British Forces

Back in CoH1 the Brits were my favorite faction, I especially loved rushing staghounds, using my emplacements felt solid, the infantry was good and the upgrades were solid. The armor was good and the doctrines shined bright. I feared fighting a competent British player in a 1v1 in CoH1.

I don't in CoH2

They feel way off and too weak. The crutch units have been nerfed long ago, yet nothing has been done about their other underwhelming units. I don't understand the nerfs in the latest patches, I don't understand why this faction needed to be nerfed back to the stoneage after their crutch units were slaughtered by the nerf hammer.

To be honest, I don't really know what the Brits need at the moment, perhaps others do? Let's share our toughts on improving the Brits.

Back in CoH1 the Brits were my favorite faction, I especially loved rushing staghounds, using my emplacements felt solid, the infantry was good and the upgrades were solid. The armor was good and the doctrines shined bright. I feared fighting a competent British player in a 1v1 in CoH1.

I don't in CoH2

They feel way off and too weak. The crutch units have been nerfed long ago, yet nothing has been done about their other underwhelming units. I don't understand the nerfs in the latest patches, I don't understand why this faction needed to be nerfed back to the stoneage after their crutch units were slaughtered by the nerf hammer.

To be honest, I don't really know what the Brits need at the moment, perhaps others do? Let's share our toughts on improving the Brits.

- A lot of people dont miss Coh1 Brits, Infantry Blob, with op Staghounds or Kangaroo, Sim city in strategic points

- Maybe cause Crocodile was OP, Churchill was unkillable, Mortar churchill was OP, Commando were OP, Sniper 100% accuracy on retreat was OP, 0 CD on Brace was OP ?

They need a little buff, but you really dont understand why they have been nerfed on the first place ?

I have a feeling that Staghound will be back in a new commander somewhere down the line, though the problem will be it'll be like 7-8cp!

- A lot of people dont miss Coh1 Brits, Infantry Blob, with op Staghounds or Kangaroo, Sim city in strategic points

- Maybe cause Crocodile was OP, Churchill was unkillable, Mortar churchill was OP, Commando were OP, Sniper 100% accuracy on retreat was OP, 0 CD on Brace was OP ?

They need a little buff, but you really dont understand why they have been nerfed on the first place ?

I do, I haven't bought brits until a few days ago. I was a brit launch victim too, I experienced the centaur rush, crocodoom one burts wonder weapon too. I just don't think they feel solid as of now.

No need to get buthurt over the past..

I have a feeling that Staghound will be back in a new commander somewhere down the line, though the problem will be it'll be like 7-8cp!

Perhaps it will!

Playing brits for me is like playing OKW.

Rush centaur, go hammer tactics. Vet 1 on centaur as well as blits can be allot of fun.

Back in CoH1 the Brits were my favorite faction, I especially loved rushing staghounds, using my emplacements felt solid, the infantry was good and the upgrades were solid. The armor was good and the doctrines shined bright. I feared fighting a competent British player in a 1v1 in CoH1.

then go back to CoH1 and abuse that noob blob faction.

Stags were OP, emplacements were OP, infantry blob + LT were OP.

and spam Royal Artillery to win.

Some of their units need some tweaks, like the Universal carrier and the Firefly. But to balance them out, give them at the very least a 3inch mortar squad instead of the mortar emplacement. This would fix alot of the UKF issues. Then give them some proper arty like fixing the sexton, base howitzers and give them some rocket arty through a commander(land matress, this is probably on it's way).

The whole idea of a defensive faction that cannot attack a defensive position because it doesn't have any way of pounding mgs, at guns or bunkers is handicapped.

then go back to CoH1 and abuse that noob blob faction.

Stags were OP, emplacements were OP, infantry blob + LT were OP.

and spam Royal Artillery to win.

Way to be constructive!

I think that Brits are underperforming at the moment, but only slightly. They have a lot of very strong units-tommys are great, the sniper is good, comets, cromwells, and centaurs are all better than their counterparts. So any buffs would have to be pretty subtle or we'd just end up overpowering them again.

ATM I think that it's a touch too difficult to attack entrenched positions in the early/ midgame. Maybe reducing the cost of the mortar pit and the reinforce point slightly? Or perhaps reducing the cost of the grenade upgrade? Or folding grenades into teching somehow.

The CoH1 brits were an unholy abomination of a faction that almost no one liked and was solely kept alive by crutch units such as the LT blob, Staghound, Roo and Sim City. I am absolutely not missing them.

CoH2 Brits use a similar but more solid and fun design. Unfortunately, like their forebears they rely on crutch units; blobbed tommies in cover, sniper, cromwell, among others, because the rest of their lineup is either mediocre, immobile, or plain sucks.

They need buffs to their unused units (Sexton, AEC, 17 pounder, Centaur, PIATs), their shit doctrines (Royal engineers and artillery as well as the croc) and some units need a rework IMO (UC, Firefly).

- A lot of people dont miss Coh1 Brits, Infantry Blob, with op Staghounds or Kangaroo, Sim city in strategic points

Here i agree, that was horrible to play against, but coh2 brits need some serious tweaks.

Way to be constructive!

As always, just read his posts.

I've had issues with their midgame. It's basically non-existent.

Early game they're actually just fine, except against OKW. It doesn't take a genius to look at the graph of relative army strengths after playing a game as brits against OKW and seeing that from the very start OKW have an overall army value advantage, and unless a major mistake is made, the OKW will keep that advantage throughout.

Some key things I think give brits an edge:

• Versatile mines
  The mines go off if anything runs into them, and generally cause engine damage. They're old fashioned mines and I think good players should lay more of them.
  
• Strong unit carrier
  The bren carrier can take some punishment, but it suffers from the same problems that all light vehicles suffer from, which is easy infantry-based AT. Obviously not so good against Wehr, but decent against OKW. Bren in Bren, if you're willing to spend the fuel and munitions, is really good. Better than the armored car out of T2, I think.
  
• Bofors
  Still a murder machine. I don't think I need to say much about this. I hope they keep it the way it is because as an emplacement, it's the only way I can see to reliably survive until late-game.
  
• late-game
  Comet tank, Cromwell Conga Line, and Sherman firefly. Greatest armor in the game. If brits make it to the end, they do very well. Currently my strategy in 1v1 is similar to my strategy as soviets, but much more campy. Sitting on points, disrupting wherever possible, and surviving until I get the hard-hitting late tanks. OKW P4 is really good against cromwells tho, just something one should watch out for.
  
  

I'm still experimenting with the brits, most of these CoH2 factions aren't super-straightforward to me (see also: nothing like the PE) so I'm re-learning the game again. If anyone has any other constructive things to add regarding UKF strengths that'd be nice.

You're crazy plexy. The UC is way worse than the 222. Easily the most useless light vehicle in the game per cost. Well maybe the us jeep thing is worse.

It is marginally okay at keeping a kubel at bay but even then it is useless once the first schreck pops and you can't repair it early like OKW can. On super building heavy maps you sometimes need the flames though.

IS and vickers are fine, just hard to work with so few units early on. Early map control can be a pain with such a stagnant force, I say stagnant because they rely so heavily on green cover to be efficient.

Sniper is still great. Vet 1 gives you a crazy long range vehicle snare backed up by what is probably the best AT gun in the game. Engineers are... Well they can sweep and plant mines and cap. Mortar pit is okayish on the right maps but it is hard to find 400 manpower to squeeze into a stationary building a lot of the time. Especially when you need a sniper and AT so early in so many cases. Can be the key to a good mid game though, sometimes I find myself floating between my second at gun and my first tank and I don't always want to invest in a 4th IS. Even three can be heavily draining to maintain.

All brit tanks are good, the comet is probably the single best tank in the game. It is good against everything with disgusting mobility, great frontal armor and good hp. Can be hard to get this far though, but cromwells are still potent.

I think one of the keys is forcing yourself to play a slower game. Be more deliberate. Pick your half the map and camp it till your army meshes together. Make your opponent attack into your green cover where IS dominate everything.

Still... Brits are a little weak this patch. They're in an awkward area where old OKW was. Weak early game but utterly dominant late game.

You're crazy plexy. The UC is way worse than the 222. Easily the most useless light vehicle in the game per cost. Well maybe the us jeep thing is worse.

It is marginally okay at keeping a kubel at bay but even then it is useless once the first schreck pops and you can't repair it early like OKW can. On super building heavy maps you sometimes need the flames though.

IS and vickers are fine, just hard to work with so few units early on. Early map control can be a pain with such a stagnant force, I say stagnant because they rely so heavily on green cover to be efficient.

Sniper is still great. Vet 1 gives you a crazy long range vehicle snare backed up by what is probably the best AT gun in the game. Engineers are... Well they can sweep and plant mines and cap. Mortar pit is okayish on the right maps but it is hard to find 400 manpower to squeeze into a stationary building a lot of the time. Especially when you need a sniper and AT so early in so many cases. Can be the key to a good mid game though, sometimes I find myself floating between my second at gun and my first tank and I don't always want to invest in a 4th IS. Even three can be heavily draining to maintain.

All brit tanks are good, the comet is probably the single best tank in the game. It is good against everything with disgusting mobility, great frontal armor and good hp. Can be hard to get this far though, but cromwells are still potent.

I think one of the keys is forcing yourself to play a slower game. Be more deliberate. Pick your half the map and camp it till your army meshes together. Make your opponent attack into your green cover where IS dominate everything.

Still... Brits are a little weak this patch. They're in an awkward area where old OKW was. Weak early game but utterly dominant late game.

Yeah but the UC can come out at T0, in terms of timing it's all right early. You're still right though it's basically useless after *any* AT hits the field.

I definitely find I'm trying to play sim city with my sandbags right at the start of the game. Correct me if I'm wrong but the slit trench is built more quickly than sandbags.

I forgot the sniper, thanks for bringing that up. I have a serious problem with keeping it alive, practically have to wrap it in bubble tape. I miss the wehr sniper with 1000 health. It's totally important though I see your point.

an actual mortar or flame thrower not tied to a light vehicle that explodes as soon as panzershreks come into sight would be nice relic.

Oh and a vehicle snare, you know like AT grenades. Having a flame HT drive around toasting my single AT gun while my tommies and AT sniper watch is not fun

You're crazy plexy. The UC is way worse than the 222. Easily the most useless light vehicle in the game per cost. Well maybe the us jeep thing is worse.

It is marginally okay at keeping a kubel at bay but even then it is useless once the first schreck pops and you can't repair it early like OKW can. On super building heavy maps you sometimes need the flames though.

IS and vickers are fine, just hard to work with so few units early on. Early map control can be a pain with such a stagnant force, I say stagnant because they rely so heavily on green cover to be efficient.

Sniper is still great. Vet 1 gives you a crazy long range vehicle snare backed up by what is probably the best AT gun in the game. Engineers are... Well they can sweep and plant mines and cap. Mortar pit is okayish on the right maps but it is hard to find 400 manpower to squeeze into a stationary building a lot of the time. Especially when you need a sniper and AT so early in so many cases. Can be the key to a good mid game though, sometimes I find myself floating between my second at gun and my first tank and I don't always want to invest in a 4th IS. Even three can be heavily draining to maintain.

All brit tanks are good, the comet is probably the single best tank in the game. It is good against everything with disgusting mobility, great frontal armor and good hp. Can be hard to get this far though, but cromwells are still potent.

I think one of the keys is forcing yourself to play a slower game. Be more deliberate. Pick your half the map and camp it till your army meshes together. Make your opponent attack into your green cover where IS dominate everything.

Still... Brits are a little weak this patch. They're in an awkward area where old OKW was. Weak early game but utterly dominant late game.

Thank you for your advice Ciez. Appreciated.

I've had issues with their midgame. It's basically non-existent.

Early game they're actually just fine, except against OKW. It doesn't take a genius to look at the graph of relative army strengths after playing a game as brits against OKW and seeing that from the very start OKW have an overall army value advantage, and unless a major mistake is made, the OKW will keep that advantage throughout.

Some key things I think give brits an edge:

• Versatile mines
  The mines go off if anything runs into them, and generally cause engine damage. They're old fashioned mines and I think good players should lay more of them.
  
• Strong unit carrier
  The bren carrier can take some punishment, but it suffers from the same problems that all light vehicles suffer from, which is easy infantry-based AT. Obviously not so good against Wehr, but decent against OKW. Bren in Bren, if you're willing to spend the fuel and munitions, is really good. Better than the armored car out of T2, I think.
  
• Bofors
  Still a murder machine. I don't think I need to say much about this. I hope they keep it the way it is because as an emplacement, it's the only way I can see to reliably survive until late-game.
  
• late-game
  Comet tank, Cromwell Conga Line, and Sherman firefly. Greatest armor in the game. If brits make it to the end, they do very well. Currently my strategy in 1v1 is similar to my strategy as soviets, but much more campy. Sitting on points, disrupting wherever possible, and surviving until I get the hard-hitting late tanks. OKW P4 is really good against cromwells tho, just something one should watch out for.
  
  

I'm still experimenting with the brits, most of these CoH2 factions aren't super-straightforward to me (see also: nothing like the PE) so I'm re-learning the game again. If anyone has any other constructive things to add regarding UKF strengths that'd be nice.

Apart from bren being better than 222, I agree. Thank you.

an actual mortar or flame thrower not tied to a light vehicle that explodes as soon as panzershreks come into sight would be nice relic.

Oh and a vehicle snare, you know like AT grenades. Having a flame HT drive around toasting my single AT gun while my tommies and AT sniper watch is not fun

Agreed.