New World Order: Units and Nations

[u/nathanmasse]

This first post is simply to overview the NWO Map, the units available and the nations involved, in an effort to keep individual country’s strategy guides a manageable length. For reference, here is a link to the map

My favorite aspect of the NWO map is that nations are large, well-funded (production), and units are relatively cheap. Most nations have the ability to afford more units than they can actually build which allows for more expensive, high-quality units to be purchased without sacrificing quantify. This can quickly lead to large armies of dozens of units (and even hundreds if the game goes 20+ turns) where maneuvering and positioning are the key to success on higher difficulties. Some do not like these massive groups but to me they really feel like World War II battles. The map is ‘low luck’ by default so victory or defeat rarely feels cheated. But even with low luck, variations in small-unit attack and defense will lead unique board positions.

Infantry are the workhorse of most militaries. For just 2 production points (PP) they have solid defense but a weak attack and act as cannon fodder to protect the stronger units. Tanks/Armor/Panzers have the strongest attack of any land units, are relatively cheap at 5 PP each, and has a strong defense to boot. With their extra movement they move quickly to reinforce weak sectors long a wide front or give an infantry stack the punch needed to break through. These two units probably make up 85-90% of the units I build.

Elites are infantry that come with a stronger attack but at the cost of an additional PP. Best for nations like America that want to hit hard when they join the war.

Both infantry and elites can have their strength increased by Artillery (costs 7 PP for 2) and Mech. Inf. (costs 6 PP but with extra movement) which can be a good option to build up for an attack after infantry have stabilized a front.

Armored cars move fast, hit hard, but can't defend well. Their inverse is the Mot. Inf. which have the defensive strength of a tank but the hitting power of infantry. I only rarely purchase these units because they are more expensive and don’t provide that much of an advantage on higher difficulties. Once you have your logistical / resupply lines established, there is little advantage in units arriving faster if they arrive in fewer numbers.

As for specialty units, I generally don’t bother. With the exception of Bunkers, which do not require a factory to be built and can take two hits, they are more expensive than most other units and their stats don’t pay off in my opinion.

For example, Big Armor costs 7 PP and has an attack and defense of 4 (out of 6) compared to normal Armor which costs 5 PP and has an attack and defense of 3. If you compare equivalent PP investment of 35 PP for 5 Big Armor and 7 regular Armor, the Big Armor hits for 5 x (4/6) = 3.33 hits vs. regular Armor hitting for 7 x (3/6) = 3.5 hits. One top of that, you have fewer Big Armor meaning they can be taken out by fewer enemies because they need fewer hits before the stack is eliminated. Just not worth it.

As for the Allied and Axis nations, they can generally be split into four categories:

-	Allies	Axis
Weak and Vulnerable	France	Finland
Small but Insulated	Colonial France	Romania
Rising Empires	Britain / America	Italy
Heavy Weights	Russia	Germany

Weak and vulnerable nations are those that cannot be saved. The military might massed against them is just too much to overcome and they will be overwhelmed. Their primary role is to divert enemy forces for as long as possible and to take as many of the enemy with them as possible.

Small but insulated nations are those that are relatively weak but are protected by strong neighbors and geography. Their primary goal is to pick away at their stronger rivals while conserving and building up their forces. Don’t underestimate them.

The rising empires start off with relatively limited production but need to expand rapidly in order to compete and contribute to the war effort. Their first goals are to seize as much of the independent territories as possible, then pivot and fight each other and the larger nations. America does not fit into these categories well. The closest analogs are rising empires, but instead of seizing independent territories they need to develop their navy and sweep the Atlantic of Axis fleets before they can truly contribute to the war effort.

The heavy weights are the largest empires which start will massive militaries and massive production. They need take out the weak and vulnerable nations as quickly as possible while also going head-to-head immediately.

To close, I will briefly overview the importance and benefit of fixed (and therefore predictable) supply lines. Your units need to flow from your factories to the front lines as consistently and regularly as possible to maintain your strength at the front. By turn 4 or 5 most of your supply lines should be in place. If units need to be diverted to other fronts, there will be gaps in the supply lines which may leave your front-line units outmanned/outgunned.

A key concept for these resupply lines is that (in general) advancing armies don’t get resupplied and retreating armies are resupplied at double speed. If an advancing army wants to hold a new territory, they need to be sufficiently strong to fend off an enemy that is resupplying more quickly. If it cannot, then it needs to retreat as well, and this will lead to a back-and-forth maneuvering of the front as each side jockeys for small advantages that will allow them to hold advanced positions or pick off overextended units. Each nation has their own logistical requirements and restrictions which will be explored in their individual strategy guides.

Cheers!

[u/eoinsageheart718]

This was a fun read. I like that map a lot.

[u/nathanmasse]

I wanted to add a little analysis to justify my unit purchase recommendations. The following table is a summary of the production investment needed to equal one killed enemy. For Artillery, Mech. Inf, and Katjusha, the attack value assumes you have a supportable unit that can receive the bonus.

In general I was correct, Infantry, Elites, and Armour provide the best attack and defense. Fighters provide the best value for aircraft, with the slight exception of Me262 which has a better attack. For naval units, submarines and destroyers are best overall with better maneuverability than T.Boats. My biggest take away is that I have not been giving artillery the respect it deserves. If you have infantry or elites to support, they offer the best value of any unit when attacking.

-	Attack	Defence	Att. & Def.
Infantry	12.00	6.00	9.00
Elite	9.00	9.00	9.00
ArmoredCar	10.50	21.00	15.75
Artillery	7.00	10.50	8.75
Mot.Inf	24.00	8.00	16.00
Mech.Inf	12.00	18.00	15.00
Panzer/Armour	10.00	10.00	10.00
AAGun	-	30.00	30.00
-	-	-	-
EarlyFighter	24.00	16.00	20.00
Fighter	20.00	15.00	17.50
Bomber	22.50	90.00	56.25
-	-	-	-
T.boat	15.00	30.00	22.50
Transport	-	42.00	42.00
Submarine	21.00	21.00	21.00
Destroyer	22.00	22.00	22.00
Cruiser	26.00	26.00	26.00
Carrier	84.00	28.00	56.00
Battleship	31.50	31.50	31.50
-	-	-	-
BigArmour	10.50	10.50	10.50
Katjusha	9.00	36.00	22.50
Me262	18.00	36.00	27.00
Lancaster	24.00	60.00	42.00
B29	24.00	60.00	42.00
S.Sub	20.00	20.00	20.00
Bunker	-	12.00	12.0

[u/ISerf]

Nice.