So I would like to discuss the rocket artillery, ideas behind it and how it fits the game, from my perspective.
I dont want to point towards any specific factions, since all of them more or less can abuse rocket artillery and be abused by it. Some more, some less.
To make it simple, there are only two types of rocket artillery in the game, the first one is being Stuka and the second one the rest.
As I see it, rocket artillery is suppose to be:
- Area denial
- Blob punisher
- Defense breacher
Problem is it usually results in wipes, which cant be avoided. Even if dont blob, even if you retreat the second you hear the salvo, it still wipes, resulting only frustration among players.
Loosing high vetted unit to a lucky rocket which hits you in the middle of the squad on retreat, is painful. And it become even more painful, when you realize that loosing one or two vet units may result to a loss of the game itself.
Problems are less persistent in 1v1 but become more and more present in a teamgames.
Suggestion
Right now all rocket arty deals 80 damage on direct hit, meaning it will always kill a model if it hits.
My suggestion is simple - lowering its damage to be 70 or 75 on direct hit and maybe applying suppression just like panzerwerfer, but without pinning.
What it will change:
Full HP squads wont be one shotter, but would be left almost dead, anything shooting at them will almost instantly kill them.
Why I don't think it would make it weaker:
- Blobs will still be destroyed or left crippled to be finished off by other means + suppression would counter them even more.
- Support weapons would require to be pulled off to be healed or again face annihilation of anything attack them
- If any kind of unit, won't be fully healed it will be possible wiped just like before.
- Players will still be required to fully heal their squads, meaning you will be delaying your enemy
What improvements it will bring:
- No RNG wipes, if properly retreated your full HP squad won't die to random rocket.
- It will be more tactical, you would either have to fight the enemy before to lower HP of his squads before using arty or catch him on his retreat path.
- If a player still wants to play using rocket arty, he would have to build two of them and shoot both of them at the same time at the same place to wipe anything that has full HP. But this will come at the cost of population and resources
- No more RNG blaming if you get your stuff wiped, only you to be blamed. All risks are calculated and predictable.
- Instead of click and pray RNG, players would have to aim at retreat paths and look for momentum to use barrage.
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And now stuka zu fuss.
Honestly I think its outdated badly. Its main balance comes from the hands of whom is using it. In right hands its the most OP arty in the game (shooting at retreat path) in wrong hands its easily avoidable and predictable.
I would rather see it shooting 3 rockets in the small circle, but its just my opinion. It feels like, originally this unit was created as a *cool feature*, rather then something that fits the game.