Profile of Nadzinator

World's shortest match. For real.

I've seen players try to use KV-1 as a shield with jacksons. It didn't amount to much because we just ignored the KV-1s and killed the jacksons. They had us pinned most of the game, until they started wasting their resources on those KV-1s. Was hilarious. Would attach replay but dunno how, they really tried to make use of it.

KV-1 would make more sense if heavies weren't so omnipresent, but they are so... it has a tiny window of usefulness, and even in that window it doesn't excel at anything, its just mediocre.

I'd only ever put one out if I were desperate.

Very true for anything more than 1v1, since those matches inevitably become heavy tank slug fests. After the mid-game, the player should transition to su-85s and start using the B-4.

Well first of all having played all factions is vital , it will help you alot learning about the factions you are actually not playing. Why ? Because you see what your opponents use ( strats / buildorders etc. ).

I will leave out the obvious stuff (working on unitpreservation/micro and so on).

I think what is most important is to read your opponents. Being able to see what unit will be likely to hit the field next and to react properly to it.

The best way to achieve that is to play, at best all factions for a while.
Some are more fun than others - for some people that is. I do not play USF e.g. - but i did play them a bit.

Also watching streams/replays/Observer mode of good players will most likely vastly improve your play

Thanks man. I suspected learning the other factions is what's really vital. The best opponents I ever played read me like a book and knew how to counter my build order perfectly. I need to learn how to do the same.

I started watching some replays and streams, and that definitely helped a lot. Even saw one or two of yours and really learned a lot. I'll need to make more of an effort to watch more.

Few tipps from me:

Use Hotkeys (this is very important), watch the doctrines of the opponent when the game is loading to know what is coming, use as many different units you can, surprise your opponent with flanks,watch your flanks, move your units around (don't camp at one place), retreat them early enough, use healing at the base, lay mines, use cover as much as you can.

I hope that helps a little!

About playing all factions, it is very important but you don't have to play them online (imho), you can play them in custom games vs. AI. It is very helpful to know the abilities from the units and doctrines they have.

Thanks Sandreas. Those are all very good points and I've learned to do every single one of them.

I think some time playing custom matches offline to learn opponents' build orders is, um...in order.

The thing is, the KV1 comes out before any other heavy tank, so use it as a damage sponge in conjuction with Su85s and the B4. The SU 85 is your sword, the KV1 is the shield.

Exactly this. Others have stated this, but this is very eloquently put.

It's basically a heavy tank with t34 stopping power. And you can call it out relatively early (8 CP). Its heavy armour and decent anti-infantry firepower make it great for pushing forward. It even works well when you've been cut off from fuel, because it costs much less fuel than the other Soviet tank call-ins.

Just support it and don't push too far forward with it because it's so slow at retreating.

It won't do squat against anything heavier than a Panzer IV, and that's ok. By then you should have some AT guns and/or su-85s to back you up. In the heat of battle I often make the mistake of calling in too many KV1's instead of making SU-85s, and I regret it once Tigers and Panthers start showing up. Don't make this mistake.

Bottom line: use it early, plow through light defenses, and retake control of key points until you get more firepower. This tank can take a serious beating. Just make sure you're dishing out an equal or greater amount of damage at the same time.

So i noticed it while playing the beta.

Units do use cover very nicely, they however do it at the sacrifice of their own "safety"...

They simply clump even more than they did before. I smell countless squad wipes and rage posts.

Yes, big time. When hiding behind cover, my conscripts got squad wiped on more than one occasion by mortars.

No clue about grenades being more deadly because of this new cover system tweak, but mortars? Definitely. I foresee a lot more mortar and artillery use because of it.