Skills and classes

Players can gain experience in three skills: Battle Sense, Light Weapons, and a skill determined by their current class. Certain class skill benefits remain with the player even if they change classes. Benefits from general skills are available regardless of class.

Once a player has accrued enough experience points in a particular skill, the skill is automatically advanced to the next level, providing the player with a new ability or advantage. There are four attainable levels in each skill, awarded at 20, 50, 90 and 140 experience points.

[edit] General skill - Battle Sense

Battle Sense is gained by time spent in active combat. For each thirty-second period of the game, experience is awarded depending on whether a player dealt damage, dealt and received damage, or killed and received damage.

[edit] General skill - Light Weapons

Skill in Light Weapons is gained by killing with light weapons: a submachine gun, rifle (when not using the scope, if one is fitted), pistol, grenade or knife.

The player receives 3 experience points for a kill with a grenade or a bodyshot, and 5 experience points for a kill with a headshot.

[edit] Soldier (Class Skill - Heavy Weapons)

Heavy combat specialist. The soldier is unique in that his character skill relates only to killing the enemy rather than helping his team directly, with the exception of damaging a vehicle with the panzerfaust or mortar. Soldiers are the only class that can carry heavy weapons; however, all character classes may earn points in Heavy Weapons while using a constructed MG42 turret or a tank's Browning machinegun. Soldiers spawn with four hand grenades. Soldiers can also wield a submachine gun if they for example run out of Panzerfausts.

They spawn with 4 grenades and 3 clips of ammo for their SMG or 1 "clip" of ammo for their heavy weapon.

Soldiers receive 3 experience points for each kill with a heavy weapon. All players, regardless of class, receive 3 experience points towards their Heavy Weapons skill for a kill with an MG42 turret or tank's Browning machinegun.

Soldiers that use the SMGs (Thompson or MP40) as their primary weapon are often deemed 'pointless'. For example, an engineer that uses an SMG can do everything that a soldier with an SMG can, and has the added bonus of being able to fulfil the objectives. In official matches, the Soldier power bar takes 27 seconds to fully reload.

[edit] Field Ops (Class Skill - Signals)

Field Ops support teammates with supplies and support fire. They can drop packs containing ammunition. Support fire is signalled by throwing a colored smoke grenade to call in an airstrike - a series of explosions in a short line along the smoke - or targeting a location with binoculars to call in an artillery strike - a series of explosions surrounding the area determined by the Field Op. The airstrike is generally used for immediately clearing out a large area. The artillery strike is used for making one small area very dangerous for a longer period of time. With both, there is a limit on how many strikes the entire team can have in effect at once.

Field Ops spawn with one hand grenade, and 2 clips for his SMG (although he can supply himself with nearly unlimited ammo if needed).

Field Ops receive 1 experience point for each ammo pack picked up by a fellow team member, 3 experience points for killing an enemy player with an airstrike or an artillery strike, and 7.5 experience points for destroying an objective with either.

[edit] Medic (Class Skill - First Aid)

The Medic has more health than any other class, and slowly regenerates health. The Medic can heal teammates with health packs and revive them with syringes. In some servers, syringes can also be used to poison enemy players. Since a Medic regenerates health, and usually gains the most experience by staying with a group, it's a good choice for beginners. However, a skilled player can make a medic an extremely deadly individual soldier, this often occurring mini-class is known as a "rambo medic."

The greatest disadvantage for medics is their lack of ammunition, they only spawn initially with only one SMG magazine and one grenade.

Medics receive 1 experience point for each health pack picked up by a fellow team member and 4 experience points for reviving a fellow team member.

[edit] Engineer (Class Skill - Engineering)

Engineers are the only class that can accomplish many objectives. Engineers may build and repair machine gun nests, repair vehicles, build constructions (command posts, bridges and such), and plant dynamite and landmines. Engineers spawn with four or eight grenades, and are the only class that can carry the grenade launcher. Allied engineers may carry the M1 Garand rifle and Axis engineers the Gewehr 43.

They spawn with 4 grenades and 2 clips for their SMG or 3 clips for their rifle and 4 rifle grenades.

Engineers receive experience points for constructing and destroying objectives. For construction, the exact number usually depends on the fraction of the power bar required to construct the objective: 5 experience points for an objective requiring 50% of the power bar (e.g. MG42 emplacements) and 7.5 experience points for an objective requiring 100% (e.g. Command Post). Engineers receive anything up to 10 experience points for the destruction of an objective with dynamite.

On an unmodified server, all of the points for constructing an objective are received by a single engineer upon completion of the objective, regardless of how many participate in its construction. Some server modifications distribute the points continually during the construction, thus giving a fair share to all participants.

Engineers also receive 3 experience points for killing an enemy player with a rifle grenade, 4 experience points for killing an enemy player with a landmine or dynamite, 4 experience points for defusing an enemy land mine and 6 experience points for defusing enemy dynamite.

[edit] Covert Ops (Class Skill - Covert Operations)

A dead Axis player's uniform is stolen by an Allied covert ops player.

Stealth and scouting class. Covert Ops (or simply "coverts") can steal a dead enemy's uniform, toss smoke grenades to hamper visibility with a nearly opaque smoke, and drop a satchel charge (remote-detonated explosive). The Covert Op is the only class that can use scoped weapons and silenced weapons. Any enemies in a covert's line of sight will appear on his teammates' command map. When looking at hidden landmines through binoculars, a covert will see an icon, and after a couple of seconds, the landmine will be visible to all teammates.

A covert ops spawns with 2 grenades and 3 clips for his SMG or rifle.

Covert Ops have a more powerful stabbing attack than any other class - a stab to the face deals 20-25 damage, while other classes can only hurt the enemy for 10 damage when hitting the front side of the player.

While wearing an enemy uniform, Covert Ops can open enemy teamdoors to allow other teammates to pass through. Enemies who observe a disguised covert op from a distance will see the name of the player whose uniform they stole, while up close no name will display. They can also sometimes be recognized by alert enemies who notice that they are wielding the wrong weapon for their apparent class or do not appear on their command map. The enemy recognition upgrade of a level 4 Field Op will display "DISGUISED ENEMY," and, well, the player whose uniform you stole will see his name on another player, with obvious results. How apparent covert ops are is also dependent on the server. On its standard setting, Covert Ops will automatically lose their uniform if they: 1.) Fire an unsilenced weapon 2.) Man an MG outpost, or a tank MG 3.) Use a standard grenade 4.) If they are SEEN firing ANY weapon

A few servers are far more lenient, up to the point where Covert Ops will permanently remain incognito for the duration of their life.

Finally, disguised Covops can arouse suspicions by, for example, running in the wrong direction or approaching a vital objective. In any case they lose their stolen uniform if they fire any weapon other than the smoke grenade or satchel charge in enemy vision. On servers with friendly fire turned off, some players have made it a habit to shoot fellow teammates to make sure that they aren't Covert Ops in disguise, and although this may appear to be a disadvantage for a covert ops he is also no longer at risk for being killed by his teammates while in disguise.

In addition, a covert ops can use his satchel charge to destroy secondary objectives, and some objects constructed by engineers. Although anything that can be destroyed with a satchel charge can also be destroyed by an engineer's dynamite, the satchel charge can be detonated at any time without the 30 second timer and with no advance warning to the other team. For example, in the map "Fuel Dump" a covert ops can use his satchel charge to destroy the 'depot defences' to allow an engineer to get into the fuel dump to complete the primary objective. Without the covert ops, the engineer would have to plant the dynamite that the defences first, alerting the other team to his presence, wait 30 seconds for it to explode and THEN plant his dynamite at the fuel dump.

Covert Ops receive 3 experience points for a kill using a scoped rifle (these kills only counts towards the player's Covert skill if the shot is fired while the scope is engaged, otherwise it counts towards Light Weapons skill as normal). Covert Ops receive 3 experience points for revealing an enemy land mine to their team, 5 experience points for disguising himself using an enemy uniform, 3 experience points for killing an enemy player with a satchel charge, and 7 experience points for destroying an objective with a satchel charge.