Strategies for the CoH noob?

[icydawgfish]

I've played the original a bit, not competitively online, just with a couple of friends over LAN. Anyway, what are some strategies for playing as the Germans? I'm finding my infantry heavy strategies I used in the original aren't working out so well on these large maps.

[synario]

These might not be relevant for you, but I've learned a couple tricks that have made a shockingly huge improvement in my playstyle..

First of all, especially for players that don't consider themselves very, try to group the bulk of your force into one area for attack or defense. That doesn't mean put all your units 5 feet next to each other on one spawn point, but on the other hand don't try managing 3 seperate groups of units all spread across the map.

In addition, learn to love the shortcuts. They might seem more trouble to bother with now, but they are utterly vital to even stand a chance at microing at the same rate that even a decent player can. You want to reach the point where you literally almost never have to scroll back all the way over the map to click on a building and pump out some units, then need to wait, THEN have to order those units to move to where you need them. What you want to do intead, is focus 90 percent of your attention on your 'core', the bulk of your army whether its defending or attacking, all located in one coherent location with good spacing. Use the tabs above your unit production screen to pump out units without ever needing to look at your base, and then use the Y key to consistently keep your rally points up to date, which usually should be set a safe, but short distance behind your 'core' force. This saves a ton of time, and saves a lot of heartache that can be caused by not always paying attetion to your core group.

To tie into the first point, don't try to attack unless you have a very large group of units or you'll only burn resources. The defender, even with just one or two MG nests and held up in a house, can easily swat away a wave of 3-4 units.

As for vehicles, you don't always have to have the best of the best. For example, you can have one medium-strength tanks, and 2 "light" tanks, but spread them out in a sorta crescent formation which gives you a lot of flexibility to have at least one of your tanks able to flank an attacking enemy vehicle at all times. Simultaneously, don't spread your tanks out too much, keep them all relatively grouped together, (like 2-3 buildings length apart from each other).

As the title suggests, you're playing as a Company commander, in essense one guy in charge of a single coherent unit on a battle. You're not a general, managign various armies spread out all over the place. That's not to say you can NEVER spread out your forces.

One effective, cautious combined armed approach I've disicovered recent is this. Say you're preparing to attack a strategic enemy point. You're not just going to select all your units and tell them to rush the point from the base, that will be a disaster..have some patience and some finese, keep your units in good order, sprinting from cover to cover, with good spacing (one coherent force all together, but not literally touching each other).

What I might do is set up a 'reserve' point, the village closet to the enemy strategic point that I'm attacking. I might place a MG unit in a building, a mortar unit as well, and also an infantry unit if I can spare it. This is my reserve force that will be used later. Then I send the rest of my army, vehicles and everything at the strategic point, in a rough cresent formation, with my heaviest vehicle leading the center of the attacking and some supporting infantry, preferably with sub-maching guns for swatting off enemy anti-tank units. Then, with whatever I can spare, I will have two other 'subgroups' of units to the right and left flank of my center group, slight forward, completing the cresent formation.

I won't simply rush straight at the village, I will move from cover to cover until my center group comes into range of the enemy untits defending the point. This center group should draw the bulk of the enemy fire, while my two flanking units, close by but not TOO close, move in to flank whatever enemy units or fortications there are, hitting tanks in the rear with RPG's, tossing molotov's and grenades into enemy bunkers and strong-points.

Keeping in mind, my center group, which is drawing the fire, will take a more cautious approach despite being the center of the attack. The supporting infantry will always stay in the best cover possible, and my tank will be just close in enough to hit the enemy, but no more. You don't want your center group to be crippled before your flanking forces can close in .

As for defending, this is simpler, but vital. Keep a mixed arms force ALWAYS for defending. This is the true purpose fo the anti-tank artillery unit, to take a stationary position in GOOD cover, ALWAYS with HMG in a nearby building. IF You can spare, keep a submaching gun nearby for units that rush your AT, or even a flamer.

In effect, USE combined arms.

[synario]

I should add, that I've learned the hard way that it's important to keep set up your 'core' force, as far up the map as possible as quickly as possible.

It's tempting to make the mistake of trying to capture every little resource point next to your base at the game start right away, but that only leaves your capturing units exposed and vulnerable, far away from friendly support and open to ambush by largere coherent enemy forces.

Pump out 2 infantry units right away and move them up roughly halfway or a 1/3 of the way up the map depending on how large the map is, to good cover and keep them there, and set your rallies there as well, and just starting pumping out units as quickly as you can while your engineer unit, now that's it's built your infantry builidng if you need one, can start capturing all the little nearby points next to your base, and then move on to more advanced buildings.

[EmperorVolo]

I wouldn't even bother with infantry they don't work. They miss to much, the only thing that hits is anti-tank infantry effectively. They can't shoot each other worth a damn. Also ATs apparently count as vehicles so that infantry is like shooting light armor. You would think hey send in my troops to clear it out, but then you realize you have issues as you sit there shooting forever.

Avoid using troops at all and you will have a more effective army, other than the occasional MG or Mortar.

[Blind]

I like the DoW strategy, build a Halftrack and park AT's on it while having defensive Mortars closer to your end in range of your halftrack. You can immediately resupply cheap at the halftrack, surround it with mines, and if you have to fall back your mortars will attack defensively.

Loading a Penal Squad into a Scout car is the best way to punch a hole in an enemy line.