Profile of MajorBloodnok

Let's keep it clean, please, Antilles - save the rest for Twitch stream, eh?

Thread title cleaned up

We are now on page 8, and the discussion has turned personal, rather than a debate about the subject matter of the thread.

Y'all need to face off on the king of the Hill, if you win the raffle

Until then, one post has been invised, there are plenty more on the edge, and I do not intend to spend my weekend fire-fighting this thread. Therefore, unless you show each other a little more respect (guys referred to in post #140 and the author of that post), this thread will be locked.

Udpate for February 4th - Servers will be down at 10pm GMT / 2pm PST for this update, it should take an estimated 4-5 hours.

Multiplayer Fixes:

OKW Jagdpanzer IV cost corrected; reduced to 400 Manpower from 480 Manpower.
Fixed an exploit where players could stack the USF Rear Echelon’s “Volley Fire” ability by crewing and de-crewing vehicles.
Changed the Classic Hot Key for "Cancel Construction" to “X” to prevent players from accidentally scuttling their structures.
Mines are no longer permanently revealed after being detected by a Minesweeper.
Removed the collision detection on infantry casualties to prevent them from blocking retreating units.
OKW infantry will no longer get stuck in a retreating state while retreating to the Battlegroup Headquarters.
Changed the target priority on the USF Pack Howitzer from 0 to -100; the weapon is now less likely to be destroyed before it is abandoned.
Units garrisoned inside a USF Fighting Position now display the proper cover shield UI.
Made improvements to AI pathfinding, combat states, preferred combat ranges, and reinforcement logic.
Added the missing requirement tool tip text for the "Recon Sweep" Commander ability on the USF Mechanized Company Commander.
USF Paratroopers Commander ability now shows the correct Command Point requirements on the Commander ability bar.
USF Major's "Rapid Artillery" ability will no longer trigger in all previously called locations when the Major reaches Veteran Level 2.
Unit icons in the "Units" tab of the post-game Match Stats screen now use the correct image.
Fixed a bug that caused infantry units to not obey a capture order if the capture point had an unseen enemy cache built on it.
Squad members will no longer stop shooting when pivoting.
Fixed an issue where the AI would paradrop team weapons and never pick them up.
Fixed a bug that caused the USF Priest's "Creeping Barrage" ability not to fire when the ability is called down just outside the ability's minimum range.
The Ostheer Mechanized Grenadier Group and Mechanized Assault Group Commander abilities now have their own unique Icons.
The Ostheer Riegel-43 Anti-Tank mine is no longer missing the ghost construction when the mine is being placed.
Added confirmation speech lines for the purchase the Soviet M4C Sherman's M2HB HMG Package upgrade.
Squads no longer stand inside the Soviet T-34-85 while repairing the vehicle.
Updated the small icon on the USF "Backbone of the Army" Intel Bulletin.
Moved the Intel Bulletins & Skins Filter drop down box in the Inventory Overlay.
Fixed bug that caused the Ostheer 221/2 Scout Car's 2cm Autocannon upgrade icon to not show up after upgrading.
Fixed text error in the Soviet ISU-152's "Tracking" portrait icon tool tip.
Added missing requirements text for the Soviet ISU-152's "Load High Explosive" ability when the vehicle is outside of the battlefield.
Removed the negative effects from Soviet "For Mother Russia!" Commander ability.
USF "Withdraw and Refit" Commander ability will no longer stop the Captain, Lieutenant or Major from being brought back into the game, if they were inside a vehicle that was ordered to withdraw.
Added missing text to "Hold Fire" portrait icon tool tip for Ostheer Grenadiers, Panzergrenadiers, and MG42 Heavy Machine Gun Teams.
Added missing speech lines for the Ostheer "Incendiary Bombing Run" when it unlocks and recharges events.
Added missing speech lines to the PTRS AT Rifle upgrade on Soviet Conscripts.
The OKW Fortifications Doctrine’s “Zeroing Artillery” rate of fire now increases the longer enemy units are visible.
Ostheer Pak 40 and Axis Pak 43 projectiles are now using the correct projectile marker; fixes some odd firing animations and potential misses for the “Target Weak Spot” ability.
Fixed bug on abandoned USF Pack Howitzers that caused the unit to not function correctly when the crew gained a Veteran Level a second time.
OKW Sturmpioneers will now remember the toggle setting of their Minesweeper after retreating.
Fixed an issue where Mortar Teams' Veteran Level 3 range bonus wasn't being applied correctly; affected units are listed below:

• Ostheer - GrW 34 Mortar Team
  
• Ostheer - Mortar Half-track
  
• Soviet - PM-41 82mm Mortar Team
  
• Soviet - HM-38 120mm Mortar Team
  
• USF - M21 Mortar Half-track

Removed the “Attack Ground” ability that was accidentally added to the US Forces Priest.
Fixed an exploit where players could negate cover suppression modifiers by attacking the cover directly.
Commander abilities now use consistent UI color indicators.

• Attacking abilities appear red (Bombing Runs).
  
• Assisting abilities appear green (Recon Flight).

Fixes to the OKW Jagdtiger's 28.3kg APCBC-HE shells so that the FX line up correctly OKW Jagdtiger’s "12.8cm Supporting Fire" ability. Fixes include:

• A bug to prevent the vehicle from locking up when using the ability to fire a over a building
  
• An rare issue that prevented the ability from being used at all
  
• Additional FX
  
• Overall improvements to its functionality were made to make it more reliable
  
• An exploit that allowed the ability to kill AT Guns instantly.

Fixed naming error in the USF "M1919A6 Light Machine Gun Weapon Rack" tool tip.
The MG34 Light Machine Gun now has the proper behavior for all squads that can pick it up. Updates include:

• OKW Obersoldaten and USF Paratrooper squads can fire it on the move; all other squads must stop to fire
  
• When not moving, all squads except the Obersoldaten will attempt to use the prone firing position
  
• Obersoldaten will always try to fire from the hip / standing position unless another effect causes them to use prone

Text on the Ostheer Encirclement Doctrine's "Breakthrough" Commander ability now properly reflects the ability to capture points.
Improved the reliability of the Soviet B-4 203 mm Howitzer’s “Direct Fire” ability to reach its intended target.
Ostheer Sturmpanzer IV's "Bunker Busting Barrage" ability can no longer be activated when the vehicle is in "Hull Down" mode.
OKW Raketenwerfer 43 will now camouflage correctly at Veteran Level 1 when crewed by the US Forces.
OKW sWs Halftracks can no longer crush ambient buildings.
The “Sniper Nest” ambient structure can now be destroyed.
Decal system coming soon. As decals become available, players will be able to apply them to their chosen faction's vehicles in place of the default team markings.

Campaign Fixes

Updated the text for the Ardennes Assault Ranger Company's "Company Requisition" and "Additional Support I" upgrade ability descriptions in the AA Campaign.
The Ardennes Assault Mechanized Company's "Backbone of the Army" specialization now functions correctly in the AA Campaign.
Updated the Ardennes Assault Cavalry Riflemen tool tip in the AA Campaign and removed text which said “Cavalry Riflemen were good at fighting tanks” (they try hard, though!).
Fixed requirement text issue on the Ardenne's Assault Riflemen and Cavalry Riflemen "Defensive Stance" ability.
Fixed an issue to improve the frame rate on AA Campaign missions when using the Mechanized Company.
Fixed a bug on Mission 12 of the Russian campaign that caused the AI teammate units to become stuck.

Fixed a crash that occurred upon exiting the game

============================================
March 31rst 2015 Update

........... We’re trying something new in releasing the notes a day early, so we’ll see how this goes! Our latest update focuses on several areas, with special attention paid towards:

Maps
Balance
Bug fixes

Grab yourself a cup of hot cocoa, a swig of whiskey or another random beverage of your choice and settle in for some ever so exciting patch note reading!

MAPS

The following NEW Relic Maps have been added to Automatch and Custom games:
(6-8) General Mud
(2) Angoville (previously a COH1 map, now with COH2 freshness!)
The following Community Maps have been added to Custom games and Automatch as part of the Community Map Spotlight Series. Congratulations to the talented map makers that have had their work included in the game!
(6 - 8) Sittard Summer by MonolithicBacon
(4 - 6) Wolfs Lair by Chuck Norris
(2 – 4) Bystraya Voda by Qvazar
(6) Pavlov’s House by Nebaka
(2 - 4) Einhoven Country by Spanky
The following maps have been refined based on community and internal feedback.
(6-8) Hill 331
(2-4) Minsk Pocket
(2-4) Moscow Outskirts
(2-4) Semoskiy Winter
(2-4) Semoskiy
(2) La Gleize
The following maps have been removed from the Automatch list based off community and internal feedback.
Faceoff at Rostov
Hurtgen Forest
Semoskiy (from 2v2 only)
Shallow water no longer offers a speed reduction penalty.
This has been removed to increase ebb and flow around areas which feature shallow water.
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BALANCE

For this update, we approached balance with three main goals in mind:

To reduce the disparity of army balance between axis and allies
We have aimed to create a more evenly measured match where Axis and Allies have equal advantages from start to finish
Reduce the temporal effect that we were seeing in data, where allies have an early advantage at a higher VP count
Bring OKW ELO in line with other factions
To reduce the effectiveness of blobbing we’re looking to
improve the already existing blob counters, in non-lethal ways
promote and encourage ‘combined arms’
To reduce the negative user experiences in gameplay we’re working to:

Reduce the amount of frustrating moments that can be caused by undesirable gameplay, including:
Truck Pushing
Bugs
Reduce moments that go against our fundamental design of unit preservation in the game, including:
Squad wiping abilities
One-shots
High lethality
Reduce the number of scenarios where players are not rewarded for their tactical play.

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OKW

SWS Truck
We’ve seen ongoing complaints that the OKW SWS truck provides an unfair advantage to some players. We had our stats team pull in-game numbers related to this, in order to assess the situation and determine actual game impact. Not only can the SWS truck push units out of points and into unfavorable positions, it can also scout for the player with no real penalty. By reducing the speed, we have made it much more difficult to push around infantry.
Max speed has been reduced from 4.2 to 3.2
Armor has been reduced from 4 to 3
Wreck armor has been reduced from 25 to 4
SWS Wreck can now be killed by small arms fire
Flak Base Defenses
Another common concern we’ve seen is that OKW’s default AA is unfairly advantageous when compared to all other factions that are required to spend resources to build AA.
OKW base Flak Gun chance to shoot down aircraft has been reduced to 0.5%
Volksgrenadiers
The received accuracy bonus the Volksgrenadiers gained at Veterancy level 5 made them extremely durable. Durability was not one of the intended roles of the squad so adjustments were made.
Removed 0.71 received accuracy at veterancy level 5
Added 0.7 cooldown and reload at veterancy level 5
Panzerschreck
To help facilitate our goals of anti-blobbing, we have decided to reduce the effectiveness of Panzerschreck at long range. It was previously quite easy to move a shreck blob into position and snipe vehicles. The reduction in accuracy at greater distances will ensure that in order to be effective, OKW players will need to commit further into enemy lines.
Far Accuracy has been reduced from 0.025 to 0.020
Obersoldaten
In examining blobbing and the current Meta, we discovered that the OKW Blob effectiveness was in large part due to the Obersoldaten. Their high DPS nullifies any infantry threat to the Volksgrenadiers. In combination with the Volks’ previous Vet 5 durability bonus, the Obers made the perfect meat shield. We feel by delaying the LMG with an upgrade, this should give players sufficient time to respond. The reduction in damage on the MG34 LMG was necessary, as it was killing units at such a fast rate it was far too difficult for other players to react.
LMG MG34 moved to an upgrade and is an exclusive upgrade (can only purchase LMG or STG)
LMG MG34 upgrade now costs 60 munitions
LMG MG34 damage has been reduced from 8 to 6
STG 44 damage has been reduced from 8 to 6
Raketenwerfer
These changes will help improve the responsiveness of the Raketenwefer, better allowing it to engage fast moving targets. The reload time has been partially increased relative to the amount of time reduced on aim time; however, the unit’s overall performance will be slightly higher.
Ready aim time (time required to aim on the first shot fired) has been reduced from 1 - 1.5 seconds
to 0.25 – 0.375 seconds
Fire aim time (time taken to aim on subsequent shots) has been reduced from 1 – 1.25 to 0.125 –
0.25 seconds
Reload time has been increased from 3 – 3.6 seconds to 3.8 – 4.3 seconds
LE IG 18 Infantry Support Gun
The suppression on AOE will also help to improve its effectiveness against blobbing in a non-lethal way.
Added mild AOE suppression on hit
King Tiger
Allied late game had an exceptionally difficult time penetrating the frontal armor of the KT, which caused a significant amount of frustration for our players. Telemetry Data we pulled supported the need for change in this area, as it frequently and unfairly prevented any realistic allied comeback. By reducing the armor (to the same value as the IS2) it should make the King Tiger a little bit easier to damage. Its offensive power still remains deadly as always.
Armor reduced from 425 to 375
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USF

M10 Wolverine
The M10 Wolverine is a capable tank destroyer, but too fragile in its current state given that it requires players to get ‘up close and personal’ in order for it to be effective. With an increase in health, the M10 will now be able to withstand one extra shot of direct tank fire.
Health has been increased from 400 to 560
M36 Jackson
The Jackson had issues dealing damage consistently due to its lower penetration. Our team has chosen to reduce the damage dealt by the M36 while also increasing the penetration; two changes we feel will offset each other in an ideal way. This will allow for the Jackson to retain its current role while also being a more consistent tank destroyer. This is an indirect buff to Wehrmacht Tier 3, in which every tank was hard countered by the Jackson in its current form.
Damage reduced from 240 to 200
Penetration increased from 160 / 180 / 200 to 200 / 220 /240
AP rounds penetration increased from 220 / 250 / 280 to 240 / 270 / 300
M8 Greyhound Canister Shot
We had found that the M8 previously had the ability and tendency to one shot kill a lot of squads with no way to counter it. By increasing the damage but removing its death critical on hit, we are aiming to give a more dispersed damage among clips of units without instantly killing squads. We have also made some adjustments to the default gun in order to compensate for the reduced effectiveness of critical hits. The Greyhound’s gun should now have similar stats to that of the Stuart.
Canister shot damage has been increased from 40 to 80
Canister shot radius has been increased from 3 to 5
Canister shot now pierces
Squad death critical on hit has been removed
Damage has been increased from 40 to 60
Penetration has increased from 35 / 45 / 55 to 40 / 45 / 60
Distant scatter max has been increased from 35 / 45 / 55 to 40 / 45 / 60
Reload has been reduced from 4.5 / 4.4 to 2.9
Radius has been reduced from 2.5 to 1.75
Call-in recharge time has been increased from 45 seconds to 90 seconds
USF Mortar Halftrack
Through research, we’ve found that the USF Mortar Halftrack has been one of the most lackluster mortar’s in the game, aside from its White Phosphorus ability. The most inefficient mortar in the game should now be in line with its other Mortar Halftrack counterpart.
Angle Scatter has been reduced from 10 to 6
Distance scatter max has been reduced from 12 to 5
Mid-damage has been increased from 0.15 to 0.35
Pak Howitzer
The suppression on AOE will help the Pak Howitzer’s effectiveness against blobbing in a non-lethal way.
Added mild AOE suppression on hit
HMC
The HMC is a great unit but we have found that its squad wiping ability was consistently too high, wiping full squads with its first shot. With this change in damage AOE, you will see damage better dispersed throughout the squad without killing it outright.
Distance Far increased from 3 to 4
Distance Mid increased from 2 to 2.5
Damage reduced from 120 to 100
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SOVIETS

Sniper
With our goal to reduce and remove negative gameplay; the Soviet Snipers sprint ability has come up frequently in conversations. If the enemy has set up a flank designed to eliminate the sniper, soviet players were able to use the sprint ability to quickly get away at any time. This ability simply granted too much utility to the sniper.
Sprint removed from Veterancy 1 abilities
Flares are now granted at Veterancy 1
B4
There were two main issues with the B4 that we wanted to resolve. First, the fact that the B4 significantly hampered unit preservation, and second that the B4 has been over-performing in relation to the other howitzers available to our players. The additional damage dealt at Veterancy level 3 and the potential to combine the damage bonus from ‘For Mother Russia’ made this unit extremely lethal.
Direct fire now pierces through terrain (to improve usability – still requires clear line of sight)
Direct fire range has been reduced from 150 to 100
Direct fire cost has been reduced from 180 munitions to 90 munitions
Direct fire now requires Veterancy level 1
Removed precision strike
Veterancy level 3 has had the 1.5x damage bonus removed
Veterancy level 3 now increases ability range by 33% on barrage and direct fire
For Mother Russia
The previous modifiers resulted in unintended consequences such as a B4 having the capability to take out a Tiger tank in one shot. The modifiers have been adjusted accordingly to better align with our gameplay systems.
1.5x damage bonus converted to 1.25 weapon accuracy
Guard Troops
Our team determined that as one of the worst rifles/AT in the game, changes to the PTRS were necessary in order to make it a bit more sufficient at its role. Its damage profile remains the same, so damage will still be relative to current values.
PTRS Accuracy increased from 0.03 / 0.0425 / 0.055 to 0.22 / 0.50 / 0.60
120mm Mortar
The 120 is a great unit, however its combination of accuracy and AOE damage profile meant it regularly wiped full squads with its first shot. With this change in damage AOE, players will see damage dispersed throughout the squad without killing the squad outright.
Damage distance (medium) increased from 3 to 3.5
Damage distance (near) reduced from 1.5 to 1.1
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WEHRMACHT

Pioneers
Our aim is to encourage positional play and combined arms, which the Wehrmacht faction tends to reply on more than any other faction. With an increase in sight (albeit still lower than pathfinders) we are allowing Pioneers to help spot for their HMGs and other support teams.
Sight increased from 35 to 42
Panzerschreck
Far Accuracy reduced from 0.25 to 0.20
Sniper
In analyzing statistical data, we discovered that the German sniper had one of the shortest average lifespans compared to its soviet counterpart. By increasing its health, we are compensating for a lack of other squad members that the Soviet sniper team.
Health increased from 48 to 82
SdKfz 222 Armored Car
Our aim here is to provide the Armored Car with an increased level of durability so that it may act as a better deterrent against light vehicles.
Health increased from 200 to 240
HMG 42
We’ve found that the MG42 has been slightly underperforming in the damage department. These changes are meant to improve its performance and thereby better align it with the other HMG teams.
Near Accuracy has been increased from 0.68 to 0.7
Mid Accuracy has been increased from 0.41 to 0.45
Far Accuracy has been increased from 0.14 to 0.35
Tiger / Tiger Ace / Panther / King Tiger and the Blitzkrieg Ability
Upon review, we felt that it didn’t make much sense that these heavy armored vehicles could move in and out of danger so quickly. We also found that it provided a negative gameplay experience for those trying to counter this. Similar to the changes made to the Soviet Snipers’ sprint ability, we’ve decided to tone down the effectiveness of blitzkrieg specifically for these three units.
Blitzkrieg max speed bonus has been reduced from 35% to 15% exclusively for the Tiger and Panther. Other tanks remain the same.
Acceleration has been reduced from 60% to 30%
Combat Blitz ability speed bonus modifier has been reduced from 2 to 1.4
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BUGS
Fixed Issue when Pak 40 and Pak 43 AT Guns could Infinitely Stun Enemy Vehicles after being re-crewed
Fixed Issue where Sandbags were missing from Panzer IV’s in Hull Down Mode
Fixed Issue where the Warspoils Survey would appear the User clicked on the “Graphs Tab in the Post Game Stats Screen
“Hull Down Release” and “Prioritize Vehicles” no longer share the same Classic Hot Key (H)
“Sandbags” and “Razor Wire” no longer share the same Classic Hot Key in the Ardennes Assault Campaign. (W)
Fixed several issues where some Skins where not applying correctly so some Russian and Wehrmacht Vehicles
Texture on the Panzergrenadiers’ weapon is no longer corrupted
Demo Charges are now targetable when revealed

Greetings!