Alpenjagers and Chasseurs Alpins: A Guide For The Squads and the Teams They're In.

A short guide on the uses of the reconnaissance sections in Verdun, and why they are not "the worst of the squads".

Introduction

While playing Verdun I've had the chance to sample every different class and squad at this point, but one thing I've noticed time and time again is games made up of nothing but infantry squads.

This not only often results in a loss for the side who chooses to go 'infantry only', it also shows a lack of understanding in one of the basics of the game, which is that it is team cooperative.

You cooperate not only with your squad mates, but also with the larger whole.

For the purposes of this guide I'm going to assume the reader has played the game and has some ideas about what the different squads are.

A good basic overview is here, courtesy of the Verdun team themselves: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=182831658

Mechanical Basics or "What makes Recon Different?"

Every squad in the game has something unique about them that makes them play slightly differently then the other squads.

What sets recon apart?

Shared abilities:
Three of the four roles of this squad have the 'Hide' ability. What does Hide do?

Hide 1 means that when you are prone and not moving, you cannot be made aware of. That means that if your squad is right up against the enemy trench line and they call a recon plane on you, you CANNOT be spotted as long as you stay still.

The Trench CQC class comes with Hide 3, which means as long as they are prone, they cannot be spotted, and all the classes eventually get Hide 3. Trench CQC upgrades to Hide IV, which means when crouched in the aura of the commander they cannot be made aware of. This allows them to move forward even when a recon plane is above.

The only exception to this is the sniper class, who does not get Hide ever in his career.

Further, two of the classes share the "Draftee" malus, which means that outside the NCO's aura they move at -10% of normal speed. This would be the Sniper and Observer.

NCO:
Like all NCO's, the recon NCO's receive a command aura and a command order. However, of all the NCO's the recon NCO probably causes the greatest changes to other members of the squad.

When any member of your squad is in the NCO's aura, they receive +100% stamina. That means their stamina doubles, allowing them to cross the no mans land much easier. This eventually upgrades to -25% stamina recharge time, and then onto INFINITE STAMINA as long as you are in the NCO's range!

Further, when in range of the NCO, all recon squad members move +5% faster. It may not seem like much on paper, but in game it feels quite different, and you can notice the difference when playing other squads.

Finally, the most important part of he squad, the Recon Plane. I'll talk about this in a separate section because of how important it is.


Sniper:
The actual sniper class in the game. Despite the fact that infantry squads have a rifleman who can obtain a scope for their rifle, this class starts with two abilities that mark it out for long range combat.

The first is longshot. While not a great 'team' upgrade, it does grand the sniper +2 points for every longshot kill.

The second, and more important one, is the fact that the sniper starts with marksman III, allowing his held breath time to be increased by 30 seconds.

Observer:
Possibly one of the most confusing classes to people who are unsure of the abilities, the Observer has three loadouts with binoculars. A carbine, a pistol, and a rifle, in that order.

The reason the observer is probably the most confusing class is because of its unique class ability, "Observant". Observant 1 grants the following: "When in aura, all enemies within 5m are made visible to the squad".

5m is short, roughly half a command auras range, but the implications of this are that your squad can see enemies and where they are facing before the enemies can.

At Observer 2, the distance is upgraded to 10 meters. At Observant 3, the squad member no longer needs to be in range of the NCO to use his ability.

This is a passive ability that's unlocked at all times.

Trench CQC (I think the actual translation is something more like "infiltrator"):
Do you like murdering people up close and personal? This is the class for you.

All three of the Trench CQC masters loadouts are equipped with either a bayonet, or in the case of the third, a trench knife. The trench knife is probably one of the if not the fastest melee weapons in the game.

His abilities reflect this, to a point. When prone, he cannot be seen at all on radar, meaning that the Trench CQC master can crawl right up to a trench line with a recon squad and not appear on the radar. This eventually upgrades as noted above in the "Shared" section.

However, his class unique ability is "Ferocious", which grants the CQC master a +.5m increase in his melee range. This means he actually 'lunges' at targets when meleeing and allows him to close.

Overall just a fun class to play.

The Recon Plane and Why You Need It, or "What is the Recon Squads job?"

You're at Flanders. You're desperately holding down the line when you notice that the one guy who was on the opposite flank has died, and suddenly "The enemy has a foothold!" has popped up.

We've all been there, we've all seen this. This is where the recon squad, and it's unique ability the recon plane, come into play.

Recon on Defense

Most people would say the recon squad is the least useful on defense, but that's far from the truth. Imagine if, at regular intervals, you could see the location of every player on the enemy team in no mans land.

Well, recon squads can do just that.

The recon plane reveals all the enemies in a sector that do not have 'hide', which only consist of enemy recon squads.

The recon squads job on defense is to take full advantage of that, in two ways. The first way is to tell the rest of the team! This is a game about communication, and when the NCO uses the plane and the enemy team appears on the minimap, it's best to type out that the recon plane shows "lots of enemies left" or "lots of enemies right" or wherever they may be.

The SECOND job of the recon squad is to plug holes the enemies have found. After informing the rest of the team of the general area of the push, the recon squad should move to fill in whatever hole the enemy is currently trying to push into.

In many ways, recon squads are rapid response teams that can locate and then counter any pushes the enemy is attempting, and using their carbines lay down withering close range fire.

Recon on Offense

This is where many people say 'recon is useless'.

And they are right, if no one on the team is talking to each other.

However, imagine this scenario. The Flanders attack has been repelled and your men charge into no-mans land. you are spread out and unsure of where the enemy is highly concentrated. A recon plane is called in, and you notice that there's only 3 men on the left flank compared to a gaggle in mid and right.

Tell your team "Their are only three enemies on left! Now's the time to push in there!". The assault squad NCO, hearing this, drops gas on the left flank, allowing them to push through it and end up in the trench. Meanwhile, the infantry section commanders drop mortars on the middle and the right flank to try and break up the enemy formations there and begin to sweep the trench.

This is how recon works on offense on a team level. But how does it work on a squad level? For that, there are two things. One is the massive amount of carbines and bayonets the three members of the squad get. Fast firing and powerful, they have a distinct advantage over the heavier rifles often used on defense, and you can always give the enemy the bayonet as well.

The sniper, however, has a unique role. He can follow the progress of the squad through the scope, and using the NCO's assistance, can knock out high priority targets near the squad, such as machine gunners. The sniper MUST pay attention to where his squad is going though, and after the squad has entered the trench line, can provide cover from incoming defensive wave reinforcements heading towards the trench. He can also choose to take a carbine and join in the assault, and there's nothing wrong with that gameplay either. More carbines is always good.

There is another ability that the squad gets that makes it wholly uniquely and powerful, though.

Everyone is a Spawn Point

Everyone in a recon squad acts a spawn point for everyone else in the squad

For all other squads, the NCO acts a spawn point. If the NCO dies, then the squad is essentially forced to charge forward from the trench line again.

Not so with the recon squad. As long as a single member of the squad is alive, the rest of the squad will respawn on that person.

This is an insanely powerful offensive ability.

To give a scenario that actually happened, I and some friends were playing as a recon squad and rushed the enemy trench. Our rule is "if you're the only one left, be a massive coward". All but one of us was killed, and the last one went prone and hid, and suddenly all three of us who were dead popped into life back in the enemy trench line.

The ability to constantly do this without interruption is perhaps the recon squads greatest offensive power, and their close combat carbines and pistols make them doubly suited for work of this sort.

Conclusion

Are recon squads the easiest squad to play? No.

Do they require a certain level of coordination? Yes.

Do they require you to coordinate with not only your squad, but also your team? Yes.

Are they worth it? Absolutely!

HOWEVER, THIS COMES WITH A BIG CAVEAT

The team that wins is the team that's balanced.

A single recon squad in a game can make a difference, but much like having too many snipers in TF2, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

The balanced team of 1 recon, 1 assault, and 2 infantry squads has enough unique abilities, and team coordination abilities, to win a game more then four infantry squads ever will.

[Lynden]

I agree with everything you said, this is a good guide for people who are learning verdun.