Ugh, the M36 Jackson (in game as Slugger) is such a disappointment (to the point where I’m only playing it to get to the T25 AT, aka the better Jagdpanther). I so wished that the Slugger would turn out to effectively be a tier 6 medium tank with a 90mm gun, but no such luck.
It only moves at 42kph, which would have been acceptable, but due to its relatively slow hull traverse rate, it bleeds speed so quickly on turns. And it doesn’t turn quickly either.
It accelerates slowly, just a bit faster than the KV-1S, but not nearly as well as a VK3601H, for example.
While the turret traverse rate of 20 degrees/sec might seem workable on paper (especially if one is used to the KV-2), in practice it’s very limiting. Often by the time you’ve turned the turret, the target you were going to shoot is no longer available. So you end up having to traverse the hull as well, which often isn’t desirable.
Then there’s the reverse speed. Real medium tanks are about twice as fast in reverse as TDs and heavies, but not the M36 Jackson. It reverses as slowly as the rest of its TD brethren. Which greatly limits its peekaboo effectiveness. One gets so used to the fast dancing ability of medium tanks (unless you’re a Panzer IV with the second turret) that it becomes really jarring in anything else. I’ve been playing exclusively medium tanks for the last few weeks and the reverse speed of regular vehicles is absolutely painful.
Then there’s the armor. Well, the utter lack of it. That 114mm frontal armor it supposedly has, and highly sloped? It’s a lie. There’s no other way to put it. This thing doesn’t even bounce as well as a Sherman E8. It stops a round maybe once in a blue moon.
The turret mantle is the only strong part on the vehicle, where I managed to bounce the 90mm on a fellow Slugger. Everywhere else your armor is made of paper.
So the only thing you have is a slightly faster yet far more fragile M6 with a gun that aims and fires slightly faster and is slightly more accurate. Same tier 6, but with way less health (590 with the closed turret). So, aside from those minor differences and 7kph more speed, why would one play the M36 rather than the M6 heavy? I had one in the beta fully upgraded and it was remarkably effective if played correctly. And it can actually bounce things from the front!
The Slugger is nothing but a source of frustration so far. If it had just 50-100 more horsepower it would be quite decent, but it is constantly betrayed by its engine. When you have neither the armor nor mobility to keep you alive, you’re pretty much forced to hide and snipe like a regular TD, and I hate playing regular TDs these days.
And what I’d really kill for would be a tier 6 medium, something like a Sherman M4 or E8 but with a 90mm gun. I’d pay Lowe money for that. :(
