1702 observer team and is it worth it ?

[Dreamerbg]

I wont talk about mp cost but I want to talk about the arty ability and its prize.

125muni and cant destroy a bunker ? 
Only 3/5 of bunkers health is gone after barrage ... why ?

What if you make it similar to USA offmap arty ?  I mean - to have a chance to destroy a bunker (not def bunker).

[Dann88]

Observer's arty is really great to deal with massive infantry blob, only 1 direct hit will a death guarantee for any infantry squad. I think that its main use.
But I really hate their popcap though, bloody 6 for 2 guys walk around capping, calling arty and pop flare in a somewhat pretty short range. Even is CS's arty is more economic and bring somewhat same results.

[BffWithDEATH]

i agree, and they are near useless in combat, if they actually did decent dammage in combat it would be a little more worth it.
considering they hold svt's

[Killar]

Spotter is not final in the current patch, but will be in the next hotfix. Then it will receive its main ability too.

[Otto Halfhand]

I concur with those who are  dissatisfied with the Sharpshooter/FO.

• I haven't tried the Barrage ability in 1.7 but 3/5 bunker health isn't bad damage. In 1.6 you received 1/6 or 1/8 health damage. Were you using Flare at the time? That is supposed to increase damage by 1/6 or 1/16. Not worth 125 MT for bunker busting for sure. Partizans are a better bet for bunker busting behind enemy lines. CS Mortar barrage works well with vet, and two ingenery satchel charges will do a bunker.
• The combat ability of the"Sharpshooter Squad" is NFG. Spend your 220 MP on a conscript instead.
• The role of this squad is spotting. I would far rather have a scout car for this purpose. An AC would be even better. There are plenty of choices. BA10, BA64, FAI, Lend Lease Jeep, Even a guy on a motorcycle would be better. To mix apples and Oranges here a PE SC costs 220 MP to and is much more useful then FO.
• Dann's point about pop of 6 is "right on" as well. Someone had a brain fart here. 107mm mortar only has pop of 4 IIRC.
• Another criticism will be of little interest to some but is valid none the less. The AI for the Sharpshooter squad needs to reduce the Demand for this squad and add a reduced demand as more units are produced. The AI Tactics for FOs are very strange as well.  All too often I see 3 bunched FOs having a picnic at the far end of the map.

Perhaps these problems can be addressed by the Devs. Good Luck to them in this regard. As for me I would rather see a LT vehicle for spotting purposes, preferably with the ability to crush barbed wire.

[Pac-Fish]

   

• The combat ability of the"Sharpshooter Squad" is NFG. Spend your 220 MP on a conscript instead.

IDK why you expect them to do well in fighting. They are designed to observe and drop arty.

   

• I haven't tried the Barrage ability in 1.7 but 3/5 bunker health isn't bad damage. In 1.6 you received 1/6 or 1/8 health damage. Were you using Flare at the time? That is supposed to increase damage by 1/6 or 1/16.
  

I dont think Flare effects buiildings

[Otto Halfhand]

The description says "a couple of skilled riflemen".  The number of rifles on the field counts. It is one of the reasons "full rifles" were added to the basic Conscript Squad. A FO squad that has to retreat to base because it has no combat skills will be an ineffective spotter. Just as ...DEATH suggests.

The high cost of Mt for Artillery Strike makes this a dubious ability at best an worthless early game.

What is the capping rate of FO squad?

[krupp steel]

All I want is to make observers work well in synergy with snipers by giving them a good boost to range or fire rate, etc.  That would make them more useful.

[Pac-Fish]

The high cost of Mt for Artillery Strike makes this a dubious ability at best an worthless early game.

Why on earth would even consider the notion of buying these things early game? Who even has 150 muni to blow off like that?

And just cause a description says something doesn't mean thats EXACTLY what it does . If I changed to description from from "skilled rifles" to "rifles" its the same thing.

And observers arent suppose to fight.

[Otto Halfhand]

I agree Pac. The only reason to have a FO early game is to use its Spotting ability to rcce the enemy. The notion that units are not supposed to fight and serve only a unitary purpose is Anathema to me. Even the Zis5 "Good Humor truck" can be used to concentrate forces in a different area of the field.

[Pac-Fish]

The notion that units are not supposed to fight and serve only a unitary purpose is Anathema to me.

*cough*Wher officer*cough*

Both are not designed to fight directly. And you dont (and quite honestly shouldnt) get ether one early. Not everything needs to be able to fight

[Riggsman]

Exactly. Spotter is like a kind of Wher Officer even we can stretch this to Mortar squad which doesn't fight but supports your army with indirect fire/help. Spotter is not perfectly working atm, we are discussing to make it more useful but it will definitely stay and do his job as spotting/observing and dropping artillery.

[krupp steel]

Did u guys remove the falschrimjager camo and observe ability on him?  Or do i have the wrong patch.

On the bright side observers are very tough similar to guards but with heroic armor and i think 4 of them (2 squads)can take on volks or grenadiers...

[BffWithDEATH]

On the bright side observers are very tough similar to guards but with heroic armor and i think 4 of them (2 squads)can take on volks or grenadiers...

ive found they can barly handle pios.
but they are skilled riflemen? fuck logic, haha.

[GodlikeDennis]

The reason they can barely take pios is because pios get large damage bonuses against them due to their Sniper armour. I aim to change this in the next update so that they can function more similarly to the Jeep in pushing around early pios.