Team strategy specialist MrZ outlines how you can leverage synergies between each faction's abilities in teamgames to maximize your team's effectiveness.
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Synergy in Teamgames
By MrZ
May not be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit written permission of MrZ.During team games, there are certain units, structures, and abilities which become much more useful when both you and your partner(s) can benefit from them together. Below I have listed some of these abilities, separated by faction, which can be utilized in team play.
Common synergies- Observation Points - By building an Observation Post (or parking a British truck or Panzer Elite Scout Car) on a resource point, both you and your partners receive extra resources. While discussing strategies with your team, it may be a good thing to discuss a fuel-dependent strategy (such as quick teching) or a munitions dependent strategy (such as extensive use of doctrine powers or unit abilities and upgrades.) Once this has been decided, an Observation Post can be utilized by the entire team.
- Repair - You can use your builder units (Engineers, Sappers, Pioneers, and Panzer Grenadiers) to repair all of your team’s light vehicles, tanks, and buildings. Always be looking for something that needs repair. If your Pioneers are the closest and not doing anything, repair it!
- Medics - The different medic stations for the factions (the US Medic Tent, the Wehrmacht Medic Bunker, and the British Casualty Clearing Station) can pick up the bodies of any friendly infantry, including your teammate's, even if they are a different faction. This is especially powerful in an American-British combo, because you can convert cheap Riflemen into much more potent Infantry Sections.
- Halftracks - The halftrack units in the different factions (the US M3 halftrack, the Wehrmacht SdKfz 251 halftrack, and the Panzer Elite Infantry Halftrack) can serve as reinforce points for both you and your allies' troops and weapon teams.
- Forward HQs - Building a forward HQ will allow both you and your teammate(s) to reinforce and heal your infantry and weapon squads. This is particularly useful for a team including the Panzer Elite, as their Forward HQs can also heal allied troops by researching "Defensive Operations" research at their home base.
- Healing buildings - Buildings that provide a healing radius (the American Triage Center, the British Casualty Clearing Station, and Panzer Elite FHQs and their base sector with Defensive Operations researched) work for all friendly infantry on your team. This is particularly useful for Wehrmacht-Panzer Elite teams, as retreated Wehrmacht troops can walk to the Panzer Elite base sector to reinforce and heal.
- Cloaking - Cloaked units (snipers, Wehrmacht Blitzkreig Stormtroopers, and Panzer Elite Luftwaffe Kettenrads) spot for both you and your fellow teammates, allowing long ranged units like AT guns to utilize their maximum range and providing line of sight for off-map artillery strikes.
- Defensive positions - If you chose one of the vanilla Company of Heroes factions and your teammate chose an Opposing Fronts faction, use your Pioneers and Engineers to construct barbwire, sandbags, tank traps, and mines. A Panzer Elite player does not have access to these abilities unless they have the Scorched Earth Roadblocks doctrine power, and British player does not have access to these abilities until they can build Sappers.
Wehrmacht-specific synergies- Repair Bunkers - Constructing Repair Bunkers will repairl not only your own light vehicles and tanks but your partner’s light vehicles and tanks as well. This can be very useful when you have a Panzer Elite partner using a vehicle-centric strategy.
- Fortify the Perimeter - If you have chosen the Defensive Doctrine, you can get a 2CP doctrine ability called “Fortify the Perimeter”. Once you have gotten this ability, both you and your teammate can reinforce your infantry and weapon teams near your bunkers.
Panzer Elite-specific synergies- Munitions Halftrack - A Munitions Halftrack nearby units greatly reduces the cooldown timer on activated abilities on nearby Panzer Elite units. This works the best with a partner using abilities such as the G43 Suppressive Volley and the Tread-breaker ability from the AT halftrack.
- Vampire Halftrack - The Vampire Halftrack is an under-utilized unit. By using it in team games, you not only decrease the resource income for EACH opposing team member, but you also boost the resource income for all team members on your team. In larger team games, a Vampire potentially represents a much larger resource swing than it does in a 1v1 game.
- Tread-breaker - The AT halftrack has an amazing ability called “Tread-breaker” which can immobilize or destroy the engine on light vehicles and tanks. After using this ability, a partner's AT weapons can engage the disabled vehicle with impunity.
- Bergetiger - The Bergetiger allows you to salvage and resurrect light vehicles and tanks which have been destroyed. This works on both you and your teammate's wrecked vehicles.
- Tank Awareness - If you have selected Tank Hunter tactics, you can acquire a 1CP doctrine ability called “Tank Awareness”. This will display enemy tanks in the fog of war on your minimap, allowing you to inform your teammates of enemy armor movements before they can see it themselves.
- Tellermine Sandwich - If you've selected Tank Hunter tactics, you can choose a 1CP ability that allows your Panzergrenadiers to lay Tellermines, extremely powerful landmines that only trigger when vehicles run over them. You can lay a Tellermine on top of an ordinary Wehrmacht landmine (or vice versa,) resulting in a 75-munition ultra-mine that will be trigged by any passing unit (vehicle or otherwise,) unleashing cataclysmic levels of destruction.
British-specific synergies- Trucks - Beyond just providing a resource bonus for your team, parked trucks can also serve as reinforce points for your whole team. Smart truck placement balances a good resource bonus with a central location that allows convenient frontline reinforcement.
- Trenches - ANY infantry squad can enter a trench you've constructed. If you don’t want your 450 manpower squad to be sitting in a trench, you can have your partner place a cheap Engineer squad in it to hold the position.
- Decoy Artillery - If you have selected the Royal Commando Tree, you can use your Decoy Artillery ability to keep your opponent guessing. This works particularly well when partnered with an American Infantry Company player, as your opponents have to deal with increased odds of a real artillery strike, maximizing the threat of Decoy Artillery.
- Triangulation - If you have selected the Royal Commando Regiment, you can use the radio triangulation ability to give your team more information about the enemies' movements.
- Ultra Decryption - If you have selected the Royal Commando Regiment, you can use the “Ultra Decryption” passive ability to inform your teammates of what your opponents are building and researching.
American-specific synergies- Supply Drop - If you chose Airborne Company, you can use the ability “Supply Drop” to drop resources anywhere you have line of sight. Either you or your partner can pick up the resources as well as the heavy weapons which come along with it.
- Recon Run - If you are Airborne Company, you can use Recon Run to display parts of the map for you and your partner, giving you updated intel on the enemy as well as providing temporary line of sight for off-map artillery strikes by anyone on your team.
Stay tuned for part two of this feature, where I will elaborate on specific high-synergy unit combinations!
Thanks to:The following is a list of GR.org members who have helped form this guide in some way, shape, or form.
RikiRude, Olibrius, JockoGoesApeshit, Yojimbo252, BoH, ntd and hillhome.
