Well, at least it is one single squad in the game - that’s limited, and you can arm all medics and assaulters with a ton of Fedorovs just for silver orders
If I’m trying for a rank promotion, I’m guessing I’ll probably grind at Tier 2.
I’d probably rather play Tiers 3 and 4, but if the benefits are there to drop down, that’s what I would do. There’d be no penalty and you know that all the noobs will be there to torment. 
The battle ratings are terrible, Tier 1 VS Tier 1, Tier 5 VS Tier 5 would be fine. 