Beginner Tips

A war of counter-insurgency cannot be won solely by sending more soldiers and tanks at the enemy. Lightly-armed insurgents aren't stupid, and will always ball out when confronted by superior forces - only to return when the military has moved elsewhere. Although defeating the Insurgent will be necessary to win, your ultimate goal is to bring the population to your side and force enemy leaders to negotiate.

This page is intended for newly-appointed governors in Normal difficulty, playing the free version. For a more detailed discussion of individual mechanics, see Core Game Concepts. For Brutal difficulty, see Advanced Tips (WIP).

## Early game tips

The early game runs from the start of the game to the stabilization of the first zone.

* Your first objective is to stabilize a zone quickly: Lack of Stability will destroy your Reputation if this doesn't happen. The more Reputation you have, the more money you receive. If Reputation reaches 0, you lose.
* Place your HQ in a zone that starts with a low number of hostiles and has main roads or highways. This will make it easier to stabilize the zones as well as the zones near it.
* The following initiatives should be picked at game start: Service Discussions and the first three Service initiatives (Civilian category), District Representatives, Anti-Corruption 1 and Effective Procurement, PR & Media Office (Government category). Three Civilian initiatives is the minimum to stabilize a zone quickly enough, more may be necessary depending on the map. Initiatives (and your military forces) are weaker if the area is covered by the fog of war, so you need at least one initiative to gather intel. Procurement and Anti-Corruption 1 keep Corruption under control for the time being.
* Other good initiatives are Local Militia, Local Police Recruitment, PR & Media Office, and any other Service or Development initiative. Local Police significantly slows down insurgent progress, PR office boosts all Support Level gain, other Civilian initiatives allow for faster stabilization, and roads will speed up rollout of initiatives as well as speed up the movements of troops.
* Start saving money in early 2003. Insurgent activity will start soon, and you need $15 to $20 to invest in Military initiatives. Recruit a Coalition soldier and a National soldier as soon as possible, then fund the Interpreters initiative. The fourth pick should be Garrisons as they are crucial to prevent insurgents from escaping. Always build them when the decision appears.
* Try to push the enemy towards the edges of the map, rivers banks, or any area that can be surrounded by only two or three soldiers. Insurgents can be left alone in a couple of mountainous regions for the time being, but be careful to keep them away from major cities. Garrison tend to be built around the position of your soldiers, and, with any luck, they will block an insurgent escape route.

## Mid-game tips

The mid-game runs from the first Stabilized zone to the first diplomatic contact with the Insurgent.

* National Soldiers are the ones who will eventually bring victory. They are slow to train and weak in the early game: you should always have one or two in training, and initially use them to block escape routes rather than engaging the Insurgent directly. They become much stronger with upgrades.
* Coalition soldiers are on a timer and requesting extra tours of duty carries large Reputation penalties. Try to recruit them only when you need an extra soldier immediately: a city is under attack, or you need one more unit to destroy surrounded insurgents.
* Always push the Insurgent into "killing grounds", any zone with few escape routes. Again, it is fine to leave them hold a low-population zone for a little while, as long as they stay there.
* Insurgent can always escape through an area covered by the "fog of war", even if you have a soldier there. This can cost you the game, as you will have to start the surrounding process all over again while other insurgents are free to operate in the rest of the region.
* Air strikes are expensive but very powerful. They will instantly destroy Insurgent Camps and provide significant combat bonuses. If your infantry gets stuck in difficult terrain, air support will always break the stalemate.
* Keep an eye on Corruption levels and buy Anti-Corruption initiatives when Corruption gets higher than about 10%. Adding cheap Service and Development initiatives can accelerate Stabilization, while Infrastructure initiatives can safely be ignored.
* You are in a good position if a couple of zones have turned green before you lose too much Reputation. You can stop funding Civilian Initiatives at this point, unless the population explicitly demands them.

## Late-game tips

The late game begins at the first diplomatic contact with Insurgent leaders.

* You should have all 4 national soldiers on map or in training, with upgrades and air support - and perhaps one or two Coalition soldiers.
* The Insurgent will only be ready to negotiate if they feel they are "losing" - not many zones under their control, some insurgent have been eliminated, etc.
* Operation partners expect you to take a firm stance: this is usually the best option, but it can result in Insurgent sympathizers joining the fight all over the map - making Insurgent leaders less willing to negotiate. You can pick a compromise here and there if you need more time to surround active enemies. Always keep fighting the Insurgent while negotiations are in progress.
* You always win the game when you sign a deal. You can lose a sizeable part of your Reputation when peace is concluded (depending on how many insurgents there are and how many zones they control) but it will never go down below 0.