They couldn't figure out yet how to balance 1v1 properly, how do you expect to balance team games?
Firstly, I don’t believe in balance at all. This is subjective, there will always be problems, there will always be discontent. I believe in new content, it is material and provides an incentive to continue an already long game.
Secondly, it was possible to divide the balance for 1 versus 1 and for team games, their gameplay is different and they must be balanced in different ways.
The main reason why brits are the least played is because they are the newest faction (and locked behind a DLC). Wehr is pretty popular because it's part of the base CoH2 package and I guess more people think it's more interesting to play as the axis as they probably are more "WW2 iconic" than the allies factions. I see a lot players in automatch who use the names of Wehrmacht Generals or important Wehr divisions as their steam nickname.... and most of the times they mainly play axis only. But I barely ever see people doing that with Generals or armies of the allies.
And most players who use generals or SS Division names play horribly. It's like a Nazi lamp for silly motels.
My main concept:
- Conscripts are renamed to "strelki (rifleman)" or "rifle squad" get the opportunity to purchase SVT-40 after the construction of T1 / T2, maybe get a fragmentation grenade instead of Molotov garbage. Merge deleted
- Penalties are renamed to "Conscripts " and placed in the ability "rapid conscript" get Molotov and merge.
- Guard always synergize with T1. It was always you build T1 and build the Guard, after PTRS Penalties it was gone. If 2CP is late for early light cars. Guard can be built in T1.
- The Shock Troops are getting Explosion package.
In any case, what would the Penals with the purchase of SVT-40 be at least somehow comparable with the Fusiliers, they should be T0. Conscripts in T0. No one will move Penals. Penals - either remain the same or must be removed and SVT-40 are given to Conscripts.
What they really should remove is that retreat option on Penals, because if they did retreat in 1943 the commissar would shoot them due to order 227.
The commissars were abolished in 1942. And more: in the game commissar is in the NKVD commander. but the commissar is the representative of the party in the army; he has nothing to do with the NKVD and in fact has no power over the soldiers.
No, not the same. For Penals, you spend resources for T1 (160mp + 10 fuel) and do not get support. Panzerfuzzilier in T0 and you can go to any tier and in any case you will get MG-34.
So the fines with the purchase of SVT-40 - the death of T1.
It's unlikely scenario. I wouldn't dramatize so much.
Simple weapon upgrade or a sidetech upgrade would be as natural as a lmg upgrade for grens or riflemen. It doesn't make unit completely worthless, it just reduces it's starting power and splits in into later stages of the game.
As Vipper wrote it would allow penals to be a cheaper, easier to access infantry unit but with locked SVTs upgrade (assumingly stronger that current becouse of the sidetech upgrade) they could become elite infantry squad with good scaling in time and efficiency more appropriate for a mid stage of a match rather than first min of a game. Same as panzerfuzziliers are made after the revamp.
And what's the point then in the Penals if they have to buy SVT-40? This will be T1 Conscripts with the possibility of SVT-40 purchase. Then it is much simpler and more profitable to simply remove the Penals and transfer the SVT-40 to the Conscripts. This will solve the question of the disgusting design of the two starting infantry units. If we leave the Conscripts as they are and make the Penalts with the purchase of SVT-40, then in the end we will get instead of one unviable tier two unviable tiers.
I realise that some people would like to buy a bunch of these infantry and charge around, but I really think that would be worse design that what we have at the moment. You've got to look at the rest of the doctrine to see its viability.
The dshks enable you to lock down the map very effectively. In combination with the quadmount, you have very effective 'crowd control', which makes sniper play easier and more rewarding. On top of that you have assault guards who have serious shock value at 3 CP since another unit can be added to the M5 (such as a minesweeper, a flamer engie or a ptrs penal). When the get to vet 2 they can 1v1 pretty much any axis unit.
On current patch, the Guards are trash. Play the balance patch and test stuff out. I really enjoy the flavour of this commander at the moment since it enables some of my favourite Soviet units and playstyles.
Once again, if you need an HT, buy it separately, enough to justify the stupid design, because all the elite infantry require fuel, right? Let's add fuel for the Paratroopers and Fallschirmjäger. After all, the plane that dubbed them requires a lot of fuel, and you do not want their spam to be?
Keep the damned halftrack and make the guards inside even better. The HT bundle would prevent spam and the power of the Ass Guards would make the single investment worth it. Thompsons already probably accomplish this to an extent, but maybe reducing their RA to at least regular Guard levels and replacing their Vet 1 Trip Flares with something moderately useful would be good.
No, the combination of HT and infantry is a terrible design. If you need HT go and build HT. People in the Assault Guard need infantry, and notice this is much worse and less varied than Paratroopers and Rangers. If you leave AG in the current mode, it's just a huge stupid design that no fraction has: 51 0mp and 30 fuel for not the best infantry and HT that most players need only as an M17 AA. I need two squads of 1020 mp and 60 fuel and two dubious HT. Suppose I lost one unit and I want them to still be two, I will spend 1530 mp and 90 fuel and three dubious HT. Excuse me, but such a design can only support the mentally retarded.