So, what is the Multiplayer 'narrative' in Coh2?

This is not about balance as such. This is more about the general ideas behind the factions.


In vCoh there is a 'narrative' in a typical multiplayer game.
(If you played vCoH you might want to skip this)


In a nutshell:
Early game: US > WM
Mid game: US ~ WM (depends on the actual battle)
Late game: US < WM


In words:
(Generally speaking - ignoring the vitally important doctrines for one thing)

The US faction has the early advantage and thus the initiative.
As a result the US player tends to apply heavy pressure to the WM player.

While the WM player does not need a high resource income (early on) to stay in the game he/she still has to tenaciously defend some points.
The intricate game design of vCOh prevents the US factions early lead from 'snowballing'.

• Higher US unit upkeep costs (US faction slowly bleeds MP compared to WM)
  
• Purchasable global WM Vet for entire unit groups (to counteract early unit losses)
  
• ...

I am unwilling to explain all of subtle nuances of vCoH so I'll stop here, you got the general idea.
A lot of vCoH game design/balance issues are still being discussed - however the general consensus is that vCoH is now pretty well balanced.



So, what is the Coh2 MP narrative?
I cannot discern one - I am really unable to do so.
Call me dumb, simple minded, ... - go on, take your pick.

Afterwards however, please explain to me how the narrative of CoH2 will/should play out once the balance issues are resolved.
I simply dont get it.



.. and please, please refrain from rants about your favorite faction being (currently) UP in each phase of the game.

Can't tell, yet. But i really hope they end up with Ost~Sov at all stages of the game. I never liked how you almost knew you lost as US when you reached the late game and were behind, but still had to fight on because of this tiny chance of your opponent to fuck up.

The narrative is meant to be:

Early game: Soviets > Ost
Mid game : Soviets = Ost
Late game : Soviets < Ost

Soviets are meant to be infantry-heavy while Osteer are meant to be vehicle-geared. Soviets are also meant to be spammable.

Only problem there is an early game MG42 spam completely invalidates soviet infantry. Late game SU85 spam completely invalidates German armour.

It's also humorous to note that despite Soviets being meant to be spammable, all their units - despite being horrendously inferior to their Osteer counterparts - all cost the same MP.

Can't tell, yet. But i really hope they end up with Ost~Sov at all stages of the game. I never liked how you almost knew you lost as US when you reached the late game and were behind, but still had to fight on because of this tiny chance of your opponent to fuck up.

.. well yes except when you went armor. I pummeled more than one WM player into oblivion using Callies


Anyway, despite Albus arguments is there any indication that relic is indeed aiming for OH~SO in all game phases?
Are there any comments/interviews by the devs regarding faction design?


After far more than a hundred 1v1 games however OH~SO does not strike me as a good idea.

Currently loss of vital map presence/territories for more than a couple of minutes often results in one side gaining a significant and sustained unit/tech advantage (once the first tank hits the field).
There are no 'comeback mechanics' (for either faction) in place like in vCoH. I do not think that can be addressed by tweaking unit stats or prices.

The thrilling comebacks as the battle waged back and forth made vCoH enjoyable to play and watch.
Sadly exciting Coh2 casts seem to be sparse...

The metagame hasn't evolved yet to the point of a stable narrative. I think after 2-3 patches we'll be able to tell how they want things to play out, for now the balance isn't there to say which faction has advantages when.

Right now, cut-off play and who controls the resources through-out the game is really the most important thing to victory, as there are no MP tank call ins, and AT guns are shite. As such fuel/munitions are the most important thing in the game, whoever can control those wins usually.

This compared to VCoh where the US could no fuel all game but still build AT guns and rangers and pretty successfully fend off Wehr tanks, where now even while guards and ZiS guns are ok at deterring Ost tanks, 1 well microed Ostwind can take out both of those units.