Profile of MagnusEffect

i did you claim its fine. with most of the axis tanks having blitz by the time its deactivated its too late.

A bit vague, but I'm assuming you are talking about them using it to rush in close on your K-V?

By that logic, you could say the same for ANY artillery unit. The KV is and never was good on its own; to treat it like any other frontline heavy tank is ignoring all of its advantages. It's like complaining that the 120 mortor team is weak because it can't fight off infantry that rush in on it.

Now if we really want to talk balance, maybe adjust the cost or attack damage to make it more attractive to the ongoing meta, sure, but anyone suggesting it's current abilities suck and should be changed completely is missing out on what makes it great. Sure, it might not be for everyone, but that's not the point. Variety is the spice of life, baby!

Yes how dare a majority of the forum disagree with your unexplained opinion

Ram is fine. Il2 rockets are still too strong and need more changes, Il2 bomb shouldn't be on commanders with ISU or Mark Target. Problem solved

I think this is a good point. To be honest, I mostly use Ram + Satchel Charges which feels more "fair" because I still have to get close to do the damage and my squads could still get wiped in the process. It's just a variation of many other ATG-based attacks which can all be countered with proper support and microing. But I can see how Ram + Rocket/Bomb Strike would be much harder to counter. Yeah, I don't think Ram is really the main problem; it's the uncounterable airstrikes.

That being said, as powerful as this combo is, I would think it would be used more often. But honestly, I don't see a lot of people out there exploiting this ability to the fullest. Most people tend to be shy about sacrificing units for a big play. CoH2's best kept secret? I don't know. Just my two cents.

Here's a question that may also be an alternative solution:

Can Ram be interrupted? I honestly don't know. I've seen how far a Ram attack can be triggered from (which is well outside grenade throwing range), but can you do anything to stop it halfway or is it a canned animation? I feel like any special attack that blinds/slows a tank should interrupt a Ram too if you can catch it in time. I feel like that would be the most "fair" way to counter a Ram without substantially changing it. And I'm pretty sure all factions have access to an existing ability that could do this.

I feel like there are two discussions going on here:

• Some people saying it needs to be removed for something better
  
• Some people saying it's overpowered
  

Lol... that sounds like its doing what its should be to me.

I will be the first to admit that getting rammed by someone who knows what they are doing sucks, but I absolutely don't think it should be changed. "Ram" is absolutely fitting for all Soviet commanders (making it doctrinal would be silly). Changing the T-34 to behave more like Shermans (with Radio Net) is boring. Removing "Ram" will only make dealing with German armor even more difficult for allies. It's a high risk, high reward solution which the Soviets are well known for. And there are very easy ways to counter players that are "RAM happy" (ie. don't lump all your assets into a single expensive unit like a dummy!). Absolutely does NOT need change.

And for those who think Ram is actually bad... T-34 ram + Penals + Satchel Charges = Dead Heavy Tank. Just try it. If your T-34 is lucky, they might even survive.

DISCLAIMER: First time poster, but long time player. I personally play ALL factions (depending on my mood) and so I'm mostly looking for opinions from others that have some experience with ALL factions. However, its okay if you just play Soviets. Just let me know in your post so I can keep it in context. Please and thank you.

I keep telling my friends that the Soviets are great practice if you are new to the game because of their flexibility and diverse set of tactics that allow for almost any style of gameplay, but many of them keep gravitating towards the OKW or British (mostly because of the all those tempting gun emplacements they get, but also the better late game tanks).

In my experience, they mostly want to "turtle" and so those factions kind of make sense to them, but I feel they are learning some very bad habits for competitive play as a result. I also tell them that the fancy expensive tanks they keep looking at won't save them if they lose hard in the early game. What usually happens is they do great right up until they get encircled (because turtling too much) or their forward base sector gets uncapped (which effectively is the same result as getting encircled) or heavy arty comes into play that wipes out most/all their beautiful defense emplacements. As a result, they really gravitate towards "bridgehead" maps with only a few bottlenecks that prevent lots of flanking. They are all good people and I'm not at all trying to bring them down, but I'm also trying to very gently push them to get better and expand their skillset.

As far as Commanders go, I usually recommend the following commanders for new players:

• Guards Motor - because they are fairly straightforward and effective on just about any map
  
• Guards Rifle - somewhat similar to Guards Motor, but with more fire support for players that want that
  

I figured the Soviets are the best to practice a wide variety of tactics (ie. being flexible and mobile too). I'm not nagging them about it, but when a new player asks me which faction they should play first, I always say Soviets. Am I wrong? Any recommendations I can pass along to help them expand out of their comfort zone? I try not to frustrate them, but I do try to mix in open maps in our sessions and encourage them to hold more than a single sector when I can. Any good advice is welcome.