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Yep still a good a tank. I don't play much anymore (till 7.3) but played 7 matches today and 5 of 7 got 1k+ exp. Shots were bouncing off the front, front armor isn't as good as a e-75 but still solid. Only time i got torched was when i did a noob move and rushed forward.

The IS-4 is an amazing brawler and I love it to bits. I like the IS-7 more but still the IS-4 is fun for slugging it out with people.

Beerstein, on Apr 19 2012 - 16:09, said:

Prob hit turret top which has like 30 armor?

ShivaX, on Apr 15 2012 - 23:40, said:

Bullocks.

E-75 is way better from the front now, and much easier to angle and get bounces.

All around, IS-4 has good armor, front, not so much.

Beerstein, on Apr 19 2012 - 16:09, said:

If he was at 100% before your shot hit him, then something is really messed up here.  IS-4's front armour is 140mm at it's weakest point, and it's health is 1590 or 1790 depending on turret.  So your statement would have to mean you penned him with that round.  Hmmm.

IS-4 will get an armour AND gun buff in 7.3 according to WG TV #13.  I'll just let mine sit in the garage till then.

I've noticed a higher instance of ammo rackings, which is due to my tendency to use some pretty aggressive slope.  Other than that though, my Is-4 is still the tank I know and love.  I think its mainly the fact that the higher number of ultra-pen guns makes the competition a bit more stiff.  I'm certainly excited to see what tweaks it gets when it goes to tier X though.

Wingman4508, on Apr 20 2012 - 09:14, said:

That's because you're angling and exposing your weak "shoulder" plates where the ammo is. I have really no idea how to protect my front now other then finding a spot to hull down since you cannot point straight forward or angle the front.

Whee, on Apr 15 2012 - 23:07, said:

Here's the problem with its armor, it has the driver's port on the front which is fairly easy to penetrate and almost certainly will cause your driver to die if penetrated, and not angling your armor makes it fairly easy for even an IS to penetrate, whereas angling your armor makes it a bit harder to penetrate, but someone who aims carefully (either at the shoulders or front, depending on which is more exposed) will still easily penetrate you (tested on both ends; in my Tiger H and in my IS-4 in random battles).

It CAN be really good... in random battles where many people don't really know how to aim, from what I've found.

donno why ppl cry about is 4 its one of the best tier 9s  just try to hide the front magic window of fail and it will be fine

[quote name='genocide69' timestamp='1334918276' post='1767439']
donno why ppl cry about is 4 its one of the best tier 9s  just try to hide the front magic window of fail and it will be fine
[/quote

That's like saying oh, just hide the weakness and its fine for any tank. How are you suppose to hide your weakness when its basically the entire 180 degrees front?

That's like saying oh, just hide the weakness and its fine for any tank. How are you suppose to hide your weakness when its basically the entire 180 degrees front?
[/quote]
its not entire front

Azurite, on Apr 20 2012 - 11:59, said:

1-the IS4 allows for insane angling degrees most other tanks simply can't dream of because of it's insane side armor. That means the weakness becomes relatively much slower from the firing platform point of view

2-Moving back&forth randomly while reloading (if no immediate cover is available) makes up for a quite difficult time hitting either the viewport or the more vulnerable "shoulder pad".


In short, just use your brain, angle your tank and don't stay still in front of the ehemy sights unless you know for certain he's reloading.

There you go your answer.

On my 19th game with it, just got tracks upgraded with little bit of free xp and using the BL9. I love this tank. What I've been grinding for. I bounce a ton of stuff. Most T9 and lower tanks just get upset at not penning me and then go for my tracks or suicide circle.

It's certainly true that the French and American updates have dragged the average pen in high tier games up a lot higher then it used to be. In my experience lately, these 260+ pen guns don't even need to hit the driver port - anywhere on the front hull will do, from almost any angle, especially since the S-70 mandates playing at mid or short range.

RAMJB, on Apr 20 2012 - 13:57, said:

The side armor isn't THAT impressive and the shoulders near the front of the tank actually make angling a nightmare, you angle to get the driver's port to be less exposed and then the shoulders are exposed, etc.

Haides, on Apr 20 2012 - 18:59, said:

uhh it's not that impressive?.

please give me the names of any non-german tier 10 tanks that get a degree of side protection that comes close to those 160mm of well angled side armor, please. "Isn't THAT impressive"?...well, it's pretty unique in it's strenght among the existing tanks in the current trees. Only the maus gets more side armor (but not angled), and the IS7 has a comparable side hull armor (but can't angle because of it's spike frontal armor). The only others that come even close are the E-75's 120mm angled, and the KV5 vertical 150mm, which don't even come close in any comparison.

The IS4's side armor isn't just "good", is one of the strongest features of the whole freakin tank...to the point of calling it "unique" among the tanks in WOT, yet you say is "not THAT impressive"?.

As for the shoulder patches, those are very well vertically angled 120mm, even in a perfectly straight presentation towards the enemy incoming fire, they offer a much stronger degree of protection than the viewport. And you can work to make those spots hard to hit too: just use cover smartly, and when exposed, don't stop shaking and moving while you're reloading to give the enemy a hard time aiming for those places. Use a bit of tactical thinking to force the enemy to shoot while his aim not settled enough to take a proper aimed shot. there are a lot of things you can do to help "protecting" those shoulder patches, which still are pretty small given the overall dimensions of the tank, and the fact that they're still decently armored while the driver's viewport is not.

RAMJB, on Apr 20 2012 - 19:11, said:

The side armor isn't THAT angled and can just be easily bypassed by shooting below, at the tracks, which has a huge chance of setting the damned thing on fire or damaging the engine itself.

Those shoulders can be hidden with cover, yes, but there's not always cover present, nor should you really have to. While they may be somewhat small, they're still easy to hit, even at range.

Haides, on Apr 20 2012 - 20:50, said:

Whoever intentionally shoots below is risking to suffer the "track damage black hole generator". Meaning, noone in his senses will intentionally aim there. If it hits the hull, yes, is vertical. Problem is, if it happens to touch the tracks or any wheel, thats an almost guaranteed 0 hit...whoever wants to take those chances vs me in my IS4 is more than welcome to.

And the upper hull is well angled. It's not as far as tilted as the armor in the front (something I already stated in my prior posts), but it is angled, and is the heavier side armor of any tank in the game exception made of the Maus, which has it vertical. In other words, you're staring at the arguably strongest or 2nd strongest side armor of any tank in the game right now and insist it is not that important.

well, however, it IS important as its one of the main strenghts of this tank.


Oh and the shoulders are easy to hit from a distance only if you're standing still. If not, its more a thing of luck than of anything else. and if you stand still is not the other guy's fault. Nor the tank's.

It's actually fairly hard to get 0 damage hits when shooting directly or even somewhat angled at the tracks. I've done this on numerous tanks with a large margin of success.

Even if the IS-4 is moving, all I have to do is lead my shot a bit and it still hits fairly often, it's not hard.

RAMJB, on Apr 20 2012 - 19:11, said:

It's 120 now, with some 50's hidden in there.