Tldr: More strategy, less abuse, better map inclusion/more tactics, more suited to the current pace of Ground RB, little draw bags.
| ❗Disclaimer❗ | I dont want this game mode to replace the current Ground RB. Rather, this game mode should be considered as an addition, that works as the annaloug to Air RB. You would then have another combined forces game mode which woule either me the current Ground RB or a variation of it sitting right in between. |
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There have been a lot of desires and discussions about a ground RB game mode without CAS, as the combined game mode in its current form has quite a lot of issues related to CAS.
Therefor, I would propose a new game mode and that ground only but with a twist: one spawn per match only.
What’s the big difference?
Having only one spawn essentially makes the game mode a team death match. There are surely different ways such a game can be decided, like secondary objectives or simply time running out, in which cases the ticket bleed would decide the outcome of the match, but in most cases the games are decided by which side has in the end players left.
This has been the case for Air RB, pretty much as long as the game mode exists, and there it is way more tricky since not every aircraft is specialist in downing other aircraft. As such, bombers and ground attackers, whose roles it is to focus on secondary objectives, are in a pickle and as a consequence the game mode has struggled with this situation for quite some time. That is the primary much the reason, why we don’t have bombers in higher BR Air RB game but then again, we don’t have this issue with tanks.
Potential draw bags
- SPAAs: Just like in Air RB, there are types of tanks that aren’t designed to kill other tanks. Most prominently anti-air-vehicles. For them, it would actually be difficult to find a good spot in this game mode. One solution would be the inclusion of helicopters, but this is only viable for higher BR games.
In lower BR games, SPAAs usually have some capabilities of killing other vehicles. And it would be feasible to add spotting and support mechanics to them. There is also the option for AI CAS
Benefits
- Realism: I know this is far stretch, as the setup for tank engagements in game isn’t really realistic in the first place. Nonetheless, actual tank engagements are usually quite short-lived, as there are rarely backup tanks waiting at some magical point until their first comrades get killed.
- Easier map design: The maps we currently have for Ground RB are largely unsuited. The simple reason is, that they are too small for prolonged engagements. Sooner or later, you are going to face spawn pushing (The type of spawn camping, where you end up at the spawn simply because you couldn’t engage the enemy any differently). This isn’t helped with some map variations, where the capture points are literally inside the enemy’s spawn.
- No crew lock, no players leaving prematurely: If you can’t respawn, you can’t rage-quit. Teams would lose because they actually play worse and not because people get tilted.
- No spawn camping: Also pretty self-explanatory but with the added benefit of:
- More available tactics: With no respawns you not only eliminate spawn camping, rushing and pushing, but you can actually use the map area more effectively. You can drive through the enemies spawn area to ambush them from behind without fearing to get highlighted on the map or be shot yourself from a respawning player. In addition, you can actually effectively flank people in entrenched positions without spawn pushing or the need for CAS.
- No CAS: The reason for this game mode in the first place. To comment on CAS itself, it per nature unbalanced. Contrary to the common analogy of rock-paper-scissors, you don’t have a perfect engagement triangle. Tanks aren’t only countered by ground-attackers but also other tanks, while aircraft themselves usually face little opposition at all. It would work way better if you’d actually have an entire air match going on, on the same map somewhere else and some pivoting between these two areas of conflict but that’s a topic for a whole another discussion in itself.
Since it’s not uncommon to have tank engagements IRL that didn’t have the benefit of CAS, it’s not like this game mode couldn’t work because tanks can’t fight without aircraft support.
Helicopters
Why helicopters in a ground only game mode, you might ask. Well, cause I argue that helicopters deployed for tank combat, are the extension of ATGM-cariers. In those cases they play more like tanks as they have to use the environment to be effective, like tree lines, ridges and other obstacles, to not get shot down.
Helicopter rushing wouldn’t work as it’s not an effective tactic to take out the enemy team. Again, you can’t respawn afterward, and you probably get shot down more often than to have a significant effect on your team on the battlefield.
What about long range ATGMs if there’s no AAA? ⇒ long range AI-AAA, that force helicopters to stay low.
AI CAS
Technically, you don’t need it. The only reason why this would be useful, is to give AAA an actual objective. In that case, it could work something like this:
Shoot down air-superiority-fighters so that your team can call in AI-CAS. AI-CAS would have a limited use and couldn’t be used to obliterate the enemy team. More for clearing out some strategic positions.
Sidenote
In contrast to Air RB it would be important to spawn with a lineup simply to pivot between the type of vehicle you are going to spawn based on the map.