Paratroopers vs Paratrooper Support Squad

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Recon support underused. Planting mines with Para's + superzooks + pathfinders works perfectly with some diry SCOTS spam.

1) Place 3 Beacon's with Pathfinders all over map (free maphack btw)
2) Drop Para's + AT GUN
3) Crew AT gun with Para's
4) TADAAA unkillable AT gun (you can reinforce AT gun with beacon)

Recon support underused. Planting mines with Para's + superzooks + pathfinders works perfectly with some diry SCOTS spam.

1) Place 3 Beacon's with Pathfinders all over map (free maphack btw)
2) Drop Para's + AT GUN
3) Crew AT gun with Para's
4) TADAAA unkillable AT gun (you can reinforce AT gun with beacon)

Sounds delightful, but just to play devil’s advocate, why should I pick Recon over Airborne? Airborne gives me P-47 rockets and both M2HB .50 cal HMGs and M1 ATGs from the sky. Plus better Pathfinders and Thompsons on my Paras if I want a hardcore CQB unit and I can still get M1919A6’s or BARs or (super)Bazookas off of the weapon racks.

Recon gives me less powerful Pathfinders, no Tommy guns and a less than desirable M8 armored car in exchange for my Paras to be able to lay mines? I love the idea of bushwhacking a Kraut tank with a mine and stealth Paras with super bazookas, but I’m not sure it’s the better choice. (Seriously, I WANT Recon Support to be awesome, but it looks like Airborne is just plain better. Help me prove that I am wrong! )

Sounds delightful, but just to play devil’s advocate, why should I pick Recon over Airborne? Airborne gives me P-47 rockets and both M2HB .50 cal HMGs and M1 ATGs from the sky. Plus better Pathfinders and Thompsons on my Paras if I want a hardcore CQB unit and I can still get M1919A6’s or BARs or (super)Bazookas off of the weapon racks.

Recon gives me less powerful Pathfinders, no Tommy guns and a less than desirable M8 armored car in exchange for my Paras to be able to lay mines? I love the idea of bushwhacking a Kraut tank with a mine and stealth Paras with super bazookas, but I’m not sure it’s the better choice. (Seriously, I WANT Recon Support to be awesome, but it looks like Airborne is just plain better. Help me prove that I am wrong! )

Airborn is to be use with Captain since you get the .50 caliber drop early in game.

Recon is to be use with Lieutenant since you only have access to the ATG drop + Para.

Then its two differents playstyle. IR Pathinder can delete any support weapon from the game for 140 munitions. If your opponent doesn't predict it and takes one second to react, HMG or pak are usually deleted from the game. Probabilty vs Raketen is also very high.
For maximum potential you need to distract your opponent somewhere else in the map.

Then the M8 is clearly good, it delete models extremly fast even at vet0, sometime I call one instead of a second Scott or sherman.

At the end the cluster bomb is the best area denial USF has access, second one is phosphorus barrage. And it is really cheap as well. Drop it on a VP about to be cap and if your oppoent doesn't hit the retreat button probabilities are great to wipe the squad.
But the best use of it late game is when you push with your tanks, once pak/raketen have reveal themself, just use it over them. Insta retreat or dead. It also works well vs tanks since it stop their engine for a couple of seconds.

My opinion:
Airborn is more about having strong infantry to complement your stock troops but it weakness is vs defensive players.
Recon is more about surprising your opponent and deleting his defensive with IRP barrage. BTW IRP barrage works on the fog of war.

Sounds delightful, but just to play devil’s advocate, why should I pick Recon over Airborne? Airborne gives me P-47 rockets and both M2HB .50 cal HMGs and M1 ATGs from the sky. Plus better Pathfinders and Thompsons on my Paras if I want a hardcore CQB unit and I can still get M1919A6’s or BARs or (super)Bazookas off of the weapon racks.

Recon gives me less powerful Pathfinders, no Tommy guns and a less than desirable M8 armored car in exchange for my Paras to be able to lay mines? I love the idea of bushwhacking a Kraut tank with a mine and stealth Paras with super bazookas, but I’m not sure it’s the better choice. (Seriously, I WANT Recon Support to be awesome, but it looks like Airborne is just plain better. Help me prove that I am wrong! )

Recon support has the benefits of the PSS, which we have discussed, and honestly the cluster bombs are in most cases much more useful and cost efficient than the p47s. Having a decent callin light doesn't hurt either, and the IR pathfinders can call in a great arty strike as well. Airborne is also way too manpower heavy to be very viable IMO.

Thanks for the tips. I’ve been working on a USF build order that is a quick tech to an early Sherman and I think using PSSs to fill in the bazooka and LMG need as well as the grenade ability will allow me to not tech for grenades or weapon racks.

That way you can spend fuel only on the Lieutenant and Major before getting your first Sherman. Bazooka paratroopers plus an M1 ATG fill in your AT while the Lieutenant and Pathfinders do your extra AI with more Paratroopers can come later with M1919A6s to round out your composition or you could tech to weapon racks after you get your first Sherman out.

Thanks for the tips. I’ve been working on a USF build order that is a quick tech to an early Sherman and I think using PSSs to fill in the bazooka and LMG need as well as the grenade ability will allow me to not tech for grenades or weapon racks.

That way you can spend fuel only on the Lieutenant and Major before getting your first Sherman. Bazooka paratroopers plus an M1 ATG fill in your AT while the Lieutenant and Pathfinders do your extra AI with more Paratroopers can come later with M1919A6s to round out your composition or you could tech to weapon racks after you get your first Sherman out.

That’s what I do, but I still tech weapon racks as soon as I have excess muni because the delay on the sherman is negligible compared to the usefulness (and sometimes necessity) of straight dps increases on rifles IMO. I can usually get away with not teaching nades by being smart with mortar smoke and paratrooper nades.