your life, it can reach that level of introspection).

But here I am having played Company of Heroes, Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor and its several mods for more than ten years now. Ten years in which I have graduated, gotten a stable job, married and had a daughter. I even brought an expensive gaming laptop back in 2014 JUST so I could play Company of Heroes 2. Simply put - it's the best RTS I have ever played.

It's intense, it's realistic, it's brutal, it's ferocious and it's satisfying. I've played the single player campaigns of these game countless times, I still cannot get over the thrill and the visceral ferocity of the combat.

The below are some guiding principles and tips I have for the game.
1. Aggression - World War II was a war where aggression favoured the victors. The fact that an entirely new fighting military concept “blitzkrieg” lead to such astonishing early victories for a fairly newly organised military force- the Nazis - pays testament to this. It was a huge leap from the attrition based, deadlocked warfare of the First World War. COH is no different. Fortune favours the bold, the risk takers and those prepared to kill. Get your men out there straight away, taking over resources, finding victory points, choke points and kill zones to show the enemy that your in control and not afraid to fight. The slow and hesitant deserve to be crushed, the quick and brutal deserve the crushing victory.

2. Battlefield management- you need to keep an eye on micromanagement, unit development, keeping squads alive through cover and Rock Paper Scissors gameplay, fuel and manpower sources etc. There’s no resource gathering as such in other RTS games which means that supply lines need to be maintained and protected at all times. Most of the battles and fighting in the game will take place over key strategic resource points as this is what provides the backbone of the army. Dismantle this and you break the spine of your opponent, refuse to take action and they will continue to grow and develop until your defeat is a foregone conclusion.

3. Tactical Positioning – Perhaps the key trait of the game which sets is part from others of the same genre. Your tactical positioning will either make or break the game. Positioning is everything in the game, this includes understanding the cover system, the flanking system, the range of the units, by extension which units can face which unit and the movement and deployment of armour. I include weapon upgrades and artillery strike capabilities within this too. An excellent understanding of this system, all of which is based upon simplified real life physics is a fundamental pillar of the game. Truly great players can beat what seems like a far stronger force with superior tactical positioning of the troops at your disposal.

Tips and keys to warfare.
1. Be very aggressive from the outset. Train a group of engineers, have the default one create bases straight away whilst the rest begin to take over. Always remember the rock, paper, scissors philosophy of the game. Every unit can be countered in the game. Vehicles beat infantry, anti tank beats tanks, jeeps beat snipers, mortars beat MG nests and artillery pieces can annihilate anything. To reiterate this concept, an anti tank gun can annihilate several tanks. But a single sniper can kill the crews of these guns. Make sense? Cap all points as soon as possible to generate more resource.

2. Flamethrowers are utterly brutal in the early game. In WW2 flame throwers were some of the most terrifying and psychologically devastating weapons a soldier could ever confront. The effect is remarkably similar in the game, especially early on whilst opponents are still feeling each other out. Two groups of engineers upgraded with flame throwers can be a nightmare to face and can throw a burning spanner into your works.

3. Mortars can be utterly destructive, get them early on, keep them out of sight and keep them near vital points. Think of mortar crews as being no different than mini artillery weapons. Keep them well out of sight, a huge advantage is that the game defaults to constantly pounding on the enemy whenever they fall within range. At any one time I will always have at least two on the battlefield near the front lines raining sulphurous hell on unsuspecting enemies.

4. A group of upgraded, well placed anti-tank guns can decimate armour and prove cheaper than tanks. In fact, I have managed to win games without ever creating tanks and simply relying on infantry, artillery and a few anti tank guns to win. Always keep them facing combat and keep a large line of sight available.

5. Love your troops like a true commander. Company of Heroes is about fewer units utilising superior tactics to get the job done. It's the opposite of Command and conquer and other ‘spawn heavily and overcome with sheer numbers’ type of games. In fact, going back to those games will seem comical after you’ve become an experienced hand at Company of Heroes. A squad of upgraded or veteran soldiers can prove very costly during fragile times in a battle. Seeing my men whittled down during a confrontation sends a pang of anxiety through my heart, and should have the same effect on you. DONT BE SHY TO RETREAT when reduced to a single soldier. You can swear at him under your breath whilst he sprints back but at least he’s alive. Reinforce and live to fight another day (especially if it's a veteran squad)

6. Keep a reinforcing method close to the battlefield. A Half Track or some other resupply vehicle should be kept near the front to reinforce men before moving back out of sight. It saves a huge amount of time than just creating recruits from base or calling them from off map. Listen out for audio queues on the battlefield, men screaming bloody murder should draw you to their location.

7. Take a risk. If you sense an opening or a way of finishing a game swiftly, strike suddenly, for example if you see an opening send a couple of heavy tanks already on the battlefield (if available) to the opponents base and begin pounding them - you never know, they may be poorly defended and it could result in a sudden victory. If they are well defended, then retreat quickly after attacking for a bit. It will shock your opponent and give them the false belief that you are constantly on their doorstep and could possibly beat them at will and give them the additional stress of having to focus on base defences.

8. Understand flanking as an elementary concept. Attacking an enemy from the side or from behind can cause untold devastation, attacking a tank from the weaker less armoured sides is such a basic principle its not even worth mentioning. If you haven’t understood this yet, then you need to seriously consider rote learning the rules of tactical positioning.

9. Use artillery to absolutely terrorise your opponent. There’s little which signifies endgame domination more than a well-placed, fluid frontline of units and armour backed with several artillery pieces. A salvo of artillery pieces is an awe inspiring sight and should be used to cow your opponent into submission or drive them into a temporary state of sweat inducing panic. Use it to scare off attacks, cover advances on key points or to rain Nine circles of hell on the opponents base. Hell, I play some maps just to build a line of artillery so I can listen to the sweet symphony of unleashed murder. It’s sort of like therapy.

10. Try to enjoy the combat. Losing is horribly frustrating and can make you want to quit many, many times over. I know - I’ve been there. Even if you get your♥♥♥♥♥kicked a hundred times in a row try to enjoy the intense visceral combat. There’s no shame in playing on easy. If your whittled down to the last man and being bombarded by tank shells, artillery or RPGs and the games loss is utterly inevitable, fight to the very end and enjoyable the (try to) thrill of destruction. (Use the zoom and alt button to watch your mens brave last stand or getting vaporised in plumes of blood by artillery, butchered or the soil exploding over the landscape). Hey it's a war and every dog has its day. Yours, soldier, will come very soon.
Play hard fight hard.

[Kalden]

tldr: just remember the AI only uses attack move, and will generally do so to any location you ping on the map...

[Janthis]

Good post, but I am replaying the campaign right now and I'm honestly just getting discouraged at how the AI seems to be able to see the whole map and just pull endless reinforcements out of nowhere... I've gotten as far as mission 5 or 6 and to be honest it's just not fun anymore. I have other RTS games which, while still challenging, are much more fun to play without feeling downright unfair and I think I will go back to those.

[Kowman]

This a tough game. I don't even try to do anything but the Easy level so far. The Tiger Ace missions give you at most two tanks, thats a good place to start and get an easy win.

The mechanics of how units move is tricky, I think I will always find that frustrating. Too often I tell a unit to do something and the command fails for some reason and the unit sits around next to a unoccupied CP doing nothing until I notice it later.

One idea playing the skirmish mode is to give your side extra computer players and the other side just one easy enemy. The computer allies will run interference and give you time to set up and build some forces instead of just being wiped out in a few minutes. Reading up and watching tutorials (like this post) is very helpful as well.

I haven't even attempted a game against a human player, and I do wish there was an easier level available.

...but even so this is a great and now classic game. Picked up on a sale it is well worth it.

[Janthis]

So I just reached the Hill 192 mission. I thought I was doing well, slowly clearing out the enemy from the map and building up my own forces for an assault. I took both secondary towns and secured them. Didn't get the medal, but I figured it's no big deal - I'm just learning the map for now. Then I get my forces within sight of the hill, and the enemy suddenly has like 4 tanks, multiple infantry squads all armed with AT weapons, and is calling artillery strikes down on me. Meanwhile I can't even build more forces because of the squad limit which doesn't let me have a decent-sized army while still defending myself.

This is just too much unfair and unfun BS for me. Quit and uninstalled, I'm done.

[Kowman]

I am playing Hill 192 myself and have not beat it on Easy yet. The population cap keeps my force from building up much, same problem you have. I need to pay attention to costs vs pop. Next round I think I will try and get AT guns and set up some Howitzers instead of trying to build tanks.

My tanks were taking damage and I had no repair engineers and the pop cap had been reached, so no engineer available.

[irfanraja2008]

Originally posted by ionutz1280:

So I just reached the Hill 192 mission. I thought I was doing well, slowly clearing out the enemy from the map and building up my own forces for an assault. I took both secondary towns and secured them. Didn't get the medal, but I figured it's no big deal - I'm just learning the map for now. Then I get my forces within sight of the hill, and the enemy suddenly has like 4 tanks, multiple infantry squads all armed with AT weapons, and is calling artillery strikes down on me. Meanwhile I can't even build more forces because of the squad limit which doesn't let me have a decent-sized army while still defending myself.

This is just too much unfair and unfun BS for me. Quit and uninstalled, I'm done.

Sorry to hear that, I can't remember the mission too clearly but I remember taking the town (to the West of the starting point of the mission?). Going up the hill was a nightmare I recall, in fact I think the first time I ever played it I was so sick of it I literally just threw a couple of heavy tanks and a few troops in a last ditch bum rush and managed through sheer stupid luck to take out the defensives a the top.

Its mission like this and the Red Ball Express mission (Where i was constantly harangued and decimated by Panzer tanks until I realised that there was a base of production in the North East of the map which needed destroying) which can really ruin the gaming experience and make things so darn frustrating.

[irfanraja2008]

Originally posted by Kowman:

I am playing Hill 192 myself and have not beat it on Easy yet. The population cap keeps my force from building up much, same problem you have. I need to pay attention to costs vs pop. Next round I think I will try and get AT guns and set up some Howitzers instead of trying to build tanks.

My tanks were taking damage and I had no repair engineers and the pop cap had been reached, so no engineer available.

As per my last response to ionutz1280 above :(

[Janthis]

Thanks, I gave it another try and moved on since then. It's still ridiculous just how many units the AI can throw at you. I think it's funny and telling at the same time that you don't get a score screen at the end of a mission, like in other RTS games. Otherwise I'd notice something like the AI building 10 times as many units as me. :P

[Richartonio]

If you intend this is a true guide, post it under the guides section, otherwise it might get buried quickly and your effort will not be taken advantage of.

[Brad Nimbus]

Excellent write up!

[Akis]

Taken from post #5 in:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/228200/discussions/0/1326718197216495866/


The AI stats and modifiers:
Easy: Same unit stats and resource as the player's own. Can queue up to 2 maximum spots to attack and 3 to defend.

Normal: Receives a 20% Manpower boost, but other than that, stats and the rest of the resources are normal. Can queue up to 5 spots to attack and 6 to defend.

Hard: 50% Manpower and Munitions boost. Fuel and unit HP is the same. Can queue up to 8 spots to attack and 6 spots to defend.

Expert: 85% boost to Manpower and Munitions, as well as a 35% boost to ALL unit HP. Can queue up to 10 spots to attack and 7 to defend.



As for what the AI itself does, well, as mentioned before, the tactics themselves don't exactly change per-se, just the resources the AI gets and the priority on attack vs. defense. As you can see, the Expert AI has a much higher emphasis on attacking compared to the other difficulties. Essentially the AI just brute-forces its way through the game, and by recieving a larger amount of resources, it will be easier for the AI to do so.

[Akis]

How to beat expert AI. Topic here:

https://community.companyofheroes.com/discussion/244875/how-to-beat-expert-ai

[Janthis]

I believe the AI also has no fog of war / can see the whole map, which counts for quite a lot.

[CantStopTheComf]

The AI has to major weaknesses:
Their base and choke points.

You can basically win every match if you manage to push to their base. I played a match against a hard AI yesterday, 70:450 victory points, almost no territories. I sent 3 Pumas and a StuH to their base and won in like 2 minutes. The AI seems not to be able to defend their base properly, instead of retreating their units were aimlessly walking around the battlefield.

Choke points are an AI counter in almost every game. Bridges, corridors, you name it. CoH AI wont flank in most cases but send their troops straight into you. And they wont stop that, no matter what. Use tanktraps and barbed wire to block paths and make them move in the right direction. Put a machinegun and a mortar down near a choke and enjoy the free commander points.
In the campaign, the AI usually follows a fixed path that you can camp. At Hill 192, a single MG-Nest defended my base against dozens of goliaths for the entire mission. Also, most enemy units will stay at their postions, meaning you can just mortar your way throw them.

[Akis]

Originally posted by In 23 we trust:

The AI has to major weaknesses:
Their base and choke points.

You can basically win every match if you manage to push to their base. I played a match against a hard AI yesterday, 70:450 victory points, almost no territories. I sent 3 Pumas and a StuH to their base and won in like 2 minutes. The AI seems not to be able to defend their base properly, instead of retreating their units were aimlessly walking around the battlefield.

Choke points are an AI counter in almost every game. Bridges, corridors, you name it. CoH AI wont flank in most cases but send their troops straight into you. And they wont stop that, no matter what. Use tanktraps and barbed wire to block paths and make them move in the right direction. Put a machinegun and a mortar down near a choke and enjoy the free commander points.
In the campaign, the AI usually follows a fixed path that you can camp. At Hill 192, a single MG-Nest defended my base against dozens of goliaths for the entire mission. Also, most enemy units will stay at their postions, meaning you can just mortar your way throw them.

Correct.
And if you are able to drive ai to an attrition fight for 5 min and exhaust the ai resourses, then ai will be unable to stop/counter you.