Profile of Jilet

In a faction where the mainline can only fight close range? Maybe if you make rangers stock long range elites like Obers.

I mean, Rangers just overlap overlap overlap with Paras (which have much more utility and an extra man which is arguably better than the additional RA and come in with the Pathfinder commander).

For Rangers to be truly amazing, they should either have a smoke or be literally American version of Commandos or Stormtroopers honestly.

I'm wildly excited about what insane plot twist is in T3.

Rangers that are actually worth 10 Pop.

This simply isn't true, they absolutely can beat Grens at any range except long. I have no idea why you think the matchup is so difficult.

Do you know that Grens have better DPS than rifles until 12 range ? The moment you lose your extra model over grens, you insta lose the engagement. That is also not factoring in the moving accuracy penalty that the rifles will take.

It seems to me that you are exaggerating. Riflemen is a very strong unit. Can 1v1 Grens at any range but long. And 1v1 Volks at any range any day of the week.

You can't. You need to find the perfect engagement opportunities while paying MORE. This should be the other way around.

Riflemen are very versatile and can be equiped with Bars, Zooks or 1919s according to the game situation.

One of them is doctrinal, Zooks on them are utter waste of munitions and Bars are too expensive for you take early.

The only real problem are Kubels and SPios. But hey, cmon, 2 blobed RM can easily force them to retreat.

2Riflemen with a rear echelon will be slapped by kubels and sturmpios with single volks. Especially if kübel dislocates you from cover.

I'll keep this short.

The unit absolutely eats the dust against axis in the early game -especially because of the map pool. (Edit : Wording)

Early game,
You get beaten by Volks and Grens at long range.
You get beaten horribly by Volks and Grens if you decide to charge at them.
You beat Volks marginally and beat the Grens handily at close.
Which both cost less than the rifles and has access to their weapon upgrades without any side techs.


The issue is compounded even more when you consider the supporting units of axis factions:

Against OKW:
***Sturmpioneer eats your rifles and your measly Rear Echelons for breakfast.
***Kübelwagen bleeds you to death from range.

Against OST:
***Pioneer does better than your Rear Echelons, provide good support to Grens if you decide to charge them and provides sight to MG42 which you don't have any counters against unless you go for sidetech + leuitenant/captain/your rear echelon with your rifles or the worst mortar in the game (which also creates another weakness with sub-optimal build)
***MG42, mentioned above.
***Sniper, that is literally uncounterable without Pathfinders or LV (Captain one, which is the meta, arrives too late against sniper aswell).


In the end, Rifles are much more micro-taxing and annoying to use while their performance is gated extremely behind veterancy and sidetechs. I don't know if any more updates are coming to the game but if there are, then I hope the rifles are addressed.