Profile of Golradaer

Normally i don't quote myself, cause I think that's simply stupid.
I just want to remind you what I was talking about specificly, underlined with facts right from the game data, and what I am refering to.

So here we go:
http://www.twitch.tv/ace4sure/c/2617304
http://www.twitch.tv/ace4sure/c/2617313
http://www.twitch.tv/ace4sure/c/2617331

First video: Both Pak crews were at 50% HP and only two men left when they engage the SU-85. How is that a good example? If you had used a full HP and full crew Pak, the SU-85 would have died.

Second video: If you hadn't been moving the Pak constantly, it would have destroyed the SU-85.

Third video: It took 5 direct hits before being destroyed, and it took out one of the SU-85s. I don't see the problem here, one AT gun for one SU-85 is a fair trade. Because he prioritized killing your Pak instead of retreating, the other one got a damaged engine and could easily be destroyed by anything -- one Scout Car with the autocannon upgrade would do it, or the Ostwind that you were building right at that moment. One dead Pak 40 gets you two SU-85 kills. Imagine if that situation had been two Panzer IVs against one ZiS -- what do you think would happen? No, the gun itself wouldn't be destroyed, but the crew would die with the same effect and they can use Attack-Ground to finish off the gun. And both Panzer IVs would still be alive when the ZiS is destroyed. Why should a single Pak 40 be able to engage two Soviet tanks by itself? Now, unlike with the Panzer IVs, in that situation your infantry are going to be safe and able to capture sectors, while the Soviets would be forced from the field until they can build more AT weapons.

It might seem odd for so many direct hits to occur, but I didn't see anything wrong with any of those situations from an actual balance perspective. And it's easy to pick out a few examples of crazy shit happening; far more often I see Pak 40s successfully destroying SU-85s if the Soviet player(s) don't react quickly enough in withdrawing them.

I agree that the StuG should have equivalent range to the SU-85. The Panther definitely should not.

I'm not sure what skill level of games you guys are playing, but I see Panzergrenadiers with Panzerschrecks all of the time among good teams. What you do is move two or three squads of mixed Grenadiers/PGrens forward and force the SU-85s away. If there are Maxims/Snipers, use Mortars/Panzerwerfers/flank (with infantry) to counter.

I play almost entirely Soviets right now because it's way too easy to win with Germans. And I can tell you, I don't want to be forced to build several SU-85s every game, but until other options for Soviets open up, I will have to. I don't build them because they're a fantastic unit, I do it because they're the ONLY counter to German tanks that actually works.

Now, the scatter is lower, yes, and I assume that was done to allow it to kill infantry occasionally. If the scatter is increased from 5 to 7.5, like the AT guns, its AoE should be increased to compensate.

Again, the SU-85 is a tank destroyer, meaning it's basically an AT gun in vehicle form. It's horrid against infantry and cost-effective against tanks if controlled properly. If you want to flank it, damage its engine with a Panzerfaust before you rush in your tanks.

if strafe is annoying then i suggest to use tactic that focuses on very fast capping, always remember that ammunition is their main resource for anything, going for a T3 just for a quad is like wasting fuel, MP and time in my opinion, instead of that you can try only tank battles and keep your infantry spread out

Yeah, this is a good point. You might try going for a huge Conscript spam (like 6 squads), especially on Pripyat Winter.

If you're having that many problems with the SU-85, stop trying to win by spamming Panzer IVs! The SU-85 does not win games, it just allows the Soviet player to defend against German armor.

If you cause engine damange to an SU-85 it's effectively dead because its rotation rate is so slow that a Scout Car with an autocannon can kill it easily. So use Panzerfausts.

Pak 40s, Pak 43s, and Panzerschrecks are all deadly direct counters to SU-85s. Those of you complaining about SU-85s beating Paks must not realize that you need to repair your AT guns. In a direct fight, the AT gun will always win if both start at full health. It changes when the SU-85 takes several shots, then retreats to repair and returns, while you fail to repair your AT gun. This results in the AT gun itself being destroyed, seemingly at random (but obviously not).

Imagine that you have a German force of team weapons and infantry. What great harm is the SU-85 going to cause to drive you off the field? None. Sure, it will pick off infantry sometimes, but these can easily be reinforced. By comparison, if Ostwinds, Panzer IVs, and Panthers aren't countered by roughly equal numbers of SU-85s, all Soviet infantry and team weapons will be forced to retreat and the game will be over.

Also, I don't know why people are complaining about being forced to use a doctrinal unit to counter something as Germans. Many Soviet strategies are nearly forced into picking a commander with Guards -- a doctrinal unit. Every German commander has an option to use against SU-85s, whether the Pak 43, Elefant, Howitzer, Smoke Launchers, Smoke Bombs, etc.

I just see German players continuously fail to employ strategies apart from spamming Panzer IVs/Panthers/Tigers, and then they complain that Soviets use the counter? It's pretty absurd.

I wouldn't be against potential changes to the SU-85, but to avoid breaking the game balance entirely, the T-34 and Panzer IV need to be addressed first.

Finally, for those complaining about sight, consider using the German Sniper with Hold Fire activated. Later in the game you can move around central areas of the map with complete invisibility due to the few seconds of camouflage after leaving cover, allowing you to move around between craters and other terrain features very easily.

I really like the idea of using two upgraded scout cars to counter the t70. Nice game.

Great guide! I'll be very interested to see the first round of community maps.

By the way, the table of contents is so long that it doesn't fully display and it doesn't scroll down.