Balance Asymmetries

Balance Asymmetries

Source-verified 2026-07-03 against origin/claude/build84-cmdcon36 (b1608b096). Paths are relative to Missions/[55-2hc]warfarev2_073v48co.chernarus/. This page is a reference only: no mission constants, Parameters.hpp, upgrade arrays, or balance values were changed for this lane.

This page collects current balance asymmetries that affect how WEST/EAST commanders, GUER players, and AI commander wildcard funding feel in the build84/cmdcon36 source. Use it before retuning economy, GUER kill-tech, upgrade dependencies, or wildcard weights.

Quick Read

Area	Current shape	Why it matters
GUER stipend vs checkpoint toll	Stipend pays once per 60 s at 150 base, +10 per deficit town, capped at 450; checkpoint toll pays 250 x (1 + tier) every 30 s while the checkpoint survives.	A held tier-0 checkpoint can pay 500/min, already above the stipend cap; higher tiers can dwarf stipend income while active.
GUER kill-tier pacing	Normal WEST/EAST kill bounty is 50% of unit price; IED-tagged kills pay 30%. Vehicle tiers default to 30/80/160 kills, explicitly doubled from 15/40/80.	Compared with the old thresholds and full-price kill income, unlock pacing can feel roughly 4x heavier in unit-price-equivalent terms, before stipend, capture cash, and tolls offset it.
CO vs GUE upgrade gates	CO_US/CO_RU Supply L3 costs 8000 and Build Ammo requires Gear L5. GUE/CO_GUE Supply L3 costs 6000 and Build Ammo requires Gear L2.	GUE-shaped configs carry earlier ammo-construction access and cheaper final supply than the CO main-side configs.
W1 War Chest sizing	W1 gives 25% of FUNDS_START; current WEST/EAST start funds are 30000, so W1 is 7500 funds.	W1 is a top-up, not a late-game purchase by itself: ICBM L2 is 49500 funds plus 80000 supply, and late aircraft rows are in the 30k+ range.

GUER Stipend And Checkpoint Toll

The baseline GUER player income loop pays each unique living resistance-player group every 60 seconds:

Input	Current value	Source
Interval	60 s	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:19,52-53
Base stipend	150 funds per interval	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:20
Deficit-town bonus	+10 funds per GUER-start-town deficit	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:21,77-80
Cap	baseRate * 3, so 450 funds per interval	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:80
Payment path	WFBE_CO_FNC_ChangeTeamFunds on each unique living GUER player group	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:82-94

The GUER checkpoint wildcard has a different cadence. Its inline constants document a 250-fund toll paid to GUER players per 30 s tick, scaled by tier, while the occupied side pays a supply tax and receives supply if the checkpoint is cleared (Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard_GUER.sqf:40-43,264-277,281-284).

Checkpoint tier	Toll per 30 s tick	If held for a full minute
0	250	500/min
1	500	1000/min
2	750	1500/min
3	1000	2000/min

That toll is event and survival dependent, not guaranteed income. The point is asymmetry: a successful checkpoint is bursty and tier-scaled, while the stipend is slow and capped.

Kill-Tier And Bounty Pacing

GUER kill-tech is now pure cumulative kill count. The stipend loop reads WFBE_GUER_PLAYER_KILLS, computes WFBE_GUER_VEHICLE_TIER, and republishes both values every cycle for JIP durability (Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf:45-49,55-59). The default thresholds are defined in constants:

Unlock	Current default	Source
Vehicle tier 1	30 kills, comment says doubled from 15	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:108
Vehicle tier 2	80 kills, comment says doubled from 40	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:109
Vehicle tier 3	160 kills, comment says doubled from 80	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:110
M113 VBIED unlock	50 kills, comment says doubled from 25	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:111-114

The same source branch pays GUER kill bounty at a coefficient:

Bounty path	Current value	Source
Normal GUER kill bounty coefficient	0.5 x killed unit price	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:80, Server/PVFunctions/RequestOnUnitKilled.sqf:144-152
IED kill coefficient	0.30 x killed unit price when the recent-IED stamp is within roughly 6 s	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:81, Server/PVFunctions/RequestOnUnitKilled.sqf:134-145

The practical read is that kill-tech asks for twice the old kill counts while each normal kill pays half of unit price. This is not a literal universal 4x multiplier because target prices vary and GUER also has stipend, town-capture cash, checkpoint tolls, and VBIED payouts, but it is the core pacing asymmetry to keep in mind before retuning.

Upgrade Cost And Dependency Splits

Upgrade index constants put Supply Rate at WFBE_UP_SUPPLYRATE = 6 and Gear at WFBE_UP_GEAR = 13 (Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:43,50). Current CO and GUE-shaped configs then diverge on final Supply cost and Build Ammo dependency:

Config	Supply L1/L2/L3	Build Ammo dependency	Source
Upgrades_CO_US.sqf	2700 / 4800 / 8000	Gear L5	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_US.sqf:39,109
Upgrades_CO_RU.sqf	2700 / 4800 / 8000	Gear L5	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_RU.sqf:39,109
Upgrades_GUE.sqf	2700 / 4800 / 6000	Gear L2	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_GUE.sqf:39,109
Upgrades_CO_GUE.sqf	2700 / 4800 / 6000	Gear L2	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_GUE.sqf:39,109

Treat these as side-config balance choices, not generated accidents. A source lane that changes Build Ammo or Supply costs needs to update every intended faction config deliberately and smoke the upgrade UI plus any AI commander upgrade worker that consumes the arrays.

W1 War Chest Sizing

The AI commander wildcard deck labels W1 as War Chest with weight 17 and says it grants AI funds equal to +25% FUNDS_START (Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard.sqf:12-14,600-604). Humans are always eligible; AI commanders skip W1 when their treasury is already at least 2x start funds (Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard.sqf:332-336).

Current starting funds are:

Side	Start funds	W1 bonus
WEST	30000	7500
EAST	30000	7500
GUER	20000	5000 if a path uses the GUER start constant

Sources: Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:1203-1205 for start funds and Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard.sqf:603-604 for the 25% calculation.

Sizing context:

Late-game spend anchor	Current value	Source
ICBM/SCUD upgrade L1	18000 funds + 10000 supply	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_US.sqf:44, Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_RU.sqf:44
ICBM/SCUD upgrade L2	49500 funds + 80000 supply	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_US.sqf:44, Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_RU.sqf:44
AI SCUD buy treasury threshold	60000 funds	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf:963
US AH-64D / A-10C rows	34707 / 32320 funds	Common/Config/Core/Core_US.sqf:221,225
Conventional Takistan SCUD row	default 28000 funds	Common/Config/Core/Core_TKA.sqf:160, Common/Config/Core/Core_US.sqf:195

So W1 is useful cash relief, especially for an active human commander team, but its current 7500 WEST/EAST size is far below several late-game unlock or vehicle spends.

Retune Guardrails

Use a separate source lane for any gameplay change. The likely edit points are:

Desired review	Source owner
Stipend rate/cap	Server/Server_GuerStipend.sqf
Checkpoint toll/tax/clear values	Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard_GUER.sqf
Kill bounty coefficients and kill-tier thresholds	Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf, Server/PVFunctions/RequestOnUnitKilled.sqf
Build Ammo and Supply asymmetry	Common/Config/Core_Upgrades/Upgrades_CO_US.sqf, Upgrades_CO_RU.sqf, Upgrades_GUE.sqf, Upgrades_CO_GUE.sqf
War Chest weight, eligibility, or size	Server/Functions/AI_Commander_Wildcard.sqf, Common/Init/Init_CommonConstants.sqf

For source changes, edit Chernarus first, propagate maintained Vanilla roots with LoadoutManager, and smoke at least the relevant UI/reward path. Do not mix a docs-only balance reference with a live retune.

Continue Reading

• Economy, towns and supply - wider economy and supply model.
• GUER insurgent player economy - stipend, kill bounty, kill-tier depot rebuild, and GUER player loop.
• GUER insurgents faction overview - faction-level shape and restrictions.
• Upgrades and research atlas - upgrade arrays, player UI, server workers, and authority notes.