Let's be honest. Lots of us are still suffering digital PTSD from what happened in update 5.5. Our old low tier friends, the tanks that had been with us since the beginning of our blitz journeys--the tanks that made us fall in love with blitz--we saw them be removed from the tech trees and then hit so hard with the nerf bat they were mangled beyond all recognition. The first tank I ever aced, the UC 2-pdr lost its unique alpha damage; the tank that first made me fall in love with light tanks, the Luchs, was given the traverse speed of a heavy tank--we all had tanks like this, tanks we loved that were nerfed so badly that we thought they'd never be the same. I, for one, lost most of my hope that we'd ever be able to happily play these tanks again. If this has been you too, friend, let me share with you something that will undoubtedly make you smile.
This night of 5.5's repercussions was long, but the sun has silently been circling the world of Blitz, preparing to rise. Someone, somewhere, deep in War Gaming heard our posts and our voices and had compassion, because every few updates (over the last 17), silently, often times not even listed in the in-game news, updates to low tier vehicles kept coming. A low-tier DPM and dispersion buff here in update 5.7, and a Valentine II engine power buff there in 5.8. Update 5.9 brought low tier tech tree vehicles alpha damage buffs, and a few more received buffs in 5.10. Penetration and alpha damage were increased for low tiers in 6.0. Update 6.2 arrived with premium ammo alpha damage buffs for low tier collector tanks. 6.4 made tanks more mobile and gave better dispersion to numerous tanks. 6.5 featured a tier IV tank price increase (making new players practice a bit more before getting to tier IV). Armor buffs came in 6.6 for the previously-nerfed Hetzer and SU-85B, plus penetration buffs across quite a few low-tier tanks. Tiny detailed changes came in 6.7; they finally gave the BT-7 spaced armor over it's gun mantlet and weakened the M5 Stuart's armor so that it's better suited to tier III. The SAu 40 starred as the lone low-tier tank to get buffed in 6.8. Tier V got some love in 6.10 in order to help balance out the heavy tank buffs. Update 7.0 featured an OCD-level-of-caring-attention-to-detail change for the Lago. And finally, in update 7.1, we got 30% DPM increases across the board for nearly every tier 1-4, along with mild hp buffs to most tanks between tier 1-4 and some tier 5's.
The legacy of 5.5 was one of neutering tanks by giving them pea-shooter damage, barely enough DPM to kill the enemy team in seven minutes, and suppressing and decreasing everything that made individual tanks special. Slowly, thanks to our pleas and petitions and the tireless work of some kind soul(s) on the Blitz balancing team, the legacy of 5.5 has been being torn apart, piece by piece, silently, in the details of update after update. Finally, with the advent of 7.1, this night has finally come to an end, and hope has dawned! 
In total (in summary of the last 17 updates) upon the arrival of 7.1:
Many tanks now have as much DPM, and some even have more DPM, than they ever did before update 5.5. 
(Some examples include the former tech-tree Japanese Ke-Ni, the A-32, the T6E1 Mini-Sherman, and others)
Almost all tanks have as much, if not more ALPHA DAMAGE than they did before update 5.5.
This is true across the board. You might think, "well, that was only fitting to keep up with the hp and armor buffs they given various low tier vehicles over the years." You would be correct. Things do seem pretty nicely balanced now. Just like at any tier, we'll probably find a few stinkers that just aren't super effective without some future buffs, but that's to be expected.
Every tank, once again, has something special about it.
Gone are the nightmarish, shooting-a-spitball-every-15-seconds kind of low tier tanks that all played the same. Those nightmares do not exist anymore. If you look with an attitude to find what's fun and unique, you'll find that the low tier tanks, just like in the higher tier tanks of this game, offer individual experiences for you to explore.
The low tiers (I-IV and even some of V) are a whole new world now.
So much has changed for the low tiers. I, for one, have decided to go explore this new world of low tier tech tree, collector, and premium tanks. I encourage you to try it out, too! You can request tanks to be restored to your garage using a tool in the player support section, and you can now ask for an unlimited number of tanks back per year! We basically get to explore a new tech-tree's worth of unique and lethal (no longer neutered!) tanks. There is so much fun to be had and new favorites to find!
Here are a few highlights of tanks I'm gonna go get my hands on first thing!
- Tier 3 tank destroyers now have 180 alpha damage with AP on their 75mm guns. Hello SU-76, SU-76i, and Marder II!
- The tier 4 Covenanter now has 220 alpha damage per clip, and the tier 3 Pz. II G now has 180 alpha per clip.
- The tier 4 Japanese Ke-Ho light tank is going to be a lot like a Leopard 1 at tier 4, with an accurate gun for its tier, more dpm than ever before, zero armor, and tons of speed
- Some tier 5 tanks now do more module damage with HE
- The T67 American TD now has 165 alpha instead of 135 damage with its standard AP rounds (hello, lovely buff!)
- Quite a few tier 5 tanks are getting extra hp so tier 5 v. 6 will finally feel comfortable again.
- And my personal favorite... tier 2 tank destroyers have their original alpha or better! Hello my old friend UC 2-pdr!
I welcome your thoughts, and please use this thread to share with us all the tanks you find that are fun once 7.1 hits tomorrow!
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GentleNova, on 14 July 2020 - 09:25 PM, said:
