WoT's Disappearing SPG's

Since patch 7.0 was released the frequency and number of SPG's one will see in a match has decreased dramatically. Some will champion this development as SPG's are often cited as the least favorite thing to face in the game. Others, namely those with SPG's, are less than enthusiastic about the change. So what has caused these once common and deadly opponent to fade from our target reticules? Two separate game changes in 7.0, the Credit Earning potential of SPG's and Tracers.   

Credit Earning Nerf

With the release of patch 7.0 the amount of credits self Propelled Guns could generate per match was greatly reduced by in some cases 30 percent. Added to this is the fact that high tier SPG ammo costs went up. In essence the ability to operate a SPG without losing credits has greatly diminished to the point where losing credits per match is more common. This is only compounded by the other major change in 7.0 which has greatly undermined an SPG"s greatest weapon, hiding.

Counter Battery 

 IF you operate a SPG and die early in a match you are almost guaranteed to have a negative credit outcome. Early deaths are a lot more common now because of the return of tracer lines coming from SPG's shots. Counter Battery is the process of using the overhead view of an SPG to watch for and track enemy SPG rounds as they leave.

Although the SPG itself remains hidden from view, a solid line will be shown from its general vicinity.  Enemy SPG's only have to wait for a tell tale shot to be fired before returning a shot of their own. Often resulting in a kill since SPG's are incapable of sustaining multiple hits.Using the Counter Battery method is made even easier on some maps as the terrain makes the number of hiding spots available sparse, so watching potential hiding spaces decreases.

These two changes have greatly decreased the desirability of playing an SPG in game and as you would expect the number of SPG's in matches has reduced dramatically. Before 7.0 is was not uncommon to  see as much as 10 SPG's out of 30 total tanks. Now to find more than 4 in a match is almost unheard of. Whether or not this is a bad thing is based on ones own perception of the situation, but the results are easy enough to see.

Personally I do not like the changes as an effective way of lessening the number of SPG's, but I am the kind of player who will roll with the punches and make do. But what do you guys think? Do you like the changes made and has it affected the amount of time you play SPG's. Was this a good way to decrease the number of SPG's in a match?