How did the Call In game evolve?

Question I was thinking about watching Redwings' P4's not even scratch the paint on an IS2.

I was wondering, when did the emphasis on soviet armor call-in's over tech begin? The commanders available are stock, yet in the past, soviets relied on KV8's with death fuel, and occasionally 2 T34's, one to ram, and one to circle became the favourite counter to the P4, and when that was toned down, SU85's took center stage, once Panthers were neutered, then that didn't really work, once people switched to the ferdinand, so the ISU came around, then the Tiger ace decided to show up and made us all shit our pants, and unless I missed some steps in between, we're at where we are now with the IS2, and especially 4 34/85's seem to be a go to, especially now that guards are seeing more time on the battlefield. So what happened? Did we just wise up to their efficiency? Or are there tertiary factors i'm not considering?

What d'ya think? I also appeal for a slight degree of civility, as I realize this can be a charged topic.

Last year March deployment patch.

Whole cp system was redesigned and tech cost increased to slow game phasing and allow longer mid-game. Result was delayed arrival of medium tanks which were able to destroy anyone waiting for call-ins. Thats the time of cap Molo flame cars abomination and isu spam. Also g43 blobs were so op grens just a-moved everything with them.

Basically history of all all coh 2 meta written in patch notes. One units were buffed, others nerfed, and top-level strategies always evolved about using most efficient units.

Also atguns were absolute crap at hte beginning, 360mp and couldnt hit anything. So when they were buffed it was at lot more viable to stall for call ins

Speaking personally:

When I started playing the SU-85 was god, and because I was Noob I adopted a strategy of doing whatever people complained was OP (now I alternate between doing that and using whatever people think is UP)

Anyway, the T-34 was also a piece of pudding on treads that was only good for ramming (and ramming was a lot better then)


Forward into the dark days of the Tiger Ace, to fight which you needed:

Snare (Conscripts)

Guards (Button)

Mark Target (When it stacked)

SU-85s

Luck


I found myself having armies of all the above and no real mobility and offensive punch, Guard Motor gave me mobile options.


Now, since then almost all the above options have changed and I am more confident not building T4.



My T1-T2 Shock Rifle play came from:

Needing M3s to counter Kubels

Not playing without Zis

Playing with teams of more than 1 USF + People with weird Soviet doctrine

So, better have IS2s.


That's just my personal meta-game evolution.

++++++++++++++++++


Also bear in mind that originally CPs went 1 to 5, and it was possible to do straight con spam into call ins.

However the CPs were split up into 1-10*, and then some higher tiers added with armour pushed back to make it come later so you cannot do straight T0 to Call In anymore

This is one reason why conscripts don't - indeed can't - scale very well, if they did we'd see T0 builds again

* This had the infamous side effect of T1 shocks...

i must be the only person who enjoyed the old Pre March Deployment gameplay: It was usually something like 4 cons+support weapons vs flamer halftrack rush. You had to be ultra-aggressive and careful at the same time with your cons as well as with the flamer halftrack.

when they boosted T3 and T4 cost to 140Fuel it was clear those options aren't viable anymore when there are still call-in options around

It's the easy way.

ahhhh... i wasn't aware the changes to tech were so comprehensive during the march deployment. i stopped playing before then, and returned that summer xD probably for a variety of reasons.

Well for quite a while 34/85s were trash, when they eventually made them a solid tank, didnt take long for stalling for 34/85s to become very common.


IS2 used to be insane AI, but not so great AT. So it wasnt so great vs Tigers

MG42s, FHTs and LMGs have all been OP for Ost making it harder to wait for IS2 and requiring a quicker T34 to stay in game maybe?

They should make it so soviet call ins require building either t3 or t4 building (I also think that tiger should require battlephase 2) stop people just going heavy T2 and stalling

To my mind it evolved into the complete collapse of ostheer in 1v1
Just a handful of problems:
1. Mgs countered easily in many ways - even frontal assaults.
2. Grens countered by anything - mortars, at tank guns, any infantry coming up from the front even when U're in cover, they lose models while other fractions first lose health (often there are still 4 men on the us (especially) or soviet squads with barely any health left.
3. Huge teching costs and a lot of time devoted to teching and building.
4. Even medics work silly (US just presses a button (no muni cost) and all models heal instantly vs. ost two medics - it takes more time before you can have full health sqads back on the field.
5. Tanks easily crippled by mines or nades than finished by jacksons, bazookas, at, planes, or just superior numbers of tanks - if Ur opponent is not insanely careless they won't lose tanks too quickly and wait until they have a few and will circle anything U have, etc.
6. No frontal assault units - panzergrenadiers can only be effective on defense - even then very often too easily lose models when full health.
7. Paks easily countered by HE rounds.
8. Units with very limited uses and no versatility (despite whatever they tell about grens - other units are just much more versatile) vs my favourite US units where vehicles self repair + cap with crew out + pop out bazooka + have minelaying abilities + they don't even need to give order to the crew to repair after they leave the vehicle
9. Cost differences between units are completely unjustified (cheap and versatile units vs not better and costly ost units)
10. Extremely pathetic at maps with no open sections.
11. No proper mines that actually surprise the better opponents + extreme fragility to mines because of 4 man squads.
12. No ability to build sandbags; they are totally dependent on map cover, which means good players always know when to expect ost units.
13. Total problems with counterattacking - especially when it's the enemy who uses the cover.
14. Worse grenades (molotvs denying cover, pineapples shredding everything.
15. Static nature of the army makes it voulnerable to any support weapons.

Sorry. Posted in a wrong place. Pls somebody move it to ostheer balance if possible