Riflemen Squad

Veterancy Abilities

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

• Pour it On 'Em: Active ability. Upon activation, the unit is granted +50% rate of fire, +33% burst length, and enables suppression. However, this comes with a cost of -33% movement speed. 15 second duration. Generally a straight combat buff, assuming movement is not needed as the speed penalty is quite severe and prevents them from effectively maneuvering for the duration. While it does enable suppression for the duration, it is fairly restricted compared to HMGs, meaning generally a Riflemen squad on its own will not suppress enemy infantry. This suppression ability is significantly improved if they are armed with BARs or other LMGs, although it will still take several volleys to suppress.

• Sprint: Active ability. Upon activation, the unit is granted +80% movement speed for a short duration. While it does not necessarily increase damage, Sprint can be useful to reposition Riflemen incredibly quickly. It is typically used for hard hitting flanks, for example allowing them to catch heavy weapons by surprise and giving less time for opponents to react.

Note: The M1941 Light Machine Gun package is campaign exclusive and is not available in skirmishes.

• M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle: Typically abbreviated as BAR. Requires the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifles upgrade available at the Barracks. Once this upgrade is attained, all Riflemen are globally upgraded with one BAR, while unlocking purchase of a second BAR on individual squads at a cost of Munitions. BARs are a straight combat boost to Riflemen squads, and are key to their scaling as time passes. Significantly improves damage output at all ranges. Note that BARs have greater penetration than their default rifles, allowing improved anti-light vehicle performance for Riflemen.

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.

• Demolitions Package: Globally upgrades all Riflemen, Engineer, and Bazooka squads with the ability to construct Demolition Charges and M6 Anti-Tank Mines.

• 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.

Grenade Package:

Once Grenade Package has been researched from the , Riflemen squads gain access to the following abilities:

• Frag Grenade: Active ability. Throws a frag grenade at the targeted area for a Munitions cost, which explodes after a short timer. Frag Grenades are especially effective against stationary infantry clustered together in cover or in garrisons.

• Sticky Bomb: Active ability. Throws an anti-tank snare at the targeted vehicle for a Munitions cost, which will deal damage and slow the vehicle. Once the ability is fully cast, the sticky bomb is guaranteed to 'stick' to the target and cannot be avoided once it is thrown. On healthy vehicles, this ability will cause the 'Crew Shocked' state, temporarily slowing the target. Against damaged vehicles, it may instead cause the 'Engine Damaged' state to those that reach 50% or lower health after the explosion, which permanently slows the vehicle until it is fully repaired. AT snares are great for discouraging vehicle dives and can be combined with things like AT guns, to ensure quick destruction of vehicles. Multiple anti-tank snares can be used successively by multiple squads to quickly force Engine Damage or to cause more damage overall.

• Breach: Active ability. The unit will advance toward the targeted enemy garrison. Upon reaching one of the entrances, the squad will begin 'channeling' the ability, with a progress bar being visible above them alongside a breaching indicator. During this time a wary opponent can react by evacuating their garrisoned squad(s) before it is too late, avoiding consequences. If the breach successfully goes through however, the garrisoned squad(s) take significant damage and are forcefully ejected and forced to retreat, while the breaching squad takes over the garrison. While Breach will typically fail to deal damage against aware opponents, it still does its job of forcefully evacuating a building.

• By default, Riflemen squads have one soldier equipped with a special Thompson. However, it behaves quite unexpectedly: It is essentially a weaker version of the default Garand rifle the rest of the squad has, with worse DPS at all ranges comparatively. This unique variant is the first weapon to be replaced when the squad receives a new special weapon, such as a BAR.