M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Symbol

M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer

symbol
Vehicle
M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer
M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Portrait
US Forces Icon
Faction

Medium vehicle very effective against all vehicles. Fast movement speed, light armor.

The M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer is a USF tank destroyer unit. In skirmishes, it is available from the .

As the name implies, the M18 is specialized as an anti-tank unit. Its main cannon has the the highest penetration at all ranges compared to any other USF unit, making it reliable against even heavily armoured targets like the .

This unit combines strong anti-tank firepower with good mobility. It features fast speed similar to the and , making it very manoeuvrable. This makes the M18 an excellent tank hunter unit, as not only does it have the firepower to reliably damage armoured targets, but it is capable of moving into various positions effectively, allowing it to to chase and retreat with ease. If the is constructed, it can gain access to more abilities that reinforce its anti-tank role, allowing it to gain bursts of movement and more reliable damage/penetration (more details on abilities below).

Just like the aforementioned vehicles though, it features far lighter durability than the , making it very vulnerable to all kinds of anti-vehicle weaponry. As such, it is best treated as a fast 'glass cannon' unit, requiring careful micromanagement to ensure it can perform without being destroyed quickly.

As a downside to being specialized for anti-tank duties, it is not very effective against infantry by default. It can be upgraded with an additional MG at a Munitions cost however.

At veterancy level 1 it can choose between the active ability High-Explosive Charge or the passive ability First Strike, granting it either anti-infantry/garrison utility or a strong ambush bonus. More info can be seen below.

Armor


heavy tank

CoH3 Stats light Cover Icon75
CoH3 Stats negative Cover Icon50
CoH3 Stats heavy tank Portrait
CoH3 Stats heavy Cover Icon100
CoH3 Stats light Cover Icon75

Veterancy


Veteran Star FullVeteran Star EmptyVeteran Star Empty

1800 XP

Unlocks veteran ability choice. Increases turret traverse speed, and acceleration.
Veteran Star FullVeteran Star FullVeteran Star Empty

5400 XP

Increases rotation rate, rate of fire, and accuracy.
Veteran Star FullVeteran Star FullVeteran Star Full

10800 XP

Increases rotation rate, acceleration, rate of fire and penetration.

Veterancy Abilities

All USF units can choose between one of two veterancy abilities specific to them, upon reaching veterancy level 1.

  • High-Explosive Barrage: Active ability. Despite having the same name as other artillery barrages, this ability does not work the same way. When activated the M18 fires direct shots at the target area, similar to attack ground at a faster interval. These rounds deal greater area of effect damage but have reduced penetration, making it effective against infantry and garrisons but fairly ineffective against vehicles. Overall a fairly niche ability one can grant to the M18, allowing them to have a cheeky way of dealing with stationary enemy infantry. Like other barrage abilities it can be cancelled prematurely by issuing a new order like moving or attacking, placing it on cooldown.

  • First Strike: Passive ability. Once the unit is stationary and out of combat for several seconds (around 5-7 seconds), they will gain bonuses to their first shot from this position. An indicator will appear above the unit to signify if First Strike is ready. These bonuses includes +25% damage, +50% penetration, and +50% accuracy. As the name implies, this is an excellent ambush or defensive bonus, making it so the first shot from the M18 is capable of immense and practically guaranteed damage against enemy vehicles. Due to its ease of use and powerful bonuses, this tends to be a popular veteran ability choice and allows the M18 to punch far above its weight, allowing them to threaten heavy tanks at long range, and overall start fights with an advantage. This ability technically has no cooldown but since it requires the unit to be out of combat, after firing the unit will need to move out of combat to regain First Strike.

Upgrades


M2HB .50cal Heavy Machine Gun icon
M2HB .50cal Heavy Machine Gun
Upgrades the unit with a pintle-mounted heavy machine gun.
Munitions Cost

50

  • M2HB .50cal Heavy Machine Gun: Upgrades the unit with a pintle-mounted machine gun which can turn to face any direction independently of the vehicle turret. Increases anti-infantry firepower overall. Since the M18 is specialized as an anti-tank unit, this upgrade is usually more of a 'luxury' upgrade, but once attained does allow to the M18 to more effectively bully infantry squads.

Upgrades

This unit can benefit from the following upgrades.

  • Improvised Armor: Increases the armour value of this unit. Also reduces incoming damage of infantry handheld anti-tank weapons to it.

  • Rearm and Retrofit: Grants unique abilities for various USF vehicles. For the Hellcat, it gains Flanking Speed and HVAP Rounds abilities.

Armored Battlegroup

This unit can benefit from the following battlegroup perks.

  • Veteran Crews: Grants veterancy level 1 to all current and future vehicles.

  • Fast Deploy: Reduces the production time of vehicles significantly.

  • Strength in Steel: Reduces the population cap cost and upkeep of all vehicles.

  • Field Repairs: Active battlegroup ability. Once activated, all vehicles will automatically self-repair when stationary and out of combat for the duration of the ability.

  • Seek and Destroy: Active battlegroup ability. Once activated, temporarily grants increased movement speed, accuracy, and rate of fire to all vehicles for the duration of the ability.

  • War Machine: Reduces the Manpower cost of all vehicles from production buildings by 25%.

Abilities


HVAP Rounds icon
HVAP Rounds
Load HVAP rounds that increase damage and weapon penetration. Can penetrate heavy tanks frontally.
+25% damage. +50% penetration.
Munitions Cost

45

Time Cost

60

Radio Net icon
Radio Net
Chaffees, Hellcats and Shermans are more effective when near each other.
Emergency Engine Repair icon
Emergency Engine Repair
Crew will repair vehicle criticals when out of combat and stationary.
Time Cost

180

Unlock High-explosive Barrage icon
Unlock High-explosive Barrage
Fires rounds at the target location. Moderate blast radius. Effective against stationary infantry and buildings.
Unlock First Strike icon
Unlock First Strike
Vehicles out of combat that are stationary gain First Strike bonuses.
High-explosive Barrage icon
High-explosive Barrage
Fires rounds at the target location. Moderate blast radius. Effective against stationary infantry and buildings.
Munitions Cost

35

Time Cost

90

First Strike icon
First Strike
Vehicles out of combat that are stationary gain First Strike bonuses.
+25% damage, +50% penetration, and +50% accuracy on the first shot.
Flanking Speed icon
Flanking Speed
Temporarily boosts speed, acceleration, and makes the vehicle harder to hit when moving.
+35% speed, +50% acceleration. Unit is 25% harder to hit when moving.
Time Cost

180

Gun Rammer icon
Gun Rammer
Increases the vehicle's reload speed.
Hold Fire Disabled icon
Hold Fire Disabled
Unit will not engage unless given a manual attack order when active.

Note: Gun Rammer and Emergency Engine Repair are campaign exclusive and not available in skirmishes.

  • Flanking Speed: Active ability. Requires the Rearm and Retrofit upgrade available at the . After activation, the unit gains several buffs for a short duration. This includes +35% speed and +50% acceleration, as well as-25% received accuracy only while moving. As the name implies, this ability is great when a burst of speed is needed. The significant bonuses make it very easy to flank and manoeuvre for the duration, and as a bonus the unit becomes harder to hit while moving too.

  • HVAP Rounds: Active ability. Requires the Rearm and Retrofit upgrade available at the . When activated for a Munitions cost, the M18 gains +20% damage and +50% penetration for a short 15 second duration. This is a straight combat boost that not only increases raw damage on hits, but makes it far more reliable at combating heavier armour too.

Weapons


76mm-hellcat-us
Near
Mid
Far
Accuracy0.10.0550.045
Range103045
Penetration360250220
160
0.5
  • The M18 Hellcat has the highest penetration values at all ranges compared to all other USF units, enabling it to fight against heavy armour even at long range.

Change Log

1.7.0 Onyx Shark July 16 2024

HVAP and Armor Piercing Rounds - M18 Hellcat, M4A3 Sherman Easy 8, M1 Anti-tank Gun 

We want tank and team weapon positioning to matter during engagements. The current benefits provided by these types of abilities, on top of the increased damage, made it too easy to punish heavy tanks like the Tiger from the front at long-range. 

We are removing the automatic penetration mechanic to make tank armor still matter to an extent when these abilities are active. The penetration boost, however, is still significant, particularly on units with very high penetration to begin with such as the Hellcat. 

  • No longer automatically penetrates enemy armor. Now gives +50% penetration. 

1.6 'Coral Viper' April 2 2024

The current Hellcat is too efficient when dealing with more expensive vehicles in head-on fights. The change is meant to focus the Hellcat as an anti-armor vehicle that uses its speed to disengage or maneuver after getting an accurate, high damaging shot off.

Flanking Speed is also being locked behind an upgrade as we want the Mechanized Support Center to be the primary way for the US to access vehicle abilities.

  • Long-range accuracy increased from 0.04 to 0.045   

  • Reload time slowed down from 4.5/4.75 seconds to 5.25/5.5 seconds  

  • Now unlocks Flanking Speed when Rearm and Refit is upgraded. Flanking Speed no longer available by default.  


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