So I am playing shield of the prophet again....

[Flashburn]

I only ever played the Soviet campaign of this!  I was saving the Iran one for later.  Well I desided that the time is NOW.

I have mixed feeling on this DLC.  My initial impression last year was it was something a bit different and good.  After playing the Soviet campaign I was a bit annoyed at how much totally open desert this map is.  The areas with depressions and scrub brush...ya I really like.  But on the southern side so much totally open flat land.  I just hate that.  Plus the 1km squares with tanks that can engage out to 3000 meters in open ground with little issues makes for some frustration IMO.  Still I love the fact that the thing is like 20 km wide.   

What do you guys think of this DLC?    I think its worth a buy, but after things like Hooper and Kraysnia Polyana.  What I think I am sort of wishing for now is an Iran/Iraq war one.  With either an updated SABOW polygon or better something totally new.  Not sure if that is likely but a logical DLC if another modern one where to be done. 

Thoughts? 


PS....need to solve the issues with my AI m113a1's i made for sabow.  I just don't like the m113's for iran in Shield.    I have so many 1/2 done projects EEK!

[eczerwonka]

I've yet to play on the Soviet side as I took a break form this game after the new year. I thought that playing as the Iranians was an exercise in frustration. Loss after loss after loss That soviet armor was just unreal. Is it balanced so that when I replay as the soviets it's just as annoyingly difficult?

I really like this DLC if for no other reason that it is different. I really enjoy the cold war settings in these DLCs so even if they aren't perfect I still enjoy them more than anything else out there. The Hooper DLC was a must buy.

[Flashburn]

I did really well as Iran despite not having enough fuel to do jack.  Ended up taking all but 1 little square and destroyed or routed all 78 platoons of soviets.  Although most of my tanks ended with no fuel left.  Its all about picking the good ground.  If something is going to result it your units destroyed give a bloody nose and flee the battle.  Your guys get routed but just counter attack if able the next turn and you get alot of those routed forces back.  Reverse slope of a any mild incline and placing jsut the turret of tank sticking out makes a hell of a hard target.  Does not even need to be dug in.  But priority 1 for me was get ammo to my tanks.  That was all I cared about for first 3 turns.  Most ended up with next to no fuel but most ended up with enough ammo on good ground to beat off wave after wave of tanks.  I let the afgan guys get slaughtered however.     Couldn't be helped.  They where a needed speed bump.

So dug in infantry so long as they have rpg's followed behind a few 100's of meters with tanks or recoiless rifles/atgm.  Just hold what you got most of the time and take little risk. 

I lost about 32 tanks.  But I killed something crazy of attackers. 

Oh my and with so little supply level in the 2 depots and on the supply trucks ......LOCK half the platoon and any unit that is not critically important.  Then use allocate ammo and fuel to disperse among important units.  If a vehicle gets knocked out and it has ammo or fuel left, take its ammo/fuel for your surviving tanks.  The worst is having a tank platoon run dry on fuel.  even 7 percent left means you can do a little moving in a tactical battle.  ON the OP map DONT move it with that little left!  Unless you have too.

Ill be playing the soviet campaign again soon.  But want to get some nasty surprises for Iran first.  For a truly hard DLC Solokovo is it.  I got shoved off the map.  =) Don't know how the hell to not loose that one.  Well also playing soviets with the Germans having tons of tigers and you get pee shooters.

[eczerwonka]

Thanks for the pointers, I never really was able to play enough to learn the finer points of playing with a winning strategy rather than just wade into each battle without any thought. 

[lavish]

The landscape in this operation is very flat and open in most of the areas and that's why it's a tank combat DLC. Only during nights or sandstroms (poor visibility) the infantry is useful for support and even have a small fighting chance against tanks, if they have AT-weapons. However, the middle and upper part of the map have depressed and rugged areas, which are suitable for utilization of infantry.

My game with Iranians ended up in a draw. Anyway, I defended the keypoints as hard as possible with tanks and AT-weapons, but I also placed infantry in depressions or reverse slope positions along the map. That's how enemy armor had problems to engage them outside of rpg range.

The operation plays out so that Iranians must delay and wear out Soviet troops with everything they can - the Iranian player wants to fight and hold every possible position it can defend. It's especially important to have the keypoints well defended as long as possible. Also as Flashburn mentioned, it's essential to supply the tanks, which totally dominates the battlefield, with ammo and fuel.

When the Iranian m60 tanks arrive, a counter attack to defeat Soviet troops in the area can begin. The counter attack must be very fast, because at this point it's just a matter of time when the keypoints will collapse under Soviet control - if they still haven't. The goal for Iranian player is to quickly recapture or secure those keypoints. The map is wide so the the Iranian player must strive to initiate combat every round with his tanks and advance towards the keypoints. Each keypoint should be secured mainly with infantry and with remaining AT-weaponry and Chieftain tanks. Iranian player needs all the m60 tanks to make the counter attack effective.

In my operation, I made two mistakes with Iranians: First, I started the counter attack before a whole m60 tank battalion had regrouped. It's important to have a whole battalion of tanks at hand to ensure superiority in firepower and thus minimization of losses. I know it's tempting to use the first tank company immediately, but in my case it didn't end well. Second, I didn't advance only along the roads on the operational map, which ended up in a failteam situation: I run out of fuel and thus couldn't capture the two last remaining Soviet keypoints on the right hand side of the map.  I believe if you use roads only, the fuel might be just enough to capture those keypoints and to get the additional victory point bonus from initial capture of those keypoints.

I haven't tried the Soviets yet, but for them the tactic is exactly the opposite. First they must capture the Iranian keypoints as fast as possible with massed tank attacks, secure them and then dug in to delay and wear out the Iranian m60 tank counter attack. All in all, this operation is all about keypoint control.

[Fracchione]

+1 for iraq-iran

[Flashburn]

+1 for iraq-iran

Plus 1.42 er ya.

I never lost the middle of map.  That area with the flag name mound was vary easy to hold.  Only got close to falling when my infantry where running out of ammo.  But threw in paratrooper platoon or 2 with dragons which helped.  Oh and the F5's in clear weather sure did help.  Main sure air spotters had LOS of area and used priority target thing.  The bombs only get SO close but picking a massed target seemed to cause a lot of mobility kills to tanks and the BMP's where just screwed.  I let the Soviets almost to top of the "mound" before by dug in guys let loose.  Picking off armor with m40's and dragons from the flanks.  I did however condense down pretty quick from the right side of map as I withdrew most of my tanks to the ammo depots in 1st turn.

One last thing.. The bringing my ISABOW mod into GTOS will give some extra teeth to Iran side.  Iran did have some kind of anti tank rifle grenade.  I can not find out WHAT kind or kinds. But found a photo from Iran Iraq war of what looked like an super energa rifle grenade.  As well as many oral history's of them being around.  Although no one says what kind.   Trying to add 2 to 3 soldiers per squad with a few of them.  They are not that great, but better than a hand thrown RKG-3.  Although not much more powerful.  But alot more stand off range.  Still they suck.  Against front armor of a tank probably not going to do much.  Be fun watching them shoot tanks with rifle fired grenades at least. 

I am also going to likely add 1 rkg 3 per Soviet rifle guy.  Officially these where replaced by RPG 18's in the early 70's as the last ditch anti armor weapon.  But we do not have an rpg 18 and I dont know if game can support a rifleman with a rifle AND a 1 shot disposable rocket like rpg 18 or law.  But is logical IMO that IF a Soviet unit where to go against as large armored force that someone might get the idea to raid a warehouse of reserve stock weapons. For instance reserve stocks of the US version of the Super energa rifle grenade could be found into the 80's although no unit trained with them as they where replaced by the LAW rocket.