Profile of TomOfAction

I've been getting back into playing as Axis in 1v1s (for the most part I've been going Allies), and I have to say, I think I've been making some pretty solid improvements.

I can't believe how upset this guy got over losing a match... I mean, if you're going to overextend and try to plant down your supply truck over on points that are consistently being contested, WHAT DO YOU THINK, is going to happen?! Anyways, I think I handled his rather toxic behavior pretty professionally, huh?

Basing this off of solely 2v2s (but some of these points could arguably apply to larger team games), I would say that the USF Pack Howitzer is incredibly lackluster at the moment. Although I personally find it more useful and effective than the OKW Infantry Support Gun, I would say that the mere fact that teching up to the Captain is significantly more expensive than the Lieutenant, and is less viable due to the fact that (based off of what I generally do/see) most players go either tier 2 or tier 3, and then head directly to tier 4 (the Major). The Pack Howitzer is exceptional in terms of auto-fire capabilities (most of the OKW Infantry Support Gun’s prowess are derived from utilizing the manual barrage abilities (including when it receives its veterancy and respective perks from it), but the mere fact that when players like me go USF, they usually like to rush the Lieutenant (I aim to do so 2 – 3 minutes into the match) and build a quick M20 to counter early-game Axis suppression units. I generally can’t afford to go all additional tiers, unless I want to delay or have one less armored vehicle on the field (which can be extremely detrimental, especially since Axis late-game is where the enemy truly shines). If I am not mistaken, it is the only USF team weapon that has a six-man crew (opposed to the OKW, which has no six-man team weapons), which I believe is a paramount factor to its survivability on the field. Besides the fact that I heavily advocate the revamp of the entire teching system (pricing and initiation time) for COH2 as a whole, I think that a short-term fix could possibly be decreasing the build-cost of the USF Pack Howitzer (and potentially its reinforcement price if necessary), decreasing its crew size to four (or potentially five) men, and possibly tweaking the veterancy perks for the OKW Infantry Support Gun, so that they both scale well the entire duration of their usage as their intended role (an indirect support weapon). If anybody would like to agree/disagree, and elaborate to why, feel more than free.

I don't care about OKW/Ostheer heavies, I enjoy fighting them with Shermans/Jacksons/SU-85's and it feels fine, in 2v2 I have alot of fun using dedicated TD's to fight KT/Tiger/panther etc. The issue is when the vet5 volks blob with the most powerful heat seaking missile launcher in the game comes along and wipes mediums in one volley, honestly ruins games completely - this has become the meta.

For example, non-doctrine US Main deterrent to Heavy armour is a Jackson and SU is SU-85 which does no damage to infantry.. if I invest popcap/resources into Jacksons, I lose a significant amount of my anti infantry power, and I then don't have the capabilities to stop the 30 popcap 7 squad volks horde from just running through everything killing at will.

If a smaller, more fragile unit (Say sturmpio's) had the Shreck, it would be far more balanced. Ostheer have a similar unit (Panzergrens) which you have to decide whether you want a dedicated AT unit or AI unit.. not both. This change would obviously mean the Raketenwerfer 43 could receive large buffs too.

Well, if Volksgrenadiers lose their Combat Package upgrade (which I highly doubt because it is arguably a game-changing suggestion), then I hope you know Relic would implement a different upgrade for them (StG 44 package, for anti-infantry potential), indefinitely. Provided this tweak would synergize well (I wouldn’t know until it actually happened), I wouldn’t be totally against it, HOWEVER, as the Volksgrenadiers stand right now, they are pretty lackluster until they receive their Shrek upgrade, which emphasizes the whole “late-game supremacy” concept that Relic seems to be pushing for when you play as Axis. I feel the real problem here is the ability to blob infantry (USF + OKW are the primary factions in which most players utilize the whole “massed-blob” strat.), which I personally believe is a whole different debate to be had. That’s just my impressions, though.

Hey guys, does anyone have any tips for fighting against this doctrine? I find it exceptionally hard to win if they immediately level one squad to vet 3, put and LMG on it, and push me off. I can't take the casualties that vet 0/1 cons suffer against vet 3 grenadiers.
It's like being in the late game after having done terribly early, but it is the early game!
Is this commander complete BS, or am I playing against it wrong?

I haven't read anybody elses' feedback, yet; however, I can say teaming 3 - 4 Conscripts together (1 - 2 for each Grenadier, if there are multiple) and making sure to close the gap between the Grenadier squad, will gurantee a victory in early engagements. You need to keep in mind that Elite Troops' "Troop Training" ability comes at a hefty price, and subsequently causes the user to be delayed in teching significantly, if they decide to use it frequently (it's 80 MP and 25 Fuel, at the moment). Planting a crapload of demo charges and mines would also greatly assist your efforts, since mines and (more-so) demos can often squad wipe whole squads. I've personally beaten plenty of Elite Troops Doctrine users, by simply spamming Conscripts, Demos/Mines, and then going a commander with either a decent medium/heavy tank call-in (T-34/85s, M4C Shermans, IS-2s, and etc...) and bait the Tiger Ace (provided that the game hasn't been decided by then) into a mine or demo, followed up by a full-scale tank ambush and flank that will wipe all any hope of his victory out of the window. I hope this helps!