Honestly, a well-fitted HAV is SUPPOSED to be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Even in public matches. In most HighSec matches, which is where matchmaking happens, that well-fitted tank will be worth more than the combined total your team earns. If it dies, you just cost yourself MORE than the value of your contract. Even Militia HAVs are expensive to buy and fit. People might do it, but when there are a few AV guys on the field, they WILL lose tanks, and they WILL spend more than their last 5 contracts replacing that loss.

If you're infantry, and can't handle a tank, you can usually AVOID it. Try that. I've been in a game where the other team had 2 high-tier tanks - a well-fitted Gunnlogi and a REALLY nasty Sagaris - and a Dropship, and my team gave up on vehicles after the second RDV got shot down. I was the only one running AV, and only had a Swarm Launcher. Basically, all I achieved was forcing the Dropship to race around the map instead of giving its gunners a good chance to shoot. While doing that, I helped out in small ways with handling the limited numbers of enemy infantry, we kept control of the objectives (remember those?) and we WON.

The top half of the enemy team's side of the scoreboard was 7-0 or better on their K/D, and the best K/D on our team was 10-6, but we won, and the top 3 players on our team had more WP individually than any 2 players on the opposing team. Vehicles DON'T control the map alone. They need infantry support, or they can be worked AROUND by the enemy infantry.

Also, I've seen a Sagaris forced into a retreat by a lone Forge Gunner who was REALLY good at not being where they last saw him. He got a quick shot off, then moved on, and showed up somewhere else before the enemy knew he'd moved. They bombed the logical area for him to show up, then got flanked and hit hard. Turn, and there's nothing there any more. He didn't KILL the thing, but he kept it on the run for most of the match. I've also seen, in pub matches, a single Forge Gunner and a single Swarm Launcher guy, without voice comms between the two, and without knowing each other prior to the match, take down a Gunnlogi, a couple of well-fitted Sicas, and a Dropship. I've also seen more than one cheap HAV fit go down to a couple of guys with Laser Rifles and AV Grenades.

The problem with tanks is definitely NOT how much damage they can handle. It's the range and power of their turrets - particularly missile turrets, which a large portion of the playerbase agrees to needing a (minor) nerf. Scale back the splash damage and/or radius on missile turrets, and give them a range that fits within the boundaries of our current map size. Buff (slightly) the other weapons to be in line with the moderate nerf to missiles, and tanks will be what they're SuPPOSED to be.

Cutting vehicle HP with how things are currently would be a HORRIBLE idea.

P.S. I don't drive HAVs. I bring Swarms. I can barely scratch a good Shield Tank alone, but if I work with a Forge Gunner or a couple of guys with Laser Rifles... those tanks will be hurting. And I usually do that in pub matches with blueberries, not with "real" teammates.