CoH: Tales of Valor T17 has the POWER
Some of the new units in Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor are much more than just skin updates, they are upgrades. They should have drawbacks and bonuses from the unit they are replacing, but with the case of the T17, it is ALL bonus.Here is the whole list of unit upgrades for Tales of Valor. Seeing the T17 in action is just amazing; It has a very fast firing cannon that just decimates infantry. It's almost like an Ostwind on wheels, but fast enough to chase down retreating infantry. Example number 1 shows a group of T17s waiting to destroy some retreating infantry. Warning: 16 MB GIF
The T17 also gets a stun ability that is just like the British Bren infantry's ability to button. The big difference is that the stun ability makes it so a vehicle cannot move OR fire their main weapon. This grants the T17 the power to take down Axis heavy armor all by itself; granted it isn't on a 1v1 basis, but if the tank is alone, it WILL die to a group of T17s. This really makes the Allies insanely over powered, as long as they have the fuel to get to the T17 first- It's game over for the Axis team.
Watch this video and see how insanely powerful the T17 is. I have a replay someplace of four T17 Amored Cars taking out an Axis King Tiger right as it was called in. Talk about balance issues!
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor new units video
Well, it seems that Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor is FINALLY out and available for purchase. Tales of Valor adds some new multiplayer modes and single player campaigns. The interesting part is that you can earn medals that unlock new vehicles in multiplayer and if you don't want to allow them in your game, there is a simple check box to disable Tales of Valor vehicles.
The video shows some very interesting information about the new units, in the opening scene you see three Geschutzwagens wrecking havoc on a US base on the map Wrecked Train, you can see the massive damage the both tanks seem to do to buildings. They manage to take down a supply yard in just three shots!
- Staghound Armored Car replaces the British Command Tank.
- The Kangaroo Carrier replaces the Cromwell tank.
- The T17 Armored Car replaces the M8 Armored Car.
- The M18 Hellcat replaces the M10 tank destroyer.
- Tiger tank “205” replaces the Blitz Tiger Tank.
- Schwimmwagen Type 166 replaces the Wehrmacht motorcycle (This unit was not in the video)
- Geschutzwagen replaces the Wehrmachts Stug IV.
I haven't had the chance yet to grab Tales of Valor and try out the new vehicles, but it seems that they all have alternate costs. Take the Geschutzwagen (or the GW); It replaces the Wehrmact Stug IV and it's alternate cost is 280 mp and 45 fuel. The Geschutzwagen's health is 375 compared to the 400 of the Stug and it can three hit a British Firefly. So it costs less manpower and five more fuel.. and you have a tank that can take down a building in three hits!
On the other hand, the Kangaroo (replaces the British Cromwell) just doesn't seem justified to me. The Cromwell is a tough and VERY useful call in for the British Engineers Doctrine. I use it as my sole anti tank when I play multiplayer with friends; I tend to just Lt stack and have a infantry blob of doom.
Here is the video of the new Tales of Valor units in action.
Dawn of War 2 Beta Review
I have been pretty interested by Dawn of War 2 for awhile, since it uses the Company of Heroes engine, and I was delighted when my friend Krakatoa over at Treasure I-LAN got me into the Dawn of War 2 Beta. If you are still looking to get in early (it goes open to the public the 28th of January) check out this post for more info. What I have here is a short Dawn of War 2 beta review; units, some tips, etc. All four Dawn of War II factions are playable: Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, and Tyranids. There are five maps to play on, and two different modes. You can play one-on-one to three-on-three depending on the map, and can set up solo skirmishes with the computer taking the roles of opponents as well as teammates.
From a general standpoint, Dawn of War 2 isn't a direct clone of either the first Dawn of War game OR Company of heroes; It does a great job of taking elements from both games and mixing them together. My main gripe with the first Dawn of War was the massive army sizes and the "select all and attack" that people would end up doing ( I call it blobbing). That really meant that it wasn't much for micro and as long as you had superior numbers, you would win. Now, if you do that and rush headfirst into a heavy bolter squad, well, you are going to be regretting it. Your units will be supressed and unable to move if they rush into open terrain at that HB squad. At least Dawn of War 2 brought in the ability to retreat ( Hint: It is X on the keyboard, it took me a few games to figure it out). Retreating units take much less damage and head back to your base where you can reinforce.
With the changes in resourcing ( and NO base building) keeping at least one guy in your squad alive to reinforce at base is IMPORTANT. The smaller squad sizes and high req costs of units (for SM, it is 500 for the tactical SM squad) means that these units are spendy and it is MUCH cheaper to reinforce them as opposed to throwing them away. That and your units gain levels as they take out more enemy units, so keep them alive! Speaking of no base building, everything comes straight out of your HQ and you get the higher tier units by upgrades to your HQ. This does mean there isn't that much for units to actually build, but there are a massive variety of upgrades to choose from for your units. There is a choice of three commanders for each race in Dawn of War 2. Each commander has different abilities and are marked as offensive, defensive, neutral.
I really liked the gameplay and graphics of Dawn of War 2, but the voice acting isn't up to par to the original Dawn of War. Some people may find the gameplay radically different if you have never played Company of Heroes, so don't fret; I have Dawn of War 2 tips, tricks and stratgey for you! Most of the Company of Heroes tips and tricks I wrote about apply to Dawn of War 2.
Some specific Dawn of War 2 tips for you today are :
- Maintain a variety of troop types, don't go all out with single units. You want a balanced variety of attacks, up close melee hitters and ranged guys together. Try not to clump your dudes up though as you're vulnerable to grenades and other AoE weapons.
- Occupy buildings to keep your guys alive but watch out for grenades.
- If you're capping in Dawn of War 2 and you're attacked, unless you are a split second away from finishing the cap, stop capping, get into cover and fight. You take extra damage when capping and the advantage you gain from having the point capped is wasted if you lose a guy needlessly.
- If you target a unit and they retreat, your units will follow the retreating unit all the way into their base, so make sure you keep an eye on the major battles and watch the minimap for stray blue dots. This one got me a few times and it is annoying.
Overall, I would give the Dawn of War 2 beta an 8.5 out of 10. It really makes me want to purchase the full game when it comes out in February. Don't take my word for it though, when the beta opens up to everybody on January 28th, grab it and give it a try for yourself!
If you need any tips or pointers, or just want to play, leave a comment here OR add me on GFWL: MrMooseinator.
Update: If you are having issues with getting your Dawn of War 2 beta key to work, (usually because steam didn't insert it right). Open up regedit and go to HK_Current_User/Software/THQ/Dawn of 2 Beta/ to view the cd key.
if you are having problems with Games for Windows Live not accepting your username/password, just click the "sign in with another account" and enter your info. You should be able to log in then.
Dawn of War 2 Beta Information
Down to the Last Save has blogged about Company of Heroes many times before and probably will for the near future. Now, since Dawn of War 2 will be using the same engine as Company of Heroes I figure there is no harm in talking about the upcoming Dawn of War 2 Beta.
The news has hit the various gaming related news sites, but none of them seem to have any info on HOW one can get into the beta on the 21st of January. The Dawn of War 2 beta will be distributed via Steam and all that is required is a valid Dawn of War: Soulstorm cd key. The Dawn of War: Soulstorm key can only be used once; and is permanently tied to that Steam account as well. That will prevent people from sharing a cd key for Dawn of War 2 beta access. From the Relic Forums:
The Dawn of War 2 beta will be hosted via Steam and offered exclusively to Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War - Soulstorm owners on January 21, followed by a worldwide public release on January 28. The beta will feature all four playable races, five multiplayer maps, and Microsoft’s Games for Windows - LIVE TrueSkill Matchmaking.
Another reason to love Dawn of War 2 is the fact that it will not include ANY kind of DRM--digital rights management--in the game. DRM is only a pain in the ass for the paying customer and pirates either strip it out or work around it anyways.
If you liked the gameplay mechanics of Company of Heroes, be sure to check out the Dawn of War 2 beta coming to Steam on January 21st.
Edit: I was able to get a Soulstorm key from a friend and will get a Dawn of War 2 beta review as soon as I can get my hands on it. Stay tuned for a Dawn of War 2 Beta Review!