Barracks-Based Strategies

[Armitage]

Since the update, new avenues of strategy have opened up for us to break away from the HTs and Sabs/Zooks. Here's what I've found so far:

My Bread and Butter army is:
10 APC
8 Mortar
2 Heavy Infantry
2 Transports
2 Fighters

This mix allows for heavy base destruction with replenishing ground troops from the APCs, decent defender cover from Mortars/Fighters, and pinpoint destruction/distraction from the Transports, which share synergy with HI in some upgrades. I use Roman troops for the higher health, which puts less strain on the APCs. APC deployment upgrades are mandatory, as you need to keep boots on the ground.

Opening move is a Silo strike, consisting of a "Canary" plane to flush out Anti-Air traps, then a staggered Transport drop in case of a heavily trapped silo. Further transport drops are usually focused on lone cannons or clustered spawners. The main army is deployed as soon as Silo destruction is guaranteed in a straight line, APC then Mortar mixed in. If I'm worried about forest defenders/coalitions spawning in my line, I use one of the spare HI to flush them out.

This offense's main weakness is the APC itself. HI targeting rules focus on buildings, so unless attacked, they let defenders be picked up by APCs, which are squishy. Defenders, HT tanks in particular, are the bane of this offense. Never allow them to gain a foothold on the field, or they'll get in the back line and pop the APCs. One HT will decimate the rear APC line in seconds if allowed back there, and they are allowed frequently. Destroy them on sight or pack betrayals.

Redoubts can set you back, but are often destroyed quickly. Watch out for Redoubts near walls, they have time to waste a squad of HI. Mortar Towers are mostly harmless to the HI themselves, not doing enough damage to overcome the APC deployment rate, but are a main damage dealer to APCs themselves. Mortar Towers main strength against HI, and other infantry type troops, is the knockback. A successful hit both knocks the troop back and, more importantly, stuns them while doing it. Be aware of upgraded Sniper Towers, but not afraid of them.

Walls offer great resistance to lone Infantry, but fall quickly to packs of them. This is also a problem, as Heavy Infantry moves like lemmings through walls. It will cause them to clump, reducing overall coverage and effectiveness. While quick to break through, this also brings APCs closer to the action in the time it takes, making them more vulnerable to the defenses.

The Mortar Infantry does a handy job of covering for the APCs, especially with the range upgrade researched. I've found that the other anti-personal troops don't maintain enough position to protect them. When Mortar troops start collecting on big targets, such as generals or HTs, the damage is impressive. The additional splash of their damage allows them to also deal with massed defenders handily, but they are not a cure-all, use the fighters as needed to pick up the slack.

I'll post more that I've found over the next few days, have to remember and/or test the strategies I've used. Anyone else wants to toss what they've found to work, please PLEASE do so.

 

[Armitage]

This one's for the French and Greeks. You'll have to modify the numbers as I have Roman capacity.

10 Cavalry Tanks
13 RPGs
18 Ranged Infantry
3 Bombers
2 Fighters

This offense is all about the Drive. You want to Drive those tanks deep into the enemy base, while the RPGs are running cleanup behind them. The Ranged Infantry are there to act as cover for the RPGs, but I've found they have a tendency to squirrel away and leave them uncovered. Better results may be had with Gunners, but with a third of the manpower.

The update gave the Cav Tanks a heck of a boost to health and a damage bonus to Defensive Buildings. Their main problem is their targeting. They will only hit non-defensive buildings if all defensive buildings are destroyed or rallied. That's why the RPGs are there, to sweep up behind them.

At the start, the Silo is a first strike target, but not as mandatory as with the APC setup. The main thing is you need to clear out Anti-Tank cannons as your tanks advance. Transports work, but Bombers don't have that wait time, allowing you to be quicker on the draw. As the tanks advance, use the fighters to keep them from getting bogged down.

I've found that either splitting them in half or thirds work best. They need some massing to quickly run down defensive buildings, while still maintaining a spread to prevent wasted troops. Don't deploy from opposite ends, work 1 or 2 adjacent sides. You need to monitor them to keep them Driving. The RPGs are your infomercial special from Ron Popeil, set 'em and forget 'em in the tanks' wake.

Walls are not your friend here. While Cav Tanks got a nice damage boost, they don't have the numbers to quickly destroy them.

The main weakness of this offence is its destruction speed. It has trouble pulling a QV, either from 50% or a TC hit. However, once it's achieved, the army will generally and steadily advance to a full clear. Most of my failure points were in the attempt to get that QV.

 

[Armitage]

For the Ranged Infantry Uniques, especially the British, I offer the MC Hammer offense:

7 Ranged Siege
10 Mortar Infantry
33 Ranged Infantry

Airfield variable.

This offense takes advantage of the new ranges allotted to these troops. It is slow, but destroys both defensive buildings and defenders before they can really get a bite on your troops. Again, Silo is first strike priority(bit of a theme with barracks troops).

Those of you who already monkey around with troops like this will have noticed that building defensive ranges are not quite what they seem. I suspect this because the actual grid based layout of the base. This means that a unit with a range of 5 can safely hit a Tower with a range of 7 from a corner without return fire. This is what this offense seeks to exploit.

Upon initial deployment, the siege cannons will vaporize same-age and lower buildings that are in range, able to clear out 3 buildings deep in the time it takes you lay down the rest.

The main weakness of this offense is movement pattern of the units. They are slow, yet methodical, and have a tendency to split off from each other to chase down their targets. In succession, the troops will be whittled down in order of their ranges. If you can keep to a minimum, they will take care of the rest.

Mortars will be the most danger to the Ranged Infantry. When the Ranged Infantry start to die, this will start a cascade effect across your army as it weakens. Walls are more of an annoyance than a hindrance, as all of these troops shoot over them.

Targeting on these troops can be tricky. Ranged and Mortar Infantry are set to prioritize defenders, but will only do so if they are currently free of a target. This means that defenders can, and will, walk up to them and kill them if given the chance. The main hope against this is that the siege cannons are able to keep them free by destroying buildings quick enough to always have them targeting defenders.

 

[Armitage]

And finally for today, one of my favorite Oddball offenses:

6 Tactical Helicopters
50 Heavy Infantry
48 Ranged Infantry
4 Bombers

The goal of this offense is to strike at the heart of the base, wiping out the TC first, then eating the base from the inside.

The main deployment is essentially carpet bombing a path clear to the TC, then sending Tac-choppers in while deploying the infantry as it goes.

This is a very hard offense to get right, as the Tac-choppers trigger every defensive building, while being vulnerable to Anti-Air. Tac-choppers also require some finesse to get them to deploy where you want them.

While I have used this in Multiplayer, a better WW maneuver would be to use a single Tac-chopper to drop 15 HI next to TC for a QV, which would take the pressure off the rest of the attack. However, this would require devoting almost a full fifth of your army to this tactic, in addition to needing enough research or other support behind the HI to up their damage.

 

[jooky]

anyone have videos of these comps in action?

 

[Fufutus]

Well done Armitage on offering a bunch of alternative strategies

 

[TTPranto]

I suggest you use these tactics and upload the videos in youtube and provide the link in this discussion. Very interesting tactics. Looking forward to more tactics.

 

[King Crimson]

For the Ranged Infantry Uniques, especially the British, I offer the MC Hammer offense:

7 Ranged Siege
10 Mortar Infantry
33 Ranged Infantry

Airfield variable.

This is a great strategy for lower ages (especially British & Koreans). I would remove the mortars and add more ranged infantry and some HI or a tank or two - but basically let the ranged siege and ranged infantry work together.
One thing I would add to this line up is to add a healing unit or two and to attack a base like you're eating an apple - work around the base and leave the core for last. Rally a lot to regroup your units and heal them constantly. Rallying also moves them away from potential massing of defenders which your planes can take out. It's a fun combo up to Global.