new patch impression

alright so this is just gonna be my initial impressions of the patch overall + possible meta changes with this patch for 2v2s. i played for a couple hours as axis and allies and it was pretty interesting to say the least. obviously this post will be focused around 2v2s since thats what i play mostly.

well the biggest change seems to be the suppression changes for all the machine guns. MGs seem to suppress in the first burst 90% of the time. well placed mg42s completely shuts down infantry heavy builds such as con spam, and in the case of the USF, every build since all they can do is make rifles. the damage output is very very very scary, and once you have multiple mgs able to cover each others flanks it becomes a nightmare to try and swarm ostheer positions with just sheer numbers. i find it to be very frustrating to play like i was playing in prepatch with just trying to attack multiple directions with cons/rifles/guards and it really wouldnt work because i would run into mgs and just want to kill myself.

for soviets i had a lot better success using snipers to help create openings by sniping mg crews so i can swarm in and exploit this temporary weakness. stealing mg42s was a huge help, since the smaller 4 man axis squads really suffer from the high damage output. despite being nerfed, i found 120s to still be pretty effective, but not blatantly disgusting and it was A LOT less frustrating playing AGAINST 120s as well. i think shocks will really make a comeback this patch, since it seems like breaking apart MG walls is what the meta is evolving into for the allies, and shocks excel at this with smoke, grenades, and mobile (albeit short range) firepower. guards seem to have a really hard time attacking mg walls because they get suppressed so quickly, and they need more time to kill things than shocks do at short range.

the meta feels like its turning into drawing battle lines with multiple mgs, and whoever can best create an opening with snipers/artillery/tanks and exploit that opening with infantry will win. a moving with infantry doesnt seem to work as i mentioned before just because they get instnatly suppressed. i played around with stuff like the LEFH and i think it has some serious potential in becoming relevant because it can break apart defensive MG/AT gun walls. the katyusha will be as good as ever, and the new creeping barrage seems like a very powerful replacement to the precision strike. in addition now since like every soviet unit has flares, i think flares + offmaps will be the best way to clear out mg42/pak walls. OKW will have the stuka as always, and falls/jli will as always be a powerful call in unit. the IRHT change is interesting, but i find it very limiting since it takes such a long time for it to sweep across and only gives you fairly limited info, but in theory it helps you find holes in the enemey lines.

in addition waiting for call ins as soviets atleast seems to be complete suicide as a well timed p4 will actually just buttfugg you so hard, but the heavy tanks will, as always, be powerful units but i think the new buffed tank destroyers will be able to handle them if en masse.

to pretty much sum it up, i find that 2v2s are turning into well defined battlelines maintained by MGs/ATguns + halftracks/ambulances and whichever side can best use mortars/tanks/snipers/artillery to kill the instasuppress MGs and then exploit that hole with infantry will win, instead of the blind infantry spam that he game used to be. who knows what the game will be like in the coming days, i maybe completely wrong. sorry for the wall of text EleGiggle

Glad to see USF's early short comings are getting recognized.

3x Rifle build is basically the only viable opening, and it can be countered VERY easily.

I think USF needs that 60mm mortar that was in the patch notes, I have no idea why they just decided to buff all HMG's and keep the monotonous rifle build the way it was.

Removing the Precision strikecrap from soviet arty, PAK43 makes a comeback, also the new MGs instasupress infantry, it is so grateful.

pak43 still gets destroyed by offmaps

COH1 style'ish gameplay is back, blobs get punished harder, and you need to have some sort of strategic opening instead of brute a-move force.

Can't say i don't like it, but we'll see.

Well written impression Lemon, as usual.

I guess i really have to veto off Kharkov now Lemon, I still have nightmares about our game playing as USA. Just can't break the double hmg half track strat for some reason. 4Head

Nice early impressions.

I guess i really have to veto off Kharkov now Lemon, I still have nightmares about our game playing as USA. Just can't break the double hmg half track strat for some reason. 4Head

Nice early impressions.

eleGIGGLE

yeah, rails/kharkov/crossing seem like nightmare maps atm. maybe once people start figuring out efficient ways to go about dealing with MGs itll be better.

COH1 style'ish gameplay is back, blobs get punished harder, and you need to have some sort of strategic opening instead of brute a-move force.

Can't say i don't like it, but we'll see.

A problem is that not all maps allow for a lot of tactical maneuvering, especially the narrow team maps where a few MGs can shut down the entire map.

A problem is that not all maps allow for a lot of tactical maneuvering, especially the narrow team maps where a few MGs can shut down the entire map.

Especially in 4v4 format where you must capture points by force and can't just "outcap" your opponent.

Thank Lemon.

We start play only Axis in team games. HMG spam forever.

The .50 Cal for USF is actually a monster if well placed and a player doesn't retreat immediately!

The .50 Cal for USF is actually a monster if well placed and a player doesn't retreat immediately!

Riflenades deal with .50 very easy. .50 come to late and you dont have any AT guns / howi. M20 and AA truck meat invisible OKW AT guns. Try yourself.

Riflenades deal with .50 very easy. .50 come to late and you dont have any AT guns / howi.

If you have supporting infantry for "spotting" those grens get suppressed and pinned before the rifle nade gets you. While I do agree that rifle nade does clear the MG way too efficiently I think. Gonna give this new HMG stats a shot for now and see how it goes. Helps get a Sherman out super quick and Germans typically aren't ready for it! Plus snares don't work as well on the Sherman as it use to!

a rifle nade will never be able to wipe a full health 50cal squad thats in green cover unless you flank.
also, i think it might be better to go lt into cpt rather than lt into major rush. you absolutely need AT guns with this new patch imo.

edit: another option is to just use airborne company's paradrops.

Good analysis, I think its still to early to tell how the meta will evolve this patch. I dont that no the maxim is that bad is it? I mean its suppose to suppress blobs better right?

Good analysis, I think its still to early to tell how the meta will evolve this patch. I dont that no the maxim is that bad is it? I mean its suppose to suppress blobs better right?

i agree that its a too early to tell, but these are just some initial thoughts/ideas. the maxim still only suppresses one squad at a time, but it does benefit from the incremental accuracy. for those that dont know the incremental accuracy buff means that for every model in the MGs arc of fire, accuracy is increased by 15%. obviously mg42s/34s benefit the most from this because in general allied squads are bigger, but against volks and fusiliers itll make a huge difference.

Good analysis, I think its still to early to tell how the meta will evolve this patch. I dont that no the maxim is that bad is it? I mean its suppose to suppress blobs better right?

No.

From the patch notes:

Nearby suppression radius changed to 13 (except maxim HMG)

Because you know, fuck soviet combined arms.

COH1 style'ish gameplay is back, blobs get punished harder, and you need to have some sort of strategic opening instead of brute a-move force.

In coh1 you didn't have the inaccuracy and received damage while shooting in movement that you have in coh2. I'm glad flanking and maneuvers are forced to be done in coh2, but I feel they are not rewarded as they were in coh1.

Time will decide.

Regards,

a rifle nade will never be able to wipe a full health 50cal squad thats in green cover unless you flank.
also, i think it might be better to go lt into cpt rather than lt into major rush. you absolutely need AT guns with this new patch imo.

edit: another option is to just use airborne company's paradrops.

Thank again. I try 3xrifle, LT, 2xMG + 2xAT guns.

another important aspect is the ambulance/halftrack so you have to retreat only when you absolutely need to.