YankeeSamurai wrote:but having a machine gun on a tank has nothing to do with asymmetric warfare
He means doing something to make up the lack of multi-purpose medium/heavy tank of asymmetric warfare...ZTZ99 have 12.7mm machine gun, ZTZ96A have coaxial machine gun, but Type 59 have nothing. Type 59 should perform as multi-purpose unit like M2 Bradley, however now it performs like ZBD2000 - which is much cheaper than Type 59.
YankeeSamurai wrote:but having a machine gun on a tank has nothing to do with asymmetric warfare
He means doing something to make up the lack of multi-purpose medium/heavy tank of asymmetric warfare...ZTZ99 have 12.7mm machine gun, ZTZ96A have coaxial machine gun, but Type 59 have nothing. Type 59 should perform as multi-purpose unit like M2 Bradley, however now it performs like ZBD2000 - which is much cheaper than Type 59.
During 1VS1 games, PLA player already build T4 will never go back to build T3, and player already build T3 will not build T4 either. Because both T4 and 59D are expensive, player cannot afford both T3 and T4 unless he takes very great advantage. For this reason, when PLA T4 players (with Total Mobilization commander tree) see an Apache hovering, they can do nothing except see their troop being slaughtered.
Also, T3 players will have ZBD2000 with 105mm upgraded to replace Type 59, this is another reason why T3 players don't need T4. It will make PLA T4 much more useless.
The apache is a denial unit, you can easily retreat away and avoid its range of fire. It doesn't last very long on the field, and it is expensive to call so cannot be spammed. It is just a trade off. You should know early on if the US player has gone airborne, so you can prepare by getting T3, or otherwise the hard counter from Assymetric warfare PGZ95. It is all about choices. In vCoH there was only the Ostwind from T4 and you could easily only build T3 and spam StuGs
Don't forget the 88's, that's why I suggested Stinger Emplacements throughout the maps to counter them a bit, they're short ranged but atleast it gives some projected diversity. I don't think the 59D needs a Top Gun per se, the infantry threat might be overwhelming but that just comes as the focus of the last patches lied on US advances rather than chinese imo. If now the chinese get some diversity in their navy, they're probably equal on a new variety of choices. If the chinese are to get one or two types of those modular infantry transporters like the WZ551 the front would shift again even too much maybe. But It might be reasonable to think about chinese strafing runs, not intended for bombing but to use MG and small rockets against infantry or even helicopters, then timing is more crucial than sitting back on a slaying maschinegun, although I think the chinese might deserve something in return to use against TUSK Hunters, although if you let them come at you the PFz-98 will do wonders, so just try different tacticts. I'd be scared if the apache would be controllable. Right now it IS balanced, US have Warthog+Apache against CHN Q5 Napalm+AA Vehicles. However if the US are to get a buffing strafe bomb and the chinese the Z10 Heli they're about equal in the air and the US remains better on infantry while the chinese are ahead in their timing of T3. Humvees are likely to get shot to pizzpots even against light gun fine, while the ATV of the chinese is able to evade and escape much easier, which again comes to the point of the US desperation of the DPV (like set to run over snipers literally, which again could spoil chinese defence against early inf), but this would justify a health bonus for humvee and the chinese mg-transporter that to me is quite needed in terms of logic as both are underestimated in the mod right now. Humvee is just like a frozen yoghurt thrown against the wall, and the chn transport has a nasty huge MG caliber that does as less as a sherman upgun in vcoh, more for eyecandy than doing any serious harm. To me it should be inaccurate but more lethal because of it's rounds, I thought it was an AA Gun when I first saw it, yet it does behave like a PKM but it has 12.7x108 mm that could tear up your arms if it hits pretty much like the FG42 architecture made as HMG, it just saws through you.
I think the ZBD-05 is actually way too powerful/accurate against air, actually. If your flight path is anywhere near a ZBD-05, you are simply going to waste your munitions and it completely nullifies a full half of your doctrine with no recourse. The Ostwind/flak 88/pumas couldn't regularly shoot down Airborne doctrine off-maps, which made them much more of a soft-counter than a ram-it-in-your-face hard counter like ZBD-05s are currently (not to mention the PZG05).
