Profile of easierwithaturret

Static howitzers aren't used because of hard-countering off maps. Also on smaller maps they're vulnerable to direct attack since they can't be put in base sectors anymore, and on larger maps they don't have the range to be used to full effect. Mobile howitzers don't have enough punch to be worth the fuel cost.

It also seems like many howitzers were designed to counter static/bunker play that doesn't really exist in the current meta (not a bad thing). Rocket arty is a much more reliable counter to moving units because the rockets arrive faster and dump all their damage in a shorter time.

1: Lower fuel cost for mobile howitzers or decrease their reload
3: Add a modifier to damage from IL-2 strike, Stuka bomb and railyway arty so they kill the crew but leave the gun with a sliver of health (maybe inflict some kind of 'gun disabled' crit that requires a repair). They would still be an effective counter but they can't just delete the howitzer with no counterplay possible.
2: Allow ML-20 and LefH to be put in base sectors again (or at least the front half of the sector)

Conscripts are a very potent mainline infantry and can be considered better than Volks due to their sheer utility.

Can you be more specific about this utility you keep mentioning? The only thing unique to cons is merge and the highly-situational tripwire flare. Having a lot of buttons to press in the UI doesn't translate immediately to more utility. Riflemen scale great, have smoke and can access numerous upgrades both doctrinal and non-doc - that's utility. Volks are easily replaced and have access to tools to take on any unit without any side tech needed - that's utility. Late game cons are good for little more than that enabling your maxim spam through merging, and stopping enemy tanks from running rings around your TDs.

I don't necessarily think that cons need a buff and I definitely don't think soviets as a whole are underpowered. I just don't buy the argument that cons don't shouldn't scale because they have 'utility'

People say it's spammable but I don't really see it. To be effective as a spam unit, on top of a low cost, it needs to have easy micro and constant battle field presence. Right now it lacks that. You need to babysit it to keep it alive because by late game most enemy units can kill or at least snare it. You need to get close range rear shots on enemy armour and this is taxing with multiple tanks involved. It has shit moving accuracy so you constantly need to stop and start moving. Using a low health unit on the front lines means frequent repairs, which further taxes micro and keeps it out of battle. Compare all that to say a panther which just needs to sit at max range, reverse away if threatened and pursue tanks in the knowledge that blitz is there if it overextends.

As for the whole cost thing, it doesn't work out so cheap when you pretty much have to sacrifice at least one to take down enemy tanks, reducing the fuel trade.

I can see a few easy buffs to assist this. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see t34-spam meta, I would like to see the unit reclaim its place as a viable workhorse tank, rather than something rarely seen outside of cheese tactics.

Any one of these would work:

1: Improve the repair speed of engis working on it
2: Give non-doc self repair (existing doctrinal ability can be a passive to improve speed, to lower cost or to allow hp repair on the move out of combat)
3: Give non-doc repair station or put the repair station in better doctrines
4: improve moving accuracy
5: Add a co-axial MG to the turret so it can still engage infantry targets outside direct front, nerf hull MG to avoid excessive DPS increase.

I just wish the moving accuracy wasn't so bad. It takes away the only good thing about the tank (its mobility). Even when stationary the accuracy is still quite poor.

What I wanted is the old tiers back, so you can go from T1 to T4 OR change it so you can make T4 requirements be T1+T2 or T1/2+T3.

I hate the fact that if I go T1 and don't manage to secure the fuels and kinda of screwed since I'm forced to construct the very expensive T3 just to get into T4

I agree, I think this is a big part of the problem. Sure, you can open t1 then go t2 for the AT. However by doing that you're going to get to t3 later, so your window for t70 is closed and your only useful unit there is the su76, which you don't really need because you already have zis. You want to go straight for t4 but instead you have to put resources into a t3 building you probably won't even use.

The alternative of course is to go straight for t3 and get that su76/t70 as soon as you can. A decent opponent will see what you're doing and punish it with 222 or luchs, which in turn forces you into choosing a doctrine with the ever-mediocre guards.