Frek.. It is beyond obvious that you are defending your favorite toy, try to realize that the unit you are claiming changing will make the the game more bland "or just americans in different colored uniforms" is uphelding the idea that a part of the game (the calliope) should be entirely out of wack with every other rule, understanding and mechanic of the game regarding artillery. Its like the God of artillery. You have to realize that something is wrong here. And I'm totally with you regarding the pak which is in for a nerf.
I have yet to see a single argument debunk the fact that the calliope is fast, able to take more hits than any other artillery, comes with its "oh shit smoke" button, deals awesome damage and is hard to dodge with no weaknesses you can use to destroy it.
Hehe, it is my favorite toy
Not exactly sure about the speeds stat wise, but I've had calliope's chased down by PIVs panthers before (granted, I had made the mistake of not having support nearby...)
I'm not particularly concerned about balance, every side has their uber units (ex TA, cally) their good units (pak, microed m10), and fodder (rifles, volks) etc. If you balance (nerf/buff) one unit, another one will be next on the chopping block.
Lets say the TA gets nerfed, paks/axis mortar might be a logical 'overpowered' unit.
Lets say the cally gets nerfed, maybe rangers get it next? (I don't think allies have any UBER unit like the TA, so doctrines would probably be the main target of nerfers [imo]).
I don't mind if the cally gets nerfed-- if it becomes useless I'll just get some more armor [I have another Fre3k account w/o a cally, lots of tanks]
As for the americans in different uniforms, I basically meant the the ultimate end of continual 'balancing'. Ultimately, I think we should take our cue from Relic, with slight modifications due to the... different nature of EiR:R.
PS. Was the cally/airborne death from above doc a 'problem' in EiR days? Sometimes I wonder why we went to EiR:R. Asides from brits and PE we lost more than we got imo. I'd have rather waited till they finished EiR:R beyond just the launcher.
[Plz don't ban me
]
PS PS
Though, I do think the cally needs more pop cap. As it is, 10 pc is rather... small. A cally easily out performs 2 rifle squads. Maybe 15 or 16 would be ok. Would certainly decrease the amount of support for a cally, which despite critics, is necessary for it's continued stay on map. [I lost several callies to a tank chase down before I learned to support them correctly, of course, they we all *near* vet 2]