Patch
| Erich "Patch" Wulfe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Character | |
| Faction |
 Global Defense Initiative |
| Role | Anti-everything infantry |
| Health | 100 |
| Armor |
|
| Armor type | Kevlar |
| Speed | 112.5 |
| Cost | $450 |
| Requires | Barracks |
| Loadout | |
| Primary weapon | Tactical Rifle |
| Sidearm | Heavy Pistol |
| Explosives | Timed C4 x1 |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Internal name | Rx_FamilyInfo_GDI_Patch |
Patch is a fast, universal unit of the Global Defense Initiative, capable of dealing with vehicles and infantry at both close and long range.
Appearance
Patch wears military boots and trousers, gloves, kneepads, elbowpads and a tactical vest with the logo of the GDI on the back. Patch has a fancy haircuit and wears a headband with orange glasses, which he never uses!
Function
Patch is equipped with a Tactical Rifle as his main weapon. The rifle has two fire-modes that can be changed by pressing X: the launcher and the rifle. The rifle fire-mode has a very long range and deals significant damage to infantry and both light- and heavy-armored vehicles. In the launcher fire-mode you can throw a grenade that reloads 15 seconds (it also reloads when the rifle fire-mode is active). The grenade has a low range, works great against all infantry and is often able to kill an enemy unit in one hit.
Strategy
Usage
A skillful Patch is very powerful. His speed and effectiveness against infantry makes him useful for controlling the infantry areas (e.g. tunnels) and cratewhoring.
When fighting infantry, he is most effective when used in either close range or very long range, his Tactical Rifle deals out heavy per-shot damage but suffers from a slow velocity and fire rate, making medium ranges a struggle against other anti-infantry units that have hitscan. At close range this isn't as much a problem and at long ranges he can hit most targets far out of their attack reach. It is advised to track ahead of enemies and score headshots whenever possible and, in close engagements, use the under-barrel grenade launcher with precision as it can easily be the defining factor between a kill or a death.
When fighting vehicles, it is best to keep distance and outrange them using the rifle fire-mode of the Tactical Rifle. This way he works well against all Nod vehicles. It is easiest to keep distance on open maps.
Patch will not deal a lot of damage to buildings and will also take regular damage from Proximity C4, which means a Patch Rush is not a viable option - unless he is supported with other infantry units covering an Ion Cannon Beacon.
Counters
For infantry, Patch is a very annoying character to fight. His speed makes it easy to dodge bullets and catch fleeing enemies. His high damage per second means a good Patch will kill about any rapid-firing Nod unit in a 1v1 duel. Even Mendoza will struggle. The best infantry counter to a Patch seems to be a Sakura, a Black Hand Sniper or a Raveshaw, who are the units capable of killing Patch with one headshot. A tactic worth trying could be jumping at a Patch from behind with a Chemical Trooper.
For vehicles, it is best to catch up to a Patch and kill him in close range, whether by ramming him or just by using the vehicle's main weapon. He will take especially a lot of damage from Flame Tanks and Mobile Artilleries in close range. Closing up on a Patch will not be easy though - once again because of his speed - so it is important not to run into too many enemy units in the process.
