There is a huge discussion about elite and regular infantry in Realism in infantry combat thread; however since so many different aspects are mentioned there I am afraid some of the issues just get lost in the lengthy discourse.

I noticed that some argue that their cost is right and frequently compare it to the cost of 2 regular infatry squads.

So let's have a closer look at the cost of Rangers compared to 2 German reg. infatry squads and let's see if you think they are well priced?

Rangers:
MP: 375
CP: 35
Weapons: 2x LMG, 6x M2 Carbine,
2x Johnson rifles
AP nades: 28
AT nades: 12
TNT:2
AT weapons: 2x M18 rifle


German Reg. Infantry:
MP: 165
CP: 26
Weapons: 6 x Mauser, MG-42, 3 x MP-40
AP nades: 12
AT nades: 3
TNT: none
AT weapons: none


Do you think buying 2 German Regular Infantry squads against one squad of Rangers is a good idea?

Not really? There are many reasons why not:

1. Although you might be happy with the fact that you pay 45MP less for 2 Reg. squads, 2 Reg. squads take 17CP more!!! 17CP gives you a lot of options for a decent support for your Rangers: you can choose from all light tanks like Chaffee, M19-13CP or you can get mortar- 5CP, AT-guns- 5CP etc). In CP limited games like 80 or 100, 17 CP is huge and you really have to use your CP wisely to get the winning combo!!!.
2. Do you think you are getting just 10 men? You’re wrong. Their higher HP makes up for at least 15 regular soldiers.
3. Do you need to support your Rangers if they face only 2 Reg. squads? Not really. They easily outgun them at max range coz they have automatic weapons and 5 star accuracy, plus the fact that they outrage six MP-40 men. Once you dispatch MG-42 men which can be done easily with Johnson LMGs, the rest are just sitting ducks. At close range, the Rangers have faster shooting weapons, plus they can chuck some nades (regulars are much more vulnerable to them than elite; you won’t kill a Ranger with a AP nade!!!).

4. Apart from being able to easily own two squads of regulars, they also have more nades than them and they are equipped with AT weapons like TNT and M18. M18 can be used against infantry too: to blow up their cover or just like a AP nade but with 40m range.



In infantry only games, it is easy to see that banking for Elite pays off rather than buying to regular squads, coz not only they easily overpower regulars but they can also receive more support due to their lower CP. In all weapons games, if there are many big guns on the map, you don’t want to use Elite too much. It is better to buy cheap infantry for scouting and invest in tanks or art, but ones the enemy guns are silenced you can buy Elite to easily clear the area of any remaining enemy souls. However, if you face less experienced players, Elite infantry men can easily turn into heroes by killing not only infantry but tanks too.

So honestly, do you think they are well priced? In higher resource settings you don’t need to wait for their availability, but you can buy them straight away.