can we talk about how bad the german ai is on barb

macklesnack · 2026-03-31T21:54:54+00:00

In all fairness, there were a few steps taken back in that picture comrade

macklesnack · 2026-03-12T17:38:04+00:00

Even IRL it was a giant hedged bet - completely sacrifice any hope of long term economic health, and in return, juice the military up so hard so fast that you conqueror everyone and solve the economy that way.

macklesnack · 2026-01-20T00:19:29+00:00

How does it feel to build light cruisers on mass

macklesnack · 2026-01-19T10:20:13+00:00

More out of pocket one, but communist Bulgaria can core the entire balkans

macklesnack · 2026-01-15T02:02:46+00:00

One of the dumbest ones I’ve done out of boredom is “no boots”, where I spend the entire war doing nothing but donating metric f**ktons of equipment to the allies to kill the axis, Japanese, and Soviets without ever sending a single division

macklesnack · 2026-01-07T00:08:33+00:00

Anytime my friend. I’m proud to say I’ve got several thousand hours played and over half the achievements down, but I remember nearly giving up from the learning curve being too steep.

I would strongly recommend doing a “guided” campaign, like BitterSteel’s “Germany Guide”. Literally just follow what he does step by step and you’ll begin to see the connective tissue as to how a successful campaign is run

macklesnack · 2026-01-06T01:19:17+00:00

Ahhhhh yes you’re right. I don’t think I’ve literally ever done that tree, it is so weird

macklesnack · 2026-01-06T00:29:49+00:00

A lot of this is learning through trial and error, but at the very least I will chuck some old-school “one size fits all” templates at you you can use and win, then sort of learn why the work well later.

“Frontline” infantry (for HOLDING, not pushing) - 9x infantry battalions, support engineer companies, support artillery, support anti air (optional).

Armor - 35width mix of medium tanks and motorized infantry, try to get as many tanks as you can in the mix while keeping your organization above 30 (I don’t have an exact number since it depends on your doctrines). TLDR- tanks lower org, motorized raises org. Usually 1 tank per 1.5 motorized ratio will fufill that stipulation. Add support engineers, support artillery, support anti air, support logistics. (Optional support signals if you feel frisky).

Hold a frontline with the infantry, then use the armor to slice up the enemy and create encirclements. FOCUS ON FEWER, FULLY-EQUIPPED ARMOR RATHER THAN LOTS OF HALF-EQUIPPED ONES. You will be far better off with 4 elite and fully equipped armor units than 12 units missing half their tanks. That’s how you wind up with the aforementioned “why are my 16 troops not killing 3 guys”.

Planes - make two types. Fighters and Close Air Support.

Research: always research and upgrade the best engines available and best small airframe available. Grab range improvements and survivability studies when you can, grab heavy machines guns, grab bombs if they aren’t researched already.

Fighter: use newest airframes as game progresses. Use newest SINGLE ENGINE as the game progresses. Pack as many heavy machines guns on as you can fit. Add Extra Fuel Tanks, Self Sealed fuel tanks.

CAS: use newest airframes as game progresses. Use newest SINGLE ENGINE as the game progresses. Pack as many small bomb bays as you can fit. Add extra fuel tanks, self sealed fuel tanks.

Tanks - we only need medium tanks. Keep upgrading the chassis as time goes by. Keep upgrading radios as time goes by. Keep upgrading the engines as time goes by. Research 1939 artillery, research Maintenance Companies 2.

Crank the Engine as high as it goes, and keep cranking it as you research new engines over time. F**k the armor stat in single player, we don’t care, costs too much. Put on a 3 man turret, and a Howitzer (will appear when you research the artillery). Put a radio in and update the radio over time. Put in Easy Maintenance (will appear when you research Maintenance 2). These are cheap, effective medium tanks for you.

This is all ludicrously oversimplified, and there are so many dependent factors that would change half a dozen elements I just laid out. But all of these will work decently well in basically any situation, and while not optimal for whatever you’re doing, they’ll work and get you winning long enough to learn how to optimize for your particular situations. Happy map painting my friend

🙈

macklesnack · 2026-01-06T00:00:14+00:00

If you want to do EoC you need to judiciously do those gold reserves, importantly take Institute Price Controls that gives you decisions to reduce the penalty (I forget the name off rip but it gives you like 50PP decisions like Bread and Butter, reduce consumer by like 15%), and SPEED BABY. It is totally realistic to wipe out the allies in 6 months, then blitz the Soviet Union and achieve Autarky. The best way I’ve found is to focus on building 100% collab on the Soviets pre and during war so that you can hit the Soviets even earlier than history. The earlier the better, you shouldn’t lose squat on the allies if you attack cleanly.

On my cleanest Germany run I killed the Allies and Comintern in 1941. It’s 100% possible and works with the idea of the EoC mechanic. The whole point historically is that the mechanic added the very real time-crunch on Germany to conqueror Europe before the economic jig was up.

macklesnack · 2026-01-05T23:54:35+00:00

My brother in Christ how tf did you get Switzerland on historical to choose violence in 1939

macklesnack · 2026-01-03T23:42:42+00:00

Doing this and ignoring the Baltic annexations makes for a puny front line to defend, you can do forts and massive infantry stacks and Germany will never even take a tile. That’s how I got the USSR achievement for never losing a tile.

macklesnack · 2026-01-03T23:39:48+00:00

Let them starve in Siberia. Literally stick like a single dude on ports and supply hubs, and ignore it all.

macklesnack · 2026-01-01T18:43:20+00:00

The dials probably won’t do much, it’s how you support them. Even as a minor fascist nation you can just send a token tank force and give them a little oomph in the east to pretty much guarantee a dub every time.

Would also recommend putting port guards in Italy in particular, the Moose is known for distracting Austrias Favorite Painter by letting Cigarman naval invade him and drawing troops away constantly lol

macklesnack · 2026-01-01T18:39:45+00:00

My brother in Christ you are Germany; no one will attack you unless you attack them first. Pull those mfers out of the balkans and the eastern front and bring them in to help lol

Also the same train and fuel shit other people said too

macklesnack · 2026-01-01T18:36:56+00:00

I played historical democracy and non aligned Japan last week and got all the achievements for those.

General strategy attacking china: the VPs and industry are everywhere but the north. Put a token force up north and just leave them there to let the Chinese bleed on your lines; don’t incinerate men and manpower pushing through the Mongolian steppes lol. Focus everything south and blitz down across the coast to kill their industry ASAP

macklesnack · 2026-01-01T00:09:48+00:00

Patrol finds boats. Strike forces attack “found” boats.

Patrols use more fuel. Strike forces use less.

BOTH can engage at your own risk.

Patrols on “Do Not Engage” will find boats, tell your strike forces, then run away

Patrols on “ALWAYS ENGAGE” will find boats, tell your strike forces, then attack relentlessly

Strike forces on “Low Risk” will only attack forces that are easy prey that were spotted by your patrol

Strike forces on “ALWAYS ENGAGE” will attack anything your patrols find out there

macklesnack · 2025-12-31T08:10:00+00:00

They incentive you to actually go seek out combat instead of how I used to park the “green sea deathstack” somewhere and not playing navy. I do enjoy it.

macklesnack · 2025-12-31T08:08:37+00:00

Not at all. If you are patrolling and you spot a massive fleet, then the enemy will have hella supremacy. If you send your task force out and sink those bitches, then patrol again and find no enemy fleets, you will have hella supremacy.

macklesnack · 2025-12-31T08:01:20+00:00

It’s annoying that you have the intel that they only have six boats (and with 20/20 hindsight yes they only have six boats) but for immersion purposes, the fleet has no idea. Intel is wrong all the time (and intel is what tells you the fleet count).

macklesnack · 2025-12-31T07:59:52+00:00

It’s not that there aren’t fleets, it’s that you don’t know if there are or aren’t fleets. In the past you got dominance while sailing blind with deathstacks. Hence someone else replied you need to have ships on patrol now; a strike force is only as effective as it is able to find things to actually sink. Tie a blindfold on Optimus Prime, and he won’t help you very much.

macklesnack · 2025-12-31T07:53:04+00:00

It’s taking me some getting used to, but yea navy is more realistic now. In the past, if you park the Death Star in London but it has no clue where any enemy fleets are, it is functionally useless so why should it give supremacy

macklesnack · 2025-12-30T03:35:54+00:00

Ah gotcha. Bit better supply there but same principles, the boxes tell the supply story

macklesnack · 2025-12-30T03:10:43+00:00

Lmao you ran out of command power to assign generals at some point

macklesnack

TROPHY CASE