Company of Heroes

The Panzer Elite have a very unique veterancy system when compared to the other factions, that allows the player to customize what veterancy bonuses a unit receives. For the lowdown on the mechanics of how Panzer Elite veterancy works, this guide by YurtleTheTurtle will get you up to speed.

Because you are given a choice of either an Offensive or Defensive bonus upon a PE unit gaining a level of veterancy, this may be daunting for those players who are accustomed to units from other factions getting predetermined bonuses upon leveling up. What I'll be focusing on with this guide is veterancy builds for the Panzer Elite; what bonuses are given at certain veterancy levels, and the reason why a unit can benefit from a particular order of choices.

The Panzer Elite have two veterancy 'tables', if you will - One for Infantry and the other for Vehicles. The table's bonuses differ from one another, so remember that one build for infantry will not give the same augments for vehicles.

Infantry Builds

The Infantry 'table' accounts for all Panzer Elite infantry units, including the doctrine units such as Fallschimjager and the Luftwaffe squad. Upon referring to the 'table' you'll notice bonus multipliers remain unchanged per veterancy level, but interestingly Defense level 3 includes an extra bonus of 5% reduced received accuracy along with normal increments.

Standard Infantry

• Vet1 - Offence
• Vet2 - Offence
• Vet3 - Defence

I consider this the 'standard Infantry' build as the strength of this build lies in the fact that it makes use of the extra bonus at Defensive Vet 3, whilst providing the punch that you'd expect from a vetted infantry squad. This build is helpful for vanilla Panzer Grenadiers and Panzer Elite infantry in general as it provides a solid foundation of veterancy.

G43

• Vet1 - Offence
• Vet2 - Offence
• Vet3 - Offence

The build is all out Offensive, which really augments the range and power of the G43 rifle. Accuracy and Penetration are pushed to the limit whilst weapon cooldown and reload times are shortened, allowing you to fire your rifles faster and hit with greater precision. This does mean that healing will have to come from the HQ or a Reinforce Point, whilst accuracy and damage debuffs will come from making use of cover. This build also applies to FG42 equipped Fallschimjager squads, if you feel that maximizing the offensive potential of the FG42 assault rifle is worth forgoing the extra bonus in Vet 3 Defensive. If you plan on upgrading a Panzer Gren squad later on with G43's, be sure to full up on Offence as a preemptive measure.

MP44

• Vet1 - Defence
• Vet2 - Defence
• Vet3 - Defence

This build is the complete opposite to the G43 build, and for good reason. The strength of the MP44 is in its damage at close range, getting up close and personal with the enemy is difficult a majority of the time so your MP44 squad is going to need some leverage with this. With all three veterancy levels in Defensive, the squads received damage and received suppression is improved, as well as the exclusive received accuracy from the Defensive Vet 3. Maximum health of the squad is at it's highest numbers, along with the generous health regeneration rate of 10.08 per min. This combination of bonuses makes the MP44 squad difficult to hit, damage and be suppressed by the enemy, meaning they have a far greater chance of getting into close range. I generally tend to go full on Defensive veterancy with Luftwaffe squads as they are more a support unit and have minimal combat capabilities. If you plan on upgrading a PG squad later on with MP44's, be sure to max out Defense as a preemptive measure.

Panzerschreck Panzer Grenadiers/Tank Buster Heavy Infantry - I highly recommend the Standard build as it gives the anti-tank weapon the much needed accuracy and penetration increases, while providing some self preservation attributes needed to help prolong "dropping" the weapon

Vehicle Builds

The Vehicle 'table' accounts for all 'combat' vehicles and emplacements, that includes doctrine call-ins and emplacements such as the Jagdpanther and the PE 88mm Flak 36. 'Support' vehicles; Kettenkrad, Schwimmwagen Type 128, Munitions Halftrack, Bergetiger, and the Funkwagen Halkftrack only acquire Defensive veterancy that is automatically applied when gained. Like the Infantry table, increments of attributes for both Offensive and Defensive veterancy are equal, with the exception of Defense veterancy 1. Level 1 Defensive Veterancy for Vehicles has 5% more Received Damage and Received Accuracy plus a 10% increase of Maximum Speed over other Defensive Veterancy levels.


Standard Vehicle

• Vet1 - Defence
• Vet2 - Offence
• Vet3 - Offence

This build makes use of the extra potency of Defensive Vet 1, and still provides the attack increase that you'd expect from an Offensively vetted vehicle. I'd recommend sticking to this build for all combat vehicles/emplacements unless your strategy dictates more offensive tactics/approach for a given vehicle or the particular vehicle's main weapon doesn't benefit Offence veterancy bonuses. Like the Standard Infantry build for infantry, this build provides a 'rule of thumb' of veterancy bonuses for vehicles.

Defense

• Vet1 - Defensive
• Vet2 - Defensive
• Vet3 - Defensive

This build is applicable to a lot of units for different reasons. The Jagdpanther carries a cannon similar to the King Tiger but because APCR Rounds is a prerequisite to the Jagdpanther, the 88mm cannon on the Jagdpanther has higher penetration than the King Tiger's. This means at stock, the Jagdpanther already has all the offensive capabilities it really needs to do its job. By going Defensive for all three levels, you augment the areas it's lacking. The total health of the Jagdpanther with this build is a whopping 2433! That's 433 health points more than that of the King Tiger. The maximum speed of the Jagdpanther is increased dramatically, along with huge bonuses to it's received damage and received accuracy, making the Jagdpanther a powerhouse of a tank destroyer.

For the Infantry Halftrack the accumulation of defence bonuses visibly increases the speed the IHT moves across the battlefield, reinforcing squads and even making it past enemy emplacements without taking much damage thanks to the improved health, recieved accuracy, and received damage modifiers. Scout Cars that make it into the late game will find the mounted machine gun isn't going to help when light vehicles and tanks hit the battlefield, so increasing survivability is more feasible than increasing it's damage output.

Due to the nature of the Hummel only able to fire a barrage, technically an ability instead of a normal repeatable attack, the Hummel would only make use of one benefit from Offensive veterancy, which is Reduced Reload: reducing the amount of time it takes for the Hummel to fire each shell during a barrage. It would be seem more feasible for the Hummel to choose a veterancy path where it makes full use of given bonuses.

Veterancy for the Flak 88 depends on it's position in the battlefield- if it's placed at the base, within healing range, or behind the frontline as an anti-tank measure, then feel free to fill all 3 levels with Offensive veterancy. If the stationary 88mm is placed on the frontline, consider using Defensive veterancy more than Offensive, as the damage from this 88mm cannon is far greater than that of the Jagdpanther, and the received damage and accuracy bonuses will give the gun more staying power.

Armored Car
It's difficult to put the armored car to a specific build; commonly it's seen to be either given full Offensive or full Defensive. Whilst 3 levels in Offence veterancy allow the unit to gun down enemy infantry squads mercilessly, with which it's designed for, on the other hand it can't take a lot of punishment and can easily be taken out by AT fire and sticky bombs. Three levels of Defensive veterancy helps negate the unit's fragility, especially during late game, allowing the armored car to do it's job whilst being able to take a hit or two before requiring urgent repairs.

Conclusion

I hope this guide has given newer players to CoH, or the PE faction, an idea of how veterancy choices effect Panzer Elite units and when they should be applied. Again, this is a guide based on my personal experience so other players will have other views on what choices of veterancy apply to certain units and tactics. That's the unique benefit of veterancy with the Panzer Elite, there is no right veterancy path.

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