Overview
A guide to the basic roles of infantry in combat. Applicable to Heroes and Generals.
Introduction.
First off, this is not a guide on how to shoot, move, throw grenades or any other type of game mechanic. If you can’t figure that sort of thing out on your own, you should maybe go play minecraft.
What this is is an explanation of the different roles and tactics employable by infantry and their application in-game.
I am basing this on nearly a decade of military service and a lifetime spent as an amateur military historian. This guide is aimed at new players just starting out. Any veteran players who do not know the things I describe here should maybe go play minecraft too 😀
The basic Infantryman.
In Heroes And Generals, the standard infantryman is a god of multirole gameplay. There are so many applicable roles and loadouts that I am going to simplify things by just describing the most useful and/or basic roles.
Assault Troops.
Assault troops are your general shock troopers. They have one objective and that is to take objectives and neutralize defenders.
The SMG is a must for most assault types. You will be engaging the enemy at close range and often inside buildings and/or fortifications. The ability to spray an entire area with a murderous amount of lead is far more preferrable to the slow firing but more accurate rifle.
Grenades are also essential. Don’t just charge into a defended building using the spray and pray technique 🙂 Hurl a grenade in, wait for the explosion, and follow it in immediately before your enemy recovers. Always think “where would I be hiding?” if you were defending that room, and turn straight to that area and start firing. 9 times out of 10, it will be the right spot. Even better is to storm as a team. If using voice comms, you can coordinate who goes left, right etc.
If the room is clear, STOP! Do not dash on into the next room, (that is most likely where any enemy moved to when he saw your grenade fly in), but cover the door and either wait for your team mates (if there are any) or repeat the same process. Playing with a squad makes this much easier,. Leap frog over eachother, covering doorways etc as you go.
Also keep in mind that most buildings have more than one entry. This can require a coordinated assault on the building the entry points. Careful with your grenades and reactive fire in this case as you may harm friendlies. Situational awareness and common sense are your friends.
Once the objective is taken, there is always the tendency to rush to the next. DON’T!! Secure that objective immediately. Hold there and give pursuing or supporting units a chance to spawn and catch up to the assaulters. So many times iin game I see people rusing from one objective to the next only to leave the one they just left wide open to counter attack and recapture. Don’t rush. Slow, methodical and clinical is the key.
One last point, before entering any door into a building, CHECK FOR MINES! If you don’t know what they look like then take a peek at the explosives section. That will give you an idea of the shape of the things. If you see one, or think you do, then warn your team. Often the grenade that you throw in will detonate the mine, negating it’s effect, but failing that, you will have to shoot it out from a safe distance or have someone else do it while you take cover near the entrance.
Equip badges that give you an edge. Extra sprint, hip firing accuracy, or even damage reduction, all useful to the role.
Engineers
Yes, there are engineers in the game, if you equip your soldier correctly. The best role of the engineer type is to secure locations taken by the assault troops. I can not express highly enough the usefulness of mines. Both anti personnel (AP) and anti vehicle (AV). They are great battlefield denial tools.
As soon as an objective is taken and the team moves on to the next. Mine the approaches to the captures objective, because as sure as eggs is eggs, the enemy will be coming back for it if they get the chance.
An AP mine inside the most likely access point will take out the first guy to stand on it, maybe the second too, and it will make the enemy far more cautious in his approach, giving your own forces time to mount a defence. AV mines are used much in the same way and should be placed on the most likely approaches. The opportunity to take out a transport crammed with enemy infantry rushing to take the point back is not to be missed.
Once your mines are placed, TELL YOUR TEAM! Yes they can see the mine in-game but there is always some idiot who isn’t paying attention to those large red warning icons. Also many new players have no idea what that red icon means and often (due to it’s image) think it is a grenade they can pick up by walking over it. Anyway, once your team is informed you need to get ready to defend or hold until the next point is capped at least. If you read the section on assault above, you now know what you have to deal with. Don’t camp in the obvious spots. Be aware of grenades (Listen! You will hear them land) and be prepared to move fast, or be in cover.
For badges, anything increasing your explosive skills would be useful.
Fireteams
Infantry armed with rifles and/or LMG’s constitute a fireteam. The job here is to support the assault team from a distance by supply accurate fire on an objective with the aim of suppressing enemy defenders.
You assault troops have to close with an objective to take it. Often the enemy are entrenched in hard cover, giving them a significant advantage against those mad bastards with the SMG’s charging at them with teeth bared. Suppressing fire is the tactic of keeping that enemy’s head down. Nothing makes an enemy duck more than accurate fire. If your team is assaulting a building, then start putting out a volume of fire on any openings until you assault troops make that unsafe to do so, then switch your fire to the next floor as your assault team enters the ground floor, as this will likely be where retreating enemies move to. Keep their heads down, volume of fire is the important thing.
Which leads me to the LMG. One of the most effective and incorrectly used weapons in the game. It is a support weapon, it is designed to suppress enemy troops and it does so extremely well. In fact a well placed LMG is also capable of tying up an entire enemy advance. Running around with this weapons is denying it it’s most useful role. Use it to support advancing troops, giving them covering fire. Or use it defensively from good cover to disrupt and deny enemy infantry movement.
Anti-Tank
Anti tank troops armed with a panzerfaust or bazooka etc are a tankers worse nightmare. They can strike from doorways, behind trees, alleys, bushes…..anywhere. Tank hunting is a very self satisfying role when you see that steel behemoth go boom.
Patience is the key. You want to attack the tank on your terms, not be forced to rush into it. Hitting from the rear, or at least the sides is preferrable, so you will have to not only be stealthy, but also hold your nerve. I have had tanks roll by within just feet of me as I crouch whimpering behind a flimsy barrel, but when you see that big steel tank butt in your sites, you know you got it.
Supporting infantry is your bane. Tanks should ALWAYS have infantry support. ALWAYS! But they won’t, not in this game. Most tankers think they are invincible and will go rushing off into the fight. Sensible tankers will know they are in fact vulnerable, and will hang back. Infantry think the tanks can look after themselves, so they just leave them to it. However, if you come up against a team that understands the rule of infantry support, you are going to have a much tougher time of it.
Try to fire when the infantry are not looking in your direction and immediately duck back into cover to reload. Or ask your team to suppress the infantry long enough for you to knock out the tank.
It’s one thing to destroy a tank, but it’s quite another to destroy it and get away. I often see anti tankers drive a jeep right up to a tank, jump off, and fire their AT weapon at point-plank range. Ok sure it will most likely kill the tank, but the guy usually gets killed at the same time by someone or something. That is NOT tank hunting, that is noobish suicide. Much like the pilots who crach into AA guns because they lack the skills to actually avoid its fire and still kill it.
A good anti tank troop should be able to manouver into position with steatlh or be able to wait and ambush his prey, and then make his escape to hit another target.
Recon.
Recon is often misunderstood and misused. The clue is in the name. Unfortunately, the games developers seemed unable to differentiate between the recon role and the snipe role. So let’s do that now.
Sniper/Marksman
We’ve all seen him, the guy in the glaringly obvious light tan camo lurking in a dark green wood trying to get that headshot on an enemy, any enemy, doesnt matter who. Or engaging in their own private little sniping wars with enemy snipers and not really having any effect on the overall battle. I will say this clearly, the way to negate a sniper’s effectiveness is to NOT give him a target. So wasting time trading shots with them is playing into their hands. Hollywood has glamourized the class and people think that is how it is played.
A marksman though, is a whole different kettle of fish.
The marksman is concerned with supporting his allies with pinpoint accuracy WHERE IT IS REQUIRED! A marksman does not go off like some well armed rifle ninja stalking other ninja want-to-be types.
That’s not to say that he doesnt target those “snipers”, he does. But ONLY when it is needed and serves a purpose. Quite often it is easy for infantry to deny the enemy sniper any targets by simply changing their route of advance. When this is not possible, only then is the marksman really required to neutralize him.
The marksman should add their fire to the fireteam’s suppressing fire when objectives are being assaulted. He can pick off troops trying to leave the objective or deny reinforcments. This is far more useful to the team effort than kneeling behind a tree 500m away looking for a target of opportunity.
Marksmen prioritize targets. Enemy defenders (especially LMG troops) should be top during an assault.
Contrary to hollywood teachings, marksmen do not operate alone. A spotter with binoculars or scope often accompanies them. This works in game too. One soldier with a pair of binos can spot and mark targets for his marksman partner and look for new threats while the marskman is making his shot. Not many will do this role as it will not net kills for the spotter, but it’s bloody effective and adds some nice tactictal gameplay.
Pay attention to the flow of battle as a marksman. Where the assault has bogged down there is often a reason for it that you can neutralize or assist with. Let the team know they can call on you if required and DO NOT remove yourself from the main force. Just hang back until required. Remember it’s far better to be a marksman than a sniper!
One tip for those of you who will still go it alone. AP mines are your friends. If you are using a building as your perch, mine the entrances, but again LET YOUR TEAM KNOW. Not only will they take out the first guy to approach but they will let you know your position is compromised and it’s time to move.
True Recon.
The real role of recon is battlefield information. That means spotting. Yeah that’s right, plain old boring spotting. Sounds as much fun as watching paint dry, and to some it is, but to the enlightened it is one of the most overlooked aspects of the game.
A recon spotter is not concerned with kills, he does not want to give his postion away for a headshot, unless totally necessary (Or unless using the camo badge).
Binoculars are best in this role due to the increased field of view. Spotting involves targetting an enemy unit in order to mark it, making it visible to your team mates. I dont really need to express the importance of this role when used in conjunction with air or armor support. If your team cant see seomthing, they can’t shoot it. A good recon spotter can change an entire battle by constant up to date information.
Unfortuantely, due to the silly XP system, you get no XP for spotting, you should, your’e a recon troop doing what recon troops do. The game rewards recon XP for captures (go figure??) and sniping, hence discouraging anyone from really playing the role correctly. So, if you’re not worried about XP for whatever reason then you have the opportunity to make a huge game changing contribution to your side with your selfless sacrifice.
Coordinate with tankers and pilots. Often they will have an idea where a target is but are unable to spot it themselves. Move to the area with care, get out your bino’s or scope and scan slowly. You’re looking for any movement, or flashes, smoke, even straight lines (often a gun barrel or vehicle part, nothing in nature is straight). Once you spot it, call it out. And if possible call out it’s facing. This can allow your team to approach it’s blindside.
Keep up with the advance. Often you are operating ahead of it so try not to get overtaken and left behind. Use stealth, stay off hilltops to avoid being silhoutted against the sky. Make slow movements and always move to cover carefully before relocating. Crawl if you have to.
If you survive an entire battle which your team wins, and you spent that battle spotting and marking targets that were destroyed, then you can call yourself recon.
A quick note for recon players. Whilst not really infantry, you have access to one of the best vehicles in the game. The SDKfz-222 light armored car. When fighting with lots of armored and mechanized units I suggest using it. Mostly for lols. Click here for my guide.
Paras
The paratroop is another misused unit that can win battles when used and deployed correctly. The role is not for everyone, as it involves some of the most intense and upclose combat in the game.
Roles.
Unfortunately the game devs yet again made a glaring error when they decided to class the para as light infantry and thus limit his equipment load. This is wrong. Paratroops were capable of jumping with an enourmous array of equipment. Their role demanded it. Dropping behind enemy lines and holding out until relieved against all manner of enemy opposition was not possible without a heavly equipped force.
Roles for the paras can be the same as for infantry really. However seeing as the role mostly involves assaults on capture points, SMG’s are prefered by many. Fighting is often at close range. The main objective of any para drop is to seize a particular point usually, and then hold it until support arrives. Coordinated drops are a must. The whole unit must know the dropzone and the first man out of the plane should jump a little earlier than usual else the rear mean will grossly over-shoot the LZ. Also the entire team must be told your target so they can sync any ground assault with you. If this does not happen, you take the point and be left stranded and wiped out eventually.
Tactics once on the ground are similar to the assault troop so I wont go into it again. One noticable difference is that landing on the roof of an objective gives the opportunity to hit an enemy from an unexpected direction, and done in conjunction with a ground assault, can be devastatingly effective.
When dropping ahead of the main force to seize a point, clear it, SECURE it, and then HOLD IT! Wait for the ground troops to reach you and consolidate your gain and push on. Once the point is secure and forces are spawning there, your job is done and you can have a brew and a cig while regaling each other with tales of your assault. And call yourself true Paras………….. Oh, or you can just consider yourselves infantry and advance with the rest of your team 🙂
The point is, your goal is to take a pre-set objective and HOLD it. I will say that again, HOLD IT! Do not just cap it and rush to the next. Methodical and clinicla remember? Be professional, do it properly and earn the admiration and respect of those poor foot sloggers.
Quick note. A marksman and anti tank para are worth their weight in gold. AT weapons are often found in crated around objectives, look for them. You will need all the help you can get.
Mechanized Infantry.
A quick note on the correct use of the Halftrack.
The halftrack is NOT a tank or armored car. It is lightly armored, open topped and vulnerable. The MG is there for defense, not to shoot at tanks.
The advantage of a halftrack is it’s mobile spawn ability. Unit members can spawn as passengers even when the vehicle is travelling. Use this function to get straight into the fight. Its a massive advantage when attacking a position, diminishing the time it takes for troops to get back into the line.
Halftracks should be parked out of sight but close to the fight, and I do mean out of sight. Any enemy worth his salt will know the advantage it gives and will attempt to negate it.
DO NOT STEAL HALFTRACKS! A halftrack is where it is for a reason. The deploying player should have placed it where it will be of use as a spawn, not a mobile MG. So leave it alone. Do not fire the gun and give the position away either. That gun is for defense in transit.
A properly positioned halftrack makes a huge difference and if you are fortunate enough to have one on your team, dont do anything to compromise the advantage.
Conclusion.
I could have gone on and on. There are so many things I could put in this guide that it would be in danger of becoming a field manual rather than a quick guide.
I purposefully missed out sections on flanking and defending armor etc. I really just wanted to give an idea of the roles you can choose to adopt rather actual unit tactics.
I believe that choosing a role and playing it makes the game far more interesting than the usual run and gun gameplay. And I guarantee you that if a whole team implemented these roles and the applicable tactics, and communicated / coordinated their battle, they would be a formidable force to beat.
Remember that you are not limited to one role. Different loadouts make it possible to switch. So see what you think the team is lacking and act accordingly. Heroes and Generals is a fun game and I dont suggest for one second you take it seriously, but if you take your actual role seriously and stick to it during the fight, you will find a great sense of self gratifying achievment when you do it correctly.
