u guys think so narrowly when thinking of balance suggestions. its quite true its tough to balance between these high value static emplacements and the '2 click counters' that destroy them. personally id like to see both howitzers get their range reduced by 25-33%, their cost reduced to 400-450, pop reduced, unable to be built in base sectors and maybe drop the number of shells fired down just a tad.I've been saying they should do something like this for a while now, though I think that's a bit too many nerfs. And let's remember not to leave out the priest as well.
i think this pretty drastic change would force players to build howitzers in significantly more forward positions than they are now to use them offensively (which at the same time will leave them vulnerable to pushes from the enemy), or they can choose to build them further in their own territory and use them as a defensive unit instead. the decrease in cost means that having 2 or even 3 howitzers is feasible, and significantly reduces the impact of a single stuka divebomb taking out your investment.
My dream changes for arty:
No longer buildable in base (Priest can no longer fire from base)
shells reduced a bit back to old numbers
Price dropped
increase gun health
Add tank shock or crits on contact with vehicles to increase versatility
Maybe increase cooldown if necessary
The thing is as long as artillery remains buildable inside the base, artillery NEEDS to be very vulnerable and expensive, because of how hard it is to get too.