Company of Heroes: Designer Diary #4 - German Weapons and Tactics

Few games make destruction look as beautiful as Company of Heroes, the upcoming real-time strategy game from THQ and Relic Entertainment. Set in World War II, Company of Heroes promises fully destructible environments that you can tear apart, smart artificial intelligence so that your soldiers act like real human beings, and a beautiful, cutting-edge 3D graphics engine that brings the European settings to life like never before.

German soldiers in Company of Heroes will have access to all sorts of powerful weapons, including Nebelwerfers (rocket launchers), remote-controlled bombs with treads, and ballistic rockets. That's in addition to the feared German tanks, some of the biggest and most powerful of the war. Designer Blaine Smith was good enough to tell us how these weapons can be employed in the game, as well as how you might counter them. Company of Heroes is scheduled to ship later this year.

German Weapons

By Blaine Smith
Designer, Relic Entertainment

While its range and accuracy don't match conventional artillery, the Nebelwerfer can rain down a lot of destruction very quickly. An Axis commander will fire Nebelwerfers at any viable target in hopes that just one rocket will do some damage. The chronic "scream" of the Nebelwerfers is a psychological attack on any Allied commander, and a group of them will make any commander wince. Nebelwerfers should be kept from the front lines as much as possible since they are such a slow-moving and powerful weapon that they will easily become a prime target.

The Goliath is an all-terrain remote-controlled bomb. Capable of large amounts of destruction in a small area, the Goliath is an enormous threat to any Allied commander. Luckily, they're easy to take out from range once spotted. A few bullets will slow a Goliath and sometimes detonate it before it gets to deliver its payload. An interesting tactic some Axis commanders like to use with the Goliath is to create two or three of them while distracting the Allied player with a false attack and then sneak the group of Goliaths to where the Allied player isn't paying attention.

The Axis has a devastating long-range attack in the form of V1 rockets. They are capable of killing infantry and tanks in one gigantic deluge of explosive damage, and the Allies really have no direct counter to this weapon other than spacing. However, the huge munitions cost of launching these monsters is a key weakness that an Allied commander should exploit.

Tiger tanks are the most fearsome tanks in Company of Heroes. No target can stand up to more than a few of the explosive shells fired from a Tiger's 88mm main gun. The Tiger tank's 102mm-thick front armor means immunity from all but the most lethal projectiles the Allies can hurl at it. Meanwhile, the 80mm-thick armor on its sides is equivalent to the front armor of its cousin, the Panzer IV. But all power has a cost. Heavy armor and a giant gun mean a lot of weight and a very slow rotating turret. The best way to take out a Tiger is to get behind it and exploit its rear armor weakness. Be sure to use armor-piercing rounds in any AT guns you may have as well. All tanks have weak roof armor, and the Tiger is no exception. A well-placed rocket strike or artillery barrage might just be enough to put one of these beasts out of commission.