The Great War: Western Front - How to win battles, capture points and territory | Campaign Guide

[@trentgt]

Having a lot of fun so far. The enemy waves are endless though so the earlier battles are difficult. Air seems weakest research line to me but I don’t have bombers yet.

[@perafilozof]

Thank you for sharing your impressions with us Trent Tillman! I now exactly what you mean, and I will be posting another video about how to defend properly and with fewest loses.

[@perafilozof]

So far my experience with the game is a positive one, and I liked it much more than when I played the demo. How about you?

[@OdinsVikingr]

My only issue thus far in the game is how easy it is to win the war. I've played a few campaigns, and I usually win the war within 7-9 turns just because each victory reduces the enemy will to fight by like 20+ points. If they changed it to only reducing by 5-10 points it would make a lot more sense and much more of s grinding war of attrition and to have more impactful events that increase or reduce the will to fight. Aside from winning quickly I have loved this game and much more than the demo where the AI would only send a couple medium sized attack waves and then call for a cease fire. Now it's several waves covered by artillery and mass reinforcements where I barely have time to call up my own reinforcements. Great guide 👍

[@perafilozof]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us about the game Kaiser Wilhelm. I have also noticed a lot of National Will drops when I force big battles and lots of losses on the enemy. It is honestly a simple thing for the developers to balance , so I think it will be sorted out fast. They definitely needed more playtesters to catch that on time. I will show my own battles in my next video tomorrow and what difference gun emplacements make. It is another part of the game which needs so heavy balancing. How do you fare on your defending battles?

[@MahiMahi-oiasdf]

Custom game modes with insane national will would be great, so we can go for an ahistorical total victory.

[@OdinsVikingr]

@perafilozof They are roughly the same. Mass waves of enemies at an unsustainable rate causing 2-3k worth of losses in terms of national reserve and inflicting severe drops in national will. Typically the AI won't attack for several months after this due to most likely being broke and having to replenish gold reserves on top of my attacks made on their sectors. It has been better since the patch but is still a low point in the game as of right now.

[@perafilozof]

Right, I noticed those lacks of attacks in my campaign too. I was wondering what was happening but your comment confirms my suspicious. Thank you.

[@ostrowulf]

Early into the game, but I found the same. I was initially planning a push to the German HQ, but the HUGE drops in national will make me think I will win that way sooner than later.

[@w8taminute278]

Thank you for this guide! I will use some of your suggestions in my current campaign. I really like this game and don't mind that it will probably get repetitive. This is WW1 after all where they kept repeating attacks over and over again and achieved nothing. :)

[@perafilozof]

Hi, thank you for that feedback. I am glad to know to have helped another fellow strategy gamer enjoy this game. And it's great you are in with the system of this WW1 design. I have another guide, about defense this time, here : kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2mWY5Z7lLGhrKM

[@w8taminute278]

@@perafilozof thank you. You bring up a good point. The system in this game is unlike anything else out there. It does a great job recreating WW1 warfare.

[@perafilozof]

Indeed so.

[@WarMonkeyOG]

Can wait to play it on the weekend

[@perafilozof]

I am glad to hear that. I think you will enjoy it.

[@DezKaiZer]

You could have Easiily defended X with a few more trenches and units though while at the same time Attack to the north. I tend to Prepare Offensive Forces on both my Objectives to lure them into crossfire but great guide thanks!

[@perafilozof]

Hi DezKraizer and welcome to my channel. I think the AI changes the attack size depending on the defences. So I think he would have sent more too. Interesting tactic there, I will try it out, thx for sharing!

[@Chris_no_father_figure]

@@perafilozof If you had built trenches right behind objective X, you could have started reinforcing them quickly as soon as the enemy moves in to attack. When an enemy commits to an attack they will not stop attacking that position even though it is more heavily defended all the sudden. This way you could have killed off most of their forces and drained them of their resources.

[@Chris_no_father_figure]

the only thing which will stop an enemy from attacking is when you start attacking one of their objectives, so make sure to be patient and let the enemy get shredded.

[@perafilozof]

@@Chris_no_father_figure Right , good point. Thank you for the tip. My original idea was to keep them at attacking Y but interesting enough in this battle they changed the attack path twice.

[@Chris_no_father_figure]

This strategy allows one to attack and sweep an enemy-owned territory even if one doesn't outnumber them.

[@iamthebatmanxiii3574]

I dowloaded the demo during next fest but I never had the energy to learn a game like this at the time so I never actually played it. But it looks really cool.

[@perafilozof]

It is easy to pick up. Both the turn based and real time gameplay layers are not to difficult to grasp. They are much more difficult to get right and win. I hope you will have an opportunity and will to try it out.

[@DavidSwe]

Been playing campaign. I’m in 1918 and neither side has captured a single tile. I’m winning in the national will by about 100 so I’m doing well on that. Been playing very defensive and only attacking when I have a numerical advantage. This has helped keep morale up but has not helped me win many battles. Sometimes the ai will tick a star from me or vis versa but capturing tiles are basically Impossible.

[@perafilozof]

Hi David, that you for sharing your experience with us. Have you been attacking regions where you can attack from multiple regions of your own inside a single turn? Because that is how you drop their morale to finish off a star each turn and than take over a region.

[@rubenlopezusa]

Northern provinces (Belgium) are easier. Problem is the game is over (one side loses war support) way before there is any geographical advance. I won conquering only 5 provinces, which is nothing and I was maybe only 10% of the tech tree, so I could not test all the cool stuff: tanks, mustard gas, etc.

[@perafilozof]

@@rubenlopezusa oh wow, was that with the new 1.2 path or at release?

[@rubenlopezusa]

@@perafilozof I bought the game this weekend during the special on Steam, so it must be including the last patch, I guess. I was wondering if playing on a harder level, there are more support points in play, I might lose more when defeated im battle, and the enemy can lose less. This is the only way I can think of many more battles, longer game, more turns, more research, and more provinces to conquer, so the enemy retreats significantly before losing support at home. Or a mode that doubles support points for both sides.

[@perafilozof]

@@rubenlopezusa Oh I see. As for the higher difficulty levels you can see the bonuses the AI gets when you hover your mouse over the higher diff levels.

[@GoldenWaffels]

how do you make your soliders go prone ? I've seen the AI utilize this and even saw in a loading screen that you can put your troops into prone to reduce damage but I cannot find the button to do it anywhere in the controls options

[@perafilozof]

Wish I knew, I would have shared it with everyone in this guide. If you find out do come back and tells us.

[@moneky11]

Im pretty sure ur units will automatically do it if they take fire while standing still. I’ve seen my units do it and I hadn’t pressed any buttons for it.

[@The5FX]

One simple tactic. Tanks. Auto win. Use balloon for vision, tanks have better distance for fire they just need vision. For safety, attack from the side - the can’t shoot at tanks at all. For the fast sweep. Use 2 companies for trench fight under tanks aura - fast win any fight, any units. Plus, you can add 1-2 heavy arty if you really want a fast win. No need a lot of infantry or supply. Done.

[@perafilozof]

Hi The5FX and thank you for sharing your experience with us. Interesting tactic there. But don't they get hit by artillery and bombers?

[@The5FX]

@@perafilozof bombers for now are pretty dumb - they are targeting whatever they want. I didn’t have problem with it. Arty - yes have to keep an eye. But nothing extra special, a little bit of movement, tanks still can shoot. Same for enemy tanks, target only with a big guns, then deal with machineguns. But I won’t recommend be extra cocky on raining or blizzard zones, I lost a lot because of it. Many times. Didn’t try last hard mode though, maybe AI getting better there.

[@perafilozof]

Thank you for the reply and extra info!

[@Mordred86]

I really have to be doing withdrawal more to get the supply back. I just keep running out

[@perafilozof]

Oh this 100%. Especially with the more expensive units. BTW you can't windrow if they are in melee in a trench. So you have to do it early if you know they won't survive the fight. Better to get points back and get a fresh unit. How do you like the game so far?

[@Mordred86]

@perafilozof I am enjoying it but got frustrated last night with repeatedly attacking one sector that had five Corps in it and not seeming able to reduce their strength in any meaningful way. I may not understand the best way to weaken a sector

[@perafilozof]

Hi, I understand, I had the same problem in the DEMO. I explained in the second part of this video how to pick a target and prepare your offensive. But to take over a region you have to remove all it's stars. That is the defense rating of a sector. This means repeated attacks and victories in that sector. In this video I took it from 2 full stars down to 1. Meaning I needed another full victory after this battle to actually take it over. It certainly is grueling and takes a lot of manpower and resources. Which is why you have to concentrate your forces in bordering regions and attack constantly to keep the defender demoralized and prevent the starts from coming back on.

[@signoguns8501]

What type of atilery do you use to take out machine gun nests? I have been pummelling those things with artillery barrages, sometimes five or six times in a row, and the results arent consistent. The Ai can take mine out easily, in one or two barrages. What am i doing wrong?

[@perafilozof]

Hi, the bomber is the best, as one hit can take down more than 50% HP of a machine gun or mortar emplacement. If you use artillery, than yes, you can expect to need 3 or more artillery barrages on one gun emplacement. I would advise to concentrate on machine guns and blow up the mortars with infantry, when they get in range they use grenades on it. How do you like the game so far?

[@signoguns8501]

@@perafilozof Ahh, ok. I'll give that a try next time. I thought that there must be an easier way to destroy them. And yea, I like it. Really enjoying it so far. I am struggling with offensives tho. I cant seem to take a victory point without losing 20/30 divisions, sometimes a lot more. This video helped tho. I will try out some of your ideas next time i play. What about you? You enjoying it?

[@perafilozof]

Glad to be of help. And don't expect to win whole battles and take all objective without spending practically all your supply points and A LOT of units. Withdrawals included. I was on the fens about it. Still not sure can it hold attention for a full campaign and keep people playing for a long time. There is a lot of new tech to get if you start the early campaign, the map have verity, and you unlock new units and abilities as you go to change the tactics. So for now I am having fun and working on my next video about it, becoming cautiously optimistic about the game's success.

[@signoguns8501]

@@perafilozof Yea, I do know what you mean. There's a risk that it could get a little repetitive after a while. But still, Ive enjoyed it so far. Ive subbed to your channel, I will keep an eye out for the next video.

[@perafilozof]

@@signoguns8501 Indeed, that was my main concern for the game. Thank you and I hope you will enjoy them!

[@janner6801]

Your Game looks very good, what are your Graphic settings? I have everything on ultra but it looks terrible.

[@perafilozof]

Hi, same here all on maximum settings. I do play on 4K but record my videos for KZbin on 1080p, maybe that made a difference ?

[@thedoctor199]

nice ❤

[@perafilozof]

Thank you kindly! I hope you like the game, even if it is not exactly yout style

[@anthonymaselli7533]

So if u wipe out enough units could you therefore take an entire core out ?

[@perafilozof]

@@anthonymaselli7533 Hi, are we talking inside a battle or on the map?

[@anthonymaselli7533]

@@perafilozoftechnically both

[@perafilozof]

Yes, once all units are depleated they cant be used again

[@anthonymaselli7533]

Cool thanks for letting me know

[@SirMarshalHaig]

I did loose a lot of men in a forest. Did the protection effect get reduced or why can small arms target them while shown as cloaked?

[@perafilozof]

Hi, if the enemy is close enough they can still see you in the forest. Also if I remember correctly there are abilities to increase the view distance

[@SirMarshalHaig]

@@perafilozof well it was in the distant third of my infantry range while I could not see enemies almost over a trench near a forest. So either some ability or a problem in the actual version

[@perafilozof]

There was probably some element you weren't aware of. But just like any bug it isn't a bug until your can reproduce it consistently.

[@SirMarshalHaig]

@@perafilozof Well I can, long range fire at infantry in forest, while they were colored as in cover. Seems to be, that the cover doesn´t cover them all, or maybe just doesn´t work properly.

[@damiansmithey1420]

It's not showing that I can download it on steam it just says coming soon

[@perafilozof]

It will probably unlock in an hour or two. Usually steam games release at 18:00 UTC+1

[@federicogallo849]

hi!! regards from Argentina, land of inflation and politycal corruption. Sorry about my bad english skill... I have a little problem....why my fighters cant attack the enemies balloom? tks for your answer

[@perafilozof]

Hi, you have to unlock the tech for that air mission. In the tech tree.

[@federicogallo849]

@@perafilozof dammm ok!!! My question was so stupid!!! Tks a lot

[@perafilozof]

@@federicogallo849 No such thing as a stupid question!

[@Stefan-bu6ms]

Game seems very cool, but I'm not going to buy it yet. No PVP campaign seems like a missed trick, and having played the demo, I don't really know what else I'm missing.. Hopefully there's some updates to entice me though.

[@perafilozof]

Hi Stefan and thank you for sharing that with us. I do hope you will reconsider at least for the MP gameplay.

[@SaMo1199933]

I think a pvp campaign would get slow incredibly fast. The amount of battles and attrition would get boring between 2 players. Skirmish seems nice, but indotn think campaign would fit.

[@perafilozof]

They would have to tweak the gameplay to keep it fun. Like remove the * ratings

[@tyrionlannister4920]

The national will really needs 10x higher limit, or we need an option in the campaign to play without it... Its january 1915 and the Entente is below 90 points... Meh. Thats not a drawn out world war of attrition... Its more like a blitzkrieg against Liechtenstein on the side 😅 Rly like the concept of the campaign, and the mechanics of it actually work quite well, but if you really wanted, i guess you could win in like 5 turns on either side 🤷🏼‍♂️ Less of a great war, more like a short meh war... Maybe its because i fight against french?🤔🤣(sorry, couldnt resist😅) And artillery is king. Used 13 heavy arty, wiped out 13500 allied troops, lost 230 men ^^😅

[@perafilozof]

Thank you very much for sharing your feedback on the current gameplay balance. Something has to be done about national will. Or make it harder to fight several battles per turn. Some balancing has to be made. As for artillery... well it was king. So I am totally fine with it being very powerful.