AI Unit Spam

[grenadier98]

Are there any good methods to prevent the AI unit spam towards the end of scenario? It sometimes makes reaching/capturing the last victory hex really annyoing and unnecessary difficult when the AI pops out six new units around the last hexes every turn. Without massive use of artillery and a lot of other troops it's sometimes impossible to capture this last hex.
Is it common behaviour for the AI to save up alle the prestige for this last spam defense or does it do similar things before which I just can't see because of FOW? I tried to let really expensive AI units (i.e. strategic bombers) escape badly damaged several times before finally killing them, so that the AI would use up its prestige by reparing them. But towards the end, it just keeps spaming, so obviously it didn't work out...
Maybe I should lower the AIs prestige settings (150%, General difficulty)?

[braccada]

Generally it is not only done on the final turns and the spam is focused on victory hexes. Draining prestige like you did has an effect, but most of the time it is not possible to prevent unit spam. But the quality and number can be reduced that way. Above that the only way is too block as many cities as possible as soon as possible, because those units normally do not move so the spam is limited to a maximum of 6 per city.

However on many maps it is just a fact you have to be prepared for. Use artillery and surround them to force surrenders. That way you can even use it to your advantage. Most of the time the spammed units are of really low quality and in the case of AT guns often have a vision range of 1. Annoying but easy targets after all.

And I guess I have mixed feelings about that. Of course sometimes it is annoying and they could simply deploy all the units right away, but giving the AI the option to buy units adds another level. Without that it would be pointless to rush to certain locations or to drain prestige. And yes if you want to, reduce the AI's prestige!

[tenshin111]

Are there any good methods to prevent the AI unit spam towards the end of scenario?

Not really, unless you re-design the scenario(s) in question. AI is pretty dumb in this game, unfortunately.

You can try to mitigate the problem somehow by using Strategic Bombers (a neutralized city/airfield cannot be used for deploying units for several turns AFAIK), but this has no effect on primary objectives as they cannot be neutralized. Another thing is to keep up the pace and fully employ the Blitzkireg tactics - quickly isolate your objectives one after another, move as many units as possible to surround the cities and block deployment hexes.

Also, I found paratroopers to be very effective in early Wehrmacht campaign scenarios - they can either distract AI so that it commits some units (and prestige) to fend them off or you can use them to cut off the last objective(s) before AI spams the area with units.

[tenshin111]

Speaking of scenario design, you should give Grand Campaign(s) a try. Those scenarios are mostly designed in a way that doesn't really result in unit spam, at least not as much as in the vanilla campaign. Basically, there are two options for scenario design in Panzer Corps:

1. Keep it simple, give AI some initial prestige plus extra prestige per turn - this will most likely result in the unit spam that you have observed (and this is how vanilla scenarios are designed if I remember correctly).

2. Give AI just a little bit of initial prestige and no prestige per turn, but pre-place / pre-program reinforcements via scripted events. This results in a much better experience and this is how Grand Campaign scenarios work most of the time.

[grenadier98]

I'm playing the GC, just finished Arras in GC 40 and I have experienced the unit spam in quite some GC scenarios. But I suppose it's even more annoying in the vanilla game.

To be honest, I have been away from PanzerCorps some time, so I'm not sure about how blocking a supply hex works. How many of my own units must be adjacent to the hex to prevent the deploying of new units? Do tactical or strategical bombers over a supply hex do the job as well? Is every hex a suply hex? I remember in PG2 they had green borders, but in PC I can only tell the difference between normal and victory hexes.

[tenshin111]

I'm playing the GC, just finished Arras in GC 40 and I have experienced the unit spam in quite some GC scenarios. But I suppose it's even more annoying in the vanilla game.

Hmm, I've played through GC 1939-1942 on General difficulty level and have not observed much of the unit spam....but like I mentioned earlier, I use aggressive Blitzkrieg tactics whenever I can (plus strategic Bombers) and finish most of the scenarios well before the turn limit. I guess this fact prevents the AI from accumulating enough experience for the final turns.

To be honest, I have been away from PanzerCorps some time, so I'm not sure about how blocking a supply hex works. How many of my own units must be adjacent to the hex to prevent the deploying of new units? Do tactical or strategical bombers over a supply hex do the job as well? Is every hex a suply hex? I remember in PG2 they had green borders, but in PC I can only tell the difference between normal and victory hexes.

By blocking I meant placing your units on hexes adjacent to a city. Again, it's about striking fast and driving your mobile units deep so that you can easily surround and cut off one objective after another. This also buys you time so that even if the final objective gets spammed with defensive units you have enough turns left to deal with it.

[MikeAP]

This is where strat bombers earn their pay. If you neutralize a point then the enemy cannot use it to spawn units.

[JimmyC]

If you have a unit next to an occupied enemy city, then that city cannot deploy any units. So you just have to try and rush somebody to be next to the city.

I agree it can be quite annoying at times.

[Razz1]

Move fast.
Put unit adjacent to city hex.

No more spamming.

[captainjack]

Neutralising with strategic bombers is often under-rated. You can sometimes use it to force the AI into making bad choices, as well as preventing it from spamming units in some locations.

If you capture a city you have to wait two turns to generate a unit there. Same if you neutralise it. If it's occupied by a unit that can claim it, they have to wait two turns, but if it's unoccupied the AI will often move a nearby unit into the city to reclaim it (which is good news if it's a tank and you have infantry nearby). If it's AA, Artillery or a bunker or other unit that can't take a city, it stays neutralised.

You can use fast recon to take (and then vacate) cities which prevents spam and can similarly force the AI to reclaim them (which can improve your attack stats in some cases).

While I have not come across AI spam on airfields, a well timed neutralisation (or airfield capture) can be very effective for other reasons. I once killed three Russian fighters by capturing an airfield when they were low on fuel, and have prevented attacks on vulnerable aircraft by neutralising airfields so that they had to head off to a further airfield to refuel.

On its own strategic bombing is probably too unreliable, but it can be very effective when used with the "move fast and place units next to them" strategy.

[RVallant]

Strat bombers aren't always viable though, given the AI usually has those final cities blocked off with the dreaded AA/ART combination.

That said... another method of preventing the spam is to reduce the AI prestige via custom difficulty, if you can tweak it enough so that it has enough prestige to spend on units but not enough to spam them like mad, you may be able to get by better. I think it wouldn't affect the GC or scripted maps as much. Worth considering, but be careful you don't basically hamstring the AI 100%.

[Panzerpimp]

played through GC 1939-1942 on General difficulty level and have not observed much of the unit spam

Just replayed GC 1939 - encounterd massive unit spam in Warsaw.

final cities blocked off with the dreaded AA/ART combination

That happened around last objective in Warsaw on the last turn. No DV, so sad.

[wargovichr]

A word to the wise:
One of the most aggravating AI spam tricks is to spam on perhaps that one minor objective city way across the map that you didn't bother to capture. And there you are deep in the expanse of DLC Russian territory, maybe one or two turns from MV by capturing the last major objective and all of a sudden(!) you see a previously captured objective (way across the map) fall to the enemy! The AI spammed (unnoticed) out of the last uncaptured city and sent cheap BT-5s or whatever gallavanting about the countryside! Beware.

[Panzerpimp]

AI spam tricks

Yes, I saw that too.
But on the other hand, I saw scenarios where the AI doesn't do anything.
Just played GC 1940 - Arras. AI left It's cities completely unprotected as he started to attack my positions. I dropped paratroopers and captured all the cities - AI nnever noticed that.

[wargovichr]

So the thing to do as you approach the last major objective is to be cautious WHEN you move your first unit adjacent to the city hex because that obviates the AI from building spam (even though that is the natural initial strategy to cut down on spamming). It will then be FORCED to spam elsewhere. MOST times that is the nearest city but NOT always. If there's something distant left uncaptured either leave an air unit there as recon to spot spam or consider infantry garrisoning (which I hate to do) the nearest major objective to that uncaptured city. Or have your best movement-heroed motorized infantry unit within movement range of the threatened objective. We've all captured the last major objective and won a MV, then looked at the map at end game and seen another uncaptured city with seven(!) potent units spammed. Most time they stay static in defense but NOT always.
Related to this is, if you had done well, is WAITING and LETTING the AI spam up IF you have enough turns left. Then attack the units to gain experience you having had moved your low experience units into position. I thought an additional reason to do this is to bleed AI prestige down for next battle but I suspect the AI doesn't save prestige like you do, it uses scripted prestige per battle.
The last aggravating factor is when the AI does spam in later war years it spams EXPERIENCED units even though that is impossible for you, according to the rules.

[Stephen1024]

Use Strat bombers to naturalise non gold bordered cities.

Use Recon to scout slightly ahead, always move it a max of 2/3rds of its movement points. If you find enemy withdrawal the last 1/3rd protect your scout.
I keep in my unit collection 2 scouts with good experience so I can build 2 armys in a map both can move non-blind. I don't always use scouts but mostly use at least 1 in a map. (example Warsaw south/north that is a map I never us recon, there one provided. Most of the map is city)

Once know your enemy pincer him and blast with arty, destroy any anti-air units and then hit with air power. Now all should be weak hit destroy all you can and don't hit any enemy units you can't destroy that turn. Move prefably infantry unit next to city keep all units covered with arty support.

Thats best way clean out.

If you use recon and blitzkrieg you find some of the time the recon can take the city before it gets spammed.

[Stephen1024]

Plan that AI will spam last city. Use it to gain experience for your army. You should arrive at the last city with couple turns spare for it, if your not then your moving to slowly. If your finding your moving to slowly, then use strat bomber to naturalise where possible. Use your core in split group first group will break enemy line and second group will use hole to advance. Warning learn to keep your army covered by support at end your turn.

Blitzkrieg is about fast movement. Hit the enemy force a gap and exploit that gap.

Early campaigns Use recon know where enemy is. Fighters should clear out enemy fighters. Stukas should land nasty headache on enemy forces. Later make sure take out Anti-air before stukas take there run. Then use arty support and finally mop up. Tanks should break the line force fast advance.

Learn how bait enemy units is another trick. force infantry into the open. tanks force them into close combat etc.

[Panzerpimp]

Just encountered another case of unit spam in GC39 - Modlin fortress, last objective, 2 turns left;
AI spawns 2 105mm wz.29 (Artillery), 2 37mm wz.36 (AT) and kills my Kavallerie.
It was unexpected - last time I played Modlin, there was no spam...

[edahl1980]

Cutting off railway should prevent enemies from spawning units in a town/city.

[Stephen1024]

Just had 2 different maps, and that on both got spammed by 4-5 KV-1A/B now thats cruel. I think AI hates me?

Thankful for Rudel, my own pair KV-1B and my 88's. My tanks had few rounds of coming back rather dented, glad no devs thought charging prestige for respraying paint work.