Canada
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FRP is beneficial to gameplay because it allows factions to play differently than two others. You might think its existence might be a negative influence, but I say that removing it does at least two more negatives:
- It forces you to play those factions more like the other factions
- Forces you to redesign said factions (and as EFA mod shows, directly contributes to first negative) for balance reasons, because FRP is a rather important element of OKW, USF and UKF gameplay in certain scenarios.
There are conversely many other ideas thrown up by people to make FRP reduce balance implications and make it a more positive gameplay element. An example being that keeping FRP toggled incurs income penalty, just like Tiger Ace and the old resource transfer mechanic. Someone also mentioned a cooldown between toggling, so micromanaging timing of cooldown will factor whenever you want FRP activated. This can also just apply to one faction and not all three.
You can even use the "Halt Retreat" button from Ardennes Assault where retreating forces will cease retreating wherever they are.
CoH1 Retreat to Captain can also be replicated, where the separate ability has a lengthy cooldown so individual units cannot liberally retreat to FRPs.
These ideas not only address the FRP issue but adds more positive gameplay elements because if you add different methods to each of the three factions, you're adding diversity while also making FRP less of a cheese tactic. I'm certainly not going try to keep retreating blobs when doing so means I live with a gimped economy for much of the game, or the button is on cooldown because I failed to save it for the right opportunity.
ok let's put that behind us.
sure FRP gives the 3 factions diversity compared to the vcoh2 ones. but since there can be either good diversity or bad one, that in itself is not really an argument. which goes for generalisation argument.
the need for redesign is completely hypothetical. removing the FRPs will create imbalance for sure since the live version is currently balanced with FRPs in mind. So if we remove FRPs, all need to be done is, imo, increase health of OKW MEdHQ and maybe brit one, so it is more viable soft retreat. as far as USF ambo in concerned, it can move and heal and can come in during early games already, so it is good enough already.
this seems much simpler than the suggestions people have came up with are really the half measures between keeping FRP as they are now and completely removing them.
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The bold part is a weird one. Not on your part but on others. The team games have been balanced around FRPs for last 3 years. And I'd say team games balance are best right now, in my opinion (if you disagree, the next part won't make sense). And as far as I can tell people suggesting some sort of mid way solutions are proposing nerf to the FRPs without compensations elsewhere when things are already balanced right now.
Relic Entertainment
