Engineer 2.0 [Relay Station]

Suggestions Other
1

Support Constructable for Radio Operator Squads

TL;DR

Let me introduce the Relay Station!!! A conceptual, destructible squad support structure built by Radio Operator squads. Active stations provide a second simultaneous artillery/smoke queue and colour-code friendly vs. enemy artillery on the map.

It serves as a high-value secondary objective that earns enemies substantial XP for destroying it, while giving builders continuous artillery assist score.

Extension of my glorious post:

1. Current Radio System vs. Core Problems

Call Type Used by Cooldown Notes
Artillery Any Radio 4 min (2 min for Radio Squad) Shared team queue
Smoke Any Radio (Upgraded) 4 min (2 min for Radio Squad) Shared team queue
Supply Drops Any Radio (Upgraded) 30s Separate queue; underutilized
Rocket Artillery Specific Radio Squads 2 min for Radio Squad Inaccessible to most
Bombers Radio Squads Only Very Long (idk how long) Weak (50kg bombs), blocks main queue that pisses everyone (ME) off

Key Issues:

  • Queue Bottlenecks: A single newbie player calling a weak bomber run locks out all team artillery and smoke calls.
  • Lack of Squad Identity: Radio squads only offer cooldown reductions and lack physical presence or unique battlefield roles.
  • Bombers SHOULDN’T BE WEAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

2. Proposed Solution: The Relay Station

The Relay Station is a field-built antenna that doubles team indirect fire coordination.

Core Mechanics:

  • Dual Queues: Adds a second simultaneous artillery/smoke queue for the entire team.
  • Map Clarity: Friendly strikes display as blue icons; enemy strikes display as red icons.
  • Reworked Bombers: Bomber calls require an active Relay Station, block both queues, but drop significantly higher payload saturation.
  • Makes Proper Use Of The Extra Engineer You Can Bring Instead Of An Anti-Tank Gunner.
  • Limits & Backups: 1 active effect per team (max 1 built).

3. Build Requirements & Engineering Synergies

Requirement Value Notes
Built by Radio Squad Engineer Depletes standard 20 resources
Resource Cost 20 Incentivizes +40% Resource Perk to build with Rallies
Base Build Time 30s Reduced to ~20s (+50% perk) or ~10s (with helper)
Station HP 300 HP High durability against light explosives/AT rockets
  • Resource Gating: Prevents single engineers from spamming both a Rally Point and a Relay without perks or team assist.
  • Co-op Building: Multiple squad engineers drastically cut construction time.

4. Destruction Balance & Counterplay

The station acts as a high-priority secondary objective (+300 XP on destruction, faint radio static sound cue, red map marker when marked).

Explosive Weapon Max Damage Hits Required Practical Role
Satchel Charge* 380 1 Primary Hard Counter (High risk, 1-shot)
Gammon Bomb* 300 1 Direct demolition
Explosive Pack 250 2 Standard infantry assault
Rifle Grenade 100 3 Ranged chip damage
TNT Charge 60 5 Placed demolition
AT Launchers (Bazooka/Panzerfaust) 40 (Splash) 8 Inefficient (Requires more rockets than 1 soldier carries)

5. Builder Incentives & Problem Summary

Existing Problem How the Relay Station Fixes It
Radio squads lack team purpose Responsible for enabling team-wide dual strikes
Underutilized Engineer perks +40% resource perk becomes essential for solo rally + relay setups
Weak bomber call-ins Locked behind Relay, but buffed into heavy fire support
Lacklustre support score rewards Builder receives continuous assist score on strike kills (6 exp, similar to HMG nests, counted towards engineer score)

Community Feedback Polls

Poll 1: Resource Cost Balance

How should the Radio Relay Station’s resource cost be balanced?

  • 20 resources; Requires resource perks or roster setup to build alongside Rally Points (intended design)
  • ~15 resources; More manageable for most engineers without heavy perk investment (compromise)
  • ~10 resources; Easily affordable for any engineer, encouraging more widespread use (too cheap, risks spam, and kind of unfit for how long it takes to build imo, psst. just saying.)
0 voters

Poll 2: Proper Integration

Should the Radio Relay Station System allow for Dual Artillery Strikes?

  • YES!!! This allows two people to use artillery strikes simultaneously, all for the sake of better coordination.
  • Maybe, but this would need testing for balance.
  • NAHHHHH ts is evil. You need to make it so that the global cooldown is reduced, a certain % off radio and normal squads
  • NO!!! I think the artillery calls themselves should be slightly buffed instead, all for the sake of better balancing. (this would be the easiest to implement, but the laziest option for gaijin)
0 voters

Poll 3: Artillery Map Visibility

How should artillery strikes appear on the tactical map when a Relay Station is in Place?

  • Colour‑code both friendly AND enemy! Blue for friendly, Red for enemy (complete battlefield awareness)
  • Keep current system because colour blind people can’t see it anyway (Joke option, please dont vote for this sob sob)
0 voters

Poll 4: Should Enlisted Integrate Tier III Mines/Grenades?

Do you think it is a Good Idea to have a high HP destructible and a proper counter?

  • YES!!! -iii- is a tactical GENIUS
  • Yeah yeah whatev -iii-
  • nah
0 voters

Poll 5: Satchel Charge Balance

How should Satchel Charges interact with the 300 HP Radio Relay Station?

  • One‑shot (1 Satchel); Rewards high‑risk close‑range assaults with decisive impact
  • Reduce station HP instead; Lower HP to 200, making explosives more universally effective instead of your stupid solution by making the problem in the first place, -iii-
0 voters 

Truly Yours, Mommy -iii-
5 Likes
2

I like it

2 Likes
3

I like but I disagree with the bomber interaction.

Let radio squads call bombers as it is. 8 min cooldown and they drop 50kg bombs.
BUT! With a relay station they do not lock out both call ins and they are upgraded to 250kg payloads. (what they used to have and steamrolled their area with)

It incentivizes making the relay station. And gives bombers use instead of waste.
It also incentivizes not just farming the bombers whenever for free exp but actively getting a pilot in the air to gun them down BEFORE they can drop payload.

4

I think it should be locked because it pushes the importance of bombing raids rather than a solution everyone can use to waste their team’s potential. When a bombing raid can either mean total destruction vs light scratches via the current system, I think it would be hard to have bombers feel as powerful as the game pushes them out to be. They can ONLY be spawned by radio operator squads, and players should feel rewarded for bringing them!

Building a prerequisite makes the bombers able have value as well as making it hard for new players to unknowingly hurt their team. That makes Relays NEEDED, instead of an option!

When a bombing raid comes, it should only be devastation!!! :point_up: :point_up: :point_up:

5

And when a half-decent pilot goes and blasts them all outta the sky BEFORE they can lay their devastation?

Now you’ve lost TWO arty call-ins not just one.

1 Like
6

thats what anti air is also for!!! and thats all in all what? redirecting player focus to the air instead of the objective!!! decisions decisions ammerite

7

Which means you’ve made bombers doubly punishing, harder to get, but just as impotent.
So there’s even LESS reason to call them in and then there’d be even more toxicity when someone DOES.

8

my brain isnt braining. youre making bombers more potent but harder to call, and to call them you have to benefit your team??? i dont see the point. youre making your team want to protect the bombers, and the enemy want to destroy the relay…which is kind of the whole point, bro. if it fails, its because we established it was important to the team. of COURSE people get upset when it fails, that doesnt make it “toxicity” unless youre just projecting :roll_eyes:

9

Nah son I’m starting to like this guy’s suggestions

1 Like
10

I always love suggestions that encourage more buildable structures and especially if it’s to the entire teams benefit, certainly makes the small radioman squads stronger and make bombing runs much better too. (It’s okay they piss me off too hahaha) A very novel idea to improve radio squads, and beautiful suggestion format too :grin:

2 Likes
11

Lemme break it down from start to finish then.

Currently Bombers are a waste of time, someone calls them in and everyone is annoyed because it locks out artillery for the team, and they’re free exp to enemy pilots. They are also too weak for the investment (Not enough damage for the time they take to arrive and how long they prevent ally artillery use)

Your solution might give bombers better damage and make them harder to obtain, but that doubles down on the problem. Player psychology is going to say: “Oh these are harder to get so they must be better.” So players will try to get and use them at every opportunity not realizing that the team still suffers the same penalty as before.
But now it locks out TWO artillery call ins thus doubling the previous penalty and removing important tactical options for the team. The bombers are still free exp to enemy pilots which to protect the bigger payload diverts our pilots to having to defend them, removing air superiority. And while you have increased the damage you have made them still too weak for the investment. (Again the time they take to arrive and how long that prevents allies from using artillery while the enemy now get to hammer the team with precision artillery and move with impunity.) For smarter or veteran players it also makes them want to use artillery in a way that prevents bomber use. Staggering their use so bombers can’t be called in and thus instead of using artillery more tactically to hit two points at once, they may waste one just so the bombers can’t lock them out.

It makes the bomber problem an even bigger problem as opposed to fixing it. And an even bigger problem creates bigger frustration, meaning people would be even angrier at the use of the bomber call in.

And it is an easy fix with your suggestion. That Bombers only occupy ONE artillery spot as opposed to both. The team is still incentivized to protect the enhanced payload, but it will not be the be all end all if they fail. And they’ll have an artillery to drop on the enemy if players can mark where they have AA guns. So it promotes teamplay.

In all it is a great suggestion, but it is just this one point that is a large problem.

1 Like
12

I think we already have bombers via actual players flying bomber planes, and should just ditch the bomber call-in.