Baby Steps

[stjeand]

I come from Warplan Europe and wanted to put out my initial gotcha list for newer players....


1) Japanese...PLEASE take all the islands and hexes around Rubaul. Leaving islands and hexes there allows the Allies to see your fleet in port. When I see 20+ ships all the time...I know the Kido Butai is sitting there and that dictates where the Allies send their ships.
I know everyone seems to want to invade Australia and India...but if you don't clean up your backyard...you will lose badly.

2) LBA...one thing you can do with these is bomb a fleet to see what is in it. That is your recon, since it removes FOW. There is a chance you may sink something too. Odds are you will lose some planes but if you see 2 CVLs in range of your CVs...go visit...so long as you know where their CVs are.

3) Subs...STACK THEM...not stacking them they just sink. Subs are extremely fragile in WPP they take way more damage than in WPE and have less str points. If you want to sink them put them on a convoy line alone...they will.

4) Do not forget your escorts. It is easy to do. I do it all the time.

5) Keep and eye on your convoys. You are sending points places...make sure they can still build units. i.e. Canada can only have 3 Divisions if I remember...their Logistics is to low. If the US is sending them PP, they will only be able to build naval. Normally it is lost PP that you can't get back.

6) Do NOT leave enemy troops behind you. They will wreak havoc on your supply lines. There are much less rail in this game so roads are all your have. One unit moving across could cut off your army.

7) Japan...Garrison...Garrison...GARRISON!!!!...Too many players are just expanding like crazy into India and Australia but they forget to garrison all the ports and oil behind them. As soon as they Allies get transports...a good Allied player will have LC with them...and next thing you know you have lost all your oil...or the port providing supply for your army, especially as you roll towards India. SO easy to cut that supply line.

8) China...your troops are junk. Run to the hills...run for your lives (Iron Maiden). Get behind rivers. Get in the hills...get in the Mountains..WATCH your supply lines. Snow hits and half your army is out of supply. TRY to keep the rail line out of Japanese hands...they can't cross where there is no supply.

9) Australia...Japan is coming. Let them take the northern ports if you must..keep your big southern ones...as soon as the US get transports the Japanese in Australia will be doomed, because with those transports come US Divisions, Marines and the navy to back them up. US can have troops there in 2 turns, along with their entire navy. Do not forget to merge divisions into at least small corps as they Japanese move down the coast. That way they create a ZOC.

10) India...Same as above...but you get the UK. Let the Japanese take all the way to Calcutta...defend behind the river line. MERGE units...you need ZOCs. By the time the Japanese get there...the UK should be just about ready. The UK Navy is currently broken...with the air units on the Hermes 10% experience. They can't hit anything but that should be fixed in the next patch. Use your Indian fighter to probe their navy...IF they bring something nice...the US can be there in 2 turns.

11) US...build some Supply Oilers...you will need them if you want to hit and run India as well as Australia.

12) US get your Strat bomber to Australia. You can hit the Japanese navy in Rubaul when it is there.

13) Japanese...get some AA to Rubaul...see 12. Take the AA from Hiroshima and Nagasaki...better then them being dusted in 45.

14) If you can get your fleet into night mode defending that is pretty nice. I ran into that a few times and found out my CVs could not attack them...so I had to use surface ships. It worked out in my favor but still...I was stumped for a while.


Hope some of these help...
More to come...
Work is calling.

[eskuche]

Good ones! I come from Warplan Nada but have some addenda:

ORIGINAL: stjeand
1) Japanese...PLEASE take all the islands and hexes around Rubaul. Leaving islands and hexes there allows the Allies to see your fleet in port. When I see 20+ ships all the time...I know the Kido Butai is sitting there and that dictates where the Allies send their ships.

Do this with either SNLF with island hopping or low strength units to spend fewer LC.

ORIGINAL: stjeand
5) Keep and eye on your convoys. You are sending points places...make sure they can still build units. i.e. Canada can only have 3 Divisions if I remember...their Logistics is to low. If the US is sending them PP, they will only be able to build naval. Normally it is lost PP that you can't get back.

IMHO production convoy past early 1942 is useless unless a nation is running out of money to fully reinforce. US experience and advances are gonna be better than most of the UK (and friends) ones, especially since the latter won't be able to get enough landing craft to do anything with their units besides follow up on US-taken ports.

[stjeand]

Past 42...probably...BUT keep in mind...

Australian and Indian units use UK transports and LC.

There troops quality is in some cases equivalent to that of the US so giving those countries PP and them building units means you have more transports without the US building them.
Also is lets you invade in the west to keep the Japanese on guard.

[ago1000]

very good list. Thank you.

[CrackingShow]

Another really basic and obvious one is always bomb BEFORE you attack with ground units, I've seen players attack with land, then lose, and then bomb afterwards. If you want to win a battle bomb the unit, or at least have the planes flying air support.