When Balance Fixes Create More Frustration Than Fun

Game Discussion General Discussion
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Recent events related to the Terminator — though not only those — motivated me to write this post.

I purchased the BMPT-72 Terminator pack in pre-order at a discounted price for a very specific reason: to complete my lineup for a specific BR. This pack was clearly designed for BR 10.3, not 10.7 or 11.3. Yet, in less than a month, the developers decided to increase its BR twice.

I want to clarify one thing upfront: this is not about compensation, nor about buying something I didn’t agree with at the time of purchase. The issue lies elsewhere.

I understand the reasoning behind the decision — the vehicle’s armor is indeed very strong. However, it feels like this case highlights a sense of imbalance and double standards in how balance changes are applied.

The USSR received a vehicle with severely limited mobility (reverse speed of only 4 km/h), but compensated with significantly stronger armor. At the same time, this is one of the rare situations where other nations begin to experience what many players have been dealing with for months — or even years — when facing:

  • various SPAA vehicles that, thanks to extreme mobility and rate of fire, can penetrate heavy tanks from across the map (Gepard, Falcon, ZA-35),
  • or the almost “immortal” T58 at BR 8.3.

Where is the enjoyment or satisfaction in encountering — regardless of nation — a monster with a 2.6-second reload, firing a 155 mm HESH shell capable of destroying most top-tier vehicles in a single hit, while also having practically indestructible armor?

Example video by Spookston called “The Unstoppable Heavy Tank”
Cannot put another link…

A similar issue applies to anti-air vehicles like the ZA-35, which can reach the enemy’s rear within seconds and cause complete devastation, effectively removing any sense of fair gameplay.

Example video by _fofo:

I understand that many players may disagree with me. I am also aware that this post will most likely never be noticed by the developers. Still, I felt the need to express my opinion — because I am genuinely disappointed that balance decisions made in such a short time can completely invalidate the purpose of purchasing a vehicle that was marketed for a specific BR, while other equally problematic vehicles are not even considered for adjustments.

What makes this even more disheartening is seeing more and more players leave a game we all enjoy. It increasingly feels like the community’s voice is fading, and balance decisions like these only deepen that frustration.

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Or the BMPs, BMDs, 2S38, T-80UD, etc etc

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Most of the vehicles you mentioned, such as the 2S38 or the T-80UD, are premium vehicles, yet they do not stand out in any exceptional way compared to their tech-tree counterparts. In real gameplay, when facing vehicles like the Falcon, Gepard, or other high rate-of-fire platforms, they are often destroyed by a single well-placed shot, with little room to react.

Their status does not grant them any form of “immunity” or clear dominance in comparasion to above-mentioned tanks like T58 or SPAAs — they suffer from the same vulnerabilities as regular vehicles. This is why it feels inconsistent when some vehicles are adjusted almost immediately, while others with equally disruptive impact remain largely untouched.

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The thing is though, all those high fire rate vehicles are balanced around the fact that they can be one shot rather easily.

BMPT you couldnt, especially if it was in a hulldown. It was a heavy tank with an autocanon, it would be like Slapping a Falcon turret onto Chieftain and putting it at 7.0 because it was slow

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Don’t get me wrong — this is not about arguing that the USSR should be number one or have the best tanks in the game. That is not my point at all.

What I’m trying to convey is that the focus of balance changes doesn’t always align with what players are actually complaining about. Adjustments seem to target certain vehicles very quickly, while other long-standing and widely criticized issues are left untouched. Because of that, the direction of these changes often feels disconnected from the real problems affecting gameplay and player enjoyment.

BMPT is slow as well - It lacks mobility, but this is compensated for by its armour. Its equipment is no different from what we have in tanks or anti-aircraft guns, even at lower BRs.

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The BMPT is alot more op than the BMPT-72 so I will focus on just the BMPT-72. But do know the BMPT did impact the BR increase of the BMPT-72 alot.

No it was never meant to belong in 10.3. You can’t just look at the 10.3 ussr lineup, you have to step back and see what vehicles face the BMPT at 10.3 like the PUMA or the AJAX which can’t compare at all to the BMPT-72.

This is the case for alot of russian MBTs and the BMPT-72 is legit an autocannon strapped onto the same hull and engine. Your forward is faster than alot of NATO MBTs so mobility is not an issue.

The model is completely bugged. It’s easier to kill a t-90m than the BMPT-72.

Yes but they are one shot. The BMPT can do just about the same and do more damage with better survivability and ATGMs.

I didn’t have much trouble deleting them using Japan, idk about other nations. Their fire rate is a more serious problem.

Yes the stats of the T58 is insane, but the stats of the BMPT and 72 were much better.

Again easily one shot.

It does extremely well at 11.3 right now where no nation has a lineup so it will get downtiers to 10.7 and slight uptiers to 11.7. In fact it does well at 12.7 as it can kill Leo2a7v with the same ease as leo2a4. You can’t pen the areas at 10.7 but can still pen the same areas at 12.7

Yes and Gaijin realized their mistake and moved it up. Its a well known fact that new vehicles are under tiered to boost sales and then br fixed later.

If you were having fun at 10.3 that’s because you were bullying 9.3-10.7. If you’re doing bad now at 11.3 that’s a you problem.

All of us asked for a br increase and Gaijin listened and also did it after seeing the %80 WR the BMPT had.

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Where is the fun or balance in playing a T-10A or other heavy tanks, only to be penetrated by a fast-moving anti-air vehicle? At BRs like 7.0–8.3, you often don’t even have enough time to turn your turret before being destroyed.

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It’s called watching the flank. You don’t just drive straight to the cap, do you? One APFSDS round and even HEAT will put the SPAA down. Use your eyes and ears more. Are you seriously saying that these fast SPAA are causing more problems than the BMPT-72 even now at 11.3?

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Well… I wouldnt call it slow, slower than the fast AFVs sure, but perfectly average for MBTs at the BR range.

The point is, it has the survivability of a top tier MBT (if not greater than more than a few) with the firepower greater than most 10.0/10.3 IFV/AFVs, that combo is unique to the BMPT and extremely OP.

Adjustments occur this quickly when a single vehicle ruins the game for everything else. When a match is decided the moment it starts by which team has a perticular vehicle, then you know something needs fixing. Harrier GR1 is an example that got similar BR changes but a hell of a lot faster when it was added.

The fact that most of the playerbase stopped playing 10.3/10.7 because of the BMPT, is all you need to know about why it was moved up. As it stands, I think it could go higher.

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Instead of complaining about the BR change on the forum, go play the BMPT-72 more and have fun destroying 10.7-11.7 until Gaijin increases the BR even more soon.

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Where is the fun or balance of playing any IFV but being unable to damage the BMPT.

Where is the fun or balance of playing any MBT and just getting shredded by a BMPT sat in a hull down position you cannot touch.

The only people who enjoyed the BMPT at 10.3/10.7 were the people in the BMPT. Everyone else was avoiding that entire BR like the Plague

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Pro tip, don’t buy premium vehicles, especially not early on. Premiums being op for a bit and then nerfed is a recurring pattern.
Anyway, this vehicle was clearly broken and it had to go up. Complaining about it won’t help, just think twice next time before buying a shiny premium

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Hope you don’t get baited again. It’s just how this game works now.

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You have a 1.44 KD on the BMPT-72. Here’s tome tips.
Play hull down, you’re basically invincible.
Aim the ATGMs not on the turret cheeks but on the hull of the MBTs.
When facing MBTs from the front, disable the barrel and tracks first. Abrams and the likes can get their turret rings penetrated too.
Better to use the autocannons on the sides of the MBTs.
Learn how to aim the ATAKAS for moving targets, you have to lead them.
If you know the reverse speed is abysmal, stick to cover and don’t just hold W and rush into the open.
If you see other BMPTs stick with them, a pack of BMPTs is extremely strong.
Let us know if you need any more help.

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People couldn’t even play the CRV when it came out becuase there was no counter to the bmpt or bmp72. The booker is a great vehicle too at 10.7, but when you deal with one bmpt and 3 more are already at your spawn, becuase your team is all dead from the spam, yeah it was unenjoyable for everyone else. Bradley’s had no shot, even the mbts had to struggle. They made the same change with the first french battle pass ebr after it was facing panzer 4s. Best advice is to not buy premium vehicles because the balance is right around the corner. Imagine how frustrated everyone else was wasting their hours.

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I understand the comparison to PUMA / AJAX, but as you correctly pointed out yourself, those vehicles compensate with mobility. The issue is that most SPAA vehicles are so fast that, regardless of the nation you play, you simply cannot rotate your turret fast enough under the constant stream of shells that penetrate with ease.

You focused mainly on the BMPT-72, but as I mentioned earlier, this is one of the first times the USSR received a vehicle that reflects what every nation experiences when facing SPAA and everybody loses thier mind, while there are other more damaging issues and no-one even consider themm

“SPAA are one-shot”

— yes, but their reduced armor is compensated by extremely high rate of fire and massive mobility.

If you were having fun at 10.3 that’s because you were bullying 9.3-10.7. If you’re doing bad now at 11.3 that’s a you problem.

I have no problem playing the BMPT at 11.3. This was never about wanting to dominate 9.3 matches. That is not the point.

You misunderstood my message. When you buy a car, you might choose it for something as simple as the color — you don’t expect that a week later, without any consequences, the dealer takes the car away and changes its color. That’s what frustrates me about the “it is what it is” approach.

All of us asked for a br increase and Gaijin listened and also did it after seeing the %80 WR the BMPT had.

During the first week, almost everyone was playing the Terminator, which makes the statistics misleading. Long queue times often resulted in USSR being present on both teams, so quoting an 80% win rate at this stage is not entirely accurate.

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THAT low? Aint that something other than balancing?

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I don’t even have a vehicle with a k/d that high lol

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I understand you’re frustrated. But tbh it really looks like you’re not playing the BMPT-72 right. There’s plenty of youtube videos to watch on how to use it. It’s very effective even at 11.3 right now.

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You have a 1.44 KD on the BMPT-72. Here’s tome tips.
Play hull down, you’re basically invincible.
Aim the ATGMs not on the turret cheeks but on the hull of the MBTs.
When facing MBTs from the front, disable the barrel and tracks first. Abrams and the likes can get their turret rings penetrated too.
Better to use the autocannons on the sides of the MBTs.
Learn how to aim the ATAKAS for moving targets, you have to lead them.
If you know the reverse speed is abysmal, stick to cover and don’t just hold W and rush into the open.
If you see other BMPTs stick with them, a pack of BMPTs is extremely strong.
Let us know if you need any more help.

I did not ask for tips - i understand the reasoning for changing the BR.
You are focusing only about BMPT-72 while my post was focusing not only about BMPT.