[Winter Balance Update] General Discussion

Could someone pls explain, what does "manual reload" means? How does it work? Is there already any unit having it, like an example to understand.

You can now click a button that will force a clip/belt based unit to reload. This means that you can make sure your unit is ready for the next fight with a full clip/belt.

Sturmpioneers
Adjustments are being made to Stumpioneers to allow their Panzerschrecks to be a functional upgrade and diversify OKW builds. Their high costs and fall-off in the AI role mid-game makes it impractical for multiple Sturmpioneers to be fielded in higher level games. Population is also being reduced to help OKW's population issues in the late game.
- Panzerschreck and minesweepers no longer mutually exclusive with each other
- Panzerschreck cost from 70 to 60
- Population from 8 to 7
- Concussion grenade cost reduced to 20 at veterancy 4

Yeah.......... my spider sense says you just borked team games XD

Self mine clearing shreck blobs incoming!

A lot of great changes! But some anti fun ones too.

I'm gonna play some games on the mod tonight.

But great work all round!

For quality of life improvement u forgot the problem that retreated squads forget their settings, such as the sniper Hold Fire ability became disabled after retreat and okw AT gun Prioritize Vehicles ability became disabled after retreat , please fix that.

Note: the patch looks great، thanks for your efforts.

All Snipers
The intended change is to make Sniper less capable of operating on their own when they do not have veterancy. This will force the player to have forward spotters to fully utilize the range of their sniper or move the sniper closer to their intended target. Quality of life implements have also been added.
- Cost from 360 to 340
- Sight from 45 to 40
- Will no longer auto-target vehicles.
- Veterancy 2 +20% sight bonus to +25%; total is now 50 from 54

This is going to work against you, playing with sniper out on his/her own is fools work anyway, you're now encouraging a generation of players to learn how to spot for their snipers properly!

If you want to nerf snipers slightly or something, encouraging synergy spotting play might not be the best way. Could in fact slow games down as players learn to use the 'meat shield' more often.

Basically I see this 'nerf' as a global buff to snipers due to player dynamics.

thanks for these changes, i'll try them as soon as possible

All Snipers
The intended change is to make Sniper less capable of operating on their own when they do not have veterancy. This will force the player to have forward spotters to fully utilize the range of their sniper or move the sniper closer to their intended target. Quality of life implements have also been added.
- Cost from 360 to 340
- Sight from 45 to 40
- Will no longer auto-target vehicles.
- Veterancy 2 +20% sight bonus to +25%; total is now 50 from 54

This is going to work against you, playing with sniper out on his/her own is fools work anyway, you're now encouraging a generation of players to learn how to spot for their snipers properly!

If you want to nerf snipers slightly or something, encouraging synergy spotting play might not be the best way. Could in fact slow games down as players learn to use the 'meat shield' more often.

Basically I see this 'nerf' as a global buff to snipers due to player dynamics.

It's more of a very big nerf to snipers now that they can't clear out MGs without having to have another squad in range of the MG to spot for you.

Before you could poke an MG with the sniper and fall back to your supporting infantry in case the enemies supporting infantry pushed forward. Now your own supporting infantry will be supressed and utterly useless for trying to block the enemies pushing infantry.

All Snipers
The intended change is to make Sniper less capable of operating on their own when they do not have veterancy. This will force the player to have forward spotters to fully utilize the range of their sniper or move the sniper closer to their intended target. Quality of life implements have also been added.
- Cost from 360 to 340
- Sight from 45 to 40
- Will no longer auto-target vehicles.
- Veterancy 2 +20% sight bonus to +25%; total is now 50 from 54

This is going to work against you, playing with sniper out on his/her own is fools work anyway, you're now encouraging a generation of players to learn how to spot for their snipers properly!

If you want to nerf snipers slightly or something, encouraging synergy spotting play might not be the best way. Could in fact slow games down as players learn to use the 'meat shield' more often.

Basically I see this 'nerf' as a global buff to snipers due to player dynamics.

The changes force concentration of about 500 MP on a single spot. The opponent can cap the rest of the map in the meantime.
Currently a sniper can harras single infantry squads without any issues, especially if they are capping this will basically deny the cap. Now you must close in further at risk more if you want to do this.

The changes force concentration of about 500 MP on a single spot. The opponent can cap the rest of the map in the meantime.
Currently a sniper can harras single infantry squads without any issues, especially if they are capping this will basically deny the cap. Now you must close in further at risk more if you want to do this.

It also means sniper is no longer any kind of HMG counter and if you need multiple units, you might as well just forego extra micro tax and flank it traditional way.

Brit heavy mortar barrage looks really cool

Besides the manual reload,HT healing and squad formation qol, the rest of the changes are either unrealistic, stupid and unneeded.

It seems that Axis is getting nerfed again (what a surprise) and allies are getting buffs (Rifle AT nade, Bofor + AEC + other countless stupid changes).

Why Cons can still build sandbags in the same time as before but not grens or other infantry units?
Why have Schwerrer Panzer HQ cost 90 now?
Why removing the vet 1 Rifle AT nade?


This patch is terrible, just leave the game in its current state as it is very balanced atm.

WC51 and 50 cal nerfed. 1v1 will be playable again!

Isn't it a bit ironic that we're already talking about the next patch before the supposedly current one still hasn't been released?

Maybe read the patch notes again without so much bias.

It seems that Axis is getting nerfed again (what a surprise) and allies are getting buffs (Rifle AT nade, Bofor + AEC + other countless stupid changes).

OKW got almost only buffs.

Why have Schwerrer Panzer HQ cost 90 now?

'Cause panzer authorization costs only 30 now. This change is a straight buff (except if you want to field that one squad of Obersoldaten without MG43 that minute earlier) and is noted about 5 times as such. I don't know how you can possibly interpret it as a nerf.

Why removing the vet 1 Rifle AT nade?

Clearly stated in the notes.

General Changes
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Excellent! Should be implemented asap. The ONLY risky bit imo is the number of flame bursts to destroy a garrison. Although the reduction may be needed 20 bursts to start with might be worth considering.

Quality of Life changes
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Brilliant again! I'd add one more - a button on infantry squads with handheld AT weapons to prioritize vehicles (or on all infantry irrespective of the weapons they have).

USF
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Very good changes I'd add a calliope change - make it the slowest rocket arty (durability vs. speed adjustment principle - what calliope has more in armour, it should lose in speed: if it survives three shots, it should be three times slower than other wheeled aries). Would lead to some cool tactical gameplay, for example, with Jacksons which would not be able to just reverse and stay out of range defending it, etc.

Ostheer
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Good changes too. I'd think of giving 222 some more lategame potential due to its fragility. It is a good spotter but also extremely fragile. I'd think of giving it a vet gained capping ability similar to the USF jeep. It might help to offset some Soviet/USF capping advantages lategame due to ostheer pios being bound to vehicles at that gamestage while t70/vet1 sov tanks and USF crews/speed officers all can outcap the ostheer player.

Soviets
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Brilliant changes, too. IMO the ram ability a bit overnerfed - it got two nerfs at the same time from what I understand: 1. no crit ability 2. locked behind a vet 1. That is too much imo and the it might destroy some of the game's unique 'flavour'. One of the two should be implemented, not both.

I'd also think of removing the potential to stall the engine after a nerf. A good idea migh be to include an RNG component. Make the ability primarily deal damage and then give like 30% chance to crit. This should discourage players from using it tactically as a crit dealer but crits imo should sometimes happen. Crit possibility could be also increased for each level of t-34's vet. Vet 3 t34 should have sth like maybe even 100% crit chance (one of the three crits RNG based); vet 2 should make it 75% chance and vet 1 50%; at vet 0 the t34 should have 30% crit chance).

UKF
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Great!


OKW
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Very good changes

Bug Fixes
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More information about the deployment of the Winter Balance Patch and the 64bit and map update here.

Can a mod sticky this please

ASAP, ASAP, ASAP - so logical and so much in the right direction. Thx guys for making this game getting better and better I love U.

Sorry for quoting stuff wrong above - but hope it is still readable.

No bros you're not getting what I'm saying, players under top level right now don't use snipers very much because they don't use them in a safe way and get burnt, aka always playing with them exposed and not having a faust or at nade handy to stop LV rushes. So yeah they might get a cheeky mg wipe or whatever in the first 15 mins but that sniper is dead by 20.

This patch is telling them to play it safer, keep your snipers back, and let them do their work and accumulate mp over time, whilst staying protected. Which is actually how pro players use their snipers in CoH2 from like 2018 onward. DevM, Luvnest, Talisman had a big impact on this in a public setting. Noggano is a great example in 2020 during CoHrona Cup semi finals.

It's like how directly using your mortars in CoH2 most of the time, results in less work over time than just letting the AI fire for you all game. People think too hard with snipers and try and be too clever.

I'm suggesting that if the balance team start pushing players to using their snipers synergistically it'll actually have a weird counter intuitive effect on the playerbase of making them use snipers more.

That's my take anyway.

Fully agreed with AE.

I like Jobber’s idea to reduce the speed of snipers once they get fired at by another squad or vehicle.

Whats about removing requirement for Jagd- and Stumtiger, that T3 + Upgrade has to be map-present? Make it same as Kingtiger.

What are the new added maps?

where I can view them?

sorry if this question was unrelated to the blog.