Balance Preview Mod - Your Thoughts After Using It

Well I was thinking they don't take up slots, as someone else said, Rangers get 4 SMGs that don't take up slots.

I would recommend Schreck be given back but require like T3, with side tech upgrade to unlock it (or for other units if thats the case). Meanwhile players are pressured to upgrade to StGs that also unlock Faust, whereas if you hold off and get Schreks, they can't use Fausts.

having an option to go with shrek or stg + snare would be cool but it would require a flat nerf to volks, propably a price increase and drop to 4 man, and there is that problem with stg volks that they kinda make callin inf obsolete to some point

Well I was thinking they don't take up slots, as someone else said, Rangers get 4 SMGs that don't take up slots.

I don't have them, but I'm pretty sure they do, keep hearing about how you can't have a squad with Zookas or BARs and Thompsons.

Rangers have 3 slots and the thompsons only take up 2.

Rangers have 3 slots and the thompsons only take up 2.

Yeah, just realized I could check with CheatCommands so yes, Rangers can indeed pick up one more weapon after getting Thompsons.

Oh yes, poor volks without weapon slots. How about making them DROP their stgs so cons can rek them in late game for their own munition which is exact situation brits face? No? Good.

I've been playing the patch preview just in custom games against AI and wow, I have to really point out how BS the expert AI has gotten. I know the AI has always gotten cheats, but it seems like Relic ramped it up twofold. 2v2 with an AI partner is nearly impossible right now. Even when I win, it's an uphill struggle from the get go with the endless horde of tanks, AT guns, and MGs. Even after killing three tanks, there's just five more right behind it. Expert AI provides an unfun, nearly impossible task to hold the map, meanwhile Hard is such a pushover as to present to challenge at all.

inb4 someone says that PvP is all that matters therefore Relic have no duty to make the AI fun and engaging

Which faction were you playing and up against? I have noticed the Balance Mod CPU Expert USF is really piss poor. They basically give up after about five minutes and hang around their base. The OKW CPU Expert on the other hand spams raketens and they do a surprising amount of sniping. The one thing CPU Expert gets right is sending a unit to cap and to cap cutoffs. With the OKW it spams kubels, so it's a pain in the ass in the capping department but that's nothing new.

All other factions CPU Expert are still weak, once you have the hang of how to push it. It basically buckles if you don't let up.

BTW does anyone know how to read rgd files? I tried the old techniques but win 10 says "no". I wanna check the STG stats.

Oh yes, poor volks without weapon slots. How about making them DROP their stgs so cons can rek them in late game for their own munition which is exact situation brits face? No? Good.

What?

Are you serious mate?

The only thing that drop are LMGs and AT weapons. If you are suggesting this, should we have Brits drop scoped Lee Enfields, Conscripts dropping PPSHs (from upgrade), Rangers and Paratroopers dropping Thompsons, Stormtroopers/ PZfusilier/ JLI dropping G-43, Pathfinder dropping scoped Garand??

Brens, LMG-34, LMG-42, DP-28, M1919 drop.

Yeah, just realized I could check with CheatCommands so yes, Rangers can indeed pick up one more weapon after getting Thompsons.

3 BARs or 3 Zooks too.

Played a little PVP this evening. I think the USF Mortar is perfect.

It can definitely get some kills but the quick smoke screen it lays down really complements Riflemen and helps them push or negate an MG. Not that they couldn't do that before after teching Grenades, but obviously this allows you to save some munitions, especially with MGs in buildings. Smoke the building / maybe move in for a frag kill w/ Rifles / maybe just let the Mortar plug away.

Nice to have actual options w/ USF. Looking forward to seeing how top players utilize the M2 in conjunction with Rifle play.

i have some doubts regarding some changes:

firefly was overally buffed ( only a damage nerf on the tulips rockets, but their utility is increased imo, while their price has been reduced). Was it really necessary?

Universal carrier buffed too, again, was it necessary?

emplacements play has been hit hard with that counterbarrage nerf but i feel like it's not enough. Sim city play still need to be fixed imo, especially in team games.

about USF

why not adding 50cal mg in the hq? It Could be a nice "strategic diversity" like lelic wrote in the changelog xD

i'm not sure about the m8 motor carriage buff ( it's the scott right?) its ability to oneshot squads was really good in the current game, why the aoe buff here?

Captain changes: this was usually the first AT unit for the USF player, removing bazooka from it makes harder to counter light vehicles like luchs, 251 with flamers and 222.

Note that these are my first impressions, i didn't test a lot of the new changes so i could be wrong.

ostheer need 5 man gren squads to stay to be relevant.

This game is changing a lot. I don't like most of the changes here.


Volks will be a clone of PPSH-Cons, Penals with SMGs have no purpose, Ostheer is getting overbuffed as usual and all arty buffs just intensify the current problems in team games.

Which faction were you playing and up against? I have noticed the Balance Mod CPU Expert USF is really piss poor. They basically give up after about five minutes and hang around their base. The OKW CPU Expert on the other hand spams raketens and they do a surprising amount of sniping. The one thing CPU Expert gets right is sending a unit to cap and to cap cutoffs. With the OKW it spams kubels, so it's a pain in the ass in the capping department but that's nothing new.

All other factions CPU Expert are still weak, once you have the hang of how to push it. It basically buckles if you don't let up.

Keep in mind I'm specifically talking about 2v2 with an AI partner. I haven't so far had a problem with 1v1. Any mix of both Axis factions, or double Soviets are just ridiculous. The amount of T34-76s and now godlike penal battalions is absurd. It's a wave of never-ending tanks, and it feels like it barely even matters how many you kill. This isn't a new phenomenon with the AI, but the degree to which it holds true feels much, much more exaggerated than it used to.

It's entirely possible that the reason the AI feels harder is just because the units they tend to spam got buffed. I don't know what it is, but it feels 10x harder than it did before the patch. This is map dependent, of course. Some maps are easy to lock down (like Crossing in the Woods), where this presents less of a problem.

game's in a step in the right direction, alot more enjoyable as soviets now. penals have turned into something pretty useful, able to trade well as long as they are well positioned in cover.

with the right commanders, 120mm and guards, they are able to pull through early-mid to mid game without much of a problem, hmgs can be gunned down and mortared to hell. guards can provide some light AT support and long range force multiplier.

the patch has been fun, but not without its own problems though.

conscripts are still extremely cost inefficient, costs too much to get them upgraded, but still inferior to grens in almost all aspects even with the additional costs. it is somewhat better to go for penals to t2/t3 for support teams or t70s.

volks are still extremely effective, spammable and durable. they are an AI force to be reckoned with, almost too damn good at it, especially with vet 5 when vet 3 infantry from other factions just cannot match up to their durability and dps.

vet 4 and 5 really needs a rework, since okw is no longer the 'expensive but potentially powerful units' faction. they have no drawbacks from resource penalty anymore.

ostheer need 5 man gren squads to stay to be relevant.

Or PGs need the Volks StG44 for longer range. Maybe increase their price if that is too much. But having no elite infantry is crippling.

The only thing that drop are LMGs and AT weapons. If you are suggesting this, should we have Brits drop scoped Lee Enfields, Conscripts dropping PPSHs (from upgrade), Rangers and Paratroopers dropping Thompsons, Stormtroopers/ PZfusilier/ JLI dropping G-43, Pathfinder dropping scoped Garand??

It wasnt about weapons it was about volks slot complains, where people complaining that volks cant pick up dropped lmg on top of their stgs (finally, terminator squad). And yes, please, make IS drop scoped enfields, it would be best buff for brits ever.

From the past couple days of experience with this mod, I've come to the conclusion that OKW is very easily crippled at the start of mid game. If you don't have all fuel points on the map, it's GG. If the USF get a sherman before you have either 2x puma, 3x raketen, or 1x PZ IV, it's GG. The raketens are easily wiped by anything that has HE, the 2x pumas will be too late, and the PZ IV will also be too late. You practically need a Wehrmacht ally for you to even have a chance to last past mid game. It's nearly impossible to push anywhere by the time the allies have some armor on the field without any handheld AT. Panzerjäger or ded gaem.

I also do feel that the Rakettenwerfer is too easy to decrew, which give you a poor quality of AT in the game. Yes it can go in houses, but when you assault it with a tank or what ever you want it´s the easiest thing to kill. Unfortunatly you have to go in houses to be sure it don´t get whiped too easily. With schreks on your volks it wasn´t that big of a deal, but now without it´s a way bigger deal than before.

I also do feel that the Rakettenwerfer is too easy to decrew, which give you a poor quality of AT in the game. Yes it can go in houses, but when you assault it with a tank or what ever you want it´s the easiest thing to kill. Unfortunatly you have to go in houses to be sure it don´t get whiped too easily. With schreks on your volks it wasn´t that big of a deal, but now without it´s a way bigger deal than before.

Yea, the raketenwerfer wasn't meant to be the one AT stopping force of the OKW, but now that they've lost all other credible AT weapons that are acquired before mid-game, it has a heavy burden. It was meant to be a support AT that you can use if you're pushed back that can fight alongside with your schrecks.

From the past couple days of experience with this mod, I've come to the conclusion that OKW is very easily crippled at the start of mid game. If you don't have all fuel points on the map, it's GG. If the USF get a sherman before you have either 2x puma, 3x raketen, or 1x PZ IV, it's GG. The raketens are easily wiped by anything that has HE, the 2x pumas will be too late, and the PZ IV will also be too late. You practically need a Wehrmacht ally for you to even have a chance to last past mid game. It's nearly impossible to push anywhere by the time the allies have some armor on the field without any handheld AT. Panzerjäger or ded gaem.

Sorry, but why didn't you use faust, mines, flank?

Sounds to me like you're just struggling to adjust to the lack of Schrek-blob. Dare I suggest you give it more practice?