XoGamer

I too have been thinking of a cool mode:

"Nomad" Mode:

Straight from AoE2, all the MCVs start in a random position around the map, if doable, where they can move and choose the best position to deploy.

Alternatively: the MCVs can all start inside a naval transport surrounding an Island in the same or nearby position that move to the main island or surrounding small islands to deploy.

I realised that there would be a need for many types of Islands or Random Islands for this to be possible, but even without random islands, this proposed mode would be ideal for those who get bored of the basic same map/same game every time and allows people to try and rush each other by deploying near each other or take weird positions on the map that might lead to a greater advantage later in the game.

EDIT: This could also be a huge singular multiplayer map

Also chrono tank?

I would say China is moderate at small map, rather than balanced.

Average Versatility: 13.58 which is ~~ 14

The stem of the problem, has nothing to do with pters.

It has to do with Foehn in general. They are asymmetrically balanced which means that whilst all the original factions have dogs and infantry that are weak to dogs - foehn says fuck that, my infantry are immune to dogs but balanced by "I have no dogs". This creates an immediate unbalance in the factions. They are either all fundamentally different as in this sense, or they are all the same - the game is either symmetrically balanced or asymmetrically balanced.

Saying that Foehn's OP lategame tools are balanced by the fact that they are very vulnerable early game is not balance. It creates a spiral, there will always be people complaining about how pter spam is overpowered and the damage is too high etc., and when the nerf happens, other people will be complaining about how shitty the early game is to compensate for the nerf.

In other words, you will never reach a good level of balance in this state, and the game will only be balanced when the best players play the game, who know how the game works and know all the tricks but this a big middle finger to the new players who will need to learn a completely different playstyle just for a single new faction, only because it is missing dogs and has super-durable infantry and it is likely to make most new players straight up quit from all the bullshit Harbingers, roadrunners and finalize.

Solutions:

1) Nerf the health & increase price so that Pters become more like a glass cannon.

2) Decrease price, reduce AOE slightly but maybe increase damage and remove attacking whilst moving (decrease of price should be justified to about $1800) so that they are more like assault helicopter.

3) Reduce speed & AOE, increase health to make it more like a flying tank.

IMHO Foehn is a trainwreck of a faction, and WoC just emphasises it the most. Think of the RTS calculus. WoC relies on an army of flying units, giving them guerilla-tier mobility, with powerhouse firepower and armour. This is not OK. I'd say that giving a healthy nerf to Pteranodon is a good start, but much more rebalancing will be needed. Flying artillery that can move around the map freely, have tanky armor, and obscene firepower? Also, while the Buzzard is a balanced unit by itself, it just happens to cover the weakness of other flying units. Buzzard+Quetzal+Ptera+Alanqua blob can counter each and every threat on the battlefield, all of these have good armor the very least, they all fly. Ground units like Zorbs just add insult to the injury... 

 

Remember General Granger (the Air Force General) from Zero Hour? Combat Chinooks were broken, but at the very least, fixed wing aircraft relied on airfields, giving the general a highly mobile and powerful army, but also a vulnerability that could be exploited mercilessly. I don't think WoC can be addressed with simple nerfs or stat rebalances, without adding a fatal weakness to the faction as a whole to counter the combination of their firepower and mobility. Perhaps binding Pteras and even Quetzals to a helipad-like structure would do the trick?

This sounds like a good idea. All the Foehn helicopters to be build from a helipad. Perhaps editing the cyberkernel to also be a helipad?
 

Scorpion Cell should be more like Dr. Thrax

Kappa's Speed Buff came at the cost of it's Power Nerf

I wish PF had a unique naval unit to replace either the Battleship or the Aircraft Carrier.

It'd be much better if there were more unique naval units other than akula.

Guys no one replied to mah :(

Earlier:

Foehn Signal Distorter thing is really annoying me ;-;

You can't fire SW there - that's kinda OP.

The Foehn Signal Inhibitor is actually way too powerful. Superweapons are designed to break turtlers so what's the point if the turtle can just stop you from breaking their defences?

This is unfair for a faction such as China which has limited (or none) artillery to break through and must go in face-first.

Even if you argue "Just send in a spy" - Any good foehn MO player will just put anti-spies around his base.

It should definitely be nerfed ~