Alright, so I played a fair amount of the original Company of Heroes + Expansions back in the day. However, this was back in the day.

You see, this was years ago. I jumped into Company of Heroes 2 with a pretty firm grasp of a lot of the basic systems. I get how cover works, how resources are earned, vehicle armor facings, etc. Unfortunately, where I fall apart are the army specifics.

I've mostly played with the USSR against bots, but I've played a couple online matches as well. I open with conscripts, followed by more engineers, and then my 1st building. This is where it gets difficult; working towards a specific strategy or goal is based on the building you choose. Map control is important, I realize this, but what best achieves this?

Is it locking down key areas with machine guns, or instead getting snipers to harass enemy forces? I rarely build mortars, should I be? What exactly is that scout car for?

I usually go for the support weapons, but after this, my strategy kinda totally disappears. I'll just keep building conscripts until I have the fuel for T-34 tanks, and then attempt to bring in as many of those as possible (if I'm still alive at that point). I won't lie it kinda sucks, which is why I made this thread.

Basically, how do you decide which units to buy for any given game? Do you have any build orders or recommended units/upgrades? Any tips on this from other people in the beta right now would be great. And, tips on either faction are helpful, since I plan on playing Germans eventually. Thanks in advance

I mostly just hold capture points with Half-Tracks filled with guard units.

I've been playing lots of soviets, so I can just give you my build order.
2 Conscripts
Upgrade Molotov cocktail
then another conscript or engi depending on what you want to do next

If they are going heavy grenadier squads I would go with the conscripts, but if they are going heavy machine gun nests I would use the engineer. Either way you need to claim as much ground as you can early game. Once phase 3 hits, you better have lots of Anit tank ready. Panzers right now are a massive bitch.

@seedofpower: Yeah a single Panzer 4 will totally wreck a T-34 as if it was nothing. I have found this out the hard way multiple times.

I stopped relying on anti tank guns as I kept losing them to snipers and mortars, which might be a big part of the issue

Oh yeah, I found Guard Motor tactics with T-34 knockout charge works pretty well also. If you get up to 4 points and the combat moves away you can solo repair the T-34 or use Su-85's with scouts.

In the early days of the beta it absolutely seemed like Germans were crazy OP compared to USSR, like, they had lots of defensive capabilities that USSR didn't, as well as more powerful late-game armor. Pioneers could also hold their own fairly well against conscripts.

I'm not sure how it is now, but those mortar halftracks Germans could get were insanely useful, too.

Its kind of an obvious thing to say but I'd advise preventing your opponent from gaining key resources, cutting off their supply line to fuel and munitions will make them more likely to rely on basic units for a while.

Basically you want to force your opponent to play in a way in which you feel that you are capable of fighting them.

I find snipers super useful at taking out specialized infantry such as machine guns and mortars so I keep one hidden in a fairly central position and only reveal them to take out a key unit then retreat.

Last very obvious tip: Avoid loosing expensive units if at all possible in the late game.

Also, I stopped buying the field medics or at least in the early game. Germans have a hard time healing their infantry so soviets have it even for a little bit until troops start gaining veterancy.

I'm still exploring some different tactics with the Soviets - mostly similar to the above. Anyone tried just ignoring any base building and using the commander abilities to bring in some additional units? I keep wanting to try that route and giving in the first time I see a machine gun crew :)