Coh2 vs Coh1 comparison

I think that overall coh2 is a step backwards when compared to coh1. Coh1 was a revolutionary product implementing a lot of new mechanics while coh2 improved a little bit but not in a substantial way.

Since rumor have started about coh3 I would like to know your opinion on the matter. Maybe as coh community we could provide relic with some valuable feedback on what works and what doesnt work in coh franchise if relic ever decided to make coh3.

Please share your thoughts on parts of the game you enjoyed the most. Which elements do you feel are most important or have been the biggest issue or improvement.

I love when people say that coh2 is a step backwards, tell me how plz, i would love to read a good explanation about that topic

I love when people say that coh2 is a step backwards, tell me how plz, i would love to read a good explanation about that topic

Coh1 was revolutionary for its time, compared to the other RTS it was much better in every way : graphic, sound, mechanics when Coh2 on the other hand is more like a coh1.2, they added dedicated server, true sight and other quality of life change but it's still the same old game.

We all know that coh2 is a copy pasta from a coh1 mod called "Eastern Front" because THQ needed money fast, that's why people say coh2 is a step backwards, most of the change that happened from coh1 to coh2 could have been inside a patch and DLC for eastern faction ...

I love when people say that coh2 is a step backwards, tell me how plz, i would love to read a good explanation about that topic

First thing: I voted Coh2 for the better graphics. As for the rest I voted Coh1. Some things are better in Coh2 which however aren't as significant as to consider the entire game an improvement.

Things Coh2 does better:

- Capping mechanics lead to more intense matches since the unit can fight while capping.
- Inclusion of the Soviet Army leading to more diversity in gameplay (1 more faction).
- Cosmetic skins for your vehicles.
- Truesight mechanics.


Opposed to that we have many considerable flaws in Coh2, such as:

- Entirely useless tech tiers (Ostheer T4).
- Brace. Emplacements were a bad experience in Coh1 for many players. Not only did they reintroduce the concept but added insult to injury by cheesy brace and autoreepair mechanics.
- Commanders are worse in Coh2. They lack a theme. In Coh1 you went "Scorched Earth" and played accordingly with area denial and artillery. In Coh2 you have some random stuff thrown together leading to perversions such as "Jäger Armor" having Stukas but also anti tank. I could name you all Coh1 docs but only a handfull of the Coh2 docs. For me they are "that one doc with the Guards and ISU-152", rather than being able to remember their name.
- Bulletins and money milking with dlcs.
- Blatant design flaws such as the Tiger Ace currently punishing you for keeping the unit intact.


--> All in all this makes Coh1 way superior.

If CoH1 didn't have CoH1 snipers, the entire CoH1 Brit faction (sorry, it's completely unsalvageable) and PE blob veterancy & Panther spam, it would be the far most compelling game of the two.

However, given that CoH1 does have those mechanics/factions and that those feature very prominently, no matter what you do, CoH2 is the better game.

If CoH1 didn't have CoH1 snipers, the entire CoH1 Brit faction (sorry, it's completely unsalvageable) and PE blob veterancy & Panther spam, it would be the far most compelling game of the two.

So we prefer the Wehr Panther not being viable. Cool story, bro.

CoH2 has far better faction design (of course counting all the expansions) solely for the reason of CoH1 totally fu cking up the Brit army. I would love to know who the hell thought that the LT aura as a form of veterancy for infantry is a good idea (and i would also love to think that they never got any other job, than cleaning toilets)
The fantastic desing of PE got messed up by blob-encouriging mechanic as well.

As for balance, both are messed up. CoH2 with magic "u cant use vehicles" buttons such as Jagdtiger, Brit and Wehr mortar nuking everything on the map even on the move, OKW dirt cheap volks, useles USF faction, Penals and Maxims performing as mainline infantry and so on...

CoH1 has tanks without a fuel cost, perma-cloaked sniper, ridiculous arty-fests and worst joke of all- the Stuh...and so on...

Where CoH1 really shines though, is the map design. Lorraine and Duclair are bloody legends, Point tu hoc is great as well, Wolfheze and Mcgehens war too, only the Rails and metal were far too much of an arty fest. CoH2 was a massive step backwards with map-design.

Sounds and voice acting are fantastic in both games, except that the radio voice are often tough to understand...

And last thing-doctrines from CoH1 abyolutely own the commander system of CoH2

First thing: I voted Coh2 for the better graphics. As for the rest I voted Coh1. Some things are better in Coh2 which however aren't as significant as to consider the entire game an improvement.

Things Coh2 does better:

- Capping mechanics lead to more intense matches since the unit can fight while capping.
- Inclusion of the Soviet Army leading to more diversity in gameplay (1 more faction).
- Cosmetic skins for your vehicles.
- Truesight mechanics.


Opposed to that we have many considerable flaws in Coh2, such as:

- Entirely useless tech tiers (Ostheer T4).
- Brace. Emplacements were a bad experience in Coh1 for many players. Not only did they reintroduce the concept but added insult to injury by cheesy brace and autoreepair mechanics.
- Commanders are worse in Coh2. They lack a theme. In Coh1 you went "Scorched Earth" and played accordingly with area denial and artillery. In Coh2 you have some random stuff thrown together leading to perversions such as "Jäger Armor" having Stukas but also anti tank. I could name you all Coh1 docs but only a handfull of the Coh2 docs. For me they are "that one doc with the Guards and ISU-152", rather than being able to remember their name.
- Bulletins and money milking with dlcs.
- Blatant design flaws such as the Tiger Ace currently punishing you for keeping the unit intact.


--> All in all this makes Coh1 way superior.

Mods add the Soviets as well as Voice and Skin cosmetics to CoH as well, you can play with those skins and voice mods in games with other people as well so there goes those 2.

If CoH1 didn't have CoH1 snipers, the entire CoH1 Brit faction (sorry, it's completely unsalvageable) and PE blob veterancy & Panther spam, it would be the far most compelling game of the two.

However, given that CoH1 does have those mechanics/factions and that those feature very prominently, no matter what you do, CoH2 is the better game.

Oh because people in CoH 2 don't whine about the British, at all.

Just like in CoH 2 the Brits in CoH 1 can be reworked to be a hell of a lot better and I know exactly how, by removing static emplacements and giving them mobile alternatives like in CoH 2, minus the mortar pit.

My friend has already made it so weapon teams can dig in or hull down or whatever you wanna call it, effectively it's a button when the unit is setup to spawn it's emplacement around it, keeping the uniqueness of the Army and making it more viable since as we all know, being static is death in these games, that's why the British Army was so hampered by their emplacements.

Blobbing is a whole different thing that also factors in the British LT, US Riflemen and Wehr Pioneers, not just the PE Panzergrenadiers and the zombie Armies of the Brits, US and Wehr, the Wehr one being the most effective one since you could get Grenadiers from dead Volksgrenadiers.

As for on topic, CoH had more realistic graphics and explosions, that's a fact, MOBA and StarCraft kiddies just prefer goofier looking cartoony graphics.

The Army design is a draw since CoH had 2 shitty designed Armies, CoH 2 has 2 and a half, those being the Soviets, Wehrmacht and Brits because of their emplacements so it's not the entire Army.

The voices to me personally were better and more funnier in CoH, but I have to agree that I've also heard some pretty funny lines in CoH 2 as well.

And finally, the balance I think was better in CoH, minus the spamming of course. But it also had character, the Armies themselves, the units, you had better voice feedback from what the hell your units were doing and so forth, in CoH 2 you just have better visual indicators, more units, more features and a hell of a lot more options in terms of commanders, but shittier commanders in general. I also like the small interface changes like being able to capture points from the minimap, I'll give CoH 2 that. But that's about it.

The entire British faction in CoH1 consists of:
- The whole officer system
- The Brit truck system
- Kangaroos
- Staghound abuse
- A tiny unit roster, with only a handful of them even being remotely useful in the late-game
- Awkward minesweeping (with tapping stop with Recon sections)
- Inaccessible wirecutters
- Complete lack of viable mobile AT
- AT/Indirect Fire AND suppression being completely locked out on emplacements
- Squads that get punished very hard for NOT blobbing (due to lack of veterancy, and enormous price disparity between Brit squads and Axis squads)

The only thing that was done right with the Brits in CoH1 were the art assets, of course, and the pricing scheme that required you to preserve squads (no global upgrades, excessive squad costs) and skim new ones out of casualty stations.

CoH1 was a game with 4 different ways to achieve veterancy and beef up your squads: bought veterancy (Wehr), kill-veterancy (USF), specialized veterancy (PE) and Blob veterancy with MU-based upgrades (Brits). The brit blob-veterancy system added nothing to the whole mix.

Finally, for a game that's lauded for its commander design, the brit commander design is attrocious, with only 1-2 actually useful commander abilities per commander.

[..]PE blob veterancy & Panther spam[..]

CoH1 has problems but those two points don´t belong on this list.

Go play CoH1 then lol.

Go learn some manners then.

I actually went back to coh 1 a few days ago and played some 1v1 AT. Was fun, but ridiculously easy after having sunk 1200hrs+ into coh 2. Everything just goes at a slow and welcome pace.

I think this kinda goes to show that coh 2 is a bit harder and more unforgiving. Especially in the resource game. And this in the end turned alot of people off due to the new learing curve.

Coh 2 also feels more fastpaced and way less clunky than coh 1.

Imo coh 2 is better and more fun nowadays, but thats probably just me.

The only actual mechanic That I would say is better in coh1 is the veterancy system. Coh2 has come a long way in this regard. The only thing I would say coh1 has over 2 is way better faction design, commander system, and campaign of course.

Sniper/cloaking, capping circles, no zombies, REVERSE KEY....

The only actual mechanic That I would say is better in coh1 is the veterancy system. Coh2 has come a long way in this regard. The only thing I would say coh1 has over 2 is way better faction design, and campaign of course.

Sniper/cloaking, capping circles, no zombies, REVERSE KEY....

I actually liked zombies I miss zombie grens, rifles etc. Other than that I must agree sniper spam, no fuel panthers, brit emplacements and officer veterancy design were pretty lacklustre. Other than that coh1 actually did feel more relaxed. What I did love was the graphics, sounds, maps but most of all faction tier design and companies. It gave most factions so much versatility in playstyle its unbelievable how coh2 with all its commanders and time to learn from coh1 failed to deliver on massive scale.

My main gripe with the veteran system for Coh 1 was it was all calculated by kills and that was crippling for the US if lower rank units did not get the last hit in.

I love when people say that coh2 is a step backwards, tell me how plz, i would love to read a good explanation about that topic

COH2 borrows some of the basics that made COH1 a good game. Those being squad based combat (including the ability to retreat+reinforce+vet), suppression, cover, and early game combat for resources over resource gathering. It continues the idea of commanders but really fucks it up hard in implementation. When it comes to strategy COH2 is poorer in terms of both faction design (excessive call-ins + lack of meaningful global upgrades) and consistently poor balance that restricts each faction to 1-2 go to strategies for each patch.

When it comes to new features there is a mixed bag, and the good is not enough to overcome the flaws I already covered. Good features would be unit icons in the top corner, reinforcing all troops at the same time, and reverse button. True sight and capture circles aren't bad changes, but they aren't fantastic upgrades either. Concealing troops in cover/smoke (Men of War, Wargame, Steel Div, some COH2 units) is more interesting than playing peekaboo behind a building, but whatever. Vaulting works in two ways- in some maps it dumbs down the early game positioning of your infantry by allowing full frontal attacks rather than needing to attack from multiple angles (such as Angoville), and in other maps its just a micro chore to help navigate excessive fence placement (Vaux Farmlands).

Two other new features that sucked ass were deep snow and blizzards. Even though they are gone now, they existed for half the life of the game and are valid criticisms.

My main gripe with the veteran system for Coh 1 was it was all calculated by kills and that was crippling for the US if lower rank units did not get the last hit in.

I really never found that to be a problem due to the whole squad based combat.

At most it made the final hit in vehicle play meaningful. But that actually led to more interesting dynamics like attacking ground with a vetted tank so a fresh rifle could finish off a disabled panther with a sticky or get a Pershing it's vet. I remember that kind of decision making fondly rather than as a gripe.

To be honest I don't mind coh2 system, I just felt dealing damage gives too much vet, and taking damage shouldn't give nearly as much vet as dealing damage, if at all.

CoH1 because it doesn't just bugsplat you every 1/3 games. I never got into CoH2 because it just kept crashing on me. No other games I've owned did this.

All those people who say that CoH1 had better balance obviously never faced PE and Brits there