Would you like to see the M26 Pershing moved to BR 6.3
- Yes
- No
While the M26 Pershing is a fine tank, all of the M26 variants are superior and yet share the same BR of 6.7. Due to its lackluster mobility, average armor, and penetration akin to that of the 8.8 cm KwK 36 when using conventional kinetic rounds (which is all it gets access to), it is essentially on par or slightly better than the Tiger E, which sits at BR 6.0.
Meanwhile, the T26E5, or the “Jumbo Pershing” which shares the same gun but has drastically better armor protection also sits at 6.7. Imagine if that were the case for the M4A2 (75) (BR 4.0) and the M4A3E2 (75) Jumbo (BR 5.7). Can you imagine if these tanks were both 5.7 (RB, SB)? That would be unfathomable, and yet we basically have the same case with the M26 and T26E5.
Going even further we have the T26E1-1, aka the “Super Pershing”. This vehicle is also up-armored, but with applique plates. It also has a more powerful gun. Yet, it sits at 6.7 like the standard M26. Again, this is as if the M4A2 (75) (BR 4.0) was now sitting at the same BR as the M4A3E2 (76) W (BR 6.3)!
Up-armored and and up-gunned versions of tanks should almost never share a BR with the standard tank. The additional armor and firepower of the T26E5 and T26E1-1 provide significant benefits over the standard M26. I am not calling for them to go up in battle rating. They perform competitively where they are. I am calling into question the reasoning for keeping the standard M26 at 6.7 when there are clearly better options based off of its chassis at the exact same BR.
Additionally, if you go up just 0.3 in BR, you can use the M46, which is literally just a much faster M26 that has access to potent HEAT-FS rounds. As a side note: the Italian M26A1 that is equipped with the modernized M3A1 cannon should stay at 6.7, but only if it is given access to the M348 HEAT-FS shell. This would make the vehicle truly unique and give players a reason to use it in the Italian tree.
TL;DR: The M26 is comparable to the Tiger I and therefore should be reduced in BR. More importantly, there are better M26 variants at 6.7 in the US tech tree such as the T26E5 and T26E1-1 that give little incentive to use the standard M26. The M26A1 in the Italian tree should stay at 6.7 and be given access to M348 HEAT-FS.
