Jamesk2

Wow I just looked back at my campaign record and it's way better than I remembered . But all my small battle prowess could not compared with your huge victory at Gaines' Mill. I think I'll have to replay that one. And this is with the AI & UI mod since the beginning too.

Ah you misunderstood me here. I don't do full right flank, I do full centre rush (as in, my command advance through the right edge and the AI would advance through the left edge. It's a little difficult to show the maneuver on map as you don't fight around Hornet Nest but here it would look like the main avenue to approach the VP, with positions to screen the advance and block Union retreat shown.

Aside from Potomac Fort, Bull Run (where I take 1 detached skirmisher to guard the ford north of the bridge) and Ambush Convoy (where I use skirmisher to capture attention of the escort brigades, allow the cavalry to sweep in and take the convoy from the flank) I don't use detached skirmisher in any other battle. Too much cluttering for my taste! At Potomac Fort I skipped fighting the river section entirely. If I'm really unlucky then an Union skirmisher will deal 20-30 kills to my brigades when I'm crossing, but most of the time it's fine. Yeah I think I still full clear Stay Alert. I'll return to my game computer later and pull out stats to compare with yours.

At Shiloh I will still only bring 2 artillery, meaning I would have a lot more infantry (8 brigades if I'm correct) than you at the start. I didn't have to "dance" with the Union skirmishers like you do, just advance in a 4-brigade abreast line and slowly push them back with superior range (it used to be that the Union skirmishers bring Whitworth and being a total PITA but now that's not the case). At the river line I would divide them up in to several groups and advance like this, with the "X" marking the "kill zones" where I would trap advancing Union troops or surrounding Union fixed positions. By having a brigade advancing up the woods next to the Union big camp, you can lure the Union camping on the right side to come to the flat ground to be flanked and sped up the advance a lot. On the right flank, interestingly I would do somewhat similar to you by avoiding to take the Spain Field early. But I only do that so that I have time to concentrate all units of the right flank very close to the edge of the map. When the Hornet's Nest phase happen I will make a mad dash to take the crescent wood on the left side of the Nest itself, then move my troops behind the wood (screened from the Union viewpoint) and arrive between the Nest and Harrison's Landing, blocking Union withdrawal from the Nest, then take my command and whatever brigade still unoccupied from the right to blitz straight toward the Landing and capture it. This strategy was born back in a version when the AI Confed troops are only 12k instead of 24k, and you can randomly get hit by unlucky roll in Legendary, making Union troops far outnumber you on the right flank. In this version I think it's debatable between yours and mine which one is better (mine preserve more troops, but yours rake in a ton of weapons from dead allies and enemies). But at least my plan is more aesthetically pleasing (seriously, Shiloh is still my most favorite battle of the game since I discover this strategy, as playing it make you feel like you're Alexander at Gaugamela or the Manstein at the Battle of France) and close to the original strategy from Johnston.

At Stay Alert I will bring 2 batteries (1 24-pdr) and hold this patch of forest. Union cavalry will from time to time capture the point but then I'll just walk out and capture it back.

For Newport News main difference is I would take 3 infantry brigades with 2 1k Mississippi ones and remaining Springfield. At Bull Run I would have bring 3 big infantry brigades to completely block all attempt from the right (the raw unit hold the centre, the experienced one provide flanking support), with a 3-Inch Ordnance battery to counter Union batteries. In the left flank I would arrange my defensive line like that to hold the Union for as long as possible while the right-wing continue to maul the Union, and only retreat when there is about 20 minutes left in the counter (enough for the artillery to retreat). I think the "retreat to Henry ASAP" strategy is helped by the fact that Jackson still come right at the beginning of the 2nd phase (which I didn't know would happen). If Jackson come later then that would invalidate the whole strategy

So here is the tactics I would use for the early battle: Potomac Fort: I would set up Kemper/Sigrfried behind the Union reinforcement advance (avoid crossing the river) and then use Hexamer to draw the Union reinforcement towards them. If the Union was sufficiently broke, I'll then move Hexamer to the farm and block them from that position, freeing up infantry to join attack on the fort. If not, I'll set up a 2nd defensive battle at the river before attacking. The main attack on the fort will come from the right with 3 fresh brigades, while own units provide flanking from the south and cavalry attack the artillery. In the defend phase, I'll combine Kemper/Sigfried to hold the fort, using detached skirmishers to draw Union charges preliminary and keep their attention away from the fort. This one I think is 50/50, if it works it really works well, but not as consistent as rushing out to meet them as you do.

Hmm this is really good. Even though I did find some of your tactical choices in the early campaign not as optimized as some I personally used, your usage of cavalry/detached skirmishers to take out Union artillery and stray units is really eye-opening (although in some cases arguably gamey), as well as the fact that you always aggressively push your attack into logical conclusion. However I do wonder how much does using a min-sized brigade size affect the difficulties of your campaign (I play with 2000-sized brigade)?

I'm kinda interested, but I have to ask: how do you deal with the negative scaling for artillery and reduced margin returns, if not also negative scaling for infantry/skirmishers? Because if I make a 2k brigade to face with a 5k brigade with not much improved firepower over the 3k brigade the AI currently have then I'm not seeing a lot of reasons to install the mod.

Here is where you get it wrong. I don't have one Shock Cav unit, I have a whole division of them! Seriously, the way casualty and morale is calculated means that 2 mediocre units are always better than 1 elite when it come down to melee.

1. If there was nothing changed, the range of engagement for infantry brigades are the same no matter what weapon they use. 2. The general consensus is that accuracy is the better choice over rate of fire. 3. How you combine brigades into division does not matter. Only thing matter is the structure of your corps and what part of it you bring to the battle. 4. My own opinion is that one more infantry brigade is always gonna be better than one more ranged cavalry brigade. As you play more and gain more experience, you'll spot the weak points that need to cover on your line or exploit on the enemy's beforehand and move your forces accordingly. 5. The minor bonus to morale in the 1st infantry perks rarely make the difference. Most of the time you don't want your troops in positions that will need that perk in the first place.

There's nothing prevent you from both maximizing kills and take the convoy at the same time. Detach skirmishers to occupy the attention of the 2 escost brigades, then cavalry sweep in from the flanks into their back. Grab the convoys then run north.

Can only say that I've had more than 30k kills just after the first day of UGG.

Thank God now I can try Legendary again. Tried to start one a few days ago, see the AI had 1200-man brigades in the first Confederate battle and went "Welp, that's it".

With the new system there should be no problem. Yes you're receiving more recruits but the AI should also be taking back the veterans that otherwise should be lost.

Really OP? You're creating independent threads for EVERY battle you fight? Group them into one threads for everyone else's sake, please.

Well just keep playing. I did not play any Union game yet (before anyone get triggered, the furthest I've gone on the Confed side is Fredericksburg) but I don't think starting the battle with force parity and only have 1.5 KDR is big.

I think you got hit by the "random super AI" dice roll. Last patch I got hit by one at Shiloh, with my 24k facing their 50k. I still crushed it, but Shiloh obviously is a particular case where I think even if AI got 75k I would still able to crawl to victory. Also the number report seems suspicious. It counts only 212 Confederate cavalry, while Stuart alone commands 245 at the start of the battle.

The problem with ultra-hard mode in most games is the same: How to make the game just hard enough that players have to sweat their way to victory by being correct every step of the way without being next to impossible without cheesing the *** out of it. I think that the current Legendary is pretty close to the latter case, and a fix to artillery reverse scaling may fully make it impossible to win.

Marksman is better because: 1. Supplies is capped at 25k/corps. Slower reloads = less ammunition spent. 2. Most of the time the player are on the defend side, so you get to fire the first volley. Getting a strong volley first reduce the retaliation power of the return volley. You can even have a first volley with such force to insta-rout the AI brigade, so it's completely "free" damage. 3. The best case scenario for firearms in an engagement is both sides facing each other and continuously pumping out lead should always be avoided by the player, in favor of short and overwhelming engages that shatter the AI in the shortest time possible.

Every division should have at least 2 infantry brigade to make effective use of the "Combine Division" feature (not necessary need to be use as an exploit).

Actually you can get 1k2 Fayetteville after Shiloh if you invest early. That's enough for a solid flanking brigade.

You can see it for yourself if you doubt it. This is my newest try on Legendary, fully on this newest patch. autosavesb

1. There is no different between "superior units" and "additional buff" when it come to gameplay effect. 2. You have no idea who you're talking to, so I would advise to be a little less cocky in your attitude. I'm pretty sure my record at Legendary will beat the crap out of yours.

Really? Explain to me why I'm seeing every a f* ton of 3-star brigades in the Union rank at Malvern Hill? If you want screenshot I can provide it in a moment.