The support role specializes in long-range artillery, anti-aircraft vehicles, and engineer units. Though useful on the battlefield, it is limited by their inability to engage units in close-combat.
The support role is used best when in coordination with a friendly armor role player. The support role also has access to selective strike tactical aids at a cheaper cost. The insignia of the support role is an explosion caused by heavy artillery.
Classes[]
Heavy anti-aircraft[]
 M48 Chaparral |
 SA-13 Gopher |
 Roland FRK |
Heavy anti-air vehicles are the most powerful anti-air assets available on the battlefield. These are typically light vehicles equipped with sophisticated long-range heat-seeking missiles, although they usually have no means of defending themselves against enemy ground forces. With powerful missiles capable of smashing enemy helicopters into pieces with just a couple of devastatingly accurate hits, the heavy anti-air vehicle is every helicopter pilot's worst nightmare.
Unfortunately, these vehicles have no means of defending themselves from enemy ground units and are extremely vulnerable to tanks and artillery. Their only means of defense are smoke screens to make a hasty retreat.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
When enemy attack helicopters become a problem, the heavy anti-air vehicle is a given solution. Equipped with sophisticated heat-seeking missile launchers, this unit can provide allied ground forces with an effective, long-range counter to enemy air assaults. Apart from their smoke mortars, they are utterly defenseless against infantry and ground vehicles, though. Teaming up with an Infantry or Armor commander is usually the best plan for a Support commander focusing on air defense.
As it is equipped with heat-seeking missiles, the heavy anti-air vehicle can engage hostile helicopters within a larger radius than its medium sibling. Enemy choppers on full health require 2-4 missile strikes to be eliminated; this is dependent on the rank of the units. As the heavy anti-air unit progresses in role, the damage inflicted by each missile and the launch frequency and range of engagement increases. As enemy choppers, particularly heavy attack helicopters, will obliterate the unit upon detection of its presence that would utterly undermine the safety of air units, it is advantageous to station these vehicles behind trees and buildings for concealment and ambushes. A major characteristic of a squadron of heavy anti-air vehicles engaging which undermines their effectiveness in neutralizing multiple hostile helicopters, is that the tracking of helicopters is rarely coordinated. This means that two or more vehicles will attempt to eliminate one helicopter, and leave the other helicopters temporarily unharmed, granting them the opportunity to swiftly wipe out the squadron.
Medium anti-aircraft[]
| M163 VADS |
ZSU-23-4 Shilka |
Flakpanzer Gepard |
Medium anti-air vehicles are not as powerful as heavy anti-air vehicles, but are still valuable anti-air assets on the battlefield. These are vehicles armed with versatile, powerful autocannons to engage enemy air assets, as well as light ground units. These are cheaper than their missile-based cousins but are less lethal and more vulnerable to air attack. However, their cannons are not affected by IR flares like missile systems are, meaning they are able to attack enemy helicopters even if they drop flares.
These vehicles can attack ground units with their cannons, though this is largely useless against tanks and vehicles, and is best used against infantry or their intended targets, helicopters.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
The medium anti-air vehicle is a medium-range, cannon-based air defense system. Cheaper than its missile-based sibling, it is less lethal at most ranges and less guaranteed to survive encounters with hostile helicopters. The upside is that it is more versatile – it can provide ground support by deploying its heavy cannon against ground vehicles and infantry formations. Another advantage is that cannon fire is not susceptible to helicopter flares the way missiles are.
Despite its versatility in being able to engage both ground and air vehicles, the expediency of the unit in its role of eliminating armored ground units, especially tanks, is undermined by the relatively low damage inflicted by its autocannon in addition to the cooldown period for ground engagement. Nevertheless, this offensive ability is a swift means of wiping out infantry and defeating light vehicles while other ground forces are actively engaged in other enemy units.
Heavy artillery[]
| M270 MLRS |
2S7 Pion |
LARS 110 SF 2 |
Heavy artillery in general is very ineffective at dealing damage to the enemy, though it can be situationally useful with its smoke screen ability. A very common mistake by beginner players is to call in one or more heavy artillery with some anti-air for protection, then hang back in the spawn area while shelling enemy units from afar. Though this may seem like a safe way to support one's team without committing to battle on the front lines, it is in fact highly detrimental to the team as the points spent on artillery means much fewer anti-air units for the team. Without enough anti-air protection, armor players cannot advance and control of the map is effectively ceded to the enemy team. Heavy artillery can be useful at times for deploying smoke screens, bombarding garrisoned infantry, or for occasionally harassing enemy anti-air parked behind buildings or trees, but remember that a Support player's main job is providing anti-air and repair vehicles; artillery is merely secondary in importance, and a team should almost never have more than one of these.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
The heavy artillery is a key unit on the battlefield. It allows the commander to supply his teammates with long range artillery support, defeating fortifications, garrisoned infantry, stationary tank formations and everything else foolish enough to linger in the same area for very long. Apart from the high cost, the only real downside to this unit is its vulnerability – once enemy units gets too close it is entirely defenseless. Also, support commanders relying on heavy artillery would do well to remember the "Shoot and Scoot" tactic – that is, changing location after firing a few rounds – or they will likely find themselves the target of anti-battery fire from the enemy. The smoke rounds ability shouldn't be underestimated, it cloaks a very large area, allowing a support commander to provide cover for allies that are in trouble, great for when there are heavy helicopters menacing tanks that have spent their smoke launchers.
It should be noted that there are noteworthy differences between the US, NATO and USSR variants, in terms of the nature of the warhead delivery. These aspects are the firing rate, and the damage produced with each projectile. The NATO heavy artillery piece unleashes a sustained and high-frequency barrage of munitions that individually deal little damage. When fully recharged, a single unit can deliver 36 missiles. The US heavy artillery delivers barrage of 12 missiles maximum, however the missiles are launched at a lower frequency and deal significantly more damage each. The USSR unit distinguishes itself from its two counterparts, in that it does not deliver barrages, but bombards the designated area indefinitely with high-explosive shells that deal tremendous damage to all ground units and buildings. Moreover, as these units progress through the ranks, recharge time will decrease with the firing frequency for the USSR variant being increased.
Medium artillery[]
| M125 MCV |
2S1 Gvozdika |
FV432 MC |
Medium artillery is primarily an anti-infantry weapon. When enemy infantry squads are spotted, order this unit to fire on them to quickly damage or destroy them. When used against vehicles, a lucky hit can sometimes deal considerable damage, however this seldom occurs. Using its special ability, the medium artillery can also destroy trees without the use of napalm strikes (which cost tactical aid points).
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
When mobility and rapid fire support is more important than long range and pure destructive power, or when the heavy artillery is simply not affordable, the medium artillery is a very valid choice. Its special ability increases its power against infantry squads, even when hidden in forests, and their low price allow a whole group of them to be deployed simultaneously. The downside is that their limited range often forces them to move closer to the front than their heavier cousins.
All US, NATO and USSR variants of the medium artillery deliver an indefinite bombardment of the targeted area. The units' offensive ability unleashes an incendiary shell which ignites upon impact, producing a cloud that inflicts minor damage to armored vehicles and decimation of infantry units.
Repair tank[]
| M88A1 MRV |
VT-55 |
Chieftain ARRV |
The 
repair tank can repair any friendly ground vehicles, helicopters or fortifications that are next to it. This makes it an invaluable unit to help keep your team's units as well as your own alive. Repairs also generate a good amount of TA points for the player. Not much to say here, other than that to have one or two repair tanks follow your team around.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
Though not the most common hardware on the modern battlefield, the repair tank is well-equipped to perform emergency repairs on all vehicles. Although it is completely unarmed, it has relatively strong armor and can repair itself when a safe spot can be found. Naturally, repair tanks are of limited use alone and are most commonly deployed to support allied armor commanders.
Demolition engineer[]
The 
demolition engineer is a lone soldier who carries a rifle and has the ability to plant demolition charges to blow up buildings and units as well. Demolition engineers are not for combat. However, they can be used to plant charges on command points, so that when the enemy comes to capture it, you can blow up all the units around it. They can also be used to destroy vital bridges, forcing the enemy to spend time and effort on finding a new route.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
The demolition engineer is equipped with powerful explosives that can be used to demolish structures and bridges as well as lay traps for unwary enemies. While almost helpless against enemy forces, careful usage of this unit can change the course of battle.
One notable instance in the campaign mode where this unit becomes strategic is during the mission Battle for Pine Valley. Through prior knowledge, the commander can transport the engineer to the particular grass spot behind the TV station, where the Forward Observer unit will spawn upon commencement of the "Secure the TV station" objective, and detonate the pre-placed explosives to allow the rest of the battalion to reach the TV station via the town center without the risk of decimation by artillery shells.
Troop transport[]
| M1025 HMMWV |
UAZ-469 |
D-90 |
The 
troop transports is a fast, but lightly armored infantry transport. It can repair other vehicles.
Abilities[]
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Overview[]
This lightly armored motor vehicle has several important uses on the battlefield. While mainly used to transport infantry to the front, it can also perform emergency repairs on any vehicle on the battlefield. Furthermore, its fast movement speed and long view range allows it to serve as a recon unit and perform quick raids on enemy positions. Its machine gun is mostly useful against infantry and light vehicles, and its armor isn’t strong enough to withstand more than a few hits.
Despite having a machine gun, the troop transport (or jeep) is all but worthless in combat due to its extreme fragility. Rather, the jeep's main purpose is usually to provide a repair station for friendly helicopters in a safe rear area (jeeps can repair any vehicle, but ground units aren't as mobile to be able to retreat to the rear). As "repair stations" it's best to keep your jeeps stationary or at least move them only over short distances so that air player teammates don't have to search for where you've parked them or chase you around for repairs (alternatively being stationary makes you vulnerable to being destroyed by cheap tactical aids like tank busters).
Ideally, an infantry player should probably use some of his reinforcement points on jeeps for repair stations, though this often doesn't happen. This means that an air player will either have to call in a jeep with his own reinforcement points (rather expensive at 800), or expend tactical aid for one or more airdropped jeeps. The advantage of spawning a jeep with reinforcement points is that the jeep is easily and painlessly replaceable should it be destroyed. Calling in a Jeep as an air player at the beginning of the match is also useful as it allows you to participate in capturing a few command points and earning some TA. The downside of course, is that you have fewer reinforcement points to spend on helicopters to actually fight the enemy. On the other hand, using an airdropped jeep frees up reinforcement points and allows you to build up to your full complement of choppers, but as the airdropped jeep costs TA you should keep it safe and hidden to avoid its destruction.
Of course, jeeps can also be used to transport infantry, but since the jeep is pretty useless in a fight and is about as durable as a cheaper transport truck, the latter sees more use instead.See also[]
| World in Conflict and World in Conflict: Soviet Assault | |
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