Reposting since gaijin decided not to migrate the old forum threads to this new one. Had to remove a link since there is a rule saying I can’t have more than two links in a topic, because I am a “new user”. Forum is literally less than a day old, why is this a thing?
Introduction, methodology and quick thoughts on the roadmap
First time posting here, so why not make it a long one xd
The roadmap is out, and boi there is a lot of stuff planned. I dare say I am quite optimistic about most of these changes, while retaining a healthy dose of skepticism. Gaijin has promised big before and not delivered. Especially the claim about them having had this in the oven for years comes off as being very convenient. Why keep it in the dark, when players have been wanting changes for years? Why only first reveal it when the playerbase literally rioted? Not addressing the current non-existent damage of HE-FI, and fragmentation shells in general, is also a bit of a letdown. Air-belts have been seriously useless for a while now. On the other hand, asking for every problem to be fixed at once is probably a bit much, so lets move on to what this post is actually about.
I have spent way too much time looking at the excel sheets of repair costs and SL gains. These are still as incomprehensible as ever, but it seems Gaijin wants to change the economy into a more standardized version of the rank system, where similar vehicles of similar rank and br will have similar repair costs and rewards. This is also very visible in the planned changes, as you will see if you choose to read on. I also hope this will make them order vehicles by rank in the future excel sheets, as the current sort by “wherever it is in the tech tree line” is a bit cumbersome to navigate. Note that there are no sheets for RP cost and gain changes as of writing. These changes are announced to drop in September, so I will might make a post about it at that time.
Gaijin changed to a basic ranked based economy earlier this year, and is evolving on it now. This means that repair costs and reward modifiers are generally standardized in the ranks, with a certain spread covering each rank. Rank I is disregarded in this post, since changes here are unremarkable, and SL gain is generally fine.
Don’t worry, I won’t list every change, as that would be just as dense as the sheets themselves. I will instead describe the general changes, point out the patterns I’ve found, and highlight a few vehicles from each rank. I categorize “noteworthy” changes generally as changes of above 2k SL for repairs and 0.3 changes in reward mods, but since there are so many large changes, I will be skipping over quite a few of these this time. You can always check out the sheets yourself here, if you are interested. Repair costs are given as maximum possible costs, as in the vehicles are spaded.
I made a very superficial TL;DR at the end for those in a hurry, since this turned out to be a minor novel. Note that all stats are for Air RB only, as it is basically the only gamemode I play and therefore feel eligible to comment on. Also note that I am not a native English speaker, so there will be grammatical errors and other hiccups.
Rank II-III
I will keep it brief for rank II, as there really isn’t much to talk about, except for a few premiums that I will get to towards the end. The general spread for the rank is about ~1.2k to ~2.2k for a repair and ~0.8 to 1.3 in SL reward modifier. The only really stand out change would be the large -1.0 drop in reward modifier for the Italian P.108A Serie 2, bringing it to 1.2 and in line with the rank spread.
Rank III has a bit more meat on it. The general spread is ~3k to ~5k for a repair, and 1.5 to 2.0 in reward modifier. This means the last high maintenance rank III’s are finally playable. E.g. The Spitfire Vc/trop gets a giant -7.4k discount on repairs bringing it down to 4.3k, along with a decent +0.6 reward modifier, bringing it to 1.8, matching its non-tropical sibling.
There are generally a lot of +0.5 boosts to reward multipliers at this rank, bringing quite a few planes to around 1.8, and making the rank somewhat more profitable to play. The standardization also brings a few planes up in costs. Stuff like the American P-47’s that were basically free to repair before, now costs slightly more.
Rank IV
Rank IV is a lot more messy, and the spread is a lot larger than any other rank. It’s also where the differences between plane classes starts to really show. To compensate for the large spread, I’ve divided the rank into two parts: the general rank IV, and the late rank IV.
General Rank IV
This is where we got the mid to late war props, the general spread here is ~5k to ~9k for a repair, and 1.9 to 2.5 in reward modifier. We once again got quite a few old high maintenance planes becoming much more affordable. I will list a few of these:
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The Swedish J21A-2 gets its repair cost cut in half, and is now at 5.6k for a repair. It also gets a minor +0.3 boost to rewards, putting it at 2.0 now.
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The Japanese J2M3 gets a large -6.6k discount for repair costs, bringing it down to 8.7k for a repair. It also gets a +0.6 to rewards, landing it at 2.3. It now matches its cousin, the J2M5, which also received a discount.
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The Soviet Yak-9U gets a large -6.8k discount for repair costs, bringing it down to 5.8k for a repair, and lets you keep more SL to buy potatoes and vodka. It also gets a minor +0.3 boost to rewards, putting it at 2.0.
Late Rank IV
Once you start getting into the very late war and post war super props, the repair costs and reward modifiers rise quite a bit. The spread here is around ~9k to ~11k for a repair, and 2.5 to 2.9+ in reward modifiers, with some going over 3.0. This means that there are actually quite a few planes that go up in repair costs, but the bump up in rewards generally compensates for it. On the other hand, many expensive super props, like late griffon spitfires, go down in costs, and are now more economical to play. Here are some examples:
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The French F8F-1B goes up +2.1k in repair costs, bringing it to 10.7k for a repair, it also gains a +0.4 in reward modifier, bringing it to 2.6.
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The Chinese P-51K goes down -2.2k in repair costs, bringing it to 9.9k for a repair, it also gains a +0.4 in reward modifier, bringing it to 2.5.
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The British Spitfire Mk 22 goes down -2.3k in repair costs, bringing it to 10.2k for a repair, it also gains a +0.6 in reward modifier, bringing it to 2.7.
Bombers kinda get the short end of the stick with this update. While many still receive a discount, they are generally still more expensive than fighters to repair, and have less reward modifier. This seems to be a trend through all ranks, but is especially visible in late rank IV and rank V. Planes like the Japanese G8N1 going down 2.4k in repair cost, still sits at 11.5k for a repair. It also gets a +0.8 in reward modifiers, and is now at 2.1, a good 0.4 off the fighter low for rewards.
Honorable mention: The Lincoln B Mk II takes the prize of biggest reductionTM by getting a humongous -10.2k discount in repair costs, bringing it to 11.5k for a repair. It also gets a +0.2 bump up in reward modifiers, bringing it to 2.1.
Rank V
We are halfway through and I hope you are still with me, because we still have 4 ranks to go. Perhaps now would be a good time to drink some water, straighten your back, and maybe do a little stretch to get the blood flowing. With that done, let’s dive back into it.
Rank V benefits the most from this update, as long as you aren’t flying bombers. There are a ton of large (5k+) reductions across the board. Only planes that were kinda cheap before (in the 9k area) are going up in costs to match the new rank spread. There are also a ton of large (+1.0) reward modifier changes. This however does not mean that it’s now extremely cheap to fight here. The spread is around ~11k to ~13k for repair, but most noticeably, the reward modifiers are now between 3.2 and 3.8. Together with ranks VI and VII, this is the peak of tech tree rewards, as I haven’t spotted any tech tree plane with more than 3.8 in reward modifier. I’ll list a few examples:
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The Japanese Ki-200 goes down by -7.5k and is now sitting at 12.2k for a repair, it also gets a +1.2 to reward modifier, putting it at 3.8.
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The US F-86-F25 goes down -5.4k and is now sitting at 12.2k for a repair, it also gets a +0.6 to reward modifier, putting it at 3.8.
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The Soviet Yak-30D goes down -7.7K and is now sitting at 12.2k for a repair, it also gets a +1.2 to reward modifier, putting it at 3.8.
You may have noticed a pattern at this time. There are a ton of planes being moved to the “12.2k repair, 3.8 modifier” pool. This means that there are so many “noteworthy” changes at this rank that I could fill out a few pages with them, but I’ll spare you and get on with it. This post is already too long to fit in steam discussions xd.
I’m separating the bombers here too, as they once again are generally more expensive than the fighters. From what I can tell, most jet bombers cost somewhere between ~13k to 15k for a repair, and have around 2.5-3.2 in reward modifier. Quite a few jet bombers have gone up in price. It is also here we find our new highest maintenance planeTM:
- The German Ar 234 C-3, going up +4.2k and now has a repair cost of 15.6k, it also gets a +0.5 to reward modifier, putting it at 3.3.
Rank VI
This rank is very similar to rank V. Lots of reductions, lots of boost to rewards, although not as large as in rank V. Since the bombers are gone, the spread is somewhat lower, but there are still a few fighters with high repair costs, despite the reductions. The spread is around ~11k to ~14k for a repair, and between 3.0 and 3.8 for reward modifiers, with most planes sitting in the top half of that spread. Here are some noticeable trends and highlights:
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F-104J and G models in this rank form the low end of this spread, with a repair cost generally being around 11.6-12k, and reward modifiers around 3.0. The A and C models are higher in costs, sitting at around 13.6k for a repair, but also higher in rewards, sitting at 3.8. The 13.6k for a repair and 3.8 in rewards combo is very common in this rank.
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The Japanese T-2 gets a very small -0.5k discount for repairs, and is still sitting at 14.5k for a single repair, it also gets a +0.6 to reward modifier, putting it at 3.8. A similar treatment is given to the Italian G.91 YS, putting it at 14.6k for a repair, and 3.8 in reward modifier.
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CL-13 and F-86K/F-2 enjoyers can rejoice, as they will no longer break your bank account that hard. Most have been given a -3-4k discount for repairs, and generally land between 12.6k to 13.6k for repair now. They also all get placed at 3.8 in rewards modifier, a general boost for most of them.
With bombers out of the picture, it’s time to talk about strike fighters, as they have somewhat different stats compared to standard fighters. I’m seeing a general trend of strike fighters having somewhat lower repair costs than fighters, sitting in the 11.5k to low 12k’s, but also lower reward modifiers at around 3.0 to 3.2 at this rank. I’m less certain of this pattern than I am of the bomber one, but I think it applies to all ranks as well.
Rank VII
Rank VII continues the trend of a lot of decent reductions, again too many to list or we’d be here all day. But there are also a few increases that seem a bit unjustified. The spread increases a bit as a consequence, and now is around ~11.5k to ~15k for a repair, and 3.0 to 3.8 in reward modifiers. Let’s start by looking at some of the high maintenance planes:
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While both have received a small discount, the French Mirage 5F and the Israeli Shahak share the top spot of highest repair cost of a non-bomber plane, clocking in at just over 15k for a single repair. They do however receive a massive +1.3 and +1.0 boost to reward modifier, which brings them both to 3.8.
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The US F-4C gets a massive L and goes up +6.8k in repair cost, bringing it to 14.8k for a repair. It also gains +0.8 in reward modifier, putting it at 3.7.
On the other hand, we have some planes that used to sit at ~20k for a repair being moved down to match the rank spread:
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The Italian F-104S.ASA goes down by -7.3k in repair cost, bringing it to 11.7k for a repair. It also gets a +0.4 boost to reward modifier, and now sits at 3.1. Other F-104 variants of this rank are moved to similar repair cost and modifier as well.
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The Chinese J-7E gets a massive 9.1k reduction to repair cost, which almost halves its previous cost and places it at 11.4k for a repair. It also gets a nice +0.7 boost to reward modifier, and now sits at 3.0.
Rank VIII
We have finally made it to the top, and we are rewarded with the, almost, least interesting data group of them all. Almost all rank VIII planes will have a repair cost of around 12k to 13k for a repair and 3.2 in reward modifiers. This is an interesting lowering of both rewards and repair costs compared to earlier ranks, but is otherwise completely unremarkable. The only standouts are the Tornado IDS (both Italian and German version) and the British GR.1 model having sub-12k repair costs, and reward modifiers around 3.4, making them somewhat more cost effective than every other rank 8.
There really isn’t much else to note here, so I’ll instead give you a random fact about the making of this long **** post:
Reveal hidden contents
Premiums
You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned a single premium vehicle in this entire post so far, and there is a reason for this. Premiums have never really had to worry about repair costs, as theirs usually are so low, and their reward modifiers so high, that you can basically ignore it, which is probably the point. While there is a bit up and down in repair costs for many premiums, the real big new change is in rewards for jet premiums.
All rank V, VI and VII premiums receive massive boosts to reward modifiers. This brings them to ~6.8-7.6 in reward modifier, around twice the rewards of tech tree equivalents. It also includes the biggest reward modifier change I’ve seen for Air RB: The new SU-39, going up a whooping +4.4 in reward modifier, bringing it to 6.8.
Premium props on the other hand are barely changing, with the exception of some oddly high maintenance rank 2’s, that for some reason costs 3 times the amount of SL to repair, compared to a tech tree equivalent.
Finishing thoughts and remarks
It’s time to sum up and reflect a bit, I hope no weird steam formatting leftovers made it through. The overall content of these changes is good, at least in my opinion. We get rid of the 20k+ repair cost planes that have been basically unplayable for years, and tons of other planes get large reductions, making them much more economical to fly. We get mostly medium to large increases in reward modifiers, which will result in better rewards overall.
The new rank based system really suits the game economy, as it also stops the use of repair costs as a balancing tool, which it should never have been in the first place. It also brings a lot of vehicles of similar type and br to the same reward modifiers and costs for repair, making it easier to choose between them, without having to think about economy.
The only real caveat I got would be the increase in reward modifiers for premium jets. This will continue to lead to stale premium only battles from early jets to just before top tier, as the massive rewards makes them, by far, the most effective grinder vehicles, even more than before. They never needed an increase like this in the first place, as they were already leagues ahead of the tech tree vehicles. I guess it’s to incentivize people to buy them, so Gaijin can make some money. That’s fair enough, and I will say it’s a better model than having to only fly premiums to break even, let alone progress, like it has been for quite a few people.
None of this is set in stone though, as Gaijin is putting these changes to the vote, and letting the playerbase decide if they are good enough. SO GO VOTE!
You can find the poll in the article linked in the TL;DR section.
If you have made it this far, I would also like to thank you for reading it all. It has taken quite some time to put together, my eyes are litterally about to fall out of my cranium from staring at numbers. I hope others can use it to get a better idea of what the new changes constitute. I sort of plan on doing more of these in the future, as more hard data is released about the economy changes, if reception for this one is good.
TL;DR
Rank V, VI and VII gets tons of reductions in repair costs and increases to reward modifiers as a consequence of the new rank based economy system that standardizes costs for each rank to a certain degree. Rank IV is a mixed bag but generally good. No Air RB repair cost above 15.6k, only some above 14k.
Premium jets are the biggest winners, as they get massive increases to reward modifiers, bringing their modifiers to around twice that of tech tree equivalents. Not really any losers, although one could argue that bombers got cheated a bit, as some got a bit more expensive, but most got a reward modifier increase as well. We are still a long way from the ludicrous ways of old, where a bomber would cost you a small fortune to repair.
These changes are subject to a vote, where we can decide if we want them implemented or not, you can find the vote in this article.