Rear Echeleons need reworking.

If RE are utter trash, then so are pios.

Compared to REs Pios have:
1. Longer sight range
2. Nondoc flamer option
3. Higher close range DPS, which means that you can cover your MG-42 with pios - if flanking enemy stays at range you can just rotate your MG, if they are closing they will have to deal with pios' MP-40s.

I'd say that sight range is strongest aspect of pios, followed closely by flamers.

If RE are utter trash, then so are pios.

This is why pios were given DPS and sight range increase.

How ignorant can you be?
(rhetorical question, not a challenge)

Sweety, nothing change from that moment. Rears statistics haven't been touched - they even got smoke nade. If you make them cheap like water then you will end up with huge "a" moved blob. I don't wanna see that anymore.

A moved blob like the ones OKW has right now?

At least Pios manage to kill 1-2 models from enemy squads in point blank, unlike RE who can't hit an elephant standing still in front of them

Volley Fire's a trash ability but I don't think the Rear Echelon Squad is a trash unit. It's just a unit that relies on weapon upgrades to function as anything more than a slightly better Combat Engineer.

Once you give them weapon upgrades they become really good units for their cost: double bazooka REs are great anti-tank troops and .30 cal REs are solid combat troops if they sit in green cover and do their thing. Being able to grab the sweeper and keep their weapon slots is also pretty neat.

Relative to the rest of the USF faction I think Rear Echelons are in about the right place. If USF needs to be stronger versus other factions I'd more inclined to shift fuel from Lieutenant/Captain to Major to accelerate their first officer power spike and lessen the pain of double teching.

Volley Fire's a trash ability but I don't think the Rear Echelon Squad is a trash unit. It's just a unit that relies on weapon upgrades to function as anything more than a slightly better Combat Engineer.

Once you give them weapon upgrades they become really good units for their cost: double bazooka REs are great anti-tank troops and .30 cal REs are solid combat troops if they sit in green cover and do their thing. Being able to grab the sweeper and keep their weapon slots is also pretty neat.

Relative to the rest of the USF faction I think Rear Echelons are in about the right place. If USF needs to be stronger versus other factions I'd more inclined to shift fuel from Lieutenant/Captain to Major to accelerate their first officer power spike and lessen the pain of double teching.

It never crossed my mind to press the Volley Fire ability, even if i pick Tactical Support of Infantry Company to have access to LMGs. I always say to myself "i will have at least 1 RE squad with LMG so that i can support my Riflemen" but i never do it. I won't disagree, they are amazing with double bazookas, especially if you have TWO squads in the field, but their effectiveness against infantry is still meh. In order to earn veterancy, they need to stick together with Riflemen.

Another choice we can discuss, is shared experience

I never use Volley Fire on the .30 cal, I give it to them for the firepower. Riflemen are flankers and therefore lack synergy with the stationary firing .30 cal, but Rear Echelons are great sticking in green cover firing away with it.

I wonder if it would ever be worth attaching volley fire to the m1919lmg instead of REs...

This is why pios were given DPS and sight range increase.

How ignorant can you be?
(rhetorical question, not a challenge)

I've already acknowledged the sight range increase in an earlier thread on this post which you decided to conveniently ignore. The dps increase was simply to match the r ech since pios and CE don't get any combat vet bonuses where R ech get accuracy at vet1 and 5man later. The ignorance is on you.

Compared to REs Pios have:
1. Longer sight range
2. Nondoc flamer option
3. Higher close range DPS, which means that you can cover your MG-42 with pios - if flanking enemy stays at range you can just rotate your MG, if they are closing they will have to deal with pios' MP-40s.

I'd say that sight range is strongest aspect of pios, followed closely by flamers.

I just mentioned all of that in an earlier post on this thread. R ech also have at least 3 unique things. Unfortunately I need to repeat myself:
1) Vet1 accuracy bonus + vet 3 5man
2) Free rifle nades with the fighting position.
3) double upgrade while still getting sweeper
4) Tank traps because occasionally they're useful, just like volley is useful if you have green cover.

Yes pios have decent point blank dps because they don't have any at all other ranges. Pios and R ech are neck in neck when they meet each other on the battlefield, 50/50 chance of winning and it all depends on positioning. Don't know why u bothered to mention that. You basically said pios aren't a complete dud in combat.

Speaking of complete dud, I wouldn't mind CE getting a price reduction to 150.

It never crossed my mind to press the Volley Fire ability, even if i pick Tactical Support of Infantry Company to have access to LMGs. I always say to myself "i will have at least 1 RE squad with LMG so that i can support my Riflemen" but i never do it. I won't disagree, they are amazing with double bazookas, especially if you have TWO squads in the field, but their effectiveness against infantry is still meh. In order to earn veterancy, they need to stick together with Riflemen.

Another choice we can discuss, is shared experience

If you equip dual zook on RE, make them stick to your M20/M15/Stuart cuz they are more likely to meet a 222 or a Luch near them. At the same time they can repair them. Otherwise if you don't build vehicle, keep them close to the center and move them when you see an enemy vehicle.

Invised a post for flaming.

I think REs are more or less fine as is. The volley fire ability is kinda meh, but otherwise they’re ok. If USF tier 0 needs any adjustment I see two alternatives.

1. Small cost adjustments to RE and Riflemen. No stat changes, just a cost decrease. RE reinforcement from 25mp to 22mp and Riflemen cost from 280mp to 270mp and reinforce cost from 28 to 27mp. This is probably the easiest and best option to adjust USF without breaking the game.

2. Radical change to replace RE with Assault Engineers. REs get a full overhaul and become a doctrinal unit that is still the starter unit but cannot be repurchased. Assault engineers get no major changes except they can equip a minesweeper. End result is USF gets more options early game and more tools like a flamethrower, but loses cheap RE bazooka teams unless you preserve your initial RE squad.

Also, please add buildable cover to all baseline infantry. It’s dumb that digging in is a technique that some armies just can’t do when it’s literally 95% of what real soldiers do. Lol March, dig, try to sleep, March some more, dig a lot more, ATTACK!! Then do some more digging....