Greetings,
I’d like to say some words on the japanese “mortar” alias the Type 89 Grenade Discharger. Currently it is modeled the way it is completely unrealistic, frankly speaking, a bad joke.
It was not a mortar but a grenade launcher.
It was used on short range with direct aim, a flight time of… 10+ seconds of it’s grenades are just plain ridiculous
It was not fired like a mortar by dropping the shell into the barrel, but pre-loaded and triggered with a firing mechanism (also used to set the distance).
It was always fired in a 45degree angle, as I mentioned the distance was set with the gas regulator. Except in emergency case when it was fired against a tree or wall to have a flat trajectory
About accuracy… I don’t even know what to say… 20-30 meter spread on an 50m distance? What the?? It was an accurate direct fire weapon. (see above with the shell fligh time)
In exchange the shell power might be too strong, for it’s shell is a bit stronger than a hand grenade but still not a mortal shell
all in all it is incomprehensible why it was modeled this way, while there is a very similar weapon the german Granatbusche which works correctly and the way the japanese discharger should work as well
Further information, as per internet search, see best info on the lonesentry site.
Was about to say, I’m fairly certain that the Type 89 could serve as both a mortar and a grenade launcher depending on what kind of ammunition it was shooting, and that it was far more common for it to be used in the mortar role. As for everything else, the stats of every mortar other than the M2 and the 8mm ones are the same so I don’t understand why you are having issues with it in game.
Yes, the dedicated round (the one with the gas jets) was used in mortar role, but still within visual range… 250 m is submachinegun range. The provisional ammo was modified hand grenades in critical situations but with reduced range and accuracy.
The mortar role however does not mean it is an off map artillery on which we can count half a minute of flight time to given coordinates… that’s why I suggested more of a grenade launcher mode, with real time shell trajectory and realistic accuracy. It can have smaller explosive effect, no problem with that.
While at it, yes, the other mortars are also problematic in that case, but they have (and must have) more powerful shells and far greater range. The tiny and short range grenade discharger is just a special case in which the game mechanics are getting problematic.
In game, all mortars have identical stats, so what is the problem. If you atr making a case to change it for the sake of historical accuracy, that is never going to happen. Flamethrowers are the best example of that. The flamethrowers we have in game are all completely historically inaccurate and are that way for the sake if balance. Mortars are in the same boat as well.
It’s not a bad suggestion and it was done properly in Red Orchestra 2’s Rising Storm expansion game but as LordBeaverbroke said it’s the “current” balance of the game. Honestly the Knee Mortar shouldn’t be the mortar of choice for the Japanese ‘at this time’ as we don’t know what could change in the future. The reason being that the Knee mortar at the moment doesn’t have the mechanics in place to be used as both a grenade launcher and a mortar on demand.
The mortar that should be used as a proper replacement is the Type 98 50mm mortar as its the proper equivalent to the US’s 2inch (51mm) mortar.
I agree the Knee Mortar should be treated as an adaptable semi-grenade launcher/mortar in the future when more content is released, giving the Japanese a unique flair to their faction as is their affinity for banzai charges.
The Type 98 mortar is less of an indirect fire weapon and more of a means of clearing obstacles. It was primarily used to fire bangalore torpedoes which were used to clear things like barbed wire and not to engage enemy infantry. It may be hard to fathom, but the knee mortar is the closest thing the Japanese have to the mortars of other nations. Who knows, maybe with the introduction of the M2 Mortar, they might start making mortars more unique. Also, the Two Inch Mortar is more akin to the British mortar than the American one, but it is still somewhat ambiguous what it actually is.
Considering we have experimental weaponry being used as standard issue minus the jamming and reliability issues those faced, there’s no reason the current mortar’s model can’t be replaced with a Type 98 mortar and having the knee mortar be put on the backburner for later as a special “wunderwaffe” faction specific special weapon. The mortars work all the same but with different weapon models.
TNT bundles are demolition tools too y’know. Despite nagging about utmost historical accuracy, the Knee Mortar needs its signature grenade launching capabilities to make it prepared for future updates when the US starts getting more late war equipment.
There is at least a president for tnt bundles and satchel charges being used in the anti-tank role. No such thing exists for the Type 98. Furthermore, the devs have said they will simply just cap Japan at a certain point, so they don’t have to fight the late war US stuff. So I don’t think the Knee Mortar needs the grenade discharger function, it works well enough as just a mortar already.