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[TheVolskinator]

CURRENTLY WIP. I'll get around to finishing/formatting this soon(tm).

Hello, and welcome to Europe in Ruins! This page aims to explain much of the shorthand text used to describe many of our units both in the launcher and on our leaderboards. Take note: roles/terminology are used strictly to reflect the unit's performance within the context of EiR. Real-world relevance is not part of our categorical thinking--we consider the Firefly to be a TD, not a medium tank.

Rather than attempting to shoe-horn units into only a few categories, the categories have instead been created to reflect the general role of individual units. Wherever possible, units that fulfill similar roles have been assigned the same role titles. Some units may feature a combination of roles, for example, a squad of infantry that can both ambush from camouflage and also boasts increased sight range might be referred to as Ambush/Scout Infantry.

Units belonging to a subcategory will be slightly indented.

This page will also explain "the semi-colon" and its significance.
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Terms you may want to know:

80gun: AT Gun - this term has a long and storied history as an inside joke within EiR; long story short, if someone is talking about an "80gun" then they are referring to some sort of ATG.

ATG: Anti-tank Gun - See above for a synonym, or find the term "ATG" below, within the support weapon section.

Backcapping: If you're being backcapped then your opponent has sent one or more squads down the edges of the map and has cut you off from capturing/holding territory. This is done by linking sectors behind your enemy to those that you control; it functions much the same as holding enemy cutoffs did in vCoH.

Cap!: If you're being yelled at to cap things probably aren't going your way. Trying to win a game of EiR by capping and holding most of the map is a perfectly reasonable strategy, but is usually used as a last resort. Winning via cap--especially in a close game--can get your blood pumping. Losing via cap can sour your mood for the rest of the day.

Clowncar: Refers to any PE halftrack with infantry mounted inside. The term refers to the hilarious ability of the tiny PE HT to disgorge a disproportionally large amount of garrisoned infantry. Usually applied with a negative connotation.

Greenslayer: A term that Volskinator has become fond of using. Picked up from the Steel Division forums, a "Greenslayer" is a unit that is only truly good for bullying unvetted, unupgraded enemy squads. Usually applied with a negative connotation.

Heals: Healing - any form of unit or structure that can heal nearby infantry; includes Triages, Medical Bunkers, and so on. If the call of "heals" goes out someone wants some serious band-aids right this second. Warning: deploying heals no earlier than the 50 minute mark in-game may elicit a negative response from your teammates.

HHAT: Handheld AT - this runs the gambit from Zooks to Shrecks and everything in between. If it shoots vehicles and isn't a vehicle or an ATG, it's HHAT. Stickies and Fausts are also commonly referred to as HHAT.

Indirect: Applies to anything in CoH with a ballistic trajectory. These units can fire over obstacles and are very useful to dislodging dug-in ATGs and HMGs. This is to say, mortars, artillery, and so on. It's wise to bring at least one or two indirect units in every company.

Mario Cart: Refers to any BREN Carrier with infantry garrisoned inside. Due to the BC's high mobility, the origins of the term are obvious. Usually applied with a negative connotation.

Vetwhore: Any EiR player with an inordinate amount of vet in his/her company. If you open a dictionary and go looking for this term you will probably find an attached image of my avatar.
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Infantry are the ground pounders. The foot sloggers. The poor bloody infantry. They are your meat and potatoes, the bread and butter of most companies. Theoretically, everything exists soley to further the advance of the infantry. Infantry can do nearly everything, but aren't usually well-suited to performing any one task. They are universally useful for capping and can fight off vehicles and other infantry with the correct upgrades. As a rule of thumb Axis infantry has superior DPS at all ranges, especially at long range, while Allied infantry has poor DPS but higher squad HP and larger squads overall. There are many, many subcatagories:

Infantry (Inf.) refers to Tommies of all types. They are tough, general purpose infantry that are good both with and without upgrades at nearly all ranges. For their price, they are probably the best infantry in the game.

   Ambush Infantry (Ambush Inf.) can camouflage while in light and heavy cover and gain acc./damage bonuses for 5 s after they attack an enemy unit out of camouflage. If equipped with an AT weapon they can slap an AT rocket into a tank and take off nearly 33% of its health in one hit. Do note that they cannot cap/hold territory while cloaked.

   Heavy Infantry (Hvy. Inf.) are relatively expensive squads of infantry with good DPS at all ranges. This is the type of unit that forms the core of nearly every company in EiR. Heavy Infantry can usually be decked out with weapons ranging from grenades to LMGs to HHAT launchers. With the proper upgrades, a single veteran squad of Heavy Infantry can single handedly wipe out 2 or more enemy squads by itself. Heavy infantry is best used to fight enemy units from behind cover at medium to long range. In practice, most EiR players refer to heavy infantry as "mainline infantry", as these squads are capable of holding a frontline with their respectable HP and DPS values.

   Light Infantry (Light Inf.) have comparable net HP to heavy infantry units. Per man, however, they have poor HP and poor DPS, making them poorer choices for engaging enemy infantry at range. They are redeemed by their large model count and low cost. Best used in large numbers (3+, but not in blobs) to push the frontline by getting into barrel-stuffing distance to release grenades and disposable AT weapons. These squads are expendable and are not expected to gain much XP/Vet or survive the battle.

   Mechanized Infantry (Mech. Inf.) refers exclusively to PE Panzergrenadier squads (and their derivatives). This term reflects the fact that PE has been envisioned as a faction "on tracks"; one that is best-employed with infantry fighting from within their own HTs. These squads can still offer admirable performance when dismounted.

   Scout Infantry (Scout Inf.) are little more than infantry squads with extended sight. They are more survivable than normal vehicular scouts and some come with "deployable" sniping options--single sniper shots with long recharge timers. Recon units also have extended detection range, allowing them to sniff out concealed enemy snipers and stealth infantry.
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Elite Infantry (Elite Inf.) is a catch-all term used to describe squads with above-average durability and/or DPS. Most elite infantry is doctrinal and can be decked out with SMGs (or equivalent) or some sort of HHAT launcher for combating enemy vehicles. They can be seen as "infantry+" since your run-of-the-mill elite infantry squad is not usually over-specialized to accomplish any one particular task. Most elite infantry squads have some sort of suppression-breaking ability that renders them impossible to suppress for a short time.

   Assault Infantry (Asslt. Inf.) are usually equipped with SMGs and/or flamethrowers by default. These units are best suited for bumrushing enemy infantry and caving their faces in with abhorrently high close-range DPS values. Assault infantry are frequently defenseless against any sort of vehicle, however.

   Stealth Infantry (Stealth Inf.) refers to Stormtroopers. They can cloak if the 2x or 4x StG 44 upgrade is purchased allowing them to close with enemy infantry units while remaining undetected. They can then de-cloak and cut apart those enemy troops at close range; they are still vulnerable to high concentrations of AI firepower. Due to balance concerns Stormtroopers are no longer able to cloak if they equip 2x Panzershrecks.
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Support Infantry (Sppt. Inf.) currently only specifically refers to Airborne Engineers (as they lack the ability to lay mines), however, it can also be used as a catch-all term to describe infantry squads that are not intended to engage enemy squads at range, or that are not expected to hold the frontline.

   Anti-mine. Self-explanatory. These ultra-cheap units are functionally useless for any role outside of mine detection and removal. They cannot cap, they cannot recrew team weapons, and their single SMG is utterly useless against anything tougher than enemy minesweeping teams. That said, it's a good idea to include at least two of thse squads in every company. Mine detection is a good thing to have handy, and mines can be some of the most effective and frustrating things to encounter if you lack proper counters to them.

   Minelayer/Quasi-Infantry (Mnlyr./Quasi-Inf.) refers to Sappers. They fill the same role as other engineering squads, but lack a flamethower upgrade. Their extra HP, rifles, and Soldier armor make them suitable infantry in a pinch, hence their designation. Note that standard engineering units no longer have the ability to repair.

   Minelayer/Support Infantry (Mnlyr./Sppt. Inf.) are very cheap but very flimsy teams of engineering troops. They can lay mines, detect/defuse enemy mines, and root out enemy infantry in cover with flamethrowers. They are also the only units able to build all types of defenses (wire, sandbags, tank traps) by default. They are not suitable for mainline combat. Note that standard engineering units no longer have the ability to repair.

   Officers are 3-man command teams have access to auras; these confer offensive and/or defensive bonuses in a radius around the officer. While officers are slightly tougher per-man than normal squads, the loss of the officer model itself means the loss of your command aura--it is best to keep officers slightly behind your other units unless absolutely needed. Most officers come with at least one SMG per squad, so they can defend themselves or bully lone enemy squads in a pinch.

   Repairmen (Repairs) are the units to deploy if you want to repair your vehicles. Standard engineers lack this ability. Repairmen are generally defenseless; armed only with sidearms and with very low HP per model. Repairs are activated via a timer (tap F or click on the Fire Up icon on their UI). Once enabled they will have 60 s to repair a vehicle that you own (click on the wrench icon, then click or right-click on your vehicle, OR tap E and then click/right click on a vehicle that you own). Note: You cannot repair vehicles owned by your allies. Also note that repair squads can accidentally be "pushed" or "bumped" by friendly vehicles. If this happens they will usually stop repairing unless you order them to resume repairs. During this period the repair timer will still count down; there is the potential to waste repair kit usage unless you are attentive! Once their repairs are expended it is best to retreat your repairmen or use them to recrew something; they cannot cap (but gain the ability to do so if they capture an enemy MG, mortar, or ATG) and veterancy is largely useless on them--expend these squads in some useful fashion if you are able to.

   Snipers are just as annoying as they are in vCoH. A well-protected and microed sniper can rack up 50+ kills per game, and can survive from the opening to the closing of a battle--drawing bitter spite from your opponents who will likely go to extreme lengths to see to its demise. Snipers are hideously expensive and a poorly managed sniper can be killed without netting a single kill in return. Countersniping can be accomplished as well, though it is difficult and can only usually be pulled off by highly skilled players. Snipers are some of the best units available for quickly dismantling enemy "walls" of HMGs and ATGs.

[TheVolskinator]

Support weapons do what they say on the tin--they support your infantry squads with specialized weapons capable of suppressing, blasting, or penetrating a specific range of targets. Support weapons on their own can be effective, but a variety of crew weapons working together can exponentially increase their effects when working together. Their enhanced firepower comes at a price--they are ungainly and must be manually deployed; it takes several seconds to set up or tear down these weapons. Support weapon spam can be effective against novice players or those that fail to bring proper counters, however, experienced players or those that DO bring counters will be able to halt your support weapon spam. Be wary of overspecializing your company build with too many support crews and not enough infantry to recrew them.

Heavy Machine Guns (HMG) remain unchanged from vCoH (except for the American MG, which received a small range buff). MGs can be used to simply add more DPS to your infantry force or to act as a form of blob control, allowing a player to pin down blobs of enemy units, allowing your infantry to reposition in relative safety. Suppressed squads fire and move more slowly, while pinned squads are unable to move or fire.
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Mortars are little changed from their vCoH iterations. They can lob shells over shot-blocking objects and are excellent counters to HMGs and ATGs as well as immobile blobs of infantry. Mortar shells that land near light vehicles will also usually damage their engine, reducing that LV's mobility. Allied mortars tend to have shorter range and deal less damage than their Axis counterparts, though they do fire more quickly. They are usually best deployed only for their smoke barrages, though the occasional counter-mortar can be pulled off by skilled players. Mortars tend to attract swift counter-battery barrages if any artillery is present, thus many mortars do not enjoy particularly long lifespans or high XP counts.

   Halftrack-mounted mortars (Mortar; HT) refers to the PE mortar halftrack. Armed with the same weapon as the WM mortar team, the MHT is affectionately known as the "turbo mortar", owing to its ability to be left unattended and unmicroed and yet still finish games with upwards of 40 kills per unit.

Anti-tank Guns (ATG) form the cornerstone of tank defense in EiR. If you want enemy tanks and LVs dead, accept no substitute. ATGs must be set up facing in the proper direction and have a limited traverse cone, meaning that mobile units such as infantry and LVs can flank and destroy these units. ATGs do have impressive range, so with a scout offering them LoS they can let off one or two shots before an enemy tank gets close enough to return fire. ATGs often receive the enemy's full attention once they are spotted, so be prepared to keep repositioning and recrewing them as the battle goes on. ATGs (with a couple of exceptions) are functionally useless against enemy infantry. The rare ATG countersnipe has been observed and the usual salt output in the game chat is legendary.

   Emplaced ATG (Emplcd. ATG) refers to the Flak 88. It's largely unchanged from vCoH; with 100 m range and fearsome damage and penetration figures an emplaced 88 is a nightmare to destroy without artillery. A well-positioned 88 can cover half a map by itself, allowing an Axis team to focus their units on defending the other half of the map. Do note that 88s aren't very effective vs. infantry, so leaving your 88s unprotected is unwise. An 88 under Allied ownership can spell defeat for an Axis team unable to recapture it in short order.

   Heavy ATGs (Hvy. ATG) fire more slowly than their standard counterparts but deal more damage per shell in addition to boasting superior penetration figures. These heavy ATGs are ungainly, however, and their slower RoF makes them more vulnerable to LV rushes. That said, these are nearly always the superior option if given a choice, and their nearly guaranteed penetration chance makes them hard to pass up since heavier armored units are extemely popular in EiR.

   Light ATGs (Light ATG) are small 37 mm weapons that have no business being within the same galactic cluster as any sort of decently-armored vehicle. That said, their rapid RoF and enhanced damage modifiers against LVs make them absolutely terrifying to face if you lack ATG counters and are running any kind of LV spam strategy. These small cannons also sport a very good chance of sniping an infantry model with each shot, so they can be used to chip away at enemy infantry formations. Unfortunately, even a mildly concerted infantry push can overwhelm these guns and decrew them, so these lighter ATGs still need support to keep enemy infantry at bay.
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Artillery is the God of War. In EiR, artillery is the undisputed middle finger of God; point, click, and watch the enemy unit evaporate. Assuming it sits still. And RNG is on your side. And you keep the enemy unit spotted. Artillery is not 100% potato-proof; you must still accurately place your barrages on enemy targets. Still, artillery is probably the easist unit type to use, though it is not unheard of for particular players to be less than useful with their artillery. Left unmolested, artillery can slowly pick apart enemy support weapons and can reach far behind the enemy's front line, blasting apart healing units, officers, ATGs, and repairing vehicles. Artillery barrage recharge times vary from between 110 to 180 s, so a missed barrage leaves you with little more then a 7 to 12 pop paperweight for the better part of 3 minutes. Artillery is also functionally unable to defend itself and can be recrewed and turned against its previous owner. Because of the way crew weapons function in EiR, you can de-crew these weapons and, upon re-crewing them, find their barrage immediately recharged. Rapidly re-crewing your artillery by surrounding it in barbred wire and using its original crew to re and decrew it is a bannable offense. If you're caught doing it, it's an instant ban--no warnings, no exceptions. You can "legally" employ this strategy by using multiple infantry squads to recrew your artillery; as you are expending resources to do this, it is technically considered within the bounds of fair play. That said, you're a c*nt if you do this often, and both your team and your opponents will likely be quite vocal in their disapproval. This practice is strongly discouraged.

   Emplaced Medium Artillery (Emplcd. Med. Arty.) refers to the British 25-pounder. Without doctrinal upgrades it boasts a relatively short range and fires a shell of middling effectiveness. In all fairness it could honestly be considered the best mortar available in all of EiR. It's a reliable, no-frills dakka deployment weapon.

   Heavy Artillery (Hvy. Arty.) refers to the US 105 mm Howitzer. The "Howie", despite boasting impressive range and very good damage, is not a particularly effective unit unless targeting only the most sluggish enemy players or stationary weapons/bunkers. An unimpressive RoF makes the 105 an unattractive choice against enemy infantry blobs. A unique feature of the 105 is that it's scatter (the area in which its shells land) shrinks with every shell it fires (within the same barrage); the final shell in each barrgae will usually land almost directly atop the targeted location.

   Light Artillery (Light Arty.) refers to the le I.G. 18. This unit is more of a super-mortar than anything else, though it competes with the 25-pounder for the title of "best mortar in EiR". This little bugger is quite annyoing and will completely shut down any players that don't bring heavy or medium artillery to the fight. A highly recommended choice for anyone playing the WM Infantry doctrine.

   Rocket Artillery (Rocket Arty.) fires multiple rockets in rapid succession. These usually deal less damage per rocket/shell than normal artillery, but make up for this lower damage with a higher rate of fire and/or added suppression effects. Rocket artillery can be used to "shotgun" enemy infantry blobs by firing your barrage at as close a range as possible. This is very risky; missing your barrage leaves nothing to stop the enemy infantry from overrunning your artillery and turning it against you.

Self-propelled Artillery (SP Arty.) is any sort of artillery mounted on a vehicle. Types of weapons vary from heavy howitzers to multiple rockets, but the benefits are consistant: (relatively) higher mobility and increased durability. These SP arty units are very slow and if discovered by roving enemy AT LVs there is almost no chance of escape or survival. Even if the enemy team doesn't know exactly where your SP arty is, if they have AT LVs, make no mistake that they will come gunning for your arty units. That said, SP arty is almost impossible to destroy with counter-battery fire--the same cannot be said for normal artillery units.

[TheVolskinator]

Vehicles are small, fast, and relatively cheap. Often specialized for accomplishing specific tasks, LVs are fantastic for raiding enemy backlines or simply shifting rapidly from one flank to the other. Other types of vehicles can transport infantry and some crew weapons into battle as well, allowing your troops to support rapid pushes. LVs are usually bullet-resistant but not bulletproof; they can and will take damage from concentrated small-arms fire, though it's usually not enough to destroy the LV unless it's already on low HP. Many LVs also have received accuracy bonuses while on the move, making them harder to hit so long as they remain mobile. Finally, some LVs also have what is known as "phase armor"--enemy shells that don't roll a "hit" but are still on a collision course with these vehicles will simply phase right through them, causing no damage.

If referring to a Light Vehicle (LV), a player is more often than not talking about armored cars or light tanks--small, light, and cheap units that rely more on mobility and firepower than anything else.

   Anti-infantry Light Vehicles (AI LV) are infantry-killing terrors. Relatively recent changes have made these vehicles largely ineffective against vehicles tougher than a halftrack. With that said, if you want to kill infantry and infantry alone, loading up on a few (or more) AI LVs might not be a bad idea. Most AI LVs are not very effective against infantry in cover, though several unloading into the same squad will likely demolish any cover that that infantry squad is using, in addition to the squad itself.

   Anti-tank Light Vehicles (AT LVs) are pack hunters. Their high speed and relatvely effective cannons allow these vehciles to take out enemy mechanized units in a cost-effective manner. AT LVs are not truly meant to go toe-to-toe with enemy armor, however; in a sense, one AT LV is ~25% less effective than a single enemy medium tank. Thus, AT LVs are best used in pairs or more to rush and take down larger prey. Do note that AT LVs are functionally useless against anything that's not a vehicle, and their cannons are largely useless against the frontal armor of even medium tanks, even at close range. Getting around to the rear of enemy armor is thus the key to extracting the maximum potential from these vehicles. AT LVs are generally expendable and you should not hesitate to throw them away if it means the destruction of a heavily-damaged enemy medium or heavy tank. Just be sure not to expend more than one or two LVs to accomplish this.

   General-purpose Light Vehicle (GP LV) refers to the PE Hotchkiss (not the up-gunned variant). The Hotchkiss has just enough penetration to be a semi-credible threat to vehicles of most types, and just enough accuracy and enough of a rate of fire to be decently effective against infantry. Bearing that in mind, there are other, more effective options available to Panzer Elite as a whole, which might be more useful in the hands of a skilled player.

   Support Light Vehicle (Sppt. LV) refers to the Panzer Elite Stummel--a Puma mounting a light howitzer. This unit can fire over many obstacles and can be thought of as a very light StuH.
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Scouts are vehicles with extended sight and detection ranges, ideal for detecting enemy units at long range or ferreting out hidden snipers or cloaked crew weapons. Scouts' weapons are largely useless against infantry unless used en masse, so they are best kept out of direct combat unless you plan to go sniper hunting.
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Transports are usually unarmored trucks; the cheapest possible option to improve the mobility of your infantry. You can "pre-garrison" your infantry into these units by placing both the truck and the infantry/crew weapon you wish to transport within the same call-in box in your launcher. Right click on the infantry squad, and a small number will appear in the corner of infantry's icon, corresponding to the appropriate transport (you can have multiples of both within the same call-in). Due to their hilariously low HP and poor armor, these trucks should be vacated the instant they come under fire--any infantry garrisoned within them is nearly guaranteed to die once the vehicle is destroyed, and these trucks are unarmed. They are, however, much faster than walking. One exception to this is the Kangaroo (limited to the CW Mobility doctrine); it is bulletproof and infantry may fire out of it.

   Light Transport (Light Transpt.) refers to the BREN Carrier; this little vehicle is about as durable as a halftrack, and while it is more lightly armed (with just a single BREN LMG), garrisoned infantry may fire out of it. Affectionately known as "Mario Carts" among older players.
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Halftracks (HT) are transports, plain and simple. They will transport infantry from point A to point B faster than if the infantry had to walk and they are also bullet-resistant. You can "pre-garrison" your HTs in the same manner as transport trucks (this is listed directly above this entry). HTs are thin-skinned, however, and can be blasted apart even by AI LVs or high concentrations of small arms fire. HTs are also vulnerable to AT weapons; if destroyed, any infantry that they were carrying has a fixed % chance to be damaged or killed--if RNG is not in your favor you can lose every last model garrisoned inside of a HT. HT pathing is also notoriously poor, and has been so since the earliest days of vCoH. This has not changed in EiR--you have been warned. Nearly all standard halftracks mount an MG of some sort, and unlike in vCoH, these are always manned even if the HT is empty. You can use HTs to support infatry units that lack AI firepower or to simply bully lone enemy squads bent on simply capturing territory. Some halftracks are open-topped, and may be fired out of. Halftracks as a whole may be termed "clowncars" by older players.

   Assault Halftrack (Asslt. HT) refers to the WM Flammen Halftrack. This very cheap unit mounts a pair of flamethowers and can be used to wipe out inattentive Allied players. That said, a pair of ATGs in a layered defense will kill these flimsy vehicles before they cause much harm. To be truly effective, the Flammtrack must be used in large numbers; it is a unit with only a limited part to play in most games.

   Anti-tank Halftrack (AT HT) refers to the PE "50 mil" HT. It's statistically identical to the WM Pak 38 but trades the ambush bonus of the Pak for increased mobility. The 50 mil has a bit of a love/hate following; some players swear by it and refuse to use the Marder III, some have the opposite opinion, and some think both have terrible pathing and opt to simply blob HHAT. Whatever your opinion, the 50 mil offers PE with a MU-based (rather than FU-based), long-ranged AT option.

   Light Anti-tank Halftrack (LATHT) refers to the PE HT commonlty referred to by the same name. The LATHT is an effective LV-killer, but is more or less useless against infantry unless it uses its "Focused Firing" ability to snipe models. It's also basically useless against heavier vehicles unless it uses its Treadbreaker ability to reduce the targeted tanks' mobility for a short period. The LATHT is very much a niche unit and sees only limited use; it can, however, still be very, very effective in certain situations.

   Officer Halftrack refers to the PE Munition HT, usually referred to as simply "the muni HT". It confers a very powerful combination of fire rate-increasing bonuses to nearby infantry owned by the same player. Its command radius is very small, but the bonuses it provides are very, very potent, and can be buffed with several doctrinal upgrades. The Muni HT can also lay mines and deploy a single Goliath (it is the only non-doc PE unit capable of doing so).

   Support Halftrack (Sppt. HT) refers to the M3 GMC. It is nearly identical to the Stummel listed above, with the caveat of possessing the less-than-desireable trait of frustrating halftrack pathing.

   Suppression Halftrack (Supprssn. HT) refers to the M16 "Quad". This M3 Halftrack mounts a quad .50 cal turret that can suppress enemy squads in relatively short order. The Quad isn't very good against units in any sort of cover, and is best used in pairs or in triplicate in order to be truly effective. All in all, the Quad is not a particularly popular unit in EiR, though it occasionally has its uses. Of note is the fact that it's functionally useless against aircraft.
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Tank Destroyers (TD) are very self-explanatory. They destroy tanks. TDs generally boast a small (or large) range advantage over standard tanks, along with superior DPS and penetration capabilities. In practice, they may be thought of, as one EiR player stated years ago, "a Pak on Kettenkrad treads". This specialization comes at a price, however--many TDs are only lightly armored and are thus vulnerable to concentrated small arms fire and even the lightest of AT weapons. They are also functionally impotent against infantry and ATGs--though some have the same range as ATGs, they will almost always lose in a duel against one. Thus, the chief advantage of a TD is its (usually) fairly low cost, decent mobility, and long range. The fact that 99% of TDs cost only MP and FU also makes them an attractive option for players that wish to "double down" on infantry MU upgrades.

   Superheavy Tank Destroyer (Sprhvy. TD) refers to the Jagdpanther. This doctrinal monster is the second-toughest entity to exist in EiR (second only to the King Tiger, listed below) and couples this durability with some of the best mobility of any vehicle in EiR to boot. The JP also boasts an impressive gun capable of penetrating nearly every vehicle with every shot it fires. This gun also slightly outranges most enemy tanks, and has a comparable RoF to these tanks as well. The JP is only truly "ineffective" against infantry; however, it still has a decent chance to roll a hit on infantry, and has more than enough mobility to keep them at arms length. The only true "threat" to a JP is a Firefly, but that said, the JP is much, much more mobile than a FF and can run down and execute an unsupported FF with contemptuous ease. The JP is massively expensive and only one is available per company.
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Assault Gun (Asslt. Gun) refers to the WM StuG IV. They are generally better at fighting enemy medium tanks than your own medium tanks are, though they are not as effective against infantry. The StuG also lacks the penetration and the raw HP to survive encounters with enemy TDs. StuGs are especually vulnerable to US ATGs equipped with AP rounds. Its gun is mounted in a fixed casemate, meaning that the vehicle must be facing whatever it is it wants to fire at. This can make microing this type of unit an interesting experience. Assault guns frequently come with fairly good frontal armor.

   Heavy Assault Gun (Hvy. Asslt. Gun) refers to the StuH. This is a specialized infantry killer, boasting a massive cannon with large AoE blast effects but poor penetration values. The StuH's shells are ballistic, allowing it to fire over obstacles that prevent non-ballistic enemy units from targeting it.

[TheVolskinator]

Tanks. Tanks! Everybody loves tanks! Tanks are a very popular unit in vCoH as well as in EiR; their mobile firepower can offer splendid support to other units or maybe used to lead assaults. There are a few subcategories:
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Assault Tanks (Asslt. Tank) aim to smash through the enemy's front lines, attacking enemy infantry and crew weapons at relatively close range using heavy frontal armor, a flamethrower, or both. These tanks are not the epitome of mobility, but they are more mobile than a pillbox and about as durable. While they are tougher than many other tanks, it is not advisable to facehug enemy AT; rather, you should still aim to flank enemy ATGs if you can; the extra HP and armor of assault tanks should be used to tank hits that are sent your way. That durability is not, however, an excuse to openly accept getting shot at in the first instance. As shock weapons, assault tanks are best followed up by infantry and/or other support assets before the enemy can re-deploy his support teams or move units in to stop your tank.

Heavy Tanks (Hvy. Tank) are everyone's favorite. Pershings, Tigers, and the like are nearly unilaterally the focus of many players' fascination. Indeed, heavy tanks are far more durable than other tanks; with far better armor types and massively increased HP pools, as well as devastating cannons, many players go to great lengths to preseve their heavies. This should not come at the expense of winning a game, however; losing a game only to preserve your precious heavy tank may quickly draw the ire of your teammates. Heavies are best used as large bricks to be tossed in the general direction of your enemy; with supporting units in play they can soak up some damage from ATGs/other AT units while blasting them apart, opening up the enemy's front line and allowing your team to advance should your assault succeed. It is in poor taste, however, to simply underhand your heavy tank, unsupported, at a wall of enemy ATGs or TDs. It will die, probably without killing much of anything, and you will be called a noob and many other nasty names for doing so. The Pershing and Tiger also come with shell toggles now; basically identical to the vCoH values of the tanks' main guns, but with a catch: the AT toggle only has a ~10% chance to roll a hit against enemy infantry, while the HE toggle has less than a ~20% chance to penetrate any vehicle tougher than a halftrack. Keep track of what ammunition you have loaded to extract the most from these tanks.

   Superheavy Tank (Sprhvy. Tank) refers to the King Tiger. This monster is the single toughest entity in all of EiR. It's slow, heavily armored, and almost unkillable. There are many caveats to using this unit. Did I mention that it's slow? It's slow. Criminally slow. It's the single slowest vehicle in EiR; it moves more slowly than infantry at a pathetic 3 m/s. There is nothing more hilarious than a KT fleeing in abject terror from a lone Rifleman squad wielding the magic socks of doom--the dreaded sticky bombs. A KT with a damaged engine is basically a 16 pop pillbox; mines are a highly frustrating thing to run into, or over, while using a KT. Simply driving into a wall of ATGs and/or TDs while unsupported is also not the smartest choice you could make. The key to getting the most out of your KT starts with accepting one simple fact--99% of the time, your KT will die, and there is absolutley nothing you can do about it. Your job as a KT user is to draw all of the attention from the enemy's wall of AT while your teammates move in to blast the ATGs with their own vehicles and/or infantry.

[TheVolskinator]

Reserved.