Hello everyone, I’ve been looking to make this post for a while, and with the release of the new patch, I figured it was finally a good time for it.
In this post I intend to go over the current flaws in the French ground tree and suggest vehicles or other changes that might be able to resolve these issues. To most of you I assume that what I’m gonna say is gonna be quite logical and known knowledge. However, Gaijin appears to have no idea about the issues or a plan to resolve them. Hence why I thought a public post could help to increase visibility.
I hope to make a similar post after every patch release to keep pointing out the present issues and offer solutions for them.
If this post gathers some traction, then I’d be more than happy to make a topic for the issues in the air tree as well.
Now, let’s get into it:
Issue 1: The SPAA gap between 4.3 and 8.3
This one is currently my biggest annoyance in the French ground tree. It’s also a long standing issue that has been mentioned many times and, despite plentiful options to resolve the issue, remains present. The AMX-13 DCA 40 is the de-facto SPAA that players have to use in their lineups until 8.3. While the vehicle is an acceptable SPAA at its own br, and remains a fun vehicle if played as IFV for a few more levels, it quickly becomes useless as SPAA.
The lack of SPAA in this gap is especially disappointing since there is a lot of otherwise good lineups present within it. Lineups at 5.3 can still do decently well with the DCA 40, but those at 6.7, 7.3, 7.7 and 8.0 have to do with a horribly outclassed SPAA, or simply do without one.
Possible solutions to the problem:
This particular gap has a lot of possible options to fix it, for clarity and to make it easy for Gaijin, I’ll only show the ones that already have parts modeled.
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AML S530
A twin 20mm SPAA based on the AML chassis that we already have in-game from the AML-90. The vehicle has no radar and is armed with 2x GIAT industries M621 20mm autocannons with a rate-of-fire of 740 rounds/minute/barrel. -
AMX-13 S533
Another twin 20mm SPAA. This time based on the AMX-13 chassis that we all know and love. The turret is slightly upgraded from the S530 featured on the previous vehicle and replaces the M621 with the Hispano Suiza HS820 cannons. -
AMX-13 DCA (prototype)
The prototype of the AMX-13 DCA. This turret is the direct predecessor to the one we see on the AMX-30 DCA. This turret was in fact first mounted onto AMX-13s as the AMX-13 DCA. The production version also had the radar equipment that we are familiar with, but this was lacking from the prototype, making it a very good options for an SPAA below 8.3. The chassis is already in-game and the turret model almost is. Should be a very easy addition for Gaijin -
AML TA20
Another SPAA based on the AML chassis. This time featuring a different, smaller twin 20mm turret. This turret optionally featured a radar, but in the case of this prototype, didn’t. The vehicle did come equipped with an optical tracker.
Issue 2: The absence of stabilized wheeled tank-destroyers
Stabilized wheeled vehicles are probably some of the most fun and useful vehicles in the top-tier meta right now. Despite this, France currently has one 0 stabilized wheeled tank-destroyers in its tree. Despite this absence, France has no lack of options when it comes to this vehicle class. It would massively benefit the high-rank lineups if there were light vehicles to go along with the MBTs.
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Sagaie 2
The Sagaie 2 was a further development of the Sagaie wheeled tank-destroyer. It featured a more powerful engine, but also the TTB190 turret which offered full weapon stabilization. -
AMX-10RC (TML Late)
A prototype development of the AMX-10RC. This featured a late model TML turret which came equipped with a stabilizer. This one would be fairly easy for gaijin to implement as they can simply re-use the AMX-10RC hull. -
VEXTRA 105
Possibly the most well-known and wanted option for this specific issue. The VEXTRA was a wheeled tank-destroyer armed with a fully stabilized 105mm cannon. This would be a perfect counterpart to the likes of the Type 16 and Centauro. -
VEXTRA POLE
A further development of the VEXTRA vehicle, this one fitted with a 120mm cannon. The turret was known as the FER (Faible Effort de Recul) and was eventually fitted with its full fire-control-system before the project was cancelled. -
EBRC Jaguar
This one was always gonna be here, the EBRC Jaguar is France’s latest scout vehicle. While not technically a wheeled tank-destroyer, it’s also not an IFV. The Jaguar is intended to replace the ERC 90 and AMX 10RC, so I figured it fits best in this list. The vehicle is equipped with a 40mm autocannon and a pair of launchers for the FnF Akeron missile.
Issue 3: The absence of IFVs
IFVs are another key aspect to higher rank gameplay, and one that’s almost entirely missing from the French tree. At least this time we can say that there’s a single one, but unfortunately it’s a premium. Despite promises we’d get a researchable counterpart, we’ve not seen that materialize as of right now.
France has mostly focused on producing wheeled IFVs, but some tracked options are also available.
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AMX 10M HOT
Now that we have the AMX 10M ACRA in-game, this vehicle became more relevant. It is essentially the AMX-10 hull with the 20mm cannon, but instead of having a hull-mounted canon, it has the missile launchers on the side of the turret, making it a vastly more flexible platform, and an actual IFV. -
AMX 10 TTB140
Another IFV based on the AMX 10 chassis, this time mounting the TTB140 turret. This turret features a powerful 40mm autocannon. This is essentially a proper IFV that will function like the AMX 13 DCA 40. -
VBCI 2 T40
A VBCI 2 variant featuring the 2-man T40 turret. Main armament consists of a 40mm autocannon that fires cased telescoped munitions. The same gun is also present on the EBRC Jaguar -
VBCI
The original VBCI, mass produced and used by the French army. The standard version has a DRAGAR turret that comes equipped with a 25mm autocannon. The version in this image is equipped with the EIREL missile jamming system that we know from the AMX-30B2 BRENUS. -
AMX VCI T.20-13
An early IFV based on the AMX VCI chassis. This is in its turn an IFV based on the AMX-13 chassis. This vehicle is equipped with the Toucan turret which has a 20mm autocannon as main armament. Not something for the higher ranks, but could be useful in the mid ranks. -
AMX 10P Dragar
The standard AMX 10 IFV but with a Dragar turret. Basically a less mobile, but smaller version of the VBCI. Could be a fun vehicle to reinforce to mid ranks. Just like every other AMX 10 variant, it is amphibious. -
AML Eclairage
Once again the chassis of the AML armoured car, but this time fitted with a multipurpose turret that came equipped with a 20mm autocannon and a MILAN missile launcher on top of that. -
There is many more options available, but I cannot list them all, be sure to go have a look at the suggestions pages if you want to see more.
Conclusion:
I think these 3 are currently the most pressing issues in the French ground tree and would love to see Gaijin put in some effort to resolve them. Plenty of options are available for every issue as I could only list a limited amount of vehicles in this topic before it would become absurdly long. If there’s other issues that you guys think are more pressing, please do discuss them in the comments, if the issue is agreed upon, I’ll try to add it to the main post for as long as I can.
Similarly, if you disagree with the vehicles I’ve suggested here, please give your own counter suggestions, I can always replace the vehicles that I’ve put in the post.
It is sad that we have to point out where the issues are in the hopes of seeing them resolved, but doing nothing and continuing to be disappointed by the additions we get is also not getting us anywhere. At least like this I can hope that the issues become more apparent and public and will receive more attention towards the future.
