Welcome to Infantry, I will see you through some of the basics.

The goal of this guide is to provide a simple overview on Infantry units and applications during the game. I will not go deep into the crunch of the systems, instead providing a more natural idea of what a unit can be expected to do.

Every entry will include the following bullet points:

Name: Fairly self Explainatory
Equipment: The weapon slots of the unit. This does not include things like grenades or smoke.
Keyword: A catchphrase I think can give you the right idea about a unit
Supply Weight: Indicator of how much the unit costs to upkeep in the Campaign
Perks: If and which perks the unit has I think define how it can be used

Description: A small elaboration on what defines the unit and how you can/should use it in the Campaign.

You meet all but one type of Founder infantry during the tutorial. I will have to apologise to Mason for repeating a lot of his talking points in this guide. Maybe he takes a beer?

Infantry:

Equipment: 6 rifles, 1 MG, 1 AT
Preferred range: Medium
Keyword: All-rounder
Supply Weight: Heavy
Perks: Nothing defining

Infantry Squads have a good mix of firepower, loadout and soldier count. They can slug it out with all other infantry at a medium range and come out on top. They can win assaults by virtue of decent H2H skills and numbers too. Their main drawbacks are a very high supply cost, the ininability to operate vehicles and the fact that most of their jobs can be done better for cheaper by other units. They do not specialise in anything but that also means they can be fit into essentially any composition and can cover for each other quite well too.


Rangers:
Equipment: 4 rifles, 1 grenade launcher, 1 DMR
Preferred Range: Long OR short
Keyword: Spec Ops
Supply Weight: Heavy
Perks: EMP, C4

Rangers sometimes get hated on for being either weaker infantry or snipers with half the rifles. Both critiques are fair. Rangers do not want to be in a drawn-out firefight in rifle range unless they can shoot at infantry in the open. And even then, They can pick apart infantry at range with the DMR and win most assaults through their high H2H skill. A major problem is the fact they cannot fight heavy vehicles effectively on their own - the EMP solves that problem somewhat against Legion. In that way, they have good synergy with other units. I recommend using them in groups of 2 with a RPG-squad to support them. They will be able to approach most enemy squads and engage them from range relatively safely with the DMR’s until its time to assault. These squads reward patience and good timing on when to commit them into an assault. They can operate vehicles, so they are also quite versatile on the looting and emergency fire support field.

Oh, and they call in Founder air support in two missions. Nothing too useful but its there.


Snipers:
Equipment: 2 Sidearms, 2 DMR’s
Preferred Range: Long
Keyword: Recon
Supply Weight: Light
Perks: Nothing defining

Snipers can be exceptionally good or die within seconds. They are a squishy two-man unit with very little other than range and camo to rely on for survivability. Their spotting ability can make them exceptionally valuable though. The game likes throwing surprises at you and either seeing them coming or just directing your artillery on enemies can make missions a lot less stressful. They are cheap enough to keep around as reserve crews and even for stupid things like taking multiple squads and decimating enemy infantry - something I definitely didn’t find out because I ran out of infantry on a mission…

Jokes aside, these guys can make or break your game on some maps. Either by wiping out critical enemy infantry or by giving you much-needed awareness. Just don’t expect them to survive if you fail to pay attention to them.

Hero Unit: Kondo
Treat him as a sniper with the ability to get himself a pet legion tank. No, literally. He starts with hacking and EMP unlocked. That ability can turn some missions like Santa Fe from frustrating to very manageable. The less durable of the two hackers but the one with more utility.


ATGM-Squad:
Equipment: 3 Sidearms, 1 ATGM
Preferred Range: Extremely long
Keyword: Javelin Meme
Supply Weight: Medium
Perks: Don’t take AA

These guys are single-handedly the most defining infantry unit in the game. Team them up with a spotter and some protection and they can wipe out enemy armour with barely any opposition. Everything short of a Legion tank will die almost certainly in one or two hits. They can ride in a Humvee or Technical too. Just remember one very important thing: Smoke, regardless of kind, will make them miss 99% of the time. Bail or delay their fire if needed. They are best as ambushers or snipers. They die to almost any infantry if caught out of position, so better not leave them unattended.
There is also a niche use for AA missiles: They are still capable of destroying most light vehicles at a higher range than AT missiles. The force-fire command can be used to fire them at non-air units.


Engineers:
Equipment: 4 Shotguns
Preferred Range: Non–Combatant
Keyword: Support
Supply Weight: Medium
Perks: Hacking

One of the worst units in the Founder roster. Their main utility is from hacking abilities, mineclearing and -laying and driving tanks. Hacking requires them to level up, mines only exist on three maps to my knowledge and you will only have engineers for one of them. Really, treat them as reserve tank crews. They may have shotguns but they also have very poor combat abilities, so don’t rely on them during assaults. There have been changes to unit behaviour in buildings. Units now fire their weapons even in buildings, so these guys can clear larger buildings easily. Becareful in small ones as weapons are only fired until the soldiers enters hand to hand combat. Mines can be applied to great effect during the defensive sections on those maps you do have them for, so there is a lot of potential there at least.

Hero Unit: Flinch the Hacker
Engineer with hacking unlocked. Not a great unit but you get him early enough to get some use out of him - especially as a tank crew.


Drivers/Tank Crew/Pilots
Equipment: 2-4 Sidearms
Preferred Range: As Vehicle
Keyword: Crews, not fighters
Supply Weight: Low
Perks: Vehicle Performance

Pooled into one category as they do essentially the same thing: Enable you to operate vehicles. The heroes here are mostly exceptional for being in your army for the entire game and will level up to the max level fairly quickly.
If you just look for someone to move vehicles around, these are NOT the best option. Technicians can do it cheaper and combat units are able to fight as well. But these guys have perks for speed, fire rate and repair speed in vehicles. So use them on your cornerstone vehicles. But use them.

Movement units do not get introduced in the Tutorial and the game just kind-of expects you to learn how to use them as it throws them at you. Thankfully, they are highly specialised and just looking at their weapons usually provides a good idea of what they are. Still, I will give you a small idea of what they can do in the longer run.

With the addition of the Mount Taylor mission, there is the option of adding a chunk of high-veterancy movement units to your roster shortly before the end of the campaign. Therefore, the pressure to keep these alive early is considerably lower.

I added the Mercs here because they don't need their own faction section.

Militia:
Equipment: 8 Rifles
Preferred Range: Medium-Short
Keyword: Bodies
Supply Weight: Medium
Perks: Nothing defining

Militia are one of the most inflexible units in the game. They have rifles, can get normal grenades and not much else. That also means that they cannot lose any expensive heavy or special weapons though. And they can pin down enemy units for at least as long as it takes that unit to fire eight times if you put them in a strong building! They have enough rifle fire to win against smaller units if they can fight on their terms but seriously, their job is not to kill. Their job is to keep more useful units alive by distracting the enemy. Which is a useful niche to have filled I guess.


RPG-Squad:
Equipment: 4-5 Rifles, 2 AT
Preferred Range: Medium-Short
Keyword: RPG
Supply Weight: Low
Perks: Firepower and Manpower

Specialised AT-infantry. More capable of handling infantry than ATGM’s due to having rifles and more people and double the missiles than an Infantry Squad. Very capable ambushers and cheap (and capable) enough to commit to an assault or defence against infantry in a pinch. Also a very useful unit to crew vehicles and platforms. You tend to get a lot of these for free and I recommend keeping an eye open on missions against Legion: These can salvage a lot of Smaw-missiles from Homunculi.


Guerillas:
Equipment: 5 Shotguns
Preferred Range: Short
Keyword: Assault
Supply Weight: Medium
Perks: Mines, C4 and EMP

The actual assault shotguns. They may not be able to win most firefights due to everyone outranging them but they will hit hard wherever they reach the enemy. I consider them very awkward to use due to a propensity to lose a lot of men in the approach and then being ineffective for another one. Supported propery by smoke launchers, ideally from vehicles, they are the best option to clear buildings though. In addition, they can operate vehicles, so retiring them to a platform is always an option. Not a weak unit but their niche can be filled easier by more versatile units.
Between C4 and their shotguns, they also make for very effective ambush units if you can set the enemy up at a chokepoint.

Heavy Weapons Squad:
Equipment: 1 Heavy Weapon, 2-3 Rifles
Preferred Range: Long-Medium, depending on weapon
Keyword: Fire Support
Supply Weight: Low

Perks: Manpower, Utility

Very powerful unit, although somewhat overshadowed by light vehicles. They operate a light vehicle weapon of the same kind that can be installed on a Humvee or Technical and can drive light vehicles. Also, their size starts at 3, meaning they can ride in these vehicles too. Their combat application depends on what weapon you equip them with - they can fill any niche you need and have a weapon for. Their main advantage over a Humvee is their ability to set up in buildings and much higher concealment for ambushes. Disadvantage being mobility and higher vulnerability to small arms fire. Having a few on your roster as drivers can net you a chunk of loot from enemy weapon teams or revs too.


Sharpshooters:
Equipment: 2-3 Snipers, 2-3 Sidearms
Preferred Range: Long
Keyword: Snipers
Supply Weight: Very Low
Perks: Manpower

Everything I said about Founder snipers applies here. The units are mostly interchangeable. Do note that these can get a third sniper rifle, making them a significantly more effective unit in firefights. If you like the risk-reward-calculation, two or three squads of these can easily wipe out most infantry groups on the game. Just keep in mind that every lost model directly translates into a lost gun you may not be able to loot back.


Technicians:
Equipment: 3-4 Rifles, Optional Mines
Preferred Range: Medium or not at all
Keyword: Engineers
Supply Weight: Very Low
Perks: EMP, Mines, Tank Crew

Calling these the Movement equivalent to Founder crew units would be selling both units short. Technicians are the default crew unit in the Movement but they do not have the vehicle upgrade perks the Founders get. Instead, they can learn how to EMP, booby trap Legion units, lay mines and to operate tanks. They can be made into a rearline crew, frontline support or bootleg hacker unit. They have versatility more than anything and the tank crew upgrade gives them a fourth soldier as well. Just for the option to cycle a tank crew during a mission, these guys would be good. With everything else they can do at barely any supply cost, they are great.


Added note: If you want to use the Movement helicopter, you need to give either these or a tank crew the piloting skill. Give it to these, tank crews are wasted on things other than tanks…


Mercenaries:
Equipment: 5(?) Rifles, 1 DMR, 1 Grenade Launcher, 1 MG, 1 AT
Preferred Range: None
Keyword: Jack of all Trades
Supply Weight: Very High
Perks: None

Mercs are a unit that just has what it says on the tin. No extra perks and starting with very good equipment. However, they also start with several perk effects that make them even more versatile. They are a 5 man unit that can operate vehicles. They are not good at taking casualties due to their high weapon density. However, they tend to stay useful even at low member counts since they will always have at least some heavy weapon left.
In regards to using them, treat them as versatile rangers or RPG teams. Let them roam with those units and just shore up the others weaknesses or concentrate 2-3 squads in urban combat.
The glaring problem is their supply cost though. They are the most expensive infantry unit by far. If you buy these, be aware you probably don’t want to drag them along forever. You can take a light vehicle and give it a crew alongside some passengers and pay less than for these guys in upkeep.

Use them if you need slot efficiency or to fill holes in your infantry composition.

And thats it. All the infantry units you can get and keep in the campaign. Let me know if it was helpful, a waste of time or if I should add something!

I made some minor edits on the 25th, incorporating some of the feedback as well as some of the changes to the game's mechanics.