Would you advise do buff Germany through slider?

[Maykievic]

Hi,

Since Germany is always losing , especially earlier in the game (41-42) against soviets, does buffing it through sliders help this situation?
It would be cool to have it a bit more powerful so it takes uk, usa and urss to take them down.

what are your experiences?

 

[fabius]

Playing SP, until AI improves at least I always buff Germany if not playing it.

Also, always buff majors who will be enemies. Makes for a better game.

Expert AI mod too

 

[Maykievic]

Playing SP, until AI improves at least I always buff Germany if not playing it.

Also, always buff majors who will be enemies. Makes for a better game.

Expert AI mod too

it actually does something? makes germany more competitive?
Also if it's not an issue , could you explain what expert ai does? i saw in the workshop but an opinion it's more than welcome

 

[Chondrite]

it actually does something? makes germany more competitive?
Also if it's not an issue , could you explain what expert ai does? i saw in the workshop but an opinion it's more than welcome

Not just Germany but every AI in the game. It's a large AI overhaul mod (meaning it's not just a couple of tweaks, it completely reworks several AI functions and heavily edits other areas) mostly for historical mode but it's not going to magic away the front issues nor create some sort of a true dynamic AI from the vanilla AI.

There are a variety of customisation options to adjust the game to your style. Whether it's competetive enough is completely dependent on how you play the game. It's meant for more-or-less historical campaigns and not a conquest spree starting in 1936.

For example, Germany by 41 will have around double the industry compared to vanilla, with radar coverage, anti-air, a couple dozen synthetic factories and an armor/air production many times higher than in vanilla.

 

[grandad1982]

If not playing Germany I always buff them by at least 2 if I'm playing an Axis member and by at least 3 if I'm playing Allies or Comintern.

 

[seattle]

Hi,

Since Germany is always losing , especially earlier in the game (41-42) against soviets, does buffing it through sliders help this situation?
It would be cool to have it a bit more powerful so it takes uk, usa and urss to take them down.

what are your experiences?

I always give German a.i. a one slider step buff. The reason is simple: I don't need Germany to win the war, but the game is essentially broken if German a.i. gets stuck in Poland/Low Countries. I once played the Soviets and was all building up for Barbarossa when Germany got stopped in Poland and my game was ruined that moment. Hence, making sure that Germany at least makes it halfway through Russia is the most important thing. A slider buff vastly increases that chance.

 

[seattle]

If not playing Germany I always buff them by at least 2 if I'm playing an Axis member and by at least 3 if I'm playing Allies or Comintern.

If you're playing a powerful Axis member like Italy, you don't need to pimp German a.i. You can directly assist them with your troops and indirectly by sending them some 10,000 rifles and stuff.
When I play Germany, that's exactly what I do for Japan. It's so much fun to watch your LL shipments tip the scale in an otherwise close defeat.

 

[Number 7]

if you're not one of the powerful axis members however, german slider all the way to 5. Its the only way to compensate for der fuhrer ordering a vacation to the warm sahara in the middle of barbarossa

 

[seattle]

if you're not one of the powerful axis members however, german slider all the way to 5. Its the only way to compensate for der fuhrer ordering a vacation to the warm sahara in the middle of barbarossa

Not the only way. You can also use the "no man's land" mod or "August Storm". Both make the Sahara impassable and both prevent the Axis from dumping their army in Africa.
One slider move is usually enough in my experience.

 

[Maykievic]

Thanks! I will maybe try no mans land and vanilla for now , so should i slide buff all the way to max or a bit less?

After this i think i ll be getting expert ai , should i buff germany even there?

 

[Chondrite]

Thanks! I will maybe try no mans land and vanilla for now , so should i slide buff all the way to max or a bit less?

After this i think i ll be getting expert ai , should i buff germany even there?

Depends on who you play and how experienced you are. You probably should give them at least a few bonuses and increase it later if you feel its necessary. If the vanilla AI is a challenge to you at all then you may even want to try without any bonuses first.

 

[REDDQ]

Buff Germany all the way. It needs all the help it can get.

Sliders help a lot with equipment production which is good but also with combat as well. I wish we had the possibility to use more detailed settings cuz I found the fact that hostile divisions reinforce 30% faster than my own very frustrating later in the game.

 

[seattle]

Depends on who you play and how experienced you are. You probably should give them at least a few bonuses and increase it later if you feel its necessary. If the vanilla AI is a challenge to you at all then you may even want to try without any bonuses first.

That are precisely the points. A good Axis player doesn't need to pimp Germany (unless you play a minor nation). An Allied player definitely wants to pimp Germany.
I would first try a smaller boost.

 

[Meglok]

Depends on what your goal is in the unmodded game? If you are Allied with Germany then probably a little 1 or 2 buff for them and the other axis major, a bunch for the major opponents. If you are playing an allied nation as many as it takes to make the Axis a challenge (start at 2 always 2 more than Russia)? If you are playing a minor, it really depends on minor. And if you are playing Russia, Italy or Japan alone to conquer the world buff all other majors @+2 to start.

If you are going to go with Expert AI try it Germany +1 first. It does make the ai tougher. Might want to use No Man's Land too.

But no mod will fix front shuffling etc. All the sliders can do is give the ai a lot more resources to make up for it.

 

[him_15]

At the moment yes, AI Germany is so weak if you don't buff it the game is normally over by 1941.

 

[CharlieFox]

Buff Germany but also Italy and Japan. I did it in my last U.K. game and the Axis were almost a real threat to me.

However, bad Germany AI still made an appearance, at one point Germany pulled all his army to a defensive line that protected none of its core territory leaving me to advance unopposed from the newly liberated French mainland to Berlin.

 

[fabius]

Yep Expert AI, even buff your main enemy a few to max, unless it's your first game.

I've had the best fun with it as Germany, buffing the Russia to max; UK and USA between 2 and 3.

Then buff Japan too to balance their fight with Allies.

Two top needs for AI buffs:
1. They constantly shuffle divisions so never/rarely have high dug in or planning bonus. Varying %
2. AI does not pull troops out line and maintain training levels to regular so there's another 20%? combat modifier gone.

 

[seattle]

Yep Expert AI, even buff your main enemy a few to max, unless it's your first game.

I've had the best fun with it as Germany, buffing the Russia to max; UK and USA between 2 and 3.

It's not necessary to drastically increase the strength of your main enemy. You can do that, but it's not the only way to go. I mostly play on standard difficulty in every PDS game. You can create your own challenges without going overboard with pimping the enemy.
For instance, I usually roleplay a bit. Hitler is in charge, so why not try a mass heavy tank army? Or super giant battleships? That are also very fun ways to give yourself a challenge without having to min/max everything.

 

[balmung60]

Always buff all majors you don't plan to ally with all five ticks.

The AI's dumb and needs all the help it can get. For example, I've seen +5 Germany stall out in +0 USSR for a year and a half before it eventually managed to resume its advance because the AI has a really hard time with supply and planning effective offensives..