WeaverofBrokenThreads
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Joined: 6/8/2020
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Well, infantry are literally the worst unit at attack. That is a fact. There is not a single unit that has lower attack ratings than infantry. I did mention earlier, or maybe I forgot, that the use for infantry OOBS (mechanized, motorized or just on foot) is just that, defense.
On the attack, those OOBs specifically, are good at gaining you vital ground in a breakthrough. But even then, you'd ideally use artillery OOBs. You could use infantry if you absolutely have to. The OHQ bonuses and stratagems exist for a different purpose than to turn your crappy infantry into living metal gods.
Infantry, especially in mixed OOBs, which is what I was trying to get at as it refers to OPs post, performs the role of killing tanks and killing artillery. Tanks have less hitpoints against infantry (RPG, AR or MG, doesn't matter) and artillery in general takes crazy maluses to hitpoints when a unit has broken through the front line(a combat result). With roboteers, as an example, infantry can be deadly to backline troops. You don't want to move your tanks against AT guns; this is where you send your motorized/mechanized infantry that has artillery support.
Infantry also fights well in places where tanks and vehicles don't. Forests, ruins, mountains, etc. Allow me to rephrase. Infantry fights offensive just as bad as they always do, but some units fight worse than infantry in those places. Now if you were to add entrenchment modifiers on top of that, you can see how infantry begins to shine, especially MG infantry.
In the early game, infantry is literally chaff. A waste of metal, manpower and IP (if your purpose is to attack).
Now, I talked myself into a bit of a dark corner here, so allow me to explain properly: A healthy theater will have a mix of infantry and mechanized/motorized units. I am not saying do not build infantry at all. I am simply saying 'do not use them on the attack, unless you have a good reason'. For example, if you start on a medusa world with the Apocryphal Order or high fist profile, there is no reason why you should not use infantry on the attack. But that IS a waste of metal. It's just not as bad of a waste. At least your SHQ/OHQ will get XP. Lots of XP, hehe. Probably from sending all those letters of apology to bereaved family members.
There has to be a clear distinction made between early game and other stages. A more concise point would be: Save your early game IP and metal for tanks. They will have 20x the pushing power and range than infantry. I'd even say to ignore artillery, until you have a good source of IP to motorize it, because they are slow. In the early game, mobility is key. The more land you conquer, the more resources you will have. With fewer units, the ability to respond to all threats swiftly and effectively is paramount. Infantry cannot serve any of those roles, strategically or tactically. They are too slow and they are too weak.
The use of infantry, in other stages of the game, starts to phase out of even specialized attack roles. At some point, your infantry will have 70 soft attack and 400 hp. No matter how you look at it, infantry killing each other at this point is becoming a stretch. As polymer armor, or heavier armor becomes available (especially side skirts) even in the role of killing tanks infantry becomes lacking. At this point, their purpose is to eliminate entrenchment and to defend artillery pieces. Also to provide meatshields for APCs. APCs get the same amount of recon points as recon units, so your mechanized infantry becomes your scout unit. They will spot units for your rocket artillery, or hold hexes that have important resources to the enemy. Tactically, they no longer fulfill a real role (until you get better tech), but strategically they are vital.
Hope this helps.
EDIT: To make one more point as to what I mean: on that world I talked about where I got attacked by two surviving AIs with 100s of walkers each turn. I raised an infantry brigade and attached 2 independent tank units. I did this out of necessity, as I did not have the OOB for mixed units. The infantry in this case performs the role of standing at the front and herding the enemy to places where my tanks can kill them. I regularly suicide 1000 to 2000 infantry to get the enemy to retreat from their entrenched position and then I smash them with the tanks.
< Message edited by WeaverofBrokenThreads -- 6/11/2020 9:29:36 AM >
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RE: OBB mixing Infantry with armor - 
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