Variant

Equipment variants are concrete, country-specific classes of equipment which are based on an equipment type. They may include customizations such as design companies, upgrades, or modules.

Base

When a country unlocks an equipment type by researching the corresponding technology, a base variant of it gets created. Where applicable, it uses the design company the country has at that moment. It is not necessary to already have the design company when the research starts.

Upgrade

Several types of equipment can be further upgraded using experience. Upgraded variants may be created of tanks, some mobile equipment, airplanes and ships using experience to upgrade specific attributes. Sometimes a small improvement in speed, protection, or firepower can make a significant difference in the field.

Variants are expensive in XP, so their use should take into account the expected benefit, production volume, and service lifetime of the variant in deciding where to commit these resources. This is especially important for capital ships, as they take a very long time to build and there are large year-gaps between models.

Each upgrade may be selected up to five times and may be made at different times. Existing equipment upgrades may be viewed in the Production screen. Upgrades in one area may reduce performance in another area - e.g., complexity reducing reliability or increased weight-reducing speed. Note that land units may use maintenance support companies that increase reliability for equipment in that division, and also that equipment stats and performance may also be affected by government staff with particular skills that provide modifiers.

For land equipment, the first upgrade level costs 10 experience, for air and naval equipment it costs 25. Each subsequent level costs 5 experience more.

With both Man the Guns and No Step Back, ship and tank upgrades are not available, as both are designed using modules instead.

List of land equipment upgrades

Upgrade	Types	Bonuses	Penalties
Armor	all armor, armored cars, mechanized	+5% Armor	-2% Speed -5% Reliability
Engine	all armor, mechanized	+4% Speed
Engine	armored cars	+2% Speed
Reliability	all armor, armored cars, mechanized	+10% Reliability
Main Gun	Tanks, armored cars	+3% Soft Attack +10% Hard Attack +5% Piercing	-2% Speed -5% Reliability
Production Cost	mechanized	-10% Production Cost	-4% Reliability
Anti-Air Armament	Self-propelled AA	+15% Air Attack	-2% Speed -5% Reliability
Anti-Tank Armament	Tank destroyer	+10% Soft Attack +10% Hard Attack +5% Piercing	-2% Speed -5% Reliability
Artillery Armament	Self-propelled artillery	+3% Soft Attack	-2% Speed -5% Reliability

List of naval equipment upgrades

Upgrade	Types	Bonuses	Penalties
Gun	CL CA torpedo cruiser heavy ships	+4% Light Attack +5% Light Piercing +4% Heavy Attack +5% Heavy Piercing	-1% Max Speed -0.5% Reliability
Torpedo	torpedo cruiser DD	+7.5% Torpedo attack	-1% Max Speed -1% Max Range
Armor	CA, heavy ships	+5% Armor	-1% Speed
Engine	CV, heavy ships CL, CA, torpedo cruiser	+3% Speed +5% Max Range	-0.5% Reliability
Engine	DD	+3% Speed +5% Max Range
Reliability	CV, heavy ships, SS CL, CA, torpedo cruiser	+1.5% Reliability	-4% Max Range
Anti-Air	CL, DD	+5% Anti-air	-1% Max Speed
ASW	DD	+4% Sub Detection +4% Depth Charge	-1% Torpedo Attack
Torpedo	SS	+4% Torpedo attack	-2% Max Speed
Stealth	SS	-5% Sub Visibility	-2% Max Speed
Engine</span	SS	+5% Max Speed +5% Max Range	+5% Sub Visibility -0.5% Reliability
Deck Space	CV	+7.5% Deck Space	-5% Armor
Armor	CV	+10% Armor +1% HP	-4% Deck Space

List of air equipment upgrades

Upgrade	Types	Bonuses	Penalties
Weapons	(jet/heavy) fighter, rocket interceptor	+10% Air Attack	-1% Speed -10% Reliability -5% Agility
Weapons	carrier fighter	+10% Air Attack	-1% Speed -10% Reliability -15% Agility
Range	all non-carrier types	+10% Range	-10% Reliability
Range	all carrier types	+15% Range	-10% Reliability
Engine	all	+2% Speed +5% Agility
Reliability	all	+10% Reliability
Attack	NAV	+5% Naval Attack	-10% Reliability
Attack	carrier NAV	+5% Naval Attack	-15% Reliability
Bombing	(jet) strategic bomber	+5% Bombing	-10% Reliability -5% Range
Bombing	(jet) TAC	+2% Bombing +2% Ground Attack	-10% Reliability -5% Agility
Attack	(carrier) CAS	+2% Air Attack +5% Ground Attack	-10% Reliability -5% Agility
Armor	scout plane	+5% Air Defense	-5% Range

Module

See also: Ship#Modules

Modules extend the capabilities of an equipment variant in a more detailed manner than upgrades. Ship hulls and tank chassis as the basic equipment types offer a number of module slots that can be used. Without Man the Guns nor No Step Back, researched ship & tank equipment types automatically combine ship hulls and tank chassis and a standard configuration of modules that cannot be changed. With Man the Guns and No Step Back, the hulls/chassis and modules are researched individually and by spending naval/army experience are combined in the ship/tank designer.

Statistics

See also: Equipment#Statistics

The statistics of an equipment variant are based on the underlying equipment type, its design company, and upgrades or modules. Additive and averaged additive stats from modules are added to the stats of the equipment type. Multiplicative module stats as well as designer and upgrade stats stack additively among each other and are then applied as one factor.

For example if Japan has Mitsubishi as its air design company (+20% agility, +10% speed) while completing research on the 1940 fighter equipment type (agility 65), the resulting equipment variant (Ki-43 Hayabusa) has 65 * 120% = 78 agility. If Japan upgrades this variant with five points into Engine upgrade (5 * 5%), the resulting variant Ki-43 Hayabusa Kai A has 65 * 145% = 94.25 agility.