Again, I don't understand.
Plasma/Hovertanks have 130 armor everywhere but for the underside. That's 20 more than any of your soldiers will ever get (with a flying suit. 30 if you use the power suit instead) and that's only from the front as the sides and behind are all lower armored than the tank who have a fixed rating all over. (
source, look at the link at the bottom for the tank stats)
Now I know that Aliens only use Heavy Plasma (power 115) and that every shot get a random number from between 0% and 200% (0 to 230)... 230-130 = 100, -90 health for the total health of the tank = -10... So yes, an hovertank can theoretically get destroyed in a single shot. So can and will any of your soldiers. If you compare that to riffles (which is pretty much your standard human weaponry as far as normal humans are concerned) then you have power 30 (0 to 60 damage), which can't even penetrate the 130 armor. So it is effectively "pistol proof".
The real problem here is the power of the Alien plasma weapons. They can destroy their own ship walls with them... And it's supposed to be full proof.
And to finish it, I know that tanks are less stealthy than squaddies: that's the whole point. I want it to attract and "soak" up the early shots and damage so the squaddies get safe. Squaddies can improve their stats after all, not the tank(s). The fact that it is a four square unit and is easier to hit simply help taking the shots. And when it gets hit and survive I do the same than I do with any soldiers: it goes back to the skyranger. For me it is only a support unit, not a super unit.
I think our main play difference goes with how we load our skyranger. I load every single squaddie with a flare and a medkit every mission (flares stays inside the skyranger for day missions), I always bring four stun rods in every mission irreverently of if I use them or not (which eventually get replaced by stun guns + their ammo), I eventually equip some soldiers with stronger plasma weapons than the standard laser ones (which mean ammo), etc. All this take a lot of space in the skyranger (especially at the very beginning with riffles, autocannons and heavy cannons) and it is usually simply impossible to full the skyranger with fully equipped squaddies.
Thus, the tank.
We all do have one thing in common though: this discussion also made me want to play the game again.
