Profile of Hannibal

From my experience (I use brumms a lot lately in team games) there is still a major gap. Brummy would just auto target single models that stand out from the group. Also, when they start retreating, brummy is terrible at leading shots on auto.

I was slightly unspecific, I thought Vipper is referring to different projectile speeds between auto attack and ground attack. This does not exist.

Otherwise you are right. The Brummbar obviously does not lead shots when auto firing and usually picks the nearest model. There's a major difference though if the squad moved to or away from the Brummbar, because a squad closing in will be hit hard, one moving away usually not.

All animations, cost and the role of the Brummbar force it to have decent AoE though. The only unit that for me is on the verge between manual aiming and auto fire is the KT. Here I think it is still beneficial to ground attack, but auto fire is fine as well if I don't have the micro for it.
I think that would be the AoE design one needed to look for if one agrees with Vipper's assessment. Of course with regards to projectile speed and reload times.

snip

I absolutely did not remember that thread, but it is also one and a half years old. Still most of the information is still up date.

I agree with your points. Sander's suggestion is very nice, I would replace "hold the line" with OKW's "For the Fatherland". It would reduce mixing abilities between Allies and Axis (ideally, I'd give this commander another OST ability, but the only similar ability is "Assault and hold" which would overlap with counter attack). Also, I feel like these expensive infantry buffing abilities are almost never chosen. The more affordable ones can be used and won't cost you too much even if it was not worth it.


Regarding the Storm commander:
I agree with adding Assault Grens to it. Thinking about it, this commander should lose one of the two arty slots, so either the howitzer OR the dive bomb. The name suggests very aggressive attacks, yet it feels more like another artillery commander. The commander text still mentions tactical movement, which sounds very thematic. I don't know why it was changed back then, but tactical movement or "assault and hold" would probably fit nicely as well.

I'll just somewhat repeat myself from other threads about a couple of units that are currently on my mind:

Command P4:
Combat wise, it is okay. My biggest grudge is that you cannot really fit it in population wise to still enough out of the damage reduction bonus. So I suggest either a POP reduction or an additional utility ability (inspire, smoke, extra sight, recon, mark target etc) that does not directly influence the combat performance of the unit.


Half track+infantry bundle call ins:
They are a nice and thematic ability, but they scale horribly. PGrens as mechanized infantry make a lot of thematic sense to call in with them, but I'll lay out my issues:
At 2 CP, the infantry build is usually done or at least close to being done. I could stall one unit to get this call in, but I do not see a real point in it unless I get something special (like any other elite infantry at CP2). Grenadiers can already be built earlier, at this point in time I probably want a PGren. The ability gets available at about the 5 min mark (the PGren group even later), so the 250 comes a tiny bit too late in my eyes since it provides less punch than a 222 or 251 that come at a similar time. It also has no late game scaling, so this ability will at best only be used once in the early game.
Two solutions for that: 1. Remove the bundle, make the ability a CP0 250. 2. (my favourite): After BP3, make this unit upgradable to a 250 mortar half track. If that is impossible, add some other utility/scaling to it. This would allow the ability to replace lost squads in the late game. Unarguably, it would still be very situational since you are forced to get the half track as well.


doctrinal 251 abilities:
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I find the 251 still to be VERY micro heavy. At least in team games it is not a real strategy in my opinion which might be due to my micro not being good enough. Still, I'd like to see the following changes: Bundle the Riegel Mine and the mobile observation post. My main concern is the Riegel: It is a very nice mine, but I really don't want to build a 251 for this alone. Especially not in the late game. Similarly, I do not use and rarely see anyone using the mobile observation post. I think these abilities are just slightly lackluster and might give the 251 more purpose if bundled together.


Jager Command Squad:
I see why this unit is in the "Jager Infantry" Commander only. But it is hella cool. I'd literally just like to have a second commander with it. Maybe lightning war (replace relief infantry)?


Opel Blitz Cargo Truck:
Weird unit. Not really worth it in team games, useless in 1v1. Costs 50 MP less than a cache, yet does not benefit any of your team mates. Why should I chose this one over a cache?
Either it could use a complete redesign, or just give it an ability to drop medical supplies, so OST could use it to heal team weapons without needing a Grenadier/Pio to waste time. Still, won't be a good unit though I feel.


Panzer tactician:
Longer overdue to add a 0,5-1 second delay to the smoke.


MobiDef Commander
-Osttruppen reserves: At the very least, these should be a CP0 single Osttruppen squad. Currently, I have to wait until CP3, miss the most effective window of Osttruppen, am forced to get two at the same time and... pay extra compared to getting single ones. Really?
-Overall, I do not get the thematic story of this commander. Counter attack? Alright, that's okay. Puma? Maybe. PanzerTac? Okay as well. But what do Osttruppen and the Command P4 do here thematically? I'd rather give another recon ability for scouting, a mortar half track, a plane strafe, tactical movement or the JLI upgrade. Even ambush training would fit.




Will likely add some units/Commander later, but that's it for now.

Since we have a lot of suggestions popping up in different threads, please bundle them all here to not clutter the forums. Ost is the only faction lacking this thread at the moment

I know but I after having given it many tries since the patch I don't think the pakh is anymore THE unit you want to build anytime.
The patch aimed to reduce the effectiveness of the pakh when paired so obviously its a direct nerf to the doctrine since it is basically what was making the doctrine strong.

It's not like I want the HMG at all cost but that HMG have more value than pakhowi at the moment, even more when you think you'll drop two of them. Another possibility could be to simply remove the drop altogether and stick to para that can upgrade Zook or Thompson with a price cut accordingly.

I understand that point and I am also not fully against the HMG, but one should keep in mind that this change has further implications on USF's build order when playing this particular commander. So it's a bit more than just "replacing unit A with unit B".