Profile of EtherealDragon

I've always assumed this but don't know it's true or not. Does MM average ranks/Elo out when making teams? For example it's okay with a 2v2 of Rank 100 and 500 versus 300 and 300.

Matches like this are always a crapshoot if the match turns into two separate 1 on 1s where the higher rank in the lane might overly dominate if there isn't good teamwork. If this is the case you could probably improve MM by tightening up how far apart the outliers are from the average ELO that it's trying to make. For example 50 1000 versus 500 and 500 is much more likely to not be a good game.

Estimated ELO for Premades would be HUGE. I freaking hate losing to some AT in placement matches and then see that some of the team is top 100 in Randoms or something. It just results in further annoyance because the placement matches probably underestimate the rank of the AT and it will still be bad MM until they climb for a while.

what if it was inversed? what if blobs got cooldown/accuracy penalties instead? so blobs wouldn't instadelete their targets?
IMO that is the greatest problem with blobs since they show up and there is little to no time to react to their insane alpha damage.

This is an interesting idea. I would suggest moving accuracy personally. Blobs are most effective when combined with squads with high moving acc like G43s . If a blob can't run and gun as much then they are much less effective...

In principle though I don't think the concept of antiblob measures can be implemented effectively. There just isn't a way to "turn off" the measure when it in theory it shouldn't be used. For example, if you mass retreat to your base should you be punished for "blobbing" there? It makes getting base locked that much easier because your "Blob" is going to get nerfed just for leaving your base together. That's just one example but I'm sure there are other times when a "blob" isn't really a blob and coding for all those exceptions would a nightmare.

Was wondering what faction to recommend to a new/starting player and I think OKW is the most beginner friendly/least punishing faction.

*They have the safest bases that prevent infantry and light vehicle base-rushes.
*No-tech AT guns so you never get rushed with vehicles without an answer
*AT gun with retreat - much less likely to lose them if you missmacro
*No weapon drops for mainline inf so you are not feeding the enemy your weapons if you lose squads
*Free-ish weapon and nade unlocks (baked into tech and cheaper overall)
*Strong nondoc elite inf lategame that can replace volks losses (less punishing to lose inf)
*Extra support and protection if you build shwere outside of base sector
*Nondoc super heavy tank that can be build even if you lose strutures

Is there a faction that is better or similarly good for a new player?

I'd say OKW is generally the most straight forward for beginners but Lady Xen makes good points below if your goal is to improve at the game. OKW's more crutch-y features that make it beginner friendly only take you so far.

Soviets would be my close second vote. Tier 2 support weapons and T70 as a mid-game light vehicle gives you all the tools you need to get good at fundamentals of game. The only thing that might be more difficult compared to OKW is Conscript-only strategies can be frustrating as they take *some* skill to get the most out of since your don't get non-doctrinal weapon upgrades or elite infantry. I'd say Soviets are somewhat more reliant on commander choice but it's not too bad to find commanders that fit your playstyle while you get more game experience if you need a commander with elite infantry/heavy tanks etc.

I think OP is getting this wrong because the community involvement in coh3 so far has been about faction design. Maybe map design as a secondary role, too.

In principle, it is a bit shady that Relic is putting lots of balance and art work on members of the community that volunteer their time. Saves them money on labour costs but I'm sure it's a labour of love for the people involved. I may disagree with the way the community team is balancing the game (and the somewhat silly "scope" we had to deal with) but if Relic is willing to let community members shape the game rather than end any and all support then I'm happy with the system.

This. On second thought what hurts my brain most about the OP is the idea that COH3 would be a better game if Relic took a "know it all" approach to game design instead of community feedback to shape the game so that it would be the kind of game that the community would actually want to play. Personally I think the new battlegroup and Field Marshal/Support Center faction design looks light years ahead of COH2's commander system. PLUS the core unit roster has tons of upgrade and teching paths and tactical/strategy choices so that it's not a COH2 shit show where some factions have glaring holes in their faction design. I think COH3 looks really promising from a basic design standpoint and think we have community feedback to thank for at some of that. We should also remember how early the game is in development too.

The only possible concern would be that "top level" players would nudge the game into the kind of game where you would need "top level" skill to really enjoy it. I don't think that's a serious concern at all because a company will always try to make a game with the broadest appeal possible.

Thanks. Which one is better?

Situational. The big one for Soviet is that it reduces mediums to 3 Hits to Kill if they are full health. This is also obviously better if you have a lot of TDs that can easily penetrate and utilize the extra damage.

USF target is obviously hamstrung by being tied to the squishy "It's not a jeep!" Jeep which has a limited target range. It's better if you don't want to build Jacksons and can just use Sherman swarm flanks since they can penetrate easier and hit easier on the move with Mark Target active. It's also probably theoretically better on Super Heavies where the reduced armor means more.

Overall I'd say that Soviet one is probably better just because it's easier to use as an off map and the extra damage is always good - especially if you get lucky Pen rolls. Whereas USF mark target on things like Ost P4s and Ostwinds basically does nothing of note.