October 29th Update

The Epic Amazeballs Massive-Giant Don't Call It A Pumpkin Patch October 29th Update

Possibly our BIGGEST update yet. It's a doozy!

Mod Tools 1.0

Our goal is to release quality tools that enable users to modify Company of Heroes 2 and support their creations through the integration of Steam Workshop. Over the course of the last few months, we have been making foundational changes to our pipeline that decouple our tools and allow users to use the same tools we work with internally. We want to stress that this is the first of many releases to come, with each new release expanding the capabilities of the mod tools. Be sure to provide feedback on our forums as we will be tracking popular requests to further define our support roadmap.

Mod Builder
This tool structures the layout of the user’s mod data, enabling them to package it into a single .sga file for distribution. It will act as the first point of content in creating either a Tuning Pack or Win Condition Mod.

Attribute Editor
The attribute editor tool is used to modify game data. This might include weapon damage, squad load outs, or ability functionality. The Attribute Editor also provides a weapon report excel sheet which provides detailed calculations on the performance of every weapon within the game.

Archive Viewer
The archive viewer is used to extract the contents of .sga files. This is a great tool if you want to open Relic created SCAR scripts to aid you in your creations. For example, you might be interested in how the Victory Point win condition is setup; to view this file you would open it with the Archive Viewer.

Tuning Packs
Tuning packs allow users to modify the majority of game data, this type of mod will be driven by the Attribute Editor.

Win Condition Mods
Win condition mods allow users to create custom scripts that define the parameters of a match. Such parameters might include how the match is won or what resources are available to the player.

Steam Workshop
Access it here!

Attrition Game Mode
Commander, HQ has designated the given territory as a strategic point of interest. Intel indicates that enemy forces are positioned nearby and poised to make an advance. Take and hold the area or eliminate the enemy, the choice is yours.
Each commander is requisitioned a limited number of resources to build and deploy their company with. Since resources are limited, loses must be kept to a minimum.
Commanders have access to almost every unit within a faction, including heavy armor. The only limiting factor is population and resource cost.
Capturing territory increases the team’s population cap.
Typical game length is 8-10 minutes.
Subscribe to Attrition here!

Observer Mode

We wanted to create a feature which enabled players to further engage with the game. The introduction of observer mode will facilitate both casters and players. It provides a tool to better analyze and capture footage as well as spectate for the sake of entertainment and knowledge. We are extremely excited about this feature and hope that excitement is shared throughout the community.

Goals
Design for casters to show off the game and for the average player to be able to spectate live matches
Allow users to view replays of others to facilitate the game learning and a sense of community by sharing game experience
Deliver on Relic’s ambition to implement this for COH2 and respond to popular demand from the community
To facilitate the forthcoming ESL tournament
Support the casting and competitive communities
Protect the integrity of the playing experience by having enough of a delay between in-game actions and their observer mode results to prevent cheating (8 min currently)
Work both for Custom Games and Automatch games

Features
Automatch live observation delay set to 8 minutes
Custom game default live observation delay set to 3 minutes
512 concurrent viewers per live match with the ability to scale up to 10’s of thousands for special events like tournament finals

Customized UI
Ability to turn off UI for a cinematic mode
We worked to reduce the overall footprint of the UI to show off more the game
Player data is grouped into sections that allow observer to quickly get the information they seek
Team 1 on the left, Team 2 on the right
Custom games allow players to set options

• Observable On/Off
  
• Delay slider (0 to 15 minutes)
  
• Password option to bypass delay
  
• Data Displayed
  
• Units
  
• Production
  
• Commander Trees
  
• Commander abilities and cooldowns
  
• Resources

Observing as a Party
You can invite other users to the party
Helps to keep casting teams together so that everyone is watching the game at the same time
Everyone will be kept in sync so if someone speeds up, slows down, or pauses the game

Hot Keys
Toggle taskbar: Control+T
Toggle Resources: Control+R
Toggle FoW: Control+F – coming soon!
Toggle UI: Control+U
Speed up simulation: Equals
Slow down simulation: Minus
Cycle next player RBracket
Cycle previous Player: LBracket
Ctrl + ] or {= to toggle unit decorators of players on the top right or left end of the screen
The technology is integrated with other in progress initiatives like mod support which allows for future observing custom mods of COH2

In-Game Chat Moderation
To help ensure all players are having an enjoyable in-game experience, we rolled out our first phase of in-game chat moderation. This feature can replace certain banned words with new text, remove a word entirely and/or send a ‘whisper’ message coaching the offending party on how to be polite and respective of their fellow players. This feature will see further improvements as we receive feedback on its performance.

Gameplay Improvements

A large portion of the gameplay within Company of Heroes 2 focuses on execution of tactics. This requires units to be both responsive and easily maneuverable. As such, we have been focused on resolving and improving core gameplay to do just that. For clarification, an entity is the individual soldier within a squad; whereas, a squad is the combination of all entities within itself.

Input Delay
Optimized the way commands are managed and stored, reducing input delay by 180 ms on average. This will drastically improve unit responsiveness as a result.
Squad Cover Behavior
Squads will now use a combination of their squad plans and a custom algorithm to align each entity in the relative cover positions. This improves the distribution of the entities in cover.
When hovering the cursor over terrain, squad cover placement in the form of yellow or green dots is shown based on a distance from the cursor’s origin. For example, a value of 5 would factor in all cover locations in a radius of 5 units from the cursors origin. This value was increased in size from 2 to 3 units. This was done to ensure all entities within a squad are able to get into cover, a lower value meant some entities would remain outside of cover when an order to enter cover was given. This does not apply to single entity squads such as snipers and team weapon.
Improved cover generation by increasing the number of cover slots a world object provides. Previously, a number of world objects had too few cover slots, resulting in some entities of a squad receiving no cover bonus.
Improved the direction a squad will choose to face when entering cover relative to the location of nearby enemy units. Given that a number of objects in the world provide directional cover, this improvement helps ensure the squad retains their cover bonus when in combat.
Directional cover is now analyzed on a 2D basis. This prevents scenarios from occurring where entities would not receive their cover bonus.
Reduced the delay entities take to respond to movements by their squad leader. This will result in all entities responding to orders quicker.
Company of Kittens 2: The Tabby Wars

Infantry Reactions
Squad reactions, such as ground dives as a result of explosive weapons, will no longer occur while the squad is moving. Reactions will only apply to stationary squads. This will improve the responsiveness of squads in a combat scenario.

Team Weapons
Team weapons will no longer automatically set up when issued a move order.
Team weapons will automatically setup when an enemy is nearby or the weapon team is attacked.
While moving to their target destination, team weapons will no longer suffer from movement delays when a team member is killed.
Retreating weapon teams will no longer suffer a delay in movement if an entity is killed during the retreat.
Weapon teams can no longer have their retreat broken once the order is issued.
Team weapons caught in suppressive fire will now try to setup and return fire
Team weapons are now allowed to reposition their weapon cone while suppressed
Resolved an issue with carried team weapons which caused the weapons firing arc to positioning the wrong way. This resolves an issue with weapon teams setting up in the wrong direction.
Team weapons no longer require all entities to be near the weapon in order for a setup order to be initiated. This will improve the responsiveness of team weapons in a number of scenarios.

Cover Preview
Default cover is now previewed similar to negative, light, and heavy cover. This provides transparency in regards to where each entity within a squad will go. It also helps players identify what cover types are available in a given area.

UI Improvements
Unit multi-selecting has seen a number of improvements to enhance the player’s capacity to understand which unit is currently selected when sub-selected within a larger group of units. The mini-map will now differentiate between all selected units and the current sub-selected unit by highlighting the sub-selected unit’s mini-map dot. In-game, sub-selected unit symbols will also highlight relative to other units in the selection group.

Weapon Tracking
Weapons can now track their target while the unit is pivoting; previously the tracking would be delayed resulting in delayed targeting.

Entity Combat Behavior
Entities now respond to threats outside of their firing cone independent of other entities within the squad. Previously, entities would wait until all other entities were ready to fire before engaging. This will reduce the potential delay a squad may incur before firing on a given target.

Projectile Tuning
Modified the behavior of tp_homing_inf projectiles to not collide with a number of world objects such as bushes or light fences. In effect, this change will increase the strength of any weapon using this projectile type. This will impact the reliability of hand held AT like the Bazooka and flak weaponry like the Ostwind or 251 Flak Half-track. These weapon types will no longer continuously hit world objects, thereby missing their targets.

Cover Tuning
These changes work in conjunction with the squad cover behavior modifications. A large cover volume on fences and walls resulted in squads stacking up against each other in rows of 2 or 3’s instead of forming a line.
Adjusted the cover volume size on a number of wall and fence assets

World Object Tuning
Adjusted a number of assets to better align their intended states; i.e. adjusted some assets to no longer block line of sight. These changes will better align player expectation of world objects relative to their impact on gameplay. In other words, a small bush will not block site or prevent a squad from firing over it.

Projectile FX
Updated the visual effects on all small arms weapons to better reflect the size of the caliber and improve the overall visual fidelity. Heavy weapons, such as the M2HB HMG, will be easier to distinguish among nearby small arms fire as a result.

AI Improvements
Our goal is to constantly evolve the AI in such a way that it better reflects the decision making process of a player. This benefits players seeking enjoyment through single player content or skirmishes or those seeking to improve their mastery of the game. It also bridges the gap between a real player and the AI in a multiplayer match; more effectively filling the void left by a dropped player.
AI now uses offensive player abilities like artillery, strafing runs, bombing runs, recon flights, med kits, etc. The AI will only use them on Hard and Expert difficulties.
AI now techs up faster and better, spending less resources on cheap units, especially for OKW and USF.
AI combat evaluation functions now better understand how to attack structures which means the AI no longer gives up building units when it encounters enemy base buildings.
AI combat evaluation functions are better at determining which units are best for killing the enemy and no longer prefer to always build units with the most health and armour. This gets the AI to build a better mix of units instead of always preferring tanks with the heaviest armor.
AI will now engage in Jazz Hands and dancing whenever possible

Single Plane Off-maps
Single plane off-maps such as the IL-2 Precision bombing run or JU-87 Anti-tank Strafe are now directional, allowing the player to control the entry point and flight direction. Players now have more control over the payload delivery, the time-to-impact, and the placement of a strike relative to the environment. Overall, the change to directional placement will make these abilities stronger in smaller maps or when activated near a map edge, but weaker when used in larger maps or away from the map edge. As a result, a number of activation times were increased or decreased to better control how fast these abilities could deliver their payload to the designated target. If the ability time was set too low, the payload could be delivered in less than a second, giving the opposing player little time to react. In some instances it was necessary to modify the way the payload was delivered, this was done to increase the precision of the strafe relative to the information provided by the UI.

JU87 Anti-tank Strafe
In order to ensure the Strafe could effectiveness engage its targets, we tightened up the payload delivery. This removes scenarios where the shots would land to the left or right of the target rather than directly impact the unit. As a result, the lethality of this strafe has gone up considerably, although it does require a higher degree of execution to be effective. Additionally, shots are now dumb-fired; meaning the JU-87 fires off a number of shots within the designated zone without thought to what targets might be hit. This enables it to engage more targets types including structures, infantry, and other world objects.
Ability will now activate 2 second faster
Straightened flight path to reduce stray shots
Tightened firing path to increase accuracy of ability
Adjusted firing zone so shots would be more evenly distributed within the designated area.
Munition cost from 90 to 110
Cooldown from 0.125 to 0.25

JU87 Reconnaissance Pass
The reduced flight velocity is designed to provide sight on the ground for an extended period of time. This increased effectiveness resulted in a slight cost adjustment.
Ability will now activate 1 second faster
Munition cost from 30 to 35
Flight velocity from 160 to 80

JU87 Anti-Infantry Strafe
Ability will now activate 2 seconds faster

JU87 Fragmentation Bombing Run
This strafe would previously activate instantly, meaning units could be wiped out with nearly no warning. As noted above, this issue was exaggerated when the ability was used close to the map edge.
Ability will now activate 1.99 seconds slower

JU87 Incendiary Bombing Run
Ability will now activate 1.99 seconds slower
Straightened flight path to reduce stray shots

JU87 Smoke Bombing Run
This is a fairly significant improvement in the usability of this ability given players can now control the direction of the smoke. Use this ability to setup offensive maneuvers or cover a tactical retreat.
Aligned payload delivery
Munition cost from 50 to 40

IL-2 Precision Bombing Run
The bombs will now fall one after the other in a linear path. This extends the radius of damage, preventing a single concentrated attack from being executed. This is offset by the introduction of directional behavior which provides more control of how the bombs are distributed.
Ability will now activate 1 second faster
Straightened flight path to better align payload delivery
Plane velocity from 175 to 145
Increased plane flight height to better mimic bomber behavior
Far AOE distance from 5 to 7.5
Mid AOE distance from 3.75 to 5
Damage from 300 to 320
Angle scatter from 5 to 2.5

IL-2 Anti-Tank Bombing Run
Ability will now activate 1.99 seconds slower
IL-2 Sturmovik Attack Advanced
Tightened up firing behavior, reducing stray shots
Angle scatter from 7.5 to 2.5

Ambient Buildings

Our goal is to improve the gameplay value of buildings and reduce the potential frustrations associated with their use. The first step towards achieving this goal is to increase the transparency of a building’s structural integrity. By doing so, players are better equipped to analyze the battle field and its potential assets. Future improvements will focus on gameplay and interaction. This might include improving the functionality of a weapon team within a garrison or providing the player with a better means of identifying each structure type.

Improvements
Building “panels” now have a real health value, rather than rigid conditional destruction
Buildings can now have independent tuning for their “panel health”
Area of Effect weapons can now have independent tuning for how they damage panels over their AOE
Buildings are now destroyed when 50% of their total panel health is reached, rather than 50% of total panels destroyed
All team weapons which can be garrisoned within a building now share the same setup/re-position time of 4 seconds. This means a MG42 will take 4 seconds to switch windows and begin firing, as opposed to their old functionality which relied on their reload time. This creates more consistent behavior between team weapons and prevents some weapons from having delays as high as 6 or 7 seconds.
Panel Health

All ambient buildings are made up of a number of panels. Panels are meant to represent sections of walls, roofs, and floors and allow pieces of a building to be destroyed while leaving other pieces intact.
Previously, to destroy a panel you needed to meet one of two requirements:
Deal X amount of damage to a panel in a single hit
Deal X/2 damage twice to a panel
Additionally, panels could be immune to certain weapon types (ballistic, explosive, small arms, flame). As a rule, they were immune to small arms.
With this system, panels were either never damaged by certain weapons (Flak Halftrack, etc.) or always killed instantly by certain weapons (IS-2, etc.). Flimsy wooden structures being immune to 20mm weapons and castle-like structures being vaporized by mortars or other HE weapons did not fit within our design vision.
Now, panels have the following properties:
Panels have a maximum health value
Panels have a minimum damage value that must be exceeded before it takes damage
When a panel is dealt damage, it reduces the total health of the panel like other objects in the game
Panels can be immune to certain weapon types
We created three types of building profiles – very_weak, normal, and strong. Each ambient building is assigned one of these profiles and that profile defines their panel properties:
Very_weak buildings have the lowest panel health and the lowest minimum damage required. They are also no longer immune to small arms weapons.
Any building that appears weakly constructed is considered very_weak. A weakly constructed building might contain a thatched roof or poorly aligned wood panels.
Normal buildings are immune to small arms, have higher panel health, and higher minimum damage required.
Buildings that appear well constructed are considered normal. They will typically contain wood paneling and a proper roof structure.
Strong buildings are immune to small arms, have higher panel health, and the same minimum damage as Normal buildings
Buildings made of bricks or concrete, big churches (but not wooden ones) are considered strong
In the future, we intend to provide a means of easily identifying the structure type in-game.
The end result is that buildings will survive longer over the course of multiple combat engagements and be less prone to unexpectedly collapsing. Additionally, the health indicator on buildings will now be more accurate; better identifying the risk associated to its garrison.

AOE Weapons

The above changes initially resulted in AOE weapons becoming more lethal versus buildings. To address this, we gave each AOE weapon a “building damage profile”. This profile allows us to further tune the damage a weapon does over the range of its AOE when damaging a building panel. For example, it was undesirable to have a mortar deal no visible damage to a panel on the first two hits only to destroy a number of panels on the subsequent hit. This made it difficult to predict and analyze the state of the building. To resolve this, we adjusted the mortar AOE profile such that its closest AOE range applied more damage than its mid and far ranges. This caused each hit to destroy a panel instead of weakening the panels over multiple hits; leaving the building vulnerable to unexpectedly collapsing.
This tuning is ongoing; if we identify problem weapons we will adjust them accordingly. We do want to avoid creating unique weapon types, as this increases the complexity of the system and thereby required knowledge of its functionality from the players.

Units and Abilities

Our aim was to make targeted tweaks to a few select units to help broaden the viability of strategies and further encourage counterplay within the factions. For example, increasing the time it takes to reload on the Pak 40 indirectly increases the strength of light vehicles. Units, such as the T70 or Stuart, can now maneuver out of the field of fire thereby increasing their survivability. Similarly, increasing the damage output of the BAR improves the counterplay between BAR fielded infantry and LMG fielded infantry by further encouraging positional play. This is largely due to the decreased damage discrepancy of the BAR and LMG42 which will be introduced in this latest update.

War Spoils

Added 24 new bulletins
Added 4 new victory strikes


Stationary Howitzers
Our goal was to increase the durability of the howitzer without making the unit too resilient versus off-map abilities. Values greater than 400 meant howitzers could withstand attacks from off-maps such as the JU-87 Stuka dive bomber. We found this undesirable as it made destroying the unit too difficult given the fact that it is typically placed well behind enemy front lines. The slight increase to health will help in some scenarios, particularly in cases when off-maps such as the Light Artillery Barrage or tanks are used to counter this heavy weapon. We will monitor the performance of this unit post change and take action as needed.
Health from 350 to 400


AT Guns
AT guns were gaining veterancy significantly faster than any other unit in the game as a result of their high rate of fire and targets of choice. This diluted the value of their veterancy, making something that should be rare and powerful a bit too common.
Now require twice as much experience to level up at each respective veterancy level

Kubelwagen
Although we are pleased with the performance of this unit, we were unsatisfied with the effectiveness of available counters. The small target size of the Kubelwagen made hand-held anti-tank weapons, such as the Bazooka or PTRS, and dedicated AT guns less effective. By increasing its size, the reliability of these weapons will be increased. By increasing the fuel cost of the Kubelwagen, we have upped the risk of production and delayed future vehicle production. The 5 fuel increase can be retrieved by salvaging the destroyed Kubelwagen, or it can be denied by the opposing player through the destruction of the vehicle wreck.
Sized increased from 10 to 14
Fuel cost set to 5
Adjusted the required veterancy at each level to account for the increased fuel cost on the unit. Values are now 530, 1060, 2120, 2650, 3525.

Volksgrenadier
We wanted to better align the fuse timer of the Volksgrenadier grenade with other similarly classed grenades. Previously, its fuse timer was set to that of a cooked grenade, which is only used on elite infantry such as Shock Troopers and Paratroopers. This change also helps mitigate the overall strength of the Volksgrenadier squad, as it slightly reduces their anti-infantry capacity. Our concern is that this unit is over performing largely because it can fend off all target types. Even with a Panzershrek equipped, the potent grenade of the Volksgrenadier enabled them to engage other elite infantry.
Grenade fuse time from 0.75 to 1.25 seconds

Raketenwerfer
Other AT guns cannot be suppressed because they lack the capacity to retreat. In other words, if the Pak 40 could be suppressed, it would effectively be locked in place since it has no other escape mechanism. Given the Raketenwerfer does not have this barrier and is more similar in functionality to other weapon teams; we enabled the unit to be suppressed. The intent is to create consistent behavior between the Raketenwerfer and other team weapons.
Can now be suppressed

Jaeger Light Infantry
Slot size from 0 to 2; squad can now equip two additional weapons
OKW Zeroing Artillery
Can no longer be cast on enemy HQ territory

Jagdtiger
The beta allowed us to collect and evaluate community feedback on the proposed change to the Jagdtiger. After careful consideration, we determined that the proposed manual fire was not the best fit for this unit. This solution made the unit cumbersome to use for a large portion of our player base. It also failed to address one of the larger concerns pertaining to its piercing functionality. We are currently working on alternative solutions to help balance the use of this unit and other super heavies within the late game.
Modified distance range and range values on supporting fire weapon type to match main gun. This has almost no gameplay impact; it was changed for housekeeping reasons.
‘128mm Supporting Fire’ ability weapon tracking increased from 6 to 8 degrees horizontally to match the main gun horizontal tracking angle.
‘128mm Supporting Fire’ ability aim time from 2 to 0.5 seconds

Osttruppen Reserves
Veterancy level 3 changed from 1.4x armor to 0.715x received accuracy. This effectively keeps their durability the same; it just fits the modifiers better within the combat system as a whole.

221 Scout Car
This changes the way the weapon interacts with buildings; it was made as a result of improvements to building functionality.
20mm autocannon upgrade weapon type from ‘small arms’ to ‘ballistic’

Pak 40
We felt that the Pak 40 was over performing. It provided the Wehrmacht with too much flexibility in terms of when and what anti-armor they choose to field. It also greatly marginalized light vehicles, in many cases taking out a T70 or Stuart faster than the opposing player could react to the first shot fired. The increased reload rate not only reduces the effective DPS of this AT gun, it opens up the use of light vehicles. Light vehicles can now be fielded to apply greater mid-game pressure, increasing the risk of delaying armor as Wehrmacht. As a result, this should encourage the Wehrmacht to diversify their strategies thereby relying less on their heavier units.
Reload time from 2.7-3.1 to 3.5-4.1

Paratrooper Carbine
This change was made to better match the historical clip size with the in-game value.
Reload frequency from 8-9 to 14

Rear Echelon Carbine
This change was made to better match the historical clip size with the in-game value.
Reload frequency from 8-9 to 14

BAR
We wanted the BAR to have more power at short and mid ranges. We did slightly scale up long range damage but overall it is short and mid-range where players will see the largest increase in performance. This will enable the BAR to more effectively counteract long range weapons, such as the LMG42, through better positioning.
Near accuracy from 0.56 to 0.65
Mid accuracy from 0.44 to 0.5
Far accuracy from 0.3 to 0.35
Mid cooldown modifier from 1.25 to 1
Far cooldown modifier from 1.5 to 1.25

Dodge WC51
The effectiveness of this unit diminishes over time. By delaying its use to 1 command point, it became available at a point in the game where it no longer retained its advantage on the field. On the other hand, when it did become available at 0 command points, the risk associated with the use of this unit was too low. We were particularly concerned with the use of units within the Dodge, as they suffered very little risk in return for what they gained. To better balance this risk, we attached similar penalties to that of the M3A1 Scout Car, meaning units now received a combat penalty when firing out of the Dodge. Additionally, units in the Dodge at the time of destruction will now incur casualties.
Command point cost from 1 to 0
Units now receive a combat penalty when firing from inside the vehicle, similar to the Soviet M3A1
Units within a vehicle now have a chance to die if their vehicle is destroyed before they get out, similar to the Soviet M3A1.

M3 Half-track Assault Group
We wanted to better align the performance of this unit to other M3 half-track equivalents.
Units now receive a combat penalty when firing from inside the vehicle, similar to the Soviet M3A1
Units within a vehicle now have a chance to die if their vehicle is destroyed before they get out, similar to the Soviet M3A1.

Stuart
Shell shock reload time from 1.5 to 1.5-2 seconds; this affects how many shots are fired once the ability is activated.
Adjusted weapon priority table to match main gun
Adjusted weapon scatter to match main gun

Sherman Smoke Barrage
These changes are meant to improve the functionality and usability of the Sherman smoke barrage ability.
Wind down from 0.5 to 0
Wind up from 0.5 to 0
Reload from 2 to 1.25
Angle scatter from 35 to 20
Distance scatter max from 2 to 1.5
Fog of war angle multiplier from 2 to 1

M36 Jackson
Wind up from 0.4 to 0.44; this better synchronizes the animations of the unit

ISU-152
Similar to the Jagdtiger, we felt the manual fire on the ISU-152 failed to address the pressing issues raised by the community. Although it made the unit more micro intensive, it did not change the unit’s capacity to wipe full health units or change the fact that it could effectively engage both armor and infantry. We believe these two factored combined with its range make the unit too effective; thereby limiting viable strategies within the game. We are currently evaluating other methods that will better balance this unit’s functionality and performance.
‘G-530 Concrete Piercing Round’ ability minimum range from 25 to 7
Modified distance range and range values on G-530 weapon type to match main gun. This has almost no gameplay impact; it was changed for housekeeping reasons.
‘G-530 Concrete Piercing Round’ ability aim time from 2 to 0.5 seconds
Data Resolutions
The below changes represent data which unintentionally made its way into the game. We are resolving these inconsistencies by reverting them to their correct values.

Paratroopers
Veterancy level 2 accuracy modifier from 1.4x to 1.25x; this accounts for the out of combat healing to veterancy level 2 which other units who receive 1.4x accuracy do not have.
Paratroopers no longer benefit from LT or Captain being nearby; previously they received bonuses that were long removed from the game

Vehicle Stun Critical
Duration from 3 to 5 seconds; this affects a number of abilities which cause units to become stunned for a set period of times. The Stuart uses a separate critical for its stun and is not affected by this change.

Soviet AT Guns
No longer take +25% received accuracy; modifiers were removed to bring these units in line with other AT guns.

Bug and Gameplay Fixes

These bug and gameplay fixes are aimed at improving usability and functionality within the game. In some cases, the below changes resolve incorrect data which unintentionally made it into the game.

Map Optimizations
The following maps have seen a number of optimizations to pathing, balance, or general gameplay:
Trois Ponts
City 17
Ettelbruck Station

The follow maps have seen a number of bugs fixed implemented to address problematic areas:
City 17 Winter
Vaux Farmlands
La Gleize

Retreating
Strafing runs will no longer suppress or pin a squad while retreating

Vaulting
Squads can no longer be issued an order to vault on the same world object they are currently vaulting on. This prevents a back and forth behavior which was previously occurring.

Combat Engineers
This unit was unintentionally improved in the last update as it shares the same weapon as a Conscript squad. We created a unique weapon for this unit and brought its stats back to where they were. This places the performance of this unit back to where it was.
Now use a unique version of the Mosin Nagant rifle
Manpower cost from 180 to 170

Pioneer MP40
Moving accuracy from 1 to 0.6; this value was incorrectly set to 1 in a previous update.

AT Guns
Corrected the required experience for each level of veterancy such that it matches its base cost. Multiple the base values by 4x to get the required experience at veterancy level 1 and 2x afterwards to get each additional level.
Pak 40 base value from 360 to 320
Pak 43 base value from 480 to 500
ZIS Field Gun base value from 360 to 320
AT guns no longer push around their own crew while turning

M2HB HMG
Now uses an infantry turning plan, this resolves odd pivots and turns which were previously made by the squad. This also means the squad will reposition quicker as a result of these changes.
Movement modifiers set to match the MG42
Acceleration/Deceleration disabled
Rotation rate set to 10000 (instant)
Now has a UI portrait icon which appears with the use of sprint; these icons explain what the modifier on the unit does.

Units Forgetting Orders
Resolved a number of instances which caused units to not executed given orders.

Intel Bulletins
Resolved an issue with intelligence bulletin stacking if units crewed or decrewed a vehicle.
Made a number of small tweaks to modifiers to resolve rounding issues or broken functionality.

Event Cues
Resolved an issue with the event cue system which prevented ‘under fire’ queues from being issued. Cues of this type will now occur if units under fire are 60 units apart.

USF Major ‘Establish Retreat Point’
Major can now retreat to HQ while forward retreat is active
Deactivating forward retreat will cause retreating squads to retreat to the HQ now instead of the old forward retreat point

Ability Recharge
Squad abilities will now recharge while the squad is in a vehicle

Paratrooper Suppression Fire
No longer prevents the player from issuing other orders while the ability is active. For example, a retreat order can now be issued to the squad by the player.

Hull Down
Is no longer on a shared player cooldown, multiple vehicles can now be hulled down at once.

Infiltration Grenades
Can no longer be refunded if the ability is canceled abruptly. This prevents players from subverting the cost and recharge time by canceling the ability before the last grenade has been thrown.

Soviet Defensive Tactics Commander
PMD-6 Anti-Personnel Mines and Tank Traps now properly list as passive abilities

MG34 Icon
MG34 now uses the correct icon.

Command Panzer IV Icon
Now uses the correct short-barrel vehicle icon.

Luftwaffe Incendiary Bombing Run Icon
Now uses the correct JU-87 incendiary barrage icon.

Soviet Crews
Captured team weapons by Soviet players will now allow up to 6 entitles per weapon team to be reinforced. Previously some team weapons were capped at 4 entities.

Pack Howitzer
The unit will now respond to a victor target order by the Wehrmacht Artillery Officer

M7B1 Priest
The unit will now respond to a victor target order by the Wehrmacht Artillery Officer
Resolved an animation issue occurring with the unit

M8A1 HMC
The unit will now respond to a victor target order by the Wehrmacht Artillery Officer

M3 Half-track
Precise size from nil to 1.5

Tiger Ace
Resolved an issue which prevented the player’s economy from being restored upon losing the Tiger Ace.

Combat Engineers
Can no longer plant demolition charges while pinned.

Lieutenant ‘On Me’ Ability (Editor's note: presumably this should say "Captain", not Lieutenant")
Team weapons falling back to the Lieutenants position will now do so at an increased speed; previously they were falling back at their normal speed.
Jagdpanzer IV
Now displays an animator to indicate first strike bonus.
Added a portrait icon for the first strike bonus to explain the new state on the Jagdpanzer IV.

OKW Salvage Ability
Now functions on brewed up wrecks; brewed up wrecks have a burst of flames come out of their turret upon the vehicles destruction.

Sturmpioneers
Veterancy level 5 will now properly remove the increased vulnerability applied while repairing.

Resource Points
When a resource post was destroyed in a territory where an OKW base structure was setup, the point was un-capturable for 10 seconds. The territory point can now be captured right away.

Jagdpanzer IV
Now received its armored skirts upon reaching veterancy level 2.

ISU-152
Main gun will now animate properly when using the G-530 ‘Concrete Piercing Round’ ability

Partisans
Now has a UI portrait icon which appears with the use of sprint; these icons explain what the modifier on the unit does.

Dshk HMG
Now has a UI portrait icon which appears with the use of Armor Piercing Rounds; these icons explain what the modifier on the unit does.

Dodge WC51
‘Step on it!’ hotkey from D to N.

M3/M5 Half-track
‘Overdrive’ hotkey from V to E

Soviet Sniper
Now has a UI portrait icon which appears with the use of Sprint; these icons explain what the modifier on the unit does.

Prioritize Vehicles
Swapped the icon order to better reflect functionality

Panzerfusilier
Grenades now unlock permanently once the required building is constructed; losing a building no longer locks the grenades, similar to how Volksgrenadier grenade requirements are setup.

Lieutenant and Captain
Now have a UI portrait icon which appears when their veterancy level 3 sprint activates; these icons explain what the modifier on the unit does.

Stormtroopers
Now use the Wehrmacht Panzer Grenadier portrait icon instead of the OKW Jaeger Light Infantry variant; this applies to both winter and summer icons.

Munition and Fuel Crates
Updated the associated portrait of each crate
PHEW. That was a lot. (Editor's note: You ain't kidding!)