CSA Legendary Campaign - Minimal & Customizations Mod

[Jamesk2]

Wow I just looked back at my campaign record and it's way better than I remembered . But all my small battle prowess could not compared with your huge victory at Gaines' Mill. I think I'll have to replay that one. And this is with the AI & UI mod since the beginning too.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by Jamesk2

[pandakraut]

Excellent numbers overall. I was surprised that our numbers didn't match at Potomac Fort. There must be some randomness involved that I haven't been able to pin down.

Many of those early battles I could definitely improve upon. From what I've seen I tend to average a 10-15% increase in casualties when I actually record. I would swear it changes the game RNG since the AI starts doing odd stuff  and I discovered commentating and playing at the same time is harder than I expected.

[pandakraut]

To follow up on your question of difficulty when using 2k vs smaller here are Kristoph42's comments from a Steam thread. He's actually played through both campaigns with multiple sizes.

"I used to play like Bobcat, all my INF were 2k and bigs were 2.5k + strong. I tried a campaign like Panda where my INF were all about 1.1k and the bigs were 1.6k+ strong. My current play now is very similar to PaloAlto, average size is 1.5k and bigs are 2.2k. Each way has advantages and disadvantages. Like someone said, "it comes down to your playstyle" and "your tactics". Im currently liking the 1.5k size army more and more. 

The game is about the same with either style because the AI plays like you play. If you have large units, the AI will have large units, and small units equals smaller AI units (although the AI still tends towards outnumbering you). Im not sure there is a better way. It all balances out and comes down to the tactics you use and your playstyle. Personally, I like the 1.5k and 2k bigs style."

 

[pandakraut]

Doing some more comparisons, the big outlier is Cross Keys and 1st Winchester where I could have added several thousand men for little to no scaling. I'll freely admit I was somewhat keeping units smaller to prove a point. The smaller units definitely work better in the Rebalance mod where rifle damage is lower.

[pandakraut]

Saunders Farm: Using the Col Kelly method of distracting on the left while flanking around the fortifications on the right and taking advantage of most of the extra time provided I get an excellent result and make it out positive in manpower. Could have been even better if I hadn't remembered the wrong ending time.

Losses: 9359(1872 returned from medicine) Kills: 40995

 

[pandakraut]

Laurel Hill: I deploy mostly snipers and artillery to support the allied units, bring in more infantry to replace the allied units as they break, and then bring in a lot of artillery to get rid of the Union guns.

Losses: 9708
Allied: 4750 
Returned from medicine: 992 
Kills: 45501

 

[pandakraut]

Cold Harbor: Going all the way through Cold Harbor with a decent result. Winning in the third phase is probably the better option though.

Losses: 13146(2629 returned from medicine) Kills: 72781

 

 

[pandakraut]

Halls Ferry: Taking advantage of the AI's static defense to win what can be a brutal battle with nearly no losses.

Losses: 2607(521 returned from medicine) Kills: 38949

 

[pandakraut]

Hardin Pike: Exact same setup as Halls Ferry for a very similar result.

Losses: 3072(614 returned from medicine) Kills: 36690

 

[pandakraut]

Washington: Camp phase where I use up over a million dollars.

 

Day 1: The first day of Washington is by far the worst grind of the game. No winning through artillery alone here. Despite some better fortifications design than other battles most positions can still be bypassed, flanked, or completely surrounded and destroyed.

 

 

Day 2 Camp: Using up the last of my resources before going into day 2.

 

Day 2: Normally the southern phase of this battle is the hardest part of day 2, but with the size curves fixed the mass of union artillery in the north becomes extremely dangerous. 

Losses: 46622(9324 returned from medicine) Kills: 236313

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by pandakraut

[pandakraut]

I go over the final stats of my units and compare my results to those of other players.

 

A collection of some my failed attempts at various battles.

 

[Cobramys]

Hi Pandakraut,

 

I love your mode. I play with v. 1.7 CSA legendary.

In second Bull Run instead of fighting on the ridge (as you did) I just destroyd coming Union forces separately.

Regards

Cobramys

Edited August 1, 2019 by Cobramys

[pandakraut]

Excellent results. I haven't experimented with 2nd Bull Run to much, but figuring out a way to setup a forward defense and wipe out the Union units as they come in definitely makes sense.

Looks like you're bringing in a lot more artillery than I did. Were the extra in the reinforcing corps or were you using larger units in your primary corps? 

[Cobramys]

Hi Pandakraut

I used 2 corps. The I one (here the latter) was the main battle force.

[Cobramys]

Hi Pandakraut once again.

 

I just finished Friedriksburg in the same campaign.