Profile of Lago

Time for a rarity on the Balance Forum: Soviet versus... itself?



Conscripts are often described as a utility unit: they've got strong support abilities, they're durable and they're cheap to reinforce, but their combat power is pretty low compared to their counterparts in other factions.

I really like that 'toolkit squad' design, but in practice there's a problem: those utility abilites are locked behind 205 MP 35 FU worth of sidetech, and the equivalent Penal Troops abilities aren't.

That strongly encourages T1 to go all-in on Penal Troops. The saved manpower offsets the cost difference, and that 35 FU saved is a 35 FU faster T-70.

Wouldn't it be nicer to have mixed infantry rather than encouraging SOV to go all-in on one type?

There are two ways to reduce this disparity.

• Unlock some Conscript abilities from the sidetech.
  
• Lock some Penal abilities behind the sidetech.

Personally, I favour locking Penal Troops snares behind the sidetech, and unlocking Conscript Molotovs entirely.

The snare sidetech is a meaningful decision when Penal AT satchels aren't available: you exchange anti-tank utility now for delaying your next vehicle.

Unlocking the Molotov for free is a nice buff to the currently meh combat capability of Conscripts, but the munitions drain stops it buffing the PPSh Conscript build too much.

It's also a ninja buff to Tank Hunter Tactics, which'd then be the only way to skip snare tech without sacrificing snares.

Given the balance forum's doing a pass on the weaker tanks (hello Comet), figured I might as well throw the poor Ostwind on the pile.

so have this nice poll

It's probably worth mentioning that the Sherman HE rounds sacrifice armor penetration for that AoE.

They sacrifice it almost entirely: it drops to 25. You turn that on, your Sherman is an AI tank only.

However, that HE toggle is a strict boost: the AP ammo has the same AI performance as the Cromwell and Comet. Maybe even slightly better given the superior scatter.

Why do the Cromwell and the Sherman cost the same?

• Same health.
  
• Same armour.
  
• Same hull/coaxial MG damage.
  
• Similar penetration (the Cromwell has +5 pen far and -5 pen close relative to the Sherman)
  
• Similar target size. (Cromwell 22, Sherman 23)
  
• Smoke ability with a similar response time.
  
• Same accuracy and reload on the main gun.
  

A Cromwell has pretty much the same performance as a Sherman with AP loaded and no pintle upgrade.


However, the Sherman gets:

• HE toggle to double the blast radius on its main gun.
  
• .50 cal pintle mount to double the damage output of its MGs.
  
• Better scatter (the main gun is more accurate vs infantry).

And the Cromwell gets:

• Sight upgrade.
  
• About 10% faster.

Do those two really balance out? The Cromwell just seems like a worse tank for the same price.

Does the Cromwell have a hidden strength I've missed or underappreciated, or is it just flat out worse than the Sherman?

There's a pin at the top calling it 'The Latrine'.

The Balance Forum collects all the rage posts about how overpowered the units with red health bars are. It's like a big lightning rod protecting the rest of the forum.