Profile of IntoTheRain

I am not sure why in your opinion the 3 shot from Gustav are superior to the 7 from 240mm barrage.

Its cheaper, the first shot lands dead center, and the two follow up shots scatter less.

While the 7 round barrage from the 240mm sounds impressive, the scatter distance is enormous, and it rarely hits anything. I expect more for 250 munitions.

Even if you just use it to try and force the enemy out of an area, there are at least half a dozen calldowns that do it cheaper and more effectively. It needs a re-tuning.

Plane attacks in general feel stronger than Artillery Strikes.

I would still take Railway Artillery over 240mm Barrage in a heartbeat though.

I've been fooling around with retooling some of the USF commanders, as I think they either don't match their concept, or are just a mess overall. It seems we had a lot of ideas in common.

My alternative setup (including Rifle Company) is as follows:


RIFLE COMPANY:
0cp: Infantry Defenses
0cp: Advanced Weapons (RE Flamethrower, Lieut/Capt have flares, Riflemen AT Snare range increased by 30%)
0cp: Sherman E8
3cp: Rangers
9cp: 155mm Arty and Smoke Barrage (reworked 155mm strike now drops smoke over the area after the barrage finishes.)

Rifle Company has always sort of been this 'E8 and other stuff' company. It has a lot of 'ok' things going for it, but nothing else really stands out. That it was even more munition intensive than normal USF really limited what you could do with it.

Changes therefor revolve around giving the Company more impact abilities, fewer munitions sinks, more unit unlocks, and a greater focus on diversifying your infantry selections. Rangers are the newest addition, adding strong CQC or AT units. Flares being moved to the Lieutenant / Captain helps those units carve out a niche that riflemen can't fulfill. While Riflemen remain important for their improved AT snares, and early game dominance from Sandbags and Mines. The redesigned 155mm Barrage now works similar to Artillery Assault, giving Rifle Company a lategame way to forcibly take over an area.


ARMOR COMPANY:
0cp: Veteran Vehicle Crews
0cp: Reserve Armor (Bulldozer Sherman upgrade and 76mm Sherman unlock)
0cp: M10 Wolverine
6cp: White Phosphorus Barrage
10cp: Sherman Calliope

Armor Company has always been sort of a strange duck in my opinion. Assault Engineers were its primary selling point in the early game despite having very little to do with the Company theme. The Sherman 105, while a powerful tool, isn't really what came to mind when you thought of American Armor, and the 240mm Barrage was almost a wasted slot with its insane munitions cost and low reliability.

The changes made to Armor Company therefor revolve around pushing its vehicular theme while making sure to stay far away from Heavy Cav and Mechanized in design. Veteran Vehicle Crews and the M10 remain as reliable stables for the Company, while Reserve Armor gives its Shermans some extra punch. White Phospherous is one of the best tools for dislodging AT gun positions in the lategame, and combines well with the factions gameplan, while the Sherman Calliope gives the faction a unique tool that will keep it powerful in the late game.


URBAN ASSAULT:
0cp: Assault Kits: (Sherman WP Shells, Riflemen Camouflage, RE Incendiary Grenades)
0cp: Assault Engineers
4cp: Cover to Cover
6cp: Sherman 105
12cps: 240mm Barrage (Probable rework of ability needed)

Urban Assault is probably the one I'll catch the most flack about, but its design has never sat right with me. Rocket Artillery, Rifle Grenade Spam, and Rangers never felt like units that make sense in a short range, in your face sort of faction. This is probably the most imcomplete of my designs, but I would get some questions about how you get Assault Engineers or the 105 Sherman otherwise.

The redesign focuses on reworking the early game a bit. Incendiary Grenades aren't quite as mandatory now that the Faction has Assault Engineers, which in turn allows me to give Riflemen some ambush and scouting potential from Camouflage. Cover to Cover remains a potent tool, while the Sherman 105 gives the Faction a strong lategame, but infantry smasher. The 240mm is probably the weakest remaining piece, and I'd like to see it reworked a bit. I feel like most Companies strength is dependent on if they can be useful the entire way though, and while the 105 Sherman is quite good, it needs a good calldown if it wants to compete with things like Calliopes and Pershings.