Profile of MarkedRaptor

Technically there is a maphack that's already in the game, it's called flares.

It was as close to universally despised as a mechanic as almost anything in COH2. It will not be coming back if Relic/Balance team are remotely sane.

Eg: Adding insult to injury, volkschreck blobs could effortlessly blow up your vehicles in the middle of blizzards whilst your inf huddled around weak fires. (Cold Package upgrade gave them insulation and the schreck)

Well, when the game was insanely thematic via soviets vs wermacht I'd argue it was a fun mechanic along with ice. Really emphasized how much everything sucked and was lethal. By the time USF/OKW came around it just wasn't the same, probably because a lack of design around the blizzards and was considered a moot point.

I'd love to try a CoH2: Classic addition, to remind me of just how busted everything was.

Hey redfox, you said that you mostly played 2v2+. So I can give you advice from my recent experiences playing (it's been a while).

The way 2v2+ tends to be designed is that most firefights tend to be almost choke points, veto the maps that are less then 512x by 512x. You live and die by flanking and spreading out. The issue seems to be that as USF you will never win a race to the fuel point simply because you will not beat sturms nor a well placed MG. Instead, attempt to go for cut off points and harass until your typical opening of your 3rd riflemen appears and you can win the fight, before you'll be outgunned simply do to the "forced" fights of 2v2+. If you can spread out to different heavy cover and pinch, you'll win.

I need to do way more testing but in my opinion, Heavy Calvary seems to be the most viable choice in 2v2+. Removal of smokes on rifles means you can plop smoke in a pinch, sandbags if used properly help you win engagements, Rangers can compete against German Elite Infantry, and the Pershing is basically a tiger with Panther speed/health.

What I typically do so far in team games, is I go Rifle, Rifle, Rifle. At that point I try to research my LT and then smoke. Then when he comes out I go for a high impact play with Echelon smoke and LT smoke so my rifles can get in close to MGS or move to better closer cover. One MG is pretty safe and feels mandatory against OKW. After that it depends on if you are winning or losing. A Stuart nullifies their LV presence and can push your advantage but if you lose it you are SUPER behind. Zookes on Ech is pretty mandatory for a just in case.

By now hopefully you'd of gone Major for that forward retreat point so you can keep applying pressure. A sherman is fine cuz at this time they could get a P4 but a sherman doesn't perform that badly against a P4 especially if you have zooks sitting in the back to guard it. You won't have 12 CP yet for a pershing (theoretically) so duking it out a bit and saving for one is a good idea. If Pershing is just too far out of reach and your Sherman is dead or you just feel too much armor is present you may want to backtech for an AT gun(If you stole one, don't bother backteching). When Pershing arrives, if well micro'd, you'll be fine that thing is insane. Jacksons + Pershing is the best of all worlds as the Pershing can wipe squads by itself.

You'll notice I never brought up Rangers. Well, they come in rather late at 3CP and you don't really want to sit on your thumbs as a USF player. If you lost one squad of rifles replace it with a Ranger squad. Plus in team games it usually goes to late game and if they have brumbars, tigers, KTs, ect doesn't matter how good your infantry is it WILL get wiped eventually. They are really good though if you happen to lose a rifle squad.

And yet Dawn of War II still plays more reliably and sensibly than CoH2 ever has, because hard counters actually hard counter their intended targets.

CoH2 regressed so far that it's just a fustercluck of RNG and bruteforcing (walk three infantry units into an MG's arc of fire, drive tank past an AT gun and then drive circles around it, etc.) -- zero tactics, just abuse of mechanics that don't work as they are supposed to (and do work like they're supposed to in a nine year old game by the same developer).

Don't put DoW2's "There is only war" patch on a pedestal when it belongs in a garbage bin. A hard counter system in a game where unit preservation is key is the dumbest move anyone can make. Soft Counters is why CoH1-2 work so well and is an overall better game. In CoH, Just because someone builds a unit that soft counters yours, it doesn't mean your build choice was completely invalided.

In DoW2 it's "Oh hey I just spent 500 Manpower and 50 Fuel on an ASM squad, good thing you hard countered it with a squad that's far cheaper then it that costs 300 Manpower. Man I love hard counter systems in a game where I have to keep my units! For the rest of the game I will forever be countered and screwed!" Only certain factions had to obey these rules too btw, counters didn't even work half the time.

That crap works in games like Starcraft where you scout your enemies base and composition, collide units together, rebuild what you lost against your opponents current army strategy, constantly adapting and expanding.

And don't put that "CoH2 is about bruteforcing through MG" crap in here either. I was an avid DoW2 player/tester who helped test a lot of things. A single hormagaunt squad could literally just attack move through a SM devastator squad and kill it while being suppressed. Imagine that for a second in CoH2 guys, A Riflemen squad literally just attack moving through an MG42 squad from the front at max range and having the riflemen squad win while being suppressed. That was DoW2 balance.

- A very salty DoW2 Fanatic

As a big fan of the DoW Series, DoW3 attempted to please everybody and pleased no one. They added elements from DoW1, DoW2, some small Moba influences, and a cartoony art style. It tried to be incredibly easy to play but at the same time game mechanics dictated snowballing and steam rolling.

People will just point at the game and parrot "IT'S A MOBA IT'S TERRIBLE" but there are some genuinely bad game design decisions that contradict each other in that game. Power Core isn't exactly the root cause of the game's failure but a symptom of it.