First of all, I want to say that i'm a relic Fan since the release of dawn of war in 2004. I played every DoW title and every CoH title and they ar my favourite games of all time.
And CoH2 rightously claimed the crown! I love how many details you improved from CoH1 and how you keep on making this game even more awesome. I can feel the passion you have in your work everywhere... the sound of a sturmtiger with damaged engine or the animations of the infantry when attacking, hiding behind cover etc. are just brilliant.
Really, there is no RTS out there with such immersion, action, thrill and tactical and strategic depth. And i love this game for that! And i can't say how much i appreciate you for giving me an unseen audiovisual spectactle with hundreds of possibilities, which rewards creativity and lets me dive into uncomparable action-packed scenarios in every match, over and over again.
However, when i saw the unit loadout for the british, i felt rather disappointed seeing the comeback of one specific unit. The Unit i'm talking about is the mortar pit. I was so happy about coh2 making the already great gameplay of CoH1 even more dynamic. But the mortar Pit seems like an extreme anachronism in that regard. That Unit is actually absolutely against the basic concepts that CoH define. You basically place it somewhere and it does the rest for you. Its far range and power forces you to excessively evade and move when approaching. And even if you managed to get near to it... Its high HP, the embrace-ability and Trenches and units around will make it almost impossible to kill. It's basically a Unit without disadvantages. In my opinion a player should be rewarded when using a unit well. This unit rewards you when you don't use it. Once placed, it covers a large portion of the map and you have the time and capacity to do other things. It's almost like having an additional AI player on your side.
It's so easy to use as it almost has no disadvantages. It can be defended so easily, placed in a protected position like directly behind a garrissoned building. And it comes at the stage of a game without proper counters.
The mortar pit will lead to undynamic and campy gameplay. Something CoH2 doesn't stand for at all. People will rush to it and use it in a way which isn't very fun. Maps like Ettelbrück and Crossing in the Woods are predestined for exploiting its power.
My suggestions are:
# 1: removing it completely from the game. Instead give the UKF a usual mortar with crew like in every other faction. A Unit you have to move and protect and which can also be stolen.
# 2: making it a commander-ability. This will lead to a greater variety of gamestyles as people may want to try out different commanders. This way we may not see the mortar pit in every game
making it come much later.
# 3: making it come much later. In the lategame, one has usually the access to a lot ofunits with different purposes. it will make the matchup more balanced as you can figure out a plan to counter the pit.
With the mortar pit as it is, the midgame will be dominated by the Mortar Pit and the Attemps to destroy it. I can't see the future, but i have very much experience with RTS and especially Relic Games. When you give poeple the accsess to a low-risk, high-reward unit with high HP, far range, and enormous power, people will use it. In evry game. Over and over again and we will see a lot fewer different tactics and strategies. Whereas I can live with the 17pounder (clear category of targets, needs clear LoS and being directed), this isnt the case with the mortar pit.
Greetings from a Fan,
DonnieChan
0
Relic Entertainment
