At times, it is difficult to understand the uneven matchmaking.
Is the number of players unbalanced?
Yes and no. It depends on when you look at it. Even at the beginning of the battle we are blessed, even if rarely, with those who immediately flee back into the hangar. The reasons for this are varied and can be read often enough here in the forum. I am not a fan of leaving a battle before it has even begun.
Once the battle has started, it usually takes 3 minutes before the first ones are back in the hangar. And this is where the biggest imbalance usually comes into play. This usually increases the closer the enemy gets to your own spawn.
Many players prefer to avoid situations instead of confronting them. This is a general problem in our society.
Over a very long period of time, over several hundred battles, the ODL disadvantage is likely to be distributed equally between both teams. If you look at individual battles, the burden weighs heavily if you are the one who stays.
Unfortunately, the game mechanics allow such behaviour. This means that the balance of players in a battle always depends on their emotional and mental stability.
In short, it is the player’s decision to use this mechanic to avoid combat. I hope for more balance here. On the one hand you get a time penalty for leaving early, on the other hand lineups with a tank are allowed.
One match overwhelming win. One match overwhelming loss.
The balance problems explained above can easily be categorised here. They are one reason for the sometimes very quick and clear results.
Another important point is the players’ line-ups. There are players who take the time to build sensible lineups while others do not.
Here too, the players and their understanding of the game, the tanks/aircraft have a major influence on the battle.
Another influence is how well a player can handle the tanks they bring into battle. Here, too, there is sometimes a great gap between the skills of the players.
It currently only takes 2-3 very good players to influence the outcome of a battle. Sometimes even just one outstanding one …
What is the reason for the large differences here?
On the one hand that Gaijin explains the game mechanics badly and on the other hand the players who don’t realise that they lack basic understanding and could change things themselves. Players usually look for change on the outside and demand adjustments to the maps, armour and BR levels. It may make sense in some places, but not nearly as often as it currently seems here.
This becomes clear when you keep reading about demands to adjust tanks upwards in BR, which are usually dependent on their strong armour because otherwise they don’t enjoy any advantages.
This one-sided view of balance quickly leads to new problems.
Another important psychological aspect is that we humans tend to always see the negative. This is both a curse and a blessing. This clearly shows who is looking for change on the outside before they even look at what they can change in themselves.
Those who win often will not be as happy about it as they will be angry about a series of defeats.
Everyone can try this out for themselves. Play 20 battles and don’t look at how often you have lost or won. I have often been surprised myself that I had actually won 60%. Only the defeats often weighed heavier. Quite naturally.
There doesn’t seem to be a balance of opponents.
This is certainly the most controversial point. You have to look at the line-ups again.
A player like me, for example, likes to play with my favourite scout lineup in the USA. Recon can have a big impact on the outcome of the battle as players find it easier to look out for flashing icons than potentially dangerous spots.
What does the lineup look like?
- M56 … Scout ability, no armour, very manoeuvrable and high penetration.
- M41A1 … Scout capability, “armour”, manoeuvrable and high penetration.
- M50 … Scout capability, no armour, very manoeuvrable and extreme penetration.
- T92 … Scout ability, “armour”, manoeuvrable and high penetration.
- T95 … for battles in which you end up as a nasty surprise. Works wonderfully.
With this lineup, I’m able to be everywhere quickly and do damage.
If the enemy team has the right level of ignorance, this can quickly prove fatal.
To be honest, how many players are really able to recognise the danger posed by light tanks?
And now I dare to make a very, very provocative statement. Far too many players have a problem recognizing which tanks and where on the map quickly becomes a problem.
Many players suffer from tunnel vision. At the beginning of a match you only see the one cap you want. Then you only see the opponents in your immediate surroundings. What happens left and right is often ignored and quickly becomes fatal. Someone else can take care of it.
Even with guns that have a rather low penetration, you can do a lot of damage on the flanks. A good example of this is the M24 which is deadly in the flank of a KV. Frontal… fast food.
And it is precisely these small differences in mobility, firepower and armor that make the game so special. It is important to compensate for your disadvantages compared to the other person through your skills.
There are tanks with which it is more difficult to balance this and there are tanks with which it is easier, see my US lineup from above.
I see Gaijin’s role as creating opportunities here. No equality.
Let’s play a thought game. Many players demand that they have to be able to fight their opponents head-on. Well, we grant them this wish in the thought game.
What does that mean for yourself? You are also easy to fight head-on by any other opponent.
In the end it will just be a matter of who fires the first shot. Vulnerabilities no longer matter.
And we are at a point in the game where this is already the case. Only rarely are tanks able to deal with others head-on.
There are certainly more aspects that come into play here. It was important to me to focus on how big the influence of one’s own skills can actually be on balance.
Anyone who now feels inclined to say that I am not able to acquire these skills should be told. You can do that!
Does that trigger you hard? It’s all the more important to take a look at why…
Finally…thank you if you made it this far. We don’t have to agree. If you think differently about it, then you can. You can even write it down here. Freedom of expression is important.