While the factions in Company of Heroes 3 are relatively balanced, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The introduction of new settings, Italy and North Africa, means that new factions are available that have never been seen before in the Company of Heroes series. Each faction is made up of Buildings, Units, and Battlegroups, with a variety of Abilities and Upgrades for each one. This makes each faction very diverse and open to a variety of different play styles.
Buildings enable the creation of units as well as offer various upgrade options for the units they produce. Units come in various forms: Infantry, Vehicles, and Weapons Teams. Infantry usually comprises the bulk of a force and includes all foot-based troops from engineers to snipers and elite grenadiers. Vehicles can range from scout cars and motorcycles to heavy tanks and mobile artillery. Battlegroups provide special units and bonuses at the expense of Command Points and include most of the game's top-tier units.
4 Wehrmacht
Representing the bulk of Germany's force in World War 2, the Wehrmacht is a versatile and powerful force with solid units across all areas. Primarily excelling in defense, there are a number of units with engineering capabilities that can be of great value in the early game, enabling players to create strongholds around key areas with bunkers and firing positions. The Kettenkrad Recon Vehicle is also useful as it enables the Wehrmacht to move quickly across the field and capture points early. Although this unit will be vulnerable as it does not have any guns, the Kettenkrad can still deploy mines, making it a nuisance to enemies at all stages of the battle.
The Wehrmacht's Jager Squads are very effective infantry and can be upgraded to carry Panzerschrek anti-tank missiles or a useful Recon Package containing scoped rifles and flares. The Marder III M Tank Destroyer is effective against vehicles, while the elite Stoßtruppen are one of the strongest infantry units in Company of Heroes 3. This faction tends to be stronger in the mid-to-late game, as many of its stronger units demand a lot of resources to produce. Once available, however, the heavy tanks in combination with strong defensive units make the Wehrmacht a difficult force to contend with.
Wehrmacht Battlegroups:
- Mechanized: Provides either a variety of heavy vehicles such as the 8-Rad Armored Car and the Panther Heavy Tank - or artillery options and infantry upgrades for the Stoßtruppen.
- Breakthrough: Will act to either bolster an infantry or provide a range of air support including the devastating Incendiary Carpet Bomb. The Armored Offensive will provide vehicle support, such as the Blitzkreig ability, and incredibly strong heavy armor such as Panther and Tiger Tanks.
- Luftwaffe: The Luftwaffe Battlegroup is divided into two trees, one primarily defensive while the other is primarily offensive. The Luftwaffe Air-To-Ground Support tree will provide a range of effective Stuka aerial abilities such as Strafing Runs and the Stuka Loiterer, which can hover over a chosen area and provide prolonged air support.
3 US Forces
The strengths of Company of Heroes 3's US Forces lie mainly in their versatile infantry units and range of useful upgrade options, which will promote them to relative superiority compared with their opposing counterparts. Upgrades can be accessed via Support Centers (Infantry, Vehicles, and Air Support) and unlock a range of effects and abilities for their respective units.
This makes the US Forces one of the most flexible factions in the game, as they are able to adjust and adapt these upgrades to suit the way the battle is panning out. Specialized infantry troops such as the Bazooka and SSF Commando Squads enable the US to compete with most targets on the ground, but Scout Squads are slower and weaker than some rival units, containing only three base soldiers.
The US Forces possess some of the strongest air support units and options in the game, but the standard vehicle units can be weak in comparison with forces such as the Wehrmacht in the late-game phase of play. Once upgraded, however, these vehicles can be tremendously powerful and produced at a high rate thanks to various Battlegroup options.
US Forces Battlegroups:
- Airborne: Provides a variety of options, including Supply Drops and Paradrop Reinforcements as well as the Dual P-47 Rocket Strike and Carpet Bombing Run. Alternatively, a range of Paradropped Infantry can be deployed from Heavy Machine Gunners to Anti-Tank Gun Teams.
- Armored: This Battlegroup provides a variety of options for vehicular support, such as Field Repairs and War Machine, which will reduce the Manpower cost of producing vehicle units. The Armored Doctrine path will enable the US Forces to deploy the Sherman Combat Group, a very effective unit though coming at a high cost of 8 Command Points.
- Special Operations: The Combat Support tree will provide useful early-game units such as the M29 Weasel Recon Vehicle, enabling the US to compete with fast-starting factions like the Afrikakorps. Meanwhile, Combat Operations will provide a variety of options, the most valuable being the elite SSF Commando Squad infantry units.
2 British Forces
The British Forces are perhaps the easiest faction to use in Company of Heroes 3, especially for beginner players. They are a well-balanced force, strong in all areas and with a variety of powerful Battlegroups to call upon. The Battlegroups primarily focus on artillery bombardments, but the British Forces also possess some strong Infantry units in the versatile Footguards Section and the various Paratrooper squads available. The lighter vehicles tend to be weaker than their adversaries, but the British do wield considerable power in the Churchill IV and Churchill Black Prince heavy tanks.
Given their all-around capabilities, the British Forces will match up well against all other factions, particularly in the mid-to-late game. The availability of elite units, such as the historically significant Gurkha Rifles Sections, enables this faction to dominate.
British Forces Battlegroups:
- Indian Artillery: The "Artillery Support" option will provide powerful shelling capabilities, particularly the Off-Map Airburst Barrage and Perimeter Monitor abilities.
- British Armored: "Heavy Armor Support" will provide access to the Crusader AA Medium Tank and the elite Churchill Black Prince, which comes at a slightly cheaper cost than its rival the Tiger Tank.
- British Air and Sea: One of the most powerful Battlegroups available to any faction, this grants heavy-ranged artillery and a variety of airstrikes and supply drops.
1 Afrikakorps
A brand-new addition to the COH franchise is the German Afrikakorps. Famously led by "The Desert Fox" Commander Erwin Rommel, this faction unsurprisingly specializes in the use of fast-moving elite vehicles. The Kradschützen Motorcycle Teams are particularly effective in the early game as they can travel vast distances quickly and are able to capture checkpoints.
These and the 250 Light Carriers are available from the Headquarters immediately, allowing the Afrikakorps to pit light vehicles against enemy infantry very early. While this faction can be tricky for newcomers to master as it requires a high pace of play, when used correctly they can be near-impossible to defend against.
The Flakvierling Half-track is very effective against its rival light vehicles, as is the Marder III H Tanks Destroyer, and a range of upgrades and Battlegroups are available to bolster vehicle stats or unlock new weapon slots. The Afrikakorps also possess a strong set of defensive and support units such as the unarmed Medical Truck and 18-Tonne Recovery Halftrack. This allows the Akrikakorps to sustain attacks and keep the momentum moving forwards without having to wait for lengthy production queues.
Afrikakorps Battlegroups:
- Italian Infantry: Another new addition to the COH franchise is the use of Italian troops. The Guastatori are available via the "Field Engineering" tree and can be upgraded to carry two powerful flamethrowers with added cover damage.
- Italian Combined Arms: A selection of powerful Italian Forces including infantry, tanks, and a Strafing Run ability.
- Armored Support: The "Armored Warfare" tree will provide Heavy vehicle support Command Panzer IV and Flammpanzer III Battlegroups are extremely effective against nearly all targets.
Company of Heroes 3 is now available on PC.