This guide written by SymbiosisWhen playing as Axis, you want to start a match as aggressive as possible, capturing and securing as much territory as possible. When playing mixed Axis (PE + Wehr) you push with panzergrenadiers supported by MG42's, while if your playing double Wehr you'll most likely try a MG42 wall creeping up further and further. Now if one of the Allies players went for a WSC with MG's and a mortar, the opponent's MG's will prevent your own from advancing while staying still will allow their mortar to make quick work of your own MG's.
BUT, if you start with MG first, then a bike, the a sniper (and then more MG's, etc.) you can have your 3rd unit on the field the same time your opponent has his 3rd wsc unit out. If he went MG first, then sniper or MG, MG, sniper, he will not have his 3rd unit out which is in your advantage because he cannot counter your sniper yet.
Getting Down to Business
Now here is the most hardest and important part: count your opponents WSC units at the time
your sniper hits the field. There are 3 possibilities:
- He has a mortar and 2 MG's on the field, which you can easily figure out by using your bike. If this is the case, then you have NO fear of a countersnipe yet, so you can start picking off support crew members with your sniper without getting counter sniped. This will force him to fall back so you can move forward with your MG's. Mission accomplished!
- There is just 1 mg: WATCH OUT, there probably is an allied sniper on the field. Drive your bike towards his MG, as this is the most common place for his sniper to be. If you spot his sniper, bring your sniper into countersnipe position and shoot the Yankee kaputt! If there is no sniper, drive your bike to the enemy's base and figure out what is other WSC units are/or find the sniper more close to the base. If this happens, your sniper can start shooting at his mg.
- There are 2 mg's and nothing else: Drive your bike directly to his base and see what is going on. If you see a mortar, you sniper will be safe and can start killing the MG's. If the WSC is still producing, it is probably a sniper due to the longer production time. Again, in this case your sniper can start killing the MG's. If you cannot find a 3rd WSC unit, and your scouting with the bike was a bit late, be careful with your sniper because as your opponent may already have a sniper on the field ready to eliminate yours.
Some Examples
Here are 4 replays to show you how it's done. Most of them are against double US, because it is more likely to see WSC when playing double US than against mixed allies. The replays may be longer than needed, but that does not matter, just watch the first 5/10 minutes to get what I'm talking about.
Game 1:Opponent goes MG/MG/Mortar, but my sniper came a little bit too late, so I did some more scouting and saw his sniper as 4th unit: do not use your sniper, but try and countersnipe your opponent.Game 2:Opponent goes MG/Mortar/MG, so I can start shooting with my sniper. Tried to scout for the 4th wsc unit which costs me my bike and sniper, but I managed to kill his mortar and later his MG's.Game 3:Opponent goes MG/MG/Sniper, but his 2nd mg came a bit late so I drove my bike to his base because I expected a sniper. But, when I saw the 2nd MG, I started shooting with my sniper because I knew there would not be a counter. I also positioned my bike just outside his base to scout for his 3rd unit, which was a sniper.Game 4:Opponent goes MG/Mortar/MG, so I can start shooting with my sniper. Then drive my bike toward his base to scout for the 4th unit and find his sniper. He has to retreat, granting my team map control!And 1 more bonus replay with the most epic countersnipe ever:Thought my sniper would die any second, but I drove my bike in, hit 'D' (to remove hold fire), and pwned his sniper *smile*Conclusion
Hope this will help you 2v2 axis players out there in improving your early game. This scouting requires good timing which you can only get with experience (see game 5). So I hope you notice your own improvement once you try counting you ropponents WSC units in game.
~Symbiosis
