In the next major update, the USSR will receive the “Uragan” SMG with 6.9 damage, while Japan will get the Type 2 SMG with 6.8 damage. However, it seems our developers have overlooked the balance between the Soviet and German factions. Once the “Uragan” SMG reaches 6.9 damage, it will completely overshadow Germany’s BR III SMG. That’s why I propose raising the fully upgraded fire rate of the ZK383 to 860 or 870 rounds per minute to keep up with the upcoming changes.
First, the “Uragan” SMG with 6.9 damage still delivers 3.4 damage at 100 meters, while a 6.8-damage 9mm SMG retains 4.0 damage at the same range. Based on calculation, both require the same number of bullets (2–4 rounds) to kill a soldier with 13.5 vitality within 100 meters.
Second, despite needing the same bullet count, the “Uragan” SMG outperforms the ZK383 in several areas:
Higher rate of fire (860 RPM > 810 RPM)
Better muzzle velocity (450 m/s > 400 m/s)
Faster reload time (2.2 s > 2.4 s)
Larger magazine (35 rounds > 30 rounds)
The real difference only becomes clear beyond 100 meters—inside that range, the “Uragan” SMG holds an absolute advantage.
Third, and this shouldn’t be ignored: USSR body armor and its damage reduction will further widen the TTK gap. Within 10 meters, a German player would need three shots with a slower-firing SMG to eliminate a USSR player wearing body armor. Meanwhile, a USSR player with higher fire rate only needs two shots to eliminate a German player (the same goes for Japanese players in the upcoming Japan–USSR battles). This imbalance will become even more pronounced.
I always assumed the trade-off for German players being able to two-tap to kill a 13.5-vitality soldier within 10 meters was having a noticeably slower fire rate compared to USSR SMGs of the same BR. But now that balance is clearly broken. Before, USSR players could close the gap and even surpass far away just by wearing body armor—but after the next update, they’ll absolutely dominate even without it. I’m not sure if this is the perfect fix, but one thing is clear: once the “Uragan” SMG gets 6.9 damage, German SMGs really do need a buff, especially ZK 383.
Feel free to share your thoughts below—let’s discuss!
Nerf Uragan instead. A partisan weapon first shouldn’t have such good dispersion, then slightly nerf either its damage or rof.
The performance of zk383 is pretty good as a tt BR3 smg. The problem is the opponents it is facing, namely tommy. 30 and Soviet body armour.
Actually, even if the ZK383 had a fully upgraded fire rate of 860 or 870 RPM, USSR players would still hold an advantage when wearing body armor. The point of increasing the rate of fire was simply to make engagements more reasonably balanced when body armor isn’t involved.
In other words, you can still maintain an advantage with body armor—but let’s make sure everyone else has a fighting chance, without it turning into a complete stomp.
bro i absoltely agree your opinion ! But i’m not sure if the devs would actually adjust this, given that these changes have already been implemented on the test server. Maybe you should also make a post about it—I’d definitely support you.
I would rather see the ZK-383 get a damage buff, allowing it to two-tap vitality at close range. Increasing the rate of fire past historical levels (700 RPM at base) changes the identity of the weapon.
As far as I’m aware, there were Suomi KP/-31s with magazine adapters similar to the MP.41(r), that changed them to use MP.40 magazines. Such a weapon could become the Germany/Italy counterpart to the PPSH-41 Box, while a buffed damage ZK-383 can be the counterpart to the Uragan.
And yes, I would change some of the US options at BR 3, but that goes beyond the scope/argument of this topic.
Just for balance, unless the "Uragan"s damage is brought back to 6.7, the only way to ensure fair fights without body armor is to match the ZK383’s fire rate to it. : D
Also worth mentioning: Instead of changing every gun to counter body armor (and warp Germany AND Japan balance against USA significantly in the process), body armor should just become a cosmetic.
ImpostorWhenSus’s forum post has gained a lot of votes, so hopefully it gets forwarded. It would make balancing for all nations a lot more straight-forward.
Maybe the KP m/44, essentially a finnish copy of the PPS, could be introduced. It has the same magazines as the Suomi KP/-31 and could be outfitted with the coffin mag at BR3 or a standard box mag at BR2.
I feel like it would be cool to save Finnish stuff for a Finnish tree, there’s just barely enough stuff for them to have one IMO. And besides, the MP.35/I is getting buffs that would make it fill a similar position in the existing tree.
And just to clarify: are we talking about the 20 round or 36 round box magazine? The latter was postwar.
A Finnish Tree would be great. I was just saying that the KP m/44 was an option that didn’t already exist as a premium weapon, even with the 71 round drum.
I was thinking of the 36 round mag, I forgot it was a post war development.
Good point, but it’s clear that Germany’s BR III will face an unprecedented challenge after the next update. Expecting the dev team to introduce a completely new weapon in such a short time is simply unrealistic. So, in my view, there are only two ways to restore balance for now: either revert the Uragan’s damage back to 6.7, or give the ZK 383 a temporary rate of fire buff. A brand-new weapon can be left for the devs to design and introduce later—once that happens, the ZK 383’s original fire rate could always be restored!
The MP 35/I is getting tweaked to fill a role like the PPS or PPSh and while I don’t agree with all the changes on the Test Server it does fill that gap fairly well.
Yeah, sure … but could you do me a favor and pass this along to the dev team:
Is there actually any source or basis for the damage buffs to the Uragan and Type 2 this time? Why were these changes made without providing any reference or explanation? And why haven’t other weapons firing the same 7.62mm pistol rounds and 8mm pistol rounds—like the Type 100, PPSh, or PPS series—received any similar damage increases? Haven’t they realized yet that major balance issues are on the horizon? Isn’t it a bit too late to be concerned now?
… but could you do me a favor and pass this along to the dev team:
Isn’t it a bit too late to be concerned now?