If COH2 came out today one would expect modern standards of multiplayer gaming to apply, such as a reconnect functionality and penalties for repeated leaving. I think the first time I saw these functions implemented was in MOBAs, which are, not unlike COH2, very intense PVP games.
That said, giving up this early is a big mistake in an RTS like this one. In COH2, much more than many other similar games, it is possible to turn around seemingly insurmountable disadvantages by the grace of its tactical play, as opposed to an economic focus. It's an admirable achievement by Relic and part of why COH2 became my favorite RTS.
While swapping commander abilities is a big change gameplay wise, I am not sure if there are that many things that can go wrong. Sometimes fiddling with abilities like zis-3 or Su76 barrage can have larger consequences making units underused due to timing, cooldown, cost or range and this affects the entire faction and not just 1 commander.
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I agree with you. It is true that very few of these commander abilities see use more than once or twice for each battle, if at all, while core units are a pivotal part of every match.
As for the rest, thank you for your reply, these are good counterpoints.
Indeed, technically and historically they double as light artillery but this is a strategy game and when the actual specialized light artillery units, mortars, cannot match their performance versus ambient buildings (which is a secondary, "off-brand" role for ZiS guns in COH), they are clearly broken.
This is an interesting thread. I was very reluctant to post about this matter. I haven't delved into the mod tools enough nor is my knowledge of COH2's inner workings near enough to be able to provide objective evidence, but I've lately been observing that certain units did way too much damage to ambient buildings. Apparently, even those that have, such as SneakEye, aren't sure themselves.
1) Why? That is exactly what hardcounters are supposed to do.
To give an example, ZiS Anti-Tank Guns with their 'Barrage' ability are very effective at taking out garrisoned MGs by collapsing the building on top of them. Something that Mortars, the actual hardcounter to this kind of play, never come close to doing. There's a hidden numerical value somewhere that has been completely overlooked, not unlike its former attribute of ignoring heavy cover.
According to this adjusting specific weapons like the pack howitzer, zis/su-76 barrage, M-42 canister,...to do less damage to building should be a simply change.
I've also been playing Age of Empires lately and its mechanics feel like a playground compared to what Relic has created with CoH2.
When the very possibility of a single patch is in question, making large changes to the game is extremely unwise. Missteps are unlikely to be reverted as there is little to no chance of a wait-and-see approach.
The modification of popular doctrines to make them worse so that somehow bad ones can see more use will not end well. These doctrines have been fine since their launch and so many years later now they're COH2's #1 issue? Removing off maps or otherwise nerfing popular commanders is not going to do anything to encourage the use of the numerous terrible commanders. It will simply make the game worse.
If there's a new balance/content patch for COH2, attention needs to be turned to polish and cleanup. It is as balanced as it will ever be and thinking that the removal of some off maps (which are very, very fun to use and a big part of COH2's spectacle I might add) is going to change something for the better is misguided. Commander abilities such as this should at most be modified quantitatively (stats, costs) without changing the core principles rather than qualitatively (different abilities).
The meta as the term implies, is created by the players themselves. If people want to play in a specific way and think this is the only so-called correct way, nothing can stop them. To turn the tables on the meta, one needs to go out there and do it in practice by actually playing the game and defeating those obsessed with following the current flavor of the month in new and creative ways.
Frankly speaking it's a huge amount of work to fix the underused commanders across all the armies and it was Relic themselves that created this situation with too many commanders that lacked a clear focus. SOV and OST rosters are the biggest offenders, of course. The work done so far by the balance team in the past few years is outstanding.
I came across this discussion from some time ago about the Grenadier vet1 medkit. Is there any chance this ability could receive a pass? It is not rare that I fail to use it effectively due to the long cast time.
It's a generally useful ability, especially to support weapon teams and increase the staying power of the fragile Grenadiers. If they can't have sandbags, their healing ability might as well be a little more useful. Right now it takes way too long to have any effect. By the time they start casting and the healing runs its course, the next battle might have begun or they need to be somewhere else. It's too clunky.
It's bizarre considering how similar abilities work, like the UKF medic upgrade or the OKW med crates. Then again, one could consider the early med bunker as the actual OST equivalent.
Perhaps the OST has already too much healing from a balance perspective, but I wanted to throw this out here because it always struck me as a clunky vet1 ability.
Blobbing should be punished severely with as many tools as possible, while combined arms and proper positioning should be rewarded. It's bad enough as it is, blobbers don't need buffs.
The Panzerwerfer's tight rapid fire and tight spread combined with lethality and suppression make it a very reliable unit. The Katyusha is less of a shock weapon and more of an area denial weapon, which means you won't be getting the same mileage out of it as you do with a Panzerwerfer.
Katyushas often fire against slow, 4-man weapon teams and 4-man infantry part of the most static faction in the game. It's also great against structures. I wouldn't underestimate it so. It's the best rocket artillery in my book. On the other hand, the Panzerwerfer is there to fight powerful allied infantry that if blobbed should rightly be wiped out.
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