Patch March 31st changelog

All together a good patch. I would have preferred to see some changes to teching or more to be done against blobbing, but oh well.

Guards look like they will be pretty awesome coming out of this patch, will love to try them out.

PTRS Accuracy increased from 0.03 / 0.0425 / 0.055 to 0.22 / 0.50 / 0.60

i think this is a typo error. 0.5 and 0.6 accuracy is insane and will instantly wipe even infantry squads. i doubt they intended ptrs to be infantry snipers and killing everything.

likely its more 0.022/0.050/0.060.just a small accuracy buff that will not achieve much in anti tank or anti infantry.

Because OKW get absolutely nothing good for that first 120 fuel...

LOL. With his math a t-34 should be better than a Tiger I. 50 + 120 + 100 vs 230

i think this is a typo error. 0.5 and 0.6 accuracy is insane and will instantly wipe even infantry squads. i doubt they intended ptrs to be infantry snipers and killing everything.

likely its more 0.022/0.050/0.060.just a small accuracy buff that will not achieve much in anti tank or anti infantry.

/Sarcasm

PTRS to kill would still need two accurate shots to kill a model. With that old accuracy, AT rockets killed infantry better than a powerful rifle...

We shall see if the PTRS becomes the old LMG34.

/Sarcasm

PTRS to kill would still need two accurate shots to kill a model. With that old accuracy, AT rockets killed infantry better than a powerful rifle...

We shall see if the PTRS becomes the old LMG34.

Since Guards drop their weapons like crazy, PTRS will be the new LMG 34 when dropped. Entire units will be sacrificed to save or get it

Average patch overall.

But as usual some changes lack consistency. The changes that bother me, albeit without any actual play-testing, are the following:

B-4
There were two main issues with the B4 that we wanted to resolve. First, the fact that the B4 significantly hampered unit preservation, and second that the B4 has been over-performing in relation to the other howitzers available to our players. The additional damage dealt at Veterancy level 3 and the potential to combine the damage bonus from ‘For Mother Russia’ made this unit extremely lethal.
Direct fire now pierces through terrain (to improve usability – still requires clear line of sight)
Direct fire range has been reduced from 150 to 100
Direct fire cost has been reduced from 180 munitions to 90 munitions
Direct fire now requires Veterancy level 1
Removed precision strike
Veterancy level 3 has had the 1.5x damage bonus removed
Veterancy level 3 now increases ability range by 33% on barrage and direct fire

They nerfed the damage, I agree with this change as it was way too powerful. yet they removed the precision strike ability, which was the only way to hit anything. If you're going to nerf the damage and remove precision strike (which costs munitions btw), this changed warranted a slight accuracy increase and decent scatter decrease for the standard B-4 barrage. It's common sense as the B-4 is the Howitzer with the most scatter.

I predict that this unit will be now useless and out of the meta for good, especially with the prevalence of CAS, you are better off getting the ML-20 instead. Unless you want to use it as a glorified and dastardly slow soviet PAK-43 by using direct fire mode, in case you are swimming in munitions and need a munitions sink.

For Mother Russia
The previous modifiers resulted in unintended consequences such as a B4 having the capability to take out a Tiger tank in one shot. The modifiers have been adjusted accordingly to better align with our gameplay systems.
1.5x damage bonus converted to 1.25 weapon accuracy.

All-right seems fair, it's essentially the same ability as OKW Luftwaffe's valiant assault. Any confirmation on the accuracy buff affecting the B-4 too?

Volksgrenadiers
The received accuracy bonus the Volksgrenadiers gained at veterancy level 5 made them extremely durable. Durability was not one of the intended roles of the squad so adjustments were made.
Removed 0.71 received accuracy at veterancy level 5
Added 0.7 cooldown and reload at veterancy level 5

Panzerschreck
To help facilitate our goals of anti-blobbing, we have decided to reduce the effectiveness of Panzerschreck at long range. It was previously quite easy to move a shreck blob into position and snipe vehicles. The reduction in accuracy at greater distances will ensure that in order to be effective, OKW players will need to commit further into enemy lines.
Far Accuracy has been reduced from 0.025 to 0.020

So you nerf shreck blobs accuracy at long range, but increase their rate of fire at vet 5 (Which volksgrenadier attain quickly once shrecked). You know this won't solve a thing, the reload and cool-down decrease nullifies the accuracy nerf... A 3 or 4 volksgrenadiers blob will eventually hit the target through sheer volume of shrecks seeing they fire more often, at least one shreck is bound to connect.

Conclusion: No actual change to Volksgrenadier Panzershreck blobs, slight nerf to Panzer Grenadier Panzershreck blobs, because Ostheer needed more nerfs right...

HMG 42
We’ve found that the MG42 has been slightly underperforming in the damage department. These changes are meant to improve its performance and thereby better align it with the other HMG teams.
Near Accuracy has been increased from 0.68 to 0.7
Mid Accuracy has been increased from 0.41 to 0.45
Far Accuracy has been increased from 0.14 to 0.35

They should have increased the traverse speed slightly for better crowd control. As This rewards micro/skill, it's only fair IMO. Instead of let's say buffing suppression outright and insta-pinning squads. Nor did they decrease the set-up/tear-down time. This is a no brainier for me and what Ostheer needs to deal with allies early game.

SdKfz 222 Armored Car
Our aim here is to provide the Armored Car with an increased level of durability so that it may act as a better deterrent against light vehicles.
Health increased from 200 to 240

Too shy, won't change a thing. I would suggest adding a slight armour and an extra 20 health buff with veterancy, so this unit survivability is increased later on, as they make for great spotters late game. hell my kubels outlive the 222s cuz kubels at least pull out some batshit crazy matrix dodges to those AT shots...

No changes to Ostheer teching?! Cmon Relic...
Tiger I needs a health buff, to bring it to IS-2 Health, leave armour unchanged.

The rest of the changes, at a glance, are okayish. So it's a decent patch, but not worth the 6 month wait.
Still waiting on an optimization & stability patch relic... this game runs like crap, CoH 2 is a 2013 title not a 2015 E3 Tech Demo FFS.

P.S : Why didn't they add the Red Ball Express to the auto-match map pool as a dedicated 3v3 map? It's great and we need more true 3v3 maps.

Tiger I needs a health buff, to bring it to IS-2 Health, leave armour unchanged.

Tiger I & IS2 have the same health.

I can't believe no one has mentioned the fact Obers now have the same DPS as rifles do now lol.

Lol indeed, this is a great thread. Glad you're enjoying the changes. Also: you're wrong.

Tiger I & IS2 have the same health.

Really? My bad, Tiger I feels so squishy, maybe it needs a slight health buff then.

I am a bit suprised that obers did not get a price decrease with the loss + nerf of the lmg34.

Same, also having the Obers require munis makes early munitions even more ridiculously scarce. With the nerf to Volks(they will die a lot faster now, so you will need to constantly re-buy Shreks) and the requirement of munis for LMGS for Obers; I really feel they could have taken away the OKW's -20% munition gain.

I think the munition requirements are going to be the first big kick in the nuts to people trying out post-patch OKW.

Same, also having the Obers require munis makes early munitions even more ridiculously scarce. With the nerf to Volks(they will die a lot faster now, so you will need to constantly re-buy Shreks) and the requirement of munis for LMGS for Obers; I really feel they could have taken away the OKW's -20% munition gain.

I think the munition requirements are going to be the first big kick in the nuts to people trying out post-patch OKW.

Volks will not really die any faster to traditional squad wiping mechanisms, they will merely not be immune to small arms fire (artillery and tanks don't "hit" a target, they just miss close by). The fact that OKW is muni starved is GOOD. OKW was designed as a faction that was meant to have to make tough decisions. Now they finally have one, do I want better AI or better AT?

yes yes yes, my beloved angovile is coming back

Maybe now, guys like Alex can STFU and let "real ppl who knows about balance" discuss? Since he was was like OKW need no nerf and so on, Relic just made him totally wrong.

Volks will not really die any faster to traditional squad wiping mechanisms, they will merely not be immune to small arms fire (artillery and tanks don't "hit" a target, they just miss close by). The fact that OKW is muni starved is GOOD. OKW was designed as a faction that was meant to have to make tough decisions. Now they finally have one, do I want better AI or better AT?

I agree, raketenwerfer was considerable buffed so you might not need any pzschrecks at all as okw. 60 munis are two nades, it's not much. Especially since a wall of raketenwerfers becomes now suitable. It's only a lot for people that go 4-5 Schrecks and throw nades at every engangment.

Just adapt to what the patch offers you...

STG-44 IR nerf is very unnecessary.

No USF stuart changes(

B4 is dead, Cpt tier still dead and axis fanboys are still crying, meh.

STG-44 IR nerf is very unnecessary.

it ignored cover

While mostly good changes, none of these changes will drastically change the meta. Call-ins will still reign supreme, Ostheer teching will still be a no-no, Soviet T4 is still a no-no, and I still have 18 copies of Elite Armor that are completely worthless

I don't get it why people think, axis where "nerfed to the ground" Every change (except the KT nerf IMO ) was needed, but OKW/OH are still very very powerful. Obers will still be some kind of terminators
The new meta will be Raketenwerfer blobs

Pretty happy with the balance changes overall. Finally can target demos now! However there were hardly any bug fixes.