Help me not suck

[Gzav8]

Hi guys,

I need help. I will swallow my pride by telling but I just cant beat the game, even in the easier difficulty. I am used to PC & Board Strategy Games (Axis & Allies, Hearts of Iron serie) so as always when I try a "similar" kind of game I put the highest difficulty and rock on.
I tried CTGW first as the Central Powers, and get steam rolled on hardest difficulty. Then I tried the Entente, still steamrolled. Then I switched back for normal difficulty. Same. So this morning I was "what the hell, I will beat that damn game!"
*turned easy mode*.
I went as far as 1916 when Russia conquered Berlin after a whole year of bitter defensive fighting. I just could not hold the number of Entente's troops. So once again the game beat me... in easy.

So here I am, asking for help, because obviously I am doing it wrong, all wrong.

Last game with the CP in easy, I focus with Austria on Serbia while holding the russians with only 1 garrison in every city close to the border, since they were focusing on East-Prussia. I had 1 art, 1 cav, 3-4 garrisons and something like 6 inf pushing through Serbia, that actually went weel, took me 1 1/2 years to take it (serbia never surrendered tho). Ottoman Empire held his side of Suez Canal and was never able to take the other side since the brits bring 4 inf + 2 art + 1 plane to counter attack it, utterly beating everything I put in front of them. In france Germany held the line from Strasbourg to Calais, wich I've taken early on. Things started to smell bad in East-Prussia. Since historically the Germans beat the crap out of 2 full russians armies in 1915, and since my inf stats were better than the russians, I would think I would have cut through them like butter. Holy Moly, no. At all. I attacked with 6 inf + 1 cav, russians were so numerous that it ended quicly in a stalemate. Every turn they were reinforcing more and more unit untill they just swarmed around my german army and german cities. They encircled and destroyed 3 inf, I retreat what was left. They took cities afters cities with overwhelming numbers, 5 to 1 at least. I just couldnt hold enough terrain to not get encircled, and I could not produce enough unit to meet them 1vs1. One most of my infantry divisions were destroyed I built a lot of garrisons, hoping that sheer numbers will help: not at all either. German garrisons fully upgraded by 1916 were just torn to pieces. They took Berlin, then the French pushed through and it was done for me...

How do you guys do it ?

[lordzimoa]

I recommend playing The Entente on Balanced and read Slick his excellent AAR to give you some good advice.

[vonOben]

Hi

I know how you feel!

I was a Beta testers for CTGW and I came in rather late in the Beta testing.

I only played as the Central Powers in 1914 and I always felt as I never had enough PP to have a chance against the Entente. In the beginning I only bought infantry and garrisons, but when the Russian masses started to attack and used artillery the eastern front started to break and it didn't help when Italy declared war either....

Other players did OK, so I assumed I wasn't playing good enough...

I'm sure you'll get some good advices from others!

Good luck!

Cheers

vonOben

[majpalmer]

I am having problems, too, playing as the CP. I tried handcapping the AI and that helped somewhat. But the Serbians just maul the hell out of the Austro-Hungarians, even if I rmeain on hte defensive, and the Russians are almost as tough.

What I don't understand is how to progress. You start the 1914 scenario as the Germans with 8 garrison units and 8 regular infantry. The 1915 scenario begins with only 9 regular infantry and 14 garrisons. I don't see how you gain the initiative in the east by building only a single infantry unit and a half-dozen garrison units.

Maybe I'll try playing as the Entente and see if I gain some insights into their weaknesses.

[stockwellpete]

The AAR referred to in the second post is here . . .

viewtopic.php?f=131&t=38749

[Myrddraal]

It would be interesting to hear how you get on...

[xriz]

Having played the CP during the Beta I can tell you WWI isn't like WWII.

You don't really want to go on the attack all the time, that's probably why your getting chewed up in Serbia. You want to either work around the enemy flank and just move through to get past their lines rather than attacking everything when moving. This keeps your casualties down and saves on PP. You only attack when you get artillery in place and sometimes it takes a few turns blasting a position till you can weaken the enemy up enough to assault a hex with infantry attacks. Once you open up part of the enemy line feed your infantry into the gap with out a lot of attacking except for attacking week enemy units, make them attack your units in their old dug in positions, this is how you make the enemy pay.

Its slow, yes but it can work. You gota build up your eastern front too, to hold the Russians back. A well dug in line is hard to defeat even when defended by garrisons, without building up reserves and using artillery for several turns so you can then follow up with infantry units to exploit any break through. The Russians can form a line right away but don't have the troops for a big push if your units are dug in. Units not dug in are much easier to attack but you tend to "trade" casualties so its still expensive unless you can swarm over a enemy unit.

[Gzav8]

I started a new game, normal difficulty with the CP.

Right on I've built a massive amount of garnisons, so now, it is something like the 10th turn I am holding both french & serbian fronts with garrisons only. They are holding still, well entrenched and I rotate them with fresh divisions if needed.
Everything else I've got, ie 15 infantry divisions + 5 garrisons are on russian front. I will try to push and crush them before focusing anywhere else.

Since you cant stack units I try to pierce the line with the maximum amount of firepower available. It usually means a tile where you can attack from 3 directions, backed by 2 artilleries and planes. So far it is going well, but once again the russians have bring a lot of unit and the front extend almost entirely from Konigsberg to Lamberg

EDIT:
If I switch a fully entrenched infantry division by another behind the line, will the new one be fully entrenched too ?

[xriz]

Yes entrenchment is a function or state of the Hex not the unit, so you can swap fresh units from the rear with forward units along a entrenched line and keep the lines entrenchment.

Even when you pierce a line you can't make some WWII like break through and go rampaging in the rear, if they can't contain you just have to keep inching units through the breach or just keep wearing the line down, hit several spots to do damage with little damage to your units, attrition. You can also open up a Caucus front with Turkish units, you won't take a lot of towns but it will occupy the Russians and bleed off troops that could be used on the eastern front.

[Gzav8]

I'll think about the Caucasus front yeah, but first I have to hold Judea from the Brits, and it is not easy: turkish troops are kind of... crap without any upgrade

[Myrddraal]

If you can afford it, buy an infantry lab with the Turks. You'll need it in the long run.

[Blitz1945]

In the beta test one of the things we really focused on was the play of the AI. It was a big focus for a long time. Problem may be that it is TOO GOOD!! I hope it does not take away from the enjoyment of the game.. Keep trying, the game is tough, but once you develop your own strategy you will have much fun playing it!!

[Myrddraal]

A heads up to those of you struggling on Handicapped AI, we have identified and are fixing a bug which may make Handicapped harder than balanced. We are working on a patch to get to you asap. In the meantime, I would recommend playing on Balanced mode.

Sorry about that, hopefully the trial by fire will have taught you enough to beat the AI on balanced.

[Gzav8]

The AI is awesome. It is never too good though, hat off about that guys, you did a wonderfull job.

I have started a new game in balanced and for the first time, I am doing well !

Instead of holding the west and pushing the east I did the opposite and quickly broke France & Serbia. When Italia went to war, German troops were already close to the french/italian border, with austrian garrisons in Tyrol. As you advised I have bought a labo (1st turn) for the turks, so they are now even wearing steel helmets and I am in a stalemate in Judea. In can ever afford to send some troops in the caucasus to help to deal with the russians. So far so good

EDIT: Since turn 37 I have big trouble for turns to pass. I was stuck while loading turn 38, I loaded turn 36 multiple times doing something different everytime, the turn eventualy passed the 4th times. Then the turn 39 will not pass. And for this one whatever I try to do I am not able to go through it to the next...

[majpalmer]

Ah! that explains why when I turned down the AI to handicapped I still had some problems.

But on the plus side: the AI is certainly a challenge, and should continue to be even after I get this thing figured out.

[stockwellpete]

The "handicapped" AI has just ripped me to shreds in my first effort as the Central Powers. Things went completely pear-shaped after Xmas! Still, I understand the basics now - it is a very easy game to learn, particularly after reading the excellent AAR's on here (and the on-line manual is nicely presented). Only difficulty so far was the "swapping positions of units" procedure but I have got that sorted now. The Russians are a real handful, aren't they? My Turks were doing OK though and had the Brits on the run at the point when I lost Berlin.

[MrWhite]

Dont know if I´m right but I think the AI is massivly cheating (building units, battle power of units) when in 1915 a german inf unit is hit with 7 point(and that was not a single time) on the eastern front althoug it was entreched and at full organization, something is wrong - I´m mostly fed up with the game ...

[Myrddraal]

Hi MrWhite,

In privileged mode, the AI gets a series of temporary boosts to production, in the most general sense, these are triggered if the AI army size is lower than its economy can support, so the AI never gets a larger army than the player could ultimately support, but it can mobilise and repair faster.

In Balanced mode, the AI gets no bonuses at all.

In Handicapped mode, the AI is supposed to get penalties. However, we have recently identified a bug which causes these penalties to be applied as bonuses. The result is that handicapped is harder than balanced. As I said, we'll be patching soon. Sorry about the problem... in the meantime I would recommend playing on Balanced difficulty.

The AI doesn't get any combat bonuses across all of the difficulty levels.

[Aloo]

A heads up to those of you struggling on Handicapped AI, we have identified and are fixing a bug which may make Handicapped harder than balanced. We are working on a patch to get to you asap. In the meantime, I would recommend playing on Balanced mode.

Sorry about that, hopefully the trial by fire will have taught you enough to beat the AI on balanced.

Good to know. I tried Handicapped and was loosing badly all the time, playing both sides. Now Im playing Balanced with Entente and while Im having a hard time I have a (surprise, surprise!)... Balanced game, that I see a chance to win or at least not loose too early.

Thanks for the information about the bug as I was about to dump the game out of frustration.

Is it just my imagination or do you get some additional starting units on Handicapped? Garrison in Paris and one somewhere in Serbia?

[Myrddraal]

Yes you do, well spotted.