Guide to Why Units Die

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • Guide to Why Units Die

      Finding out why units die can be a troublesome task. It's not always easy to understand why your armies have perished on the field of battle. Picking out the cause of your loss, though, can help you find out what you need to combat the threat or select which group of units to build next. In this guide, I'll attempt to explain the many causes of why units die.

      How to Check

      To search for the reasons why units die, we'll use three main features. The Newspaper, front line reports, and your eyes. Most, if not all, reasons for units dying can be found there.


      Using the newspaper

      After every battle, the newspaper logs and records how many units died, what province they died in, and what army defeated them. There is also a casualty log that gives a rough idea if you are winning or not. First, click "myself". This will bring up your most recent battles, records of buildings, and reports of spy activity.



      If you know the name of your army, you can enter it in the search box to the left, under the map.



      If you look at the most recent battle, the newspaper will tell you why the units were defeated.



      "12th Armored car division has been defeated by the 67th Tactical Bomber squadron."

      And now we have our reason for this unit dying. It has been destroyed by tactical bombers.

      Frontline Reports
      An easy way to check on unit and construction, frontline reports can also be used to check the outcomes of battles. Click on the icon



      From our most recent battle, we can see that army 12 has been defeated by army 67. This is equivalent to the report from the newspaper. Generally, the frontline reports are just used to see if you lost or won; the newspaper details the reasons why.


      Investigation:
      Sometimes, you can figure out why the units died by simply doing math. A great player once designed a battle calculator for Cow, you can find it here: dxcalc.com/cow

      Reasons Units Die:

      There are many reasons units may die. I'll try to detail most of them, but don't kill me if I miss one or two.

      Overwhelming Damage
      Your stack of 3 infantry is moving through the enemy territory nicely. You happen to notice some enemy units approaching, but you don't think much of it. Suddenly, your stack of infantry is in battle with 5 tanks. Unit by unit, your infantry slowly die, leaving the tanks to sweep forward. Why?
      Tanks are particularly deadly to infantry. Only two tanks would have probably destroyed all your infantry. Most often, when units die, they come up against a stack they cannot defeat. This goes for all units. Those five tanks could easily run into a stack of anti-tanks in the mountains, and be wiped out.

      Sunk at Sea
      Your convoy of troops is progressing nicely, only a few more hours before it lands to begin invasion of your enemy. You hear a loud hissing noise as a squadron of submarines surfaces. Only a few hours later, your convoys lie sunk beneath the waves. Why?

      Troops are particularly vulnerable at sea. Each transport has 5 HP, which when stacked, adds up to considerable HP, but is often no match for submarines, let alone cruisers, destroyers and battleships. Don't even get me started on naval bombers.

      Bombed by Planes
      After getting past these first two obstacles, your stack of motorized infantry is pushing forward into the heart of the enemy country. You happen to notice a stack of planes in a blue circle circling above your units. An hour later, your troops are gone for no apparent reason. Why?
      Planes are some of the most deadly units in call of war. Tactical bombers are deadly killers, especially when on patrol. They are also one of the fastest units to deal damage. Infantry is no match for them, and nothing stands in their way. Except other planes. Which leads us to our next topic...

      Planes Destroyed
      Your fighter has been scouting the enemy lines all day long. Upon report, your fighter sees a weak spot in the enemy lines: just one infantry and one anti-air unit. You take a break to go finish a few tasks and plan strategy. You come back, and your fighter is gone. None of your troops can tell you what happened to it. What happened?
      Anti-air can easily destroy lone planes. One thing to remember is that all units in Call of War deal some damage to planes. Leave a plane patrolling over a unit for long, and you will take damage. Not being diligent about your scout plane can easily lead to its loss.

      Ranged Damage
      Troops rush to the fort. Your planes patrol over the fort, waiting for the approaching invaders. Your junior officers make small, morale boosting speeches. All eyes lay upon the approaching enemy. But they perform a strange tactic. About 60km away, they stop and begin firing. Artillery shells start raining down upon your troops. Hours later, your troops are all gone, without even having had the chance to fight the attackers. Why?
      Artillery is a ranged unit, which means that it can do damage without actually fighting hand to hand. When they are not in close combat, they deal damage without having damage done to themselves, which gives the attacker (or defender) a huge advantage.

      Nuclear Blasts
      After having fixed all your ills, creating counters for these attackers, perfecting strategy, and using logic, you are ready to face your attacker. You log onto to check into the status of your nation. A small video box rises to meet your, showing a bomber dropping a nuclear bomb. After skipping the video (who doesn't) you see a large gray circle where your capital and 30 of your units used to be. Why?
      Nuclear Bombers and Rockets are the units that do the single most amount of damage at one time. A single nuclear rocket can easily decimate a city and 30 units. Once a nuclear rocket is launched, nothing can escape from it.

      X-factor
      Your infantry are locked in a death struggle. You both have one infantry unit that is fighting for the control of a province. No clear winner can be predicted. An hour passes, the damage has been recorded. Your infantry has done no damage to the infantry, while your infantry has 20% less health. Why?
      One of the more mysterious mechanics of Call of War, the x-factor varies the amount of damage done. You just never know.

      SBDE
      Your stack of 20 infantry is prepped to receive the oncoming commandos. The battle begins; you are starting to lose. Why, you ask, since I have such a huge division, am I losing?
      State Based Damage Efficiency is a mechanic in call of war that limits how much damage a single stack can do. 10 infantry is the max SBDE for 100% damage. Imagine it this way. Imagine 20 lines of infantry lined up, row upon row. How hard would it be for them to all fire at the enemy at once? It would be almost impossible, you would hit your own soldiers. You could do it, but some of your soldiers just couldn't fire. Thus, SBDE states how many units you can have without losing damage.


      Thanks for reading the guide, I hope it helped. If you have any questions or comments, please PM me or leave them below.
      General Nightman

      Retired Hero


      "War is fought in three ways. Helping your enemy to lose, helping your allies to victory or helping yourself to win. Any way you take it, you are always helping someone."
    • Is any of the above consistent with the following change to CoW1.5????

      "Finally, damage limits will no longer be determined by the amount of each individual unit level. Instead, a damage limit exists for the whole army, with damage being reduced at 10 and more units and being capped at 20 and more units."
    • This guide was extremely helpful. I am kind of “a veteran” and played this game for a while but still, this guide told me some things I never knew. Thanks so much, and this guide only gives me more confidence in winning my next game!
    • Nooberium wrote:

      This is a good guide but be warned: the newspaper does not report all casualties. When I've killed medium to large stacks, not unusual for reported casualties to be less than starting count.
      Yes, I've got the same experience.
      BMfox
      Moderator
      EN Community Support | Bytro Gmbh

      Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BMfoxCallofWar


      Found a bug or need help? Send a ticket here!
    • Nooberium wrote:

      This is a good guide but be warned: the newspaper does not report all casualties. When I've killed medium to large stacks, not unusual for reported casualties to be less than starting count.
      Why can't they just report more specifically in your notification or the newspaper?
      BeaveRyan
      Moderator
      EN Community Support | Bytro Labs Gmbh


      Training Alliance United Leader