[PE] Fixing the Oxymoron faction

TheVolskinator Offline

Administrator / Lead Developer

Posts: 3012

[PE] Fixing the Oxymoron faction

« on: September 04, 2012, 12:41:52 pm »

So, the Panzer Elite suck with their plethera of balance issues and the amount of trouble they face countering even basic unit combinations. So I was sitting around and figured that the problem lies largely with their infantry and how ineffective it is. Panzer Grenadiers are about as scary as a Pioneer Minesweeper as it stands now. So I thought, hell, why not tamper with the stats of each of their non-doctrinal squads to give each of them a niche.

Panzer Grenadiers: The basic cannon fodder squads of the Panzer Elite. Not too scary, eh? Oh noes, G43 suppression! The horror! Oh, wait, I have BARs. Gg. These guys are as tough as Grenadiers but their DPS is utter crap. They just don't feel worth their cost.
   Proposed Change: Allow the Panzer Grenadiers to obtain their original Soldier Armor if the Veteran Sergeant upgrade is purchased, in (optional) addition to a fifth squad member. Because of the relativealy high cost of the upgrade, this would provide PE squads with more staying power and allow them to deal reasonable DPS (for a price) without drastically altering the statistics of their weapons.
   Reasoning: PE infantry strike me as being burly and surviveable. Yes, yes, they're as healthy as Grenadiers as it stands. But they don't feel particularly 'elite' (and since Panzergrenadiere were formally more well trained and far more fanatical then standard Infantrie Grenadiere, this is well justified) in their current standing. They die like flies and lack the punch to take a cost effective amount of enemy infantry to the grave with them. Keep in mind that Tommies will still likely walk all over Panzer Grenadiers if this is put in place..

Assault Grenadiers: Nobody uses them. How many do you really see, ever? I don't think I've seen one for at least a month. They don't have the raw health pool to close the distance to an enemy target, and they face BAR Suppression Fire without the possibility of smoke cover outside of a specific doctrine unlock.
   Proposed Change: Change the Assault Grenadiers' armor type to Airborne Armor. This will tailor to their mobile, aggressive intended use and keep them relatively in-step with other infantry squads when not on the move.
OR
  Just as with the Panzer Grenadiers, tie their armor type change to the Veteran Sergeant ability.
   Reasoning: Nobody uses them and they don't fit their roll. They need something to make them appealing as assault infantry over just buying masses of Panzer Grenadiers with G43s and Indendiary Grenades/Assault.

Tankbuster Grenadiers: The unsung linchpin in most Panzer Elite companies, I feel that the TB squads are an undermentioned cog in a PE player's AT capabilities. With no recrewable AT weapons aside from the PaK36 at a Panzer Elite player's disposal, Tankbusters become a PE player's renewable resource with the possibity of dropped shrecks or the opportunity to heal. I don't see too too many of them, but when I do they never really have the staying power (as a dedicated AT squad) to forfill their roll before being shredded by Shermans and BARs.
   Proposed Change: Give Tankbuster Grenadiers the Elite Armor type. Because of their weaker AI ability and relatively high cost, it would be fairly difficult to take advantage of this change by spamming TB Grenadiers (think of it this way: are Bazooka-armed Rangers your infantry's worth nightmare?). TB grenadiers could also shrug off BAR fire and mounted MG fire to enable them to combat armor more effectively, while still remaining vulnerable to anti blob counters: Grenades and tank cannons.
   Reasoning: For this unit, this is redundant. My reasoning has been stated. TBs don't have enough cahones to avoid being melted by Infantry units. Elite armor would allow Grenades, tank cannons, suppressive weapons, and Snipers to counter them while increasing thier staying power in the field--which is desperately needed considering the lack of crewed AT at a PE player's disposal.

The PE vehicle dilemma: PE AT can't be recewed. Once it's dead, it's dead. Plain and simple. Other factions can simply field recrew infantry and bring their crewed ATG to a healing station to heal both the crew and the gun. Unless you plan on penetrating that enemy Pershing with the hulk of your destroyed Marder, you're out of luck as a PE player. So why not offer PE players an opportunity to 'heal' their AT units? My proposal is a 'repair bunker' of sorts. The bunker would only be placeable in a player's command sector, would have a considerable cost associated with it, and would lack repair Pioneers. Ok, what use is it you say? Give it an ability that can ONLY target that player's armored units, with a relatively short range, they would heal the targeted unit in the manner of vCoH repairs. However, this bunker would repair at the rate of vCoH's 'rudimentary repair' ability; +1 HP/S. This would be a slow process but would allow some form of repairs to be initated on armored units, but would be away from the front, unavailable for abuse by allied players, costly, and a stationary target (que suicide satchel charge Paratroopers) while fitting into the Panzer Elite's vehicle-centered combat.


« Last Edit: September 04, 2012, 12:51:49 pm by TheVolskinator »	Logged

Quote from: tank130

I want to ensure we have a 100% decision on the process before we do the wipe.
If not, then I wipe, then someone gets something they shouldn't, then it gets abused, then the shit hits the fan and then I ban shab.

Getting EiR:R Released on Steam

Forum Rules & Guidelines

NightRain Offline

EIR Veteran
Posts: 3908

Account

Resources

Recent posts

Awards