Commander Idea Workshop (Build Your Own!)

OKW
Terror Doctrine

0cp Goliath

2cp For the fatherland

6cp Fear propaganda artillery

8cp Flamme hetzer

12cp Zeroing artillery

OSTHEER

Mobile Assault Doctrine

1cp Sprint

2cp Panzer tactician

3cp Mechanised assault group

7cp Stug E

12cp Stuka close air support

[Sov] Scorched Earth/ Delaying Tactics

0CP: Counterattack Tactics [same as okw]

1CP: Ingenious Engineers [infantry ability]
(Engineers can now plant anti infantry mines, light anti vehicle mines, and tank traps)

2CP: Area Denial [infantry abilities]
(Engineers gain British cover/wrecked vehicle clearing charges. Infantry gain booby trap point or building ability. [35 munitions])

3CP: Scorch Earth [infantry ability/10 munitions]
(Disable owned strategic/fuel/ammo/munitions point putting it in a neutral state and requiring a 35 second repair before it can be captured again.)

5CP: Incendiary Strike or IL-2 Covering Smoke [Incendiary the same, smoke 40 munitions]
(Incendiary the same, covering smoke like the ostheer smoke bombing)

I'd also like to do an okw scorched earth that'd have some similarities but not now.

OSTHEER

Panzer elite doctrine

2cp Panzer tactician

2cp Stormtrooper

5cp spotting scope

9cp Command tank

13cp Tiger

Lol, Elchino

OST
Ostheer On Life Support Doctrine (alternative name: German Arty Party Doctrine)
- Artillery Flare (OKW)
- LeFH18
- Command P4
- JU87 Loiter
- Stuka dive bomb

We felt that Stuka reconaissance pass made dive bombing patterns very predictable, and thus, boring. We hope that the addition of Artillery Flares to the Ostheer's arsenal will help maintain the fast-pacing of the game well into the end.

UKF
Mobile Defense Doctrine (aka Terminal Tactics Regiment)
- Rifle Grenade
Tommies will passively launch riflegrenades every 5 seconds, while they remain garrisoned in buildings.
- Logistics Support Glider
- Captain
The captain gives a -33% damage taken to all units in the occupied sector
- Kangaroo Carriers
Garrisoned PIAT teams will be able to accurately track enemy targets, while the carrier is on the move.
- Infiltration emplacements
Emplacements can now spawn out of ambient buildings.

[SOV] Reconnaissance Tactics

2 CP- Razvedka Special Command Troops
Elite infantry squad armed with SVT-40s, interrogation training, camo, and the ability to upgrade to 3 S PPSH-43 submachine guns. Can throw satchel charges.

4 CP- Designate Recon Vehicle
Designates a vehicle, disables ability to fire weapons but doubles sight range. Can not be undone.

7 CP- Command Diversion
While activated enemy players minimap shows wrong position of your units.

8 CP- Mark Target
Is it 8 CP? I forget

11 CP- IL-202 Sturmovik Strike
Exactly what it sounds like, but with two.

This can never work because you can make some ridiculously strong commaders that will cover every weakness in faction

For example ostheer : puma, smoke , commader p4 , tiger ace and prostruppen

USF : rangers, pershing , m10, calliOP , thunderball strike . You can just sit with captain here and still win

Brits : commader officer glider, churchill croco, flametrower , matress and counterbattery (that one after nerf)

I can continue with other factions, it would create 1-2 meta commaders and other will be trash, just no, right now it is much better

Using entirely existing abilities/costs:

[OST]Emplacement Removal Doc
Because sometimes I don't want to fight emplacements.

2 - MHT
3 - Opel Blitz (so you can get enough muni)
4 - Recon Flight
6 - Flame Stuka
12 - Stuka Dive

[OST] ???
Early-game rushing doc of some sort.

0 - Ost Troops
1 - Stun Nades
2 - MHT
3 - Supply Drop
5 - Puma

[OST] Stuka Party
Just all 5 stuka abilities. Might be a joke...

[Sov] ???
Basically the "meta" doc.
PPSH
Shocks
T34/85
M4C
IS-2


I can think of a few for USF, but they would just support the current "rifle blob" meta far too well. There's a few combos that could be a lot of fun (M1919/M5/Rockets/Easy8/Pershing), but the current balance just wouldn't allow it.

OKW has the same problem where any 'fun' combo of existing abilities results in an insanely overpowered 'cheese'.

The idea of building your own for players will never work, simply because anyone remotely interested in winning would try to pick the best combo to win, not for balance. The entire commander system is entirely about balance (even if they don't turn out that way), and giving the players the tools to make their own contradicts that principle.
And that also means that whatever way Relic tries to design to make such a make your own system stays balance, people will try to break it for any advantage. Relic shouldn't even bother and just do half the work by making new commanders from scratch. Some ideas are nifty enough to be recycled into new and balance combos without having to invent new ones. The garbage Ostheer/ Soviet ones are garbage simply because the combos were lame, underpowered or overdone. Not to mention, whilst Soviets rely on doctrines for good infantry, it is ironically every other faction in the game that has got new commanders that featured new units. The latest one- Tank Hunter Tactics, was simply buffing Conscripts.

That said, what we CAN do is theorycraft some commander ideas, ideally recycling a few of our favorite abilities, and inventing new combos for Relic to consider making. They make the balance decisions and tweak or reject as needed. At least then there's less chance of making cheese commanders.

Frontline Tactics:
1- Shock Troops
2- Full Speed! (Passive): All vehicles gain this toggled ability, moving traverse faster but lose accuracy. T-34's Ramming Speed and reverse movement speed not affected.
3- For the Motherland!
4- Conscript Repair Kits
5- IL-2 Shturmovik Attacks

Deep Battle Tactics:
1- Conscript Assault Package
2- Recon Overflight
3- For the Motherland!
4- ISU-152
5- Illumination Rockets: Off-map Katyusha rockets are fired at targeted enemy sector; flares reveal the sector while HE rockets are effective against all targets.

Envelopment Tactics:
1- Guards
2- Engineer Salvage Kits
3- ZiS Support Truck: Unarmed ZiS truck, can toggle repair nearby vehicles, can hull down by itself. Deploys same mechanics as Repair Station.
4- IS-2
5- 233mm Barrage: Off-map B4 howitzers fire at target location over long period of time. Similar to Railway Artillery.

Soviet Sapper Army:
1- Tank Traps
2- Recon Overflight
3- PMD Mine Fields: Conscripts and Engineers can make minefields over flag points, similarly to Ostheer's AP minefields; effective against both vehicles and infantry.
4- Engineer Urban Combat Package: Engineers are upgraded with body armour and Ppsh-41s; unlocks "Throw Sleeved RGD-33 Grenade" ability, with larger AOE. Cost 90 munitions, locks out all weapon slots and upgrade options.
5- KV-2

Improvised Tactics:
1- Engineer Salvage Kits
2- Communications Wires (Passive): Friendly Sectors have increased sight range, further improved with caches. You must either capture the sector or build the cache in order to gain the benefit.
3- Repair Station
4- Tank Shock: medium and heavy vehicles gain "Tank Shock" ability, allows them to surge forward toward a targeted enemy squad to instantly suppress them. Works much like Ramming Speed, with identical Overheat temporary critical; shares same cooldown as Ramming Speed when using T-34.
5- Incendiary Creeping Barrage: Off-map Katyusha rockets fire onto target area; wide scatter and low damage, but rockets burn ground over period of time.

Soviet Infantry Tactics:
1- Conscript PTRS Kit
2- 2x DP-28 Machine Guns: Conscripts and Penal Troops upgrade: unlocks Button Vehicle. Takes both weapon slots.
3- Desant Tactics: Deploys two ZiS transport trucks; trucks cost nothing, but ability has long cooldown time, and trucks are unarmed and low armor. Use to carry units quickly over the map. Carries two squads per truck, and infantry can fire while being transported. High chance of death if truck is destroyed by enemy fire.
4- Hit the Dirt!
5- Concentrated Barrage: All of your Mortars, 76mm AT Guns, SU-76s and Katyushas within range will bombard the selected target, regardless of cooldown. Cannot target HQ sectors, halts current activities, including regular barrage attacks. Restarts affected units' cooldown timers.

Soviet Airborne Tactics:
1- Recon Overflight
2- Infantry Weapons Drop: Drops crate of DP-28 for 150 munitions
3- VDV Sergeants (Passive): Conscripts can build landing beacons, which provide nearby infantry improved offensive/ defensive bonuses when fighting in cover. Landing beacons allow accurate and faster paradrops.
4- Guards Paradrop: Guards parachute to target location, armed with SVTs and can upgrade to Ppsh-41s or PTRS; upgrading to Ppsh unlocks smoke grenades, and PTRS unlocks Tread Shot.
5- IL-2 PTAB

Red Air Force Tactics:
1- Recon Overflight
2- Allied Supply Drop
3- Hit the Dirt!
4- IL-2 Shturmovik Attacks
5- IL-2 Precision Bombing Strike

Red Banner Tactics:
1- Guards
2- Designate Banner Unit: Select any infantry or vehicle unit, it will grant an aura giving nearby units increased experience rate; if by itself, gains the increased experience rate. Can only assign one unit at a time, and has long cooldown, but can be re-assigned to other existing units.
3- Vehicle Crew Repair Training
4- IS-2
5- IL-2 Precision Bombing Strike

Fieldcraft Tactics:
1- Territory Specialization: Resource caches are cheaper to build and can upgrade to include Aid Stations, spawning medics to heal nearby infantry. Aid Stations cost 30 munitions, cache must be built first.
2- Stealth Training: Infantry squads can upgrade to toggle for cloak and increased sight range but reduced mobility. Scout Sniper squads no longer have mobility penalties when upgraded.
3- AT Gun Ambush Tactics
4- Vehicle Camouflage (Passive): All vehicles can upgrade to toggle camouflage: toggling requires no movement or being under fire, cannot move when cloaked but has first strike bonus.
5- Registered Artillery: Similar to Zeroing Artillery, targeted friendly sector will be bombarded with 120mm mortar shells at any enemy units within sight range.

Army Aviation Tactics:
1- Allied Supply Drop
2- Shock Troops
3- Mark Vehicle
4- Fear Propaganda Overflight: Plane drops propaganda leaflets over straight line, suppressing infantry caught area.
5- Strategic Air Support: Two waves of IL-2 planes attack target enemy sector: first with 23mm strafe, then by powerful bombs. Effective against all targets, but expensive and long cooldown time.

Divisional Support Tactics:
1- Allied Supply Drop
2- T-34/85
3- AT Gun Ambush Tactics
4- Mark Vehicle
5- 76mm Creeping Barrage: Off-map 76mm batteries fire HE shells in a straight line, effective against infantry and chance to stun vehicles when hit.

USF:

Air Defense Company
1- Field Defenses
2- Anti-Aircraft Positions: Fighting Positions can be upgraded with Quad .50 for improved anti-infantry and suppression for 90 munitions, or 37mm for improved penetration. Both upgrades replace garrison slots, but become more durable.
3- Officer Rally: Officer squads can halt the retreat of friendly units within its radius. Has long cooldown, but each squad has its own separate ability cooldown.
4- Air Superiority: Global ability, while active frontline sectors will be strafed by P-47s; highly effective against enemy infantry and light vehicles, but inflicts little damage against tanks.
5- Antitank Overwatch: Off-map 90mm batteries barrage enemy vehicles over selected friendly sector; APC shells have low AOE, but highly effective against vehicles.

Signals Company
1- I&R Pathfinders
2- Mortar Halftrack
3- Radio Triangulation: While active, your Officer Squads will have greatly improved sight range
4- Heavy Weapons Drop: HMG and AT Gun
5- Time on Target Barrage

Anti-Tank Company
1- Ranger Tank Hunter Team: Ranger squad with 2x Garands 2x Bazookas, has the Rifle Smoke and AT Rifle Grenade abilities already unlocked.
2- Recon Training: Officer Squads, Riflemen and RETs can upgrade to improve sight range and movement speed when moving and out of combat
3- Illumination Rounds: 81mm, Mortar Halftrack, Pack Howitzer and M8A1 can fire flare shells to reveal target area.
4- Tank Awareness: Similar to Signal Relay; while active, all enemy vehicles within fog of war will appear in minimap.
5- M10 Destroyer

Airborne Support Company
1- Infiltrate Pathfinders: Airborne Pathfinders can be called in on a target building; if unoccupied they will spawn from that building and exit.
2- Supply Drop: Supply crates drop to target location; for 200-300 manpower, can pick up 50 munitions and fuel per drop; dropping over Munitions or Fuel points grants double the respective amount. Can be dropped over enemy or neutral sectors.
3- Blind Drop Paratroopers: A P-47 scouts the area, followed by airborne drop in fog of war
4- Heavy Weapons Drop: HMG and AT Gun
5- P-47 Rocket Run

UKF:

Field Operations Regiment
1- Stand Fast
2- Improved Fortifications
3- Field Support Truck: HQ truck deployed in the battlefield, once set up, can train Infantry Section, Royal Engineers and spawn from that truck's location; can also upgrade to forward retreat and use Coordinated Fire ability, and grants garrison bonus to nearby emplacements. Limit to 1 truck at any time. Slow, unarmed, and relatively fragile.
4- Field Recovery Operation
5- Air Supremacy Operation

Light Mechanized Regiment
1- 1- Infantry Reconnaissance Section: Infantry Sections with increased sight range and can call in a Recon plane for free like a designated command tank. Has the Observation toggle ability that cloaks them but renders them immobile and unable to fire, but reveals all enemy units nearby.
2- Designate Command Vehicle
3- Platoon Specialization: You are now able to select both AEC and Bofors to unlock; still requires researching both.
4- M3 Supply Halftrack
5- Hold the Line

OKW ones

Vengeance Doctrine
1- Emergency Repairs
2- Recoup Losses
3- Flakpanzer Ostwind
4- For the Fatherland
5- V-1 Flying Bomb: V-1 flies onto target area and detonates on impact; comparable to Stuka Dive Bomb explosion. The V-1 can be seen quickly flying in the minimap, and has slight scatter radius; accuracy is improved if target location remains in line of sight. Effective against all targets.

Last-Ditch Doctrine
1- Heavy Defenses
2- Forward Receivers
3- Incendiary Mines: Volksgrenadiers can lay light incendiary mines; effective against infantry.
4- PaK43
5- Tactical Air Support: While active, target friendly sector will be strafed by Stuka planes with 37mm cannons.

SOV: Not One Step Back!

2cp_Fresh Meat
Price: 50 muni,
No retreat but stay suppressed for longer and move 50% faster when suppressed.One minute ability, +300mp per minute, fast con/penal/CE building time,

3cp_Commissar:
Price: 280mp (3 men)

vet0: (passive) when not taking fire, 5% accuracy, when taking fire himself, 20% accuracy.
vet1: focus fire
vet2: rally (one time, not like major) - click the place you want to rally, nearby infantry sprint to rally - good for attacking and soft retreating
vet3: interrogate

5cp_For_Stalin:
Price: 100 muni
Infantry moves faster, better accuracy, death of a member(s) increases survivability. but mitigated cover bonuses.

6cp_Consolidate
Price: 100mp 3popcap
Set up like caches. Alone, it makes capturing points 50% slower. Destroyed when captured. On top of cache, 100% hit point.

7cp_Flag_Bearer
Price: 200mp (3 men)
When a point is captured with this unit, give 25% defensive and offensive boost to all unit in that territory for one minute.


this is fun .

UKF
Royal Artillery Antitank Regiment
1- Tank Emplacements: Royal Engineers can Hulldown vehicles, rendering them immobile but granting camouflage.
2- Field Recovery Operation
3- Observation Detachment "Valentine"
4- Antitank Detachment "Achilles": M10 with Firely's 17 Pdr. gun, faster movement speed but weaker armour; has no upgrades, but has its own "Emergency War Speed" without needing Hammer tactics, and the "Fire APCBC Ammunition" ability, similar to Pershing's HVAP ability.
5- Airburst Saturation Barrage: Off-map 25 Pdr. batteries fire Airburst shells at target area, suppressing and stunning enemy infantry and tanks when hit.

USF
Cavalry Assault Company
1- WC51
2- Fire Up!
3- M3 Halftrack with Cav Riflemen
4- Pershing
5- 240mm Howitzer Barrage

Fire Support Company
1- Assault Engineers
2- Heavy Emplacements: Fighting Positions can be upgraded for increased durability and additional slot; 81mm teams and Pack Howitzer can also garrison for both slots. Upgrading locks out the MG upgrade.
3- Direct Fire (Passive): Similar to B4's old ability, the Pack Howitzer, M36 and M8 HMC can fire a single shell directly at targets in front of them; effective against infantry and light vehicles.
4- Victor Target (Passive): Officer Squads can designate artillery targets for all artillery units within range; units firing on Victor Target will restart their cooldowns.
5- 240mm Howitzer Barrage

Ostheer ones:
Scorched Earth Doctrine
1- Tank Traps
2- Sprint
3- Boobytraps: Pioniers can boobytrap ambient buildings and flag points; when triggered units take light damage and instantly suppressed.
4- Stuka Incendiary Bombs
5- Tiger

Reconnaissance Doctrine
1- Sdkfz. 221 Scout Car: Un-upgraded variant of the 222 that can capture flag points and toggle camouflage.
2- Spotting Scopes
3- StuG III Aufs. E
4- Puma
5- Breakthrough

Panzerjaeger Doctrine
1) Reconnaissance Training: Grenadiers and Panzergrenadiers can upgrade to detect nearby enemy vehicles beyond the fog of war.
2) Panzerbuchse AT Rifles: Grenadiers can upgrade to improve firepower against light vehicles; locks out LMG42 upgrade, but grants Tread Shot.
3) Tactical Movement
4) APCR Shells: Like OKW's HEAT Rounds, Panzer 4, Panther and StuG II can activate ability to improve damage/ penetration against vehicles
5) Elefant

some moar commanders for fun

Ostheer

Last line doctrine

2cp defensive fortification

3cp reserves ostruppen

5cp hull down

6cp incendiary bombing

13cp tiger

light armor doctrine

ocp counterattack tactics

4cp smoke bomb

5cp puma

9cp command tank

9cp breackthrough

Melchett Regiment

1- Deploy Captain: Cpt. Blackadder, grants global defensive buff, but reduces movement range to nearby units. Special ability is "Throw insults", causes everyone in a designated area to retreat.

2- Deploy Lieutenant: Lt. George, grants global movement speed, but reduced defensive effectiveness to nearby units. Special ability is "Naive enthusiasm", causees everyone in designated area to stop retreating.

3- Deploy Darling: Cpt. Darling, improves global resource income but makes nearby units take more damage.

4- Deploy Melchett: General Melchett, reveals entire map, but not enemy units.

5- Deploy Baldrick: All Infantry Sections have the "Cunning Plan!" ability, which makes them do random things, like instantly capturing sector, or calls in artillery barrage on themselves.

[OST] Elite Infantry Doctrine

0 CP - Elite squad re-oganization (Passive/ 5th man cost 15 muni to buy)
(After getting Vet 3, Pioneer and Grenadier squad will be able to get a 5th man which is a MP40-equipped NCO that logically spread his men out so they not get clump up in 1 pixel. The squad with the NCO will have passive sprint while out of combat)

1 CP - Jaeger Light Infantry Package (45 Muni)
(Allow Grenadier and Panzer Grenadier squad to equip with 2 G43s, can use stun grenade and interrogation)

3 CP - Deploy a 223 Command Scout car (240 MP and 20 fuel)
(A 223 Command Scout car armed with a pintle mounted Mg42 (the one on Pz4) can buff nearby infantries' rate of fire and can order free Recon with a 90-second recharge)

5 CP - Defenders of the Fatherland (90 muni, lasts 60 seconds)
(All infantry squads now gain Defensive bonus while in cover. They are harder to be hit and fire faster)

7 CP - Deploy a 15cm Nebelwerfer 41 (340 MP and 40 fuel)
(Can fire a barrage of HE rockets that deal high damage against emplacements, ambient buildings and infantries)

[OST] Elite Infantry Doctrine
0 CP - Elite squad re-oganization (Passive/ 5th man cost 15 muni to buy)
(After getting Vet 3, Pioneer and Grenadier squad will be able to get a 5th man which is a MP40-equipped NCO that logically spread his men out so they not get clump up in 1 pixel. The squad with the NCO will have passive sprint while out of combat)

1 CP - Jaeger Light Infantry Package (45 Muni)
(Allow Grenadier and Panzer Grenadier squad to equip with 2 G43s, can use stun grenade and interrogation)

3 CP - Deploy a 223 Command Scout car (240 MP and 20 fuel)
(A 223 Command Scout car armed with a pintle mounted Mg42 (the one on Pz4) can buff nearby infantries' rate of fire and can order free Recon with a 90-second recharge)

5 CP - Defenders of the Fatherland (90 muni, lasts 60 seconds)
(All infantry squads now gain Defensive bonus while in cover. They are harder to be hit and fire faster)

7 CP - Deploy a 15cm Nebelwerfer 41 (340 MP and 40 fuel)
(Can fire a barrage of HE rockets that deal high damage against emplacements, ambient buildings and infantries)

First ability seems useless, as it's a munitions upgrade but only actually comes around if your squad ever gets to vet3. Adding additional men also sort of knocks the balance design off the rails. I would instead make it a free passive, and instead of a 5th guy, one of the existing squad guys is replaced by the NCO.
However, what this ability ultimately does is give passive sprint, of which Ostheer already has two movement-speed abilities, namely Sprint and Tactical Movement. If you want the Elite Infantry vibe, I'd just make this a timed ability where squads get increased XP boost; some intel bulletins grant a passive XP boost, this ability would require munitions, and a time window to capitalize. It also means you can apply this to vehicles as well. It would be far less OP compared to the old Troop Training which granted a flat ~3950 XP to instantly make a squad vet3; you'd still have to make the squad fight and get/ receive damage.

The scout car idea is nice, but as a light vehicle call-in that just buffs nearby infantry like Command Tank, it's not as useful as just getting 222s and rocking the map with them. What this could instead be is an upgrade for your light vehicles (222 and halftrack) called "Command Car Upgrade" or whatever and gain supporting powers that make them relevant late-game, but at the cost of their usual roles, for example the halftrack can no longer reinforce, transport or use flamer, but the replacing power can be powerful enough to warrant investment; in any case you can always just buy another halftrack. Keeps your idea while also making the idea more versatile.

I think the Nebelwerfer idea should use incendiary rockets instead of HE, as Ostheer already has mortar, Panzerwerfer and Brummbar for the anti-fortification roles; there's only one other incendiary ability for Ostheer and that's the Stuka bomber. Incendiary also means it's a lingering damage effect where you might not inflict as much damage, but it does kill nearby infantry trying to repair or reinforce nearby defensive stuff, something OKW has via Walking Stuka, but requires vet4 to unlock and then 100 munitions to use everytime. This unit (or off-0map) however uses it as default attack.

In summary I'd rework it like this:

1- Veteran Squad Leaders: timed ability where units gain increased XP when fighting;
2- Jaeger Package
3- Command Car Upgrade for 222 and 251 halftrack, provides buffs and free recon, but alters unit powers, ie no 2cm or reinforce;
4- Defenders of the Fatherland (unchanged)
5- Nebelwerfer unit or barrage: fires incendiary rockets, effective against everything except vehicles- identical to Walking Stuka's incendiary barrage