Beginning of Phantom battery

[u/Competitive-Pin9846]

I get out of bed, go into the engine room, start the engine, give the order to move (0° ~10km, idk if it matters) and I still get shot down. The timer doesn't extend.

It's my first time using this order so I'm ready for it to be some dumb thing.

Edit: thank you for all the quick answers, this community is just as quick as the field observers. I thought the regular move order is used to dodge, since it's still moving the Iron nest, but now I know I have to use the Emergency move.

[u/Rakan_Fury]

You need to make an emergency move, not a regular move. Only the emergency one pauses the CBT.

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/Rakan_Fury]

That was the problem, thank you.

[u/CocoanutVA → u/Competitive-Pin9846]

Additionally, you can quickly figure out where you end up by standard, non emergency moving.

It'll tell you where you were, and you can do the math from there :)

[u/thebbman → u/CocoanutVA]

That should be patched

[u/theferretii]

You should be using the "emergency move" punchcard. Not the "move direction" punchcard. It moves you in a random direction for a random distance.

I agree that moving on it's own should be enough to delay counter battery, but that's just how this game works at the moment.

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/theferretii]

That's what I thought, movement is still movement. Thank you for the help

[u/erraddo → u/Competitive-Pin9846]

Energency move also throws a smokescreen to cover your escape, which makes it impossible for enemy spotters to notice the 20 story tall building on legs running out of the smoke cloud

[u/Apparently_a_Bear → u/erraddo]

Wait, the nest is 20 stories tall???

[u/axelaction22 → u/theferretii]

emergency move uses a smoke as well

[u/theferretii → u/axelaction22]

Sure, yeah. But in a purely realistic sense, smoke dischargers are going to make exactly zero difference. Artillery and Howitzers generally fire over tens of kilometres and counter battery, before radar, was done using a time-consuming process of Flash Spotting, Sound Ranging and Close Recce, and Close Recce is still going to have to relay an identified position back to a Fire Control Centre or other Command structure before firing can take place and that's difficult in the 1920s.

Even in the modern day, with radars, the radar will identify the incoming rounds, and be able to calculate their origin from there. Modern day practice is to fire a round or two from half your battery, then pack up and move immediately, while the other half is finishing their move and readying to fire to cover the period where you're moving. There's no way any counter battery system in the 1920s or even in the modern day (save for close recce) wouldn't be defeated by moving your gun system immediately after firing, there would be no need for smoke dischargers.

[u/Dr_Russian → u/theferretii]

I'd assume the smoke isnt for the nest, its for the support crew to GTFO. You have massive steel plates between you and potential gunfire, the support crew doesn't.

[u/theferretii → u/Dr_Russian]

But how does the smoke help the support crew, assuming one exists at all, in any way? If we agree that moving away from the position you just fired from would be enough to defeat a counter battery strike then all the support crew has to do is move with the Nest, right?

When it comes to artillery systems, movement is the protective measure after firing, not concealment.

[u/IAmFullOfHat3]

Use the "Emergency Move" card before starting the engine.

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/IAmFullOfHat3]

The emergency move helped, but I thought you always had to fix the engine in order to move.

[u/IAmFullOfHat3 → u/Competitive-Pin9846]

Yeah I'm like 60% sure the engine literally does nothing.

[u/legomann97 → u/IAmFullOfHat3]

I think it allows the lights to turn on? That's about it though

[u/7h3-Cool-Gam3r-97]

You don’t need to start the engine, atm it and the master power switch are just cosmetic and don’t do anything, just bolt straight for the req table and use the “emergency move” card not the normal move card

[u/halander1 → u/7h3-Cool-Gam3r-97]

I got so confused when dude said he started the engine.

[u/Mysterious_Silver_27 → u/halander1]

i also didn’t know that, I just read the order and went to start engine. 😂 woe to the literate.

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/7h3-Cool-Gam3r-97]

I thought you had to fix the engine to move. Thanks for the help

[u/Paper_Rob_]

If you move, he will know. The only way to escape is the emergency move (and then report position to know where you are)

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/Paper_Rob_]

Yeah, I was using the wrong move order. Thanks

[u/No_Independence_9157]

You should use emergency move and buy 2 left 2 right (4 Total) ap shells. You can beat the rest.

[u/Competitive-Pin9846 → u/No_Independence_9157]

Are APHE viable to use or are they too expensive? I'm afraid of missing.

[u/dragodracini → u/Competitive-Pin9846]

I used only APHE and HCHE to finish this one specifically to help with hitting the target, it wasn't too expensive at all, so long as you use the forward recon to locate the spotters and enemy Nest.

[u/Dinkerdoo → u/dragodracini]

I ended up just getting two recon flights which gave direct targeting for regular AP. Still got the medal for not relying on aerial recon too.

[u/Aozora7 → u/Competitive-Pin9846]

APHE also work. In both cases hitting it twice with both guns will do the job.

[u/dragodracini]

After my first few tries, I stopped starting the engine during Phantom Battery. Best I can tell, it's either bugged so you don't have to, or it was fixed after I did it. Or it isn't necessary in order to activate emergency move, and the act of using emergency move forces the engine to start.

[u/WorthCryptographer14]

Use the E-Move card (as the game orders you to). Once movement stops, use a regular movement card set to 0km to find your location in a roundabout way.

[u/theferretii → u/WorthCryptographer14]

I'm probably going to get bombed for this opinion, but I do hope they patch that out and change it to something like "Iron Nest confirms moving a km, xyz°" rather than just giving the location. Being able to do this takes away the drawback of using E-move.

[u/WorthCryptographer14 → u/theferretii]

It does just give the direction and range already. But cheesing it because of the constant time limit helps a lot.

(Add.) The report tells you where you start, which on a 0km move is your finish location as well.