Map Review #1 - Pripyat

Use my review as a debate starter, what do you think of this map?

Do you agree with the points I made, if not why?!

edit: of course there's no fixed positions in CoH2 yet, just ingore that bit

The only thing i have to ask about is, is it really fixed positions? as in russians are east and germans are west?
I clearly remember me playing on the western side as russian once. May have changed, because that was closed beta.

But you are right that the southern part is just free reign for german (if they are on west) because they can just put a bunker + 1 at gun there and you will have to meat grind your way through, if you don't control the destructable bridge.

The passing through water really makes a lot of fast flanking nearly impossible if someone decides to destroy the bridge, whicj tends to stall the game

No of course you're right! There's no fixed positions in COH2 yet, I had a bit of a brain spasm when I said that bit.

Perhaps I was caught up in the battle itself too much

A bit more talk about strategy could help. The talk about controlling the area north of mid was pretty good, but I think you should talk about map specific strategies.

Like how to break out of deadlock which seems to be extremely common on that map, where 2 sides square off and just fire volleys at each other. Assaulting maybe once every 10 mins.

I swear every time I play this map it turns into a 40 min game, it's really boring.

If both sides are firing volleys at each other then just go around the side.

interesting breakdown, be interested to see this on the rest of our maps

Finally watched the video. I liked the history at the beginning! Using the cheat thing to get a big overview is awesome but you should really go through the resource layout in more detail and pay more attention to sectors and stuff. You've inspired me to think about making my own map review videos! Not sure if I will, but it's on my mind.... My thoughts:

• You're right to point out how the rivers slow people down. That's pretty silly, IMHO. It just funnels people into the middle, as if this map needs to encourage clogging up chokepoints. The river needs to go, or get frozen, or get shallower, or something.
  
• I think people get too hung up about the middle: you say that the part north of the VP is the crucial part of the map for when the middle devolves into tank battles, but the only thing in the middle is a VP and if you just set up anti-tank on your side of that thing, your opponent's unlikely to be able to punch through (because of the ridiculous chokepoint) so just concede the middle.
  
• I disagree that the southern sector goes uncontested. No matter where I spawn I always fight over the south and the north. In fact the southern side somtimes sees more fighting because the bridge to there isn't inexplicably destroyed like the one in the north.
  
• I agree that this map creates bad games. It's a bad map.
  
• I think it would've been good to dwell on how horrible a chokepoint map is. Between the clogging in the middle, the easy access to barbed wire for both teams, the necessity to upgrade barbed wire cutters if you don't have a vehicle yet, the destroyable bridge (come ON why do these even exist in 1v1 maps), and the rivers that slow you down on the flanks, this map is clearly designed to turn the game into a horrible clusterfuck instead of the fluid, mobile battles with multiple flashpoints that characterize the best Company of Heroes games.
  
• The limited number of capturable points on the map, the layout of the sectors, and the stupid chokepointy nature pretty much eliminate most cutoff action unless one or the other player is dominating anyways. Lame! Company of Heroes should be all about cutoffs. That's what makes the resource system unique.
  
• The red cover is really inconsistent on this map. Most of the roads are red cover, except when they aren't. Sometimes the open ground is red cover, I think, except when it isn't.
  
• The line of sight/firing lines in the center are really messed up. I've had AT guns refuse to fire at tanks that it seems like they should be able to hit, and the same thing happened to Dullahan's MG-42. Relic either needs to include a hotkey to check LoS, an LoS indicator on the range indicators for weapon teams, or fix this part of the map, or better yet stop making maps like this.
  
• The trees on this map look nice when they're on fire.
  

In summary fuck this map.

TychoCelchuuu

Ah come on you're a full length gameplay commentator, that's your thing! Let me have this niche

I don't mind this map in 1v1. I think with 2v2 it is too much of a cluster-fuck with the river crossings much easier to defend with two players.

In a 1v1 with soviets I usually make extensive use of the south crossing early relying on the fact that most german players will devote a majority of their forces to the center/north. This lets you either get behind the center and then flank from the bridge below the center vp. You also have the option of bypassing the center and sneaking around to their fuel cut off point. Its usually a distraction that gets the germans to seperate their forces enough to break through the center at which point its usually GG.

With the germans I play it more defensively using mines and bunkers on the flanks with a main force of grens mg mortar stug. Then I usually back tech to PGs and use those to flank the north or south.

All of the possible strategies seem to fall apart in a 2v2 and the soviets must be very aggressive and take an early map lead or eventually the germans get an elephant which locks down half the map.

TychoCelchuuu

Ah come on you're a full length gameplay commentator, that's your thing! Let me have this niche

Hah, I don't think people monopolize niches - the more the merrier! And since I doubt Relic pays attention to actual shoutcasts it would be good to get my opinions into a form that they would pay attention to.

This map makes me miss Angoville and Langres.

This map actually isn't that bad for 1v1 when played properly. Sure you can camp it up but since the map is so big it allows for alot of harassment on the wings. There can be some improvements made sure (I don't think you should be allowed to demo the bridge in the middle, or make demos cost fuel to research) but still I've had better game on this map than kholodny.

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