The Trials of Czech Heavy Tanks

Czech Grind Again

By:

IrmaBecx

So the update has dropped, and the big news is of course a new tech tree branch. I’ve kind of been slacking off lately, spent a bunch of resources over the winter holiday too, so I’m actually running low on purple boosters and I’ve only managed to scrape together 300K free XP.

That means it’s pretty much going to be an actual grind this time. I’m not a huge fan of the Strv m/42 so I haven’t prepared, and the first thing I had to do was drop 24.000 free XP to unlock the first tank. And you know what the first day is like; I did consider starting at tier VII, but I happen to like tier VI, and I kind of like the look of the little Skoda too.

I drove a few games before I dropped free XP on the modules and I’m still grinding the crew, but I can already tell you this one’s a fighter. It’s not nearly as sluggish as I imagined with the crew half awake, and the weaponry seems solid, for obvious reasons you might say.

Let’s get into it, no?

*

Skoda P-JS

If you think the tier VI looks strangely familiar I would have to agree. It looks to me like a Tiger (P) chassis with an IS-2 turret on it. Inside it you’ll find some suspiciously Soviet looking 85 mm guns, so you know those are going to work. The armour is solid, you have the same cut corner weakspots the Porsche Tiger has, hatch on top, and the lower-lower plate is also fairly weak. But this thing will get bounces without even trying, and it’s a formidable brawler against same tier targets, which today basically means other Skoda P-JS’s and the odd KV-1S.

There are three or four on each team right now, sometimes five. And you know not all those are going to be upgraded, so it’s kind of hard to judge how powerful the thing really is. But it’s bouncing shots from the front, it’s hitting weakspots if the gun has time to settle, and I’m still at just under 90% crew, so it will keep getting better for a while longer.

Seven degrees of gun depression and a bouncy front, 200 alpha with good dispersion and a short reload; what more do you want out of a tier VI Heavy tank? A few games in I start seeing the new tier VII tank out there, it looks formidable but has basically the same familiar frontal weakspots: turret hatch and lower plate.

But we’re not there yet. I realise I forgot to install those purple boosters I was talking about, and I am missing something like 35K XP before I get to tier VII. Seeing more tier VII opposition now the little Skoda doesn’t feel quite so powerful, if you drive German Heavys you’ll know about the engine taking hits all the time, and my commander also keeps getting knocked out. The gameplay is not exactly awe inspiring today, the team that best manages to stay together and move in the same direction wins.

After 22 games the crew is maxed out, and I’m running an improbable 69% winrate. I can tell you that’s a fluke even though this does appear to be a powerful little tank. It reminds me a lot of the Object 244 which is actually one of my tier VI favourites. But it also reminds me of the 40TP Habicha; likewise a nice little tier VI Heavy with a few things going for it. I can tell you it hasn’t become one of my go-to tier VI drives the way the Obj. 244 has, and neither will the Skoda P-JS.

As a grind tank though? No complaints. I’ve had some great games already. I have something like 25K XP left, and I don’t think it will be that much of a chore.

Day two I leisurely go through the rest of the grind with very few problems, and by the time I’ve unlocked the tier VII I have only become more convinced of this tank’s potential. Against another P-JS it sometimes feels like just trading hitpoints, because if that red tank is fully upgraded, they’ll know all about the weakspots. Getting the driveline knocked out constantly is my biggest worry, but I guess I could hide the lower plate more. With a bit of angling and wiggling you’ll get more bounces than you deserve, but remember that goes for every other P-JS driver out there, and there are still quite a few of them.

Contrary to my teachings I switched to calibrated shells in spite of the APCR, and that’s because other P-JS’s are actually some of your most dangerous opponents; I wanted to make every shot count. I still run speed boost, but I have considered running adrenaline for the same reason. A lot of those encounters you are going to leave on a sliver of hitpoints. I’m not super scared of tier VII Heavys in the Skoda, not even the Czech ones. You know there are two, right?

But yea, the Skoda is a little bully, watch out for sealclubbers with a taste for it. I ended up with a 70% winrate, but again that’s a fluke especially right after the update. How do I know? Because my average damage isn’t very high, nor is my survival rate I suspect.

Let’s move up to tier VII, no?

Vz. 44-1

Once again his thing looks familiar; as I mentioned we have a tier VII Czech Heavy already. The Vz hull looks the exact same as the Skoda T45; I on’t know about the turret because mine is stock. But I did spend some of my free XP to unlock the engines and the first 100 mm gun; the tank was painfully slow in a training room, and I don’t think I want to run an 88 at tier VII. But that is the way to use a limited amount of XP; you spend it on modules but not to get to the next tier. Time to activate crew boosters and roll out.

And yeah, with the top turret it looks even more like the T45. Only the top gun to go, but I can tell you already this 100 mm gun is a joy. The top 105 has the same alpha, but is a little sharper overall; aims faster, more accurate, better penetration, et cetera. It’s not like the 100 mm is an optional gun; nothing about it is better.

Did I mention I really like the Skoda T45? This is the same tank with the familiar alpha vs DPM tradeoff: I already know how to drive it. Other than 88 versus 105 mm the important tradeoff is armour: the Vz. has a stronger turret and weaker hull. That means if you’re comfortable sidescraping in your T45 you will have to make some minor adjustments.

Just under 90% crew and all modules, the tank already feels capable. I’m running calibrated shells again and adrenaline so I won’t boost myself into too much trouble right away. Seven degrees is plenty for me; you can work a few ridgelines and then just generally do Heavy tank things and everything will be fine. That’s why I always liked the T45, it’s a very straightforward Heavy; nothing strange or complicated about it at all.

Coming up on 90% crew and there is almost 80.000 XP to go. I have a little over 200K free XP, but the tier VIII has about 100K in modules and the tier IX has something like 140K, so if I don’t jump the gun and grind through the tanks themselves I shouldn’t have to drive the rest of the tanks very stock at all, and as usual I’ll pay gold for crew training at tiers IX and X.

Only at tier VII but feeling well on my way.

*

Day three I’m at 16 games, 97% crew, 75% winrate, and I got my first Ace. Capped one base and stole one, 3800 damage in a tier VIII game. I was in the middle canal on canals and had another Vz. 44-1 guarding C cap, put my trust in the turret armour and it paid off.

That hull armour really isn’t very strong seeing it from the outside. But it does have some angles, nice slope on the upper plate, and the lower plate isn’t all that big. It’s all amour maximising your chances, choose good positions and angle up. I get about a ten second reload; that’s plenty of time to both reset camo and think about how you present your armour before you take the next shot.

Five more matches are a string of losses ending with an epic flank win and my Vz. 44-1 crew is now fully trained. I remember to switch off the crew boosters, saving them for tier VIII, and while I’m adjusting things I’m going to switch to rating battles. Not because I think the quality of player will be better, but because I believe you make a little more XP in ratings, no? I play a fair bit of tier VII ratings anyway, so I’ll be interested to see how the 44-1 performs.

But I think it’s already safe to say the Vz. 44-1 is a good tank. Not extraordinary, not fantastically and wondrously exciting perhaps, but all you really have to deal with is not exposing the hull at it’s weakest, and that’s pretty much Heavy tanks 101. Angled upper plate or sides? Yes. Front or sides in the open? No. Simple stuff. And I like Heavy tanks like that; honest, straightforward, dependable as long as you don’t try to make them do things they can’t.

You may think it’s boring. I’m thinking about the Polish Heavy grind, and I liked those middle tier tanks too for much the same reasons. Are these Czech ones really any different?

The Habichas vs. the Skodas? No. You get better accuracy and more DPM for lower alpha, and the Skodas are more robust. That’s about it. And looking ahead to tier VIII the comparison is remarkably similar; less alpha, more DPM, thicker turret. It’s not like we’re starved for choice when it comes to tier VIII Heavy tanks; this new one looks like it’s in the Löwe category rather than the IS-spam category.

Back in the land of tier VII Ratings we blitz the A-cap area on New Bay Encounter and drive straight through the reds. The 44-1 is the sort of tank you want to be driving when lower tier in a rating game; it’s easy to drive, can keep up with the pack, shoots straight, and is strong hull down. There is a small XP bonus for rating games, and every little helps. I have about 50K left to grind.

TNH 105/1000

I know some people are super interested to know what the tank is like to drive stock, but you also know the answer already: it sucks. I threw all the free XP I could at the modules; will need to grind some to fully unlock the tier IX directly, but I suspect this tier VIII is going to be kind of a long grind.

They say these tanks are a mix of German, Soviet, and Czech designs, and so far I think that idea holds up. But it doesn’t make the – I don’t even recall the name just now – any more exciting, and especially not with an 80% crew.

It’s sluggish, of course; but in a way the Skoda and Vz. never were when they were stock. As far as I can tell it doesn’t have a standout feature, other than perhaps the art-deco-meets-orientalism looking turret and the unpronounceable name. DPM is pretty good, but that’s because it’s a lower alpha gun and it’s not an autoloader. Overall gun stats are good, but nothing is exceptional. It’s not very mobile, it’s definitely not stealthy but the armour is pretty good in parts.

Your 135 mm upper plate is showing around 280 mm effective on flat ground, and the turret which is just a mess of spaced armour is forward mounted tucked up right next to it. But then you have a huge, practically vertical lower plate that’s very weak. Side armour around 70 mm should comfortably side scrape same tier Heavys out to 15 degrees, but watch out for larger calibers that have better normalisation due to the two calibre rule. Also note the fairly prominent hatch on top of the turret. Otherwise, this is a 310 alpha Heavy tank that differs very little from the other ones except for the actual shape.

That is not to say it can’t perform, but I can tell you the grind is getting grindy right now. I keep staring at the crew percentage and it never seems to move. At least it’s in the 90s, but it’s a little disheartening the TNH isn’t going to get a lot better than this. It takes me almost 50 games to wake up the crew, and I’m not even halfway to tier IX. Wait, that’s a lie. I am precisely halfway.

So how does the maxed out TNH 105/1000 drive? There’s not much of a difference, as expected. I was going to drive it in Ratings, but the season just ended, so instead I drove a few gams of Boss Mode. Turns out, if you have a 4X voucher and you are the Boss, you can make almost 20.000 XP in a single game. I had two of them. Just a handful of more games and I’ll be at tier IX.

I have to say the TNH is a little forgettable. People aren’t afraid of it, and they’re not going to be super impressed with it when they drive it themselves. I kind of like it, but I also feel like it needs a little something, because at present the best word I can think of to describe it is “generic”; and I say that as someone who enjoys 105 mm tier VIII Heavy tanks.

This one ain’t no Löwe. A handful of games more and I’m done.

TNH T Vz. 51

So I pay for crew training at tier IX, and I have 125.000 free XP left. There are no modules at tier X so I’ll just throw it all at the Vz. 51. After a bit of fiddling I now have everything except the tracks, so I’m missing four and a half degrees of traverse (and 1/10 second aimtime).

What is this thing? It looks like a Czech tank if your point of reference is the Skoda T 56, and not entirely unlike the Type 68. 122 mm main armament with that satisfying 420 alpha. The armour again isn’t actually that thick; 80 mm sides, 140 mm upper plate, 180 mm turret front, but it’s nicely sloped and you have those spaced armour bits on either side of the gun. Yes, that means the thing can be shot through the centre of the turret, you might want to wiggle the gun back and forth a little but be wary the turret moves slowly. You can side scrape an IS-8 out to 15 degrees, and the upper plate may need 35 degrees side angle to bounce a calibrated HEAT round. That’s looking over the little cutoff bit in the corner above the drive wheel, which by the way looks like a weakspot but really isn’t.

The Vz. 51 also doesn’t have a standout feature in terms of statistics, but you now get access to the new mechanic. I might actually run the refined gun barrel on this one instead of my beloved vertical stabiliser, because below 15 km/h the reticule isn’t going to bloom at all. That gets the dispersion down to 0.31.

Not a lot more to say really; this feels much like the same tank a tier higher with a new mechanic. Let’s roll out, no?

*

Fifteen games later I’m running an amazing 27% winrate, and I started out with a vehicle that was practically maxed out. The Vz. 51 doesn’t feel as sluggish as the TNH 105; more like the tier VII 44-1, but it just can’t win no matter what I do. I have done 4000 damage in it, does that tell you anything? No. And 15 games is too small of a sample; it is Monday as I write this, and maybe people are just tired after the weekend.

But yea; it’s not a tank that carries entire tier X teams on it’s back, that’s for sure. And you have to make sure the reds are in front of you and that there is something in the way, otherwise they will go straight through your armour.

I kind of feel like this tank should be better than it is. Maybe it’s a slump; maybe it’s just me. However, the reason I feel that way may be because this tank is fairly similar to the 111 1-4 and the IS-8, and it doesn’t have a pike nose to deal with. But here’s the thing: back in the day those tanks could do 50 km/h on the straights and that’s why I liked them, even if they didn’t turn worth a damn that still mean you could go where you needed to be and get there in time. And without looking I’d bet they are still among the worst performing tier IX Heavys (correct, although the span isn’t very wide). That is perhaps not a great family resemblance.

That’s enough with the excuses, or “analysis” as we tank philosophers like to call it. The one thing I can influence is my own gameplay, and perhaps there are a few adjustments I could make, like not driving the Vz. 51 like I drive my IS-4. I could also try turning Encounter back on, because I’m going to have to deal with that in Ratings in a couple of days anyway. Also, I’m going to drop the sped boost for adrenaline. I’m clearly pushing forward too much, even in tier VIII games that doesn’t seem like it’s working.

With those adjustments I’m rolling out again. I don’t know what Czech tank crews listened to; I googled “Czechoslovakian Hardbass” but that got me nowhere so I put on some symphonic poems by Dvorak instead. Does it work? Everyone still shoots at me and almost all shots still seem to penetrate. I come up against another Vz. 51 above the B cap on Lost Temple and it’s almost comical; it’s just hitpoint trading. I have adrenaline, but still; whoever messes up their shot first is going to lose and the other will be left on a handful of hitpoints.

I also get the feeling the gun low rolls a lot, but my the sample is much too small. HE rounds are practically obsolete at this calibre; most weak targets will have provisions that soak up the damage.

Thirty games in I am up to 40% winrate, but the struggle is the same. I am a quarter of the way to tier X now including free XP.

I keep thinking about another tank as I slog it out against insurmountable odds: the ST-I. Not because it’s so similar, but because the experience of grinding it was. I loathed it. I never liked the ST-I in the first place, but I had decided I wanted an IS-4, and I swore I would sell the ST-I the second the grind was done. In the end I just couldn’t do it, the tank had stood by me through it all and gone down swinging. It had earned it’s place in my garage.

The thought of selling my TNH T Vz. 51 never even struck me. It’s a likeable tank when it’s not on fire, it’s a style of tank I enjoy, and the cold war pipe dream aesthetics alone would make me want to keep it around. But the Vz. 51 is a trooper the same way the ST-I was; fighting like a cornered rat, taking beating after beating and coming up for more.

It inspires the same feeling: it could work. It should work. If you just drive it right, everything is going to be fine. And so you keep pressing the battle button again and again, well aware of that famous definition of insanity.

Taking a break I have a look at my prize, the Vz. 55. I didn’t drive it on the test server so I have no idea, really. To me it’s a tier X Skoda T 56. And of course 130 mm is my favourite calibre, so I have to have one either way. Eyeing through the stats it looks like it once again the same tank at a different tier.

*

It’s a new day, and I’m actually feeling a little better about the Vz. 51. Drive a few games and scrape together 10K XP, I’m almost a third of the way there now. Games are hit and miss, but I concentrate on filling my role and trying not to get hit so much. In tier X games I assume a strict support role, either following the pack or helping the flanks.

The mobility really isn’t all that bad, as long as you keep your distance. And it helps to think in terms of not only capabilities, but essence. This is why some people look at Chinese tanks and see Russian knockoffs, they lack a holistic view of the vehicles and branches.

What are these Czech tanks, philosophically speaking? Not what is their purpose. Not what is their goal. But what are they? That must be the first question. We can’t go any further before we understand the idea of Czechoslovakian Heavy tanks.

They are cold war fantasies. Lightly armoured Heavy tanks with some frontal armour meant for working ridgelines as we can tell from the design and special mechanic of the higher tier vehicles. And further? I’m not sure. They show a remarkable coherence throughout the branch, a very strong family resemblance. In any tier they behave similarly. If they had actually built them they might have figured out that lower front plate is too weak.

But coherence sounds like utility, not essence. They are a different breed of mid range calibre Heavy tank, not quite Soviet, not quite Japanese or German, a little like Poland with slightly less “Boom”. I think that’s as far as I’ll get before I actually drive the tier X.

Would I recommend this grind? Definitely not for beginners beyond tier VII. These tanks aren’t that easy to drive, and there aren’t a lot of upsides. I see some people doing well in theirs, it’s possible they’ll klick for you, and they look kind of cool. But that’s not nearly enough for an endorsement. I have to say the only real reason to grind this is you want to get the new tier X.

In fairness, I think I would have struggled the exact same if I had been driving an IS-8 right now a third of my way to the IS-7. That’s not going to happen by the way; I have my Object 260. Just saying. But this is the grind; this is what it’s like. Only the fact all grinds are hard doesn’t make the actual tanks any easier for me to recommend.

Thoughts So Far

Looking ahead I think I’m going to have to spend some time with the Vz. 55 before I can say something about it that’s beyond superficial. But excluding that, so far I think this branch is going to be a hard sell for a lot of players. They’ll see them out there and instantly learn their weaknesses.

What might you consider instead?

Polish Heavys have bigger guns and overall the armour is more reliable. Japanese Heavys if you don’t have them already are an excellent choice. You could get an E 50 M and have some real mobility with that strong-for-a-Medium-tank armour. You could even get the robust WZ-121 and have a Heavy tank gun with that mobility. I have to say I’d rather be driving my WZ-111 1-4 right now; Chinese Heavys would be one alternative. The way these Czech turrets turn you might as well choose the Obj 263 line and have some real firepower in the same calibers.

But yeh, I think these Czech tanks are kind of charming. Happy to be getting a new tier X that interests me; a top tier version of a tier VIII premium I always liked. We’ll see about that in a few days.

The tier IX tank is weak, there are no two ways about it. It gets humiliated by other tanks. I get that the stabilising mechanic is supposed to be an asset, but it has only really worked as intended twice in like 50 games. It’s too sluggish to play ridgeline games. The armour is too weak to be effective; I get penned through the turret front and upper plate all the time. And the firepower is not enough to bite back; literally no one out there is scared of the Vz. 51.

I’m halfway to tier X, and right now it feels unlikely I’ll be driving the Vz. 51 any more once I get the Vz. 55.

TNH T Vz. 51 In Ratings

Rating season started today, and I didn’t have high hopes for the Vz. 51 as I rolled out to get calibrated. Ended up on 3400 winning six out of ten, that’s the best this tank has done so far. But is still shows some glaring deficiencies; unreliable armour, unreliable gun, turns like a battleship, the crew dies and things break all the time.

I do have a few good games, and my rating stays around 3400, but that has little to do with the tank’s performance. I get ammoracked a few times by various calibers large and small. Dump a few shots into the ground. Get run over by the entire pack. That’s about the size of it.

The last few games are terrible, a real pain. I keep losing and make between zero and five hundred XP per game until it’s finally all over and I never have to drive the Vz. 51 again. I’m not selling it like I did the AMX 50 120, but I’m not loving this tank in the least. It hasn’t grown on me. In terms of power it’s a mediocre tier VIII tank. You think I’m joking? Go compare it to the Skoda T 56, you’ll see it’s not actually that different. I still think it looks cool, but that’s about the nicest thing I can say about it right now.

Vz. 55

A little over a week of fairly casual grinding, and I can tell you this has not been my favourite grind lately. But here it is, finally; the Vz. 55. My prize. I’m cautiously optimistic, because there is a sort of limit as to haw bad a tier X tank is allowed to be, but then I’m also slightly worried because looking at the stats the Vz. 55 seems to be the exact same tank as the Vz. 51 turned up a few notches.

The lower plate is smaller. Armour overall is thicker. The gun is a 130 mm, but it looks about half the size of the 122 mm on the Vz. 51. Like i said, they turned everything up a little. But otherwise you are dealing with the same vehicle you have been since at least tier VII, and so what worries me is whether or not they turned it up enough to make the Vz. 55 worthwhile where the Vz. 51 is not.

I have to say it looks the part. Cold war brutalism. And the armour looks better, at least on paper. You still want to keep them in front of you, and the turret can still be penetrated next to the gun. But it’s a much smaller weakspot, and even a monster like the Jägeru, WZ-113G FT or Object 268 won’t penetrate those spaced armour shields. There is however a hatch on the turret, and a small “letterbox” on the front plate that higher penetration guns can penetrate.

Out in the field the Vz. 55 feels very much the same as the 51 did, it’s not a huge upgrade and more importantly the tier X struggles in the exact same ways the tier IX does; slow to turn, patchy armour, unreliable weapon. To be fair, the one time in maybe twenty you manage to put yourself in exactly the right position against exactly the right target the new mechanic does actually work, but everything else about the gun handling seems to work against it.

*

I spend a few days driving the Vz. 55 in ratings, and it’s a very mixed bag of results. With that kind of variance you have to assume the tank itself has very little to do with it, and I do struggle to make it work. It’s too sluggish to flank and brawl, it’s too weak to hold a position, and the gun is just unreliable. I’m not getting a lot of mileage out of the new mechanic either.

Trying to collect my thoughts for the summary I happen on a five game winning streak; the tank really putting it’s best foot forward. I don’t hate it; in fact I want to like it, and if it had just one thing going for it I would like it.

But these higher tier tanks feel underpowered to me, and that makes it hard to recommend grinding the Czech Heavy line for any other reason than collecting.

Conclusions?

So it’s Realistic. I kind of like Realistic battles, same as I like Skirmish; I mean it’s just fun and practice so who cares, right? I will confess I figured that without the hitskins people might struggle a little to pen the Vz. 55, and to some degree that’s true. But they will see the lower plate and the turret hatch, that’s kind of a no-brainer.

It feels like I am doing a little better, but that is not the thing that’s on my mind as I keep rolling out in the Vz. 55. I switch it up with my new Object 268 Version 4, and in a way these tanks are not so different as they’re both kind of situational. The difference is the 268 v. 4 is a stronger tank to begin with and the armour especially is much more reliable.

The thing that strikes me though, is that in spite of everything I keep pressing that button in the Vz. 55. I said before these tanks are all kind of charming, and because the 55 is at the top of a line that gets a little better with every tier while staying largely the same, it is of course the most charming one. I would have grinded this line anyway as a tank philosopher, as an enthusiast of the EU tech tree, as a connoisseur of no frills Heavy tanks, and of course I haven’t finished his paper yet. But it’s something else that makes me keep driving it, and this time it’s all about the tank.

There might be several reasons I would connect with the Vz. 55. First of all I love a 130 mm gun, especially at tier X. I am the very happy owner of both the Wz-111-5A and the Object 263 “Yolo Wagon”, as well as I think all the tier IX 130 mm offerings, so it’s very plausible I would have grinded the Vz. 55 simply on account of the main armament.

Also, I am a sucker for a generic Heavy tank. It doesn’t have to have a lot of bells and whistles to catch my interest; in fact the less the better. Case in point: my favourite IS spam tank is the WZ-111, my favourite tier X Heavy is probably the 5A, I always had a very soft spot for the IS-4, and let’s not even get into all those tier VIII 105 mm tanks. The Vz. 55 would have appealed to me simply by not being all that special.

I’m not sure I’d say the fact it’s Czechoslovakian swings me one way or the other.

So it looks cool, it has a 130 mm, and it’s just a regular Heavy tank. That’s easily enough to put it in my garage. But it’s not enough for me to keep pressing the battle button; I have plenty of 130 mm tanks I don’t drive. So what is it about this tank? Why haven’t I finished with it?

*

It’s partly to do with potential. These tanks could all be so good; if only this or that, and I think especially the Vz. 55. There are several things about it I like; you’ll be aware that sometimes the sum is greater than the parts even if none of the parts are all that great.

It’s also to do with personality, the elusive concept of “charm” I’ve kept going on about. I like the Vz. 55 in spite of everything; in spite of itself, even. In fact the only thing I don’t like about it is that it struggles to perform.

Back to potential, I am sure I’m not driving this thing to the utmost. It is a curious one to get your head around, especially since it doesn’t have a standout feature other than the reticule not expanding at low speeds, which in practice isn’t always that useful. But I keep pushing it too hard. The thing will leave other Heavy tanks in the dust, it gathers speed fairly quickly in a straight line unless there’s an incline. I think I have demonstrated very thoroughly it’s quite possible to be the first to reach the frontline and immediately get shot in the face/engine/driver/ammo rack. At the very least I should probably stop doing that. And speaking of ammo racks, We aren’t provided any information about the internal modules of the Vz. 55, but there’s an ammo rack in the front hull on the right hand side. Ask me how I know.

There’s no reason to assume the Vz. 55 is going to stay like his forever, no other tank in the game remains the same. And those who retain their character through numerous changes will see the rest of the game change around them. To say there is room for improvement here is I think a bit of an understatement. But hypothetical changes wouldn’t explain why I keep driving it, the reason simply being I feel the real room for improvement is in the there and now.

I drive a few more games ending with a Rating encounter on Hellas. It’s one of those great games that could have gone either way, no player on either team does less than a thousand damage, but we counter their Medium flankers before their Heavys and TDs can catch up and I end up with a second class medal for my 3K plus damage. The one conclusion I can draw with confidence is that I’m going to keep driving this tank.

So I will leave you with a thought from one of my clanmates, who said they for one were happy to se new tanks being introduced that weren’t overpowered. Looking a the latest drops; the 60 TP, the Minotauro, the Type 71, these are all very powerful tanks that immediately found their place at the forefront of the game meta. Can we really keep up that kind of arms race? I believe the answer is “no”, and we’ve all seen a lot of powerful-when-introduced tanks get hit really hard with the nerf bat within an update or two.

Sot what’s the final word? I’s a hard “maybe” from me. This has been a tough grind, and it’s not certain it’s going to be worth it for you; in fact there are a lot of reasons why it wouldn’t. But somehow I’ve still grown attached to the Vz. 55, which is a pleasant drive for all it’s failings.

IrmaBecx says think twice.

Chinese Light Tank Invasion!

Welcome To The Grind

By:

IrmaBecx

So the new update has dropped, and you know I’ve been excited about this one. A new branch of Chinese vehicles is always going to make me pay attention, and Light tanks are of course the class I aspire to and always have. I was a very early adopter of the world famous Type 62, a test driver of the Chinese Medium line, and I like to say I never met a Chinese premium tank I didn’t like except in terms of aesthetics.

I scraped together 630K free XP, and I figured with all the 50% off vouchers I have I’d be all set. But then I remembered the vouchers only cover the tanks themselves and not their modules. I have grinded the Type T-34 so I can unlock the 59-16 first thing, but then there’s like 45.000 XP worth of upgrades you need.

The WZ-131 is half off to unlock, but then it needs 70K XP to kit it out with modules. The WZ-132 needs 120K XP. And so on. In the end I manage to actually unlock the entire branch by not getting all the modules at lower tiers. The idea is that it won’t be possible to get into a tier VI or VII game the first day anyway, so I’m starting by grinding modules at tier VIII.

*

My first game out in the WZ-132 is uneventful. I go the Medium route on Fails Creek and end up getting taken out by camping TDs, but at least it’s a win. Second game I am shown, with emphasis, just how thinly armoured these tanks are by taking two hits from campers the first time I get spotted and losing 90% of my hitpoints.

And that is going to be a theme with these tanks, make no mistake. All the way from tier VI to tier X you will be exposed to some of the most enthusiastically calibered tanks in the game, and the best you’re going to do is like 35 mm of hull armour. At higher tiers simple statistics mean you are almost certain to face a US Light tank, these being the most driven in the game.

As soon as I’ve gotten tiers VII and VIII fully upgraded I start driving the IX and X and campaign all four tanks in Ratings. And you know, the first thing I have to say is all of these tanks remind me a lot of the Type 62; the have firepower and Chinese gun handling, they hit with authority but have kind of low shell speed, and they have that diesel feeling about their mobility that Chinese tanks almost always have. If nothing else the balancing alone must be considered a win for Wargaming, and for all Hype 62 enthusiasts out there. If you always wanted a Type 62 but couldn’t afford it, you can now drive the WZ-131 instead and have 90 to 95% of the Hype experience.

The pure loveliness of the drive almost makes me forget about high calibre bush campers. You don’t want to stay spotted anyway, and you don’t want to face off agains dug in enemies, you want the freedom and open spaces of the flanks, the sides and rears of busy enemies, and isolated targets about to get jumped by your teammates.

Case in point: I took my colleague Fugit’s advice and didn’t go the Medium route in a Falls Creek Encounter with my WZ-132 just now. Instead I waited behind the cap to spot the Heavys and TDs moving up towards the bridge and put them in crossfire, making sure they couldn’t flank through the middle. As the Mediums get spotted moving around the far flank, I push forward to attack the TDs in red spawn, creating a pincer movement and then there’s just the two flankers left to deal with.

*

So the entire line seems very coherent in terms of both feel and capabilities, and I would venture there is nothing the Type 62 can do that they can not. But they do have one more trick up their sleeve; the tier IX and X adaptive concealment. Three things you need to understand about that.

First, you will go unspotted three seconds faster. That means you can start relocating or setting up your next shot much sooner, and it makes it harder for dug in campers to get a shot off at you. Second, you will know immediately when you are spotted, again giving you a three second head start on everyone else. And finally, you will immediately know who spotted you, meaning you’ll have a better idea of where you need to go to get in cover.

This may all sound like small details and narrow margins, and it is. But these small details are what make Light tanks so successful in spite of themselves; they really don’t need to be very powerful at all and the Light tank camo mechanism will still make them work. So when you enhance that very mechanism, we must expect that is going to have a significant impact.

It’s still early days, but I can tell you the adaptive camouflage works as intended, and it’s going to be a dangerous weapon. People have a tendency to forget about you once you go unspotted, but they will also lie in wait to get a shot at you no matter how long it takes. You can start pulling back the second you get spotted instead of three seconds later, and you always know which tank to hide from. I will say I have no complaints about the weapons, being used to Chinese tanks the mediocre shell speed and gun depression doesn’t bother me. But understanding and using the camouflage mechanics is what really makes these tanks work, and if you’re not taking full advantage then the adaptive camouflage is just a gimmick.

How do you drive them? Light tank 101: spot and relocate, reset camo, trade distance for damage, run away from bad engagements, utilise the wide open spaces of the map, gang up on isolated opponents, play as if you only have a single hitpoint left so you can trade them for damage towards the endgame. It really is as simple as if you can drive one, you can drive another.

I set mine up with my standard combat loadout of double repair kits and speed boost, except the tier X WZ-132-1. It has the highest DPM of any tier X Light tank, so I thought it made sense to run adrenaline on that one. It also has calibrated shells because HEAT rounds and a refined gun because 0.277 dispersion with double food.

In terms of capabilities, my feeling is the Chinese Light tanks are not the outright strongest. But they are well balanced, they are powerful, and they lack for nothing. This is the essence of Chinese bias; it’s like Russian bias only a little more subtle. Everything about them is pretty good, and a few things are excellent. At tier X you’ll have tier leading DPM and aimtime, you’ll have a few more hitpoints than the others, and the second strongest turret after the T-100LT. I wouldn’t call it well armoured, but it’s fairly robust for a Light tank and you will sometimes get bounces off the front plate or side of the turret.

But yeah, 25 mm side armour will get overmatched by every single gun you will face. The side skirts and turret fencing do actually mitigate HE damage, but you can’t sidescrape anything except HEAT shells, and who’s going to fire HEAT at a Light tank with sideskirts? Taking those massive hits is part of the deal.

*

So what’s the verdict?

Well, I think i was practically a foregone conclusion I was going to be enthusiastic about Chinese Light tanks, and for my part they are everything I dreamed of. In spite of exploding heroically numerous times and leaving my popped off turrets all over the maps, I just can’t stop driving them.

But of course that doesn’t mean they’re for everyone. Driving Light tanks does require some basic skills and situational awareness, but here’s no substitute for practice, and if you are going to choose a Light tank line to grind you might just as well go Chinese as Russian or British. You like gun depression? Go for the Vickers. You want a little more armour and the best camo? Get the T-100LT.

I say this virtually every time I write about Chinese vehicles, but if you look at these tanks and all you see is Russian knockoffs then don’t bother with them, because in a sense that is exactly what they are. The Type 62/WZ-121 is a scaled down Type 59/WZ-120, which is a Chinese T-54, and the WZ-132 is a further development of the WZ-131 so it’s also a scaled down Chinese T-54. They lock like Chinese knockoffs because they are Chinese knockoffs, but they’re not cheap, inferior ones. Still, if you made the T-100 taller and put a diesel engine in it you would basically end up with a WZ-132-1; they’re not miles apart. And perhaps those subtle difference simply don’t appeal to you.

But if you want to get into some Light tank action, there are certainly worse places to be than in a Chinese one. The reason I always liked the Type 62 is that it’s simply a Light tank and nothing more, and I realise “it’s nothing special” is not a great sales pitch. These new tanks being what they are it’s difficult not to talk about them as a group, and there’s not all that much to say about them in the first place. These aren’t very complicated vehicles. I say that makes them easy to drive, you may think it makes them boring.

And it is a chore driving Light tanks a lot of the time, especially when you are grinding. People sit all game just waiting to get that one shot in that takes away all your hitpoints. People chase you down, drive straight through you because they know they just have to point their gun in your general direction to penetrate your armour. Light tank driving is the definition of “high risk, high reward”.

In general terms, Chinese Light tanks have good gun handling, good DPM, and slightly higher than average alpha damage for their tier. Their camo rating is middle of the road, but you do have the adaptive camouflage at tiers IX and X. None of them are going to simply plow straight through enemy team after enemy team, but they are quite powerful, easy to drive but hard to master, kind of robust for such thinly armoured vehicles, and remarkably consistent as you move up the line.

Okay, but which one is best?

Keeping in mind this is basically the same tank at different tiers, I do quite enjoy the tier VIII WZ-132. The tier IX is also a nice drive, and of course the tier X is the strongest by numbers.

So why would you choose the WZ-132 over the T-54 Lightweight or the LT-432? Well, you’d have higher alpha and better gun handling. Why would you drive the WZ-131 over the Type 62? Better alpha, quicker aimtime, and better camouflage. It’s the same comparing the 59-16 to the Type 64: better alpha, aimtime, and camo rating. There are arguments to be made for these tanks.

But me, I can’t really choose between them. I mean, you start at tier VI and then it’s the same design philosophy all the way up to tier X, I just love being able to drive the same style of tank at tier VI and VII I do at tier IX and X. Which one is best? They’re all the best, because they’re all the same tank. Why choose one when you can have them all?

With a gun to my head?

WZ-131. Because tier VII is the new tier X.

*

So yeah, it’s two thumbs up. As long as you realise these are Light tanks and they are pretty fragile, they’re not at all hard to figure out. I’m sure you can find something more exciting and flamboyant out there, but Chinese tanks were never about that. They are geared for comfort, consistency, and reliability; not for peak power.

If you struggle to make Light tanks work, the Chinese branch will have a lot of things to teach you and they’re certainly no harder to drive than any other Light tank. They don’t require any specialised skill set beyond the Light tank playstyle, and you can tell already at tier VI if it’s going to be worth it for you to continue up the line because it’ll be more of the same only at different tiers. If you have the Type 62, the only difference really is the tech tree tanks won’t have that gun depression. But most everything else; the firepower and mobility, the look and feel of the tank, is virtually the exact same.

Personally, I think that’s great. An entire tech tree branch based on everyone’s oldest favourite premium Light tank, completely in line with the philosophy and temperament of the rest of the Chinese tech tree.

There are a few issues to point out. While fairly robust, the hulls of all these vehicles are weak, they will take all kinds of module damage and catch on fire and explode on you all the time. I have bounced a few shells, but the norm is everything will go straight through. And while nothing about them is substandard, they’re not necessarily any better than other Light tanks at things like viewrange, camo rating, and traverse numbers. You will get outspotted, out camoed, outmanoeuvred, and outgunned by other Light tanks, especially while you’re grinding.

Also note that “diesel feeling” I talk about means Chinese Light tanks are a little slow to get going, and so they’re not super agile at lower speeds. This means they aren’t great at circling other tanks unless they’re really slow or don’t have fully traversable turrets. Getting up close and personal you are often better off side hugging and trying to get a bounce off the turret. These are light tanks in the quite literal sense, you want to be very careful who you try to ram with them.

And you can of course claim being nothing special is a negative. Not everyone is a super fan of the Hype 62 no matter how long it’s been in the game, and not everyone have been dreaming about driving one at tier X.

I don’t think the Chinese Light tanks will do wonders for your winrate, but they will at least improve your gameplay.

*

I always liked the Chinese tech tree, and a Chinese premium is my most driven tank in the game. For my money you can’t get a better daily driver than a Chinese tank, and I did pay actual money for my Hype 59 back in the day. Never regretted it for a second.

It’s possible this may have influenced my verdict to some degree.

But what I’m trying to argue is really only two things: this line is basically the Type 62 at tiers VI through X, and they are all great drives. You may disagree about the latter, but the former I think is fairly obvious.

You may want to drive the WZ-132-1 because it’s the latest thing. You may want to drive it because you like Light tanks, or Chinese tanks, or some other category it falls into. But the line should really be considered as a whole, because you’ll be hard pressed to find another branch in any tech three that is as remarkably consistent as this one all the way from tier VI.

My reason is the obvious one; I’m a sucker for the Hype Type, and here is an entire branch full of them. All the tiers I drive now have a tech tree Type 62 in them.

IrmaBecx says what a time to be alive!

The Contemporary 121B

Bench Seat Beater

By:

IrmaBecx

So to this day the Hype 59 remains my most driven tank in the game, I drove it before I drove the Object 140 when I first got my press account, and all these years later I still feel it was a good investment in spite of the monstrous price tag, because it offered a sensible introduction to Soviet Medium tank gameplay without all the grinding.

The Hype is just that – sensible. It has a sensible armour profile with slanted upper plate and rounded turret, a sensible diesel engine to move it around, and perhaps the most sensible 100 mm Medium tank gun in the game, if not outright mediocre. And if you give the Hype 59 a tier X makeover, what you’ll end up with is very probably the 121B which is about as sensible a choice as you could make if you wanted to get into tier X Medium tanks.

“Sensible” however, does no mean exciting, and unless you are a tier X medium tank degenerate like I am the thought of one that basically represents the exact mid point of any variable you care to mention might not seen super appealing. You take a Russo-Chinese Medium tank chassis with one of those wok pan turrets, and then you stuff a Chinese ripoff 105 mm L7A1 clone inside it. Done. I think that’s genius.

You may think it’s boring.

*

Look, if you want a sturdy tier X Medium that can hull down and put our damage there’s a perfectly good one in the tech tree, widely considered the low key best tier X Medium out there. And you have like five Russian varieties to choose from if you count the T-100LT, all with slightly different hull and turret configurations. 105 mm L7A1 clones are a dime a dozen on NATO tanks, and everyone knows the Leopard 1 Bordkanone is the best example. Again, why would you be excited by one that doesn’t outperform the others in any respect?

You look at the stats of the 121B, and literally nothing will stand out. Not a thing. Well, it has 300 mm HEAT pen which is joint highest in tier, but that’s joint with more than half the others. Here you will have to remember how Russian bias works, because Chinese bias is a lot like it only more subtle. There is not a single bad thing about the 121B either. Almost all the stats are in the top half or top third compared to other tier X Mediums.

So yeah, it’s a tier X Hype 59. Tier average weaponry. Tier average everything, and pretty robust for a Medium. You have that 120 mm front plate, but it’s not all that well angled so showing maybe 220 mm effective. Put some angle on it, and it’s quickly over 300. 80 mm sides that are basically flat with very small turret supports won’t get overmatched by any gun in the game. Turret front is around 300 mm effective, and the hatches maybe 250 mm, so not all that weak.

*

I bought my 121B with a generous helping of Wargaming gold, it was pretty much no cost. Even got the terrible looking golden camo for it. But I always loved the Type 59, and the 121B really is the same tank at tier X. Surely the attraction is self evident? It’s useless to compare it to the Russian Mediums, because the whole point of the 121B is to be different; to be Chinese instead. A little more gun, wok pan turret, and that Chinese mobility.

If you drive Chinese tanks already you’ll know what I mean by that. hey can be pretty fas, but they take a while to get going. They don’t like to climb hills or ford streams, but on the whole they’re pretty agile. I hit 64 km/h on a slight downhill straight on my way to the northwest corner of Ghost Factory just now; that’s Cromwell speed. Got there first, and held it too. I’s a tractor, an off road 4×4 and not a sports tank, a spartan utility vehicle that is fairly capable in any situation, city our country, desert or snow. The sort of tank that gets you wherever you want to go.

It’s also no secret I have a soft spot for Chinese tanks, and perhaps Medium tanks in particular. There is no way my review won’t be partial. But then all I’m saying is the 121B is a run of the mill daily grind beater just like the old Hype, your average work horse credit grinder premium.

What; you didn’t know this is an actual premium tank? Russian tier X Mediums give you maybe 85% credit coeffisient, and I think the collectibles are actually worse. But while the 121B isn’t quite a Type 59 in this regard, it does get 140%. Not that it matters a lot in this game economy, but it’s kind of nice all the same.

There aren’t many more ways to say it. It’s a Communist tank with a NATO sourced gun. If you have the slightest notion of Communist Mediums past tier VII or so, that should tell you everything you need to know.

*

So what’s it actually like to drive in the current climate?

Well… It’s nice. It’s quick enough to reach some spots and do some brawling, it can take a few hits and not fall to pieces, it puts out fairly consistent damage; and you know consistency is what the 121B is all about. It is what it says on the box. Does what you think it will do, over and over again.

I took mine out in a few Rating games as I mentioned, and I managed to win three of them by doing fairly simple things: fighting other Mediums, hull downing, flanking short and long, holding a position to give vision to TDs and not allow the enemy to advance, a bit of side scraping even. When finally we lost I actually went down against another 121B, it had the gold camo so I messed up five or six shots in a row and got completely outplayed. Couldn’t hit it, couldn’t pen it; nothing worked, it was just GG and thumbs up.

In the right circumstance the 121B can be quite a rowdy little number. Often simply by being a Medium, and one that isn’t really bad at anything at all Medium tank wise. Everything you try to do with it is going to work most of the time as long as you don’t try to make it do something outlandish. 

Also chances are you’re going to know how to drive the thing already, it does the “Russian thing” with the front plate and turret, and it has the exact same interior layout as practically any Soviet Medium past tier VIII: driver on the left, fuel tanks and ammo racks on the right, so show the left side if you can help it. If you consider the Type 59 is really a downtiered T-54, the 121B compared to the Russian seems slightly detuned for comfort in the same way. It’s not as highly tuned as my Object 907 sports tank, but it’s also not as fragile.

If you followed all that, this insight should inform your gameplay. You’re not necessarily going to outperform other Mediums except maybe in terms of turret armour, but you will be able to keep up with them in any regard. So you lean back and play patient, start relocating early, make sure to reset camo, everything you can do to give you an edge in level competition. Any Medium tank strategy or tactic will be possible to execute, and to me that is the appeal of Chinese tanks on the whole. Being unassuming in themselves they instead draw focus to the actual gameplay.

*

This is I suppose a love letter to the 121B. But then why wouldn’t it be? It’s a tier X version of my most driven tank in the game; a simple idea executed well.

For the sake of completion I bring out the main competition. You know the Object 140 is my favourite tank, but the 907 and I have been spending a lot of time together since I got my hands on one. .244 dispersion with the refined gun, fastest Russian on the market although that could also be the 140, but certainly a light weight sports prototype and the stealtiest in class.

For once my team actually goes northwest on Vineyards, I hit two beautiful HE shots on the gun shield of a Grille while capping B, and we own the corner. Relocate to start shooting at enemies over at A, but one of our Mediums goes down having advanced, so I move to replace it. Easy shots at stragglers before the encirclement is complete and the enemy evaporated.

So yea. My 907 is fantastic.

But again I don’t think the comparison is relevant beyond establishing differences, because the 121B quite clearly aims to be different. Downtuned. Consistent. Reliable. Laid back, even. If you want something more exciting you could go French or Russian, American even if you are so inclined. All kinds of sporty models out there. What we are looking at here is more of a touring tank.

So what’s the story here?

The 121B is a great tank with little to no weaknesses unless you consider six degrees of gun depression lacking, it’s a solid performer in the vein of the Type 59 and Russian Mediums but it’s also conspicuously Chinese if you know what to look for. It is perhaps not the most exciting of Mediums at tier X, but this lack of excitement is precisely what makes it so dependable; with everything set to medium-high nothing is bad about it. Mediocre or reliable? You decide.

And you can get everything the 121B has to offer and more in the tech tree, you can get a faster, more highly strung premium Medium, but you cannot get this exact thing: an Eastern bloc tank with a Western bloc gun. Is that worth 15.000 gold? Again, you decide.

If you like the Medium playstyle, your favourite credit grinder is a Medium, or you have a thing for Communistic tank design; if you are looking for a daily driver to last you through the years, and if you like Russian Mediums but somehow still feel 100 mm is just half a centimetre too wimpy, then the 121B was made for you. If you look at it and all you see is a Chinese knockoff made up of surplus tech tree parts, then not so much. It really is that simple.

Me, I love my 121B very dearly and I’ve enjoyed spending some time considering it’s place in the current meta. It’s two thumbs up with bells and laurel wreaths of course. IrmaBecx says whatever you may think of it, middle of the road will simply never go out of style.

Take it easy out there.

Object 260 Review!

The Pike Is Loose

By:

IrmaBecx

So the Object 260 is on sale today, and if I hadn’t owned it already I might have considered dropping all my scraped together free gold on one. 17.5K they want for it; that’s the plain jane version with the eastern bloc park bench interior, and that’s sort of a middle range price for a tier X collectible without the special camo.

Full disclosure: my Object 260 was free, I got it from one of those snow globes last year, and I got the snow globe itself from Wargaming. I don’t have the “Pike” camo, which I think runs you a little over 2500 gold at present without a discount, but I will own it one day because it fits the tank.

Now, this should immediately make you suspicious for several reasons. I am of course a WG lackey and collaborator, and so you should consider my endorsements with that in mind. It’s easy for me to say I would have bought a tank I already own; I’ve been meaning to buy the CDC for like six years, and the M4 Rev and many others. Just waiting for that really good deal, no? To add to your suspicion this is a Heavy tank, and not only that it’s a prototype for the IS-7; a tank which although respectful of I have outspokenly never, ever liked.

So what’s the deal? And by the way – isn’t this just a less powerful IS-7 without the grinding?

*

Clearly the IS-7 comparison is relevant, because the Object 260 is the direct predecessor. It’s the IS-7 Prototype. So you get a little less armour but a little more agility, a 122 instead of a 130, a shot trap turret, and you still have to deal with that pike nose. That part is easy to understand.

But the thing is, as much as I dislike the IS-7 I simply love the Obj 260, and that’s a bit of a surprise even to myself. I was inclined to drive it just because it’s not an actual IS-7, but I was expecting I’d come away with the feeling I wouldn’t kick one out of my garage. Considering I love the Object 140 and 907 but not the T-62A and am fairly indifferent towards the T-22, perhaps there is a sort of pattern here and again this part is easy to understand. The fact this is an Object 260 and not an IS-7 alone would be sufficient for me to like it.

My feelings on the IS-7 I think are fairly well known, but let’s use the analytical approach and consider what the IS-7 really is: namely a huge Medium tank. It’s not all that big for a SuperHeavy, and it’s certainly nippy although not especially agile. The reason it can cosplay a Heavy tank better than, say, a WZ-121, is simply they hung enough armour on it for you to basically just drive it straight at the enemy. This is the reason I never liked it: it’s just too easy to drive.

you won’t be surprised to hear me argue this is also the precise reason I love my Object 260. It’s true it has a smaller gun and less armour. That doesn’t make it less of a Heavy tank; but rather more of a Medium tank and that’s really the way I like my Heavys, I will drive anything that can do some Medium tank work in a pinch. The Object 260 goes further than that, it’s like it was made specifically for those instances of Medium tank gameplay. I would go so far as to say the less you treat it like a Heavy tank the more successful you will be.

This is not like the WZ-111 5A versus the WZ-113; same-same but different, this is the same tank in two different modes. The sports tank and the grand tourer.

*

And you know, everyone likes a sports tank. You just have to make sure that’s what you need for the job at hand. You wouldn’t buy a sports car for heavy transport, you’d buy a truck. So if you like slogging it out face to face with the big game out there, then maybe the IS-7 is a better fit. Or perhaps the Lewandowskiego.

If you enjoy other Heavy tanks with strong streaks of Medium DNA you’ll like this one too. And if you really like your IS-7 then there’s really no reason why you wouldn’t like the 260 as well because it many ways it is a similar tank. The straight line speed. The pike nose. The black hole spaced armour along the side. You will already know how to use the armour profile, and really driving a pike nose tank isn’t all that complicated. You just have to keep cool and point it straight at the enemy.

There are three important differences between the 260 and the IS-7, corresponding to the three balancing categories of armour, speed, and firepower respectively. Concerning the latter the Object 260 is clearly superior; DPM and gun handling are both noticeably better and you get HEAT rounds instead of APCR with slightly higher penetration, although not as high as the IS-4. It’s faster, more powerful and agile. But it’s not quite as robust with main armour 40 mm thinner and fewer hitpoints. It doesn’t have that cockroach carapace you can stomp on all day to no avail.

So it’s a bit of a different tank. Like the E6 versus the E5, or the Chieftain Mk VI versus the Super Conqueror you trade agility and firepower for brawn, and this will allow some elements of Medium tank playstyle.

I set my Object 260 up with my usual combat loadout: calibrated shells and speed boost, double repair kits and double food. My ammo loadout is 23/13/8. Don’t forget to bring some HE shells, because of course there is a bit of Russian Bias going on. You get the same 68 mm HE pen the IS-7 130 mm does, meaning 75 mm with calibrated. Tier standard for a sub 130 mm is 60 mm.

And then I just rolled out. It’s not a very complicated vehicle.

*

I end up on Dead Rail with just one Light tank against two Mediums. But I’m a Medium at heart, no? If we don’t hold the high ground those two Mediums will pick us apart, so I make my way up there. I’m not going to outspot a Medium tank and get lit up before I reach the rocks. Looking sideways I see a WZ-121 and throw a shot towards it; a speculative shot that actually hits the tank but bounces off. Fully expecting to take a hit, the return shot instead ricochets harmlessly off my tank.

Now, this shouldn’t be possible. That 121 has the fastest aimtime in the game, I’m maybe 70 m away and showing at most 135 mm side armour. All I can figure is there was a slight downward angle, and the shell bounced off either the underside of my spaced side armour or hit the very top of the turret. It’s a completely bullshit troll bounce, but I’ll take it. Unfortunately our Vickers goes middle so I’m expecting to be alone against the 121 and an Object 140, but the WZ doesn’t want to fight a Russian Heavy up close and retreats. We own the high ground.

I am taking fire from across the map, no use staying here. Their TDs are taking a beating down towards the middle so I flank around getting behind their Jägeru, but now I’m in a hurry being pounded by the Medium tanks. Turning around and dipping down I inexplicably bounce the killshot off the 121, but once it’s gone I can get hull down against the 140 and take it out.

And that’s the game. We pushed through the flank, took out their spotters and support tanks and now there are three Heavys surrounded in the bowl by our spawn left to mop up. It’s basically a slaughter.

Now, if those Mediums had contested the high ground together they could have taken me down. I can’t point my armour straight at two tanks at once, and they both have excellent firepower. But relocating and then letting us corner them instead meant victory for us.

Next game is a disaster, I don’t even want to talk about it.

But then it’s time for Alpenstadt, it’s Supremacy and we have a tier IX Vickers Cruiser against a red E50M. Otherwise the teams are evenly matched with three Heavys and TDs, so going the Medium route is a risky move. But the ÜberPanther is a very dangerous tank, so I move towards A hoping to get a shot in before it reaches the houses on  the hill.

A K-91 on the red team as the same idea of supporting the Medium flank, I manage two shots before it’s in cover and the E50M is right behind it, I miss my shot at it. So now they have the corner and we have no D support, but I can put some pressure on them by starting to cap. They will either poke and we’ll have them in a crossfire, or we’ll get the cap and then I can start getting in their face.

Naturally things don’t go as planned. Both red tanks push forward, I hit the E50M in the side as it charges the Vickers CR, but I decide to go for the K-91 which is on lower HP. Take two shots and have to resurrect my driver, but now my speed boost is off cooldown and it’s short work taking out the K-91 while it’s reloading. Unfortunately our Vickers goes down having brought the E50M down to almost a one shot for me and it does indeed take two shots to take it out. his whole exercise has cost me 2000 hipoints, but we own the flank, we own the cap, and so I start capping.

But there’s no time, a VK 45.02 B is attaching or E4 right in front of me so I leave the cap and go help out. Only two tanks left so I farm a bit of damage and end up with over 4K damage and a first class. Piece of cake really; at least in the tactical sense.

Not going to get long winded about these honestly fairly mediocre games, but the fact is we probably would have lost both of those games if no one had paid attention to the flank. The Heavy tank meta is going strong, especially in tier X Ratings, but a single Medium tank that owns the flank can completely wreck even the best laid plans.

*

The day after I roll out again, and it’s about the same story with two wins out of three. With the rebalancing of the tier X Heavy tanks the 260 does now feel lighter on it’s feet than a lot of same tier Heavys, and out on the flanks it doesn’t feel fragile at all. I also stand by this being a Medium tank in disguise, again racking up almost 4K just by going A cap on Castilla and then putting the base campers in a cross fire.

170 games I’ve put on my 260, more than on my IS-4 but nowhere near as many as on my 111 5A, and of course I don’t have an IS-7. I have to say I’m very pleased with it, just a great tank without a lot of bells and whistles.

Here’s where you should start getting suspicious again, because I am a Medium tank player at heart, and the only Heavy tanks I do like tend to be for specific reasons. One of those reasons is mobility; I will choose fast over brawny every time. Another one is just being a regular tank, a bog standard, daily driver type beater that does what it says on the box and nothing more. Neither, I would assume, makes the Object 260 sound more appealing to a player without my particular tastes.

But the essence of Russian bias is a conspicuous lack of serious drawbacks, you may think that’s boring and in the case of the Great Bias Beast-7 I would agree, but what it actually means is being pretty good at virtually everything, and then often you will have something you do really well on top of that.

And it’s true I am a Medium tank degenerate, but that doesn’t change the fact mobility is one of the most powerful advantages in the game and one of the most important factors in balancing. Very often WG will dial back a strong vehicle by limiting the top speed, engine power, or making it traverse slower. Likewise they will often buff those same things when a tank has been power crept or doesn’t perform so well.

But yeah. As much as I dislike the Bias-7, I have remained one of it’s staunchest defenders against the charge of obsolescence, and I still say it’s one of the tanks you should consider for your first tier X because it’s powerful and it’s easy to drive, plus you get some truly hilarious troll bounces off that cockroach carapace – I’m talking point blank, high calibre, straight from the side, and the round will just disappear into some dark vortex of spaced bias and non-Euclidian angles.

So I’m not going to pretend the IS-7 isn’t the logical choice, no one actually needs the collectible pre production model.

There are a few reasons why you might still consider one. A lot of people complain about the IS-7 gun being derpy, and the 260 gun is much snappier, has higher standard shell speed, better skill round penetration, and better accuracy. You might wish your IS-4 or IS-7 wasn’t quite so sluggish. Or as I said you may really like your IS-7, and be curious about a tank that is both similar and different.

It’s an extravagance. I spent months and months scraping together my hoard of gold from missions and events, and this would have put a big hole in it. However, as extravagances go this one strikes me as fairly reasonable; it’s a great tank that’s easy to drive, looks good, drives well, and the “Pike” camo I think is just the right side of ostentatious.

Two thumbs up, no doubt. Tank Philosophy seal of approval. IrmaBecx says if you sometimes wish your Heavy tank wasn’t quite so… Heavy, this might be the tank for you.

See you out there.

Skoda T 45 Quick Review

Help! I Have A Skoda T 45!

By:

IrmaBecx

So as I start writing this I am less than ten games away from getting my free Skoda Heavy tank. I seem to recall I test drove it a while back, and it turns out I did. The way I remember it, the Skoda T 45 is a perfectly reasonable tier VII Heavy not unlike the Polish, German, and perhaps to some extent Japanese tech tree equivalents.

As you know this is a simple grind event, win games and after a while you get a free tank. I think that’s great, some of my most favourite tanks came virtually for free in events like this. But I’m not going to pretend testing the little Skoda left a lasting impression beyond “it’s nice” and I liked the look of it. So if you are short on time or ability, is it really worth it to force yourself to play more than you would for a free tier VII Heavy?

I mean; free tanks are free. Why would you not want one? Heavy tanks are generally easy to drive, and as I said I think this one looks pretty cool. It has some sensible angles and a rapid firing 88 mm. But we’ll get into the details later, I have to go grind out the actual tank first.

From experience, I do suspect not all people will be wildly enamoured with this one. 122 mm is still virtually tier standard at tier VII; 105 mm at the very least, and considering things like the Smasher it seems a lot of people just can’t be bothered building their damage over time. Also this is a reasonable tank as far as I remember, and of course some people refuse to drive anything that isn’t blatantly overpowered.

The Skoda T 45 is not that.

*

Not very many games later I am at last in posession of my very own T 45. It’s not a huge tank, but well proportioned and both the turret front and upper glacis are fairly well angled. 37 km/h isn’t blisteringly fast, but it’s above average for the tier and class. On flat ground both the turret and upper plate are presenting about 220 mm of effective armour, full gun depression and a little side angle and it’s more like 280-300 mm.

So yeah, that’s not super impressive perhaps. But on paper at least the tank has everything it needs, and I’m expecting it to respond well to basic Heavy tank tactics. The armour isn’t formidable, but it’s thick enough not to get overmatched by bigger guns and it should be able to sidescrape anything you face no problem.

I’m loading it up with a sandard combat loadout, running calibrated shells because it gets HEAT, and I’ll trade a third of a second reload for almost 270 mm HEAT pen any day. Ammo loadout is 31/19/9 I think, the thing carries 60 rounds. Let’s find out what it can do, no?

First game out is a disaster, of course. The team splits on Port Bay, leaving us to fight the entire team by C cap. Their Panther 2 holds the corner and we get humiliated, they simply drive straight through us.

Next game is better, I trade shots with a Tiger 2 while capping on Faust, managing to penetrate the roof and turret front repeatedly and deny them the cap while bouncing a few rounds off my upper plate. Finally the Tiger gives up and retreats, but by then we’ve broken through and it’s a win.

Third game it’s back to disaster. Team splits again, this time on Canals. I manage to reach A cap, coming face to face with an IS-2 (1945). Bounce the first shot off the side, but put all mine through the lower plate. I eat two shots before I’ve chewn through it; it would have been great if one of my teammates had fired a single shot in support. I took a 128 mm to the side getting there, so that’s basically me out of commission. But this little thing can bite back, it just can’t carry a tier VIII game against 13 people.

I play a few games of rating battles, get offered the “Skvely” camo for a thousand gold, and who needs a new tier X premium tank anyway? It looks pretty cool, so I pay for it like the sucker I am.

I did have a few tier VII games playing the regular mode, but tier VIII is the norm, so ratings aren’t all that different. I see a handful of other T 45s out there, and you know it’s a bog standard Heavy with a quick reload so I can totally understand campaigning it in ratings. Even spamming the skill rounds at that Tiger 2 I made off with 30-40 thousand credits.

Maybe it’s just me but I actually had a few really good games. The armour is super easy to use, and it does bounce a lot of the time if it’s angled and hull down. My one complaint with the gun is the shell speed; HE and HEAT rounds you are down to 600 m/s, that’s even worse than my Chinese knockoffs. But those 88 mm HEAT punch through most anything you put in front of them, and against a big, lumbering target your mobility is enough to bait a few shots. With a five second and change reload you will quickly wear them down if they’re not paying attention.

*

So should you get the Skoda T 45? Yes, of course! It’s basically a free tank if you’re playing the game anyway. And it’s a solid tank, if not very flamboyant.

What about if you don’t have time to finish the event and you have to spend some gold to ransom it? Still yes, but with the caveat if you don’t like low calibre guns and you think Heavy tanks are boring then this one may not be for you. I’d say it’s worth dropping a little gold on. Not a lot.

If you don’t have a lot of premium tanks, is this one worth going for? Also yes; it’s easy to drive with a very sensible armour profile that will tech you some really good Heavy tank habits; hide the lower plate, use your gun depression, angle the side armour.

So is this like the new best tier VII Heavy tank? Not on your life, although it’s only winning one percent less games on average than the Smasher at the moment. That’s all going to change when you get more regular players driving the T 45 out there. Is it perhaps my favourite tier VII Heavy tank, then? That’s more difficult, because although I like my Chinese IS-2 and my Habicha and my Ju-To, I don’t really have a favourite as such. But if I did, it might well have been something like this.

Okay, so lets say I managed to get hold of a Skoda T 45. What do I do with it?

Well, that’s easy, you follow the Heavy tank doctrine. Push forward to gain ground, tank damage so your team won’t have to, learn to use your armour profile by angling, sidescraping, and finding hull down positions, and don’t pick fights against much bigger, stronger, and meaner tanks unless you have plenty of backup.

The T 45 has a few things going for it. It’s actually among the faster tier VII Heavy tanks although it’s not very agile or powerful, but that’s not saying much to begin with. I like to call tanks like this “faster than you think they are”. It also has a hefty slug of hitpoints, one or two hundred more than similar tanks. And with almost a hundred mm of armour all aross your side you don’t have to worry about high caliber guns simply overmatching when you are sidescraping.

Looking at the T 45 from a same tier Medium or Heavy tank basically the whole turret and upper plate will be red. The hatch is a weakspot, but it’s between 100 and 150 mm effective, so not a clean shot for most tanks. The top of the hull and underside of the overhang above the tracks is only 20 mm, that will get overmatched by pretty much every gun you face. If they switch to premium rounds then very probably they will start going through your turret face, but not necessarily your upper plate. Calibrated shells can make the difference here, but if you are leaned back looking down at them they still won’t go through.

And then you just keep the gun firing. With 210 alpha it’s going to tak a few shots to build your damage, but try not to spend your hitpoints unnecessarily.

*

So yeah. On paper this is a pretty run of the mill little tank, basically the very definition of mediocrity. But apart from being slightly low on power, having a low alpha weapon, and armour that isn’t completely idiot proof, there just aren’t any serious drawbacks. 

I don’t think the Skoda T 45 is a must have, but I do like it. It’s a cool little tank; it’s easy to drive, looks good, works well, and I already had some fun with mine.

Just now I made my way to the mill on Malinowka, and rounding the corner there’s a Tiger I, T28 Defender, and VK 100.01 (P), all in cover or hull down. That’s well over a thousand damage I’m facing every time I poke my nose out. But wait a minute, why would I poke my nose out? I have almost 100 mm side armour, none of them are going to go through that even with skill rounds. They may hit the turret, sure, but it’s a small target. So I just set up a side scrape and keep lobbing HEAT rounds at the Tiger until it goes down, then start on the T 28. They just can’t pen me, and so they are stuck in place until they get overrun.

Some of my clan mates aren’t quite so impressed with the T 45, and I can understand that. This is not some amazing new tank with bells and whistles and probably wings too, it’s just a run of the mill EU Heavy. But if you know how to use it, you try to mitigate it’s downsides and just generally execute the Heavy tank doctrine sensibly, it rreally leaves nothing to be desired.

Me, I like tier VII. A lot of my most favourite tanks in the game are at that tier. So I suppose I am more inclined towards a mid tier premium like this. I also like tanks that are uncomplicated, work horse daily driver type tanks that you can beat on all you want and they keep on going. T-44-85. Hype 62. Any EU tech tree Medium. Chinese knockoff IS-2. And in the company of all those favourites, the Skoda T 45 may not exactly stand out but it does deserve it’s place among them.

Look, it’s two thumbs up from me, with seal of approval and extra style points for the flag camo. But it’s not a universal recommendation; this tank will not be for everyone either because of the low alpha weapon, the frontal armour not being completely impenetrable, the lacklustre engine power, or simply because the Heavy tank playstyle is not a good fit.

IrmaBecx says get those last few wins in, the tank is worth it.

CS-52 LIS Quick Review!

The Fox

By:

IrmaBecx

So the Fox is loose. “Lis” means “Fox” in Polish, and this is the second Polish Medium int he game. I just dropped all the gold I owned to get one so I could tell you all about it. That’s not a joke by the way.

You can get the Polish Fox for like six or seven K, and as always thats subjective whether it’s worth it or not. Like 100% of my stash comes from free WG stuff so I’m not really crying over it, but there’s no reason for me to drop all that gold. I could just log in to my press account. But I drove the little fox in testing, and I’ve actually been looking forward to getting my hands on one for myself.

I had no idea it was going to be this easy. Happy birthday, wargaming.

*

So why would I get excited about this unassuming tank? My friend and colleagues say it’s a free tank so don’t expect too much, which is a hundred percent true. But then this is a well put together package, and it has the novelty of a higher than average alpha, which is sure to make a difference at tier VII where Medium tanks more often than not have a 75 mm gun and not a 100 mm like the Fox.

So if you thought the Konstrukta T-34/100 looked too much like a T-34-85 and not enough like  a T-44, then here is your chance to drive a 100 mm with a really raked front plate. Or if you thought your T-44-85 just lacked a bit of punch, this tier VII Medium has a but more power out of the 100 mm.

Me, I love a tier VII Medium. And like I said I drove this one in testing, so I already feel comfortable encouraging you to try to get your hands on it. But I really am excited to do so myself because this is a cool little tank.

How cool is it? Well, it has a thicker front plate than the T-44-85 at a steeper angle, but the whole thing is larger, so the lower plate is a bigger target. It has big fat tracks and side skirts that eat High Explosive rounds, and I mean it’s not really all that fast. Or has good camo. Or DPM. But it’s just not really bad at anything either, and it has that higher than usual alpha that will allow it to trade well and land a few HE shots against flimsy targets. That really is all this tank is about.

You know tier VII is a cesspit, right? I don’t have to tell you why. But it also has some of my absolute favourite tanks in the game; there’s a great selection of Light and Medium tanks, including the “Best Tank In The Game®” T-34-85 “Rudy” as well as the new contender, the T-44-85. Looking at the EU tech tree you have three flavours of higher than average alpha Medium, and the Polish Fox has a lot in common with these tanks I’ve mentioned: big gun, fairly robust armour, and acceptable mobility. If you can drive a T-44-85, you can drive the Lis.

*

I’m running my regular combat setup of speed boost and double repair kits, and the Fox does feel slower than my Russians as I roll out. It’s bigger and heavier, so that’s fair I suppose. I’m quite used to working with six degrees of gun depression, and if you just hide the lower plate and angle up a little you are going to get a few bounces. Except for a little shelf below the turret the sides are completely flat slabs of 70 mm armour, and the tracks and skirts will eat Heavy tank HEAT rounds out to almost 40 degrees side angle. The turret may look sturdy, but any tier VIII Heavy worth it’s salt will punch through the front with ease. Against tier VII it’s a different story; they will need to switch to premium rounds.

And with the celebration going on it’s a mixed bag out there. I end up getting wrecked with low damage a few times, but other battles I manage to put a big enough dent in the red team for us to pull off the win. Once or twice I even have a memorable game.

Driving the Polish Fox you need to pace yourself. Penetration is about average for this kind of caliber, and with AP/APCR the calibration increase isn’t all that much. I get a nine second and change reload dropping around 140 DPM. But like I said it’s all about making those good trades, meaning you put out almost 300 damage every ten to fifteen seconds or so without taking any in return.

That’s all there is to it.

*

So if you’re not a jaded tank philosopher with a penchant for tier VII Mediums, is the CS-52 Lis still worth it?

Yes. If you get it for free, then of course it’s worth it. If you have to pay a small amount of gold, then it’s still worth it. But what about paying almost 7000 gold? Is that worth it?

Maybe. For me it was, because I don’t want to spend time worrying about my damage output right now, and I did really want the tank. I was paying for convenience.

And there is a lot to like about the Polish fox; I keep wanting to call it little fox, but it’s not really all that little, is it? You got that high alpha, and working with a slightly higher than average calibre is more comfortable. The armour plating will get you a few bounces. Mobility isn’t stellar, but it does get there in the end. Personally, I think it looks cool as well.

If you think the tank looks unassuming, then you’re probably right about that. There isn’t really anything this tank can do that you couldn’t find in the tech tree or broad selection of premium and collectible vehicles. But it is a nice tank, and I’m happy to have it all the same.

The CS-52 Lis will put your driving into focus, because it’s not really better than other tanks at anything specific. You have a couple of strong points, but you have to make them work all on your own. You can’t just blast around circling people to death; you’ll need to work from cover, reset camo, angle the armour, and make sure your shots count or it won’t perform.

But yes, I am delighted with the Polish Fox. Tank philosophy seal of approval. Irmabecx says ask yourself if you need a small Polish mammal in your life. You just might find you do.

Keiler Quick Review!

The Wild Boar

By:

IrmaBecx

So if you think the new tier VIII German premium Heavy tank looks suspiciously familiar, then that’s because it is familiar. In the simplest of terms this is an E75 TS with a Löwe turret, and if you are looking for a middle caliber Heavy tank at tier VIII, then you’re not exactly starved for choice.

It’s in crates, so I am of course going to recommend you wait for a better offer.

But yea, this is a well established style of tank in the game. The venerable Löwe should of course be in everyone’s garage, the newer E75 TS is a strong contender with it’s black hole side armour and tier IX upper plate, the tech tree Tiger II has been buffed into stardom and is often seen in rating battles. You can even get a French variant or an American equivalent with a rear mounted turret and a big engine.

I always aspired to be a Löwe driver one day, and i got the TS a while back in some event. The tech tree VK 45.02 A has Tungsten shells now, so of course I picked one up. I’d like to have the “French Tiger” with the Tricolore camo, but really these tanks are like IS spam; same-same but different with generally fairly minor tradeoffs. Speed. Penetration values. Armour profile. Traverse.

But the Löwe of 2022 is the Buffest it’s ever been, there’s simply no denying it’s a successful style of tank, not just a prevalent one. I’ve said for many years everyone should drive a Löwe; indeed my first act as a Community Contributor was to give one away for free. But if you like the boxy turret and tier IX hull of the E75 TS, or prefer some 100 mm French flair in your life, then that’s fine too. Again just like with the IS spam; you really only need one, but one of them may also fit your driving style better than all the others.

*

So what are these tradeoffs? It’s very simple. You get joint top speed in class, good mobility, high penetration, a rounded turret, and although this looks suspiciously like a Tiger II gun, you get 350 alpha instead of 310 like all the others. You also have a more powerful HE round, and german 105 mm guns have high alpha HE to begin with. 450 alpha means a 560 or thereabouts max roll with full penetration

For this you pay a bit of side armour,  a bit of aimtime, a bit of gun depression, and a bit of DPM.

No surprises at all, except for the alpha damage. This has become more and more common as a way to balance tanks, and I do think it’s working. 350 alpha made the M4 Revalorisé more comfortable to play, and you will trade better in the “wild boar” as well. Side armour is thinner than the TS, but it’s still 100 mm, and you still have those giant HEAT shields. Gun depression is “only” 8 degrees, but that paid for your tier IX upper plate, and the Löwe has 8 degrees too, so…

If you can drive a Tiger II, or a Löwe, or an M4 49, you can drive the Keiler too. It’s not quite as frisky as the Porsche of the French Tiger, but it’s pretty nippy for a German Heavy. And it may be lighter than the TS; but if you get it up to speed then that’s still 80 tons of ramming power, and they won’t dent your 15 centimetre upper plate.

*

So should you get the Keiler; meaning later, when it comes for sale in a regular bundle?

If you have the E75 TS, then be advised the tanks are very similar. But if you think it’s a little bit cumbersome moving around, and you keep getting penned through your flat turret front, then the Keiler will have things to offer you, plus it doesn’t have that same old Tiger II gun.

What about as your first Heavy tank of this style? No problems. It’s definitely not rocket science to drive a big, boxy sidescraper like this, and the rounded turret means you don’t have to learn that angle outwards thing; you just wiggle the turret a little or keep it pointed straight at them.

Is the Keiler perhaps the best tier VIII German style Heavy? No. The Löwe is. Or the TS. Or perhaps the Tiger II now that I think about it. Stats say it’s the French variant actually, or the T54E2 if you want to be like that about it. Chrysler K does well also, not surprising since it’s so mobile.

But look at these other tanks we are comparing it to, and it does compare well. These are all vehicles well known for their reliable performance, and there are really only minor differences between them. Make no mistake, the Keiler is a powerful tank. If you hate facing the TS and the King Tiger out in the wild, you’re going to hate this one too.

A personal reflection perhaps? Yea, I like the Keiler. I don’t really feel I need one, but I definitely wouldn’t kick it out of my garage, and I would drive it if I got hold of one. I always loved the Löwe turret, and you know it doesn’t really take much more than an offbeat alpha damage number to get me interested.

Bottom line?

IrmaBecx says the Keiler is solid, but wait for a better offer.

The US Medium Experience Pt. 1

The Pershing

By:

IrmaBecx

So I managed to be a little discourteous about my feelings for American tanks to a reader asking an honest question lately, and upon sober reconsidering I have to admit I was wrong to.

In fact it’s a good question. What’s up with US Mediums?

For my part I fell out of love with them around 2016. Before that all I cared about was tier VIII Mediums, and I meant to have a complete collection of them one day. But the more I learned about the game, the less enthusiastic I became about the way American Medium tanks were balanced, and besides it was really the tier IX Patton that was the cool one back then because it has the big DPM.

Funny that, no? Because the Pershing now has the highest DPM of any tier VIII Medium. And I mean, it’s not like I drive my M60 at all. What do I know about the current state of US Medium tanks?

In theory I know quite a bit. I’ve had the M60 since it first came out and I used to drive the M48 back when it had the machine gun hatch on top and really like it. I know the stregths of the SuperPershing, Eagle 7, and the T23E3, even the T95E2. But what do I know about the actual tech tree tank; the Pershing?

Not a thing. So I bought one.

*

I used to have a T20. That’s the one you have to grind after the Shermans to get the Pershing. And back in the day the reason you did was to get to the Pattons, but the T20 was always a weakly armoured Medium with a 90 mm a tier VII. That’s not super hard to figure out; classic Medium doctrine or reset camo, relocate or die, and make your shots count to build damage. Me, I threw some spare free XP and credits at it.

Then what happens? Well, you get a tank that looks suspiciously like a T32 or the T26E5 “Sheriff”, which I suppose isn’t so strange. It has a 90 mm gun that points down ten degrees and a bit of gun mantlet. But then most tier VIII Mediums have around 2000 DPM or so, and this one is pushing almost 2800. That’s a substantial difference. I does almost 50 with almost 20 hp/ton, and the traverse isn’t stellar. I’d be lying if I said I was excited.

So it’s a hull down tank. Using full gun depression you are showing around 200 mm effective armour frontally, that should be enough to work with. I slapped some standard camo on it, loaded it up with my standard combat loadout, and I guess it’s time to put my new tank where my mouth is. Oh, and I should say I’m not expecting miracles out of the box, because I need to grind the crew to 100% first. Also I am running adrenaline to max out the DPM.

Here we go.

*

So the thing is, even at 75% crew the Pershing feels pretty mobile. It doesn’t have that driving through mud feeling stock tanks sometimes have. Also I manage to win 4 out of 5 games right off the bat just by doing simple hull down stuff. That is with top modules, but I am missing stuff like viewrange, turn speed, DPM, dispersion et cetera. Those five games also have the crew up to 85% already with liberal use of my extensive collection of boosters, so once you get the top modules unlocked this should be a fairly casual grind.

90 mm weapons don’t quite exhibit the same variety some other calibers do, and this is a bog standard tier VIII Medium tank gun only it fires a little faster. Penetration is all right, not the highest in class, but you have to love that five second reload. Running adrenaline I was actually able to out-DPM a Progetto 46 once it was down to reloading the last shell. That also had a bit to do with the armour plating. The Pershing will bounce fairly consistently in a hull down situation, and it does get randoms off the front and sides. It’s pretty robust, I must say.

Fifteen games later I’m up to 90% crew and running a 67% winrate. Sure, I’ve seen mostly tier VIII action, but still; that’s not bad at all for still grinding it.

Why is this? Well, the firepower id good. Mobility is good. Armour plating is good. We like to call that “a conspicuous lack of weaknesses”. Also it’s a pretty easy tank to drive if you know about the hull down playstyle, which in all honesty isn’t rocket science.

Some early impressions, bearing in mind it’s still not fully upgraded? It’s better than I thought. Easy to drive for sure. Better at brawling than I expected. I’d like to see a little more tier IX action, but so far I’d say this is a pretty powerful tier VIII Medium tank.

*

While I soldier on to get the crew maxed out, who might be a candidate for driving US Mediums? Tier VIII is about where Mediums usually come into their own, and grinding out a tier VIII tank isn’t all that difficult these days. It’s a reasonable goal. But is the Pershing a reasonable tank?

Sure. It’s an easy drive and quite powerful, so I wouldn’t say it’s a high threshold vehicle. But then neither is the T-44 or the T-34-2, or even the P.44 Pantera, really. But then the Pershing wins about as many games as they do on average, so they’re not necessarily stronger tanks.

But other than being slightly noob friendly, the Pershing has a few key strengths that may appeal to the experienced player. The high DPM does actually make a difference; you get the last shot off earlier in a brawl saving your skin, you land two shots at range instead of one, you hit that last second speculator before they disappear around the corner because you were already reloaded. Lots of situations like that.

I usually say DPM is an overrated statistic, but what I really mean is that it’s not hard to work around low DPM. Having the best DPM is obviously an advantage, and especially when your tank otherwise shows a conspicuous lack of downsides. You know; like the Pershing for example.

The Pershing is a workhorse; robust and functional, purpose built to do what it does. It’s brawny enough that it will forgive you a few bum rushes and ill advised decisions; even on flat ground out in the open you will sometimes get a bounce or two. While that may not sound super exciting, it does allow for some inspired gameplay. You can milk your strengths and play careful, or you can try a few sneaky plays and leaps of faith, the Pershing will be up for it.

*

25 games in the crew is maxed out, I have a First Class medal, and I’m running 60% winrate or so. That’s above my average. Driving a few more the Pershing keeps on performing, there’s no question this is a good tank. Doing 2000 damage is pretty easy with some good positioning and a bit of hull down work. I’ve gotten away from a few 1v1 situations I didn’t think I would, and I’m back up to 67% wins.

So how good is it?

Well, I’d say the Pershing is one of the best tier VIII tech tree Mediums you can get your hands on right now, and I certainly didn’t expect that. But with the ease of driving and robustness alone it’s already going to score high, and then you have that tier leading DPM as an added bonus. Really, I should have expected this tank would be very strong.

Is it fun?

Sure. It’s fun because it works, and it’s easy to make it work. It’s not one of those super challenging finesse vehicles, but a daily beater you can drive hundreds of games in and just get better and better at playing to your strengths, or your lack of weaknesses as it were. I want to say it’s still a vehicle that is geared towards the average, but I can’t honestly say that makes it boring to drive.

And the thing is, I’m already halfway to the M46 Patton, so I may pick one of those up too in a while. That one has some pretty expensive modules, but I did always want one back in the day, and better late than never, no? Also. An M46 Patton would sooner or later turn into an M48 Patton, a tank I always liked. My rationale for not having one has always been I have the M60 already, but then I don’t actually drive i, so surely there’s space in my collection for the tech tree version?

But that’s me. Should you get a Pershing?

Yes. It’s a great drive, a good place to start learning some hull down tactics, and the thing is robust. You could do a lot worse for your first tier VIII Medium. And with the caveat I haven’t driven the M46 in quite a long while, the M48 at least is a very solid proposition; really the only tier X Medium tank you need.

We’ll see what happens. But the Pershing is a keeper, take my word for it. I bought it expecting uninspiring, mediocre gameplay, but it’s been nothing of the sort. I’m not going to start filling up my garage with American tanks, but I am glad to have this one.

IrmaBecx says I don’t see why you wouldn’t be too.

Last Minute Mutz Shoutout

The Bear Is Here!

By:

IrmaBecx

So you have one day and a few hours left to decide if you want a Swiss bear in your life, and if you are in the throes of indecision I’m here to give my opinion on it. I wrote a little less than a year ago there’s not a whole lot to recommend the Pz 58 Mutz except it’s a cool tank and it can sometimes be a really great drive. I also wrote it wasn’t quite where I was at as a tank driver back then, but that I might still get it because I love the IndyPanzer and I always really liked the Mutz too.

To make a long story short I have now bought myself one. I hoard my free Wargaming gold for precisely this sort of opportunity, and when I saw the full bundle with double cheese and extra boosters for a mere five and a half thousand gold I just kind of thought “If not now – when?”

I’ve passed on the Pz 58 a number of times already; last time it was six thousand fully loaded, and I am thinking it’s not going to get all that much cheaper, you’ll just get more stuff with it. I have to say I fell for the duck avatar; I’ll be fielding that one for the foreseeable future, but to each their own.

And buying the Mutz made me happy. I’ve not even driven it yet, it’s been sitting there in my garage all kitted out with the bear freshly painted on just waiting for me to get the urge.

That is not in itself unusual these days. I have plenty of tanks I used to drive but forgot about, tanks I like to have but likely won’t ever drive, and a few I’ve been meaning to drive but haven’t gotten around to yet. Two hundred and six tanks now; even just yoloing straight into the red team it would take me well over three hours to drive them all. This is what happens to jaded old tank philosophers.

I’ve said it before, but there really aren’t a lot of tanks out there I want to get my hands on anymore, and a lot of them are curiosities like the Panzer 58.

*

So what is the Swiss bear? And why would you want one?

If you’re feeling sceptical, then I quite understand. There are almost twice as many tier VIII premium and collector tanks as tech tree ones right now, and the Pz 58 is certainly not a “must have”. You could have a faster tank, a more stealthy one, a better armoured one, an autoloader or auto reloader, a bigger gun; all sorts of things. Even in the tech tree and sticking with 90 mm the Indien Panzer, Pantera, or even the STA-1 are all strong contenders against the Mutz.

It’s sort of a baby Leopard 1, or perhaps a baby AMX proto or 30B would be a more fitting comparison since it has a bit of gun mantlet. It’s not super fast but it’s agile, nice accurate gun with ten degrees of gun depression, and you can get a bounce or two.

Again, you could get all those things in the tech tree. But there’s no denying the Mutz is well put together, and if you keep your head down a little and don’t explode in the first two minutes it can be a good performer.

Here’s the deal. If you like tanks like the Indien, the PTA, or the AMX Proto, then this is that kind of tank. Nothing about it really sticks out; I don’t think it’s best in tier at anything. Dispersion is quite good, you can get it down to 0.277 with the refined gun module and double chocolate. But you don’t drive one for the stats, you drive it because you like the Medium playstyle and you think the painted bear looks cool.

You’ll want to watch out for the 30 mm side armour. That will sidescrape an 88 but not a 90 millimetre, meaning don’t even think about side scraping a TD or a Heavy tank; they’ll just overmatch it. But in a hull down spot using a bit of gun depression you’ll be showing around 200 mm effective armour give or take, and as I said the thing is agile, so it’s really not all that fragile when used correctly.

*

This is already longer than I intended, and I’m sitting here feeling a little bad for not having driven it. I mean, tank philosophy without tank driving is just bench racing, no? I’ve driven it on my press account, but like I always say it’s not the same.

In terms of setup there are no surprises, I run the extra hitpoints because the armour is sort of thin anyway, engine accelerator and high end consumables to max out the mobility, double chocolate, double repair kits and a turbo boost.

Or do I? Maybe I’ll run the refined gun and calibrated shells instead to make my shots count. Be aware the Mutz has APCR so there’s not a lot of increase, but I’m only losing 168 DPM so worth try. Tier VIII Mediums usually don’t have very high DPM anyway. My ammo loadout is 27/13/7 AP/APCR/HE.

What the hell. Let’s take it for a spin.

*

I really do think the Mutz camo looks great. Happy to have it in my garage just to look at. But tier VIII Mediums is where I came up as a tank driver and a tank philosopher; there was a time when they were all I cared about.

What about expectations? Well, it’s a bit of an HE magnet. I fully expect to get smashed a few times. Also 90 mm isn’t exactly awe inspiring at tier VIII these days; you can get a 105 or a 122 from the tech tree. That means building damage over time, which in turn means trying to hold on to my hitpoints, especially at the start of the game. Being so agile means it’s not a pushover in a brawl, I know I can take down other tanks in a 1v1; I’ve done it before. It rocks a solid 50% global average winrate with less than 200 drivers, so I’m not expecting any miracles.

Enough talking. Time to go.

First game out is on Dynasty; not my favourite map for a squishy Medium tank. But my team all go towards C and we each have a Smasher, so we end up chewing through them fairly quickly. I end up with some good spotting but not a lot of damage; just under 1000, but it’s a win so I’ll take it. They have two King Tigers, and I’m glad I went for the calibrated shells. Checking Armour Inspector my regular AP shells will almost go through the lower plate head on, and APCR will punch through the upper plate out to about 20 degrees side angle.

Next one is on Faust, and it’s Encounter. I try to spot the middle, but the reds all go towards the missile bunker. I get too close to a VK 168 too early on and take two big hits from nearby Heavy tanks, if it had been isolated I would have easily taken it down. Then a lucky shot towards the end sets me on fire and takes me out, and my teammates mess up the endgame against another Tiger II. It’s a loss, but it was down to the last shot so a good game all the same.

I’m starting to think I might change out the calibrated shells, because really I shouldn’t be shooting at King Tigers head on. But ending up on Molendijk I contest the B cap against an IS-3 Defender doing some slick hull down work, putting shell after shell through the front plate, so I think I’ll stay with the same setup. I shouldn’t fight Heavys frontally, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. Supported by a yoloing P.43 ter the Defender finally takes me out, but by then we have all three bases and it’s basically all over. 2350 damage is top of the team and my best result so far.

Then it’s a loss on Normandy and a win on Alpenstadt meaning a 60% winrate after five games, but I still haven’t seen any tier IX action yet.

*

I drive a couple of more games just to make sure, but my mind is made up. I’m still happy I bought the Mutz, and not just because it looks pretty in my garage.

It’s really easy to mess things up and take too much damage, but that’s part of the charm. This isn’t some faceless IS-spam drone, it’s a Medium tank, and a lively one at that. I believe I’ve called it a “finesse” tank before (Ed: I didn’t. I called it a “thinking man’s tank”.). 90 mm may not be exciting, but it’s comfortable to work with and I like the gun handling a lot. And the thing will bounce a Heavy tank shell if you go hull down and keep it moving.

But this is a tank with kind of a high skill threshold. You don’t want it to be your first tier VIII premium, and perhaps not even your first tier VIII premium Medium. It’s something you’ll pick up down the line because you want to focus on your Medium tank driving without a lot of training wheels.

Me, I thought it was time. It’s a cheap bundle, even though I don’t really care about the bling and boosters and boxes. Just the tank, the paintjob, and nine equipment slots would have done it for me.

What about you? Do you need a Swiss dancing bear in your life? Do you have what it takes to field one against hordes of Heavy tanks, OP premiums, and camping TDs with huge HE shells?

Normally I’d suggest grinding out the Indien Panzer and finding out for sure, but with a little over 30 hours left on the bundle that my not be an option. And to be fair I’m kind of glad I’ve waited this long to get mine, because I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and I definitely don’t feel I overpaid for it. Doing your missions diligently and clicking on a few videos here and there you should be able to scrape together 5500 gold in a few months.

IrmaBecx says the Mutz most definitely has the tank philosophy seal of approval, with banners and gold stars. Just make sure that really is what you want.

Quasimodo! The LTG Review

The Soviet Hunchback

By:

IrmaBecx

So I actually bought three premium tanks last year, and they all have one thing in common. Well, two if you count the fact I’m really, really happy with all three.

They are all tier VII tanks.

Tier VII used to be the tier I aspired to, and we are talking about back in 2015 or so. Once I got to tier VIII and IX I kind of forgot about it, especially after they removed plus/minus 2 matchmaking and there was no real advantage in driving preferential MM tanks like the Panther/M10 anymore. Tier VIII became my new hunting ground.

But there was of course the Hype little Type 62, I still drove that off and on. There was the KV-13 and later on the T-34-1 “Chinese Whisper”, the SU-100M1 “Barracuda”, the T-34-85 “Rudy”, and these days there are even a couple of tier VII Heavys I like. Last year I bought the T-44-85, AMX 13 57, and M41D and got the Kunze Panzer for free, so I have quite a collection of tier VII tanks I really like.

And it’s looking like I’m going to add another tank to the list tomorrow, because the LTG is coming.

Stalin’s magic carpet; Quasimodo.

*

It would be idiotic to think the LTG will even make a dent in the rock solid reputation of the LTTB, and doing a bit of bench racing doesn’t change my mind in the least.

While the LTG has a few interesting features, it’s not a “Light tank with Heavy armour” like the other one, and it doesn’t look like you get a whole lot to make up for that.

The LTG actually has a thicker turret front than the LTTB, but it has a bigger weakspot around the gun mantlet all the same. The face is slanted back, but with five degrees of gun depression, you’re still not going to see a lot more than 140 mm of effective armour; enough to maybe bounce a standard shell from a tier VI Light tank.

So what’s good about it?

Well, it has I think the best camo rating of any tier VII Light tank, that’s something. It’s 5,6 percent better than the runner up, and 7,6 percent better than the LTTB. In principle, that means you’ll always get the first shot off, and since you have a larger than average caliber for the tier and tank class, that means you should be able to make some good trades.

The 85mm is a little sharper than the one on the LTTB, but it doesn’t hit quite as hard. I can’t really see one will be better than the other.

Otherwise, the LTG is the heaviest Light tank at tier VII, meaning it won’t move and turn as quickly as the LTTB. You get a handful of hitpoints more for it, but that’s about all. It doesn’t look good for the LTG as an LTTB contender, does it?

Really, there’s only one reason to drive it.

For my part, I haven’t driven my LTTB since 2017. The Hype 62 was always my weapon of choice in tier VII Lights. I have three more now, but as I said I got them all within the last year, that’s a long time  to have a favourite.

So for me the LTG is a welcome addition to the tech tree. As it is, the only tier VII tech tree Light tank I really like is the AMX 13 75. I don’t think it’s going to be better than the others. I don’t think it can do anything the rest of them can’t. I just love the way it looks, and I think it’ll be an all right performer.

So the only reason, then, to drive the LTG would be something like that. You think it looks cool, or marvellously hideous, and you want to try something new. And really, you don’t need a lot of reason to drive a tier VII tank, do you?

*

I had a 50% off voucher, so the LTG only cost me 29.500 XP. Then you need 36.000 more to get the top modules, and since I blew almost all my gold on the Object 907, I’m going to have to grind the crew from 75%. But yea, I’m coming up on 800.000 free XP, so I just throw some of it at the little Quasimodo.

I load up my usual combat loadout, activate the boosters, and roll out. Or try to, I should say; this is I think the only time I’ve seen more Light tanks than Heavys and Mediums combined in the queue. But yea, the servers aren’t even fully updated yet. It’s to be expected.

The LTG is a quick little tank, even with 75% crew. With all the modules it feels fully playable with the top modules, at last until I try to shoot at people. It’s not very stable on the move, the shell speed isn’t all that, and I keep missing crucial shots.

Also, I may not have given the LTG armour enough credit, because it does get bounces left and right.Mainly we re talking about the turret sides, but 40 mm is actually enough to not get overmatched by most same and lower tier guns, and the sides are nice and flat.

Not to mention low to the ground; it’s a proper lowrider this one. 

It’s update day, long queues, and lets call it erratic gameplay. So I pack it in and get back to it on the night shift, thinking I’ll grind out the crew.

I think I undersold the LTG in my preview, it’s a positively vicious little tank. I almost have to pinch my arm to remind myself it’s going to get better and better until the crew is fully awake. The tradeoffs compared to the LTTB seem reasonable, and running every kind of booster I have the crew sorted in 22 games. 

The thing about the LTG is that it’s so low to the ground. They basically placed the turret directly on the floor and built some tracks around it. The crew sits inside it; don’t ask me how the driver keeps track of where they’re going while the turret is turning. Not only is this the rationale for the superior camo rating, it also makes it a competent side hugger.

The gun could have been better, but this is a Russian tank circa 1944. For what it does it’s perfectly serviceable. It misses and bounces, but it sometimes exhibits an extraordinary tendency to tend the shots towards the centre of the aiming circle while you’re going full speed, no matter the size of the bloom. This will however be the exception, one of the balancing factors of the LTG is that it’s not very stable on the move.

Simply being a fast tank with good camo would make a worthwhile tank, but the LTG is more than that. It’s a good tank, it’s just that it lives in the shadow of the LTTB. I dare say there will be drivers who prefer the LTG nonetheless, if nothing else for the Quasimodo look.

*

Once the new update panic subsides things start going a little better. I did drive a game or two in the higher tier tanks, but I just can’t stop driving the LTG.

It’s got such personality. I agree it’s just about the lest attractive tank in the game, but it’s “so bad it’s good”, you know? 

I do think the LTTB is superior, unless you really know how to take advantage of camouflage. The LTG is low to the ground, it’s stealthy and brawly, and it’s just a great drive. I think it would be a mistake to skip it.

I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of tier VII Light tanks, have several premiums et cetera, and as they go this is one of the better ones. It’s just that it’s up against some really tough comparisons, among them the most worthwhile premium tank in the game.

But yeah, this is a tank you grind out because you want to get in on the Quasimodo magic. You drive it because of the hideous looks and the brawly playstyle, for the pure joy of tier VII Light tank gameplay.

Tier VII Light tanks used to be among the most powerful vehicles in the game, and arguably the LTTB pushed them over the edge. They were all blanket nerfed way back in the mists of time, but I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a bad one in any tech tree. But the fact remains this is a Light tank; it’s not balanced to be able to carry entire teams from the bottom anymore.

And I have to say trying to cooperate with ones team has been challenging lately, the atmosphere is increasingly toxic, and so I’ve been playing short sessions. Is it always like this after the update, have we just forgotten?

In the end though I think the LTG is a success. Well within balance, a few competitive advantages, and it has quirk for days if that’s your thing – and why wouldn’t it be?

The only thing that’s holding the LTG back is hull traverse and five degrees of gun depression. IrmaBecx says don’t let such minor inconveniences hold you back.