Profile of CombatMuffin

That is an inaccurate statement, and an over-dramatization of the issue at hand. Some Russians are upset about it. Honestly, Metacriticuser scores are not an accurate depiction of an entire country's opinion. I'll change my mind if a public official from the Russian Federation releases a statement, otherwise, it's just an isolated internet wave.

Relic has never downplayed the Holocaust, or the Nazi Regime. A lot of players in vCoH had, respectfully, the ignorant opinion that the Panzer Elite represented the SS. This is completely unfounded.

First off, the SS represented an "elite" only in terms of government acceptance. Most experienced Wehrmacht Generals actually disliked the SS, their tactics, and their behavior in the battlefield. The SS was so overzealous in their operations during the Invasion of Poland and other fronts, that some Wehrmacht Generals actually wanted them removed altogether, because they weren't helping.

From what I always observed in the game, the Panzer Elite always seemed like Panzer Divisions alone, which were composed of Mobile Warfare (Halftracks, PanzerGrenadiers and Medium Tanks). The Waffen-SS had its own Panzer Divisions, but they were only a fraction of what the Wehrmacht actually had.

The campaign in Relic's game presented the stories of two brothers, in a Panzer Division. That doesn't mean it approved of the Reich's policies against ethnical, religious or sexual diversity.

WW2 was a very dark period of human history, and to judge it with linear, non-objective thinking is to shoot yourself in the foot. Many of the worst things in the human condition surfaced during those years, and many of the world's technological improvements that we enjoy to this date derive directly from the Axis war effort. It doesn't mean that what the Axis did was right, but to judge that period solely on that is not only ignorant, it is dangerous.

Patriotic sentiment is not bad in and of itself. Patriotic Zeal, accepting your country is right beyond all doubt, is the first step towards making the same exact mistake.

Hah, now thats funny! Guy who is saying that german army has no solid counter to T70, tells us the way soviets should counter P4 - you need just a 'single' T34 to disable it for 10 seconds (loosing T34 in 95% chance, P4 will survive in 9 out of 10 cases, also there is a good chance of T34 pathfinding glitch, leaving the latter with overhaet engine), and this is considered a 'good' counter, while shrecks killing T70 in couple of volleys is a 'bad' counter. After reading the thread all I see is a lot of wide red holes, which used to be brown and tiny... and now they scream for revenge!

The balance decisions and statements are made on hundreds, thousands of games - only statistic might show the narrow places in balance, not the single point of view, even from pros (they also might expierence sudden discomfort below the spine). And I dont doupt even the slightest that everyone here have that much expierence.

If you cant take out a unit that can't move, and probably can't shoot at you, in ten seconds, then you don't have the necessary forces to support that Ram. If you simply rammed for the sake of ramming, then you deserve to lose that T34, and he deserves to limp away.

Its is true that it is unfeasible to have T3 and T4, which is why I suggested having a ZiS in that case. The T70 is a very viable unit if you have control of the Axis' fuel.

The Germans DO have solid counters to the T70, but not when it has just arrived. It is a shock unit, if the Soviet played his cards right, because it has a small window to pay for itself, and diminish the enemy field presence. If you kill a Pio squad and an MG or something similar, then you have more or less made up its cost. Those are two easy targets. If you happen to kill his Flame Ht, your entire unit is paid for. Kill a PGren with shreks and have him drop a shrek: you have paid for a big chunk of the T70...

The T70 doesn't need to be a bigger target, tbh. It just needs to have its range reduced to that of Shreks. You can still kite them (because they need to stop to shoot, you don't), but a skilled german player will flank you. It requires a lot more micro and risk form the German side, and investment, too (360mp and 120 munis).

EDIT: It takes three shreks to kill a T70. It takes two shots from T70 to kill an enemy(discounting the occasional crit). The T70 fires in bursts of 4 shots, I think. If that burst happens to kill a single PGren, there's a chance he'll drop the shrek and lose one of his shots. You can also draw shrek fire away from the T70 (its a nifty trick) and attack the shreks during their cooldown (Stephen suggested this once).

I've read about my own country's history. If I open ANY history book being taught from primary school until high school, I will find beautiful heroes and national events.

If I actually open a serious piece of academic history (I know a couple of people who have been to my country's national archives, and I have some academic history books), you will find this:

-Most high ranking or high profile "heroes" were actually doing it for their own benefit, not the good of their people.

-Half of the battles are fought for political gains, not necessarily military ones. In fact, the greatest deeds in war seem to be forgotten, because not everyone understands the strategic elements involved. Propaganda plays a big role here.

-The "cause" you were fighting for was probably good, but it was only good so that young soldiers follow you. In the end, it boils down to the consolidation of power, not the good of the people.

This applies to the U.S., Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan and even the Congo. It's straightforward human nature, it is not restricted to a historical setting or nation.

This is why a lot of the movies and books picture the stories of soldiers. They are the ones facing the horrors of war, when the leaders (Be it Ceasar, Hitler, Stalin, Alexander or Simon Bolivar) are eating freshly squeezed orange juice in their comfortable Estate.

Hahaha, of course you do. After you conveniently ignore the fact its the best tank in the game for cost.

Panther is already a better tank killer than Su85.

The Panther can be kited by the SU-85. The SU-85 is actually slightly faster than PIV, so they can't catch up with getting kited by a well played SU-85.

The PIV is the best tank for its cost... Thats debatable, but I could agree. The SU-85 can destroy, 1v1 a PIV and it is cheaper. It has a longer line of sight and it is faster. It also has comparable frontal armor, but a much better gun. The SU-85 also arrives earlier.

That's not the point here, however. The PIV is only an amazing tank because the Panther got nerfed. Otherwise the Panther would still take the crown home. A lot of people were against the Panther being OP (not one of them)...

Part of the problem here is linear thinking, and I think that's what Golradaer was talking about. People are just chugging straightforward scenarios, when the game is anything but.

Soviets have VERY elaborate support abilities: Oorah is great to AT nade the PIV. Guard Button turns any tank into a sitting duck, if all else fails you have the Ram ability, which turns ANY tank into a sitting duck, regardless of the cost or efficiency of said tank. You have very good abilities to deal with german armor, which is why german armor needs to be strong by default. Its their army's trademark.

There's also the fact that a game or movie cannot properly convey the horrors of war.

You hear westerners complain when they see videos of Russians and Chechens cutting each others throats(literally) and yet, you can find videos of NATO troops committing atrocities and very unprofessional behavior in and out of the battlefield, as well. It's not acceptable, but given the circumstances one can understand why it happens.

The problem is that there's players taking a fictional story to heart, thinking that it is meant to degrade their cultural identity, when that is not the case.