Wehrmacht Commander Evaluation

So got the idea from the other thread and wanted a one on ostheer,since there are so many of them and quite a few are redundant atm.

Let's start off with the non-premium commanders -

JAEGER INFANTRY DOCTRINE:

Focused eniterly on infantry,this doctrine is currently underused because of 2 factors - g43s are outshined by stock lmg 42 upgrade and it lacks any lategame AT except the stuka close air support which is so-so.

Ambush camouflage :Nice ability though the muni cost is considerable.Grens,pzgrens and mg 42s all benefit.Excellent for defensive play mostly.Worth it if u have the munitions.

G43 upgrade - The core of the commander,sadly right now in a difficult position due to lmgs dominating.G43s in enough numbers are usually a surprise to soviet shock players used to smoking and mauling unsuspecting lmg gren userswith avg micro and in CQQ maps .It is however badly outclassed by the usf rifle lmgs.Comes a little late at 3cps.

Tactical movement -Another very useful skill.Blobbing freindly and works well in synergy with g43s .A german global urrah.Good for overrunning maxim positions,even head on.

Light artillery barrage - Useful skill for forcing enemy weapon teams to reposition in mid-battle,not a killer but a disrupter.

Stuka Close air support - Its pricey and its damage is not bad,but its a little hit or miss and not really great vs tanks.

ASSAULT SUPPORT DOCTRINE:

Once the king of axis team games,with opel redesign its less frequent but still used widely because its the one non-premium commander available to all that has the tiger tank.It also has a excellent anti-blobbing offmap strafe and a good bombing run as well.It is a strong and well rounded commander.
However it is less popular than earlier because 3 excellent options are countered by 2 useless ones,so many prefer the other tiger commanders.


Artillery Officer - Not of much use,since it can't be used with ur allies and multiple mortars as ost are only advisable on a very few select maps.Its infantry buff ability is rarely used though concievably can buff a gren blob.Overall quite useless atm,its mostly badly placed in this doctrine without integral artillery.

Opel Truck - Once the breaker of team games,this unit is now a late game add-on luxury mostly.As its not particularly useful to get oen for urself rather than a cahce for whole team.In single player,if game goes long in few res point map it can be a option.Overall very limited usage.

Strafing Run- A very good option for teamgames.See ur defensive position being overrun?Losing a blob fight?Want to basepin the enemy?Seeing ur teammate being overrun by blob but physically getting there will take too much time?This is the thing.An excellent anti-blob strafe that is better in teamgames.Very useful and cheap.

Fragmentation bombs - This bomb is a bit tricky,it drops like a line like the old thunderbolt bombing run(minus the targeting box).Its quite pricey and is usually wasted by targeting 6 man soviet weapon teams.Its great use is in armor duels,it can do very good dmg but more importantly can do a lengthy crew shock.So if ur enemy blobs his armor ina compressed space this is a superb option if u have AT support in paks or tanks nearby to finish off the shocked and damaged vehicles.Excellent vs su-85s because of there slow speed and turning.

Tiger tank - King of the current meta and ostheer's last lategame tank.It is a mandatory option for wehr players currently and is the prime reason for choosing this doctrine.Can take enormous amounts of dmg,however comes quite late and is very pricey..overextending with it is bad ..a pak should accompany it from the back usually as allied medium call-in will always try to swarm it.It can shred allied infantry and AT guns..Look out for allied medium call-in swarm,broken ISU and jacksons.Jacksons in team games with support are especially to be looked out for as they can kill it quite quickly.Su-85s are an irritant especially in numbers but won't kill u quickly enough if ur careful and don't do a blind charge.When using tiger it is essential to not make it turn its turret too much and keep it generally a frontal fight where its heavy armor and great DPS and win most engagements even outnumbered.
It is the one ostheer tank right now that can keep a is-2 player at bay.A mandatory option particularly vs soviet lategame armor.A properly supported tiger or 2 can effectively pierce an allied defensive line.

FESTUNG SUPPORT -

A rare commander largely redundant due to several useless/marginal options.Focused on indirect fire support,Overall lack of AT also hurts this doctrine.

Mortar Halftrack - Costly early on .but useful particularly vs soviet weapon team spam,not a good option vs usa due to light vehicles/needing munitions for lmgs.A better option in team games where teammate can provide early Pak.It incendiary round is most useful in urban maps or facing an FHQ.

Smoke bombs - Rarely if ever used.Dirt cheap and quite useful in theory as smoke lingers for a while,however its main issue is how long it takes for plane to arrive..usually people don't bother with the hassle.Overall fairly useless .

Relief Infantry - This used to be one of the core abilities of this doctrine,it allowed u to get a osttruppen squad for every 4 men lost,(doesn't need to be squad)(u could then recycle using the gained ostruppen to gain more squads )however with introduction of the lethal riflemen,added with the sheer shittiness that is osttruppen and the popcap issue this is totally useless atm.

Lefh 18 - The centrepiece unit of this doctrine.Its useful only in certain teamgames,and despite being a solid unit that can cause numerous losses due to continous bombardment of a position and fairly quick recharge its less used due to this doctrien lacking AT and recon-bomb still being a hard counter,especially in isu meta.This is a good unit,however current game limitations of static tube artillery makes it less attractive.

Sector Artillery - Can be hit or miss.Potentially devastating,can wipe out an armor or infantry blob if enemy is caught unawares,but it costs massive munitions and unfortunately now is shown in map unlike earlier.Still an intimadting defensive ability particularly in teamgames lategame.

JAEGER ARMOR -

Once a very popular doctrine,the elefant range nerf has seen this commander go into the dustbins.Curiously it has several excellent support options,but the redundancy of its final call-in has killed it.The doctrine is geared towards lategame power and anti armor.

Halftrack Reigel AT mine -The best axis mine in the game possibly.Due to 2 factors,immobilizes on hit and can be laid really really fast.Still heavily underused due to 3 factors -Its pricey at 60 munitions whereas u might need that for an lmg upgrade,it is laid by the halftrack which very few players get,it is in doctrines no one uses and that lack the tiger.It is an excellent mine to support ur defensive positionsparticularly ur paks,and if floating munitions can be spammed quickly lategmae over the map due to mobility and laying speed of halftrack.

Recon Overflight - Very useful ability for information as well as synergy with bomb strike.A death sentence for tube artillery when combined.

Spotting scope - Makes panthers a bit more relevant and used to be OP for elefants.A scout car with spotting scope can give good LOS if u bothered to make the effort.

Stuka bombing strike - Makes a sound and takes quite a bit to come,but can obliterate most units in a short circular space..easy to avoid but hits like a truck.Will kill inf,at guns,static artillery and heavily dmg vehicles as well as neutralize points.A very useful ability,synergizes with recon.

Elefant Tank destroyer - The centrepiece unit of this doctrine.Once the heart of the commander,now its wholly extinct.Its enormously slow,takes ages to turn,can't do anything vs infantry or AT guns and very very costly at 260 fuel.At 70 range it is just 10 more than a zis which will scare it away.Also defenceless vs bazookas and vulnerable to bomb strike.Only consider using it vs is-2 for its penetration if u have lot of support or an isu..overall not worth it at all.

FESTUNG ARMOR -

A sparingly used commander,but still relevant..but its weaker than it could be.It has some very useful abilities as well as lategame viability to an extent.This doctrine encourages panzer 4 usage.

Panzer tactician - Possibly the best tank support ability in the game save mark target,it will interrupt the LOS of tank destroyers,bazooka blobs and AT guns-some of the crucial AT options of the allies,its extremely cheap and can both save ur tank and also help in a flank or head on charge against a fragile tank destroyer.It makes the panzer 4 a far better tank.Also applicable on the panther,but panther has better survivability anyway and less dps and no AI than panzer 4 so..

Hull down - The stats are great,but nobody uses it.Nobody bothers to go through making the trouble of constructing the hull Down defenses though it can be done by grens.For the bonuses it gives should be used more.

Pak 43 emplacement - This weapon gives the doctrine the lategame flexibility it requires,supplementing panzer 4s with a bigger punch for taking on bigger allied tanks.Unfortunately the gun is not as useful as it used to be,its static and highly vulnerable to the bomb strike especially on the isu-152 which it could otherwise deter.Its range however is a bit too small to punish a careful enemy.It is still useful in teamgames,and complements panzer 4 on the doctrine well.The gun itself is a beast and doesn't require fuel.

Command Tank - Another option that promotes use of panzer 4s with this doctrine,and can be a moderate AI call in against the americans.A good option.

Railway artillery Support - Very powerful shells,but lands very late and rarely hits as can be easily avoided limiting its usefulness.Shells are also somewhat inaccurate.

LIGHTNING WAR DOCTRINE:

Basically the jaeger infantry doctrine with a tiger tank and consequently better,would be a very popular choice if g43s and osttruppen were more useful.Still used .It is well rounded with buffs to infantry,armor and a offmap.

G43 - Above.

Relief infantry -Above

Tactical Movement -Above

Tiger -Above

Stuka Clsoe air support - Above.


STORM DOCTRINE :

This doctrine is a bit peculiar as it lacks a clear direction,but has some very good options.It has camo and fast movement for inf,riegel at mines for tanks,bomb strike ,lefh arty for indirect fire ,main weakness is lack of a tiger and reliance on the lefh as ur centrepiece weapon.It is sometimes used as a surprise choice but generally ignored.It requires some sensitive use and good micro,plus luck i feel and unconventional attempts are just not rewarded in the current meta.

Ambush Camoflage - Same

Reigel AT mine - Same

Tactical Movement - Same

Lefh18 artillery - Same

Stuka Bomb strike - Same

SPEARHEAD DOCTRINE :

One of the most versatile and powerful ostheer doctrines,extremely popular.It combines panzer smoke with a lategame tiger for a better nastier version of festung armor,assaults can be planed with recon,has the nice offmap frag bomb and can also provide indirect fire with the mortar halftrack.It can employ panzer 4s into tiger well,and the tiger with smoke is a major headache,especially if it also gets blitz.
It has no buffs to infantry,but since all of its abilities are useful this is a very solid commander.

Panzer tactician - Same

Mortar halftrack - Same

Recon Flight - Same

Tiger tank - Same

Fragmentation bomb - Same


FORTIFIED ARMOR DOCTRINE :

Doctrine lacks synergy and is less useful than jaeger armor if ur counting on the white elfant.The elefant doesn't pay off for holding out,and also lacks scope.Its better rewarding mid game than jaeger armor with panzer smoke and command tank for pz 4s and panther.Ideally this would be a doctrine that gave a a solid mid game armor play,followed by an alefant-except in this case ur elefant will not be worth it.And smoke is also useless for elfant unlike tiger.More generalist in nature than jaeger armor.For smoke and command tank u can always get better doctrines.More or less extinct commander.

Panzer tactician.

Recon Flight

Hull down

Command tank

Elefant Tank destroyer

JOINT OPERATIONS DOCTRINE

This is a popular commander,this is because the commander is a excellent fallback option with good versatility and most importantly its fuel independent and very useful in team games.Every single ability contributes in some ways and if its AT is little less optimal than its should be thats mostly because of the pak 43 limitations than the commander design.The recon flight synergizes very well with the lefh and artillery officer for planning ur bombardment.

Artillery field officer - Especially in team games this guy is a beast with this doctrine,get 2 lefhs up and then enjoy the rage.Key is not to build too many guns.(in case it went that late)

Recon Flight

Lefh18 Artillery

Pak 43

Light artillery Barrage

OSTTRUPPEN DOCTRINE - Name is enough to not have to describe it.Dead.

MECHANIZED ASSAULT -

A very popular and powerful commander.Every single ability is useful,its versatile and relentless.This doctrine is especially deadly against USF players 1 vs 1 due to the stug and with some luck the assgrens.This commander can promote a direct tiger call-in from t2 rather than panzer 4s into tiger.It has an infantry call-ins.A light vehicle ,then a medium vehicle call-in,an off-map followed by the tiger.If it had panzer smoke it would probably be the best commander imagineable for wehr.

Assault Grenadiers - A useful unit ,it can bully conscripts and new rifle users.Has no scalability,but has uses earlygame.The sprint can be useful for flanking or closing.

Panzergrenadier in Halftrack - This is an interesting call-in.U get 2 units from tier 2 u wouldn't build otherwise.The halftrack isfragile,but the pzgren in it gains a lot of survivability.It is a good counter to shocks,and maximspam(not unsupported charge) and can also seriously harass isolated capping units around the map.I have also found use for it in hunting snipers.

Stug III E - Its a very formidable call-in against the americans,who often have no counter to it in time.Has good AI capability and small AT ability as well...works less well vs the soviet maxims due to zis support.It can vet up quickly and is cheaper than say an ostwind,it can be a good counter to allied infantry blobbing.

Light artillery Barrage - Same

Tiger Tank - Same

LUFTWAFFE SUPPLY -

A unique type of doctrine focused on teamplay,its fairly unpredictable but seriously good for smaller teamgames.Its best used probably in 3 vs 3 or 2 vs 2 where the fuel drops can support an OKW commander into fast armor.It can employ a fast panzer 4 strat with fuel supplies,or a anti-infantry T2 strat with munition supplies supported by incendiary bombing runs,lmg 42(from muni run) and med supplies for grens.
Can take out enemy artillery easily due to recon and bomb strike.
The incendiary bombing run can be quite brutal against enemy defense but comes late,and the medical supplies and even things out especially vs the americans for grenadiers.The doctrine is still not used overtly much as it lacks the tiger call-in.

Medical Supplies :Great earlygame option that can give ur unupgraded grens staying power vs rifles especially.Medical supplies around a OKW heal truck can be an insurmountable defense for the enemy.Cheap and useful.

Air dropped supplies - Drops 50 fuel or 150 munitions on a captured point,can be taken by the enemy so has to be carefully done.The centrepiece of the doctrine,its impact is lessened in 4 vs 4 teamgames as it benefits only 1 teammate,but is brilliant in smaller games with an OKW teammate for a early panther,or ( risky) KT.

Incendiary Bombing run - Very deadly against an unwary blob or weapon team spams..covers a large area and kills quickly.A good and cheap off map.

Recon Flight - same

Stuka Bombing Strike - same

ELITE TROOPS DOCTRINE:

Probably the most potentially powerful ost commander,slightly broken.Its a high risk-high reward option and can be devastating in large team agmes provided u have fuel.The Ace shines in smmaler game modes,while the vet ability in larger team modes.

Troop training -Centrepiece ability of the doctrine,it takes 80 mp and 25 fuel but can be hit or miss depending on how u made sue of it.An early vet 3 gren is gamble,its safer to use in a team game.However i find a early vet 3 mg 42(with one investment) with support from a teammate very useful against americans especially.It stays relevant whole game and in mass large teamgame slugfests can award XP to teammates as well.A very good use if u have fuel is on the pz 4....the panzer 4 at vet 2 is a totally different beast that can take out an E8 and shatter blobs,with a bulletin it can get to around 250 armor.2 vet 2 panzer 4s are often better than 3 or even 4 vanilla ones due to responsiveness and smoke/pathing.Using it on high cost units like panther is often not worth it,panzer 4 beyond vet 2 is waste .Giving a volks or mg 34 squad an early boost can be useful.

Used properly this is a very strong ability but requires abundance of fuel and good preservation of ur vetted units.


Assault grenades - Gives ur infantry a close range assault grenade,not fantastic..but a useful add-on.

Panzer tactician - Same.Just adds to the awesomeness of the doctrine,if u manage to get 2 vet 2 pz 4 with blitz and smoke..u will smile.It also makes the ace more fearful.

G43- Same.

Tiger ACE -A comeback weapon at 800 MP-largely nerfed from its god status but still very intimidating,its a last ditch weapon..2 vet 2 panzer 4s and a tiger ace can generally crush any opposition defense line.Costs no fuel allowing u to invest that in veterancy instead of saving like a tiger.Absolutely murders infantry and AT guns,but always support it as it has same survivability as a normal tiger.Smoke,TWP are excellent abilities and it can generally slaughter any tank head on.The trade off on the fuel and mp loss is acceptable as u can have it back once u lose it.Its just a cheery on top for this doctrine.

I think i missed maybe 3 commanders-mobile defense,mechanized something with the lefh and close air support.


BEST COMMANDERS -

Tier 1 - Elite troops,Mechanized Assault,Spearhead Doctrine

Tier 2 - Assault support Doctrine,Joint Operations,Luftwaffe supplies(niche)..maybe lightning war.

Tier 3 and below - Th rest.

Good job! This should get pinned as it is much better than the other ostheer guides in the forum.

Great guide!

You should add the Mobile Defense commander, as I think he is quite relevant. With his Puma and P4Command Tank, he gives you call ins that can replace German T3 fairly early in the game, with the Puma at 7 and the P4 at 9(?) CP. Furthermore, he has the Tank Smoke, which is awesome, and an Osttruppen call in that gives you 2 Osttruppen squads with random Vet and a chance for MG 42s. If you get the MGs, the Osttruppen aren't even that bad.

Assault Support has always been a "Top choice" commander and it's free. While the Opel receive a nerf for teamgames, it was a buff on 1v1.

Don't forget the upcoming Encirclement Doctrine.

Here's a hint: think OKW Salvage artillery was OP? That's a pussycat compared to the arty ability of this commander.