Penal Battalions THE THREAD!

penals should just be 320 manpower, done, they are not OP,but quite decent.
Oh and rename penals to frontline infantry or something, the name they have now makes no sense.

I wonder how hard and/or feasible making satchel charges like sticky nades would be...

The long timer gives a german player time to maneuver and position itself best for an impending disabling effect.

But at a certain point I feel like they should just be renamed Strelky

No, the unit type "Strelky" should stay exclusive for Eastern Front mod. Also, Penals have no red flag

Anyways. I've noticed that button + satchel charges is the most evil AT combination ever. Satchels deal such a horrendous amount of damage to tanks, it's scary. If it was just a bit easier to pull off

I've read stories of men running up to tanks to shove an AT mine under it. Maybe something like that? Penals that can insta-place down a mine in front of a tank which if its runs it over shocks the crew or something and does a little damage?

I've read stories of men running up to tanks to shove an AT mine under it. Maybe something like that? Penals that can insta-place down a mine in front of a tank which if its runs it over shocks the crew or something and does a little damage?

That would be pretty awesome actually.

I would also like to point out that between this and Steam there are 131 posts. 2 of them say Penals are fine as they are.....

I think this is probably the only thing that both sides can agree on...Penals need a change.

I hope your listening Relic

Anyways. I've noticed that button + satchel charges is the most evil AT combination ever. Satchels deal such a horrendous amount of damage to tanks, it's scary. If it was just a bit easier to pull off

The problem is you're relying on a doctrinal call in unit + enough munitions to keep pulling this off - 60 initial for the DP LMG, 40 for a button, 45 for a satchel... To afford that so early in the game, not to mention the MP investment you've made for the 2 units is pretty difficult, and you also have nothing to follow up with except Guards until you can get t3/4 out.

But at a certain point I feel like they should just be renamed Strelky

Agreed, they're Penals in name only. Suicide Satchels and UI / Voice Acting are the only things that make them "Penal Troops".

I think they should give them new voice lines, and rename them to Frontoviki, Strelki, or just Riflemen.

As much as I hate to say it, I don't buy the whole "they were super experienced" line. Troops sent to a penal detachment strike me as looters and 'cowards', not sane individuals who tried to improvise. I would say just make them into cheap (200 or less MP) 'suicide' troops with team weapon Mosins (less DPS iirc) and the satchel ability, and make them fit only for "I want THAT unit dead" duty.

Then we can move the SVTs to Guards as an upgrade and undo their silly "huehuehue PTRS team" getup.

Add a cheap (240 MP) four-man PTRS team with a pair of PTRS' to T2 as an anti LV option (note, this is still T2, so it's no worse than facing an ATG in terms of teching) to finally give the Soviets some reliable non-doctrinal HHAT. Guards become ranged AI elites, while shock troops are your CQB go-tos.

As much as I hate to say it, I don't buy the whole "they were super experienced" line. Troops sent to a penal detachment strike me as looters and 'cowards', not sane individuals who tried to improvise. I would say just make them into cheap (200 or less MP) 'suicide' troops with team weapon Mosins (less DPS iirc) and the satchel ability, and make them fit only for "I want THAT unit dead" duty.

Do you want your pios dead? Do you want any of your squad dead? I don't. Maybe I would consider it if they were able to take a gun and immobilize panthers/elephants with that suicide of yours, other then that you need to play less spamcraft, baneling idea will not translate into CoH2.

Give me one reason why would I want a squad that performs worse then conscripts, arrives later, scales worse and is suppose to die.

One sane, logical reason.

Then we can move the SVTs to Guards as an upgrade and undo their silly "huehuehue PTRS team" getup.

Add a cheap (240 MP) four-man PTRS team with a pair of PTRS' to T2 as an anti LV option (note, this is still T2, so it's no worse than facing an ATG in terms of teching) to finally give the Soviets some reliable non-doctrinal HHAT. Guards become ranged AI elites, while shock troops are your CQB go-tos.

You're drifting into the realm of dream wishes. Nothing like that will ever happen.

As much as I hate to say it, I don't buy the whole "they were super experienced" line. Troops sent to a penal detachment strike me as looters and 'cowards', not sane individuals who tried to improvise. I would say just make them into cheap (200 or less MP) 'suicide' troops with team weapon Mosins (less DPS iirc) and the satchel ability, and make them fit only for "I want THAT unit dead" duty.

Then we can move the SVTs to Guards as an upgrade and undo their silly "huehuehue PTRS team" getup.

Add a cheap (240 MP) four-man PTRS team with a pair of PTRS' to T2 as an anti LV option (note, this is still T2, so it's no worse than facing an ATG in terms of teching) to finally give the Soviets some reliable non-doctrinal HHAT. Guards become ranged AI elites, while shock troops are your CQB go-tos.

I like this idea very much.

Do you want your pios dead? Do you want any of your squad dead? I don't. Maybe I would consider it if they were able to take a gun and immobilize panthers/elephants with that suicide of yours, other then that you need to play less spamcraft, baneling idea will not translate into CoH2.

Give me one reason why would I want a squad that performs worse then conscripts, arrives later, scales worse and is suppose to die.

One sane, logical reason.

You're drifting into the realm of dream wishes. Nothing like that will ever happen.

Seeing as

A) I didn't have a clue what the f**k you were talking about until I used Google
B) I never played Scrubcraft and never intend to play that turd of a game
C) Thought up that idea for a unit concept myself

your logic extends no further than "I perceive this to be an attempt to nerf the Soviets".

Why would you want them? You could have a 200 MP squad that could pick up HHAT and other dropped slot-item weapons, satchel everything in sight, still Oorah around the map if you managed not to get them killed, and can be used en-masse in conjunction with AT nades, Button, or suppression effects to generally shit on the nearest baddy-who-cannot-micro's day. As for scaling, I can see no reason why Penals should become super duper great for late-game combat as your bread-and-butter units. They're a specialist (see: produced from Special Rifle Command) squad that was likely intended for this very role, but the devs went "well, we gave Guards DPs and Shock Troops PPShs, so who the blank do we give the Tokarev rifles to? F it, give them to Penals."

@ Oz, thanks for the supportive input. I'll end up modding that (if and when tools are released) in any event. EF mod did everything so much better than Sega did.

I do not see a unit that is made to die ever fitting within the scope of CoH gameplay. The whole idea of veterancy is to reward unit preservation...

Glass cannon: high risk, high reward yes, but a unit that it spammable and able to take casualties already exists in the form of Conscripts.

Do you want your pios dead? Do you want any of your squad dead? I don't. Maybe I would consider it if they were able to take a gun and immobilize panthers/elephants with that suicide of yours, other then that you need to play less spamcraft, baneling idea will not translate into CoH2.

Give me one reason why would I want a squad that performs worse then conscripts, arrives later, scales worse and is suppose to die.

One sane, logical reason.

You're drifting into the realm of dream wishes. Nothing like that will ever happen.

Goliath exist earlier than Banelings
So does M8 mine drop on a Panther.

COH2 suicide unit, T-34/76

Suicide unit? They exist.

Do you want your pios dead? Do you want any of your squad dead? I don't. Maybe I would consider it if they were able to take a gun and immobilize panthers/elephants with that suicide of yours, other then that you need to play less spamcraft, baneling idea will not translate into CoH2.

T34-76s totally not suicide units. More often than not, the only reason why they are bought late game is for ramming, sure take a few shots, but if the oppurtunity arises to get a side/rear ram on a vetted P4 or tiger/panther its better to take it than risk it reversing away into less favourable positions where the 34 either rams into the front or gets engine damage from supporting forces and can't ram.

edit: ^^ porygon knows whats up