Nerfing Tank AV Won't Help Infantry

So this coming patch is going to nerf two weapons that aren't broken: The Saron HRB and the Enforcer ML85. My focus here will be the Saron HRB. NC, you're on your own with the Enforcer.

The Saron is getting a reduction in splash damage, which causes it to take 1 more shot to kill against regular infantry (3 shots now). With Flak 5, that number goes up to 5 shots. The Saron has a 6-shot magazine.

The Saron nerf is supposedly because it's too good at killing infantry.

Here's why that's absolutely the wrong way to do things.

There is one target type that tanks need to be able to kill. One type that is always present and always a threat. That target is infantry.

Infantry always respawn. They are the primary threat at any fight, because they turn control points. It doesn't matter how many tanks and aircraft are present at a base, if there are no infantrymen, the base won't be captured.

I always have to be able to kill infantry. Any loadout I take has to be able to defend me from the horde.

I happen to run with an AV loadout. It's capable of self-defense against infantry and is very powerful against armor. If that loadout is no longer capable of killing infantry, I won't leave infantry alone. I won't just stop killing them.

I'll change loadouts. I'll start using an anti-infantry loadout, because my friendly infantry can deal with enemy AV-fitted tanks just fine. I'll run with the zerg, I'll farm towers, I'll do everything that nobody wants tanks to do.

Because I have to be able to defend myself from infantry. Even if that means using an anti-infantry gun.

TL;DR: If you make it so my AV tank can't kill infantry, I won't stop killing infantry, I'll start driving an AI tank.

Good, then you'll be using the correct weapon setup for killing infantry.

If AV can't deal with infantry, there's no reason to pull AV anymore. Vehicles aren't a threat, so I guess tanks are destined to farm for the rest of the game's life?

If vehicles aren't a threat then why would use an AV secondary on your tank?

Because that's what I enjoy doing.

Changes like these are going to gradually remove AV as a viable role for tanks at all. I'm under the impression that HE rounds are not something most infantry like dealing with.

That isn't the point.

Making it so an AP tank will get killed by the dumbest HA in the world, is bad gameplay. Killing Infantry with the HRB was hard enough before, making it harder is an insult.

You're saying that you enjoy using a weapon that's meant for killing vehicles to kill infantry, this does not make any sense because the weapon is supposed to be good against vehicles and bad against infantry.

It's not supposed to be anti-everything.

If you want to kill infantry use an anti-infantry weapon, get allies to cover you, hire a sniper to zap their heads to pieces. It's not like using the HRB is the only option you've got that can get rid of infantry for you, you could even have your gunner jump out and kill the HA that's attacking you.

If a tank manages to die to one HA I don't think the HA is the dumb one .

So no reason to complain then right ?

Talking in the sense of rock-paper-scissors gameplay. Obviously, as it stands a dumb HA will lose to an AP kitted tank.

The VS are too OP they really needed this nerf... specially the Magrider-

How about giving NC a win button? Won't take long how this is going...

Saron and Enforcer nerfs were uncalled for.

Vulcan buff was called for.

*sigh* Saron will now be utterly useless at helping with Inf. 2 direct hits on a moving infantry from a moving platform is not so easy

Please go VPC-PPA: my APAP prowler and my dual basilik sunderer will enjoy it!

I'm sure you will, if you ever see my vehicle.

But the way things are going you're going to have to hit infantry three times with your AP rounds to kill them, and I don't think they'll have any trouble hitting you.

Use the basilisk, its far superior anyways now after its buffs anyways

I agree completely that Enforcer ML85 and Saron nerf was uncalled for. To add insult to injury the buffs to the Vulcan still has it significantly worse then where it was before they nerfed it, and until the buffs make it competitive at medium range it will stay a garbage weapon. The Developers need to start driving some tanks before they balance them because it's clear when it comes to MBT secondaries they have no idea what the heck they are doing.

Pretty sure HE weapons got nerfed into uselessness because they were doing their job.

yay, that only leaves direct fire weapons with no splash damage. Better learn how to exploit lag, it's the only tactic left now.

The issue with the Saron is that it is already balanced verus Flak Armor as it will already increase the shots to kill against infantry from 2 to 3 or 4 depending on rank. Now for the Saron to successfully engage infantry it needs to pause between shots to recover its COF to even stand a chance of hitting the target dead on which ends up reducing the ROF from 300 to 60 rounds minute. The extra splash radius isn't something an AV weapon should have as well.

The Enforcer which can deal with infantry in the same shots to kill as the current Saron isn't getting touched vs infantry. It however is getting its AV touched just not as much as it should. As it currently stands the Enforcer combined with the AP primary takes only 5 seconds to take out a tank, and still doesn't need to reload the secondary to engage and Destroy a second tank.

"Correct".
The amount of implications hurts me inside.
I thought that being a part of the Smash Bros. community and having to face argument after argument about how wavedashing and l-canceling are the most evil and heinous things in existence because they are contrary to Sakurai's intent of Smash just being a party game would have toughened my skin, but your comment hit me hard. It looks like this idea is prevalent anywhere there is an 'authority'.

Developer intent means nothing, and should mean nothing, to formulating any argument against certain propositions.
Such as this one, it's a basic implication that the OP is contrary to the opinion of the devs, the discussion then does not lie in debating the morality of disapproving of the establishment's policies, but rather if this person's solution and design premise would be a better solution and design philosophy than the one currently put forth by the devs, even if it is necessary to enumerate the implications and expand the argument for an OP which is insufficient.

I don't know if anybody realizes this but it is certainly not easy to kill infantry with the Sauron. As it currently stands, you need two direct hits to take one person out. Doing this while moving and looking out for enemy tanks (because pretty much any tank will wreck a magrider unless the driver can out maneuver him which of course requires distance and situational awareness) is certainly a challenge. This will encourage use of the proton PPA and spam it at everything that moves and I'm sure that will piss off more people than the occasional person who gets sniped by a Sauron....