Doctrine Tier list (3.3.5)

This tier list is mean to give my general opinion about the various doctrines, as they are of this patch, and maybe start a discussion. It is only my opinion (as much as I might want to delude myself) and you can disagree with it if you so choose. As always, thanks to the devs of wikinger for making these wonderful doctrines which SHALL NOW BE JUDGED!

S-Tier: Doctrines in this tier might need some nerfing. Just maybe. Not the Luftwaffe treatment, but something. Generally these docs are good in most hands, in any situation, and rage inducing in competent hands.

• Wunderwaffe – Little wonder the King Tiger doc finds itself here. What makes this doc so powerful, is not the King Tiger itself, oh no, but all the support options this doc has to stop it from dying. Toting arty range suppression on their upgraded MG-42’s, and the map-hacks provided by the uhu, coupled with some potentially devastating off map options and competent infantry, along with the largest collection of big cats to date, this doc can easily become a death-ball unless pulled apart very carefully.
• UK Armored Guards- Between the light vehicle smashing AEC and elite guards at tier 2, to the cromwell DELUGE at tier 3, to the firefly and airstrike death-star at tier 4, armored guards hits its stride early in the mid game, and just never slows down. With a unit for every occasion, this doc can secure a point, overrun your lines, and hunt big cats like… well, the British on safari.  And it can recover vehicles. And their sherman’s have rockets. Tea anyone?
• Soviet Armor- Believe it or not, its not the IS-2 that got this doc in S tier. Well, not all on its own. With a rush-able, well armored (for tier 3) flame tank, the infantry eating Mazurin call in, the ability to flood the field with PPSH armed infantry, and spamable T-34-85, by the time the IS shows up, it is little more than icing on the cake. For extra fun, add it the fact that tanks can capture points, rendering your MG’s moot, and some extra fuel, and it’s GG.
• Soviet Artillery- As if it’s suppression resistant penals, and veteran AT squads were not bad enough, this doctrine resists you in tier 2, and proceeds to crater the map the longer the game goes on. Between the 5 total 76mm ZiS guns, and the critical shot on that AT squad, all of your tanks will be stunned or broken within seconds. Your infantry dead. And once the roar of the 152 and 203 mm cannons, and the steady growl of the ISU-152 is upon you, you know your doom has truly come.

A-Tier: Not necessarily OP, but very strong in most situations. In capable hands can be devastating. Good in a fair amount of scenarios, or can be very hard to play, but rewarding once you get it down.

• Iron Will- Rather mediocre when it first came out, a manpower buff set this doctrine in an interesting spot. With mobile infantry deployment and instant reinforce if you can get the micro down, this doctrine can lock down areas of the map with its excellent defenses and support in the form of what I call the unholy trinity (Snipers, spotter tank, SU-76 arty) and just sit pretty until the tigers and elite infantry arrive. The skill this doc takes to play and the rewards one can reap with it, and IW locks down its A-Tier spot quite comfortably.
• UK Arty- While it may seem underwhelming at first, UK arty showcases what the monties to best: shell you. Slow to start up (which is what saves it from S tier), it still possesses incredibly early (tier 2) arty support, a mean stuart call in, and some damn good infantry staying power, between the digging in and monty assault units. At tier 4, once the arty park and shell storage get done, and the polish arrive with their fireflies, this doctrine becomes a monster, firing barrage after barrage as soon as they cool down. Giving them too many munitions points will be the end of you.
• US Armor- In the days of the Tier 1 cavalry call in, and the “infantry be-gone” phos strike, US armor was S tier levels of broken, but since its nerfs it has settled into the lower levels of A tier. Still possessing mean sherman and jackson spam, the doc still chews through panthers and tigers quite reliably, and aforementioned nerfed elements are still quite good. With some economy bonuses, and the ability to recover its vehicles this doc is quite solid. The only lacking part of it is its rather boring pershings. (buff/change them plz). And not to be forgotten, the calliope will still wipe your base off the face of the earth.
• Tank Hunter- Toeing the line between A tier and S tier, this doc is for people with an aversion to turrets- on either side of the battle. Sporting every flavor of tank disposal you could ever need in a mobile package, the units of Tank Hunter do their jobs very well. With jager being the brutal elites they are at tier 0, and their tank destroyers doing what they say on the tin, the only things that keep this doc in A tier is their mediocre infantry otherwise, their expensive arty option, and the fact that none of their tier 4 units have turrets or machine guns.

B-Tier: is for balanced. Apart from some small issues, these docs are first rate in design, and with some skill, very effective and rewarding to play.

• Panzergrenadier- With a blistering early game arty rush, strong infantry, good support options and the panzergren buff, this doc is indeed very strong. Balanced out by weaker armor towards late game, and a high still ceiling, I find this doc a joy to play.
• Soviet Rifle Guards- With some incredibly enjoyable promotion mechanics, the dreaded shock troopers, and even some interesting, but not overbearing, armor options, this doc is one of the most colorful in the mod. Incredibly fun, can hold its own quite well, and apart for the cheat button in its tech tree, quite fair. Now if only I could get the katyusza to hit what I was aiming at…
• UK Lowland Infantry- A slow but steady doc focusing on competent British lads, this doc does its job quite pleasantly. With a damn cool commando call in, and some effective, but not spammable, armor options in the late game, this doc is a hallmark of design and balance. The churchill helps too.
• US infantry- Dragged kicking and screaming into B tier by its special shermans and MoH rangers, US infantry is a doc I have to grudgingly give a B tier spot too, regardless of how little I like the rifleman branch. With effective rangers and shermans, this doc is just too good. If the rifles got some of those guards promotion mechanics, it would be perfect. (hint, hint) (yeah my bias is flashing through here. bite me. It was hard enough to suppress it while writing US armor.)

C-Tier- Docs that require support to be effective. With their weaknesses covered by another doctrine, these can do their job, but they are still a bit weak and situational.

• Luftwaffe- Once the superman doc of S tier fame, poor luft has been dragged into an alley and beaten with the nerf bat again and again and again. While its tier 1 and tier 4 stages are effective enough with great infantry options and some panther/jagdpanzer fun, it suffers a very awkward tier 2 and 3 stage where it just gets mauled by light vehicles. In addition, it is prone to stalling itself due to the high upkeep cost of its infantry. With someone to swat away the lighter armor, and buy it time, luft gets its place to shine, with its 3 fallshrimjager squads reminding everyone that they are not to be underestimated.
• US Arty- Featuring the shock and awe(ful) of the United States, this doc comes off as… meh. With some options that led to a lot of the wikinger innovation in later doctrines, this doc seems quite effective on paper, but a lot of its unlocks under-perform. Its emplacements tend to be ineffective at best, its priests even at max CP unlock sometimes cant hit the broad side of a barn, and its strong strikes take forever to both arrive once called in, and cool-down. With someone to buy it space and time, US arty can be usable, but one look at its rival, UK arty, and it becomes a case of “everything you can do, I can do better”
• SS Arty- Rockets. and if that does not work, MOAR ROCKETS. In all dues seriousness, SS arty suffers from the same issues as US arty: Too many expensive, off map strikes and too little on map presence. Its “scorched earth” options come too late to be useful, needed more so in the early game (eating munitions the doc cant spare), and it eats munition many times faster than it can get it, for dubious gain. Still a solid doc if someone can help it secure points for muni, and add to its map presence. Then the steel rain can truly begin.

D-Tier- Unless someone screws up, D tier docs have a hard time to do their job. Extremely situational at the best of times, they struggle to find a place in the meta.

• US airborne- Plagued by short range infantry that can be countered with MG nests, this doc sufferes in every level of play. With its heaviest armor being some wolverines and 76 Sherman (in limited numbers) this doc sets its self up for harassing behind enemy lines and spawning infantry anywhere. Except those infantry drops are easy to counter, easier to predict, and their stealth is poor and slows them to a snail’s pace. Their saving graces are their airstrikes and rapid elite infantry, but there are docs that do it better. (Any B tier doc. hell even Luft.) Its long range infantry is unavailable to it until tier 3 and a crap ton of CP, its sniper/anti-mg options are non-existent, and their 3 squad para-drop assault does little but feed the enemy CP and waste you precious MP. Harsh, I know, but this doc ate the same elite infantry nerfs as luft, but with nothing to fall back on. Like panthers.

F-Tier- Just not good. I’m sorry, but docs down here are missing some grievous things without anything to redeem themselves. Very hard to play, even with first rate support. You are better playing something better with these docs.

• Combined arms- I was not a fan of this doc from the first play-test, I’m sad to say. At this point, yeah, I hate this doc. Let me explain my reasoning behind why I put it into its very own tier. There is a common theme running through this list, I think: When you look at the CP unlocks of these various trees, ask yourself, are you getting the unlock to beat your opponent, or fill in some gaping hole in your tech tree. The more of the latter a doc has, the lower it will be on this list. Well, this doc is truly unique: you get unlocks, to fill gaping holes in previous unlocks, to fill gaping chasms in your arsenal. AT: locked behind CP. Which you need more CP to make effective (commandos). And then more CP to unlock support for. Combat vehicles? ALL LOCKED BEHIND CP  (I checked that twice because I could not believe it) I CANT GET BASIC AA WITHOUT 7 CP. NOT TO MENTION ALL THE CP UNLOCKS ON THAT PATH ARE WORTHLESS. SAS without support or AT options until 5 CP? Partisans AT TIER 2!? No tier 1 infantry that don’t require CP, No vehicles that don’t requite CP… Its early game is merely awful, suffering the same issues as both luft and US combines, being suppressed everywhere, and mauled by light vehicles, but with no 50 cal or luchs to provide some respite. Its tier 3 tank, a PANZER IV arrives sometime in tier 4, due to how CP heavy the doc is. It’s bad. I’m sorry devs, I know you put so much effort into this one, but it just is not good. For all the great doctrines you guys make, you are bound to fail at least once. Well, this is it. If you choose this one… good luck to you.

Hope my reasoning makes sense to you. I hope you enjoyed this little… article? Anyway, like I said, its not a bible. Feel free to use whatever doc call out to you. even CA. GL, HF out there.

• This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Death_Kitty.
• This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Death_Kitty.
• This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Death_Kitty.
• This topic was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Death_Kitty.