idk, i just wanna see the t70 be nerfed until it's soul is gone. it feels like for the sake of balance all asymmetry is being taken out.
The unit keeps getting nerf patch after patch and it has historically been used as an excuse towards design/power budget on the faction.
Modders have said in the past that they would like to see the T70 as P2 clone but we they mostly had constraints in scope to improve other aspect of the factions to account for it. I think this is that one special time to do it.
Not sure how nerfing something is suddenly removing "asymmetry". The unit will not be removed nor it's features like scouting/capping are gonna be removed. It will still be a light vehicle focused on AI.
The problem with using a community balance team as opposed to Relic designers to make balance changes is they probably don't have the authority to do big sweeping reworks to faction design which is needed to fix Soviets. For example, it would make way more sense to swap out Guards and Penals so that Penals are doctrinal and Guards are non Doctrinal. Then Guards would overlap with Conscripts much less and Penals can be made way more quirky since they'd be a doctrinal call-in. But that won't happen, there also might not be the right voice lines for call-ins/unlocks and whatnot. Non doctrinal Penals are basically impossible to make interesting, because either they are cheaper so they overlap with Cons more, or they are made more elite so they overlap with Guards or Shocks. So then option C is to make them cheesy and have obnoxious stuff for a pretty base-line squad.
Well... i preferred their first original design, which made them 360mp 6man grenadiers with G43s. They were the equivalent to PGs.
The game was balanced differently (much higher tech cost, less starting resources) with units having way less utility. So it was more marked how much you lost on map control when teching as an opening although you were compensated by old maxim, sniper, clowncar units.
While i don't like the current version, i think it's salvageable if pushed further in the AT department rather than been average AI with soft AT.
The T-34/76's strength is not initial timing, but cost effectiveness. You can get the second one before or at the same time as Ostheer can get their second P4, you can throw one away and trade well against any vehicle bigger than a StuG. You can get about 3 for 2 P4s. After big tank engagements with multiple losses for both sides, it's the Soviets who can replace their armor the fastest. It's easier to achieve critical mass with it than with any other vehicle. And with ZiS guns as support, it does about as well at fighting infantry and tanks as a P4 for a much lower price.
That is what makes the T-34/76 unique, and it generally synergises really well with Soviets' attrition based late game strength. Messing around with the timings would likely cause a snowball effect (fast first tank leads to fast second tank, etc.) which would probably then lead to nerfs (like a higher unit cost) and turn it into just another medium tank.
But that's the problem. You expect both sides to have equal resources at their disposal and to somehow expect them to "efficiently" trade. That same logic was been brought up whenever heavy tanks were OP. You can have "X" amount of mediums who in "theory" can deal much more dmg, have much higher total HP pool", be in different parts of the map, etc.
PIV: 350/120/12pop
T34: 300/90/10
2PIV: 700/240/24
3T34: 900/270/30
Accounting for tech:
OH: T1+BP1+T2+BP2+T3+Medics = 770mp (-30 initial dif) / 175f (-20) / 60
SU: T2+AT nade+T3+T4+Medics = 990 / 205 (-20)
Now the cost look like this when you take tech into account. We can skip initial fuel cause they are the same.
2PIV + Tech: 1440mp / 415f / 60 mu
3PIV + Tech: 1790mp / 535f / 60
3T34+ Tech: 1890mp / 475f
The uniqueness of the T34 is (rightfully so) getting nerfed in this preview patch. Something similar happened to the Su76 unique "free barrage" 3 years ago and we know where that left the unit.
I can see justification (prior to any T70 nerfs) on why soviets T3 has such a timing but i find it a really poor excuse to say the T34/76 timing is the current one because you can suddenly somehow spam it 35/40 mins into the game.