Some Thoughts about Bomber units...yet again

[Iñaki Harrizabalagatar]

Hi
I will try to organise my thoughts on the subject to be as useful as possible

1. Bomber units are too powerful
In what sense? In the sense that strategy and tactics in the game revolves about them, about upgrading them as fast as possible and concventrate them wherever your main attack goes, to the point of using ground units just to spot enemy units and then retreat leaving the work of pounding the enemy to air units exclusively (memories of an old game, Civil War Generals2, arise)

2. Individual Bomber units are not that powerful
It is the way the players operate them, massing them for attacks against a single enemy unit, what makes them so overwhelming

So, the easiest way to rebalance this, limit the number of air attacks on ground units to a single one per turn. Probably not enough, because you still can mass air units too easily in an small area without supply concerns that would in the real world prevent this happening, but still it is a way to rebalance without modifying combat values.

[sPzAbt653]

I agree with you, but I don't agree with limiting the number of air attacks. For 653H I reduced the ability of bombers to cause casualties while keeping their ability to reduce morale. This way the player can still make some massed attacks while causing some casualties but mostly reducing unit morale [which makes it necessary to bring up ground units to finish off units]. In some cases, enemy units are so reduced in morale and strength that bomber units can finish them off, which I think is ok.
I don't know which idea is really better, I'm just saying what I changed.

[mst007]

I agree with your initial comments, but believe limiting attacks may be too difficult for the designers to implement? Some other considerations may be:
1) Increase dramatically the operational cost to move across continents for Bombers of all types. This would discourage the use of multiple Air Fleets as fire brigades and encourage the use of Panzer units again, with the added benefit of being more historically accurate.
2) Spz`s idea above sounds like a good option too.

[nnason]

I don't agree. Bombers are quite effective against weak units with low readiness and/or morale that are not dug in. Just like world War II for example the bombing at St Lo at the start of operation Cobra where we bombed the hell out of our own unit and pretty much took it out of the picture. On the other hand in the game dug in units with high moral and/or readiness often inflict casuakites on the bombers and take no damage themselves. This is especially true if the defending unit has some AA plus ups. Hope this helps the discussion.

[Rodimstev]

Hi all,

in the context to minimize impact bomber, my opinion is to have a new bonus that combine AA from unit, AA unit (if present near unit targeted), fighter in interception mod and if you have 2 or more fighter in the zone, a cumulative bonus to reduce impact bomber and to inflict more losses.

is it possible to mod this for a next patch?

because in the reality, when a unit bomber fly toward his target, if the defender has 2 fighter unit in zone, this 2 units can intercept him....

Rodim