T-34-2, T-34-2, T-34-2.
I kept the T-34-1, which was an extremely enjoyable tank for me, so I had high hopes for the T-34-2 since they look so similar. But I'll admit it. This tank is really bad. Being tier 8, it's right in the purgatory tier of medium tanks that everyone wants to pass quickly so they can get the tier 9 mediums. As for the T-34-2, although having huge alpha damage on a small, sneaky tank is fun, the literally worst in class accuracy and DPM runs the tank's damage output into the ground.
But out of all the games I have played so far in the tank, I've actually had quite a few games where the tank could be really fun. I like the idea of the ambushing, opportunistic playstyle that it (almost) fits into, and each 122mm round that I did manage to put into an enemy felt really, really satisfying. It is not a tank that can carry a game, and there are plenty of times where everything goes terribly wrong, with every shot flying into the dirt or a random tier 10 medium tank that decides to rush right at you. Somehow, though, I still feel motivated to play the tank, just for those great moments where the tank can work, and work beautifully as a scout, as sideline support, as an ambusher. As of now, I have played 130 games in it and just recently earned my second MOE. But still, despite all that, it is unquestionably underpowered.
Check out this game that I had early on playing this tank in a bottom tier matchup:
http://wotreplays.eu/site/3954284
With patch 9.22.0.1 came buffs - but not to the T-34-2. It came to... the T-44, a tank that had already been buffed at least 2 or 3 times previously. The buffs to the T-44, and the lack of buffs to the T-34-2 was really disappointing to me. WG has a recent pattern in that they want to carve out different niches for tanks and create an identity for each tank line. That's what they tried to do with the newest USSR med line that leads the Object 430U. For example, the 121 has improved DPM and accuracy over the 430U and has higher top speed, but worse armor and gun handling. There are still some minor tweaks that should be made, IMO, but overall the two tanks don't seem imbalanced.
Moving on to the tier 8 counterparts, however, if you compare them side by side, the T-44 is better than the T-34-2 in essentially every way: mobility, armor, and gun performance, regardless if you compare the 100mm guns or the 122mm guns that they can mount. A lot of tier 8 medium tanks are weak in general (compared to tier 9 and 10) and deserve some love, but it in no way justifies the T-44 getting another buff when the T-34-2 remains unchanged. Now, WG probably won't undo the buffs on the T-44, but they still could, and should buff the T-34-2.
BUFFS:
So, here is a proposal for buffs to the T-34-2, aimed specifically to address its inconsistency within the Chinese medium line when compared to the Russian medium (430U) tank line.1. Gun: 122mm 37-122JT (ignoring the 100mm since it clearly isn't the T-34-2's main gun)
- Accuracy: 0.48 → 0.43
It sounds like a big change, but if you look at the T-44, its 122mm currently has 0.42 accuracy. Surprised? I was too. The characteristic of the Object 430U line is to have less accuracy than the Chinese mediums, so the T-44 having 0.42 accuracy makes zero sense. If anything, the T-44's 122mm should be adjusted to have 0.44 accuracy in addition to this buff in order to stay consistent in comparison with the other tanks in the line. Right now, the 0.48 accuracy is the main factor that cripples the gun. Having worse accuracy than even heavy tanks like the IS-6 makes the gun unreliable to the point of being nearly unusable. As a fast but mostly fragile medium tank, the T-34-2 deserves to have better accuracy - not enough to be a sniper, but enough to be reliable enough to punish an enemy after fully aiming in.
A buff to the dispersion values, however, wouldn't be as necessary. The T-34-2's role is not to shoot on the move, but to use it camo or mobility to strike distracted enemies. As such, it makes sense for the tank to keep its mediocre dispersion values, as the large 122mm should reward the T-34-2 for a more passive playstyle instead of hitting targets on the move. Maybe it could still use a slight improvement (0.20 → 0.18 for tank movement/traverse), but overall the dispersion doesn't feel like the main issue that holds the tank back, at least compared to the accuracy.
- Rate of fire: 4 → 4.5 (DPM: 1560 → 1755)
Missing or bouncing a shot, followed by a 15 second reload, is way too punishing for a gun that has poor accuracy and penetration in the first place. In fact, the T-34-2's 122mm has the worst DPM of any tier 8 medium tank, barring the T-44's DPM with the 122mm which is slightly lower. Therefore, buffing the rate of fire would make the gun's DPM more consistent compared to the T-34-3's gun, considering the T-34-3 doesn't even have to face tier 10s. The T-34-2 has better camo and mobility, so it makes sense for the gun to be a tad weaker than the T-34-3's, but not that much. Buffing the penetration is less of a priority since the T-34-2 isn't supposed to go into frontal-engagement. It's supposed to use its mobility and camo to sneak in shots into exposed sides and rears of heavier tanks. And anyway, the 250mm-pen HEAT rounds are powerful enough to make up for the low penetration of the AP rounds.
2. Top Speed: 50 km/h → 56 km/h
Giving the T-34-2 a higher top speed would give it a natural progression from the T-34-1, and also help solidify its niche as a sort of light-medium. The buff won't make the tank too crazy, it would just allow it to relocate better, allowing it to make use of the opportunistic playstyle it has. The tank is already defined by decent mobility, so a top speed buff definitely would fit it.
Not too many buffs here, but I don't think the T-34-2 needs much more. The main issues of the tank would be addressed with these changes. It wouldn't make the tank OP, but the tank doesn't need to be OP. It just needs to be able to reward players that can master its playstyle. It doesn't deserve to be the worst tier 8 medium tank just because it can't perform its role consistently. Please give some love to this little tank!
TL;DR: buffs to the T-34-2 are long overdue. The tank isn't always unenjoyable to play but needs to be adjusted in order to represent the differences between the 430U line and the 121 line.
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