- Yes
- No
The long-awaited VEXTRA 105 has finally been made part of the French ground arsenal in War Thunder with the help of the latest “Seek & Destroy” major update. This top-of-the-line technology demonstrator is set to change things up quite a bit for France at the top rank. However, despite developers having tackled most of the original concerns through community feedback, several critical issues remain unresolved.
Before diving into specifics, I want to convey to the Developers that we are all very excited about the VEXTRA 105’s inclusion in this update. We are also very thankful for fixing most of the historical inaccuracies so far. France finally getting top-tier Light Tanks is a significant development, and starting this trend with the VEXTRA 105 is simply amazing. The modelling of the vehicle is masterfully done as always, especially the camo net.
However, from what I have gathered, most of France’s player base is disappointed by the VEXTRA 105 in its current form and many would like to see it be more historically accurate. Penetration is especially concerning: a light tank cannot be put at 9.7 with barely 361mm of penetration. We are this close to greatness, and France’s community is hoping to get these last problems fixed. Now let’s explore the issues.
Although we appreciate the efforts made by the Devs towards making the VEXTRA 105 a better light tank, much improvement has yet to be made to its performance and historical representation.
→ Penetration : The most pressing issue here is access to the OFL 105 F2 round.
… Which the VEXTRA 105 should have access to since it uses the GIAT G2 105mm canon, which was made to fire OFL 105 F2.
This round has about 489 mm of penetration, which would put the VEXTRA in line with other light tanks of that BR, such as the ZTL-11 (also 9.7) that uses a 491mm APFSDS round for example.
Right now, the vehicle is armed with the OFL 105 F1, at a mere 361 mm of penetration—putting it in a very rough spot within its BR bracket. 361mm is incredibly anaemic and lacking for that BR bracket.
Besides penetration, VEXTRA 105 is currently superior compared to its counterparts. Meaning it is currently held back by an anaemic round. I believe everyone would agree that it would be better if the VEXTRA 105 gets OFL 105 F2 at the cost of going to 10.0 or 10.3.
However, the VEXTRA 105 should never go above 10.3 as it would put it at a BR bracket where France has no other vehicles (there are currently no vehicles in France’s tech tree between 9.7 and 11.7). We don’t want the VEXTRA to drag France’s entire 9.3-9.7 line-up in 11.7 matches.
→ Acceleration: Poor, still. Currently, it can reach 30 km/h in 3.80 seconds when it is supposed to get that in 3.4 seconds. The difference is 11.8%, and that surely means a lot of impact on vehicle mobility in the game.
→ Armor Thickness: The armor was made to deal with shots coming at it from AP rounds, going up to 14.5mm, but now all it can manage to stop is 12.7mm AP shots.
We look forward to those issues being addressed by the developers to ensure this vehicle is historically accurate. Make yourselves heard through the poll of this thread. The input from the community has already led to some significant improvements, and continuous feedback is just crucial for the fine-tuning of this vehicle.
Once again, please thank @Bossman919 for putting an (V)EXTRAordinary amount of work into fixing this vehicle.
The VEXTRA 105 is going to be a gem for War Thunder’s French ground forces, but it still needs a little bit of fine-tuning for this to happen. We are thankful for the continued work by the developers and sincerely hope they consider all the remaining issues to provide an experience that is not only accurate but also pleasant for all players. Let’s continue giving feedback and work together to make the VEXTRA 105 a brilliant vehicle for the future.
Getting an historically accurate VEXTRA 105 will pave the way for future light tanks addition for France, such as the VEXTRA POLE (120mm), which I am personally looking forward to see into War Thunder.
Good tanking - I’ll see you on the battlefield, hopefully in a fixed VEXTRA 105.
