Profile of Kallipolan

In general, I'd say Soviets are still very strong due to Cons/Maxims/Snipers, and their very powerful late-game call-ins. As far as I can tell, the strongest Soviet strategies from pre-patch haven't really been affected too much.

However, I agree with you that Guards have been hit too hard. I sort of agree with the button nerf since it was very frustrating to play against before and enabled some pretty abusive strategies. However, the double nerf of Button and the DPs damage profile is far too much. Guards were already pretty inconsistent against other infantry (especially given how often they drop their DPs), and this makes them very poor at it indeed. I guess its a case of a Jack of Trades unit being nerfed to the point where it doesn't fulfill any role to a satisfactory degree.

I tentatively predict that the predominant meta for Soviets will be mixed T1/T2 play in the mid game with 4 Cons acting as a core, with Shock Rifle/Motor for Shocks and late-game call-ins.

@Kallipolan:

The Strategy you mentioned is really tricky at the current state. Through the favor of LMGs atm (for every faction), it is quite difficult to get into a Close Quarter Combat without taking serious damage.
The disadvantage about this is:
Panzergrenadiers are pretty expensive in producing costs and reinforcement costs. They also got not a good armor like Shocks, due to the last Pgren nerf.
I would just recommend that Strategy, if you want to play a Fun match and not to take it seriously.

You can't use the Osttruppen as a meat shield, because many players will focus the Pgrens out when you are going to attack.

Yeah, I only meant it as a way to have a bit of fun with Ostruppen. Panzergrens are pretty weak right now, but the fact that you can easily 3-4 squads running around all with Panzerschrecks is actually quite a good way of countering armour. Also, the main point of this strategy is to have Ostruppen supported by a halftrack as your main force, whilst the PGrens can run around flanking and back-capping. At the moment, simply running PGrens at LMG equipped units is obviously not going to end well for you.

Pretty much since launch, the Soviet SU-76 has been commonly written off as rubbish, useless and a waste of fuel. It is probably one of the least produced units in the game. However, I've been experimenting with it quite a bit over recent games, and I've come to some different conclusions.

The start with, the SU-76 fits into a strange role as a late-game unit with fairly weak AT that relies on a long cooldown ability for AI. Its an odd combo, but one that is quite well suited to certain situations. In particular, if rushed out the SU-76 can shut down many light vehicles due to its superior range. It also does very well against infantry with the HE barrage ability, which can wipe Grens in one shot with some RNG. The barrage is particularly useful on urban maps, since it is indirect fire and can destroy most neutral buildings in 2-3 shots. Similarly, it is decent for pushing OKW trucks, since it can pull out much quicker than a Zis-3 of the OKW player counterattacks.

However, the unit has a lot of problems. The T4 requirement is a big one, since this adds 120 fuel to the cost and means that the SU-76 usually misses its effective timing window. It is too fragile, which makes it very easy to hunt down with something like a P4 or Puma. The HE barrage has a very long cooldown. Finally, it lacks the penetration to be effective against any true tanks.

Therefore, while I quite like the vehicle, at the moment most people are correct in their assessment that it isn't worth using. I'm interested in what people think needs to be done to make the unit viable. Personally, I would like to see its use as an AI, anti-blob tool enhanced. This could either be done by giving it increased accuracy with normal shots (making like a fragile Stug with better range) or by giving it a shorter cooldown on the barrage. I also think some form of survivability wouldn't go amiss, maybe something like a smoke projector so it isn't utterly fucked the moment a tank hits the field.

What do y'all think? Anyone got any SU-76 success stories?

I think the Stuart definitely needs this, its extremely fragile for when it comes out and loses hard to almost anything armoured (including the Puma, which has the same fuel cost). If an Ostheer opponent opens fire with a Pak from the fog, its almost impossible to move it out of the way in time due to how fast it dies.

T-70 probably needs this, but to be honest that unit needs a more general rework to be useful. In terms of tech/function/cost its too similar to the T34, and there's no reason not to just save 30 more fuel.

God knows what the SU-76 needs to be viable. However, I suspect it will end up more like a mobile Zis-3 than a tank, with long enough range that you can keep it out of harms way. Therefore, HP remaining low won't necessarily be a problem.

I've also noticed this for the Rifle Company flame-throwers, and I've seen other players comment on it as well. I use Assault Engineers quite a lot though, and I wouldn't say they seem to blow up any more than usual.