Profile of comm_ash

This is quite wrong though.

In the late game Vet 0 Volks are trash, Vet 0 Cons are trash, Vet 0 IS are trash, Vet 0 Grens are also trash. It's a concept that applies to every faction - veterancy matters. A reinforce cost reduction tech is reasonable but additional men is too insane. Even for 6-man Cons adding 1 extra man with no weapon slots is already a huge impact. And 5-man Grens were so OP a couple of patches ago.

I understand that losing vetted squads lategame sucks, but what I am trying to convey is that no faction is as completely crippled by it as USF lategame. Losing a volks squad lategame is room for either another elite squad or something else, since the bulk of OKW lategame is carried by supporting units. UKF and Ostheer work similarly, while Soviets can far more easily replace loses thanks to the way the 7-man upgrade works. None of these factions relies as heavily on its mainlines as USF (and that is by design).

But I agree that no extra models should be added. I only think a reinforcement cost decrease is needed, or conversely maybe a logistics upgrade that reduces manpower upkeep (though not as much as was given in COH1).

if only there was some way to increase rifles DPS output substantially. it would have to concentrate DPS on a single model to make the lower target size of unvetted units matter less, and maybe fire on the move to keep with the USF theme? maybe even allow squads to carry 2 of them? i doubt relic would ever go for such a crazy strong bonus like allowing any squad in the faction, including free ones get 2 AI weapons that fire on the move, increase DPS at all ranges and concentrate DPS on models but id be willing to start a petition if i knew people would sign it.

It would be a nice idea, if USF lategame AI didn't keep getting nerfed when it is working right. I just watched a match with VonIvan and Sib, and they just struggled against lategame OKW. BAR rifles with vet 3 are fine in lategame, but as soon as you start losing them, it is GG if you don't have something doctrinal to save your ass, because USF stock lategame anti-infantry is either bad or very fragile.

As is, you basically go for calliopes or suffer. I would love a game where I didn't need to rely on rifles. I have advocated for other changes to US units to help them in this area. But if nothing else is done, then rifles do need something to help with the lategame bleed.

The same issue was occuring to grenadiers despite Wehr having the tools needed to deal with infantry lategame, so they received a similar buff to help them scale and not bleed out the user. Or do you think that was unnecessary as well?

I personally thought Soviet Sniper teams (after sprint nerf) were the peak of sniper design in COH. They functioned more like regular squads in that they could bleed, and had to be more surgical in their use of the actual sniping due to low RoF. They were also less binary (dead = -360mp) and so could be balanced more easily than 360mp single entity units.

Besides snipers though, I am really worried about the chart they showed. The idea of one faction (wehrmacht) getting superior lategame infantry AND better armor AND better support weapons sounds like cancer that will make the US forces even more micro taxed than in COH2. That is not even getting to the whole other can of worms that is the concept of "Muh superior Wehrmacht" getting into the game. The economy advantage will have to be quite big to carry the US by itself lategame, and may very well cause a massive skill ceiling issue between the factions.

There should be moments where each faction has a power spike (IE early rifles for US, then first jaeger/ PGren squads for Wehr, then light vehicles USF, then first tank Wehr), but all factions should be balanced in the lategame, and each should have some advantage lategame.

M8 is not too survivable, and the fact that people are trying to act like it justifies how piss poor it is currently is laughable. Every Axis tank in the game (and brits with Hammer) can press a button to zoom away from fights going poorly. Every Ostheer vehicle has access to smoke with doctrine to make their high armor stock tanks even harder to kill.

The M8a1 is a lategame, mobile indirect support unit like the katy and werfer. Unlike those two, the M8a1 has far less range, less burst damage and capacity to wipe, and less reason to be taken over their factions' other stock vehicles in their tiers. It needs survivability to work at all as a unit, unless someone wants to convince me that it should have the same health as mortar halftracks that hit the field earlier.

The M8a1 needs lethality buffs period. No compromises, no corresponding nerfs. US lategame is known as the weakest in the game, and mainly because of the lack of lategame stock anti-blobbing tools, forcing certain doctrines to cover this hole. The barrage is laughably weak, and the autofire has already been neutered. Increase the AoE of the barrage shells, or give it suppression, or stock WP barrages, or something to make it a consistent anti-blob tool.

/rant.

Make rangers get weapons through upgrades, rather than from racks. Each weapon upgrade should provide the Rangers with a special ability to make the squad less boring.

1) Thompsons - As now, but add a "fire up" ability that is more expensive than sprint and makes the squad immune to suppression, but take extra damage while active.

2) 3x Bazooka - As now, but also provides the rangers the ability to fire an "aimed shot" rocket that functions like the Puma's ability of the same name. (A white phosphorus rocket could work too instead, if it could be made to work right.)

3) 3x BAR - Provides the squad with 3x BARs with reduced drop chance and slightly better stats than standard BARs. Provides the squad with a suppressive fire ability.