Slitherine

Hi all.

I'm past the tutorial and into the first campaign. I'm in the third map, The Low Countries, and I'm realizing an awful thing: I'm going to disappoint the Herr Oberst from the briefings =( I ain't got the Blitzkrieg mojo in me, at least not yet.

I've heard somewhere that underachieving in the campaign will not let me finish it. Is this correct? Or is this from Order of Battle?

Any tips for this? or consolation?

its all about experience with the game.. at some point, once you learn all there is to be learned, you will find way too easy to win decisively..

You've discovered an awesome game Try reading through the "Tricks and Tips" subject in the Stickies section. There are also some decent guides on Steam.

Beyond mediocrity, is there a bad side effect for advancing the campaigns through the Marginal Victories?

apostrophefz wrote:Beyond mediocrity, is there a bad side effect for advancing the campaigns through the Marginal Victories?

Yes, and no. At some points a loss will not hurt, at others a Decisive Victory is required.

One must look at the campaign tree[s]. There are several campaigns, each is different.

One thing I learned is to advance at a slower pace and not stringing out your forces. You almost always have more than enough time. Two exceptions I can think of are the Poznan and Arras. The AI in almost every scenario will come to you and you can kill them off making the later stages easier.

Accomplishing decicive victories throughout 39-45 is a seperate challenge for some players, but in the Library one can find the victory needed to go further in the campaign. I have already learned to accept a marginal victory if going for the decicive costs too much damage to the core units. But it takes quite some time to master the game in all its challenging aspects. Try different strategies and have fun - the forum is full of good advices and members that like to share their ezperiences ).

stormbringer3 wrote:One thing I learned is to advance at a slower pace and not stringing out your forces. You almost always have more than enough time. Two exceptions I can think of are the Poznan and Arras. The AI in almost every scenario will come to you and you can kill them off making the later stages easier.

The Low Countries is an Early Blitzkrieg scenario, and not part of the Grand Campaign.

But I would recommend to the OP to play the GC39 campaign, as it is much easier than the one he is playing now.

apostrophefz wrote:Hi all.

I'm past the tutorial and into the first campaign. I'm in the third map, The Low Countries, and I'm realizing an awful thing: I'm going to disappoint the Herr Oberst from the briefings =( I ain't got the Blitzkrieg mojo in me, at least not yet.

I've heard somewhere that underachieving in the campaign will not let me finish it. Is this correct? Or is this from Order of Battle?

Any tips for this? or consolation?

You can't compare the Original Panzer Corps Campaign to any Grand Campaign

Grand Campaign is about building your core and almost never rewards you for being fast in your Scenario

The Original Campaign is quite different as there are quite a few scenarios where you can only get a Decisive Win if you win early (all laid out in the briefings).

So basically the Original Campaign rewards for being quick while the Grand Campaign does not exactly punish for being quick, but you skip some Prestige per Turn and a lot of Experience Points for your Core Units.

So you need a different approach

So while you don't need a Decisive Victory in each Scenario to see the Final Overall Victory Message for Conquering the USA. (There are some other different Branches (which are not necessarily easier to solve) you can Finish but you just get an END message there.)

So if you shoot for the Overall Victory the Low Countries Scenario is one where a Decisive Victory keeps all your options intact. A Marginal Victory means you miss out on the Chance for the SeaLion 40 branch. Sea Lion 40 is very hard to win Decisive but if you can do it you are well on your way. It does not matter if you beat the Russians in the Rush to Moscow Scenario or Moscow 41 or Moscow 43 (all Decisve Wins needed here in one of them) then you go straight to the Fictional 3 USA Scenarios (and you need only a Decisive Win in the Last one USA WEST)

If you can't win decisively in the Low Countries you go to a slightly different Branch and will not see Sea Lion 40.
Once you are in Russia you still can fight your way to the USA but the Moscow43 Decisive Win will be no Option anymore. So you basically play the same Russian Campaign as after the SeaLion40 Branch, but only a Decisive Win in either Rush to Moscow or Moscow 41 will send you to the Sea Lion 42 Scenario which is your last Chance to go to the USA Branch.
Funny thing with the Sea Lion 42 scenario----- A Marginal ends the Campaign Immediately while a Loss sends you to Italy where up to 5 more Scenarios wait for ypu til the End Message. Seems to me a bit like being rewarded for Losing

Bottom Line is you need to Beat the Russians in Moscow at sometime AND the Brits as Well to win the Campaign.
If you can't do it in Time and/or Decisively you have to settle with an END Message but on the Other Side can experience some of the Hardest Scenarios of ALL the Panzer Corps Content

Anyway here is a map of the Campaign (made by User a1493799 ©) hope it helps, but don't get lost by the many different ways you can walk down in the Original Campaign

I'm sorry for being this thick, but am I playing the Grand Campaign? I don't remember which icon I clicked

apostrophefz wrote:I'm sorry for being this thick, but am I playing the Grand Campaign? I don't remember which icon I clicked

If the 2nd mission is still in Poland you are playing the Grand Campaign, if the 2nd mission is in Norway, or the Low Countries you are playing the vanilla or standard original campaign

If you are at the Low Countries scenario, then you are playing the original PC: Wehrmacht campaign (the one diagrammed above) and not the Grand Campaign. To play the GC you will need to have purchased it separately or own the Gold version of PC. To start the GC (or US Corps or Sea Lion) you need to select the 'file folder labeled Classified' icon (tool tip if you hover over it will say 'More Campaigns') on the lower right side of the of the New Game Menu screen.

apostrophefz wrote:I'm sorry for being this thick, but am I playing the Grand Campaign? I don't remember which icon I clicked

Another quick way to distinguish between the vanilla campaign & the Grand Campaign is this: If there is an officer reading the scenario briefing to you, it's the vanilla campaign. If there's no officer reading when the scenario briefing is displayed, it's the Grand Campaign.

Welcome to the game & good luck!

Folder icon for GC in red circle below.

I'm on the vanilla campaign then. Thanks!

hurly wrote:Funny thing with the Sea Lion 42 scenario----- A Marginal ends the Campaign Immediately while a Loss sends you to Italy where up to 5 more Scenarios wait for ypu til the End Message. Seems to me a bit like being rewarded for Losing

It makes sense. Wrapping up Great Britain this early in the war could mean a quick resolution. Losing Sea Lion, however: the British remain in battle, and the struggle - the game - carries on.