Relic's Eastern Front sequel launched on 25 June 2013 with two armies and grew to five through standalone expansions. The base game ships the Soviet Red Army and the Wehrmacht Ostheer, The Western Front Armies adds US Forces and Oberkommando West, and The British Forces adds UKF. TrueSight line of sight, a three tier cover system and strict hard counters make it a slower, more deliberate real time strategy game than its unit counts suggest.
Starting Company of Heroes 2 can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Company of Heroes 2 is a strategy game built around TrueSight line of sight and Three tier cover system. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Soviet Red Army | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Wehrmacht Ostheer | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| US Forces | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Oberkommando West | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| British Forces | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Wehrmacht Ostheer. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid British Forces as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn TrueSight line of sight
Units only see what they could physically see, so hedgerows, buildings and smoke genuinely hide an ambush rather than applying a vision circle. A Pak 40 in a treeline stays invisible until it fires, which is why pushing a road blind loses tanks.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how TrueSight line of sight works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Langreskaya
A classic 1v1 map split by a river, with fuel points out on the flanks. Contesting the central crossing early is usually a trap because both sides can cover it cheaply.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for MG42 heavy machine gun team: it's the most accessible early upgrade. The Wehrmacht heavy machine gun, with a wide arc, long suppression range and a slow setup time. It shuts down a frontal infantry push and folds instantly to a flank.
Step 4: Understand Three tier cover system
Yellow cover cuts incoming small arms damage, green cover cuts more, and open ground or roads count as negative cover that makes squads easier to kill. Moving between cover instead of straight across a field is most of the skill floor.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Semoisky
A compact 1v1 map with tight lanes and heavy building cover. Machine guns and mortars dominate here more than on any other map in the classic pool.
Essential Mechanics Explained
TrueSight line of sight
Units only see what they could physically see, so hedgerows, buildings and smoke genuinely hide an ambush rather than applying a vision circle. A Pak 40 in a treeline stays invisible until it fires, which is why pushing a road blind loses tanks.
Three tier cover system
Yellow cover cuts incoming small arms damage, green cover cuts more, and open ground or roads count as negative cover that makes squads easier to kill. Moving between cover instead of straight across a field is most of the skill floor.
Commander loadout of three doctrines
Before a match you slot three Commanders per faction, and during the match you commit to exactly one. That choice unlocks call-in units and abilities such as Soviet Shock Troops, the Wehrmacht Tiger Ace or British Commandos, and it cannot be changed once locked.
Squad retreat, reinforcement and veterancy
Any squad can retreat to base at speed with reduced incoming accuracy, then reinforce for manpower. Veterancy is permanent per squad, and most factions cap at 3 while Oberkommando West units go to 5, so preserving a veteran squad is worth more than the manpower saved.
ColdTech weather on winter maps
Winter maps use ColdTech, where deep snow slows infantry and blizzards freeze squads that are not near a fire, a building or a halftrack. Vehicles crush paths through the snow that your infantry can then follow.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Charging a set up machine gun from the front
Suppression pins the squad in the open and the follow up mortar round finishes the job.
2. Letting squads walk along roads and across fields
Open ground counts as negative cover, and squads evaporate under sustained fire there.
3. Massing a single unit type
Counters are strict, and ten Riflemen with no anti-tank gun lose to one Panzer IV.
4. Forgetting to reinforce after a fight
A four man Grenadier squad costs most of the upkeep of a full one and delivers half the firepower.
5. Buying the base game and expecting all five armies
US Forces, Oberkommando West and British Forces all come from separate standalone expansions.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand TrueSight line of sight and Three tier cover system
- Choose Wehrmacht Ostheer as starting build
- Clear Langreskaya main content
- Acquire MG42 heavy machine gun team or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Semoisky
- Retreat squads at three surviving models, not one. Reinforcing a damaged veterancy 2 squad costs a fraction of rebuilding it, and veterancy never comes back once the squad wipes.
- Cut off territory instead of chasing capture points. A sector disconnected from your opponent's base stops paying them income even while they still stand on it.
Tips for New Players
- Retreat squads at three surviving models, not one. Reinforcing a damaged veterancy 2 squad costs a fraction of rebuilding it, and veterancy never comes back once the squad wipes.
- Cut off territory instead of chasing capture points. A sector disconnected from your opponent's base stops paying them income even while they still stand on it.
- Anti-tank guns are ambush weapons under TrueSight. Set them behind a hedge or a building corner so the first shot lands before the tank knows where it came from.
- Every tank has weaker rear armor. Circling a heavy with a medium is a real tactic, and a Jackson or an SU-85 sitting behind a Tiger beats it outright.
- Machine guns lose to flanks and grenades, never to a frontal charge. Send one squad wide while a second pins the gun from cover.
- On winter maps keep a halftrack or a garrisoned building near your front squads. Frozen infantry take damage and move at a crawl, and a blizzard will quietly kill a squad you forgot about.
- Pick your three Commanders before you queue rather than during the loading screen. Committing to one mid-match locks out the other two for the rest of that game.
- Smoke is the cheapest counter available. One mortar smoke round blinds a machine gun position long enough to walk a squad into grenade range.
- You do not need every tech building. US Forces can skip either the Lieutenant or the Captain and rush the Major, and OKW should place trucks for map presence instead of lining them up at base.
- Watch munitions as closely as fuel. BAR and LMG upgrades, mines and grenades decide more early fights than a tank arriving two minutes sooner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which armies come with the base game?
Only the Soviet Red Army and the Wehrmacht Ostheer, along with the Soviet single player campaign. US Forces and Oberkommando West come from The Western Front Armies, and UKF comes from The British Forces.
Is Company of Heroes 2 still worth playing?
Yes. It launched on 25 June 2013, still has an active automatch population, a large map pool and roughly a decade of balance work behind it. It also runs on far weaker hardware than the newer entry.
What is TrueSight?
The line of sight system that only shows what a unit could realistically see. Hedgerows, buildings and smoke hide units properly rather than just applying fog of war, which is why ambushes with anti-tank guns and machine guns work so well.
Which faction is easiest to learn?
Wehrmacht Ostheer. Grenadiers, an MG42 and a Pak 40 form a defensive line that punishes your opponent's mistakes for you, and the tech tree is the most straightforward of the five.
Do I need the paid Commanders to compete?
No. Every faction has free Commanders covering the standard strategies, and most of the strongest builds are non doctrinal anyway. Paid Commanders add variety rather than raw power.
More Company of Heroes 2 Guides
- Company of Heroes 2 Company of Heroes 2 Overview
- Company of Heroes 2 Best Builds
- Company of Heroes 2 Tier List
- Company of Heroes 2 Walkthrough
- Company of Heroes 2 Tips & Tricks
- Company of Heroes 2 Weapons Guide
- Company of Heroes 2 Combat Guide
- Company of Heroes 2 Boss Guide
- Company of Heroes 2 Maps & Locations
- Company of Heroes 2 Crafting Guide
- Company of Heroes 2 Classes & Characters
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