But it doesn't negate the fact that the soviet line is specced to be superior. I'm not going to type you a story, all it takes is to read some of the posts in this thread about the T59 and IS4-7.
Type 59 is chinese. Yes, it's based off the t-54 but putting the tank in was the result of pressure from their chinese partners. The tank is annoying, but get your facts straight.
IS-4 is a tough nut to crack, but the E-75 is superior in almost every way shape and form, I should know since I have both. The T-34 was the worst of the tier 9 pack since it has a squishy hull but it has since been switched out. I haven't been playing the past few days so I don't know how the M103 or whatever matches up against other tier 9s.
IS-7 is fairly balanced for a tier 10, and you need to learn how to fight one. I'd argue a Maus is more dangerous in every way possible except in clan wars, where mobility is king.
Over all, the only people who say IS-4 and 7 are OP are the ones that have no idea how to fight one. I prefer fighting an IS-4 over an E-75 or a hulled down T-34 any day.
You want proof yet claim you have never seen any advantage in the game for the russian line? Here's one, based on real life armor and ordinance characteristics, how can the T9-T10 US tanks have such thin hulls, yet the russian equivalents don't?
Here's your "proof". American tank specs:
http://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/tanks-heavy/t29-t30-t32.asp
Read it. 4" = 10cm = 100~ mm, and the plates are NOT SLOPED HEAVILY. The T-series are the same tank with different guns, with the T-32 being a bigger pershing, so they all have around 100mm worth of armor. In contrast, the IS-3 had 110mm and the IS4 has 160mm (nerfed to 140 in game with 100mm driver hatch). The IS-7 has 150mm heavily sloped pike nose armor. I'm not sure where you're getting these made up "facts" about american tanks having superior armor at all, in all aspects the soviet tanks have MORE armor. American tanks were known to have extremely poor armor in WW2, and german steel were of a superior quality.
German is another line. Any frontal shot will kill the engine etc, yet the godly IS4-7 bounce 128mm AP rounds all day off the front. And so on.
Soviet tanks have ammo racks under the headlights and every one of their mediums will explode if you shoot the side turret. I'll take my engine damage over a blown ammo rack, thanks.
IS-4 and the IS-7 have HUGE frontal weakspots that are regularly penetrated by tier 9 guns, and prior to the armor normalization the IS-7 was the laughing stock of tier 10 tanks.
Nothing short of a tier 10 gun can get through the E-75's lower glacis, and a very lucky tier 9 roll might be able to on a good day. If you think the Is-4 is ridiculous, you need to fight an E-75. Show me an IS-4 that can bounce 128mm rounds all day and I'll show you an idiot that can't aim at the weak spot that covers half of the IS-4's frontal UPPER glacis (weaker than the lower glacis!) or the side ammo racks.
The problem is so bad most people prefer to angle their tanks sideways so the SIDE ARMOR can bounce shots that the driver's hatch can't. Even then the shoulders are only 140mm, and they'll get penned by tier 8 guns reliably.
Here's where I see you need to learn to play. You seem to not know how to hull down, how to flank, nor how to shoot the weak spots on the russian tanks. Or haven't logged on in a very very long time. Or both.
PS: I like the german line much more than the russian line. The tanks are simply better and much more rewarding in able hands, period.
German vehicles transmission upfront and vulnerable to lower hull plate fire causing hits=check.
German vehicles have frontal transmission. It's (annoyingly) historically accurate. Moving it to the back or eliminating it would be completely off basis. But I'd say the front of the IS tanks are a bit more problematic, the weak frontal lower glacis usually houses 2 ammo racks.
French vehicles need to be unmanned (read stationary) while reloading= nope.
Wouldn't it be kind of silly to have french tanks that can fire a total of 12 rounds and then be done with the round? Also the AMX13-90 takes around 75 seconds to reload a clip. Just a thought.
Even if German tanks have great frontal armor, it's a moot point, the cupola is easy to hit, even from distance.
Nope. Try to hit an E-75 copula from a distance greater than 100 meters, I'll buy you a drink if you hit it. Even with the L75/100, the most accurate gun in the whole game, it's nigh impossible to hit from 200m+. Any misses or grazes and you end up hitting the 200mm+ thick turret or scratching their turret due to a critical glance. At least make your outlandish claims more believable, the copula's only a big target when you're face hugging.
A T-29 may seem like trouble when it's hull down (very situational) but shooting the "ears" negates that occasional advantage as well.
When was the last time you played? This was changed months ago, way back when they first introduced all the normalized armor changes. T-29 now has exactly two weak spots on its big turret: The big copula on the back, the cheeks if you have a 220+ pen gun.