A question about ACs

[TehDarkMiner]

I've been playing HoI3 for a long time, but I've never seen the point of armoured cars, aside for building up motorised practicals before my country gets motorised but already has L-Arm unlocked.

I have seen some comments here and there, that armoured cars increase the overall speed of a division. I've checked, and according to the division builder it just stays at the speed of the lowest brigade.

Am I missing something here? Or do armoured cars actually not increase the overall speed of a division? Also sorry if this question has been asked before, a quick Google didn't yield much of help.

 

[Charles Reeps]

See here.

And yes, armored cars do increase division speed.

 

[Kovax]

See the other thread about the point of building certain units, which includes Armored Cars.

As pointed out, the Soft Attack and Hardness they provide is a bargain for the IC cost and manpower for any mobile unit, and offers the same Combined Arms bonus as ENG if you prefert a bit more firepower in the open. ACs also give a speed bonus which is NOT shown in the unit speed tooltip. They can't engage in combat on their own, which means you can use one for RECON (duh!) where it will simply retreat if they run into anything unexpected, plus their fuel usage makes them useful for dragging a bit of fuel and supplies quickly to any airfield you need to use in a hurry (since redeploying a slower unit will leave the fuel and supplies behind).

I'm currently running a game with ARM/MOT/MOT/AC, and it's chewing through stuff quite nicely. Don't know how it would fare in MP, though, against "optimized" everything.

 

[Kagernaut]

AC are very nice, my new favorite brigade, which I did post in the other thread too.

The primary factor for me is the low softness, but their other states are good to, and the fact that they increase the overall speed of the division is very useful. They are great in a multitude of divisions, and their toughness and soft attack are pretty decent for a support brigade.

 

[Charles Reeps]

Until I started playing TRP the armored car went into every mobile division (Armored or otherwise) I made. The ability to keep your division softness low (below 50%) is very important, and the armored car is crucial for this. The speed boost is also awesome. Their decent soft attack also makes them a moderately capable support unit until SPART can be researched.

 

[Lord Curlyton]

Quite simply, if its not leg INF or special forces, AC is my go-to support brigade. I barely build SPART or TD anymore, and will only field lots of TD if I field lots of MOT that lack a front line armored brigade. The speed bonus and cost efficiency of them is just too overwhelming for me to really build anything else (never did build much ENG, not enough bonuses for the lack of firepower).

 

[Charles Reeps]

In the early phases of the war (historical start) LARM/MOT/AC/ENG is probably the best all-around division structure. During this period you are going to need speed, the ability to ford and attack across rivers, and take down the occassional fortification. This division is clearly built for these tasks. Later, in Russia, this division can be converted to LARM/MECH(your choice)/AC/AC. This division is extra hard and fast, plus the two AC have nearly the same SA as a SPART. It is ideal for the wide open spaces you encounter in Russia.