Profile of Kothre

I've been playing the patch preview just in custom games against AI and wow, I have to really point out how BS the expert AI has gotten. I know the AI has always gotten cheats, but it seems like Relic ramped it up twofold. 2v2 with an AI partner is nearly impossible right now. Even when I win, it's an uphill struggle from the get go with the endless horde of tanks, AT guns, and MGs. Even after killing three tanks, there's just five more right behind it. Expert AI provides an unfun, nearly impossible task to hold the map, meanwhile Hard is such a pushover as to present to challenge at all.

inb4 someone says that PvP is all that matters therefore Relic have no duty to make the AI fun and engaging

I love the patch and I think it's a huge step in the right direction. I haven't played every faction or gotten to use every newly changed unit, but here are some issues I have with what I've played so far. I may edit this or post again when I have played more comprehensively.

* Not a fan of infantry spawning changes

* Although penals needed a massive buff, they have rendered conscripts nearly obsolete and I'm having a hard time not calling them OP. The only useful aspects of conscripts now are AT grenades, merge, and the ability to place sandbags. I wouldn't have a problem with this if they were replaced with something more iconic like Strelky. As it stands, having penal battalions as the backbone of your army just feels wrong thematically. I love how good SVT-40s are now. Perhaps an SVT-40 package for conscripts would suffice?

* The new penal vet 1 ability has no in-game description or icon. I understand it's supposed to be passive, but there's currently no way to know what it means besides looking at the forums.

* The MG-34 is still listed in OKW commanders instead of the MG-42; announcer still voices MG-34

* STG icon has the flashlight on top of it. It must be recycled from the Ober STGs.

* This is only vaguely related to the changes, but could Volks have their iconic steilhangranate back instead of incendiary grenades? I don't think OKW has a problem clearing buildings anymore.

* I like the SU-85 change, though part of me wishes the SU-85 had stayed as it was as a low-penetration, fast fire rate tank destroyer, and the SU-100 was a slow fire rate tank destroyer with high damage and penetration. Oh well.

* I don't like the mine changes. On top of that, they're bugged and I've had several instances of tanks running over them and doing absolutely nothing to them.

* The King Tiger suddenly costs 280 fuel, and this is not in the patch notes. Intended?

* I'd love to see a lockdown mode on the quad M5 halftrack that disables its gun, but allows reinforcement.

Personally I find the jackson somewhat needs it, since it has the lowest HP of all the TDs of it's class, firefly has the higher damage slightly,higher health pool and tulips, SU85 has self spotting but doesn't have a turret, apart from the higher rof the jackson has over the firefly(which is getting a rof buff) it doesn't offer much over the firefly apart from more mobility, but that's just my opinion.

Good points. I can agree with that.

You can put duel bars on the Captain if you wish. Yes you still have to buy the zooks for 80 muni (still cheaper then dual zooks from the weapon rack) but whatever this is better or not can be argued, LT probably be the better unit since it uses Rifles as the models while the Captain uses REs

The change just struck me as odd because it's seems so arbitrary and out of nowhere. When have bazookas on the captain been a balance problem? Up until this point, his anti-tank role has been the entire purpose of the unit. It's like back when shock troops used to have a PPSh upgrade, but Relic removed it and just increased the manpower cost because shock troops without PPSh's were basically just conscripts role-wise. I realize that it's not a one-to-one comparison because BARs and Bazookas can be equipped on anything and PPSh's can't, but still.

I'm not necessarily complaining about the change. I'm just wondering why the hell it's being made. Seems to me like it'll just make the captain have less of an intrinsic role.

You are full of praise for sideteching costs for OKW tech structures, yet you want the free double zooks for the captain when USF tech up.
What good is the battlegroup building without retreat or medics? At least the captain is an elite squad that can contribute to the war effort without any upgrades.

Apples and oranges, dude. See above. Don't try to be snarky thinking you pointed out some massive contradiction. The reason I'm fine with healing and medic upgrades (I could take or leave repairs being an updgrade) is because of how much of a game changer they are, in team games particularly.

Though I would like to clarify that I think medics should just come with the retreat point upgrade, then (maybe) increase the cost of that singular upgrade. Repair truck probably doesn't need a fuel cost just for repair units; I think a manpower-only upgrade would suffice.

Oh thank God, I've been wanting this since forever.

I don't recall Relic outright stating that the Japanese were absolutely out of the question. The most I've ever seen them say is that they're "not in our current plans" at whatever timeframe they were asked the question.