Storm in the West'44 mod Guide

This manual is a complete guide to use and enjoy Storm in the West'44 mod. From how to run it properly and how to play, you'll find a huge source of informations to enjoy the mod to its full extent.

Prologue

Firstly, I wanted to thank you all for subscribing to the mod, playing it and helping me make it better, for a whole year.

Storm in the West'44 is a mod designed to change the way players are feeling through the gameplay, with the aim to be as realistic as it can be with the mechanisms from Steel Division.

And I think that during that whole year, a lot have been made to achieve that goal. Of course, it isn't perfect and will never be, but the amount of changes added through the course of development has really given the players a whole new experience, with some unique gameplay mechanisms.

As it is, the development of Storm in the West is finished with some blancing that maybe need to be done here and there. I wanted to make that mod manual for a long time, but I needed for the mod to be near its final shape to be able to explain the changes in detail as much as possible.
It sure happened a lot since the Beta version in May 2017 ! Learning, balancing, new ideas, new encounters, new friends and a ton of new features ! That whole year was a blast and even though it was tiring with all the work needed for the mod to be what it is today, I don't regret a thing. So, thank you again with the hope that this manual will help you have a full grasp of all the diversity of gameplay this mod can offer to you !

Merci et bon jeu !

Special Thanks to :

Boris the Blade : For letting me use awesome sounds from his sound mod for War Thunder ground forces.
Rhedd : For letting me use his work with the No Glow Mod for Steel Division.
Ginda : For letting me use some of his sounds from his Sound and Music mod for Steel Division.
Automne & Villys : For letting me use his awesome plane's sounds.
PanzerVilari : For his friendship and his help to understand how division's modding was working,
Concerned Virginia Resident (or Panzeh) : For his help about balance, the videos he's making about the mod and the overall fun I had playing with him (or against),
Helix : For his honesty and all-time supporter, helping balance through playing.
Wolf and Jack from the Templar clan : Very nice players and really helpful fellows for the balance.

Introduction

Welcome to the Storm in the West'44 Guide !

Storm in the West'44 is a mod based on real statistics for weapons, tank armor, divisions' composition and its overall aim is to make the player feeling that he has some authentic weaponry at his disposal, like a commander would have at the time of the Battle of Normandy. Some vanilla tactics are legit here, but I would strongly suggest you to forget your habits and to relearn the game. Of course, having some knowledge about the real life strong and weak points of the units engaged in that battle would certainly help you using them better.

So, why making a guide about it, would you say. The answer is relatively obvious : because there are too many differences in gameplay mechanisms compared to vanilla, and a lot of players would not know them if they weren't explained here, especially those statistics which are having a great impact on the game but which are not shown anywhere in the stats of the units – such as the AP gaining based on the distance to the target.

You will find in that guide all the information you could need, from the basic ones like the increased range for tank engagements to the more complex, like the new Trait mechanism replacing the old Star-based veterancy system.

All in all, the feeling of the game in the mod is very different and you will certainly have to adapt your decks and tactics to this new environment. But don't fear the change, it's a new way to discover Steel Division ! If you are a veteran from the Vanilla game or a new player in that amazing game, you will certainly find a reason to play !

Well, good read and have fun with the mod !

Setting Up the Mod

To install the mod, it's quite simple : just subscribe through the Steam Workshop and the mod will automatically be downloaded by Steam.

Loading the mod ingame
Steel Division doesn't have any mod launcher, compared to other Paradox titles like Stellaris or Europa Universalis IV. It's therefore necessary to change the version you want to play through the game itself.

To do that, simply follow those steps :

1) Go to Modding Center.
2) Check the box corresponding for Storm in the West'44.
3) Check the box « Save ».
4) Click on « Apply Changes ».
5) The game will tell you that it will need to restart. Confirm it if needed.
6) After the game had been restarted, the Mod should be loaded. You can confirm that you're playing the modded version through the name of the game version, in the lower left of the Main menu.

ATTENTION : Due to the changes in the division's composition and unit availabilities, the Battlegroups are not compatible with the Vanilla version, thus making your saved Vanilla Battlegroups deleted !

Gladly, there are multiple ways to avoid that.
You can use the export/import function of the deck builder to save your vanilla BG, but it will need to be done BEFORE switching to the mod and it takes a certain amount of time, especially if you have a lot of different Battlegroups.

You can also make a backup of your Profile file where all your options and Battlegroups are saved. However, it will need to be done before switching versions. Here's how to do it :

1. Go to My Computer.
2. Open the Hard disk where you have installed Steam. By default it's the disk C :
3. Search and open the Steam folder. By default it's located in C:/Program Files/ Steam.
4. Search and open the Userdata folder, then open the folder that follows.
5. Search and open the folder which is called 572410.
6. There, you will see a folder named Remote. Open it.
7. After opening the last folder, you will see a series of files. Search for the one called
PROFILE.Profile2. It's this file that you will need to copy and paste where you want to save it.

Note with that last way of saving your BG, you will have to do this in order :
The first time, you'll need to do it BEFORE loading the mod. That way, you will save your Vanilla BG. Copy and paste your PROFILE.Profile2 file in a place you'll know right away that this is your game options and BG for the Vanilla version.

Similarly to this, but after having loaded the mod for the first time and having created some of the Mod's divisions, you will save your PROFILE.Profile2 to keep your modded options and BG in a safe location. You will also need to choose a place on your computer where you will know on the spot that it's the mod's options backup.

Other ways are available but I won't go into full detail here as they are more complicated. They're however available on the Storm in the West'44 mod page on Steam.

New Gameplay Mechanisms

Storm in the West introduces a lot of new gameplay features into Steel Division and changes most of the vanilla ones. Only the frontline mechanics still remains the same from the base game.
So, what to expect in reality ?
Well, following are the most impactful aspects of the game which have been changed :

- Increased range for most tanks and anti-tank guns engagements.
- New Spotting mechanics with the « Binoculars » order for recon troops and recon vehicles.
- Entirely reviewed statistics for armour, ranges, rate of fire, aim time, gun dispersion, accuracy, penetration, unit speeds and unit HP values. All those are based on real values from WW2 documents.
- New costs for all units.
- New special ammunitions for tanks and anti-tank guns (APCR, APDS, HEAT and HVAP).
- Smoke shells and Smoke grenade launchers for certain tanks and Tds.
- Entirely reworked divisions composition and unit availability.
- Reworked infantry with the new «Double time » order.
- Completely new infantry weapon statistics with a rework of rifles, Lmgs and Smgs. There's now a clear distinction between Bolt-action and Semi-auto rifles. Introduction of firing modes for the StG44 and the FG42.
- Reviewed AA accuracy, supression and overall usefulness against planes and ground units.
- New AP ammunition for all AA weapons and .50 cals.
- New units and new loadouts.
- Entirely new veterancy system based on special Traits. Rework of the stars system.
- Sword Map available to play as 4v4,
- New durations for phases and games.
- Entirely new economic system with changed income frequency and phase bonuses for divisions.

Armor and Penetration

1) Armor calculation

In the mod, all the armor values have been adjusted to be the exact ones (with the limitations of Steel Division, of course). That means that they have been modified based on real documents and sources.

Concretly, Steel Division doesn't allow for armor values to be at their exact numbers, because it uses a number between 1 and 30 to represent it. However, based on 10mm IRL = 1 Armor point ingame, we can obtain a satisfactory value for the mod, rounded up or down.

The actual armor values in the mod are not completely exact and thus because of the way the game is representing them, as explained above, but also because the game doesn't have distinct armor values for the hull on one side and for the turret on the other side. What that means is that there is only one armor value for each side of that vehicle/tank (front, sides and rear).

Taking those two limitations into account, the way the mod have been designed was to be as close as possible to the real values.

In term of armor calculation, I have thus chose to calculate the armor based as an average value for each side of the vehicle, taking the slope (if present) in consideration , both for the turret AND the hull.

The formula is as follows :

Frontal Armor : Average frontal turret + hull.
Sides Armor : Average side turret + hull.
Rear Armor : Average rear turret + hull.
The result (for each side of the vehicle) will of course be a number comprised of 1, 2 or 3 digits and i'll need to change it to one digit to make it compatible with the game.

For instance, the average frontal armor for the M4A1 is around 83mm. The game doesn't take a two digit number into account. In that case, the unit is below 5, thus rounding it down to 8 armor ingame.
I've based the armor calculation on the War Thunder game models.

2) Penetration calculation

As for the armor values, the penetration are based on real documents. I've found a lot of sources about them, but the most useful for it was the Ballistics armor and Gunnery book.

The penetration values for most Tanks and AT gun rounds have been adjusted to the real values they were able to go through at 1500, 1250, 1000, 750, 500, 250 and 100m (of course limited by their maximum range).

Here, again it's necessary to change it to a one digit number to make it work ingame. I've also rounded them up or down, with the same method as with the armor values.

You'll find all the penetration values detailed at the end of this guide, in the Annex 1 to 4.

3) Penetration chances and AP gain with closer distance

In the mod, the penetration chances have been modified to allow a tank with the same AP value as the armor of its target to be able to pierce it.

The AP gain has also been changed to better represent the actual improvement in the guns penetration values with the closer it gets from its target.

In the base game, the AP value is improving by 1 for each 100m closer to the target.
In Storm in the West, it's every 350m that you'll gain 1 AP for being closer.

Note that this is no longer used for most vehicles and AT guns as they're now having their own penetration values at 1500, 1250, 1000, 750, 500, 250 and 100m. The AP gain is now used only for some guns which are not benefiting from the new penetration values system.
It's notably the case with the Humber Mk3 Besa 15mm for instance.

4) Critical Effects after penetration

The Critical effects when bouncing and after penetration have been modified in the mod, to have a more realistic feel about them. Some have been removed and others have been tweaked but in general, the criticals are much more punitive than in the vanilla game.

The Criticals are chosen randomly on a 20 faces-dice roll.
Non penetration hits :
On the front : - Crew Shaken on a roll of 20. 5s duration. The vehicle can't shoot or move.
On the sides : - Crew Shaken on a roll of 20. 10s duration. The vehicle can't shoot or move.
On the rear : - Crew Shaken on a roll of 20. 15s duration. The vehicle can't shoot or move.

Penetrating hits :

On the front : - Destruction on a 1 to 7 roll. The vehicle is killed.
- Bailed Out on a 9 to 14 roll. The vehicle loses 10 HP, can't move at all and see its spotting ability reduced to zero. Note that most of the time it will lead to the destruction of the vehicle. Can't be repaired anymore.
- Crew Shaken on a roll of 15. 30S duration. The vehicle can't shoot or move.
- Fire in the vehicle on a roll of 16. 45s duration. The vehicle loses 5 HP and loses 90% of its ammunition load. Reduces the speed of by 75% and the hull rotation by 90%.
- Turret/Guns Jammed on a roll of 17. Last until the vehicle is repaired. Forbids the vehicle to shoot and rotate its turret.
- Transmission damaged on a roll of 18 to 19. Last until the vehicle is repaired. Reduces the speed and the hull rotation of the vehicle by 70%.

On the sides : - Destruction on a 1 to 7 roll. The vehicle is killed.
- Bailed Out on a 8 to 13 roll. The vehicle loses 10 HP, can't move at all and see its spotting ability reduced to zero. Note that most of the time it will lead to the destruction of the vehicle. Can't be repaired anymore.
- Fire in the vehicle on a roll of 14 to 16. 45s duration. The vehicle loses 5 HP and loses 90% of its ammunition load. Reduces the speed of by 75% and the hull rotation by 90%.
- Turret/Guns Jammed on a roll of 17. Last until the vehicle is repaired. Forbids the vehicle to shoot and rotate its turret.
- Tracks/Wheels Broken on a roll of 18. Last until the vehicle is repaired. The vehicle can't move but can turn its hull with a malus of 90%.
- Crew Shaken on a roll of 19. 30S duration. The vehicle can't shoot or move.
- Engine Destroyed on a roll of 20. Last until the vehicle is repaired. The vehicle can't move at all but it's fighting capabilities are hindered for only 5s.

On the rear : - Destruction on a 1 to 6 roll. The vehicle is killed.
- Transmission damaged on a roll of 7 to 9. Last until the vehicle is repaired. Reduces the speed and the hull rotation of the vehicle by 70%.
- Engine Destroyed on a roll of 10 to 13. Last until the vehicle is repaired. The vehicle can't move at all but it's fighting capabilities are hindered for only 5s.
- Fire in the vehicle on a roll of 14 to 17. 45s duration. The vehicle loses 5 HP and loses 90% of its ammunition load. Reduces the speed of by 75% and the hull rotation by 90%.
- Bailed Out on a 18 to 19 roll. The vehicle loses 10 HP, can't move at all and see its spotting ability reduced to zero. Note that most of the time it will lead to the destruction of the vehicle. Can't be repaired anymore.
- Turret/Guns Jammed on a roll of 20. Last until the vehicle is repaired. Forbids the vehicle to shoot and rotate its turret.

Accuracy and Dispersion

1) Accuracy

Accuracy in the mod refers to two things :
One is the standard Accuracy value shown on the unit's stats card.
The other is the effective variables which are taken into account for the hitting efficiency of a said weapon.

Firstly, the Accuracy value on the unit's stat card.

In the mod, it's a value which is representing the actual quality of the gun sights for a said unit, including the level of zoom those optics had IRL. It's a value comprised between 0 and 6 ingame, but can be inbetween two digits in the files. The merrier the gun optics and zoom are, the better the value will be.

In concrete terms, the Accuracy value is the main variable which will affect the ability of a unit to hit its target at range. Of course, the higher is the Accuracy value, the more chance your unit will have to hit.

Secondly, we'll focus on the variables which are not shown on the unit's stat card but are clearly having an important role in the final result of hitting or not.

The Range

The range at where you're engaging your target has a very huge impact on the accuracy of your unit. As in real life, being closer to the target makes it easier to aim and hit. Sadly, Steel Division doesn't manage to represent the reduced aim time with the closer you are to the target. But anyways, that's another story.

In Steel Division, as well as Storm in the West, the range at where you fire at your target will be a huge game changer. In fact, here are the concrete effects of the range :

Between 90 and 100% range (max range) ----> Base unit Accuracy value.
Between 80 and 90% ----> +1 Accuracy.
Between 70 and 80% ----> +2 Accuracy.
Between 60 and 70% ----> +3 Accuracy.
Between 50 and 60% ----> +4 Accuracy.
Between 40 and 50% ----> +5 Accuracy.
Between 30 and 40% ----> +6 Accuracy.
Between 25 and 30% ----> +6 Accuracy.
Between 20 and 25% ----> +7 Accuracy.
Between 15 and 20% ----> +8 Accuracy.
Between 10 and 15% ----> +9 Accuracy.
Between 0 and 10% ----> +9 Accuracy.

The Dispersion

The Dispersion is the other main factor that will enter in the final resolution of the accuracy ingame. We'll see it in the next main section.

2) Dispersion

Dispersion is yet another hidden statistic which is not shown anywhere in the unit's stats but that is really important to know if you want to understand the actual ability of your unit to hit or not.

You've certainly encountered it already... You know the little circle when you're trying to indirect fire with your artillery units ? Yep. That's pretty much it. The only difference between the artillery dispersion and the other units' dispersion is that the first will be shown as a circle when you want to aim at a unit, or fire on position, and the later is invisible.

So, ok but what's the Dispersion in reality ?

Well, the Dispersion is a value for the radius of a circle where the shells/bullets will be hitting in randomly.

By that, it means that the higher the Dispersion value is, the bigger the circle will be and thus, the lesser the chances to hit a specific place in it will be.

In the mod, the Dispersion has been set up for almost all kind of weapons to represent the effects of the shell velocity. Note that the Dispersion values for AP rounds are reduced with closing the distance with your target.

Basically, the faster a shell is, the lesser it is needed for the gunner to elevate the cannon. Having a higher velocity for a shell means that the aim process will be easier and faster and that hitting the target would become possible at higher ranges.

In the mod, it's thus logical that an AP shell such as of the 75mm M3 (M4) with its sheer verlocity of 618m/s will have a higher Dispersion value than a 17Pdr AP shell with 883m/s of velocity.

Here are some examples of real shell velocity values for some weapons :

75mm M3 Gun (Sherman 75) : 618m/s for the AP, 463m/s for the HE.
KwK39 5cm (PzKpfw III L/M) : 835m/s for the AP, 550m/s for the HE.
6Pdr 57mm (Churchill IV...) : 847m/s for the AP, 590m/s for the HE.
KwK36 8,8cm (Tiger E) : 773m/s for the AP, 820m/s for the HE.
KwK42 7,5cm (Panther) : 935m/s for the AP, 700m/s for the HE.
And the monster :
KwK43 8,8cm (JagdPanther...) : 1000m/s for the AP, 820m/s for the HE.

Health Points and High Explosive

I'm in the regret to inform you that all units have HP in Steel Division, even though only a few are showing their actual HP value, like infantry or AT guns.
Tanks, trucks, planes and other armored cars also have Health Points, even thought they're hidden for the player.
However, at the contrary of the Wargame series, the vehicles in Steel Division are not destroyed due to the loss of their HP most of the time, but by being penetrated by an AP shell.
The HP value is indicative of the amount of High Explosive damage a unit can sustain before being taken down.
To summarize, the units can be destroyed by two means :
Vehicles : By HE damage sufficient to reduce their HP to zero or by taking a « Destroyed » Critical after a penetrating shot.
Infantry and Field guns : By HE damage sufficient to reduce their HP to zero.
Note that when a unit loses a certain amount of HP due to being hit by HE damage, it will never be able to recover it again, by any means.

Attention : Do not mistake the HE damage for the HE value of a weapon. It's absolutely not the same !

HE damage is what can be otherwise called Physical damage. It's the amount of HP the target unit will lose if hit by the said weapon.
The HE value of a said weapon is an arbitrary value to somewhat give an idea to the player, of the potential of the weapon, taking the Physical damage, the Suppression damage and the Rate of Fire into account. It absolutely doesn't change anything regarding the efficiency of the weapon in question.

To represent the difference, i'll take the example of the 15cm sIG 33 Infantry Howitzer.
It's HE value shown in its stats car is 20.
It's Physical damage, or what's can be called HE damage, is actually 22. That means that if a unit is directly hit, or in the sIG 33's Area of effect, it will lose instantly 22 HP.

Unit Types (Part1)

A) Infantry

Maybe the most important kind of units, the infantry is the essential core of your army. Firstly because you can field a lot of them, but essentially because its the only kind of unit able to go through hedgererows, woods and forests areas. Cities are impossible to take without it.
In the mod, the infantry is very different than in the base game. On one hand, they have been improved in their abilities and their actual impact on the battlefield, but as most of the weapons are now more lethal and have more suppression, infantry can be tricky to use on the other hand. Their squishiness if let alone without support, is really visible in the mod.
If you need to push with infantry, make sure to use as much support units as posssible (light armor, smoke, tanks, Machineguns...etc) and micro your squads properly.

Overall, the infantry has been changed in the mod in many ways :

- Improved rifle damage and suppression. Range improved to 400m.
- Separation between Bolt-action and Semi-auto rifles (Kar98 and M1 Garand for instance).
- Introduction of the « Double Time » order. It allows for an Infantry, MMG, HMG or light mortar squad (up to 81mm) to basically dash to a better location. It's available in the order panel and will DOUBLE the movement speed of the unit for 30s. During that time, the unit will also receive +1 Dodge but will be UNABLE TO FIRE. The last thing is particularly important and can change a lot of you don't pay sufficient attention to your unit. Lastly, after a 30s effect, it won't be possible to use it again for 3min as it will need to cooldown. Hotkey : F.
- Adjustment of the Rate of fire for SMG and LMG. They're all have been adjusted between them to have a proportional RoF.
- Improved damage and suppression for LMG and SMG.
- Addition of 2 fire modes for the StG44 and the FG42. They now behave as SMG at less that 170m and as Semi-auto rifle at ranges between 171 and 400m.
- The difference between Allied and German infantry is not that huge anymore. In the mod, using allied infantry is not as useless as in the base game. The Garand-based US squads in particular are somewhat to not underestimate at close range. The Bren gun and Bren Groups have finally found a place where they could be an asset for the player.
- A lot of new infantry and new specialist units have been introduced, like the SS, the US Veterans, the Commandos, the FFI units...etc. Those are heavily linked to the new Veterancy and Trait system which we'll cover in details in another section.

B) Field guns

From AT guns to Howitzers, including the mortars, the field guns are essential for building good defenses and attacks. In the mod, they are reliable assets to support your infantry and vehicles, able to react at almost every threat you could encounter.
The field guns can be very powerful and become a pain for your enemy, if used right. Keep in mind that they're better used for defense tactics, but can reliably use covering fire to let your troops and vehicles advance smoothly. However, they are very fragile against vehicles and infantry at close range and tend to shatter in face of artillery fire.

The field guns can be separated in many categories :

AT guns

The AT guns are the bread and butter in countering the armored threats. They are available in different gun sizes and each have their own ability to take out enemy armor. Their cost are also making them a great way to go against enemy armor, as they can be really cost-effective if used right.

In the mod, the AP values have been adjusted to those of the real ones. The scaling is important and goes from AP 3 to AP 19, varying in rates of fire, aiming time, accuracy and dispersion. However, the range is what is common for all of them, as they're now all able to fire at 1500m.

About the HE, it really depends on the gun and if it really used HE shells at the time. Again here, the effects of the HE really depends on the explosive filler of the said round, an 88mm would
obviously have more impact than a 50mm.
The mod has also added HE shells for some of the little caliber AT guns, like the PaK 38, as they were effectively using such ammo during WW2. I would strongly suggest you to check if the weapon you're interested with is able to fire HE or not.

A very important part is the change in the stealth of the AT guns (and field guns in general), as all of them have now received better stealth values. That means that your AT guns will now be able to use their stealth to all ambush tactics, way more easily than in the base game. As the field guns are relatively fragile, it's now more important than ever to know when to engage with them.

Last but not least, a lot of AT guns have received special ammunition rounds, such as APCR or APDS. They're making them able to take down more dangerous threats than usual, but at the cost of a low range. I'll go into more details about that peculiar kind of shell in the appropriate section.

Artillery

Maybe the most representative of the field guns, the howitzers and cannons come in very diverse shapes and sizes in Steel Division.
Artillery guns are one of the most hated things from the player's perspective. Mostly because it doesn't sound to need a great skill to make good use of it. However, in the mod, it's not as simple as in the base game. Indeed, the artillery guns have been modified quite heavily in Storm in West.
From the HE damage, the Suppression damage, the HE value, the Rate of fire, the range, the Area of effect and the costs of the units, the artillery are very different.

The most important change for this kind of unit is maybe the range. Because of the mod's orientation towards reality, all the ranges for artillery guns (apart for the ones in the support tab) have been modified to be around half of their real range values. For instance, the 12cm GrW mortar on the german side was able to fire at around 6km IRL. In the mod, its range has been reduced to 3km (which is very important for a mortar).

Taking that into account, the other most important change to artillery pieces is surely the accuracy at range. In fact, I found the artillery too accurate in the base game, often meaning that they would be able to find their target at the first of second shot. In Storm in the West, it's different, as all artillery guns have seen their dispersion increased at range and even more so, if you're trying to fire at an unspotted target.

Apart from those changes, the role of the artillery is the same as before. Meaning they will be your main asset to shut down a well placed AT gun, MG nest, infantry attacks, smoke key defenses of the enemy or even counter-battery the opposing artillery pieces.

Lastly, keep in mind that the 50, 60 and 81mm mortars are now able to use the “Double time” order, like the infantry could do.

Unit Types (Part 2)

C) Tanks and Self-propelled guns

Ah, the armored mythical beasts of WW2. Tanks are maybe the most used kind of units after infantry. However, they're not as easy to use as a lot of people think. In fact, attacking blindly with them in the open is most of the time a certain loss for you.
In the mod, tanks are maybe the most heavily modified units of the whole game. Despite the way Eugen chose to represent them, the modded ones are way different in approach and ways they should be used.

Here are the main changes to the tanks in Storm in the West :

- Tank guns are now for most of them able to reach 1500m range. Their AP, HE, Accuracy, Dispersion, reload and aiming times have all been adjusted to the real ones' statistics.
- Entirely reviewed armor values, speed values, Stealth values and Hull rotation speeds.
- Tanks are now virtually blind without any infantry or recon unit by their sides.
- Certain Tanks and SPGs are now able to fire special rounds such as APCR, HVAP, APDS or HEAT.

Like the special ammo for other units, those are limited in some ways to better represent what they were at the time. While APCR, HVAP and APDS shells might be limited by their range and amount, the HEAT shells are low in velocity, thus making them less accurate than standard shells. They also feature less range than the normal rounds.

- Certain Tanks and SPGs are now also able to use Smoke shells or Smoke grenade-launchers.

As the mod have completely reviewed the Chances to hit and the penetration system, as well as all AP, HE and other weapon related stats (aiming time, reload, dispersion...etc), the way the tanks and SPGs are used in the mod has quite changed. One can say that the Tanks are more fragile than in vanilla and that's right in a lot of ways, but I can assure you that they can be as frightening as in vanilla.

Indeed, the changes in the Armor and AP departments are completely changing the meta and the player's choice to counter an armor threat. The german big cats, in particular are now really scary for any allied player and for good reasons ! Having a 12 Armor beast roaming in your lines while having only 8 AP tanks at hand always has a great psychological effect. Nonetheless, don't think that the allies are unable to counter those or you would be greatly surprised.

In the mod, and in contrary of the vanilla version where most of them are somewhat versatile, Tanks and SPGs can be separated in many categories, coming from the extremely specialized type like the Marder SP AT gun, or a more versatile one like the Sherman. However, each one of them have their strong and weak points that you'll need to understand and master to use them at their full potential. Even the famous Tigers and Panthers have their own downsizes that you certainly should not occult.

D) Reconnaissance and Light armor

Reconnaissance

One of the assets at your disposal with the most criticaly important role on the battlefield. The Reconnaissance units are your only way to prevent and see further in your opponent's tactics.

Coming in many forms such as infantry, light vehicles or even planes, the Reconnaissance units are maybe the most sensitive units of your army. They're even more important in the mod, as the whole scouting and spotting range system has been reworked.
I'll go into further details in the appropriate section, but for now keep in mind that all the units (at the exception of recon planes) have seen their spotting ability, especially coming from their spotting range, reduced. Those changes mean that most units will be almost blind in a lot of situations.

Taking that into account, the Recon units are that much important to see what's the enemy up to.
Now, the recon mechanic is mostly linked to the new “Binoculars” order which is enhancing to great lengh the scouting ability of a recon unit, be it infantry or a ground vehicle.

Light Armor

Often being assimilated to Recon vehicles, the light armor units are nonetheless not limited to them. Those somewhat fragile but swift and maneuvrable vehicles are indeed very usefull for any division equipped of them. Sadly, they tend to be overshadowed by the armored beasts that are the battle tanks by a lot of players. Despite that, a wise commander would know that those tiny little bastards are an incredible card in hand for a lot of situations.

Be it from the SdKfz 250/9 with the little but deadly 20mm KwK30, the M8 Greyhound with its high speed and versatile gun, to the Wasp Flamer variant of the Universal Carrier, those are all extremely specialized vehicles that are shining in one or two particular roles. Use them in their strengh and your enemy will curse them.
However, being nimble and deadly comes at a cost ; the armor. Indeed, those vehicles are very fragile and often open-topped vehicles, which increased even further their vulnerability. You'll have to nurture them well to use their full potential.

Unit Types (Part 3)

In the mod, those units have received the following changes :

- Entirely reviewed armor and speed values. Due to their tendency to be either entirely wheeled or half-tracked, those vehicles do not auto-rotate like the fully tracked ones and will need more micro-management fromt the player.
- Reviewed ammo capacity, AP values, HE damage, Rates of fire and all weapon stats.
- Addition of the Smoke ability for some of them, like the SdKfz 250/8.
- All the Howitzer based light vehicles have received HEAT rounds.
- All the 20mm and 37mm based light vehicles are now able to use AP rounds.
- All the Recon light armored vehicles are now able to use the new “Binoculars” order to greatly increase their scouting ability.
- All the .50 cal based light vehicles are now able to use AP rounds.

E) Planes

Finally, the most powerful and versatile units of the game are here : the aerial power. With the tanks and infantry, those are the most impacted from the changes in the mod.
Planes are maybe the most fearful vehicles of the game, and by far. Why? Because they're incredibly fast compared to crawling vehicles, because they can reach whatever location of the battlefield without any constraint (other then AA and enemy planes of course) and most of the time, are equipped with deadly weapons, sufficient to kill one or two units in one go.

For all those reasons, planes need to be somewhat limited in Steel Division, to avoid spoiling all the fun from one side of the game. It's even more important in a mod like Storm in the West, where I try to be closer as possible to the reality. However, facing an almost unending wave of allied planes killing or suppressing all his units would not be fun for any german player, even thought it would be appoximatively accurate.

In that way of thinking things, the planes have seen those following changes made to them :

- The number of planes per card has been reduced drastically, as well as the number of planes slots in the matching tab. Allies have now between 4 and 5 slots, while the almost non-existent Luftwaffe in Normandy is now limited to 3 (at the expception of the Festung Groß-Paris).
- The planes aren't limited to the divisions anymore. This change has been made to better represent that planes were attached to the Air Command and not the divisions. It's more visible for allied divisions, especially since the planes now come in 2 categories : UK Air Command and US Air Command. Concretely, that means that for 2 said US divisions, for instance, they will have the same kind of planes.
- The HE damage, Dispersion and Area of effects values of bombs an rockets have been entirely reworked.
- Rocket planes are now more susceptible to kill tanks, in partucular those equipped with 127 and 150mm rockets (HVAR and RP3).
- Most german planes are now way higher in cost compared to their equals from the allied side. That's to represent how scarce they were in comparison to the allied aerial fleet.
- Planes' HP values have been reduced all over the board. Planes are fragile vehicles and don't like to sustain 20, 37 or 40mm fire.

F) Anti-air units

To conlude our description of the unit types, here are one of the most importance for german divisions.

The Anti-air is basically your main way to counter Allied air superiority, however it's not limited to it.
Anti-air units are equipped with a wide array of armaments to take down aircraft, or at least to stop them from being a nuisance. From the little 7,92mm quadrible Besa gun to the famous 88mm Flak, passing by the Maxton quadriple .50 cals mount or the 20mm Flak 38, the AA units come in various forms.

In the mod, the AA units are essential for the german forces. Indeed, as they are limited in their aircraft selection and by their relatively high costs, any wise german player would head over the AA tab to find an effective way for countering and taking down the opposing aircraft (that can numerous).

Compared to vanilla, the AA units are now much more versatile in their use. Of course, they keep their ability to shoot at planes, but they also can become very handful support units for infantry and armor attacks, as well as specific defenses. Many of them being equipped with powerful rapid-firing guns, they are a nightmare to infantry and light vehicles alike. Some others can even go against enemy tanks. Know when you can use them to support your troops and you'll be surprised at how much they can do.

In the mod the Anti-air units have been heavily modified :

- Entirely reworked Ranges, Rates of fire, Accuracy, Dispersion, Reload times and Areas of effect.
- Entirely reviewed AP and HE damage for all AA guns.
- All the 20, 37, 40 and even some 15mm guns have received AP shells at ¼ of their total ammunition load.
- All the .50 cals are now equipped with AP shells.

Units and Auto-Orientation

In Steel Division, the term Auto-Orientation refers to armored units behavior which are turning automatically to face the threat they could encounter.

In the base game, all units are concerned, from Tanks, to SPGs and even wheeled vehicles.
In the mod thought, only fully tracked vehicles are concerned by it.

That means that only Tanks and fully tracked TD vehicles will automatically face their enemy to fire. All wheeled vehicles, as well as halftracks will now need for the player to give them the order to orientate adequally or directly engage the enemy.

To avoid being caught off-guard, it's easier to use the direct attack or the move and attack orders.
In addition to this, is the Threat evaluating range for all vehicles. It's a range value which tells the vehicle to use its Auto-Orientation ability to react for a threat.

As it was in vanilla, it was really problematic in a lot of ways, both allowing vehicles to react even to unspotted threats, as well as some which were at long range and outside of Line of sight.
That's the reason I've reduced that range value to a very low number, allowing vehicles to behave more realisticly and reducing as well the ability to give improper information to its owner.

Stealth and Spotting (Part 1)

1) Unit Concealment and stealth values

Be it a Königstiger or a reconnaissance infantry team, all units in Steel Division have a stealth value which is going from Very Bad to Very Good. Those are not the exact stealth values, but more an idea of the quality of the unit's concealment in open terrain. The value going of course up or down depending on the terrain the unit is in at a particular moment.

In the mod, all Stealth values have been modified to better fit a gameplay of surprise attacks and ambushes, more fitted for the Norman bocage .
Among all the units, the most impacted by those value changes have been the Infantry, the Tanks and the AT guns.

The Infantry have seen their Stealth values increased to make them more difficult to spot , especially in towns, hedgerows, bushes and forests. As they are now more fragile than they were in vanilla, it is even more important to use the cover and all ways they can use to get them out of trouble. In tight areas, such as forests and towns, their Stealth values are now making them very dangerous, especially against armored targets which are basically blind in those kinds of areas.
The AT guns have also seen their Stealth value raised. Now they are bringing fear and cautiousness in the heart of any player for their ability to lurk and strike in a decisive and lethal moment. Using the Hold fire order In combination of a good placement will make your AT guns incredibly dangerous tools that your opponent will curse.
At last, the Tanks. They have seen their Stealth value reduced to oblivion, as they are slow beasts making quite a noise when arriving on the battlefield.

2) Spotting ranges and Binoculars

In the mod the Reconnaissance system has been entirely reworked, to allow two things.
First is the fact that, apart from certain particular units such as big tanks, planes, and other noisy or large units on the battlefield, seeing infantry in tall grass, fields and bushes at range is incredibly difficult with bare eyes. The issue is that it was really simple in vanilla and the player didn't really had much to do.

Thus orienting us to the second matter. Basically it was way easier to defend in vanilla with the way recon worked than to attack. I wanted to equalize it a bit more, to be fairer for attackers compared to defenders.

With that reflexion in mind, I changed two things :

* First, the Stealth values, as explained in the last section.
* Second, the Spotting range values for all the different ingame units.

The Spotting range values have been thus changed taking into account many factors, such as the unit size, if the unit is opened or not (for vehicles), if it is infantry or how much of its armor could be in the way of the crew sights. In that way, the Tanks are now almost entirely blind and are heavily dependant on other units such as infantry to not being ambushed.

All in all, it was made roughtly in that way :

Infantry, Mortars and HMGs > AT guns > Field Guns > Open-topped Armored Cars > Closed Armored Cars > Planes > Tanks and closed SPG.

Of course, dedicated reconnaissance units have not been forgotten, but they now are working in a very different way than in the base game. Indeed, despite not having a basic advantage for their Spotting range value compared to other units of the same kind, they benefit however from having access to a special and brand new order fitting their heavily specialized role.

Stealth and Spotting (Part 2)

The new order in question is called Binoculars and work as such a tool would do.

What units are benefiting from it?

Well, all reconnaissance units which can be taken in the Recon tab in any division, Infantry and Vehicles alike, can now use the new Binoculars order.

How the hell does it work?

Pretty simple :

1) Click on the Recon unit you want to use its Recon ability and look at the Orders panel (lower right of the screen).
2) Localize the new button with the Binoculars symbol on it. Check that you really want to do it now and then click on it.
3) The Order has a 3s loading time before being effective.
4) The Order is effective during 90s. During all that time, the Recon unit using the order will gain +175% on its spotting range value, making it able to see units it wouldn't have in normal circumptances. Also note that the user of the order won't be able to move at all during all those 90 seconds.
5) After the 90s have passed, the Order is now reloading and the unit won't be able to use it again for 2min. However, the unit will be able to move again, as normal.

Despite not being able to move when the order is effective, the unit concerned will be able to fire as normal.

Important Note : The Reconnaissance planes are not concerned by that change as they keep a native increased Spotting Range value. They don't need the Binoculars order and thus, do not have access to it.
However, please note that the slower the Recon plane is, the better the Spotting range value will be.

Veterancy and Stars System (Part 1)

Here we are ; maybe the last and one of the most important changes in the mod, in terms of gameplay mechanics.

The whole Veterancy and Star-based system has been entirely reworked.

What does that mean exactly for the units?

Two things :

Firstly, the Stars are not giving any buff anymore, other than Stress resilience bonuses. They're now representing the morale state of the different units ingame. Of course, Command units are not giving buffs anymore, other than the same Stress resilience ones from the stars.

Secondly, the Veterancy is now entirely represented by Special Traits, native to some particular units and which are coming in a myriad of shapes.

In the vanilla game, I really had the feeling that the Veterancy system was weird and biaised, making some units completely overpowered just because of some stars on it. Despite making the Command units useful, it certainly rendered some units useless compared to others. In addition, I always thought it was weird to see Command units improving the Rate of fire or the Optics of the units in their area of command. For all those reasons and more, I chose to rethink and redesign how Veterancy and Stars work overall.

1) Stars and new system

The old Stars system is no more.

Before, the Stars system was the only one to represent Veterans, Reserve or Special troops. It was good on paper, but in facts was more than dubious, even more in terms of the effects of Veterancy for the different kinds of units.

The whole idea for the Veterancy in Storm in the West'44 was to split it into two things : An entirely revamped Stars system and a whole array of special Traits to better represent the special units.

As lightly explained above, the reviewed Stars system is now completely changing the effects it gives to the different kinds of units. Not only most of the effects were gone, such as Rate of Fire or Accuracy ones but for those which are staying, they have been toned down a bit.

Now, apart from Planes which are still benefiting from a compromise between the old and new Stars system, all the other units no longer benefit from it.

Stars are now representing the morale state of the said unit, which can be drastically improved by Command units in the area.

So, before going into concrete numbers, keep in mind that :

Planes are still having multiple effects changing to the better with the higher Stars they have, meanwhile any other unit ingame will only gain Stress resilience effects.
All the other Veterans and special units (Reserve, Prisoners, Tank students...etc) are now represented by the brand new special Traits with a lot of different effects for the concerned units.

So, here are the effects of the Stars for the different units :

Planes

1 Star : + 1 Accuracy and +25% Stress resilience.
2 Stars : +1 Accuracy, +1 Dodge and +30% Stress resilience.
3 Stars : +2 Accuracy, +2 Dodge and +40% Stress resilience.

NB : Dodge is an effect which is reducing by 1 the Accuracy of any enemy, trying to shoot at the unit benefiting from the effect.

Other units

1 Star : +25% Stress resilience.
2 Stars : +40% Stress resilience.
3 Stars : +55% Stress resilience.

Veterancy and Stars System

2) Units Special Traits

This whole part of the gameplay is entirely new from the base game so get your hears wide open and listen.

The traits are special sets of effects for certain specific units which I had to represent. Some where already in the base game, such as the Disheartened troops, but weren't part of the Veterancy system.
Be it the infamous SS troops, the famous Commandos, the elite Fallschirmjäger or the underground soldiers of the FFI, to name a few, the Traits are here to give back the credits those men achieved in the years of their service for their own cause. They had a tremendous impact on the battle of Normandy and they HAD to be represented !

With that said, Storm in the West features at least 15 of different Traits, each with different effects.

Note that the Traits are only concerning the following units : Reconnaissance, Infantry, Light vehicles, Tanks and some SPGs.

So, how to know if a unit has a special Trait ?

It's simple. Check the upper-left of the unit card and you'll instantly see if the unit presents an icon. All new Traits come with a name and detailed description of it, with a historical explanation and the detailed ingame effects. Just hover your cursor on the Trait icon and a contextual display will appear.

Here is the entire list of the special Traits and their detailed effects on the concerned units :

Allied Traits

Rangers
+1 Accuracy, +1 Dodge, +40% Movement speed and +10% Rate of fire (RoF).
Airborne Troops (Two different icons but same effects)
+1 Accuracy, +30% Movement speed, +5% RoF and Stealth value increased to Very good.
Airborne Veterans
+1 Accuracy, +30% Movement Speed, +12% RoF and Stealth value increased to Very good.
British Commandos and French SAS
+1 Accuracy, +1 Dodge, +50% Movement speed and +12% RoF.
US Veterans and La Española
+1 Accuracy and +10% RoF.
Exhausted Veterans
+1 Accuracy, +10% Spotting range, +10% RoF and -35% Movement Speed.
Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur (FFI)
-1 Accuracy, +25% Gun dispersion and -25% RoF.
US Veteran Crew
+1 Accuracy, +12% RoF and -5 Gun dispersion.
Exhausted Tank Crew
+1 Accuracy, +12% RoF, -5 Gun dispersion and -40% Stress resilience.

German Traits

Waffen SS
+1 Accuracy, +1 Dodge, +15% RoF and +50% Stress resilience.
Fallschirmjaeger
+1 Accuracy, +1 Dodge, +12% RoF and +50% Movement speed.
Heer Kriegsveteran
+1 Accuracy, +10% RoF and +10% Stress resilience.
German Reserve Troops
-1 Accuracy, -25% RoF and +25% Gun dispersion.
Disheartened
-25% Stress resilience.
PanzerAusbildungsTruppen
-10% RoF and -5% Stress resilience.
Bewährungs
+1 Accuracy, 10% RoF, do not benefit from any Command aura and possess an aura which inflicting -20% Stress resilience to any ally in the area.
Veteran Crew and SS Veteran Crew
+1 Accuracy, +12% RoF and -5 Gun dispersion.

Weapon and shell Types (Infantry Weapons)

1) Infantry weapons

The infantry weapons gather all weapons used by the infantry squads, from the Bolt-action rifles, to the LMG or the SMG.

Here are the main changes for the different kind of infantry weapons :

Bolt-action and Semi-auto rifles

The mod features a clear distinction between Bolt-action rifles like the Kar98, Semi-auto like the M1 Garand and Carbines for the M1 Carbine. Those two kind of rifles are now working very differently from each other and have their own strong and weak points. Among the difference in stats, what you'll have to remember are those few points :

* Bolt-action rifles feature a reload after each shot. That is their main weak point, reducing the effectiveness of the weapon by having to reload frequently. However, they have a very low reload time (1,5s) and a low aim time (1s). Compared to Vanilla, they also benefit from a increased Physical and Suppression damage values, making them way more worth to use against infantry.

* Semi-auto rifles feature a full magazine and thus are able to fire in a series of single-fire shots until emptying their load. The firing speed of the Semi-automatic rifles is clearly is strongest point. However, and compared to the Bolt-action ones, they have a longer reload time (6s) and a longer aim time (1,5s). Note that they also have a very slightly reduced Physical damage compared to Bolt-action ones, meanwhile benefiting from a better Suppression damage value.

* Carbines are behaving exactly like a Semi-auto rifle but with a better Rate of fire. However, being less powerful, a carbine does less Physical and Suppression damage. It's range is also more limited. At close range it can still be deadly, especially if used in numbers.

All in all, the Semi-auto rifles are better against infantry and very light targets in general. Their high RoF for rifles is clearly giving them an edge over the older Bolt-action Kar98, Lee-Enfield or Mosin-Nagant rifles. However, the units equipped with such rifles are higher in cost than the others – a variable which you certainly would take into account when composing your battlegroup.

Bolt-action rifles : Kar98, Lee-Enfield, Mosin-Nagant. 400m range.
Semi-automatic rifles : Gewehr 43, M1 Garand. 400M range.
Carbines : M1 Carbine. 270m range.

Sharpshooter rifles

Some elite reconnaissance infantry units feature Sniper rifles as their equipment. As you may know, such weapons are very efficient against infantry and other very light targets. In the mod they have been modified to be deadly and very effective at pinning down enemy infantry squads.

Their stats feature a very high range (for a rifle), a longer aim time but the same reload time as the rifle equivalent without scope and way higher Suppression and Physical damage values.
Sniper Rifles (Springfield M1903A1, Lee-Enfield Scope, Gewehr 43 Scharfschutze). 800m range.

Weapon and Shell Types (Infantry Weapons Part 2)

Light Machineguns (LMGs), Medium and Heavy Machineguns (MMGs and HMGs)

Light Machineguns refers to the MGs used in infantry squads. They greatly differs in shapes and effects, depending on the nation and the date it was designed. Nonetheless, all were thought to give the unit using them the same advantage : suppressing the enemy to cover for infantry advance.

Of course, all LMGs aren't on the same level of effectiveness and power, but they all fill that particular role in the infantry squads. They generaly come in quantities of one or two, depending on the kind of infantry squad equipped with them. Ingame, they all feature a high Rate of fire, important Suppression damage values and a range of 500m.

In the mod, they have been separated into the Magazine-feeded MGs and the Belt-feeded ones.

* Magazine-feeded MGs are reprenting the most numerous kind of Light machineguns in the game. They have an acceptable Rate of fire, rather average Physical and Suppression damage values but are really dragged down by the capacity of their magazine. Some of them features a high capacity mag, but most of them are suffering from the design choices of the post-war period. However and despite this important weak point, this kind of LMG benefits from a way faster reload time (5s), as well as spending their ammunition slower.

* Belt-feeded MGs are way less common, but also way more effective on the battlefield. Particularly fitting ones featuring the highest Rate of fire values, it allows for a more prolonged shooting time, increasing their already more than good Physical and Suppression damage values. However, this comes at a cost and they feature a long reload time (10s). The speed at what they spend all their ammo can also be problematic.

Magazine-feeded : Bren LMG, M1918A2 BAR, Fusil-Mitrailleur Châtellerault Mac24/29, DP28, Vickers K gun, LMG34, LMG42, Hotchkiss 13,2mm.
Belt-feeded : M1919A6, M1919A3, LMG15, sMG34, sMG42, Vickers HMG, M1917 HMG, M2HB HMG.

The MMGs and HMGs are very similar to the LMGs from the infantry squads, but do to their static nature, they feature a better range of 600m (750m for the M2HB and the Hotchkiss) and Suppression damage values. They're best used, placed in cover, against approaching infantry squads to pin them down. They're very good units, especially in the early game for defending a zone with against light attacks.

Note that the M2HB and all its variants have now access to AP rounds. That gives the .50 cal the ability to stop light armor with relative ease. Of course, that's a thing at close range. Don't really count on taking down SdKfz at more than 500m.

Sub-Machine guns (SMGs)

The SMGs refers to all the weapons made for close combat engagements that have a great stopping power and Rate of fire. Those weapons are omnipresent in almost all squads of the game, both in allied and german units. Be it the famous Thompson or the very fast firing PPsH41, they are all incredible assets when the units are fighting at close range.

In the mod, they have been modified to :

- Represent their real RoF, in ratio to the one which has the best firing rate.
- Gain in both Physical damage and Suppression damage to make the specialist units worthy.
They now all have 4 Accuracy and a range of 130m.

Assault Rifles

A new weapon of war, descending upon all the trials and errors of WW2 beligerants to find a way to give the infantry a more versatile weapon, good at both range and close engagements. Those evolutions will finally give birth to its entirely new type of infantry weapon and a very scary one at that. It's finally the germans who will produce the first of such weapons and more than that, to use in combat to great effect. It's not too exaggerated to say that all post-war Assault rifles, that will become the norm still today, will be extremely inspired by the german first-born, the Sturmgewehr 44.

In the mod, the Assault rifles have been differenciated to the other rifles to represent the different fire modes they can select to face all kind of combat situations. They are now able to choose from 2 modes, depending on the range of the engagement.

* At long ranges (above 150m approx.) they will behave like Semi-automatic rifles with a limited range of 400m, as the Semi-auto firing mode.

* At ranges less than 150m, they will behave like Sub-Machine guns, with the Full-auto firing mode.
The only weapons featuring that kind of gameplay mechanism are the SturmGewehr 44 (StG44) and the FallschirmGewehr 42 (FG42).

FG42 : Full auto ( 0 to 150m), Semi-auto (151 to 400m).
StG44 : Full auto (0 to 175m), Semi-auto (176 to 400m).

Weapon and Shell Types (Infantry AT Weapons and Autocannons)

Infantry Anti-tank weapons

Otherwise known as Bazooka, PanzerFaust, PIAT or Gammon bombs, those very specific weapons were pretty late in the war to reach the frontlines. Notheless, they made a huge impact in the last years of the war. So huge that the concept will improve during the Cold war era and still exist nowadays.

In the base game, all those weapons were very similar, be it in range, AP values or accuracy.
In Storm in the West thought, they have been modified to represent the differences they had in effectiveness.

The list of such weapons and their statistics are detailed here :

Panzer Faust 60 (Ger) : AP 19, Range 140m, Accuracy 7, Dispersion 3m, Reload 10s.
PanzerSchreck (Ger) : AP 16, Range 180m, Accuracy 8, Dispersion 3m, Reload 10s.
Faustpatrone (Ger) : AP 14, Range 125m, Accuracy 6, Dispersion 3m, Reload 10s.
M1A1 Bazooka (US) : AP 10, Range 180m, Accuracy 8, Dispersion 3m, Reload 12s. Aim time : 3s.
PIAT (UK) : AP 7, Range 125m, Accuracy 6, Dispersion 3m, Reload 8s.

Note the all those weapons are now showing their AP values in the mod, in place of the AT symbol which was too vague for the changes made in Storm in the West.

You will certainly notice that the AT rocket launchers are the only ones to show their AP value. Indeed, the other ones, known as AT grenades, have a very different way of taking out their targets and as such don't need for the player to see their AP value.

Just for reference, the Gammon bombs and HHL3 are AP 25, Range 100m, Accuracy 7, Dispersion 4m and Reload 8s.

Fragmentation hand grenades

All infantry squads are equipped with hand grenades which have the some role of attacking passing by open-topped vehicles at 50m.

2) Autocannons

At the end of WWI, a lot of new weapons, especially ones with high rate of fire were introduced and then spread in armies througought the world. Be it heavier machineguns or successors of the Oerlikon, all those weapons feature a high rate of fire (for such a caliber), very high Suppression and Physical damage values against infantry and even some reliable ability to counter light armor such as trucks and halftracks. You can find them on AA units, tanks, halftracks and even trucks.

15mm Heavy Machineguns

More like very heavy Machineguns than real cannons, the 15mm automatic guns are just inbetween the M2HB 12,7mm and the 20mm real autocannons. They feature more range and firepower than the M2HB but lacks the hitting power of the 20 mils, especially against other than soft targets. Nonetheless, they can be very effective if used right against the appropriate foe.
In the game there are two weapons of such caliber, the Besa 15mm and the Flak Drillinge 15mm.

Both are mounted on light vehicles and will be extremely effective in the infantry close support role, against enemy infantry forces.

Besa 15mm : Mounted on the Humber Mk.III. One gun in the main turret. 850m range. AP 1.
15mm MG151 Drillinge : Available on the SdKfz 251/21 and the NAG Drillinge (respectively as one and two mounting of three 15mm guns). 850m range. AP 1.

20mm and 25mm Autocannons

Way more potent and dangerous than the 15mm, the 20 mils are essentially featured on german light vehicles and some AA units from both sides. All those cannons are the successors of the first Swiss-made Oerlikon, mainly produced under license in the different countries. The Brits kept on the name and the German renamed it the depending on the purpose of the gun (plane-mounted, AA gun, tank gun...etc). However, all of them are extremely lethal for any infantry unit and are very useful to take down light armor, which can be swarming if not adressed quickly.

Light vehicles mounted : SdKfz 231, SdKfz 232, SdKfz 222, SdKfz 250/9, SdKfz 234/1, Autoblinda 41.
Infantry AA : Flak 38, Flak 39(f), Polsten, Tripolsten, Flakvierling.
Vehicle mounted AA : SdKfz 251/17, Opel Flak 38, Opel Flakvierling, FlakPanzer Wirbelwind, SdKfz 10/4, FlakPanzer Gepard, FlakPanzer Bren, SdKfz 7/1, CMP Polsten, CMP Tripolsten, Crusader AA Mk.II and Crusader AA Mk.II B.
Tanks : PzBfw II Ausf C, PzKpfw II Ausf L “Luchs”, AufkPz L6/40(i).

Weapon and Shell Types (Autocannons & Tank guns)

Even thought those weapons are fed with different ammount of ammunition, or have different Rate of fire values, they all feature important Physical and Suppression damage values, as well as AP 1 at 1000m.

Don't underestimate those weapons, as they can shread open a front against infantry, light units and static positions at close range. Their AA potency is not great but they are kind of cheap compared to the other ones, and are extremely lethal at engaging ground targets, be it in a defensive of offensive scenario. It's more their versatility and cheap cost that makes so valuable.

37mm and 40mm Autocannons

If you want to enjoy the rate of fire of 20mm cannons but with more punch, the 37 and 40mm are the ones to go for. Those cannons are very similar to the 20 mils in their rate of fire, but have way better stats overall, be it against ground or air targets. They have enough stopping power to even endanger light tanks like Stuarts and Panzer II, especially at closer ranges.

In their AA role, having better Physical and Suppression values for a really slight slower rate of fire, in addition to an extended range to engage aircraft passing by, compared to 20mm ones, is making them a very solid choice to set up your AA web. They're not in sufficient numbers to rely only on them but put them inbetween 20mm AA guns and even more bigger ones and you'll see how your opponent will struggle to get his planes to go through.

All of those weapons take the role of AA weapons, being either infantry ones or mounted on different vehicle chassis, mostly light ones thought.

37mm : 3,7cm Flak 36, 3,7cm Flak 43, Flak 43 Zwilling.
37mm mounted : SdKfz 7/2, FlakPanzer Möbelwagen, NAG Flak 43, M15 CGMC.
40mm : Bofors AA.
40mm mounted : Crusader AA Mk.I, Morris Bofors, Bofors Portee, GMC Bofors.

Note that the AA ranges, Rate of fires and other stats may differ from one to another. The Flak 43 having a better Rate of fire than the Flak 36 for instance, or the M1A2 mounted on the M15 CGMC being less effective in terms of armor penetration than the others.

3) Cannons and Special ammunition

Maybe the most diverse category of weapons, cannons are maybe the most represented on the battlefield after infantry weapons. Not only they're absolutely needed when trying to push forward, but they're also extremely useful at defending against coming foes.

In the mod, all those guns have been adjusted to their real statistics, especially in the Rate of fire and penetration values.

Be it the 2,8cm Squeezebore gun sPzB41, the classic 75mm M3 or the mighty 8,8cm KwK 43, all those cannons were made to inflict high damage to infantry and/or to take out armored threats.

Tank guns

This category refers to the cannons mounted on tanks or similar vehicles. They are extremely diverse, coming from the little 25mm on the Panhard to the big ones such as the StuH 43 on the Brummbär.
Althought their stats might be as diverse as those guns are, especially taking into account their different roles on the field, they all have in common the ability to engage armored vehicles with their AP shells and/or light targets such as infantry with their HE rounds.

Some example of Tank cannons and their main role :

* 25mm SA35 (Panhard 25mm) : AP 3, 1200m, Accuracy 3, Dispersion 15m, 4s reload. Very high RoF, above than average accuracy and good pen for such a low caliber makes it as great flanker against light vehicles and light tanks. Excellent to counter Recon light vehicles and to put pressure early on the enemy.

* 37mm M6 (Stuart M5A1, Greyhound...) : AP 5, 1500m, Accuracy 4, Dispersion 25m, 6s reload. High RoF, Good accuracy even at max range and an incredible pen value for a 37 mil. Very good to counter halftracks, recon vehicles and early rushes, this gun can even take down Pz IIIs and Pz IVs at close range. If you consider that this gun is also mounted on very mobile vehicles, you can understand that they shine at flanking and harassing the enemy.

* 75mm M3 (Shermans, Cromwells...) : AP 8, 1500m, Accuracy 3,7, Dispersion 34m, 8s reload. Not an incredible gun, mainly due to its mediocre accuracy at range, in particular if you intend to use it as a weapon to counter medium armor threats from you opponent. If you want to make this gun shine, try to engage your targets at less than 1000m and focus it more as an infantry support weapon than an anti-tank gun.

* 75mm KwK40/StuK40 (Panzer IVs, StuG IIIs...) : AP 10, 1500m, Accuracy 4,4, Dispersion 25m, 8,1s reload. Based on the PaK40 but with slightly reduced statistics, the “long-75” made to counter the T-34s on the eastern front has been adopted as the standard gun for all Panzer IVs and StuGs since then. It's a very capable cannon with high pen values at all ranges but lacking the firing stability of the KwK 42. It's not the most accurate gun the germans have but as a standard equipment, it's a wonder and a really scary weapon when you have to face it. Mostly used to engage its targets head on, this gun can be sublimed if used at medium to long range (800-1100m).

Weapon and Shell Types (AT cannons)

Anti-Tank cannons

Anti-tank guns are mainly cannons mounted on SPGs or carriages served by infantry. They're most of the time guns with high penetration values which are designed, as their name say it, to destroy or disable enemy armor units. Here, again they come with a lot of different calibers, shapes and statistics but their main worth on the battlefield is the same, althought they're not all made to counter every kind of armor unit.

Some tank guns are so effective at taking down enemy armor that they could easily be used at this sole purpose, the PaK 43 being a good example of such a thing.

In the mod, most of those AT guns and SPGs are slow and/or extremely fragile and sensible to any hit they could receive. They haven't been designed in the eventuality of taking hits and deflecting them, but more of ambushed units to take on opposing units from afar and relocating just after firing. That's the case of the Marders and the M18 Hellcat in particular, as they can use their mobility to relocate, avoiding being targeted in the process.

The infantry carriage AT guns are essentially made for defense purposes. Their really bad mobility as well as their tendancy to melt against any sort of HE shell hitting them is really limiting the AT guns to a defensive role. However, thinking that they would be useless based on that alone would be a great mistake. The AT guns are maybe the most fitted units to take on enemy tanks. Not because of their resilience but because they are easily concealed from the enemy units, Tanks being the blindest of all. With that they're extremely efficient at ambush tactics and are often preventing the enemy to push, even when he doesn't see your defenses.

Note that all those guns are not easy to relocate to adjust the sight to the position of the target. Because of that, they have a longer aim time of 7,5s than Tanks and Recon vehicles.

Some examples of AT guns and AT SPGs :

QF 6Pdr : 6Pdr AT gun. AP 8, 1500m, Accuracy 3,7, Dispersion 21m, 6,5s reload.
7,5cm Pak 40 : Pak 40 AT gun, Marder I, Marder III, S307(f) Pak. AP 11, 1500m, Accuracy 4, Dispersion 25m, 8,5s reload.
QF 17Pdr : 17Pdr AT gun, M10 Achilles. AP 14, 1500m, Accuracy 4, Dispersion 19m, 10,5s reload.
4,7cm Pak 36(t) : Leichter 4,7cm Pak 36(t), PanzerJäger I, PanzerJäger R35, PanzerJäger Bren. AP 4, 1500m, Accuracy 3, Dispersion 24m, 5,5s reload.

Weapon and Shell Types (Special Ammunition for tanks and AT guns)

Special Ammunition for tanks and AT guns

In vanilla, Tanks and AT guns have only access to the standard ammunition shells, I mean the Armor-Piercing (AP) and High Explosive (HE), of course depending on the gun type.
In Storm in the West, however, those units have access to some more powerful type of ammunition rounds. As well as a modified dotation about HE shells, in particular.

The Special Rounds are 4 in number :

* APCR (Armor-Piercing Composite Rigid) : is a very pointy shell with the sharpest edge being made in Tungsten. It's a very solid and resilient shell made to go through heavier armor. The ammunition is void of any kind of explosive filler and is only counting on its sheer speed and impact power with its target to damage it. The issue were that the shell being smaller and pointier than APCPBC or APBC ones, it used to shatter or being deflected easily when meeting sloped armor, as well as losing a lot of velocity and penetration power above 1000m. In terms of ingame mechanics, it gives most german guns a really accurate and powerful shot at low range, allowing them to manage some situations where they could have been slaughtered otherwise.

* HVAP (High Velocity Armor-Piercing) : basically the United Stated equivalent of the APCR. It works the same ingame. However, it's very rare and only a handful of US vehicles are able to use those rounds. Their penetrating power is incredible and can help you counter some of the heaviest tanks in the german arsenal.

* APDS (Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot) : is the first attempt to create the father of modern tank shells. The idea is simple, using some removable base (the sabot) to kick the shell after being shot, to further increase its acceleration and velocity, increasing de facto its penetration power. In reality however, those shells were the very first of their kind and had some really annoying issues. The main one was that when discarding the base, the round tend to shatter a lot, making it changing course in a lot of occasions and becoming extremely innacurate at ranges above 650-700m. However and despite those shortcomings that will be corrected in the next generation of such ammo, those rounds have an incredible penetration power for their caliber and are a death sign to any armor unit trying to go against it. Those shells are limited to allied use only and on certain vehicles and cannons.

* HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) : this kind of shell is very peculiar. It uses the same mechanics as standard HE shells but will add a penetrating needle to go throught the target's armor. HEAT are late war shells, because this technology is far from being simple. Basically the shell is fired like a HE shell and will detonate at contact with its target. At this moment, the heat from the explosion will melt an internal part of the shell, filling it with liquid metal. At some later stage of the explosion, the needle or arrow-shaped metal formed in the mold previously, will be ejected with the force of the explosion, going through the target's armor. However, what's lethal to the crew is not only that needle but also the extremely high heat coming from the explosion (more than 800°C) that will fill up the inside of the tank. Ingame, it's a very effective shell with the issue of being very slow in velocity, making it having low accuracy. However, it doesn't lose or gain any AP value with distance and has an impressive AP value.

In the mod those shells are working differently even thought some of them could have some similarities. Note that all those shells are available in very scarce amount for any unit eqquiped with them.

The APCR, HVAP and APDS shells are all limited to 800m. They're able to gain AP value with closing the distance with their target and are easier to aim than other shells, due to their very high velocity. That's why they have shorter aim times than others.

APCR and HVAP : 800m range, 10m Dispersion.

An example of comparison between the 76mm M7 gun with standard AP and HVAP :

76mm M7 AP : AP 10, 1500m range, Accuracy 4, 26m Dispersion, 5,3s Aim time.
76mm M7 HVAP : AP 19, 800m range, Accuracy 4, 10m Dispersion, 4,5s Aim time.
APDS : 800m range, 40m Dispersion.

An example of comparison between the 17Pdr AT gun with standard AP and APDS :

17Pdr AT gun AP : AP 13, 1500m range, Accuracy 4, 19m Dispersion, 7,5s Aim time.
17Pdr AT gun APDS : AP 24, 800m range, Accuracy 5, 40m Dispersion, 4s Aim time.

HEAT shells are not especially limited by their range, but they are peculiar in a sense that they are only available for howitzer like cannons and not to regular tanks. They are in very low amount for those units and are quite innacurate if used at range. They're more designed to give a unit the ability to defend itself from an armor threat, at close range. What is extrelemy nice with them is that they are often associated with powerful guns, making them benefitin from high Physical damage values (of course depending on the gun caliber).

At last, note that the APCR, HVAP and APDS shells are all secondary Anti-tank ammo and will not be used by the vehicle without your intervention. You'll have to disable the main AP shell first to force your vehicle to use it. Don't forget to reactivate your standard ammo when you have finished using the Special ones.

All in all, the Special ammunition rounds are to be used in very sensitive situations and not every time. Be wary of what you're facing, choose your timing, try to add some ambush tactics in it and unleash them on the ennemy at close range. You'll see that they can do wonders and change the shape of an entire game.

Weapon and Shell Types (Artillery)

Artillery cannons and Howitzers

If you want to hit enemy from a relatively safe range to disrupt his lines and attacks more than killing them, then the artillery is made for you.

In terms of History, artillery was always used for disrupting and killing from afar. In Steel Division, it's not different but the mod has given back the its real role, with long ranges, mostly slow reloading and high Suppression damage values.

A very important difference with vanilla is that all of those weapons have seen, amongst other stats, their Dispersion values increased and their Correction reduced, meaning that they will never be as pin-point accurate as they would have been in the base game.

Here are the different artillery categories that you could encounter in Storm in the West 44 :

Infantry carriage artillery

Certainly the more common kind of artillery piece you'll find at your disposal in the mod. Those were towed batteries, either by trucks or horses, which were put in place at the rear of the frontlines to allow a safe place for shelling enemy positions. They were mostly used to disrupt and disorganize the enemy defenses, in preparation of a major offensive.

In the mod you'll find them in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and calibers, from the little 75mm LeIG18 Infantry howitzer to the very powerful 155mm M1918A1 cannon. Simply said, you can find an artillery piece for each kind of job you need them to do.

However, and much like the AT guns on infantry carriage, those artilleries are very fragile and will be at mercy of any unit attacking them, even infantry. Despite that, they are almost essential in your arsenal, as they allow you to have a way to slow the enemy down, particularly when you are really pressed by your opponent. It's also one of the sole way to counter the enemy own artillery, by using counter-battery measures, trying to disable his own batteries.

These two weapons have seen a lot of changes and need to be presented in particular :

* 7,5cm LeIG 18 (Leichter Infanterie Geschütz) : It's a light infantry artillery piece conceived around the famous german “short-75” to accompany the infantry and give them a quick support, in response to any difficulties they may encounter while attacking enemy positions. Surprisingly, this particular piece is better at attacking alongside infantry formations than just defending, even though then can be used in defense with resonable efficiency. In Vanilla they were only able to be used as direct-fire weapons but not in the mod anymore, as they now also are able to fire as indirect. Use them against infantry and light vehicles, they can do wonders, especially when you consider their incredible Rate of fire.

* 15cm sIG 33 (Schwerer Infanterie Geschütz) : A very similar gun as the previous one in it conception, but its size and caliber is from a completely different world. Indeed, the 150mm is not here to joke and your enemy would be stupid to not worry about that very powerful howitzer. Although having impressive Physical and Suppression damage values, as well as a great AoE, its very low mobility (2 Kph) and its low Reload (20s) are making it vulnerable to any unit it could face, and to any counter-battery initiative from the opposition. Keep in mind that such guns are able to kill any unit in one well-placed shot. Like the LeIG 18, the 150mm Infantry Howitzer is now able to shoot from a safe position, as indirect fire.

Self-Propelled Artillery Guns (SPAGs)

With the same role as the more static artillery pieces, the SPAGs possess the ability to relocate quickly, thus being able to avoid counter-battery measures, enemy forces approaching, or even changing position to be closer to its target to gain accuracy. Some of them are even blessed with a valuable armor which makes them almost immune to counter-barrage.

In that category, the two following vehicles have received important changes in the mod :

* Grille : Armed with the infamous sIG 33 (detailed above) and with very light armor, the Grille is a light mobile artillery piece that will introduce heavy firepower where and when its needed. The vehicle is certainly not the more resilient you can have at your disposal, but its acceptable mobility and the fact that its now able to fire as an indirect weapon should make you revise what you would have stated after seeing its poor representation in the base game.

* T30 HMC : Basically an M3 halftrack equipped with a 75mm M1 Howitzer, it's very similar to the LeIG 18 in its use, but apart from now being also able to fire as an indirect weapon, it can fire HEAT shells as well (of course only as direct-fire), making it a very solid choice all around for when you would try to support your infantry during a push on light defenses..

Off-map Artillery batteries

One of the artillery units which have gone through one of the most radical set of changes are the Off-map batteries. In vanilla, they were kind of cheap for what they could do, especially when you consider that they could be used three times each. The issue was not forcibly with the light ones (140, 155mm...) but more for the bigger calibers like the Naval based ones (356 and 381mm) which were wrecking havoc in enemy lines without a need from its user to really think about placement or anything else.

In the mod, that has been changed quite strongly. Firstly to avoid being in the same situation where one Off-map unit is destroying an entire front, and secondly to make all Off-map batteries usable
and worth in their own way.

Here are the main changes concerning those peculiar units :

- Off-map barrages are can now be used one time only, for each OP unit.
- The circle radius where you can call for a barrage has been reduced to 1000m, compared to 1300m in vanilla. It has been set up to 1500m for when they're called from a plane.
- The effects of all those weapons have been modified to better represent the hell it was when they rained on enemy units. The number of shells in a barrage, in particular for the Naval ones, have been adjusted to the exact number of cannons the said Battleships were able to fire in one volley.
- The cost of all the units carrying them are now very different from what they were in vanilla. The most powerful ones are now extremely expensive and in really low availability.
- The OP tanks are now all equipped with the same armament as the vehicles they're based on. The Churchill IV OP has now a fonctionnal cannon in it turret, for example.

Weapon and Shell types (Mortars and Rocket Artillery)

4) Rocket Artillery and Mortars

After the WWI and it's competition in artillery effectiveness and size, as well as the use of poisonous gas, all the countries made some research to improve and diversify their arsenal. Be it from the Mortars which were infantry-sized artillery pieces, easy to handle and to put in action, or the more complex rocket based batteries able to drop hell on enemy positions with a wide array of shell types, all those weapons have been used extensively in the second world war.

Mortars

Also called Infantry artilleries, those light howitzers are made to pour shells on enemy positions with a high rate of fire and to be very easy to set up, fire and relocate. As they are used for direct infantry support, they are light and limited in caliber, althought some exceptions exist.

Ingame, the mortars are used as light, cheap artillery made essentially to stop advancing infantry formations or to cover one's own troops during their advance on enemy defenses. Mortars don't possess the huge indirect range of conventional artillery cannons or howitzers but their low cost, numbers, simplicity to use and very high rate of fire makes them an essential asset to any commander.

But what makes the mortars the most useful for is their ability to fire smoke shells, which allows your infantry and vehicles to move to strategic positions without the fear of being targeted. It's especially useful againt AT gun positions to smoke them and forbid them to fire.

Mortars are available as the following calibers :

* 50mm (5cm GrW, 2-inch Mortar) : Really low range and kind of limited Physical and Suppression damage values. They're however worth their cost if you use them directly behind your infantry formations. Most of them are available in the mod in the Support tab.

* 60mm (60mm Mortar) : The US are the only country using the 60mm. As it has a wider range than the 50mm mortars, it stays in the Artillery tab. Despite losing its utility in the later phases, it stays as a very solid choice for its cost, range and rate of fire at the beginning of a game.

* 80 and 81mm (8cm GrW, 3-inch Mortar, 80mm Mortar) : Maybe the most useful as they are just in the middle in terms of cost, rate of fire, hitting power and range. The 80 and 81mm mortars are certainly the most numerous and the most represented ones as they're also are mounted on numerous different vehicles through all the divisions. Having one or two of them at the beginning or just after the start of a game is extremely advised and will certainly help you a lot.

* 107mm and 4,2-inch mortars : The most powerful mortars at the allies disposal. Those are way more scarier than the previous ones as they have a very high rate of fire, a great range and are not to be messed with in terms of Physical and Suppression damage values. Excellent to disrupt or reduce the static defenses of your opponent from a safe location, those weapons are even able to suppress and kill light vehicles with relative ease.

120mm (12cm GrW) : Copied directly from the russian 120mm mortar that the germans encountered during the early stages of Barbarossa, the germans have fallen in love with the concept and decided to adopt it. Ingame, it's the bigger caliber and most powerful mortar. Extremely deadly, with an exceptionnal range and a huge Suppression damage value, these are more like standard heavy artillery than a mortar. The 120mm is the mortar with the lowest rate of fire but each of its shell is so powerful that it easily makes up for it.

Rocket Artillery

After WWI and the massive use of Poisonous gas such as Mustard gas, countries tried to develop ways to launch even more chemicals at once on the enemy. Like Mortars which were also designed to fire gas-filled shells, the Rockets artilleries are made to launch a number of gas, smoke or explosive-filled projectiles by flooding the enemy lines with them. What made it possible was the breakthrough in rocket technology during the 30's in Germany, USSR, USA and UK.

In game, the Rockets artilleries are represented in a lot of different ways, from the infantry carriage ones to others being mounted on tanks or light vehicles. Althought, all of them share one thing : they all make death raining on their targets. Indeed, rockets are basically filled with explosive fillers and despite their caliber can vary from the tiny 82mm to the mighty 300mm, their Physical and Suppression damage values are quite high and a barrage from those weapons can change the tides of a game, if played right.

Some examples of Rocket Artilleries :

15cm Nebelwerfer 41 : 6 rounds. 500-3000m range. 8 Phys. Dmg. 450 Suppres. Dmg. 39m AoE.
T27 Xylophone (127mm) : 16 rounds by 2 volleys of 8 rounds. 500-2600m range. 6,5 Phys. Dmg. 320 Suppres. Dmg. 33m AoE.
T34 Calliope (127mm) : 60 rounds. 500-2600m. 6,5 Phys. Dmg. 320 Suppres. Dmg. 33m AoE.
Wurfrahmen (280mm) : 4 or 6 rounds. 500-2000m. 11,5 Phys. Dmg. 550 Suppres. Dmg. 70m AoE.

Note that all those weapons are not designed to carry more than the ammunition they will entirely use when they fire, in one volley. They are really dependant on the logistics and are basically useless without any Supply vehicle. They also are extremely costly to resupply so if you plan to take some of them in your decks, please consider taking a certain number of Supply units.

Weapon and Shell Types (Smoke shells)

5) Tank smoke shells and Launchers

Another big changer for the mod compared to the base game is the Smoke shells and Smoke grenade-launchers for tanks and some SPGs. Those are special rounds which can tactically give you the upper hand in some particular situations.

The two kind of smoke ammunition for vehicles are working as follows :

Smoke Shells

* Only most Command Tanks (those with 75mm guns or above), some Tank Destroyers and some very few Support vehicles have access to them . It's normaly shown either in the unit card, as with other weapons, or in the unit's name with the indication « (Fum) ».

* You can use these shells the same manner you could use smoke shells with mortars or arties, meaning you'll have to click on the Smoke order button.

* The range of the Smoke shells are set up to 1000m maximum. Once you've cliked on the order you can tell your vehicle to fire anywhere in a radius of 1000m.

* The aim time is very low but the reload time is the same as for other shells from the same gun.

* Smoke shells are limited to a dotation of 5 for each unit which means you'll have to think before smoking the entire frontlines. Of course, they can be resupplied.

Smoke Grenade-launchers

* You can easily see if the vehicle has access to them or not by checking the 3D model. If it
presents Smoke launchers on it, you're good to go !

* You can use the grenades the same manner you could use smoke shells with mortars or arties, meaning you'll have to click on the Smoke order button.

* The range of the Smoke launchers are set up to 100m. Once you've cliked on the order you can tell your vehicle to fire anywhere in a radius of 100m.

* When you have confirmed the destination of your shot, you'll see that it's 4 grenades that will pop out of their tubes to create a real wall of smoke to protect your vehicle.

* The dotation of Smoke grenades for the vehicles that can use them is 8, which means you'll be able to use it twice per vehicle and per game. Of course, they can be resupplied.

Divisions, deck building and game settings

A few words about redesigning the divisions

In the early process of changing the units statistics to more realistic ones, I've quickly realised that the way the divisions had been designed in vanilla, with the units availabilities and number of cards, the modded units wouldn't be in adequation and would result in unbalancing the game completely. It was especially clear with the german big cats which, in their modded form, were stomping the allied hard.

With that statement in mind, we (Minnus and I) decided that the division's compositions should be changed and reshaped into a version more in-line with the modded units. It was the first iteration of changes and it took me a whole month, working 24h/24, 7d/7 to achieve that in the end of June 2017.

This current system held for quite a time, as it allowed a more interesting experience in PvP and the balance wasn't all that bad, even though some shenanigans persisted.

It wasn't before the end of October 2017 that, after receiving multiple demands to have the division compositions based on the real divisions Orders of Battle (OOB), that I decided to redo all the compositions, entirely based on real sources. This time, it took me 2 months and a half to achieve that, especially taking into account the time needed to find reliabe sources about those OOB. The actual compositions are just the evolution of that rework.

And that's bringing us today, where a lot of balancing and new features have been made and added since then. The mod is in its completed state now and very little changes will come. Balance will surely be tweaked a little here and there, but the mod has reached its final shape as all divisions are playable and competitive in their own way.

Main changes in the divisions

Changes in the economy

Allied and german divisions are quite different in the mod. Not only by their available equipement and the statistics of their units, but also by their economy which are radically opposed.

The economy is also extremely different from the base game as in the mod, the divisions benefit from Bonus points given once at the start of each phase (depending on the division of course), in addition to the standard income points they will gain every 70s.

Basically, the economy in phase A has been set up taking the arrival date on the frontlines for the different divisions, into account. The later the division has arrived in reality, the lower the income is for that division. That's notably the case of the 116. Panzer, the 9. Panzer or the 1. Pancerna for instance.

From phase B, you could certainly see that the Income values are asymetrical between Allies and germans. That's has been made voluntarily to represent the german counter-attack in phase B and the allied breakthrough in phase C.
I'm also sure you have noticed that some divisions are extremely peculiar with very low Income values in phase A or phase B. They're special divisions, such as the 2e Division Blindée, the 352. Infanterie or the Allied Airborne divisions. Those divisions are representing some special troops or contexts and have been made to allow the player to feel it in their gameplay.

Changes in the divisions phases duration and game settings

To allow for more variety in the gameplay of all those 32 divisions, the duration of phases have been tweaked as well, depending on the division. Most of them will be played with the standard phases duration, meanwhile others (and the special ones in particular), will have their own phases duration.

The standard phases duration is as follows :

Phase A : 12 min. Phase B : 15 min. Phase C : 15min.

For those changes to have a impact on the game, the duration of a game has also been changed :

As it was 30min before, the durations of a game you can set up when hosting a game are now different :

- Only phase A : 12 min.
- Phases A and B : 12 + 15 = 27 min.
- Standard game : 12 + 15 + 15 = 42 min.
- Extended game (favors the Allies) : 12 + 15 + 22 = 50 min.
- No time limit.

With that in mind, we can finally see in detail the economy of the different divisions and the their phase duration, explained in the next section, beginning with the Allies.

Divisions, deck building and game settings (Allied Divisions economy)

A. Allied Divisions

1. Pancerna (Pol)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 70. Duration A : 11 min.
Bonus B : 125. Income B : 125. Duration B : 16 min.
Bonus C : 230. Income C : 132. Duration C : 15 min.

43rd Infantry Division « Wessex Yellow Devils » (UK)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 115. Income B : 110. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 225. Income C : 135. Duration C : 15 min.

3rd Infantry Division « Monty Iron Sides »(UK)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 95. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 120. Income B : 120. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 218. Income C : 128. Duration C : 15 min.

3rd Infantry Division (Can)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 95. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 115. Income B : 105. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 220. Income C : 130. Duration C : 15 min.

7th Armored Division « Desert Rats » (UK)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 95. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 140. Income B : 115. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 210. Income C : 135. Duration C : 15 min.

Guards Armored Division (UK)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 75. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 130. Income B : 120. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 220. Income C : 137. Duration C : 15 min.

6th Airborne Division « Red Devils » (UK)
Bonus A : 585. Income A : 26. Duration A : 11 min 30s.
Bonus B : 180. Income B : 105. Duration B : 12 min.
Bonus C : 240. Income C : 130. Duration C : 18 min.

1st Special Service Brigade « Commandos » (UK)
Bonus A : 50. Income A : 95. Duration A : 11 min.
Bonus B : 140. Income B : 100. Duration B : 14 min 30s.
Bonus C : 180. Income C : 135. Duration C : 15 min 30s.

2nd Infantry Division « Indianhead » (US)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 95. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 125. Income B : 110. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 220. Income C : 135. Duration C : 15 min.

4th Infantry Division « Ivy – Steadfast and Loyal » (US)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 95. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 140. Income B : 110. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 210. Income C : 136. Duration C : 15 min.

9th Infantry Division « Old Reliables » (US)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 135. Income B : 110. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 215. Income C : 133. Duration C : 15 min.

3rd Armored Division « Spearhead » (US)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 80. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 130. Income B : 115. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 200. Income C : 140. Duration C : 15 min.

4th Armored Division « Breakthrough » (US)
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 70. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 145. Income B : 120. Duration B : 14 min.
Bonus C : 225. Income C : 138. Duration C : 16 min.

101st Airborne Division « Screaming Eagles » (US)
Bonus A : 575. Income A : 26. Duration A : 11 min.
Bonus B : 185. Income B : 105. Duration B : 12 min.
Bonus C : 250. Income C : 135. Duration C : 18 min.

82nd Airborne Division « All American » (US)
Bonus A : 590. Income A : 26. Duration A : 11 min.
Bonus B : 175. Income B : 110. Duration B : 12 min.
Bonus C : 245. Income C : 140. Duration C : 18 min.

2eme Division Blindée « France Libre » (FR)
Bonus A : 250. Income A : 30. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 320. Income B : 125. Duration B : 14 min.
Bonus C : 100. Income C : 125. Duration C : 16 min.

Demi-Brigade SAS (FR)
Bonus A : 375. Income A : 0. Duration A : 10 min.
Bonus B : 150. Income B : 95. Duration B : 14 min.
Bonus C : 400. Income C : 140. Duration C : 18 min.

Divisions, deck building and game settings (German Divisions economy)

B. Axis Divisions

1. SS-Panzer Division « Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 85. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 180. Income B : 140. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 95. Income C : 106. Duration C : 15 min.

12. SS-Panzer Division « HitlerJugend »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 175. Income B : 135. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 90. Income C : 105. Duration C : 15 min.

17. SS-Panzer Grenadier Division « Götz von Berlichingen »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 80. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 170. Income B : 130. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 100. Income C : 107. Duration C : 15 min.

2. Panzer Division « Weiner »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 85. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 170. Income B : 135. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 80. Income C : 107. Duration C : 15 min.

9. Panzer Division « Schnelle »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 70. Duration A : 10 min 25s.
Bonus B : 205. Income B : 138. Duration B : 16 min 35s
Bonus C : 80. Income C : 110. Duration C : 15 min.

21. Panzer Division « Rommel Zircus »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 125. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 185. Income B : 125. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 75. Income C : 105. Duration C : 15 min.

116. Panzer Division « Windhund »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 75. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 175. Income B : 140. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 105. Income C : 108. Duration C : 15 min.

Panzer Lehr Division
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 180. Income B : 138. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 100. Income C : 105. Duration C : 15 min.

3. Fallschirmjäger Division « Grüne Teuffel »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 160. Income B : 135. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 105. Income C : 107. Duration C : 15 min.

16. Luftwaffe Feld-Division
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 80. Duration A : 11 min.
Bonus B : 195. Income B : 130. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 100. Income C : 108. Duration C : 16 min.

91. Luftlande Division
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 90. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 185. Income B : 130. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 130. Income C : 105. Duration C : 15 min.

243. Infanterie Division
Bonus A : 50. Income A : 100. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 150. Income B : 130. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 125. Income C : 105. Duration C : 15 min.

352.Infanterie Division « Pegasus »
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 120. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 0. Income B : 75. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 175. Income C : 110. Duration C : 15 min.

716.Infanterie Division
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 120. Duration A : 12 min.
Bonus B : 120. Income B : 120. Duration B : 15 min.
Bonus C : 145. Income C : 107. Duration C : 15 min.

Festung Groß-Paris
Bonus A : 0. Income A : 105. Duration A : 10 min 30s.
Bonus B : 95. Income B : 115. Duration B : 14 min 30s.
Bonus C : 125. Income C : 100. Duration C : 16 min.

Annexes - Ammunition Penetration charts

Annex 1 – Standard AP rounds chart at ranges between 100 and 1500m

Annex 2 – Special Ammunition rounds chart at ranges between 100 and 800m

Annex 3 - AA mounts AP rounds chart at ranges between 100 and 1000m

Annex 4 – Plane-mounted AP rounds chart at ranges between 250 and 1250m

Sources

Wikipedia

Nafziger Orders of Battle

War Thunder

Tank Encyclopedia

http://normandie1944.over-blog.com - La Panzerdivision Type 44

http://www.niehorster.org/ - WWII Armed Forces

http://www.dday-overlord.com/bataille-normandie/forces

Panzer Battles Normandy - Orders of Battle

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1821

http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/Tank_Battalion.jpg

1st Polish Armored Division Official Briefing - Flames of War

Citizen Soldiers Official Briefing - Flames of War

http://www.spearhead1944.com/shweb1.htm

https://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=678 - German Infantry Divisions in the Normandy Campaign

https://fr.scribd.com/doc/219173969/WWII-Ballistics-Armor-and-Gunnery

https://www.militaryfactory.com

The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WW2

Fire and Fury Games Orders of Battle

[Max Eisert]

Can the AI handle all these changes?

[nilkoyasin]

Hey bro, if you have somth like that for SD2 Red storm, I can make it russian for you