Crewed MBT's for one week

[Kail]

Originally Posted by Figment

F3 + F4 = 9F1m

So, the simplified maths assuming ideal, fair conditions, suggests the combined firepower of F3 and F4 would have to be 9 times as strong as a main gun on a solo MBT to make up for its disadvantage in endurance.

That model is only true on what a WoW player would refer to as a "patchwerk fight".

1. It does not give any advantage to the single tank for having undivided attention to a given task; the driver drives, the gunner guns, and there is tangible survivability increases due to that
2. It does not take space or terrain into account. Since two tanks cannot occupy the same space at the same time, every tank at any given instant in time has an attack and defense modifier based purely on it's location - and I would argue that it is rarely equivalent between two tanks, let alone four.
3. It assumes a cage-match fight; the fight ends when F1m blows up, or three enemy tanks blow up, and during this time every tank contributes at maximum effeciency. Given how often I see tanks get damaged and back off, find some cover quick and repair, or leave the fight for flanking purposes, I believe its safe to say this assumption is usually false

Would the raw firepower of 9 tanks sometimes be required for a solo, 3-man tank to win? Sure. Would it ever be higher? Sure. Would it ever be lower? Definitely. And more importantly that math is incorrect because by that logic a solo 3-man tank would require the firepower of 9 tanks to be "balanced", when it would clearly not be since it would be able to one-shot anything it came across. It's the same reason DPS isn't the only important stat on a weapon (else, why was everyone complaining about the bolt-action rifle vs the semi-auto? They have equivalent DPS!)