How soon do you buy another industrial complex?

A lot of people don’t advise Complex builds for any nation other than Japan (and that one is typically on the mainland in order to speed up the tank rush to Moscow) but I personally enjoy playing them much more than that.

Added ICs on the board change the focus and flow of things, shatter existing set strategies, and provide new and unusual paths for units to arrive at the front.  On the downside, they also cost alot, are vulnerable to “free” bombing until you can man them with an AA gun, produce less than your starting Complexes (generally), and will come back to haunt you if your enemy takes them over and starts pumping out units.

That being said, with UK I’ve built complexes in India, Australia, South Africa, Anglo-Egypt, and a captured Norway with varying degrees of success.  India and Norway seem to be the most stable of those.  Egypt is fun but extrmely difficult to hold and you won’t get many units out of it - you almost need to put one in South Africa first, then build the Egypt one once you’ve got a flow of troops heading north to protect it.

Australia is a bit weak but if you condense the Indian/Australian fleets you can protect it OK and generate a decent island-hopping force - Japan will be big trouble for you but you will certainly garner some of their attention, which is good for Russia and the US.

Schedule?  As soon as the situation and the economy alow it.  I’ll put one in India UK1 or UK2, and the Norway one as soon as I’ve captured it and am sure that Germany won’t immediately take it back.

~Josh

I don’t ever build an IC with UK, it’s up to your playing style, but I don’t think it’s necessary.  Transports do the job much better.

Ive learned from experience and stories on here that a very early indian IC is bad for the UK, it just gets overrun with Japanese airforce.

Ive never put an IC on Norway or South Africa.

My friend told me an Egyptian IC (after north africa is secured) is great because its easy to hold and you can throw troops straight into the eastern front and threaten the south.

I built an Australian IC once for a KJF.  Because I had to use my destroyer to kill the transport in Kwangtung and Germany took Egypt so I had to transport troop to get it back, all I had left rom the fleet was my aircraft carrier. I transported over the INF from NZ to Australia and united the two small fleets.  It took a while to get off the ground, but I eventually took the East Indies, Borneo, and New Guinea….but by then there was a large enough american transport fleet in the water where they couldve done it themselves.  An Australian IC takes too long to get things runnings.

Ill probably try the Egyptian IC soon.

I like the Egyptian IC.  The main advantage I have found is that it can really disrupt the Japanese fleet in SZ34.  By building a UK sub in sz34 you have neutralized any BB bombardment from IEA to Persia, and Japan can’t load troops for an amphibious assault on South Africa.  Because UK goes before Japan there is nothing Japan can do to prevent that pesky sub popping up every turn short of capturing Egypt.  The key though is to make sure the US has a nice supply of troops coming into egypt.  Every time I’ve used this strategy I’ve been able to hold Japan at Persia and Keep Africa fairly clear of Axis troops, usually trading TJ & IEA.

Im assuming youre playing with 8 vitcory cities if youre trying to keep Calcutta.  Theres a whole different discussion on why 8 isnt very good to play with, but well save that for later.

You really cant get them to india fast enough, so its probably a better plan to throw everything you have at Leningrad and buildingup up with the US to take a victory city away from one of the axis to balance out the game. A light pacific push hitting the phillipines might do the trick.

I guess that should have been qualified, I don’t play victory points, especially to 8, I play to capitulation.  So everything the UK has goes against Germany.

In my game against Mojo, he built an IC in Norway and I questioned it after our game.  He pointed out that, once England takes Western or Southern Europe, England has the economy (assuming Africa is in Allied hands) to build more than 8 land units per turn.  So the Norway IC can allow the UK to build more than 8 land units per turn in the later rounds.  This obviously could speed along the death of the Axis nicely.  An Indian IC seems like suicide, unless Japan has a horrible turn 1.  If Japan has any kind of naval presence in the area (obviously including a trannie), an Indian IC is a 15 IPC gift to the Emperor.

As for Japan, I think the number of ICs you build depends on your economy.  If you’re still in the 40s, you can’t afford 3 ICs on the mainland.  But if Japan is cashing out in the high 50s, then you can easily spend that 45 IPCs and still keep the troops and armor flowing.  So it depends on your situation.

I am intrigued by the Australian IC for England.  Timed correctly, you could cause Japan some headaches.  But I think it would require that Germany lose Africa early in the game.  Of course, if that happens, why not KGF?

WG

Yoda sez:

INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES do not a game win, but INFANTRY.

INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX you build only to get more TANKS AND INFANTRY.

IF not INFANTRY you already have, then lose the game you will.

A QUESTION OF TIME IT IS NOT.

–

crack pipe

How soon do I build an IC?

As Japan on J1 or J2, then 1 or 2 more later in the game.

As anyone else…
Never, until USA or UK drops one in a secure Paris…

I usually build on J1 and J2. Quicker you get tanks on the mainland the better!