Hell Let Loose: Tips for Beginners

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Hell Let Loose is a 50vs.50 military simulation game set in World War II and it is not welcoming when you start as a measly recruit. With a new update accompanying the game as it leaves early access, you might find yourself jumping into the atmospheric and bloody battlefields. So to make sure you don’t get turned into mincemeat, allow me to give you some beginner tips on how to survive and possibly thrive in Hell Let Loose.

Hell Let Loose: The Basics

The first tip comes before even starting a match. On the main menu, you will be greeted by several tabs. The important one for recruits is the “Field Manual,” an extensive in-game reference. It will tell you the basics like how to pull up the map, how to drive vehicles, and how certain equipment works. For this guide, I will be pulling out a few of the most important things that the Manual tells you and making clear and concise here. If you ever need help understanding something in the game, make sure to reference this manual.

Here are some basic controls and systems.

Press M to pull up your map.
Press T to pull up your HUD. This will allow you to see Pings from your Squad Leader and the Commander.
Press the middle mouse to ping. If playing the Officer class, hold the middle mouse to pull up the Officer Tab. This allows you to place specific pings like tanks and bombing requests.
There are three types of classes. Infantry is the boots on the ground soldiers that consist of squads of six. Armor divisions are three-man squads that focus on using tanks. Recon are pairs of spotters and snipers that attack from range.
Like the classes, there are also three types if communication. Press V for proximity chat, C for squad chat, and X for Officer chat. this last one is exclusive to Squad Leaders and the Commander.
There are multiple types of spawn points called Outposts (OP) and Garrisons. An Outpost is a spawn point for your squad and can be built for free. Garrisons are team spawn points that require supplies to be built.

The Game Modes on Offer in Hell Let Loose

There are two game modes currently in the game: Offensive and Warfare. Similar to Battlefield 1‘s Operations, Offensive tasked one team with defending a point from an attacking force. If the attackers take the point, the defenders must fall back to the next point. This continues until time expires or the offensive takes the entire map. Warfare is similar to Call of Duty World at War‘s game mode War. Both teams start with two points and a center-neutral point. The goal is to take all points on the map, so teams are tasked with both attacking the enemy-held points while defending their own.

Once in the game, it’s time to start using the tips provided. Know that as a beginner, it might be difficult. So, before jumping straight into a game, let’s have a look at a few beginner tips for the classes of Hell Let Loose.

The Classes of Hell Let Loose

With the basics covered, it’s time to move over to the “Barracks.” This is is where you will not only be able to customize your soldier’s look, but also get an understanding of the classes of the game. There are a total of 14 classes across three categories with the three current factions all having unique weaponry. It is a lot to take in, so allow me to give a quick breakdown of each of the classes Hell Let Loose has on offer and provide some beginner tips for how to play them effectively. The “Field Manual” can also aid in learning about these classes:

Commander

The voice of God and leader of the entire team, the Commander is in direct communication with all Squad Leaders. This class focuses on the Real-Time Strategy-inspired metagame as they have to use resources. These resources are Manpower, Munitions, and Supplies to call in bombing runs, spawn tanks and vehicles, and reinforce capture points. A good Commander can make the difference between a win and a loss, so this class should probably be avoided until you have a better grasp on the game as a whole. If you do take this role, don’t feel the need to run headfirst into combat. Your task is ensuring the team is supported, not to pad your K/D.

Infantry

Officer (aka Squad Leader)

The Lead of Infantry Squads. It has a watch that gives you the ability to build Outposts and Garrisons. Like Commanders, officers are leading the charge and should be someone that has an understanding of the game. While Command leads the team, you lead your squad.

Rifleman

Equipped with a rifle, grenades, ammo box, and bandages. The standard soldier that doesn’t fill a specific role. Good starting class to get the hang of shooting and moving without the worry of fulfilling class-specific tasks.

Assault

With an automatic rifle or SMG, both explosive and smoke grenades, and bandages, Assault is for pushing the offensive. Put down smoke to cover your team’s advance.

Automatic Rifleman

With an automatic rifle, grenades, and bandages, you are a sucker punch in pushing or holding an objective. Work with Assault to push a point or aid Machine Gunners when defending.

Medic

With a large number of bandages and morphine syrettes, your task is to keep wounded players alive and to revive downed teammates. Use your smoke grenades to cover downed teammates. With only a rifle or a pistol (yeah, you read that right: or), your best course of action is to stay behind your team and pick them up when needed. Keep yourself alive to keep the team alive.

Support

Your main goal as support is to provide supplies to your team, specifically to Engineers and Officers. The Engineers need to build Resource Nodes and defensives while Officers need the supplies to build Garrisons. Support also comes with a hammer to help speed up the building process for defenses.

Machine Gunner

King of Suppression. With a heavy machine gun and a deployable bipod, you will want to set up on a wall, in a window, or just prone on the ground. Once you’ve done that, start spraying bullets. This works to both suppress attacking forces and to cover a friendly team’s advance.

Anti-Tank

The rifle, wrench, and grenades are nice, but we are here for the bazooka. Get behind enemy tanks and hit them in the back to send them sky-high. As a bonus, the wrench allows you to build an anti-tank cannon. Ask Support for some supplies and set those up to deal with hulking tanks of destruction.

Engineer

Includes a rifle or SMG, a hammer, wrench, anti-personal and anti-tank mines, and a blowtorch. Engineers usually stay away from the front line and set up defensive structures and Resource Nodes. The wrench allows you to place the outline of a structure while the hammer allows you to use supplies to build. Anyone with a hammer can help build to speed up the process.

Armored

Tank Commander

1/3 of an armor squad trio and the one in Communication with the other Squad Leaders and Commander. Has an SMG, a pistol, bandages, and binoculars.

Crewman

The rest of the armor squad. Equipped with a pistol and bandages, the crew will take up the positions of the tank at the behest of the Tank Commander.

Recon

Spotter

Half of a Recon Squad, a spotter uses their SMG and grenades to support their sniper from enemies that get too close. Use your binoculars and ping enemies for your Sniper so they can pick them off. The Spotter has the watch to put down Garrisons and Outposts and is also in Communication with the Squad Leaders and Commander. Get behind enemy lines to take out Nodes, slow down enemy reinforcements, and even build a Garrison for a new point of attack for your team.

Sniper

Deadly at long range, the sniper has a pistol, grenades, and bandages and the sniper rifle the class is named after. Support your team by picking off enemies from afar and help your Spotter take care of Nodes in the enemy sectors.

As you play a class, you will gain XP in that class which will unlock you more cosmetics as well as new loadouts.

Hell Let Loose General Beginner Tips

With classes and modes covered, I will wrap up here by giving you a few universal tips that will help ease you into Hell Let Loose.

Be communicative. Without a mic, you will have a hard time organizing with the rest of your squad and team. This will spell disaster for the game and will lead to quick and decisive losses.
Listen to the Commander and your Squad Leaders. While it is fine to offer suggestions and possible strategies, not following orders can mess up an entire plan and start to snowball into a series of defeats.
Don’t be scared to ask for help. The players are generally welcoming and understanding towards new players as long as you make it clear you are new. They will help you get a hang of things in ways that only experience can. Make sure to also be willing to help other new players when you start to get better at the game. Remember, everyone was playing the game for the first time at some point.
Be adaptable. When a plan starts to fall apart, don’t get discouraged or upset. Rebound and be ready to try something new. Getting upset will simply make things get worse, so keep a cool head.
Make sure you are paying attention to your Commander’s Resources and the number of Nodes that are one the field. If you are low on both of these things, be willing to change to an Engineer and start building. Without resources, there is no support from Command. Without that, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Keep your head down! Running into open fields without the very least a smoke covering your advance is a quick way to find yourself back at the respawn screen.