Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is Gearbox Software’s World War II tactical shooter published by Ubisoft, centered on Sergeant Joe Hartsock, squad command, suppression, flanking, and more reactive enemies than a simple corridor shooter.
Content warning: Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood is rated Mature 17+ for war violence, blood and gore, and strong language. This guide keeps discussion non-graphic and focused on play.
This beginner guide covers squad placement, suppression, flanking, enemy movement, tanks, and anti-armor threats. It is not a mission walkthrough, Skirmish route, multiplayer setup guide, or weapon stat list.
Difficulty caveat: even at beginner scope, this is a tougher tactical shooter than a standard run-and-gun FPS. Enemies can reposition, flank attempts can collapse, and poor squad placement can cost you a fight quickly.
Essential Tips
1. Suppress Before You Move
Pinned enemies give you the time you need to reposition.
Earned in Blood is built around fire and maneuver. Before crossing open ground or sending a squad around a wall, put fire on the enemy position first. Suppression reduces return fire and gives you a safer window to shift your angle.
Think of suppression as the first half of almost every plan. If you move without it, you are asking exposed soldiers to win a marksmanship duel against enemies already in cover. If you suppress first, the same movement becomes a controlled attack.
2. Flank From the Side, Not the Front
A covered enemy is a problem to solve, not a target to outshoot.
The core loop is simple: find the enemy, fix them with fire, flank them, then finish them. A straight shot at sandbags, windows, or low walls is rarely best. Once one team is firing, look for a hedge gap, building edge, side street, fence line, or shallow angle.
Do not wait for the perfect long route. A small angle change can be enough if the enemy is pinned and your squad is placed cleanly.
3. Keep Teams in Real Cover
A squad order is only as good as the position you choose.
Your soldiers can use cover well, but they still need sensible orders. Low walls, logs, building corners, and window lines are useful. Open roads, exposed courtyards, and your own position are not. Before giving an order, picture where the team will face and whether they can fire without bunching up.
If a team behaves poorly, recheck your order location before blaming the squad. A few meters can be the difference between a firing position and a bad pileup.
4. Expect Enemies to Reposition
Earned in Blood punishes obvious flanks more than Road to Hill 30.
Enemies are more reactive here. They may retreat when they spot your flank, shift to safer cover, or pressure your squad on higher difficulty. Your first route is not always your final route.
When an enemy moves, do not chase blindly. Pause, re-suppress, and decide whether the new position creates a better angle, a grenade opportunity, or a reason to pull back.
5. Use One Team to Hold Attention
The squad that shoots is often creating the squad that wins.
Your fire team does not need every kill. Its job is often to keep heads down while the assault element or Hartsock moves. This matters around buildings, hedgerows, and sandbag lines where direct fire wastes time.
Give the holding team a clear target and enough cover. Then move the other element decisively. If both teams drift forward at the same time, you lose the crossfire that makes the system work.
6. Watch Panzerfaust Soldiers First
Anti-armor infantry can turn a tank section into a reset.
When a friendly tank is available, it is tempting to send it straight at every MG42 or sandbag nest. Slow down. Panzerfaust soldiers are the priority because they punish careless tank orders. Suppress or clear them before armor pushes forward.
If you see anti-armor threats near a church, road, hill, or courtyard, keep the tank back and handle infantry first. Armor is strongest as support, not as the scout.
7. Use Tanks as Firepower and Cover
Armor changes the fight, but it does not remove tactics.
Tanks can break positions that infantry struggles to crack and can draw attention while you set up a safer infantry angle. Use that power deliberately.
Do not park a tank where infantry can approach from several sides. Clear Panzerfaust threats, avoid masking squad fire, and use Panzerfaust crates or rear shots against enemy armor.
8. Save Grenades for Stuck Positions
Grenades are useful, but they are not a replacement for squad tactics.
Grenades can solve a corner, gun nest, or cramped defensive spot when suppression and flanking are hard. They are risky under fire, and a missed throw leaves you exposed.
Use grenades after you stabilize the room or street. Suppress first, close to a safer angle, then throw. If the enemy is moving, wait or force them into a predictable pocket.
9. Do Not Rush MG42s
Machine guns are meant to shape your route.
MG42 positions control open approaches. Treat them as route puzzles. Find cover, pin supporting infantry, clear anti-armor threats when tanks are involved, and attack from a side angle when possible.
Charging a machine gun because you can see it is the wrong instinct. If the direct line looks deadly, work the side path, building interior, hedge gap, or tank support.
10. Keep Hartsock Alive by Commanding More
You are a squad leader before you are a lone rifleman.
Personal shooting matters, but Earned in Blood is tuned around command. If you take every duel yourself, you make the game harder. Let teams suppress, read the battlefield, and move only when your squad has created a reason.
The safer rhythm is order, observe, shift, then shoot. When you reverse that rhythm and shoot first, you often end up pinned with no team in position to help.
11. Reset Bad Angles Early
A failed flank gets worse if you keep feeding it soldiers.
When an enemy retreats, a tank blocks a line, or your team takes bad cover, stop forcing the same plan. Pull back, reassign suppression, and build a new angle.
This habit is especially important in towns and hedgerows. A route that looked open five seconds ago may become a trap once enemies shift or another squad appears.
12. Play Chapters Like Tactical Problems
Campaign progress comes from solving positions, not sprinting to markers.
Missions move through farms, forests, towns, cities, churches, chateaus, hedgerows, and artillery positions. The setting changes, but the question stays familiar: where is the enemy fixed, what covers the move, and what finishes the fight?
Before following an objective arrow, clear the immediate tactical problem. Leaving a squad, MG42, or Panzerfaust team active behind you can turn the next marker into a worse fight.
Squad Command Habits
| Habit | Why It Works | Beginner Check |
|---|---|---|
| Suppress first | Reduces enemy pressure while you move | Is one team firing before anyone crosses open ground? |
| Split angles | Forces covered enemies to defend more than one direction | Can the second team see a side or rear angle? |
| Place cover carefully | Squads need usable positions, not vague destinations | Is the order marker behind real cover? |
| Watch movement | Enemies may retreat or counter-flank | Did the enemy shift after spotting you? |
| Rebuild failed plans | Bad flanks become costly if forced | Can you pull back and re-suppress? |
| Let squads work | Hartsock is not meant to solve every position alone | Are you commanding before shooting? |
Tank and Anti-Armor Priorities
| Situation | Best Habit | Why It Helps |
|---|---|---|
| Friendly tank arrives | Scout for Panzerfaust soldiers first | Armor can be lost by careless advances |
| MG42 blocks a lane | Suppress infantry and use side routes or armor | Direct rushes are punished |
| Enemy tank appears | Look for Panzerfaust crates and rear angles | Rear shots and proper tools matter |
| Church or town fight | Keep armor at distance until infantry is handled | Buildings hide anti-armor threats |
| Sandbag squad holds ground | Suppress with teams, then flank or use tank fire | Cover is weakest from the side |
| Artillery or 88 position | Clear nearby infantry before rushing the gun | Support troops make the objective deadly |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Do not sprint at covered enemies - Suppress and flank instead of trying to win a frontal duel.
- Do not move both teams at once - Keep one element firing while the other changes angle.
- Do not order squads into open ground - Put them behind walls, logs, buildings, or other usable cover.
- Do not stand on your own order marker - Give teammates room to occupy the cover you selected.
- Do not ignore enemy movement - Recheck the battlefield when a flank is spotted or a squad retreats.
- Do not send tanks ahead blindly - Clear Panzerfaust soldiers before committing armor.
- Do not waste grenades under panic - Stabilize the fight, then throw from a safer angle.
- Do not chase a failed flank - Pull back, suppress again, and build a better route.
- Do not treat MG42s like normal riflemen - Work the lane, cover, and side path before attacking.
- Do not play Hartsock as a lone hero - Command squads first and shoot after the plan is working.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Core tactic | Find, fix, flank, and finish instead of rushing |
| Suppression | Pin enemies before anyone moves |
| Flanking | Use side angles, buildings, hedges, and streets |
| Squad placement | Choose real cover and avoid bunching teams |
| Enemy AI | Expect retreats, pressure, and counter-flanks |
| Tanks | Clear Panzerfaust threats before advancing armor |
| MG42s | Treat machine guns as route problems |
| Difficulty | Beginner play still requires patient command |
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7 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood.
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