No, it’s not because I am one of those CAS-crybabies. Although I do play and enjoy playing CAS from time to time, I have always been of the opinion that Gaijin needs to do something to balance it like increasing the spawn costs, adjusting BR’s, doing something about op weapon systems and encouraging SPAA gameplay (in the sense that maybe AA should be used as Anti-AIR). Maybe I am actually the opposite because now I am a crybaby-SPAA-player.
My current situation is now: I have just spent a lot of time on my 100% f2p account grinding to the SIDAM 25 (Mistral) at 9.7 in the Italian tech tree and before unlocking it I already knew from playing the normal SIDAM and testing the Mistral SIDAM, that it wasn’t going to be a good vehicle, but I thought it didn’t matter since that is basically just Italy pain and nonetheless I do enjoy playing SPAA and I’ll finally have some missiles to actually do something about some of the CAS planes in this BR. BUT now it is not only “not good”, it has become absolutely useless and obsolete . Whenever I am down to only having points for my SPAA I already know that for the rest of the game I am gonna be sitting around idly while some fckss OSA that someone randomly got does all the work against any plane or air vehicle in general and some Gepard-ish thing will be cruising about the battlefield either doing f*ckall because it’s stock or getting a few kills.
About 2 minutes into the game there will be at least 2 or 3 missile SPAA (Gepard 1A2, 2S6, OSA, Ozelot, Roland, etc.) sitting in spawn and do nothing for the rest of the game because also NOBODY SPAWNS PLANES ANYMORE. Even when I’m the sole SPAA in my team and I think “finally! I can maybe get a kill” I will be just sitting around waiting forever. This is not balancing this is just straight up deleting CAS without actually calling it that. This update has made both CAS and certain SPAA’s completely useless, except for the obvious OP SPAA’s, which even at stock level can just shred tanks away (looking at you every Gepard and Gepard-ish SPAA). I am now left with the rest of the line of SPAA for Italy becoming absolutely useless because f it, I’ll get them anyways for free and even then they don’t hold a candle to the other SPAA’s anyone gets for free in the major nations.
Either get rid of CAS AND SPAA’s completely or don’t and give the people, that spent their time (and a lot of it) researching SPAA to actually help their team a chance.
Worst of all is that this has seemingly made the CAS problem in lower BR’s much worse. In my experience at least, the fckton of planes has just increased another fckton and some players will just keep refusing to touch the SPAA line because “I’ll get them for free later anyways” only to then realize, that it doesn’t f*cking matter anymore.
Anyway I wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and also thinks, that a buff to anti-air should have been done differently.
Man, reading this back, it really seems to be just an Italy issue really. Especially around the 9.3/9.7 BR range they just don’t get anything good for SPAA while the other nations (even the other smaller nations) have something better. IDK man, but it genuinely frustrates me and as I am grinding the chinese tech tree I am just thinking about whether or not to grind the SPAA further since I am already getting the next SPAA in line before even reseaching it.
I am highly against free SPAA and it should 100% be removed.
you diminish someones hard work by giving others free spaa (Which is a shocker, the least researched line in every TT).
Half the times your team is 90% SPAA sitting in spawn, which doesnt even do anything.
(I actually want free spaa removed more than nerfing the BMPT so i can use my 10.7 USA lineup)
Yeah, I agree, there is no need in such amount of AA in the team.
Or it should at least give you a tech of your max BR and not of the battle.
Although Sidams suck even without that mechanic: no AP in stock belt, low maximum distance, no search radar, chassis which can’t climb even small angles. The best time to spawn Sidam and OTOMATIC is when enemy is already at your spawn, but you should have AT shells researched.
This is actually good news for tank mains bro now less unwanted air pesks and more foods for ground vehicles even M22 get to eat at 12.7. since they are not going to add a tank-only gamemode, this is actually a QOL update for tank mains! I hope they give the player the ability to turn on AI mode for SPAA next, like you play a tank and earn enough sp you can spawn an AI controlled SPAA with aimbot, sending these unwanted air pesks back to where they belongs -air rb
I understand the pain, whenever I play at that BR in Israel I get the Chaparral and the Machbet (I have both spaded and all that so I just take the Machbet and let the Chaparral be the free option) and it’s hell, I can’t get a single plane or drone because of them. To be honest, at this point, it’s better to just get out and start another battle before wasting time. My latest gameplay has been just scouting enemies around the map and that’s about it, as I don’ have a radar, the missiles are wonky and it’s ass in general.
SPAAs were the last thing I actually grinded and spaded becuse of the incredibly useless SPAAs.
As an avid player of both CAS and SPAA in ground battles, I agree with most of the topic post statements. I didn’t spend hundreds of hours researching SPAA just for some low-level premium vehicle users to get such top-tier vehicles for free, with negligible differences from the spaded version, spamming free SPAA, making SPAA gameplay boring or redundant for the very people who cared to play them in the first place. Neither does it make sense to give free SPAA to the players who chose to neglect the SPAA research line.
In the end, this is the result of constant community bias against CAS. On most anti-CAS players: arguments made out of self-interest rather than balance; they don’t desire a debate, but rather for everyone to comply with their views. As for Gaijin, appeasing premium vehicle players is profitable, but balancing based on capability is not, that’s why major nations (US, USSR, Germany) vehicles are disproportionately inclined to be undertiered.
This development is not only unfair, but also pushed mainly by monetary interests. Another thing people should understand is that a significant section of the playerbase are inclined to have certain beliefs (conflict of interest), and seldom use or understand reason.
another problem i have with it is unlike the free tank being stock don’t matter much for most AA as they are pretty much Full power the second you get them.
Me also the same bro I didn’t spend thousands of hours to get to top tier mbts just to become a feeder food for CAS players to fill their cheap dopamine, I’m honestly so tired of this man. Now that things got better now for us, more food for my ground vehicles and fewer cockblockers lol
Honestly, my biggest gripe is the amount of team killing by salty low level players. It happens in almost every match. They must just be bored and decide to kill friendly CAS, I’ve been taken out multiple times by teammates for absolutely no reason. Just today, a level 15 player shot me out of my nuke using his free ADATS with his one tank clickbait lineup. Just sad man. But honestly it just more food for good CAS players.
Less CAS is an overall net positive for combined battles, it gets it closer to what tankers want which is a TANK ONLY mode.
around 8.3 its a waste of time spawning a plane as the gepards and similar are to blatantly overpowered for the ww2-mid korea jets. 1970s spaa is overkill for the poor blighters. Similar issue at top tier, the SPAA means the only viable option is missile tosses with KH38MT, which is a fake missile.
I like the free spaas when i play 10.7-11.7 because i get to so some actual SEAD missions before doming the strela who doesnt know how to radar with an AGM-65
It also means the guy that got gaijinned can still have an outcome on the battle by knocking out aicraft that may have been unchecked before
the free spaa is a positive for the game but like literally everything else in war thunder the execution was sloppy