Heroes of Stalingrad needs some changes. Here's why.
Heroes of Stalingrad needs some changes. Here's why.
As was pointed out recently (
http://i.imgur.com/nPGhWcJ.png) and evidenced here (
http://a.pomf.se/paibfe.mp4), here (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9i1gtJsma0), here (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t52U3cHCFQ) and here (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSU5ZsIs3Q) (Human players go down just as easily as those bots. This is just for more evidence's sake.), things are very wrong with Heroes of Stalingrad right now. There's no autobalance or forced team assignment in place to prevent the more skilled players from endlessly stacking the Axis, and the Russians have to feel the full wrath of the MG 42 without ever having Hero access to it like they do with other German weapons. In short, the game is heavily slated towards the Axis and can only be enjoyed by players on that team. This is not acceptable. The team stacking needs to end.
I'll be honest: I'm not quite sure what else to write about team balance, but I'm very sure of what's wrong with the MG 42, so the rest of this post will focus on it.
I apologize in advance for the wall of text, but this is my long-winded attempt to make a case for why the MG 42 is not balanced and does not belong in Heroes of Stalingrad in its current state. I am doing this is because I am incredibly passionate about Red Orchestra 2. I have devoted hundreds of hours of my life to playing this game, and I strongly disagree with the direction the MG 42 takes the game in. While I don't have a group of like-minded people at my side to support my opinions right now, I would nevertheless appreciate you taking the time to read this and consider my thoughts on the matter.
The Case Against The Maschinengewehr 42
Reasons I believe it is not balanced in its current state
1. The MG 42 cannot be equipped by Russian Heroes.
Part of what balances out the powerful MKb-42 and MG 34 is that they can both be used by the Russians as well as the Germans, albeit only by Heroes and in smaller numbers. However, the MG 42 is not accessible to Russian Heroes, which makes it an incredibly one-sided weapon.
2. The MG 42 is a redundant addition to the German arsenal.
Anyone who picks the Machine Gunner class on the German team has access to the MG 34 right off the bat. The MG 34 is arguably better than the DP-28 in every way - it fires faster with a larger round and can easily be upgraded to use drum magazines with 75 rounds per magazine. This is already more ammunition per magazine than the DP-28 is ever capable of mounting (60 rounds per magazine, with no upgrades ever available). In addition, reaching level 50 with the MG 34 grants it a 250-round belt of ammunition. As if that weren't bad enough for the Russians, the Germans now have access to the MG 42, which fires even faster than the MG 34, with less recoil to boot. Speaking of which...
3. The MG 42's hipfire and mounted recoil are both too low.
First off, sidearms were made for a reason - to allow the Machine Gunner class to maintain effectiveness in CQC. However, with the availability of easily controlled machine gun hipfire, the sidearm essentially has no practical purpose and languishes in everyone's arsenal. It's entirely possible to hipfire several hundred rounds downrange as accurately as you could fire them while deployed. Sure, you could cite those YouTube videos showcasing people hipfiring the MG 42 with ease - but that's in real life, which is about winning no matter what, as opposed to Red Orchestra 2, which is about blending realism with balance to make it actually fun. The current MG 42 recoil, or lack thereof, is certainly not something balanced enough to remain in the game.
4. Any German Machine Gunner ranked at Veteran or above can equip the MG 42, regardless of how many other German Machine Gunners have it equipped.
Having four MG 42s on the battlefield at any given time is excessive. Even one MG 42 is a tremendous force multiplier that is incredibly difficult to counter, and even just two would be more than enough firepower to keep the Russian's heads down or blown off.
5. The MG 42 makes playing on the Russian team a completely unenjoyable experience.
Red Orchestra 2 is a video game. Video games are, first and foremost, intended to be enjoyable experiences. I recognize that the team who developed Red Orchestra 2 aim to blend realism with balance, but this is tipped far too much towards realism, to the point where it's nearly impossible for the Russians to win matches. It was a ridiculously powerful weapon in real life, but that doesn't mean it should be replicated to the same degree of deadliness in Red Orchestra 2.
Now, while far-fetched, you could make the argument that the PPSh-41 counters the MG 42. However, that fails to take several facts into account. The PPSh-41 is definitely a force to be reckoned with, but since it's an SMG, its effectiveness tapers off over a distance. The MG 42 has no such inhibitions, and can easily kill people from distances of over 200 meters, as well as mount more than twice as much ammunition at a time as the PPSh-41's drum magazine allows.
I've identified some of the existing problems with the MG 42 - now I will attempt to cover potential solutions to the problems I have identified.
1. Make the MG 42 available to Russian Machine Gunner Heroes.
This is a simple solution that builds upon the precedent of Heroes' equipment selection. Heroes can equip almost any German weapon - why exclude the MG 42?
2. Increase the MG 42's hipfire, if not mounted, recoil.
Being able to accurately hipfire and kill targets out to 50 meters is nothing short of absurd. I would also like to see mounted recoil increased slightly, but that's not nearly as pertinent as increasing hipfire recoil. Give sidearms a practical purpose again, beyond just being a weapon to farm kills with as a joke.
3. Limit the amount of MG 42s that can be equipped at any given time, similarly to how only a certain number of Heroes are allowed at one time.
The MG 42 is an incredibly potent weapon, and as such, its use and availability should be regulated so that not any old Veteran-ranked Machine Gunner can use it.
Quite frankly, I would like nothing more than for the MG 42 to be completely removed from the game. However, I am aware that the possibility of that happening is slim to none, and that is why I have compiled this list of possible compromises.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I apologize if it's poorly formatted or more of a ramble than an argument. I hope you will at least think about what I've said here, if not implement some of my solutions.
TL;DR: Add an autobalance feature, remove the ability to choose which team you're on and allow Russian Heroes to equip the MG 42 (if not nerf it as well).
