I want to open a thread to discuss the current state of USF doctrinal armour, specifically the 'Easy 8' Sherman and the Pershing. In regards to the Shermans: It feels to me that they lack clear defined roles that is typical from all other USF armour suffering from the cliche "jack of all trades, master of none". The Pershing meanwhile is a Allied Panther with a better gun to kill infantry which could and should be made available as a default tank once all tech is unlocked and researched. Similar to a King Tiger.
Not saying that this is a bad thing but all USF tanks typically have a defined role which makes it kind of pointless to get a jack of all trades vehicle when you can get the defined vehicle for the role you lack.
Easy 8. The E8 has suffered a lot of nerfs since its inception going from overuse to never used anymore. Why is that? I have done some testing and here are my thoughts. The description of this tank says "Can engage all targets, fires effectively while moving" so I assume the role this tank is supposed to provide is jack of all trades but it does nothing well.
The 76mm_easy8 gun is unable to kill infantry effectively. There is no AoE on the gun which is the equivalent of shooting infantry with an anti-tank gun. Only on direct hits will infantry ever die, only 1 model will die with no splash and its rare occurrence (1/3 shots). The radius on the E8 is supposed to be 2 and the similarly priced Panzer4 ausf J is 2.5 but the Panzer4 seems to be able to kill more than 1 model per shot.
So is it supposed to engage tanks? At only 20MP and 5F cheaper than an M36, it lacks the penetration, HVAP-T and range of the M36. While gaining access to better armour, slightly more health and smoke launcher. Its clear to me that this tank has been made to engage armour but the M36 is simply a much better option at the same price range.
Finally if this tank is supposed to be a flanking tank then why does it have 0.75 moving accuracy? This is the same as all other USF tanks. Its supposed to have the superior HVSS suspension. It also does not have any abilities to assist in being a flanking tank such as flanking speed from the M10 or additional penetration such as HVAP shells. Axis panzers have access to blitz which helps flanking.
I suggest to fix the E8's current position is to reduce penetration by 10-15 points, increase moving accuracy due to its special HVSS suspension from 0.75 to 0.9. Give it flanking speed ability. Fix its splash issue with the E8 as that seems to be a bug. I will be reporting this in the Winter Patch bug list as well.
The 76 doctrinal Sherman from USF seems to suffer from a similar issue of not being able to engage infantry effectively. I have not done much research but I know that tank doesn't feel good to use and I would rather have an M36 Jackson. The ability to change ammo is nice but I would much rather have the option of HE and AP rather than AP and Super AP.
Pershing. I think the Pershing should be a unit that all USF players can call in after all tech has been unlocked similar to how OKW players can call in a King Tiger. In terms of statistics, the Pershing is priced like a heavy tank but is actually a glorified medium tank. The stats are similar to a Panther but with a slightly higher cost and a better gun against infantry. I would recommend reducing the AI capabilities of the tank slightly (such as lowering radius from 4 to 3.5) if its made available to all USF players.
While the Heavy Calvary commander was made with the Pershing to sell it, I think its time is long over and the Pershing should be made available to all players as a 'ultimate' tank similar to the OKW King Tiger. Replace the call-in ability with an E8 so it can still retain the role of heavy calvary.
Some stats for comparison:
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