Blogs - M.P

Greetings.

Just wanted to say that I'm dealing with some IRL matters at the moment and that's the reason for my inactivity. I'll be back with more content (and commissions!) in about 2-3 weeks. If you have requests or questions regarding commissions or my work in general, send me a DM (on moddb or on Discord) and I'll get back to you when I'm back to work again.

In today's Hanpatch update, we are presenting you the third and - for now - final part of the great ECA Deployment Zone rework. You have seen the Puma and the Panzergrenadier, but we promised you a third new and exclusive unit of the German Bundeswehr:

In the 2020s, the German Army sought a replacement for its aging Wiesel tankettes that were used to support light infantry troops since the 1980s. The Luftbeweglicher Waffenträger (air-mobile weapons carrier, or LuWa for short) is a small, lightweight armoured vehicle with a unique segmented tread chassis. Like its diminutive predecessor, the vehicle can be modified to fill a variety of roles: Its standard armament is a rapid-fire 27mm autocannon, which can be replaced with anti-tank/anti-personnel missile launchers, an automated 80mm mortar or a field support suite for an onboard engineer and medic. Since its introduction, the LuWa provided effective support in counter-insurgency and peacekeeping operations in Africa and German soldiers began referring to it as the Löwe (Lion) in a respectful modification of its original name. During the Third World War, the Lions used by elite Luftlande Divisions were air-lifted directly to Deployment Zones, providing a rapid-response alternative to the heavier Austrian-made Pandur IFVs of the ECA ground forces.

The Lion is only available through the Deployment Zone, replacing the stock Fast Attack Battlegroup with the new Luftlande Battlegroup. The Pandur remains available as a buildable unit at the War Factory as it is functionally distinct enough to not be outright replaced by the Lion. In addition to the unique Bundeswehr units and the national veteran versions of various ECA vehicles that we revealed previously, we would like to close this update by showing you the unique infantry variants that are also included in this rework.

Like all the vehicles from the DZ, these infantry units all have superior stats - effectively a baked-in "fourth" veterancy level - and come with distinct woodland camo skins. The grenade symbol on their cameos is the icon of the Foreign Legion, an elite branch of the French Army composed of foreign nationals who earn French citizenship through their service. We chose this motif in order to create a shared "elite unit" identity for these units whilst at the same time neatly explaining why they still have mixed nationality accents.

This concludes our series on the new Deployment Zone, available only in Hanpatch. Stay tuned for future content updates.

In today's Hanpatch content update, we are proud to introduce a whole new, exclusive Battlegroup that can be purchased at the Deployment Zone: The Panzergrenadier Battlegroup, which includes a unique infantry and corresponding fighting vehicle.

Introduced to the German Army in the 2010s, the Puma (cougar) was widely considered the most technologically advanced IFV of its time. Taking into account the experience of German troops in Afghanistan, the design puts a special emphasis on protection for its crew and up to six passengers: Modular 360 degree armour, a defensive chaff dispenser and increased mine protection make the Puma one of the safest IFVs in the world. Its unmanned weapon turret houses a 30mm autocannon - typically loaded with airburst anti-personnel rounds - and a launcher for the powerful Eurospike anti-tank missile. Ever since its introduction, the Puma has become the signature vehicle of Germany's renowned Panzergrenadier mechanised infantry battalions which assist in ECA operations via direct insertion to a Deployment Zone.

In 1942, the German Wehrmacht coined the term Panzergrenadier as a designation for truck-mounted infantry that operated closely with tanks and assault guns in the country's signature doctrine of aggressive mobile warfare. Many of these units, such as the Großdeutschland Division, built a reputation as fierce, highly effective shock troops. After the war, the West German Bundeswehr formed new Panzergrenadier units and evolved them into fully mechanised formations with their own armoured infantry fighting vehicles, from the scandal-ridden HS-30, to the reliable Marder, to the high-tech Puma of the 2010s.

Like their historical predecessors, the modern Panzergrenadiers are feared combatants. Armed with an updated version of the MG3 machine gun - itself a descendant of a WW2 icon, the MG42 - they can easily shred infantry and unarmoured vehicles. In addition, they carry the latest version of the MATADOR, a rocket propelled grenade launcher whose dual purpose warhead can destroy not only tanks but also entrenched infantry inside buildings. The Panzergrenadiers' heavy weaponry and body armour comes at a cost of on-foot mobility - an issue that can be mitigated by equipping them with powered exoskeletons by means of the Venom Protocol. Being trained to operate close to armoured vehicles, they are also adept at avoiding the crushing treads of enemy tanks.

Panzergrenadiers are a unique infantry unit that is only available as part of a new Battlegroup that bears their name. They can be summoned to a Deployment Zone in three six-man teams alongside three Puma IFVs for an expensive but very formidable small-size attack force.

Stay tuned for the next update where we will reveal another new Battlegroup unit that will only be available in Hanpatch, alongside the unique Deployment Zone versions of the ECA infantry which come with their own distinct skins and cameos.

The ECA Deployment Zone has received a major update: The Battlegroup mechanic now involves special versions of infantry and vehicles that represent distinguished units of Europe's national militaries that exist separate of the joint European Continental Army task force. These "national" units have greater health, firepower and rate of fire than the default versions available via regular production - effectively a "fourth" built-in level of veterancy.

In addition, the national units also share a unique woodland-style camo scheme and brandish their own insignia, such as Germany's black cross, the iconic red, white and blue roundel of the British armed forces or the tricolour sword of the French army. Fans of the old Leopard tank model and Mortar Track will also be pleased to discover that their favourites have been re-integrated into the ECA unit roster as part of the Armour and Fire Support Battlegroup respectively.

However, the news don't end there: Stay tuned for the next updates for the reveal of two additional Battlegroups that contain a total of three all-new, HanPatch-exclusive units courtesy of the German Bundeswehr.