Hello there everyone. As of recently I've completed my first run through of the campaign. While I'm still far from a good player, I've come out the other end with a lot more experience and some advice for those still struggling.

So, let's talk about squad composition. You only get 6 men to work with in the campaign, so what you do with them is of the upmost importance. Theoretically any soldier can become skilled at combat, but some are better or worse at this than others. This plus the abilities and weapons they bring to the table are important considerations for who to bring.

Obviously your mileage may vary. Some of you will prefer some classes over the other. What I've written here is not gospel, but educated observations as a result of my time playing the game. These are the classes I've had the most luck with, why I like them or not, and how I think they can be best utilized. I'll try to cover as many as I can, but there are some i haven't tried enough to give adequate reviews of.

Arguably the single most important man you can have on the battlefield. His immediate nerf to combat ability will be felt, but you know what you'll feel more? His absence.

Though rare, something will inevitably happen to leave your men left incapacitated, bleeding out on the battlefield. Outside of items and abilities which are rare and have a long cooldown respectively, the medic is the single most reliable way to bring them back from the brink.

I have gone through more medics than I can count, but those that have survived long enough have been some of my best soldiers. I recommend going for 1 or 2 combat upgrades before diving into the abilities. If the investment pays off you will be left with a super soldier who can bring a gravely wounded soldier back up to or near full health in a few short minutes.

The first two abilities are the best in my opinion. Used in conjunction they can quickly restore a lot of lost health. Morphine I have been apprehensive on using due to the reduction in max health, but probably isn't as bad as it seems, though should still only be used in an emergency. Spirit of the 29th, if you have it, is much better for instantly restoring a man. Weapon selection isn't anything special, the best he gets is a full size garand as his last upgrade. A well trained medic is a great candidate for using captured weapons.

Probably one of my favorite classes right here. On par with the medic in terms of importance. The signaller's abilities involve calling in powerful support options which are (in order) a strafing run, bomb drop, and artillery strike.

Sometimes you will just have to deal with a large number of enemies. The signaller exists to kill or at least 'soften up' these pockets with what amounts to free commander abilities with a much quicker cooldown. Unlike the medic these abilities should be prioritized, though don't skimp on combat upgrades so as to make leveling quicker. Weapon upgrades aren't anything special, you're best off sticking with the springfield at first until he has enough experience to make the SMGs worth it.

Strafing run and artillery strike are my two favorites. The latter is more useful for actually killing, but the strafing run's ability to stun a large number of units is useful in a pinch, and is the quickest to recharge. Do note that unlike the others the actual strafe run happens to the right of where you designate it. Depending on where the Germans are you may have to put the marker right on top of your men to best utilize it.

The bomb drop is famously inaccurate, but can be used to destroy large fortifications like houses to deny that cover to the Germans, or punch a hole in hedgerows to make crossing them less risky. Otherwise I generally don't use it unless the situation is desperate enough.

Suppression is love, suppression is life, and I mean that without a hint of irony. The gunner does not exist to kill troops (though with enough experience he can get good at it), but rather to keep their heads down so your men stay alive.

Exchange of fire is one of the 4 tenets of a firefight you are judged on for a reason, and the gunner is the epitome of this. As the most consistent user of fully automatic weapons in the squad, his delivery of wild, inaccurate fire is meant to pin the enemy and keep them pinned, allowing your squad to comfortably move and shoot on the battlefield.

The gunner's abilities are some of my most frequently used. The bipod makes him stationary, but harder to hit and gives more bullets per weapon burst. The gunner will usually be on the move with the rest of your squad, but sometimes you'll have to deal with a counterattack or a enemy hardpoint, and the bipod exists to plop him down and rain hell on the enemy.

Overwatch is a truly GOATED ability, simply for the doubling of his detection range. This allows the gunner to see beyond a single screen, which is invaluable in open plains or extended firefights. The bonus to morale checks is also important in tight, chaotic fights where whoever maintains the higher volume of fire usually comes out on top. Overwatch used with bipod is the closest you can get to a win button. Incendiary rounds are...a thing. I don't think I've seen them start a single fire, but extra damage is extra damage.

Weapon selection is where it gets interesting. The Bren is a straight upgrade to the BAR, though I usually don't go for it until after a combat upgrade or 2. The M1919 and Vickers K trade killing ability for raw suppressive fire, but are 2 of the bulkiest weapons in the game and will slow your gunner to a crawl.

If you are truly lucky you might find a lootable MG34 or MG42. Despite the 50 round mag on each, the lower bulk combined with the fire rate means a gunner with one of these will render entire German squads unable to do anything. Be warned though: if you get the standardization battle condition you will be stuck with the BAR again until you find another lootable weapon.

Up until now the classes I've talked about are ones I consider 'non-negotiable'. Units whose abilities are invaluable no matter where you are. However they are not necessarily great at directly killing Germans. For that, there are a wide variety of combat oriented classes to pick from, and the sniper is one of the best.

You already know how a sniper works. Sit back, far away from where the enemy can see you, and pick them off. As long as you don't do anything stupid with him, the sniper provides invaluable support at very little risk to himself. The only downside is the much slower fire rate, but the killing potential here is great when paired with auto or semi auto fire from fellow squadmates.

For abilities, mark target and headshot are fairly uninteresting. Mark target is only really useful against scary enemies like machine gunners, FJ, or Waffen SS, all of which are uncommon to rare to see. Headshot basically turns his next shot into a guaranteed kill. Good when paired with mark target, but at this point your sniper will already be great at killing enemies.

Eagle eye on the other hand is what turns sniper from 'okay I guess' to 'oh sweet jesus this is incredible'. For the full duration of this ability your sniper can see through trees and hedges as if they weren't there at all. Know there's a kraut in that tree but your units can't fire at him? Not sure what's behind that hedgerow? Need to pick off some units without letting them fire back? This is one of the most important abilities you can get, and is especially important on maps like Hurtgen or Ardennes where the thick trees make for miserable fighting.

Each weapon upgrade provides a slight boost to range and damage over the previous, but are all effectively the same. Combat ability should take priority.

I've grouped these 2 together because, really, they are just two sides of the same coin. Both are dedicated infantry killers, sporting some of the best weapons in the game, and abilities that reflect these. Preference over one or the other falls down to whether you want a hard hitting grunt with a bias towards explosive support, or a fast flanker that gets access to some automatic weaponry.

The heavy rifleman is usually my go-to. With a stock garand, and potential for rifle grenades and a mortar, he is arguably the better of the two. The match garand has slightly higher range and a little less jam chance. The Johnson and T20 rifles are effectively the same with even higher range and magazine size. The rifle grenade stands out as an accurate, long range explosive device for killing or pinning stubborn Germans. AP ammo helps negate a bit of cover, and the mortar provides some quick firing, if inaccurate support.

The light rifleman gets a stock M1 carbine, which packs less punch, but has a larger magazine. The next upgrade is a paratrooper carbine which has even less bulk. The last two weapons are the M2 and M2A1 carbine, both of which are fully automatic. The M2A1 has a 30 round magazine compared to the 15 of all the others, and is the closest you can get to an 'American' StG44. The smoke grenade is situational, but can be used to help flank or cover a hasty retreat. The frag grenade is always good. The charge ability renders the rifleman immune to pin and gives 20% damage resistance, but only lasts 10 seconds; a bit too situational for my taste.

At any rate, they are both meant to quickly and effectively dispatch Germans, so I prioritize getting combat ability to max before delving into their juicy weapon choices. Which one you choose is up to you (hell,you could take both), but either one, when sufficiently leveled, become valuable additions to a squad.

There's already a whole other guide on here dedicated to gushing about the commando. If you want an in depth analysis go read that one instead. The commando is a class I've used sparingly and isn't my favorite, so I'll be brief.

The commando excels at close range operations, using exclusively SMGs, having additional health, and excellent hand-to-hand skills. While I hesitate to use any man in hand to hand, the commando is your top choice should you dare to risk your men in such a way. Weapon choices only improve, up until the last one, the Sten Mk VI, which is only marginally better than its regular counterpart. It's suppressed though, which offers a chance for the commando to remain stealthed while shooting. Haven't used it, but it's a thing apparently.

Abilities are more interesting. The first one allows the soldier to temporarily become invisible (similar to the camo item consumable), which allows you to scout out behind hedgerows and even get the first volley on the enemy. The assassination ability basically makes the soldier's next melee hit a guaranteed kill. The final ability summons a jeep with a .50 cal to quickly make its way to the frontline. Very squishy, but the firepower is nice.

Ultimately the commando is much more situational, and I tend to avoid them, only taking them for the stealth ability and extra health. Melee combat can be unpredictable, and if you're close enough to hit them, you're close enough to shoot them. If they suit your playstyle then by all means, but I personally wouldn't take one over a sniper or rifleman.

Though I was originally harsh on him, the Officer has become one of my favorite classes. One of his highlights is the ability to provide passive morale generation to himself and the rest of the squad, while remaining immune to panic himself.

I personally find panic to be a nonissue; if you're in a situation where you're taking overwhelming fire, you've already messed up in some way. I find it better to pull back, recuperate, and reassess the situation rather than tough it out. If you prefer to do the latter, the rally ability cancels panic and renders troops unable to be pinned for 10 seconds. Despite its upsides, I find it to be situational, only using it when conducting a hasty retreat, or when dealing with stubborn enemies.

Tactical movement is a skill I hate to use, but it has its situational uses. The bonus to reaction time and accuracy is huge, but the halved walking speed is atrocious, especially when key classes like the gunner and signaler are glacially slow to begin with. Since you will be on the move most of the time, the best use of this ability is in a defensive setting, when facing down a large group of enemies that you can't really make a push against.

Armor support is one of my favorite abilities; it calls in a Stuart to the front. It's fast and armored, what's not to like? Best taken at the start of a field so it can provide support right away; if you're relying on it to save you around the halfway point or beyond, know it will take a long time to reach you.

Weapon selection is average, but there aren't really any bad options here. The carbine, thompson, and garand are all fine choices. I recommend going for an increase to combat skill, then the carbine, then maxing out everything else before returning to weapons.

I'll admit, I don't have many good words for the engineer. I have used them extensively, and almost never to great effect. The problems with the engineer stem almost entirely from the stock shotgun; while it's obviously great near point blank, it becomes effectively useless at anything beyond that. Unlike the commando the engineer lacks the health and automatic fire to make closing the distance worth it, and is extremely dangerous without adequate cover fire. Leveling them up is a challenge with few immediate benefits.

A fully upgraded engineer is a completely different beast however. The frequency of panzerfausts and rarity of vehicles means the bazooka will mostly be used to clear sightlines and injure stubborn Germans, of which it is decent at. The satchel charge is a powerful explosive with a wide range that requires a few seconds before it goes off, but is great at punching holes in hedgerows, or blowing up enemies that stubbornly remain hidden inside trees.

The flamethrower, is, well, a flamethrower. It's about as fun and destructive as you imagine. The flamethrower is no joke however; friendly fire is on and you WILL cook your other men if you aren't careful with it. 'Safe' use of the flamethrower usually involves isolating the engineer and getting him dangerously close to the enemy (ideally with cover fire from behind) and hoping for the best. It's beautiful if it works, but don't push your luck.

Despite the difficulties involved with the engineer, it may still be worth taking one for his passive abilities. The increased mine detection range and ability to defuse them is invaluable on maps with minefields, and the engineer is always capable of cutting barbed wire fences and entanglements simply by walking into them.

The Intel soldier is another tough class that I'm still developing my thoughts on. He suffers from the same issues as the Engineer; while the Sten is marginally better than the shotgun, it's still garbage, and requires getting up close and personal to score any kills. Despite the challenge in leveling him, there are some readily available benefits that make him a more interesting pick.

The passive abilities of this soldier are numerous, but one of the most important is the ability to interrogate downed enemies. This can reveal anything your men haven't spotted, from other enemies, to ambush sites, to mines, etc. He's quite slow at this at first, especially with more elite enemies like FJ and SS, but becomes quicker with XP. Other passive abilities include the ability to delete propaganda leaflets, read dropped intel that can provide info on number of enemies, enemy equipment, support, ambush sites, etc. The intel gained from this is rarely useful, but it never hurts to know.

The first ability this soldier receives is the ability to provide a briefing from dropped maps. Get your soldier and the rest of the square near, use the ability, and everyone around gets an instant +1 xp as long as they aren't already maxed out. There's no cooldown to this ability, the only limitation is how many maps are dropped, and while they can be rare, they never despawn. This should be the first thing you take on leveling up an intel soldier, as it's crucial for leveling him and other weaker classes up.

As previously mentioned the Sten is garbage, and the M3 grease gun as his first upgrade isn't much better. The last two weapon upgrades are an MP40 and StG44 however, the benefits of which should be obvious. These weapons are immune to the standardization battle condition, and can make him a powerful killer if you manage to keep him alive long enough.

And that's basically all I have. I'll update bits and pieces as I continue playing and my thoughts on classes change, but for now I hope my recommendations serve you well. As a final note, my personal favorite squad comp is the following:

Medic, Gunner, Signaller, Officer, Light/Heavy Rifleman, [free space, usually sniper, intel or engineer]

If I missed or got anything wrong let me know, this is as much a learning experience for me as it is for you!