Seriously, the Leclerc is hurting bad. Let’s look at things objectively:
It has the second worst APFDS round at 11.7, only the British L27A1 is worse (by 11mm)
It doesn’t have a particularly competitive reload as all tanks except Russians, Chinese and Israeli can match it and in some case exceed it
Its traverse is worse than its contemporaries because reasons
The fuel tanks are infuriatingly easy to detonate
The armor… just isn’t competitive:
Hell, the SXXI doesn’t have improved armor even though it was one of the main feature of that version! (and no, it wasn’t limited to the part in front of the gunner sight)
The Leo2A6 has a similar reload but a much better round and armor. The Type 10 has similar armor, but a better round and much better reload (and other niceness like LWS and variable suspension).
And before the whole statistic thing is brought up: If the Type 10 isn’t causing any balance issues, then giving the Leclerc a 5s reload or the OFL F2 won’t break anything. As it stands, it’s really frustrating to play a gimped vehicle simply because the average player is “too good” (because clearly the reason for the stats isn’t the vehicle itself). This is a really silly reason and really feel like an unfair punishment.
I have all Leclerc unlocked, and I can tell you that it’s pretty damn accurate. Almost any APFDS hit you take will be a kill. The video I included is an excellent example.
I dont say the Leclerc dont have problems, but just the Protection card in the hangar … much times, if you try a shoot, you can penetrate in a “safe” zone or not penetrate in a “unsafe” zone …
In battle that worse than the protection card…
Wdym Leclerc have worse reload than Chinese, Israeli or Russian. They reload 6.5 sec for T-80s, 7.1 for T-72/90, ZTZ99s or over 8 sec in terms of Merkavas, while Leclerc´s autoloader is flat 6sec.
Ha this BR mobility is useless good players have no trouble destroying you. I just want to know why Gaijin didn’t give him his last APFDS. I would like to know what scares them by adding it, I ask for a simple official answer, and from the Gaijin development team, not mods. I had seen a video that explained why the Leclerc recharge faster than its competitor, but apparently the devs are not of the same opinion.
It’s decent but nothing amazing. If anything it’s underperforming vs reality, as one of its main strength (the hyperbar engine eliminating turbolag) isn’t represented in game. And it has received nothing but nerf since it has been implemented in game.
It’s mediocre in the best of case. Plenty of 11.7 tanks with better armor (like the M1, Leo 2 or Strv 122) can match it. The Challenger 2s can easily surpass its reload with a trained crew and the Type 90 and Type 10 have a 2s better reload.
This is objectively false, come on man. The video and pics I’ve posted in the OP clearly shows otherwise. Almost any APFDS hit is a one hit kill due to the bad armor, the extreme spalling, the proximity of the crew and the nuclear fuel tanks.
Literally the second worst shell at 11.7 and the vast majority of tanks can match or surpass the 6s reload. You didn’t even bother reading the OP before making your post.
It’s still hilarious to say it’s reload isn’t “particularly competitive” when it matches every other NATO 120 on the M1s and Leopards, just without the need to spend GE or play 5,000 games for Ace crew.
Otherwise I agree the Leclercs could use some attention from the devs.
I kinda get what you mean, but purely from a balance perspective it remains a fact that these tanks can match the Leclerc’s reload while having other advantages on top of that.
And it’s not like a nuke where you need to play extremely well to get it, you just need to have the disposable income or the patience.
Survivability, mobility and firepower are the 3 main caracteristics when it comes to judging a vehicle.
When the first Leclerc came out it was very good in all 3 areas.
Now, it’s been powercrept so much it’s either bad or average in all three categories.
I don’t believe we’ll ever get a tankier Leclerc and it’s not like we can get a 4th crew member to get more survivability either, so my suggestion for a buff would be :
5 seconds reload. That autoloader makes us sacrify a crew member and thus survivability, so we should get something in return like a better reload rate ;
Better penetration. Leclerc currently has the second worse penetration at top tier, being only slightly better than the Challenger 2s ;
More mobility through better acceleration. It is supposed to be the Leclerc’s distinctive strength but now, it’s actually just as fast Abrams and Russian tanks …
If Gaijin doesn’t intend on giving it a better armor, faster reload rate or a better shell, they might as well give it the scouting ability because its survivability is so bad it’s currently closer to a light tank than a MBT …
Well yes, but while an Abrams can reach the same reload rate as a Leclerc with enough RP or GE, a Leclerc won’t ever get the survivability of the Abrams.
Besides the reload (which the Abrams can reach), the Leclerc is objectively worse in every aspect.
Since the Leclerc is sacrifying survivability (a crew member) to get an autoloader, it should at least get a better reload with the autoloader don’t you think ?
4 seconds is the japanese gimmick, so I believe the Leclerc should get 5 seconds reload.
That should give people an actual reason to play the Leclerc …
I agree with your post overall, but I have to say that there’s another thing that needs to be done: Fixing the UFP armor
The fact that the Leclerc saw 6 different armor upgrades proposal:
Swedish upgrade
Spoiler
Turkish upgrade
Spoiler
“2015” upgrade
Spoiler
Azur upgrade
Spoiler
CLARA upgrade (UAE’s Leclerc)
Spoiler
XLR upgrade
Spoiler
And that NONE of these kits made over 3 decades, even the third party ones, upgrade the UFP and LFP of the tank clearly shows that it’s considered as being sufficient by all parties involved. That would obviously not be the case if the IRL Leclerc had the same protection as the one it does in game. And let’s not forget that one of the upgrade that Sweden did to the Leo 2 when they adopted it was to upgrade its UFP and LFP, something that wasn’t suggested for the Leclerc.
Steel Beasts’ values are far more likely to be correct:
Gaijin is tripping with the Leclerc’s protection and it needs to be fixed.
