How Veterancy works - An Explanation of Veterancy Mechanics for all Factions
Change Log
Nov 2-17 2009
-Made a large number of updates to the entire guide. Added some new information and did lots of editing to polish up the guide.
Introduction
Although veterancy is briefly explained in the game's tutorials, like most CoH mechanics, veterancy is actually a more complicated matter. This guide will explain how veterancy works for each faction, as well as other mechanics involving veterancy.
For example, in addition to the basics of how it works, it will explain how some things influence veterancy, and what the meaning is behind some special properties, like "Infantry Elite" or "Armoured Skirts".
As usual, remember to visit www.coh-stats.com for info on CoH's mechanics.
Table of Contents
How Veterancy works (General)
How U.S Veterancy works
How British Veterancy works
How Wehrmacht Veterancy works
How Panzer Elite Veterancy works
How Veterancy works (General)
Veterancy is the act of a unit gaining 'experience', and when enough is gained they will benefit from permanent bonuses. How they gain that experience (or whether they even can) depends on the faction.
U.S and PE units must destroy enemy units in order to get veterancy requirements - however, U.S units gain it individually while PE share experience to nearby units. The British are also the same as the PE, but only 3 units can actually carry experience, and these units have special aura bonuses that benefit nearby British units. The Wehrmacht are completely different, where their veterancy is actually purchased from a structure. They do not gain veterancy from killing.
Every unit also has a designated veterancy value, which is how much experience a unit is worth when killed. For example, a Volksgrenadier is worth 1 veterancy experience, while a Grenadier is worth 2. Keep in mind this is referring to individual units, not an entire squad. Also, keep in mind that the green points that appear above killed units is Command experience, not veterancy experience. To see what these numbers are, visit http://www.coh-stats.com/Info:Gaining_Veterancy
Each unit is capable of gaining up to 3 levels of veterancy. As you would expect, the higher the level of veterancy, the more benefits the unit gains.
In order to gain a level of veterancy, they must meet the veterancy requirement (a designated number). This just means they must accumulate enough experience to meet the requirement.
Once they do accumulate enough experience, the unit will gain a veterancy level. This is announced in-game by a temporary symbol that flashes above the unit's head, and a permanent, small white bar symbol above their blue health bar. One white bar represents level 1, two represents level 2, and 3 represents level 3.
Veterancy is important because it grants a permanent bonus to the unit, giving players incentive to keep their squads alive. However, what kind of bonuses depends on the unit, as it is different for many units. U.S units have a wide variety of different bonuses depending on the units (although most vehicles share the same bonuses). The three British units have relatively simple bonuses. Wehrmacht and PE units often have the same bonuses across a range of units.
These bonuses improve the unit's effectiveness, including improving survivability, offensive power, improvements to existing abilities, or unlocking new abilities for some.
To see the experience requirements, as well as what the bonuses are for each unit, check out http://www.coh-stats.com/Veterancy:Contents. Click on a specific unit's page to see their veterancy requirements and bonuses.
How U.S Veterancy works
U.S veterancy is very simple. As U.S units destroy enemy units, they will gain veterancy experience. Accumulate enough to meet the requirements, and a veterancy level is gained.
U.S veterancy is individual to each unit, as they don't share experience to nearby units. This means the last US unit that scores the killing blow, will gain all the experience that the killed unit has to offer.
This allows U.S units to gain veterancy at a faster rate over other factions, but it also means it is more inconsistent among multiple units.
Do captured equipment retain and gain veterancy experience?
Yes, captured equipment will still be able to gain veterancy experience. However, veterancy levels do not transfer when capturing equipment. For example, capturing an AT gun with a "vetted" squad won't make the AT gun instantly have the same level.
How are Riflemen veterancy affected by the their upgrades?
The following upgrades increases the rate at which Riflemen gain veterancy experience.
Sticky Bombs (Barracks): Received experience squad modifier: x1.05 (5% increase)
Browning Automatic Rifle (Barracks): Received experience squad modifier: x1.05 (5% increase)
Level 1 Production (Supply Yard): Received experience squad modifier: x1.1 (10% increase)
Level 2 Production (Supply Yard): Received experience squad modifier: x1.2 (20% increase)
If all 4 upgrades are researched, Riflemen will gain 1.2*1.1*1.05*1.05 = 45.53% more experience than normal.
Grenades and other upgrades not listed above do not change their experience rate directly.
Interesting/Useful Facts
-Riflemen squads gain an additional +6 Sticky Bomb range at veterancy level 2.
-The T17 Armoured Car gains a sandbag skin add-on, and x2 the maximum health at veterancy level 1. This is different from the M8 Greyhound, which gains double health from spending munitions on an upgrade instead of requiring veterancy.
-The Armoured Skirts upgrade for the M8 Greyhound simply doubles its maximum health. It does not function the same way as Armoured Skirts does for Axis tanks (refer to Wehrmacht Veterancy for more info).
-The Sherman Calliope (Armour Company doctrine) gains reduced barrage recharge time at each veterancy level (-10 seconds per level).
U.S Veterancy Bugs (As of 2.601)
M18 Hellcat:
-M18 Hellcat has higher veterancy requirements than the M10 Wolverine (12/24/36 instead of 8/16/32).
-The Hellcat also has an incorrect value for its veterancy level 2 bonus range. It is +1.15 instead of x1.15 (+15%), which means the bonus is currently extremely small and negligible.
M2 105mm Howitzer:
-The M2 105mm Howitzer does not gain reduced barrage cooldown with veterancy. This may or may not be a bug.
How British Veterancy works
The British veterancy system is quite different than the other factions. Only 3 units (Lieutenant, Captain, and Command Tank) can actually gain veterancy experience/levels.
These 3 units also have aura bonuses, where they grant benefits to your other units within a certain range. As most already know, some of these benefits are quite useful, such as the movement speed increase from the Lieutenant.
Lieutenant and Captain
http://coh-stats.com/Veterancy:Lieutenant
http://coh-stats.com/Veterancy:Captain
I refer both units as "Officers".
Gains veterancy from:
British officers gain experience when killing enemy units, as well as gaining shared experience from nearby infantry that kill enemy units. The share radius is 35 for Commandos (All types), and 40 for all other British infantry.
Do Officers gain veterancy experience from nearby emplacements?
No, they do not. 2 emplacements do not share at all, and 3 emplacements share vehicle veterancy.
However, if the emplacement is recaptured by you, they strangely share infantry veterancy, meaning your officers can gain experience off them.
Refer to the "Do captured equipment share veterancy experience?" question for more info.
How does the Captain's aura bonuses work in terms of range? What about veterancy experience?
The Captain's bonus is territory-wide. Any of your infantry and emplacements that are inside the same friendly sector as the Captain, highlighted green on the mini-map, will benefit from his bonuses.
The Captain however, only gains shared experience through the same 35-40 radius as Lieutenants. Remember, the Captain's bonuses only work in friendly sectors, so remember this if you tag him along with troops to gain experience.
Is experience divided up among multiple Officers?
No. If you have more than one officer receiving experience from nearby infantry at the same time, the experience is not divided up.
This is because Lieutenants/Captains share and absorb 100% (x1 multiplier for self and share) of veterancy experience from your nearby troops killing enemy infantry. Thus, experience rate is not divided up, unlike Panzer Elite units.
How does veterancy bonus stacking work for multiple Lieutenants?
Basically, units have "non-stackable" and "stackable" bonuses. Non-stackable means this bonus only applies once. Stackable bonuses can stack with other bonuses of the same type to provide a stronger overall bonus.
For example, the Lieutenant at level 0 has an aura that grants x1.15 Accuracy (non-stackable), x1.025 Damage bonus (non-stackable), and x1.125 Damage bonus(stackable).
This means if there are more than 1 Lieutenant in the same area, the accuracy and minor damage bonus do not stack - they will only apply once to nearby units. However, the stackable x1.125 damage bonus will stack with other Lt's in the area, creating a stronger damage bonus overall.
When calculating stacking, remember that they are just multiplying with each other, and are not necessarily doubling/tripling.
For example, 2 Lt's near each other provide 1.025 * 1.125 * 1.125 = 1.297265625 = about +29.7% total Damage bonus.
What's better? A single veterancy level 2 Lieutenant, or two veterancy level 0 Lieutenants?
This does not have a clear answer due to different bonuses.
First, a veterancy level 2 Lt. has a larger variety of bonuses. At level 2, an Lt. gains two additional weapon cooldown bonuses and a weapon reload bonus, on top of everything level 0 gives.
However, two level 0 Lt's would mean two damage bonuses stacking.
This means that while a level 2 Lt has lots of bonuses, two level 0 Lt's would be granting 1.025 *1.125 * 1.125 = about 29.7% Damage bonus to nearby troops. This is compared to a single Lt's damage bonus of only 1.025 * 1.125 = about +15.3% damage bonus.
Since the damage bonus gets a big jump when 2 Lt's stack up, it may be arguable that having more damage is better than having more variety of bonuses.
Command Tank
http://coh-stats.com/Veterancy:Cromwell_Command_Tank
Gains veterancy from:
The Command Tank gains veterancy experience from killing units, as well as from shared experience from your vehicles and emplacements that destroy enemy units. The radius is 40 for some emplacements and all British vehicles.
Do Command Tanks gain veterancy from emplacements?
Yes, but not all of them. The Bofors 40mm Emplacement, 17 Pounder AT Emplacement, and 25 Pounder Howitzer Emplacement share vehicle veterancy experience within a radius of 40.
However, the Vickers MG Emplacement and the 3in Mortar Emplacement do not share any experience at all.
Do Priests share veterancy experience?
Yes, they do. As long as the Command Tank is within range of the Priest artillery vehicles during the time it gains some kills, it will gain veterancy experience.
Other Questions
Do Sapper mines contribute to veterancy experience?
Yes. As long as the Lieutenant(s) and/or Captain is near the Sapper squad that built the mine, and that mine kills some units, the Lieutenant(s)/Captain will gain veterancy experience.
Do Officers/Command Tanks gain experience when near allied units that kill enemy units?
Nope. You'll have to kill enemy units with your own units in order to gain veterancy experience.
Do captured equipment share experience?
Yes.
However, it is a bit odd. All captured equipment, whether they be British emplacements or Axis weapons, share infantry experience, meaning only your officers will be able to gain experience from these units' kills.
Interesting/Useful Facts
-Lieutenants gain the "Heroic Charge" ability at veterancy level 1.
-British Officers and Command Tanks only gain better/more aura bonuses at veterancy level 2.
-Lieutenants and Captains benefit from minor self veterancy bonuses as well, such as increased health.
-The Command Tank does not have any self veterancy bonuses. This means level 1 and 3 do not yield any bonuses; only level 2 provides additional bonuses.
-When a Lieutenant reaches level 3, the player will be provided with +80 Command experience, which is the equivalent of 1 Command Point. The Lt. will also provide +4 Population Cap, as long as he stays alive.
-A level 3 Captain provides +66% increased resources to the sector he is currently in.
Munitions sector: +4.8 on normal or +7.97 on secured (Munitions/min). Fuel sector: +4 on normal or +6.64 on secured (Fuel/Min).
British Veterancy Bugs (As of 2.601)
-Commandos, Commando Weapon Teams, and captured equipment (MG, AT gun, Mortars, etc.) do not benefit from the Lieutenant's aura. However, the cosmetic icon will still show when near a Lieutenant.
The reason why these units do not benefit is because the Lt.'s aura bonuses only apply to units tagged as a "Builder", which Tommies and Sappers have. This may or may not be intentional.
-Sappers upgraded with "Detection and Disposal Section" can have their movement speed bugged with the Lieutenant's aura when walking around in enemy territory. This is due to the Sapper's upgrade not being listed as an exception to the Lt's movement speed bonus, thus causing a conflict and slowing down the Sapper when escorted by an Lt.
How Wehrmacht Veterancy works
Wehrmacht veterancy is completely different from all the other factions. They do not kill to gain veterancy experience - rather, the Wehrmacht must purchase veterancy upgrades from the Kampfcraft Centre.
There are 4 categories of upgrades, each with 3 levels. These are Infantry, Support, Vehicle, and Tank. Infantry veterancy affects infantry units (including the Officer), Support affects Pioneers, Snipers, and weapon teams (MG, Mortar, Nebelwerfer), vehicles affect vehicle units, including the PaK38 and FlaK 36, and finally, Tank veterancy affects all tanks, including the Geschutzwagen and Tiger (Blitzkrieg doctrine).
The King Tiger (Terror doctrine) and Goliath units do not benefit from veterancy.
Once a veterancy upgrade has been researched, it grants a global, permanent bonus to all units that are affected by that upgrade.
What is Health Regeneration?
Many Wehrmacht infantry units gain health regeneration at veterancy level 1. As the name implies, this bonus allows infantry units to slowly regenerate their health over time.
The only unit that has health regeneration without any upgrades or ability use is the Wehrmacht Officer, with a base regeneration rate of 24 health/minute. This does stack with veterancy level 1 to provide even more regeneration.
Wehrmacht health regeneration occurs at a rate of 10.56 health per minute. You can visit coh-stats.com to find info on how much health each unit has, among many other things. Generally though, since units that can benefit from health regeneration have 60 to 90 health (individual units), it would only take a few minutes to regenerate an injured unit back to healthy levels.
Panzer Elite infantry units can also gain health regeneration through veterancy. Check the Panzer Elite veterancy section for more info.
What is Infantry Elite armour?
Grenadiers, Stormtroopers, Pioneers, Mortar teams, MG teams, and Officers can gain Infantry Elite armour at veterancy level 2.
As the name implies, this changes their target type from regular infantry to elite infantry.
This affects the Target Table (Refer to my beginner's guide for more info).
Many weapons (mainly ones that fire bullets) have reduced accuracy and/or damage against Infantry Elite targets. Note that area of effect weapons like grenades, artillery, and mines, as well as most tank main guns, are not affected.
On the downside, Infantry Elite targets take more damage from flamethrowers. In addition, Snipers are more accurate against these targets, and they have no accuracy penalties when firing on retreating Infantry Elite targets. Lastly, Elite targets have slightly increased received suppression from HMGs.
Of course, as many noticed, the advantages of Elite armour can outweigh the disadvantages most of the time. It vastly increases the survivability of Wehrmacht infantry. Many Allied infantry weapons have up to -25% reduced accuracy and damage against Infantry Elite targets.
To see how a weapon's effectiveness is changed, visit a weapon's page on CoH-stats.com and click the "Target Table" tab. Look at the the numbers displayed against Infantry Elite. As mentioned before, it is generally reduced accuracy/damage penalties for most weapons except area of effect and most tank main guns.
What are Armoured Skirts?
Armoured skirts work similarly to Infantry Elite armour, in that it changes the target table for certain units. The Wehrmacht tanks StuG, StuH, Panzer IV, and Panther will gain Armoured Skirts at veterancy level 3.
The Panzer Elite Panzer IV Infantry Support Tank can also benefit from armoured skirts from an individual upgrade that costs munitions. It counts as a Panzer IV /w Skirts when upgraded.
The Panzer Elite Panther also gains armoured skirts at veterancy level 3.
Like Infantry Elite armour, it changes the tank's target type to (Tank's name) with Skirts.
Unlike Infantry Elite, Armoured Skirts are visible on each tank that is affected, showing off the added armour.
Again, the Target Table is affected. Many anti-tank weapons have reduced penetration or damage against skirted tanks.
For example, infantry anti-tank weapons like the Recoilless Rifle, Bazooka, and Panzershreck have -25% penetration and damage. The PIAT has -25% penetration. Most tank weapons have -10% damage. Sticky Bombs have -50% penetration against Skirted targets.
There are also a lot of varying (and somewhat obscure and subtle) bonuses that differ from the above general changes, although they may be unintended bugs. For example, some weapons have accuracy changes against skirted targets.
Again, to see the changes yourself, visit a weapon's page on CoH-stats.com, and click the "Target Table"
tab. This will tell you what that weapon's effectiveness against certain targets are. Armoured Skirt targets are labelled as (Tank's name) /w Skirts.
Do captured equipment retain and gain veterancy experience?
Equipment captured by Wehrmacht can still benefit from purchased veterancy, depending on the unit and which one was researched. For example, captured AT guns will benefit from vehicle veterancy, even if it is a U.S AT gun.
Interesting/Useful Facts
-Pioneers gain the ability "Battlefield Repair" at veterancy level 3. This replaces the standard "Repair" ability. Battlefield Repair has reduced Manpower drain (2.5 instead of 5 per minute) and Pioneers repairing take significantly less extra damage: x1.25 (+25%) instead of x3 (+200%).
-Knights Cross Holders gain the ability "Fire Panzerfaust" at veterancy level 1.
-The Wehrmacht Officer (or Leutnant) is the only infantry unit in the game that benefits from health regeneration without any upgrades. He has a base regeneration of 24 health/minute. This also stacks with veterancy level 1's health regeneration bonus, which brings the total rate to 34.56 health/minute.
-Sdkfz 251 Halftracks gain reduced barrage cooldown time with each veterancy level (-10 seconds per level).
How Panzer Elite Veterancy works
Panzer Elite veterancy is fairly simple. They gain veterancy experience from destroying enemy units, but the experience is shared among nearby PE units within a radius of 25.
For PE infantry, they gain 100% of the experience gain from kills, and share 45% of that to nearby squads.
For PE vehicles, they gain 90% of the experience gain from kills, and share 50% of it to nearby vehicles.
So, unlike U.S units, PE units will gain veterancy levels slower (since it is shared and they have high requirements) but it will be much more consistent among multiple units.
At each veterancy level, a veterancy upgrade choice will appear when the unit is selected. You can choose either Offensive or Defensive veterancy.
PE Infantry Bonuses:
Offensive veterancy levels grant increased accuracy, reduced reload, reduced cooldown, and increased penetration.
Defensive veterancy levels grants reduced received damage, reduced received suppression, increased maximum health, and increased health regeneration.
The regeneration rate for each level of defensive veterancy on PE infantry units is 3.36 per minute.
PE Vehicle Bonuses:
Offensive veterancy levels grant increased accuracy, reduced reload, reduced cooldown, and increased penetration.
Defensive veterancy levels grants reduced received accuracy, reduced received damage, increased maximum health, and increased maximum speed.
These bonuses are the same for all PE units. Note that some units do not get a choice for which veterancy bonus to get.
PE units do not benefit from any bonuses until you choose a veterancy upgrade!
What PE units do not have veterancy choices?
The Kettenkrad, Schwimmwagen Type 128, Munitions Halftrack, Funkwagen 'Vampire' Halftrack, and Bergetiger Repair and Recovery Vehicle do not have veterancy choices.
These are basically the units that do not fight, and thus they can only gain defensive veterancy. You do not have to "choose" it, as defensive veterancy applies automatically for these units upon reaching each level.
How is the Mortar Halftrack unit affected by veterancy?
Defensive veterancy works as expected.
However, offensive veterancy is a bit different. All the offensive bonuses apply to the Mortar Halftrack's regular attack, but does not apply to its barrages.
The reason is because offensive veterancy grants bonuses to hardpoint 1, which is the primary weapon for most units. However, the Mortar Halftrack's barrage ability uses hardpoint 2. Therefore, the barrage ability is not affected by offensive veterancy.
How is the Hummel Self Propelled Artillery unit affected by veterancy?
Defensive veterancy works as expected.
Each level of veterancy (upgrade choice not required) reduces barrage recharge by 10 seconds.
For offensive upgrades, the Hummel actually only benefits from one of the four bonuses.
Increased accuracy does not actually affect the Hummel (since it fires through barrages). Increased penetration does not really help out, as the Hummel already has guaranteed penetration against all targets. Reduced cooldown also does not help, as the Hummel has a cooldown of 0.
Reduced reload is the only one that works. It reduces the amount of time it takes for the Hummel to fire each shell during a barrage (ex. a level 3 offensive Hummel will fire each shell every 3.645 seconds instead of 5).
Do captured equipment retain and gain veterancy experience?
Yes, captured equipment will still be able to gain veterancy experience. However, veterancy levels do not transfer when capturing equipment. For example, capturing an AT gun with a "vetted" squad won't make the AT gun instantly have the same level.
Is it true that getting Defensive veterancy level 1 for PE vehicles is better than getting it at level 2/3?
Yes, this is true. Defensive veterancy level 1 for PE vehicles provides slightly more bonuses than level 2/3. This means if you want to make the most out of the defensive veterancy, it is recommended to choose Defensive as your first upgrade choice. If chosen at level 2/3, it will not have the same impact.
To be exact:
Defensive veterancy level 1:
Received Accuracy: x0.9
Received Damage: x0.9
Maximum Health: x1.15
Maximum Speed: x1.15
Defensive veterancy level 2/3:
Received Accuracy: x0.95
Received Damage: x0.95
Maximum Health: x1.05
Maximum Speed: x1.15
As you can see, choosing Defensive as your first choice grants a greater bonus over choosing defensive later, with a 5% difference in received accuracy and damage, and a 10% difference in health increase.
Remember, this applies to PE vehicles only.
Are there any other odd PE veterancy issues I should know about?
Although not too important, PE infantry gain a small extra bonus for choosing Defensive as their third choice. It provides x0.95 (-5%) Received Accuracy, on top of the other four bonuses.
Interesting/Useful Facts
-Fallschrimjagers actually have lower veterancy requirements than Panzer Grenadiers. They have 8/24/38 compared to 12/26/40.
-Armoured Cars gain +15 health at veterancy level 1. This is an additional bonus that stacks with the standard PE veterancy upgrades.
-Panzer IV Infantry Support Tanks benefit from the same armoured skirts properties as the Wehrmacht Panzer IV tank, when upgraded with "Armoured Skirts", an individual upgrade that costs munitions.
-Panzer Elite Panthers gain an MG42 gun add-on at veterancy level 2, and 0.75 (-25%) Received Penetration at veterancy level 3. PE Panthers also receive armoured skirts at veterancy level 3. This means they effectively mirror the Wehrmacht veterancy bonuses, which also stack with the PE bonuses. This means PE Panthers benefit from one of the best veterancy bonuses in the game, assuming they reach level 3.
-Hummels gain reduced barrage cooldown time with each veterancy level (-10 seconds per level).
Panzer Elite Veterancy Bugs (As of 2.601)
Munitions Halftrack:
-The Munitions Halftrack has the same 12/29/51 veterancy requirements as the other heavier PE vehicles. This is probably not a bug but more of an overlooked balance issue.
Hotchkiss Light Tank:
-Hotchkiss tanks cannot share experience or receive shared experience. This effectively cripples their ability to gain levels and contribute to other PE units' levels.
-They also have the old veterancy requirements before beta patch changes (12/34/48 instead of 12/29/51). This means it takes them longer to go from level 1 to 2 compared to going from 2 to 3.
-Lastly, Hotchkiss tanks also do not receive reduced Stuka barrage cooldown with each veterancy level. Recall that nearly all other artillery pieces can benefit from reduced cooldown times with veterancy levels.
Marder III Tank Hunter:
-Marder IIIs have had increased veterancy requirements from 16/22/38 to 12/29/51. This may or may not be a bug, as the veterancy fix for other PE units also applied to the Marder III, which ended up raising its veterancy requirements too.
Hetzer Tank:
-Hetzers still has the same veterancy requirements as the Jagdpanther (24/58/102). This may be a bug.
Other Info:
There is another Wehrmacht veterancy guide that compiles Wehrmacht veterancy bonuses, as well as explanations. If you need an alternative guide, check it out here: http://www.gamereplays.org/companyof...eterancy-guide
Originally Posted by daroach1414
