Hamburger Hill weapons guide

Each weapon below has three kinds of information, and we keep them apart so you know how far to trust each one.

• Official description: Quoted word for word from the itch.io page or the update notes.
• When to pick it (our take): General advice that follows from the official description, such as using a belt-fed gun to hold ground. It is our reading, not a tested number.
• Player reports: Things players wrote in the itch.io comments, including a long player guide written for versions 0.4.0 and 0.5.0. These are labelled, and the game has changed several times since.

The U.S. Forces are your side in the campaign. The store page describes them as "balanced infantry, heavy firepower, and a long way from home", and their kit covers every job: a rifle, a machine gun, a rocket launcher and a pistol, plus the M83 Torch from update 0.4.0.

M16 (Rifle)

The standard rifle of your squad. "Selective-fire" is the real-world term for a rifle that can switch between single shots and automatic fire; Wesware has not said how the switch works in the game.

• Official description: "Selective-fire assault rifle."
• When to pick it (our take): The safe all-round choice. Because it can fire single shots or bursts, it suits mixed fights where you do not know the range in advance. A player guide written for 0.4.0 and 0.5.0 says riflemen get an underbarrel grenade launcher and body armor at Rank 3; that is a player report, not an official note.
• Enemy counterparts: The Federate Army answers with the Zippy 67, described only as automatic. The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z carry the Long Rifle, which trades automatic fire for hard-hitting semi-auto shots.

M60 (Machine gun)

The heavy support gun of the U.S. side. Wesware sells it on suppression rather than precision: it is meant to keep enemy heads down while the rest of the squad moves.

• Official description: "Belt-fed suppressive fire."
• When to pick it (our take): Take it when you expect to hold ground: defending against counterattacks, protecting a downed aircrew in a rescue mission, or covering a convoy. It makes less sense for a patrol where you want to move fast through villages. The same player guide says a machine gun settles onto low walls or sandbags when you crouch next to them and aim, which cuts its spread.
• Enemy counterparts: Every side has one belt-fed or squad machine gun: the Zippy-62 for the Federate Army and the Trail Gun for the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z. Expect the same treatment from them when you attack a defended position.

M66 Tube (Rocket launcher)

A throwaway rocket launcher. "Disposable" suggests each tube is used up rather than reloaded, but Wesware has not said how many rockets you get.

• Official description: "Disposable rocket launcher."
• When to pick it (our take): Keep it for targets your rifles cannot deal with quickly, such as enemies dug into a building. One player in the comments says engineers carry the launchers and called them weak in the current build, so do not build your plan around rockets alone.
• Enemy counterparts: The Federate Army has the HESH Tube, listed as shoulder-fired rockets. No launcher is listed for the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z.

M27 Brick (Sidearm)

The backup pistol. A player guide for 0.4.0 and 0.5.0 says medics are restricted to pistols, which would make the sidearm the medic’s main weapon; that is a player report and may have changed since.

• Official description: "A trusty sidearm."
• When to pick it (our take): You do not really pick a sidearm over a rifle. It is what you switch to when the main weapon is empty, and since 0.6.0 the mouse wheel cycles to it with the rest of your kit. One player found a pistol’s iron sights hard to aim with, and Wesware replied that the point was noted.
• Enemy counterparts: No sidearm is listed for the Federate Army. The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z fill the last-resort slot with the Trail Knife instead.

The flamethrower carried by the U.S. flamethrower soldier, added in update 0.4.0. Flamethrower streams and ground fire were improved in 0.4.0 and reworked again in 0.5.0.

• Official description: "U.S. flamethrower soldier with the M83 Torch."
• When to pick it (our take): Fire is a close-range tool. A player guide recommends one flamethrower soldier in a late-game squad against the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z because they rely on melee rushes, and another player noted that the flamer is the only class that costs more than the others. Both are player reports.
• Enemy counterparts: No other side has a flamethrower on the official list. The closest close-range weapon on the other side is the M18 Broom.

The Federate Army of Granovia is introduced with "Strength in numbers. They hold the capital and intend to keep it." Players in the comments usually call them the Granovians. All four of their listed weapons are ranged: two Zippy rifles, a squad machine gun and rockets.

Zippy 67 (Rifle)

The standard rifle of the Federate Army of Granovia, the side that holds the capital and relies on "strength in numbers".

• Official description: "Automatic infantry rifle."
• When to pick it (our take): You will mostly face it rather than choose it. Expect a lot of automatic fire from groups of soldiers, so use cover and do not trade shots in the open with several of them at once.
• Enemy counterparts: Your M16 is its direct counterpart. The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z Long Rifle is the slower, harder-hitting alternative.

Zippy 67/Z70 (Rifle)

The Zippy 67 with a grenade launcher attached. It is the only weapon on the official list that combines a rifle and a launcher. The official Jungle Patrol video shows the grenade launcher in use.

• Official description: "Rifle with a grenade launcher."
• When to pick it (our take): When this weapon is on the other side, indirect explosive fire can reach you behind low cover, so do not bunch up. Players say rifles with an underbarrel grenade launcher are rarer drops and sell for more than plain rifles when you sell captured weapons between battles.
• Enemy counterparts: No U.S. weapon on the list has an attached grenade launcher; the M66 Tube is the nearest explosive option. The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z have nothing similar.

Zippy-62 (Machine gun)

The Federate Army squad machine gun, the support weapon that backs up their numbers.

• Official description: "Squad machine gun."
• When to pick it (our take): Treat a Zippy-62 position as the thing to deal with first when you attack: a radio operator’s artillery or a rocket is a better answer than walking into it.
• Enemy counterparts: Matches your M60 and the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z Trail Gun.

HESH Tube (Rocket launcher)

The Federate Army rocket launcher. HESH is a real-world term (high-explosive squash head); Wesware has not explained what it means for the game.

• Official description: "Shoulder-fired rockets."
• When to pick it (our take): Assume buildings and walls are not completely safe when you see one, and spread the squad out.
• Enemy counterparts: The U.S. M66 Tube is the equivalent. The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z have no listed launcher.

The W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z are "ragtag mountain fighters who close the distance with bayonet charges". Their list is the only one with a shotgun and a knife, and the only one without a rocket launcher. Players report that they are the hardest side to beat and that they also use artillery.

Long Rifle (Rifle)

The main rifle of the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z, the "ragtag mountain fighters". It fires one shot per trigger pull but each shot is described as hard-hitting.

• Official description: "Hard-hitting semi-auto rifle."
• When to pick it (our take): Against it, the danger is fewer, heavier hits rather than a wall of fire. Players disagree with the official billing: the 0.4.0/0.5.0 player guide advises against picking it up because it did not kill with two torso hits in that player’s games.
• Enemy counterparts: Compare with your selective-fire M16 and the automatic Zippy 67.

Trail Gun (Machine gun)

The belt-fed machine gun of the mountain fighters.

• Official description: "Belt-fed mountain firepower."
• When to pick it (our take): It gives a side built for charges a way to pin you down first. Players report that W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z positions are tough and that they also use artillery, so approach their strongholds carefully.
• Enemy counterparts: Matches the M60 and the Zippy-62.

M18 Broom (Shotgun)

A shotgun for the side that "closes the distance with bayonet charges". It is the only shotgun on the official list.

• Official description: "Close-range buckshot."
• When to pick it (our take): Keep W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z fighters at range. In villages and city streets, check corners and doorways before you walk through them.
• Enemy counterparts: No shotgun is listed for the U.S. or the Federate Army. The closest U.S. close-range answer is the M83 Torch flamethrower.

Trail Knife (Melee)

The melee weapon of the mountain fighters, matching their bayonet charges.

• Official description: "For the last few feet."
• When to pick it (our take): If they get this close, you let them. Since 0.6.0 the mouse wheel also cycles to melee weapons, but Wesware has not listed a melee weapon for the U.S. side.
• Enemy counterparts: No knife is listed for the other sides. The U.S. last-resort weapon on the list is the M27 Brick sidearm.

Some equipment is not on the store page but appears in the update notes or in player reports.

• .50 Cal machine gun: Added in update 0.2.0 as "[NEW WEAPON] .50 Cal machine gun". The note does not say which side uses it.
• Binoculars: Since 0.5.0, radio operators use binoculars to call artillery, napalm and illumination, with markers that show where strikes will land. Update 0.7.0 added binocular support controls.
• Grenades: Update 0.2.0 improved grenade avoidance and 0.4.0 rebalanced enemy grenades and artillery. One player wrote that as of 0.7.0 grenades are "exclusively a defensive tool" because of how far they can be thrown.
• Loadouts: Update 0.5.0 simplified kit slots, added extra-ammo choices and made grenade and equipment displays clearer. Update 0.7.0 added equipment tooltips. A player guide says an ammo crate doubles the ammunition the soldier carrying it can hold.

Matching the lists side by side shows where the three armies differ. This grouping is ours; Wesware does not pair the weapons up.

• Rifles: M16 (selective fire), Zippy 67 (automatic) and Zippy 67/Z70 (with grenade launcher), Long Rifle (semi-auto, hard-hitting).
• Machine guns: M60, Zippy-62 and Trail Gun. Every side has one.
• Rocket launchers: M66 Tube and HESH Tube. None is listed for the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z.
• Close range: M27 Brick sidearm and M83 Torch for the U.S.; M18 Broom and Trail Knife for the W.A.R.L.O.R.D.Z; nothing listed for the Federate Army.

Since update 0.6.0 the mouse wheel cycles through weapons, launchers, melee weapons and binoculars. Wesware has not published a full key list, so check the in-game prompts and loading-screen tips for the rest.

Player reports from the comments, not confirmed by Wesware: the 0.4.0/0.5.0 player guide says equipment is locked by class and rank, riflemen can pick up other assault rifles, machine gunners can pick up enemy machine guns and medics are limited to pistols. The same guide says selling captured firearms is the main source of money, and another player asked for a way to sell weapons in bulk instead of one at a time. Wesware replied to a player that the item and loot system needs a rework, so expect this to change.

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