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These are core problems that plague COH2 and greatly impact on COH2 player base and community.
(In my opinion, of course)
Many other issues and problems COH2 and its community faces are direct or partly result of these core issues. One or two of these will have great impact on many COH2 players and their desire to play the game
1. Rank (or lack of it)
I’ll use examples here, I think this might be the best way to communicate the core issue:
(ranks are indicative of player ability in scenario)
Coh 1 =
Rank 11 player searches for game and is automatched vs rank 16 player in 1v1 battle. He sees rank -16 and the hair on his head straightens up and adrenalin kicks in. Rank 11 player does his best in the game but losses the game.
Aftermath: players type GG, maybe rank 11 player blames keyboard and mouse a little bit or maybe asks for tip or two. (naturally there are always idiots here and there who abuse, drop hack, blame game, etc)
-Player level 11 Searches for new game and bemoans his luck of getting level 16 opponent, but is sort of happy with few nice moves he did.
-Player lvl 16, searches for game hoping he gets someone better this time, so he can rank up.
Coh 2 =
Player ranked 4563 searches for game, gets game vs some guy with weird name.
Player ranked 4563 tries his best but losses.
Aftermath:
-Player Ranked 4563 rage quits from main menu, goes on forum and starts posting about balance issues, accuses Relic of being Nazi or pleasing Soviet fanboys by nerfing those few units Germans have left to fight OP’d Soviets… Gets into argument vs someone who lost to opposite faction earlier, they get into 3 hour argument calling eachother names and trying to prove their favourite faction is deliberately and needlessly targeted by Relic’s devs for nerfs. Both are consumed by anger and hate Relic, COH2, Sega, Devs, Noun, eachother and who ever gets involved into argument. Neither considers possibility that they were just beaten by better player.
Tomorrow instead of turning on COH2, he goes on forum to check who wrote what on forums……
-Some guy (Ranked 162) goes to watch twitch channel or his replay after game. Spends couple of hours watching replays and discussing tactics on forum. Later on he searches for another game, wonders why there is so little people searching for games and why does it take so long to get a game. It’s a brain teaser, isn’t it?
2. Automatch 4v4 vs Custom game lobby
Having unit slightly Op’d in 1v1 game is abomination, a reason to flood forums with request for immediate balancing and patch.
Having maps that are slightly favourable towards one faction with few units Op’d is just a damn crime against humanity. Abomination and entirely acceptable reason not to play the game, wait for balancing patch to fix unplayable game.
These same players ^ find it ok for Relic to force other players into automatch 4v4 games, where ELO can’t possibly find 8 players of similar skill. Find it ok for Relic to disable ‘surrender on your own option’, so people can’t bail on the game that is laggy and terribly unbalanced. Find it ok, for Relic to try all sort of different things to force players into playing games they find utterly frustrating.
Half of the 1v1 player base quit playing because SU85 was OP’d, MG42 had insta suppression, and Relic comes and asks their opinion on 4v4 games and what do they think how to stop players bailing from 4v4 games. Naturally they give their opinion on mode that they don’t play and suggestions on what ‘casual players’ should do. Relic takes their opinion into account. Disregards players who are playing that mode and their opinions, complaints and suggestions. Seems entirely logical to me, I can’t see any issue with that. Can you?
Well for someone who plays both modes, this is how I find 4v4 game.
Lets say Relic decided to combat people complaining about balancing issues in 1v1 by adopting new system.
Before each game one faction would be randomly made from: extremely OP’d to highly OP’d, to significantly OP’d, to moderately Op’d, to fairly OP’d to slightly OP’d to almost balanced factions (resembles how ELO works in 4v4 games). Relic goes to 4v4 (casual) gamers on what they opinions are. They give their opinions. Some say that’s stupid, some say yeah that sounds like good idea because people can learn to play better when having to face OP’d faction.
That way when they eventually come to 4v4’s they wont have as much problem dealing with being double teamed until help arrives. Great idea, Relic goes and patches the game, ignores cries of 1v1 community. Half the players quit playing, other half finds it great because every other game they get to feel like best player there ever was in COH…….
4v4 players don’t care, because those who quit would never made good team players anyway.
Problem solved? Well not for 1v1 players who want good balanced games.
Fiercest and most vocal supporters of 4v4 automatch are 1v1 and 2v2 players who think that is the best way to train players into evolving into competitive 1v1 players, and swelling those modes with more players. (this doesn't include normal 1v1 players, who want everyone to have fun.)
Vast majority of actual 4v4 players have either quit game, are hanging around waiting in hope of lobby, or are still playing getting increasingly frustrated and entertaining the thought of quitting the game.
Relic, get your head out of the sand……….
The only players that actually benefited are those noob bashing smurfs from COH who formed teams and are having a blast beating randoms and beginners.
Smurf problem is solved in COH2 through steam and not being able to get new acc. Unfortunately biggest menace and cancer of COH after hackers is being given new avenue to continue with their practice of praying on weaker players and throwing insults at them.
Catering for newbies by trying to create path for them into community through automatch and no lobby? Well, they get abused by those forementioned ex smurfs who abuse them, they get abused by their team for not wanting to surrender, abused for being in the game as weakest player, etc.
If I received this much flack and abuse when I was newbie in COH, I too would probably stopped playing the game. Lucky for me, I found friends of similar skill set to play with and vs throughout my playing days. Progressing and learning while having fun. This system doesn’t benefit anyone except ex smurfs and minority group of players who don’t care about competitiveness at all.
P.S. I think we all agree that chat rooms COH style are unwanted by most, because they were just abuse vehicle for many. Game lobby chat, while waiting for game and ability to add friends and send whispers, I think most people miss that greatly
3. Soviet army is too hard for newbies to play with
When COH2 first came out, there were scores and scores of newbie players who were crying on Steam forums about Germans being OP’d and how it is impossible to win vs Germans. Yes that same time COH veterans couldn’t win a game as Germans. Naturally they were told to L2P and called noobs, etc.
Anyway, looks like most of them didn’t actually L2P they just quit playing instead.
I am going by their testimonies and accounts, but it seems that no one wanted to play as Soviet and 90% of newbies were searching as Germans.
Naturally, wait time was extremely long and when they did finally get the game it was vs players of greater skill who knew how to play with, at that time, OP’d Soviets. Poor things get their ass kicked badly either way.
Anyway, my suggestion for this is: Make couple of Soviet commanders more in line with newbie abilities. With mg42, bunkers, tanks that are more in line with Panther (or real tanks as newbies call for) Commanders where they can build couple of bunkers, HMG that can’t be easily flanked and work they way up, as they L2P to more specialized units.
We all started playing COH with USA by going for MG and mortars, artillery, etc. Crawled in front of MG with those ‘useless’ rifleman and wondered what is the use for those stupid paratroopers that can’t kill anything. Then we discovered that they can run fast and throw sachet charge on bunkers. Yay Later on we all called those useless rifleman, ‘vet 3 terminators’ at the time, they were just useless. Weren’t they? And back than everyone was newbie.
ATM, Soviets are to micro demanding and specialized army to reasonably expect from newbie to even be equal to newbie German. Let alone someone more skilful. According to many steam threads (where all the newbies are posting) Germans are better at everything, and playing as German is auto-win.
Sorry for the novel length, couldn’t say everything in few short sentences.
These are my opinions and observation, feel free to give yours.
My intention was not to offend anyone with this, only to highlight issues from which a lot of COH2 problems arise.
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Instead of showing a number which confuses people who don't understand the system, perhaps we could use a low/medium/high value for players searching. Would that be a better alternative?
I suppose we could try to remove faceplates on the loading screen as well, a lot of people were dropping simply on seeing higher ranks.
Here is possible solution:
huge number of players will never be 'educated' into playing games that they don't enjoy. A lot of players will never get used or accept being forced playing games/maps they have no control of.
For example unbalanced games, I understand perfectly reasoning for what Relic is doing (short wait for games, and no one gets offended by getting kicked from custom games,etc)
But, problem is I bought the game for my own enjoyment not to make some kid feel happy because he gets to try out the game by ruining it completely for me.
Not seeing ranks (ELO ranks, not that $#!^ that was there to begin with), or number of players searching only makes me wanna play less.
Solution:
get rid of meaningless ranks, and use ELO ranks (displayed on start game)
Make lobby custom games available (you already got rid of the biggest problem - smurfs, can't do anything about drop-hacks either way. there will always be idiots)
Lobby chat, some people don't like it for others its invaluable feature. for sharing info, learning, meeting friends, learning tactics, etc. (majority of people don't like forums, because any idiot can jump in and write insults, etc. chatting while waiting for game with friends, a lot better than looking at COH2 search screen)
For starters, I think Relic really needs to evaluate their decisions and direction they are taking (openly and without bias) without holding onto the decisions and trying patching up problems with sticky tape.
I mean, you can do as much PR as you wish, and try to put the fire out with meaningless drops of water here and there. At the end of the day, you have to look at the large picture.
People are quitting/quit the game left right and center. Because or balance, no lobby, ranks, unbalanced games, ELO in teamgames is  no chat, more commanders than maps (what is there 2 maps for 4v4 and 20+ commanders, from what I see the most searched for game type) etc, etc.
I for one, don't wish to play games when I can't see who my opponent is or teamgames where I am thrown into a game with players of drastic skill differences or/and very unbalanced. Can't choose map, can't chat or make in-game friends..
As such I hardly play. Sadly, I spend 20x more time posting crap of this forum than playing the damn game...
Thats my opinion, feel free to disagree
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Australia
Relic Entertainment
cblanco ★ 
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