You’ve probably been there. You load into a 10v10 lobby, the countdown hits zero, and within five minutes, your meticulously placed Leopard 2A3s are smoking wreckage because a swarm of T-80Us just rolled over the hill like a steel tidal wave. It’s frustrating. It makes you want to alt-F4 and uninstall. If you’ve spent any time on the Eugen Systems forums or the game's subreddit lately, the phrase WARNO I hate PACT isn't just a meme; it’s a lifestyle for disgruntled NATO mains who are tired of losing to the Warsaw Pact's "low-skill" rushes.
Is the game actually broken? Maybe. Eugen has a long history of struggling with the "Red vs. Blue" balance dating all the way back to the Wargame: European Escalation days. But in WARNO, the PACT hate has reached a fever pitch. People aren't just complaining about stats; they’re complaining about the fundamental "feel" of the meta. It feels like you have to play a perfect game as West Germany or the US just to stay even with a PACT player who is basically just clicking "Attack Move" across the map.
The T-80 Problem and the "Forward Deployment" Meta
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the T-80U and its variants. In the current version of WARNO, the PACT armor meta is oppressive. Honestly, it’s not just that the tanks are good; it’s that they’re affordable and numerous compared to their Western counterparts. If you’re playing the 3rd Armored Division, every M1A1 Abrams you lose is a tragedy. If a PACT player loses a T-80BV? They probably have three more behind it. This creates a psychological weight. You feel like you’re fighting a hydra.
Then there’s the Spetsnaz.
Forward deployment is arguably the most controversial mechanic in the game right now. When the match starts, PACT can shove high-tier infantry and recon units halfway across the map before your transport trucks have even left the starting zone. This isn't just a tactical advantage; it's a map control chokehold. You spend the first ten minutes of the game trying to claw back territory that you should have had for free. By the time you’ve cleared out those pesky Metis teams, the PACT player has already built a defensive line that would make the Berlin Wall look like a picket fence.
Why Does PACT Feel So Unfair to Play Against?
It’s about the "skill floor." To play NATO effectively, you need to micromanage your ATGM teams, keep your expensive tanks in cover, and perfectly time your SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) strikes. If you mess up your plane's flight path, you lose a 250-point asset. If a PACT player messes up? They have cheap, mobile AA like the Tunguska or the Strela that can saturate the sky with "delete" buttons.
A lot of the WARNO I hate PACT sentiment comes from the feeling that PACT has an answer for everything without having to work as hard for it.
- Need to stop a tank rush? Use the 9M119 Refleks missiles fired directly from your tank barrels.
- Need to clear a forest? Use the Buratino—a rocket launcher so terrifying it basically turns the map into a parking lot.
- Need air superiority? Just spam Su-27s.
The Buratino (TOS-1) is a specific point of rage. There is nothing more demoralizing than having a crack squad of US Army Rangers sitting in a building, only to have them instantly vaporized by thermobaric rockets from a unit that's three kilometers away. It feels cheap. It feels like the game is rewarding "blobbing" over actual combined arms tactics.
The "Eugen Bias" Myth vs. Reality
Every time a patch drops, the community starts screaming about "Russian bias." Eugen is a French studio, so the idea that they’re secretly trying to make the Soviet Union look invincible is a bit silly, but you can see where the frustration comes from. The developers are trying to model "Deep Battle" doctrine—the Soviet idea of overwhelming force and continuous reinforcement. The problem is that while this is historically accurate for what the USSR planned to do, it doesn't always make for a balanced 1v1 competitive experience.
🔗 Read more: Finding Old LA Times Crossword Puzzle Archives Without Losing Your Mind
In a real war, NATO would have relied on massive air superiority to blunt the Soviet spearhead. In WARNO, the AA is so lethal that planes often feel like a waste of points. This leaves NATO players relying on their ground forces, which are outnumbered. When your M1A1 gets side-shot by a cheap T-62 that was hidden in a bush, it feels like the game is cheating you out of your tactical superiority.
How to Actually Beat PACT Without Losing Your Mind
If you’re stuck in a rut and find yourself typing "I hate this game" in the global chat, you need to change your approach. Stop trying to out-tank the Soviets. You won't win a head-to-head slugfest against the 79th Guards Tank Division if you’re playing fair.
- Abuse the "Max Range" Advantage: Most NATO tanks have better optics and fire control. You need to engage at the absolute limit of your range. Use the "Attack" command while stationary to ensure you get the first shot off.
- Smoke is Your Best Friend: If you see a cluster of PACT ATGMs, smoke them out. Force them to fight you at close range where your superior Western infantry (like the British Paras or French Legionnaires) can use their high rate of fire.
- The Helicopter Gamble: PACT players often neglect their rear-line AA in the mid-game because they’re so focused on the front. A sneaky Gazelle or Cobra play can snipe their supply trucks and starve their offensive.
- Combined Arms (For Real This Time): You cannot just buy tanks. You need mortars to suppress, infantry to screen, and AA to keep the Ka-50s off your back.
Honestly, the meta shifts every few months. What feels broken today—like the current dominance of the 35th Guards Air Assault—will probably be nerfed into the ground by the next major milestone update. Eugen balances with a sledgehammer, not a scalpel. One day PACT is king, the next day the M1A2 Abrams is an unkillable god.
💡 You might also like: Finding All Letter Scraps GTA 5 Map Locations: Solving Leonora Johnson's Murder
The Psychological War of the 10v10
Most of the WARNO I hate PACT posts come from players who exclusively play 10v10. Let’s be real: 10v10 is chaos. It isn't a balanced competitive mode. It's a meat grinder. In that environment, the faction with the easiest-to-use "spam" units is always going to seem overpowered. If you’re tired of being overwhelmed by Soviet steel, try playing 1v1 or 2v2. The game is much more balanced at smaller scales where individual unit micro actually matters.
In a 10v10, three PACT players can coordinate a Buratino strike that covers an entire capture point. In a 1v1, that Buratino is a massive point investment that can be easily countered by a single well-placed artillery strike or a daring special forces raid.
The reality of WARNO is that it’s a game of trade-offs. PACT has the quantity and the "alpha strike" capability. NATO has the quality and the survivability. If you’re playing NATO like it’s PACT—just charging across open fields—you’re going to have a bad time.
Moving Past the Frustration
It’s easy to get tilted. We’ve all been there, watching a 200-point unit die to a lucky hit from a 40-point conscript squad. But the "hate" is also part of what makes the community vibrant. We care because the game is actually good; if it sucked, we’d just stop playing instead of complaining on the forums.
The next time you find yourself staring at the "Defeat" screen after a T-80 horde has rampaged through your lines, take a breath. Look at the replay. You’ll usually find that the PACT player didn’t win because their units were "OP," but because they exploited a gap in your recon or caught your AA sleeping.
Actionable Next Steps for Frustrated NATO Players:
- Study the Armory: Go into the PACT armory and look at the "Armor" and "Optics" stats of the units you hate. Note their weaknesses—many PACT tanks have terrible reverse speeds. If you can force them to retreat, they’ll turn their weak rear armor toward you.
- Play a Few Matches as PACT: This is the best way to learn. You’ll quickly realize that PACT has its own nightmares, like dealing with the insane range of the Apache or the stealth of the F-117.
- Join a Discord: Playing with a coordinated group is the only way to effectively counter PACT's "Deep Battle" rushes. A coordinated NATO team using combined arms is almost impossible to break.
- Focus on Recon: Most PACT wins happen because the NATO player was "blind." You need more recon than you think. If you can see them coming, you can stop them.
Stop focusing on the balance numbers and start focusing on the engagement. WARNO is a game of millimeters. Once you stop hating the PACT and start respecting their capabilities, you'll find that winning becomes a lot more common.