The
bottom unlocks of this doctrine need to be looked at. Tbf the entire upper part of the doctrine needs to be looked at as well but that requires its own topic. So back to the bottom unlocks.
Basically I have
2 changes Id like to see made to this doctrine.
1. Id put the
Commando Jeep in a T1 and enable it to buy Mark Target. Im gonna give an example of how it could be done and talk about some of the other unlocks while Im at it.
2.
Improve Commando Piats, either by giving Commandos a different Piat or by buffing the Piat as a whole.
1. Commando Jeep in T1 with Mark TargetHow? Id suggest removing the 'Commandos can buy piat' requirement from the T1 Commando Support Weapons and make it default for Commandos. Commandos which are a T1 unlock by themselves.
Move the T1 Commando Support Weapons (hmg n mortar) to the T2 Command Gliders or to the T2 Canister Shot.
In the T1 place, that has now been freed up, put the Commando Jeep (from the T2 Command Gliders) and give it Mark Target by default.
Attach a cost to this Mark Target similar to US Armor doctrine (this Mark Target is currently in a T3 of the top unlocks and has no cost attached to it).
The reasoning behind this is that I dont think you should need 2 seperate unlocks to get Commando Piats. This has been brought up a lot of times in the past but has remained unchanged but maybe now the time has come.
Above all I would like to see the Commando Jeep
get the Mark Target by default for a price. I dont really care how you want to mix up the bottom unlocks but thats up to you.
A closer look also reveals that the
T2 Canister Shot is quite a bad unlock and weak for a T2 compared to other doctrines.
The
T2 Lancaster Bombing Run could also use a slight buff in how it works, the plane is very visible on the minimap and flies quite slow. The sound also starts immediately before the plane even enters the minimap which by itself is a trigger for everyone to start moving. With the plane flying in a straight line to its target It becomes easy to estimate where the bomb will drop.
Both these things make it quite easy to dodge the Lancaster Bomb. Delaying the start of the sounds and making the plane fly faster could help make this ability better. It needs to be less predictable, that is what makes the similar T2 unlock V1 useful, I dont mind how you want to change it but a change is needed to improve balance of the LBomb.
2. Improve Commando PiatIve played a lot with these guys recently and the Piat upgrade is
not worth 130 munitions. Now Im not looking for a reduce in cost but rather an
improvement in the effectiveness of the Piat Commando. However right now its
both overpriced AND not effective enough.
The Piat
misses moving targets and surprisingly still
misses non-moving targets quite a lot as well! I can understand the trade off of not hitting moving targets but then it has to RAPE when it does it. Yet the pen and dmg are not that great.
The
shooting over obstacles is not good enough. It only works if the enemy gives u time to do it and is bad enough to stay there. But balance in EIR is not done on low skill lvl but on high skill lvl. Again confirmed recently here:
We always balanced based on skilled players. If we didn't, then everything would be balanced to make tank130 look good.....lol
To sum it up: After playing a lot with these Commando Piats its quite clear they underperform and are overpriced. Id prefer to see the Piat
hit more moving targets to enable Commando like hit n run tactics - and if needed to compensate,
shoot less/not at all over obstacles (leave this to the Sapper Piats ambush). Give Commandos a new Piat that fits their role better and make it worth the 130 munitions cost.
Suggestions:
- Give new Piat
- Give RRs
But what about not giving commando a piat, but a rr for 130 ammo ?
- Give Bazookas, taking into account the LT buffs.
- Buff Commando Piat as well as the Sapper Piat (improvement in chance to hit n penetration being the most mentioned buffs)
Extra points raised in this topic:
- The regular
Sapper Piat unit is not good enough and needs to be looked at as well. This is not a Commando specific problem but It is worth mentioning since we are discussing the Piat and its effectiveness.
- It is often stated, also in
this topic, that a
Piat relies on a useful Button to be effective, however the current Button does not suffice. I would like to add that even with a working Button you would need a 4 pop Sapper Piat and a 5 pop Bren Tommy to make it work, so basically you need 9 pop. This requires too much pop if you ask me.
- The
vanilla Commando as a platform underperforms compared to its Axis n Allied counterparts. It is deemed too fragile while its firepower,
the Sten, does not pack a good enough punch making it overpriced at 135 munitions.
- An alternative lay out for the bottom unlocks made by Graywolf can be seen
here.
