COH3 Wiki 4,377in game
Home / Updates / 2025-09-12

Update 2.1.5 Patch Notes

2025-09-12 · Greta_RE · Steam original ↗

This update focuses on adjustments to the multiplayer metagame following up on the release of Opal Scorpion (2.1.0) in June. It targets dominant builds for all factions to make room for more variety in play. All factions are receiving reductions in power to their most powerful and dominant units to promote alternative build orders. 

This update also includes several gameplay bug fixes and map improvements for Langres, Angoville, and Gabès Gap. 

Please be sure to continue reporting any bugs or gameplay issues via help.relic.com so that we can prioritize fixes and changes for update 2.2.0 coming later this year. 

General 

Multiplayer Balance 

General 

Constructable Defenses 

Some buildable objects are having their construction time increased to slow down how quickly areas could be locked down or fortified. This makes builder units easier to catch out of position when establishing defenses in frontline sectors. 

Tank Traps 

Sandbags 

Barbed Wire 

Reinforced Barbed Wire 

Signal Detection 

The general detection range is being reduced, forcing players to move these units closer to the front.  

US Forces 

The US Forces Weapons Support Center has been the go-to tech choice and has been dominant in high level 1v1s. We have reduced the power on some key enablers such as the Bazooka Team, Scouts and the M3 Halftracks.  

We are acutely aware that the Barracks tech choice has been languishing despite the changes given to BARs from update 2.1.0. We have attacked this problem by going after some of the Axis counters, but we intend to make deeper changes in the future in update 2.2.0 

 Scout Squad 

Scouts were too efficient in combat due to their veterancy which allowed them to reach Veterancy rank 1 in the early game before the first encounter. We are increasing the time it takes for them to gain veterancy by one additional capture and reducing their first combat bonus. 

Artillery Observer Squad 

Artillery Observers are too efficient, similar to pre-nerf Pathfinders. We are standardizing their cost to match the price increases Pathfinders have received. 

Furthermore, we are reducing the veterancy bonuses of both Pathfinders and Artillery Observers to make them less effective in overall combat against other infantry as they are still primarily combat support units, not standard infantry or advanced infantry replacements. 

  Pathfinder and Artillery Observer Veterancy 

Riflemen Squad 

Riflemen currently suffer from facing a wide array of cost-efficient counters which overshadows their general efficiency in combat. Some of these are receiving changes to indirectly boost the viability of Riflemen. We are also reducing their veterancy requirements to improve their Veterancy 2 timing and their scaling. 

¼ ton 4x4 Truck 

Veterancy requirements for this unit have been fixed. Previously they were much higher than intended and did not follow the formula of x2/x3 for levels 2 and 3. 

Bazooka Team 

Bazooka teams have been overperforming, being both highly effective against light vehicles early game and having strong scaling with powerful veterancy bonuses. This allowed the US Forces to reliably sit on basic tech and still effectively counter higher tier units.  

We are increasing their veterancy requirements, slowing down their scaling, and significantly increasing Steady Fire’s delay before it activates. Bazooka Teams will now need to position themselves more carefully to get the same effective power as before. 

M3 Armored Personnel Carrier and Medical Variant 

The stock M3 could be difficult to contend with in the early game thanks to its fast timing and durability against early game infantry small arms, allowing players to move it point-blank into standard infantry squads.  

To make the stock M3 less effective in the shock role, we are reducing its health and armor. 

M3 Assault Carrier 

M3 75mm Gun Motor Carriage 

The 75mm is receiving adjustments to make the unit less effective against heavier vehicles at long-range. Currently the unit allows a player – when combined with Bazooka Teams - to remain on Weapons Support Center for most of their anti-tank options thanks to the unit’s price and lack of additional tech requirements. We have also increased the upgrade cost to make it less efficient to convert multiple halftracks. 

Mortar Pit 

  Paratrooper Squad 

We want to improve the Paratrooper unit’s performance as it scales throughout the game. To do this, the experience requirements are lowered and we are improving their bonus veterancy, to increase their offensive potential. 

Supply Drop 

The supply paradrops for US Forces are having their scatter increased to reduce how often crates stack on each other.  

War Machine 

 Resupply Operation  

M4A1 Sherman Whizbang  

We are adjusting the projectile arc of the Whizbang to be lower, allowing it to get its rockets onto target faster. 

Wehrmacht 

The Wehrmacht is having some key dominant units and abilities reduced in power, while seeing underperforming units gain some improvements.  

Headquarters 

The low cost of Medical Stations made the mid-game transition for Wehrmacht far too sharp. This along with other changes intends to give Allies more breathing room. 

Kettenkrad Reconnaissance Vehicle 

The Kettenkrad is having its build time sped up, allowing players to gain more map control faster. This should create a more dynamic early game where the Kettenkrad is chosen to quickly capture the map over multiple Pioneers. 

Grenadier Squad 

Grenadiers continue to struggle to earn their veterancy due to their low lethality. Their veterancy requirements are being slightly reduced to make their scaling easier. 

221 Armored Car 

The recent changes to the Panzerbuchse for the 221 made it too effective against units like the Humber, destroying it in 2 shots with high accuracy. The change increases the number of shots to kill certain vehicles by 1 while still retaining the unit’s high accuracy and mobility. The Radio Antenna is also having its cost increased to better reflect its increased accessibility. 

Marder III M Tank Destroyer 

Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind 

The following change is to make the Wirbelwind more vulnerable to light cannon fire from Allied Light Vehicles. 

Stosstruppen Squad 

Stosstruppen were too durable when under the effects of Shock Assault, an ability that already denies suppression and increases offensive potential. 

Panzer IV Medium Tank 

The Panzer IV has difficulties dealing with armored targets, despite being the only anti-armor option in the Panzer Kompanie and when combined with other factors such as its average speed, mobility, and accuracy, it could be unreliable at engaging medium armored vehicles, particularly at distance. 

To increase reliability against enemy vehicles, the unit’s medium-to-long range penetration is being increased.  

Fallschirmpioneer 

Fallschirmjager 

Fallschirmjager were too costly for their performance. While they could be potent when attacking from ambush, their high costs made it difficult to justify the expense for a small squad. To address this issue, we are slightly adjusting their deployment and reinforcement cost, and we will now allow this unit to scale faster through veterancy. 

StuG Assault Group 

StuG III D – affects the Afrikakorps variant as well 

The StuG D is too effective due to how quickly it could fire and its veterancy bonus reduced the impact of flanks. We are slowing down its rate of fire and making its veterancy bonus only affect its frontal armor. 

Breakthrough 

The following change is meant to reduce the impact of Breakthrough which allows players to quickly take/retake large amounts territory at low cost. 

Mechanized Assault Group 

This change makes the Mechanized Assault Group less efficient as the player must pay the full resources for both units. The cost reduction is not needed as players could already bypass tech requirements with this ability 

British Forces 

We are addressing the wide disparity in effectiveness between 1v1s and team games for Canadian Shock Battlegroup. Some additional changes are made to smooth out the early game. 

Dingo Scout Car 

The Dingo is having its early game vision reduced to make aggressive action riskier, preventing it from easily seeing enemy positions before it engages. It will regain the vision bonuses as it reaches veterancy. 

Vickers Machine Gun Team 

Bishop Self-propelled Artillery 

We are giving back some of the Bishop’s firepower that it lost from the previous patch as the health change has made this unit considerably more vulnerable to counter-battery fire and direct assaults. Combined with its slower rate of fire, it made the unit ineffective in its role as artillery. 

Canadian Shock Battlegroup 

We are making changes to how the pulse effects from the Canadian Shock Battlegroup work. While potent in 1 versus 1, the Battlegroup is weak in team games, unable to provide any benefits to allies, lacks the direct firepower and powerful off-maps of other Battlegroups, and point captures are more difficult to achieve. 

The following abilities now also apply to teammates: 

Attacking Spirit 

We are reducing how effective the healing is from Attacking Spirit. In smaller game modes, the ability to skip the Field Infirmary and continuing to apply pressure to the enemy could be overwhelming when combined with the effectiveness of the British infantry. 

Canadian Shock Section 

We are lowering the ready-aim time of PIATs as they took too long to acquire targets. While these weapons will not immediately fire at targets that have entered threat range, it will make it harder to back away from a PIAT squad without taking some damage if the enemy overextends. 

The range of the mortar is also being increased to allow this upgrade to help it compete against the PIAT upgrade. The scatter is still high enough to ensure that some mortar bombs will miss and does not guarantee a wipe on a team weapon squad at longer ranges. 

Incendiary Munitions 

We are increasing the opportunity cost of Incendiary Munitions due to its high power. 

Pyrotechnics 

Pyrotechnics was massively overperforming due to a bug that allowed multiple stacks of the debuff to apply to the same unit for a brief period. We’re also fixing a tooltip error that oversold the intended effect. Overall, players should expect a much lower effect on enemy units when using Pyrotechnics. 

Deutsches Afrikakorps 

Mechanized Kompanie 

The Mechanized Kompanie is having its fuel cost reduced to be a more attractive option against Support Elements and allows units like the 8 Rad to hit the field sooner. 

Veteran Squad Leaders 

When combined with the cost of Panzergrenadier reinforcements, Veteran Squad Leaders was too expensive. We are reducing the cost of this upgrade to better reflect its value for a faction that relies more on vehicles. 

Assault Grenadier Squad 

Assault Grenadiers were far too oppressive in the early game, having both the duration to make a full charge but also retaining the bonus long enough to consistently win over superior numbers. 

250 Mortar Halftrack 

The mortar halftrack was too durable to enemy fire when caught out of position. We are significantly reducing its base health to make the unit vulnerable to enemy fire even with upgrades. 

Marder III Tank Destroyer 

The Marder is having its fuel cost increased due to the cost reduction of the Mechanized Kompanie and its anti-tank efficiency when upgraded. 

StuG III D – affects the Wehrmacht variant as well 

The StuG D is too effective due to how quickly it could fire and its veterancy bonus reduced how impactful being flanked was for a unit that wants to keep its strong frontal armor facing the enemy. To reduce some of the unit’s power, we are slowing down its rate of fire and making its veterancy bonus only affect its frontal armor. 

Tiger Heavy Tank 

The Afrikakorps Tiger is too efficient and is seeing widespread play at all levels and modes. 

To address this, we are increasing the fuel cost of the Tiger to give the opponent more time to prepare and exploit the lack of opposing armor. 

Goliath Demolition Vehicle 

Transfer Depot 

Bersaglieri   

The Bersaglieri’s speed allows the Afrikakorps to gain rapid map control and set the early pace of the game, allowing Bersaglieri to double up against a single squad before the opponent’s second non-HQ unit can reinforce. To give the opponent more time to prepare, we are targeting the unit’s initial speed, giving the opponent more time to bring up reinforcements and slow down how quickly the Afrikakorps can seize the map. 

Bug Fixes 

Gameplay 

Localization

Maps 

Langres/Angoville 

Gabès Gap