Paratrooper Squad
660
1
1
35
3.6
1.33
1.25
6
380
9
36
30
6Elite infantry effective at medium range. Can throw grenades and anti-structure satchel charges.
The Paratrooper Squad is an elite USF infantry unit. In skirmishes, they are only available as an exclusive call-in with the Airborne Battlegroup. Unlike most call-ins, they can be deployed via air drop anywhere on the map except for the enemy HQ territory.
As with all elite infantry, they are more expensive but higher quality infantry units. Paratroopers have higher health than standard troops, which combined with their large squad size makes them quite durable. They also feature both high capture and decapture rates which is generally rare in many units. Of course, this all comes with the downside of more expensive costs, both in the initial cost as well as upkeep and reinforcement cost.
By default, they are armed with rifles and damage-wise they behave almost identically to Riflemen. Their damage curve is heavily skewed towards close quarters, meaning they deal the best damage per second (DPS) at close range, but this effectiveness tapers off significantly at further ranges. However, overall their DPS is lower than Riflemen, at least initially without upgrades.
They have access to the 'Cooked' Mk 2 Frag Grenade and Satchel Charge abilities. Their version of a frag grenade throw has a shorter fuse time of around less than a second, making it powerful due to giving even less time for opponents to react. Meanwhile, Satchel Charge throws a powerful explosive that is capable of destroying entire squads and vehicles, although it has a very long fuse timer which generally limits it to anti-structure duties.
Paratroopers can be upgraded with one of two weapon packages: The M1919A6 Light Machine Gun Package, and the M9 Bazooka Package. The LMG package grants the squad two LMGs that significantly increases their anti-infantry performance at all ranges, although these weapons cannot fire on the move. Meanwhile, the Bazooka package grants the squad two anti-tank rocket launchers that allows the squad to deal damage to most vehicles, though obviously at the cost of reducing the squad's overall anti-infantry performance.
At veterancy level 1 they can choose between either the Quick Capture or Concealment abilities, enhancing their ability to take territory quickly or to give them the ability to cloak in cover and ambush enemies. More info on these can be found below.
Paratroopers are versatile elite infantry, able to surprise enemies initially when dropped in, and specialize in either anti-infantry or anti-vehicle roles. While they cost more than typical infantry, they can be quite effective due to the aforementioned adaptability. As they are air-dropped, this gives USF players the ability to put them on the field much more efficiently, especially if used as a way to flank an opponent by surprise. Once on the field, their higher durability makes them effective fighters, just keep in mind their damage curve is practically the same as Riflemen. That all said, their default rifles are nothing special - it is wise to upgrade them to specialize them into real threats. The LMG upgrade is an easy choice if one needs more anti-infantry firepower, however the Bazookas are also a great choice when vehicles are a concern. Their special frag grenades can be especially deadly due to giving less time for opponents to react, and their satchel charge ability grants a situational ability to always be able to deal with pesky structures (or even a kill against an unwary opponent). After reaching veterancy level 1, they can either double down on fast territory capture, or be able to cloak in cover and benefit from ambush bonuses.
Veterancy
1200 XP
3600 XP
7200 XP
Veterancy Abilities
All USF units can choose between one of two veterancy abilities specific to them, upon reaching veterancy level 1.
Quick Capture: Passive ability. Once attained, the squad gains a +40% boost to both capture and decapture rates. This effectively allows Paratroopers to have one of the highest capture/decapture rate in the game (capture rate of 1.33 becomes 1.862, and decap rate of 1.25 becomes 1.75). For example, this allows them to neutralize an enemy owned VP or small resource point in ~8.57 seconds, and capture a neutral VP or small resource point in ~10.74 seconds. Decapture rate in particular is always a low stat in all units and rarely has ways to increase it. This veteran passive can be very useful if the squad is used aggressively, constantly pushing into enemy territory to thwart the opponent of resources. With how fast enemy points can be neutralized with this passive, it can allow even a single squad of Paratroopers to be the bane of the opponent's economy, giving the USF player a resource advantage over time.
Concealment: Passive ability. Once attained, the squad will be able to camouflage when in cover and out of combat, becoming invisible to opponents unless an enemy unit comes too close. Moving out of cover for some time, attacking, or using abilities will also cancel the cloak. While camouflaged, if the squad breaks the invisibility by attacking, they temporarily benefit from an ambush bonus which significantly increases their damage and accuracy for a short duration of 5 seconds. Note that the squad will gain the ability to Hold Fire, which when toggled on prevents the squad from firing at enemy units automatically unless manually ordered to. If the player can deal with the additional micromanagement, Concealment can easily become a great asset in improving combat effectiveness of Paratroopers, especially on defence. It is frequently paired with those armed with bazookas, as naturally the ambush bonus is quite effective with these rocket launchers and can be crucial in taking out a vehicle by surprise before it has time to flee.
Upgrades
75
90
M1919A6 Light Machine Gun Package: Grants the squad two M19191A6 LMGs for a Munitions cost. This package significantly increases the squad's anti-infantry firepower at all ranges. The LMGs themselves have slightly more penetration than default small arms, and thus it also increases their performance against light vehicles. Note however, these LMGs cannot be fired on the move.
M9 Bazooka Package: Grants the squad two anti-tank M9 Bazookas, effectively allowing the squad to effectively fight against vehicles. As Paratroopers are more durable than typical infantry, this makes them effective users of bazookas due to being able to withstand more punishment and fight longer, though these bazookas are no different offensively than those wielded by the Bazooka squad. Note that bazookas cannot be fired on the move.
Infantry Support Center
This unit can benefit from the following upgrades available at the Infantry Support Center:
Munitions Surplus: Reduces the Munitions costs of all individual infantry upgrade packages by 50%. This includes various packages available to units like the Scout/Pathfinder, Riflemen, and Paratroopers.
Advanced Logistics: Reduces the Manpower reinforcement cost of all infantry by 25%, and squads reinforced from Triage Station casualties gain a small amount of veterancy XP.
Survival Training: Increases the maximum health of all infantry entities (individual soldiers) by +10 health.
Abilities
25
30
45
30
15
'Cooked' Mk 2 Frag Grenade: Active ability. Throws a frag grenade at the target area for a Muntions cost. Most effective against stationary infantry clustered together in cover or in garrisons. Unlike most grenades, this special version has a far shorter fuse timer of about less than a second. This means opponents have even less time to react to it, making it a fairly powerful ability due to the difficulty of dodging it.
Satchel Charge: Active ability. Throws a powerful explosive at the target area for a Munitions cost. Has a long fuse timer which means opponents will have ample time to react to it. While it may take a long time to explode, once it does it deals far more damage than typical grenades in a wider radius, capable of wiping out squads and even vehicles. It is most effective when used to deal with garrisons and structures, especially when it comes to destroying ambient structures outright. However, if there are Munitions to spare it can be used as a way to deal with debilitated vehicles or even wipe out units if the opponent is not paying attention.
Weapons
Carbine-paratrooper-us | Near | Mid | Far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 0.66 | 0.44 | 0.38 |
| Range | 7 | 22.5 | 35 |
The default Paratrooper carbines generally perform worse than the default Riflemen rifles at all ranges except near maximum range, where they deal more DPS at 30-35 meters.
Trivia
The accent of this unit appears to be from Texas. This is confirmed from voice lines such as "In Texas we call it 'hoofing it!' ".