Profile of GI John 412

I agree that the MG34 is the worst of the MGs, like the USF AT gun is lackluster compared to other AT guns (except the Soviet baby AT gun). However, both perform their functions acceptably well which was the point I was making in counter to what Vindicare posted initially.

The MG34 doesn't mow down units like a Vickers or MG42, and it doesn't suppress as brutally as a 0.50cal, but it still does it's job. Similar units can, and should, be better/worse across different factions as long as they're still viable. Plenty of people use the HMG34 at the highest levels of play effectively, and my own experience with it/against it indicates that it is balanced (or very close to). Hence my position that it should not be changed.

Yes it's the worst when compared to others, no it's not so bad that it is completely useless/not viable.

+1

Well said.

I do think suppression and HMG's (and LMG's too) could do with a fundamental rework. Your idea sounds promising, although i kind of have a problem with the idea of a squad getting wiped at long range from a HMG

Otherwise some kind of rapidly enacting suppression zone that player has to demarcate would be pretty cool.

Well, it wouldn’t wipe a squad at full health, it would only wipe a low health squad that had its health spread out over lots of models. Kinda like how a flamethrower can instantly wipe out a whole squad if all the models have low health, but will kill no one if the squad is at full health.

LMGs are used as individual weapons and would thus be used to target individual enemies. I think the current implementation of LMGs should stay and it would help delineate LMGs as a point target DPS weapon and HMGs as suppression fire weapons against an area target.

The player wouldn’t be able to specify the beaten zone though. On facing the HMG team, the overlay would show the arc (the left and right lateral limits, as well as range) as it does now and the facing direction as the principle direction of fire (PDF) still as it does now, but also include a cone of fire around the PDF showingbthe guns beaten zone, letting the player see how much dispersion the fire will have as the range changes. That way a player could know that if he places an HMG to cover a gap between two buildings the ideal range for the beaten zone to cover the whole gap. This would allow much more tactical use of HMGs instead of always placing them to maximize the arc coverage.

A “beaten zone” mechanic for HMG damage.

Long range machine gunnery is about controlling the beaten zone of your guns. An effective beaten zone is how you suppress an enemy and why it is possible to hit multiple troops in the open but once dug in or behind cover, machine guns become far less effective. Basically I’d like to see machine gun fire be an area of effect at longer ranges where the random scatter of bullets hits multiple squad members doing health damage to many models instead of dumping it all in just one man. Suppression could be tied to this as a multiplier based off of how many models are hit.

Targeting would be that the gunner always shoots at one model in the squad, but it does AoE damage in a cone in front of the gun, damaging all models in it. This could give a more diverse dynamic to guns with different accuracy. For example the MG42 would have a very wide cone, but have a low actual damage at long range with a sort of sweet spot where the gun can do heavy damage to a whole squad at mid range, while an M1919A4 would do more damage at long range with longer and more accurate bursts but it’s narrower beaten zone means that it doesn’t have the squad wiping potential at shorter ranges.

End result is that HMGs do more suppression at long range and damage all squad members, potentially wiping a whole squad if they are on low health. At short range, the HMG would do less suppression but have a very high chance of killing one model per burst or multiple if they are standing in a line.

The lack of absolute control is probably the best part of the CoH franchise. Knowing how to mitigate the RNG or use it to your favor is what gives the game a high skill cap. Games based on ability DPS values are boring because you KNOW without a doubt who is going to win each engagement, which lowers the tension because of its consistency. Watching a retreating squad’s last man get away (or barely not get away!) is what gives spectators a reason to watch.

A healthy buff to the 76 Sherman in terms of penetration would do wonders for the doctrine’s viability. Giving the WC51 it’s gun back for free and a range bonus would be nice too. It would solidify it as a harassment tool. At range it can pepper away at a squad and generally be a nuisance, but has low enough DPS to not be OP. A lot like the vCoH US Jeep.