Been playing HOI2 since '05, had DH for 8 years... first BP in DH ever

[OsirisReborn]

Does it still move sliders? I don't recall seeing that and I'm pretty sure I've done the 4k research option recently

it depends where your sliders are at currently
too much market and only the public works will move it
too much planned eco and only the massive investments will move it
with PW u get free IC and they arent available once u goto war
also the autobahn events but only pre war, not sure what triggers them but they rock
either way in DH the best slider move is always hawk, u need to get it early as possible to get pre war builds on the board and u have to wait 2 years/move
in the old game u used to have to move cp, every year, till 1940 at least, but u would get hawk from events and it wasnt as important, the build times were much faster

with the mobilization theres a sweet spot, still figuring out where that is
just right and u get fast builds and + MP with just a minor IC hit
too much u get more but at the cost of big IC penalty and massive dissent even at home
obviously in my current game im going to run out of MP in a year
im thinking the extended mobilize is based off the terr u control and thats a lot of grey hexes to call up!

also: im looking at this from the pov of playing axis, once u get your sliders thats it for the rest of game
a democracy could still do these projects if they had a slider move saved up to counteract u back to full market

 

[mleb2016]

this the 1st or 2nd game? Rommel magnus in India!

on my end im being blunted at 1:3 odds, they have more tanks too
im still playing it but discouraged, i conquered so much with no allies
a 1942 attack used to be doable but theres a few things
with harder or VH the russians will have ALOT of troops
udet committed suicide week one of the war, v annoying
(thats not right its supposed to be like after a year with no moscow or major victory ect)

really only 2 choices now
gamey exploit where u fall back and let them flood in only to cut them off
or restart and try it with allies (maybe bump it up to VH)

i consider it gamey because the ai will just rush headlong into any gap with no flank security.
IMO it really isnt skill unless u encircle them from behind, in their territory

When you say "gamey exploit where u fall back and let them flood in only to cut them off"
how does that work and how do you go about doing that?

 

[OsirisReborn]

When you say "gamey exploit where u fall back and let them flood in only to cut them off"
how does that work and how do you go about doing that?

aka the "freiburg maneuver"
you just move all your troops out of one hex, you have some tanks and mobile troops to each side
the AI, thinking its got you rushes in with everything it has
u just let them keep going, ignorning the provences u lose
when u like u simply retake the hex, close the trap
anything thats past the break thru hex will now be out of supply and cut off, u can easily mop them up and kill them
u can do this over and over
its an exploit, no human would fall for this or go too far in with out flank security

 

[OsirisReborn]

the more skill full approach is blitzkrieg
your INF and troops make a hole, your tanks and mot rush in, you drop off ARM to guard your supply lines and the MOT cut off chunks of the enemy army
creating an out of supply "pocket" that u can kill off

when your getting beat instead you use mobile defense
your ARM will try to close gaps and counter attack and instead u use your MOT for flanks, often they have to hold the retreat hex for a few hours so your inf can escape, just in time to get to the next desperate in danger of being over run situation

lots of variations but always, the ARM have the power while the MOT have the speed
on attack the ARM are the best choice to make sure your encirclers dont get encircled, and they arent fast enough anyway
on defense youll need your ARM near the enemy spearheads to blunt or stop the breakthru only ARM can really stop ARM
and only the MOT are fast enough to save your retreating INF (lots of support defense moves)

also: you can use your airborne here too "all the way, sir!"
to grab that last hex for an encirclement
or to save that critical retreat destination

 

[mleb2016]

Thanks so much, very informative.
have tried different variations of this always feel like i dont have enough units for large encirclements.

 

[son of liberty]

@OsirisReborn you know, you really are robbing this guy of the opportunity to learn from his mistakes. I remember back when I first started HOI2, I was having problems and asked for help, especially with amphibious assaults. You know what they told me? Keep trying new combinations and ideas until you "get better". In retrospect, I thank them for that. If someone had just given me the answers, would I still be interested in this game 20 years layer?

 

[son of liberty]

For example, a long long time ago I successfully invaded Washington DC as Japan in a multi-player game using a garrison division. The invasion rules are different so it wouldn't work now but it worked then and no one else believed it would. My own allies were shocked. I knew it would because I took that early advice to heart and tried "everything". I hate to think how much I have forgotten in the 10 years I was gone, but this game still fascinates me.

 

[mleb2016]

@OsirisReborn you know, you really are robbing this guy of the opportunity to learn from his mistakes. I remember back when I first started HOI2, I was having problems and asked for help, especially with amphibious assaults. You know what they told me? Keep trying new combinations and ideas until you "get better". In retrospect, I thank them for that. If someone had just given me the answers, would I still be interested in this game 20 years layer?

Hey son of liberty,
1st of all i enjoy your contributions to this forum.
2nd i do already have around 250 hours and i know im still basically a rookie.
Now i never invaded Washington DC with a GAR but i definitely have had my fair share of brutal flops and mistakes and have learned almost all my knowledge from just playing around.
I do enjoy hearing what other people have to say as many people can have the same plan/idea and execute very differently.
So i would definitely not say i am being spoon fed and trust me i will keep trying all sort of ideas whether i read it here or while daydreaming my conquest of the map, lol.

 

[OsirisReborn]

@OsirisReborn you know, you really are robbing this guy of the opportunity to learn from his mistakes. I remember back when I first started HOI2, I was having problems and asked for help, especially with amphibious assaults. You know what they told me? Keep trying new combinations and ideas until you "get better". In retrospect, I thank them for that. If someone had just given me the answers, would I still be interested in this game 20 years layer?

only gave broad outline, he still has to make it work!

 

[son of liberty]

only gave broad outline, he still has to make it work!

True, I use a slightly different method and try to leverage special forces whenever possible. But then, my AARs often show that.

 

[Panzergruppe]

Sorry but I couldn't find one complete answer elsewhere and if it's annoying just let me know.
I have played DH for around 200 hours plus I don't understand how useful money is, yes I know the obvious uses like intelligence, research, and events that require funds, but what else is money used for.
For example, someone mentioned using funds to move sliders and to lower dissent, how?
Thanks in advance.

You can also use money to trade for other resources.

 

[AlexHarvey]

this the 1st or 2nd game? Rommel magnus in India!

on my end im being blunted at 1:3 odds, they have more tanks too
im still playing it but discouraged, i conquered so much with no allies
a 1942 attack used to be doable but theres a few things
with harder or VH the russians will have ALOT of troops
udet committed suicide week one of the war, v annoying
(thats not right its supposed to be like after a year with no moscow or major victory ect)

really only 2 choices now
gamey exploit where u fall back and let them flood in only to cut them off
or restart and try it with allies (maybe bump it up to VH)

i consider it gamey because the ai will just rush headlong into any gap with no flank security.
IMO it really isnt skill unless u encircle them from behind, in their territory

2nd playthrough

Udet topped himself in my one too lol

 

[OsirisReborn]

2nd playthrough

Udet topped himself in my one too lol

well i wonder if its loss based, my reinforce slider is at 215, luftwaffe is devastated
turns out russians have 70 fighter sqds
600 infantry too, more tanks, canaris underestimated by 200, he has failed!
i finally broke thru in the south only to get counterattacked by 65 div b4 i could exploit
first month cost 200 MP
i guess i have to play defense for the rest of the game
some reinforcements from afrika but its not enough

 

[AlexHarvey]

well i wonder if its loss based, my reinforce slider is at 215, luftwaffe is devastated
turns out russians have 70 fighter sqds
600 infantry too, more tanks, canaris underestimated by 200, he has failed!
i finally broke thru in the south only to get counterattacked by 65 div b4 i could exploit
first month cost 200 MP
i guess i have to play defense for the rest of the game
some reinforcements from afrika but its not enough

You may have bitten off more than you can chew there bud

 

[Zolf J. Kimblee]

I too have been playing HoI 2/DH for nearly 20 years. Having found it in my library after a steam sale at one point, I never expected to actually like the game. But I stuck with it and quickly learned the basic gameplay mechanics. HoI II has this wonderful way of having the player discover things on their own, which other games in the series don't have. I'm a fairly casual player. My favorite campaign was in Kaiserreich, when I was playing as Ungern and rolled over into China.

One of my favorite things to try out these days is using up those "old guard" 1-2 star field marshals (with a moustache and funny hat) that factions start with. In the past I would just promote my best starting generals two or three ranks to fill out the marshal position, and then run with 7-9 division armies. Now I just keep my Rommels/Zhukovs/Yamashitos at their base rank (mj or lt) and then once a war starts up, I give them field command to grind their skills up, since lower ranking generals seem to gain xp faster. And only once they hit 7-8, would I slowly have them replace the senior staff members in HQ armies. Coupled with a minister with +leader skill bonuses, the effect from commanders piles up very nicely and often gives you a decisive advantage over your opponent, especially in late game deadlocks.

 

[OsirisReborn]

I too have been playing HoI 2/DH for nearly 20 years. Having found it in my library after a steam sale at one point, I never expected to actually like the game. But I stuck with it and quickly learned the basic gameplay mechanics. HoI II has this wonderful way of having the player discover things on their own, which other games in the series don't have. I'm a fairly casual player. My favorite campaign was in Kaiserreich, when I was playing as Ungern and rolled over into China.

One of my favorite things to try out these days is using up those "old guard" 1-2 star field marshals (with a moustache and funny hat) that factions start with. In the past I would just promote my best starting generals two or three ranks to fill out the marshal position, and then run with 7-9 division armies. Now I just keep my Rommels/Zhukovs/Yamashitos at their base rank (mj or lt) and then once a war starts up, I give them field command to grind their skills up, since lower ranking generals seem to gain xp faster. And only once they hit 7-8, would I slowly have them replace the senior staff members in HQ armies. Coupled with a minister with +leader skill bonuses, the effect from commanders piles up very nicely and often gives you a decisive advantage over your opponent, especially in late game deadlocks.

i use them too
low skill generals are staff commands they just run around with their hq and provide the bonus, support attack when needed ect
high skill general gets an army group, 3-4 div + his hq
panzer general, doesnt get an hq but still cool, usefull when no staff hq can follow or support

i leave promote off!! when i get a new hq i click it on for one day, then turn it back off, hopefully only 1 promotion

 

[AlexHarvey]

I like autopromote because you don't lose a skill level, though

 

[son of liberty]

I like autopromote because you don't lose a skill level, though

But, often, the wrong people get promoted.

 

[Nick3210]

But, often, the wrong people get promoted.

Those leaders who command your troops, i.e. those who are not in the pool, are automatically promoted first of all. Therefore, if you do not put wrong leaders to command your troops, then they can't promote with the rarest exceptions.
I also believe that leaders who are assigned to the army and have over-limit penalty there, promote in the first place, compared to those who do not have over-limit.
So if I want to promote someone in the first place, I put him on an army that exceeds that leader's limit.

 

[son of liberty]

Those leaders who command your troops, i.e. those who are not in the pool, are automatically promoted first of all. Therefore, if you do not put wrong leaders to command your troops, then they can't promote with the rarest exceptions.

Not always. Also, what happens when you don't have enough divisions or air wings for the good officers to be given commands? I turn autopromote on just days before I expect war to start. Tbh, I like the hoi3 system better in this one regard.