Kettenkrad Recon Vehicle
180
9
40
11.75
8.5
10
1.5
1.25
160
2
30
80
30Unarmed light support vehicle that can quickly capture territory and can lay mines. Vulnerable to small-arms. Can reveal nearby camouflaged units.
The Kettenkrad Recon Vehicle is a Wehrmacht vehicle unit. In skirmishes, it is available from the
The Kettenkrad is a dedicated scout, capture, and towing vehicle. It is completely unarmed and thus cannot defend itself.
Its strength lies in its incredible speed as one of the fastest units in the game, as well as having the highest capture/decapture rate in the game, which can be further increased with its Communication Cables upgrade. This unit also has larger than normal sight range of 40 compared to 35 for most units, and counts as a detector unit meaning it can reveal camouflaged enemies within 25 meters as opposed to the standard 12.5 meter range. It also has a fairly cheap cost, though all of this comes with downsides of a very light vehicle that can be easily destroyed by small arms fire, on top of having no weapons. As such, careful micromanagement is a must in order to utilize this unit.
By default the Kettenkrad has access to the Reconaissance Scan toggle ability. When toggled on, it greatly increases the vision range of the Kettenkrad in a forward arc, but removes vision from its side and rear as well as slowing its speed by -50%. It also has the Support Veterancy passive, allowing it to gain experience despite having no weapons by being near friendly units fighting.
This unit can also construct the DM-16 Trip Flare and the Schu-Mine 42. Both are land mines, although the trip flare is cheaper, does far less damage, is only triggered by infantry, and when triggered it temporarily provides vision in the area. More details can be seen in the below sections.
At veterancy level 1 this unit gains the passive Camouflage ability, allowing it to cloak when stationary. Uniquely this unit can gain higher capture speed at veterancy levels.
This unit can also tow various abandoned weapons on the field, such as AT guns. As it lacks transportation capacity, it cannot tow non-abandoned weapon teams due to being unable to carry the live crewmen. As the Kettenkrad is a small vehicle, it cannot tow very large weapons such as the
The Kettenkrad tends to be a key unit for Wehrmacht players due to being so specialized for scout and capture duties. The combination of very fast mobility with high cap/decap rates allows Wehrmacht players to take map control sufficiently while also providing valuable intel for the player, especially in the early game where their other early game units will be far slower at this task.
Once it becomes too risky to move around capturing as much as possible, it is a great recon unit that can easily provide vision for the rest of the army and retreat quickly when needed, assuming player micromanagement is up to the task. This is further emphasized by its toggle ability, which provides an incredible amount of sight range for no cost. If one is able to level up the Kettenkrad, it becomes one of the best scout units in the game thanks to gaining even more sight range at higher levels.
At veterancy level 1 it gains a passive camouflage ability, allowing it to go invisible when out of combat and staying stationary. This is obviously quite powerful as a scouting tool while also increasing its safety. Note that it cannot camouflage while Reconnaissance Scan is toggled on.
Kettenkrads are also fantastic mine layers due to their speed, while also freeing up other squads for other tasks. Note that any units damaged/killed by the Kettenkrad's mines will contribute to its veterancy XP.
While the Kettenkrad offers fantastic utility, it has one of the lowest durability in the game. Careful micromanagement is a must as this vehicle can easily be destroyed by nearly anything. It is also common for enemy players to use mines against Kettenkrads, adding another layer that Wehrmacht players will need to think about. Once the match progresses to the later stages, sending Kettenkrads out alone becomes incredibly risky and instead it will often need protection, especially as anti-tank weapons become prevalent.
A cheeky tactic one may use in the early game is to force enemy infantry out of cover by repeatedly ordering this unit to move into their space. The individual soldiers will be forced to awkwardly move out of the way repeatedly, which can temporarily pull them out of cover and decrease their damage output, though this obviously carries the risk of opposing players focus firing the Kettenkrad. This is not exclusive to the Kettenkrad (any vehicle can do this), although the Kettenkrad is well suited to this tactic due to a lack of weapons and great mobility.
Armor
ultra light carrier
3
3
43Veterancy
400 XP
1200 XP
2400 XP
Note that the Kettenkrad will gain veterancy experience for any damage/kills its mines cause.
The Kettenkrad uniquely is able to gain even faster capture rates at level 2.
Veterancy Abilities
Camouflage: Passive ability gained upon reaching veterancy level 1. The unit can now camouflage when stationary and out of combat for some time. Once cloaked, the unit remains invisible to enemies unless enemy units approach too closely. Moving or constructing things will cancel the camouflage. Note that having Reconnaissance Scan toggled on will prevent/remove camouflage. Overall a useful passive for Kettenkrads that level up, as it makes it easier to keep it alive while scouting on the frontline.
Upgrades
40
Communication Cables: Increases capture rate by +33%, and decapture rate by +20%. This increases the Kettenkrad's capture rate to 1.995 and its decap rate to 1.5, ignoring any other bonuses. Points captured by the Kettenkrad will also gain +7 vision - a neat extra bonus to give a bit more warning for approaching enemies looking to capture territory. A powerful upgrade, with the downside of an expensive Munitions cost that must be considered especially in the early game where resources are not plentiful. It can be a very beneficial upgrade in the long run, so long as the Kettenkrad can be kept alive and in use.
Abilities
60
90
15
Note: Forward Observer Artillery Barrage is not available in skirmishes.
Vehicle Capture: Passive ability. Unlike most vehicles, this vehicle can capture/decapture territory by default.
Support Veterancy: Passive ability. This unit receives veterancy experience from nearby friendly units when they earn XP. Shared XP is split among each unit with Support Veterancy nearby. This allows the unit to gain veterancy XP despite having no weapons of its own.
Reconnaissance Scan: Active toggle ability. When toggled on, the Kettenkrad gains +35 sight range in a frontal arc. In exchange, it loses all side and rear vision, and slows its movement speed by -50%. A useful ability to enhance the scouting quality of the Kettenkrad. If a player can keep up with micromanagement demands, this is a great way to scout the battlefield especially for other units. Just keep in mind it narrows vision in a small arc so if the Kettenkrad is alone it can easily miss spotting flanking units, and if it is not toggled off it will have trouble retreating. Has a somewhat short cooldown when toggled off. Note this ability will prevent/remove Camouflage (veterancy 1 passive), and so it cannot be combined with invisibility.
Towing Heavy Weapons: This unit is capable of towing various heavy weapons such as AT guns. However, it can only tow abandoned weapons - it does not have transportation capacity and thus cannot transport live crewmen. As the unit is small, it also cannot tow the heaviest of weapons such as the 17 Pounder and FlaK 36 AT Guns.
Construction Options
DM-16 Trip Flare: Orders the Kettenkrad to move to the target location and 'build' a trip flare. When complete, the trip flare essentially acts the same as a land mine, and remains camouflaged unless detected by a minesweeper. This explosive device can only be triggered by enemy infantry. Once triggered, it explodes dealing a small amount of damage and revealing the area temporarily to the owning player. The trip flare costs very little Munitions although it remains far less popular compared to building standard mines. It surprisingly is capable of damage, although this damage is very small and does not suppress infantry. As a bonus, the Kettenkrad's animations are far more subtle and thus it is far less obvious to opponents if the Kettenkrad is merely standing still or is actually laying a trap.
Schu-Mine 42: Orders the Kettenkrad to move to the target location and 'build' a standard land mine. When complete, the mine remains camouflaged unless detected by a minesweeper. As with all other standard mines, it can be triggered by either infantry or vehicles. When it explodes, it deals significant damage to any unit caught in the area, and will also suppress infantry. Guaranteed to cause 'Engine Damaged' state to vehicles that trigger it. Note that the Kettenkrad will gain veterancy experience for any damage/kills the mines cause. This mine is identical to the one that the
can build. However, the Kettenkrad makes for a fantastic mine layer due to its high speed, allowing it to build mines in multiple places very quickly and freeing up other units to do other tasks. As a bonus, the Kettenkrad's animations are far more subtle and thus it is far less obvious to opponents if the Kettenkrad is merely standing still or is actually laying a trap.
More Info
Change Log
1.7.0 Onyx Shark July 16 2024
Kettenkrad
The Kettenkrad was too effective at scouting thanks to its camouflage, keeping it safe from the majority of threats.
Can no longer camouflage when using its Reconnaissance Scan Ability
Veterancy requirements increased from 190/380/900 to 400/1200/2400