Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Gameplay Guide: What to Expect
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam gameplay explained: how 50v50 warfare, tunnel networks, helicopters, outposts and squad roles work, with tips for new players.
How does Hell Let Loose: Vietnam gameplay work?
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam gameplay drops 50 players per side into dense jungle warfare, keeping the squad-based structure of the original Hell Let Loose while adding helicopters, tunnel systems and asymmetric US versus NVA factions. Matches still revolve around capturing territory, building spawn points and coordinating with your squad. If you never played the first game, expect slow, deliberate combat where patience matters more than reflexes — creator footage from the beta and launch, including Stodeh's Expression Games-sponsored launch video, consistently shows long, tense pushes through the foliage rather than run-and-gun fights.
What's new compared to the original Hell Let Loose
In OperatorDrewski's early gameplay video, the core loop looks familiar: the UI and Warfare mode are largely unchanged, but the live tactical map now sits underneath everything, which gives the interface a cleaner, more modern feel. The battlefield itself changes more dramatically:
- US forces rely on air mobility and overwhelming firepower, with Huey helicopters that can ferry troops and even drop supplies from the co-pilot seat.
- NVA forces flank underground through tunnel networks and carry Soviet belt-fed weapons like the RPD.
- New tools include linked tunnel entrances, river boats, and bayonet charges for weapons that support them.
Underneath the new setting, the game still rewards the same things the series always has: good coordination, logistics and squad leading.
Spawning: outposts, garrisons and tunnels
Spawning is the backbone of the game, and most beginner frustration comes from ignoring it. Squad leaders place outposts from the notepad in their inventory, letting their squad respawn on it every 20 seconds. Garrisons cost supplies — 50 in friendly territory, 100 in enemy territory — and let the entire team spawn; a specialist's supply drop plus a quick role swap is how teams stack the 100 needed deep behind enemy lines.
NVA squad leaders get a third option: tunnels, which cost no supplies at the time of writing, per McBluffin's tips video. Build a tunnel entrance in enemy territory, link it to a garrison on the tactical map, and teammates spawning at that garrison can travel through the tunnel to any linked entrance — a powerful way to envelop an objective.
Communication and squad roles
Voice chat is split into three layers: your squad channel, a proximity channel with a roughly 50-metre radius, and a squad-leader channel that connects to other squad leaders and the commander. Coordination pays off directly — engineers build ammunition, manpower and fuel nodes that unlock the commander's air strikes, artillery and precision strikes, while riflemen carry ammo boxes that allow up to five rearms for the whole squad to use.
A few small mechanics worth knowing early:
- Medics can drag downed teammates to safety, and can even fire their pistol while dragging.
- The default M16 magazine holds only 20 rounds, versus 30 in the NVA Type 57.
- Some roles stay locked until you finish the tutorials, so run them first.
Game modes: Warfare and Offensive
Warfare starts with a neutral point in the middle of the map; whoever captures it pushes forward while the point behind locks, and the two teams fight back and forth between the unlocked objectives. Offensive assigns one team to attack and one to defend, and once a point is fully captured it locks permanently — defenders cannot retake it. Keep an eye on the map for locked points: fighting on one is wasted effort, and in a mode without tickets, kills alone won't stop the attackers from simply redeploying.