This is actually a very important point to note - many of the tactics in this game are taken from real-world tactical necessities, rather than video gamey tactics. Army warfighting doctrine for the European theater in the 80s when this game takes place. The name “AirLand Battle” is taken from the real U.S.
Eugene takes the “Wargame” moniker quite seriously, and this game more closely resembles a fast-paced tabletop wargame than most video game RTSes. If you are new to Wargame, it is best to approach it like a new experience, and not to rely on the lessons learned in other games. If you play it like you play other RTS games, you will get your ass kicked. It is absolutely nothing like Starcraft or C&C.
You can expect this game to be lovingly supported with balance patches and even free DLC, just like the game that came before it, Wargame: European Escalation. These guys (collectively and affectionately referred to by some as “Eugene”) are pretty damn good developers, all things considered. Wargame: AirLand Battle is a real time strategy (RTS) game made by developers Eugen Systems. So, welcome to Wargame! Let’s start off by discussing the important questions - “What’s a Wargame? Is it like Starcraft or Command and Conquer? AirLand Battle is a stupid name, do the developers not speak English very well or something?” Many of the claims and opinions expressed in this guide are not hard-and-fast rules, but rather general statements that may have some exceptions. This is intended to be a layman’s guide to hopefully shorten that period between being a total noob and beginning to master the game. Objective information is presented first, with subjective and opinionated input in italics. This guide is primarily formatted by in-game section. Many of those folks helped me out with staging screenshots or just general input, advice, and experience - so thanks goes out to all of them! I was begged to write this guide by the noobs of the /vg/ Wargame General Steam group chat. There is also now a sequel for Red Dragon. Oh, there's also a live-updated version on Google Docs. Though the whole guide is now written, it's still in its draft state, and I welcome comments to point out flaws, poor wording, overlooked things, or anything else! As a courtesy, I seperated out all the subjective details and made them easy to distinguish.
So I wrote a guide with an informal tone and a lot of general rules-of-thumb and opinions to go along with the objective information. I wanted to create a guide that taught a new player all they need to know to dive right in - a one-stop shop to teach all the basics, mindset, and units of the game instead of having to read a few dozen different tutorials - and hopefully shorten that period of learning the ropes tremendously.but I also wanted to write it in an informal, down-to-earth style that lacks the sterility and even the objectivity of most user guides. I wanted to do something a little different with thise guide.