So what is the problem? Cons are support. Don't use them to go toe-to-toe with Axis.
I feel only penals needs to be looked at.
Yes, cons are support atm, not mainline infantry.
Maxims are mainline infantry.
People are angry that HMG is used as mainline infantry, because mainline infantry performs on engineer level of aweful and falls behind the moment first inf call-in or inf upgrade appears on axis side.
People are angry that maxims are mainline infantry.
Fucking soviet players are angry that maxims are mandatory, because without them your army just shits itself in struggle to not exceed 3:1 K/D ratio in favor of axis troops.
You can't have core unit underperform so greatly, because you'll end up with mid and late game issues.
Cons issue is lack of scaling, vet buff helped, but still each and every squad but pios will beat them, LMG grens will beat them, new volks will beat them, outscale them.
What is the point of having a mainline infantry that loses to everything and doesn't fucking scale?
NONE.
Therefore, maxims.
Only removal of maxims from the game will make players stop spamming them as long as cons and penals are nothing more but vet fodder for axis troops.
There are also people whining about DSHK, but these people are just lunatics if they think most expensive doctrinal HMG in game shouldn't perform as it does now.