Profile of Hmortier

I haven't played CoH2 in a looooong time (last post on this forum was 2016) and today I've felt the sudden need to return and give it another go. I have missed a lot of updates and re-balances, so my question is as big as it is small;

What is the current meta? I solely play 1vs1.

I'm obviously going to browse the forum for a while before diving back in, try to learn from the posts made here, but some general pointers would be nice.

Which faction is currently considered the noob-friendliest? Which faction should be avoided until I get my bearings back?

What are some of the build orders? Which commanders are considered strong?

I know build orders and commanders are relative and when I played this game a lot back in the day, I knew what to build and when to build it, but remember, I'm just looking for starting pointers again, to get my bearings. I know I'll have to learn most on my own.

What is the general flow of play?

If I remember correctly Soviets should hassle the enemy all over the map, run around like an ADHD rabbit. Ostheer on the other hand should try maintain control of a portion of the map and really strike for glory in the late-game with their superior armor. OKW are fairly powerful throughout the game, from start to finish. I never played with Brits and US forces much.

Any tips or links are welcome, to help me guide my way back into this fine game.

Thanks in advance!

I remember that was also the case back when I still played, however, I found myself favouring the Ostheer to a certain extent. I do usually play randumbs however

Haven't been active for many months due to life getting in the way (damn you life!) but decided to get back into CoH2. The first faction I'm going to try to get a grip on again is the Osth, probably my favourite faction. Have things changed a lot for this faction over the last couple of months? Are there any units who have gained favour and more importantly, any units that have become useless?

Any tips, starting build orders and strats are more than welcome!

Cheers

Is the Ostheer thing still to grab fuel and munitions and dig in? The game I lost was to an Ostheer player who was rather aggressive.

I haven't played since the february updates so I don't know if the following information is still valid, so feel free to ignore it, but prior to the update this really did the trick:

conscript, maxim, conscript, maxim, molotovs. Pin with maxims, chase off with molotovs. Get AT guns and don't be afraid to use their barrage ability. Get T3 and spam T34s. You can mix this up with infantry and armor call-ins.

Of course you must be flexible and make on the spot changes if needed.