Balancing?

[AwkwardNoah]

Prefacing this by saying I was playing land and naval on medium difficulty. I've been having difficulties in both the British and American campaign where the first couple of missions are difficult, but doable without losing everything. Sadly, after those first couple of missions there's usually a spike in the difficulty that makes it almost impossible for me to be able to at least draw the battles. For the British it was the Snakes and Barrels (forgetting the name) mission where I had lost every single unit on the map partly because the mission spawns units right on top of me and partly because there is no other loss condition except literally lose everything. Thus it put me so far back that I couldn't re-crew any of my ships and, for all purposes, soft-locked. The second was Nassau mission where, after experiencing the bug where units become uncontrollable, the enemy ships took almost no damage from the coastal batteries that I captured and where able to defeat my superior in force navy while sailing into the wind. They then were able to survive several broadsides from nearly every single ship because their armor took no damage?

I really like the game. But, right now I find it unplayable simply because the difficulty spikes just kill any ability for me to continue the campaigns. I enjoyed Ultimate General: Civil War a lot in part because I could lose half my troops but still had a chance to scrap by another mission.

[WilliamTheIII]

One thing to note is that you shouldn't blame poor balance because of bugs which is why you failed the US portion of the game. Most of those bugs have since been patched fortunately.

For the British, I'd argue the campaign is actually far easier than what you experienced in the UG campaign. I'd also argue that the first actual "hard" mission of the British campaign is Crossfire however, my perspective could be diluted by the fact that I've been playing since they released the game. I can do my best to give you somewhat of a guide on how to beat Snakes and Powder:

Phase 1: Before you have all your troops, you should focus on taking out the enemy skirmishers and the several sailor units on the left part of the map. Taking them out will make your life much easier. As there is no time limit and as the troops on the right won't actually move until you get near them, you should take as much time as you need to completely wipe that side and secure your flank. The meta on beating units is to volley and charge however that is probably changing in the upcoming patches. As skirmishers are very annoying due to their speed, make sure you are in position when they attack you so you can get shots off (if you chase after them you'll probably never hit them). You can use multiple units or detach skirmishers to distract the skirmishers making them much more manageable. At around 8:20, you will receive reinforcements although they aren't necessary for part 2. Here, you will face off against a supply wagon, an artillery, and 2 infantry. Normally, the supply wagon will continue to advance into the woods and should be pretty manageable to capture. The infantry are dispersed (one in the woods on the right and the other past the trees on the left. The arty is in the middle near the road). Send one unit to deal with the infantry on the left past the trees. Remember volley and charge. You should immediately charge the artillery with your other unit as the canister can have a very nasty effect. You can use skirms to distract the infantry guarding it or another unit if your reinforcements have arrived.

Phase 2: The phase change will not trigger until you capture the village. No worries here as there are no more enemies left to deal with it. This time should be used to gather all your troops and prisoners and allow them to recover however, they need. Next, you should position your troops in three different areas. Units on the left ford, the north ford, and the woods continuing down that road. The ai will attack you from the north first. Normally, their artillery is way ahead of their infantry so taking them out quickly is crucial. The units on the left ford will focus on one side allowing your units to flank charge them and easily crush them. The only substantial force really comes from the road. It is probably best to wait for the infantry to advance towards you and take them out. After taking out these units, you can advance onto their artillery and easily eliminate this. If you failed to fully wipe phase 1, you might have some units attack you from the south however, you will receive additional reinforcements that will be more than enough to handle them. 

Conclusion: I apologize for the rough guide and lack of any detailed pictures or the like as I'm at work and am waiting to make a full battle guide for when ea releases. Also, I personally find the British campaign to be well balanced and in all honesty quite easy because of how scaling works. Overall, once you figure out the best way to win a battle, you should have no difficulties in winning them and none of them require luck or insane outmaneuvers. 

[AwkwardNoah]

Thanks for the reply. I think I had an easy time in UG:CW because I found the "meta." Which was to use cannons to fire at point blank while assaulting and also doing counter battery fire. I think I need to play the game more to figure out it's mechanics more thoroughly. It was just surprising to me how different everything feels cause I was playing it almost like CW and not a different, new game.

[Rygoat]

Now after the condition rebalance, I find it better to just hold position against skirmishes and have them throw themselves at you until they shatter.  A bit gamey, but the AI doesn't attack if you have significant local superiority, so just sending 1 or 2 units against the skirmishes is best.  If you send the whole army, they tend not to attack.

Don't know if you noticed, but hold position gives you +15 cover.