You seriously need to remove the M18, Super Hellcat, and M551(76) changes from the list of RB changes.
The M18s while more responsive than they used to be, are still not better than they were before their first engine nerf. They are fine at 5.7 and they honestly should be 5.3 for the Super Hellcat to be justified at 5.7 without being “pay to win”. The 76mm Loses it’s shine after 5.3, by 5.7 the short US 90mm should be standard armament, the ones like seen on the T25 (also an over-br’d tank) and M36s. Their firepower is more equal to the competition as well as reload.
On the other hand the Super Hellcat should be doing the opposite of moving up in BR. It is a vehicle that is way out of its league at 6.3 as it is, with a gun that isn’t really justified at the BR to begin with on a chassis that shouldn’t be above 5.7. The vehicle itself has and always will belong at 5.7, not 6.3 and DEFINITELY NOT 6.7. The Super Hellcat is heavier than the 76mm Hellcats and it is very noticable when it comes to acceleration. It’s a 90mm with no HEAT attached to a vehicle with no armor that belongs at 5.7 that is now being moved to 6.7???
Hellcats as a whole are a 5.3-5.7 range vehicle and so far the variants we have in game do not justify a higher or a lower BR than that. They are a pretty good light tank but definitely not the best and definitely not 6.0 material. Already no US vehicle with a US 76mm WITHOUT APDS should ever exist above 5.7 in the current state of BR ranges. Current vehicles with the short US 90mm also should not exist above 6.3 on “normal” tanks (exception being the Jumbo Pershing because it has armor to offset the lackluster gun at 6.7) Another example of an over-br’d short 90mm is the latest M4 Sherman with a Pershing turret. It should be 5.7 not 6.0.
Finally, the M551(76); a tank that sits somewhere between a B+ and an A- is now going to 7.0 where it’s gun is borderline fucking useless, even if it got the lackluster HEAT for its gun. All because it was semi-competitive and could SOMETIMES be better than an M41A1 in certain situations. A tank that can be reliably and easily killed with 7.62mm machine guns from the sides (though it won’t happen often from other tanks because you’ll just be 1-shot), doesn’t have enough armor to resist 12.7mm rounds frontally, yet has enough armor from all angles to set off every single APHE round in the game to my knowledge allowing it to be easily 1-shot ANYWHERE by pretty much every vehicle in the game that has a gun larger than 57mm. All while it still must aim for weak spots taking between 2-3 shots to kill or the occasional 1-shot if APDS decides to actually set off ammo; with a roof mounted .50 that can’t aim high enough to actually defend itself from CAS reasonably, which can be killed even easier from above by a bi-plane with 7.62mm guns. In most cases a (still somehow) 6.3 M41A1, or the German (somehow) 6.7 M41A1 with HEAT and smoke launchers, would be better in nearly every way besides lacking a stabilizer, which doesn’t really come in handy that often anyhow because it’s not a point and click gun; both of which can actually survive being shot, resist .50s and even some auto cannons, being nearly immune to a lot of CAS guns, and both of which having a .50 that can also aim high enough and with enough horizontal traverse to usually not even need to move the turret, to defend themselves from CAS.
The only thing making the M551(76) worth even using is the fact that it is a premium so you get better rewards, and the fact that it has a DECENT stabilizer (that low vertical targeting speed limits how effective it is and you can most definitely feel it, quite it gets you killed especially with how bad 3rd person targeting can be making your gun aim into space). It’s not that fast, being beaten by M41s in every way that actually matters when it comes to mobility (it’s top speed is higher than the M41 but you only hit it going downhill or after a LOG stretch of road, but your acceleration is terrible because despite being extremely light, the engine has what feels like 0 torque).
The other thing is, the main reason why it is doing so well right now is people for some reason see it and think they need to actually “aim” for something on it. Mainly people not even knowing what it is yet (yes it’s a technically 8.3 chassis at 6.7 but even the normal M551 is over-br’d anyway). Most people using it are people who know what they’re doing as well, with a combination of a lot of players not paying attention to surroundings. Very few instances have I actually done something that I couldn’t have done easier and better in the M41 for the most part.
The APDS on the US 76mm is terrible when it comes to post pen damage, and it’s penetration isn’t very good either. It’s not good enough to lol-pen and it’s not good enough to completely ignore angles either. It loses penetration very heavily over distance. It has to aim for the same weak spots a 90mm has to, only advantage being that it is at least somewhat better than having to use APCR.
If the M551(76) goes to 7.0 so should the Centurion MK.2, and the M551(76) should also at least get HEAT to give it the illusion of a tradeoff. Especially since the only redeeming quality about it is the stabilizer and premium status.
Every update now seems to always have a huge nerf for USA, and if your intention is to make sure the US tree goes from majority to completely over-br’d across the board and having almost 0 equally competitive vehicles; you’re doing a great job at that and this set of changes is another step in that direction. Everytime USA gets something decent and equally competitive to its opponents you over-br said vehicle and nerf it to the ground. Along with the myriad of US vehicles that are implemented incorrectly to begin with and are already worse than all of its equivalent opponents around it both above and below.
Please stop using statistical balancing and please for the love of God and the sake of the game actually improving, actually look at and compare vehicles based on what they can actually do, their upsides, downsides, etc. NOT STATISTICS. Not everything needs to be moved. The list of US vehicles that are over-br’d, improperly represented, severely sub-par, and artificially worse than competitors is massive right now and it is basically the majority of the tree, which alot has been caused by your improper use of statistics to balance them. Stop making it worse, start making it better. Make that number less not more, you’re making it more with this set of “balance” changes.
