The BR III Soviet Issue and How It Can Be Fixed

Suggestions
1

I recently went about collecting some data on matchmaking in Enlisted, by completing 20 battles of “Join Any” at each BR. Putting all other issues I noted along the way aside, for a moment, the most glaring by far was the issue of BR III Soviets.

Of my 40 total “Join Any” battles between BRs II and III: 24 were as Germany, 12 were as the Soviets, and the remaining 4 were split between the US and Japan.
Of those 12 battles as the Soviets, 9 of them were from the BR III matchmaking.
The German battles were evenly split between BRs 2 and 3, but a staggering 18 of them saw Soviet opponents instead of US ones. I didn’t track (on paper) what BR my opponents appeared to be, but I am quite sure the Soviet ones were mostly BR III as I saw MANY PPSh (box) and SVT 38s.

So, why does there seem to be so many players matchmaking as BR III Soviets? The answer is simple. They’re just better. Soviet BR III equipment is, objectively, head and shoulders above what their German opponents have. Let alone the unfortunate BR II German players who also see them. So, at base value, the Soviets start every BR III battle with a distinct advantage. Who wouldn’t want to play with better stuff?

How big of an advantage are we talking about here? Well, let’s take a look at the direct BR III comparisons (not including weapon recoil bc there is no weapon in this game with recoil that can’t be self-controlled. Recoil issues are skill issues) …

Rifle:
Soviet SVT-38
12.0 hit power, 815 m/sec muzzle velocity, 320 rpm, 2.6sec reload, shot deviation of 28, 10 rounds
German Gewehr 41
12.0 hit power, 750 m/sec muzzle velocity, 320 rpm, 4.8sec reload, shot deviation of 28, 10 rounds
(User note: Both of these rifles have really good sights, in my opinion. Which does matter when comparing weapons)
SVT 38 has a higher muzzle velocity and nearly twice as fast reload speed. Gewehr 41 has no advantages. SVT 38 blows the G41 out of the water as an immensely superior weapon.

SMG:
Soviet PPSh-41 (box)
5.5 hit power, 450 m/sec muzzle velocity, 1000 rpm, 2.7sec reload, shot deviation of 25, 35 rounds
German (Italian) Beretta M38A (40 rounds)
5.7 hit power, 400 m/sec muzzle velocity, 600 rpm, 2.9sec reload, shot deviation of 76, 40 rounds
(User note: PPSh has the best SMG sights in the game, in my opinion, and the Beretta front sight post feels a bit off vertically sometimes)
PPSh Box has higher muzzle velocity, faster rate of fire, slightly (not really noticeable tbh) faster reload, and more than 3 times less dispersion (AGAIN WHY). Beretta has slightly (not really noticeable tbh) hit power and holds more rounds. PPSh Box is the best SMG for it’s BR in the entire game, so not surprising it is immensely superior to the Beretta here.

LMG:
Soviet DPM
12.0 hit power, 815 m/sec muzzle velocity, 550 rpm, 3.6sec reload, shot deviation of 44, 47 rounds
German MG 34
12.0 hit power, 750 m/sec muzzle velocity, 800 rpm, 5.7sec reload, shot deviation of 47, 50 rounds
(User note: DPM sights aren’t bad, but kinda big so they obscure overall vision too much and MG34 sights are really good)
DPM has higher muzzle velocity, much faster reload, and very slightly less dispersion. MG34 has much higher rate of fire and slightly more ammo. Honestly, these two are pretty well balanced with trade-off between RoF and reload speed. I give a personal edge to the MG34 because of the sights being better.

Sniper Rifle:
Soviet Sniper SVT-38
Exists
German Literally Anything
Does Not Exist
That’s right. Germany does not have a BR III Sniper Rifle. The only one you can get (Sniper Gewehr 41) is locked behind a paid Premium squad. I think we know who gets the advantage here.

AT:
Both sides get the Panzerfaust 60.
No advantage here, perfectly balanced, and nobody should be mad about this.

Tank:
Soviet KV-1
75mm armor everywhere (including the back of the turret) except the very back of the tank, where it is still 70mm. German BR II AT (GrB-39) cannot pen this tank, nor can any German tank guns in BR II. If you up-tier into this tank, you have to use explosive packs, TNT, or plane bombs to kill it. 76mm L-11 has no weaknesses with HE that nukes infantry, and APHEBC that can pen the front armor of every BR III German tank. Oh, and it brings a massive amount of both ammo types, with 55 rounds of APHEBC and 56 rounds of HE. 3000 rounds of 7.62mm turret mounted coax just to help with ant infantry duties.
German Pz. IV H
Front hull armor at 80mm is great, but everywhere else on the tank has weak armor. 50mm at the turret front, and 30 or less everywhere else leaves you susceptible even to Soviet BR II Bazookas. Armor skirts that the H variant includes serve no purpose in Enlisted whatsoever, as they offer no protection against Explosive Pack or Bomb fragmentation. Only bright spot is the long 75mm Kwk 40 L48 cannon.
40 rounds of APCBC can pen most tanks in the entire game, let alone BR III, and the 40 rounds of HE can delete squads of infantry at a time. Throw in 3000 rounds of turret mounted coax MG34, and another 2000 rounds of top mounted commander’s MG34 for anti-infantry and low flying aircraft duties.
Overall, the extra armor and ammo give the KV-1 a distinct advantage over the Panzer IV H. It is much harder to kill, and does not lack in any area the Panzer IV excels in. Throw in the extra ammo it carries, and you have the best BR III tank in the entire game.

Fighter:
Soviet Yak-9T
595 km/h top speed, 16.5sec turn time, 19.96 m/sec climb
1x 12.7mm Berezin UB MG (200 rounds), 1x 37mm NS-37 Cannon (30 rounds)
(User note: turn time numbers can be misleading in Enlisted. Yaks turn extremely well in-game, and the 9T is no exception. Also not mentioned, in game, is the Berezin MGs rate of fire. It is very high.)
German Bf 109 F-4/trop
639 km/h top speed, 16.24sec turn time, 23.51 m/sec climb
2x 7.92mm MG17 MGs (1000 rounds), 1x 20mm MG 151 Cannon (200 rounds)
(User note: Turns very well and has a noticeably powerful engine that generates and maintains energy very well)
Despite the turn times listed in game, the Yak seems to turn slightly better than the 109 does but does not maintain energy in a dogfight nearly as well as the 109. The Yak’s high RoF Berezin makes quick work of enemy planes, as does the 109’s 20mm MG 151. The 7.92mm MG17s on the 109 are just sad. They do pitiful damage to air and infantry targets alike, despite their high RoF and decent size munitions. As pure fighters, they are quite evenly matched. But this Yak has a tank nuking card up it’s sleeve. The 37mm Cannon it carries can top-pen almost every tank in the entire game, much like it’s Premium brother the Yak-9k, making it one of the best Tank Busters in the whole game. Let alone at BR III, where it feels grossly over-powered as a Tank Buster and overall immensely superior to the 109 F-4 which has no ground attack capabilities AT ALL.

Then there is the presence of Paratroopers for the Soviets at any BR they so choose. The Soviets have 2 (one event and one Premium) paratrooper squads that can freely swap their primary weapons. The only such paratrooper squads in the entire game, for whatever reason. That means you can just slap some PPSh Boxes and SVT-38s on them and play them at BR III. Extremely unbalanced, as the Germans of course have no BR III paratroopers at all.

Now that we have, objectively, proven the Soviet’s overall superiority in BR III equipment compared to their German opponent… Let’s talk about how to fix it.

  1. Make the SVT-38 reload via stripper clips and bring the G41 down to wherever you set that new reload time. I’d suggest around 3.4sec (Johnson reload time). Also bring ALL semi auto rifles’ shot deviation in line with the current semi auto Sniper deviation values of 5. Semi auto rifles should not have near LMG level shot deviation.
  2. Bring all SMGs shot deviation down to LMG value range (low to mid 40s) and the PPSh-41 (box) up to that value as well. SMGs should not have nearly twice the shot dispersion of LMGs but should also DEFINITELY not have HALF their dispersion.
  3. Take a look at the DPM’s sights. Maybe tweak their appearance a bit to make them take up less vision space when ADS. Otherwise, I think LMGs are in a good spot for BR III. Well done.
  4. Move the Sniper G41 to the tech tree. I don’t care if it’s a Premium that some of us already paid for. So was the AS-44 Model 5. So was the regular G41, originally. Germans completely lacking a BR III option for snipers calls for the move. Also, apply the stripper clip reload nerf for the SVT-38 to the Sniper variant as well.
  5. Nerf KV-1 mobility into the dirt. Okay, don’t nerf it TOO much, but a heavy hit to it’s acceleration, top speed, and turn time would help give it a more appropriate feel as a heavy tank without making it useless. It’s just too mobile right now, in game, for the amount of protection it has.
  6. Give the Bf 109 F-4/trop a payload. Either a single 250kg bomb or 4x 50kg bombs. Also buff damage values for smaller aircraft mounted MGs like the 7.92mm (7.62, 7.7, etc also). Not too much, as we don’t want them shredding planes like 20mm cannons, but they are just useless right now.
  7. Make all paratrooper squads able to swap primary weapons and therefore BRs. The alternative is to remove the Soviet para’s ability to do so, but I don’t think taking away from players should ever be the answer when there are other options.

And that’s it! I think those 7 changes would not only bridge the very wide gap between Soviet and German BR III equipment, but through that, also create a more balanced matchmaking experience in that BR range for “Join Any” players.

21 Likes
2

it’s obvious soviet bias with SVT-38, PPSh-41, KV-1 and 2x paratroopers + body armor + top tier planes at BR3.

You can pen it with grb-39 it’s actually easier than doing it than with long 50mm of BR2 which is completely unreliable just like garbage BR2 HEAT rounds (that are only good vs infantry and T28/BT-7/T-50/T-70). Soviets have massive advantage there as only German planes can reliably kill it.

I hate those op planes and even BR2 planes are all overpowered with multiple rockets and/or bomb load

Then Americans will still have massive advantage as they can carry M1 Garand + Johnson for total of 18 rounds, Germany needs G41 to be buffed and get G43 at BR3 to match Americans

Nerf that stupid gun already it’s even more accurate than PPSh-41 drum

This is really needed

Just make it not just for paratroopers but other premium/event squads and normalize their stats so we could have vitality/sprint speed and hori perk. I have countless squads with bad weapons but cool outfits that i can’t use as their gun and/or stats are subpar.

2 Likes
3

This is a really well put together suggestion. It’s a shame it didn’t gather a large amount of attention, but you have my full support at least.
I main all factions, so I believe these proposed changes are really well balanced. I can’t comment on planes because tanks are my vehicle of choice, but you convinced me.

That applies to all points. However, there is one thing I would argue with. Changing the SVT 38 to stripper clip. I believe it should stay as a magazine reload. Why?
The M1 Garand reloads in one go, meaning it then outshines all other Semi Auto’s in the tier.

However, with the reload buff to 3.4 seconds, and a terribly needed dispersion buff, I believe the Gewehr 41 will be on equal terms. Not quite, but close. You could also delay the magazine reload to 2.8 - 3.0 seconds, and increase the hit power of the Gewehr 41 to 12.4, making it on par with the Type 4.

5 Likes
4

The Garand is pretty interesting, and sits in a difficult to balance position, because it holds a very unusual number of rounds with 8.

Which holds more value? 2 extra rounds in each reload, or half a second of time on each reload? It’s very easy to debate from either side, which is why the Garand is arguably not even superior to it’s own counterpart in the Johnson.

Another interesting note on the comparison of single action reloads vs dual stripper clips is that you CAN cancel the reload after the first clip. Which would effectively cut the reload time in half (to sub 2 seconds for anything but the G41) in exchange for only getting 5 rounds. A perfect example of this, which I do fairly often myself with the G41 and Type 4, is when you fire more than 5 rounds but less than all 10. Say I fire 7 rounds from my Type 4 then reload with 3 rounds left. I let it load the 5 round stripper clip, then cancel the reload with 8 rounds in the rifle and continue firing. That action only took me 2 seconds.

Overall, I think the Garand is in a good spot compared to it’s opponent semi auto rifles, with it’s slightly faster reload trading off with having 2 less rounds per full reload.

3 Likes
5

I usually play more as Germans, but this past month playing mostly Soviets, my win percentage for level two and level three Soviets for the past month has probably been 80 or 90%, and my career % for Soviets is only 62%, so they have been the faction to play with lately. Of course, that will change as it always does as it shifts back and forth. Even with my level three and level five Allies, I am winning the majority of games with them, except when I get the Japs, and I am usually butt stomped as it seems like too many stacked groups there.

1 Like
6

I generally cancel anyway when I’m in a really tight spot, but the dispersion is a whole different issue. And horizontal recoil. I feel all Semi Autos have way too high horizontal recoil / dispersion.

My favourite Semi Auto is actually the M1 Garand, because it’s closer to a bolt action in the way it operates (higher recoil, less shots, but higher damage) compared to the other rifles. Plus, I may be a psychopath, but I find the sights more appealling.

1 Like
7

Yeah, the Pacific is in an odd spot at the moment. There’s more bots than actual players (last match I played was 3 Japanese (including me) and 4 Allies). The rest were bots. It doesn’t create for real interesting gameplay, as one side or the other gets stomped.

1 Like
8

I only play level one or two with Japan, and I usually win when I play as Japan, but I only have 150 Japanese games played in over 5,500 total games.

9

Increase the matchmake range III to V for soviet BR3.
Currently theres 0 reason to not play soviet BR3.
Equipment of BR3 is more than capable to compete with GE BR4 equipment and theres always the lovely chance of sealclubbing at BR2.

Make the sovjet BR3 appear more in BR5.

10

I agree with most of your suggestions.
There is no reason to play Axis br2 and 3 if you have completed the tech tree.
I doubt that the G41 sniper will be tech tree as its premium.
I have another suggestion.

Mannlicher-Model-1895
Mannlicher-Model-18951366×768 34.7 KB

A Mannlicher 1895 sniper rifle at br3.
It would fill a similar roll to the Enfield.
Though not as good due to the 5 round capacity.

5 Likes
11

That shot deviation is for the sniper variant only. The normal SVT has 28.

2 Likes
12

Good catch. I’ll edit it

13

They nerfed Mp41(r) not box ppsh bruh.

4 Likes
14

Yeah, it’s extremely weird they hit the German version of the weapon but not the original Soviet one. It’s like they WANT us to think they have Soviet bias.

3 Likes
15

There is a second version from Mauser they can add instead (also a premium squad, but only the normal rifle version).
Gewehr_41_scope

3 Likes
16

I do want a sniper Mannlicher 1895 in the tech tree (I liked the base rifle more before the last update, now I love it), but I’d say it’s more of a BR 2 rifle, due to only having 5 rounds. The only reason the No. 4 Mk. I (T) is BR 3 is because of the 10 round magazine reload on what is arguably already the best bolt action rifle in the game.

Until last update that is, the new “stay aiming” function is great for immersion but it does mess with the current balancing system, but it was a good buff for the No. 4, there was a case to be made for downtiering it to BR 2, but that’s been thrown out of the window by the new aiming mechanic, now it’s properly good (great even) for BR 3.

5 Likes
17

The G41 needs to be buffed, the PPSH box mag needs to be nerfed, the Trop needs to be given 4 50 kg bombs, and the problem of Russian body armor needs to be addressed in some way at low tier at least.

Overall I’d say the Yak 9s are kept in check by the fact they can do literally nothing to infantry so if a team isn’t feeding them vehicles they they’re just a wasted slot, that and also AA guns are harder to hit with the bigger cannons. But I think what really counters them is the FW-190 A8, a plane that doesn’t maneuver as well as them but you really only need one good strafe to shoot them down, plus rockets.

I think the best BR3 tank the Germans get now is honestly just the Panzer III N cause of the upgraded HEAT shells being able to rip through armor with an insane fire rate. KV-1s often don’t pose too much of a problem to destroy unless you’re trying to explosive pack it, in which case it can be a nightmare at times.

But overall BR3 Russia is very problematic at the moment, especially since the SVT-38 and PPSH box mag are on par with German BR4 weapons.

4 Likes
18

if we take into account the paratroopers within the framework of the balance, then it is incorrect to say that the Germans do not have a sniper rifle in TT because there is a sniper Gewehr 41

as a matter of fact, it is generally not correct to take into account rare and premium units within the framework of the balance because this is literally an unstable variable.

so 2 Soviet detachments with the ability to change weapons will be as dangerous as 4 German ones? As a matter of fact, the Germans have 2 squads for the first and second levels, and thanks to the landing box, these 2 squads can play on any combat rating, so I don’t see any problems with Soviet paratroopers.

well, for example, the kv 1 is completely helpless against the tiger and panthers with 4BR, while the PZ4H can still fight against all tanks and, with a certain amount of luck, even against super pershing

In general, from the whole topic, I only agree that the SVT 38 and ppsh with a box are weapons that are superior to the German, but even so, the Soviets on the 3rd br have only one weapon to choose from, so is its overestimated accuracy just compensation for the lack of choice?

and I’m also surprised why they didn’t mention bulletproof vests in this topic, because soldiers with increased survivability and in a bulletproof vest can survive 1 round from the German SMG more than without these bonuses, which I don’t really understand what changes, but everyone complains about it, so I will too, so as not to stand out from the crowd.

Cuirasses are bad :angry:

2 Likes
19

Which is more than fine. As the other end of the stick is that it can also play in BR2 where it pretty much dominates due to BR2 pretty much being the beginner BR.

Hell id even bend it far as making it so that BR3 soviets can end up against BR5.

And it is quite easy to destroy even for beginners.

They can throw the uragan in BR3 infact im surprised why they didnt.
Yet, regardless even if theres just 1 gun to choose from in certain bracket, its no excuse for the gun to perform like a BR4-5 gun.

20

The term “glass cannon” fits him, but he is still not helpless, unlike the kv 1, which can kill a tiger or panther if only the crew disembarks from the tank and throws explosive packages at the enemy tank