Finally some balance, what to do now?

Judging from the discussions in the forums the 2014-18-02-patch has solved the biggest problems (shocks,guards,tigerace,windustry) with balance in gameplay. Some would say that new problems(ppsh and ?) has risen, but those do not look as obvious as those who where solved. If the game is balanced, and Relic is saying that more changes will be done in the coming months, what do you think they should focus on?

Sorry if I offended anyone (on a loosingstreak)by stating the game is balanced.

I'd like to see an observer mode being available and some mod support, that'd be awesome but it'll take some time I think.

Something still needs to be done about Ostheer insta-squad wiping. The only time I've had a squad wiped in one shot as Soviets, is when it happens to my Engineers. That and when Railway Artillery successfully finds it's mark, but other than that Soviets are just too large and/or durable to wipe, in stark contrast to Ostheer.

I'd also like to see Ostheer get better grenades, the inverse of the above, Ostheer Grenades are overpriced for their effect. Assault Grenadiers are the worst perpetrator, they pay 45 mun for multiple grenades, which rarely kill more than 2 people maximum. Last night I had an engagement where my Shock Grenade killed 2 men far apart from each other, then his Rifle Grenade killed one Shock, then his Bundle Grenade killed one more. Oh those wacky communist Terminators.

Lastly, Molotovs should probably be disabled during suppression. It's a bit silly that you can still Oorah into an MG 42 and have a chance at winning anyway if you have more than one Conscript doing it. As Soviets, I rarely bother to do a full flank, because I can just do a partial flank and then Ooralotov.

uh no if your supressd you can stil preform actions like in real life. (bin to afganistan 2 times)

anyway i do agree that your freedom is limitid so i would say cut moli rang in a X amount of % like 60% or sumting around that line

i dont feel ppsh is a big problem. i use it alot and if you want al cons to have it, its harder cuz it realy is heavy on the muni for al your cons to use molis and at naed al the time. you just cant do it anymore. also yes it can be effectivly counterd with g43

Nothing will change.
Germans will still whine that something from soviet arsenal killed their ubermensh and space technology tanks, soviets will still whine that T34 can't take on anything and 2 dedicated AT units is not enough.

Rinse and repeat for the games lifspan with new DLCs in between.

I would say we are ready for some brand new broken DLC commanders.


More serious suggestions:

-re-enable goddamn mod support (i want my historical accurate skins back and be able to zoom the camera further out)
-lessen RNG impact (mines, faust, at nade, ram, support weapons getting chain-decrewed on retreat etc.)
-improve vehicle pathfinding (if possible at all)
-iron out wonky game mechanics (for instance units have no LOS if standing close IN FRONT of bushes, infantry take a stop on retreat and run back into cover - annoying things like that.)

In short: make the game more pleasant to play, more consistent, more skillful.

And yes, new commanders with unique units that are balanced is alright with me.

There is one suggestion i have - balance - wise. Fix Penals. They are more of a niche unit than ever, atleast give them more armor or make them cheaper or...dunno. Just make them somehow worth producing..

Balance is not the core issue, Relic is usually good at fix that. The main issue right now is the business model, how they can fix the mistakes done (pay 2 win), and move forward with a model that allows them to make money to keep supporting the game, while at the same time not being frowned upon by either casual or competitive player base.

Then/at the same time, they need to create more strategic options and ways for better and worse players to differentiate themselves.

I agree that the lucky squadwipes needs to go, and I think they should improve this by fixing the pathing. Right now, your soldiers does a lot of retarded stuff while in combat, and this obviously has a greater impact on the german four man squads. Having your shrecked panzergrensquad instawiped simply isnt fun, and dont encourage good play.

And they should add lobbies. The absence of this simple feature simply made the game worthless to a lot of people.

For me is problem asymetric late game AT in team games.

for balances:

penals, scout cars, mid game

he main issue right now is the business model, how they can fix the mistakes done (pay 2 win), and move forward with a model that allows them to make money to keep supporting the game, while at the same time not being frowned upon by either casual or competitive player base.

just a suggestion:

free to play MP automatch

paid single player campaign, ToW, skin DLCs, custom game MP.

Give players more options to spend their resources on that aren't just more units. I played a bunch of games over the weekend and I can't express enough how incredibly dull it is that the only strategic decisions you have to make are "Build this unit? Or build that unit?"

The only way you can improve as a strategic player is to figure out the best possible combination of units that allows you to react to the widest range of opposing unit compositions. It's so uninteresting.

Give players more options to spend their resources on that aren't just more units. I played a bunch of games over the weekend and I can't express enough how incredibly dull it is that the only strategic decisions you have to make are "Build this unit? Or build that unit?"

The only way you can improve as a strategic player is to figure out the best possible combination of units that allows you to react to the widest range of opposing unit compositions. It's so uninteresting.

Well, that would require serious overhaul of basically everything.
I can see that for the possible future armies, but definitely not for current ones, unless they come up with "global upgrades commander".

-German Mines still need work, removing the signs would be good, reducing the damage and cost of the teller mines would also be useful
-The Stug is almost entirely useless
-Ram should just stun a crew, especially when its against Tigers
-Squad wipes for Ostheer are too much, if it can't be fixed then reduce the manpower cost for squads.
- German Doctrines are almost all 'meh' whereas the soviets have a far better selection to choose from.

The fundamental design problem with the germans is there is very little tactical flexibility, the soviets can come at the game in so many different ways.

In coh1 we had upgrades. (Bars, Stickies, supply yard, smoke canister, demo charges) and (Pe vet, Vet sargeant, zeal group, squad size, etc) Resources in this COH2 can be only invested in units (except the 3 upgrades from russian HQ)

Balance is not the core issue, Relic is usually good at fix that. The main issue right now is the business model, how they can fix the mistakes done (pay 2 win), and move forward with a model that allows them to make money to keep supporting the game, while at the same time not being frowned upon by either casual or competitive player base.

A COH2 'season pass' that gives access to all the DLC for a discounted price would have been a good idea.

Nothing will change.
Germans will still whine that something from soviet arsenal killed their ubermensh and space technology tanks, soviets will still whine that T34 can't take on anything and 2 dedicated AT units is not enough.

Rinse and repeat for the games lifspan with new DLCs in between.

+1

This hits the nail on the head!

i am not fond of pay 2 win but sincerely who buy skin ? But a lot of player buy commanders !

i don't have number buf if Relic money come from 90% commanders sales and 10% everything else, even if everybody says it is not good for the game, i don't think they can/want/will change anything.

And there is a lot of random particulary for grenades and sometimes it's too much ! But it's part of the game no? Go play SC2 if you want no random

I find it really surprising how well the workshop items work for DOTA 2 and CS:GO. I'm wondering if it would be possible for Relic to emulate that model to some extent.

Here are some thoughts:
-top voted player maps could be grouped into purchasable (but easily affordable) map packs and available to automatch in a separate category. Sort of like CS:GO's operations. Eventually some could be added to regular automatch.

-create loads of tank / infantry skins and make them trade-able items that sometimes drop after a game. Allow people to create and sell their own skins. This could provide some goal to the useless xp model currently implemented. For example, an item might drop every time a new level is reached.

-bulletins could become tradeable items as well and drop in the same way as skins.

Well, I can't speak for CS:GO, but Dota 2 just lends itself really well to the model Valve has taken. Heroes are unique with distinct styles, and their models are generally large enough that you can actually notice the cosmetics. It's also not a historic game, so there's more freedom to create interesting stuff. There are also uniquie game elements that lend themselves very well to cosmetics, such as wards and couriers.

The problem with selling maps is the CoH2 community is just too small. People won't buy maps unless they're reasonable certain that they will be able to play on them. When there's barely enough people automatching to find a game in a timely manner, maps that segment the community aren't going to be successful.

Honestly, I think if Relic had gone the cosmetics approach to DLC right off the bat, everyone would be a lot happier. Make interesting skins, give units custom animations or voice lines for certain skins, sell customized faceplates and base buildings so players can pimp their clans, let people sell custom HUDs. Hell, I'd buy a custom HUD if it fixed the terrible default CoH2 HUD, and I'd buy some cool-looking skins if they were worth the money and came with some cool extras. No way in hell will I buy a commander though. Not going to support a business model that's fucking a game that already has enough problems of its own.