HQ Support
I can see what abilities the HQ support has, but does this unit have to act independent of a general, or do I use the hq support with a general??
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Straight Arrow
- General
- Posts: 507
- Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 5:44 pm
- Location: Washington State
I learned CW2 by playing a couple of games as the CSA. I deliberately avoided looking at Athena’s hand to keep the game exciting and new. Just last week, I put on blue for the first time and started South.
The manpower and wealth of the North stunned me. Training officers? I have McClellan and Halleck setting in Ohio cranking out 8 elements a month. The North can easily create 2 cavalry, 1 sharpshooter, 1 marine and 4 Artillery for this force and, volia, there's a division a month. Add this to the East coast production and you are talking about a fast building tidal wave of blue.
The poor South doesn't stand a chance. A large number of their volunteers/militia detachments are scattered about the map in fixed positions. These penny packet forces, other then beating off weak raids and digging entrenchments, do little more then provide a quick snack for the North.
I think one more training officer, early in the game, would be a huge help to the South.
The manpower and wealth of the North stunned me. Training officers? I have McClellan and Halleck setting in Ohio cranking out 8 elements a month. The North can easily create 2 cavalry, 1 sharpshooter, 1 marine and 4 Artillery for this force and, volia, there's a division a month. Add this to the East coast production and you are talking about a fast building tidal wave of blue.
The poor South doesn't stand a chance. A large number of their volunteers/militia detachments are scattered about the map in fixed positions. These penny packet forces, other then beating off weak raids and digging entrenchments, do little more then provide a quick snack for the North.
I think one more training officer, early in the game, would be a huge help to the South.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.
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BattleVonWar
- Major
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 3:22 am
Arrow, I also started practicing with the CSA and moved on to see just how powerful the Union actually was. After having played Athena a bit, I wasn't quite certain if the advantages I was giving her via game settings was why I was seeing what appeared to be stacks so massive as to be unbelievable. The Union is unstoppable if you don't hurt her early. Although Athena has some kinks in her armor so you can defeat her as the South.
When I switched to the Union:
The money/manpower of the North is beyond belief.(I just kept cranking out units and never ran low on money a straight Grant bloody approach should work if you'r a patient Union) If you know how to employ them effectively and how not to lose your Capitol early...you should always win but of course historically this was likely the case. Unless the South could win via another means. North had to rely on popularity, South did not so much(although the South was getting restless)...
When I switched to the Union:
The money/manpower of the North is beyond belief.(I just kept cranking out units and never ran low on money a straight Grant bloody approach should work if you'r a patient Union) If you know how to employ them effectively and how not to lose your Capitol early...you should always win but of course historically this was likely the case. Unless the South could win via another means. North had to rely on popularity, South did not so much(although the South was getting restless)...
Straight Arrow wrote:I learned CW2 by playing a couple of games as the CSA. I deliberately avoided looking at Athena’s hand to keep the game exciting and new. Just last week, I put on blue for the first time and started South.
The manpower and wealth of the North stunned me. Training officers? I have McClellan and Halleck setting in Ohio cranking out 8 elements a month. The North can easily create 2 cavalry, 1 sharpshooter and 4 Artillery for this force and, volia, there's a division a month. Add this to the East coast production and you are talking about a fast building tidal wave of blue.
The poor South doesn't stand a chance. A large number of their volunteers/militia detachments are scattered about the map in fixed positions. These penny packet forces, other then beating off weak raids and digging entrenchments, do little more then provide a quick snack for the North.
I think one more training officer, early in the game, would be a huge help to the South.
For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863 ~~~
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Cardinal Ape
- General of the Army
- Posts: 619
- Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:59 am
I support the idea of giving the CSA a training officer (or two) in the early game. It would make the game more balanced and fun in my opinion.
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Straight Arrow, you finally put on the blue, huh? I bet you thought it was like playing on easy mode? In our match when you said you never even looked at them before I was kinda shocked. I went the opposite route; after finally getting around to playing the CSA after a few Union games I found myself wondering how the CSA is supposed to have any chance against an experienced Union player.
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Straight Arrow, you finally put on the blue, huh? I bet you thought it was like playing on easy mode? In our match when you said you never even looked at them before I was kinda shocked. I went the opposite route; after finally getting around to playing the CSA after a few Union games I found myself wondering how the CSA is supposed to have any chance against an experienced Union player.
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Stauffenberg
- General
- Posts: 548
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 6:12 pm
- Location: Montreal
- Contact: Website
Straight Arrow wrote:
The manpower and wealth of the North stunned me. Training officers? I have McClellan and Halleck setting in Ohio cranking out 8 elements a month. The North can easily create 2 cavalry, 1 sharpshooter, 1 marine and 4 Artillery for this force and, volia, there's a division a month. Add this to the East coast production and you are talking about a fast building tidal wave of blue.
The poor South doesn't stand a chance. A large number of their volunteers/militia detachments are scattered about the map in fixed positions. These penny packet forces, other then beating off weak raids and digging entrenchments, do little more then provide a quick snack for the North.
I think one more training officer, early in the game, would be a huge help to the South.
On the other hand, Attacking Lee, or an army or corps command with Longstreet or Jackson in command, in level 6-8 fortifications... even 3 or 4-1 odds can turn out to be a massive defeat for the North.
That said I have to agree and have noted it elsewhere. Historically Davis, Lee and Cooper trained up and organized an army from scratch in 1861. Cooper leaves but certainly Lee should have this talent added to his list. Likewise Bragg was instrumental doing this out West. His troops had no affection for the dyspeptic character he was, but they knew his drilling was to their advantage. Both of these should be changed, with Richard Taylor coming later on. Winfield Scott offered Lee command of all Union forces for a reason...
Apart from that, all the "penny packet" forces you mention result from the root cause of the ACW--"State's Rights." Having democratically voted themselves out of the union, these CSA state governors found themselves confronted by the conundrum of a new federal president demanding state troops to defend the new confederation, and they balked at this. There should be an option to override this--with commensurate NM, VP or $ penalties--and allow all these militia to be moved forward to join the armies on the periphery. All in favour say *aye.* Let's call it "Davis Adopts the Best Defense is an Early Offense Strategy."
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ArmChairGeneral
- AGEod Grognard
- Posts: 997
- Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:00 am
- Location: Austin, TX, USA
You CAN use an HQ in a stack without a general, but since it doesn't add anything to the combat abilities (it doesn't have Off-Def stats like a general) and since it only has a little bit of CP (so the stack will be undercommanded), the stack will fight poorly compared to also having a general in it. You have generals to spare usually, but you do not have HQs to spare.
HQs are best in large, front-line combat stacks (i.e. Armies and Corps). Their cohesion recovery and CP abilities are highly useful for fighting stacks, but irrelevant in a marshalling yard. To get the most mileage out of their Training Master ability they should be in as large of a stack as possible, since they will give xp to more elements each turn and over longer periods of time. Since large stacks tend to stay together for a while and also tend to do a lot of standing off from each other (especially at the beginning of the game), the HQ is adding many turns of xps to a lot of elements at the front, whereas at a build point it is only going to give a few elements a few xps before they get sent off to the fighting, which does not accomplish the goal (training up inferior elements to combat effectiveness in as short a time as possible).
The Training Officers (the guys who bump Volunteers to Regulars in a single turn) can be used effectively in a marshalling yard to upgrade newly built conscript and volunteer elements. They can be in a front-line region too, though personally I prefer to upgrade at the build point so I can be flexible in where I send the unit. A Training Officer in a front line region would mean that all newly built units you want upgraded have to go to him, and you might need them elsewhere before they can complete their trip to the TO. TO's also need to be in command of a stack in order to perform upgrades, so on the front you would have to have a separate stack for them (they are rarely high-rank), which can complicate battles that occur there (it is generally better to have as much as you can concentrated into one stack rather than split into several stacks during a battle).
(I wrote more about this in another recent post, but it is worth noting here that once an element has an experience star they begin to make rolls each turn to upgrade on their own. A conscript with a bronze star has (I believe) a 7% chance to become a regular each turn, which gives a mean-time-to-upgrade of around 14 turns after they get their first star. More stars gives a higher % chance. Most conscripts will upgrade to regular within a year of being built no matter what you do. Volunteers need like 15xp to get a star, so they take a LONG time to auto-upgrade; you usually don't see your garrison Vols upgrading on their own in large numbers till late 62 or 63.)
HQs are best in large, front-line combat stacks (i.e. Armies and Corps). Their cohesion recovery and CP abilities are highly useful for fighting stacks, but irrelevant in a marshalling yard. To get the most mileage out of their Training Master ability they should be in as large of a stack as possible, since they will give xp to more elements each turn and over longer periods of time. Since large stacks tend to stay together for a while and also tend to do a lot of standing off from each other (especially at the beginning of the game), the HQ is adding many turns of xps to a lot of elements at the front, whereas at a build point it is only going to give a few elements a few xps before they get sent off to the fighting, which does not accomplish the goal (training up inferior elements to combat effectiveness in as short a time as possible).
The Training Officers (the guys who bump Volunteers to Regulars in a single turn) can be used effectively in a marshalling yard to upgrade newly built conscript and volunteer elements. They can be in a front-line region too, though personally I prefer to upgrade at the build point so I can be flexible in where I send the unit. A Training Officer in a front line region would mean that all newly built units you want upgraded have to go to him, and you might need them elsewhere before they can complete their trip to the TO. TO's also need to be in command of a stack in order to perform upgrades, so on the front you would have to have a separate stack for them (they are rarely high-rank), which can complicate battles that occur there (it is generally better to have as much as you can concentrated into one stack rather than split into several stacks during a battle).
(I wrote more about this in another recent post, but it is worth noting here that once an element has an experience star they begin to make rolls each turn to upgrade on their own. A conscript with a bronze star has (I believe) a 7% chance to become a regular each turn, which gives a mean-time-to-upgrade of around 14 turns after they get their first star. More stars gives a higher % chance. Most conscripts will upgrade to regular within a year of being built no matter what you do. Volunteers need like 15xp to get a star, so they take a LONG time to auto-upgrade; you usually don't see your garrison Vols upgrading on their own in large numbers till late 62 or 63.)
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