Company of Heroes

i'll shoutcast this

The Tiger Ace is really nice because it's basically 1.5 Blitz Tigers for barely more than a Blitz Tiger. However, the lack of a strong mid-game shows especially well in GSR vs HCs game a few topics down. Blitz is a lot more rounded, with a weaker initial end-game (Blitz Tiger needs Vet 2 to be on-par with Tiger Ace, imo at least), but a much stronger mid-game. As the end-game progresses, Blitz also has a much better situation. 2 Vet 3 Tigers is so much better than a Tiger Ace. However, Terror has that sweet spot in the early-mid-game because a Tiger Ace can take a Pershing a lot easier than a Blitz Tiger can, effectively sealing the game right there if done right. With some support, the Tiger Ace can take on two Pershings, but if the game goes on that long, I'd rather have 2 Blitz Tigers.

Terror gets a bad rap, but it's not THAT bad. It could be better, but it's definitely not an instant-lose button.

Very nice game guys. I really enjoyed that one.

Awesome comeback - never could've made it.

One thing bothered me through the end game though. A top player like challengerli... constantly attacking with his pershing ass first!? Not slightest bit of micro there... Maybe he has watched too many AWM replays and thinks that it's the front, not the back?

infantry infantry infantry

Great game.

In the end the tank battles and map control were decided by the supporting infantry. Germansupreme kept a large number of squads alive and kicking, whereas Challengerli had his squads slowly annihilated.

Li...its seems as though you were unable to capitalize on the map control advantage you had obtained in terms of fuel...your riflemen had done a great job of pounding his infantry, but you just werent killing the squads off. Do you think that a tank depot would have provided some help? An early croc to kill off some manpower? OR some upgunned shermans to aid your pershing..at least to divide the axis AT fire?

It seemed that Germansupreme maintained the pace of battle on his terms because in the end his force was more mobile and flexible, whereas Challengerli was focused on the power of his pershings.

Germansupreme...some questions based on this game and your excellent game vs HeroicCompany on Semois...veterancy, your squads were constantly moving out at full compliment but half or even 30% health...do you think veterancy would have helped you out? Also BARs really hurt you, and you mentioned in the Semois game that you think they are OPed. Everytime I face vet 2 Grens with one or two lmgs (total) for 3 squads my equal number of BAR riflemen cant cope and take losses much faster than they can kill the grens...even with suppression fire...have you considered again veterancy and lmgs as helpful vs BAR riflemen? Also bunkers, I know you are strapped for MP in the early game, and flexibility is key, but you lose your MG42s and take bad volks losses in defending them...bunkers seems multiply the effectiveness of the MG42 and provide that linchpin strength for your Grenadiers vs BAR and Nade Riflemen...what do you think about an early bunker covering the main areas of attack?

Nice game.

The first Ace ran over two mines and got stickied and got no engine damage.

And the Panther lived 4 at shots while at 3% hp, PZ4 lived 4 as well Oo

Hmmmm. Pretty bad game by Li. Really nice play by him in the beginning but that changed pretty quickly. He should have used the quad to take out the first At gun. GS had no shrecks at that time.
He lost the Quad because he wasn't paying attention and Twice he drove his pershings with their backs towards the enemy.

Besides it would have been allot smarter to go directly to tank depo when he had that much map control.

So many dead axis squads, but than 1 pak is used so well with grens that all that mp crap couldnt move an inch so there you go with early advantage wasted to the max, i would rather go croc + right air side with some wsc aside perhaps

Overview
"Infantry, infantry, infantry" taken from the thread. A very unusual game here, with axis initially being the aggressor and, allies playing a conservative game throughout. It involves a good start followed by an over-extension resulting in almost total loss of map control. Axis hangs in there with extensive grenadier spam yet very few shreks, and later with a few paks. Allies basically use Gol's strategy but in a defensive manner. This may seem prudent with so much map control and pays off well throughout much of the game, but is that a way to win in competitive CoH? Ever think how powerful the Tiger Ace and Panther combo would be? Watch and find out.

GermanSupremeReborn (Terror)
I was initially with how aggressive you played axis at the start. I actually thought you were going to 'out allies the allies' and take both high fuels. However, this resulted in an axis over-extension and you lost almost total map control. This would normally be game over for axis, but you had a good supply of fuel from your initial map control. Great use of axis tier 2 and grenadier spam, but why stop making HMGs? HMG and pak combination may have been less manpower intensive with regard constant reinforcement. In addition, a halftrack would have been priceless in your pushes.

Your ability to keep capping power in the field is what eventually led to your comeback, and when your opponent began concentrating his units you used your unit (reinforced or not) very effectively both fighting and as capping power; a good lesson to all those who like to reinforce their units before taking them back out of their base.

Very brave use of firestorm, warning sound well hidden by fighting elsewhere. I would have used the munitions for lmgs or shreks, which is probably why I'm not a top player. The second was fantastic though and really opened things up for you. I'm really happy to have seen tier 4 in this game and a Panther/Tiger Ace combination was used I suspect to counter a double Pershing threat which never materialized. 'Never say never' and aggressive attitude really paid off, nice comeback.

What this player/team can improve upon:

• Once you have tier 2 up, you stop building tier 1 units. HMGs would have been very useful even in the late game and are defendable with pak support. Once he had WSC, I think a sniper to counter snipe his sniper and help with the AT guns would have really paid off.
• Consider a halftrack and more pioneers to keep your units in the field and fighting longer. There were long periods when you had effectively no fighting power in the field with tanks with no health and many injured infantry units in your base.

ChallengerLi (Armour)
You played this game as though you were the axis player. Whilst you started slowly and were beaten in the early game, you took your chance well when axis over-extended and gained great map-control. You used Gol's strategy rigidly, almost to the point of being stubborn. Do you realise that by the end you were floating 900 fuel, and by the time you had the CP for a Pershing you had 500 fuel?

A tank depot and a croc would have been game over very quickly. In fact, if you had used your quad and M8 more aggressively you would have closed the game out too. Axis had only one pak out during your motor pool "rush" although I guess it was a deterrent and you weren't to know that. Very nice use of WSC versus tier 2, your sniper and mortar both really paying off well, but with so much fuel there are better tier 2 counters.

You eventually get your Pershing, and initially were quite aggressive with it. Why not build two Pershings? I suspect it may have been manpower issues after you lost so many rifle squads. Instead you go for a calliope, but when this arrives axis has already lost all of its paks, and instead has a Tiger Ace, a Panther and two PIVs in the field, so the calliope was really just an expensive manpower sink.

A reluctance to attack, coupled with some build order mistakes and poor unit conservation leads to an unlikely axis comeback from the dead. When axis comes back like this, it is generally because the allied player makes mistakes over great play on their part. This is kind of true in this game.

What this player/team can improve upon:

• Don't grind your infantry up, loss of capping power really hurt you in the late game.
• Although Gol's strategy is very powerful, be more flexible as the game progresses. With so much fuel and facing only infantry, why wait for a Pershing to go on the offensive? A crocodile is quicker into the field and probably more effective vs. tier 2.
• When you have a unit like a Pershing or quad in the field, make more use of it. The Pershing is expensive and should be used to drain manpower at all times. Seemed you had too many idle units all game.

Overall Rating:6
RoTW Contender
Although very entertaining, too many mistakes from ChallengerLi lets the rating score down.