Once again the discussion about the ZSL-92 being reclassified as a light tank and receiving its irl APDS and not the AP that never used(current in-game), now that the coelian received a buff that clearly needed and is shredding heavy tanks frontally so why can’t the ZSL-92 receive its apds? I doubt it would be as broken as the coelian right now yet the issue that is labeled as a spaa despite being clearly designed as a ifv still hasn’t been fixed
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“game is already broken, so why dont we break it more”
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ZSL wouldn’t be busted with APDS, lets be honest.
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Yeah because it’s actually an IFV and not an SPAA irl
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Would be nice if the IFV could do IFV things…
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The concern about vehicles being labeled as SPAA (or something else) despite historically being designed as IFVs or reconnaissance vehicles has been raised multiple times. However, this is not an oversight. it’s a deliberate decision by the developers.
In many cases, these vehicles are placed into the SPAA category because they fill a needed role in a nation’s tech tree. For example, if a nation is missing an SPAA option at a certain BR, a light vehicle with an autocannon may be adapted for that role. To make this viable, its anti-tank capabilities are often reduced so that it better fits the balance requirements of the game.
Some notable examples include:
Germany
- Sd.Kfz. 222 (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/infantry support vehicle)
- Wiesel 1A4 (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/infantry support vehicle)
Italy
- R3 T20 FA-HS (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/infantry support vehicle)
France
- VTT DCA (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/IFV)
- AMX-10P (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/IFV)
Sweden
- Pbv 301 (listed as SPAA)
- U-SH 204 GK (listed as SPAA, historically a recon/infantry support vehicle)
- Pbv 302 (BILL) (listed as SPG, historically a recon/IFV)
…and there are likely others that fall into the same category.
I understand this can be frustrating. myself included— but these decisions are made for the sake of maintaining balanced tech trees. In some cases, vehicles are temporarily assigned a role to fill gaps, and once more historically accurate options are introduced, their classification may change.
We’ve already seen this happen in other cases, such as the M18 Hellcat, which was reclassified from a Tank Destroyer to a Light Tank. Similar adjustments could happen again in the future if new SPAA options are added.
This is not an issue specific to any one nation (such as China), but rather a general design choice by the developers to ensure each tech tree has functional coverage at all BRs.
According to the surface in the issue report submitted by me, ZSL92 chain should be a combination chain of HE and apds (120 rounds of HE, 80 rounds of APDS), and the penetration depth of 25mmAPDS is about 80mm, which does not affect the horizontal and horizontal.
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While I think ZSL-92 shouldn’t really get APDS due to aforementioned reasons, I think other vehicles armed with 25mm should get them for sure (like ZBD86-1, excuse my shameless plug)
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Well, I think it should have the APDS. If it historically had one, then they should give it to it, just as they should give the M413 to the Shor Kal Dalet.
For me, one of the biggest mistakes this game has is adding vehicles and removing realistic features to give them a Br, when the logical thing to do would be to add them exactly as they are in reality and with the ammunition they historically used, and then give them the corresponding Br. And if there are gaps to fill, then they better investigate, since there are surely many other Chinese SPAAs that can occupy that space, and be used in the role for which they were created.
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when it goes to 7.3 where the wiesel is
At least give it spotting
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Terrible decision
well wiesel and amx10p are classified as aa and have their apds belts , so give apds to zsl and keep it classified as spaa
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While all that is comprehensible it doesn’t justify the vehicle lacking APDS when other vehicles have them like Wiesel, AMX-10P and SUB-I-II, balancing is out of the window because we just saw how the coelian received better AP and kept the 6.3 battle rating and now is destroying teams because of the terrible damage models of the game, the only balance part of it is that the vehicle is only available for those who had it but it still shows the lack of interest of improving the ZSL-92, at least spotting would be good and I don’t get why pick the ZSL as the “spaa” instead of the ZSD-90(I know it requires modeling) when the ZSD can resist mg fire whereas the ZSL cannot resist mg
It could have been a better option than a paper thin vehicle
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The main limitation is simply the lack of available options. Re-using existing models and assets is often a practical solution the developers consider when adding new vehicles.
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Vehicles like the Wiesel, AMX-10P, and SUB-I-II have APDS rounds, and historically some vehicles like the ZSD-90 might have been more durable. In War Thunder, the ZSL-92 currently fills China’s SPAA role at 6.3 BR. Its AP-T round has 64 mm of penetration, which is very close to the DM63 on the AMX-10P at the same rank. While the velocity and exact performance aren’t identical, in terms of pure penetration this is valid for what an SPAA at this BR is intended to offer.
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It’s also true that the Coelian is currently overperforming and clearly unbalanced. The developers are aware of its impact and will likely address it in a future update.
So while the ZSL-92 may feel limited compared to other SPAA, it remains in this role for now because China does not yet have another SPAA platform ready within the game.
Yes, it’s a bit of a boring response and it’s not a “we’re fixing it ASAP,” but it’s the reality we’re working with. Keep in mind that the dev team has a lot of other issues and projects to manage as well! Many of us. myself included! Get upset when vehicles we care about aren’t performing or appearing the way we’d like to see them work, or know how they should work.
Would the community want a different vehicle to fill this slot, the best way to influence that is by participating in making or supporting excisting suggestions.
Plus- I have no idea what the penetration of the Sabot is on the 25mm ZPT90 Ive heard its a copy of the american 25mm bushmaster APDS with 81mm of pen. In that case it would mess with the current matchmaker its at. with the Fire-rate of the ZPT90- Anyhow. As im not in the know of chinese/soviet or korean weapon types and systems i cant say.
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If they made the Coelian available to all they’d have to cancel any BR change, because you just know inexperienced players would drag its stats back down. Anyway, I hope any adjustment is one of a BR change and not any nerf to the APHE itself (outside of the current over performing of APHE in general).
This is not an excuse to categorize the vehicles wrong and represent them wrong
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No. coelian should just be moved up by a lot
id rather have less things break the already stressed and compressed status quo of GRB
I am aware but certain Daily tasks aswell as the need for an SPAA in 6.3 china likely the cause for why it sits where it sits.
Once again. I could imagine the roles of this Vehicle Change down the line when more options become avalable.
Also I don’t want you to think that I’m pinning anything on you I know you’re just a volunteer Plus it would have more utility if labeled correctly with the spoting ability just like BTR
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