AB Beta changes

[Warhawks97]

- Changed basic weapon loadout of 82nd squad to M1 Garand (Ranger version)
- Added an upgrade option to 82nd squads to get Thompson SMGs
- Added an upgrade option to 82nd squads to get 1919a6 LMG
- Removed Medikit ability from 82nd squads
- Added Suppression ability to 82nd squads when LMG is upgraded
- Added passive camouflage to 82nd squads (unlock required)

- Phosphorus grenade unlock renamed to Advanced training and reworked; now it allows Flame grenades and Passive camo for 82nd Squad and adds 5HP to 101st squads (2CP)

Uhm. Idk but why this kind of change that makes no sense to me.

The 82nd was quite fine except for the fact that it couldnt utilize its close range equipment good enough due to the lack of ambush capabilties and that it was pretty expenisve (425 MP would have been fair enough). Now you solved it by adding passive camo but gave it ranged equipment at the same time. Thats weird.
I do like how all those units that appear behind enemie lines and intended to wrap up enemie defenses from there have close range equipment. Actually all have it:
- CQC
- Urban Storms (best add to the game ever)
- Reg 5
- 101st (even though its only a semi carabine)
- Sabotage squad...


But the 82nd now totally lacks it now.

I would have made it the other way arround: Add M1 Garand as an upgrade and maintain Thompson as basic weapon. I mean what have these units as purpose: Drop somewhere and overrun support units and weapon crews quickly. And after that hold the line and help defending. So having first close range weapons and later long range weapons makes a lot more sense than this weird change where you have to overrun stuff with Garands (they now have the same issues old storms had with their K98 when spawning out of houses).


Another issue is that if you pick up both bazookas i could give them only two Thompsons in my last testing. So whats the point of a unit that has 2x Thompson, 2x Garand and 2x Bazooka?

The last issue is that 82nd weapon upgrades are affected by cheaper weapons upgrade from WSC.


Also why is that advanced weapons training in such a weird slot randomly assigned to off map mortar?


My suggestion to fix the main errors:

1. Keep Thompson as standard weapon of the 82nd. After that they would be able to cary various loadouts
- 6x Thompsn
- 6x Garands
- 4x Thompson, 2x Zooks
- 4x Garands, 2x Zooks
- 2x Garands, 1x LMG, 2x Zooks, 1x Thompson
- 3x Thompon, 1x LMG, 2x Zooks
- 4 x Garands, 1x LMG, 1x Zooks
- 4x Thompson, 1x LMG, 1x Zooks

2. Link the mortar off map with the 101st unlock and the and the Advanced Training with the 82nd. Perhaps change the 101st with the 82nd while on each lefts side is the mortar barrage and advanced training to each of these squads (means the mortar off map would keep the slot it has just linke to the 101st and the 82nd would be atop the 101st and advanced training takes the m10 slot which moves to where the training currently is).

3. WSC cheaper Weapon unlock should affect 82nd as well.


4. Keep med kit. Why removing it at all?

[MarKr]

1) They got the Garands as a basic weapon exactly because of what you said - 101st already comes with a close-range setup by default and having another squad come with the close-range setup is redundant. It provides more variety in basic stock loadouts for your infantry. As for your other points:
- Garands actually benefit more from camo ambush bonuses because they have better accuracy than Thompsons at 3 out of 4 ranges so you can start shooting before the enemy is standing right in front of you and still actually hit something.
- The list of infantry is missing Gebirgs, who can also pop out of buildings and are long-range equipped, possibly also RAF glider which you can drop behind the lines and get Enfield commandos from it (though the glider is a bit different thing than paradrops, true).
- The "Ranger" Garands still shoot almost twice as fast as Kar98s at close range so you can still wipe stuff at close range quickly. If you know you're going close-range, you can still throw grenades or flame nades or use crapload of other stuff to your advantage.

2) I'll have a look at the weapon pickups.

3) WSC actually should affect the weapons but I see I made a mistake there and the reduction is not applied. Will be fixed.

4) It is separated because you may choose when you want to get it. It is not connected to the 101st or 82nd because it affects both (actually also the HQ squad). If it gets connected to the 82nd, then you cannot get when you have the 101st (if you want to get the buff for them before 82nd). Also, why should the offmap mortar be connected to the 101st unlock when it allows the ability only for the HQ squad?

5) Medkit was removed to make space for the Suppressive Fire ability that you get with LMG upgrade. There is no more free UI slot. The one that you can see free is taken by "Hold fire" ability when the unit gets into ambush mode. Healing is provided for free from the HQ squad and the AB medics. The medkit healed a lot slower than those two abilities and cost ammo. It was deemed the most redundant of the abilites available to the 82nd squad.

[Warhawks97]

1) They got the Garands as a basic weapon exactly because of what you said - 101st already comes with a close-range setup by default and having another squad come with the close-range setup is redundant. It provides more variety in basic stock loadouts for your infantry. As for your other points:
- Garands actually benefit more from camo ambush bonuses because they have better accuracy than Thompsons at 3 out of 4 ranges so you can start shooting before the enemy is standing right in front of you and still actually hit something.
- The list of infantry is missing Gebirgs, who can also pop out of buildings and are long-range equipped, possibly also RAF glider which you can drop behind the lines and get Enfield commandos from it (though the glider is a bit different thing than paradrops, true).
- The "Ranger" Garands still shoot almost twice as fast as Kar98s at close range so you can still wipe stuff at close range quickly. If you know you're going close-range, you can still throw grenades or flame nades or use crapload of other stuff to your advantage.

101st does have "short range" weapons but its basically a weapon that isnt shining. The unit is quite usless without upgrades for close or ranged combat. It cant be compared with commandos, storms or fallis or anything alike. Its more or less a air dropped, multirole, cheap Airborne rifle squad. Not really focused on any role but more on whatever role you want it to have. So its a unique unit which neither fallis or commandos have.
And since it has less HP and weaker AT weapons, its less usefull for charges to overrun inf and vehicles alike as the 82nd could do.
Thus, the 82nd is in my opinion the AB that is basically doing the job which reg 5 does for the luftwaffe. Effective right after drop with the equipment that allows it to surivive right away.

The Gebis can spawn inside houses, yes, but ive never seen them being deployed behind the lines at first. Its part of the defense branch. Its either called to reinforce the defenses or it gets called after the reg 5 already made a successfull landing.

Also i would argue that the 101st is more suited for ranged combat and mainline ranged combat inf since it cant hide anyways to use close ranged weapons as good as the 82nd and reg 5 or commandos can do. Even if the Garand has 4 times better ambush bonuses as a thompson, it doesnt change the fact that a SMG ambush is usually more deadly and that close ranged units benefit more from it.

That means that in most if not all scenarios i use the 101st as ranged combat unit with Garands and johnson anyways.
Thus i am either forced now to play always long range combat with all AB units or i have to "trade the weapons" by always buying SMG´s on 82nd and Garands on 101st.

I could spare the ammo on 82nd at least if they would start with Thompson. But thats a nonsense waste of ammo.

And if the 101st wont be enough to deal with incoming enemie inf while having garands and stuff, i could now still buy additional Garands on 82nd and Garands. But i dont think its ever needed when i have numbers of 101st with Garands and lmgs.

No need to use expensive 82nd for duties that can be easily achieved by cheaper units.


And commandos can get Enfield commandos, but whenever you call in a glider your first thing you get is a close range unit. So whatever you do behind the lines, you are better off when starting with close range weapons and then getting ranged units to repell the counter attack.

4) It is separated because you may choose when you want to get it. It is not connected to the 101st or 82nd because it affects both (actually also the HQ squad). If it gets connected to the 82nd, then you cannot get when you have the 101st (if you want to get the buff for them before 82nd). Also, why should the offmap mortar be connected to the 101st unlock when it allows the ability only for the HQ squad?

recons and normal 101st can call in off map mortar as well. At least its been like that but i havent used the offmap for quite some time.

[MarKr]

I'm not gonna go into walls of text again so just shortly:

M1 carbines: have crap accuracy at bigger ranges and so they perform the best at close ranges thanks to their accuracy and RoF. They are definitely NOT long range and even at mid range are not all that good. SMGs will beat them, but Carbines will beat bolt-action rifles so they are somewhere between the two.

You make it sound as if ambush was only useful at close range.

Pretty much all your examples of weapon loadouts on units is matter of preference and personal playstyle. I've seen 101st with Thompson upgrades, 82nd with picked up LMGs (even when the rest had SMGs), squads built as dedicated ATs etc. I understand that for your playstyle your suggested loadouts would be better but not everyone plays the way you do. We're not changing the loadouts again just one day after the beta was released based on a complaint from a single person. Let's see how other players see the situation and if they also have a problem with stock weapons, we can adjust it.

[kwok]

Precisely what Markr said plus one more thing.

The load out change is also a way to lessen the new passive camo buff which is a really really really new thing for airborne and is unprecedented within the doctrine. Camo is ruthlessly combo'd with high damage short range weaponry (see fallsj, storms, and truck rangers for example, all of which have gotten a lot of criticism before for being an easy squad wiper). If you grant this mega buff of a 6 smg squad with camo the impacts to balance will probably turn into a "THESE AIRBORNE PLAYERS ARE JUST EXPLOITING A NEW OP UNIT" (see strafe run changes in past patch which was basically an unintended buff because we weren't actively trying to buff the strafe just tweak it so it fit the UI). There's no way in hell flat buffing any unit is a good idea. The new AA changes are meant to be counter balanced by the AT changes, not the camo changes. The camo changes was a pure community requested thing and frankly the devs have learned their lessons the last multiple times we just openly took the community requests. Give these changes some time.

I think what you're feeling warhawks is precisely what luft players felt when fallsj lost their initial FG42's. Yes, I know luft are completely different animals and in our eyes it was a very necessary nerf especially when coupled with the officer buffs to fallsj. In this situation I believe that this is also completely necessary nerf in order to balance out the flat utility buffs. You're getting a lot more flexibility with a squad at a cost.