sigh It’s that time again, where we talk about balancing tanks. Exciting right?
Anyways, we all know that Tanks are forces to be reckoned with on the battlefield, their sheer mass and firepower could wipe out squads in seconds, demolish buildings, and strike fear into anyone close enough to hear it.
So you might be asking yourself, “How the hell do we balance that? Tanks should just remain out of the game so we don’t have to balance it.”
However, there are ways to balance tanks, but it is quite tricky and does need tweaking as it is suggested, so let’s crack ths tough nut shall we?
First of all, lets talk about the basic tank we have in Unturned as of now,
Theoretically based off of the M1 Abrams, this tank leaves a lot to be desired.
- It’s open compartments leave the Gunner and Driver open to enemy fire.
- The Turret does not turn a full 360 degrees.
- It cannot handle any bumps what so ever.
- Immune to low cal weaponry but not the Turned.
These are the basic ones that need improvement from 3.x, I know there are many more, but I want to keep it simple.
Now, regarding the first one, this is pretty smart considering how the Tank should be balanced, in real life, the Tank used to be supported by the infantry (WWI) that is why they all moved so slow, to keep pace with the army. So logically, it makes sense that the Gunner and Driver are exposed, they need cover from other group members to actually make the Tank useful, except this is not WWI.
Now a remedy to this, is to have the Gunner inside the turret, but have him be able to only look through the scope which looks like this:
Now, you can see that this scope is pretty limiting, it has a very small FOV to balance out the fact that the Gunner is now in the Turret.
However, to take his spot on top of the Turret is the Commander. Now, I want the Commander to be here because of one reason, Third Person. Third Person, as we all know, has been broken for a while, and Third Person in Tanks has made them unbalanced; since the Driver and Gunner can see everything that is going on around them without the use of a Commander.
Now the Commander will be the third person (In a literal sense) on the Tank, since the Driver and Gunner cannot use third person. He should sit where the Gunner sits now, and uses Binoculars and Compasses to mark out where people are. Without him, the Driver and Gunner are effectively blind and can barely see a thing. To balance this, he will still sit unprotected by small arms fire, and will require coordination between the Driver and Gunner to not get him killed.
The Second issue is actually one I am alright with, it means that the Driver has to be careful and plan out his moves so he does not get flanked. The only thing I am not okay with, is that the Turret is way too fast, just simply make it have a turning speed, and the problem is solved.
The Third issue will also be remedied, as we will have better physics, so no need to talk about it.
The Last problem however is a tricky one, and brings into play lots of factors.
Currently, low cal weapons cannot destroy any part of the Tank, but they can shoot the Driver and Gunner; but high cal weapons can destroy the Tank quite easily, it only takes 7 shots from a Grizzly to destroy one.
To remedy this, high cal weapons cannot penetrate the Tank from the front, but only from the sides and rear, like this Tank:
Exposed sides and wheels present excellent opportunities for high cal weapons to penetrate the Tank, deal damage to it, and potentially kill crew.
As for the low cal weapons, I believe they should remain where they are, they can’t penetrate a tank, but they can kill crew by aiming for weak spots (Hatches, Driver slit).
However, what about the Turned? How come low cal weapons can’t even scratch a Tank’s paint job, but the Turned can reduce the Tank into buzzard bait, how can we fix the Turned in II?
Well, it’s simple, we just make it so the Turned deal no damage to the Tank, but they can de-track it. Meaning that if you plow enough Turned, eventually, they’ll end up in between your wheels and treads and will break the treads making you immobile. It could also be possible that a Mega could damage the Tank by also de-tracking it. (De-tracking also makes Landmines a possibility for ambushes)
Once a Track has been blown off for what ever reason, it requires a blowtorch, some metal, and time to repair it. (Maybe even a Carjack?)
Now onto items that are new for Tanks from 3.x.
The basic tank in Unturned 4.x I believe should be the M60.
As stated before, it has weak points (it’s side, rear, and wheels) making high cal weapons not just destroy a tank from any angle it shoots it at. It’s open treads also make it so that the Turned can also de-track the tank making it immobile.
As you can also see from the photo, the Commander should sit somewhere where the guy is on top and the Driver should remain where he is currently, just with a closed hatch.
For all of these notes, and crew members needed, does that mean that Tanks are useless in Singleplayer?
Not at all, you just have to play smart with it; use your tank as an ambush, or maybe, use it as crowd control.
Now I know I did not mention everything about a Tank, I know some of you are afraid that by expanding upon how Tanks work I am transforming the game into Arma III. However, I just simply want Tanks to be more functional in Unturned but also not overpowered, and that balance is tricky, and I have undoubtedly missed something balance wise in Tanks. Here’s where you come in, I have not been able to come up with solutions for the following items about Tanks, such as:
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HMGs on the Tank actually functioning
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Smoke Grenades
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Ammunition rarity and how it should work
@anon24515308 All ammunition should capable of being broken down into materials to craft other ammunition, that way more powerful ammunition isn’t just balanced by how rarely it spawns, but also by how much of a material investment each shot is.
Thoughts?
