Profile of GI John 412

-Skirt by default
-Reduce manpower to 250 but add 20 seconds to the build timer so it doesn't come out so soon.
-Keep the bazooka so it keeps parity with 222

+1

The best way to balance the game in its current state and to avoid unintended second and third order of effects, is to adjust cost. If the unit is over performing for cost, then make it cost more. If it is underperforming for cost, like the M20, then make it cost less. Keep it simple.

I’m my opinion, the best way to do this is as follows:

British and Afrika Korps first, focusing the campaign in North Africa as well as having daytime/desert and nighttime/temperate uniform variations for both factions. So when you have later maps set in Italy and other mainland European areas your British and AK troops aren’t wearing tan shorts and short sleeved shirts. Lol The AK would be your bread and butter early war German units with mostly MG34’s, K98s, Panzer II’s and III’s with short barreled Panzer IV’s and a few long barreled Panzer IV’s. The lack of nondoctrinal heavy tanks is made up for by having 88’s as heavy anti tank guns. The British would be less flexible and more specialist with infantry tanks being slow but powerful and cruiser tanks being fast and nimble bit less well armoured. Doctrinal units like the M3 Grant and Lee tanks would be a cool and realistically powerful but clumsy unit for the era.

Then add in the Americans and Italians. Americans are hard hitting but expensive units with pretty much the best tanks and infantry for the 1942-43 period (the M4 Sherman and M1 Garand being examples) , but with lackluster support weapons like the M1 antitank gun and M1917A1 water cooled machinegun. This American faction would be most like the CoH 1 US and not feature any late war US units or equipment (like Pershings, Jackson’s or rocket artillery except in specialized doctrines that would be added later once the Wehrmacht is added and the focus shifts to Italy and Southern France. The Italians are lightly armed but cheap and fast. Crappy infantry are made up for by being cheap to reinforce and supported by lots of light and quick tanks.

The final expansion would include the hardened Wehrmacht and maybe a curveball Allied army like the Soviets or the Free French Forces. The Wehrmacht would be the army that finally gets the German heavy tanks that have dominated CoH games so far. These tanks are cool and enjoyable in game, but don’t work if you have an Afrika Korps themed army that never had Panthers or Jagtigers. Keeping one German army as an AK theme also prevents too many units being doubled up on like CoH 1 and 2 did with the Panther and long barreled Panzer IV. This Wehrmacht would be most like the CoH2 Wehrmacht with the infantry of the OKW.

If a lend lease Sherman isn’t added to a new commander then it should be added to an existing one.

I also like the idea of the valentine becoming a dedicated anti infantry tank. Combine the roles of a Stuart/T-70 like infantry killer, except slower and with more health and armour. Basically a light vehicle gun mounted on a small vehicle that has the armour and health of a medium tank but is slower than a medium tank and has a much less powerful gun vs armour. This way it can’t fight medium tanks and needs AT support to protect it from AT vehicles.

REs really don’t work well as your mainline infantry. They are 25mp to reinforce vs 28mp of Riflemen so you aren’t saving much in that respect and you lose a lot of firepower and durability for that small savings.

However, flamethrower REs are a powerful tool when paired up with Riflemen. You still should go for at least two squads of rifles before getting any extra REs, just so you can win early fights and have a platform for snares. Then get yourself two more REs and put flamers on them. You’ll make up for the fewer Riflemen by teching and getting the free LT or Capt.

An extra RE squad is a pretty solid way to back up your lines with double bazookas on both. Four bazookas will ruin the day of any tank diving past your AT gun or flanking your tank and you’ll need them if you go Pershing for repairs.

That’s a bit rubbish. Even a plain olive drab green color would be better than what it’s got. It can’t be that hard to fix it.