Author Topic: How will my ground combat fare...?  (Read 1381 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Panpiper (OP)

  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • ******
  • P
  • Posts: 101
  • Thanked: 11 times
How will my ground combat fare...?
« on: August 08, 2018, 06:10:04 PM »
I have four divisions of heavy assault (not battalions, 4 divisions with 16 battalions & 4 brigade HQs each), with a researched base strength of 25. I want to invade a neighbor that went hostile on me. I have the troop transports to carry the lot of them in one go, but they are civilian transports without drop bays. They 'do' however have a Cargo Handling Multiplier of 40.

How much of a penalty will I incur by assaulting this way? What sort of chances would my four divisions have versus a typical NPR?

My warships are almost all missile based. Should I use some of those missiles for bombardment? (I'm not even sure how that is done, let alone if I even I can.)
« Last Edit: August 08, 2018, 06:23:47 PM by Panpiper »
 

Offline Garfunkel

  • Registered
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2781
  • Thanked: 1048 times
Re: How will my ground combat fare...?
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2018, 02:31:15 AM »
If you only have Troop Transport Bays, it means that your forces will be deployed over days, not minutes. Cargo Handling helps speed it up. It doesn't matter much for a planetary assault, as combat is resolved only during production phase, so every 5 days. As long as your transports can fully unload themselves inside that time period, they will function well enough. Otherwise, only some of them will be ready to fight and the enemy might have a superiority of numbers. Whether that matters or not, depends on their tech level and the number of battalions they have. And you can't really see that beforehand.

Bombarding enemy ground forces with missiles is a valid tactic, but beware of collateral damage. It is always immense, even if you only use few missiles. Millions will lose their lives, and facilities will be destroyed. Radiation levels will rise and dust will be thrown into the atmosphere. Generally players who want to loot an alien race, avoid bombarding it.
 
The following users thanked this post: Panpiper

Offline Michael Sandy

  • Commodore
  • **********
  • M
  • Posts: 771
  • Thanked: 83 times
Re: How will my ground combat fare...?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2018, 03:56:17 PM »
You land your troops from your transports at YOUR colony.  THEN, once they are all landed, you give the order to your landed ground troops to attack the alien colony on the same body.
 
The following users thanked this post: Panpiper

Offline Panpiper (OP)

  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • ******
  • P
  • Posts: 101
  • Thanked: 11 times
Re: How will my ground combat fare...?
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2018, 08:25:34 AM »
Do I want to deploy replacement battalions at the exact same time and place as the actual combat divisions? Will they automatically replenish losses, serving as a 'hit point reservoir'? Or are they something you bring in when the fighting is done and order to replenish?

Is there any benefit to training up the morale of a replacement battalion? Is any such morale gain lost or does it transfer?

I have absolutely no idea what to expect with ground combat. Currently I have eight replacement battalions only to back up four full heavy assault 'divisions'. Obviously how many I will need will depend on loses, but again, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I could spend the next ten years gearing up for a much more massive invasion only to discover that I have not just wasted ten years, but that even my four current divisions was FAR more than the game expects for an invasion. Can someone give me a clue?
 

Offline JacenHan

  • Captain
  • **********
  • Posts: 454
  • Thanked: 115 times
  • Discord Username: Jacenhan
Re: How will my ground combat fare...?
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2018, 01:26:16 PM »
I assume you have detected the enemy's ground forces via active sensor. The "strength" of the sensor contact is the sum of the army's base attack and defense values. IE: A mobile infantry unit would count as 15 (5 attack + 10 defense). If you want to see how big your force is compared to theirs, add your own army's base values together. 1 heavy assault battalion has a base strength of 24 (12 attack + 12 defense). For your four divisions, that's a total base strength of 384 (4*4*24) This should give you a rough estimation of how much of a size advantage you have. You should have a decent idea what kind of tech they have from fighting their fleet, since their ground combat techs are probably at similar levels to their other research.

Replacement battalions are best used in combat, where they automatically replenish losses like you stated (I'm not sure if there is a limit to the rate they do it at or not). Units not in combat will gradually replace their own losses over time at a lower rate without needing replacement battalions.

Edit: The ground unit mechanics I stated are from this post. It's old, but as far as I know that particular mechanic has not changed since then (excluding C#, of course).
« Last Edit: August 10, 2018, 01:30:06 PM by JacenHan »
 
The following users thanked this post: Panpiper