Hell Let Loose Beginner’s Guide: 12 Tips for New Players on Roles, Spawns, Squads and Staying Alive

This Hell Let Loose beginner's guide is for anyone jumping into Team17 and Expression Games' huge WW2 shooter for the first time. With 50 players a side, one-shot kills, no hit markers and spawns your own team has to build, Hell Let Loose plays nothing like Call of Duty or Battlefield, and the first few matches can be bewildering. Here's how the game works and 12 tips to help you survive, contribute and actually enjoy it.

Hell Let Loose at a glance

What is Hell Let Loose?

Hell Let Loose is a large-scale tactical WW2 shooter. Two teams of up to 50 fight over strongpoints on big, historically inspired maps, with infantry, tanks, artillery and a Commander directing the battle. Teamwork and communication matter more than individual skill: squads build spawns, Support players bring supplies, Engineers fund the Commander's abilities and tank crews have to work together.

How does a Hell Let Loose match work?

Most matches are Warfare: both teams fight over a line of strongpoints across the map, and you need to hold the middle and push towards the enemy's side. In Offensive, one team attacks and the other defends a series of points. Rounds are long, and strongpoints are won by having more players inside them, so numbers and spawns decide fights.

What are the roles in Hell Let Loose?

Every squad mixes roles. The main infantry ones are the Squad Leader (Officer: builds outposts and garrisons, talks to the Commander), Rifleman, Assault, Automatic Rifleman, Medic, Support (supplies), Machine Gunner, Anti-Tank and Engineer. Armour squads have a Tank Commander and Crewmen, recon squads a Spotter and Sniper, and each team has one Commander.

12 Hell Let Loose tips for beginners

1. Pick Rifleman first

Start as a Rifleman. You get a reliable rifle and, crucially, you can drop ammo for your squad. It's the best role for learning maps, sounds and how firefights play out before you take on anything more specialised.

2. Join a squad, and use the mic

Hell Let Loose is a 50 vs 50 team game, and everything runs through squads. Join one with a Squad Leader who talks, listen to proximity and squad chat, and call out what you see. A lone wolf in this game rarely lasts.

3. Learn to spawn on garrisons and outposts

Squad Leaders build garrisons that the whole team can spawn on, and outposts that only their squad can use. Picking a smart spawn point, close to the fight but not on top of it, is half the game. A long walk is the most common new-player mistake.

4. Read the map constantly

Open the map often. It shows the strongpoints you're fighting over, where your team's spawns are and where enemies have been spotted. If you don't know where the front line is, you'll walk straight into it.

5. Expect to die in one or two hits

There's no regenerating health and no hit markers. Most rifles kill quickly, so move from cover to cover, don't sprint across open fields and don't stand on skylines. When you're hit, a Medic or a bandage can keep you in the fight.

6. Use sound to find the enemy

Footsteps, gunfire and vehicles carry a long way. Turn your volume up, slow down near the front and listen before you peek. Often you'll hear an enemy long before you see them.

7. Tell friend from foe before you shoot

There are no name tags over enemies. Learn the two sides' uniforms and helmet shapes, check the map for friendly markers, and if in doubt, hold fire for a second. Team kills happen to everyone, so apologise and move on.

8. Don't ignore Support and supplies

Squad Leaders need supplies to build garrisons, and Support players and supply trucks provide them. If your team is short of spawns, playing Support and dropping supplies near the front is one of the most useful things you can do.

9. Understand the Commander and the nodes

Each team has a Commander who calls in abilities like supply drops, recon planes and strikes, paid for with resources. Engineers build resource nodes that fund them. You don't need to do this yourself, but knowing why it matters helps you follow orders.

10. Stay out of tanks until you're ready

Armour needs a Tank Commander and Crewmen working together, and an empty or careless tank is a free kill for Anti-Tank players. Learn infantry first, then join a tank crew with people who talk.

11. Level up your roles for new loadouts

Each role levels up as you play it, unlocking new loadouts. Try a variety of roles too: knowing what a Medic, Engineer or Anti-Tank player needs makes you a better teammate whatever you play.

12. Be patient and play the objective

Rounds are long, and a single match can take over an hour in Warfare. Kills matter less than holding and capturing strongpoints, building spawns and supporting your squad. That's where Hell Let Loose shines.

What's the best role for beginners in Hell Let Loose?

Rifleman is the easiest place to start, followed by Support (simple, and hugely useful to your team) and Medic. Leave Squad Leader, Commander and tanks until you understand spawns and the flow of a match.

Is Hell Let Loose hard for new players?

It has a steep learning curve: one or two hits kill, there are no name tags or hit markers, and maps are big. But a good squad that talks makes it far easier, and most veterans are happy to help new players who listen. Give it a few matches before you judge it.

Is Hell Let Loose on PS5 and Xbox?

Yes, it's on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Its Vietnam spin-off, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, came out in August 2026. The next Hell Let Loose update, with the frozen Lake Balaton map, is due in early December. Official trailers play on the Steam page.

More Hell Let Loose on iGame Magazine

• Hell Let Loose Update 21: Patch Notes, Rifle Grenades, Conquest and What’s Next: Update 21 patch notes
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Review Roundup: What Critics Said, and What’s Changed Two Months On: what critics said about HLL: Vietnam
• WARDOGS Guide for Beginners: How the Cash, Control Zone and Roles Actually Work: a beginner's guide for another military shooter

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