Two questions. (Air strikes + staff)

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Two questions. (Air strikes + staff)

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Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/25/2008 4:16:15 PM

Appren

Posts: 179
Joined: 6/5/2008
Status: offline

First of all, upgrading your staff, will that improve the effect staff have on other units, or only the combat effectiveness of the staff itself?

Second, what kind of method do people find most successful for taking out hostile air units on the ground, using your own air forces?
Do you recon first with one group of planes, then launch an airstrike, or do you bomb a suspected hex without recon first? Also, what kind of planes is most effective for this, fighters due to their high anti air values, or bomber planes (with fighter escort) since, well, you catch (or try to) the enemy's air force on the ground.

Post #: 1

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/25/2008 8:43:21 PM

emcgman

Posts: 185
Joined: 6/7/2007
Status: offline

From the manual page 46:

..a staff level of 100% or more will give optimal bonuses to subordinate units. (this means the combat subformations that are separate from your HQ)

..100% or more staff percentage in your HQ and you will get full combat, training and moral bonuses for the subordinate units of the HQ in question.

Staff has NO positive modifiers for troops INSIDE the HQ itself.

Someone else will have to answer your aircraft question.

(in reply to Appren)

Post #: 2

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/25/2008 10:21:04 PM

Appren

Posts: 179
Joined: 6/5/2008
Status: offline

I understand how staff works, the question was what effects would upgrading it to Staff II have.

(in reply to emcgman)

Post #: 3

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/25/2008 10:50:53 PM

Herode_2

Posts: 188
Joined: 10/30/2007
Status: offline

Upgrading staff I to staff II is intended to upgrade their HQ bonus as well, as far as I remember. I also remember some tests I drove on the subject without any noticeable results on the combat log. But this is many monthes ago...

About the air strikes : bombing a suspected hex is not very efficient from a statistical point of view. Also, if the suspected hex is patrolled by many ennemy fighters, your bombers will just be hacked in pieces. Recon with a retreat threshold of 5% often allows to recon the hex and to avoid the plane to be destroyed (if it's a fighter, a transporter doesn't have a lot of chances to survive). Launch a few recon or faint attacks with 5% retreat planes to drive the ennemy's patrols out of AP. Then smash the airfield with tons of bombs. All in all, power always wins when spirit opens the way

< Message edited by Herode2 -- 8/25/2008 10:52:12 PM >

(in reply to Appren)

Post #: 4

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/26/2008 2:27:15 AM

emcgman

Posts: 185
Joined: 6/7/2007
Status: offline

Ok, I went in-game and selected `Staff II' research upgrade. 25% combat bonus compared to Staff I.

Actually, when you click on any specific unit research upgrade it tells you exactly what the additional bonus is.

(in reply to Herode_2)

Post #: 5

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/26/2008 6:05:11 AM

SSFSX17

Posts: 182
Joined: 10/14/2001
From: California
Status: offline

The Staff combat bonus works for "Tactical" HQs, i.e. HQs whose attached units are within 3 hexes. Whether or not you should upgrade your staff depends on how extensively you use such HQs. I've noticed that, sometimes, units with Staff IV backing them will be able to do impossible things.

For air strikes, you only want to attack either cities, or large piles of enemies that you can see clearly. You can also use air support to get breathing room for your units on the ground, depending on the situation. And of course, if you see where the enemy HQ is, you should air strike that too. Light air support should be seen more as a Readiness Reducer than as an actual killer - it's not until you get about 5 to 10 divebombers that you can really start to kill things on the ground.

(in reply to emcgman)

Post #: 6

RE: Two questions. (Air strikes + staff) - 8/26/2008 7:54:17 PM

Jeffrey H.

Posts: 3154
Joined: 4/13/2007
From: San Diego, Ca.
Status: offline

The HQ upgrade has been so expensive that I don't think I've ever gone for it.

Attacking enemy air forces on the ground with ground forces is most effective. If you must use air to wipe out air, you're in for a fight no matter which way you go. It's likely going to be a war of attrition, but you first have to establish fighter superioirty then hammer away with level or dive bombers. If the defender has heavy flak defenses, you will need combined fighter and dive bomber attacks and you will suffer more attrition.

Best advice is upgrade ahead of your opponent and always maintain sufficient numerical advantage. Otherwise, you'll need a plan B.

_____________________________

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(in reply to SSFSX17)

Post #: 7