A win on probe mission

[Weasel]

Freyberg and myself played a probe with +25% points to the attacker and finally ended up with an attacker win, minor. Up to this point my three other probe games always ended up with the attacker clobbered so the +25% is about where you need to be. I think maybe 20% would be better though.

FYI.

[Toblakai]

Freyberg and myself played a probe with +25% points to the attacker and finally ended up with an attacker win, minor. Up to this point my three other probe games always ended up with the attacker clobbered so the +25% is about where you need to be. I think maybe 20% would be better though.

FYI.

I always thought the QB maps are specially designed for the variety of battle types. But it doesn’t look like that. Do the different battle types only change the points for both players?

I found this in the manual:
"Assault maps automatically provide a certain level
of intel to the attacking player about the defender’s positions
(as one would realistically expect)."

[Weasel]

From the four delay battles I have played I can say this, all the maps look like an ME map but the probing player basically has to assault the delaying player, thus in game terms you get an assault mission with few points (on a small it is about 1800-1400). Still needs experimenting, but a 25% bonus got a minor, and with five more turns probably a bigger win, so I would say 15-20% next time.

Oh, and in my three attacks I never had any intel provided.

[Toblakai]

From the four delay battles I have played I can say this, all the maps look like an ME map but the probing player basically has to assault the delaying player, thus in game terms you get an assault mission with few points (on a small it is about 1800-1400). Still needs experimenting, but a 25% bonus got a minor, and with five more turns probably a bigger win, so I would say 15-20% next time.

Oh, and in my three attacks I never had any intel provided.

I had tested it: with battle types “Assault” you see some enemy icons with question marks at the beginning. But I don’t understand the reason of the different battle types “Probe”, “Attack” and “Assault”.

[H1nd]

Probe, attack and assault affect the force ratio of the opposing sides. If I have understood it right the attacker get's more points on each level vs relatively same amount of points for the defender on each level. In addition for this in assault the attacker might get certain amount of intel.

It's actually fairly simple logic:
Probe = hastely prepared "on the go" attack with what ever is at hand in the spear head. => less points for the attacker vs the defender

Attack = more prepared action against dug in enemy who clearly intents to hold the ground and not just delay the attacker.

Assault = well prepared attack against well prepared defensive positions = more arty, more tanks, etc etc for the attacker as well as some intel from scouting performed before the battle.

[Toblakai]

Yes, but if the points are the only different (except the intel in assault maps) you could have the same effect with “Force Adjustment” or I am wrong?

[H1nd]

I have understood that the force adjustment affect's both sides so it will for example 15% more points for each side. This is something i am not entirely sure off but i think it is a tool to fine tune the battle size but not the balance: say we want to have something between medium and large so we can give 10-15 % more points for each side where the difference between medium and large is roughly 100% increase. It also allows to have even bigger battles than the normal huge battle size.

But this is indeed something that i am not 100% sure so futher research is in order.

[A Canadian Cat]

Yes, but if the points are the only different (except the intel in assault maps) you could have the same effect with “Force Adjustment” or I am wrong?

Probably, but people play the QB battles using the type setting. Very few actually use the force adjustment feature. So it is a mute point really.

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I have understood that the force adjustment affect's both sides so it will for example 15% more points for each side.

No, it just adjusts one side not both. I was going to quote the manual but its wording is messy so I tried it out. Defiantly only adjusts the points for one side.

It is defiantly a tool to adjust the balance not the size.

[Cogust]

The only other difference (apart from point ratios and intel in assaults) is that Assaults give more points for terrain and less for casualties, Probes give less points for terrain and more for casualties while Attacks are in the middle.

Thus it is not really fair to play an assault and a probe on the same map as the attacker have a much easier time in the assault as he has more troops and som pre-battle intel. An assault map should probably have a deeper defsive zones with Vl further back than a probe map to make them equally tough for the attacker, or maybe give less time for an assault.

[Weasel]

All of my games have been on maps designated as 'probe', and most had the probing player on the edge and the enemy in the middle of the map with good terrain or houses. Default ratio is only about +300 pts on a 1200 pt game (small), so basically a company.

@H1nd
A 'probe' is not a hasty attack, it is just that, probing the enemy lines to find a weak spot for the deliberate attack to come later. I do think the game runs it as an attack though as you stated.