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russian armor

USF noob needs micro advice

11 Nov 2018, 05:11 AM
#1
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26



Here's a game I thought I had a good chance of winning as USF until his 222 came out and and I handled it poorly. After watching this replay, I realize that my vehicle micro was abysmal, and I failed to dodge several bundled grenades. I find it difficult because one second is not a lot of time to react unless you happen to be looking at that engagement. I think the game is pretty much over after my second Sherman died, so feel free to stop watching after that :D
11 Nov 2018, 12:09 PM
#2
avatar of <arn>

Posts: 7

go to tightropes youtube channel there u will find lots of micro tip videos . and helping hans channel too :)
12 Nov 2018, 04:36 AM
#3
avatar of Antemurale
Senior Moderator Badge

Posts: 951

Put in the link to the replay.
12 Nov 2018, 05:24 AM
#4
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26

Put in the link to the replay.


Oops :D Thanks for catching that!
14 Nov 2018, 22:18 PM
#5
avatar of Joshua85

Posts: 606

Hey man.

I've downloaded your replay and will try to give you a review this week (unless the latest patch has messed it up :faint: )
15 Nov 2018, 20:15 PM
#6
avatar of Joshua85

Posts: 606

Allright here we go.

My review style is that I write this while I watch, so I won't know what happens next as I'm writing. much of my stuff will probably also seem nitpicky, so just take the feedback you think makes the most sense and focus on that :) I'll sum up the good and bad parts of your game in the end.

- As I mention in my guide the game starts already in the loading screen, giving you good intel of what you might face. Judging from your opponents commanders and bullitins he is hoping to get a tiger, so this should be in the back of your mind. As for your own commanders and bullitins, they are not bad though I would probably swap the sherman rotation speed for the faster rifleman veterancy.

- While capping with your Rear eschelons (RE), I would almost always advice that you maximize the wait by building a tank trap and wiring if of on the sides that might benefit your opponent more. This will give you green cover which can always come in handy later.

- 2 mins in. At this point you know there is an mg on the left side. Knowing this you should probably either move your RE to the building so they can't get suppressed or just fall back immediately as they can't hold their own. And again they should have been building Tank traps :)
- 3.30 in the center your rear eschelons got close to the mg and saw it setting up. if you had reacted fast you could have flanked it and forced a retreat or perhaps even a wipe if your opponent was unattentive, instead you lost your RE :(
When you fail to flank just pull back immediately. Crossing in the woods is also very favorable for the large arc mg42, so you should consider either smoke or a light vehicle from the lt. tier to get some angles on them (or alternatively veto this map with US if you struggle).
- Good flank afterwards though!
- 6:30, While it can be very tempting to get a snare of on a vehicle, you don't necessarily want to do this unless you can follow up with something to kill it afterwards.
- 7 mins. the AA HT can be a bit akward to use, so practice this more, so you don't get such a throw next time. Always move it around by reversing it, and be careful not to expose the front. If you do end up on the brink of loosing it, try having the crew exit before it is destroyed so you at least preserve the unit. The utility car is somewhat easier to handle, can place excellent mines and the crew comes with a free bazooka so you can jump out and chase of the 222 (if you hadn't lost your RE wýou could also consider swapping them out with the vehicle crew).
- At this point you are floatin an insane amount of manpower which will always put you behind! you should have used that for rebuilding your RE, maybe even get two and equip them with double zooks. A 50 cal would also be immensely helpful, though you should get that from the lt tier, rather than the doctrine. Most importantly the ambulance should have been built a long time ago since you are throwing lots of manpower away by sending out severely depleted units.
- Your choice of doctrine also seems premature, as there is really nothing from it that you can use at the 8 minute mark. Generally wait with the doctrine until you have a concrete plan and the necessary CP to initiate said plan.
- 9 mins. While BARs are a tempting first investment, you should always think about the long game and considering that you have no real counter to the 222, your first problem is handling armor. I would recommend the first purchase from the weapon rack to be at least one double zook RE.
- 12 mins. you try to go for a deep de-cap with a full lt squad with about 40% health. As soon as they face enemies they will be dropping like flies. Capping enemy territory is important, but unit preservation almost always take precedence, as unlike munis and fuel, there is no way to buff manpower replenishment. don't.send.out.wounded.squads!
- 14 at this point you have run infantry straight into the same mg 4 times. after the first time you should assume that the mg is still there and stay clear of the munitions point its guarding until you have either armor or indirect fire to flush it out with.
- 16 mins. still floating 1000+ mp. With a float like this where you don't have the fuel to buy tanks, consider getting some caches and possibly a couple of fighting positions to cover some strategic capture points. both these things are a great investments as they don't take up any pop cap, which is another important parameter to consider.
- after the 20 minute mark your setbacks and wipes have reached a critical mass and it is basically a downhill battle against better vetted opponents and riflemen shooting bullets at a panther. But I respect that you didn't give up!

pros:
- you managed to get in some good flanks.
- I really respect your grit. No matter how many units you lost you stayed in the fight. This might not sound like much of a compliment, but staying in the fight despite serious setbacks can quite often lead to victory if you opponent get's tired or sloppy. Personally stayin in the fight until the very end and avoiding to get tilted is one of my primary weaknesses :)

cons:
- You need to manage your manpower better. If you at any time have more than 1000 mp you are doing something wrong.
- You took a lot of bad engagement. unless we are talking about final pushes to save your last ticking VPs it is always better to give ground that to fight in bad engagements.
- your unit preservation has room for improvement and you sometimes seemed to lose track of your units.

Suggestions on how to improve:
Considering your primary weakness right now is lack of unit preservation and tactical overview, I'll suggest a few things that might make this better until you have more experience.
1. Try picking a doctrine with riflemen field defenses. Two commanders have this, the infantry and the heavy cav commander. this makes riflemen able to build sandbags, common mines and fighting positions immediately.
2. USE the rifleman field defenses! Especially the sandbags and mines. Pretty much every time your riflemen are capping somewhere, make them build a sandbag or place a mine. I've written more about this in my beginner guide, but a squad behind sandbags will survive for significantly longer and increase their chance of survival if you "forget" them in the heat of a battle. Mines are also ALWAYS worth getting at your current ladder and I don't think there is any better way to spend munitions. SPAM them everywhere!
3. Use indirect fire. when your attention is hard pressed with too much unit micro, then get some units that require very little micro. Mortars and howitzers shoot on their own on anything visible within their range. just place them somewhere safe and leave them to it while you manage your other units. This can to some extend also be done with mg's in buildings or facing chokepoints (like your opponent did very effectively against you). Any unit that can perform without you micro managing it means that you will play more attentive with the rest.
4. Rebind the tactical map to your capslock key. I explain this in my guide. It will most likely give you an immensely better overview of the battle. I highly encourage this!

I hope this advice was helpful and you don't take anything personally, because it certainly was intended this way.

I was pretty much ranked like you 3 years ago, but by following some of the advice I've given you here (along with lots of practice and other considerations of course) I'm now at a plateau of ~200 with all factions which is pretty much my ambition :)

GL HF and keep practicing :P
17 Nov 2018, 18:01 PM
#7
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26

Allright here we go.

......

GL HF and keep practicing :P


Thank you for the insanely detailed review, Joshua! It's inspiring to hear that you came from a lower rank only 3 years ago to become such a strong player. I just watched the replay again following your notes, and these tips are very relevant. I'll admit that manpower floating and unit preservation are my biggest areas for improvement (as pointed out in prior reviews too), and I will keep working on them.

I would LOVE to try the Heavy Cavalry commander or the riflemen veterancy bulletin, although I haven't earned them in drops yet :)
17 Nov 2018, 18:04 PM
#8
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26

jump backJump back to quoted post11 Nov 2018, 12:09 PM<arn>
go to tightropes youtube channel there u will find lots of micro tip videos . and helping hans channel too :)


I do find Tightrope and Hans' micro tips helpful! Need to start incorporating them into my habits though :D
18 Nov 2018, 20:36 PM
#9
avatar of Joshua85

Posts: 606



Thank you for the insanely detailed review, Joshua! It's inspiring to hear that you came from a lower rank only 3 years ago to become such a strong player. I just watched the replay again following your notes, and these tips are very relevant. I'll admit that manpower floating and unit preservation are my biggest areas for improvement (as pointed out in prior reviews too), and I will keep working on them.

I would LOVE to try the Heavy Cavalry commander or the riflemen veterancy bulletin, although I haven't earned them in drops yet :)


Np man!

Are you sure you don't have the Infantry company commander though? I'm pretty sure he's one of the starting USF doctrines :)
19 Nov 2018, 02:56 AM
#10
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26



Np man!

Are you sure you don't have the Infantry company commander though? I'm pretty sure he's one of the starting USF doctrines :)


Yep! I do have Infantry company. It’s currently my only way to get rifleman sandbags.
19 Nov 2018, 07:54 AM
#11
avatar of Joshua85

Posts: 606



Yep! I do have Infantry company. It’s currently my only way to get rifleman sandbags.


It's a pretty decent commander for your current level, especially if you want to practice your sandbag and mine placement which I highly recommend.

After the new patch hits, you could also try out the revamped armor company where the assault engineers have become a lot better and can also plant mines. when you can't place sandbags you have to rely more on your rear eschelons to build tank traps, as they also provide green cover (just remember to wire of the sides that your opponent can use against you).
20 Nov 2018, 04:53 AM
#12
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26



It's a pretty decent commander for your current level, especially if you want to practice your sandbag and mine placement which I highly recommend.

After the new patch hits, you could also try out the revamped armor company where the assault engineers have become a lot better and can also plant mines. when you can't place sandbags you have to rely more on your rear eschelons to build tank traps, as they also provide green cover (just remember to wire of the sides that your opponent can use against you).


Oh I loved Armor Company from CoH1. Hope they'll be made better in the coming patch!
20 Nov 2018, 23:35 PM
#13
avatar of juice2142

Posts: 3



It's a pretty decent commander for your current level, especially if you want to practice your sandbag and mine placement which I highly recommend.

After the new patch hits, you could also try out the revamped armor company where the assault engineers have become a lot better and can also plant mines. when you can't place sandbags you have to rely more on your rear eschelons to build tank traps, as they also provide green cover (just remember to wire of the sides that your opponent can use against you).


Josh- this was amazing. I have 180 hrs in but never took the game serious. I plan to now. Do you have a link to your guide you mentioned about using caps lock key? Thanks
21 Nov 2018, 08:52 AM
#14
avatar of Joshua85

Posts: 606



Josh- this was amazing. I have 180 hrs in but never took the game serious. I plan to now. Do you have a link to your guide you mentioned about using caps lock key? Thanks


Sure thing friend. If you are talking about rebinding the Tactical map to the Caps lock, then that's almost in the beginning of the guide under the section "Mid level Meta" :)

https://www.coh2.org/guides/70864/from-recruit-to-veteran
21 Nov 2018, 14:57 PM
#15
avatar of AcrossThePacific

Posts: 26



Josh- this was amazing. I have 180 hrs in but never took the game serious. I plan to now. Do you have a link to your guide you mentioned about using caps lock key? Thanks


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