UPDATES:
- 5 February (Updated commandment #6; phrasing was unclear and was referencing incorrect stuff)
- 24 January (Updated commandments #4 & #5: fixed issue with overshoot offset)
Do you sometimes believe that a single (ONE!) Katyusha lacks that necessary punch to punish blobbing?
Having issues understanding why people complain about the Panzerwerfer, although its performance seems so inconsistent to you?
Do you feel that winch of injustice tingle you when people mention that Brummbars are actually quite decent vs infantry?
Would you feel discomfort if I told you that PIATs are one of the best AT guns in the game; You know that can't be true, since you cannot even hit the broadside of an OKW medtruck with them. Right?
Worry not, my friend; the mechanics of indirect fire in CoH2 are so deep and intricate that the majority of the playerbase is unable to properly grasp them. In this guide I am to demystify those concepts, and also give you some practical advice to follow.
The 6 TL;DR Commandments of Rocket Artillery
1. Scatter area does NOT look like a circle; scatter area looks like a Rainbow
2. Move your artillery CLOSER to the enemy. If you are half-way into your max shooting range, you are already good enough.
3. Avoid firing rockets into the Fog of War. For they that cry my name in vain shall be cursed with 25% scatter! ALWAYS use a spotter, you lazy nice person!
4. For most artillery, the centre of the scatter area is usually further than where you aim! You need to learn the scatter offset for your favourite weapons in order to compensate.
5. If you wish to concentrate your barrage in order to punish a particular unit (e.g., pak, sniper), then you should under-aim even further.
6.Disregard commandment #5 when you are dealing with a MEGABLOB.. Just try to aim so that you fit as many enemy units in the (real) scatter area as possible.
List of units/weapons that overshoot
(I will probably update this guide in the future with more visuals, more proofs, and hopefully with more tips that other users will have to share)
The new pathing change was a step in the right direction (it helps reduce traffic jams). However, there is no denying that it still needs some refinement.
Here are some ideas that might help:
When the player gives a move-facing command (hold right-click), the vehicles should first rotate before moving
Reduce the no-rotation distance from 50-ish to something smaller (e.g. 30-ish)
When the player uses an attack-move command, again, the same
Only use the new pathing when multiple vehicles are selected at the same time
Of course, you can try a combination of all those ideas. This will preserve the benefits of the new pathing, while giving micro-capable players more consistent vehicle behaviour.
There is no benefit to this at all if you know how to use the reverse hotkey, and it gets in the way of normal movement sometimes.
Pros:
Nothing
The December pathing change has actually brought a single benefit to unit behaviour:
When you try to move multiple Vehicles from one area to another, the new pathing will cause significantly less vehicle rotation (and thus less of a traffic jam).
This is PARTICULARLY useful when the enemy tries to summon a sneaky artillery barrage (e.g., stuka dive bombing) right in the middle of your armoured column. With the old behaviour, it would be very difficult to salvage your vehicles. With the new behaviour, you actually have a chance.
With that being said, I would rather they reverted to the old pathing, unless they plan to refine new pathing very very soon.
Possible ideas to fix:
1) When the player gives a move-facing command (hold right-click), the vehicles should first rotate before moving
2) Reduce the no-rotation distance from 50-ish to something smaller (e.g. 30-ish)
3) When the player uses an attack-move command, again, the same
Personally, I prefer #1 and maybe #2 as well on top of that. #1 will make things more predictable.
Yes, that was what I was trying to say.
The stats may say so, but my experience is, that a garissoned MG42 vs a garissoned Vickers will lose 100% of the time and mostly with at least 3 men left on the Vickers.
That is my experience almost. if the MGs have a fair fight:
- If it's over a long distance, Vickers will win with only an inch of its health (empirical evidence; not supported by stats)
- Over shorter distances, Vickers will win by a wider margin
The reason why I am mentioning a "fair fight" is that it seems to depend on which MG gets the first shot.
For instance, if you try to set up a Vickers opposite to an already-setup MG, your Vickers will lose 100% of the time.
Now, when MG42 gets its incendiary rounds, it's gg for Vickers. That's why when Vickers gets to vet1, it's situated on a trench just out-of-reach of MG42 (where it can fire with impunity).
Btw, with the new patch, the AEC has received a 2x improvement in its garrison-clearing capabilities (this is because of the far AoE damage multiplier buff).
That is to say, the garrison-clearing capabilities of the AEC went from completely inexistent, to something even remotely useful.
- Currently, it requires at most 14 shots for the AEC to clear a full-health garrison (~56 seconds).
- Before, it required at most 27 shots for the AEC to clear a garrison (~108 seconds).
In order to get the best results, place the AEC right in front of the window that it is aiming at (you might knock the time down to 20-40 seconds).
I will repeat myself: The buff to the AEC has made it so that it deals low damagge more consistently to units. The buff DOES NOT affect the one-shot capability of the AEC.
Just to give you a perspective of what EXACTLY was changed about the AEC.
TBH I also have my problems against vickers. Especially in buildings I find them very strong.
Also I have the feeling that they do A LOT of damage against units in buildings too.
The AEC just received a massive buff vs infantry and weapon teams. However, it is not as "bad" as it sounds.
- The AoE distance profile (which determines near/mid/far distances) has NOT been updated
What this means, is that the new AEC will "only" be dealing far-damage to most targets. Vs infantry in the open this damage = 24
Compared to the Cromwell gun:
- AEC deals "only" 75% damage
- AEC fires faster (~4 secs vs ~6 secs)
- Has worse moving accuracy (50% vs 75%)
As always, for best results, use attack ground to plant a shot where it will deal more damage.
What this means:
- The 1-shotting capability of AEC has NOT changed (oneshotting a model; not a squad)
- In the same area that a Cromwell shot would one-shot a model, the AEC will be more likely to deal "minimum" damage (24 damage)
I am not sure yet whether the AEC is OP (because, matchmaking). However, for a unit that costs 440MP (plus teching cost), it had better be useful at something.
. I am just commenting on the examples he provided to help pinpoint what exactly was changed about AEC)
Romeo
Mr Smith
Luciano
Mr Smith
Relic Entertainment
