I believe most players would agree that while most rifles 1 tier below another are going to have a disadvantage, the largest discrepancy is between the semi-auto BR 4 rifles and select-fire BR 5 rifles. With the newest changes to the matchmaking system, BR 4 is likely to become the new BR 3: much higher likelihood of being up-tiered to fight BR 5s than down-tiered to fight BR 3s, and when they are down-tiered, the difference in performance is minimal.
Tier 4 rifles have the following characteristics: semi-automatic fire but with a fire-rate limitation of 320 RPM, 10-round magazines, and a fast-to-moderate reload speed. I think this would be a suitable standard for BR 3 rifles, as BR 2 semi-automatic rifles are limited to ~5 rounds in the magazine, or use ammunition less powerful than full caliber rifle ammunition. To any who think this would be possibly unbalanced, the Soviet SVT-38 already meets these characteristics, and is arguably better than some of the Tier 4 rifles that I wish to down-tier to Tier 3 from other nations. Most Tier 3 rifles will stay in their current positions on the tree, being a stepping stone towards the down-tiered Tier 4 rifles that now also sit at Tier 3.
With the new vacancy of Tier 4 rifles, new weapons with high-capacity magazines will be introduced. I also believe that removing the fire-rate limitations of these semi-automatic weapons will help bridge the gap against Tier 5 select-fire rifles. Here is the full list of changes I am proposing:
USSR:
- “SVT 40” moved from Tier 4 to Tier 3.
- “SVT 40 Bubnov Drum” added to tree as Tier 4 rifle. 20 round magazine. Maximum RoF 600 RPM unupgraded, semi-auto fire.
Allies/US:
- “Johnson M1941” moved from Tier 4 to Tier 3.
- “T1920 Garand” added to tree as Tier 4 rifle. 20 round magazine. Maximum RoF 650 RPM unupgraded, semi-auto fire.
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Axis/Germany:
- “Gewehr 43” moved from Tier 4 to Tier 3.
- “ZH-29” stays at Tier 4. magazine increased to 20 rounds. Maximum RoF increased from 320 RPM to 600 RPM unupgraded, semi-auto fire.
- “Mauser Selbstlader” added to tree as Tier 4 rifle. 25 round magazine. Maximum RoF 600 RPM unupgraded, semi-auto fire.
Japan:
- “Type 4 Rifle” moved from Tier 4 to Tier 3.
- “Type Hei Late” added to tree as Tier 4 rifle. 10 round magazine*. Maximum RoF 720 RPM unupgraded, semi-auto fire.
- Type Hei Late would receive superior handling due to it’s lower mag size compared to it’s counterparts at Tier 4. Just like the Tier 3 Type Otsu rifle, it would be buffed to have zero directional recoil, but slight visual recoil. If this was an issue, the 20 round magazine developed for the fully-automatic Type Hei could possibly be used, but I’m uncertain of the interchangeability of these magazines. If there is a better alternative for this position in the tree, please let me know!
Please let me know what you guys think! I’m looking forward to any support or feedback to this suggestion.
