Using the Thompson Upgrade

Armour company Thompson Upgrade is often seen as a completely useless ability. I've been playing armour company a lot and have been playing around with it trying to see if I could find a use for it, and I've come to value it a lot.

I'm using it as a way to get '2 for 1' with my vehicles. Basically whenever I get a vehicle on the field I swap out the crew as soon as possible for a cheap RE squad and keep it that way. Upgrade the crew with thompsons and you've got sturmpioneers. You can use them as assault infantry with the added bonus that they will automatically repair your vehicles if nearby, and during the middle of a fight they can repair criticals with no delay. They also cost next to nothing in terms of pop-cap.

The most effective way I've found to use them so far is to go Assault engineers at the start followed by RE. You can basically build the RE squad 2 seconds after you call in the assault engineers, so very quickly you have 2 units on the field for great early map control. Then fast tech to vehicles not spending any fuel on ambulance or weapon unlocks.

You get great map control and fast vehicles, but this leaves you without upgraded riflemen. The 2 units of REs on the field that without upgrades become useless very quickly. It's then that you swap the crews out and instead of ever teching to BAR just use thompson crews instead.

This gives a super fast force of vehicles supported by auto repairing, crit-cleaning shock infantry.

glad you've found a use for them. personally i find they don't have near as much utility as other squads and lose equity in the short term with having to upgrade in the first place.

interesting will check it out

I hadn't considered this idea. It is intriguing. However, the one issue I see is that unlike every other offensive squad, vehicle crews receive very little in the way of combat bonuses from veterancy. Literally, the only thing they get is -29% received accuracy at vet 3. That's making the investment in their thompsons a very risky one.

I don't like putting RE in vehicles because they don't start autoreparing when you hop out. That is the major factor why I view the thompson upgrade as useless

I used to go for this Strat right after the buff to thompsons, they really perform well, remember them beating pgren squads or fighting sturmpios who charged at them in green cover.

My Build order was

Re
assault engie
2 rifles
LT for HT

or

Re
assault engie
3 rifles
capt for Stuart

These openings helped a lot vs the going to cutoff with kunbel opening on semoisky.

Usually went for HT as it came out sooner and would only change crew after they reached vet3 in the vehicle to come out with full vet Thompson

As for not having auto repair that's just one more repair order you give no big issue imo, now not having the crit repair, that could be the death sentence if rng gives engine destroyed and the crew with Thompson isn't around

It's basically a way to offset the risks of going fast vehicle. Fast vehicle leaves you without weapon unlocks (+most likely a muni float as a result) and maybe more rear echelons at the start than are useful in the mid game.

So use thompsons to replace BARs and give you some nice close quarters infantry whilst converting unupgraded REs into something useful. If you're going heavy vehicle then there's no better force to accompany them - you don't have to spend the time hopping the crew in and out as they're already out and accompanying you.

As for veterancy and late game usefulness, I find that I very rarely get my REs to vet 2 and beyond, and rarely spend the munitions giving them weapons that I could give to riflemen. This basically relegates them to capping, repairing and supporting from mid game onwards. A unit of thompson crew can do all this better plus also be able to fight off anything close range. They're relevant mid game at any veterancy and get triple vet extremely quickly at a point where most squads are first or second level vet. Their bonuses are basically the same as Assault engineers who I never think twice about using as a frontline unit with a flame upgrade.

Further into the late game you can see it as an opportunity for an extra 160mp, 100 muni investment to have an assault repair unit every time you get another vehicle out.

I would use it more, if...

Tank crewmen didn't cost 30mp to reinforce.

even if thomps up was free i dont think that would be something interesting.

But for 90ammo its complete no sense.

u can use a fast democharge and change the game.
or even a flame with the same assault eng.

It's basically a way to offset the risks of going fast vehicle. Fast vehicle leaves you without weapon unlocks (+most likely a muni float as a result) and maybe more rear echelons at the start than are useful in the mid game.

So use thompsons to replace BARs and give you some nice close quarters infantry whilst converting unupgraded REs into something useful. If you're going heavy vehicle then there's no better force to accompany them - you don't have to spend the time hopping the crew in and out as they're already out and accompanying you.

As for veterancy and late game usefulness, I find that I very rarely get my REs to vet 2 and beyond, and rarely spend the munitions giving them weapons that I could give to riflemen. This basically relegates them to capping, repairing and supporting from mid game onwards. A unit of thompson crew can do all this better plus also be able to fight off anything close range. They're relevant mid game at any veterancy and get triple vet extremely quickly at a point where most squads are first or second level vet. Their bonuses are basically the same as Assault engineers who I never think twice about using as a frontline unit with a flame upgrade.

Further into the late game you can see it as an opportunity for an extra 160mp, 100 muni investment to have an assault repair unit every time you get another vehicle out.

This is a very low assesment of REs, and they're actually pretty good, let me explain why:
they are cheap, have 15%(?) better accuracy than Riflemen, componded further with weapon upgrades. They are statted similar to Conscripts, and their vets make them even better. Late game, 3x REs with 2xBARs is a force to be reckoned with, especially if you are charging a position, losses are easily replaced (16 MP) and they can build their own green cover after forcing the enemy out (tank traps. I think the tommy guns are going to be better suited for use by the airborne, not the vehicle crews.

I have not yet tried the coh2 Armor Company, because I hated it in CoH1, but airbornes with thompsons are gold. I played on achelous river (community spotlight) earlier this day, and one of my airborne squads w/thompson with only 4 guys, wounded, defended one of the inf bridges against three or four lmg grenadier squads just because i went close up with them. Not a scratch, everyone alive in the end.

Thompson is the shit m8

Check out my "Hell on Wheels" guide for tips on how to use Thompsons and Armor Company.

Check out my "Hell on Wheels" guide for tips on how to use Thompsons and Armor Company.

To people reading this thread; see above.

Wrote this thread back in April and a lot has changed to the meta and infantry stats since then.

Key concept still holds true - if you spam out combat engys and RE's and rush for light vehicles, you'll find yourself with a lot of fragile vehicles and unupgraded RE's. Switching your crews out and giving them Thompsons acts as a neat stop-gap assault force that fixes your vehicles double quick.

The main advantage of this was letting you skip spending fuel on the bar rack before the two racks were combined, allowing more light vehicles and so more crews.