Alsadius
Posts: 11
Joined: 8/19/2008
Status: offline
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I'm playing my first game, as Japan fighting the Allied AI. And, as I assume is tradition for newbies, I have a lot of questions. I've played WitE 1/2, and I was brought into WitP by watching some Youtubers(THG vs Lodrik, specifically), so I have a general sense of how they act. But I know I've still got a bunch of holes. I figure this is a training game, in practice, but I'd still like to learn what's what. And yes, I know I'm asking for a mid-sized book here, so links to threads are just fine in place of writing up a long-form answer.
In case it matters for any of the below, I'm on the first turn (Dec 9th, because 2-day turns), scenario #1, fog of war on, no reliable USN torp, no realistic R&D, and PDU on. My first-day kills were Prince of Wales, Repulse, Maryland, and Nevada, and all six of the others on Battleship Row showing 2+ torpedo hits with heavy fires and/or heavy damage.
Garrisons
Is there a fast way to see garrison status for cities? I know you want to use your units with low experience/morale as garrisons (Chinese and Thai troops, commonly), but dividing them up to cover everything off properly seems like it could be a real pain. You need what, two-thirds of the listed garrison size to avoid penalties?
Locked Forces
I hear a lot about locked forces, but other than static units like forts, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to tell what's locked and what isn't. Does this show up in game? Or is it all a house rule?
Air Production
I haven't been able to find a guide that goes into details of what exactly you should produce, so I did my own analysis from Tracker CSV dumps. Here's what I came up with.
Main engines: Mitsubishi Ha-32 and Ha-33, Nakajima Ha-35
Secondary engines: Aichi Ha-60(R&D), Kawasaki Ha-60(R&D), Nakajima Ha-45(R&D)
Haven't changed factories away: Mitsubishi Ha-31 and Ha-43(R&D), NE turbojet(R&D), Toko Rocket(R&D)
Stopped outright: All others
Added production above starting levels: A6M2 Zero, D3A1 Val, B5N2 Kate
Planning to stop after using up their engine stockpiles: Ki-57-I Topsy, Ki-27b Nate, Ki-36 Ida, E14Y1 Glen (I figure that if they're half price, and the factories are already running, I might as well make them as second line/trainer planes.)
Major R&D efforts: A6M5 Zero, G4M2 Betty, J1N1-Sa Irving, Ki-102b Randy, Ki-44-IIa Tojo, Ki-61-1a Tony
I've already made changes to all the factories in line with the above, but I haven't invested much into expansion yet. So there's still room to adjust things based on which factories I'd like to build up.
Industrial Expansion
I've heard that over-expansion is a good way to kill your economy, but it sure looks like some amount of expansion is needed. What's the balance I should aim for? If I understand the mechanics properly there's no benefit to doing big lumps of expansion - as long as there's at least 1 damaged size point, it'll repair as fast as if there's 100 - so I know I can chip away over time. But what's the broad goal here? In particular, I'm wondering about HI and air/engine factories - it looks like shipyards are relatively less important, and LI is significantly less efficient than HI, so I figure neither of those needs expansion. What about armament/vehicle factories? I've put a bit of growth into all of the above, but not much - about 100 HI, 20 vehicles, and 40 armaments.
Pacific Bases
I expect I'll focus a bit more on the land side of things, but I'll still need my major forward bases against the USN. I'm thinking Saipan, Truk, Rabaul, Luganville in the New Hebrides, and (if I can get that far) Suva on Fiji as main bases. Forward bases could be Wake, Maloelap in the Marshalls, and Tarawa in the Gilberts, mostly as air bases for scouting, subs, and a bit of fleet support.
When I set up a base, I assume it needs a decent pile of supplies and fuel, base forces to build and maintain infrastructure, some defending infantry, and a mix of planes that includes fighters, naval bombers of some sort, and recon/patrol planes. Plus maybe some tenders, especially if it's a sub base.
Ground Combat Tactics
I assume this isn't nearly as much about "surround them and then reduce the pocket" as killing Soviets in WitE is. How important is surrounding, and how practical is it? Or is combat more focused on pushing people back and dominating the supply lines?
Also, it's obvious that big rail > small rail > big road > small road, but how large are the differences in throughput? Are there any force sizes where I should worry that I'm going to choke my supply lines?
Long-Term Targets
- Seems like the main choices of possible targets (after you've already achieved Japan's historical conquests) are China, India, Australia, New Zealand, or the Pacific/USN(possibly including Hawaii). How do I go about picking between them? (Yes, I know this is an even bigger question than the others I've asked.)
Random Questions
- When I press the 4 key, numbers show up above every land hex. What are they? Is that related to unit locking?
- I see you can rename naval TFs. Can you do the same with land/air units?
- I've heard that units are stronger built up than they are broken down, so I should try to consolidate as many brigades and divisions as is practical. Is that accurate?
Thanks.
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