C'mon guys. When you kill fighters you force them to respawn at a far away airbase so whats the difference?
Any vehicle or plane in the game can be flown suicidal. I have tons of Spits and Mustangs always suiciding HO into my IL-2s even when they hold great advantage, "which is always". Theres no valid reason a small nimble fighter should throw away all their advantage and HO an IL-2 yet it happens to me all the time.
I dont fly IL-2s like that, any other plane like that, or GV like that. My intent is always to kill and then land them, as is the other dedicated Rook IL-2 sticks that always show up with me at GV fights. You cant compare IL-2 with the nimrods who upp Lancs, fling 1,000lb bombs in Jabo dives, and then bail to rinse and repeat. I dont even carry bombs in my Storm birds. You just cant attribute dweebery to an airplane used in its historically correct manner. If you have a beef it should be with the Lanc-stuka crowd.
And I'm good in them yet there is no way, even with the 37mms, I can single handedly stop an entire column of GVs when they are supported with flak. The WWs and Osties chew up IL-2s like they are paper. Its hard enough dealing with a single tank when its got a well placed WW behind it. Kill an enemy fighter, or get killed, and how long does it take to get back, at Alt., into the fight? Whats the difference between that and a GV spawn? A fighter plane killed by its base can "up and fly 5 to 10 sorties" against an enemy too. Why should GVs be any different? Flying an airplane back to a fight, after being shot down, takes no less time then does re-upping a Tank and getting back to a fight. Again? Whats the difference? One thing I would like to see however is concrete pads to tower GVs out at near spawns. But thats a question that doesn't concern IL-2s.
The true answer is because prior to an effective tank killing air craft AH tank warfare was a joke, "tho I can understand why some miss it". Suicide the ords, take out the VH, and then motor into position for the baby seal clubbing. Nothing was left that could hurt you, "very few bothered with upping with ords from other bases", and the advantage was always with the guy sitting in ambush. Kill rates from spawn camps were in the dozens at a time. It wasn't "war", it wasn't even "cartoon war", in fact I never even really bothered with it.
Heres some stats on tour 103, last month before the IL-2 37mm update, and last months tour. The K/Ds anyway. Read them and then tell me how overwhelming this new "wonder plane" has been. At least for those who weren't the great campers towering out with 50 GV kills at a time.
Tour 103 K/D Aug. 2008 Tour 108 Jan. 2009
IL2- 1.12 1.09
Jeep-0.10 0.10
M-16-0.48 0.43
M-3-0.13 0.18
M-8-0.61 0.62
Ostie-1.27 1.16
Panzer-lV-0.82 0.80
SD-251-0.19 0.19
Sherman VC-2.25 2.48
T-34/75-0.66 0.60- T-34/85 = 1.49
Tiger-l-3.48 3.69
WW-1.80 1.71
So we are left with the question of exactly who is the IL-2 now overwhelming? Its not the Tigers or the Shermans, whom are both killing more even now in the age of the 37mm IL-2s. The Panzer-lVs are about the same. Osties and WWs have it a bit rougher "which is why we needed the 37mms anyhow". M3s and M8s are about the same, or, killing more. The addition of the 85mm T-34s is allowing them to kill more and the IL-2 is actually killing less per death.
So where is the justification for the perk price? The airplane is slow, doesn't have much range, has a very unimpressive bomb load, has 4 rockets a notch above useless, poor climb rates and turn rates, and while fairly tough is no tougher then some Yank Jabos. Yes it is far more involved but its also paying a price and the thing is we needed an equalizer. Most of all one that actually existed and actually was a terror to GVs during the war.
The only "style" the IL-2 is "crimping" is the electronic pin ball crowd that would upp a single Tiger, motor safely to a spawn camp, and then club seals at least until the ords came up again. That is if they came up at all.
Now you might actually get killed when you motor in with your Tiger, pork ords from the safety of nearby woods, and then club the little seals coming out of the VH "that you have ranged". I'm sorry guys but life isn't fair, and as unfair as it is its far easier to take then was the eastern front when Panzer columns had to actually deal with IL-2s. AH Storm birds might crimp your style but that doesn't mean they should be perked.
You've hit the nail on the head there, with a very excellent example of how the Il-2 is flown.
That's specifically the reason behind why perks have nothing to with perceived performance of a aircraft/vehicle in regards to "how easy it is to kill or stop it." The only thing to consider is in terms of balance... and when the matter at hand is a case of an aircraft armed with a very powerful anti-tank gun versus a ground vehicle, the balance simply swings drastically in favor of the aircraft.
A capable pilot wielding the standard 23mm can single-handedly hold back a hefty column of armoured vehicles. Even an average guy like me can usually disable 2-3 vehicles and maybe kill one or two. The drive from the GV spawn point to the target base usually takes a long time, whilst the Il-2, as an aircraft, can fly at least 5~10 sorties against the GVs in the same amount of time. Being KIA during the ground attack means nothing, since one can simply respawn and up an Il-2 again and again and again. Add to that a much more powerful, capable 37mm AT gun and the prospect of ground warfare as many people have enjoyed upto date, is simply gone.
When HTC introduces a "perked ordnance" system into place, the 37mm guns are definately one of many prime candidates waiting to receive a listed price.
