SUGGESTION: Remove the Hellcat, and nerf or replace the KV-2, rework the FV215b (183)

[calkhi]

HELLCAT:
The Hellcat saw little direct tank to tank warfare, and despite its designated term being that of a tank destroyer, it was used as an infantry support vehicle. The rapid mobility of the M18 Hellcat allowed it to serve a variety of rolls, and was even found to be a useful weapon in the later years of the war, which often had the need for many rapid tanks to ensure the rapidly fading and retreating Nazi forces had little or no time to set up a defense. The Hellcat also saw use in the pacific theater, though only because their light weight compared to other medium or heavy tanks of the era meant that you could deploy them faster and more reliably over soft beach heads where speed and light armor was needed, but light tanks could not fulfill the roll due to a lack in fire power.
As it currently is, the Hellcat has no use on such small maps. It fires vastly slower than the Jackson, has so little armor that literally everything can pen it with HE, and the turret turns so slowly that you might as well not turn it at all. I'd suggest just removing it and having the Jackson be the only T6 tank down the American destroyer line. As it is, this tank is so bad that it can single handedly ruin a winrate and DPB rate. So either it needs to be closer to the mutz in how it moves, or it needs to be removed in the Blitz varient of WoT.

KV-2:
The KV-2 was a stunningly fantastic tank in WWII, and it performed its assigned duties with fantastic reliability and dependability despite its notable flaws. One of which is the tank comically falling over if firing on a mild slope. There are videos explaining it better than I can here in text, however it's too good for the game as it is. I've noticed the 152mm cannons on all teirs tend to have around 80-100 mms of penetration, and deal 850-1100 damage. Even at teir 8, 1100 damage is (meme warning) *Intense calculations* Well, IT'S EXACTLY LETHAL! to some tanks. This means that these cannons are woefully overpowered on every teir they're on, and I FREQUENTLY see KV-2s one shotting each other and other tanks throughout the matchs I've been in, and even see some tanks fall prey to the SU-152 and the ISU-152, falling in a single shot across the map, of which neither offending tank is spotted until the single shot death blow has been fired. Yet over all, even those tanks aren't THAT bad in the later teirs. It's the KV-2 which breaks the meta of T6 and certainly needs to be nerfed or replaced with another tank.
Which that replacement tank ALREADY EXISTS. The T-150 was a wonderfully balanced tank, and while it might need a *slight* armor rework to put it more in line with the tanks of its teir, I found it enjoyable both to play the T-150, and to play against it. And yes, this tank did exist, though it was destroyed in combat.

FV215b (183):
This suffers from the exact same issue as the KV-2, but it's at teir 10, which is supposed to be the most balanced teir in the entire game. Seeing this really saddens me, as after further research, it's obvious that this tank DOESN'T EVEN EXIST, or at the very least, never even left paper. While that's certainly not stopped the devs for Blitz or even the PC varient of WoT, I just don't feel that such an obviously and woefully OP tank should be at Teir 10.
And to be clear on this, I'm fine with the AP damage. I'm not fine with the premium round damage being 1300 and having 220 mms of penetration, which with the proper upgrades selected grants it an approximent, but whopping 242 mms of penetration, or the standard AP penetration value of most heavy tanks at teir 9. This is unaccepably overpowered, and scores down the meta to quite literally playing ONLY the FV215b (183) in comp matches. That or the french medium or heavy, as they're the only tanks which can hope to match that damage. Usually the meds because they're smaller and can stay under cover far better.

I know nobody wants to see their fantastic game winning tanks be nerfed, removed or replaced, but there are times in which a tank is so horrifcally overpowered at its teir that it just breaks the game.(Or so underpowered that it makes you scream.) Now, I don't mean to brag about anything, but I do want to warrent this as a minder. I've put in hundreds of dollars into this game. I'm not asking that I be given special treatment. HECKIN NO. Hell, I *nearly* earned a CDC! I enjoy playing this game, I want to keep playing this game, and I want to keep seeing what other interesting tanks come out as the game goes on, but I can't stand idle and let such obvious meta breakers remain in game. It's just too obvious that they need to be reworked, removed and replaced, or just have the nerf bat taken to them. So, all I'm asking is that I be listend to. After all, I could probably buy a large sum of shares with the money I've put in this game.

[76561198365326053]

Well, you definitely know what you are saying and I really enjoyed reading through your post. I would suggest that you post it on official blitz forums on WG site because no WoT/Blitz devs come here and read anything. (Or may be you already have done it).

Anyways, I dont play TD's so i have no idea about Hellcat but yeah its 1 shot to KV2 and likes.

On KV2, we have read tons of posts regarding its perceived OP-ness. But the general opinion (as far as my personal experience goes) is that its derpiness is more than balanced by its bad armor profile (larger hit box), severely bad depression, bad mobility and ofc 18~22 sec reload. When I reached tier6 abt 7 months ago... there were KV2's in every tier6 match... many times platoons of it on both sides. Nowadays, its use has declined a lot. Consider how 60~70% of playerbase is suffering from lack of competitve spirit (i.e having 20~40% winrate with avg dmg of 150~600 and still 'having fun' playing as up as tier10... its not hard to say if its the tank being OP/bad or is it the players not giving a fk to thoroughly understand their tanks.

Yeah, I used to get derped by KV2's so many times but over the time, its no longer a problem. VK28 is 1 shot for KV2 but its the worst night mare for any KV2 player. Even a tier5 leo can spank the living daylights out of KV2 by careful play. It comes back to skill anyways.

I would say... nerf American T26E super pershing or German Lowe... I have seen them rip apart lights, meds, heavies and TD's from tier7 to 9... yes sir! And in many cases, they just sit in front and kick u in ur face all day long. It doesn't matter if u sidescrape, angle, wiggle, pike front... or any other woodoo u try to throw in front of them. In most situations, when I encountered T26 in my IS3, IS5, IS6, IS8 (yeah, a t9), they just run straight to me coz they know!!! They can out-bounce u, out-pen you, out DPM you... no amount of derpiness can handle that... But they never gonna nerf premiums... and you would say Hitler was a kocky bstard!!!

[Neithan]

First off: Nice Avatar, calkhi.

Hellcat:
Yeah, after they did nerf it to the ground (I was playing standard WoT back then) it lost alot of it's appeal, while it was borderline OP before, it became borderline useless afterwards. Although I don't have played the Jackson in Blitz yet, the Hellcat is pretty disappointing, it has it's uses but just from the stats on paper I guess you are right that it is redundant to keep both tanks in game.


KV2:
I am mostly with lmr.Qns here, while the gun feels severely OP, the tank as a whole is not. Sure, those long-range sniper shots from a concealed KV2 that actually hit (and as I played KV2 myself, those are usually the minority) are rage-inducing for the target, as it is to turn some corner in a town and just stare down the barrel of a formerly not spotted KV2. But once people overcome their fear of that gun, they will see that there is ways to manage a KV2, just keep him spotted, gang up on him, and use every opportunity to go in and deal damage, like when he has his turret turned at someone else. Most lights&meds have the speed to harrass it with single shots and get away before he can react. The one thing I mostly hate about the KV2 is those noobs so full of fear when encountering him that they turn and run AFTER he has got his shot off (either missed or hit but not killed them), instead of using the opportunity to rip him apart.


FV215b (183):
While this tank might be a big part of the Meta at t10 (I even would argue that, not more than other t10 TDs), so are some other tanks, And I would say it is a general issue of balancing the game at that level. So far, imho WG has done a rather good job at balancing the game, considering how many factors there are to balance. It surely is not perfect, but it has definetly become better over the years.
One thing that is important to deal with this tank is to have capable scouts, so you can locate the threat and then deal with it, and won't suffer those "Surprise, Motherf***er!!" derp-shots out of nowhere. Only those scouts are the ones then threatened first by these shots. And as with the KV2, get it during it's reload, only that it is even easier (on it's own) as you can get into the "blind spot" of the FVb during it's reload and then be safe while chipping away.
Overall, the tank is severely handicapped in close-quarter fights, once you flank it, it's toast, so it heavily depends on good team backup. In pub games, that's hard to get, so it naturally profits from clan/premade teams in tournaments.
And while the HESH ammo seems OP, you should not forget that it has to rely on hitting main armor to really deal damage, any spaced armor or tracks will just eat it up. And the damage roll range has a giant impact as well, as low rolls feel like a wasted shell.


So, overall I see your points (esp. Hellcat), but I think it's not as bad with the other two, they feel OP in those moments they get the derp shots off good, but you might not even notice them all the time they miss that shot and then sit in reload.

[calkhi]

Originally posted by Imr.Qns:

-snip-

I would say... nerf American T26E super pershing or German Lowe... I have seen them rip apart lights, meds, heavies and TD's from tier7 to 9... yes sir! And in many cases, they just sit in front and kick u in ur face all day long. It doesn't matter if u sidescrape, angle, wiggle, pike front... or any other woodoo u try to throw in front of them. In most situations, when I encountered T26 in my IS3, IS5, IS6, IS8 (yeah, a t9), they just run straight to me coz they know!!! They can out-bounce u, out-pen you, out DPM you... no amount of derpiness can handle that... But they never gonna nerf premiums... and you would say Hitler was a kocky bstard!!!

Just aim at the missle pod on their turret. In an outright battle, the SuperP is usually going to lose. They even nerfed the lower glacias on the tank so that even the best 90 the French ARL can equip can pen the lower glacias using APCR. So it's not as OP as you think, trust me. I fight them on the regular and rip them to shreads. On the Lowe, aim on that lower part of the front where it flattens out, or flank them. Their sides might as well not have armor with the teir their at. If you've got a tank that has high penetration, like the Rhm's borsig, you can use APCR and pen the sides of the front of the turret fairly easily in a pinch.

[calkhi]

Originally posted by Neithan:

First off: Nice Avatar, calkhi. :2017stickycrab:

-snips-


So, overall I see your points (esp. Hellcat), but I think it's not as bad with the other two, they feel OP in those moments they get the derp shots off good, but you might not even notice them all the time they miss that shot and then sit in reload.

Let me start by saying a retort here: Your avatar's a great avatar too.

But list me the times when a pub team can be coordinated enough to do the things you listed. The answer: Once in a blue moon. Tanks need to be balanced around the pubby format, with none of them excelling, but none of them weak either. Doing this is diffcult, which is why I was so angry when the KV-2 became the T6 tank instead of the T-150. It saddens me.
How do you go "Yes, this tank which ruins the pubby format which is the largest of this game, needs to be the one we put in instead of the balanced one."

[76561198365326053]

Just aim at the missle pod on their turret. In an outright battle, the SuperP is usually going to lose. They even nerfed the lower glacias on the tank so that even the best 90 the French ARL can equip can pen the lower glacias using APCR. So it's not as OP as you think, trust me. I fight them on the regular and rip them to shreads. On the Lowe, aim on that lower part of the front where it flattens out, or flank them. Their sides might as well not have armor with the teir their at. If you've got a tank that has high penetration, like the Rhm's borsig, you can use APCR and pen the sides of the front of the turret fairly easily in a pinch.

I meant in terms of russian heavies, esp IS series from tier7 to 9. Lights/meds can flank and TD's have all the pen. But T26 has all the upper hand in terms of penning IS series from front easily due to gun mounted higher than IS... sloped armor is no longer effective, therefore angling/wiggling wont work. He can alternatively shoot anywhere on ur hatch all day. He has pen, he has shorter reload, he has tricky armor profile upfront. There are lots of weak spots frontally but with IS series, I have mostly lost 1v1 for reasons said below. It usually takes multiple tanks to get him down... a TD or meds distracting him etc etc

1). He being able to pen IS series freely almost anywhere while u are likely to miss, esp if he wiggles/angles.

2). He got shorter reload so he easily out DPM's u... and since IS series is guarenteed to bounce (HEAT shell from IS-8 (tier9) bounced 3 times when I fired his lower plates)... no chance.

3). Tricky armor. Weak spots are hard to hit in close quarter, esp if he is good with his tank in terms of angling, wiggling, hull down and stuff....

Lastly, idk how but in my IS5 and IS6, I have been having engine fires... even when trading shots over a distance. For an IS5 at least, thats so WEIRD!!! No surprise so many people rush for T26. I do feel like there is some thing abt T26.

On KV2, I would also suggest u to take a look at tier6 tourney meta. KV2 is mostly a no no for that. ARL, Kuro and CromB is the spam meta for t6 tourney. KV1S/KV2/T150 etc are not the primary choice. Besides, in tourneys, I have lost to 40% winrate teams with bad tank choices but superb map based tactics... average damage around 600 but rekt us so bad... may be some one else was playing using their accounts lol, but it happens a lot.

[calkhi]

Originally posted by Imr.Qns:

-snip-

I meant in terms of russian heavies, esp IS series from tier7 to 9. Lights/meds can flank and TD's have all the pen. But T26 has all the upper hand in terms of penning IS series from front easily due to gun mounted higher than IS... sloped armor is no longer effective, therefore angling/wiggling wont work. He can alternatively shoot anywhere on ur hatch all day. He has pen, he has shorter reload, he has tricky armor profile upfront. There are lots of weak spots frontally but with IS series, I have mostly lost 1v1 for reasons said below. It usually takes multiple tanks to get him down... a TD or meds distracting him etc etc

1). He being able to pen IS series freely almost anywhere while u are likely to miss, esp if he wiggles/angles.

2). He got shorter reload so he easily out DPM's u... and since IS series is guarenteed to bounce (HEAT shell from IS-8 (tier9) bounced 3 times when I fired his lower plates)... no chance.

3). Tricky armor. Weak spots are hard to hit in close quarter, esp if he is good with his tank in terms of angling, wiggling, hull down and stuff....

Lastly, idk how but in my IS5 and IS6, I have been having engine fires... even when trading shots over a distance. For an IS5 at least, thats so WEIRD!!! No surprise so many people rush for T26. I do feel like there is some thing abt T26.

On KV2, I would also suggest u to take a look at tier6 tourney meta. KV2 is mostly a no no for that. ARL, Kuro and CromB is the spam meta for t6 tourney. KV1S/KV2/T150 etc are not the primary choice. Besides, in tourneys, I have lost to 40% winrate teams with bad tank choices but superb map based tactics... average damage around 600 but rekt us so bad... may be some one else was playing using their accounts lol, but it happens a lot.

HEAT works differently than APCR. See, HEAT actually takes into account the layered armor, and while IRL a 122 HEAT shell would leave a gaping hole in the first set of spaced armor, it doesn't in this game which can certainly leave the SuperP a bit punishing to fight in tanks that use HEAT. However, I've noticed that even the HEAT on the STA can pen the lower glacias so maybe the larger guns have their HEAT calculated seperatly? Either way, you can still use HEAT on the turret in between the spaced armor where the actual turret shows, and up close that usually works provided you don't hit the gun mountlet. As for the KV-2, the comp matches are not the standard matching, the regular non-comp matches are. This is where the balancing of tanks come into play. TBH, I have about a 59% WR, which isn't much, but it's something. It's above average, right? I'm not terrible, I just think it's a bit cheap to have a tank that can one shot at any teir, even if it's teir 10, and regardless of the reload.