I suggest you actually build that Flak emplacement and see how Amazing it is, and tell us again.
Of course it's easy to decrew and use against.
But combined that with good environemnt and wires - to protect from nades and approaching infantry - and then it's quite good
At least I had good use of them whenever I decrewed it and used agasint OKW with backup of MG.
And where I said flak is amazing? Point me please. It's useful, good but amazing
Relic buffed the Flak post WFA release, it's anything but a hold out. It's in there to provide a defensive option to a faction that lacks any kind of build-able non doctrinal MG/Emplacement. Furthermore as much as it pains me to say it, but I think all five pages of Australian Magic's relentless Autism are in vain and the truck will remain untouched next patch.
OKW does not have any defensive, nondoc options? My dear... Okw has best non doc structures.
And with fortification you have everything. Amazing wires, flak,mines, bunker, smine,sandbags. What else do you need?
I would love to see DP upgrade. After 2 buildings for example.
Grens, volks, rifles, all of them scale into late game. Better or worse but still.
Cons late game is about at nade/molotov and retreat.
Give them DP with 10dps at long range and thats all.
The Schwer has multiple rolls because all the WFA factions get bonus's with teching. So if you want to remove the Schwer and make it a base building your going to need to get rid of the major.
What exactly do you not understand about the whole idea of a building that can defend itself; if bunkers cost 80 fuel and made your most important units you would want them to not die to a passing breeze and maybe be able to hold off a small push.
Of course, Major is obvious advantage when playing agasint OST.
All faction should have forward retreat point or none of the factions, that's quite simple.
Good MG postion and suppressing whole blob be rewarded. For USF and OKW this is not true. They have reatreat point a way closer than Sov or Ost.
If bunkers costs 80 fuel and I make it offensive, I know I can lost it very easily but none bunker can deny everything around, no matter if it is infantry or tank.
But if that bunker makes important units, I don't make it offensive, but when I do, it should be easily punished and while with soviets it is true (T70+ZiS, mortar, 120, SU85 etc.) for USF is not that easy.
So the Schwer isn't a flak cannon? And bunkers/FP's/ect are all buildings. They don't take damage from small arms fire but they have 0 armor and thus any explosive/AP weapon does full damage to them.
It's a building to make troops with flak cannon, not flak cannon with ability to make a troops.
They are defensive budilings with that purpose.
Schwerer purpose is to make units.
I'm gonna stop here. No need to repeat what Ive said already.
Defending cut offs is also a main feature of CoH2.
Also what you say applies also to caches, booby traps, satchels & mg bunkers.
Now what is setting one more back: Losing a cache or the T4 building? So you can conclude, high risk - high reward.
Are you comparing caches, booby traps, mgs, bunkers or demos to schwerer? Really?
Like you said, defending. It requires some action. For OKW it's "put schwerer in good spot and forget". Pure braindead.
You can't make bunker, plant demo or put mg and forget.
You have keep eye on it, control it, switching MGs positions, bunkers must be on open area to be effective, you have to watch if enemy is walking over demo etc.
With schwerer you can just forget about it and push for enemy's fuel, while you know he can't send 1-2 units to cap your point while OKW blob is punishing everything.
It's obvious advantage that none faction should have.
And what has that to do with the Schwere Panzer HQ? Does the schwere panzer hq have exclusively one counter? Does it wipe squads <5 minutes into the game? Do you have only a 2 minute window to counter it?
It denies cap off mechanizm which is main feature of CoH2.