5141

It’s kind of disappointing that the IS doesn’t get a gun upgrade on the KV-3 (well, there’s a really minor one), but I guess the upgrade is mostly speed and armor.

5142

Ok. I’ll try out the 122, but I find it really strange. It’s penetration is such a small improvement over the 107 that it’s practically negligible, while the higher alpha comes at the cost of accuracy and a (roughly) 16% reduction in DPS. I understand all the factors that make alpha > DPS, but they are somewhat mitigated on slow heavies, which are more likely to be caught while moving between cover. I also have found that being able to place shots on weak points is very important, so I’m worried about the lowered accuracy.

I think I’m going to get the improved engine first, and then get the 122. That’s not how I usually prioritize these things, but it seems like a decent approach in this situation.

5143

This is basically the opposite of how things work. Slow tanks almost always want a high alpha gun, its not like you’re going to rush anyone or flank them. You’re going to trade shots from cover.

5144

but it does. slightly faster firing 122 for greater justice!

the main reason to choose 122 or 100 over 107 is the penetration value. penetration > everything in this game. you may be fast you may be badass but if your shots scratch paint instead of kill shit dead, you’re just another target for others to farm. its why the gun upgrades on the IS-3 and king tiger feel so freakin great.

5145

I feel that particular 122 is better at short range while that 107 is better at long range. As Schurem says, penetration > everything. The 122 is better when you’re close enough to easily hit where you want to hit, but at 400 meters, the accuracy different comes into play and the accuracy of the 107 may make the difference between firing through a soft spot or hitting a spot that either gun would bounce off of.

Overall I favor the 122, but I think the 107 has strengths that make it worth using too.

5146

It’s not black and white kind of decision though.

KV3 is a unique tank, it has 3 viable top guns, not 1 like most of the others.

The 122 is similar to the 152 on KV. Damage is nice but don’t even bother shooting far targets with it. Inaccurate slow reloading gun on a slow tank can result in a lot of frustration. The 122 has the least DPS already and every missed (bounced, crit with no damage, tracks, etc.) shot affects it drastically.

If you prefered the 152 on KV, you will like this one as well. The big difference from the 152 (at least the pre-HE nerf 152, don’t know how it plays now) is that you don’t care where the 152 HE sheel hits the enemy. With the 122, you do and accuracy is a problem.

And don’t kid yourself, 175 mm pen (especially with this kind of accuracy) is not nearly enough to feel comfortable against tier 8 heavies, if that’s your goal. And mediums will tear you a new one with your slow reload.

The 107, on the other hand, loses 8 mm in penetration and about 20% in damage but it reloads much faster and has a bit better accuracy. Penetration-wise it’s pretty much as reliable as the 122 against tier 7 targets (and about as useless against tier 8 :)).

The 100 has pen of the 122m, is more than twice faster, is even more accurate than 107, has much better aim time but loses about 40% damage comparing to 122.

In the end it all depends (as usual) on your playstyle.

The 100 is much better against mediums or when flanking or when “sniping” (sniping is always in quotes when talking about Soviet tanks) or when playing aggressively but it loses its advantage in “around the corner pew pew” kind of fights.

The 122 is opposite to that - best at “around the corner pew pew” at mid distance (not accurate to shoot far, too slow in close quarters).

The 107 is in between.

Personally, I felt that KV3 is too slow to play as aggressively as the 100 requires and I didn’t enjoy getting smoked by mediums when driving with the 122. So after trying all 3, I settled with the good old 107.

OTOH, might as well get used to the 122, since that’s what you will use on IS and some part of IS-3 (although it reloads faster on those two tanks).

KV-1S, though, would be perfect for the 100 but it doesn’t get it. Go figure.

5147

Of course, if you’re into it, you could load gold ammo into the 107 and piss people off.

5148

Actually, that raises an interesting point: The 122 has the lowest penetration value of the three KV3 guns when using gold ammo: (217 mm of penetration versus 219 mm for the 107 and 235 mm for the 100). I’m not sure why that is, but perhaps the reason has something to do with balancing the IS? Regardless, it would certainly complicate the comparison for people who use gold ammo regularly.

5149

the kv3 is slow and well-armored. it is far too slow to run ahead. sticking your neck out and getting swamped by mediums will rarely happen in a kv3.

you are tough so others will use you as a shield. this is ok, as they will peel swarming little guys off your ass.

this makes the big, hard hitting 122 the prime choice in my eyes. you will not make long range shots with it. at medium to short range it fucks shit up while the short 88’s make pretty scratches in your paint job :)

I love my kv3-122. i loved the IS even better. its like a kv3 after its had a double espresso. soviet heavy line is awesome. :)

5150

I like the IS-4/IS-7. I found the IS-3 meh until late in my career with it, when I realized it’s really a fat medium. Still don’t like the KVs much, though; that’s just me I guess.

IS-7 is a CW staple, and a great all-round tank. Though the IS-4 is no slouch, and can often hold its own in CW battles, if it has the big gun. It’s tough and mean, and there’s a reason it’s moving to T10.

5151

hate to bitch about MM, but i do gotta say the last couple months its worse than normal. The whole thing where it likes to put like all of one tank on one side, or giving all 6 td’s to one side in campanova, is just really poorly done. Arty is still generally finely distributed, but everything else is a crap shoot. Scouts? TD’s? Mediums? I was in one match where one side had T8 down to like the 13th spot, while our team had 8s to like 7.

While i don’t think it’s done anything to my win %, what I notice is a lot more very lobsided battles 15-4, etc

5152

7.2 details from RU>EU forum.

5153

I always just assume that bad matchmaker experiences are just a result of confirmation bias or some other mental "llusion, but I’ve recently convinced several friends to start playing the game, and the games that the MM has been throwing our low(er) tier platoons into have been rough.

While many of the patch notes are ambiguous (possibly due to translation) I was very happy to see this:

As my friends move through the low-tier US Mediums, I’m struck by how the HE Nerf has had a major impact on US progression. The M2 Medium and M4 Sherman were both tanks that I regarded as “good” for their tier when playing through them the first time, in large part due to their howitzers. I even kept the M2 Medium in my garage for a long time because I enjoyed playing it so much. But the tanks have been notably weakened by the HE nerf.

I know it’s easy to focus on end-game issues, but a more balanced low-tier experience is important. It’s not like the T2 or M3 Lee are regarded as powerhouses; there need to be some “stronger” low-tier tanks to balance out the weaker ones.

5154

I play my M4 quite a bit and generally don’t use HE much. But I’m a bit boggled to hear that you really liked the M3. That’s the M3 Lee with the 75mm gun in the side sponson right? I mean the gun is admittedly pretty decent, but it’s basically a tank destroyer with a super-tall profile and no tank-destroyer stealthing.

5155

I warmed to the M3 on my second run (post beta). That cannon just destroys everything else out there. Sure, your not very mobile and your profile is awfully tall but most players don’t or can’t take advantage of that. I’ve seen too many lights bounce shots off my sideskirts.

5156

Whoops, I (of course) messed that post up. I meant the M2 Medium, which gets the 75mm Howitzer, and generally is (or at least generally used to be) regarded as pretty good for it’s tier.

The M3 Lee is a strange beast. I like it, but I totally understand the reason it is seen as a poor tank. It’s mandatory placement on the U.S. tree can be a source of frustration, which is why it’s a shame that the tanks immediately before and after it were hit hard by the HE nerf.

5157

I absolutely hated the M3 Lee for the first half of my time with it, but after accepting that it plays more like a TD than a tank, I kinda liked it.

5158

kinda ditto - i had heard so much bad things about the lee, but after playing it - it’s not a bad all-round tank for its tier. It (like almost all the T4s) scales very poorly, but the combination of gun, firing speed, speed and armor do it justice.

I still prefer the T-28, for sheer power, and the PIII, for speed and versatility, but the less sits third…

5159

Illusion is really hard to defend when one side has 6 more tanks of higher tier than the other.

Tman and I were in one, where each side had 2 tier 7s(Tman and I on our side), the next tank on our side was T5, and they had 6 T6s…

As i said, it’s doing this evenly - i get as many games badly favored to my advantage. I’m not saying it’s biased against me - i’m saying it’s not producing the best games. A good game is won or lost by a tank or two, 15-1 roflstomps are pretty good signs something’s amiss…

5160

I finally bought a top-tier SPG, that’s where the matchmaker gets really weird and you end up in 5 a side battles with three other SPGs.
The funny things is, my W/L is 50% so I still think the game is balanced perfectly for me.