Balance Update (July 8th, 2014)



Maps



After extensive testing we have optimized pathing on a number of maps to improve the quality of gameplay during a match. Numerous changes have also been made to improve balance. Various of bug fixes have been added including an exploit to salvage ambient wrecks; have been fixed.



Vaux farmlands



• Pathing improvements

• Bug fixes



Rails & Metal



• Pathing Improvements

• Bug fixes



Kholodny Spring



• Fixed small firing gap in southern hedge near VP

• destroyed the building in farm area near east player

• Moved east player’s cutoff player closer to their base and refined area

• Added two small infantry only lanes to increase ebb and flow

• Minor pathing fixes

• Minor cover adjustments

• Base alignment



Semois Winter



• Moved a bunker back in the north base

• Deep snow refinement

• Minor pathing fixes

• Minor cover adjustments

• Removed the ability for tanks to Sink from shallow streams



Langres Spring



• Adjustments to north cutoff area

• Added infantry access point to north base area

• Minor territory refinement

• Minor pathing fixes

• Minor cover adjustments

• Base alignment



Soviets



There were a number of issues we wanted to address in the Soviet Army which had to do with squad wiping. The HM-38 120mm Mortar and KV8 come to mind. With the 120mm getting its AOE profile change it will still pack a serious punch at close range but will have reduce damage impact at the mid-range. By offsetting some of values in the profile we will also see a very slight improvement at far range. The KV8 with its flamethrower was designed to be a hard counter against infantry this was never intended to be an eraser of infantry. The high direct damage the flame had would result in criticals triggering more often than intended thus increasing the chances of squad wiping and rendering all forms of infantry at useless. With the reduce damage squads will have a little more time to react accordingly and reduce the chance of squad wiping. Another result of this change will increase the time it takes for the KV-8 to kill buildings (which it kills OKW truck buildings ridiculously fast) The Maxim also had its rotation speed reduced because generally whenever a player tries to flank a maxim; the maxim will rotate quick enough to stop any oncoming flank. Various classic hotkey changes were added to fix overlap.



HM-38 120mm Mortar

• AOE Profile changed from 1.0 / 0.35 / 0.05 to 1 / 0.15 / 0.1



M1919 Maxim Heavy Machine Gun Team

• Reduce Rotation Speed reduced from 180 degrees per second to 120 degrees per second



KV8

• Flamethrower damage reduced from 27 to 16



Overdrive

• Hotkey changed from D to V



Tracking

• Hotkey Changed from R to I



US Forces



Volley fire is getting another change this update. The values that were implemented in the last update proved to be a slight over extension on our part. Where we found at the high expert levels of testing - Volley Fire was still quite effective; it was not easily readable the vast other majority. We decided to tone down some of the penalties and increase its suppression slightly to improve usability. The way Volley fire will work is near the end of the duration the squad being shot at by the ability will get surpressed (never pinned). Switching targets with volley fire will result in the spread of suppression to multiple squads which end up yielding no suppression because the threshold will not be hit. Defensive Stance which is an ability granted when equipped with a M1919 has its suppression reduce for a 360 degree shot it suppressed way too quickly. A number of smaller changes have been made to improve usability of units. Various classic hotkey changes were added to fix overlap.



Defensive Stance

• Suppression bonus reduced from 0.025 to 0.015



M10 ‘Wolverine’ Tank Destroyer

• Now has hold fire



M36 ‘Jackson’ Tank Destroyer

• Now has hold fire



T30E13 HVAP-T Armor Piercing Rounds

• Hotkey changed from H to V



Volley Fire

• Receive Accuracy modifier reduced from 50% to 40%

• Cooldown Weapon Modifier added by 0.125 on the last volley

• Suppression increased on the last volley from 0.01 to 0.03



Werhmacht



With the changes to Blitzkrieg providing max speed we felt that it was a change going into the right direction however we did see some unrealistic speeds achieved by medium tanks on roads. By reducing the max speed modifier we still achieve the intention of the change while maintaining realistic expectations.



Blitzkrieg

• Maximum Speed Modifier reduced from 1.5 to 1.35



OKW



Some small changes we made to help OKW deal with infantry in the early game. The Kubelwagen was in a good place offensively with its suppression however its durability came into question. When you get flanked as weapon team you can generally retreat without losing the squad. Due to the fragile nature of this unit when you were flanked you were severely punished especially if you lost the Kubel. With the slight increase in health it will give players more time to react and get out of danger without losing the kubel so quickly. Flak emplacements were also an defensive structure that was rarely ever built primary due to the fact that it cost too much fuel for an already fuel starved race. With the adjustment of Fuel to Manpower ratio it should be less of a fuel dump than its current revision. We also fixed an exploit that would allow the Puma to use its “Aim Shot” to squad wipe squads inside garrisons. The priority on the IG also got tuned so that it would prioritize infantry over vehicles.



Kubelwagen

• Health increased from 160 to 190



Flak Emplacement

• Cost changed from 130/25 to 250/10



Puma

• Aim Shot can no longer target buildings

• Will no longer share damage against units in garrison



IG 18 7.5cm Infantry Support Gun

• Priority changed to prioritize infantry over vehicles

