I'm sorry, but you'll get no sympathy from me. Tanks take one man to use, so if one man in vastly greater metalevel, vastly multi-role crippling weaponry can kick your sorry tailpipe then good on them. Nothing against the tanks, but they have to gice something up to get something.

It takes way more SP and ISK train into, then to buy and fit a Tornado than it does to get into a Rifter, but in a straight-up fight the Rifter will win almost every time, unless the Tornado takes special precautions, because it's too fast for the Large guns to target it. Do people ***** about how broken that is, or do they take their humbling for being a dumbass?

I can see tanks getting a buff only if they require a full crew to operate. At least driver and main gunner should be separate.

I understand not wanting to depend on others. I'm horrible at the social aspect and tend to run lone wolf myself. But, there needs to be some form of drawback other than ISK because at some point ISK will be irrelevant.

An LAV (once their bumpers are fixed) require a driver and a gunner. An Assault Dropship is a decent balance because the main gun is small. People jump into AV to take out tanks because they know that one person in a tank can go 40/0 unless they are stopped. Maybe give the tank driver a small gun?

How would you balance tanks so they aren't one man killing machines but also have increased survivability?

On a side note, I think if supply depots would not allow one to change fittings things would be way more balanced.

Well, given all input from the AV guys, and the request from some for the actual armor pilots to weigh in, this seems like a good time to give my thoughts. Here's some background.

This is my vehicle alt, my main, Verdia, is a 5.5 mil sp Logistics, and I have 1.5 mil SP, all in armor. My fitting skills are tailored to Gallente Madrugar tanks, and I can fit STD turrets, and ADV equivalent damage reducers, reps and plates. So while I don't have the skills of Void (skills both ways, he's stomped me before, and has my respect), I do have enough to field a fast, relatively durable anti-personnel blaster tank.

I'm also learning my maps well, and know the basics of tank driving. Rule 1: always have an escape route, and Rule 2: always have infantry near you. So on any match where I have smart bunnies around me, things go well, I lock down whole sections of the map, and typically go about 7-10/0, so pretty much on par for someone in a standard tank.

However, there are some problems I run into with the AV situation currently. Here are my thoughts on the current weapons:

Forge Guns:
Wonderful little anti-vehicle weapons, which double as a stunningly effective mid-range one-shotter on infantry. These things are pretty well balanced at the moment. Yes, the damage is pretty stupid (2k+ for PROs), but they take a while to charge, and are line-of-sight only, so if you stay exposed to a Heavy, you deserve the ass that will get handed to you. They also require a sizable investment in SP in order to get into the good ones, and are a high enough cost that people don't risk them stupidly.

AV Grenades:
Great for killing murdertaxis, and can do a number on tanks if someone lets them get close enough. Hive+AV grenade=win....but a good tanker should splatter any infantry that gets that close, or run away, so really, if you die to these in a tank, you made some bad decisions. See Rule #1, and talk to me when it sinks in.

Swarm Launchers:
Frak me. These things are ridiculous, and are a tanker's worst enemy. The damage at PRO level exceeds that of PRO forge guns, requires far less SP, far less fitting costs, and is free of the usual limitations of other AV weapons. The biggest advantage is that you just need a quick peek at the target to get a lock, and don't have to be anywhere close, or anywhere near line of sight for these things to hit. While I'm sure that the PRO Swarms were intended to counter PRO tanks, we don't have them, and they are stupidly overpowered. I know this from my AV alt, who can routinely kill Militia tanks with a CBR7 before the RDV even drops them to the ground, and STD tanks in one magazine of 4 shots, if they hold stillish for 8 seconds.