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Some tips/ tactics for new players

By Flower Class Corvette

Like most good strategy games, SD2 is essentially a game of 'paper, scissors, stone': here are my tips on what counters what, plus some suggested solutions for frustrations commonly encountered by new players.

As a relatively new player myself I have learned many of these things the hard way quite recently and I wanted to put down these hard-learned lessons in tabular form so I don't forget them myself in future.

Experienced players will find no new tips here, my intention is simply to bring together things I have learned and present them in a format that I personally find easy to read; perhaps some new players will also find this helpful.

Many of these tips correspond to the hints displayed on in-game loading screens, but since those appear only briefly and in a random order, I think it is still better to collate the best basic advice into a document that can be read at leisure.

This guide isn't intended to cover PvP multiplayer - it's primarily intended for newer players learning the game by fighting against the AI in skirmish mode - although coop multiplayer versus AI would be a relevant context too.

Feel free to add your own tips in the comments below.

ps "chaps" is British English for 'guys'; hope that doesn't cause confusion;
pps "paper, scissors, stone" is British English for 'rock, paper, scissors': it's the same concept, just in a different order...

Award

Created by

Flower Class Corvette
Offline

Category: Co-op, Gameplay Basics

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

2 Apr, 2024 @ 11:31am

3 Apr, 2024 @ 6:59am

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81	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

Getting your units to move the way you want

Combat problems, combat solutions

Getting value from your firepower

Getting value from your troops

Getting value from your deck design

Getting value from the replay function

Comments

Getting your units to move the way you want

Problem

Suggested solution(s)

My units are doing too much moving and not enough shooting

Use 'attack move' (Q + left click) instead of normal (right-click) move command

My units are doing too much shooting and not enough moving

Use normal (right-click) move command instead of attack move

My vehicles take a cross-country route instead of just using the road

Use the 'fast move' command (F + left click on the destination) to have them go by road

Use the 'fast hunt' command (N + left click on the destination) which commands 'attack move' behaviour but travelling by road like 'fast move'

Check whether you have disabled 'motorized pathfinding' in your gameplay settings

My vehicles use the road when I want them to go cross-country even if it takes longer

When deploying reinforcements, don't call in vehicles right to the frontline in case they take a road route through enemy territory to get there

If you see your vehicle taking an undesirable road route, give them a normal move command (right-click) to have them go direct

Check whether you have enabled 'motorized pathfinding' in your gameplay settings

My infantry take a long, indirect route when I want them to cross open terrain

Check whether you have disabled 'on foot pathfinding' in your gameplay settings

My infantry charge across open terrain when I would prefer them to take a more sneaky route

Check whether you have enabled 'on foot pathfinding' in your gameplay settings

Combat problems, combat solutions

Situation

Possible counter(s)

Anti-tank gun is shooting my tanks

Command your artillery to fire on it by right-clicking on it (don't send a tank unless you are confident it can 'bounce' the incoming shells or outranges the enemy weapon)

Flank it (use the 'C' tool to work out its available field-of-fire)

Attack it with infantry if you are sure it only has AP ammunition available (some anti-tank guns lack HE i.e. anti-infantry ammunition; select the enemy unit and its details should appear on the left side of your screen; you can toggle this information window with 'i')

Call in an airstrike if you are confident there is no enemy flak nearby

Select the enemy unit and check out its details: if it has less than the max (2,000m) range for direct-fire weapons in this game, you could bring up a unit that can fire at it directly from outside the enemy's range if you have one: for example, bring in an assault gun with 1,750m range to counter an enemy anti-tank gun that only has 1,500m range etc

Overwhelm it with many fast, cheap vehicles at once (if you are sure there is just one anti-tank gun and it is standing between you and urgent victory)

Anti-tank gun is shooting my tanks and I can't even see it

Find it with recon chaps (not recon tanks)

I don't care about finding and killing the enemy anti-tank gun, I just want to stop it killing my tanks and I know roughly where it is

If you have an artillery unit in range with smoke rounds available, select it, hit 'B' and left-click approximately where you reckon the enemy is firing from (or just in front), to have your artillery fire smoke between the enemy unit and its target

Anti-tank gun is shooting my tanks but I have a pretty good idea where it is

Command your artillery to fire on its approximate location (select your artillery unit, press 'T', left-click the target's presumed location)

I am hitting an enemy tank but repeatedly seeing 'bounce'

Reverse your own tank using the reverse command (hit 'G' and then left click a few hundred metres behind your tank) if it is going to lose this duel; cover its retreat with smoke if you have it available

Look for alternatives (e.g. bring up a more potent anti-tank weapon, call in an airstrike, attempt to flank for a side-shot or set up an ambush with anti-tank infantry or anti-tank guns)

If you have only weak anti-tank guns available but have managed to position them in a great ambush position, consider giving that specific unit an 'efficient shot' order via its Rules of Engagement (cog icon, lower right side of screen) so they hold fire till they have a decent chance of actually damaging the oncoming Tiger tank...

You can actually go into gameplay settings and make your whole army follow the same approach, but trust me, you only want your ambush units holding fire for the perfect shot: for most units, the normal i.e. trigger happy behaviour is a much safer bet over the course of a battle

Sniper is shooting at my chaps

If you can keep the enemy sniper spotted, command your artillery to fire on him by right-clicking on him

If you have no artillery available, you could instead bring up a unit that outranges the sniper's weapon e.g. some heavy machine guns in this game or almost any assault gun

Sniper is shooting at my chaps and I can't even see him

Find him with a cheap recon tank (not recon chaps)

Sniper is shooting at my chaps but I know roughly where he is

Command your artillery to fire on his presumed location by using 'T' + left-click as explained above or spoil his sniping fun with some well-placed smoke as described above

Anti-tank chaps keep killing my tanks with shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets

Hunt them with your own chaps (not tanks)

Keep your tanks 250m+ away from forests, buildings or anywhere else you haven't cleared/checked for enemy chaps

Flak keeps shooting down our planes

Suppress it with you artillery if you can see it (don't send planes against unsuppressed flak)

Flamethrower chaps keep frazzling my chaps

Keep your chaps 100m+ away from the enemy flamethrower chaps

Enemy planes are constantly bombing us

Buy more flak or bring your existing flak up closer behind your frontline

Enemy recon planes are constantly spying on us

Send own fighters to shoot them down or at least chase them away

Enemy fighters keep shooting down our planes

Try to lure them over own or friendly flak

Enemy howitzers keep shelling our forces

Set some of your own howitzers to 'counter battery' mode

Enemy mortars keep shelling our forces

Select your own artillery and click on the enemy mortars manually (apparently the 'counter battery' function won't target mortars)

Enemy rocket artillery keeps shelling our forces

The first priority is to spread out any concentration of your own forces; then, mark the origin of the fire with an 'attack' beacon (F1 + left click on the location) and communicate with team-mates who may be able to respond

My units keep losing 1v1 encounters versus equivalent enemy units

Bring more veteran units next time and/or place leader (or even commander) units nearby to improve your fighting units' performance

My units keep surrendering

Don't send units behind enemy lines or to hold isolated positions without leaders

'Fall back' units that are 'pinned down' by selecting them and hitting the 'R' key before they get cut off/routed/surrendered

If you want to attempt a deep incursion behind enemy lines, only send units with the 'raider' trait

I have units near the frontline but they don't seem to be affecting the frontline in our favour

Recon units (and anti-tank duos) don't affect the frontline so that they can do sneaky stuff e.g. recon, ambushes

Units that are 'pinned down', routing etc also can't help hold the frontline

The enemy evidently can see us but we can't see them

Send recon units

We send recon units but they get spotted before spotting anything

Send better recon units

Send recon chaps instead of vehicles

Try to get your own recon chaps in good spots first next time (recon chaps static in a house will usually 'out-spot' recon chaps moving across open terrain)

Getting value from your firepower

Issue

Advice

I keep losing my supply trucks

Don't bring them right up to the frontline; have your fighting units that need replenishment meet up with them a safe distance behind the frontlines

If it's impossible to replenish your frontline units safely, consider diverting your supply trucks to your artillery rather than risk losing them

I don't seem to get value out of my towed anti-tank guns

Are you remembering to unload them with 'U'?

Are you placing them using the 'C' key to check their field of fire ?

I placed my anti-tank gun perfectly at a crossroads but now it's hiding in a bush

Next time remember to hit the 'O' hotkey to toggle off autocover idle behaviour for that specific unit; you can actually turn off autocover for ALL units via your gameplay settings but don't do that unless you love having to tell every single rifle squad not to stand out in the open instead of just having them take cover in the nearby house/treeline automatically

I don't seem to get value out of my flak

Are you remembering to unload towed flak with 'U'?

Perhaps it is damaging (but not actually shooting down) enemy planes?

Perhaps it is doing a good job by deterring enemy planes from attacking?

I don't seem to get value out of my artillery

Are you remembering to unload towed artillery with 'U'?

Is it short of targets? In which case, bring more recon and/or less artillery

Are you forgetting to assign it targets? If so, telling it to 'fire at will' (with the full stop/period . key) is better than having it sit idle

I remember to give orders to some of my artillery but find it hard to give orders to all my artillery at once

Instead of selecting and giving orders to each artillery unit individually, hold LCTRL + double-click that unit and ALL units of that exact same type will be selected...

...thus you could actually tell all your howitzers of a particular type to fire at a specific target (or fire-at-will, or perform counter battery, or cease firing) with no extra micro

I tell my artillery to fire but by the time they do so, the target is somewhere else

Be selective with your targeting and save your shells for static (or at least very slow) targets like anti-tank guns, flak guns, mortars or howitzers manned by crew on foot i.e. that can't just drive off

Getting value from your troops

Issue

Advice

My infantry keep dying in their trucks before they even get to fight

Call them in a safe distance behind the frontline and preferably behind cover

Give them an 'unload at destination' order at the same time as purchasing them (left click the desired unit from the deployment menu as usual, but then hit 'Y' before placing them (with left-click as normal) where you want them to unload)

I tend to avoid calling in infantry because they are just too much 'micro'

Try calling them in using the method in the tip above and see if that helps ease the burden

Why won't my units show some %@#& initiative

Actually if you change the 'idle' activity in your gameplay settings to 'hold', you will find your units do their best to defend their current location when they have no other orders active

Now my units are showing too much initiative

Change their idle behaviour back to 'autocover' (or even 'do nothing' if you want to see them shun available cover like proud Space Marines do...)

Still too much micro-management required

You could always resort to 'smart orders': select a suitable group of units (use the click-drag method to draw a box around a bunch of idle units), hit 'm' (the hotkey for the 'seize' smart order) and then click on the e.g. village or forest you want them to take and subsequently defend; they won't do a great job but it's better to delegate tasks via AI than have your troops sit idle

I forgot to use the 'Y' method described above and my truck convoy is already on its way

Ok don't panic: instead of selecting and giving orders to each truck, hold LCTRL+ double click on one of those units to select ALL such units; then, hit LShift + U to add a 'queued' order to all those trucks to unload once they complete their current (movement) order

I call in infantry but then tend not to give them any orders because it's too much micro

Instead of selecting and giving orders to each infantry unit, double-click that unit and ALL on-screen units of that type will be selected: so you could actually give, say, all your nearby Panzergrenadiers the same order with no extra micro

I find I have too many units with confusing names that I don't fully understand

Learn Finnish ;)

Spend some time in the armory familiarizing yourself with the units in question

Give 'manual deploy' a try instead of clicking 'auto-deploy' before every battle: at least that way, if a unit is on the battlefield, it will be because you put it there!

Create your own 'deck' (battlegroup) without resorting to the 'auto-fill' option, taking only units whose intended role(s), strengths/weaknesses you understand: you will do better with mediocre units you know how to use than 'meta' ones with which you are unfamiliar or uncomfortable

Getting value from your deck design

Issue

Advice

I always lose before even reaching phase C i.e. in the first twenty mins

You could try changing your deck to 'Maverick' income and see if that helps

I always lose before even reaching phase B i.e. in the first ten mins

You could try changing your deck to 'Vanguard' income and see if that helps

The battle goes well for the first twenty mins but the AI overwhelms me after 40+ mins

Try changing your deck back to 'Balanced' (or even 'Juggernaut') and see if that helps in longer battles

I run out of units to call in during phase C

Sacrifice some luxury units from your A/B phase options in order to make sure you at least have something to spend your points on throughout the first hour of the battle

I run out of infantry to call in during phase C

Make sure you have at least one card of basic infantry with minimum veterancy (i.e. maximum number of squads available) available in C phase as it is very difficult to take/hold ground once you run out of basic infantry

Getting value from the replay function

Issue

Advice

I keep losing when I thought I was going to win

The victory conditions in SD2's conquest mode are somewhat different from more mainstream multiplayer games (e.g. Battlefield etc) that centre around 'capture the flag' gameplay: in this game, you can be massively ahead on 'tickets' (the blue and red 'health bars' below the mini-map), but if you can't reduce your opponents tickets to literally zero before the time limit* (*if there is one) runs out, then it's perfectly possible for him to snatch a comeback victory by grabbing one more flag than you in the last few seconds of the match; the possibility of losing a round 13-11 on flags keeps open the potential for a dramatic finish but can also give rise to a feeling of unfairness if you as a new player are repeatedly on the receiving end of this

Watch the replay (from the main menu, replays are found under 'profile') and see what actually happened at the end of the battle

I still don't get it: explain SD2's conquest mode to me with a tenuous sporting analogy

You know boxing, right? How in boxing you can 'win on points' if neither boxer knocks their opponent out before the end of the match? Well in SD2's conquest mode there's no 'winning on points' to decide a draw (i.e. where each player holds, say, 12 of 24 flags at the end of the battle). If SD2 were a boxing match, you could be massively ahead on points, but if you can't knock your opponent out (=eliminate him by reducing his tickets to zero), then he can still win by holding 51% of the ring at the final bell

I keep losing and I have no idea why

Make sure you have the option to save all replays enabled, and get into the habit of watching replays while the battle is still fresh in your memory: there will always be something important that happened that you didn't notice during the chaos of live battle

I don't understand how spotting works in this game i.e. what could my enemy see compared to what I could see?

Well tbf the spotting mechanics in this game are complicated but rather than trying to memorize detection distances I suggest simply watching replays not just from the default 'neutral' perspective (which sees everything that happened like an eSports spectator would) but first from your own (player) perspective (to see what enemy units your units could see at the time) and then from the enemy perspective (to see which of your units the enemy could see at that moment); you can switch between these in the interface panel as much as you like while watching the replay (although proper FFWD and RWD functions are sadly lacking)

Watching replays is boring and takes too long

You could watch most of the replay at 10x speed and just use normal playback to watch the part of the battle where things started to go wrong; and even in fast-forward, replays still give a good impression of the overall 'ebb & flow' of the battle that is difficult to appreciate in the stress of gameplay

Replays? Nah, I'd rather just play another round

You'd really rather play back-to-back 40 min or maybe even 90 min rounds rather than spend 10 mins working out where the previous round went wrong?* (*or right, for that matter)

Replays? Nah, I'd rather just watch someone else play on Twitch TV

Watching other players is good but ultimately watching your own replays is a superior learning tool because (a) you can pause the action, manipulate the camera, inspect unit details and take screenshots and (b) you as the protagonist presumably know why you did what you did, what you were hoping would happen etc which even good streamers struggle to verbalize in the middle of intense gameplay

My wrists hurt and I make poor decisions

Take breaks between rounds and maybe while you're having cup of tea you could watch the replay of your previous battle

Steel Division 2 looks great in the screenshots but I never have time to zoom in and look at my units

Watch replays and spectate/ take close-up screenshots at your leisure

I'm sick of Steel Division 2, I need a break from it

Watching replays of your Steel Division 2 battles has many of the attractions of playing Steel Division 2 (graphics, drama, realistic portrayals of combined arms warfare) with much of the stress & micro removed

You like replays, don't you?

I would watch replays of my replays if I could

9 Comments

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Flower Class Corvette [author] 21 Jul @ 4:08am

@Frenchyfouqoui well done on publishing your guide! I will comment there instead of here - looking forward to reading it!

Frenchyfouqoui 19 Jul @ 9:09pm

Well, I have finally written it @Flower Class Corvette

Here is what we were talking about:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3497158977

Flower Class Corvette [author] 4 Jun @ 12:47pm

@Frenchyfouqoui that's good advice you've given there! You should extend your thoughts into a guide, there's always room for more thoughtful content like this - I look forward to reading your tips in more detail. Thanks again for your support! I hope you get some good feedback on whatever you publish in the future.

Frenchyfouqoui 1 Jun @ 12:35pm

@Flower Class Corvette thank you! I would agree with you 100%! Experimenting is the key and just have fun with it. There is no one way to build a deck, so expect your divisions to be ever changing. Meta is if you want to be competitive but regardless; enjoy and be helpful to your team (I do have to admit; I have an ire against arty & air only-players who AREN'T being supportive).

My advice would be to try and build something well-rounded first;
--Have a mix to answer arty, 2k AP/tanks & close quarters combat needs.
--Probably have a little higher reliance on Recon (seeing is winning, in my opinion)
--Shift and allocate points to what you want to focus on, so that you may open the door to experiment.

Again, great job FCC! Would love to hear your thoughts on this! I think I'll make a separate post with a greater break down.

Flower Class Corvette [author] 1 Jun @ 5:36am

@Frenchyfouqoui thanks very much for taking the time to comment! It's nice to get positive feedback especially if it means this content has been helpful to someone: SD2 is a great game, it's just tough to learn at first. What would be your deck building advice for new players? I didn't really feel I had the expertise to cover that aspect of the game but if I were to add to that part of the guide it would probably say:
1. Experiment;
2. Try out units you like, you will be more motivated to micro them and keep them alive if you care about them in the first place!
3. Don't worry too much about meta: if it works, it ain't stupid and if you're having fun, then that's the real meta...!

Thanks again! Good luck in your battles!

Frenchyfouqoui 30 May @ 9:23am

This is over a year old and it still holds up very well. I would recommend this to anyone who would like to do PvP, or dipping their toes in the water with PvE. I have 100s of matches where I am constantly pinging people because transports are not deploying, tanks rolling blindly and scouts not being utilized.

Very well broken down @FCC! The most valuable part for me is rewatching replays. I have a buddy who doesn't but breaking replays down; we can see how an opponent gained an advantage against us. Only thing I would like to add, which I do with my mate, is building decks and to actively test certain aspects of them.

This is a post that should stand the test of SD2's time and anyone needing a review (me) or are a new player (should also be me) learning - should appreciate the knowledge in this post. Great value!

HerrBaron 24 Sep, 2024 @ 2:24pm

My pleasure, @FCC! I've been playing on and off since SD44, SD2 Beta, etc., and STILL struggle with SD2, many of the same issues you present solutions for. I stand by my remarks!

Flower Class Corvette [author] 24 Sep, 2024 @ 12:57pm

@HerrBaron thanks for your kind words! It's always nice to have feedback. SD2 had already been out for several years by the time I wrote this guide so I guess my insights were a bit basic for most of the experienced playerbase. I enjoyed writing the guide & if it helps anyone that's a bonus.

HerrBaron 22 Sep, 2024 @ 1:10pm

I don't know why more folks haven't rated this guide up. It's a well-thought-out guide by an experienced player, presented clearly. Very good job on this!

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