Beginner Questions

[BFleeg]

Hi guys, I know the game just came out, but I assume there was a pretty active group of beta folks playing based on how much some people seem to know about this game.

First, this is the coolest game Ive played in a long time. A new obsession of mine I think.

But I was wondering about some basic stuff.

I just dont know what a lot of the units do or are for. I have learned a lot from mouseovers and understand the roles, but in the heat of combat I often dont know if im shooting at an AT or an AA or arty or what. Could anyone advise? I cant find a manual or encyclopaedia, which I think would help. Is it just a matter of playing more?

Second, how do people launch five planes at once? Is that just quick mousework?

Third, how effective is recon? I mever use it and imagine I should. How important is turning off their weapons? How effective is their stealth? Are they that hard to see? In a forest, can they see out?

Can guns in a forest shoot out? Is the c key god here, and is it fully reliable?

can a unit that is only equipped with he ever kill something armored, like a half track? Or is it impervious?

I guess I have a lot more little questions, but have already asked too many. Thanks in advance.

Outstanding game!

 

[Mister Maf]

First, I just dont know what a lot of the units do or are for. I have learned a lot from mouseovers and understand the roles, but in the hear of combat I often dont know if im shooting at an AT or an AA or arty or what. Could anyone advise? I cant find a manual or encyclopaedia, which I think would help. Is it just a matter of playing more?

Third, how effective is recon? I mever use it and imagine I should. How important is turning off their weapons? How effective is their stealth? Are they that hard to see? In a forest, can they see out?

These two problems are related. Recon units can identify enemies which lets you determine what you're dealing with. Use the infopanel hotkey to pull up the armory stat sheet midgame. I almost always put my recon squads on return fire mode so they don't reveal themselves; they're pretty hard to find otherwise.

Second, how do people launch five planes at once? Is that just quick mousework?

You can select multiple units by holding down shift as you click on them. This also works in the airport panel. If you assign the selected planes to a hotkey by pressing Ctrl + [a number], you can quickly select all of them by pressing that number.

Can guns in a forest shoot out? Is the c key god here, and is it fully reliable?

If you have line of sight, you can shoot. Most of the time, you have to be at the edge of the forest to have line of sight. Not sure what the C key does by default — is that hold fire?

can a unit that is only equipped with he ever kill something armored, like a half track? Or is it impervious?

Yes, but it has to be a pretty strong explosion.

I guess I have a lot more little questions, but have already asked too many. Thanks in advance.

Go for it.

 

[Yung Rommel]

Open top vehicles are more vulnerable to HE attacks.

 

[Grimnir]

You could also watch some replays on Youtube to learn some of the finer mechanins of Steel Divi. I can warmly recommend VulcanHDGaming's channel.

 

[CyberianK]

The infopanel showing unit stats Mister Maf was talking about is shift + i hotkey btw.

Yes C key (line of sight tool) helps determining where you can shoot out of the forest. Hove cursor around the edge of the forest to see where best to place it while holding C. You can also hold C while having cursor on the unit on the forest edge to see if it actually can shoot out of the forest/hedgerow and how far.

 

[Grimnir]

Some other useful tips:

1. Remember you can queue orders by holding shift.
2. The unload at location will fast move the transport to the location and the unload infantery. I.E: you don't need to queue fast move + unload at location.
3. Shortcut "U" will immidiately unload from transport, very handy in an emergency.
4. If you wanna see where a unit is moving, select it and hold shift; the path will then be displayed on map. Also works for many units.
5. Always reverse if you wanna pull back vehicles from frontline.
6. In the settings, change so the unit-tab doesn't auto-close when in-game.

 

[Mister Maf]

The infopanel showing unit stats Mister Maf was talking about is shift + i hotkey btw.

I rebound it to Tab, like in European Escalation. Much better to have it easily on hand imo. I also recommend binding "Evac" for planes to a key you can reach easily.

Yes C key (line of sight tool) helps determining where you can shoot out of the forest. Hove cursor around the edge of the forest to see where best to place it while holding C. You can also hold C while having cursor on the unit on the forest edge to see if it actually can shoot out of the forest/hedgerow and how far.

Ah, right. Note that it doesn't work very well with elevation — a building or orchard at the bottom of a hill may show as blocking LoS from the top when it in reality isn't. You can use the fire on position command to draw a real sight line from any given unit to see for sure.

Always reverse if you wanna pull back vehicles from frontline.

You can also use the reverse command to easily have a unit reface its armor. Another one to have the hotkey on-hand for.

Also, when advancing, it's almost always a good idea to use the "hunt" command instead of just giving a move order. This is just an attack-move order like in other RTS games, where it will stop and shoot at the first thing it sees.

 

[BFleeg]

Very good tips, thanks guys.

Do you bother shooting with light armor with say a machine gun? Say something with armor 1 on a side, and you are ambushing with bullets? Or is it always better to flee? I understand that heavy bombs can probably do it, especially if it's open top, but I'm not sure when I should try to blast it otherwise.

Let's say I have a support gun with something high like HE 16. Should I attempt to blast a lightly armored vehicle? I can suppress them at the very least, correct? Is there still some random chance of popping it or causing a bail out?

Thanks!

 

[Kampfkekskrieger]

As I read the unload at target: I had a LOT of problems with that new, upside down function compared to Red dragon, because I was used to unload on hotkey, with a timed 'u' unload. Fortunately I discovered that you can still do the old trick and I switched my bindings to that.
The Problem is, that I 'planned' an unload at position, but the trucks did crowd up and got chaotic just before target, went offroad and would need minutes to finally drop the infantry, much too late in the first clash. On top of that, you often give units new commands, especially in the last seconds before the clash, which deletes the planned unload and I had the bad experience to see my people still on my car a minute later, because they did not perform the intended drop. That is a bad trap for beginners.

 

[Mister Maf]

Very good tips, thanks guys.

Do you bother shooting with light armor with say a machine gun? Say something with armor 1 on a side, and you are ambushing with bullets? Or is it always better to flee? I understand that heavy bombs can probably do it, especially if it's open top, but I'm not sure when I should try to blast it otherwise.

Let's say I have a support gun with something high like HE 16. Should I attempt to blast a lightly armored vehicle? I can suppress them at the very least, correct? Is there still some random chance of popping it or causing a bail out?

Thanks!

Machine guns can deal some marginal suppression to light armor, but I don't bother telling them to hold fire or anything; it's just extra micro that could have negative consequences later if a real target does show up. If the target is already routed, keeping them under fire regardless of what unit is doing it will help keep them that way. Meanwhile, shooting with MGs at lighter vehicles, like halftracks (especially with massed machine guns) has a much more pronounced effect. The M2 Browning .50cal can actually kill halftracks given enough time.

As for HE fire support, it's absolutely worthwhile to let them shoot at light armored vehicles. The AVRE and other heavy HE units like the DD Priest can actually reliably kill thin-skin targets on the first or second shot, while medium ones can deal significant suppression and score a kill if they're lucky. Combine with AP weapons for best results. It doesn't hurt to throw them in the mix even against heavy armor just for the suppression — dealing with a routed enemy is always better than dealing with a calm one. Just don't risk wasting them against a target that will kill them by looking at them funny before they can do anything useful. Same goes for larger numbers of AP weapons that have a low/no chance of penetrating — might as well let them chip in to support your heavy hitters, as long as there's not undue risk to a non-disposable unit.