OVERVIEW
The Opal Scorpion (2.1.0) update includes 5 new maps, multiplayer balance changes, new cosmetics, and additional gameplay and quality of life improvements.
As always, we will be monitoring your feedback and bug reports in the coming days to ensure we are on top of any critical issues. If you’re encountering any technical problems or wish to report a bug, please submit a new request here.
You can find our Known Issues list here.
We’ll see you on the battlefield!
NEW CONTENT & FEATURES
New Cosmetics
With this update we are introducing 4 new Legendary cosmetic sets – one for each faction. These sets will be available for either Merit or War Bonds.
US Forces - Amphibious Assault
Though synonymous with the Pacific Front, the Island hopping and beach assaults of the Italian mainland felt all too fitting a place to represent the US Marine Corps in all their frog-skin splendor.
Wehrmacht - War Torn
This worn and weather-beaten scheme represents the Wehrmacht towards their bitter end. We designed the War Torn pack to represent vehicles, soldiers and matériel in a state of desperate disrepair.
British Forces - Desert Rose
This lesser known but striking scheme was a must-have addition to our British army in Africa. Tinted to mimic the light of dawn or dusk against the sand, this scheme was intended to protect convoys of vehicles on their way to strike targets from deep in the desert.
Deutsches Afrikakorps - Desert Cats
The Afrikakorps employed exceptional ambush tactics within their desert realm, personified by the Desert Cats pack. Use natural sepia and artificial shadows to obscure your forces as they maneuver to ambush their foe.
Exclusive Nightfighters Packs
Previously, the Nightfighter cosmetic packs were exclusive to players with a Prime Gaming subscription. After the Opal Scorpion update, they will now be coming to the in-game store. These sets will roll out gradually over the coming weeks and months, meaning all players will finally be able to collect them all. These packs will be available for either Merit or War Bonds.
Maps
New Maps
Tuscan Vineyards (1vs1)
Community mapmaker Kpen returns with this competitive 1vs1 map, set in a lush Italian landscape. Players will be fighting in and amongst dense hedgerows and exposed river crossings to secure victory in this beautifully realized battlefield.
A picturesque battlefield nestled in the heart of the Italian campaign. Amidst the rolling hills and sprawling vineyards of Tuscany, this once tranquil region has become a critical theatre of war. The vineyards, once a source of pride for local winemakers, now serve as hiding spots and cover for soldiers engaged in intense firefights. The rows of grapevines provide tactical opportunities for ambushes and flanking maneuvers, testing the mettle of commanders leading their troops through this challenging terrain.
El Alamein (2vs2)
The turning point of the war in North Africa, this infamous, yet seemingly insignificant railstop was a must-have addition to Company of Heroes 3. Players will be hard-pressed to secure all the territory they desire and will need to work together to carve out resources that suit their playstyle. Wide, open desert flank the central rail compound and what cover is available will not last for long.
“Here we will stand and fight; there will be no further withdrawal. I have ordered that all plans and instructions dealing with further withdrawal are to be burnt, and at once. We will stand and fight here. If we can't stay here alive, then let us stay here dead.”
Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery
El Alamein’s flat, barren terrain presented tactical challenges for its defenders; trenches and foxholes were often only inches deep and sightlines were long. Mechanized warfare was king.
Lorraine (2vs2)
Community mapmaker TheSphinx also makes their return with this wonderful rendition of Company of Heroes 1’s Lorraine - a 2vs2 favorite. Their eye for detail has left no stone unturned in this painstaking recreation of a bombed rural town.
"I remember this town the day we arrived - streets packed with children playing, markets buzzing with activity in the warm midday sun. Now it's no more than a graveyard of rubble and ash; a burial plot for the innocence of mankind."
A heavily destroyed urban landscape, Lorraine favors close-quarters combat amongst the ruins.
Gabès Gap (3vs3)
Players will take command of the battle of Wadi Akarit, a single roadway bisecting the salt flats and outcroppings of the West, and the beaches to the East. While direct conflict is to be expected among the flat, desolate shrub of the map’s center, there is too much value to be had in capturing the fortified beaches and highlands to either side. Neglecting either of these battlefields will open your entire team to dangerous cut-offs and flanking maneuvers.
"We broke off from the boys at Medenine - heavy hearts and all. The 8th were to advance into harm’s way while we skirted Southwest, deeper into the mountains, some 140 miles behind enemy lines. With any luck we could cut Jerry off at Gabès. But the best laid plans..."
The Battle of Wadi Akarit broke the final Axis bridgehead on the road to Tunis. Salt marshes and exposed coastline offered little protection on either side.
Red Ball Express (4vs4)
We are also very proud to announce the debut of Community mapmaker DutchToast and their rendition of the Company of Heroes classic Red Ball Express. An exceptional amount of work has been poured into this map (4vs4 is no joke) and its name should be familiar to Company of Heroes 1 and 2 fans alike. Players should expect the same grinding advances down forested lanes and daring spearheads through enemy defenses.
“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Military expressways were critical to the movement of matériel inland; thousands of tonnes of critical supplies were the lifeblood of the Allied offensive.
Classic Company of Heroes community map, originally created by Yojimbo252.
Multiplayer Maps Quality of Life Improvements
We have several bug fixes and improvements across our Multiplayer Maps, thanks as always to feedback on the Official Discord. Please be sure to leave comments in the map-feedback section if you have any additional map feedback or issues for future updates.
(2) Pachino Stalemate - Very minor territory adjustment, ensuring the Southern Fuel points fairly connect only with their neighboring Fuel point.
(2) Twin Beaches - +10 Fuel Points within contestable areas have been adjusted to new +8 Fuel Points, to reduce the harsh swing of total Fuel income when capturing the majority of points.
(6) Benghazi - Minor adjustments to barbed wire present on this map. Changes to ultra-lights made some areas inaccessible or difficult to access with early capturing vehicles.
(6) Gothic Line – Fixed an issue that caused spawned units from production buildings to wander over to their neighbor's HQ.
(6) Mignano Summit - Very minor territory cleanup and some cover rebalancing, especially around the map center.
(8) Oasis Depot – An issue with the central Fuel points has been fixed. It was previously possible to gain their income even if the central island was cut off from the HQ sector.
(8) Sousse Stronghold - Impass added under a rock formation, to prevent ultra-light vehicles from driving inside to hide.
Localization
Added text localization for the following languages:
Ukrainian
Russian
MULTIPLAYER CHANGES
Breach
Breach is difficult to use due to several issues that we have identified.
Length of time needed to complete breach
Breach locking the player’s units out of commands once it begins
Breaching units needing to walk in through the door once the enemy has been forced out or exited the structures before/during breach
These issues caused Breach to punish the player using it, felt unresponsive, and did not punish the opponent for losing the building as they would have plenty of time to either respond, or throw grenades back at the breaching unit.
We have made significant changes to improve Breach – particularly in urban maps - that includes improvements to speed and responsiveness.
Breach can now be cancelled at any stage prior to the ability causing damage, allowing units to break away from the door if required
Breach has been significantly sped up with the ability taking around 3 seconds to cause damage and kick the enemies out of the building once the actual Breach animations begin
Units that are Breaching will teleport into the building if the enemy exits, rather than attempting to walk in through the doors/complete the breach animation
Units that are breaching move +50% faster as they approach the door
Breach is now a standardized cost of 25 munitions for all units
Breach causes a Grenade callout for the opponent, and they will receive an event queue that their building is being breached
Breaching no longer always kills 2-3 models, now each model has a 25% chance to die
Breach should no longer cause team weapons to get occasionally stuck by destroying the weapon itself
Breaching deals between 40-60 points of damage to everyone in the hold when it occurs if they were not killed
Cancelling Breach while the unit is breaching will put the ability on a 10 second cooldown
Towing Improvements
Towing has been given several major improvements, increasing responsiveness and reducing delays. It should be faster in most cases, and many common delays and bugs have been fixed.
Fixed multiple issues causing team weapons to rotate too late
Fixed multiple issues causing vehicles to change positions when told to tow team weapon already within range
Improved logic and speed at which team weapons rotate to hitch onto a towing vehicle
Removed delays caused by waiting for the crew entities to get into the hold after towing was already completed
Fixed multiple towing-related issues that could cause crashes
Territory & Victory Point Vision Changes
Capture points offered too much vision, allowing players to see the attacker’s units if they passed by a territory point. We want reconnaissance units and abilities to play a greater role in identifying what kind of units the opponent has in an area. To facilitate this, we are reducing the vision range on points.
Vision radius reduced from 6.5 to 0.05
Does not impact how abilities that target territory points function
Non-lethal Smoke and Flare Abilities from Vehicles and Artillery Units
We have made improvements to several non-lethal weapons to bypass a weapon’s reload time. These changes are meant to make it easier to deploy smoke screens during combat when units have already fired a shot/in reload cycle.
Can now skip any on-going reload sequence to fire immediately. Weapons that have fired will still remember their reload time when they swap back to the original weapon.
Example: M24 Chaffee Fires main gun -> Fires Smoke Shot via ability -> Retains reload time of the main gun when the weapon was swapped to Smoke
Friendly Fire
Currently, players can call-in artillery or throw grenades on top of their own units and deal significantly reduced damage to themselves, but full damage to the enemy. This caused situations where dropping a grenade or artillery on top of yourself was a way to win an engagement.
We have adjusted how friendly-fire interacts with a player’s own units and weapons. Certain abilities and weapons will now deal full friendly fire damage to their owner’s forces, forcing players to be more careful with where they target their abilities. This does not impact friendly fire damage against allies, which is still reduced.
This impacts the following weapons:
Grenades and explosives like Satchels/Demo Charges
On-map Artillery barrages
On-map Mortar Barrages
Off-map Damaging abilities
Capture Behavior
We have made some adjustments to capture behavior to make it easier to retain cover positions/current position if they are already capturing and units will be less likely to pile up on the point directly, instead, opting to stop once they are within a certain distance of the capture point.
When units are given a capture command and are not on a capture point:
Squad entities no longer stack onto the center or beyond the capture point with direct capture commands. Squads will move to the center of the point, favoring the side they come from.
Squads no longer move closer to capture points if they are issued a capture command in the zone of control of the point they are already capturing
This allows users to leverage desirable cover in or near a capture point as units can now retain cover positions from queued capture commands. If a queued order was issued, they will hold the position, capture, and move to the next order.
Emplacements
Static artillery emplacements are too vulnerable to mobile artillery units that can move away after delivering a barrage, while also being susceptible to off-maps and enemy assaults. Due to these issues, we are raising the resilience of artillery emplacements against on-field artillery.
These changes, combined with the reduced health of mobile artillery, are to allow static artillery units to better absorb and counter on-field artillery barrages, while remaining vulnerable to traditional threats like direct attacks and off-maps.
Artillery Emplacements now take 50% less damage from on-field medium, heavy and rocket artillery, was previously 25%. Does not impact resistance against off-maps.
Grenades
Basic grenades are underwhelming. Their damage drop-off was often too high and moving slightly from a grenade’s center would cause the damage to change drastically.
We are making a change to improve the general effectiveness of basic grenades by reducing the damage drop-off between the near and mid radius and improving the kill radius slightly, while still retaining the significantly lower damage at the edges of the explosion. This should make direct hits on units more rewarding.
Rifle grenades have been changed to function differently, having a considerable kill radius, but deals limited damage past that zone and has the smallest blast radius overall.
Corrected some reticules to more correctly match the blast radius
Have overall been increased in strength
Infantry Section Rifle Grenades
Damage increased from 100 to 120
Medium distance damage increased from 0.25 to 1.0
Far distance damage increased from 0.15 to 0.1699
Minimum cast range reduced from 15 to 12.5
Area of Effect radius decreased from 4m to 3m
Max squad member entities that can be hit decreased from no limit to 4.
Munition cost increased from 30 to 35
Pathfinder Rifle Grenades
Damage remains at 120
Medium distance damage increased from 0.5 to 1.0
Far distance damage decreased from 0.3 to 0.1699
Minimum cast range reduced from 15 to 12.5
Area of Effect radius decreased from 4m to 3m
German Stick Grenades
Medium distance damage increased from 0.4 to 0.7
Far distance damage increased from 0.15 to 0.225
Near distance increased from 0.125 to 0.35
Mid distance increased from 0.75 to 1
Far distance decreased from 3.5 to 1.5
Ability recharge time standardized to 30 seconds; matches other similar grenade types
Mk 2 Frag Grenades, Mills Bombs, and ‘Cooked’ variant
Stats standardized to the MK 2 Frag Grenade before changes are applied below; fuse times remain unique for ‘cooked’ variants
Medium distance damage increased from 0.5 to 0.85
Near distance increased from 0.125 to 0.35
Far distance decreased from 4.5 to 3
Paratrooper's grenades upgraded from Packed Explosive now show a larger reticule to represent the 25% increase in radius
Stun Grenade
Always deals 40 damage with no damage drop-off
Red/White Phosphorus Grenade
Always deals 30 damage with no damage drop-off
Blast radius increased from 2m to 4m
Light Mortars and Light Infantry Artillery – 81mm, 8cm, Mortar Halftrack, 3-inch Heavy Mortar, Pack Howitzer, leIG 18
Light artillery is a little weak in terms of its power. Stationary units can easily move out of the barrage radius of light artillery because projectiles could take 4-5 seconds to arrive after it had been fired and direct hits are not guaranteed. While players could reduce the travel time it takes for projectiles, light artillery always wants to fire at maximum range to remain safe.
To allow these units to be effective at long range where they can accumulate damage against stationary targets, we are speeding up the projectiles of these units.
Mortar projectiles now always arrive at their destination after 2.5 second
Heavy Mortar projectiles that are not flares now always arrive at their destination after 3.25 second
Pack Howitzer, Le.IG 18 projectile speed increase of 25 to 50
Camouflage
Regular unit detection range is reduced back to range 10. This will improve general stealth gameplay for units that rely on this feature, such as Commandos. Stealth can be difficult for these units to utilize as they could be spotted before they got into their effective range. We are also allowing German anti-tank guns to get their First-strike bonus as these units need to slowly move into position with limited vision.
Delay for elite camouflage reduced from 0.5 to 0
Camouflage detection range for all regular units reduced from 12.5 to 10
Reticule added for the Stealth Camouflage passives and toggle ability to display a rough estimate of when the unit gets detected by non-detectors from the center of the squad
When units leave cover, their camouflage UI indicator counts down
German AT guns now get first strike the moment they enter camouflage
We have reworked the stealth features of Battlefield Espionage to be less oppressive to play against. Those can be found in Deutsches Afrikakorps changes.
Bunkers and Fighting Positions
Upgraded bunkers and fighting positions will retain their garrison feature to give units more viable positions to fight from. Players did not keep un-upgraded bunkers or fighting positions around as it was more useful to upgrade them in the long run.
Can all be garrisoned by infantry, even in their upgraded forms
Provides Garrison Cover Combat Bonuses for all variants
Minesweeping
It was difficult for minesweepers to gain veterancy due to their limited combat power after opting out of their weapon upgrade. We have changed minesweeping to now provide experience, allowing sweepers to gain veterancy even if they do not directly participate in combat.
Units that sweep mines without detonating them now gain experience
Experience gained per Mine type:
Regular Mines: 150
Anti-tank Mines: 250
Australian Trip-Wire: 100
S-Mines and Butterfly Bombs: 25
DM-16 Trip Flare: 50
Signal Detection – 221 Scout Car, 254 Artillery Tractor, 4x4 Truck
We are creating counterplay against the Signal Detection ability found on several units by causing them to periodically appear in the fog of war, allowing them to be engaged by long-range units or artillery and letting the opponent know Signal Detection is active. The previous version allowed for the gathering of intel without any risk, yet we want to maintain the long-range detection capability as they have limited direct combat capabilities.
Players can turn the Signal Detection ability off to prevent their units from revealing themselves.
Signal Detection now reveals the user of the ability for 5 seconds every 5 seconds
Signal Detection is now a toggle ability for these units
Recon detection icons have been updated to a new shade and style that better fits with the game
Wreck Changes
Wrecks could be too easily destroyed by vehicles crushing them. This meant killing the lead vehicle of a tank assault did little to slow them down and it also meant wrecks that players wanted to salvage/recover could accidently be destroyed by most mid-late game vehicles.
Most wrecks will now require one level higher to be crushed.
Ultralight Vehicles: Now requires light vehicles or higher to be crushed; cannot be crushed by ultralight vehicles
Medium Vehicle Wrecks: Now requires heavy vehicles to be crushed; can no longer be crushed by medium vehicles
Heavy Vehicle Wrecks: Immune to being crushed by all sources
GrB 39 Grenader Launcher
The GrB’s anti-garrison damage is being reduced. This is primarily focused on reducing splash applied to other models in the building, while keeping its damage high against a single entity inside the garrison.
Anti-garrison damage bonus decreased from + 100% to +50%
Towed and Fixed Artillery Emplacements
Command point cost of certain fixed or towed artillery is being reduced to allow them to come online sooner and see more play.
BL 5.5 Artillery Emplacement Command Point cost reduced from 2 to 1
210mm Obice Artillery Emplacement Command Point cost reduced from 5 to 4
Towed Cannone 105/28 Command Point cost reduced from 3 to 2
Snipers
Build time reduced from 40 to 30 seconds
Distribute Medical Supplies – 250 Light Carrier, Dingo
This is a quality of life change to allow these units to heal on the move due to the healing being limited for a timed duration with a significant recharge time afterwards.
Now functions even if the vehicle is moving, similar to those used by the Grenadier Squad
Artillery, Siphon, Intel Disruption Beacons and Luftwaffe Relay
No longer remains spotted in the fog of war and on the mini-map once discovered and the enemy loses vision
Mobile Anti-tank Guns
This is a small boost to anti-tank guns to make their veterancy 3 feel more powerful.
Veterancy 3 rate of fire bonus increased from 30 to 35%
US Forces
Captain Retinue
The Captain is a vital unit for the US Forces due to its powerful abilities. This has often led to the Infantry Support Center being chosen over the other Support Centers, which is also able to use the momentum of an extra unit to push the enemy.
To create more build diversity, we are allowing the Captain to be purchased from the Headquarters after upgrading to any support center. This allows US players to always have the option to get the Captain, while letting the Infantry Support Center to retain the free unit it gives.
Now available in the Headquarters after any Support Center is constructed. Infantry Support Center still immediately spawns a Captain upon completion
Fixed an issue where experience gain was multiplicative resulting in the unit giving 150% extra experience at Veterancy 3. Amount now set to be a flat 50% bonus for a total of +75% bonus experience granted at Veterancy 3 from 25%.
Air Support Center
We have made a change to the Air Support Center by allowing the first bombing and strafing run abilities to be free. This will allow players who have gone Air Support Center to shift early game engagements in their favor without needing to wait for munitions.
First Bombing Run is now free
First Strafing Run is now free
Designate Forward Repair Station
Designate Forward Repair Station has had its healing speed increased to allow vehicles to get back into the fight faster.
Furthermore, it can repair structures to support defensive gameplay through fighting positions or emplacements found in battlegroups.
Repair rate increased from 8 to 12
Can now repair structures
Rapid Repairs
The Rapid Repair upgrade is being reworked to focus on repairing large groups of vehicles around the Forward Repair Station, which is a central aspect of the Mechanized Support Center.
Now causes the Forward Repair Station to generate a repair aura within range 25. Engineers on the point become visual indicators. Previous effect removed.
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifles
BARs will now be available from the Barracks without requiring a Support Center. The current iteration of the weapon arrives too late to make a significant impact and the window to capitalize on the advantage is very small.
We can allow BARs to arrive earlier in the game to give the US player an early advantage because Axis have several tools to fight off upgraded Riflemen that arrive not too long afterwards and the American player sets themselves back heavily by needing to invest in tech and eventual healing.
Global upgrade no longer requires a support center to be researched
Munition-based upgrade per squad locked behind any Support Center being purchased
Heavy Barrels
A new upgrade has been added to the Mechanized Support Center that gives a general combat boost to all American vehicles against infantry threats and allows their machine guns to outrange threats like infantry anti-tank.
New upgrade in the Mechanized Support Center, takes the positions of the previous M4A1 76mm Gun Conversion
Increases range by +5 and additional rounds per burst by +25% for all vehicle mounted machine guns including upgraded machine gun mounts – such as the M2HB .50cal found on the Sherman- and the M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage
M4A1 76mm Gun Conversion
We are moving the 76mm gun to the Tank Depot to make the standard Sherman less reliant on Support Centers and instead, the decision to upgrade to the 76mm gun is more focused on the type of strategy the player wants to employ.
Moved to the Tank Depot; no longer requires the Mechanized Support Center
¼-ton 4x4 Truck
We have refreshed several units’ Veterancy 3 bonuses to make them feel significant.
Veterancy 3 received accuracy bonus increased from 30% to 60%
Veterancy 3 now adds an additional +60 health
M1 57mm Anti-tank Gun
Veterancy 3 Armor-Piercing Rounds duration bonus replaced with Armor-Piercing Rounds causing Crew Injury criticals on vehicle penetrating hits
M8 Greyhound Armored Car
Veterancy 1 acceleration bonus changed to +15% rotation rate
Veterancy 3 range bonus now affects all weapons on the Greyhound rather than being restricted to machine guns
M24 Chaffee Light Tank
The Chaffee’s speed is being increased to improve its anti-vehicle flanking and pursuit role.
Speed increased from 6.5 to 6.9
M4(105) Sherman Dozer
The high damage the Dozer does against structures made the bunker buster barrage redundant. We have revamped this ability to now fire a devastating single shot that detonates which has a much higher damage payload compared to its auto-attack allowing it to quickly clear stationary targets that fail to move away from the blast zone.
Bunker Buster now fires a single high damaging shell with a time delay of 3.5 seconds. Damage is equivalent to a satchel charge against buildings but is still lethal to units like team weapons and infantry.
M8 Scott SPG
We are doing a rework to the Scott to differentiate it from the other vehicles in the US roster. Range of the barrage is being increased but the auto-attack is being lowered to make the Scott a light, but somewhat durable mobile artillery unit with the ability to engage unsupported enemy units at short-range.
Auto-attack range reduced from 45 to 30
Auto-attack reload sped up from 4.5 to 3 seconds
Barrage range increased from 50 to 90 for all barrages
Barrage recharge time increased from 30 to 60 seconds
M29 Weasel Recon Vehicle
The Pack Howitzer variant of the Weasel is gaining veterancy 1 to allow a quick transition into support roles. Previously, when the Weasel with Pack Howitzer was brought onto the field, it struggled to gain veterancy due to the increased lethality on the battlefield.
Now has access to the Handbrake ability
Variant towing the Pack Howitzer arrives to the battlefield at Veterancy level 1
Veterancy 1 acceleration changed to +25% rotation rate
Veterancy 3 weapon drop cost reduction replaced with Self-repair ability always being active, even if the unit is moving and/or in-combat
M2A1 105mm Howitzer Emplacement
The following change helps the auto-fire ability scale from the bonuses such as the Ammunition Storage and veterancy.
Auto-fire reload adjusted to be around 10 seconds with auto-fire. Ammunition Storage and Veterancy 3 now reduces the time needed to recharge the next auto-fire shot.
M3 Assault Carrier
Reckless Assault is now part of the unit without requiring veterancy
Fortify Positions now available as Veterancy choice 2
Fortify Positions always enters cooldown when the Exchangeable Parts is used to convert a Halftrack into an Assault Carrier
Wehrmacht
Kettenkrad
The Kettenkrad has also had its Communication Cables vision range adjusted for the recent territory points change. It is slightly lower than before but is compensated by no vision being provided by Territory Points to begin with.
Points captured by a Kettenkrad with Communications Cables now has UI indicator on point to show it is benefiting from the increased vision
Communication Cable vision bonus on points increased from 7 to 12
Veterancy 1 acceleration bonus changed to +25% rotation rate
Veterancy 3 now allows the Kettenkrad to be camouflaged even when moving
Grenadiers
Grenadiers were a little too efficient when Wehrmacht is meant to rely more on their advanced infantry squads or heavy machine guns to directly combat Allied infantry in the later stages of the game. Grenadiers will now have the same upkeep as other mainlines to reduce their efficiency. Increased recharge times on Merge will also make it harder to replenish advanced squads with Grenadiers alone.
Merge recharge time increased from 15 to 60 seconds
Upkeep per population increased from 1 to 1.5
Sniper
The sniper’s Veterancy 3 for Wehrmacht was weak as it couldn’t spot for itself and the rate of fire bonus was not significant enough from Ambush. We have changed it so the Ambush bonus is significantly higher, and the sniper is able to be a spotter in both combat and out-of-combat scenarios.
Veterancy 3 bonuses changed to +10 vision range and +50% rate of firing when attacking from camouflage
Panzergrenadier Squad
These changes improve the scaling of the Wehrmacht Panzergrenadier, making options like Officer Quarters a significant power spike and improving their performance in mid-to-late game scenarios.
We want Wehrmacht Advanced Infantry to be capable of fighting upgraded Allied infantry and be the Wehrmacht’s primary frontline infantry unit as the game progresses.
Veterancy 1 Received Accuracy increased from 15% to 20%
Veterancy 3 Weapon accuracy increased from 33% to 40%
Jager Squad
Jager squads have been adjusted to focus their role as ranged infantry that deal good damage at range but have lower health. Furthermore, the Scoped G43s damage has been increased to make upgraded Jagers a powerful anti-infantry unit at the cost of giving up the Panzerschreck.
We have also adjusted their veterancy ability allowing them to control enemy infantry advances and make it harder to close with the Wehrmacht squads or team weapons, but they will no longer have camouflage which gave them significant power through Ambush bonuses.
Health reduced from 110 to 100
Manpower cost increased from 320 to 340
G43 accuracy far accuracy increased from 0.5 to 0.6
Scoped G43 damage increased from 14 to 16
Concealment Ability changed to - Slowing Fire
Slows Jagers by 33% but slows infantry on rifle hits by 33% for 2 seconds. Effects are refreshed on hit. Lasts for 15 seconds.
StuG III G Assault Gun
Point-Blank Blast has been reworked to now be a timed ability. The previous iteration was difficult to use as the vehicle had to lock onto enemies and was unable to act without cancelling the order. This new iteration gives the player greater control over which targets they can engage while the ability is active.
Point-Blank Blast reworked. Is now timed ability that greatly reduces range to 15 but grants anti-infantry HE shells for 20 seconds. Weapon stats have been heavily adjusted to have less scatter but lower direct damage output.
Marder III Tank Destroyer
Veterancy 1 acceleration bonus replaced with +15% weapon accuracy
RPzB 54 Panzerschreck Anti-tank Weapon – Affects the Afrikakorps variant
We are adjusting the scatter of the Panzerschreck to be more in-line with other weapons and prevent situations where the rocket would fly at impossible angles from the launcher. The scatter will still be higher than other anti-tank weapons like the Bazooka, especially at long-range, but attack ground will be more reliable.
Angle scatter reduced from 50 to 20
Distance scatter max reduced from 10 to 5
Distance scatter offset adjusted from -0.5 to 0
Luftwaffe Relay
We want the Luftwaffe Relay to be important to players using Fallschirm units, but it fails to synergize with the emplacements or team weapons that can be obtained by the Luftwaffe Battlegroup. To allow for better synergy with these unit types, we are allowing the Relay the ability to re-man abandoned team weapons emplacements.
You can now also salvage structure for resources, allowing players to move/establish new Relays once an area is secured.
Can now recrew a targeted abandoned team weapon and emplacements for 50 manpower
Can be salvaged for a 75% manpower return, like non-upgraded Fighting Positions
Units still cannot fire out of this structure
Fallschirmjager Squad
This change is to allow Fallschirmjager to better scale into the late-game by giving them higher offensive power – keeping the unit focused as a vulnerable damage dealer that is best used from ambush and cover.
Veterancy 2 accuracy bonus increased from 15% to 20%
Veterancy 3 accuracy bonus increased from 20% to 25%
Flak 36 Anti-tank Emplacement
Command Point cost reduced from 2 to 1
Wespe Self-propelled Gun
We are making a change to certain mobile artillery, increasing vulnerability to flank attacks and counter-battery fire from artillery, requiring players to use their mobility to avoid danger.
Health reduced from 240 to 160
Coastal Reserves
Coastal Reserves are gaining a new ability to synergize with the changes to bunkers. This makes the unit effective at trading out with enemies from fortified defensive positions/garrisons. We have also slightly increased the power this unit gets when receiving veterancy as it cannot be traded out for Advanced Infantry and is more combat-orientated than the Grenadier.
New ability added: Stronghold Defenders: Grants the Coastal Squad a light machine gun when fighting from garrisons at Veterancy level 1
Veterancy 2 weapon accuracy bonus increased from 15% to 20%
British Forces
Team Weapon Training
This change will allow all British units to benefit from Training Center upgrades. Previously, emplacements were the only unit type to never receive bonuses, despite taking up population and upkeep.
Now impacts emplacements; health bonus provided to emplacements is +120 health. Provides the same rate of fire bonus as regular team weapons
Company Command Post
The British being able to refit their vehicles is a powerful and unique mechanic that allows the faction to have flexibility with its unit choices. However, it could be used too frequently, allowing for scenarios where players refitted multiple units at once and then produced higher tier units rapidly. The change still gives the British faction flexibility to change out vehicles, but the frequency is now gated behind time.
Withdraw and Refit now has a 120 second ability recharge time when used
Dingo Scout Scout Car
Veterancy 3 +10 ability range changed to +25% damage
Decoy Flares no longer shares a cooldown with Forward Observer Barrage
CMP 15 CWT AA Truck
The CWT AA Truck will now deploy faster, allowing it to better respond to enemy incursions and reset sooner if it is forced to move.
Set-up time reduced from 3.5 to 2.5
Bishop Self-propelled Gun
We are making a change to certain mobile artillery, increasing vulnerability to flank attacks and counter-battery fire from artillery, requiring players to use their mobility to avoid danger.
The Bishop has also had its fire rate slowed down to give enemies more time to dodge subsequent projectiles.
Reload speed reduced from 3/3 to 3.75/4.25
Barrage recharge time increased from 45 to 50
Health reduced from 240 to 160
Foot Guards Section
With the Breach changes, the British needed one unit in the core roster that was capable of breaching.
While Royal Engineers could fulfill that role, their flamethrower already allowed them to push enemies out of buildings whereas other breaching units cannot clear buildings as quickly.
Now has access to the Breach ability
Matilda Heavy Tank
The Matilda is having its frontal armor increased to allow it to better spearhead attacks into enemy positions. With the reduction of its anti-infantry power in previous patches, we can now bring back some of its durability.
Frontal armor increased from 280 to 310
BL 5.5 Inch Artillery Emplacement
The BL 5.5’s new veterancy ability is meant to synergize with the Forward Observer Barrage found on the Gurkhas, Recce Section and Dingo. This new ability gives the Forward Observer Barrage additional power in the late game, by giving more alpha-strike power as multiple guns can join in on the barrage.
Precision shot changed to - Forward Observer Airburst Support - BL 5.5 Inch Emplacement will fire 2 airburst shells at the target location of Forward Observer Barrage ability from Infantry Sections, Dingos, or Gurkhas is used. Ability is affected by Artillery Saturation. Similar damage output as Off-map Airburst Barrage.
Centaur IV Medium Tank
The Centaur’s late game utility is lacking, being a short-ranged anti-infantry vehicle. While it can deal good damage, it must compete with other mid-game vehicles in that tier while still doing decent anti-infantry damage.
To allow the Centaur to support allies in battle, a new ability has been added, enabling the Centaur to deal light anti-vehicle damage that causes a significant debuff on enemy vehicles.
New ability – HESH Rounds Toggle ability. Swaps to HESH rounds that fire in a direct-line to targets rather than an arcing shell. Deals 80 damage on penetration, 40 damage on deflection and debuffs enemy vehicles on hit, reducing accuracy and rate of fire by 30%
2-pounder Anti-tank Gun
The 2-pounder Target Weakpoint ability was too potent as it could get multiple shots off and effectively stun-lock the target throughout the entire ability’s duration. We changed the ability to only allow for one shot to be fired, but it still retains its ease of use where it is active the moment the ability is triggered.
Target Weakpoint now immediately ends upon firing a single shot while the ability is active. Is still a timed ability of 10 seconds, allowing a player to use the ability pre-emptively in anticipation for an attack
Target Weakpoint never misses enemy vehicles
Canadian Shock Section
The manpower cost of this unit was too high for their performance and stat-line. While durable, they rely on weapon upgrades or abilities to do high amounts of damage whereas other units of similar cost have higher offensive power.
We have also improved the 2-inch Mortar Barrage, giving it more damage against stationary positions, and slightly reducing its munition cost as the player must buy the upgrade to enable the ability.
Manpower cost reduced from 380 to 360
Reinforce cost reduced from 36 to 34
2-inch mortar projectiles per barrage increased from 5 to 6
2-inch mortar barrage cost reduced from 30 to 25
Deutsches Afrikakorps
Afrikakorps Team Weapons - leIG 18, Pak 38 AT Gun, Flak 36 AT Gun
We want to incentivize team weapon play for the Afrikakorps by allowing them to also benefit from the Combined Arms bonus. The Afrikakorps already has weaker team weapons and they have trouble keeping up with the mobile nature of the faction.
Team weapons gain variant of the Combined Arms bonus that replaces the +10% accuracy bonus with a +10% rate of fire bonus. Only applies if the player is Afrikakorps
Kradschutzen Motorcycle Team
Veterancy 3 now allows the Binoculars ability to always be active even when moving
Binoculars ability now has a UI status indicator to display the amount of time it takes for the ability to become active when the unit is stationary
Panzerpioneer Squad
Panzerpioneers with the grenade launcher were too easily able to counter units like machine guns as they were able to use smoke to break line of sight to recover from suppression or to volley grenades from behind the smoke screen. We are removing the smoke grenade ability to prevent Panzerpioneers from breaking contact with the enemy unless they have additional support.
We have also increased the health of the unit once it hits its final veterancy level to provide a little more staying power as this unit’s veterancy bonuses are more combat focused than other engineers.
GrB 39 smoke grenade ability removed
Veterancy 3 health bonus increased from 20 to 25
Panzergrenadier Squad
Because Afrikakorps Panzergrenadiers rely on fighting near their vehicles to reach their full potential, we are reducing the population of this unit to better reflect its base performance and to be more economical to field in the long run, as the faction does struggle for manpower as the game goes on.
Population reduced from 8 to 7
Assault Grenadier Squad
Veterancy 3 ability cooldown recharge increased from 50% to 75%
Panzerjager Squad
The price and population of the Panzerjager Squad is being reduced to help the Afrikakorps deal with mobile vehicles and create more opportunities to use other call-ins from the Halftrack Deployment System such as the Assault Grenadier or Anti-tank Gun. By lowering their base price, there is more incentive to build the unit normally.
Price changes will not affect the Panzerjager Squad that is deployed with the halftrack.
Population from 8 to 7
Manpower reinforce cost reduced from 33 to 29
Manpower cost reduced from 275 to 240
Pak 38 Anti-tank Gun Team
Veterancy speed bonus increased from 25% to 33%
Flakvierling Halftrack
The Armor-piercing Rounds ability was too effective against vehicle threats as it could stop enemy vehicles from fleeing or chasing after the Flakvierling, in addition to increasing its damage output. We are adjusting this ability to now only increase weapon penetration without any other bonuses or negatives to make the unit more reliant on being properly supported to stop vehicle dives.
Armor-piercing Ammunition now only increased penetration by 50%. Slow debuff on target and reduction on blast radius removed.
Armor-piercing Ammunition cost reduced from 45 to 30 munitions
Marder III Tank Destroyer
Veterancy 1 acceleration bonus replaced with +15% weapon accuracy
Carro Armato M13/40 Light Tank
The Carro’s veterancy ability no longer relies on grouping up large amounts of Italian units and instead, the Carro becomes more powerful in dangerous situations where it is closer to heavier vehicles. This creates more interesting gameplay where the player can choose to gain more power by closing with more dangerous targets.
We also changed the unit to now require an upgrade to activate its unique hull-mounted machine gun. This allows us to give the Carro more power against infantry, while still making cover and positioning of both the vehicle and the target important.
Italian Vanguard changed to – Against the Odds – When the Carro is near enemy medium and heavy vehicles within range 20, it will fire 20% faster.
Hull machine gun is now an upgrade available for 50 munitions
Hull machine gun accuracy increased from 0.35/0.325/0.3 to 0.5/0.45/0.4
Hull machine gun burst rate of fire increased from 6 to 12
Hull machine gun moving accuracy increased from 0.5 to 0.75
8 Rad Armored Car
The turret of the 8rad is being sped up to allow it to better track fast-moving targets while we have also increased its long-range penetration, so the unit deals a little bit more chip damage to other light vehicles when fighting from distance.
Turret horizontal traverse speed increased from 60 to 90
Long-range penetration increased from 13 to 16
Goliath
Rotation rate increased from 55 to 75
Walking Stuka Rocket Halftrack
We are making a change to certain mobile artillery, increasing vulnerability to flank attacks and counter-battery fire from artillery.
We have also adjusted the Stuka’s Creeping Barrage to differentiate from the standard barrage. Creeping Barrage will now cover a wider area, but rockets have much less overlap, reducing raw damage to targets. Furthermore, because of the destructive payload of the Stuka, it can no longer double barrage, but firing Creeping Barrage will lead to a much shorter cooldowns as the player has to pay munitions to use the ability.
Health reduced from 160 to 120
Stuka Creeping Barrage now forces a recharge time of 30 seconds, rather than being available on a sperate cooldown
Creeping Barrage covers a greater area, but now lands in a zig-zag pattern with gaps between rockets
Stuka Barrage reticule adjusted for new larger the zig-zag pattern area of effect
Stuka Creeping Barrage wind-down reduced from 0.5 to 0.375
Panzerjager Kommand
Early Warning
This change corresponds with the recent change to the vision provided by territory points.
Passive vision range bonus increased from 5 to 10
Battlefield Espionage Battlegroup
250/3 Funkpanzerwagen and Intel Radio Beacon Aura changes
The stealth auras provided by the Funkpanzerwagen and the Intel Radio Beacons were oppressive to fight against as it allowed units to ambush enemies without needing to consider positioning and rush up to machine gun positions if no detector was available. The small radius of these auras also generally made players group up their units and attack in a blob.
Changes have been made so the camouflage from these auras now provides standard camouflage to units that are in cover with a four second grace period when leaving it. Units will now require more thoughtful placement on the battlefield to gain their camouflage. In return, we have significantly increased the range of these auras so players can operate further away from the Funkwagon/beacons.
We will be monitoring how this change goes, as we have noted it can be difficult for team weapons to benefit from the aura.
Aura now grants cover-based camouflage that has a 0 second delay before activating and remains for 4 seconds when leaving cover
Funkwagon camouflage aura range increased from 30 to 50
Intel Radio Beacon camouflage aura range increased from 50 to 70
Units no longer automatically hold-fire. Hold-fire ability given to infantry units that lack it upon unlocking the Battlegroup
Intel Radio Disruption Beacon
The Beacons are now solely a tool meant to provide nearby friendlies camouflage. Reconnaissance will now require units to scout ahead to see where the best ambush can be set in advance.
The previous iteration made it too easy to set up ambushes as the player could spot the enemy in the fog of war, while creating issue where a player’s beacons gave themselves away, despite being primarily a tool meant to hide their forces.
Manpower cost reduced from 75 to 50
Intel Radio Beacon no longer detects enemy in-range, only provides the camouflage aura
Siphon Beacon
Siphon Beacons were difficult to use as they gave away their position by telling enemies their point was being siphoned, and observant players would note the change to their income. While it could be powerful in certain situations, it required these beacons to pay off very quickly as they would inevitably be destroyed.
We are changing the design to now only provide the owning player additional resources with a slower resource gain as it no longer telegraphs that resources are being stolen from the enemy.
Resource siphoning reduced from 75% to 50%
No longer reduces the territory point’s income
No longer places an indicator on the target point stating it is being siphoned.
No longer impacts capture or decapture speed of enemy units
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed an issue where explosions that killed models and caused gibs would not give the proper credit or experience points to units.
Fixed an issue where fixed gun vehicles would only begin traversing their main gun onto target once the hull was aligned
Chaffee will now immediately fire its smoke round after firing the main gun; primary weapon reload timer is maintained to prevent "double-shotting"
Fixed loader animation: adjusted so shell loads straight into the loading area
General tool-tip fixes and improvements
Fixed ultralight vehicles phasing into the Fighting Nest
Fixed units sometimes getting stuck in running animation after disembarking
Fixed an issue where the camera would not fully zoom out despite settings
Infantry units like US Forces Scouts no longer stutter while running
Fixed an issue with snipers where they targeted the building instead of occupants
Corrected multiple tooltip issues across abilities and units
Fixed an issue where selected units became deselected if clicking the ground while shift-selecting
Fixed minor performance issues with attacks on water or uneven terrain
Fixed a case where directional cover bonuses incorrectly applied when throwing grenades
Sandbags now destroyed by grenades
Construction previews no longer detect mines
Fixed instances where units targeted destroyed HQs
Fixed off-map call-ins to properly damage bridges
Booby Traps no longer require supply points
Resolved various campaign mission logic errors
Several crash issues resolved in edge case scenarios
M29 Weasel now correctly detaches towed AT guns when upgrading to pintle-mounted MG
Fixed Mortar Pit crew moving outside pit after consecutive barrages
Street signs no longer block airborne projectiles
Fixed towed M5 spawning improperly on Forward Retreat Points
Humber’s Mark Area debuff now correctly applies to team weapon crews
Vehicles now immediately unload and drop towed weapons when withdrawing
Buildings no longer execute specific destruction types depending on weapon; destruction now randomizes between impassable and passable cover
US Forces Changes
Medical Halftrack healing correctly reflects veterancy bonus
Salvage Fighting Positions now eject crew before self-salvaging
Salvage Positions no longer appear on heavy machine gun nests
Company Command Post Withdraw now functions in Campaign
Wehrmacht Changes
Nebelwerfer and 20mm Flak no longer slowed in water
Fixed various directional cover issues with grenades
British Forces Changes
Foot Guards now correctly attack at max range with bazookas
Canadian Shock Demolition Engineering now properly displays population requirements
Canadian Shock Battlegroup: 2-inch Mortar HE Barrage text corrected
Fixed hand mortar animation glitch for Canadian Shock Troopers
Deutsches Afrikakorps Changes
Advanced Hazard Removal no longer references wire cutters (default equipment)
Walking Stuka Creeping Barrage no longer stalls at max range
First Strike bonus now correctly applies when attacking from Funkpanzerwagen camouflage
Singleplayer & Campaign
Allied companies in 2v2 Italian Campaign skirmishes now receive resource stockpiles to balance pacing
When playing as the British in the Campaign, fixed US units called in via Company Abilities missing Veterancy Abilities. This includes Paratroopers, Bazooka Teams, and Riflemen.
Enemy company at Campagna reduced from Veterancy 3 to 0 for early game balance
Newly produced companies no longer get stuck in ships
A.I. turn correctly ends after capturing player towns
Forward Repair Depot Engineers no longer follow vehicles out of repair range
A.I. units no longer idle when pinned during move commands
2v2 Italy skirmish A.I. now benefits from Company veterancy starting bonuses
Fixed 6-pounder AT gun availability on A Bridge Too Far mission
Corrected continue button behavior after The Battle of El Alamein
Animation
Fixed British Forces 6 Pound and 17 Pound recoil animations, VFX properly synced to muzzle
Shortened grenade and flamethrower breach animations to 3 seconds
Fixed autobuild engineers running at incorrect speed; standardized to match normal engineers
Fixed Afrikakorps Flak Halftrack wheels not rotating
Fixed animation issues related to multiple weapons and reload states
User Interface & User Experience
Improved zoom smoothness
Mouse wheel now fully bindable as a hotkey
Loading screens for Quick Match, Skirmish, Custom Games and Campaign Skirmishes have been updated to now include maps and units released after the 1.4.0 update, adding to the variety of backgrounds players will see
Tactical map now properly scales recon ability ranges
Status decorators for multiple abilities corrected
Minimap unknown enemy icon updated for better readability
Battlegroup Tech Tree visuals now match HUD icons and style