To answer your question:
- HMG42 is a suppression platform, and a light-vehicle hard-counter at Vet1.
- Ostwind is an infantry/AT-gun murder machine
There is literally no role overlap between the two. Ostwind also comes much later
FlakHT murders squads like the Ostwind, but earlier in game and being much less touchy. And the micro is pretty much the same between both units. Have to be static to deal damage with the only difference that the flakht must be static to fire but has smoke panic button. Because it comes earlier and face less hardcounter.
- 50cal is, literally, the worst MG in the game (even without taking its price/tech-branching into account). This is only rivalled by the Vickers.
- the USF AAHT is an offensive platform that deals suppression on the move, like Soviet M5
The reason why I would ever choose a 50cal over AAHT is if I don't have fuel for the latter. You get what you paid for.
If the FlakHT behaved exactly like the USF AAHT (suppression on the move, etc), we wouldn't be having this conversation.
USF AAHT doesn't suppress on the move and have far less damage output but suppress faster. it also doesn't fire 360, a 222 (210mp 15fu) in your blind spot and you are dead since it doesn't have panic smoke button. Knowing that, are you really sure the AAHT is much better?
Currently:
- MG34 is a middle-tier MG (definitely worse than the MG42. Not sure vs Maxim, after the nerfs. Definitely better than 50cal and Vickers). If you also factor MP-cost/popcap, it's definitely the most cost-efficient MG in the game. Since it's an MG, it's static in nature
- FlakHT is also static in nature. The catch is, that if it is ever caught out of position, it's dead.
- OKW gets AA defenses for free, and with no popcap attached.
I can literally see little reason why anybody would ever field a FlakHT, when they have access to MG34.
MG34 is a suppression platform, flakht deals much more damage to single entity squad, the same synergy you see between HMG42 and Ostwind applies here at a much lower level but earlier stage in the game.
Yes, part of the problem stems from the fact that OKW gets access to their entire range of support weapons, regardless of their teching choice.
You might be also be thinking that since the Medic truck gives such an insane field presence advantage to OKW, it is fair that they get some disadvantages out of that too. However, think about it:
- If you defang a faction from its offensive capabilities, they are going to turtle.
- See Brits.
Now, consider the sum of changes to OKW:
- Stock Fausts, stock MG34, better AT gun.
- Combine these with the maphax truck and long-range auto-fire artillery, and you have the recipe for campiness to the extreme
- The FlakHT is undesirable here, since it delays the time until FlakHQ lockdown.
I posit that if the opponent picks a Med Truck opening and is capable, you are going to wish you were facing Brit Sim City, instead. The Med-Truck -must- get some offensive tools, and it should also probably lose some defensive tools to prevent extreme campiness.
Maybe it is a flaw in the faction design, I can definitely agree on that.
Now you also have to take some distance with the faction itself and see it through a global balance vision.
Do you think the OKW faction, which is the best early game faction (0-5 minutes) will be balance if you can set up your healing building on the map when your early advantage comes to end and directly, from it, build a cheap (you said 50 fuel is too much) anti-everything HT (you said the truck could have some more dps)?
I mean, we are in the balance section, I know the word is odd for many people who are only there crying for some buff to their beloved faction, but still, you have to think of it before making such changes.
Relic Entertainment
