A curve ball faction if ever there was one, in researching my other faction designs I came across the Luftwaffe Field Divisions numerous times and felt they would make for a fun design. This design is based on what not only the Luftwaffe Field Divisions used but also the Luftwaffe Panzer Division, without really committing itself to either camp. The theme I'm looking for is 'late war, improvised and desperate', which explains most of the equipment choices in this design. However, some of the choices are chosen not because the Luftwaffe field divisions specifically used them but rather that they were used by German ground forces and are unique in relation to my other designs. Aside from a few exceptions, none of the units in this design are shared with any of the other Axis factions.
Overview:
Teching
In terms of the overall design, we have a 1-5 tier system. In practice, T2 & T3 could be combined into a single building and then separated by an upgrade, but that's more or less an implementation detail. In T0 we have the Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere and the Steyr 1500, which are your Engineer and Recon units respectively. The Steyr 1500 is relatively straight forward, being able to cap and also having limited clown car capabilities, so comparable to the WC51 in Coh2. Unlike the WC51 thought, it also has a 2cm MG151 Drilling upgrade, available after further teching. This would give the unit AA and vastly improved anti infantry capabilities, it would be roughly better in firepower between a quad the DAK Flakvierling but significantly more squishy, than both, so more towards the glass cannon end of the spectrum.
The Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere on the other hand have various abilities that require explanation. Starting with the Triple Concertina Wire, this is distinct from normal wire in that is would be both broader, longer and faster to build (in terms of relative area denial). This would make it worse for careful placement in front of sandbags etc but far better suited to funnelling units into channels. The optimum way of using it then would be to cover off a flank completely, which is important as your MG can't retreat, something we'll come back to.
You also have the Sandbag Outposts, which are similar to the Wehr fighting positions in that they provide combat bonuses to the occupants and turn neutral when unoccupied. One difference however is that its possible to garrison both AT Guns and AA guns inside of them with a fixed forward firing arc, making them some what like the Wehr AT bunkers and Flak emplacements respectively.
The Topfmine would be your standard no frills general purpose mine, perhaps a reskin of the Schu mine would be sufficient. However, Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere also have the ability to Booby Trap Mine. How this works in practice is that once you have placed a mine, any kind of mine, potentially even demos and your ally's mines, you can then select it to be booby trapped, which is free and takes about 5 seconds. Booby Trapped Mines basically detonate whenever an opponent tries to defuse them with a sweeper. From a gameplay audio perspective, it would be cool if the effect was the same 1 second click that DAK booby traps have. So if your opponent attempts to diffuse a booby trapped mine with a sweeper, depending on the type of mine, it would kill a minimum of 2 models to wiping the whole squad (or thereabouts). This will encourage your opponent to either diffuse mines using direct fire methods (AT guns etc) or potentially refraining from diffusing it (your AT gun is on the other side of the map) on the off chance it is booby trapped, forgetting it is there and eventually walking into it. So booby trapping mines limits your opponents ability to efficiently diffuse mines, makes it more likely that your mines will be detonated and adds a micro tax on your opponent by encouraging them to use more than 1 unit to diffuse mines. I feel its a fun mind game of an ability that would be a lot of fun in Coh3 and not to mention, historically congruent.
Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere can also build several advanced fortifications once the Field Defences upgrade is bought in the Supply Depot. These include:
Concrete Walls. These allow you to create line of sight blockers which require medium crush to break. This would be quite handy as you can wall off a point and hide either AT Infantry, Assault infantry or MGs, out of sight of your opponent. Alternatively you could put them up for blocking ATG lines of sight so that your light vehicles can move around more freely. For all the reasons your opponent would normally want to break down sight blockers, this construction option would allow you to erect them. Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere also have the Destroy Cover so that these field defences cannot be used against their progenitor.
Dual MG17 AA Emplacements however are your standard base defence, which you can also construct in the field. They would have the ability to fire at Air units, although not to the greatest effect, and would have a arc which can be manually traversed 360 degrees. Relative to a bunker, it would be far less sturdy but has solid suppression against infantry and the flexibility to rotate to any angle.
Finally there's the Fortify Neut. Building ability. This allows you to enter Neutral buildings and convert them into fighting positions, increasing the Health of the building, giving a buff to infantry inside and making it impossible for your opponent to use the building. They can however 'decapture' the building, Coh1 style, removing the bonuses. They also have an Entrenching Package, as an alternative to the Flamethrower and Sweeper, it basically increases the speed of all constructions performed by the squad. Should have a lot of synergies with the various construction options.
That wraps up the 2 units within the HQ, however, there are also 2 'entities', which are not so much units but can still be produced from the HQ. First we have the Telephone Cable Trailer, my thinking with this is that its a brand new entity type, which loosely can be defined as a support function. How it works is that infantry squads can crew it, push it around, vehicles can tow it, etc. When placed in friendly territory, it secures that point, preventing it from being capped (Coh1 scout car style). When placed on munitions or fuel, you can call in supply drops for that specific resource type on the trailer's location. So for example, let's say it spawns in your base and you want to get more munitions, you can crew it with a squad, wheel it over to a +16 munitions and then decrew it. The point will be secured and you can call in supply drops of munitions. When you want to move it, recrew it again, or tow it, to a new location. The beauty of this dynamic is that your opponents can steal these entities from you like an ATG, so while they don't take up popcap, have no upkeep and would be relatively cheap (say 50 to 100 manpower), you're still incentivised to protect them. You can also attack move them with AT guns etc. It would make for an interesting dynamic, but would need to be coded from scratch. It also indirectly makes tow yet more useful. You should probably not be able to stack multiple supply drops on the same point (shared timer if on the same point?). Its important to stress that this essentially replaces the equivalent of caches in other factions.
Then there's the FuSE 62A Würzburg Radar Trailer, which infantry squads can also crew, push around, decrew, vehicles can tow it, etc. However, the Radar can detect your opponents air based off maps and display information related to them including; which ones are unlocked, what their cooldowns are, whether they are upgraded and if they can be activated immediately. However, how much of this information is conveyed to the player depends on the proximity of the Radar to your opponent's base. For instance, if you leave it in base, it will only tell you what Air based off maps they have unlocked. If its on the field, it displays the cooldowns and if its close to the midpoint between the bases, it will give activatable information. The Radar should also detect units in the fog, again to encourage you to use it in the field. Again, like all the trailers, it can be robbed, attack moved and cost around 50 to 100 manpower. For a Luftwaffe themed faction, having Air Radar would not only be thematically appropriate but also gameplay intuitive.
That brings us up to T1. First we have Fallschirm Grenadiere, which are your mainline infantry squad specialising in long range combat. They can get either MG17s LMGs or Panzerschreks once the Weapons Reserves side tech in the Supply Depot is purchased. Similarly, Fallschirm Grenadiere can also build a variety of field defences once the Field Defences upgrade in the Supply Depot. These include; Knife Rest Barbed Wire, which is a more standard type of wire which you can use to block cover but is also slightly crush resistant. Then the Log Barricade, which is your heavy cover option, but is overall less resistant to fire than sandbags. And finally there are the Chevaux de frise, are essentially light vehicle movement obstacles which would be crushable by medium tanks. In compensation for their relative weakness compared with Dragon's Teeth, they would be faster to set up.
Also in T1 is the Kz 8 cm GrW 42, which is your standard mortar. Then there's the Zwillingslafette 36 Double MG42 Mount...This is a double MG42 AA mount on the back of a trailer and is the primary form of suppression for the faction. At a high level, relative to a standard MG, the Zwillingslafette 36 trades mobility and robustness for raw power. The suppression would naturally be superior to a standard MG42, it would also have a toggleable AA mode and a 360 traverse. However, movement wise, it would not be able to retreat, can't enter buildings (except the Sandbag Outposts) and would be towable, so in function it would require the same delicate handling that the Flak 30 requires. The traverse of the weapon when stationary should be relatively slow, the arc narrower and packing up and moving the weapon should be significantly slower than the MG42. So while being more powerful, it would also be more vulnerable to being flanked. With the substitute system, the MG15 HMG Team could be swapped in instead, depending on the preference of the player.
Finally there's the Sturmpistole Team. This is a hybrid unit between a Grenade launcher team and a hand held AT team. With Wurfkorper 361 HE Rounds equipped, it would fire like the GrB39 Grenade Launcher. However, with the Panzerwurfkörper 42 AT Rounds equipped, it would be more like a Coh2 Piat launcher in function. Combined with the utility of smoke and flares, the unit would be useful as a soft counter to vehicles, a hard counter to units in cover/buildings as well as assaulting positions.
After T1, tech paths can diverge in numerous different ways, but all start by purchasing Tier Alpha, which regulates tech timings the way the Support Centres do in USF. Tier Alpha also unlock grenades for Fallschirm Grenadiere.
T2, T3 and T4 are all options after Tier Alpha, taking them sequentially:
T2 has the Sd.Kfz.251/23, the 8 cm PAW 600 ATG and the Luftwaffe Field Officer. The former is your relatively early light harassment vehicle. It would be equivalent in role to the 222 of Wehr in Coh2, being good for its timing but relatively outclassed by M8s and Stuarts. It can be swapped out with the U304(f) Flak 38. The 8 cm PAW 600 is your standard ATG and the Luftwaffe Field Officer is something of a utility squad, with a variety of air based abilities. To say exactly what the effect of a SD-2 Airburst Drop would be, my understanding is that this would be similar to an airburst mortar barrage with a shorter delay between bursts. The SD-4 AT Cluster Bomb Drop, however, is more akin to the PTAB for Soviets in Coh2.
Over in T3, we have the Flak 43 Team, the Beobachtungspanzer auf LrS and the Zugkraftwagen S307(f). The former can best be described as an Ostwind on a carriage. It would be highly effective against infantry, AA and lightly armoured targets, but like the Flak 30, it would have poor mobility and require some nursing. It can however be swapped out with the 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, which is more akin to the Flakvierling but on a trailer. The Beobachtungspanzer auf LrS is more of a utility vehicle, which provides sight and can call down off air based maps. It can be exchanged for the 150cm Flakscheinwerfer 34 however, which would be cheaper and can scan the FOW for opposing units. Then there's the Zugkraftwagen S307(f), which is your primary reinforcement vehicle. It can be further upgraded into a mobile tank destroyer or a multi-mortar launcher. Alternatively, the Sd.Kfz.3 Maultier can be used and that can be upgraded to an Ambulance or with a Flak 38.
The last of the 3 is T4, which has Fallschirmjäger Squads, 3.7cm Flak 43 auf SWS and Geschützwagen FCM(f). Falls are fairly self explanatory but there would be a few twists to keep things spicy. First off, T4 itself would have a Fallschirmjäger Deployment Toggle, which basically allows you as the player how exactly you want to deploy your Falls. The options are either from base, via air drop or via infiltration. With the former toggled, the squad emerges from the tier structure in base as any other unit. If air drop is toggled, then the build time of the Falls essentially charges an army ability (like the DAK halftrack call ins), which can be selected anywhere on the map. Finally, with infiltration toggled, the build time of the Falls also charges an army ability which you then target on an ambient building. Which is better depends on you, perhaps you want them in base so they don't draw attention to their entrance or perhaps you drop them straight onto the field. This would be especially cool if the squad spawned with Walther P38s and you could then upgrade them for free to either Scoped FG-42s, MP40s with HUB-L41 Suppressors or K98ks HUB-23 Suppressors. Both of the latter 2 would promote behind the lines ambush style of gameplay. Their Sabotage Dropped Weapon congeals nicely with this role, how this works is essentially like the Scorched Earth ability in Coh1 PE to disable points, but for Team Weapons and Dropped Weapons. So you would click it on decrewed/dropped weapons and after 2 seconds the weapon would be no more. The targeted gameplay then would be sneaking behind the lines with Falls, decrewing an ATG or MG etc, blowing it up so it can't be recrewed and then disappearing again. Falls would be a particularly strong flanking and ambush squad.
Also in T4 is the 3.7cm Flak 43 auf SWS, which is your primary light vehicle shock unit for the faction. It has a 37mm autocannon as the Ostwind, so it would be highly effective against infantry and other light vehicles, but obviously not as tanky as a Flak Panzer. It could be swapped out with a Flakvierling auf SWS if that's your preference, the latter being less effective against vehicles but with better suppression. Finally in T4 is the Geschützwagen FCM(f), which acts as an equivalent to the Wehr Marder III. It can also be swapped out with the 5 cm PaK 38 Marder II, a cheaper and weaker alternative.
Having laid out the 3 mid game tiers, it would be worth comparing them. T2 is essentially your safe option, stall for T5 route. The Sd.Kfz.251/23 is a competent but not dominant light vehicle, the 8 cm PAW 600 is a reliable and fuelless ATG and Luftwaffe Field Officer is a valuable support unit with strong off maps. The weakness of the tier is that it lacks the ability of chasing down opposing light vehicles as ATGs are relatively immobile. T3 on the other hand can very much chase down light vehicles with the Pak 40 mount on the Zugkraftwagen S307 (f), however the tier lacks a mobile light vehicle to provide consistent bleed to your opponent. It doesn't give you etc infantry but you can get a powerful sight tool, area denial unit & indirect fire solution. T4 has not only the heavy infantry, the strong light vehicle and the mobile AT solution, but it has no form of indirect whatsoever and is the most expensive. Depending on your strategy you may decide to go for any of these tiers or multiple, but regardless, they all lead to T5.
T5 is your lategame line up, it rounds out any composition. The Panzer III N is primarily an anti infantry tank, but can be upgraded at the unit level with passive AP rounds to improve its AT performance. This is however mutually exclusive with a pintle MG and side skirts. The Stug IV, which fills the role of your lategame tank destroyer, also has this mutually exclusive choice. The Geschützwagen 39H(f) provides your heavy indirect fire solution and then locked behind Tier Beta is the Towed 10,5 cm Flak 38, the ultimate heavy AT and AA solution for the faction and how you handle heavy tanks. T5 in summary can handle any situation.
Upgrades
In terms of the faction upgrades, the Luftwaffe Field Division has various. Weapon Reserves and Field Defences have already been discussed. The Increased Weapon Slots & Vehicle Upgrade Slots does exactly what it says, allowing your squads to pick up more weapons than normal, the relevance of which will become apparent in a minute. It also allows the Stug IV and Panzer III N to double up on unit level upgrades, helping with scaling.
The AA Minengeschoß Rounds, upgrade grants several units a HEHC shells ability for munitions, the units effected would be the Steyr 1500 2cm MG151 Drilling, Sd.Kfz.251/23, 3.7cm Flak 43 auf SWS, Sd.Kfz.11/1 Flak 38, U304(f) Flak 38, 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, Flakvierling auf SWS, Flak 43 Team, Sd.Kfz.3 Maultier Flak 38, Pz.Kpfw I Ausf.B mit MG 151 Drilling and 10,5 cm Flak 38. For the autocannon AA units & 10,5 cm Flak 38, while active, they would do bonus damage against aircraft and have better AOE against infantry, at the cost of penetration.
The AA & Team Weapon +10 Range Ability, also self explanatory, would give the following units an activatable range increase ability: Zwillingslafette 36, Sd.Kfz.11/1 Flak 38,10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 42, MG17 Tripod Mount,MG15 HMG Team, Steyr 1500 2cm MG151 Drilling, 8 cm PAW 600, Sd.Kfz.251/23, 3.7cm Flak 43 auf SWS, U304(f) Flak 38, 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, Pz.Kpfw I Ausf.B mit MG 151 Drilling, Flakvierling auf SWS, Flak 43 Team, Kz 8 cm GrW 42, Sd.Kfz.3 Maultier Flak 38, 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35 Heavy Mortarand 10,5 cm Flak 38.
The Team Weapon Emplace Ability allows the following units to perform 'team weapon hull downs': Zwillingslafette 36, 10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 42, MG17 Tripod Mount,MG15 HMG Team,8 cm PAW 600, 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, Flak 43 Team, Kz 8 cm GrW 42 and 10,5 cm Flak 38.
As you can probably tell, AA and Team Weapons are a heavy focus of the faction.
Then Infield Self-Reinforce Ability upgrade grants an Infield air drop reinforce ability to the following units: Fallschirm Panzer Pioniere, Fallschirm Grenadiere, Sturmpistole Team, Luftwaffe Field Officer, Fallschirmjäger, Zwillingslafette 36, MG17 Tripod Mount,MG15 HMG Team, 10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 42, 8 cm PAW 600, 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, Flak 43 Team, Kz 8 cm GrW 42, 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35 Heavy Mortar, 10,5 cm Flak 38, Brandenburgers, and Fallschirm Panzerfüsiliere. How it works is that essentially these units, when out of combat, can click a button to fully reinforce the squad with air dropped reinforcements. Its not a source of continuous reinforcements like Airborne in Coh1, once you click the button, it reinforces the squad and then goes on a 3 minute cooldown for that unit. You pay a slight premium for the reinforce.
Finally we have the Auto Construct Base Defence. What this allows you to do when researched is auto construct 1 of 3 separate emplacements anywhere in your base sector, the 3 being: Scheinwerfer 60 cm, the Flak 43 Tweiling and 8,8 cm FlaK 18. These provide the respective benefits of 1. Sight 2. anti infantry, anti air and anti light vehicle and 3. heavy anti vehicle and anti air. Each emplacement has a different cost and you can only have 1 at a time. However you can sell them but without a refund. What this aims at is grabbing some of the OKW Flak base mechanics.
Weapon Drop System
This brings us to the main faction mechanic, the Weapon Drop System. This is unlocked at the start of the match on cooldown. How it works is your have 4 weapon drop types to choose from, which you can call in anywhere on the map. Each of these drops have 3 weapons of a type, to use SMGs as the example, if you call down an SMG weapon drop, it will drop 3 crates, each with enough SMGs for 1 squad. Usually the cost is a third of what it would cost to but the upgrade outright. 'Seems kinda strong?' - Well, there are 3 hitches.
The most important is that these weapon pick ups are not permanent. They're depletable. For example, let's say your Fallschirm Grenadiere pick up some MP40s, if they don't fight they can hold on to them as long as they like, however, in combat, the weapons would work for a maximum of 45 seconds continuous fire. This duration would be evident in an icon above the unit, so you can see when you'll 'run out of ammo', once the this happens, they drop the weapons and return to their original weapons.
The second hitch is that the crates don't drop the same weapons. For example, in an SMG crate there could be:
- 4 MP40s/4 MP41s/4 Breda 38s/4 PPD-40s/3 PPSHs/4 Mat 38s/5 MP28s, 3 Danuvia 43ms etc.
In an LMG crate there could be:
- 1 MG42/1 MG34/2 MG28(P)/2 MG30(t)s/2 MG17s/2 MG15s/2 DP-28s etc.
In an AT Crate there could be:
- 1 Panzerschrek/2 Panzerbüchse 38s/2 Panzerbüchse 39s/Panzerbüchse 35(p) etc.
In the Flamethrower/Explosives Crate there could be:
The point is they should all be roughly equivalent in value, it should mostly be an aesthetic difference that reflects the Luftwaffe's awkward supply situation.
The final hitch is that when you can in 1 crate, you can't call in anymore for 2 minutes.
Before I go into the advantages and disadvantages of this, let me expand on the mechanics. If your squad has no weapons equipped and picks up the weapons crate, it will drop the weapons after 45 seconds use and then is free to pick up more. However, if for some reason you want to drop the weapons early, you can, by clicking a command in the HUD. When you do this however, you drop all weapon drop weapons and don't get them back or a refund. You might want to do this if your squad using a Panzerschrek drop fighting infantry for example after the M8 is already dead. Now, let's say you already have a weapon drop equipped, say an LMG. If you go to pick up another 1, if you have a free slot you can, (hence why the Increased Weapon Slots upgrade comes in useful). If you don't have any free slots, you have to drop what you currently have before you can pick up more. This equally applies when a squad is already full up on permanent weapon upgrades, although permanent weapons can't be dropped. Now, when you pick up a second/third weapon, the timer on your currently held weapon is reset (you drop all at once). So chaining is munitions efficient but also a micro tax and only works while you have free slots (you can't reset a squad will full weapons), pros will probably make early retreats when they want to chain a weapon pick up. Weapon pick ups always augment; so say you already have an LMG equipped and you pick up an SMG drop, this will replace all the rifles as the lowest order weapon. They never replace permanent weapons or already equipped weapon drops.
In discussing the advantages and disadvantages, its easier to start with the disadvantages. In terms of pure damage output per munitions expenditure, its less efficient than buying permanent weapons outright. So like grenades, there's a case to be made that it makes sense to fill up on permanent weapons first before using them.
For the advantages, there are several. First, it allows for 'rush strats'. Let's say that you call in an SMG drop and equip all 3 of your Fallschirm Grenadiere, as soon as the opportunity presents itself. For 60 munitions, you then will have 180 munitions (presuming cost if 1/3 of permanent) worth of upgrades for 45 seconds. This will presumably allow you to bully your opponent off the field and recoup some of that munitions expenditure back. This is especially the case when you consider that the permanent weapon upgrades are behind fuel costing side tech, so if you're trying to rush out a light vehicle but also want the power of upgraded squads, the weapon crates enable that. You just actually have to get that map control, its the same logic when using early grenades.
Second, it allows you to change the role of your squad to adapt to the situation. Say you have 1 ATG and your opponent is massing M8 Greyhounds while you're stalling for T5. You make a AT weapon drop, equip 2 of your mainlines and your pios with AT Rifles/Schreks and now your opponent can't really exploit your rush anymore. The weapons last long enough for you to reach T5 or get alternatives out. Then think of the situation of a tight 50 VP race, you drop an SMG/Flamer crate to augment your squads ability to brawl in the capture point. The long term efficiency doesn't matter as you need the VPs now.
Third, squads can be repurposed to temporarily fill in holes of your composition. Similar to the AT example above, let's say shot blockers are common in the map at the start of the game but as it lasts, the lines of sight open up. You go from wanting SMGs in the early stages to LMGs in the lategame. The crates allow for that flexibility. Let's say you lose a crucial squad doing a role (flamer pio for example). Rather than replacing the whole squad and delaying your tank, use a drop and get back the capability for a limited duration.
Finally, once you have all your weapon upgrades, using drops allows your squads to swing engagements better in the lategame. If your Fallschirm Grenadiere have 2 weapon slots and their 2 MG17s equipped, you can get the Increased Weapon Slots upgrade and get a third MG, increasing their DPS yet further.
I feel this adequately explains the Weapon Drop System, its the faction's equivalent to the Halftrack deployment of DAK and allows for a lot of versatility in their squads as well as build orders. Iron Harvest's weapon swap feature gave me the original inspiration.
Battlegroups
The Sd.Anh.33 Supply Trailer is of the Trailer type I describe earlier. The MP40 Package here is permanent. I could see the Zündapp KS 750 being the fastest cap unit in the game and has a
Leuchtpistole 42.upgrade, which gives the unit the utility of smoke and flares, as well as a grenade and snare, all of which require the bike to be stationary to fire. So while units like the Dingo would probably be able to knock out this bike in 1 burst, the bike itself can zip after the Dingo when its damaged knock it out. Or a stricken vehicle. The grenade though would be really useful for flanking team weapons and squads in cover, there's so many situations where this would come in useful that I can't imagine it not being popular. I think the Panzerfaust Booby Trap should be a directional mine, capable of hitting vehicles that come into it's arc and causing engine damage. So in a way it could be placed further away from where it would be swept and still hit its target. For the Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 Drache Transport Helicopter, this would raise the game rating on Steam by a full star all on it's own. This unit would be fully controllable like every other unit and would come under the 'vehicle' tab. It would have excellent sight over shot blockers, great mobility and can transport squads & team weapons around the place. When landed, it can fire its MG, but is extremely vulnerable to all kinds of fire. When flying, it would only be vulnerable to AA and Pintles, but it shouldn't take much to bring it down. Pios can repair it when it is landed. What you would use it for is dropping squads behind the lines, reinforcement and recon. If it gets shot down with units inside, well, use your imagination. Everyone but the historical accuracy people would go nuts for it. It fits the faction perfectly.
The Sd.Kfz.11/5 Munitions Carrier's 'Top Up Squad' ability would be targetable on squads and team weapons and increase that units ROF. It would be depletable like the weapon drops, so you would have to micro it again. Splitterring M43 Grenades would have a higher AOE fragmentation over Wehr Gren stick grenades. The Spitzgeschoß mit Hartkern Rounds would be ability on Fallschirm Grenadiere, Zwillingslafette 36, MG15 HMG Team and Fallschirmjäger w/ FG42s, allowing them to use AP rounds for a short duration. Can help chase down light vehicles like M3 Halftracks and also Infantry with body armour etc. Brandenburgers should probably not be amazing in front on confrontations but should be used to harass without being engaged. It would be cool if the Snipe Model shot didn't trigger an audio cue or alert when done from Camo, the 'stealthy kill' just has to be noticed by the opponent directly.
Don Disguise would allow the unit to visually take on the uniforms of your opponent and functionally makes them invisible on the tact map, invisible on the mini map and also makes it so that opposing units will not automatically shoot at them. They would however be manually targetable. The gameplay loop would be sneaking behind the lines, donning a disguise and then decapping points, laying explosives etc. There are famous accounts in WW2 of German special forces doing this kind of thing so it would be neat if it was implemented into the game, it would also appeal to fantasy of 'secret agents behind the lines causing chaos', which I can see a lot of people finding fun. One thing that could be experimented with is allowing this unit, while disguised, to issue movement commands to opposing units which are out of combat. So let's say that there's an MG covering a VP and your Brandenburgers tell the squad to go for a stroll into the path of a waiting MG42 while the Brandenburgers 'defend the VP'. That would obviously be strong so to make it balanced, you'd have to give it not only a munitions cost, a long cooldown and but also make it so that once the opponent notices the unit 'going AWOL', they can reissue a command to 'break the spell'. So it would only be impactful in situations where your opponent doesn't notice and on units which are out of combat. You wouldn't be able to use it on AT guns which are actively fighting a tank, in order to make them pack up, for example. In some ways, its like a grenade, if your opponent doesn't notice, its an effective way of convincing them to retreat, but if they are paying attention, it's a waste of munitions. Similarly, if the 'False orders' isn't noticed, it can lead to sticky situations, but if your opponent see their squad walking off, they can call them back easily.
And yes, the Arado Ar 234 Bomb Strike, is a jet. It would have a shorter time to target than other off maps. I can't see how jets wouldn't cause massive hype and I feel it suits the faction perfectly. Booby Trap Weapon would be an ability you target on decrewed weapons and dropped weapons, perhaps crates too. Once picked up, the weapon is destroyed and the models picking it up are killed. If you have a mine sweeper it is ignored, but if the player has used Booby Trap Mine, it will still go off... The Teller + Shells Heavy Mines would probably be the heaviest mines in the game.
Geballte Ladung 3kg Tread Break AT Charges, would be quite short ranged but change tread break. This synergies well with the short range Panzerschreks but also the Mistel Heavy Glider Bomb, which would be best used against stationary targets. The recharge on the Pz.Kpfw I mit 28/32cm Wurfrahmen 40, would probably be pretty fast given that its just 2 rockets. Finally, the Me 262 Heavy Strafe would be faster and more deadly than your average strafe but suitably more expensive. Putting that in the game would be the equivalent of printing money.
Conclusion
While its unlikely that Relic would make a faction like this, I feel the nationalistic factions would probably sell more than 'another German faction', it has to be said that there's serious potential for hype units and abilities. The FuSE 62A Würzburg Radar, Booby Trap Mines, Sturmpistoles, Zwillingslafette 36s, 2cm MG151 Drilling auf 1-Achsanhänger, Flak 43 Team, GrW 278(f) Multimortar Halftracks, Jets, BMW R75 Ambulances, Bren Carrier 731(e) Panzerschrek Carriers, the Weapon Drop System, Helicopters, Giant Gliders, ludicrous plane bombs and silenced weapons are all great ideas in my book, that would sell like its no one's business due to sheer novelty and spectacle. Some of it is a bit zany, but the reality was also zany. I would not be upset to get this faction put into the game, even if just elements of it are stolen and repurposed.
Historical Accuracy Notes
Some of the stuff was only used at the very end of the war or only in small numbers or not by the Luftwaffe. In particular, finding information about MP40 silencers is difficult, even though some sources say 1000s were made, I haven't seen convincing photo evidence. Its not clear just how many Pz.Kpfw I Ausf.B mit MG 151 Drilling and 5 cm PaK 38 Marder II, but I'm taking a liberal stance.
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