Classes: Soldier

Soldier

Unlike the other classes, the soldier is defined entirely by the weapon they choose to carry. No special abilities, no mission-specific goals, and little use for the power bar. So, this guide will be a discussion of the pros and cons of the various weapons available, and how best to use them.

Mortar: Not a terribly easy weapon to use. Carrying it drastically slows your speed, like all heavy weapons, and it's utterly useless in a firefight. However, it's the only weapon that allows you to attack the front lines not just from a distance, but from complete safety behind walls. The mortar must be deployed before it can be fired, and then the elevation (range) and azimuth (horizontal facing) are adjusted with the mouse. Hitting the primary fire key drops in a round, which is then lobbed through the air. Fortunately, the command map (G) can be used to display the target of shells that fall outside of your field of view. Any artillery strikes called by Field Ops will also appear on your map and in your sights, so you can sit back and let others pick your targets for you. Note that, assuming equal elevation and no intervening barriers, each 5 degrees of elevation below 90 will lob a mortar round almost exactly 1 square's distance on the command map. The mortar begins with 12 shots, and each drains 1/2 of a full power bar.

Panzerfaust: The "other" explosive weapon. You start with only 4 shots, and each consumes a full power bar. The Panzerfaust will slow your running to a brisk walk when the weapon is equipped, and it cannot be fired while prone. The best uses for it are clearing out bunkers and entrenched defenders from a distance, allowing your team to advance before reinforcements can arrive. At middle ranges it's actually fairly affective against lone soldiers, due to the sheer speed of the projectile. It's less suitable for short-range combat, due to the one-second charge time before firing and the huge blast radius, but it can be used as a last-ditch kamikaze attack. A rocket is a guaranteed kill if it hits within 10 feet, but the damage drops off sharply after that and at as little as 16 feet the damage is nonexistent.

Flamethrower: The flamethrower can be immensely powerful when used correctly. When used incorrectly, it's more of a menace to your own team than to your enemies. The most important thing to remember is that the flamethrower is a short-ranged weapon, suitable for ambushes because your victim will be blinded by the flames and generally unable to retaliate before they're dead. The flames burn for a few more moments after you hit someone, and do an additional 25 damage or thereabouts. The flamethrower is best used with short passages and blind corners where you can get the first shot on people while they run by; even a short burst can kill someone at full health. It can also be used well offensively, but there are a few things you can't forget. First, your speed is drastically lessened while firing. That means it's more difficult to set yourself on fire... but also means enemies will be able to retreat and take you out with grenades or by blindly firing through your impressive-looking but ineffective wall of flames. Second, never, never, NEVER take the second rank in a charge when you have a flamethrower. Firing into a melee is a good way to kill teammates and lose friends. Furthermore, even though tight quarters are your friend be careful about firing at walls. The flames will rebound, and you aren't immune to setting yourself on fire. Finally, forget about using the flamethrower on large outdoor maps - it just isn't up to par.

MG42: The only way to use the MG42 effectively outside of point-blank range is to lie prone and engage the tripod (alt-fire). This zooms in slightly but prevents you from moving the gun more than about 20 degrees in any direction. In other words, make sure you have someone to watch your back when you're using the MG42 because you're incredibly vulnerable from every direction but one. In many ways, the MG42 is the opposite of the flamethrower. It works best, unsurprisingly, facing into long corridors and choke points. It's also a long-range weapon, and depends on sheer rate of fire to make up for the inaccuracy. Finally, it's almost entirely a defensive weapon. Note that this doesn't mean it can't be used on the attack - in fact, one of the best ways to use it is to set up outside of a heavily trafficked area and "defend" it against the people that should be there keeping you out. A well-placed soldier using the MG42 can pin down a section of the map by themselves for some time, and with good support from field ops and medics there's little they can't survive.

Thompson/MP40: Honestly, there's not much to say about the sub-machinegun. There's little use for a soldier with one, because any class (other than Covert Ops) can carry one and perform other useful functions. If you want a Thompson and ammo, it's really best to pick Field Ops so you can contribute something else to your team.

Soldiers have semi-exclusive access to the Heavy Weapons skill, while other classes can gain experience by using the mounted MG42s found in the levels, but aren't likely to come by it as quickly or easily as a true soldier. So here's everything you need to know about the Heavy Weapons skill, taken from the manual. (if you want to read the entire thing, check the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory group in the start menu)

Heavy Weapons

This rewards players for kills with Heavy Weapons. Players of any class will earn 3XP for a kill using an Emplaced or Mounted MG. Soldiers earn 3XP for kills with the Mobile MG42, Panzerfaust, Flamethrower or Mortar. You earn 3XP whether the kill is due to explosive splash damage or a direct hit.

Heavy Weapons Level 1: Improved Projectile Resources
Your combat experience allows you to use your projectile weapons with greater ease. Firing a Panzerfaust or Mortar will now take 1/3rd less Power Bar than previously.

Heavy Weapons Level 2: Heavy Weapon Proficiency
Your technical know-how means that your overheating Emplaced or Mobile MG will cool at twice the normal rate.

Heavy Weapons Level 3: Improved Dexterity
You've been lugging heavy chunks of metal around the battlefield for so long, your speed penalty is now decreased.  You will still be slowed when firing the Flamethrower, but when carrying it or your other weapons - your speed is now faster.

Heavy Weapons Level 4: Improved Weapon Handling
Such is your skill at toting weaponry, you are now able to handle a Light Weapon in one handed slot, freeing up the two handed slot for an alternate Heavy Weapon. This means you can now carry an SMG and a Mortar, for instance.

Classes: Medic

Medic

Starting out, the medic is probably the least-flexible and least-equipped of all the classes in Enemy Territory. You start with a Thompson (MP40 if Axis) with a single clip of ammo, a grenade, 8 syringes, and the health pack. So it should be fairly obvious that at least initially, a medic is not a front-line fighter. Their primary strength lies with keeping the rest of their team combat-ready, and their syringes even allow them to revive the recently-killed on the field of battle.

The two unique abilities of the medic are the health pack and syringe. The health pack drops a kit which provides 20 points of health, and initially requires a quarter of the medic's power bar to use. When level 2 first aid is reached the health packs require only 15% of the power bar, allowing the medic to heal a much larger amount in the same amount of time.

The syringe, on the other hand, can actually be used to revive the dead. When a comrade is killed, a red icon will appear above their body. While the syringe icon is there, they can be revived by selecting the syringe, standing over the teammate, and pressing fire. Note that the icon will disappear if the player enters the respawn queue or takes too much damage, so get to them as quickly as you can. You can also see the syringe icon on the compass in the corner of the screen if you're close enough, so you can use it to locate fallen allies quickly.

A good medic will find themselves in the line of fire quite often, but they should never be the first line of an assault. Instead, it's better to hang back, wait for the first wave of soldiers to engage the enemy, and then run in with a needle to raise the fallen and health packs to revitalize the wounded. Charging into the middle of a firefight with nothing but a syringe in hand is risky, but can easily turn the tide of a close battle while earning valuable experience. Just remember that a medic is no good to their team dead, so don't hesitate to heal yourself when you need it.

A medic can expect to gain experience, and thus ranks, very quickly on the front lines of combat. First aid is probably the first improvement you'll see, and one of the most important. The benefits are another clip and grenade, decreased power cost for health packs, full revive for teammates, and finally the adrenaline syringe. These will greatly decrease your dependence on lieutenants, and allow you to heal your team much faster. The last bears special mention - it gives you 10 seconds of adrenaline, during which your stamina bar will not decrease and you take only half damage from all attacks. Obviously, being able to run into and out of heavily defended positions can be incredibly useful at the right times. Battle sense and light weapons are the other areas medics are likely to improve in, and all of the light weapon abilities are useful... especially the extra clip given at level 1. Battle sense gives great benefits at level 2 by recharging your stamina bar faster, and at level 3 by increasing your health by an additional 15.

Finally, remember that the power of a lone medic should not be overlooked. Their ability to heal themselves, when coupled with their innate regeneration, makes them excellent for defending a position by themselves when necessary. A medic behind the barrel of an MG42 can often hold off an entire team for some time by healing themselves when necessary.

So here's the lowdown on first aid, the medic's special ability. This is cropped from the manual - you can read the whole thing by checking in the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory program group.

First Aid

This is a Medic-specific skill that rewards players for reviving team-mates and healing them with Health Packs. Medics earn 1XP each time they heal someone with a Health Pack and 4XP every time they revive another player with their Syringe.

First Aid Level 1: Medic Ammo
Medics receive an extra ammunition clip and grenade with their basic weapon load-out.

First Aid Level 2: Improved Resources
2 syringes extra max ammo, 2 extra on spawn plus Medic pack only takes 15% Power Bar instead of 25%

First Aid Level 3: Full Revive
Syringes now return fallen team-mates to full health.

First Aid Level 4: Adrenalin Self
To equip the adrenalin shot press the Special Weapon 1 key (5 by default) twice and then press the primary fire key to inject the Adrenaline syringe. Doing so will impart a temporary bonus in Health and Stamina. For 10 seconds you will only suffer half damage from any attack and your Stamina Bar will not decrease at all, even if you are sprinting. This will give you the ability to rush into and out of strongly defended areas which may prove of critical tactical importance.

Classes: Field Ops

Field Ops Specific Tactics

That's right you're now the man! The only class that can not only call in air and artillery strikes with your trusty smoke canister and binoculars, but you're a walking ammo cache to boot! You'll be carrying a standard weapons loadout of a knife, a pistol (single handed weapon) and a sub machine gun (two handed weapon) into battle, but you're packing much more punch than that with your special abilities, so let's learn how to best use this power without blowing up our own troops.

Since the Field Ops class is a weapon based class, the best spot for a Field Ops under normal circumstances is with someone who is going to be doing little else than trying to decimate as much of the enemy forces as possible, the Soldier Class. The Soldier is the heavy weapons expert and packs the biggest punch, so naturally he'll be chewing up ammo faster than any other class. Either in a support postion of defense or helping pave the way on the attack, a Field Ops is a vital part of keeping the big guns booming with ammo packs-o-plenty.

Now let's talk a bit about the pros and cons of calling in strikes. Since the Artillery Strike is ordered with the binoculars as opposed to the Air Strike, which requires the throwing of a smoke canister to mark the strike location, the Artillery Strike is much more of a long distance weapon. Both strikes must be used outdoors only as a plane or long distance gun battery could not possibly get their shots indoors, and buildings in Enemy Territory are indestructable. Having to take the fight indoors basically cuts the Field Ops options in half, leaving him a lightly armed ammo supply. This class should still be teamed up with a Soldier to keep them happily mowing down enemies both indoors and out.

In general, with the ability to call in major, damaging strikes that can destroy vehicles or groups of enemies, the Field Ops is best used outdoors. Both Air and Artillery strikes require a full power bar to be executed, so you must make your shots count. As you progress in rank, the Field Ops specific skill, "Signals", will allow you to progressivly give more ammo per pack, double the intesity of Strikes and even take less power per strike as well as adding the ability to spot disguised foes. This all stacks up to one class that is best used on the larger areas and possible bottle necks where the enemy must travel in groups.

All of these improvements are used since with great power, the Field Ops also becomes a popular target for Snipers and Covert Ops looking to remove an enemy that can cause such open devastation. Bear this in mind when surveying the area with the limited view area of the binoculars. More than one Artillery Strike has been denied via the sniper's bullet, and this is where his partner the Soldier comes in. When finding positions to cover and hold, the Soldier should be providing support while a strike marker or call is being made. Nobody on the other team is going to want a strike called in, trust me. Pick a safe spot to work your magic from if at all possible.

A big area of interest with a few goals to accomplish will be to cover and support, or cover and destroy an engineer that has something to construct for your team to progress. Using the bridge in the Fuel Dump level as an example, an Allied Field Ops and Soldier combo can provide vital cover to an exposed Engineer who's constructing the bridge, while an Axis Field Ops and Soldier team would be trying to keep the build site under constant fire. A heavy barrage of Artillery fire will pretty much take care of anything in the Wolfenstein world, and I just love simple solutions to life's little problems.

Now go forth and cause mass destruction. Wipe out a machine gun nest with a glance. Detroy thundering tanks with a puff of smoke, but don't forget to keep your buddies stocked with ammo. A bang is better than a click anyday of the week.

Here's how the Field Ops progresses with the class specific "Signals" reward system. This is straight from the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory manual, and we all read that right?

(Find the game manual in the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory program group, installed with the game)

Signals

This is a Field Ops-specific skill that rewards players for killing enemy players or destroying objectives with Artillery or Air Strikes, and supplying team-mates with ammo packs. Field Ops earn 1XP for giving one of your team's players an Ammo Pack. You'll earn 3XP for every enemy player you kill with an Air Strike, 4XP for killing them with an Artillery Strike and 5XP for destroying an Objective with either.

Signals Level 1: Improved Resources Your proven logistical efficiency is rewarded by access to Improved Resources. Every Ammo Pack you distribute will contain an extra magazine clip and issuing the Ammo Pack will only deplete your Power Bar by 15% instead of 25%.

Signals Level 2: Improved Signals Your experience as a fire support observer gains you improved efficiency. Calling in an Artillery or Air Strike uses up only 2/3 of your Power Bar, allowing you to call in fire support more frequently than before.

Signals Level 3: Improved Air and Ground Support Your expertise in identifying key enemy targets is rewarded by diverting more fire support resources to your designated targets. Each Air Strike now has two aircraft incoming and each Artillery Strike lasts twice as long.

Signals Level 4: Enemy Recognition Your observational skill and battlefield experience now means that you can identify disguised enemy Covert Ops. Placing your cross-hairs over an Enemy infiltrator will result in a Disguised Enemy prompt and their location will be highlighted on your team's Command Map.

Classes: Engineer

Engineer

In many ways, the engineer is the most important class in Enemy Territory. They are, of course, the only class that can build structures, repair vehicles, and dynamite objectives. In fact, Rail Gun is the only map that can be won without the aid of an engineer - on every other map, each team needs at least one to achieve victory.

The first decision to be made as an engineer is which weapon to choose. The Thompson/MP40 is a good all-around choice, with a good balance between accuracy, power, and firing rate. You really can't go wrong with a good submachinegun, after all. The rifle is the only other choice for an engineer - K43 for the Axis, and the M1 Garand for the Allies. Each shot packs more than double the punch of the SMGs, but the clip is limited and you're stuck with semi-automatic fire. The rifle is also extremely inaccurate when you're running around and jumping, making it a close-range weapon unless you have time to crouch or (ideally) go prone. For the middle ranges, the pistol is probably a better choice.

However, if you want access to the rifle grenades you will, of course, need to choose a rifle. The rifle grenades are nearly equal to the Panzerfaust in destructive capability in the hands of a practiced user, and the ability to lob grenades over 100 yards with pinpoint accuracy can consistantly result in one-hit kills. Level 1 engineering gives access to 8 of them, which should keep you in explosives for a long time. Just remember that the grenades are fast, but not jet-propelled; they will drop due to gravity, so aim 5 to 20 degrees above your target as well as leading them. Each grenade also drains half of your power bar, so keep a close eye on it when charging a demolition point. Not only is it possible to drain all of your power and be forced to rely on the rifle itself, but that's the same power bar you use to plant dynamite or lay land mines. Wouldn't want to have to camp a heavily-guarded objective by yourself for 20 seconds with a pistol before you can even stick a bundle of explosive love on it, would you?

So rifle vs SMG, which is better? For the Axis it's a pretty clear-cut decision - the K43 has a 10-shot clip, the rifle grenades are too good to pass up, you're not going to be planting dynamite very often, and the ten bullets you get is enough to take out any attacker at close range. For the Allies it's a harder question. The rifle grenades ARE excellent for clearing out clusters of Axis defenders, but the rifle itself is decidedly subpar. You get the same poor accuracy as the K43, but each clip has only 8 bullets and must be completely emptied before you can reload. That means most battles will drain a full clip, because you can't afford to start a battle with just two bullets in the gun. If you expect to engage mostly in long-range combat go for the rifle, otherwise you might be better off with the Thompson.

All weapons aside, how the engineer should be played primarily depends on which side of the assault they're on. The Axis find themselves defending on most maps - when there are objectives for the Allies to demolish, it's vital that at least one engineer remains within at most a 15 second run of the objective. Nothing will annoy the Allies more than the sound of "dynamite defused," and nothing will annoy your team more than losing a match within the first 10 minutes. In the early moments of the map you're free to roam and build stationary fortifications, so take advantage of it. Not only will you gain quite a bit of experience, but you'll have them standing before they're needed rather than trying to build a barrier (for instance) while under fire from tanks and airstrikes.

In "multi-goal" maps such as Würtzburg Radar that require either building or demolitions before the Allies can achieve their primary objective, however, a quick engineer can usually slip in to defuse dynamite, destroy a bridge with a quick plant, and so forth. The longer you can delay the Allies from getting to their real goal, the less time you'll need to defend it. So on maps like Siwa Oasis and Radar, for instance, guarding the destroyable walls can buy your team at least a minute per unsuccessful attempt. If you can keep a secondary entrance closed, you'll also make it that much harder to get past your team's defenses. Remember, an engineer taking time to plant is a nice, juicy target.

And finally, use the land mines! The engineer's other specialty, each team can have up to 10 land mines placed at any time. Each depletes half of your power bar to drop, and they must then be manually armed with the pliers like dynamite - in other words, setting up a comprehensive landmine defense takes some time. They're best placed at the choke points or near goals as a last-ditch tactic against opponents who have gunned down (or bypassed) all of your defenders. Keep a careful eye on the death messages if you do this, and run back to check and re-plant mines. Don't use the exact same places, though... shuffle them around a few feet each time to keep defenders guessing.

On the Allied side, you're more than likely going to find yourself on the attack the majority of the time. When you can, stick with your team and try to invade en masse. With a good medic at your side you're far more likely to survive and accomplish your goals, and that's what the game is all about. Stay out of the first wave, shooting rifle grenades past your teammates to hit likely ambush points and camping spots. When the coast is clear, make a run for the objective and do the deed!

Another viable tactic is the "commando run." Head for the back entrance (most maps have one) while your team distracts the enemy. Avoid conflict and head to the goal by the safest route possible. With a little luck the defenders will all be on the front lines, and by approaching from an unusual entrance you may be able to get the drop on any stragglers. Avoid using your power bar on the approach if possible; your first plant should draw the attention of the entire Axis team if they're paying attention, but you should have time to place a second stick before the defenders arrive. If you can buy even a few more seconds defending the goal, a single engineer should run out of time trying to defuse a pair of dynamites. I've seen this done successfully once with a pair of engineers.... the sight of a lone Axis engineer trying to defuse 5 bundles of explosives made me laugh until my sides hurt.

One of the biggest problems with the lone engineer is landmines; if you're significantly ahead of your allies, odds are no Covert Ops will have scouted the area. On the other hand, engineers have the least to fear from landmines as long as you remember a few simple tips. First, the mines are triggered when stepped on, but only explode when you step off of them. If you aren't actively engaged in a firefight, stop as soon as you hear the distinctive "click - hiss..." Pull out your pliers and get to work. You'll defuse the landmine, gain some XP, and be on your way. If you can achieve rank 4 engineering you'll have even less to fear, because you'll be issued a flak jacket that protects against half the damage from all explosions.

Here's the lowdown on the Engineering skill, taken right out of the manual. The manual was installed with the game, so check the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory group in the start menu to read the whole thing.

Engineering

This is an Engineer-specific skill that rewards players for constructing/demolishing objectives and the use of explosives. Engineers earn 3 XP for repairing a vehicle or MG. They also earn XP for constructing or destroying constructible objectives: 5XP for a 50% of Power Bar objective such as repairing an MG nest, 7.5 for a 100% Power Bar objective like repairing a tank and up to 10XP for destroying an Objective. Engineers also earn 3XP for a Rifle Grenade kill, 4XP for a Land Mine or Dynamite kill, 4XP for defusing an enemy Land Mine and 6 points for defusing enemy Dynamite.

Engineering Level 1: Improved use of Explosive Ammunition
Inventory includes four extra Rifle Grenade rounds and four extra Hand Grenades.

Engineering Level 2: Improved Dexterity
The experience of handling explosives in combat allows Engineers to arm and defuse Land Mines and Dynamite in half the time.

Engineering Level 3: Improved Construction and Destruction
The expertise of the veteran Engineer means that constructing and repairing objects and setting Dynamite or Land Mines uses 1/3rd less Power Bar charge than normal.

Engineering Level 4: Issued Flak Jacket
Only the most expert Engineers who have proven their ability to survive on the battlefield are issued with these expensive Flak Jackets which provides the player with 50% damage deflection from explosive weapons.