Profile of pewpewforyou

1. Problems:

MG42 dominates the early game and is very difficult to effectively counter as Soviets (1v1 is bad enough, 2v2 is just over the top stupid, regardless of how many people look down on team games). Suppression is near instantaneous and forces retreats over a huge area. When successfully flanked, the small arms fire isn't enough to even scratch it most of the time. I've had plenty of times where the MG42 just packs up and casually walks away while my stupid conscripts plink away at it. Even noob players know how to attack move and have the MG continuously setup in different directions until it finally hits one guy in the squad who decided to autoseek cover. Then goodbye squad as you have to retreat.

Once MG42 gets into a building, there are very few effective (especially time effective) counters. I feel like I'm stuck getting a flaming clown car in 95% of games. It's growing stale.

Maxim is trash, since the lackluster DPS doesn't offset the horrible suppression rate. This guy usually gets overrun and grenaded from the front, which takes me back to the CoH PG spam days. But I'm ok with that, as long as the MG42 is brought down to sane levels.

2. Solutions:

-4 man squads for both MGs
-Tighten the arc on the MG42 to equal the Maxim. Let the difference be "more DPS" vs. "more suppression"
-Remove suppression bulletin
-Remove the autotargeting for both MGs. At least make them require some kind of micro to switch targets.
-Remove suppression effects more quickly when no longer being shot at. My guys shouldn't roll around like retards for 5 minutes after the shooting has stopped.
-Either reduce health for both MGs or make them more vulnerable to small arms fire. Flanking requires more skill than plopping a MG and should be awarded appropriately.

3. Comments:

HMG play wasn't this stupid in vCoH. I have no idea how they managed to screw it up so much here. This has almost single handedly ruined the game for me, and I'd like to see it taken care of so I can actually be excited about playing again.

just because something isnt popular in the current meta doesnt mean it should be ignored balance wise.

as I said in the OP a soviet player used an isu152 to come back completely from losing control of the map to a german player in the TFN langreskaya finals

I put 1v1 in the OP since thats what I play, but im sure it pops up often enough in team games

Oh I play 2v2 fairly often with a friend, and I pick the ISU doctrine if we've had equal fuel income with the Germans. Yes, it's a potential game changer, but it almost never comes out fast enough to do anything. By the time you can amass that many command points and fuel, the game is likely over. You'll need at least one SU-85 first, so yeah... good luck getting that much fuel. The thing SHOULD be powerful for its cost. There were quite a few times in CoH where the tide was completely turned when the Germans fielded a King Tiger or Jagdpanther. Elite call in units should be game changers, especially if you allow your opponent to amass that many resources.

HMG spam is ridiculous, to the point that I rarely play anymore... Coming out the gate to see at least 2 MG42s waiting is just old and boring. I'm pretty much forced into getting a flaming clown car to deal with it, which leads to the same build order in almost every game. The OP is 100% spot on in all of his points. Nothing pisses me off more than perfectly flanking a HMG, then having that stupid thing keep spinning around and randomly setting up while my little fairy conscripts dance around it and plink away. Inevitably, one of the retards will auto seek cover or somehow run into the arc and get the whole squad pinned. Then I've wasted all of that time and effort for nothing.

So yeah, until there's a better solution in place, pardon me for not being thrilled to play this game. Another hint: my "brave" soldiers should stand back up after the gun is no longer shooting at them. They don't have to keep crawling around on the ground for 5 more minutes.

I was a spectator of this very match (which was late last evening broadcast over Twitch) so I'll comment:

Snipers in scout cars, if macroed, can't be countered. This is fact and can't just be glossed over. I've had it happen to me many times. It is UNCOUNTERABLE and DEVASTATING to the ost player. The effect snowballs rapidly because early on you have so few unit, you bleed fast and you can't get in range of the scout car to faust no matter what you do or how many "meat shield" gren squads you may have. They bleed you to death.

You guys continued playing far beyond the point the game was "over" and should have surrendered much much earlier.

Soviet MG's aren't allowed to shoot out of scout cars for a reason, neither should Soviet snipers.

To RELIC DEV's: If you think this is NOT a problem, and you clearly do not, then play a match against someone like noobelite and his partner in a 2v2 who are pro at this strategy and show us how dumb we all are. Save the replay and show us all how "counterable" this is and we will all eat cake.

My guess is you wont take that challenge because you already know the outcome. Now fix it.

I would agree that snipers shouldn't be able to shoot from the scout car. It's a dumb mechanic.

As a person who plays half 1v1 and half 2v2, I can say that snipers are MUCH more deadly in 2v2. Because there is less opportunity to flank in a 2v2, the 1-2 sniper/SU-85 combo can really dominate if used correctly. Also, there is less capping to be done in 2v2, which eliminates another downside to building snipers (lack of capping power). I know it's cliche, but I think this is one of those areas where you can't compare 1v1 and 2v2.