Overview of Factions?

[Jacob Owl]

Which ones are good and bad? What are they good at? How hard are they to play?

[Patrykblack7]

USF-Micro,Micro,Micro
USSR- Good but some units are usseles but for start player is good
Wermacht-Good balanced faction for all players
OKW- Schreck blobs,Tank spam ISG spam easy faction you can say
UKF-poor early game good late game mostly around a defense but since lelic nerf emplacment you need to push with them

[The Burned Man]

Faction Overview

Axis

Ostheer: Very balanced, straightforward and can be played in just about any way the player wants depending on tech and commander choices. Their biggest weakness lies in their small unit sizes and high unit costs meaning that they must be very cautious not to take too many losses early on. Pretty much defensive in nature until tanks arrive to aid in offensive actions and pushes, though there are a few commanders and builds that can be a bit more aggressive in the early game.

OKW: I would say they are the most unique of the factions. Their core units are some of the best aggressive units in the game, though they are all very expensive to both produce and maintain so knowing when to fight and when to run is even more important for them than other factions. Adding to this is the fact that they have a very difficult time massing large amounts of fuel and ammo without Ostheer support due to their inability to create resource caps and that unlike other faction’s units (which have a maximum Veteran level of 3) OKW units can reach Veteran level 5 meaning that they can reach levels of performance level far above that of other factions by the late game but at the same time means that every Veteran unit is all that much more devastating of a loss, a problem that is especially significant during the mid-game phase. They are also the only faction that can set up their buildings outside of their base which can help lock down a portion of the map, though if overextended or placed too close to enemy lines can prove disastrous, outside of that they have very few options in terms of defenses.

Allies

Red Army: Has the most aggressive options and builds in the game. Their Core infantry units and weapon teams all have 6 men per unit, making them some of the most durable units in the game, which combined with their low reinforcement costs make them one of the best factions for ballsy Infantry pushes. Their core armor is relatively weak compared to other factions. They have no static defenses either meaning that any attempted defenses will be extremely micro intensive, though possible. They also have the most powerful commander abilities and call in units in the game, meaning that commander choice is far more important and situational than other factions. IMO the most powerful faction in the game but also by far the hardest to play well.

USF: Very unique in a number of ways. All of their buildings are already built at the start of the game meaning that they do not need to be as cautious with their builders as other factions. Instead they must simply pay to “unlock” production at each building and every building will also give a powerful free officer unit to the player after it is unlocked. Their core infantry are also all armed with semi-automatic rifles for free (something that only elite troops of most other factions have or must pay large amounts of ammo to obtain) giving them a massive edge over bolt actions at both close and mid ranges though are a bit weaker at long ranges. Their infantry have a large number of options in terms of special weapons including BARs, Bazookas, LMGs and Flamethrowers, allowing the player to tailor them for just about any situation. They have the best light vehicles in the game and though their heavier vehicles might at first glance appear quite weak compared to other factions, every USF vehicle has the unique ability to get out of their vehicle to repair it (once again making builders far less important) as well as to mass vehicles well beyond the normal population cap in the late game. For example, for example let’s say you have a current population of 90 and have 4 M4A3 Sherman Tanks (48 population) and cannot make any more, but you take all of your tanks back to your base and get out of them now only having control of 4 Vehicle Crew Units (20 population) reducing your total pop to 42 then you make 4 more M4A3s, then get back in your tanks, you would then have 8 tanks at 138/100 population. Early game their bunkers make for strong static defenses but will become less and less effective as the game progresses and they will eventually become forced to rely on micro intensive weapon teams of mediocre effectiveness in any attempted defenses. Very strong early-mid game, yet will often find themselves outclassed by the Axis if the game is allowed to drone on for too long.

UKF: Essentially the closest thing to the Ostheer of the Allied forces, they have the largest number of core unit builds (not counting commanders) in the game and suffer from a lot of the same problems as the Ostheer including their expensive reinforcement cost . They are even more defense oriented than the Ostheer, having the most powerful static defenses in the game and very defense oriented core infantry (which get a bonus to accuracy when in yellow cover and get an accuracy and rate of fire bonus when in green over, a building or a transport vehicle). Their Infantry can be given a number of special weapons in a similar manner to the USF for a variety of situations such as Bren LMGs, PIATs, AT Rifles and Vickers K LMGs. Their structures are also unique in that they require no builders to produce and each one provides an additional light howitzer which Infantry can use to call in bombardments against enemy forces. Like Ostheer they will normally be very defensive until the late game where powerful units are more common place. They excel the most in defensive builds though there are a few effective semi-mobile builds that I have seen that can be somewhat effective. They can be fun in team games, but I would wait awhile for Relic to figure out their balance before using them in any competitive degree.

[Terra]

USF:Strongest standard line infantry, elite paratroopers, hard hitting but poorly armored tank destroyers. Very versatile but require lots of attention to micro. Extremely aggressive and capable of locking down map control in the first 20 min of the game, they struggle more and more as the game goes on and infantry superiority gives way for armor.
USSR: Weakest but most all around economic base army, dependant upon commander for elite units. Its elite units are some of the best the game has to offer and drastically change the meta. Shock troopers, guards, IS-2, 34/85, ISU-152 call ins act as the strong center for the supporting cast of conscripts, katyushas, 34/76s, SU-85's, and team weapons. Able to absorb casualties early to open up killing fields late, USSR is an all around dependable faction which only is truly outgunned in the middle of the game when German medium armor out classes it.
UKF: A slow to the field specialist faction with units that perform specific roles. Expensive units that can outperform on the individual basis other units of similar type they are typically heavily outnumbered due to harsh economics. Capable of acting as a regular army on the defense or irregular elites on the attack this faction merges its role specialization with high powered but expensive abilities. Heaviest non-doctrinal armor available to the allied in the form of the Churchill and it's variants. Only heavy-medium armor in the form of the comet. Extremely susceptible to manpower bleed, and lacks indirect fire units.

Ost- A well rounded professional army with above average infantry, team weapons and armor. Similar to UKF with regards to how much it needs to use combined arms this faction is intended to use its infantry and team weapons to maintain map control while using its strong medium and heavy armor to carry out offensive operations with an infantry detachment. This faction has very few glaring weaknesses and depending on commander can be played in a large variety of ways.
OKW- A faction which doesn't need armor, microing, or much forethought in resource management. Ultimately boils down to spamming its basic infantry which can perform all needed roles without much combined arms support. Brainless easy mode for players who are less interested in tactical play and more interested in having every potential needed solution provided through macro.