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General Tip #76: When to retreat

By daeyeth - 3rd November 2008 - 18:50 PM

Knowing when and when not to retreat is very important in Company of Heroes. You should try to avoid retreating Paratroopers (which can reinforce anywhere) and units near halftracks or reinforce points (such as a Forward Headquarters or Defensive Doctrine bunkers) unless you're in immediate danger of losing a full squad. Knowing when to try to stall the enemy by putting a squad in green cover (while you bring in other units to help) is also important, particularly in the early stages of a 1v1.

When to retreat:
  • When you're faced against overwhelming forces or a battle you cannot win, and there's nothing to be gained by trying to stall them.
  • You see a unit flanking from behind, like an SMG-equipped squad or an Armored Car.
  • When the total health or number of members in a squad is reduced below 50%, you need to really watch them closely, as a retreat may soon become necessary.
  • Keep a very close eye on all of your infantry - select all of your infantry engaged in a firefight and check to see which one is getting focus fired on. Retreat the one that is getting focus fired on at the very last second to keep the enemy firing on that squad (to maximize your damage per second for as long as possible,) but take care not to wait too long so you don't lose the squad.
When to stall:

Stalling is something you don't see lower level players do very often, as they're more concerned about killing everything, rather than the nuances of winning battles and holding territories. However, in some cases, the time your opponent must waste in dealing with a unit is more valuable than the manpower you have to spend to reinforce a badly wounded squad, and in these cases it's worthwhile to delay your retreat in order to stall the enemy.
  • If you have units coming soon, and you can't afford to lose a point (such as a large Fuel point or a point that connects you to all your other resources,) put your squad(s) behind cover and try to hold out for as long as you can. It's not about winning all the battles but rather keeping and holding the map, especially early on.
  • You are at their cut-off point and want to keep them cut off for as long as possible so you can keep them from getting resources and possibly even capture another part of the map to consolidate your map control. A perfect example of this is on Angoville at the two cut-off points - sticking a Riflemen squad in green cover behind the haystack at the north point or in the building at the south point can severely delay your opponent's teching, which can be worthwhile even if you have no chance to win that particular battle.
by ntd