Second, how do I go about winning this:
As this is one of my simpler fights available. I have not been able to win a single fight since the update. As a matter of fact, I just lost 10 more squads.
Or are we just supposed to buy our way through everything now?
First, you most probably can't win that. Second, you are in the same boat I am. We scouted and fought our way past where INNO thinks we should be, and so now with this new update making our troops weaker, with different abilities, and the enemy stronger, we can no longer win fights in the provinces we were winning before. That being said, what I personally have been doing since the update is playing farmer. Though I am most assuredly NOT a farmer, in ANY game I have ever played, that is what I am doing now. I have built a couple more basic factories in my boosted goods, everything I have is fully upgraded to research potential, and I am working my way through the tech tree to get where INNO
thinks I should be. This is giving me 3 squad upgrades, and 2 new units. When I get there, if I
still can't win, then I will reassess my playing this game further. I was using the tourney to learn my new units moves against the enemy, and I must say, not sure I am happy. But I am giving it a chance, as I have sunk money into the game, and it does have a lot of potential. There are many things about this game I really like(d).
I hope this has given you some clarity as to what is going on. Mykan has written a guide, and updated it, with many of these changes in it, including totally laying out the new squad update structure. Look it up on the wiki, if you haven't already.
Cheers, and happy gaming.