Welcome to the complete, no-fluff guide to becoming a powerful, confident, and effective Commander in Hell Let Loose. Whether you’re new to the role or already dipping your boots into the mud of leadership, this long-form breakdown explains absolutely everything you need to know—from opening moves and abilities to managing resources and keeping morale high.

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Starting a Match as Commander

Pre-Match and Early Game Setup:

• Spawn Your Own Supply Truck: Don’t rely on the default one—spawn your own and drive it to build the first garrison near the midpoint.
• Drop a Supply Drop: Before the game starts, drop it in a neutral zone for a future flanking or fallback garrison.
• Place Your First Garrison Fast: Get it as close as possible to the strong point. It doesn’t need to be perfect—speed is more important.
• Spawn Another Supply Truck After: Once the cooldown ends, spawn a second supply truck for engineers and SLs to use.

Early Priorities:

• Ensure nodes are being built (manpower, munitions, fuel)
• Check that tanks are manned and artillery is being used
• Consider aggressive vs. defensive follow-up garrisons based on your read of the match
• Learn the map icons—especially for infantry, tanks, garrisons, OPs, and command abilities

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Reading the Map and Tracking Combat

Icon Visibility:

• Commander Marks = Visible to the entire team
• SL Marks = Visible to other SLs and Commander
• Unit Marks = Only visible to your squad

Map Interpretation:

• Friendly positions, direction they’re facing, and gaps in their lines indicate enemy presence
• Garrison status: if it’s red, enemies are within 100m. If it locks, they’re even closer
• Garrison doesn’t light up = likely safe

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Core Mechanics and Game Rules

• Garrisons: 50 supplies in blue zone, 100 in red zone
• OPs: Can be destroyed by walking into them or using explosives
• Garrisons: Only destroyed by satchels, tank shells, precision strikes, bombing runs
• Supply Trucks: Must drive two sectors out to drop supplies
• Cap Weight: Everyone in sector = x1, in strongpoint = x3

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Commander Abilities and When to Use Them

Munitions

• Supply Drop (100): Most valuable when used for red zone garrisons or flanks
• Recon Plane (100): Use to reveal enemy positions before bombing runs or to find garrisons
• Precision Strike (250): High-risk, high-reward; best vs. stationary heavy tanks
• Strafing Run (150): Useful for clearing hot garrisons or interrupting cap races
• Bombing Run (300): Best tool for destroying known enemy garrisons
• Katuysha Strike (Soviets): Less precise, high-area denial, use it frequently if resources allow

Manpower

• Airhead (200): Tactical forward spawn anywhere outside 3+ deep red zones; fragile
• Dismantle Garrison (100): Use when repositioning or removing unused garrisons
• Reinforce (200): Only for defense, doubles friendly cap strength in strong point
• Encourage (200): Doubles node production for 2 minutes—use it every 10 minutes if you have full nodes

Fuel

• Heavy Tanks (500): Best late-game investment
• Medium/Light Tanks: Spawn on request
• Half-tracks (300): Poor investment unless supporting a deep backline or last-ditch spawn

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How to Lead Effectively

• Communicate Constantly: Use VOIP and text chat to keep squad leaders informed
• Be Respectful & Calm: Don’t escalate drama, guide others through example
• Adapt Your Leadership Style: Experienced lobbies need less micromanagement; new players need clear directions
• Use Text Chat Strategically: Commander text is highlighted—use it wisely, not constantly

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Winning Games

• Garrisons Win Games: Constant flow of reinforcements > numbers
• Build in Layers: Frontline garrisons, support garrisons behind those, and fallback defensive garrisons
• Copy Marks: If a squad marks a tank or garrison, duplicate it as Commander to alert everyone
• Use Mid-Game Wisely: Coordinate Garrison placement, airheads, bombing runs, and supply drops to reinforce attack or shore up defense

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Special Notes for Offensive Mode

• Defense gets permanent 10-second spawns; can’t be destroyed by explosives
• On offense, all attack garrisons are long-take-down (like backline)
• Capture time is 1 minute (vs. 2 minutes in Warfare)
• You MUST keep AirHeads or flanks active—no garrisons = guaranteed loss

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Final Thoughts

• You won’t win every game, but a good Commander can prevent a blowout and keep morale high
• Thank people for making nodes and garrisons
• If you’re hoarding 1000+ of any resource, you’re mismanaging it—spend it wisely
• Artillery is the most efficient use of munitions—don’t shut it down unless absolutely necessary

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If you’ve made it this far—congrats, you’re serious about commanding. Watch gameplay, study the maps, and don’t hesitate to get in the role and learn by doing. You’ve got this, soldier.

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