Winning War, Iosef Strategy Tips and Tricks [DUE TO CHANGES in 2.0, THERE MIGHT BE CHANGES ON WAR]]

So I heard you are going to war. Perhaps you want to defend your motherland. Perhaps you start war only to get re-elected because your popularity tanks, or perhaps just to make sure you won't get couped of impeached. Either way, as a member of staff under Iosef, I got your back, provided you follow Iosef of course.

Originally made in reddit, posted here to help the community.

Note: This isn't the only way to win, I choose Iosef strategy because its the easier and most consistent, at least for me.

Introduction

So here we are. Sordland is about to be attacked by Rumburg, and you will need to be ready. This guide will provide a couple of to-do list to make sure the war is winnable. Remember! Decision that affects the war already starts since the beginning of the game.

I originally made this on reddit, but I decide to write it here, hoping it would help more people.

Also a couple of things to note:
1. This guide is focused on Iosef strategy, simply because:
-Reliability, Iosef strategy should fits any kind of playthrough with any allies
-Quickness, Iosef strategy bypass Economic requirement, so if you caused a great depression, don't worry, there is still hope!

2. This guide covers a reliable method on winning war, but doesn't cover extreme cases like winning war alone or purposely defunding military.

3. I will mostly give war advices, but occassionally, I will give some Diplomatic or Economic too. Keep in mind that its not going to be the main focus.

4. This guide will contain minor spoilers, but I will do my best not too make it ruin the story.

5. Finally, in case everything goes wrong, there is a way to save scum your game. If you are worried, go take a look.

Now that's out of the way, let's begin:

To-Do List

While there are many decisions we need to make, generally, I could divide it into four:

1. Funding and modernizing your military
2. Gather strong allies (by allies, 2 is an ideal number)
3. Do a little bit of diplomacy for Alliance of Nations
4. Finally, picking the right strategy to win war.

Modernizing Your Army

This is the step by step way on modernizing your army

1. Increase the military funding (1 budget)
This should appear on the budget meeting with all of your ministers

2. Modernize Army
After the budget increase, you will be presented on how to spend the given budget. Go with Iosef idea and modernize the military

3. Removing Conscription
After the diplomatic meeting with Agnolia and Wehlen, Iosef will give you a proposal to abolish conscription, seeing that he wanted to make the army as professional as possible. Agree to abolish conscription. Iosef will also asks you on which branch to modernize. Personally, I suggests modernizing Army for better equipped soldier, but airforce should also do. I wouldn't suggests Navy, simply because the war later is mostly on ground.

4. Keeping Gendarmerie
Later, there will a debate between two of your minister regarding the Gendarmeria, AKA the Military Police. There will be choice to keep it on military command, or to transfer it to police. Keep it on military.

5. Military Industry (2 budget if you fund military, otherwise 3)
Finally, there should be a prompt to do military industry expansion after the meeting regarding your popularity. Pick that, and your task of modernizing is complete.

If you follow all the steps, I will call the military at the best state. With this, you can win with at least one ally, whoever it is.

If you skip the 5th steps, I will call the military at the good state. Not the best, but should be strong enough to win with two ally.

If you didn't increase the funding, Iosef will then asks you to relinquish half of the army to buy better equipment. Do that, and I will call this okay state. If you have strong allies, you can still win, but you will need to be careful.

Economic advice: Remember that too much debt crashes your economy. Keep it -2 early game and -3 end game for good measure.

Gathering Your Allies, Optimal Way

Alright, now time to gather your allies. Generally, I would divide it into three separate Bloc, ranked from easiest to hardest:

1. Agnolia+Lespia (AKA western/Arcasian Bloc)
This is probably the easier way to gain alliance. Works well on free market and relaxed immigration policy. I have also tried winning this with Okay State army, so if you just want to win war, I suggests picking this side.

2. Wehlen+Valgsland (AKA eastern/United Cortana Bloc)
Its slightly harder to do because of Wehlen's unpredictability, but this is the way if you are going for a communist or Planned Economy.

3. Agnolia + Wehlen (AKA neutral Bloc)
Probably a bit challenging than the other, I wouldn't suggest this on first playthrough. Its commendable if you pick this route though.

Also, keep in mind that the country in different Bloc dislike each other, so stick to one to make this happens. Please don't try to do anything funny like going for Western Bloc but accepting United Cortana aid. Don't say I didn't warn you XD.

Also for an early reminder, I suggests doing things similar to the country you want alliance, but in case you want to go mixed:

1. For Western,
-DO NOT nationalize big company
-DO build railway or get your ED maxed for Lespia later,
- If you fail to get Sordish recovery, make sure its at least free market and consistent (not mixed)

2. For Eastern, DO NOT ban red youth or privatize big company

The reason is, this might make Alvarez (Lespia) or Hegel (Valgsland) dislike you, they refrain from offering you an alliance.

Oh yeah, having History background gives slight buff to diplomacy, but not that big, something to keep in mind.

Now that you picked your bloc, Let's start Diplomacy Round One. I mean, go to the next section please:

Agnolia, your "Friendly" Neighbour

Agnolia. You previously have good relations with them, and now its the time to improve it, or ruin it. Either way, Agnolia is the first step that decides who will be the next ally.

To make alliances possible, you will need to get on PM Maartin good side. Go shake his hand followed by hug, give him Steel as gift (not the puppy!), and asks for Agnolian Vodka. Don't comment on the protest outside.

If you relax immigration, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you decide to tighten, try to comment that the decision is made, and you might still be able to please him with the highway.

If he is happy, he will asks that you pay 1 budget for the trade deal. If you want western bloc or neural bloc and get the best deal, I suggests to ask him to reconsider, and he will asks to recognize the Island for Agnolia. Agree, and he should offer alliance next. Agree again, and its done. Congratulations!

If you make him angry, he will not offer alliance, but offer the super bad deal by forcing to pay 1 budget AND recognize the island. If this is the case and you are going western, I suggests restarting, or if you are still confident on Lespia, you might want to grit your teeth and accept it, but I do not suggests.

If you want Valgsland alliance in the future, I suggests paying the 1 budget for trade deal only if you want it. Otherwise, just piss him off and threaten him (tighten immigration, overpower handshake and gives puppy, etc)

Oh yes, forming alliance or recognize island will lock you from Valsgland, so if you made alliance with Agnolia, stick to western one.

Also a bit side note: Generally, Lespia or Wehlen is preferred at war later to support you, but in case you only got Agnolia alliance, or you want to try Agnolia only, make sure you build highway so their army arrives in time. Still, I would prefer Railway for Lespia, and Agnolia is too keen to attack Dome.

Wehlen, Bloodthirsty (and unreliable) Neighbour

Your blood-thirsty neighbor, Wiktor Smolak is keen to eradicate BFF, and will want to you to join their Operation Bear Trap in exchange for Oil. Due to their eccentric nature, you won't have formal alliance with them, but they will come if you join Operation Bear Trap, the full one, not just close border.

There are three ways to deal with them:

1. For the one going for western bloc, it might be best to just refuse the deal outright. Smolak will be disappointed, and you will need to deal with massive refugees later. Relaxed immigration should reduce the ED impact.

2. Accept and join the bear trap. Military will join Smolak in his operation, and later Wehlen will come with their army. The problem is, this will cause a low drop to your reputation to Blundish population. More on that later.

3.Only close the border. If you refuse, Smolak will sweeten the deal by offering only for you to close border. If you don't want to deal with Wehlen but wants the oil, this might an option. Still, not recommended if you are going western.

Dealing with Wehlen will angers Lespia a lot btw, so avoid dealing with Wehlen if you want Lespia's alliance.

There is also Blundish problem here. By joining bear trap, this will anger the population at Bergia, and they will blockade Wehlen army so they won't help you. To prevent this, you will need to make it up to the Blundish by either reconcile with them (I did give amnesty to Soll era prisoner with the addition of signing Leke's minority's Bill) or opress them massively by using Bergia Special Zone. This means you will need to keep your decree intact. This is why I call Wehlen unreliable. For Eastern Bloc, pin your hope on Valgsland instead.

Diplomacy, because Rumburg has something worrying

While we are waiting for the second diplomatic round, there is a tiny but very important things you need to do. After the assembly votes and the cinema scene, there should be a prompt that a Rumburg Whistleblower claimed that he has an important intel. Choose to grant him asylum.

After that, the whistleblower will reveal that Rumburg has nukes. A bloody nuke! If Rumburg has it, our plan will fail because well, they can simply nuke you and its game over. What to do then? Keep the info in your pocket for now. Let's continue finding allies.

Gathering your Allies, Round 2 (Lespia or Valgsland)

This will start after Deivid mentions "Time to look the future". The previous one is just the beginning, and Lespia or Valgsland is the reliable and strong ally you are looking for. You can only pick one though, they dislike each other, and dealing with one means making enemy of the other. If you are neutral Bloc, you can simply skips the two part below:

Lespia, When a Drunk Person Means Business

Before we start, Lespia will outright rejects to talk to you if you accepts United Cortana aid, so skip this if you do. Eastern bloc can skip this part.

Ah Lespia. A capitalist country, close to Arcasia, ruled by a drunk President. Don't underestimate him though, he is not as dumb as he look.

If you are going for western bloc and didn't make any deal with Wehlen nor nationalize big company, the deal should goes smoothly. Alvarez will sign it and offer alliance. Accept it, and congrats western one, you did it.

If you did made deal with Wehlen however, Alvarez will asks for your oil, reducing the effect of Wehlen deal. He might still offer you alliance, but its hard, and I personally never gets it.

If Alvarez dislike you, he won't offer alliance, which is well, sucks. Sorry, your western run ends here.

Lespia is the strongest allies you can have, but they won't arrive on time because their army is far away. This could be mitigated by either building the Railway as your first mega project, or maxing your ED so they send their airforce to support you.

To add, if you didn't reach max ED, Lespia will still send airforce if your economic planning is free market and consistent. Symon will mention that its similar to Laissez-faire concept.

Valgsland, Welcome Comrade

Same with Lespia, Valgsland will outright refuse if you accept Arcasian aid, or recogize island for Agnolia, or form alliance with Agnolia. Western Bloc, you can skip this.

Alright, so you can see what Hegel has to offer depending on his mood.

1. If he calls you comrade, he is very pleased with you, since you do all the Malenyevist policy. He will immediately offer you trade and alliance without needing you to recognize the island. Congrats Comrade! Do agree to invade if you want the achievement.

2. If he is neutral, he will still gives you a warm greeting, but you will need to recognize island for them. Still, its no problem.

3. If you displease him by banning the red youth (or privatize too much?), Hegel will treat you coldly, and will only offer trade deal in exchange for recognizing the island. Either way, your easter run ends here, sorry.

On war, Valgsland will come with their superior navy, so they will arrive on time. Good for you!

Triggering War, Superpower, Interview, and AN Meeting

So you have gained some alliances and finished modernizing your army. Now, you will need a trigger to start the war. The chance will appears when an emergency appears and you are informed that Rumburg shot down Sordland's plane. Well, this could surely starts a war of course.

If you want war, I recommend doing either of this two:

1. Provoke them by retaliating! Prove you are strong enough and retaliate by shooting their plane. After that, make sure it is known you are expecting war to the world, more on that later.

2. The straightforward way, just declare war on them outright. This will immediately put you in war route. Do be careful

After the emergency meeting, there should be a message from superpower (either ATO or CSP) asking for a meeting. Well, this might be interesting.

1. The best way is to refuse to join them, either by refusing outright or letting them talk to your first. This is the recommended way.

2. If you only retaliate, this is probably your last surefire way to avoid war (what, having cold feet?). Join them and Rumburg won't attack you.

3. If you do declare war and decide to join, there is a high chance that superpower will help you in war. This is dangerous, because Rumburg will join the other one and triggers a world war. In a way, this the worst possible outcome.

In conclusion, refuse to join for your sake.

After that, there should be an interviewer from Kyrute asking some questions. Here is my answer that guarantees a war:

1. Say that you retaliate and willing to stand your ground
2. Say that you are expecting war, and you expect no help from international community
3. The rest, try to avoid using word peace and you are golden.

The final step is the AN Meeting. I'll make it short, say whatever you want, yell as much as you like it, but when its your turn, said you want to respond, and MAKE SURE you said that Rumburg has nukes. This should disable their nukes later, so don't forget.

If all goes well, there should be a phone call from Queen Beatrice asking to surrender your land. Refuse, and let's go to the endgame.

War Meeting (Endgame)

So here we are, the war meeting. Make sure to call your allies, and I suggests letting Deivid in for his guidance.

So in a way, there are three cities of Rumburg as our point of interests:

1. Tzarsbrough
The city of interests, since it is in the way of Rumburg capital Thornbrough and Rumburg main supply city Dome. Our first objective is to capture it.
2. Thornbough
The capital of Rumburg, where the Queen resides. Naturally, capturing this means a win for us, since its practically a checkmate for them. This is our second and last objective.
3. Dome
After annexing it from Agnolia, Rumburg has fortified it so it becomes a supply city for their army. If we have spare allies, they will usually attack here to create a second front.

What you need to do is simple:
1. For first phase, choose the pincer attack, and have one ally to support your pincer (preferably the strong one), and the other attack Dome/do their thing.
2. For second phase, choose the rush capital one, and have one ally (the strong one preferably) to cover your flank, while the other keeps assaulting Dome.
If you only have one ally, focus on them supporting you instead of attacking Dome

If you have best state military, its almost a guaranteed win with any ally (one is enough, tested with Wehlen only), provided they come in time. Which means Highway with Agnolia, Railway or Max ED with Lespia, and pacified Bergia for Wehlen.

If you have good state military, I sure hope you either have Lespia or Valgsland at minimum.

If you only have okay state, there is still hope. Agnolia and Lespia is enough to win you war here.

Unfortunately like I said about Wehlen, they are unreliable, making Eastern Bloc slightly weaker compared to West. Make sure you invests on military and have good state to win war comfortably.

Either way, if you win. Congrats. Vectern sis Da!

If you fail, pay attention to the reports and which part you did wrong. Its either the allies failed to arrive in time or you made the wrong strategy. Generals arguing means a loss.

Closing

Thank you for reading this guide. I hope this helps you, and I apologize if this is messy, since this is my first time writing guide on Steam.

The next part isn't important, its just the Frequently Asked Question section, so feel free to skip it, and while I write it as a comedic purpose, some of these question is actually asked.

FAQ

Q: I failed to gain any allies, what to do?

A: Why are you a terrible diplomat again? Either way, joining superpower might save your run.

Q: I allied with Lespia and Wehlen at the same time. What to do?

A: Make sure Lespia and Wehlen never works together, have Lespia supports pincer and cover flank while Wehlen do their thing by attacking Dome (maybe along with Agnolia). Alternatively, have Wehlen works together with you instead.

Q: What is the good type of economy for war?

A: For me, it depends. I suggests going free market and have max Economy when allying with Lespia. If not, any should do because Iosef strategy bypass economy check. I tried to do this with Wehlen only with tanked economy and still achieve victory.

Since you asked, make sure your investment synergizes with your trade and neighbor (Agnolia with highway/Agnland for example, or Bergia with Sarna zone, etc)

Q: Can I win war solo?

A: Unfortunately, winning war solo is super hard. The trick is here to declare war, but have Rumburg sanctioned economically too so you can fight on equal ground. Either way, I don't suggests unless you want to flex.

Oh btw, there are guides on how to win war solo. Go check it out!

Q: I declared war and join superpower, what should I do?

A: You will win, but well, repent your sins. You might still be able not to involve superpower though if you fund military.

Q: Why did Queen Livingston didn't call me?

A: You either join superpower so they are afraid to fight you, or you managed to diplomatically have them sanctioned. Either way, congratulations on avoiding war. Good luck with coup and your impeachment trial.

Q: I want to transfer Gendarmerie to Interior for (insert reason), can I still do it?

A: Sordland needs every professional men, so no, you shouldn't. If you choose to believe Lileas, the hag that chooses to shoot protester instead of Iosef , you either have terrible judgement or need to have your head checked.

Q: I want too keep conscription though, can I?

A: I suggests not, cause it fits more with Valken strategy, sorry. Removing conscription also makes you more popular, why wouldn't you do it?

Q: I defunded military, can I still win?

A: If you do this, Iosef should have couped you long ago. If you somehow ask this, take a look at the mirror and ask yourself, can I won marathon if I shoot myself in the foot? Maybe you can, but I strongly not suggests.

Q: Why did I get shot even after winning war?

A: Someone got beef on you and send you an assassin. If you die, serves you right on not paying Serge's son education or not funding the police XD. Okay, we are getting out of topic.

Q: What happen if I purge military and go to war?

A: I think the military effectiveness will decrease. Going to war removes chance of coup anyway, so don't do that.

Q: I don't like Iosef, can I fire him?

A: You bloody traitor! I hope you get couped!

[Everyoneplays]

Well I beat the s**t out of Rumburg and what I got as repayment was getting nuked by Valagsland

[Vector]

It seems that war has changed in 2.0. I went for a route that guaranteed a win in 1.9 and still lost.
-funded miitary
-upgraded army
-removed conscription
-allied Agnolia and Lespia
-got free military industry from ATO (though it didn't get me a "Increased production" green modifier)
-got into Great sordish depression (maybe that is taken into account now)
-when at war did Iosef's pincer maneuver (Tzarborough first, then rush for capital) with Lespia securing the flank and Agnolia attacking Dome
-LOST (during our final stand Iosef said that we succeded in taking Tzarborough but failed with second stage)
-loaded previous save and switched allies around (Lespia for Dome, Agnolia guarding flank) and still LOST

[urgo]

I can't wait toplay the best path in 2.0, please make it

[ThePhoenixLP]

@Natala you can certainly win the war with only Valgsland at least. In my communist run I

- funded the military
- modernised the airforce
- got my economy up to nine pips
- allied Valgsland, but not Wehlen
- purged the general staff

Covering my flank was unnecessary with air superiority, apparently, because I sent the Valgs to take Dome and had my men pincer and then march on the capital. Immediately won without complications.

[Cmdrblade]

I'm not judging or questioning your advice
1. I'm joking... somewhat
I'll also follow this guide as well and see if I yeet a victory with no allies in war

[Natala]

1. You can win without any allies, but not by this guide

2. No ally achievements means no alliance, you don't need to go to war. Just make sure Rumburg is sanctioned and you are golden

[Cmdrblade]

Can I win the war solo?
...
There's an achievement which demands you have NO ALLIES

Fellow Sords are joining up to fight for the future.
I'M DOING MY PART!
I'M DOING MY PART!
I'M DOING MY PART TOO!

[Natala]

Unfortunately, I never reach that kind of strategy @MuseFollower. Who is your ally? I presume its the Valgsland army to do amphibious attack, which is other option instead of supporting your pincer.

Personally, I always thought pincer is the priority, so I suggest doing it first, I think

[MuseFollower]

Any advice on Taquin Soll's tatic? If you go sollist he will arrive at the war room and give a third tatic, which is a sea-invasion one and radically different from Iosef and Valken

[Jackdaw Mask]

Eh I want to find out how easy it is to win war and defund military at same time :D Because if it turns out to be relatively easy, clearly they didn't need the funding indeed