I disagree. The problem is that 1 player in a HAV is more effective than 1 player in a dropsuit. And since match sizes are fixed (16v16 or 24v24) a team fielding more HAVs will always be more effective than a team fielding less HAVs.

To fix the problem either HAVs need to become less effective or require more players to operate. I prefer the latter as it keeps HAVs as powerful vehicles (which they should be) while keeping them in check.

So, when team A calls in 3 HAVs they now are down 6-9 players to operate those 3 HAVs. This allows team B to switch out some of their players to AV (to counter the HAVs) and not be at a disadvantage in dropsuits over the enemy.

I think the best solution is to make tanks co-op vehicles, requiring at least a gunner and a driver. Although this presents one major issue in that you don't have a buddy to communicate with or something like that, so my proposal is as follows:

Tanks are able to be piloted by a single player but they have a drawback. In order to operate all core systems a solitary pilot must stop the HAV in order to man the main gun. Switching seats could take a very small amount of time, say 1-1.5 seconds, with a skill introduced to perhaps lower the time it takes to switch. Utilizing a second pilot allows for the vehicle to be on the move at the same time as gunning, much as our tanks currently operate.

Another suggestion is to hinder solitary pilots by making their main gun overheat much more quickly, take longer to fire between reloads, or to lower ammunition capacity in the "magazine".

Personally I would like to see any one of these, especially the need for solitary pilots to switch seats to man the guns.

This turned out to be a very insightful study on the HAV issue. From the first post down the line you can see a progression towards a particular conclusion, and the last 5 or 6 posts really are the assessments that CCP needs to follow.

Kudos for Dericks, bogeyman m, RINON, and Ghermard for their conclusions...

Dericks' post hints at something that is going on with MANY of the players on the map IN RESPONSE TO THE HAV CHANGES MADE IN 1.7. Many of us players log onto Dust with a specific goal today' (win 5 matches, find a good squad, hack 3 cannons per match, whatever),... but being harassed by HAVs infesting each map distracts us from our Dust goals, pesters us into resenting the blasted HAV plague, and derails our matches into a wasteful 'deal with the tanks' session instead of the potentially more satisfying objectives we originally set out to do.

Ghermard's post reveals that the PLAYER BEHAVIOR using tanks has changed from the previous patches. 1.7 is enabling HAV operators to abandon most of their potential ( arguably, responsibility?) toward accompanying and close-coordinating with your team. I can attest to the fact that MOST skirmish matches aren't decided by HAVs at all anymore (lots of players just THINK they are). In reality the HAVs mostly (though not always) are off on their own installation-bagging and HAV-chasing spree through the ENTIRE MATCH, and the MCC victories were decided by the tiny few of us footmercs who learn to "not get roped into fighting those 5 random HAVs--just wait and let each one drive away"... and then we diligently resumed and hacked that null cannon as usual.

Bogeyman's post hints at the idea that 1-player HAVs are damaging to the game. His post also endorses an HAV driver being dependent on at least one fellow teammate to be truly effective in this game--and I agree with that. Just like the standard Dropship is encouraged to be effective only when its interacting with fellow players... an HAV operator should be effective the most when she is WITH teammates, not passing them by.

Rinon's post, to me, represents what EVE Dust 514 seemed to be trying to make a cardinal focus: Co-op gameplay. The REAL kind. Even if we don't "require" the driver to need a crewman like in Rinon's proposal, Dust should at least always "persuade" and reward team or buddy assistance in everything possible. Giving a driver the destructive independence to no longer need anything from his team anymore,... is fine for other shooter games, but shouldn't be allowed too much in THIS game.

Patch 1.7's HAV changes came out a month ago, so I'm don't complain about the HAVs anymore.
I play each match with this confident attitude :
"When an HAV player is accompanied by infantry or gunners, she's a threat and a victory-tool... but bopping around as a loner they're just pests--let them stop by and blow some clones up, they'll quickly leave (they almost always leave because loner-HAVs aren't concerned with map objectives); as soon as each one leaves I can go back to whatever I'm doin'."
...It is a wrong attitude for me to have each time I play the matches . Because I know Dust was not intended to be played like this. And with the posts you just contributed, I hope the devs'll see the fact very clearly.