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Wehrmacht Openings for Team Games

By AvD - 15th February 2009 - 13:25 PM

The MG42 opening is very popular in a 2v2 as you don't have to worry so much about getting caught in the open as in a 1v1 since you have an ally that is scouting for and supporting you with his starting unit (e.g. a PzGren-Squad).

MG42 Opening


A MG in a key position can dictate the early game by covering an important resource point or pinning an aggressive Brit player at his HQ. MGs are also very good at killing Mortar pits while they are being built. An MG opening can be a risk on larger maps like McGechaens War though, if your US opponent goes for a Jeep opening and chases the MG team while it is still on its way to the front. Keep in mind that a MG42 is not able to suppress Tommies in green cover and you will easily lose to units in trenches even when you are in a house or green cover.

Bike Opening


A bike opening is a bit more tricky but can also be much more useful in preventing a Brit from securing a key location early game. It makes it easier to spot for the Recon squad and you can often start to harass them while they are still capping. Unlike Volks, the bike does not have extremely bad damage modifiers vs Brits units and is able to do decent damage to their infantry and even Bren carriers. A bike can normally prevent a mortar pit from going up if you see it early enough, the huge line of sight and the high speed help a lot in these situations. Sometimes you will also be able to hunt down a lone Lt while he is capping. If you are up against a Brit who is supported by a WSC US player you can also use the bike to scout between the setup area of the Brit and the US base and intercept MGs or even snipers.

The downside to this opening is the fragility of the bike, if you don't take care in microing it, you will quickly lose it. Bikes also work better on open and/or larger maps like Pointe du Hoc or McGechaens War, while it is hard to use them effectively on Lorraine with its narrow roads and lots of green cover.

Bike or MG?


This depends on the map, your starting position and where you expect the Brit player to move his HQ. If you are far away from the probable Brit HQ position, a bike or even a 2 or 3 bike opening will give you a faster and more powerful early army to help your ally in putting pressure on the opposing team. Maps like Pointe du Hoc and McGechaens War are good for this, especially when the US player is far away from the Brits HQ (e.g US player starts north-east on Pointe du Hoc while Brit goes for the south munitions). On a bigger map like St. Hilaire one bike can be good to intercept early WSC units before they reach the city, more bikes will most probably be a waste as there are too many buildings and choke points which make it hard to move around.

4 Pioneer Opening


On some maps it can be smart to open up with 4 Pioneers instead of the usual 2 Pioneers to be able to put more pressure on a Brit player who will most probably go to a key location with his Recon squad to settle down there with his HQ. Examples for this could be the +10 Munitions in the center of Lorraine or on Wolfheze. The first two Pios go out and cap some small points on the way or harass the Brit. The third and fourth build the Wehrmacht quarters and then they meet up with the others to go attack the Brit. Normally 3 Pioneers are enough to beat the Recon squad (unless the recon squad gets into a building or green cover), so I often send the fourth squad to cap some points in the backfield or on one side of the map. The goal is to beat the Recon squad and decap the point so the HQ can not be put down, the Kettenkrad of a PE ally can be a great help in decapping the point under fire. If you fail to de-cap the point before the Brit sets down his HQ you should still be in a position to put some intense pressure on him and use your Pios, that you had to retreat, to cap a big portion of the map quickly.

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