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I'll keep the introduction short here:
The original Buyer's Guide to Premium Tanks was created by myself under a different profile, Panzer4Life. This was an accident on my part, but I would like to set things straight and continue this project under my actual in game name. I will also later post it to the game guides section, since it's kind of one of those dual-functioned posts.
This list is a BUYER'S guide, in that it is to influence player's towards purchasing something that they may wish to buy. Since Premium Tanks are purchased with gold, you need to know what you're getting into. This is not a PLAYER'S guide, in that it's not to teach player's how to play their tanks. That said, the information provided may help point out weaknesses or strengths in their vehicles they may not have previously been aware of.
This is a work in progress, that shall be updated with upcoming tanks. However, with future updates promissing more Tier 8 premiums, the economic strain may make some updates delayed or put off for very long periods of time.
The layout of this guide will be a little different from the one before, and shall go as follows:
Tank Name
Price
Country
Type
Short Summary, trivia, and all that good stuff.
Mobility
This will outline the handling of the vehicle. Speed is analyzed, as are factors like turret and hull traverse, the effects terrain play on the tank, acceleration, turn bleeding, and that kind of stuff.
Firepower
The ability to dish out damage. Penetration, damage, rate of fire, accuracy....all that stuff is covered here.
Survivability
This is more than just the armor of the vehicle. It also factors in things like the size of the vehicle, weakspots, and any gaping flaws in the design such as a weak ammo rack. If any part of this is a Player's Guide, this is where you will see it.
Tactical Utility
The hardest bit of a tank to evaluate, but one that is important to know. It sums up what the tank does well as well as passive stats like view range. If you want to know how your tank is labeled, look here.
One recent change was made. The post has been split between the Tier 2-6 tanks, and the Tier 7-8 tanks. The one for the high tier premium tanks is here:
http://forum.worldof...3/#entry3561855
I was originally going to create a scoring system, but in some instances it becomes hard to fairly analyze. Take firepower: does a low penetration gun still have good firepower if it shoots fast enough to overwhelm any opposition not able to deflect the shots? Some might say yes....others might not.
Anyways, without further ado:
Table of Contents
Use this to find a tank you're interested in. This will let you know the order of the vehicles presented.
NOTE: I only include BUYABLE premium tanks. Special offer ones, or those no longer available, will NOT be included. So don't go looking for the M6A2....thingy or the Type 59.
Tier 2
- T2 Light Tank
- M22 Locust
- T-15
- T-127
- PzKpfw S35 739 (f) [The "Somua"]
- FCM36 Pak 40 [French Tank Destroyer]
- Valentine
- 105 leFH18B2 [French artillery]
- Ram II
- T-25
- Matilda
- T14
- Churchill
- ToG II*
- Dickermax
- Panzer IV Schmalturm
Tier 2 Tanks
T2 Light Tank
750 gold
American
Light Tank
Spoiler
A light tank through and through, the T2 is an interesting little tank for those who yearn for the days of old when tanks were small and cheap, and battles were fast paced and violent.
Mobility
The mobility of the T2 is by far its most striking aspect. It is FAST, with a top speed of 72km/h. This means that it is amongst a handful of tanks that can reach the speed cap in the game, and it does so with some ease. To put it this way: it pulls over 30km/h up the big hill on Himmelsdorf. The acceleration is pretty good too, since it can actually reach that speed, and terrain does little to limit this.
The T2 does have an issue with something called turn bleed, where turning while moving causes it to decelerate. This means it's not exactly an agile tank, but at full speed the turret can't turn fast enough to track a target and hit it at close range. Therefore, when engaging at close range you need a lot of pick-me-up power more than raw speed. Seeing as the T2 accelerates nicely this is rarely a problem.
Firepower
The T2 is armed with the 20mm autocannon. Autocannons are interesting weapons. They are loaded with a magazine of 5, a process that takes a few seconds on the T2. Once loaded every press of the mouse button fires 3 shots. Seeing as there is no practical firecap on the 37mm, this means you can fire 15 rounds in about 1 second.
Consider that for a minute though: the T2 Light tank does and average of 12 damage a shot (it can go up to 15 and down to 9). And it can do this up to 15 times in a single second, giving it the potential to do 180 damage almost instantly. This is enough to instantly kill any Tier 2 tank, and even some Tier 3 ones.
There is a catch though. The 20mm may be one of the best auto-cannons in the game, but it still has mediocre penetration. 30mm will get you through most of the non-French tier 2 tanks in the game, but unless you're firing right into their rear you can't count on every single shot to go through. The accuracy is also poor as well, seeing as after your first shot your next 14 will go wide. These traits forces the 20mm into the close range category, acting a bit like a shotgun.
Don't worry about ammunition though: it can carry 1200 rounds. Your only point of conservation needs to be around the drum reloads. They aren't terrible (just a few seconds), but they're still longer than what other Tier 2's get. After you kill someone either fire off your last few rounds to force a reload, or press the "c" key. Mid drum reloads unfortunately take as long as empty drum reloads.
Survivability
Right....this tank has no armor, and will occasionally catch fire. It's also kind of tall. Your key to surviving is your speed, so you it. As you approach an opponent make sure to do so at an angle to him. MAKE him have to traverse either his hull or turret, to through his accuracy off. Once you're close enough unleash hell, and if you're lucky you may instantly kill him.
Tactical Utility
This tank CAN scout, but I advise against it. Other tanks do a better job, and that radio is weak. This tank does have an odd flaw, in that it gets some weird matchmaking. I'm not sure if this was changed recently, but I find myself fighting tier 4 tanks with some frequency. Against such targets the T2 isn't much good, as it makes a poor scout and has neither the durability nor the firepower to fight back. The T2 Light Tank is a great combat vehicle within its own tier, that relies on incredibly tilted statistics to win the day. You have lots of potential firepower and speed, but poor survivability. You need to attack fast and kill faster.
A light tank through and through, the T2 is an interesting little tank for those who yearn for the days of old when tanks were small and cheap, and battles were fast paced and violent.
Mobility
The mobility of the T2 is by far its most striking aspect. It is FAST, with a top speed of 72km/h. This means that it is amongst a handful of tanks that can reach the speed cap in the game, and it does so with some ease. To put it this way: it pulls over 30km/h up the big hill on Himmelsdorf. The acceleration is pretty good too, since it can actually reach that speed, and terrain does little to limit this.
The T2 does have an issue with something called turn bleed, where turning while moving causes it to decelerate. This means it's not exactly an agile tank, but at full speed the turret can't turn fast enough to track a target and hit it at close range. Therefore, when engaging at close range you need a lot of pick-me-up power more than raw speed. Seeing as the T2 accelerates nicely this is rarely a problem.
Firepower
The T2 is armed with the 20mm autocannon. Autocannons are interesting weapons. They are loaded with a magazine of 5, a process that takes a few seconds on the T2. Once loaded every press of the mouse button fires 3 shots. Seeing as there is no practical firecap on the 37mm, this means you can fire 15 rounds in about 1 second.
Consider that for a minute though: the T2 Light tank does and average of 12 damage a shot (it can go up to 15 and down to 9). And it can do this up to 15 times in a single second, giving it the potential to do 180 damage almost instantly. This is enough to instantly kill any Tier 2 tank, and even some Tier 3 ones.
There is a catch though. The 20mm may be one of the best auto-cannons in the game, but it still has mediocre penetration. 30mm will get you through most of the non-French tier 2 tanks in the game, but unless you're firing right into their rear you can't count on every single shot to go through. The accuracy is also poor as well, seeing as after your first shot your next 14 will go wide. These traits forces the 20mm into the close range category, acting a bit like a shotgun.
Don't worry about ammunition though: it can carry 1200 rounds. Your only point of conservation needs to be around the drum reloads. They aren't terrible (just a few seconds), but they're still longer than what other Tier 2's get. After you kill someone either fire off your last few rounds to force a reload, or press the "c" key. Mid drum reloads unfortunately take as long as empty drum reloads.
Survivability
Right....this tank has no armor, and will occasionally catch fire. It's also kind of tall. Your key to surviving is your speed, so you it. As you approach an opponent make sure to do so at an angle to him. MAKE him have to traverse either his hull or turret, to through his accuracy off. Once you're close enough unleash hell, and if you're lucky you may instantly kill him.
Tactical Utility
This tank CAN scout, but I advise against it. Other tanks do a better job, and that radio is weak. This tank does have an odd flaw, in that it gets some weird matchmaking. I'm not sure if this was changed recently, but I find myself fighting tier 4 tanks with some frequency. Against such targets the T2 isn't much good, as it makes a poor scout and has neither the durability nor the firepower to fight back. The T2 Light Tank is a great combat vehicle within its own tier, that relies on incredibly tilted statistics to win the day. You have lots of potential firepower and speed, but poor survivability. You need to attack fast and kill faster.
Tier 3 Tanks
M22 Locust
900 Gold
American
Light Tank
Spoiler
The M22 Locust was an attempt at creating an airborne tank that could be flown in via glider, and it has several things that reflect this. The thing is TINY. It's just puny, and light. But don't let this deceive you. The M22 isn't your typical light tank. It's a fighter. Underestimate the Locust and it WILL kill you. It will find you, overpower you, and beat you to death. It will not be pretty. It will hurt, and you will feel humiliated that a tank the size of a mini-van just made you his....well, you get the idea.
For the driver, it's a very fun tank. Incredibly fun, actually.
Mobility
The M22 is quite fast. It has a fairly powerful 192 horsepower engine. But the M22 is also incredibly light. At just 6.9 tons the Locust weighs less then some motor vehicles you'll see on the road. Actually, it's one of the lightest in the game, weighing just a ton or so more than the MS-1, which is the smallest tank in game.
It has a top speed of 64 km/h, so while it may not be the fastest thing on the planet it is still quite fast. Due to the low weight and good power it has a bit of zip to it. You can feel the speed of this tank, as it takes very little time to get up to speed. Terrain doesn't hinder it too much, and as a nicety the gun get's -8 degrees of gun depression, so small hills won't kill your aim.
Overall mobility could be better, but it's workable. It suffers from fair amounts of turn bleed, and the turret can't always keep up with the speed. Luckily, the tank accelerates well, so you can use the speed to get close to a target, park behind it, fire a shot, and then just accelerate into another firing position as the enemy tries to pivot and save itself, often to no avail. Once the Locust gets close it's normally too late.
Firepower
The M22 is armed with a surprisingly adequate gun for its type. The 37mm offers it one of the gun available to the Tier 3 light tanks, overall.
The M22, T-15, and T-127 all have low power, high rate of fire cannons. The M22's combines a fast 2-second reload with very respectable penetration. With 56mm of it the Locust should have no problem being able to damage other tier 3 tanks, and even most Tier 4's are easy enough to kill. If you know what you're doing it's not outside the realm of possibility to damage a Tier 5 (although that will take a VERY long time).
The damage is somewhat low, at 40 points, though the reload makes up for it. Any tier 3 tank can potentially be taken out in 6-7 seconds by a single M22. The high rate of fire, low damage, benefits the M22 Locust by giving it the chance to fire indiscriminately. It's not a tank that necessarily has to stop and aim (nor should it....), so being able to fire while moving is very helpful. In the event you HAVE to snipe, the accuracy and aim times are decent enough.
Survivability
Armor?
Hardly any at all. It was a neccessary trade to keep the M22 Locust so lightweight, but what it does have is sloped. It might yield a very lucky bounce here and there, but don't count on it.
Actually, the M22's secret weapon is what makes it so darned cute: the small size. Outwardly, it resembles a stock Chaffee or a Pershing tank. But it's half as tall, half as long, and half as wide. I am 6 foot, 2 inches tall, and I am a full inch taller than an M22 Locust. It is only 12 feet long, and 7 feet wide, meaning a big pickup truck can actually be larger than it.:
When you consider the miniscule proportions of the M22 Locust, the high speed, and the inaccuracy of Tier 2-4 guns, the M22's becomes agonizingly difficult to hit. For the driver of a Locust, not getting hit is almost too easy. And, once you're close enough to a big tank, you're literally too short to hit at times.
Just remember this: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO GET RAMMED. EVER. EVER. EVER
Tactical Utility
The M22 Locust is a combat vehicle. It is not a scout, although it can do this job well. It is a tank that you send out to kill. There is a mantra amongst M22 drivers: 1 Locust is good, but 2 is even better. Start wolfpacking-- er, let's make that swarming-- and you'll eat the enemy alive.
The M22 Locust was an attempt at creating an airborne tank that could be flown in via glider, and it has several things that reflect this. The thing is TINY. It's just puny, and light. But don't let this deceive you. The M22 isn't your typical light tank. It's a fighter. Underestimate the Locust and it WILL kill you. It will find you, overpower you, and beat you to death. It will not be pretty. It will hurt, and you will feel humiliated that a tank the size of a mini-van just made you his....well, you get the idea.
For the driver, it's a very fun tank. Incredibly fun, actually.
Mobility
The M22 is quite fast. It has a fairly powerful 192 horsepower engine. But the M22 is also incredibly light. At just 6.9 tons the Locust weighs less then some motor vehicles you'll see on the road. Actually, it's one of the lightest in the game, weighing just a ton or so more than the MS-1, which is the smallest tank in game.
It has a top speed of 64 km/h, so while it may not be the fastest thing on the planet it is still quite fast. Due to the low weight and good power it has a bit of zip to it. You can feel the speed of this tank, as it takes very little time to get up to speed. Terrain doesn't hinder it too much, and as a nicety the gun get's -8 degrees of gun depression, so small hills won't kill your aim.
Overall mobility could be better, but it's workable. It suffers from fair amounts of turn bleed, and the turret can't always keep up with the speed. Luckily, the tank accelerates well, so you can use the speed to get close to a target, park behind it, fire a shot, and then just accelerate into another firing position as the enemy tries to pivot and save itself, often to no avail. Once the Locust gets close it's normally too late.
Firepower
The M22 is armed with a surprisingly adequate gun for its type. The 37mm offers it one of the gun available to the Tier 3 light tanks, overall.
The M22, T-15, and T-127 all have low power, high rate of fire cannons. The M22's combines a fast 2-second reload with very respectable penetration. With 56mm of it the Locust should have no problem being able to damage other tier 3 tanks, and even most Tier 4's are easy enough to kill. If you know what you're doing it's not outside the realm of possibility to damage a Tier 5 (although that will take a VERY long time).
The damage is somewhat low, at 40 points, though the reload makes up for it. Any tier 3 tank can potentially be taken out in 6-7 seconds by a single M22. The high rate of fire, low damage, benefits the M22 Locust by giving it the chance to fire indiscriminately. It's not a tank that necessarily has to stop and aim (nor should it....), so being able to fire while moving is very helpful. In the event you HAVE to snipe, the accuracy and aim times are decent enough.
Survivability
Armor?
Hardly any at all. It was a neccessary trade to keep the M22 Locust so lightweight, but what it does have is sloped. It might yield a very lucky bounce here and there, but don't count on it.
Actually, the M22's secret weapon is what makes it so darned cute: the small size. Outwardly, it resembles a stock Chaffee or a Pershing tank. But it's half as tall, half as long, and half as wide. I am 6 foot, 2 inches tall, and I am a full inch taller than an M22 Locust. It is only 12 feet long, and 7 feet wide, meaning a big pickup truck can actually be larger than it.:
When you consider the miniscule proportions of the M22 Locust, the high speed, and the inaccuracy of Tier 2-4 guns, the M22's becomes agonizingly difficult to hit. For the driver of a Locust, not getting hit is almost too easy. And, once you're close enough to a big tank, you're literally too short to hit at times.
Just remember this: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO GET RAMMED. EVER. EVER. EVER
Tactical Utility
The M22 Locust is a combat vehicle. It is not a scout, although it can do this job well. It is a tank that you send out to kill. There is a mantra amongst M22 drivers: 1 Locust is good, but 2 is even better. Start wolfpacking-- er, let's make that swarming-- and you'll eat the enemy alive.
T-15
900 Gold
German
Light Tank
Spoiler
This interesting tank was made by the Czech company Skoda as a light tank. Outwardly it is the German counterpart to the M22 Locust, but don't make that mistake. This is nowhere near as good of a combat vehicle as the Locust. It is, however, good at some other things....
Mobility
This is one strong point to the T-15. It has about the same acceleration and top speed as the Locust. But what it does once it gets there is completely different.
The T-15 has almost no turn bleed. At all. This means that at top speed it can pull off some ferocious maneuvering. Imagine something almost as good as the Luchs.
Firepower
A low point of the T-15, the gun....sucks. A lot. It is identical to what the Locust gets in every stat except penetration, but at 42mm of pen the T-15 is going to bounce off of a lot of stuff. You'd think the slight bonus to mobility makes up for the loss in penetration, but at this tier the difference between 56mm of pen and 42 is quite large. Even some artillery, such as the T57, are going to be able to bounce shots from the T-15.
Still, if you happen upon something that the T-15 can hurt easily, you'll enjoy the same level of overwhelming volume of fire that the M22 does....but the list of tanks you can do this to is appreciably much smaller. If you must insist on going toe-to-toe with your opponents, use the combination of zippy handling and good turning to out maneuver opponents to flank and hopefully destroy.
Survivability
Well, it has some armor. For a Tier 3 tank the 30mm it gets isn't bad, but it's not reliable.
It also isn't quite as small as the Locust, though it's still not too large of a tank. The frontal profile is actually quite small, but it's a long-ish tank.
Tactical Utility
At this point the T-15 is probably looking to be a terrible choice of vehicle. Sure, it's mobile, but it has mediocre armor and dreadful firepower. What does it offer?
This question troubled me for a while, since compared to the Locust the T-15 seemed obviously inferior, as the bonus to mobility in no way compensated for the loss in firepower. Then something clicked: a small frontal profile, 350m of view range, and a powerful 710m radio range. And high acceleration with high speed handling. The T-15 then is not a combat vehicle like the M22, but rather a scout. And a good one, at that. It has superior scouting charectoristics compared to the other Tier 3 tanks, and even some of the Tier 4 ones. The T-15 can fullfill both the active scout role and the passive scout one, although passive scouting it more of its forte.
I would highly recommend the T-15 for someone who wants to practice scouting techniques without going broke. It's not going to make incredible credits, but it's never going to lose you money either like the Tier 4 and 5 scouts might. Alternately, it's the best Tier 3 scout option, making it useful for company battles when you need to save on tier limits.
This interesting tank was made by the Czech company Skoda as a light tank. Outwardly it is the German counterpart to the M22 Locust, but don't make that mistake. This is nowhere near as good of a combat vehicle as the Locust. It is, however, good at some other things....
Mobility
This is one strong point to the T-15. It has about the same acceleration and top speed as the Locust. But what it does once it gets there is completely different.
The T-15 has almost no turn bleed. At all. This means that at top speed it can pull off some ferocious maneuvering. Imagine something almost as good as the Luchs.
Firepower
A low point of the T-15, the gun....sucks. A lot. It is identical to what the Locust gets in every stat except penetration, but at 42mm of pen the T-15 is going to bounce off of a lot of stuff. You'd think the slight bonus to mobility makes up for the loss in penetration, but at this tier the difference between 56mm of pen and 42 is quite large. Even some artillery, such as the T57, are going to be able to bounce shots from the T-15.
Still, if you happen upon something that the T-15 can hurt easily, you'll enjoy the same level of overwhelming volume of fire that the M22 does....but the list of tanks you can do this to is appreciably much smaller. If you must insist on going toe-to-toe with your opponents, use the combination of zippy handling and good turning to out maneuver opponents to flank and hopefully destroy.
Survivability
Well, it has some armor. For a Tier 3 tank the 30mm it gets isn't bad, but it's not reliable.
It also isn't quite as small as the Locust, though it's still not too large of a tank. The frontal profile is actually quite small, but it's a long-ish tank.
Tactical Utility
At this point the T-15 is probably looking to be a terrible choice of vehicle. Sure, it's mobile, but it has mediocre armor and dreadful firepower. What does it offer?
This question troubled me for a while, since compared to the Locust the T-15 seemed obviously inferior, as the bonus to mobility in no way compensated for the loss in firepower. Then something clicked: a small frontal profile, 350m of view range, and a powerful 710m radio range. And high acceleration with high speed handling. The T-15 then is not a combat vehicle like the M22, but rather a scout. And a good one, at that. It has superior scouting charectoristics compared to the other Tier 3 tanks, and even some of the Tier 4 ones. The T-15 can fullfill both the active scout role and the passive scout one, although passive scouting it more of its forte.
I would highly recommend the T-15 for someone who wants to practice scouting techniques without going broke. It's not going to make incredible credits, but it's never going to lose you money either like the Tier 4 and 5 scouts might. Alternately, it's the best Tier 3 scout option, making it useful for company battles when you need to save on tier limits.
T-127
850 Gold
Soviet
Light Tank
Spoiler
While it may say light tank, this thing is more of a medium/heavy tank with a light tank gun. The T-127 is an odd vehicle, not one I've played too much-- but I know enough about it to give some analysis.
Mobility
Unlike its German and American counterparts the T-15 and the M22 Locust, the T-127 isn't what you'd call fast. At 38 km/h it's appreciably slower than either tank. Don't mistake it for being sluggish though. The T-127 has a very respectable acceleration and turn speed.
Firepower
Sure, it has the 45mm from the Tier 1 MS-1, but as with most Soviet vehicles this really means the gun is more like a Tier 2 worthy gun mounted on a Tier 1 tank....so don't let the fact that it's a "Tier 1 tank's gun" discourage you.
The 45mm offers superior damage to the guns on the T-15 and M22 for the same rate of fire. The damage difference isn't too large, and the penetration is still less than what the Locust gets (but 9mm more than the T-15's gun...).
For the medium tank handling of the T-127, this gun suits it well. Just enough penetration to be able to hurt most tanks around it, combined with good damage and rate of fire. It is, however, not as accurate as what the M22 and T-15 have, a fact more than compensated for by the fact that the T-127 spends a lot more time in positions where it can stop and aim. If a Locust were to try and stand and fight like the T-127 it would get shredded.
Survivability
The Locust offers lots of tenacity in a small package. The T-15 offers good tactical prowess. Therefore, it falls to the T-127 to be the juggernaut of this triad.
The T-127 has a respectable 40mm of armor, sloped sharply back. This gives it an impressive level of frontal protection. Even the sides and rear are well armored, as 30mm is quite decent (don't think getting flanked is ok though....it's still a very bad idea). Against most tier 3 tanks the T-127 offers great protection, and it's really not that big either.
Tactical Utility
The T-127 is a kind of odd tank, at the mercy of Match Making. Paired against its peers, it could easily wipe the floor. Who needs mobility when you're impervious to enemy fire? But as the enemies start getting bigger guns that armor becomes a hinderance; if it cannot bounce the enemy's shots, then all it is doing is slowing you down.
Therefore, you actually need to be smart, and know your weaknesses. If you know the opponents around the corner can't hurt you, press the attack. If they can, then you might want to try getting into a different firing position.
Also, this thing apparently gets slightly better MM than the other two Tier 3 lights.
In any case, there is a reason I don't play this tank very much, and I call it the principle of One-Up-Manship.....
While it may say light tank, this thing is more of a medium/heavy tank with a light tank gun. The T-127 is an odd vehicle, not one I've played too much-- but I know enough about it to give some analysis.
Mobility
Unlike its German and American counterparts the T-15 and the M22 Locust, the T-127 isn't what you'd call fast. At 38 km/h it's appreciably slower than either tank. Don't mistake it for being sluggish though. The T-127 has a very respectable acceleration and turn speed.
Firepower
Sure, it has the 45mm from the Tier 1 MS-1, but as with most Soviet vehicles this really means the gun is more like a Tier 2 worthy gun mounted on a Tier 1 tank....so don't let the fact that it's a "Tier 1 tank's gun" discourage you.
The 45mm offers superior damage to the guns on the T-15 and M22 for the same rate of fire. The damage difference isn't too large, and the penetration is still less than what the Locust gets (but 9mm more than the T-15's gun...).
For the medium tank handling of the T-127, this gun suits it well. Just enough penetration to be able to hurt most tanks around it, combined with good damage and rate of fire. It is, however, not as accurate as what the M22 and T-15 have, a fact more than compensated for by the fact that the T-127 spends a lot more time in positions where it can stop and aim. If a Locust were to try and stand and fight like the T-127 it would get shredded.
Survivability
The Locust offers lots of tenacity in a small package. The T-15 offers good tactical prowess. Therefore, it falls to the T-127 to be the juggernaut of this triad.
The T-127 has a respectable 40mm of armor, sloped sharply back. This gives it an impressive level of frontal protection. Even the sides and rear are well armored, as 30mm is quite decent (don't think getting flanked is ok though....it's still a very bad idea). Against most tier 3 tanks the T-127 offers great protection, and it's really not that big either.
Tactical Utility
The T-127 is a kind of odd tank, at the mercy of Match Making. Paired against its peers, it could easily wipe the floor. Who needs mobility when you're impervious to enemy fire? But as the enemies start getting bigger guns that armor becomes a hinderance; if it cannot bounce the enemy's shots, then all it is doing is slowing you down.
Therefore, you actually need to be smart, and know your weaknesses. If you know the opponents around the corner can't hurt you, press the attack. If they can, then you might want to try getting into a different firing position.
Also, this thing apparently gets slightly better MM than the other two Tier 3 lights.
In any case, there is a reason I don't play this tank very much, and I call it the principle of One-Up-Manship.....
PzKpfw S35 739 (f)
1000 gold
German
Medium Tank
Spoiler
One of the tanks that was captured in the Fall of France by the German, the PzKpfw S35 739 (f) will hereinafter be referred to as the Somua. Herealded by many as the best tank of its time, the Somua was a sign of things to come. Unlike the Hotchkiss and the B1 tanks, the Somua actually had a semblence of mobility, as it was realized that tanks might have to fill more roles than just infantry support. This is a tank which is often overlooked, but from a historical point of view it's rather interesting. It is also the only captured tank still available in the store, as both the German Hotchkiss and the B2 tanks were removed.
Mobility
This tank offers a bit of "zip". The acceleration is quite nice, so reaching the 37km/h top speed isn't going to be too much of a problem for it. Hills are rarely a problem either. They'll slow you down for sure, but they aren't going to render you immobile either.
Interestingly, the Somua offers a sickeningly high level of hull traverse for such a tall and slowish tank. It takes some getting used to, but it means getting flanked it going to be quite difficult for an enemy.
Firepower
It is armed with a 47mm gun that offers the Somua a total advantage over the Tier 3 premium tanks (or Tier 3 tanks, in general). This gun gives it a rather high 55mm of penetration, good accuracy, a very fast aim time (a little over 1 second), AND a higher rate of fire than the M22, the T-15, or the T-127. Oh, AND it does 52 points of damage, which is rather high compared to the other premiums.
This firepower advantage is not lost on the tank, as it makes it a terrifying vehicle to fight. French vehicles are notoriously undergunned in this tier range, but not the Somua. The rate of fire that can be achieved is easy enough to get under 2 seconds for reload, and it has the accuracy and penetration to ensure penetration against a wide range of vehicles. Don't worry about ammo either; it carries over 110 rounds of the stuff.
Survivability
Yet another thing that the Somua does better than average in. The armor is slightly weaker than what the T-127 has, but it is far from weak. Many Tier 3 tanks will have trouble finding a spot to hit the Somua for damage, and we can start by saying the turret is a VERY bad spot to shot: 56mm of armor makes it quite strong. Considering the tallness of the Somua, this could potentially be capitalized on, especially when you factor in the American-style -10 degrees of gun depression....
The rest of the tank is fairly well armored. Maybe you shouldn't get too cocky, but at the same time if you know the enemy is going to have a hard time hurting you then leading a charge might not be a bad idea.
Its only flaw is that the tank can present a kind of large target, if an oddly shaped one.
The T127 is a little better armored than the S35 though, so if you're looking to maximize livability the T-127 might be a slightly better option in this respect....though the S35 has superior firepower for roughly the same mobility.
Tactical Utility
Do you want a low tier heavy tank? The Somua can do it. Do you want to pummel the enemy into submission with overwhelming firepower? The Somua can do it. Do you like to stay mobile, and outmaneuver your opponents? Yep...the Somua can do it. The Somua is the ideal medium tank, able to do many different jobs fairly well, and the blend is phenomenal. One particularly spectacular incident for me took place over two rounds back to back on Providence: between them, I got 2 Top Guns and a Confederate medal. I destroyed 14 tanks in total, damaged another 8 more, and recieved 67 hits in total (in one match I took 47 hits and survived). I have the screenshots of these matches, if anyone can explain just how sharing a picture works on these forums.
The Somua defiantly has great potential, and only needs a tanker who knows what he's doing to use it to its full potential. Bear in mind that you will occasionally fight a small number of tier 5 tanks, against which you're somewhat useless, but up to Tier 4 the Somua can be a threat. In a close range fight with a T-28 one on one I came out on top.
Also, don't expect spectacular credits. Even on that epic Providence match where I ended up firing over 50 shots (for 29 hits and penetration), and killing 6 people for 6 more heavily wounded I only made $31,000 credits. This was quite an exceptional match. Normally you can expect 10k to 15k profit with a premium account.
The Panzer S35 then is an ideal medium tank, blending several stats together nicely to be a well rounded tank (literally too...I don't think the tank has any sharp edges on it). Compared to the T-127 it might have a little less hull armor and it's a little less mobile (not hugely do, in my experience), while maintaining better stats in every other way. Superior firepower, good view range, good radio range, good agility, great gun depression, etc.
Only in MM does the S35 suffer....be wary of Tier 5 battles. These can be seen as the NUMBER ONE reason not to want the tank. If these did not occur then it would be perfect.
One of the tanks that was captured in the Fall of France by the German, the PzKpfw S35 739 (f) will hereinafter be referred to as the Somua. Herealded by many as the best tank of its time, the Somua was a sign of things to come. Unlike the Hotchkiss and the B1 tanks, the Somua actually had a semblence of mobility, as it was realized that tanks might have to fill more roles than just infantry support. This is a tank which is often overlooked, but from a historical point of view it's rather interesting. It is also the only captured tank still available in the store, as both the German Hotchkiss and the B2 tanks were removed.
Mobility
This tank offers a bit of "zip". The acceleration is quite nice, so reaching the 37km/h top speed isn't going to be too much of a problem for it. Hills are rarely a problem either. They'll slow you down for sure, but they aren't going to render you immobile either.
Interestingly, the Somua offers a sickeningly high level of hull traverse for such a tall and slowish tank. It takes some getting used to, but it means getting flanked it going to be quite difficult for an enemy.
Firepower
It is armed with a 47mm gun that offers the Somua a total advantage over the Tier 3 premium tanks (or Tier 3 tanks, in general). This gun gives it a rather high 55mm of penetration, good accuracy, a very fast aim time (a little over 1 second), AND a higher rate of fire than the M22, the T-15, or the T-127. Oh, AND it does 52 points of damage, which is rather high compared to the other premiums.
This firepower advantage is not lost on the tank, as it makes it a terrifying vehicle to fight. French vehicles are notoriously undergunned in this tier range, but not the Somua. The rate of fire that can be achieved is easy enough to get under 2 seconds for reload, and it has the accuracy and penetration to ensure penetration against a wide range of vehicles. Don't worry about ammo either; it carries over 110 rounds of the stuff.
Survivability
Yet another thing that the Somua does better than average in. The armor is slightly weaker than what the T-127 has, but it is far from weak. Many Tier 3 tanks will have trouble finding a spot to hit the Somua for damage, and we can start by saying the turret is a VERY bad spot to shot: 56mm of armor makes it quite strong. Considering the tallness of the Somua, this could potentially be capitalized on, especially when you factor in the American-style -10 degrees of gun depression....
The rest of the tank is fairly well armored. Maybe you shouldn't get too cocky, but at the same time if you know the enemy is going to have a hard time hurting you then leading a charge might not be a bad idea.
Its only flaw is that the tank can present a kind of large target, if an oddly shaped one.
The T127 is a little better armored than the S35 though, so if you're looking to maximize livability the T-127 might be a slightly better option in this respect....though the S35 has superior firepower for roughly the same mobility.
Tactical Utility
Do you want a low tier heavy tank? The Somua can do it. Do you want to pummel the enemy into submission with overwhelming firepower? The Somua can do it. Do you like to stay mobile, and outmaneuver your opponents? Yep...the Somua can do it. The Somua is the ideal medium tank, able to do many different jobs fairly well, and the blend is phenomenal. One particularly spectacular incident for me took place over two rounds back to back on Providence: between them, I got 2 Top Guns and a Confederate medal. I destroyed 14 tanks in total, damaged another 8 more, and recieved 67 hits in total (in one match I took 47 hits and survived). I have the screenshots of these matches, if anyone can explain just how sharing a picture works on these forums.
The Somua defiantly has great potential, and only needs a tanker who knows what he's doing to use it to its full potential. Bear in mind that you will occasionally fight a small number of tier 5 tanks, against which you're somewhat useless, but up to Tier 4 the Somua can be a threat. In a close range fight with a T-28 one on one I came out on top.
Also, don't expect spectacular credits. Even on that epic Providence match where I ended up firing over 50 shots (for 29 hits and penetration), and killing 6 people for 6 more heavily wounded I only made $31,000 credits. This was quite an exceptional match. Normally you can expect 10k to 15k profit with a premium account.
The Panzer S35 then is an ideal medium tank, blending several stats together nicely to be a well rounded tank (literally too...I don't think the tank has any sharp edges on it). Compared to the T-127 it might have a little less hull armor and it's a little less mobile (not hugely do, in my experience), while maintaining better stats in every other way. Superior firepower, good view range, good radio range, good agility, great gun depression, etc.
Only in MM does the S35 suffer....be wary of Tier 5 battles. These can be seen as the NUMBER ONE reason not to want the tank. If these did not occur then it would be perfect.
FCM36 Pak40
850 gold
French
Tank Destroyer
Spoiler
I believe this is a German attempt to tun a French tank into a Marder II style tank destroyer.
Mobility
91 horsepower.
That is the amount of power you're going to get out of this engine. It's slow. So, so very slow. As a matter of fact, let's think about tanks with superior power to weight ratios, shall we? The T-28 American tank destroyer? It has 24% more P:W. How about the Maus? It's the biggest tank in the game, so it must be the slowest, correct? Nope. It is 29% more efficient.
The FCM36 is all the way down with the T-95 for the most inefficient vehicle in the game, and as it is the FMC36 is only 10% more efficient at getting around. In practice you're only going to achieve 14-16 km/h on flat ground. Terrain type doesn't really have much of an effect that I've noticed, but that's because a percent loss in mobility of slow is still slow.
Fortunately, the traverse speed is passable, but I cannot stress just how slow this thing is. Your family car probably has more horsepower.
Firepower
Luckily, the thing has a nice gun....kind of. It's hard hitting for a Tier 3 cannon, essentially being the kind of thing you'd find as a middle of the road gun on a tier 5 medium tank. It is actually a buffed version of the middle gun on the Marder II.
So is it any good? Absolutely, if you can get past one gigantic flaw (detailed below). Compared to the top gun on the Marder, the 75mm shoots faster, is more accurate, and aims faster, for less penetration and damage. Honestly, the 76mm on the Marder is overkill most of the time, so the accuracy and RoF advantages are decent for the FCM36. The FCM has the luxury of being able to kill most opponents in 2-3 hits from a far range with reliable penetration.
BUT, and this is a gigantic, show stopping but: it only has 7 degrees of left to right movement. This is about 4 times less than what the Marder II get (or, indeed, less than any tank destroyer in the game). Every shot you take will basically require a repositioning of the vehicle, especially when you consider that Tier 2-4 opponents tend to be small and fast. This immediately kills the accuracy advantage of the FCM36, because you're constantly having to traverse the hull to make a shot. A target moving perdindicular to your tank WILL be outside of your maximum gun sweep by the time you aim.
For those that have played Soviet artillery, the S-51 and the Object 212 have 6 degrees of gun sweep. That should give you an idea just how bad it is.
Bear in mind though that the weaknesses of the gun sweep that the Pak 40 has are some of the same ones present on the other french TD's. Compared to the stock UE 57 the Pak 40 has much better firepower while being many times bigger and only a little less mobile, so if you actually like the low tier TD's then you might be able to look past the flaws...
All this in mind, I might rate the Pak 40 as having the absolute best gun of its tier. This cannon really is sweet. Once you get the crew leveled enough the limited gun traverse becomes less of a problem because your aim time is also increasing. I even prefer the 75mm on the Pak 40 to the 76mm on the Marder, which speaks volumes for this weapon. It is the most balanced weapon on any tier 3 tank.
Survivability
Well, what about armor?
No go, unfortunately. Technically the armor is quite thick, but the hull is tiny while that....casemate thingy is enormous, and it seems quite thin.
Oh, and it's an open top, so you know what that means: extra HE damage. All mini-derps like the 105mm on American TD's and the Hetzer will instantly kill it. Actually, most artillery will instantly kill it....I've even been 1-shot by an AMX40. The ammunition rack is quite obvious.
Other Tier 3 TD's may suffer from the same fate, but they aren't as big or limited to just 14kmh either.
Tactical Utility
It's slow, it's not very well armored, it gets 1-shot by anything that looks at it funny, and despite having an amazing gun it has trouble putting it on target due to painfully bad gun sweep. If they either improved the gun sweep or increased the Horsepower then it would be a decent tank, but as it is the thing is terrible. Of course, it gets worse, as it consistently sees tier 5 tanks thanks to the awkward problems with being a Tier 3 tank.
Used in offense the battle normally ends before you make it to the front, and used in defense enemy artillery needs to only hit your once to instantly kill you (and even if it doesn't you will have trouble hitting enemy fast movers).
However, IF you can get past all of the issues this tank has potential. The gun is amazing, since it's only marginally weaker than the 76mm on the Marder II but much more accurate, faster aiming, and has a higher fire rate. And, it has a spectacular 400m view range. As a matter of fact, this is one of the few tanks that actually has a longer view range than a radio range, and given Binoculars you can employ this as the world's slowest scout tank. It's hard to sneak up on, since it'll see an approaching enemy long before it's spotted, and can engage them from longer range than any other Tier 3 tank.
If you want this, just be careful. It's a bizarre tank.
I believe this is a German attempt to tun a French tank into a Marder II style tank destroyer.
Mobility
91 horsepower.
That is the amount of power you're going to get out of this engine. It's slow. So, so very slow. As a matter of fact, let's think about tanks with superior power to weight ratios, shall we? The T-28 American tank destroyer? It has 24% more P:W. How about the Maus? It's the biggest tank in the game, so it must be the slowest, correct? Nope. It is 29% more efficient.
The FCM36 is all the way down with the T-95 for the most inefficient vehicle in the game, and as it is the FMC36 is only 10% more efficient at getting around. In practice you're only going to achieve 14-16 km/h on flat ground. Terrain type doesn't really have much of an effect that I've noticed, but that's because a percent loss in mobility of slow is still slow.
Fortunately, the traverse speed is passable, but I cannot stress just how slow this thing is. Your family car probably has more horsepower.
Firepower
Luckily, the thing has a nice gun....kind of. It's hard hitting for a Tier 3 cannon, essentially being the kind of thing you'd find as a middle of the road gun on a tier 5 medium tank. It is actually a buffed version of the middle gun on the Marder II.
So is it any good? Absolutely, if you can get past one gigantic flaw (detailed below). Compared to the top gun on the Marder, the 75mm shoots faster, is more accurate, and aims faster, for less penetration and damage. Honestly, the 76mm on the Marder is overkill most of the time, so the accuracy and RoF advantages are decent for the FCM36. The FCM has the luxury of being able to kill most opponents in 2-3 hits from a far range with reliable penetration.
BUT, and this is a gigantic, show stopping but: it only has 7 degrees of left to right movement. This is about 4 times less than what the Marder II get (or, indeed, less than any tank destroyer in the game). Every shot you take will basically require a repositioning of the vehicle, especially when you consider that Tier 2-4 opponents tend to be small and fast. This immediately kills the accuracy advantage of the FCM36, because you're constantly having to traverse the hull to make a shot. A target moving perdindicular to your tank WILL be outside of your maximum gun sweep by the time you aim.
For those that have played Soviet artillery, the S-51 and the Object 212 have 6 degrees of gun sweep. That should give you an idea just how bad it is.
Bear in mind though that the weaknesses of the gun sweep that the Pak 40 has are some of the same ones present on the other french TD's. Compared to the stock UE 57 the Pak 40 has much better firepower while being many times bigger and only a little less mobile, so if you actually like the low tier TD's then you might be able to look past the flaws...
All this in mind, I might rate the Pak 40 as having the absolute best gun of its tier. This cannon really is sweet. Once you get the crew leveled enough the limited gun traverse becomes less of a problem because your aim time is also increasing. I even prefer the 75mm on the Pak 40 to the 76mm on the Marder, which speaks volumes for this weapon. It is the most balanced weapon on any tier 3 tank.
Survivability
Well, what about armor?
No go, unfortunately. Technically the armor is quite thick, but the hull is tiny while that....casemate thingy is enormous, and it seems quite thin.
Oh, and it's an open top, so you know what that means: extra HE damage. All mini-derps like the 105mm on American TD's and the Hetzer will instantly kill it. Actually, most artillery will instantly kill it....I've even been 1-shot by an AMX40. The ammunition rack is quite obvious.
Other Tier 3 TD's may suffer from the same fate, but they aren't as big or limited to just 14kmh either.
Tactical Utility
It's slow, it's not very well armored, it gets 1-shot by anything that looks at it funny, and despite having an amazing gun it has trouble putting it on target due to painfully bad gun sweep. If they either improved the gun sweep or increased the Horsepower then it would be a decent tank, but as it is the thing is terrible. Of course, it gets worse, as it consistently sees tier 5 tanks thanks to the awkward problems with being a Tier 3 tank.
Used in offense the battle normally ends before you make it to the front, and used in defense enemy artillery needs to only hit your once to instantly kill you (and even if it doesn't you will have trouble hitting enemy fast movers).
However, IF you can get past all of the issues this tank has potential. The gun is amazing, since it's only marginally weaker than the 76mm on the Marder II but much more accurate, faster aiming, and has a higher fire rate. And, it has a spectacular 400m view range. As a matter of fact, this is one of the few tanks that actually has a longer view range than a radio range, and given Binoculars you can employ this as the world's slowest scout tank. It's hard to sneak up on, since it'll see an approaching enemy long before it's spotted, and can engage them from longer range than any other Tier 3 tank.
If you want this, just be careful. It's a bizarre tank.
Tier 4
Valentine
1000 gold
Soviet
Light Tank
Spoiler
All is relative, and that is definitely the case with the Valentine. I must stress one thing with the tank: it has GREAT match making. Actually, the matchmaking is PERFECT. It is never not the top tank. This means that sometimes it gets better matchmaking than some tier 3 tanks, as they have potential to see Tier 5 tanks. And with that consideration, the Valentine quickly becomes a tank with such tilted stats it can completely annihilate enemy formations in seconds.
The Valentine itself is a British tank, loaned to the Soviets in World War II under the lend lease program.
Mobility
Just because it's a light tank doesn't mean the Valentine is mobile.
Technically, this thing is a British infantry tank, so it only ever had to go slightly faster than an infantry formation. It does possess an incredibly wide wheel base though, so it has a lot of area covered. This probably assists it somehow with ground traction and whatnot. The Valentine is slow, but it's far from immobile. It accelerates well, and turns fast enough. Unless your whole team decides to blitz, the Valentine's mobility is sufficient, particularly when you factor in one other stat....
Firepower
Well....it has that gun from the MS-1 again, the 45mm. However at this point it is starting to grow a little old.
In its defense, the gun does shoot fast. Expect a 2 second reload. To be honest most tanks in the tier 4 range can be damaged by this weapon, with a few exception. I shall outline a list of tanks to avoid under all circumstances later, but using this gun surprised me: there are very few well armored tanks at Tier 4 and below. A lot of them can be auto-penned at close range, and the few well armored ones you'll fight can still be penned if you know where to shoot. There are only a few tanks that you really cannot hurt well.
That said, once you penetrate you'll probably find the 47 points of damage fantastically low. It doesn't matter if you can achieve up to 30rpm with the gun....that's not a lot against Tier 4 tanks. It will take about 7-8 shots to kill some of the other medium tanks like the T-28, assuming you hit and penetrate.
Another way to look at it: I have actually used every single one of my 61 shots in a match before. Oh, and don't bother loading any HE. Even before they fixed it they wouldn't do much damage. Now you can rest assured that that which you can't hurt with AP will probably take no damage with HE. Maybe after 10 shots you'll do some module damage, but don't count on it.
Survivability
Yep. Here is the key point to the Valentine: armor. Lots and lots of armor. Armor everywhere, piled on in every direction.
I'm not exactly sure WHY the British felt armoring their vehicles like this was necessary, especially when they didn't expect to fight anything larger than a troop transport, but I'm glad they did.
The Valentine has 60mm of armor, 360 degrees, and sloped in some parts. You could, against almost anything lower tier, just park your Valentine, make a sandwich, eat it, and come back to the game and find it still alive [NOTE: I really recommend against this]. Get flanked and it doesn't really matter since they'll have as hard of a time making it through the side as they will the front....or even the rear. The turret is even thicker as well, although if the enemy aims RIGHT at the gun a weakspot can be exploited.
To make it through the armor of the Valentine you need about 65-70mm of penetration, and you really should have about 75 or more to go through reliably. The number of Tier 4 tanks with that level of penetration is amazingly quite low, so if they enemy does not possess anyone with those guns feel free to go all Rambo on them.
With 380 hitpoints, you can even withstand the occasional lucky penetrating hit, and your armor helps with absorbing splash damage (spall liners help a lot).
The only flaw I've found is that it has a weak ammunition rack, with 1 shot kills happening from time to time. Be wary of letting anyone with a big gun shoot you on the left hand side. And it probably does have some weak-spots....but they're quite random.
Tactical Utility
This is a breakthrough tank. Very few vehicles can penetrate your armor, and a surprisingly low number can deflect your shots. You're not fast, but the armor of the Valentine is something to just marvel at.
There are, however, a couple of enemies to be avoided at all costs:
However, tank destroyers Tier 3 and above should be destroyed (though all of them aside from the Hetzer and T40 are very easy to kill). The T-28 is the only other tank I view as a threat, though a surprisingly low number are actually upgraded, and you can actually use auto-aim to kill a T-28.
One humorous thing can result from a Valentine vs. Valentine or a Valentine vs. B1 (or B2) event: neither tank can penetrate the other easily. On the off chance that it's a single Valentine left alive on either team, it's possible that the battle might end in a draw. These situations are rather humorous.
All is relative, and that is definitely the case with the Valentine. I must stress one thing with the tank: it has GREAT match making. Actually, the matchmaking is PERFECT. It is never not the top tank. This means that sometimes it gets better matchmaking than some tier 3 tanks, as they have potential to see Tier 5 tanks. And with that consideration, the Valentine quickly becomes a tank with such tilted stats it can completely annihilate enemy formations in seconds.
The Valentine itself is a British tank, loaned to the Soviets in World War II under the lend lease program.
Mobility
Just because it's a light tank doesn't mean the Valentine is mobile.
Technically, this thing is a British infantry tank, so it only ever had to go slightly faster than an infantry formation. It does possess an incredibly wide wheel base though, so it has a lot of area covered. This probably assists it somehow with ground traction and whatnot. The Valentine is slow, but it's far from immobile. It accelerates well, and turns fast enough. Unless your whole team decides to blitz, the Valentine's mobility is sufficient, particularly when you factor in one other stat....
Firepower
Well....it has that gun from the MS-1 again, the 45mm. However at this point it is starting to grow a little old.
In its defense, the gun does shoot fast. Expect a 2 second reload. To be honest most tanks in the tier 4 range can be damaged by this weapon, with a few exception. I shall outline a list of tanks to avoid under all circumstances later, but using this gun surprised me: there are very few well armored tanks at Tier 4 and below. A lot of them can be auto-penned at close range, and the few well armored ones you'll fight can still be penned if you know where to shoot. There are only a few tanks that you really cannot hurt well.
That said, once you penetrate you'll probably find the 47 points of damage fantastically low. It doesn't matter if you can achieve up to 30rpm with the gun....that's not a lot against Tier 4 tanks. It will take about 7-8 shots to kill some of the other medium tanks like the T-28, assuming you hit and penetrate.
Another way to look at it: I have actually used every single one of my 61 shots in a match before. Oh, and don't bother loading any HE. Even before they fixed it they wouldn't do much damage. Now you can rest assured that that which you can't hurt with AP will probably take no damage with HE. Maybe after 10 shots you'll do some module damage, but don't count on it.
Survivability
Yep. Here is the key point to the Valentine: armor. Lots and lots of armor. Armor everywhere, piled on in every direction.
I'm not exactly sure WHY the British felt armoring their vehicles like this was necessary, especially when they didn't expect to fight anything larger than a troop transport, but I'm glad they did.
The Valentine has 60mm of armor, 360 degrees, and sloped in some parts. You could, against almost anything lower tier, just park your Valentine, make a sandwich, eat it, and come back to the game and find it still alive [NOTE: I really recommend against this]. Get flanked and it doesn't really matter since they'll have as hard of a time making it through the side as they will the front....or even the rear. The turret is even thicker as well, although if the enemy aims RIGHT at the gun a weakspot can be exploited.
To make it through the armor of the Valentine you need about 65-70mm of penetration, and you really should have about 75 or more to go through reliably. The number of Tier 4 tanks with that level of penetration is amazingly quite low, so if they enemy does not possess anyone with those guns feel free to go all Rambo on them.
With 380 hitpoints, you can even withstand the occasional lucky penetrating hit, and your armor helps with absorbing splash damage (spall liners help a lot).
The only flaw I've found is that it has a weak ammunition rack, with 1 shot kills happening from time to time. Be wary of letting anyone with a big gun shoot you on the left hand side. And it probably does have some weak-spots....but they're quite random.
Tactical Utility
This is a breakthrough tank. Very few vehicles can penetrate your armor, and a surprisingly low number can deflect your shots. You're not fast, but the armor of the Valentine is something to just marvel at.
There are, however, a couple of enemies to be avoided at all costs:
- Hetzer
- M3 Lee
- AMX40
- T40
- Matilda IV
However, tank destroyers Tier 3 and above should be destroyed (though all of them aside from the Hetzer and T40 are very easy to kill). The T-28 is the only other tank I view as a threat, though a surprisingly low number are actually upgraded, and you can actually use auto-aim to kill a T-28.
One humorous thing can result from a Valentine vs. Valentine or a Valentine vs. B1 (or B2) event: neither tank can penetrate the other easily. On the off chance that it's a single Valentine left alive on either team, it's possible that the battle might end in a draw. These situations are rather humorous.
105 leFH18B2
1500 gold
French
Artillery
Spoiler
So far the only premium artillery, this is a rather fun tank. Essentially it takes the German version of the 105mm mounted on the M7 Priest, and mates it to the chassis of a B2 (this was a model of the Char B1 that was available as a premium for Germany before being removed). It DOES NOT get an auto loader.
Mobility
Artillery mobility isn't something you expect from artillery, much less one based around the B2, but this one isn't too bad. The traverse speed is actually higher than what you find on most American artillery, and the acceleration is enough to get it to and from cover.
Being able to turn fast-ish helps in close quarters combat, but don't expect to become some kind of battle-Hummel, nor pulling some kind of base attack. It's not a fast tank.
Firepower
The key trait of an artillery gun is the firepower, and the leFH18B2 has a strange level of firepower.
As I said, the gun is statistically IDENTICAL to the top gun on the Priest, though I do believe the firing arc is a little different (max arc of 45 degrees vs. 60 degrees on the Priest).
This means the leFH18B2 is a spammers artillery gun. It can fire at 6.48 rounds per minute with a 100% crew, and even fast with appropriate equipment and crew training. You could probably reduce the reloads down to 8.5 seconds, which makes it a very fast piece compared to higher tier artillery gun. It fires so fast the by the time you reposition the gun and let the aim settle the reload should be almost done. You'll even shoot faster than most Tier 7 and higher tanks.
And it's accurate, too. With some skill you can start pulling called shots on enemy vehicles. Sure, hitting the Lowe is nice, but what if you want to nail it right in the turret? This can do it.
Your only real problem is that the damage will be quite low, somewhere in the figure of 100-250 damage per hit against Tier 8's. You're more of a support artillery than you are at smiting enemy tanks. This can be helpful in its own right, as you'll be doing other things like tracking the enemy, damaging modules, and killing crew members with your shots. You won't get many kills with this tank, but you will get numerous assists, and every little bit can help.
The gun sweep is pretty good too, at +/- 15 degrees, so you won't have to worry too much about repositioning for every shot. Hit the x key to lock your hull just in case, but bear in mind that the aim time on this artillery isn't bad (gun laying drive helps too...). And with 42 rounds of ammunition you should have enough to last most battles....but with the rate of fire you could run out by the end.
AP ammunition is usable on this tank, although I only recommend carrying a couple of these for when you KNOW you can penetrate. The difference in penetration isn't very much (64mm with AP vs 53mm with HE), so you'll rarely find a time to use it, sadly. However, if you like to use gold ammunition, HEAT will allow you to do epic levels of damage against anything Tier 6 (or even 7) and below easily thanks to 150mm of penetration. Thanks to the accuracy, you can expect to hit frequently, and doing 350 damage from across the map at quick intervals is nothing short of evil. I don't use gold ammo, but this tank could justify it.
On thing to note though is that shell travel time is slow. At maximum range you're looking at a lot of delay between firing and hitting.
Survivability
Eh, you're an artillery. What armor?
Maybe it's not that bad. You are based on a B2, so you have 60mm of hull armor in 360 degrees.Tier 4 scouts and below may become stymied when they find that they actually have to AIM at your tank. With the accuracy of the gun and the ok traverse speed you could TD mode in a pinch. And I suppose it helps with absorbing splash damage from counter battery. Might not keep you safe from anything higher than a Tier 5, but who knows? In any event, the "gun cage" is large and not as well armored, so they could just aim for that.
I have no idea what the camo value of this tank is, unfortunately. One problem you may find is that constant repositioning to avoid counter battery nullifies the key strength of this tank, so calculate your risks: reposition and lose some of your fire speed, or take your chances staying stationary?
Tactical Utility
The 105 leFH18B2 isn't a heavy hitting gun, but it will deal lots of damage over time, and can serve as a great support piece. It is well balanced for an artillery gun, and happens to make some VERY sweet credits. Your matchmaking puts you against Tier 7 and 8 tanks frequently, but I prefer that personally; they tend to be slower and easier to hit.
This tank is a lot of fun for those who like to blow off some steam. Those new to artillery can use it to figure out how to play, while those who use artillery exclusively may like the change of pace. The credit earnings of this piece are surprisingly good, with 20,000 earned a match being feasible, with 36,500 being my highest (and it was during a x2 Special, so I made 73,000....I got a 6 kills)
So far the only premium artillery, this is a rather fun tank. Essentially it takes the German version of the 105mm mounted on the M7 Priest, and mates it to the chassis of a B2 (this was a model of the Char B1 that was available as a premium for Germany before being removed). It DOES NOT get an auto loader.
Mobility
Artillery mobility isn't something you expect from artillery, much less one based around the B2, but this one isn't too bad. The traverse speed is actually higher than what you find on most American artillery, and the acceleration is enough to get it to and from cover.
Being able to turn fast-ish helps in close quarters combat, but don't expect to become some kind of battle-Hummel, nor pulling some kind of base attack. It's not a fast tank.
Firepower
The key trait of an artillery gun is the firepower, and the leFH18B2 has a strange level of firepower.
As I said, the gun is statistically IDENTICAL to the top gun on the Priest, though I do believe the firing arc is a little different (max arc of 45 degrees vs. 60 degrees on the Priest).
This means the leFH18B2 is a spammers artillery gun. It can fire at 6.48 rounds per minute with a 100% crew, and even fast with appropriate equipment and crew training. You could probably reduce the reloads down to 8.5 seconds, which makes it a very fast piece compared to higher tier artillery gun. It fires so fast the by the time you reposition the gun and let the aim settle the reload should be almost done. You'll even shoot faster than most Tier 7 and higher tanks.
And it's accurate, too. With some skill you can start pulling called shots on enemy vehicles. Sure, hitting the Lowe is nice, but what if you want to nail it right in the turret? This can do it.
Your only real problem is that the damage will be quite low, somewhere in the figure of 100-250 damage per hit against Tier 8's. You're more of a support artillery than you are at smiting enemy tanks. This can be helpful in its own right, as you'll be doing other things like tracking the enemy, damaging modules, and killing crew members with your shots. You won't get many kills with this tank, but you will get numerous assists, and every little bit can help.
The gun sweep is pretty good too, at +/- 15 degrees, so you won't have to worry too much about repositioning for every shot. Hit the x key to lock your hull just in case, but bear in mind that the aim time on this artillery isn't bad (gun laying drive helps too...). And with 42 rounds of ammunition you should have enough to last most battles....but with the rate of fire you could run out by the end.
AP ammunition is usable on this tank, although I only recommend carrying a couple of these for when you KNOW you can penetrate. The difference in penetration isn't very much (64mm with AP vs 53mm with HE), so you'll rarely find a time to use it, sadly. However, if you like to use gold ammunition, HEAT will allow you to do epic levels of damage against anything Tier 6 (or even 7) and below easily thanks to 150mm of penetration. Thanks to the accuracy, you can expect to hit frequently, and doing 350 damage from across the map at quick intervals is nothing short of evil. I don't use gold ammo, but this tank could justify it.
On thing to note though is that shell travel time is slow. At maximum range you're looking at a lot of delay between firing and hitting.
Survivability
Eh, you're an artillery. What armor?
Maybe it's not that bad. You are based on a B2, so you have 60mm of hull armor in 360 degrees.Tier 4 scouts and below may become stymied when they find that they actually have to AIM at your tank. With the accuracy of the gun and the ok traverse speed you could TD mode in a pinch. And I suppose it helps with absorbing splash damage from counter battery. Might not keep you safe from anything higher than a Tier 5, but who knows? In any event, the "gun cage" is large and not as well armored, so they could just aim for that.
I have no idea what the camo value of this tank is, unfortunately. One problem you may find is that constant repositioning to avoid counter battery nullifies the key strength of this tank, so calculate your risks: reposition and lose some of your fire speed, or take your chances staying stationary?
Tactical Utility
The 105 leFH18B2 isn't a heavy hitting gun, but it will deal lots of damage over time, and can serve as a great support piece. It is well balanced for an artillery gun, and happens to make some VERY sweet credits. Your matchmaking puts you against Tier 7 and 8 tanks frequently, but I prefer that personally; they tend to be slower and easier to hit.
This tank is a lot of fun for those who like to blow off some steam. Those new to artillery can use it to figure out how to play, while those who use artillery exclusively may like the change of pace. The credit earnings of this piece are surprisingly good, with 20,000 earned a match being feasible, with 36,500 being my highest (and it was during a x2 Special, so I made 73,000....I got a 6 kills)
Tier 5 Tanks
RAM II
1750 Gold
American
Medium Tank
Spoiler
Actually a Canadian design, the Ram II is either the greatest tank in its tier or absolutely abysmal. It is constantly at the mercy of matchmaker, due to stats that make it VERY powerful against its peers but VERY weak against things above a certain point.
Mobility
Imagine an M4 Sherman....but made slower. This tank retains much of the same handling features, but with a watered down feeling.
I would label the mobility as "sufficient". Accelerates fine, turns fine, has a top speed that is high enough for most situations. Bear in mind that the other Tier 5 mediums are going to be faster and more mobile, with the possible exception of the upgraded Panzer IV. The Ram II is still much more mobile than the heavy tanks though, so it's rarely a problem.
Firepower
The Ram II is armed with a QF 6 Pounder mkIII gun (57mm, to the rest of the world). This thing shoots very fast, with reload times being able to be reduced to below 2 seconds with everything tweaked just right.
Damage isn't the highest in the world, at 75 points, and penetration is even more nonplussing at 105mm. Still, the rate of fire gives it the ability to shred other tanks; back when the 152mm was on the KV, the Ram II could deal around 1000 damage in between the reload time, which illustrates the power of this tank.
In a straight and fair firefight at the correct range, the Ram II is unstoppable. If it gets behind your tank then you might as well say goodbye, because it has the ability to deal lots of damage in a short amount of time.
Lower tier tanks and French lights in particular are going to have problems fighting the Ram II's gun, since it has a higher rate of fire than a French gun does with an autoloader. Assuming the initial barrage doesn't kill it, a Ram II will chew an auto-loaded gun to pieces.
If the 6lbr has a flaw, it's in penetration. The gun only has 105mm of it. This is more than enough for fighting other Tier 5 tanks (though T1 Heavy's and KV-1's will present a problem from the front), but will require flanking for Tier 6 and 7 tanks. That having been said, if you bounce it's no big deal. The reload times go under 2 seconds if you use vents or a gun rammer, so if you bounce you'll have another shot ready in no time at all. And another flaw would be some poor on the move accuracy-- but again, this gun kind of compensates by carrying 92 rounds, and having a sub-2 second reload. You have around 3 minutes of continuous fire with a Ram II, so don't worry too much about hitting or missing if you should be running around instead.
Survivability
76mm of frontal armor, and well sloped. This makes the Ram II one of the best armored Tier 5 tanks, almost on par with the heavies of its tier. This isn't a tank that is designed to stand and take hits, but the armor will give you an above average level of protection against enemy attacks. One could see the Ram II as a predecessor to the Jumbo Sherman.
But even nicer is the fact that it has 610 hitpoints. The other 2 Tier 5 premium medium tanks have this high hitpoint pool, and it adds to the survivability of the tank as it now has much more hitpoints than the regular mediums. If something does get through your armor then it's not as big of a deal. You have hitpoints to compensate for it.
The extra hitpoints is enough that the Ram II is technically a faster heavy tank, and the key to its survival is that very high fire rate. It can take a greater beating than other medium tanks....but also dish one out even faster.
Do note that with the recent prevalence of 10.5cm HEAT shells at Tier 5 you may pack a lot more hitpoints than the other Tier 5 mediums....but you'll still be two shot. You DPM isn't enough to save you either, as 10.5cm HEAT will out-DPM a Ram II even. It's depressing, but that's life I guess. Anything else you see is totally fair game.
Tactical Utility
Pre-7.5 the Ram II was nearly useless. It would see Tier 8 tanks over and over again, and be powerless to do anything.
But then 7.5 came and that all changed. It is now capped at Tier 7, which means that it should be able to hurt anything it can flank. And because they changed the MM system entirely, the Ram II will actually fight mostly Tier 5 tanks all the time.
So, this means for the Ram II that it can finally excel in what it was meant to do: overwhelm similarly tiered tanks with its slightly above-average stats. Heck, my very first match after 7.5 was in the Ram II.....and it netted me a Top Gun and about 35,000 credits. Finally the Tier 5 mediums have a place, and will finally make better credits than their non-premium counterparts.
Actually a Canadian design, the Ram II is either the greatest tank in its tier or absolutely abysmal. It is constantly at the mercy of matchmaker, due to stats that make it VERY powerful against its peers but VERY weak against things above a certain point.
Mobility
Imagine an M4 Sherman....but made slower. This tank retains much of the same handling features, but with a watered down feeling.
I would label the mobility as "sufficient". Accelerates fine, turns fine, has a top speed that is high enough for most situations. Bear in mind that the other Tier 5 mediums are going to be faster and more mobile, with the possible exception of the upgraded Panzer IV. The Ram II is still much more mobile than the heavy tanks though, so it's rarely a problem.
Firepower
The Ram II is armed with a QF 6 Pounder mkIII gun (57mm, to the rest of the world). This thing shoots very fast, with reload times being able to be reduced to below 2 seconds with everything tweaked just right.
Damage isn't the highest in the world, at 75 points, and penetration is even more nonplussing at 105mm. Still, the rate of fire gives it the ability to shred other tanks; back when the 152mm was on the KV, the Ram II could deal around 1000 damage in between the reload time, which illustrates the power of this tank.
In a straight and fair firefight at the correct range, the Ram II is unstoppable. If it gets behind your tank then you might as well say goodbye, because it has the ability to deal lots of damage in a short amount of time.
Lower tier tanks and French lights in particular are going to have problems fighting the Ram II's gun, since it has a higher rate of fire than a French gun does with an autoloader. Assuming the initial barrage doesn't kill it, a Ram II will chew an auto-loaded gun to pieces.
If the 6lbr has a flaw, it's in penetration. The gun only has 105mm of it. This is more than enough for fighting other Tier 5 tanks (though T1 Heavy's and KV-1's will present a problem from the front), but will require flanking for Tier 6 and 7 tanks. That having been said, if you bounce it's no big deal. The reload times go under 2 seconds if you use vents or a gun rammer, so if you bounce you'll have another shot ready in no time at all. And another flaw would be some poor on the move accuracy-- but again, this gun kind of compensates by carrying 92 rounds, and having a sub-2 second reload. You have around 3 minutes of continuous fire with a Ram II, so don't worry too much about hitting or missing if you should be running around instead.
Survivability
76mm of frontal armor, and well sloped. This makes the Ram II one of the best armored Tier 5 tanks, almost on par with the heavies of its tier. This isn't a tank that is designed to stand and take hits, but the armor will give you an above average level of protection against enemy attacks. One could see the Ram II as a predecessor to the Jumbo Sherman.
But even nicer is the fact that it has 610 hitpoints. The other 2 Tier 5 premium medium tanks have this high hitpoint pool, and it adds to the survivability of the tank as it now has much more hitpoints than the regular mediums. If something does get through your armor then it's not as big of a deal. You have hitpoints to compensate for it.
The extra hitpoints is enough that the Ram II is technically a faster heavy tank, and the key to its survival is that very high fire rate. It can take a greater beating than other medium tanks....but also dish one out even faster.
Do note that with the recent prevalence of 10.5cm HEAT shells at Tier 5 you may pack a lot more hitpoints than the other Tier 5 mediums....but you'll still be two shot. You DPM isn't enough to save you either, as 10.5cm HEAT will out-DPM a Ram II even. It's depressing, but that's life I guess. Anything else you see is totally fair game.
Tactical Utility
Pre-7.5 the Ram II was nearly useless. It would see Tier 8 tanks over and over again, and be powerless to do anything.
But then 7.5 came and that all changed. It is now capped at Tier 7, which means that it should be able to hurt anything it can flank. And because they changed the MM system entirely, the Ram II will actually fight mostly Tier 5 tanks all the time.
So, this means for the Ram II that it can finally excel in what it was meant to do: overwhelm similarly tiered tanks with its slightly above-average stats. Heck, my very first match after 7.5 was in the Ram II.....and it netted me a Top Gun and about 35,000 credits. Finally the Tier 5 mediums have a place, and will finally make better credits than their non-premium counterparts.
T-25
1500 Gold
German
Medium Tank
Spoiler
Another Czech design by Skoda, the T-25 is by far the most conservative Tier 5 medium tank choice. I personally like the looks of this thing as well, with the neatly angled pieces of armor. It's elegant, in a rough kind of way. Looks like someone took a rock and chiseled it into the shape of a tank.
Mobility
It's fast!
Top speed of 60km/h puts it up there with the M7 and Panzer III/IV for the position of fastest Tier 5 tank, although it's not quite as fast to accelerate as either tank.
It's also not agile. The turret is very slow to turn, at 22 degrees/second, with a hull traverse that is only slightly better at 30 d/s. At full speed you're not going to be making very many intricate maneuvers. This lack of agility hurts its ability to dogfight, although it can do it quite well with some practice.
The key strength of this tank mobility wise is the high speed, and the decent acceleration rate (which is still higher than the other mediums). It allows it to reposition quickly.
Oddly enough, the T-25 is almost as fast in reverse as it is in forwards. When you have to backup fast, it can do it.
Firepower
The T-25 is the one tier 5 premium with a normal gun. It has a rather odd 7.5cm A18 gun that compared well to the 7.5cm KwK40 L/48 on the Panzer III/IV and the Panzer IV. It offers good penetration (116mm) with decent damage (110) and a sufficient rate of fire (14rpm). The accuracy is even acceptable, so it really is a good long range weapon.
As a matter of fact, the gun is the one point where the T-25 isn't weird. It has a normal gun, with the ability to engage and heavily damage most targets in its tier range. It also has some amazing gun depression, able to decline the gun at -10 degrees. Firing on the move is made easier then, since you don't have to worry about terrain throwing your aim off like you do in any other German tank.
Should you get this tank, investing in a gun laying drive could help it on its one problem, which is poor aim time.
Survivability
Technically the armor is weak, at only 50mm. But it is also very heavily sloped, and at odd angles. You can pull off some random bounces off of the tank. But the key to the T-25 isn't thick armor, but rather the ability to fire, quickly relocate, and fire again, or to go hull down or even hide.
The T-25 does have a large hitpoint pool like the Matilda and the Ram II, possessing 610 hp. This helps it immensely, but the T-25's real trick is that it is really good at avoiding getting hit, over actually taking hits. Still, the armor will give you lucky bounces as it does slope in many directions.
And seriously, use that gun depression where you can. Your turret isn't necessarily strong, but it is smaller than your hull. Combined with the very high reverse speed and you have a tank that can peek-a-boo over hills with little problem.
Tactical Utility
The T-25 may be the most typical tank of the premiums, but it does have some oddities: for example, high speed, and low agility. A good gun that is typical of a German tank, but with astoundingly high gun depression. The radio range is just epic, but the view range is appalling. The armor is weak, but sloped in several directions. Still, it's a great tank, with some odd quarks, and if you're undecided about a Tier 5 premium to get it's the most conservative choice. And honestly, I'd say the T-25 feels superior to its non-premium contemporary, the Panzer III/IV, which is rare for a premium.
It also preforms admirably well regardless of matchmaking. Unlike the Ram II, the T-25 has the mobility to evade enemy fire, and just enough firepower to fight back if you can flank. Since neither tank has enough armor to deflect a shot from a Tier 6 or 7 tank, the Ram II's biggest advantage is lost, and its lower speed and mobility, along with the gun, let it down. CONVERSELY, the Ram II is a much better tank when its top tier, so the choice is yours.
Luckily, with the 7.5MM changes the T-25 is now capped at fighting Tier 7 tanks (instead of hordes of Tier 8 tanks, like before), and will usually be fighting a bunch of Tier 5's and maybe a couple Tier 6 tanks. This better MM helps it in many incredible ways.
Another Czech design by Skoda, the T-25 is by far the most conservative Tier 5 medium tank choice. I personally like the looks of this thing as well, with the neatly angled pieces of armor. It's elegant, in a rough kind of way. Looks like someone took a rock and chiseled it into the shape of a tank.
Mobility
It's fast!
Top speed of 60km/h puts it up there with the M7 and Panzer III/IV for the position of fastest Tier 5 tank, although it's not quite as fast to accelerate as either tank.
It's also not agile. The turret is very slow to turn, at 22 degrees/second, with a hull traverse that is only slightly better at 30 d/s. At full speed you're not going to be making very many intricate maneuvers. This lack of agility hurts its ability to dogfight, although it can do it quite well with some practice.
The key strength of this tank mobility wise is the high speed, and the decent acceleration rate (which is still higher than the other mediums). It allows it to reposition quickly.
Oddly enough, the T-25 is almost as fast in reverse as it is in forwards. When you have to backup fast, it can do it.
Firepower
The T-25 is the one tier 5 premium with a normal gun. It has a rather odd 7.5cm A18 gun that compared well to the 7.5cm KwK40 L/48 on the Panzer III/IV and the Panzer IV. It offers good penetration (116mm) with decent damage (110) and a sufficient rate of fire (14rpm). The accuracy is even acceptable, so it really is a good long range weapon.
As a matter of fact, the gun is the one point where the T-25 isn't weird. It has a normal gun, with the ability to engage and heavily damage most targets in its tier range. It also has some amazing gun depression, able to decline the gun at -10 degrees. Firing on the move is made easier then, since you don't have to worry about terrain throwing your aim off like you do in any other German tank.
Should you get this tank, investing in a gun laying drive could help it on its one problem, which is poor aim time.
Survivability
Technically the armor is weak, at only 50mm. But it is also very heavily sloped, and at odd angles. You can pull off some random bounces off of the tank. But the key to the T-25 isn't thick armor, but rather the ability to fire, quickly relocate, and fire again, or to go hull down or even hide.
The T-25 does have a large hitpoint pool like the Matilda and the Ram II, possessing 610 hp. This helps it immensely, but the T-25's real trick is that it is really good at avoiding getting hit, over actually taking hits. Still, the armor will give you lucky bounces as it does slope in many directions.
And seriously, use that gun depression where you can. Your turret isn't necessarily strong, but it is smaller than your hull. Combined with the very high reverse speed and you have a tank that can peek-a-boo over hills with little problem.
Tactical Utility
The T-25 may be the most typical tank of the premiums, but it does have some oddities: for example, high speed, and low agility. A good gun that is typical of a German tank, but with astoundingly high gun depression. The radio range is just epic, but the view range is appalling. The armor is weak, but sloped in several directions. Still, it's a great tank, with some odd quarks, and if you're undecided about a Tier 5 premium to get it's the most conservative choice. And honestly, I'd say the T-25 feels superior to its non-premium contemporary, the Panzer III/IV, which is rare for a premium.
It also preforms admirably well regardless of matchmaking. Unlike the Ram II, the T-25 has the mobility to evade enemy fire, and just enough firepower to fight back if you can flank. Since neither tank has enough armor to deflect a shot from a Tier 6 or 7 tank, the Ram II's biggest advantage is lost, and its lower speed and mobility, along with the gun, let it down. CONVERSELY, the Ram II is a much better tank when its top tier, so the choice is yours.
Luckily, with the 7.5MM changes the T-25 is now capped at fighting Tier 7 tanks (instead of hordes of Tier 8 tanks, like before), and will usually be fighting a bunch of Tier 5's and maybe a couple Tier 6 tanks. This better MM helps it in many incredible ways.
Matilda IV
1500 Gold
Soviet
Medium Tank
Spoiler
Yet another British lend-lease tank, the Matilda is built along similar principles to the Valentine: slow with lots of armor. Also, judging by the MM charts the Matilda has superior match making to either the T-25 or the Ram II, generally being limited to Tier 7 matches.
Mobility
There are plenty of tanks which the Matilda is faster than: the T95, the FMC36, the T28, and even the Maus! Alright, so the Matilda isn't the fastest thing on the planet, having one of the lowest top speeds in the game. But it at least has a decent level of acceleration and agility. It takes a while getting to where it's needed.
The good news here is that the Matilda IV is actually a faster tank than the non-premium Matilda on the British tech tree OR the Matilda Black Prince in terms of the acceleration.
Firepower
The gun on the Matilda is not the greatest thing ever built. It has a mere 86mm of penetration, which is barely sufficient to hurt most of the tanks in its tier at close range. It's not very accurate either. Oddly enough though, I find myself using the Matilda a lot at longer ranges, and I've been surprised at what 86mm of penetration CAN actually hurt-- it's actually been able to hurt some Tier 6 tanks frontally with careful shots (granted, this takes a lot of shots....but they'll still go through eventually). And the accuracy is actually not as bad as you'd think be looking at the stats.
BUT, if you want higher penetration and accuracy, the T-25 offers both.
It does, however, have a rather high rate of fire (over 16rpm vs. the T-25's 14), for 110 damage. IF the Matilda can hurt the opponent, it's going to be doing a lot of damage quickly, though the DPM is still inferior to the Ram II.
An often overlooked aspect of the Matilda's gun is the gun depression: it gets -14 degrees of it, which is actually superior to what the T29 gets. This allows the Matilda to exploit hull down tactics that even some American tanks can't, although actually getting UP the hill might take a while.
Survivability
As with the Valentine, this is the key trait that makes the Matilda good. It has 75mm of armor in the front and 70 on the sides.
Unlike the Valentine, this doesn't make the tank near invulnerable. I would classify it as merely a "tough" tank as opposed to a juggernaut. Imagine your effective armor as something like the KV-1. You're going to bounce shots, but you can't take a constant beating either....
Unless you find yourself against a hoard of Tier 4 tanks. It doesn't happen often, but when it does you can enjoy a fun time since you'll be near invincible with a fast firing gun.
Also, you have a very small profile, one of the smallest of your tier. It's not much, but every little bit helps.
Tactical Utility
The Matilda has neither the DPM of the Ram II nor the penetration of the T-25, limiting its effectiveness somewhat. Nor is its key advantage (armor) that much better than the Ram II, while this tank is half as fast as that tank and nearly 1/3 as mobile as the T-25. It does have superior matchmaking however; considering how bad the MM for the Ram II, this almost puts it on par with it. Overall, if you were expecting a Tier 5 Maus, look elsewhere.
Though, the Matilda is like the other Tier 5 Medium Premiums in that it's received much better MM treatment. It's now capped at Tier 6, unlike the Tier 7 cap of the other mediums. In a way, this makes up for the fact that it's the slowest and most poorly armed Tier 5 tank in the game, and it's a surprising tank at times. Maybe not great, but certainly not bad anymore. It does possess some great armor.
Yet another British lend-lease tank, the Matilda is built along similar principles to the Valentine: slow with lots of armor. Also, judging by the MM charts the Matilda has superior match making to either the T-25 or the Ram II, generally being limited to Tier 7 matches.
Mobility
There are plenty of tanks which the Matilda is faster than: the T95, the FMC36, the T28, and even the Maus! Alright, so the Matilda isn't the fastest thing on the planet, having one of the lowest top speeds in the game. But it at least has a decent level of acceleration and agility. It takes a while getting to where it's needed.
The good news here is that the Matilda IV is actually a faster tank than the non-premium Matilda on the British tech tree OR the Matilda Black Prince in terms of the acceleration.
Firepower
The gun on the Matilda is not the greatest thing ever built. It has a mere 86mm of penetration, which is barely sufficient to hurt most of the tanks in its tier at close range. It's not very accurate either. Oddly enough though, I find myself using the Matilda a lot at longer ranges, and I've been surprised at what 86mm of penetration CAN actually hurt-- it's actually been able to hurt some Tier 6 tanks frontally with careful shots (granted, this takes a lot of shots....but they'll still go through eventually). And the accuracy is actually not as bad as you'd think be looking at the stats.
BUT, if you want higher penetration and accuracy, the T-25 offers both.
It does, however, have a rather high rate of fire (over 16rpm vs. the T-25's 14), for 110 damage. IF the Matilda can hurt the opponent, it's going to be doing a lot of damage quickly, though the DPM is still inferior to the Ram II.
An often overlooked aspect of the Matilda's gun is the gun depression: it gets -14 degrees of it, which is actually superior to what the T29 gets. This allows the Matilda to exploit hull down tactics that even some American tanks can't, although actually getting UP the hill might take a while.
Survivability
As with the Valentine, this is the key trait that makes the Matilda good. It has 75mm of armor in the front and 70 on the sides.
Unlike the Valentine, this doesn't make the tank near invulnerable. I would classify it as merely a "tough" tank as opposed to a juggernaut. Imagine your effective armor as something like the KV-1. You're going to bounce shots, but you can't take a constant beating either....
Unless you find yourself against a hoard of Tier 4 tanks. It doesn't happen often, but when it does you can enjoy a fun time since you'll be near invincible with a fast firing gun.
Also, you have a very small profile, one of the smallest of your tier. It's not much, but every little bit helps.
Tactical Utility
The Matilda has neither the DPM of the Ram II nor the penetration of the T-25, limiting its effectiveness somewhat. Nor is its key advantage (armor) that much better than the Ram II, while this tank is half as fast as that tank and nearly 1/3 as mobile as the T-25. It does have superior matchmaking however; considering how bad the MM for the Ram II, this almost puts it on par with it. Overall, if you were expecting a Tier 5 Maus, look elsewhere.
Though, the Matilda is like the other Tier 5 Medium Premiums in that it's received much better MM treatment. It's now capped at Tier 6, unlike the Tier 7 cap of the other mediums. In a way, this makes up for the fact that it's the slowest and most poorly armed Tier 5 tank in the game, and it's a surprising tank at times. Maybe not great, but certainly not bad anymore. It does possess some great armor.
Matilda Black Prince
1750 Gold
British
Medium Tank
Spoiler
Well, it's finally here. The first British tank in the game, the Matilda Black Prince is the satanic lovechild of a regular Matilda and a Churchill tank. Bear in mind my experience is going to include mostly my experience from the test server, stat analysis, and input from someone who already owns the tank. The way I see this tank, you're either going to compare it to the basic Matilda, or to the other 2 6-Pounder carrying tanks, the Churchill and the Ram-II. So, it's against those three tanks I shall do the majority of comparisons.
Mobility
Well, let's get what is wrong with the tank out of the way immediately: it's slow. Like, REALLY freaking slow.
The lend lease Matilda that this is based on wasn't too fast to begin with of course. 25km/h top speed combined with a 10hp:ton ratio, and made it one of the slowest tanks in the game.
The Black Prince however weighs a full 3 tons more and has even less horsepower than the Matilda, giving it a top speed of just 22km/h and a horsepower to ton ratio of 6.3. That's really quite poor. Most tanks in the game are going to zip past it, including this things two biggest competitors: the Churchill and the Ram II. If I'm not mistaken, this thing is the slowest tank of its tier, premium or otherwise.
However, despite the very poor speed the Black Prince is at least agile enough to keep itself from getting flanked. It's just rather slow to get up to a top speed.
Firepower
Alright, so maybe the Black Prince is slower than the Matilda it's based on, but how does firepower compare?
Well, it's time to rejoice! The Black Prince is, if nothing else, a firepower upgrade from the Matilda, and it succeeds valiantly.
Compared to the 76mm of the Matilda, the Black Prince does 32% less damage per shot, but more than makes up for this in other areas. First, it has considerably more penetration: 24mm more of it, meaning it can easily rip through almost all the Tier 5's with little trouble and can damage most tier 6's once in a blue moon. And blue moons you shall have, for the Black Prince fires once every 2.3 seconds without any kind of modules added.
What this means for the Black Prince is that while it may be doing 32% less damage per shot than the Matilda, it does so with a 34% faster fire rate. This may not seems like much, but it's the difference between doing 1957 points of damage in a minute, and 1777 (9% difference in damage output).
Further compounding this advantage is, like I said, the almost 25 extra points in penetration. Heck, the accuracy is even the same, so you'll hit at about the same amount and penetrate more often, all while spitting out lead at a greater rate.
This trait is something that all the 6-Pounder weapons possess, so how does the Black Prince's gun compare to theirs? Well, the Black Prince shoots slightly slower than either the Churchill or the Ram II, but I mean slightly. The difference in reload times between a 100% Churchill and a 100% Black Prince is about 1/10th of a second. I'm not saying this extra reload speed doesn't help the Churchill out (with BIA, Vents, and a gun rammer the Churchill has a ~1.8 second reload, which more of less garuntees it victory against anything its tier), but the 1/10 of a second you're losing isn't noticeable 99.999% of the time since compared to everything else you're going to shoot faster than by miles.
And in any case, this is compensated for by the Black Prince being noticeably more accurate than the Churchill in both accuracy (0.41 vs 0.43) and aim time (2.2 vs 2.3). The 1/10 of a second aim time reduction isn't too giant until you factor in your reload times, while the accuracy buff IS noticeable. As an added bonus, this is one place where the low speed helps the Black Prince. Because it goes sooo slow, the reticule won't bloom as much, making it marginally better for firing on the move, or for stop and go shooting. Granted, the Ram II avoids its aiming problems by actually being fast enough to just close the distance (which also helps with the fact that the Ram II has 5mm less penetration)....but the fact that the Black Prince has decent on the move accuracy works in its favor.
OH! One other thing I loved about the Black Prince. It has 14 degrees of declination for its gun, which is about 30% more than most American tanks get, and more than double the Churchill and Ram II's gun depression.
Survivability
The Black Prince has essentially the same armor scheme as the Matilda. This means it is tough, but not a mobile bunker. The Ram II has roughly the same amout of armor as well, which is another point against the Black Prince if you're comparing it to the Ram.
It gets a little worse too, since the Black Prince has a weak turret, and that turret makes up a large portion of the tank.....
That revelation does say something about the Black Prince that goes back to helping it. It's not very big, and with the great gun depression you can can make it even smaller. Should a shot actually hit you the Black Prince has enough armor to give it a random bounce, but I wouldn't try to rely on it. Should stuff happen the 610 Hitpoint pool gives it lee-way as far as taking hits go.
So, not able to fully rely on taking hits, and too slow to run away, the Black Prince relies on being able to outlast its opposition with a large hitpoint pool, and then out DPM-ing them to survive. It's not a glamourous way to play, but the tactic can work.
Tactical Utility
All things considered, I'd say that the Black Prince is a slightly superior tank to the Matilda. It's a matter of slow tank vs. slower tank, but the slower tank has a much better gun and the same armor.
However, I'm not exactly sold that the Black Prince offers any advantage over the Ram II or the Churchill. The Ram II is much faster and has about the same amount of armor. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the Ram II will occaisionally fight Tier 7 tanks whereas the Black Prince is capped at Tier 6, but I still stand by my analysis that for pub-stomping Tier 5 and 6 tanks the Ram II is the best medium tank. A Ram II vs. Black Prince engagement will go to whoever started shooting first and has the higher crew proficiency....but for everything else the Ram II is probably superior.
As for the Black Prince vs. Churchill comparison, I have no doubt that the Churchill is superior. The Churchill is better protected from the front and has 90 more hitpoints. Even more distressing is the fact that the Churchill seems to be faster than the Black Prince both in terms of top speed and in acceleration. And they both mount essentially the same weapon. The Black Prince may be a tad bit more accurate and have some random advantages here and there (double the gun depression, faster traverse speed), but the Churchill has the advantages where it needs them. Both these tanks are designed to take a beating and outgun everything they see, and at the end of the day the Churchill is going to take more punishment. And they have the same MM that limits them to Tier 6 matches maximum. Oh, AND the Churchill and Ram II are both slightly cheaper.
This isn't to say the Black Prince is bad. It's a great tank, retaining the advantages that a tank like the Churchill has (decent armor, greater damage output). It's just that another tank does the same thing better. What the Churchill can't do however is level a tank crew for the British tanks. My advise? If you intend to go down the British medium tank line go ahead and buy the Black Prince. Use it to level your crews, and maybe get a primary proficiency out of the way. Then, when you get to your Tier 5 or 6 British medium tank transfer them from the Black Prince. You'll have a tank crew that's ahead of the curve right from the get go, and having a primary skill leveled up to 100% really helps a tank out when you get into the higher tier.
However, if you just want a fast firing tank for fun, either get a Churchill or a Ram II.
Well, it's finally here. The first British tank in the game, the Matilda Black Prince is the satanic lovechild of a regular Matilda and a Churchill tank. Bear in mind my experience is going to include mostly my experience from the test server, stat analysis, and input from someone who already owns the tank. The way I see this tank, you're either going to compare it to the basic Matilda, or to the other 2 6-Pounder carrying tanks, the Churchill and the Ram-II. So, it's against those three tanks I shall do the majority of comparisons.
Mobility
Well, let's get what is wrong with the tank out of the way immediately: it's slow. Like, REALLY freaking slow.
The lend lease Matilda that this is based on wasn't too fast to begin with of course. 25km/h top speed combined with a 10hp:ton ratio, and made it one of the slowest tanks in the game.
The Black Prince however weighs a full 3 tons more and has even less horsepower than the Matilda, giving it a top speed of just 22km/h and a horsepower to ton ratio of 6.3. That's really quite poor. Most tanks in the game are going to zip past it, including this things two biggest competitors: the Churchill and the Ram II. If I'm not mistaken, this thing is the slowest tank of its tier, premium or otherwise.
However, despite the very poor speed the Black Prince is at least agile enough to keep itself from getting flanked. It's just rather slow to get up to a top speed.
Firepower
Alright, so maybe the Black Prince is slower than the Matilda it's based on, but how does firepower compare?
Well, it's time to rejoice! The Black Prince is, if nothing else, a firepower upgrade from the Matilda, and it succeeds valiantly.
Compared to the 76mm of the Matilda, the Black Prince does 32% less damage per shot, but more than makes up for this in other areas. First, it has considerably more penetration: 24mm more of it, meaning it can easily rip through almost all the Tier 5's with little trouble and can damage most tier 6's once in a blue moon. And blue moons you shall have, for the Black Prince fires once every 2.3 seconds without any kind of modules added.
What this means for the Black Prince is that while it may be doing 32% less damage per shot than the Matilda, it does so with a 34% faster fire rate. This may not seems like much, but it's the difference between doing 1957 points of damage in a minute, and 1777 (9% difference in damage output).
Further compounding this advantage is, like I said, the almost 25 extra points in penetration. Heck, the accuracy is even the same, so you'll hit at about the same amount and penetrate more often, all while spitting out lead at a greater rate.
This trait is something that all the 6-Pounder weapons possess, so how does the Black Prince's gun compare to theirs? Well, the Black Prince shoots slightly slower than either the Churchill or the Ram II, but I mean slightly. The difference in reload times between a 100% Churchill and a 100% Black Prince is about 1/10th of a second. I'm not saying this extra reload speed doesn't help the Churchill out (with BIA, Vents, and a gun rammer the Churchill has a ~1.8 second reload, which more of less garuntees it victory against anything its tier), but the 1/10 of a second you're losing isn't noticeable 99.999% of the time since compared to everything else you're going to shoot faster than by miles.
And in any case, this is compensated for by the Black Prince being noticeably more accurate than the Churchill in both accuracy (0.41 vs 0.43) and aim time (2.2 vs 2.3). The 1/10 of a second aim time reduction isn't too giant until you factor in your reload times, while the accuracy buff IS noticeable. As an added bonus, this is one place where the low speed helps the Black Prince. Because it goes sooo slow, the reticule won't bloom as much, making it marginally better for firing on the move, or for stop and go shooting. Granted, the Ram II avoids its aiming problems by actually being fast enough to just close the distance (which also helps with the fact that the Ram II has 5mm less penetration)....but the fact that the Black Prince has decent on the move accuracy works in its favor.
OH! One other thing I loved about the Black Prince. It has 14 degrees of declination for its gun, which is about 30% more than most American tanks get, and more than double the Churchill and Ram II's gun depression.
Survivability
The Black Prince has essentially the same armor scheme as the Matilda. This means it is tough, but not a mobile bunker. The Ram II has roughly the same amout of armor as well, which is another point against the Black Prince if you're comparing it to the Ram.
It gets a little worse too, since the Black Prince has a weak turret, and that turret makes up a large portion of the tank.....
That revelation does say something about the Black Prince that goes back to helping it. It's not very big, and with the great gun depression you can can make it even smaller. Should a shot actually hit you the Black Prince has enough armor to give it a random bounce, but I wouldn't try to rely on it. Should stuff happen the 610 Hitpoint pool gives it lee-way as far as taking hits go.
So, not able to fully rely on taking hits, and too slow to run away, the Black Prince relies on being able to outlast its opposition with a large hitpoint pool, and then out DPM-ing them to survive. It's not a glamourous way to play, but the tactic can work.
Tactical Utility
All things considered, I'd say that the Black Prince is a slightly superior tank to the Matilda. It's a matter of slow tank vs. slower tank, but the slower tank has a much better gun and the same armor.
However, I'm not exactly sold that the Black Prince offers any advantage over the Ram II or the Churchill. The Ram II is much faster and has about the same amount of armor. This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the Ram II will occaisionally fight Tier 7 tanks whereas the Black Prince is capped at Tier 6, but I still stand by my analysis that for pub-stomping Tier 5 and 6 tanks the Ram II is the best medium tank. A Ram II vs. Black Prince engagement will go to whoever started shooting first and has the higher crew proficiency....but for everything else the Ram II is probably superior.
As for the Black Prince vs. Churchill comparison, I have no doubt that the Churchill is superior. The Churchill is better protected from the front and has 90 more hitpoints. Even more distressing is the fact that the Churchill seems to be faster than the Black Prince both in terms of top speed and in acceleration. And they both mount essentially the same weapon. The Black Prince may be a tad bit more accurate and have some random advantages here and there (double the gun depression, faster traverse speed), but the Churchill has the advantages where it needs them. Both these tanks are designed to take a beating and outgun everything they see, and at the end of the day the Churchill is going to take more punishment. And they have the same MM that limits them to Tier 6 matches maximum. Oh, AND the Churchill and Ram II are both slightly cheaper.
This isn't to say the Black Prince is bad. It's a great tank, retaining the advantages that a tank like the Churchill has (decent armor, greater damage output). It's just that another tank does the same thing better. What the Churchill can't do however is level a tank crew for the British tanks. My advise? If you intend to go down the British medium tank line go ahead and buy the Black Prince. Use it to level your crews, and maybe get a primary proficiency out of the way. Then, when you get to your Tier 5 or 6 British medium tank transfer them from the Black Prince. You'll have a tank crew that's ahead of the curve right from the get go, and having a primary skill leveled up to 100% really helps a tank out when you get into the higher tier.
However, if you just want a fast firing tank for fun, either get a Churchill or a Ram II.
T14
1500 Gold
American
Heavy Tank
Spoiler
This was a project to make an uparmored Sherman tank. In game it represents a fairly interesting design. Bear in mind that it had a serious Match Making buff, which limits it to mostly being top tier while occasionally fighting Tier 6 tanks.
Mobility
Technically mobile for a heavy tank, this thing has some odd handling.
In a straight line it can be somewhat fast, at least compared to the other heavies except for the T1. Its problem is agility. It turns like pickup truck, and will require 3-point turns just to maneuver in a city. It's also rather long, so be mindful of that. If you get it then clutch braking might be a very desirable trait.
However, all in all the T14 is faster than either the Churchill or the KV-1, and this can help it at unexpected times.
Firepower
It has the 75mm gun that comes stock on the M4 Sherman. This means it has below par penetration (92mm) for decent damage and a high rate of fire.
Compared to its key competitor, the Churchill, the T14 has lower DPS and penetration for higher alpha strike damage and the ability to use HE. The T14 is most at home hitting weaker opponents with its gun, due to the decent rate of fire and damage, but will struggle with hurting any heavy tanks in its tier. Be wary.
One oddity of this gun is noticeable in sniper mode: it has a ton of recoil. Like the kind of recoil I'd expect from a larger gun like the 155mm on the T30. It's rarely a problem, and is a normally a visual thing, but it gets annoying to have the enemy disappear from view for a second every time you fire, and makes long range shots difficult because sometimes you won't see where your shell went. Still, considering the low penetration I don't think long range fighting suits this tank. Turning off gun vibration effects gets rid of this (only just figured it out after 1200 game....but better late than never).
Survivability
Well, on paper the T14 is....paper. 50mm of armor of armor in 360 degrees.
However, this tells only part of the story. The T14 has a very steeply angled frontal hull. It probably won't do much against tanks that are elite status in its tier or Tier 6's, but it will do wonders against everyone else. I estimate the effective thickness to be just under 110mm, because at medium range a Churchill tank (with 110mm of pen) will bounce about 50% of the time firing randomly at your hull.
The turret armor is especially thick, at 101mm, and with the -10 degrees of gun declination hull down is a viable strategy.
The T14 does has a large side profile, so I really recommend against getting yourself flanked. The odd handling of the tank and the inability to pivot turn compounds this weakness. It also has a weak-spot in the front hull, essentially a 0-armor hole in the form of a machine gun.
Weak spots aside, if nothing else the T14 has 690 hitpoints, which should outlast a lot of tanks.
Tactical Utility
Considering the preferential Match Making, the T14 is normally top dog in a match. Compared to the T1, KV-1, or BDR it is inferior, but it does have an advantage or two. If you can get yourself into a good firing position the T14 can become a surprisingly tough tank with the ability to spit out bullets at a good rate. These traits, combined with its premium status, makes the T14 one of the best money makers in the game after the Tier 8 premiums.
One might be inclined to compare the T14 to the Matilda, and it's a decent comparison. In every stat except penetration, the Matilda has a superior gun. Both tanks have the same effective armor (the Matilda's is thicker....but the T14's is sloped more heavily, so it seems to even out), while the Matilda has a definite advantage in size. However, the T14 has more HP, and it is much faster....but the Matilda is more agile. They're close tanks, especially now that the Matilda gets the same MM as the T14.
This was a project to make an uparmored Sherman tank. In game it represents a fairly interesting design. Bear in mind that it had a serious Match Making buff, which limits it to mostly being top tier while occasionally fighting Tier 6 tanks.
Mobility
Technically mobile for a heavy tank, this thing has some odd handling.
In a straight line it can be somewhat fast, at least compared to the other heavies except for the T1. Its problem is agility. It turns like pickup truck, and will require 3-point turns just to maneuver in a city. It's also rather long, so be mindful of that. If you get it then clutch braking might be a very desirable trait.
However, all in all the T14 is faster than either the Churchill or the KV-1, and this can help it at unexpected times.
Firepower
It has the 75mm gun that comes stock on the M4 Sherman. This means it has below par penetration (92mm) for decent damage and a high rate of fire.
Compared to its key competitor, the Churchill, the T14 has lower DPS and penetration for higher alpha strike damage and the ability to use HE. The T14 is most at home hitting weaker opponents with its gun, due to the decent rate of fire and damage, but will struggle with hurting any heavy tanks in its tier. Be wary.
One oddity of this gun is noticeable in sniper mode: it has a ton of recoil. Like the kind of recoil I'd expect from a larger gun like the 155mm on the T30. It's rarely a problem, and is a normally a visual thing, but it gets annoying to have the enemy disappear from view for a second every time you fire, and makes long range shots difficult because sometimes you won't see where your shell went. Still, considering the low penetration I don't think long range fighting suits this tank. Turning off gun vibration effects gets rid of this (only just figured it out after 1200 game....but better late than never).
Survivability
Well, on paper the T14 is....paper. 50mm of armor of armor in 360 degrees.
However, this tells only part of the story. The T14 has a very steeply angled frontal hull. It probably won't do much against tanks that are elite status in its tier or Tier 6's, but it will do wonders against everyone else. I estimate the effective thickness to be just under 110mm, because at medium range a Churchill tank (with 110mm of pen) will bounce about 50% of the time firing randomly at your hull.
The turret armor is especially thick, at 101mm, and with the -10 degrees of gun declination hull down is a viable strategy.
The T14 does has a large side profile, so I really recommend against getting yourself flanked. The odd handling of the tank and the inability to pivot turn compounds this weakness. It also has a weak-spot in the front hull, essentially a 0-armor hole in the form of a machine gun.
Weak spots aside, if nothing else the T14 has 690 hitpoints, which should outlast a lot of tanks.
Tactical Utility
Considering the preferential Match Making, the T14 is normally top dog in a match. Compared to the T1, KV-1, or BDR it is inferior, but it does have an advantage or two. If you can get yourself into a good firing position the T14 can become a surprisingly tough tank with the ability to spit out bullets at a good rate. These traits, combined with its premium status, makes the T14 one of the best money makers in the game after the Tier 8 premiums.
One might be inclined to compare the T14 to the Matilda, and it's a decent comparison. In every stat except penetration, the Matilda has a superior gun. Both tanks have the same effective armor (the Matilda's is thicker....but the T14's is sloped more heavily, so it seems to even out), while the Matilda has a definite advantage in size. However, the T14 has more HP, and it is much faster....but the Matilda is more agile. They're close tanks, especially now that the Matilda gets the same MM as the T14.
Churchill III
1500 Gold
Soviet
Heavy Tank
Spoiler
The final lend lease tank, the Churchill is a British heavy tank armed with the lethal 6 Pound gun. At one point in time the Churchill was considered a joke tank, but with recent patches it has transformed into a terrifyingly powerful tank (which I find funny, because it was powerful prior to patches too).
Mobility
Imagine a KV tank. That's about how mobile you're going to be in a Churchill. The top speed isn't too good, but the agility isn't bad either.
Conveniently, it does have a fast moving turret. But heavy tanks never were about being the fastest, were they?
Firepower
The QF. 6 Pounder, Mark V. An unimposing weapon at first glance, it fires a small 57mm projectile. This is nowhere near as scary as the 76mm on the T1, the 85mm on the KV-1, or even the 90mm on the BDR.
Churchill drivers laugh at this line of reasoning. Sure, the 6 Pounder won't bring show stopping damage to the show, at least not at first. You hit the target for 75 damage, and the target looks around confused trying to figure out what rock hit it. Then it gets hit again....and again....and again. Before it even turns 180 degrees around it's already taken 400 damage.
This might sound like a French auto-cannon horror story, but it's actually the Churchill's secret weapon: rate of fire. I run my Churchill with a gun rammer, vents, and a 100% crew, which lowers my reload times to under 2 seconds. With Brothers in Arms I believe I may get it down to 1.5 seconds. So sure, 75 points of damage is low, but on a shot by shot basis it's going to be doing waaaay more damage over time. Consider this: the Churchill has a higher Damage Per Minute than the KV-1 with 85mm, the BDR, and the T1 Heavy. It even had a superior damage output compared to the old KV tank when it was armed with either the 107mm or the 152 (it could actually do about 1000 points of damage during 1 reload cycle of a derp). Only the KV-1 armed with a 57mm can hope to match a Churchill in a straight firefight, but the Churchill still has a good chance of winning.
This makes the Churchill quite versatile, since it allows it to either engage lighter vehicles that other heavies would have trouble hitting, or crowd control by being able to switch from target to target quickly, or even killing other heavy tanks by outshooting them. And with 110mm of penetration no tier 5 can hope to withstand your barrage for very long: 20 seconds is the longest any tank can hope to survive if your aim holds true.
Its only flaw is the lack of HE shells. Though this may not be a flaw since 57mm HE might not actually work out that well, and with 140 shells you might be better off just spamming the fire button until a shot goes through. Bear in mind also that your aim time is longer than your reload time, so you might lose some fire rate (Gun Laying Drive did not help this very much, but results could vary).
Should you go completely balls to the walls with maximizing rate of fire, it will max out at 1.8 seconds to reload.
Survivability
At first you may [CENSORED] when you see that the Churchill has 176mm of frontal hull armored. Don't believe this stat.
The Churchill does actually have a very strong frontal armor, but it's more strong in the same way the T1 Heavy or the KV-1 is strong. You can hold down a position well enough, but over time enemy shells will begin to go through.
The biggest key to the Churchill's survivability is the hitpoints pool: with 700 hitpoints it rivals some Tier 6 tanks. It also helps that by being able to spam the fire button the Churchill will continually disrupt enemy attacks and be able to outshoot them quite easily. The Churchill is all about winning the war of attrition: out last the enemy by being just a little tougher. It's not an elegant way to fight, but that's what it does well.
Tactical Utility
The Churchill is a tank that needs to be able to overwhelm it's opposition. Think of it as 300 Spartans fighting off half a million Persians. It might not win every time, but it sure as heck will go down swinging. It's not a tank for those that prefer finesse, but it will be able to take and give a beating. It's a tank that will secure many, many kills since the ability to follow through with every shot gives you the ability to rack up many kills before your allies can react.
The Churchill is one of a couple of tanks that I would automatically recommend to those who want a premium tank. As it stands the tank is THE best money maker I have that isn't a Tier 8 premium, and is possibly even borderline overpowered. It offers the same experience as a KV-1 with the 57mm, but with slightly better armor and hitpoints. And with the matchmaking buff limiting it to Tier 5-6 battles and the removal of the horrifically over-gunned KV with 107/152 makes the Churchill a possible contender for best Tier 5.
TESTIMONIAL: Even before the MM buff, my Churchill was incredible, but after is got that it became absolutely unstoppable. I am a fairly average player on all accounts, but I'd waged my Churchill stats are pretty good. The tank has a 56% win rate, and holds my record for highest average XP a battle, at well over 800. It also holds a record for most experience earned in a battle: 2635. AND it averages 1.4 tanks destroyed a battles (I know that isn't too impressive compared to many players, but it is for me). 2,000 XP battles are fairly common.
This tank STILL has a habit of single-handedly winning matches whereever I've seen them, even after the regular Churchill with the 75mm HV gun and the spremium 105mm HEAT rounds were introduced. It's a total juggernaut in the right situations.
The final lend lease tank, the Churchill is a British heavy tank armed with the lethal 6 Pound gun. At one point in time the Churchill was considered a joke tank, but with recent patches it has transformed into a terrifyingly powerful tank (which I find funny, because it was powerful prior to patches too).
Mobility
Imagine a KV tank. That's about how mobile you're going to be in a Churchill. The top speed isn't too good, but the agility isn't bad either.
Conveniently, it does have a fast moving turret. But heavy tanks never were about being the fastest, were they?
Firepower
The QF. 6 Pounder, Mark V. An unimposing weapon at first glance, it fires a small 57mm projectile. This is nowhere near as scary as the 76mm on the T1, the 85mm on the KV-1, or even the 90mm on the BDR.
Churchill drivers laugh at this line of reasoning. Sure, the 6 Pounder won't bring show stopping damage to the show, at least not at first. You hit the target for 75 damage, and the target looks around confused trying to figure out what rock hit it. Then it gets hit again....and again....and again. Before it even turns 180 degrees around it's already taken 400 damage.
This might sound like a French auto-cannon horror story, but it's actually the Churchill's secret weapon: rate of fire. I run my Churchill with a gun rammer, vents, and a 100% crew, which lowers my reload times to under 2 seconds. With Brothers in Arms I believe I may get it down to 1.5 seconds. So sure, 75 points of damage is low, but on a shot by shot basis it's going to be doing waaaay more damage over time. Consider this: the Churchill has a higher Damage Per Minute than the KV-1 with 85mm, the BDR, and the T1 Heavy. It even had a superior damage output compared to the old KV tank when it was armed with either the 107mm or the 152 (it could actually do about 1000 points of damage during 1 reload cycle of a derp). Only the KV-1 armed with a 57mm can hope to match a Churchill in a straight firefight, but the Churchill still has a good chance of winning.
This makes the Churchill quite versatile, since it allows it to either engage lighter vehicles that other heavies would have trouble hitting, or crowd control by being able to switch from target to target quickly, or even killing other heavy tanks by outshooting them. And with 110mm of penetration no tier 5 can hope to withstand your barrage for very long: 20 seconds is the longest any tank can hope to survive if your aim holds true.
Its only flaw is the lack of HE shells. Though this may not be a flaw since 57mm HE might not actually work out that well, and with 140 shells you might be better off just spamming the fire button until a shot goes through. Bear in mind also that your aim time is longer than your reload time, so you might lose some fire rate (Gun Laying Drive did not help this very much, but results could vary).
Should you go completely balls to the walls with maximizing rate of fire, it will max out at 1.8 seconds to reload.
Survivability
At first you may [CENSORED] when you see that the Churchill has 176mm of frontal hull armored. Don't believe this stat.
The Churchill does actually have a very strong frontal armor, but it's more strong in the same way the T1 Heavy or the KV-1 is strong. You can hold down a position well enough, but over time enemy shells will begin to go through.
The biggest key to the Churchill's survivability is the hitpoints pool: with 700 hitpoints it rivals some Tier 6 tanks. It also helps that by being able to spam the fire button the Churchill will continually disrupt enemy attacks and be able to outshoot them quite easily. The Churchill is all about winning the war of attrition: out last the enemy by being just a little tougher. It's not an elegant way to fight, but that's what it does well.
Tactical Utility
The Churchill is a tank that needs to be able to overwhelm it's opposition. Think of it as 300 Spartans fighting off half a million Persians. It might not win every time, but it sure as heck will go down swinging. It's not a tank for those that prefer finesse, but it will be able to take and give a beating. It's a tank that will secure many, many kills since the ability to follow through with every shot gives you the ability to rack up many kills before your allies can react.
The Churchill is one of a couple of tanks that I would automatically recommend to those who want a premium tank. As it stands the tank is THE best money maker I have that isn't a Tier 8 premium, and is possibly even borderline overpowered. It offers the same experience as a KV-1 with the 57mm, but with slightly better armor and hitpoints. And with the matchmaking buff limiting it to Tier 5-6 battles and the removal of the horrifically over-gunned KV with 107/152 makes the Churchill a possible contender for best Tier 5.
TESTIMONIAL: Even before the MM buff, my Churchill was incredible, but after is got that it became absolutely unstoppable. I am a fairly average player on all accounts, but I'd waged my Churchill stats are pretty good. The tank has a 56% win rate, and holds my record for highest average XP a battle, at well over 800. It also holds a record for most experience earned in a battle: 2635. AND it averages 1.4 tanks destroyed a battles (I know that isn't too impressive compared to many players, but it is for me). 2,000 XP battles are fairly common.
This tank STILL has a habit of single-handedly winning matches whereever I've seen them, even after the regular Churchill with the 75mm HV gun and the spremium 105mm HEAT rounds were introduced. It's a total juggernaut in the right situations.
Tier 6 Tanks
ToG-II*
3500 Gold
British
Heavy Tank
Spoiler
This is a fascinating tank, designed for a projected trench war in Europe. It's like a land-yacht, but past the silly size of it the tank does have one or two tricks to it. Oh, and bear in mind that unlike the other Tier 6 tanks this thing will never fight any higher than Tier 7.
Mobility
Look, it's enormous. I hope if you intend to get this to realize that it's going to be slow. Weighing in at over 80 tons and possessing a mere 600 horsepower it's the slowest of all the Tier 6 tanks (indeed, one of the slowest in the game).
For comparision, the next slowest tank at this Tier is probably the KV-2, with a HP:Ton ratio of 10.56. The ToG-II* though? 7.38. And it even matches the KV-2 at traverse speed, having only 20 degrees per minute.
This is just very poor handling. The only other tank that compares is the Churchill VII, which is still a tad bit faster at 8.59. The ToG-II* then gets the combination of the poor acceleration of the Churchill VII with the very poor hull-handling of the KV-2.
In its defense though, it does have a few fast turret traverse speed.
Firepower
Number one reason to love the ToG-II*? That gun. The 17 Pounder it packs is superior to the 77mm on the Churchill VII in several respect, making it so that this lumbering behemoth isn't totally useless.
The penetration values are fairly average for a Tier 6 heavy tank at 171mm, allowing it to damage almost anything it sees. This is drastically superior than the Churchill VII's 148mm, and on par with the 122mm D-25 on the KV-1S or the 90mm on the M6.
Better still is that it's the most accurate heavy-tank gun: A 0.34 accuracy makes it better than the 0.36 on the Churchill VII or even the 0.38 of the 90mm on the ARL-44 or the M6 Heavy tank. Aim time is 2.3 seconds, which is par for the course at this tier (MUCH better than the ARL-44 or the KV-1S though, just so you know). Plus, an unusual advantage to being SO slow is that the ToG-II* retains much of its accuracy even while moving forward at a snails pace.
Basically, when you get around to the ToG-II* you get the impression that the gun is ideal for long ranged engagements. It may not have the heaviest hitting power (only 150 damage), but it has reliable hitting power.
Heck, it even shoots fast.With a 100% crew and with vents and a gun rammer you'll pull 4.2 second reload times. The listed DPM is 1800, which means it either leaves other heavy tanks in the dust (KV-1S, ARL-44, T-150) or is on par with them (M6). There is one interesting exception:
The Churchill VII, which returns with a vengeance. THAT tank can shoot at a noticeably higher fire rate, putting its reload times up to 3.6 with the same setup. 4/5 of a second may not strike anyone as particularly fast, but combined with the superior armor a smart Churchill VII has a very good shot at defeating a ToG-II* in a straight slug-fest
[it has happened to me once while in the Churchill VII...the ToG-II* and I just traded blows like a bunch of colonial-era soldiers, and I came out on the top despite his epic HP advantage]
Regardless of that one exception, the 17 Pounder is otherwise a superior weapon in every respect to the 77mm on the Churchill VII. AND IT GETS BETTER! Unlike the Churchill VII, the ToG-II* has 10 degree of gun depression, putting it in the same class as the T-29 series of tanks for "best at going Hull Down".
Survivability
The armor on the ToG-II* isn't necessarily THAT bad. 76mm with a very small amount of slope makes it roughly equivelant to the KV-2 or M6 in terms of what can and cannot hurt it.
Here's the problem. It's gigantic and slow. This makes it rather easy to hit.
Gigantasism does have advantages though, and in this case it comes in the form of making the crew and modules rather well protected and hard to hit. So there is that. And, since the sides are just as tough as the front in terms of thickness, there's little reason not to angle your hull a full 45 degrees to get the absolute maximum amount of protection possible. Or, you can even do the "reverse side-scraper" effect, where you enter a corner backwards and take advantage of your immense length to peek around corners while exposing almost no hull (for an exmaple of what I'm talking about, refer to guides on the subject that pertain to the VK4502(P) Ausf. B or the FV415B).
Artillery will obviously be a major hinderance to the ToG-II*, not only becuase it's easy to hit, but because it's so hard to hide. Rocks aren't really good sources of cover since a part of you will probably be sticking out. Just stay cautious.
There is one thing though, a so called "best for last" aspect: hitpoints. Just like the Tier 5 mediums are useful partially due to a large HP pool, so too is the ToG-II*. It packs a show-stopping 1400 hitpoints. Only 2 tank in this tier range can hope to top that, the Tiger-H and the Tiger-P at 1450. You may be tempted to employ the ToG-II* as a bullet sponge, and you could. But I wouldn't rely on hitpoints saving you. Sure, you have over 500 more of the things than any other Tier 6 tank. But don't sqaunder them.
Oh, one thing though. Don't think you can win a straight shooting match with a KV-2. It has a chance to penetrate with HE, and if it does you'll be having a rather bad day. Even with EVERY shot penetrating and hitting for almost maximum damage you're cutting it very close on getting all 5 shots needed to kill a KV-2 during 1 reload cycle. You need 6 shots to reliably kill the KV-2, but unfortunately they can reload in 19.8 seconds if the crew has BIA, vents, and a rammer.....and in 19.8 seconds you'll only get off 4 shots, 5 if you count your very first shot. 5 shots would do 750 damage on average....and the KV-2 has 860 hitpoints. You can win such a firefight, but you need a lot of luck to pull it off.
On the plus side, this is the only Tier 6 tank that can do this to you. Even the KV-1S with the mighty 122mm can't win a straight up brawl with a ToG-II*. Again, I don't recommend just eating lead as a strategy....however, if it's the last guy alive and you have the HP to spare, it's a thing you can do to maximize your damage.
Tactical Utility
It's big and slow, easy to hit and easy to hurt....but it retaliates very well with a combination of a fast and accurate gun combined with more hitpoints in one tank than a platoon of 3 Tier 5 medium tanks.
To enjoy this tank you need to like being big and slow. If you can't tolerate that, then don't even both with this tank. If you do like that, then what you have yourself is something with a very solid gun and a large HP pool. You also have an advantage with regards to your MM. You'll usually be top tier, and at the worst you'll fight Tier 7 tanks. You cannot get into tier 8 matches.
Because of this, the ToG-II can be lethal if platooned. 3 ToG-II* tanks would give you guys 4200 Hitpoints. Compared to other Tier 6 heavies, you're looking at having a "free" reserve of around 1650 hitpoints. This is the equivelant of having 2 extra tanks on your team. Granted, those free tanks are going to be moving very slowly and those hitpoints can drain pretty quickly, but it's still an appreciable advantage.
This is a fascinating tank, designed for a projected trench war in Europe. It's like a land-yacht, but past the silly size of it the tank does have one or two tricks to it. Oh, and bear in mind that unlike the other Tier 6 tanks this thing will never fight any higher than Tier 7.
Mobility
Look, it's enormous. I hope if you intend to get this to realize that it's going to be slow. Weighing in at over 80 tons and possessing a mere 600 horsepower it's the slowest of all the Tier 6 tanks (indeed, one of the slowest in the game).
For comparision, the next slowest tank at this Tier is probably the KV-2, with a HP:Ton ratio of 10.56. The ToG-II* though? 7.38. And it even matches the KV-2 at traverse speed, having only 20 degrees per minute.
This is just very poor handling. The only other tank that compares is the Churchill VII, which is still a tad bit faster at 8.59. The ToG-II* then gets the combination of the poor acceleration of the Churchill VII with the very poor hull-handling of the KV-2.
In its defense though, it does have a few fast turret traverse speed.
Firepower
Number one reason to love the ToG-II*? That gun. The 17 Pounder it packs is superior to the 77mm on the Churchill VII in several respect, making it so that this lumbering behemoth isn't totally useless.
The penetration values are fairly average for a Tier 6 heavy tank at 171mm, allowing it to damage almost anything it sees. This is drastically superior than the Churchill VII's 148mm, and on par with the 122mm D-25 on the KV-1S or the 90mm on the M6.
Better still is that it's the most accurate heavy-tank gun: A 0.34 accuracy makes it better than the 0.36 on the Churchill VII or even the 0.38 of the 90mm on the ARL-44 or the M6 Heavy tank. Aim time is 2.3 seconds, which is par for the course at this tier (MUCH better than the ARL-44 or the KV-1S though, just so you know). Plus, an unusual advantage to being SO slow is that the ToG-II* retains much of its accuracy even while moving forward at a snails pace.
Basically, when you get around to the ToG-II* you get the impression that the gun is ideal for long ranged engagements. It may not have the heaviest hitting power (only 150 damage), but it has reliable hitting power.
Heck, it even shoots fast.With a 100% crew and with vents and a gun rammer you'll pull 4.2 second reload times. The listed DPM is 1800, which means it either leaves other heavy tanks in the dust (KV-1S, ARL-44, T-150) or is on par with them (M6). There is one interesting exception:
The Churchill VII, which returns with a vengeance. THAT tank can shoot at a noticeably higher fire rate, putting its reload times up to 3.6 with the same setup. 4/5 of a second may not strike anyone as particularly fast, but combined with the superior armor a smart Churchill VII has a very good shot at defeating a ToG-II* in a straight slug-fest
[it has happened to me once while in the Churchill VII...the ToG-II* and I just traded blows like a bunch of colonial-era soldiers, and I came out on the top despite his epic HP advantage]
Regardless of that one exception, the 17 Pounder is otherwise a superior weapon in every respect to the 77mm on the Churchill VII. AND IT GETS BETTER! Unlike the Churchill VII, the ToG-II* has 10 degree of gun depression, putting it in the same class as the T-29 series of tanks for "best at going Hull Down".
Survivability
The armor on the ToG-II* isn't necessarily THAT bad. 76mm with a very small amount of slope makes it roughly equivelant to the KV-2 or M6 in terms of what can and cannot hurt it.
Here's the problem. It's gigantic and slow. This makes it rather easy to hit.
Gigantasism does have advantages though, and in this case it comes in the form of making the crew and modules rather well protected and hard to hit. So there is that. And, since the sides are just as tough as the front in terms of thickness, there's little reason not to angle your hull a full 45 degrees to get the absolute maximum amount of protection possible. Or, you can even do the "reverse side-scraper" effect, where you enter a corner backwards and take advantage of your immense length to peek around corners while exposing almost no hull (for an exmaple of what I'm talking about, refer to guides on the subject that pertain to the VK4502(P) Ausf. B or the FV415B).
Artillery will obviously be a major hinderance to the ToG-II*, not only becuase it's easy to hit, but because it's so hard to hide. Rocks aren't really good sources of cover since a part of you will probably be sticking out. Just stay cautious.
There is one thing though, a so called "best for last" aspect: hitpoints. Just like the Tier 5 mediums are useful partially due to a large HP pool, so too is the ToG-II*. It packs a show-stopping 1400 hitpoints. Only 2 tank in this tier range can hope to top that, the Tiger-H and the Tiger-P at 1450. You may be tempted to employ the ToG-II* as a bullet sponge, and you could. But I wouldn't rely on hitpoints saving you. Sure, you have over 500 more of the things than any other Tier 6 tank. But don't sqaunder them.
Oh, one thing though. Don't think you can win a straight shooting match with a KV-2. It has a chance to penetrate with HE, and if it does you'll be having a rather bad day. Even with EVERY shot penetrating and hitting for almost maximum damage you're cutting it very close on getting all 5 shots needed to kill a KV-2 during 1 reload cycle. You need 6 shots to reliably kill the KV-2, but unfortunately they can reload in 19.8 seconds if the crew has BIA, vents, and a rammer.....and in 19.8 seconds you'll only get off 4 shots, 5 if you count your very first shot. 5 shots would do 750 damage on average....and the KV-2 has 860 hitpoints. You can win such a firefight, but you need a lot of luck to pull it off.
On the plus side, this is the only Tier 6 tank that can do this to you. Even the KV-1S with the mighty 122mm can't win a straight up brawl with a ToG-II*. Again, I don't recommend just eating lead as a strategy....however, if it's the last guy alive and you have the HP to spare, it's a thing you can do to maximize your damage.
Tactical Utility
It's big and slow, easy to hit and easy to hurt....but it retaliates very well with a combination of a fast and accurate gun combined with more hitpoints in one tank than a platoon of 3 Tier 5 medium tanks.
To enjoy this tank you need to like being big and slow. If you can't tolerate that, then don't even both with this tank. If you do like that, then what you have yourself is something with a very solid gun and a large HP pool. You also have an advantage with regards to your MM. You'll usually be top tier, and at the worst you'll fight Tier 7 tanks. You cannot get into tier 8 matches.
Because of this, the ToG-II can be lethal if platooned. 3 ToG-II* tanks would give you guys 4200 Hitpoints. Compared to other Tier 6 heavies, you're looking at having a "free" reserve of around 1650 hitpoints. This is the equivelant of having 2 extra tanks on your team. Granted, those free tanks are going to be moving very slowly and those hitpoints can drain pretty quickly, but it's still an appreciable advantage.
Dickermax
3200 Gold
German
Tank Destroyer
Spoiler
This is a tank a lot of people seem to want. It is technically an assault gun, armed with a 10.5cm gun designed to take down fortifications. The fact that it can kill tanks even better was incidental.
MOBILITY
The Dickermax is kind of in between for mobility. It doesn't have that great of an engine, and has an 11 HP:Ton ratio. This makes it slower than its peers at tier 6, but not unbearably so. There are slower Tanks at this tier, but none of them are TD's.
What is nice about it is the amount of gun depression it gets. It's possibly even better than American tanks at this.
It also has an acceptable amount of gun sweep, and the thing pivots quickly when it needs to.
FIREPOWER
The key trait of the Dickermax is that 10.5cm gun. It is possibly because of this gun that the Dickermax became tier 6 instead of 5, and then was made into a premium.
At first I was disappointed with this gun. It isn't particularly high in penetration (169, right on par with its French and US counterparts), although the damage is nice. 300 damage puts it on par with the French equivalent gun, the "105mm with a Super Long Name".
Actually, it's the similarity to this gun that the Dickermax disappointed me at first. It doesn't have a large penetration advantage, and 122mm on the Su-100 does even more damage (with high pen).
However, first impressions are deceiving, and "Fat Max" has several advantages.
First, the rate of fire is a bit higher. With the high fire rate the Dickermax has the highest damage output of the Tier 6 TD's after the Jagdpanzer IV (which has one of the highest DPMs in the game). And lets face it: the 8.8cm L/56 SUCKS on a TD, so the Dickermax still has a nice advantage over that tank.
Also, and even better, the gun is quite accurate. 0.36 means it is more likely to actually hit a target, and the 2.3 second aim time is functional.
You have 2 primary downsides to this weapon: first, a limited supply of 26 shots. Normally not a problem, but you never know. Second: it's 800 bucks a shot. These factors mean that you MUST make the shots count. If you do that this tank will reward you with very nice damage output and workable penetration.
SURVIVABILITY
Here's where the Dickermax started to annoy me. It's open topped, which means vulnerable to HE. And the armor is quite weak anyways, which means vulnerable to everything.
But, unlike most premium tanks the Dickermax itself has few hitpoints. It is tied with the M36 Slugger for TD with the lowest number of hitpoints at its tier.
This said, the Dickermax appears to be able to camouflage itself very well due to a smallish size. But if you're spotted you can't last too long. The lack of hitpoints, armor, and vulnerability to artillery can lead to frustration, and it's not fast enough to always run away when needed.
TACTICAL UTILITY
The Dickermax is like the German counterpart to the Soviet Assault guns (actually, that is what it is...). It packs a large firepower package, but leaves it vulnerable to counterattacks.
The Dickermax then is a typical tank destroyer: big gun, weak armor and decent speed. Frankly, this TD preforms on par with the other Tier 6 TDs, and is even superior to some of them (*cough* Jagdpanzer IV *cough*).
The one thing the Dickermax does have going for it is that -15 degrees of gun depression, which is (as far as I know) the best in the game. With the very high positioning of the gun it can fire unto the enemy while being almost completely covered. This is a very handy trait to have.
But, at the moment, the Dickermax does not impress me too much. It's pretty slow and very weak, traits I'm not entirely convinced are compensated for by the epicness of that gun.
This is a tank a lot of people seem to want. It is technically an assault gun, armed with a 10.5cm gun designed to take down fortifications. The fact that it can kill tanks even better was incidental.
MOBILITY
The Dickermax is kind of in between for mobility. It doesn't have that great of an engine, and has an 11 HP:Ton ratio. This makes it slower than its peers at tier 6, but not unbearably so. There are slower Tanks at this tier, but none of them are TD's.
What is nice about it is the amount of gun depression it gets. It's possibly even better than American tanks at this.
It also has an acceptable amount of gun sweep, and the thing pivots quickly when it needs to.
FIREPOWER
The key trait of the Dickermax is that 10.5cm gun. It is possibly because of this gun that the Dickermax became tier 6 instead of 5, and then was made into a premium.
At first I was disappointed with this gun. It isn't particularly high in penetration (169, right on par with its French and US counterparts), although the damage is nice. 300 damage puts it on par with the French equivalent gun, the "105mm with a Super Long Name".
Actually, it's the similarity to this gun that the Dickermax disappointed me at first. It doesn't have a large penetration advantage, and 122mm on the Su-100 does even more damage (with high pen).
However, first impressions are deceiving, and "Fat Max" has several advantages.
First, the rate of fire is a bit higher. With the high fire rate the Dickermax has the highest damage output of the Tier 6 TD's after the Jagdpanzer IV (which has one of the highest DPMs in the game). And lets face it: the 8.8cm L/56 SUCKS on a TD, so the Dickermax still has a nice advantage over that tank.
Also, and even better, the gun is quite accurate. 0.36 means it is more likely to actually hit a target, and the 2.3 second aim time is functional.
You have 2 primary downsides to this weapon: first, a limited supply of 26 shots. Normally not a problem, but you never know. Second: it's 800 bucks a shot. These factors mean that you MUST make the shots count. If you do that this tank will reward you with very nice damage output and workable penetration.
SURVIVABILITY
Here's where the Dickermax started to annoy me. It's open topped, which means vulnerable to HE. And the armor is quite weak anyways, which means vulnerable to everything.
But, unlike most premium tanks the Dickermax itself has few hitpoints. It is tied with the M36 Slugger for TD with the lowest number of hitpoints at its tier.
This said, the Dickermax appears to be able to camouflage itself very well due to a smallish size. But if you're spotted you can't last too long. The lack of hitpoints, armor, and vulnerability to artillery can lead to frustration, and it's not fast enough to always run away when needed.
TACTICAL UTILITY
The Dickermax is like the German counterpart to the Soviet Assault guns (actually, that is what it is...). It packs a large firepower package, but leaves it vulnerable to counterattacks.
The Dickermax then is a typical tank destroyer: big gun, weak armor and decent speed. Frankly, this TD preforms on par with the other Tier 6 TDs, and is even superior to some of them (*cough* Jagdpanzer IV *cough*).
The one thing the Dickermax does have going for it is that -15 degrees of gun depression, which is (as far as I know) the best in the game. With the very high positioning of the gun it can fire unto the enemy while being almost completely covered. This is a very handy trait to have.
But, at the moment, the Dickermax does not impress me too much. It's pretty slow and very weak, traits I'm not entirely convinced are compensated for by the epicness of that gun.
Panzer IV Schmalturm
3750 Gold
German
Medium Tank
Spoiler
Let's just get this out of the way: yes, we all know what happened with this tank. Quite a few people feel that this was kind of a low blow....still, this tank is the same Panzer IV we'd alway had. Plus, it has those stylist side skirts that everyone loves so much.
Mobility
For a medium tank this thing is just slow. That much is very obvious. Let's compare it to the regular, Tier 5 Panzer IV: the Tier 5 tank has a weight of 25.4 Tons and an engine that can provide 440 horsepower, giving it a power to weight ratio of 17.3. This isn't that great for a medium tank, and the Panzer IV has something of a reputation for being pretty slow.
But the Panzer IV Schmalturm is even worse. It weighs nearly 30 tons, and has a horrible 300 Horsepower engine, for a HP: Weight ratio of about 10. That's a 70% reduction in horsepower. As a matter of fact, there are heavy tanks that are more mobile....
However, the horsepower issue aside, the Schmalturm isn't entirely immobile. It actually has pretty good handling for having so little power. The turret still doesn't turn very fast (24 degrees/sec), but it can still get from Point A to Point B....eventually
Firepower
Now for the reason the Panzer IV was nerfed in the first place. The main weapon of the Panzer IV-S is the 75mm KwK44 L/70, the same iconic weapon of the Panther.
This is a good thing for the Panzer IV-S. The gun is very competant, giving it enough penetration to handle just about any target it will ever have to face. This is also a weapon that is available to the other TIer 6 German tanks. However, much to my disappointment, this gun has no advantage that I can tell over the L/70 mounted to the VK3601, VK3001H, or the VK3001P. It maintains the exact same accuracy, aim time, and rate of fire that the VK3601H has.
This isn't to say that the Panzer IV-S has a bad gun. It's definately a great weapon. It gives the Panzer IV a great level of accuracy and penetration for engaging targets from a distance. It is the weapon of a sniper. However, bear in mind that you're still not firing a very powerful gun. It has a relatively low damage per shot, and the overall DPM isn't too fantastic either. But it's still a good weapon for long distance kills, so if you get the Panzer IV-S remember that it's a sniper's weapon.
Survivability
In all honesty, the Panzer IV at Tier 5 has only decent survivability. How would you expect the same tank to handle 1 tier higher? That frontal armor is basically paper, and feels nowhere near the 80mm that it says it is. And with a mere 30mm on the side, you can't really angle the armor that well either.
But, there is one advantage with the Schmalturm, in the area of turret armor. The 120mm that it gets is actually pretty thick, allowing it to declet SOME incoming shots quite nicely. Better yet? Unlike almost every other German tank you'll ever meet the Panzer IV-S has 8 degrees of gun depression, just slightly less than the legendary -10 degrees of some U.S. vehicles. Making it to a good hull down spot may take a while, but once you're there you should do alright.
You may also have noticed the side skirts that the Panzer IV-S gets. Honestly, I'm not sure how these actually work. I'll have to wait for the game to go live in the U.S. and talk to other players. It's not a solid plate of steel, but rather a kind of steel mesh like a really big strainer. I suspect then it may be a cosmetic piece, or perhaps not even real spaced armor. Or maybe it's a free spall liner, helpinig absorb artillery splash damage. I just don't know yet.
Tactical Utility
Overall, I'd give the Panzer IV Schmalturm the status of "pointless". It's not a bad tank, but I can't actually figure out why you'd want one of these unless you wanted to train medium tank crews (and even then, the T-25 is a superior tank relative to its tier....or heck, even the Panther M10). You may want it for the nostalgia of replaying your favorite tier 5 tank-- which is probably why they made it a premium tank-- but I'm seriously going to tell you that you may be disappointed. In function the Panzer IV-S is similar to the VK3601H, a tank that has almost double the effective mobility, way more armor, and access to an identical weapon. The Panzer IV-S is very slow, has no armor, and doesn't even carry a weapon that distinguishes itself from its peers.
If you get this, keep all of that in mind. It can still be a good tank, but even by premium tank standards the thing lags waaaaay behind its peers in almost all areas. It makes good credits if nothing else....but not enough to actually justify the handicap you're playing with. Plus, a well played VK3601H will still out-earn the Panzer IV Schmalturm.
Let's just get this out of the way: yes, we all know what happened with this tank. Quite a few people feel that this was kind of a low blow....still, this tank is the same Panzer IV we'd alway had. Plus, it has those stylist side skirts that everyone loves so much.
Mobility
For a medium tank this thing is just slow. That much is very obvious. Let's compare it to the regular, Tier 5 Panzer IV: the Tier 5 tank has a weight of 25.4 Tons and an engine that can provide 440 horsepower, giving it a power to weight ratio of 17.3. This isn't that great for a medium tank, and the Panzer IV has something of a reputation for being pretty slow.
But the Panzer IV Schmalturm is even worse. It weighs nearly 30 tons, and has a horrible 300 Horsepower engine, for a HP: Weight ratio of about 10. That's a 70% reduction in horsepower. As a matter of fact, there are heavy tanks that are more mobile....
However, the horsepower issue aside, the Schmalturm isn't entirely immobile. It actually has pretty good handling for having so little power. The turret still doesn't turn very fast (24 degrees/sec), but it can still get from Point A to Point B....eventually
Firepower
Now for the reason the Panzer IV was nerfed in the first place. The main weapon of the Panzer IV-S is the 75mm KwK44 L/70, the same iconic weapon of the Panther.
This is a good thing for the Panzer IV-S. The gun is very competant, giving it enough penetration to handle just about any target it will ever have to face. This is also a weapon that is available to the other TIer 6 German tanks. However, much to my disappointment, this gun has no advantage that I can tell over the L/70 mounted to the VK3601, VK3001H, or the VK3001P. It maintains the exact same accuracy, aim time, and rate of fire that the VK3601H has.
This isn't to say that the Panzer IV-S has a bad gun. It's definately a great weapon. It gives the Panzer IV a great level of accuracy and penetration for engaging targets from a distance. It is the weapon of a sniper. However, bear in mind that you're still not firing a very powerful gun. It has a relatively low damage per shot, and the overall DPM isn't too fantastic either. But it's still a good weapon for long distance kills, so if you get the Panzer IV-S remember that it's a sniper's weapon.
Survivability
In all honesty, the Panzer IV at Tier 5 has only decent survivability. How would you expect the same tank to handle 1 tier higher? That frontal armor is basically paper, and feels nowhere near the 80mm that it says it is. And with a mere 30mm on the side, you can't really angle the armor that well either.
But, there is one advantage with the Schmalturm, in the area of turret armor. The 120mm that it gets is actually pretty thick, allowing it to declet SOME incoming shots quite nicely. Better yet? Unlike almost every other German tank you'll ever meet the Panzer IV-S has 8 degrees of gun depression, just slightly less than the legendary -10 degrees of some U.S. vehicles. Making it to a good hull down spot may take a while, but once you're there you should do alright.
You may also have noticed the side skirts that the Panzer IV-S gets. Honestly, I'm not sure how these actually work. I'll have to wait for the game to go live in the U.S. and talk to other players. It's not a solid plate of steel, but rather a kind of steel mesh like a really big strainer. I suspect then it may be a cosmetic piece, or perhaps not even real spaced armor. Or maybe it's a free spall liner, helpinig absorb artillery splash damage. I just don't know yet.
Tactical Utility
Overall, I'd give the Panzer IV Schmalturm the status of "pointless". It's not a bad tank, but I can't actually figure out why you'd want one of these unless you wanted to train medium tank crews (and even then, the T-25 is a superior tank relative to its tier....or heck, even the Panther M10). You may want it for the nostalgia of replaying your favorite tier 5 tank-- which is probably why they made it a premium tank-- but I'm seriously going to tell you that you may be disappointed. In function the Panzer IV-S is similar to the VK3601H, a tank that has almost double the effective mobility, way more armor, and access to an identical weapon. The Panzer IV-S is very slow, has no armor, and doesn't even carry a weapon that distinguishes itself from its peers.
If you get this, keep all of that in mind. It can still be a good tank, but even by premium tank standards the thing lags waaaaay behind its peers in almost all areas. It makes good credits if nothing else....but not enough to actually justify the handicap you're playing with. Plus, a well played VK3601H will still out-earn the Panzer IV Schmalturm.
Edited by VRMoran, Jan 23 2013 - 23:42.
