This is IMO the route we should go to make it more "desirable".
THIS COULD PROVE TO MAKE IT OP, but at least a worth a try:
-Heat shells (vet 2 barrage) becomes part of vet 0 barrage.
-Barrage now has an increased cooldown
-Barrage now fires 6 shells instead of 3. It could start slowly and ramp up to give time to relocate (the HEAT shells are REALLY good).
-Vet1 decreases cd barrage to current cd levels
-Vet2 unlocks White phosphorous barrage. This barrage doesn't share cooldown with normal barrage.
-EDIT: i'm sure HEAT shells would need a nerf. But make the barrage distinctively better than AA.
EditPD: if you want to know why i'm so "scared" of the heats shells...well take a look.
The AA should be a bonus (lower damage than barrage and that crappy 80 range for it's mobility and shooting arc) and what should see improved is it's baby howitzer type of usage. This should be the de facto unit USF should go when they need late game artillery (not just CalliOP or the old extinct Priest)
IMO it'd be better to just decrease the cooldown. Imagine how fast 2 vetted pack howies (or even just one) could take out a flakhq from halfway across the map. Then imagine all the raging okw players (for good reason) XD. It would also rape engine damaged kts and elefants and the like (which would be interesting).
One of the GCS matches had someone use this and it turned out okay for them. Their micro was good enough to keep it near the front line so the autofire shot a lot.
Unfortunately for it, the autofire range is the same as the Ost mortar and shorter than the ISG, which makes no sense. The problem is that it is difficult to do anything about the pack howie without making it badly OP. On open maps when someone is using a spotter, it can already wipe units like crazy. At vet 3 it becomes really good at taking down OKW trucks and wiping the sturm pios trying to repair the trucks.
If anything, it would be better if all regular mortars had their autofire range reduced to 60-65, and the mortar pit and ISG lowered to the pack howie's range (80). Then it might make sense to compensate for the nerf by improving barrage on everything.
I thought the ost mortar had a longer range than the pack howie. And if it doesn't, it for sure does after vetting up (or did they change that?). Still, killing okw trucks and wiping units at ranges slightly longer than mg reach is pretty niche for a unit 20 less manpower than obers.
The problem of the pack is that it cost too much, both the initial cost and the reinforce cost,
and that the vet 3 pen bonuses should apply to normal shoot too, not only the barrage
I do actually love the pack howie.
I think it gets the pen bonuses at vet2. It definitely does cost too much as you said, and often like 3-4 guys get killed by one stray shell or something since its a clumpy six-man team, but it decrews at 2(?) guys so it is really only a four man squad. Also, the barrage shoots literally 3 shells and has a ridiculous cooldown. Either the barrage should have like a 15-20 second cooldown or it should shoot wayyyy more shells (at least 2x as many IMO). I would personally vote for the 15-20 second cooldown to keep it more unique. I mean, it is a pretty unique unit. It has awful auto fire range, so the barrage is supposed to be good, but it isn't that outstanding, especially for (lul) 380 manpower.
The FlakHQ is a nice mechanic I think. It has a high level of risk reward and players have to think strategically about where to put it. You could argue either which way on it's damage and pen rates but the mechanic itself I feel is a good one. At the heart of every good RTS is calculated strategy and risk reward mechanics.
If you place it too far forward and use it for defence you risk losing 120 fuel and your ability to field any tanks in the mid to early late game, so it isn't always the best idea (depending on the map and how the front line moves in the match).
Repairing it with Stormpios is not as risk free and easy as you make it sound. If the HQ is being mortared and you are trying to fix it, you risk losing a 300MP squad to one stray mortar. Stormpios are super valuable and a heavy cost to replace, not to mention difficult to vet past 2 or 3, so losing them is big.
I mean I see what you're saying, but even if one plays it relatively safe, it's still a huge asset against the allies when defending large pushes. I think it could at least cost some pop, as the usf officers do (more free shit with teching, I'll admit). On the sturmpio point, the same could be said about brits going sim city, and while REs are cheaper, they don't repair as fast, especially if the sturms have a sweeper.
removing team games would reduce amount of idiots and liers x10.
True story in the OP. Strong unit cheap to unlock and produce which allows it to be combined with tiger
I wouldn't exactly say it's easy to unlock though, and it's most useful in teamgames.
My bad, it is 25 more fuel than the ost p4. Must have been thinking of OKW p4.
They're great. Ruined when flanked. Definition of ideal target for tank destroyers. Absolutely wreck team weapons and massed infantry. I wouldn't rush it or skip anything to get it out.
If StuGs are working for you, Brummbars will probably work well in your situation. If your StuGs are getting wrecked, your Brummbars will probably get wrecked.
That's why I use the elefant/spoting scopes doctrine and get brummbars later in the game mostly, when all battles are basically just massed infantry. The elefant and any at guns I have keep their tanks scared, and my grens and brummbar mop up their infantry real easily.
Holy shit this thing is really good. It's impossible to miss with attack ground, and it costs the same fuel as a p4. Holy shit holy shit holy shit ost players should build more. What does everyone else think of them? I don't really see them that often at all, which puzzles me.
Bundles and light gammons are clones of each other except for cost, and fuse.
Commando light gammon bomb cost = 35 munitions
Axis elite bundle grenade cost = 45 munitions
Commando light gammon bomb fuse = ~1 sec
Axis elite bundle grenade fuse = ~1.2 sec
I couldn't actually find the exact fuse timers in the mod tools, so I'm just going off what it appears to be ingame. I know that the bundled has at least a 0.2 sec longer fuse. If a mod maker could show me where to find the fuse timer for grenades that'd be great.
Fun fact: Grenades apparently have a 0.25 damage modifier in mud. So the next time you play a large team game on "General Mud" the deep mud is actually pretty good against grenades, but you're probably better off just dodging the grenade.
Huh, guess I was wrong about the fuse then. I wouldn't mind seeing the costs standardized however. It would make more sense.
I wonder why nobody complained about them. Might it be possible that almost nobody ever uses them, because they offer nothing of value to the faction they are a part of? Hmmm, what a mysterious riddle we have here… kappa
Actually, I find that they cover a lot of the brits' weaknesses really well. Garrison messing with you? No problem. Sneak a gammon bomb in. Mortar giving you trouble? Hold fire and hunt it down from camo, and even steal it afterwards. They're in some really good commanders too. Commandos are literally the only reason that brits don't absolutely have to build pits every single game.
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