In my opinion, there is still room for finetuning and with that I really mean finetuning, not the huge buffs/nerfs we experienced the last patches since from my point of view the game is pretty much balanced. I played many 3v3 ATs the last time, on ally side Sov plus double Brit. I always enjoyed it. On axis side my 3v3 ATs as OKW went horrible, mostly when we faced 2+ USF.
I do agree that some units need tweaks, such as sexton or valentine. But overall I like the state of the game.
@OP Do you play with emplacements? In my games I always rushed cromwell around 10 min. mark. Worked most of the time. Against Blobs I used double Vickers, Luchs gets countered by AEC. In combination with the units of Vanguard, commandos, airlanding... these games were pretty cool.
I proposed the debuff aura several times in the different alphas and balance patch previews. None of the other testers was giving positive reaction. The only answers I read was L2P... But I still think this is a good solution. Blobbers get punished and it´s more easy to counter it.
OKW, USF and sometimes UKF blobs are still to reliable.
And a new blob/spam tactic I watched in a 2v2 live game yesterday was to build 7 Kübelwagen by the 2:20 min mark (double OKW). Even though the soviet went instant T1 the M3 was too late and they only managed to kill 2 Kübelwagen before the Raketenwerfer arrived and wrecked their Halftrucks. His partner (UKF) had proper MG placing but the later Stuka wiped one after the other. This was really sad to watch (even as an mostly OKW player) since the allied played brave and managed to destroy all Kübelwagen but couldn´t bear the limited ressources they had to deal with. In the end they were rolled over by 11 Panzerfüseliere (by 1 OKW player) and a mix of Luchs, PIV and Sturmtiger. I really hope such situations don´t appear too often...
Totally my point of view.
I do agree that OKW is OP at the moment, but nerfing them to the ground because suddenly everything isn´t in line anymore is not the solution.
During the last week I read threads about nerfing Sturmpioniere, Volksgrenadiere, Luchs, Panzer IV, Panther, Command Panther, ISG (funny nobody complains about howie), Königstiger, Kübelwagen, Jagdtiger, Jagdpanzer IV, Obersoldaten LMG, teching and even the sWS.
If everything gets implemented like proposed, OKW is at no means playable anymore.
In my opinion the biggest problems are the Königstiger (I guess a CP unlock is the best solution) and Volks blob (take away shreck and add an AI solution -> OKW has to rely on Püppchen until tanks arrive)
In my games as Allies I never had a problem with fast Luchs, because since the days of 8 min. Centaur I´m used to it and get AT at around 6min. (I´m talking about 2v2 here) In addition to that I don´t see see Panzer IV or Panther as a game breaking issue, mines and PAKs in combination with handheld AT worked great for me.
To summarize, there are some points that need to be looked at, but one has to be careful not to overdo it. As you all will agree, OKW was UP before the patch.
I do agree with the change to the KT, since 15 min is way too early. (Even though I didn´t get to field a Luchs within 6 min, neither a KT so fast, I dunno how players achieve that)
The Kubel on the other side was not a big problem in the 20+ games (mostly 2v2) I played yesterday. Some guys even built 2 of them, but I countered them with units in buildings, fast M20, BAR, zooks, vickers, Bren Carrier and so on.
A more annoying thing was the new Volks spam. Personally I don´t build more than 2-3 Volks if I play OKW, but some players seem to overdo it. In a 2v2 I faced 6! Volks equipped with shrecks. And since the increase in DPS, they were pretty hard to handle with inf. (Until Calliope hit the field.) I don´t know how, but there is something that has to be done about that. Perhaps a Debuff aura or something?
Another thing that comes on my mind where these two strategies on USF side, I had to face with OKW:
-Rear Echelon spam (~7-8 squads) pretty lethal, some eqipped with zooks, some with BAR/LMG
-M20 spam (~4-5 units)
I don´t know if I was just too surprised, but they hit me really hard and in the end I lost these games.
Really cool article. It was a pleasure to read through.^^
Finally a cool analysis of the patch without any fanboyism or buff/nerf-whining. Well done!
About the early Luchs:
I guess the best options are:
-Double Rear Echelon with (now improved) double zooks on USF side
-17pdr with AEC support on UKF side
If you are honest UKF has never been forced to build an AEC even though they are in a good spot; Centaur was much more reasonable and there was no threat of light vehicles on Axis side. Maybe it is time for a new meta?
Despite that, has anybody tried Valentine against Luchs recently? 6cp might be reachable when Luchs hits the field.
I´m totally in favor of that. Since OKW really got an overhaul, it takes some time until the playerbase adapts and finds new strategies/workarounds. All this whining only 1h after the patch went live can´t be based on proper testing...
12min Panther
No side upgrades
No change for LMG34 cost
Obers vet 4 still suppressing
OPKW is coming!
Oh and RIP Brits + great JPIV Predator camo fix
I don´t think a 12 min Panther is a problem. Zooks or Pak´s can deal with that pretty good. I would not need a Panther at that mark, more likely PIV.
Personally I am more afraid of the new shreck blob with buffed Volks.
In addition to that Rear Echelon blob is a new possibility since they are cheap and deal the same damage against infantry as old Volks and zooks got buffed.
Fast Luchs may be a problem too, I haven´t tested it against human enemies. Although it is not as strong as old Centaur was, where I had to build a JP IV at 8-9 mins in order to survive...
Despite all that I am happy that there is still so much effort in changing and balancing a game that´s already a few years old. One must not take this for granted. So at this point I want to say thank you to the developers, who don´t let their game down. You are on the right track!
But all other retreat to the base sector not to the middle of any map.
So OKW does this cycle 3 times more often. Unitle this shitty mechanic isn't remove from the game it would be the same.
I do not remeber a match where OKW had their reatreat point at the base sector and I felt some problems dealing with infantry or tanks.
I don´t want to sound like a know-it-all, but except Wehrmacht and Soviet (although they got a doctrinal one in Urban Assault) the other faction also obtain a forward retreat point.
USF: Major
UKF: Forward headquarter/Logistics Glider
On certain maps I even place the medic HQ in the base sector since forward positioning would be too dangerous, due to enemy proximity.
Although I agree with you, without proper arty, forward retreat can be a pain in the ass.
Which is the thing every army does?! (Unless you lose all your units of course^^)
I really like most of the patch notes. Although it requires further testing in automatch how players will react to them.
My biggest issues at the moment are:
1. Lack of nondoctrinal supression platform (Since I am no blobber, I am not sure how to stop opponent blobs, Flak-HT is fine, until PIATs are equipped)
2. Volks are still able of getting shrecks (which leads to further blobbing in combination with their buffs) I´d love to see a snare ability.
3. Sturmtiger doc still undefined, not worthy (in my opinion)
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