Personally:
I value artillery much higher than planes for day2 and3 production, so I build infrastructure immediately following barracks on core IC provinces. And build artillery as fast as manpower allows days 2 and 3, I research light tanks to produce day 3 and 4, and after that I consider planes.

Anti tank is a strategy of mine. Others recommend infantry production day 1. Depends on what your enemy hits you with when.

Unit distribution early game for me depends on looking at my neighbors stats. Dangerous players might need to be hit early before they can become a threat. Clueless players can be saved for a rainy day.

I like to turtle until I have my artillery ready, unless I have to act before that. If someone invades you have to react, so having a "reaction force" stationed behind the lines with good access to several provinces to shore up defenses.



You ought to read up on other concepts. SBDE is a big one. Understanding that is a key to understanding combat.

L1 tactical bombers and L1 interceptors suck, and L2 TBs and fighters aren't much better. Limited range, limited firepower, expensive and slow to build. Like Vorlon, I believe that artillery is a better return on investment in the first week or so of the game -- and arty requires fewer key resources to produce -- than tactical air and supporting fighters.

Of course, as the air units improve with each research level, I don't neglect their production, either.

I have to agree, artillery is a very nice piece to have. I place them behind my main borders with anti-tank and AA-guns. AA-guns are something you should never forget to add into your defence. This really helps defend against just about everything. You have a good plan, just if you do go with artillery, dont forget to give them some protection from other artillery units and tac. bombers.

Arty and Anti-tank is crucial if you have not expanded at all. The best defence is an offence, but a good defence is still a defence.

I like to throw down a Anti-Tank or Anti-Air ASAP, as it will consist of most of my army in the late-game due to captured ICs. Also, Barracks in IC is just for the start. Once you start blobbing, that is just a waste of food. Keep a central infantry-producing homeland.

A fortification on a key border province can also be a nice discouragement to an aggressive neighbor.

I also like Artillery early with AT, followed by AA and interceptors once the air start rolling in. Look to expand into AI neighbors (Tunisia) in your case, for the extra resources and the production center at Tunis.

Finally negotiate, one of your neighbors is likely friendly.

I think what a lot of new players don't do enough of and is:
1. Diplomacy. I for one tend to want to work with and help a player that is active and will communicate. Players that aren't into strategy and don't respond typically get attacked by me first. I can't trust them or at the least they aren't worth working with long term. A lot of times I'll get ask to join a coalition. Not a big fan at the beginning. They are typically meaningless and your coalition rarely helps you if your attacked if there isn't some sort of meaningful discussion / strategy or reason to be in a coalition. (i.e. these coalitions that are spread all over the world).
2. To win or even come close in this game you have to be aggressive. You have to expand. Pick a direction....go after inactives before other players. Go after active players with help from your diplomacy. Attack someone immediately.
3. Usually you start with a good amount of money. Buy what you need to buy an IC in a territory that produces something you will need later (Oil / Goods, etc.). You can't forget about the economic side of this. Always spend 20-50% of what you have on building your economy. At the start go to the market and buy up goods before others. Surprised how few people do this.
4. Plenty of forum posts on what to build first / buy first and strategy. I tend to believe a strong offensive, combining units into a few strong groups with air support early on - blitz strategy works best for me. You have to adjust as you go on. But this is great for inactives. When your battling a human you better have some AA and Artillery, ...a little bit of everything. :). Typically at the very start in most games you have one or two inactives you can go after. Get them before someone else does.

Yup. And the top warning sign that a player will make a lousy ally is his inability or unwillingness to communicate.

And the top warning sign that an alliance is doomed from the git-go is when the other player sends you an offer of alliance via the trade system with no prior communication and no follow-up.

I will disagree with the advice to attack inactives before you go after other players. I know that an inactive or ai is not going to attack me without reason, but a human is unpredictable. Eliminate the threat of the human players first, save the AI players for later.


Also the ai will nicely upgrade the economy of their provinces, so giving them several days to do that is best. The AI also contributes to the market, so I can buy and sell with an AI. I like having a bunch of ai left to leisurely conquer when the active players are finished.

For a newbie....I think the advise is: as long as your aggressive. Sitting and waiting and not attacking and gaining ground and getting boxed in by allies and/or humans that you will be (typically) more difficult than an AI is not a good idea. If other countries are picking up the inactives it leaves you no choice but to attack them eventually (or never grow).

Also...for a newbie: Diplomacy is so important in this game. Players need to show they are growing (showing your activity), using your size and growth along with your diplomacy...thats what makes me want to work with someone. If they aren't aggressive they aren't going to help the coalition. Defense doesn't win this game.

With respect to diplomacy: Being honorable and not attacking first, making a big deal out of this is typically for the losers. Its war. If someone isn't pulling their weight in the coalition. Isn't very active, isn't participating and helping the overall coalition they are going to get a knife in their back as soon as I have time. I don't want to carry them to the end. My advise to the newbies is to remember this is just a game but a game that you play to win.

You must use diplomacy to make sure your 'future enemies' are your friends until your ready to slide the knife deeply into their back.

Good point on the economy. Upgrading/fixing a L1 IC is expensive whereas the L2-L5 is great win and actually cheaper to upgrade/fix. BUT...in my humble opinion not as important as getting the territory before someone else.

Absolutely correct. Unless another human player is a trusted ally, that player must be viewed through the lens of a potential, if not likely adversary.



"In the end, there can be only one."

"trusted ally"? Isn't there huge amounts of threads on the morality of backstabbing? Look at it this way: people want to win, and any alliance made in game is subject to break at any time. To win, some people like to be in the shadow of the biggest and the best player on that game, and take some credit for picking the winning team. In the end, Trust nobody, unless you know them in some other way than ingame.

Edit
another piece of advice:

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”

- Sun Tzu, Art of War

Quite right. I have often lured an enemy to their demise by letting them think I was weak.




One other bit of advice that I follow now I don't care if an enemy takes a province or three, or some cases even 20. The thing that matters is keeping my army intact and functioning. I don't leave units hanging out on the front line where an enemy can pound them when i am not looking. I definitely don't leave a couple units here and there in AI fashion once the game gets moving. I especially try not to leave them in plain sight of a border even if it isn't hostile. I let the enemy stick his neck out and search for my units. I draw them into my trap and pick their units apart. I need room to maneuver and counter the enemy, and I don't want to get trapped by an enemy that outmaneuvered me.



Another thing: Always defend your core. The first time you send all your units west after that enemy the person to your east will notice and can roll up all your provinces with a pair of armored cars.

Some more Newbie Suggestions (I wonder if any newbies actually reading this?) ... or is it all us hardened warriors?

1. Take advantage of the inactives: Reach out and ask for Right of Way. Then move in and turn on the war switch. Nasty little trick but it works so well. I'll do this for ALL inactives in a game. Takes a while sometimes especially if you've just attacked them but they have some remote island that you can't get to and don't want to take the moral hit of being at war.

2. Get a counter spy in your capital ASAP. Love this aspect of the game. Getting a 'show all armies' can really help. Again...diplomacy is king but as my favorite president said: Trust by Verify. If you get caught. "I forgot I had one there". ...etc. etc. Lie. Beg forgiveness and then get your knife out if you have to.

Another good strategy for AI? take them slowly, but get the capitol first. When they rebuild it, take it again. A successful attack this way can get you 3—5 morale boost and quite a bit of resources.

I love this line. So true. It's called 'Call of War' for a reason.

USMC Rules of Combat #23 - Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.