What I'm really missing in this thread so far (unless I overlooked it) is a thorough examination how making porking ords more difficult is really changing the game and who's really going to benefit from it.
I agree, Lushe, and here are the reasons why.
When I first began playing AH about 10 years ago, I could take a heavy F4U-1D Corsair loaded with 2x1ks and 8 rockets and sink a CV in a single pass because a CV had a hardness of about 3k and didn't have the 8k hardness it has today. I used to sink CVs regularly, and then look for an air to air fight. But, folks complained about CVs being too easy to sink and that soon changed and I soon quit trying to sink CVs, and began playing the Air to Ground game where I could take out the ords and barracks on small and medium airfields with the ords I carried on my Corsair. Again, people complained, and, again, new field layouts and increased ack-ack took my game to a level where I was only successful 20% of the time air to ground, and so I took my fight up to the Bombers where I substituted ordnance for fuel, and flew to 25-30 thousand feet hunting bombers. Again, people complained about Bombers being too difficult to shoot down, but I don't recall that HT hardened Bombers at all, and they became my favorite prey, at the time, in my Corsair. People complained that the Bombers guns were too strong and should be neutered, but I didn't find that to be true, and I shot them down, or was shot down by them.
Did I like the hardening of the CVs?
No! But I adjusted my individual game play to support others and still sank some.
Did I like the addition of more ack on airfields and the re-arrangement of the targets on the airfields?
No! But I adjusted my game play to support others and still managed to survive some solo runs.
Did I like
any of the changes over the 10 years that consequently affected me, personally, whilst flying my favorite aircraft?
No! I simply adjusted my game play to make the game fun for me again.
BUT! There comes a time of diminishing returns, and by this I mean that the more difficult you make it for a single player to enjoy him/herself, the fewer are going to play. And the harder you make targets to drop, the few who do play will rely upon others to help accomplish what they themselves cannot accomplish individually and soon, there will be fewer to help the few.
I remember when the skies were full of furballs, and CVs were ripe to sink! Bombers filled the skies and Squads of pilots flew together to challenge other Squads!
If you take the fun out of the game for the individual pilot, you will soon have no pilots left. I am at that point now.