Hell Let Loose Update 21 experimental branch is live on Steam

The U21 Experimental Branch playtest for Hell Let Loose is live on Steam now. It includes the Conquest game mode, five new weapons, rifle grenades, fire-mode selectors, loadout changes and armour/anti-tank changes. In this test, all new weapons are unlocked by default.

Switch to the branch in Steam via Hell Let Loose > Properties > Betas, then select Exp_Branch.

Share feedback in the U21 Feedback Form, report bugs through the U21 Bugs Form, and see the Dev Brief #220 post for the full breakdown of what's coming in Update 21.

The experimental build introduces:

• M1903A3 Springfield (US)
• ROKS 2 flamethrower (Soviets)
• M7 grenade launcher for the M1 Garand (US)
• Schiessbecher grenade launcher for the Karabiner 98k (Germany)
• No.1 MK I cup discharger grenade launcher for the SMLE No.1 MK III EY (Britain and Canada)

At release these will be locked behind their respective loadout levels, but they are fully unlocked for testing on the branch.

Rifle grenades are a new hybrid weapon type: players can use the weapon normally or fire grenades from it. Hold Caps Lock on keyboard or right d-pad on controller to open the radial wheel of available grenade types, or tap the button to quick-swap to the most recently selected grenade. Swapping takes time and depends on whether the weapon has been fired.

Available rifle grenades include frag grenades with an explosion radius similar to thrown frags, smoke grenades, and AT grenades with a smaller radius but light armour penetration — enough to handle lighter tanks from the rear, structures (but not garrisons), and the tracks of medium and heavy tanks. Although some historical rifle grenades used timed fuses, all of them act as impact grenades here.

The following weapons can now toggle between their historical fire modes:

• MG34
• FG42
• STG 44
• BAR (fast and slow auto)
• Thompson M1
• Thompson M1928a1
• Bren Gun
• Sten Gun Mk2
• Sten Gun Mk2 (Canadian)
• Sten Gun Mk5
• PPSH 41

Fire modes are currently toggled by pressing Caps Lock.

Factions with rifle grenades receive new loadouts:

• Rifleman — level 8, with a rifle grenade carrying 4 frag and 2 smoke grenades
• Medic — level 6, with a rifle grenade carrying 6 smoke grenades
• Engineer — level 8, with a rifle grenade carrying 3 AT, 2 frag and 1 smoke grenade

Other loadout changes:

• US Rifleman gains a new level 6 “Marksman” loadout with the M1903A3 Springfield and an explosive ammo box.
• US Tank Commander’s default weapon switches from the Thompson to the M3 Grease Gun.
• The blowtorch is now available on all default Crewman loadouts.
• The Technician wrench can now build nodes.
• Default US Anti-tank primary changes from the M1 Garand to the M1 Carbine; the level 3 loadout keeps the Garand.
• US Operator’s default primary becomes the Springfield M1903A3.

SPA gunner seats now have one additional zoom level. The default SPA in each team’s HQ will also auto-respawn after being destroyed, on a 7 minute 30 second timer, similar to most non-heavy tanks.