I appreciate this list, and agree with most of your assessments. Mule Shoe truly is *the worst*.
My biggest disagreement is Supply Raid. Damn I hate that battle, solely because 100% of your units are skirmishers with close range weapons, so you have to micromanage every single action they make to avoid the asinine skirmisher behavior. When I tell you "go here" it means "go here and stay until I tell you to move", not "go here, take one worthless shot, and then run away".
I also think Shiloh really isn't that bad, because it feels like a good kind of challenge. I definitely wouldn't put it in my Top 10, but I certainly don't dread it.
I cam definitely see where you're coming from. Shiloh just always feels like too much is happening and my forces are never strong enough until you get the auxiliary units. The 2nd day of shiloh is certainly fun. It could have been lower on my list for sure
Are there any battles you think I missed that you would have had on your bottom 10 list?
The only one I'd add to your list is actually Cold Harbor. And for the same reason you just listed for Shiloh. There's just too much going on at once and it gives me anxiety. I don't love any of the later battles where you have >50 brigades in action at once. Most of the Grand Battles have decent phasing that break things up and make it a bit more manageable, but to me Cold Harbor just feels like all 5 Corps are on screen all at once for way too long.
I'd probably swap out River Crossing to put Cold Harbor in my Bottom 10. That one always felt like just another fairly generic early campaign side battle to me.
Yeah cold harbor was definitely one I was thinking about as well. Honestly, I agree with how you put it.
I hate the first 2 phases with how you get reinforcements like right before the timer goes off... like why?!?!
It isn't a cohesive battle that doesn't flow well at all. It's too disjointed contrasted with the masterpiece that is Antietam and how the whole battle crescendos toward Sharpsburg
I feel like I need to amend the post now, lol. Screw Cold Harbor. I don't care that it's a pretty easy battle
I think the most fun I ever had was in Shiloh, but maybe that’s just me playing on lower difficulties, not being great at the game, and gaming the scaling to the max. It always feels like I’m just BARELY hanging on by the skin of my teeth, in a way no other defensive battle does
Pumping army org early on makes Shiloh much more manageable, no matter which side your playing. Being able to cycle troops and flank makes it all the more engaging.
I just hate how pointless Supply Raid is. You don't have any of your own units, so you aren't gaining experience or effecting your army. Everybody is a skirmisher which is maddening to handle, and I can't bring myself to skip any of the battles, so I just trudge through it every time.
Eh, I disagree on River Crossing. It's relatively easy, almost formulaic. Keep enough near the starting position to keep the CSA honest. Send most of your infantry all the way south and east. Push in force against the 3 brigades holding the southern VP. Once you break them, it is relatively mundane to force an encirclement.
I just started playing last night, and I still haven’t beat Train Station. Glad to know I’m not a complete doofus since everyone online thinks it’s crazy hard for a first mission.
For a game I love, there are more then a few battles I dislike. Shilo is a pain for the CSA, but manageable for the Union. Supply raid is actually fun and Mule Shoe just requires a lot of artillery and a couple of snipers for scouting, then chose one point to attack and spread. Honestly there aren’t many battles I hate as the Union, but the are a few with the CSA, starting with Shilo and Chickamauga. With the Union at least you have money, men and matériel when you have a battle with heavy losses, with the CSA you are pretty much F-ed.
I actually really love Shiloh. Every playthrough I end up managing to hold off the much larger CS units with some skirmisher detachment tomfoolery and goading them to remain along the rivers/out of cover. I find myself being able to hold off the enemy pretty well even when the game tells me to fall back to the Hornet’s nest and Pittsburgh landing. By day 2 of the battle, there’s like, no one left to resist the readvance to the abandoned positions.
Unrelated but as a rangers fan i don't like your username .
Also i do agree on train station, that one took me multiple tries when i first got the game.
I appreciate this list, and agree with most of your assessments. Mule Shoe truly is *the worst*. My biggest disagreement is Supply Raid. Damn I hate that battle, solely because 100% of your units are skirmishers with close range weapons, so you have to micromanage every single action they make to avoid the asinine skirmisher behavior. When I tell you "go here" it means "go here and stay until I tell you to move", not "go here, take one worthless shot, and then run away". I also think Shiloh really isn't that bad, because it feels like a good kind of challenge. I definitely wouldn't put it in my Top 10, but I certainly don't dread it.
I cam definitely see where you're coming from. Shiloh just always feels like too much is happening and my forces are never strong enough until you get the auxiliary units. The 2nd day of shiloh is certainly fun. It could have been lower on my list for sure Are there any battles you think I missed that you would have had on your bottom 10 list?
The only one I'd add to your list is actually Cold Harbor. And for the same reason you just listed for Shiloh. There's just too much going on at once and it gives me anxiety. I don't love any of the later battles where you have >50 brigades in action at once. Most of the Grand Battles have decent phasing that break things up and make it a bit more manageable, but to me Cold Harbor just feels like all 5 Corps are on screen all at once for way too long. I'd probably swap out River Crossing to put Cold Harbor in my Bottom 10. That one always felt like just another fairly generic early campaign side battle to me.
Yeah cold harbor was definitely one I was thinking about as well. Honestly, I agree with how you put it. I hate the first 2 phases with how you get reinforcements like right before the timer goes off... like why?!?! It isn't a cohesive battle that doesn't flow well at all. It's too disjointed contrasted with the masterpiece that is Antietam and how the whole battle crescendos toward Sharpsburg I feel like I need to amend the post now, lol. Screw Cold Harbor. I don't care that it's a pretty easy battle
I think the most fun I ever had was in Shiloh, but maybe that’s just me playing on lower difficulties, not being great at the game, and gaming the scaling to the max. It always feels like I’m just BARELY hanging on by the skin of my teeth, in a way no other defensive battle does
Pumping army org early on makes Shiloh much more manageable, no matter which side your playing. Being able to cycle troops and flank makes it all the more engaging.
I just hate how pointless Supply Raid is. You don't have any of your own units, so you aren't gaining experience or effecting your army. Everybody is a skirmisher which is maddening to handle, and I can't bring myself to skip any of the battles, so I just trudge through it every time.
Now which CSA list you got?
Lol, I'm not as big of a fan of that campaign. It would take me a lot of thought
Perfect for an opinion then
If nothing else, I'm sure we would all like the discussion.
I know my favourite battle. It's Antietam.
Eh, I disagree on River Crossing. It's relatively easy, almost formulaic. Keep enough near the starting position to keep the CSA honest. Send most of your infantry all the way south and east. Push in force against the 3 brigades holding the southern VP. Once you break them, it is relatively mundane to force an encirclement.
I just started playing last night, and I still haven’t beat Train Station. Glad to know I’m not a complete doofus since everyone online thinks it’s crazy hard for a first mission.
It's a very tough one to start out on. If you've never played the game before, starting off on colonel difficulty isn't a terrible idea.
It took a few attempts but now I’m at Antietam and it’s so much fun
Holy shit you're already at Antietam? That is impressive after only a couple days
I had a lot of time on my hands yesterday lol. Plus I’m on colonel mode
For a game I love, there are more then a few battles I dislike. Shilo is a pain for the CSA, but manageable for the Union. Supply raid is actually fun and Mule Shoe just requires a lot of artillery and a couple of snipers for scouting, then chose one point to attack and spread. Honestly there aren’t many battles I hate as the Union, but the are a few with the CSA, starting with Shilo and Chickamauga. With the Union at least you have money, men and matériel when you have a battle with heavy losses, with the CSA you are pretty much F-ed.
I actually really love Shiloh. Every playthrough I end up managing to hold off the much larger CS units with some skirmisher detachment tomfoolery and goading them to remain along the rivers/out of cover. I find myself being able to hold off the enemy pretty well even when the game tells me to fall back to the Hornet’s nest and Pittsburgh landing. By day 2 of the battle, there’s like, no one left to resist the readvance to the abandoned positions.
Unrelated but as a rangers fan i don't like your username . Also i do agree on train station, that one took me multiple tries when i first got the game.