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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Strategic Command Series >> Strategic Command: World War I >> New player to WW1 looking your for top tips

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New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/26/2022 1:54:46 PM

taffjones

Posts: 346
Joined: 3/25/2016
Status: offline

Hi everyone

I am new to the WW1 game, but have played SC WiE and WaW since they came out.

I have played a few games against the AI as CP and Entente. Also read the forums, but a lot of the thread subjects are old and patches will have made a lot of the content inapplicable to the latest version.

So what are your top tips and research priorities for each side.

Need a bit more practice before I feel ready for a PBEM game.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Post #: 1

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/26/2022 4:44:35 PM

Bavre

Posts: 299
Joined: 12/5/2020
Status: offline

Welcome to the Great War soldier, good to have you here!
Now forget about that fancy combined arms nonsense and grab a shovel

You might find my old thread here helpful:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=5000634

As a WiE and WaW player you probably know most of that stuff (except mines), but it also contains some links to very helpful threads from others. mdsmall back in the day compiled a load of very useful info threads that are well worth digging up (actually I'm toying with the idea of linking them in mine, so that I don't have to search every time).
Here's also a link to a youtube match between 2 veteran players:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzV7KCprslk&list=PLsv6IgUEHAv8HT7W24EUIhFjOs0Cit0RR&ab_channel=Balthazor%27sStrategicArcana
OCB usually explains gameplay stuff rather thoroughly.

It's already contained in the above, but since it's so important:
The first few techs are basically mandatory, you'll need max chits in trenches, canons and shells. The rest is a bit more open to debate/choice of strategy.

< Message edited by Bavre -- 1/27/2022 1:37:35 AM >

(in reply to taffjones)

Post #: 2

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/26/2022 6:09:13 PM

taffjones

Posts: 346
Joined: 3/25/2016
Status: offline

Thanks Bavre.

Is it worth investing in S&I 1st or go straight for the 3 tech's you listed?

(in reply to Bavre)

Post #: 3

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/26/2022 10:24:03 PM

Bavre

Posts: 299
Joined: 12/5/2020
Status: offline

Let me elaborate a bit:
Like the WW2 games, this one has also different stages. But while the WW2 stages are defined by geography (first Poland then France then Russia...) the WW1 ones are defined by tech.
First you have the "movement phase" where the CP have the advantage and initiative. This phase is ended by trench tech (1-2 in extreme cases maybe 3 levels of it, depending on terrain, difference in HQ and troop quality and player skill). However eventually everything will grind to a halt sooner or later, as defense becomes so powerful so fast that normal attacks just become pointless. This lull phase ends once "remote deentrenching" (i.e. tier 1 arty) comes along and the "pounding phase" starts...
Those phases are defined by those 3 techs and believe me, you don't want to be behind in those for more than 1-2 turns. If your opponent has better trenches and you don't or tier one cannons and you don't, it makes you 100% helpless until you catch up and all you can do in the meantime is watch your guys die and the enemy HQ XP bar grow.
Also the size of the bite the CP takes out of the Entente in the first phase has a massive influence on the rest of the game since frontlines will move much slower in the pounding phase.
Things like S&I, Inf tech etc become important too of course, but skimping on the "big 3" can literally cripple you in 14.

Only exception is Serbia due to its tiny economy and (usually) short livespan. If the opponent pushes hard here just use all your funds for survival, if not maybe 1 trench chit or 2 is possible.

(in reply to taffjones)

Post #: 4

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/26/2022 11:37:13 PM

taffjones

Posts: 346
Joined: 3/25/2016
Status: offline

Thank you Bavre

You have confirmed my observations from my few games against the AI ref the tech priorities

If you don't mind can I pick your brains on the Pro's and Con's of the following strategies

1 - I have read about the Montenegro gambit combined with a Russia first policy. (Is that still valid or have the patches made this less powerful?)

2 - The more historical Schlieffen Plan (My preferred strategy at the moment as the CP). What is the best way to defend in the East, how much land do you give up to Russia or do you go all out attack on both fronts initially?

(in reply to Bavre)

Post #: 5

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/27/2022 1:20:07 AM

OldCrowBalthazor

Posts: 1108
Joined: 7/2/2020
From: Republic of Cascadia
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: taffjones

1 - I have read about the Montenegro gambit combined with a Russia first policy. (Is that still valid or have the patches made this less powerful?)

I can verify that a variety of patches have made a Russia First strategy less powerful.

1)During the Montenegrin Gambit tests its was found that Russian deployments that come in subsequent turns from turn one wouldn't show up at all if a CP unit was on any of the spawning hexes. (There were quite a few locations).

2)Montenegro has an alternate capital at Pec now so taking out Montenegro on turn 2 is very difficult.

Previously, if Cetinje fell on turn 2, the Albanians would not join the Entente, hence there was no way to intervene with French or UK forces into the theater. More importantly..or just as importantly, taking down Montenegro on turn 2 resulted in the global morale boost that all CP units would have next turn and a little beyond. With this boost Russia could not hold the line and would lose the deployment spots.

Also, with this boost, Serbia had no chance at all and would fall by Oct 1914, resulting in another global morale boost for the CP, which could continue to dismantle Russia.
Mean while, it was impossible for the Entente player to do anything to support Serbia at all, since Albania was neutral. After Serbia would fall, Greece would go next. With all this happening, all the Entente player could do in the early game was basically pull their hair out and watch it all unfold.

Well, thanks to Bill and Hubert..a number of fixes did the trick.

Russia First combined with Serbia is still a strong CP strategy...but at least now, if the CP gets into the mobilization zones in Russian Poland, those incoming Russian units will deploy further back instead not at all.
I for one argued that these mobilized Russians were coming from Mother Russia anyway by abstraction of rail movement from regions deep in the Russian Empire, and were not being raised in Poland from local man power.

Anyway...good to see you giving SC-WW1 a try, taffjones. Its a blast.

Sorry if I stepped out of line in from of a response by Bavre.

The Schlieffen Plan is my go to strategy...but I would also like to hear what he has to say.
btw..there is an excellent write up on this plan in the WarRoom by Dazo

< Message edited by OldCrowBalthazor -- 1/27/2022 1:24:04 AM >

_____________________________

Balthazor's Strategic Arcana

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwnsBUHYdk7tcejmU5k9cOw

(in reply to taffjones)

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RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/27/2022 1:22:41 AM

Bavre

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Joined: 12/5/2020
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Edit: a bit too late, but yeah pretty much what OCB said.
1.
The M-Gambit, i.e. a guaranteed turn 2 kill on Montenegro to turn your guys into ze Kaisers Space Marines on turn 3 has been patched.
Russia first + a strong push on the Balkans with German support is still a very strong and viable strategy that takes some experience and analyzing to both get right and
counter efficiently. But it's no longer the "I win button" it used to be in combination with the M-Gambit.

2.
Now that you mentioned it, the only Schlieffen matches I ever played were as Entente...
The guy you want to ask here is Dazo, also check out his Schlieffen Plan study in the war room.
Edit2: However my AAR match vs Sigizmund contains a few of my ruminations on that topic in post one...

3.
Your next question is probably whether it's better to go east or west as CP and here my answer is that I don't have one. This topic has been around a long time and yet
no conclusive answer was ever found as both approaches have a looong list of pros and cons...
The one thing I can say for sure is that both can work and whichever direction you go, go full tilt. Trenches tech up every 4-6 turns, so the time window for easy early conquest closes quickly.

< Message edited by Bavre -- 1/27/2022 1:36:22 AM >

(in reply to taffjones)

Post #: 7

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/27/2022 2:56:23 AM

Tanaka

Posts: 4378
Joined: 4/8/2003
From: USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: taffjones

Hi everyone

I am new to the WW1 game, but have played SC WiE and WaW since they came out.

I have played a few games against the AI as CP and Entente. Also read the forums, but a lot of the thread subjects are old and patches will have made a lot of the content inapplicable to the latest version.

So what are your top tips and research priorities for each side.

Need a bit more practice before I feel ready for a PBEM game.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Welcome! You should check out our current PBEM match to get some ideas and listen to the great narrative by OCB while checking out the comment section!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzV7KCprslk&list=PLsv6IgUEHAv8HT7W24EUIhFjOs0Cit0RR

< Message edited by Tanaka -- 1/27/2022 3:01:55 AM >

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Post #: 8

RE: New player to WW1 looking your for top tips - 1/27/2022 2:49:30 PM

taffjones

Posts: 346
Joined: 3/25/2016
Status: offline

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Some very good reading topics you have pointed me to

Very helpful and given me some great insights into the game

Now I just need to try and find time to watch OCB's you-tube AAR.

Hopefully I will try a PBEM game soon, then I will really learn the game, usually by getting my head handed back to me on a plate

(in reply to Tanaka)

Post #: 9

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