How to Not Suck with Artillery- Steel Division II- Beginner Tutorials

What is the point of artillery and why does it never seem to do anything? In this video we will go over the different types of artillery and their roles for helping destroy your opponents!
All music credited to bensound.com

[@ivvan497]

Accuracy stat for arty is only for direct fire. It's irrelevant in actual dispersion stat that is used for indirect fire. Best way to judge arty dispersion is by the length of the gun barrel. Longer barreled arty pieces have better dispersion.

[@atkpwrgaming]

Interesting, I will have to look into that. It might be correlated to the barrel, but when you click on the HE shell that should be talking about the dispersion accuracy of the arty, because when you click on mortars they dont even have an accuracy

[@ivvan497]

@@atkpwrgaming Yea, mortars dont have accuracy because they can't shoot directly, only indirectly. This is a confirmed thing, I'm not talking from my experience. Accuracy stat in game for arty is for 2000m direct fire. Actual dispersion stat at max range is not show, like it is in wargame for some reason. Players have been asking for eugen to add this to armory but for some reason they refuse or are simply too lazy. But since eugen models weapons quite realistically, that means that longer barreled guns have better accuracy. So if you compare Lefe 18M and that captured czech gun in german divisions "Hruby" or something something (t) 105mm you'll find that captured arty has longer barrel and therefore better accuracy. Also, hummel is not exact copy of sfh 18, it's a slightly shorter barrel so that means it has worse accuracy than regular german 150mm arty. Just some hidden things in SD2 :)

[@atkpwrgaming]

@@ivvan497 that is fascinating! Thank you so much for filling me in on that. I had no idea. I will make sure to spread the word!

[@wei270]

@@ivvan497 so does this mean ratio is not very useful unless you are direct firing your arty?

[@ivvan497]

@@wei270 Yes. If you're not sure if arty is accurate or not you can test it in solo skirmish or just look at the size of the gun. Bigger longer barrels have better dispersion.

[@chrisca]

Fun fact, you can put arty to "Shoot when fired upon" and T-designate a target. In that way, it will aim up and ready the gun for whenever you need a fast volley (either rocket arty or heavier pieces). Just remove the don't shoot order and they will begin lighting up the enemy

[@atkpwrgaming]

Good to know thanks!

[@shanemiller667]

Guday AtkPwr - I was wondering if you could please do an episode on using hotkeys- howe to use them to set up multple moves at the start of the game when setting up your initial forces, how to use them to shoot and scoot using artillery, how to use hotkeys with aeroplanes etc - thanks man- keep up the great work

[@atkpwrgaming]

Thanks for the support! Check out the how to get good playlist, there is a video called controls that has that

[@helpinghelper4151]

For casual 10vs10 artys spam enjoyers, 358th strelki and toulon are the best decks with most arty

[@atkpwrgaming]

There is quite a long list of arty spam decks. I never really play that way though so I am not the best source

[@McMonkeyful]

Good stuff. I'd add that the 150mm Nebelwerfer is pretty effectiveat suppressing & killing enemy AA. Kind of its specialty. A pair will reliably kill an 85/88mm. For 100 points, with ammo half-track, they get at least 8 salvos. Enough to cripple your opponents AA net. As they fire very quickly, it's easy to avoid counter battery by hitching to the ammo half-track & relocating. I give the order to load up at the same time I give them their target, using shift. Then I just have to remember to go back & issue an 'unload at position' order. The smoke trails & short narrage time make that easy to remember. You can use a group of them like an off-map to barrage & rush a position but counter AA is where they really shine. For traditional artillery work, they're pretty underwealming & a bit hit & miss.

[@atkpwrgaming]

I didn’t know the math for the salvos love it! They are definitely fun to use, but definitely fill a different role than traditional artillery

[@BreathOfNaamah]

Thanks for your videos, they've helped me get better quickly. Quick question, if you have an artillery commander with a radio does that count as the guns within their influence having a radio? Since they're supposedly coordinating these guns

[@atkpwrgaming]

Arty leaders now add radio to non-radio tube artillery. Yeah it's cool, a newer thing. Thanks so much!

[@nero91]

important 10v10 tip: the Andryusha can kill the heaviest german armor, the kingtiger and elefant

[@atkpwrgaming]

Very good point and not just for 10v10

[@shanemiller667]

I was wondering - if you placed a radio leader near artillery units without radio such as mortars would these batteries then benefit from radio corrected shot using the leaders radio??

[@atkpwrgaming]

It will not. They have to have radio themselves

[@vajer3312]

I believe some mortars on the Soviet side can be transported with ammo cars, they are just that, cars, so the supply is limited, but they can be brought in with ammo. I believe the 26th strelky Carries them

[@atkpwrgaming]

You are right I think, but it is few and far between

[@vajer3312]

@@atkpwrgaming you are right on that, but when they are there, they make all the difference

[@FrendlyM]

The Radio trait affects ANY artillery? I thought it gives more accuracy only to units that have that "radio+indirect fire" icon. In this case the mortar halftrack provides more accuracy to itself (has "Radio+Indirect fire" trait and also just the "Radio" trait. But it can provide more accuracy to e.g. 105mm howitzers, Wespe (as those have the "Radio+Indirect fire" trait), but 81mm and 120mm mortars don't benefit from that. Or am I wrong?

[@atkpwrgaming]

Radio on any unit benefits the accuracy of any artillery that also has the radio trait. In other words, the radio mortar units can often supply their own radio radius in order to use corrected shot. If the artillery piece does not have the radio trait, it will not receive any benefit from radios.

[@macelharen]

i'll keep looking for the "defensive fire" chapter, gotta be somewhere. plus chaining attack commands to shut down multiple enemy artillery positions

[@atkpwrgaming]

Yeah I need to do a smart order tutorial, I will try to get to it!

[@macelharen]

@@atkpwrgaming thx. i've tried chaining artillery commands but having issues with them just spamming the first zone.

[@theodorechill]

Radio planes always immediately get forced off by AA. Does corrected shot work after you call it in even after the radio has left the area since it's already designated, or do you have to keep the target in radio range the entire arty volley? Anyone know?

[@atkpwrgaming]

No, I believe they lose it when the plane flies away. Because the arty gets more accurate when radio gets introduced part way through a volley

[@joseluisrodriguez5954]

Hola buen video, como funciona el líder de artillería?? Saludos desde mx.

[@atkpwrgaming]

The artillery leader functions as a regular leader unit. The special thing about them is that for divisions without radios on their leaders, these guys always come with radios

[@Bullet_Tooth84]

So some Transport vehicles carry also ammo for the Artillery? I did not know that 🤷‍♂️🙈

[@atkpwrgaming]

Yes they do! Make sure to check the drop down menu. Transports with ammo will always have a cost. It is almost always the right choice to bring in arty with an ammo truck if possible. Thanks for watching!

[@macelharen]

[edit: rewatching video reminded me about the rate of fire bonus, so there's that but still...ick...dispersion was what i'd been hoping to improve] okay, wait. i'd been creating decks under the assumption that battery leaders in the artillery tab means something...as in their veterancy bonus decreases the dispersion...i mean, obviously, amirite? but, i honestly can't see a reasonable difference, if any, at range (corrected and otherwise) between zero vet and max...now, i assumed that mortars wouldn't (and they don't get any bonus from veterancy even radio mortar, although they get that radio bonus like you say)...but even the lovely 105mm artillery piece you mentioned don't get any real bonus from veterancy.. so i ask myself: why the HELL would you use battery COs for anything but really expensive backup leadership for your front line troops? [edit: for the ROF]

[@atkpwrgaming]

Veterancy does not decrease the dispersion. The gun doesnt get more accurate cause the crew is more experienced. It increases the fire rate and the aiming time

[@macelharen]

@@atkpwrgaming been talking on discord with the folks...looks like real life range = better dispersion for the sk18 and k35(t)

[@vereferreus5262]

Beobachter is not a recon unit. Its a forward artillry observer. A unit neccesary for Indirect fire support.

[@atkpwrgaming]

It functions as a recon unit in game. It’s exactly the same aufklaer with radio

[@macelharen]

so the battery commander's radio is kind of pointless? and the battery co is just basically a leader that gives the basic co bonus. btw, semi-unrelated question: what's up with the lines from the commandant to his subordinate commanders?

[@atkpwrgaming]

The commandant upgrades the leaders to pump troops up by two vetrancies instead of just one. check my veterancy video for more

[@macelharen]

@@atkpwrgaming yup. thx. having way too much fun trying to get my entire front and artillery rank +2

[@k98_zock_tv47]

Which axis division has the best artillery in it? Composition of on and off map artillery pieces.

[@atkpwrgaming]

Hmmm. Hard to say. 17th has a nice mix, 25th pgren has big guns, 20th panz has a good set up. Haven’t really thought about it

[@k98_zock_tv47]

@@atkpwrgaming thanks

[@marsontran1692]

Up until now, I don't actually know how radio helps and how to use it effectively, put radio unit on the front line or next to your artilleries formation?

[@atkpwrgaming]

So if artillery fires at a target that is within the range of a radio it aims faster and fires more accurately. Usually you want a unit with radio on the front lines since the artillery comes with its own radio

[@Multiple_Launch_Rocket_System]

can you do a more in depth video of rocket artillery i just love messing with it and there's a couple more you missed in this video

[@atkpwrgaming]

I mean they all function exactly the same way, what did I miss?

[@Multiple_Launch_Rocket_System]

@@atkpwrgaming im interested in some tips good places to hid rocket artillery , lead time so wont miss as much with moving targets and some gameplay to see how there used

[@FuaConsternation]

wait...i've watched all the videos for how not to suck but i don't understand the whole A, B, & C echelons....does it affect the cost of deployment? reason i'm asking is because i bought the game on sale so want to get the most bang for my buck when deciding whether or not to get a refund (and therefore loath to head on in and learn first hand, wasting potential time of that 2 hour window)

[@atkpwrgaming]

The deployment phases determine when you can call a unit it. When you call units in early you get less of them numerically. So for example, if you call a panzergrensdier in A phase, you get nine. If you call in B phase you get 18 and in C you get 27. So you will have more of them to call in. But by calling them in later you won’t have access to them as soon

[@goncho007]

Why some arty units don't have a range stat?

[@atkpwrgaming]

Cause they dont have direct fire so they dont get an accuracy stat

[@thurbine2411]

I wonder why the sfh 18 fires faster than the lefh 18

[@atkpwrgaming]

I would assume gun design in some way in real life, or it could be an in game balance thing

[@thurbine2411]

@@atkpwrgaming I saw that they needed it in 2019 I think from 6-4 rpm but I don’t know why as all sources I can find state that it fires at 6-8 rpm. This points to it being balance but I don’t see how it balances it out as it is worse than the sfh in all ways right now and that is quite sad as it was produced in much higher numbers but isn’t used that much in game.

[@calebmitchell6870]

It's interesting that they consider mortars as artillery. Where they not infantry in WW2?

[@atkpwrgaming]

They were attached to infantry company’s usually. In game due to the slot system it makes sense to put them in arty since that’s how they function practically, as arty with lower range

[@gcgrabodan]

The radio thing is weird. I would think that a spotter with radio can talk to a battery commander with radio who will then improve the acc. of arty in his command radius. But apparently the arty needs radio on itself and needs a battery führer with radio next to it to get the benefit of the führer? and wheter tje spotters are regular scouts pr arty observes with radio makes no difference? this is absurd, but is what I understand from your vid and from reading the comments.

[@atkpwrgaming]

I’m not sure if im understanding. The artillery needs to have the radio trait itself. It does not need a leader with radio next to it. Then it benefits from the radio of any unit that had a radio

[@gcgrabodan]

@@atkpwrgaming Most Artis dont have a radio symbol, such as the towed german 105 and 150mm howitzers or fieldguns or what they are called. The logic in reality and modelled in Mius Front for example is, that arty needs a commander with radio or wire link nearby and this commander has to communicate with a spotter with radio or wire link. The spotter would relay the information back. I do not understand how arty in Steel Divison benefits. It needs a radio symbol, ok, so 90 % of arty is not eligible? Ok... Those that do have a radio benefit if...? A leader with radio is nearby? And whether the spotter has a radio is irrelevant? Why do some spotters have a radio then? Sorry for annoying you and thanks for your replies and tutorials.

[@gcgrabodan]

your reply seems different than what you said in the video. If only the arty needs the radio, in what way does it benefit from other radios? Does it mean targets in the spotting range of spotters or battery commanders who have radio will be hit more precice? So it makes more sense to use the battery commander away from the battery near the front, to observe?

[@atkpwrgaming]

@@gcgrabodan this is correct. You want your radios near the front to supply the radio to make the fire more accurate.

[@atkpwrgaming]

@@gcgrabodan no problem. I apologize that the tutorial isn’t clear enough. So arty that has the radio trait gains increased accuracy and aim speed when they aim at targets within any radio’s range. In other words, a unit with a radio on the frontline projects a circle. When your arty (with radio) aims at a target within that units circle, it will aim faster and more accurately. Finally, many arty pieces in the game do have radio, it’s any unit with the little green symbol. Nearly All the axis 150s and 105s have radio for example

[@XpVersusVista]

"How to Not Suck with Artillery" doesn't show the usage of artillery at all whatsoever. This tutorial is the equivalent of "How to Not Suck at Soccer" and it's a video about soccer shoes and what soccer ball to buy. How about: - WHEN, HOW and WHERE do i use artillery? now that would be an actually useful tutorial.

[@atkpwrgaming]

The concept here is how to choose artillery and the then general usage of them. If you aren’t even bringing in the right stuff then it will be useless from the start. There’s several other videos covering what you mention. Thanks!

[@mrx2062]

120 mmm mortar is better than 81 mm because it has also the range.

[@atkpwrgaming]

Depends on the 120. Some of them fire quite slow and therefore are not as strong

[@mrx2062]

@@atkpwrgaming Does not matter. You can anticipate the movements of enemy infantry and shell an area in front of them where they will be when the shelling starts.

[@atkpwrgaming]

@@mrx2062 it matters for killing support weapons and such, if they fire slowly you cant get enough rounds on target to kill them

[@mrx2062]

@@atkpwrgaming That is not the primary goal. The primary goal is to suppress enemy infantry. The fireing speed is not an issue. You take always a battery of at least 2 or 3.

[@chrisca]

The advantage of the 120 vs the 81 is the smoke, it packs a lot more fumes and can deny an entire area with a volley. For the same reason, the 120 is shit when engaging at ranges farther than 3000m. The key point is the Gebirgs and iirc a russian marine/vdv division that has heavy mortars but with radios. You slice the dispersion by half while having the same firepower.