Two Enemy Soldiers Talking While One of Them is Smoking..
(Warning: This article is about enemies in Commandos 2 and 3. I never had a chance to play first games, so I couldn't include them in this guide. I will be pleased if any other fan do it.)
ENEMIES
Enemies are the main source of threat in Commandos series. They will attack the Commandos and some of the other allies at sight. (Some allies are kind of captives/civillians for them and they won't attack them. For example, the French men at train station in Commandos 3.) They are usually Nazi soldiers, except missions taking place on Asia. They can't only see the commandos, but also can hear and follow tracks left behind by them. (Especially footsteps at soft terrain.) Not all the enemies are same and they have ranks among them.
Enemies' Field of View and Levels of View
The three levels of view. Notice that 3. level's end is not seen here.
Player can see their field of view by pressing 'Tab' or selecting the button from interface then clicking on the enemies. They have 3 levels of view at total. Their view is shown as green if they are calm, and red if they are alerted.
The first level is the darkest green part. In this part, they will always spot a Commando/Ally without any exceptions unless smoke grenades are used properly. They will immediately recognize undisguised/disguised Commandos except Spy in this level.
The second level is lighter than first level but darker than last level. In this level of view, enemies are not able to spot disguised/creeping Commandos. This is the last level of view in day-time missions.
The third and the last level of view is the lightest green part. This level is only used in night-time missions. Enemies are not able to see things on this level of view unless a light source is brightining them.
Snipers only have one sight of level (1. Level) and their view of sight is more narrow and longer than others.
Note: If an enemy's rank is higher than you, they will spot you even if you are disguised and in second level of view unless you are the Spy.
The Line of Detection
When an enemy spots something, a line between their eyes and the spotted object will appear. Color of the line will change depanded on spotted thing and some other conditions.
Upon seeing something impressive to them, such as cigarette or wine, the line will be orange-yellow and they will go to pick up that object without hesitating. This kind of line will be appear if they spot a captive ally, too.
An enemy soldier's view and his line of detection just before detecting the Green Beret and alerting the others.
Upon detecting an enemy (the player or any ally), they will first have a blue line. If the spotted player/ally stays at the view of them longer, this line will slowly become red, alerting the player about detection coming from source of the line. If line becomes fully red, the enemy will be alerted (his view becomes red, meaning he will spot the enemies immediately on sight) and will start attacking.
GENERAL BEHAVIOUR
They will usually stay in a specific area if they are not Patrolmen or Armored Vehicle/Tank. They will be alerted (red view) and immediately go to dead bodies/tied soldiers if they spot such things. They will un-tie a tied ally, then go back to their default position/route. If they spot a dead body of their ally, they will first examine the body. After examining the body, the body will disappear and they will shout as 'ALARM!' etc. in order to warn the others about possible enemy presence in area. This will not just the bring other enemies there but will sound the alarm as well. The enemies who hear the shout will also come to area and check around. (They will look around while big, yellow '?' symbol on their head is visible.) If they do not spot anything, they will go back to their default position/route, too.
Note: Some enemies will not change their position if they are not able to go to their destination even although they spot dead bodies/cigarettes. (Enemy will do a special animation if he is not able to do so. He will shake is hand with the mean of 'Ah, never mind.'
It is easy to distract them if the necessary conditions are met. Main way to distract them is throwing cigarettes. Player can also choose to use Decoy with the Green Beret or punching a proper wall. Either ways, they will be distracted successfuly. Some of them is not able to move away from their position, and they will not check the source of sound if Decoy is used. But they are still able to change their direction of view if they become suspicious upon hearing something.
RANKS
SOLDIER: It is the lowest-ranked enemy in the game. They are the most encountered enemy rank. They have a variety of appearances. But their appearance will not affect their behavior. They can be usually avoided by cigarettes or other distraction tactics if they are not forced to stay on their position. (You can check it with binoculars in Commandos 2.) They are not able to recognize Spy anyways if he is disguised as any rank (except Strike Force.) nor other disguised commandos if they are in the second level of view and disguised as well.
Their weapon choices are various, but they will usually have Rifle, Assault Rifle, or Submachine Gun. Some of them also can be seen while using Pistol. (For example, the SOLDIER at the start of 'Kill the Traitor' mission in Commandos 3, Stalingrad Campaign.) Also, some of them are unarmed, and will try to fight against Commandos/Allies with their bare hands Their damage and attack of speed will change depanded on their weapon. The soldier with Submachine Gun is the fastest at killing an average Commando. The unarmed soldiers are the slowest.
This rank includes snipers.
An enemy soldier with a rifle while he is walking on his default route.
An enemy soldier with Submachine Gun guarding an area.
An unarmed enemy soldier while working on barricade.
An enemy lieutenant assisting and overseeing Nazi soldiers in battle.
Spy can order them to move or look at a direction if an Officer Uniform is used.
Note: Some soldiers are not able to sound the alarm, and they will just go back to their default position/route even if they examine a dead body. These soldiers are unarmed and can be seen while wearing worker clothes. Their appearance is situational, and can change depanded on the place of mission.
(!) Also, some SOLDIERS in Commandos 3 are able to recognize the Spy without exception although they have the title of 'SOLDIER'. The main reason behind this is that they are elite soldiers. (SS-1) These soldiers' appearance is different from other soldiers. (Some of them are titled as 'Gestapo Sgt.', while some of them are NOT.
LIEUTENANT: These enemies usually wear dark uniforms. They are able to recognize Commandos disguised as SOLDIER. They are not very different from the SOLDIER except a few specialities. They can not be ordered to move by the Spy with any uniform of rank. They can still be ordered to look to a direction. They can sometimes be seen while carrying an important object for a mission/side mission.
An enemy officer waiting while crouched.
OFFICER: They are higher ranked enemies that will appear with a lower frequency. They are dangerous for players who usually play with the Spy. Officers can recognize any Commando without any exception at sight (except Strike Force.) Wearing their uniform as the Spy is very important in Commandos, because th is will allow you to order to lower rank to move or look at a direction which will provide you various advantages during stealth playthrough. Officers are not able to be distracted by the Spy, and trying to doing so will not result good as usual though they can not be selected to talk with the Spy.
A Gestapo Sgt. guarding a road in Berlin.
GESTAPO SGT. : They are the highest-ranked enemies in the Commandos series (except the General.) Although they are not very different from the Officers, Gestapos can use Submachine Guns as weapon. Their frequency of encounter in missions is low. Wearing their uniform as Spy will not provide the player chance of tricking Officers nor any other advantages. (Except different appearance.) Gestapos can be seen in patrols, too.
VEHICLES
Vehicles in the control of enemy do not have a certain rank, and usually have the same abilities with SOLDIER ranked enemies. They are not able to recognize the Spy if he uses any disguise. They can identify other disguised Commandos if they enter to first level of view. Trucks can not attack to player but only spot them. Armored vehicles and tanks can attack the player. (Some armored vehicles do not have a gun to fight, so they can not attack.) Vehicles willing to attack player on sight will not change their route for it. They will usually stop moving temporarily while attacking the player.
An enemy tank with many enemy soldiers around it.
The armored vehicle in the Das Boot, Silent Killers.
A truck waiting for passage.
Like the other enemies, vehicles are not able to see mines nor dropped items etc.
The armored vehicle at the Das Boot can be seen while checking the front of the big gate of the base when the someone sounds the alarm.
Vehicles are not able to sound the alarm though they can make other soldiers alerted and make them come to their position when they try to attack a player and cause explosions.
The sidecars in the mission 'Take Control of the Town' will behave different a bit. They will wait on their position until the alarm sounds. After the alarm, the mission will be failed and in story, they will go to the train and alert it about the enemy presence in the town. They can be destroyed with molotovs or grenades and other explosives, but doing so will set off the alarms and will cause enemies in the map come to the place of explosion, usually to the position of exploded sidecars. Sidecars have no difference from other vehicles in behaviour except movement.
ANIMALS
Animals are the natural enemies in the Commandos, making the game more realistic and difficult. Most animals can be easily neutralized, if the player have proper weapon. Dogs can detect the Commandos nearby, without need of any visual contact. They will start to bark and
The shark swimming near to the Savo island.
run through to detected Commando, making nearby enemy soldiers alerted immediately. Patrols will follow their dog if it runs through a point. The crocodiles in the Asian episodes in Commandos 2 can be
A crocodile swimming in the waters of Burma.
easily killed with rifle or other firearms. In water, player have no chance to avoid crocodiles but escaping from them. The Diver can take them out with his Spear Gun.
An enemy patrol with a dog, 'Doberman'.
Be advised that they can move fast and cause heavy damage if they succeed to attack, making them an unignorable threat. Sharks have familiar behaviours with crocodiles, except animations and a few details.
Not all the animals are hostile. Elephants, penguens and seals (unless you are in their view) will not attack the player. Penguens and seals can be killed, and doing so will not cause any disadvantages for the player.
The Whiskey with the Thief.
But animals are living things like us, so killing them is not good unless you are very forced to. Note: Whiskey is a player-controlled-character, so it may not be considered as 'ANIMAL' although it is a dog.
Dogs can be avoided by baiting them with a meat or another food that a dog will like. Player can choose to poison the bait, causing dog to be neutralized after eating the bait. Not using poison is an option, too. But it will just distract the dog temporarily. Dogs are not able to detect bait without seeing, making it ironic that how they are able to detect Commandos without visual contact but not the meats although meat is their natural main food. This fact can be corrupted by another fact that they are trained dogs and used to smell different things than meat.