Company of Heroes 3 - Wehrmacht Overview

Hey everyone, I'm Jason Z. from the Gameplay team. We've been working hard on our new factions and are excited to present our overview for the new Wehrmacht faction. 

Overview

The Wehrmacht are designed to represent the mid-war German army pitted against the Allied Forces in Italy. Once again, the Wehrmacht are on the defensive, using their firepower, training and experience to weather the onslaught of the Allied Forces. While powerful on the defensive, the army can hit hard on the counterattack with powerful infantry, armor and heavy hitting team weapons.

The Wehrmacht will feature a strong mix of familiar and new units combined with a more complex tech structure and unique faction mechanics, ensuring it stands out as new, fresh and exciting.

 Army Attributes

Strengths

• Defenses – Replicate the famous defensive prowess of the German army with a powerful array of team weapons, field defenses and bunkers
• Infantry Training – Utilize a variety of infantry units to tackle any obstacle from holding ground to assault
• Firepower – From powerful heavy machine guns to devastating artillery rockets, the Wehrmacht will have no shortage of heavy hitting weapons.
• Armor – The Wehrmacht faction possesses powerful armor capable of taking the fight to the enemy and break through their lines

Weaknesses

• Mobility – A large part of the Wehrmacht’s strength comes from powerful, static weapons or slow, lumbering vehicles. This can leave them vulnerable to fast flanking tactics of the allies
• Complexity – The Wehrmacht have a myriad of powerful but specialist tools at their disposal and employing them effectively can be complex, demanding much of any commander 

Playstyles

The new Wehrmacht army gives players many options and decisions to make about what kind of force he/she assembles. Players will be able to choose to invest into powerful team weapons, which while slow, offer enormous firepower and the ability to lock down large areas. Alternatively, the player can choose to deploy powerful light but mobile forces that can strike hard but lack staying power and durability. There will always be different ways the Wehrmacht can tackle any problem; however, unlike the Americans, their choices will be more permanent. When chosen carefully, a Wehrmacht force can efficiently handle any enemy.

In the later stages of a match, the true might of the German war machine can be witnessed through their late-game armor, veterancy and highly trained infantry. This force boasts incredible power and can smash into unprepared enemies when deployed effectively.  

Tech Tree & Unit Roster

Tier 0 - Wehrmacht HQ          

The starting building for the Wehrmacht Army, the HQ deploys Pioneer and Kettenkrad squads to the battlefield.

Units

• Pionier Squad ­– Combat engineers, a key unit for building defenses, repairing, and holding territory through the construction of mines, bunkers, sandbags, and barbed wire
• Sd.Kfz. 2 ‘Kettenkrad’ – A halftrack motorcycle that lacks in combat ability but offers valuable scouting capabilities and point capture

Upgrades

• Medic Station – Provides healing within the sector

Tier 1 - Infantry Command Quarters

Deploys Grenadiers, Heavy Machine Gun Teams, Mortar Teams, and 221 Armored Scout Cars. These units form the starting core of any Wehrmacht force, they are resilient and adept at taking and holding ground.

Units

• Grenadier Squad – Well trained and led soldiers armed with the Kar98k and Panzerfaust, they are highly effective at holding ground and supporting other elements. 
• GrW 34 8cm Mortar Team – Accurate and mobile, the Mortar Team provides key fire support attacking enemy strongpoints from afar and provides smoke cover, clearing the way for other forces.
• MG42 Machine Gun Team – With a wide arc of fire and high rate of fire, the venerable MG42 provides critical automatic firepower. Highly effective against enemy infantry but requires support to secure its flanks.
• Sd.Kfz. 221 ‘Armored Scout Car’ – Intended for reconnaissance and scouting, this armored scout car is also adept at engaging infantry and even light vehicles when upgraded with the 2.8 cm Panzerbuchse 41.

Upgrades

• Advanced Light Mechanized Tactics – Unlocks the Sd.Kfz. 221 Armored Scout Car

Note that all icons, abilities, values and UI are placeholder and not final. Everything in this image is subject to change.

Tier 2A - Luftwaffe Command Quarters

The Luftwaffe CQ deploys mobile forces that allow a German commander to fight aggressively out on the battlefield. It offers a collection of light units adept at fighting enemy infantry and light vehicles but can struggle with durability and fighting enemy heavy armor.

Units

• Jaeger Light Infantry Squad – Highly trained infantry specializing in long range warfare and reconnaissance. Armed with Gewehr 43 Rifles, smoke rifle grenades and Panzerschreks, Jaegers can destroy enemies with precision
• Sniper – An elite sharpshooter that wreaks havoc on enemy infantry without warning and at long range. While reliant on careful positioning and concealment, a sniper used correctly can decimate the enemy
• Flak 30 Anti-Aircraft Gun Team – The Flak 30 AA Gun Team can control large areas with its overwhelming firepower, shredding infantry, light vehicles and aircraft alike. It is however slow and vulnerable on its flanks, relying on support from other units to perform effectively.
• Sd.Kfz. 161/4 Flakpanzer IV "Wirbelwind" – Mounting a set of four 2cm Flak 38 guns in a quad-mount on a Panzer IV chassis, the Wirbelwind is a terrifying beast that unleashes a storm of steel annihilating infantry, light vehicles, and aircraft alike. 
• Sd.Kfz. 138 “Marder III” Tank Hunter – A combination of the powerful 7.5cm Pak 40 Anti-Tank Gun mounted on a lightly armored Panzer 38(t) chassis, the Marder III is a tank destroyer that can deliver a heavy punch but not receive it

 Upgrades

• Advanced Assault Tactics – Shared upgrade with the Panzergrenadier Kompanie. Unlocks building the Wirbelwind, Marder III, StuG III and Nebelwerfer

Tier 2B - Panzergrenadier Command Quarters

The PK Command Quarters provides the Wehrmacht Army with units that hit hard on both the attack and on the defense. It can deploy a powerful mechanized spearhead of assault infantry and vehicles or team weapons with devastating firepower. While not as adept at countering enemy infantry, it can easily blunt and destroy enemy armor.

Units

• Panzergrenadier Squad – Specialized infantry troops equipped with short-range weapons and assault grenades intended to assault and flush out enemy positions. While terrifying at short range, the squad can struggle at longer ranges.
• Pak40 Anti-Tank Gun – The heavy hitting but slow anti-tank gun hurls steel shells effective at penetrating and destroying all but the heaviest allied armor
• Sd.Kfz 251 Half-Track – The 251 is an armored mobile transport vehicle highly capable at performing important support duties like transport and reinforcement. Can be upgraded with the 75mm L/24 gun which allows it to offer close fire support.
• Sd.Kfz. 142 ‘Sturmgeshutz III’ Assault Gun – One of the best armored vehicles in the war, the StuG is a heavily armored, self-propelled 7.5cm assault gun intended to support infantry and destroy enemy armor.
• Nebelwerfer 42 Rocket Launcher Team – The Nebelwerfer can unleash devastation from afar with volleys of 21 cm rockets, destroying defensive positions and scattering the enemy. It is key in both defensive and offensive operations, however, is slow and vulnerable to enemy attack.

Upgrades

• Advanced Assault Tactics – Shared upgrade with the Panzergrenadier Kompanie. Unlocks building the Wirbelwind, Marder III, StuG III and Nebelwerfer

Tier 3 - Panzer Command 

From Panzer Command deploy the most powerful units that the Wehrmacht has to offer, from elite infantry to heavy armor. These elements will allow the German commander to wholeheartedly switch to the offense, smashing through enemy lines.

Units

• ‘Stoβtruppen’ Infantry Squad – These shock troops while small in number, strike armed with some of the best weaponry of the army. They can handle most enemy threats but require support to fight Allied armor.
• Sd.Kfz. 161/1 ‘Panzer IV’ Medium Tank – The iconic Panzer IV is equipped with a powerful long-barreled 7.5cm turret and protected with thick armor, making it more than a match for Allied armor and infantry. 
• Sd.Kfz. 166 Sturmpanzer IV “Brummbar” – Truly a breakthrough weapon, the heavily armored Brummbar can shrug off hits and deliver devastating blows with its front gun. It excels at breaking through the toughest enemy defenses, punching a hole for its allies to exploit.

Field Marshalls

The Tech upgrades or “Field Marshalls” for the Wehrmacht Army provide the army with three distinct themes and playstyles – Special Operations, Mechanized, and Defensive. These exclusive upgrades provide each unit in the army with unique veterancy abilities and unlock different squad upgrades and passive bonuses. 

The Field Marshall upgrade is an exclusive choice, meaning picking one of these three Field Commanders will lock out the other two. 

Note that all icons, abilities, values and UI are placeholder and not final. Everything in this image is subject to change.

Special Operations Field Marshal

The Special Operations Field Marshall focuses on reconnaissance, special weapons, infiltration and ambush tactics. Each unit in the army receives Special Operations training, providing them with a unique veterancy ability tailored to this theme. For example, team weapons and tanks receive camouflage training allowing them to ambush the enemy. 

• Focused on reconnaissance, ambush and stealth tactics
• Unlocks Special Operations themed Veterancy 1 abilities for the army
• Unlocks Vehicle Ambush Camouflage upgrade

Mechanized Field Marshall

The Mechanized Field Marshall focuses on anti-vehicle, blitzkrieg and armored support tactics. Each unit in the army receives advanced Mechanized training, providing them with a unique veterancy 1 ability tailored to this theme of warfare. For example, infantry earn a combined arms bonus when near supporting vehicles.

• Focused on anti-tank, blitzkrieg and armored support tactics
• Unlocks Mechanized themed Veterancy 1 abilities for the army
• Unlocks the Panzer and StuG Side Skirt upgrades

Defensive Field Marshall

The Defensive Field Marshall focuses on heavy defenses, holding territory and counter-attack tactics. Each unit in the army receives advanced Defensive training, providing them with a unique veterancy 1 ability tailored to this theme of warfare. For example, team weapons are able to set-up and pack-up more quickly allowing them to displace and re-position to support / defend against assaults more effectively.

• Focused on heavy defenses, holding territory, and counter-attack tactics
• Unlocks Defensive themed Veterancy 1 abilities for the army
• Unlocks S-Mine Fields and Fortress Pioneers upgrade

That about wraps up our overview. Please do note that this is still early on and things are very much up for change. I hope you're as excited for this as we are, and if so (or if not!) let us know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Jason

Pretty cool! I'll love to see defensive play be a more viable tactic.

I wonder which other heavy armored vehicles will the Wehrmacht have available.

This is highly informative, many thanks to Relic and their staff for this information.

My initial observation is that many of the US Forces "Strengths" are essentially empty verbiage that is in all honesty equally applicable here, while the Wehrmacht's "Strengths" are that their units are effective, ie doing massive damage or having excellent armor and defenses. "Flexibility" meaning you have various possible build orders? How is that not also true here? "Combined Arms" of producing multiple unit types and having them work together to be more effective? Effective specialists are much MORE deserving of this description. Having a very effective AT gun that is useless against infantry and a very effective anti-personnel weapon that is useless against armor is so much more evocative of "combined arms" than having versatile all-rounders that have inferior overall performance. The USF's descriptors appear like empty tokens, which are at least equally applicable to this Wehrmacht design as they were over there, if not more so due to their specialized units that must mutually depend on one another in order to engage multiple enemy types. As was commented in the US Forces thread, telling people to have superior resourcing, superior production, combined arms, and flanking, is tightly equivalent to just telling people they have no choice but to play significantly better than their opponent because their units are worse, which is a common criticism of previous titles that very much should be avoided in COH3.

I can get behind the idea that the Wehrmacht is designed to be a defensive faction. However in the context of COH, or other strategy games like Steel Division, a "bite and hold" strategy is not a late game high macro strategy that fits with having a strong late game- it is an early/midgame concept that wants to hold VPs and close out the game before the late game production/macro faction accumulates an insurmountable material advantage and attacks to overwhelm and thus win the game. Being a defensive faction means being active early to take and hold to defend until victory can be achieved. Not passively sitting back until an advantage can be obtained late game, so that strong units can be deployed. Making a defensive faction with weak early and strong late game is a terrible, terrible idea. Defensive faction wants to end the game quickly, by holding the VPs as much as possible from minute one onwards, and repel all attempts to take them. Aggressor faction wants to get a massive army, including expensive breakthrough units, which costs resources and therefore time.

If you want to be a defensive faction you need early game tools to seize territory and then transition to defending the held territory against opposition that mounts in strength until either you win because you have gained enough VPs, or it is no longer possible to hold them off, the attackers eventually do overwhelm and destroy your line of defense, and you lose. In other words, a defensive faction IS an early game concept that wants to defend the VPs so that they win quickly, and thus avoid having their defense be broken by the aggressive side's growing strength over time. Meanwhile the aggressor side has a clock where they must attack, accomplish objectives, and overcome the defenders, which if they fail to do results in their defeat. If you want to play defensive, you need an early advantage, and a late game disadvantage, so you want to actively defend the VPs and actually win quickly, and thus not eventually face overwhelming attack by the more aggressively oriented enemy.

I can see this working well with giving the Germans a very significant initial force advantage, such as assault infantry at T0. And then transition to defenses with the very strong MG42s and bunkers and AT guns and Stugs and so on. And it is the job of the Allied player to attack, overcome those defenses, and take the VPs the Germans are defending. The Germans need to hold on, and keep possession of those VPs and close out the game. But if the Allied macro gets too high, eventually the German defenses will be overrun.

There seems to be a widespread mistake of confusing the meaning of "defensive" for passive which needs to be avoided in order for this to actually work. Active defense of objectives is not at all the same thing as "don't die" stalling for late game power units.

It is reasonable that the Panzer IV is the non-doctrinal tank. And almost certain that there will be at least one doctrine which will contain the Panther- and it is likely to be highly popular. Or the Tiger doctrine, or a Konigstiger doctrine if it exists at all. Everyone knows the German tanks are basically the reason people play Germany in COH1 and COH2, and that is not likely to change even if those units were actually not very practical. 

My concern here is that those big cats will be so common and so popular, so strong and so expensive, that the combination of strong defensive tools in conjunction with passive players seeking to stall and wait and defend and delay, just so they can deploy those obviously superior tanks, expecting to have a military advantage once they are out, results in a really problematic design.

A defensive faction must be required to actually defend the objectives to win. Not just get fuel and only need to 'not die' so they can win by raw stat sheets on their units in the late game.

Can we also discuss how the "weaknesses" in this overview are complete hot air? "Mobility" is a weakness, for a faction that is also overtly stated that it has "superior armor"? They must know how apparently nonsensical that looks and sounds. Bunkers are immobile. AT guns and HMGs are relatively immobile. Tanks are just not. Tanks are highly mobile and flexible.

And "Complexity"? How is this in any way a realistic drawback? Superior raw damage and durability, actual combat power, and a stated tradeoff or drawback is 'complexity'? What halfwit conceived that garbage? Quantum physics this is not. If anything, having more specialized units that have clear, specific jobs at which they excel is less complex. Fighting uphill using large numbers of units, active abilities, and flanking- now that is more complex. Defeating superior German infantry with Conscripts is complex. Defeating superior tanks with "combined arms" of inferior soft counters is complex. Simply having a Tiger with objectively superior HP, armor, and weapon, is anything but "complex." The very idea that this faction overview design has a weakness of "Complexity" is both untrue and also not even a weakness on its face, if it were true. Learning the entire faction wholesale, verbatim, in terms of informational complexity is nothing. Learning a few extra unit types or individual upgrades is nowhere close to the level of complexity that would pose any degree of additional challenge from complexity alone, to even the most inexperienced player. Whereas the additional micromanagement and multitasking from needing to defeat superior units with inferior ones, or manage a more numerous army, requires years of RTS experience and fast hands to execute effectively even if a horde is conceptually "simple."

So far by all accounts both the USF and German faction overviews agree that the Germans have superior tanks, superior weapons teams, and superior infantry. I'm not seeing a weakness. At all. It would be a different story if the Germans had a real weakness like inferior infantry and artillery, but boasted superior armor and support weapons. But no- German big cat tanks, their elite infantry, apparent superiority across the board for weapon crews; MGs, mortars, AT guns, etc. and the fact that even in the artillery department the Germans have a unit (Nebelwerfer) and the USF simply has not a single unit? What other conclusion is there? They do not have a weakness and this is the best excuse for a 'weakness' that they could come up with?

SONGS wrote:
the US is supposed to cut the head off the hydra before the tech shows up, and the cost for all this utility should be very high unit and tech costs which make it possible to strategically shove a dagger through a gap in their armor. 

I am familiar with the concept. And it is my very familiarity with it that makes me so insistent that they not do this insane design yet again. A defensive faction with flat out superior stats on their units, whose only actual drawback is that their units are expensive and therefore hit the field a few minutes later, is such a severe series of design flaws that it literally makes the game less well designed than even very old games; Starcraft Brood War, Supreme Commander, Wargame, Steel Division, World in Conflict, Homeworld, even other RTT and RTS games that predate COH1 by years and yet still deliver a better gameplay experience because they aren't fundamentally wrong in terms of faction design- heck, even Command & Conquer understood faction asymmetry and apparently COH does not, going by the last two titles. No amount of graphics and animations and voice lines can make up for such a serious set of fundamental flaws. "But factions have Asymmetry" is easily deliverable without miming this exact species of asymmetry that obviously does not work. Virtually every strategy game in the last 25 years has had asymmetrical factions that actually work by having different strengths for both sides, and not gerrymandering one side with literally every single high quality asset, and baselessly handwaving "oh, you just have to use combined arms" as if stronger, specialized units supporting each other were not the ACTUAL definition of real-world military combined arms, and having more effective MGs and mortars and tanks and infantry does not avail itself of the same combined arms tactics, just better.

Seriously, Relic, for the love of real time strategy games, you must fix this misunderstanding of faction design. COH1 was wrong. COH2 was even more wrong. Literally every other game on the market gets this right. Different factions can have different strengths and weaknesses, not this ridiculous notion of "Win early, before they can build it" as if that is an acceptable response for unit design and faction design.

I feel like plenty has been said about the whole early game vs. lategame design, and how it is a problem. I will just state that continuing down this path will lead to the same issues Coh2 especially had, where teamgames are irreparably favored towards Axis, because COH simply does not scale up to provide enough space for a faction designed around "flanking." 1v1 should not be the only balanced gamemode, particularly because teamgames are the most played modes, and many other games have found a way to balance all game sizes. Designing asymmetrical factions that play differently, but each have certain areas they excel in makes for easier balance across all modes.

ledarsi wrote:

SONGS wrote:
the US is supposed to cut the head off the hydra before the tech shows up, and the cost for all this utility should be very high unit and tech costs which make it possible to strategically shove a dagger through a gap in their armor. 

I am familiar with the concept. And it is my very familiarity with it that makes me so insistent that they not do this insane design yet again. A defensive faction with flat out superior stats on their units, whose only actual drawback is that their units are expensive and therefore hit the field a few minutes later, is such a severe series of design flaws that it literally makes the game less well designed than even very old games; Starcraft Brood War, Supreme Commander, Wargame, Steel Division, World in Conflict, Homeworld, even other RTT and RTS games that predate COH1 by years and yet still deliver a better gameplay experience because they aren't fundamentally wrong in terms of faction design- heck, even Command & Conquer understood faction asymmetry and apparently COH does not, going by the last two titles. No amount of graphics and animations and voice lines can make up for such a serious set of fundamental flaws. "But factions have Asymmetry" is easily deliverable without miming this exact species of asymmetry that obviously does not work. Virtually every strategy game in the last 25 years has had asymmetrical factions that actually work by having different strengths for both sides, and not gerrymandering one side with literally every single high quality asset, and baselessly handwaving "oh, you just have to use combined arms" as if stronger, specialized units supporting each other were not the ACTUAL definition of real-world military combined arms, and having more effective MGs and mortars and tanks and infantry does not avail itself of the same combined arms tactics, just better.

Seriously, Relic, for the love of real time strategy games, you must fix this misunderstanding of faction design. COH1 was wrong. COH2 was even more wrong. Literally every other game on the market gets this right. Different factions can have different strengths and weaknesses, not this ridiculous notion of "Win early, before they can build it" as if that is an acceptable response for unit design and faction design.

looks very mild already in coh3, after i read the usf and wehr overview.

sherman and p4 will square off easily, with a turreted hellcat in support, while wehr only has stug as end tier tank destroyer.... stug in coh2 was bad and dont seem different in coh3a. 

unless you want to meme and spam it or a last ditch build when you are behind.

bd sherman is a mobile turreted brumbar and i expect p4 to have harder time deal with it. while brumbar may be more armored, the hellcat range and speed can counter it. 

the above was written based of coh2 units of course.