Easy AI not so Easy!

[johnsdelima]

I must really suck at Strategy games because i cant get past mission 3 in Campaign, and if i ever choose a Solo fight against AI, i get spanked. Any advice before i give up? Loved playing the first few missions, just dont wanna get burnt out and not play if i cant advance.

[B1ackB3ast]

Watch video walkthroughs.

Most important: Save every 2 minutes so you can go back if you made a mistake.

Basically there are two ways to play the missions: fast and aggressive, focusing on the objectives (blitzkrieg), or slow and cautiously taking control of the whole map and building a big army, which is easier but requires lots of time and patience. You can find walkthroughs for both approaches online.

Recon is the most important thing. If you see the enemy first you can shoot first. This is also why weapon range is very important. The ideal scenario is that you see the enemy first and can shoot him without he being able to return fire.

Combine your units so you can react to any threat. Infantry, Tanks, AA, Helis, Recon. You will need them all.

So what I do is I move in with recon, followed by tanks, tank destroyers (sometimes), AA with rockets and choppers. I place the units with the highest weapon range in the back, so they are out of reach of the enemy weapons but can still attack. I use infantry to clear out and occupy woods and cities in strategically important areas (e.g. next to bridges or roads). Artillery can be used for clearing cities and woods of infantry or for destroying enemy command posts (it is important to have a visual on the enemy, otherwise the shots will be to inaccurate).

Know where to place and use your units: tanks work best on open ground, infantry in cities and woods. Keep helis more in the back and move them in if you know that there is no AA.

[ŊЏ | Shifu]

Nah, not necessary your fault: the game's kind of hard and the campaign qutie challenging. For the campaign (I'm unaware of the particular mission), it's mostly good to fly around with helicopters and kill all CVs of the AI .. easy wins ;)
The AI genereally cheats, it's omniscient and a lot of tactics totally viable in Multiplayer can't be applied in Singleplayer (e.g. sneaking around with special forces .. everything which relies on hiding from the enemy). It's hard to give an easy piece of advice which will solve all your problems, there's nothing you could do to avoid the learning phase. Personally, I have rarely played against the AI, so my advice's more Multiplayer orientated:
Generally, you should have a) combined forces, i.e. spamming one or two types of units will get you slaughtered - at least if you're enemy's halfway competent. In the current meta, it has payed out to use a few heavy tanks as backbone which are supported by AA, cheaper tanks/vehicles which serve as kind of meatshield and other supporting assets. For games against AI: the AI spams, combined forces may be the wrong approach as the AI has no limits on units etc.: If you have not enough AA, it will spam lots of helicopters. Else it will spam tanks iirc. b) Never ever forget recon. Even when less important against the AI, it's one of the main reasons people lose games. You cannot calculate and plan if you don't know what's coming when and where. Advanced use of recon includes not only defensive detection of the enemy, but actively infiltrating their rear via some forest, spotting their command vehicle, so your artillery can kill 'em.
c) Know your units, the map and the enemy units. Kind of hard, especially in the beginning, but you should be able to roughly categorize any unit you spot to avoid fielding the wrong counters. Knowledge of the map will save you crucial time as you don't need to look for a spot where you can hide your command vehicle, or check which reinforcement route will be used by your units .. and without knowing your units, you don't know if they can succeed at their given task or if there's a better unit to do the job. Don't worry, lot's of this will come by experience and it will increase the fun a lot!
d) Deciding factor between "medium-skilled" and high-skilled players is micro. Usually, you play while being zoomed out quite a bit (at least I hope so, else you'll miss too much), but there are moments - especially if expensive units are concerned - where you have to zoom in and take special care of your units. So that they don't expose their flank in fights, that they retreat properly, take cover in the right place etc. - on the other hand, if you manange your tanks into such a position that they can shoot at the enemy's side, the fight should be won easily. Microing infantry in cities is another topic ..
Less gameplay orientated tips:
Unless you're one of those preferring single player, hop into multiplayer: it's less frustrating (at least I believe so), more fun and actually helpful. If you lose, check the replay: why did you lose, what didn't work in your strategy, what did .. and which approach was chosen by your enemy: did it work or fail? If so, why? Maybe it didn't suit the map (too few infantry in towns/forests)? Etc. .. this is one of the best things you can do. I remember when I learned the game, I basically played always Nato on Hell's Highway (back then when spawns were fixed) - so I always had the same units and map, always faced the same enemy units. This reduced the new elements and allowed me to focus on strategies and mechanics of the game. It turned out, if you're playing with/against good players, you're learning more - but might be more frustrating in the beginning as you'll not stand too many chances - best is to have a good player telling you roughly what to do and answering any questions. Oh, and surely, I should point to the youtube guides (if you want to play campaign, there's a good walkthrough by Hob Gadling), but I'm personally not the player learning too much by youtube vids .. think that's the basics of how to .. didn't intend to write a post that long lol
Keep in mind, the game's not easy: If one approach doesn't work, think about why and try a different one or modify yours. The game is about thinking, not having the highest APM.

[That Guy]

you may be taking to long to deploy things and set them up as you move . this was my probelm here and there . its a RTS not tactics game . even though it adds tactics elements like fog of war and terain bonuses you have to move fast some times . click on the mini map to move the camera fast to a spot

also you may be over using some units . if you use to much of 1 type you may find that the game can be unforgiving since if you lose units you lose them from then on . you have to replay missions and finish without them being deployed/dieing if you want to get them back . this is why i use infantry soemtimes . its not like i wouldnt prefer to use tank destroyers or anti aircraft guns/rockets but if infantry die its not as big a deal and they can be usefull if there are buildings near by

[johnsdelima]

Thank you all, think im getting it down slowly. passed the first 4 campaign missions, one took almost two hours, lol! But i had over 4000 points and pact only had like 350. Just hate how they spam units and doesnt seem like they have a limit. Loving this game, wishing i bought the newer airland battle when it was on sale. Will have to wait on that one. Once again, thanks for the advice.

[🪐Space_Owl🦉™]

Originally posted by johnsdelima:

Thank you all, think im getting it down slowly. passed the first 4 campaign missions, one took almost two hours, lol! But i had over 4000 points and pact only had like 350. Just hate how they spam units and doesnt seem like they have a limit. Loving this game, wishing i bought the newer airland battle when it was on sale. Will have to wait on that one. Once again, thanks for the advice.

Dont worry, the russian campaign will crush your love for this game. Like others said, the AI of this game cheats constantly and thats the main problem. Some missions are ridiculous and hard as ♥♥♥♥ because that fact. So most of the people playing this game spend their time in the MP.