Profile of EtherealDragon

Then you would need to seriously buff the rak aswell, 60 range to start and the RoF to match the american ATG.

That's kind of my point - you can't buff stuff willy nilly without changing other things or else you're more likely to upset the balance apple cart. The argument boils down to a few points.

1. The main reason for the crew nerf was that OKW got a special bonus of mainline infantry crewmen.
1A) So far I've yet to see anybody defend why OKW should get this bonus, which diminishes the reward you get for flanking support weapons - a key gameplay component- because the crew itself helps force retreats with it's higher than other faction's DPS.

2. This change doesn't affect the way the MG34 works as a HMG - it's suppression, etc. is completely unchanged from live game.
2A) It's suppression is pretty close to MG42, which I think everyone agrees works well as a supression platform.
2B) It's crew DPS in no way helps the MG-34 to function better as a suppression platform
2C) The only time crew DPS really matters is when it gets flanked which is pretty stupid because of point 1A

3.) The main arguments for buffing the MG-34 is that it's the worst HMG in game which is now even worse because of the crew DPS nerf.

4.) The balance implications of buffing the MG-34 itself has much more of an impact than nerfing the crew (which again, I'd argue is both neglible in regards to MG-34 performance and unneeded as a special bonus)

5) I agree that MG-34 is far from perfect or ideal as a HMG but buffing it directly as compensation for a nerf that isn't a huge nerf to it's current performance is pretty reckless given the infrequency of patches. Something a little more tame like reducing Veterancy requirements is the answer so that it can more quickly function better at higher Vet levels.

I think this is a good point: RA affects suppression.

Furthermore as the game progresses yellow cover appears all over the map, which throttles accuracy by half.

This makes non-MG42s struggle to perform as MGs.

Pretty sure that's not the case - Miragefla said that a HMG could have 0% accuracy and still suppress (it's a separate effect that's applied). It's more that yellow cover itself reduces the suppression applied. Also it's a fact that MG34 has a very similar suppression profile to MG42 - it just does less damage so any perceived struggle as a HMG is just the fact that you can't rely on damage to force retreats - you need actual support to force off the suppressed squads.

It's more of a question "Does OKW need a HMG that deals good-ish DPS in addition to MG-42 levels of suppression?" Look, I know it makes life easier if you can plop a MG-34 down somewhere and know that it can easily force off squads with minimal support just by it's own DPS and suppression but is that what's best for balance? Do you want to play against an OKW that can back-stop it's Luches pressure and infantry-heavy playstyle with a pseudo-MG42?

Snip

Personally I agree and hope this change makes it in the final patch. The one concern I have is the fact that infiltration unit cheese still exists and this changes makes those units with grenades not on cool-down even more annoying on any map with more than one building next to each other.

Then buff the mg34 like maxim is getting a buff, because it is FACTUALLY broken if crewmen deal more dps, on top of bad everything, from suppression to deployment.

Except the the Maxim is getting a buff because it's not functioning well as a HMG (you know, serving as a suppression platform). The MG-34 doesn't have bad everything... it's just a cheaper, lower damage MG-42 (unless you also think that has bad suppression and deployment time).

For what it's worth you can see it in Dane's cast from today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nXW66TCjno - 16:20 and at 16:50 . It's Penals that had been merged with Conscripts - from what I can see there isn't any explosives or flames attacking them so I don't know if that's 100% the cause.