Hell Let Loose: Complete Guide

Everything a new or returning player needs for Hell Let Loose's 50v50 WWII battles: roles, the supply and garrison system, game modes including the new Conquest mode, armor, and what Update 21 changed.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 21 (released September 22–23, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Join a squad and use the mic. Hell Let Loose is built around squad and command voice chat. Solo lone-wolfing rarely wins games.
2. Spawn points win matches. Garrisons (built by Squad Leaders/Officers) and outposts are what keep your team in the fight. Protect them and report enemy ones.
3. The map is your best friend. Open it constantly. Strongpoints, garrisons, marked enemies, and the frontline are all there.
4. Time-to-kill is fast. One or two rifle hits usually drop you. Move between cover, don't stand on ridgelines, and don't sprint across open fields.
5. Support players: stick to your Officer. Supports carry the supplies Officers need to build garrisons. If you're Support, drop supplies near your Officer.
6. Revive or don't give up too fast. A Medic can revive you while you're downed. Wait a few seconds before redeploying if a Medic is near.
7. Learn the fire selector. Update 21 added selectable fire modes on 11 automatic weapons; toggle with Caps Lock on keyboard (right d-pad on controller).
8. Unlock loadouts by leveling roles. Each role levels separately; higher levels unlock alternate loadouts like the new rifle-grenade kits.
9. Don't waste vehicles. Vehicles cost your Commander fuel and cause heavy morale loss in Conquest if destroyed.

Factions and Fronts

As of Update 21 the playable factions are the United States, Germany, Soviet Union, Great Britain, and Canada. Maps cover the Western Front (Normandy through the Rhineland, including Carentan, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-Église, Purple Heart Lane, Foy, Hill 400, Hürtgen Forest, Remagen, Driel, and Juno Beach), the Eastern Front (including Stalingrad, Kursk, Kharkov, Smolensk), and North Africa (including El Alamein). The map pool grows most updates, so check the in-game map list.

A separate game, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, launched on August 13, 2026. It's not a mode inside the WWII game, so this guide doesn't cover it.

Roles (14 total)

Role tips

• Officer: Your one job is spawns. Get a garrison built near (but not on) the contested point, and put an outpost down wherever your squad is fighting.
• Support: Stay with your Officer. Drop supplies as soon as they ask, and help build garrisons.
• Engineer: Build resource nodes early (manpower, munitions, fuel) at the start of every match. They directly fund the Commander's abilities and vehicles.
• Medic: Revive only when safe; a downed teammate inside a crossfire will usually go down again.
• Anti-Tank: Hit tanks in the side or rear, not the front. Engines, tracks, and weak points matter.
• Recon: Hunting enemy garrisons and outposts is often more impactful than sniping.

Spawns, Supplies, and the Meta Game

• Garrisons are team-wide spawns built by Officers using supplies (dropped by Supports or Commander supply drops). They can't be used when enemies are close.
• Outposts are squad-only spawns. Placing them costs nothing and they're easy to hide.
• Airhead is a Commander-placed spawn.
• Nodes: Engineers build them; they generate Manpower, Munitions, and Fuel for the Commander. Nodes are built in your territory; each Engineer can build a limited set.
• Commander abilities include supply drops, reinforcing a point, recon planes, bombing runs, strafing runs, and precision strikes, all on cooldowns and resource costs.

Game Modes

Conquest explained (Update 21)

Conquest officially joined Hell Let Loose in Update 21 (it's also one of the modes in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam). The Experimental Branch tests ran it on Juno Beach and Carentan; check the server browser for which maps rotate Conquest on live servers.

Morale drains from:

• Respawns — 1 point per player respawn.
• Vehicle losses — between 2 and 17 points depending on vehicle type.
• Objective control — the team controlling fewer objectives bleeds 2 to 6 points every 10 seconds.

Practical takeaways: stay alive, don't throw away tanks, and hold more objectives than the enemy. Suicide-rushing a point is actively harmful in this mode.

Update 21 Weapons and Loadouts

Rifle grenades

Rifle-grenade weapons work as normal rifles and can also launch grenades. Ammo types:

• HE: same explosion radius as a regular frag grenade.
• Smoke: screens for pushes and revives.
• AT: similar to the British No.82 grenade; light armor penetration, and can damage Tier 1 player-built structures (but not Garrisons).

New rifle-grenade loadouts: Level 8 Rifleman (3 HE, 1 smoke), Level 6 Medic (5 smoke), and Level 8 Engineer (2 AT, 2 HE, 1 smoke).

Fire selector

Eleven weapons can now switch fire modes, including the MG34, FG42, StG 44, BAR, Thompsons, Bren, Sten variants, and PPSh-41. Press Caps Lock to toggle. Semi-auto on an SMG or automatic rifle is much more accurate at range.

Armor and Anti-Tank (U21 changes)

• Tank roles are clearer: heavy tanks get more AP ammunition for fighting armor; medium tanks lean anti-infantry.
• HE splash radius now scales by class: Light 13 m, Medium 16 m, Heavy 18 m, IS-1 and Tiger 19 m, Sherman Jumbo 75 mm 24 m.
• Smoke launchers produce much larger and longer-lasting screens.
• AT guns turn faster (barrel rotation 1 to 3 degrees per second) and elevate faster (1 to 2 degrees per second).
• Fuel costs changed, e.g. IS-1 580 (down from 620), T-34 210 (up from 190), Panzer IV 190 (down from 200), Sherman M4A3 200 (up from 190), Churchill Mk.III 610 (up from 600).
• Vehicle spawn limit increased from 5 to 8.

From Update 20 Hotfix 2 (June 2026): medium tank engines gained 100 health and heavy tank engines 50, making engine one-shots from AT launchers less common.

Tank crew basics

• A tank needs at least a driver and gunner to be effective; the commander spots and uses binoculars.
• Stop to shoot. Moving shots are far less accurate.
• Keep infantry nearby. Tanks without infantry support die to AT teams hiding in buildings.

Movement, Shooting, and Survival

• Crouch or go prone when stopped. Standing still upright is the most common cause of death.
• Suppression blurs vision. Machine gunners and automatic riflemen win fights by pinning, not killing.
• Bolt-action rifles usually kill in one torso hit at typical ranges; semi-autos often need two.
• Mark enemies so your Officer and Commander can see them on the map.
• Night and weather variants exist on many maps. Use flares and muzzle flashes to spot.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not joining a squad. You lose outpost spawns and communication.
• Officers never building garrisons. A team with no forward spawns can't hold anything.
• Running across open ground. Use hedgerows, ditches, and smoke.
• Wasting tanks. Charging a tank into town without infantry in Conquest drains morale fast.
• Spawning on a garrison that's under attack. Check the map before redeploying.
• Ignoring nodes. Without Engineers building nodes, your Commander can't field vehicles or abilities.
• Leaving the fire selector on auto. Full-auto at range wastes ammo; toggle to semi when it matters.

Advanced Tips

• Double-garrison defense: keep one garrison near the point and one further back, so a flank doesn't wipe your spawns.
• Recon squads should hunt garrisons. Destroying enemy spawns behind lines wins Warfare matches.
• Commander timing: save bombing runs for when you see enemies stacking on a point; use supply drops to help Officers build forward.
• AT-grenade kits from U21 can help clear Tier 1 player-built structures.
• Smoke first, then push. The Level 6 Medic rifle-grenade kit is excellent for this.
• Learn tank weak points by class: side and rear armor, turret ring, and engine deck.

FAQ

What's new in Update 21? Rifle grenades, the M1903A3 Springfield, the Soviet ROKS-2 flamethrower, fire selectors, new loadouts, the Conquest mode, and an armor/AT balance pass.

How do I switch fire modes? Press Caps Lock on keyboard (right d-pad on controller) with a supported weapon.

What's coming next? Per the September 2026 roadmap update, the winter update (Update 22) brings Lake Balaton (Hungary, final months of the war) plus a new vehicle class, and Seelow Heights has moved to 2027.

Is Hell Let Loose: Vietnam part of this game? No. It's a separate game released August 13, 2026.

Can I test updates early? Yes. On Steam, go to Hell Let Loose > Properties > Betas and select the experimental branch when a test is announced.

Why can't I spawn on our garrison? Garrisons are blocked while enemies are nearby. Check the map for a red/blocked garrison icon and pick another spawn, or have your Officer build a new one further back.

Sources

• Hell Let Loose on Steam
• Steam news feed: Update 21 Full Changelog, Dev Briefs #219 and #220, Update 20 hotfixes
• Hell Let Loose official blog
• Update 21 Full Changelog — hellletloose.com