RO2 Gameplay Mechanics and Features
Gameplay Mechanics
Squads
The team for each side (i.e. Axis or Allies) is divided up along the lines of a real-life platoon of the period. This means there will be an overall Platoon Commander, plus a number of Squads and, sometimes, a small sniper team as well. Each squad consists of about 10 men - the Squad Leader, plus 2 or 3 fireteams. Depending on the nature of the unit and/or the mission, the fireteams are likely to be a rifle team, an assault team (equipped with SMGs) or an MG team (Light MG plus a couple of back-up soldiers).
In the Single Player game, you will start as a (lowly) member of a rifle squad and progress through to become the Commander, with the ability to command and direct squads and call in artillery. As a Squad Leader, you can independently direct the fireteams of your Squad.
In Multiplayer, you can choose the role you take (unless someone else has already taken the role you want to play) - as well as which Squad you join. This means that, if you are playing with friends, you can band together to form your own Squad. In MP play, there are additional benefits to the Commander and Squad Leader roles. The Squad Leader can set an artillery target and request the Commander for artillery. The Commander has very limited artillery assets, though, so he will have to decide where it is most needed. So long as the Squad Leader is alive and in a "safe" location, other players from his squad can choose to spawn on the Squad Leader, potentially getting them back into the fight quicker. The Commander can also "Force Respawn". This allows the Commander to respawn all the players on his team currently "dead" immediately, instead of waiting - delivering instant reinforcements. The catch is that this cannot be used very often, so the moment needs to be carefully chosen to have the most impact. This same "Force Respawn" is used in the Countdown game mode - even more tactically important!
Roles
In addition to the Commander and Squad Leader mentioned above, the infantry are divided up by roles. These relate both to the initial equipment load-out each soldier carries, as well as to your Profile Stats, as you can rank up in each role. These roles are:
- Rifleman - the core of the squad, equipped with bolt or semi-automatic rifle
- Assault - soldiers equipped with SMGs for close-assault tasks
- Machine Gunner - equipped with the light MGs
- Engineer - equipped with SMGs, plus satchel charges and anti-tank grenades
- Marksman - equipped with a scoped rifle
- Anti-Tank - equipped with anti-tank rifles
Weapons
The game contains a wide range of weapons, some of which will be familiar to players - some of which will not! Most weapons are available from the start, although some are "Hero" weapons that must be unlocked. Weapons have various upgrades available for them, as your skill with those weapons progress - for the details, look at each weapon on your Profile Stats pages.
You can carry two primary weapons (Key "1"), a pistol (Key "2"), grenades (Key "3"), special items, such as smoke grenades and satchel charges (Key "4") and binoculars (Key "5"). But keep in mind that the more you are carrying, the more encumbered you will be, which will slow you down. There is also a key for the weapons special actions, such as select fire and barrel change (Key "G").
General use of all the weapons is covered in the appropriate Training Missions in the Single Player game, including instruction on aiming, reloading, sight-setting and deploying.
Pistols
The Germans are equipped with the [[Walther P 38 and the Mauser C96, while the Russians have the TT-33 Pistol and the Nagant M1895 revolver.