Thursday, November 11, 2010

Company of Heroes Online - Terror Commander

I'm going to detail below how I play Terror in Company of Heroes Online.

Currently level 20, Terror commander

Hero units

Headquarters: Field Pioneers
Wehrmacht Quarters: Fatherland HMG team, Durable HMG team
Krieg Barracks: Accomplished mortar team
Sturm Armory: (unused for now)
Panzer Command: (unused for now)

Army items
Base building upgrade (machineguns)
Pioneer defence
Panther defence
Panther sight
Panther accuracy
Ostwind sight
Sniper sight
(One slot free)

Base operations
Initial build priorities
- Straight away, build field pioneers (140 manpower) and a normal pioneer (120 manpower) squad from HQ
- Use the starting pioneer squad to start capturing fuel points and/or garrison crucial buildings near contested middle areas.
- Use field pioneers to capture points (level 1 gives +20% capture speed)
- Use final pioneer squad to build Wehrmacht quarters (220 manpower, 15 fuel)

Wehrmacht quarters
- Build Durable HMG team (260 manpower), use to support pioneer squads near middle
- Build Fatherland HMG team (280 manpower), use to support pioneer squads near middle

As soon as possible, Escalate to Skirmish Phase (200 manpower, 35 fuel)

Upon escalation, build a Krieg Barracks (220 manpower, 35 fuel)
- Build Accomplished mortar team (240 manpower), use to support pioneers and MGs.

Escalate to Assault Phase (200 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Build a Kampfkraft Center (100 manpower)
- Research Level 1 Tank veterancy (100 manpower, 30 fuel)

Escalate to Battle Phase (200 manpower, 65 fuel)
- Build a Panzer Command (260 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Research Level 2 Tank veterancy (200 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Build one Panther (600 manpower, 110 fuel)
- Research Level 3 Tank veterancy (300 manpower, 70 fuel)
- Build two (if you have a King Tiger, 1000 manpower), or three (if you don't have a King Tiger) more Panthers, plus two Ostwinds.
- Charge them hard and fast down one flank into one of the enemy Headquarters. You should be able to destroy 2 headquarters with this initial rush.
- This should be the turning point. Victory is assured. Follow up with further armored assaults on the remaining headquarters.
- Capture remaining Victory Points.
- Win.

Total cost of base operations (up to Level 3 Tank veterancy): 3,640 manpower, 460 fuel.

Field operations
- Early game, rushing a pioneer squad into a building near your allocated Victory point is a must. Automatically gives heavy cover, which means your pioneers can defeat any engineer units that approach.
- Use the field pioneer squad (+20% capture rate) to capture fuel and munitions points leading to the victory point, with strategic points as necessary to link it up (supply lines).
- Where possible, use your first machinegun squad to enter the same building as the first pioneer squad. It can cover your pioneers while they capture the point.
- Use second machinegun squad to support/cover flank approaches to the victory point.
- Once Victory Point is secured, use pioneers to build bunkers (150 manpower) at key locations. Upgrade with heavy machinegun (50 munitions) as soon as possible.
- Use mortar for long-range support of bunkers and machinegun squads, especially for counterbattery fire against enemy mortar teams.
- While initially two machinegun squads and a mortar team is a very effective defence, especially with bunkers built and upgraded, they will be unable to stop Greyhound armored cars, halftracks, and tanks. If necessary, stiffen your defence with PaK 38 anti-tank guns (310 manpower) from the Kreig Barracks.
- Ultimately, your aim is not to hold the victory point itself, but the resource points that lead to it. With a steady supply of resources, you will be able to securely escalate and attain Panthers earlier.
- Anything that you build extra to the stated build guide above will lengthen the amount of time it takes to reach Panthers.
- Remember, though, that flexibility is the key. It's no use finally building a lone Tier 3 Panther if the enemy has taken all the resource points that you were supposed to defend. You'll have lost the game at that point. If you need AT guns, build them. If you need extra bunkers, build them.
- While bunkers cannot move, they are the preferred anti-infantry defence as compared to heavy machinegun squads. Bunkers don't take up population, which means you can build more tanks.
- When using tanks, remember to micromanage them. Always keep their frontal armour pointed to the enemy. If you see blobs of Rangers or Airborne paratroopers with recoiless rifles sliding about your flank, use Forced Retreat (100 munitions) on them.
- When attacking American base buildings, your target priority should be as follows: Tank Depot, Motor Pool, then Barracks. Enemy tanks will hurt you the most, so prevent them from being built. After that, it's AT guns which will hurt you the second most, so prevent them from being built too. Nothing in the Weapon Support Center can hurt tanks, so ignore that. Take out the Barracks to prevent riflemen from using stickybombs on you.

Victory can be attained in the following ways:
- Holding on to more victory points than the opposition, until their tickets reach 0.
- Destroying all enemy base buildings, field headquarters and bunkers.
- Entire enemy team surrenders/disconnects

My style of play is designed such that all three methods of victory are viable. If your base-rush is successful, you can win by destroying all enemy buildings. If your base-rush is only partially successful, or it takes longer than expected, you still have ample time to capture all the victory points while the enemy is distracted.
Any one of these can, if overwhelmingly successful, induce the opposition to surrender.

To summarise
- Play defensive early and mid-game, using a few specialised infantry units to hold back the enemy while you escalate. Make ample use of commander abilities such as Firestorm and Forced Retreat, as they use munitions only.
- Build up a powerful armoured fist with which you can crush the enemy headquarters.
- Destroy base buildings.
- Capture victory points while enemy is off-balance.

2 comments:

moox. said...

what.
are.
you.
talking.
about.

Spcogg said...

^lol

best comment

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