The "value" of Paratroopers (Warning: heavily opinionated)

This post is basically saying that a television is very bad in comparison to a mirror: it is way too expensive, and the reflection is vague and blurry. But when saying that, you have obviously forgotten about the unique ability of the TV.

There are multiple use cases for Paratroopers. But the key one is to drop behind enemy lines to capure key provinces, such as an industrial city where the enemy is producing units, or a province with an important airstrip (even better if enemy airforce is operating from there). I saw in some CoW Lets Plays how experienced players took out entire airforces that way.

Paratroopers are not meant to be a unit for regular combat duties and therefore judging them based on their combat stats or costs alone does not do them justice. They are no meant to replace or outclass other Infantry units. Their role is to surprise attack and take key positions from the air. If you use Paratroopers in the right situation they can be priceless.

freezy wrote:

There are multiple use cases for Paratroopers. But the key one is to drop behind enemy lines to capure key provinces, such as an industrial city where the enemy is producing units, or a province with an important airstrip (even better if enemy airforce is operating from there).

You will have to rely on the distance of provinces, the terrain of the province, the enemy's distance between the nearest safe productive city (as in unit production) to the designated target and what value was lost on the captured province. If the target is productive cities, then you have to hope there's no unit yet or insufficiently unguarded.

Most of the time, good players who rarely put their airfields close to the battlefield and often keeps their units in cities (E.G. to protect against Strat bombers). In addition, paratroopers don't have bonusses on cities, giving regular Infantry one level below paratrooper (as in HP comparison) an equal fight.

And what about bad players? Sure, some of them do put a lot of investment on air force with garrison support, but most just spam tanks.

When I say paratroopers are a waste, I place it under economical cost and time for non-Allies doctrine. It takes a city with atleast a lvl 3 barracks to optimally produce lvl 1 paratroopers, which could be used to produce other infantry types. The lowest time possible is 6 hours and 30 minutes (not including allies doctrine), making it more of a luxury of a mid-game player than early game. And even by late-game, most players have already pumped a lot of units to cover such attempts

This is why I consider paratroopers under Allies tolerable, since it does make the cost viable and can be used as an army behind the lines. Again, a midgame strategy with limited late-game.

Still, I will give credit as due, and I will edit my thread for it. Basically for now, Paratroopers practically serves to punish poor players for bad garrison work.

freezy wrote:

I saw in some CoW Lets Plays how experienced players took out entire airforces that way.

K.Rokossovski wrote:

This post is basically saying that a television is very bad in comparison to a mirror: it is way too expensive, and the reflection is vague and blurry. But when saying that, you have obviously forgotten about the unique ability of the TV.

First, this is apples to oranges, and/or simply the fallacy of false analogy. A comparison between two radically different appliances of radically different uses with even two different types of glass made. Hell, even the Paratrooper-Commando comparison has more in common with eachother than whatever you were trying to prove with that comparison. Both units are unarmored, food costs are the same at the same level, have awful stealth, have the same view and attack range and both have the same speed at level 2. The only difference is stats and one can turn into a plane near an airfield and the other ignores forts.

Second, this analogy seems very much like a Straw Man Fallacy to what I posted. Sure, they may be faster than Commando's at level 1 ONLY. Sure, they deal more damage than Commando's in terms of defense and unarmored units. But then you made the commando's as a complete waste of a unit with very little redeeming qualities, when in reality they are pretty good units for minor Allies nation even at level 1. I'm sorry if you haven't noticed that I mostly play Event modes and Historic map settings like "All in (73)" or "Historic World War (30)", but even with equal settings, your analogy is still atrocious.

Then you have the audacity to compare the prices between the two appliances, when the stats between the two units are actually similar with food cost and the difference of cost of money and manpower is only by a few dozens. You treat the doubled price of rare material and goods as a justification to pull up the price between the TV and a mirror.

Fourth, the TV isn't that very unique, apart of being a bulky device that is compatible with consoles. We have PC's, Iphones and tablets that does way more than a TV both in convenience and purpose.

Overall, use a better analogy of comparison where two items are not far off in value where one has much more utility and cheaper, but doesn't completely outclass the other.

Wow, I didn't include iPhones and computers in my analogy... gee, it must be really bad then! Well lets point out to you more clearly then, so maybe you understand what I mean... because you're still comparing para's combat stats to commandoes and other units. That's just not their point.

The point of a mirror (a commando) is to see a reflection, which is a very useful appliance. It is very good at it, and many other things may show reflections, but not as good as mirror.

The point of a TV (a para) is to see a movie or watch the news (and add more modern stuff to "TV" as you see fit here).

You can't compare a device to see your reflection (i.e. walk along a line to a destination and fight the units there, if they aren't stopped long before by defenders) to a device to watch a movie (i.e. drop anywhere in air attack range, usually at points where they can create maximum havoc) and expect the device to watch a movie is also very good at showing you a reflection. In fact it is hard to compare them at all, for they have completely different functions. When you want to see your reflection, you buy a mirror; when you want to watch the news, you get a TV.

What's the reasoning for not allowing paratroopers to take off from air craft carriers?

Nadda wrote:

What's the reasoning for not allowing paratroopers to take off from air craft carriers?

Cheers

Therworldtube wrote:

I would like to know the details of the Let's Plays. The enemy can't be that simplistic.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClDJE5eSG_Cj5mytNwdi63w/videos

These were still in the CoW1.0 version btw, where Paratroopers were arguably worse than they are now (back then they had lower flight range, longer mobilization times, couldnt be converted back to planes and were only producable in capitals)

Therworldtube wrote:

Paratroopers are perhaps the most useless unit in the game, but I'll try my best to cover its potential.

I like them. I use them all the time. They are great at frustrating my opponents. I must say you seem a little frustrated with paratroopers. Do not let this unit get under your skin. If you can't beat them? Join them.

Brutusof7th wrote:

I like them. I use them all the time. They are great at frustrating my opponents.

This sounds like a rant more than a guide if I'm being honest...If you're going to make a guide, at least make it count

The summary of this guide is: Paratroopers suck.

Therworldtube wrote:

Paratroopers are perhaps the most useless unit in the game, but I'll try my best to cover its potential.

Assessment

Paratroopers already at lvl 1 cost more than a lvl 3 Motorized infantry (assuming this isn't the Allies doctrine), being outclassed economically and militarily at everything but stealth and goods cost in comparison. It takes an Infantry to reach lvl 6 to reach Paratrooper's food cost AT LEVEL 1. Again, only goods cost and stealth (It's even a worse comparison if this is the Comintern Doctrine). With the comparison with Commando, it cost more Rare materials and money. And this time, only goods cost is its only redeeming quality.

I haven't mentioned the Allies doctrine that much, because it makes the Paratroopers barely tolerable. And I won't mention it again since this is a unit available to everyone.

Value

Where do I begin? It doesn't have much to show, being outclassed by Commando's except for infantry fighting (by a small margin). For whatever reason, the developers decided that Paratroopers should only move slightly faster than a Commando at lvl 1 and then equalize speed on the 2nd, then Commando moving faster on the rest of the levels. For a light-packed unit for parachuting to be outpaced by anti-armor infantry, is embarrassing.

Then it comes to what is known for: its aircraft. And no, it's not that worth it either.

1. The conversion cost makes it completely redundant to use it as a reaction unit. It simply cost a lot for one unit to change into an aircraft and vice versa. Manually. And then it performs like a poor man's Mech unit, except it's not poor, it's wasteful.

2. You need plenty of airstrips. There goes your rare materials and goods.

3. It is extremely vulnerable to fighters, making it even more useless.

4. Once it lands, it has a mobilization phase, where it can

A. Be bombarded by artillery.

B. Let your enemy know that you're using paratroopers, losing any future element of surprise.

5. It has an awful HP, weak against armored units or even air force (they do like 1 dmg at 100% at lvl 1), making armored cars even a better para flyswatter.

6. Even just using the paratroopers at its infantry form only, it is overpriced and redundant when you have Commando's

All in all, an extremely situational unit and one where I do not recommend for new players this unit other than Island hopping, and that's a sad niche task for a unit to be compared to a Commando. But other than that, it does have some function as an infiltration army, especially under Allies Doctrine.

I was going to go on a rant on how to make paratroopers relevant, but that falls under the "Suggestions / Criticism" forum. Click here to what Bytro could do to save this unit from complete uselessness.

Edit 1: Freezy brought up a good point of how paratroopers can be used. However, it's a very situational use against narrow-sighted players.

You need a versitail army.

I got 250+ units, i got 15 paratroopers now and building them up to 20 so i got 2 groups of 10.

I am playing solo on the world map, and i need to defend myself against those coalitions.

Most of the time they give my paratroopers a big target by using a lot of planes in one stack.

They are also good to ambush artillery and railgun stacks and stop them from firing while your troops move in or away to safe them.

You can also use a paratrooper to drop on enemy teritory and capture it, making your other troops move faster True the capture teritory

Once i was lozing against 6 people, they where crossing my suezchannel i fortified heavily, i had anti air and evrything for there where many enemy planes and tanks. Each enemy player had its stack planes against me final days on world map and i had the biggest industrie.

I destroyed 3 stacks the Day the night before they wanted to attack, they placed there planes on the frontline and i scouted the enemy frontline every late night, i saw the 150 +- planes and destroyed them with my planes, this event happend twice, when a better player joined in he destroyed my planes almost Who consisted mostly of high tier fighters and i retreated them to heal.

So thats where they where crossing the suezchannel and left there also damage planes with a stack of 10 infanterie in a tier 3 fort on my side of the suez in the mountens while there troops pushed forward.

My militia defence going from suez to china move partly to the front to hold of the enemy tanks in the mountains in syria, i moved 10 elite paratroopers and dropped them on my captured level 3 fort in enemy hands and mountain teritory where there last planes where stationed and i destroyed there last aircraft, while this fight was happening they asked peace becouse it was to intence and never ending.

My paratroopers saved the Day and i got a place in the coalitieonderhandelingen and there was my Victor.

Now i am playing with 20 paratroopers becouse i know how to use them.

I also played supremacy before call to war existed so i consisseder myself a experienced and active player.

I also got 2 tips you never ever heard off!

.1 last days of the map, winning or losing, save yourself up to 10-20k of gold by the call of war app on the phone and use it to get a more resources to build factories in the beginning of your next game

.2 start building arty and be active in the game, the artillery can give you New terittory easily with no causilties, dont forget to build factors outside of your core when inside evrything is build up to max

Therworldtube wrote:

Paratroopers are perhaps the most useless unit in the game, but I'll try my best to cover its potential.

Assessment

Paratroopers already at lvl 1 cost more than a lvl 3 Motorized infantry (assuming this isn't the Allies doctrine), being outclassed economically and militarily at everything but stealth and goods cost in comparison. It takes an Infantry to reach lvl 6 to reach Paratrooper's food cost AT LEVEL 1. Again, only goods cost and stealth (It's even a worse comparison if this is the Comintern Doctrine). With the comparison with Commando, it cost more Rare materials and money. And this time, only goods cost is its only redeeming quality.

I haven't mentioned the Allies doctrine that much, because it makes the Paratroopers barely tolerable. And I won't mention it again since this is a unit available to everyone.

Value

Where do I begin? It doesn't have much to show, being outclassed by Commando's except for infantry fighting (by a small margin). For whatever reason, the developers decided that Paratroopers should only move slightly faster than a Commando at lvl 1 and then equalize speed on the 2nd, then Commando moving faster on the rest of the levels. For a light-packed unit for parachuting to be outpaced by anti-armor infantry, is embarrassing.

Then it comes to what is known for: its aircraft. And no, it's not that worth it either.

1. The conversion cost makes it completely redundant to use it as a reaction unit. It simply cost a lot for one unit to change into an aircraft and vice versa. Manually. And then it performs like a poor man's Mech unit, except it's not poor, it's wasteful.

2. You need plenty of airstrips. There goes your rare materials and goods.

3. It is extremely vulnerable to fighters, making it even more useless.

4. Once it lands, it has a mobilization phase, where it can

A. Be bombarded by artillery.

B. Let your enemy know that you're using paratroopers, losing any future element of surprise.

5. It has an awful HP, weak against armored units or even air force (they do like 1 dmg at 100% at lvl 1), making armored cars even a better para flyswatter.

6. Even just using the paratroopers at its infantry form only, it is overpriced and redundant when you have Commando's

All in all, an extremely situational unit and one where I do not recommend for new players this unit other than Island hopping, and that's a sad niche task for a unit to be compared to a Commando. But other than that, it does have some function as an infiltration army, especially under Allies Doctrine.

I was going to go on a rant on how to make paratroopers relevant, but that falls under the "Suggestions / Criticism" forum. Click here to what Bytro could do to save this unit from complete uselessness.

Edit 1: Freezy brought up a good point of how paratroopers can be used. However, it's a very situational use against narrow-sighted players.

ıf you want to destroy enemy planes - send rockets

ıf you want to attack enemy railroad gun - send rockets

why you will lose time with paratroopers ?

lets imagine you sent paratroopers to capture a province , they gave damage to buildings and captured there and they cant move for hours

basically why dont you send a few rockets to there ?

K.Rokossovski wrote:

This post is basically saying that a television is very bad in comparison to a mirror: it is way too expensive, and the reflection is vague and blurry. But when saying that, you have obviously forgotten about the unique ability of the TV.