TL;DR- Game still good, people are just mad about change (shocking!)

While it's not fair to discount how the minority of players review bombing the game currently feel, it really does just boil down to people being unable to cope with change. Most of the people that are currently complaining are just bad at the strategic side of this game, and were only good at the extremely simple shooting mechanics pre-update. The main criticisms I have seen have been with being unable to flank any more, having spaghetti arms, and criticism of sight picture retention in the new scopes. I'll address these three main concerns in detail below. I played most of the play-tests with the Infantry Combat Overhaul (ICO) and I feel I have a good foundation of experience with the game to give a (hopefully) unbiased counter-argument to the criticisms of the new update.

By far the biggest criticism I have personally seen is the perceived inability to flank now. This comes from a complete misunderstanding of how this game is meant to be played. You are not meant to be a one man army. You are meant to maneuver in SQUAD sized elements... go figure. This update puts an emphasis on laying down a base of fire for a maneuver element to push an objective, enemy squad, or any number of things. This game is all about teamwork and communication. While a microphone isn't required, it is highly encouraged that you use one to communicate with your squadmates and teammates in your vicinity. Your games will be 10x better if you and the people around you are working together to overcome obstacles. All of this isn't to say that solo flanking isn't still possible though. I had a game in the last playtest in which I solo flanked and pushed an enemy HAB and took down nearly two entire squads before being taken out myself. It all comes down to map knowledge, timing, and discretion on when and when not to shoot. Solo flanks are riskier now since you can be caught with your pants down if someone is watching the flank you choose.

The weapon sway and spaghetti arms is one of the measures the developers took to slow down the gameplay. If you are sprinting constantly, then yes, you will not be able to hit a pinpoint target for about 8 seconds while your character recovers. The simple fix to this is, walk when near enemies. It is absolutely fine to sprint to close distance, but you MUST walk the last 100 meters or so to ensure you are able to quickly and accurately respond to fire. I do agree that weapons with bipods should be more stable than they are now, but it is not ANYWHERE near as bad as people make it out to be. If you are experiencing such a negative impact of the new system, you need to adapt and play more intelligently. This game was never meant to be a shooter that you constantly sprint around and snap to shoot people. It leant itself to that with the way the development went, and again, people are just unable to adapt to change.

Sight picture retention is fairly simple. Don't sprint and immediately expect to be able to snap to a target with a 4x or higher magnification optic. If you want to be able to snap to your sight quickly, choose a 1x red dot, or iron sights. 1x optics have received a MASSIVE buff with this new update, and they will quickly become the new meta in my opinion. Before the update there was no downside to choosing a magnified optic, but now there is an actual trade off. When firing, you should in almost all situations be using semi auto, not full auto. The exception to this is if you are a automatic rifleman. The focus then is not to kill, it is to lay down a field of fire to suppress the enemy infantry; this does two things: 1- reduces their ability to return accurate fire. 2- reduces their ability to maneuver, granting your teammates the upper hand in the engagement. You should be aiming near the enemy, but your main goal should not be to kill them.

In conclusion, the ICO has brought a whole new level to the skill ceiling of this game. It will take time for the community to adapt, and the update will certainly push some people away. Overall though, this update will be fantastic for the long term health of the game and player base. The review bomber's opinions should be taken with a massive grain of salt. In a month's time, most of the people who have sworn to never play the game again will come back and continue to have a blast playing this unique FPS experience. I personally commend OWI for having the balls to make such a drastic change at the peak of the game's popularity. Squad has a bright and healthy future ahead of it.

TL;DR- Game still good, people are just mad about change (shocking!) While it's not fair to discount how the minority of players review bombing the game currently feel, it really does just boil down to people being unable to cope with change. Most of the people that are currently complaining are just bad at the strategic side of this game, and were only good at the extremely simple shooting mechanics pre-update. The main criticisms I have seen have been with being unable to flank any more, having spaghetti arms, and criticism of sight picture retention in the new scopes. I'll address these three main concerns in detail below. I played most of the play-tests with the Infantry Combat Overhaul (ICO) and I feel I have a good foundation of experience with the game to give a (hopefully) unbiased counter-argument to the criticisms of the new update. By far the biggest criticism I have personally seen is the perceived inability to flank now. This comes from a complete misunderstanding of how this game is meant to be played. You are not meant to be a one man army. You are meant to maneuver in SQUAD sized elements... go figure. This update puts an emphasis on laying down a base of fire for a maneuver element to push an objective, enemy squad, or any number of things. This game is all about teamwork and communication. While a microphone isn't required, it is highly encouraged that you use one to communicate with your squadmates and teammates in your vicinity. Your games will be 10x better if you and the people around you are working together to overcome obstacles. All of this isn't to say that solo flanking isn't still possible though. I had a game in the last playtest in which I solo flanked and pushed an enemy HAB and took down nearly two entire squads before being taken out myself. It all comes down to map knowledge, timing, and discretion on when and when not to shoot. Solo flanks are riskier now since you can be caught with your pants down if someone is watching the flank you choose. The weapon sway and spaghetti arms is one of the measures the developers took to slow down the gameplay. If you are sprinting constantly, then yes, you will not be able to hit a pinpoint target for about 8 seconds while your character recovers. The simple fix to this is, walk when near enemies. It is absolutely fine to sprint to close distance, but you MUST walk the last 100 meters or so to ensure you are able to quickly and accurately respond to fire. I do agree that weapons with bipods should be more stable than they are now, but it is not ANYWHERE near as bad as people make it out to be. If you are experiencing such a negative impact of the new system, you need to adapt and play more intelligently. This game was never meant to be a shooter that you constantly sprint around and snap to shoot people. It leant itself to that with the way the development went, and again, people are just unable to adapt to change. Sight picture retention is fairly simple. Don't sprint and immediately expect to be able to snap to a target with a 4x or higher magnification optic. If you want to be able to snap to your sight quickly, choose a 1x red dot, or iron sights. 1x optics have received a MASSIVE buff with this new update, and they will quickly become the new meta in my opinion. Before the update there was no downside to choosing a magnified optic, but now there is an actual trade off. When firing, you should in almost all situations be using semi auto, not full auto. The exception to this is if you are a automatic rifleman. The focus then is not to kill, it is to lay down a field of fire to suppress the enemy infantry; this does two things: 1- reduces their ability to return accurate fire. 2- reduces their ability to maneuver, granting your teammates the upper hand in the engagement. You should be aiming near the enemy, but your main goal should not be to kill them. In conclusion, the ICO has brought a whole new level to the skill ceiling of this game. It will take time for the community to adapt, and the update will certainly push some people away. Overall though, this update will be fantastic for the long term health of the game and player base. The review bomber's opinions should be taken with a massive grain of salt. In a month's time, most of the people who have sworn to never play the game again will come back and continue to have a blast playing this unique FPS experience. I personally commend OWI for having the balls to make such a drastic change at the peak of the game's popularity. Squad has a bright and healthy future ahead of it.