Yea, I have been playing a bit more team games lately and they are great in team games since team mate can cover weakness. Like you said any misplay as Penal/Rifle and your really setback. Also I feel like the Vet1 works great as an SMG Squad since you are rewarded for staying in the fight and at VET2 according to Feb patch 20% cooldown/23% rec acc/30% Acc bonus make them probably the hardest hitting SMG unit at that timing. The problem is there is only one way to get SMG.
Also Katukov Soviet Reserve would work great in team games since you can get an AT drop without teching and commissar for buffs and fear propoganda.
I actually have no problems teching for T2 with t1 start, especially at p4 timing. It is really not that expensive and you get a very good AT in return. If you haven't built cons you are actually in small fuel net positive compared to t2 build (+5 I believe), since you have to tech nades for them. So that's why I never understood guys who religiously stick to t1, even when they are losing.
Just my thoughts as midrank 2v2 SOV main player: penal build is a viable strat. That would may sound crazy, but they do feel like 0cp half elite infantry. Lots of clost-midrange firepower from the start of the game. As if balance team put all the eggs in the "DPS" basket, which left none for the utility one Very useful when you want just brut force push the opponent away. And, Relic forbid, somebody drops an LMG and Penals pick it up. Because of
But they do bleed a lot. Kind of makes recrewing multiple team weapons a very costly choice. The closest unit is riflemen, imo, minus mobility DPS + 1 dude, which do have similar setbacks if you start losing, which can't be replaced by dirt cheap 7 men squad.
So from the personal experience playing 2v2 they are fine. Kind of an all-in'y start, but definitely can be used.
Having a T34-85 is a big bonus though. It's probably the best doctrinal medium tank, given it's performance/price. Not only that, but it can be used in the same way the Panthers can, in teamgame lategame: Hail Mary push. You could do it with a Comet, but given it's price and AI power, you won't get far. Sure it will bounce a few more shots than the T34-85 but still...
That's one massive argument in favor of ISU if you ask me. Of course, your arguments concerning KV2 chunkiness and the fact that it comes with another AI heavy tank, the KV8, renders the commander generally unfavorable.
imo 85s is a weird one, since there is not whole a lot of difference in firepower compared to 76s. But they are better at roaming doing very deadly counter attacks. Still 2x 85 ~= 3x 76s. Lately I started to like 76s a lot. Cheap, low pop cap and enough firepower for sharp maneuvers. It is also the best "trading" tank, hence the ram ability.
In terms of comparing to comets, the brit tank is just better. In terms of AI ,they are inferior, but they have "bliz" lots of penetration to brawl with heavier targets and phosphorous rounds to shut down AT. They also wipe the flor with P4s.
On topic my thesis is that ISU is much more effective in team games. I guess KV2 can be useful, if you are not tryharding and want to have fun. Although you can still pick Windustry, skip KV2 all together and be effective. KV8 covered by Su85 and some mainline is extremely deadly, especially vs A-moving Ober guys. Get the repair stations and steadily bleed the opponent.
For the other commander I had a nick name in Russian "Cыч" (sort of like a local type of Owl), because you build a nest in some building early game and just troll the Axis. Back in the days used to be able to do on both VPs on Redball. Good luck dealing with that without Firestorm Fun times.
Its a beautiful tank and makes the is-2 obsolete, the kv-2 works in team mode well enough to be viable - siege mode lets you be useful against heavy TDs as you don't get in their range to do your damage
pretty much the same as ISU plus 10 range plus minus immobile during shoting. You can exploit the opponent for so long, until he catches you with your pants dawn during a panther dive. Imo too much drawbacks. I could see that work, if SOV had pak43 alternative (or theoretically a convenient UKF ally)
I'd say both IS2 and Kv2 has 2 good commanders, but the is2 has the "get the F of my lawn" loiter, radio intercept and t34-85 for the mid game, also IS2 is considerably more responsive. KV2 has the windustry lady for fast repairs, resource trucks, KV8 and pretty fat AOE on the heavy tank.
Maybe I'm sleeping on the ability, but it is extremely situational and requires too much setup to be executed. Not saying it is useless, but a strat for the KV2 long range setup has too many holes, like lacking mid game power (if you skip t34) and too much AT (I suppose you also skip KV8, since you personally don't like the tank). Perhaps it may work if you survive til lategame and manage to get your perfect "snowball" build, but I haven't seen those. And if the guy just backs off a little, you have to redeploy and pray that the Axis guy is not tryhard enough to pick a heavy TD commander.
ISU is much more convenient in this regard: "Mark target", guards and sneaky AT. AI strafe is also pretty decent.
Kv2 is an ISU with a turret minus the range + tons of deflection damage. I can't say that Siege mod is very useful, unless you 100% sure that you won't be punished and the guy is AFK with his units. Also works if you are able park it behind some shot blocker and camp the VP, like on Eindhoven Country + it has tons of scatter. The tank is superb, but I'm not a fan of the ability. I would not pick it in team games tho, even in 2v2. If you intend on using the ranged ability, just pick the ISU. Much more convenient.
Imo KV2 is the closest Allies have to KT.
I think some of you guys have no idea what Beta phase actually is. Generally beta is finished, but unpolished product. Stuff like placeholder props, missing or proof of concept features are all attributes of an Alfa stage.
The main problem with Coh2's elevation is also that units won't take elevation into account. They try to fire regardless and will happily hit the ground if they don't roll an accuracy hit. So either it looks odd because the shot goes through the ground, or it looks odd because your unit shoots the ground. In any case, it looks odd because your unit might actually not see its target.
totally agree. In coh2 elevation is a nuisance, but in COH3 Relic actually made it work. Elevation is one of the reasons I hate Rails and Metal. Tank fights near top fuel always got me mad (until I banned the map, lol)
Well as it is, CoH3 has a solid foundation at least.
Also unlike CoH2, CoH3 doesnt really try to bring anything particularly new aside from elevation and destruction systems. All it brings is pretty much an improvenets, which is good.
Elevation is actually an interesting mechanic, since it is a natural shot blocker. A map could be very open, but at the same time not. This also brings more emphasis to knowledge of the map and ability to use it as an advantage. Coh2 also has elevation, but (AFAIK) it can be ignored, if the firing unit rolls an accuracy hit.
I think I also saw this on JP4s a while back. Could this be a balance thing as the Sniper is usually invisible until it shoots? Can't imagine it being fun to have a stun on T4 units you can't do any real counterplay about until after the fact. At least the Puma's equivalent is on a very obvious vehicle and has telegraphed aiming.
locking hetzer's "turret" might be one of the most useless thing you can do in the COH2
Many people claim that it is better to buy 2 Panthers instead of a [super]heavy tank like Jagd, Ele or similar in order to counter enemy [super]heavy tanks.
I really don't get this. I'm not trying to troll, I ask in complete sincerity.
Why would you choose another Panther (or SU-85 if SOV) when you can call in Tiger/Ele and ISU? Sure, many top tier players advocate for that because I would assume they have god like micro and yes for them it's better to roll 2 dice for a hit chance rather than one. Other than that niche group, is there any reason not to save up for superheavy tank when enemy already has one?
same reason why you would want to build 2x p4 instead of a tiger or KT. You can't be that aggressive with elefant and can't dive either, so rocket arty is off limits with heavy TDs. Also heavy TD is one of the most boring stuff to use in COH2.
Regarding ISU, it is more is a AI unit. I highly doubt that anyone good gets it to use as heavy TD, since the reload and round change duration is so slow (11 sec I think). You can still do it, but it is highly inconvenient.
Very useful when you want just brut force push the opponent away. And, Relic forbid, somebody drops an LMG and Penals pick it up. Because of 
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