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=== [[File:Upgrade_M18_57mm_Recoilless_Rifle.png]] M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle ===
 
=== [[File:Upgrade_M18_57mm_Recoilless_Rifle.png]] M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle ===
[[File:Veterancy_Airborne_Squad_M18_57mm_Recoilless_Rifle_0.png]]
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[[File:Veterancy_Airborne_Squad_M18_57mm_Recoilless_Rifle_0.png|right]]
 
* Costs {{Munitions|125}}
 
* Costs {{Munitions|125}}
 
* Requires at least 2 Open Weapon Slots
 
* Requires at least 2 Open Weapon Slots

Revision as of 19:07, 13 September 2011

Veterancy Airborne Squad 0
Airborne Infantry (Paratroopers) Squad
Unit Airborne Squad
An Airborne Squad in position
Role Elite Heavy Infantry
Men per Squad 6
Unit Cost 375Icon Manpower Small 375
6Icon PopCap Small 6
Prereq. Airborne Company: Paratroopers
Produced By None; Called-in from the field
Cost to Reinforce 44Icon Manpower Small 44
1Icon PopCap Small 1
Health per Man 70Icon Health Small 70
Infantry Type Airborne
Basic Weapon 6x .30 Cal M1 Carbine Rifle
Open Weapon Slots 4
Max. Speed 3 m/s
Produces (1)
Production Observation Post
Observation Post
  • Secures a friendly Strategic Point and increases resource production in that sector.
  • Costs 200Icon Manpower Small 200
  • Build Time: 50 seconds
Abilities (3)
Ability Throw Grenade
Throw Grenade
  • Throws a small explosive charge with a modest but deadly blast radius.
  • Requires Barracks: Mk2 Grenades
  • Costs 25Icon Munitions Small 25
  • Cooldown: 15 seconds


Ability Fire Up
Fire-Up
  • The squad becomes immune to Suppression and will run at maximum speed regardless of terrain or incoming fire.
  • Costs nothing
  • Duration: 15 seconds
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds


Ability Throw Satchel Charge
Throw Satchel Charge
  • Throws a large explosive device with a 5-second fuse that will cause massive damage to anything caught in its blast.
  • Costs 50Icon Munitions Small 50
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds
Upgrades (1)
Upgrade M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle
M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle
  • Equips the squad with two M18 Recoilless Rifles - a strong but inaccurate anti-tank launcher.
  • Costs 125Icon Munitions Small 125
  • Takes 45 seconds to install

The Airborne Squad (also known as Paratroopers) is a 6-man air-dropped elite infantry squad, fielded by the American Airborne Company in Company of Heroes. Initially armed for infantry combat, Airborne Squads have several useful combat abilities which enable them to cause a lot of destruction behind enemy lines. They can even be outfitted with powerful anti-tank launchers to harass and destroy enemy vehicles. Airborne Squads can reinforce anywhere on the map, making it possible for them to hold distant positions against enemy retaliation until help can arrive.

Overview

The American Airborne Company bases much of its strength on surprise attacks. Half of its abilities are related to aerial attacks with P-47 Thunderbolt planes, but it's the other half that provides the true potential for surprise attacks: the ability to land Airborne Squads and M1 57mm Anti Tank Guns behind enemy lines. The Airborne Squad itself performs a similar role to that of Ranger Squads, serving as powerful anti-tank troops with good anti-infantry capabilities thrown in.

The ability to call in an Airborne Squad is unlocked when the player purchases the Paratroopers Global Upgrade from the Airborne Company Command Tree - a cheap upgrade often purchased very early on. The ability (called "Airborne Infantry") costs 375Icon Manpower Small 375, 6Icon PopCap Small 6 to use, and will call in a single Airborne Squad. Naturally, a drop zone must be selected.

The Airborne Squad will parachute down into the targeted location, a process preceded by a green smoke flare, and taking up to 13 seconds to complete. While the Paratroopers are making their landing, they are vulnerable to several different weapons (mostly anti-aircraft guns) who can rapidly kill them. Once on the ground, the squad's innate defensive bonuses kick in, making them very hard to kill.

The Airborne Squad can be dropped into any visible location on the map (i.e. not inside the Fog-of-War). The drop is often preceded by an Air Reconnaissance run with a P-47 Thunderbolt to reveal the target area, or the use of other scouting units (like a camouflaged Sniper). The area around the drop zone will become fully revealed almost immediately, since the Airborne Squad's sight-range is applied as soon as they begin their drop. Note that the plane carrying these troops makes a high-flight, and is neither visible nor attackable.

The Airborne Squad consists of 6 elite infantrymen, each carrying an M1 Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifle. With these weapons the team can fight off most smaller infantry units at infantry-engagement range (15-20 meters). This squad relies more on its combat abilities, of which it has three: a Mk2 Fragmentation Grenade for taking out enemy gun crews, a Satchel Charge for destroying enemy emplacements and buildings (and even stationary vehicles!), and the Fire-Up ability which allows the team to shrug off enemy Suppression-fire.

More importantly however, the team receives great defensive bonuses from its "Airborne" Infantry Type. It is overall much harder to hit with most weapons, suffers much less suppression than other units, and even receives damage reduction against many opponents. Coupled with a Maximum Health of 70Icon Health Small 70 (higher than any other American unit), this team can survive very dangerous situations and overwhelming odds, even when outnumbered.

When resources become available, it is possible to purchase an upgrade called M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle which will outfit the unit with two of its titular launchers. This allows the Airborne Squad to effectively combat enemy vehicles - possibly even enemy tanks - on its own or with extra support from other units.

Tactically, Airborne Squads are often used to grab hold of an enemy's territory by making a surprise air-drop and grabbing control of a Strategic Point before the enemy can react. Their sector-capture rate is 125% of normal, making this a relatively speedy process. M1 57mm Anti Tank Guns can be paradropped into the same sector to fend off enemy vehicles while the Airborne Squad takes cover to defend the new position - with the hope of holding it until reinforcements can arrive.

This sort of tactic is further augmented by the fact that Airborne Squads can reinforce themselves anywhere on the battlefield, unlike other infantry units which need to seek out a reinforcement point or be constantly escorted by a vulnerable halftrack or other similar vehicle. This allows the Airborne Squad to keep moving after its initial objectives have been met, harassing enemy units inside their own territory and reinforcing themselves each time a man falls in battle. A skilled player can have several such units operating alone behind enemy lines for a considerably long period of time.

Otherwise, Airborne Squads can also augment other infantry or vehicles during assaults. They are excellent at almost any role that can be assigned to them in combat, especially when the M18 57mm Recoilless Rifles have been purchased. Surprise flanking attacks made by dropping in Airborne Squads behind the enemy's position during an attack can turn a hopeless battle into a glorious victory.

Weapons

Initially, all Airborne Squads are outfitted with .30 Cal M1 Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifles - the standard "short" rifle for American infantry units. It is a solid weapon for protracted mid-range encounters, and can defeat enemies at short range as long as they are not armed with SMGs.

Like other infantry squads, this unit can pick up additional abandoned weapons from the battlefield, but it is usually better off purchasing the M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle, which will grant it two anti-tank launchers. These weapons are very dangerous to tanks, and can pierce armor from any direction.

.30 Cal M1 Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifle

The .30 Cal M1 Carbine is a "short" magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle. Each member of the Airborne Squad carries one of these rifles by default, when first entering the battlefield.

The M1 Carbine is a solid mid-range weapon, intended for firefights at a range of about 15-20 meters. It has a good firing rate for a non-automatic rifle, with one shot every 2 seconds or so. Its magazine holds 10 bullets, requiring a short 3-second reload once spent.

Each bullet that hits its target inflicts 7 points of damage - a relatively low amount given the firing rate. Nonetheless, with 6 squad-members firing simultaneously, the damage output is pretty good compared to other infantry squads. Suppression values leave something to be desired, but then this is a semi-automatic weapon anyway.

For best effect, you'll need to know which weapons your enemy is using. Enemies armed with long rifles (like the Kar98k) should be engaged in close combat. Enemies with SMGs should be fought from a distance. Machine guns and other automatic weapons will put the M1 Carbines to shame, but that's what Mk2 Grenades are for.

M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle

The M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle is not actually a rifle as the name suggests: it is a powerful anti-tank launcher, utilizing then-state-of-the-art technology to reduce recoil to a minimum, stabilizing the weapon and its projectile.

The Airborne Squad is outfitted with two of these weapons when the namesake upgrade is purchased (or one, if the unit has fewer than 4 Open Weapon Slots available at the time). They will replace two of the default M1 Carbines.

The 57mm warhead fired from this weapon is not very powerful, delivering only 78 points of damage per hit - assuming the target was hit directly. The blast has a radius of 1.5 meters, so it can cause damage on near misses as well, and can kill infantry if they are close to the impact point, but the launcher is very inaccurate against infantry and will rarely hit them dead-on. It is also quite inaccurate against other targets, requiring the unit to get within 15 meters of the target for any reliable chance to hit.

On the upside, this weapon has amazing Penetration abilities: it will go through just about any tank armor with a 100% success-rate, regardless of which side you fire it from. Only the heaviest tanks, like the Panther or Tiger has strong enough armor to deflect this warhead, and then only about 25% of the time! Flanking such tanks will usually increase Penetration chance to 100%.

The M18 Recoilless Rifle must be reloaded after each shot, a process taking about 8 seconds. Since there are normally two such launchers per Airborne Squad, damage output is still high regardless, with one warhead per every 4 seconds on average. This can bring down an enemy vehicle rather rapidly, assuming the Airborne Squad can maintain its firing position long enough, and is close enough to hit with each shot.

The maximum range of the M18 Recoilless Rifle is 35 meters. Again, at this range it is very ineffective, so it is always recommended to get as close as possible to the target.

Production

The Airborne Squad can construct Observation Posts on captured Strategic Sectors. Unfortunately, this is no more useful for this squad than for Riflemen Squads, as the structure cannot be built on unconnected sector points (i.e. deep behind enemy lines).

Production Observation Post Observation Post

  • Costs 200Icon Manpower Small 200
  • Build Time: 50 seconds

Observation Posts are built right on top of Strategic Points. Once construction is complete, the Observation Post provides both a resource boost and security for the sector.

First of all, the resource bonus increases a sector's production proportionally to its original value. The more resources a sector originally produces, the more bonus you get for installing an Observation Post there:

Resource Point Type Resource Point Size Original Value Bonus Total
Strategic Point -- 3Icon Manpower Small 3 +1Icon Manpower Small 1 4Icon Manpower Small 4
Munitions Point Low 5Icon Munitions Small 5 +3Icon Munitions Small 3 8Icon Munitions Small 8
Medium 10Icon Munitions Small 10 +8Icon Munitions Small 8 18Icon Munitions Small 18
High 16Icon Munitions Small 16 +10Icon Munitions Small 10 26Icon Munitions Small 26
Fuel Point Low 5Icon Fuel Small 5 +3Icon Fuel Small 3 8Icon Fuel Small 8
Medium 10Icon Fuel Small 10 +8Icon Fuel Small 8 18Icon Fuel Small 18
High 16Icon Fuel Small 16 +10Icon Fuel Small 10 26Icon Fuel Small 26

In addition, because the Observation Post stands on top of the Strategic Point, enemy units cannot capture the sector until they destroy the Observation Post itself. This increases the time it takes for enemy units to seize American territory, and gives you an advanced warning that your sectors are coming under attack - buying you time to mobilize a counter-offensive.

You should strive to place an Observation Post on each and every Strategic Point you control, and replace destroyed posts as soon as possible. Note however that there's little point in building these structures on ManpowerIcon Manpower Small Manpower Strategic Points that are further back on the battlefield - they don't help much, and the enemy is unlikely to get to them either.

Note: Airborne Squads can capture sectors deep behind enemy lines, but Observation Posts cannot be built in a sector that is not directly connected to your territory. Since Airborne Squads spend most of their time in such locations, and shouldn't waste their time on construction in friendly territory when they could be harassing the enemy, this is not a very useful ability for this team.

Abilities

Even with the M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle upgrade, the Airborne Squad is not the best anti-infantry unit when going by weapons alone. Instead, the squad has three different combat abilities that enable to to quickly destroy enemy infantry and structures during combat. These abilities can be used very effectively for hit-and-run attacks as well.

Ability Throw Grenade Throw Grenade

  • Requires the Mk2 Grenades Global Upgrade from the Barracks
  • Costs 25Icon Munitions Small 25
  • Activation: Select Ground
  • Cooldown: 15 seconds

When the Throw Grenade ability is activated, select any point on the ground. The Airborne Squad will move to within 15 meters of that point, whereby one of the squad members will pull out a Mk.2 "Pineapple" Hand Grenade and lob it at the target spot.

1.2 seconds after the grenade hits the target, it will explode with a damage output of 60 - enough to kill an infantryman. The radius of the explosion is 4.5 meters, though the 60-point maximum damage is inflicted only on targets on top of the grenade itself. Other targets receive diminishing damage, down to only 20 points at the outer radius. Still, there is good likelyhood to instantly kill any already-injured infantryman caught within the blast radius regardless of how far away he is.

Due to the time it takes to throw the grenade, and the time it takes for it to detonate, this weapon is primarily useful against stationary targets, including infantry behind cover and inside buildings. Weapon crews are especially susceptible to this attack, since they cannot quickly get away. In fact, this is one of the best ways to get rid of an enemy MG42 Heavy Machine Gun Team.

Note that grenades do cause damage to vehicles, and have some (small) chance of destroying a vehicle's secondary weapon (if it has one) or damage its mobility. However, actual damage is negligible to vehicles, and significantly reduced against enemy armor. It's usually better to restrict the use of grenades to infantry targets only.

Ability Fire Up Fire-Up

  • Costs nothing
  • Activation: Immediate
  • Duration: 15 seconds
  • Cooldown: 60 seconds

When this ability is activated, all Suppression effects are removed from the Airborne Squad immediately, returning it to normal combat state. For the next 15 seconds, the squad is completely immune to suppression fire, regardless of how heavy it is. The squad continues to receive damage, but won't become suppressed or pinned down.

In addition, the squad-members will move at running speed regardless of the terrain, nearby explosions, etcetera, for the duration of this effect.

Use this ability primarily to break suppression on the unit, allowing it to fire back at its enemies. More importantly, use it to give you a short window in which you can charge at an enemy position and take it out. This is especially useful when you plan to use a Mk2 Grenade or Satchel Charge to take the enemy out, because you'll need to get pretty close in order to do so. Alternately, use the ability to disengage from combat instead of using a full retreat.

This ability is invaluable in taking out MG42 Heavy Machine Gun Teams and other similar anti-infantry units. Of course, since this provides no actual protection from damage, expect one or more Paratroopers to die during such a frontal assault - but it's better than retreating to base or losing the entire team due to heavy suppression fire.

The unit will be marked with overhead icons while this effect is in progress, as well as white lights strobing underneath the team-members. This allows you to spot your "Fired-Up" team easily, and tell at a glance when this effect is over.

Note: In a later patch, an "exhaustion" period was added that inflicts penalties on the unit for 10 seconds after the initial effect has ended. If you have information about this, please add it here.

Ability Throw Satchel Charge Throw Satchel Charge

  • Costs 50Icon Munitions Small 50
  • Activation: Select Ground (Visible)
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds

When this ability is activated, select any visible point on the ground (not in the Fog-of-War). The Airborne Squad will move to within 18 meters of that target, whereupon one of the Paratroopers will throw a large pack of dynamite at the target.

Once the Satchel Charge impacts with its selected target, a 5-second fuse will begin to count down. When it runs out, the bomb will detonate with extremely powerful force, taking out or heavily damaging any unit within its radius.

The blast radius for this bomb is 5 meters. Units within the first 4 meters will receive the full impact of the explosion: 300 damage points. This is easily enough to kill infantry, and will automatically penetrate any vehicle as well. Units 4-5 meters away from the blast point will receive anywhere down to 150 points of damage - still enough to kill infantry and hurt vehicles badly.

The explosion only causes about 250 points of damage to structures, but this is still a hefty amount. Furthermore, Wehrmacht Bunkers and Observation Posts receive a whopping 450 points of damage - making this bomb excellent in removing them from your path. If necessary, consider throwing two bombs simultaneously (assuming you have two Airborne Squads available) to ensure a building's destruction. This is very useful when attacking the enemy's base.

Due to the 5-second fuse, this bomb is not very useful against enemy vehicles or infantry in the open - unless you think the enemy isn't going to react quickly enough. This bomb is best used against structures, garrisoned infantry and heavy weapon crews.

Upgrades

Although they are quite dangerous with their basic weapons and combat abilities, Airborne Squads are not quite at their full potential until they receive the M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle upgrade. Though expensive, this upgrade outfits the unit with one or two anti-tank launchers can be used effectively to knock out enemy vehicles from any angle.

Upgrade M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle

Veterancy Airborne Squad M18 57mm Recoilless Rifle 0
  • Costs 125Icon Munitions Small 125
  • Requires at least 2 Open Weapon Slots
  • Takes up 2 or 4 Weapon Slots as available
  • Takes 45 seconds to install

Upon purchase of this upgrade, the Airborne Squad receives either one or two M18 57mm Recoilless Rifles - powerful but inaccurate anti-tank launchers. This weapon adds a crucial anti-tank capability to the unit, allowing it to make strong attacks against enemy vehicles and armor - especially when several Airborne Squads are working together with each other or with other support units.

The number of Recoilless Rifles given to the unit depends on how many Open Weapon Slots it has when the upgrade is purchased. Two of these weapons are given if the squad is still at its original 4 Open Weapon Slots; only one weapon when it has 2 or 3 slots available.

Note that it's not always the best idea to purchase this upgrade for each Airborne Squad. It's often better to locate enemy weapons, like the Panzerschrek, which takes up less inventory space (1 slot per launcher instead of 2) or anti-infantry weapons like the MG42 Light Machine Gun or Browning Automatic Rifle to create a better anti-infantry squad. Mixing up units with anti-infantry and anti-tank weaponry will allow several Airborne Squads to work very well together as a single group.

Veterancy

As an American unit, the Airborne Squad can gain three levels of Veterancy. Each level brings its own specific benefits, increasing the unit's combat potential and/or survivability.

Accumulation

Like all other American units, the Airborne Squad obtains Veterancy points by killing enemy units. It receives 100% of the experience value of each unit it kills. Once it has accumulated a sufficient number of Veterancy points, it will automatically advance to the next level, gaining the related bonuses immediately.

American units do not share Veterancy points with one another. To receive points, the unit must personally kill an enemy unit.

Bonuses

At each Veterancy level, the Airborne Squad gains a specific set of bonuses as listed below. These bonuses are cumulative with each other.

Veterancy Airborne Squad 0 No Veterancy:
  • Unit is at normal combat efficiency.
Veterancy Airborne Squad 1 Level 1 Veterancy:
  • +15% accuracy with all weapons.
  • 20% harder to hit by any enemy weapon.
Veterancy Airborne Squad 2 Level 2 Veterancy:
  • +33% Firing Rate with all weapons.
  • +25% Resistance to Suppression.
  • +15% Resistance to damage from any source.
Veterancy Airborne Squad 3 Level 3 Veterancy:
  • +20% accuracy with all weapons.
  • +50% damage with all weapons.

Tactics

Quotes

Gallery

Paratroopers are an Allies Infantry Unit featured in Company of Heroes.

Game Info

Paratroopers, or known by many as the Airborne Force are made up of a squad of 6 highly trained Infantry that can be dropped anywhere visible on the battlefield. They are available if the player chooses the Airborne Company doctrine. These guys are tough, better trained compared to their Riflemen allies. Most of them are armed with the M1 Carbine rifle. But like, other Allied Infantry, they are capable to pick up and handle dropped light weapons. Paratroopers can also be upgraded with the AT Recoil-less Rifle, design to knock out enemy armored units. Paratroopers also have abilities such as throwing grenades, satchel charges (high explosive demolition) that are designed to demolish buildings and base structure but they are also effective against enemy Infantry and Vehicles. They also have the "Fire Up" ability, which makes them to immune to suppressive fire from a machine gun or flamethrower. Paratroopers are usually dropped behind enemy lines to harass and attack undefended position where most Axis Commander least expect it. Paratroopers can also take the care of securing dropped supplies, and support weapons such as mortars, machine guns and AT Guns. Unlike other Infantry Units which require a HQ or a half-track to reinforce, Paratroopers require only manpower resources to reinforce as reinforcements are dropped directly on the battlefield. All Axis Commanders beware, paratroopers bring "Death from above"! It is a good idea to use the Recon Plane commander utility to fly over the area you intend to drop into. This allows you to pinpoint your drop zone and allows better threat assessments if you know where the enemy units will (and won't) be.

Description

Falling from the skies to surprise the enemy, the paratroopers' main role is to surround and cut off enemy forces, seize territory, as well as dropping in to protect the flanks of troops already on the ground. This unit is only available as a support option for the Allied Airborne Company Commander.

Weaknesses

Paratroopers can be dropped behind enemy lines, but this also means that they are dropping into unknown territory. This also means their first drop could be their last. If dropped into a kill zone of a machine gun bunker or another fortification they could be wiped out fairly quickly as they have low individual health. The Ostwind Flakpanzer and Wirbelwind Flakpanzer can shoot them out of the sky before they have a chance to hit the ground, so they are best dropped or reinforced on a more secure position where the enemy will least expect it. Paratroopers deal little damage against garrisoned buildings, one way to overcome this weakness is to use satchel charges against buildings. Airborne are however easily overwhelmed if not supported well. Once an Axis commander finds out Airborne have infiltrated his/her territory, be sure to expect an extermination force to hunt them down before they do any severe damage. Due to their only weapons being M1 Carbines, Grenadier units or other infantry equipped with Stg 44's/MG42's can easily pin them down and kill them. Whilst the Recoilless Rifles provide better anti-armor, they are still not that effective against tanks especially if pinned down by Grenadiers as they won't be able to fire them. To counter this, use the other Strafing Run abilities to take out enemy vehicles and infantry or airdrop the Airborne 57mm Anti Tank cannon in simultaneously to provide anti-armor capability. Paratroopers didn't have any fast-firing anti-infantry weapon upgrades, except they grab other dead infantry weapons such BAR Automatic Rifles or any enemy waepons. Try to avoid direct contact with Grenadiers armed with MG42LM or Stormtroopers with MP44's.

Airborne Infantry

Beside the Paratroopers, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts also features two new airborne infantry, the British have the Commandos while the Panzer Elite have the Fallschirmjäger at their disposal, both Infantry squads can drop behind enemy lines.