I'm just now seeing your response here, so I'll take it point by point.
I was trying to give you an oopsie out for trying to compare a barrage only vehicle that delays armour by minutes to an auto fire super mortar that could wipe squads at any time without warning.
As for me introducing the Walking Stuka into the conversation, my point is that it has a huge impact on 4v4 gameplay, especially on maps with chokepoints. There's a reason I use it all the time, even often preferring to field it before the Panzer IV Ausf. J, which is a great unit itself. The Walking Stuka definitely has a more devastating impact upon gameplay on certain maps, some of which I already mentioned (Lanzerath Ambush, Port of Hamburg, Essen Steelworks, etc.). I'm well aware that the Walking Stuka, Scott, and Pack Howitzer are very different, and that the Stuka costs much more fuel to field. My point is that here we are weakening the USF's Pack Howitzer and Scott, which pale in comparison to the Walking Stuka and the domination it brings to a dense battlefield, at a time when the USF's nondoctrinal artillery power is already woefully inadequate by late team-game standards. I think you know where I'm going with this.
the enemy outplaying you or map issues doesn't make the comparison better if you have an issue with the Stuka make a stuka thread, don't try to use it to somehow justify the pak howi being too strong. And for the record, the audio cue is what in part makes the Stuka OK. It's not a wipe out of nowhere like the pak howi
Dropping gargantuan bombs in a small chokepoint where anybody with a brain is virtually guaranteed to inflict heavy damage does not exactly classify as 'outplaying' anyone, in my book. I don't have an issue with the Stuka at all. It's an effective weapon, leave it that way. My issue is that some people come here and complain about the potency of two weapons (the Pack Howitzer and M8A1 Scott) that have far less potential in 4v4s, and now we see the USF's non-doctrinal artillery options further weakened into obsolescence. The audio cue is reasonable for the Walking Stuka, but it still doesn't mean an expert can't get hammered by it. If that were the case, other experts wouldn't use it. They do.
you are missing the point entirely. Fuel cost is not insignificant. The Stuka costs more than regular proper arty, and building it delays proper armour by minutes for a chance to wipe every minute or so. The pak howi costs no fuel and delays nothing while possibly wiping every few seconds.
I never said fuel cost was insignificant, and have acknowledged this multiple times now. You are missing my point when I say that non-doctrinal USF artillery is the worst of all of the factions already, and that weakening it further does absolutely nothing but make the USF less playable at a competitive level in team game matches. If these weapons are going to be weakened, the USF has got to get some other non-doctrinal artillery options, or at least allow all commanders to call in a Pershing, in just the same way that all OKW players can call in a King Tiger. It's that simple.
I know you are pretty new here but I'm well aware of the plight of team games and also that usf does quite well in them despite the lack of rocket arty.
I'm not sure if you're taking a shot at me for being new to the forum, or if you're simply pointing out that I'm unaware of your own awareness of the plight of team games (fair point - I don't know you too well), but I have played this game enough to believe that I can contribute a meaningful perspective to issues with team game balance. I concur with your assessment that the USF can perform well in team games, if you're happy with just making Jacksons every single game (and hiding them from virtually every other unit on the battlefield), or doctrinally fielding a Calliope or Priest from 3 commanders in the late game. Apart from being boring and repetitive, the lack of potent non-doctrinal artillery and heavy tanks discourages the use of all but a few USF commanders. This is simply bad for the game. That's my opinion.
I'm aware how early an okw player can field rocket arty. I've been playing this game since before it released and understand that if you play passively the Stuka will punish that. A properly micro medium will be equally devistating and higher impact however. Not that it's relevant to the discussion outside a reference point as to how expensive the Stuka is.
It's hard to quantitatively measure comparative efficacy between units like these, but, anecdotally, I have deduced that the Walking Stuka's team game infantry-killing power dwarfs that of the M8A1 Scott or the Pack Howitzer, yet the latter two are the target of the most recent AI nerfs. Do you see where I'm going with this? It doesn't make sense for a faction whose non-doctrinal artillery capability is already the worst in the game to have its current abilities beaten down even further. Add to this the long-established issue that the USF has no heavy tanks and you can see why players always choose the same few USF commanders in team games, or simply opt to forgo USF altogether and choose the UKF or the Soviets when playing on the Allied side.