Tank destroyer developed in February 1944 on the basis
of the PzIV tank. Development was discontinued in favor of a similar vehicle on
the basis of the Krupp Waffenträger 12.8 cm PaK 44 of Czech origin. Existed
only in blueprints.
Could be one of the most powerful TDs, if deployed
during the second World War is in-game. It is not an easy one, but most players
should have fun, if they master it!
foreword
8.9, the patch everybody was waiting literally for
years. WG changed the date several times, but it was inescapable not to implent
them, because of the high interests. (Just a small survey from the EU: 171
people voted on „yes they are lookin forward to it” in the related topic. Only
17 „poor” people voted on the no option, I think this demonstrates it very well)
The line’s tanks are almost all historical, expect the Waffenträger E-100(Star
Wars tenk), others were in „already completed stage” or fought during the great
war.
how does it perform in battle?
It can be described as a little piece of glass
cannons, very small, very stealthy, very tough. Having the armor of a top scout
equals bad survivability chances, you must be careful and prepare to die
instantly, if you are spotted and you are alone. Top Gun, we have namely 2, one
represents effectiveness, one represents pure power, they both are favorable
choice for expert tank destroyer players. Both can cause real hard times for those who unluckily drives
into your aiming circle. Viewrange is outstanding, there are no rivals in the
TD race, that could outnumber your stats, of course Waffenträger E-100 does,
with having the highest view range in-game. Camo factor, surprisingly good from a german vehicle, it has so good camo as the Borsig, in my experience. There is a little difference between their values btw.
How should you play it? Does armor count that much?
Does size matter? Questions are set, shall we begin?
firepower
The WT Pz.IV is armed with a cannon called 128mm
Kanone L/61, with the performance from the Jagdtiger. It is very likely the
best anti-tank gun, with fast reload speed, fantastic penetration, shocking
velocity.
The penetration of this 128mm gun is enough to
penetrate anything on tier 9 and 10, there isn’t at the moment in the game a
single tank, which could bring this beauty a hard time penetrating armour plates.
Knowledge of weak spots is not inevitable, when fighting against the tanks of
this tier or one higher. Penetration is 276 with AP, butt defender for your
team mates many times, I can surely say. 0.33 accuracy means that you should
every time hit the target, you can still easily hit it’s weakspots on range.
Aiming time is very decent, you will always hit your target faster, than he
even realised you are standing before him. Oh, the velocity….well it is
beautiful. 1200 m/s for both AP and HE, this means you can safely aim on a
moving target itself, when he is even driving fast. On longer ranges like 500m,
count to 2-3 and your target is hitten, if not destroyed eternally.
Some talk about the Elite gun’s rival, called 15cm PaK
L/38. It is a TD version of the mighty E-100 gun, which is already available
for a long time, some like it, some hate it, because of lacking the
penetration, that you think, it should have on Tier 9/10. I simply call it
derpy Helga. When you put on this gun, never forget to carry at least 2-3 gold
ammos with yourself. It needs it! During Tier 10 battles, you will thank me now
for telling this or you already witnessed it by yourself and joined the light
path. HE is useful also, but make sure, that it will penetrate or you should
fail hard, while the reload time is not so long (13,75 secs with BiA+Rammer)
the enemy player can still turn at you, if you don’t play safe enough. Aim time
is fairly enough, it is not a arguable point of this gun. Accuracy, what it
lacks besides penetration, hits are not guaranteed instantly on longer ranges,
there can be still luck shoots, like I had several times, but this gun plays
more a role of an assault gun, than a Sniper one. Velocity is laughable
compared to it’s brother, this is meant to be the one time big damage dealer,
but this may be evident with these stats. Always drive behind Heavy marches, if
you use this.
The stock guns, I can describe them as a stage of
learning the gameplay of this line. Penetration is ok for 128mm, but I
recommend NOT TO USE the stock 150mm, until you get the upgraded one from this
version. Accuracy is very questionable point in both case, while 128mm seems to
be quite accurate it misses on longer ranges, because of the low velocity. Aim
time is absolutely the same as the elite one’s. Penetration is quite good as a
stock gun, compared to other nation’s. Research ASAP the L/61 and then, if you
still have the passion, you can research the 150mm variant.
AMMUNITION
Pz. IV carries 40 piece of these 128mm shells and it
can carry 30 rounds with a 150mm variant. When using the sniper gun, I
recommend to carry at least 5 HE shells for lucky assf*cking times. No APCR is needed,
but you can bring 5, if you would like to. For 150mm, I recommend to carry at
least 2 Gold ammo, if not more and 10 HE shells, the remaining amount is out of
AP, but you can add more HEAT shells, if you aren’t sure about your skills.
A bit discussion about Ammorack, it is located at the
back under the gun itself, so stay away from enemies, if you need that extra
gun depression, because I was several times exploded at the beginning of some
battles.
Armour:
Just some words, as you can imagine 80mm is
particularly weak against HE shells in high tiers. Don’t encounter in
close-fights, if the enemy has more tank sin that sector, cus some seconds will
pass and you are already dead. Sides are even weaker, than this. Turret has no
armor at all. Bitch stuff, no one can complain.
Mobility:
Mobility is a respectable point of this tank
destroyer, it packs a quite strong engine, but does not make it fly, because of
the overloaded tracks, avoid driving on rough and hilly ground, if you can.
Fortunately the hull traverse speed is a respectable 32 deg/s which should give
mediums and some lights a hard time circling you, providing you stay on hard,
flat ground. You can easily hold your team’s tempo, because of it’s quite nice
speed.
On the other hand it is never a good idea to travel
anywhere alone. Your poor armor leaves you very vulnerable to agile tanks, if
they catch you alone.
Equipment:
My equipment
load out is as follows: Gun Rammer, Camouflage Net and Binocular Telescope
although an Enhanced Gun Laying Drive wouldn’t be a bad choice either. The Camo
will assist to hide easier, while not in motion. The gun rammer is essential
for any tank with a damage dealing role, especially for TDs.
The Enhanced Gun Laying is a vital piece of equipment
for any slow aiming tanks or tank destroyers, but in this case, we just want to
make it even better.
Consumables:
As with most tanks, I would recommend the standard
setup of Small Repair kit, Small First Aid Kit and a Manual Fire Extinguisher.
You could swap out the fire extinguisher on your own risk for the Chocolate (It
has it’s traditional features, be aware of it) to improve every aspects of the
tank, helping it move, aim and fire faster; making it an all round better tank.
However it will cost you 20.000 credits or 50 gold a game which can be too much
a little bit. If you have the cash however, and are just playing the Panzer IV
for fun, then go ahead and use the dessert.
Crew Skills:
Generally you always want to have a crew with a high
camouflage in a tank destroyer.
The optimal skill choices for this Waffenträger, in my
opinion, are as follows.
Commander: Sixth
Sense, Mentor, BIA
Gunner: Camouflage,
Deadeye, BIA
Driver: Camouflage,
Clutch Braking, BIA
Radio
Operator: Camouflage, Situational Awareness, BIA
Loader: Camouflage,
Adrenaline Rush, BIA
Loader:
Camouflage, Repair, BIA
Advantages:
·
One
of the most outstanding gun choices in-game.
·
Turret.
·
Excellent
Rate of Fire.
·
Fast
Traverse speed + turret, cannot be circled easily.
·
Amazing
View Range.
·
Massive
Camo-Factor.
·
Small
size.
·
Mobility.
·
Easy
stock grind compared to other nation’s stock layouts.
Disadvantages:
·
No
armor at all.
·
Low
velocity on stock guns.
·
Mediocre
accuracy for stock guns.
Tactics & Overall Play style:
·
Never
go anywhere alone. You are vulnerable to being flanked, and will struggle to
deal with multiple opponents. You’re a damage dealer and so often you’ll need
the support of your allies to quickly get in cover and have cover fire, when
detected.
·
You
have no armor, never forget this.
·
Keep
your distance. The optimal fighting range for this tank is between 150 and 600m.
You want to stay far enough away with L/61, however this does not apply for
other guns.
·
Shoot
at what you can kill(stock), don’t waste your time shooting at heavily armoured
targets unless there’s nothing else to point your gun at.
·
Use
your Rate of Fire to your advantage, in bushes you wont get spotted in less,
than 150m, make clear tracking and then concentrate on the enemy’s HP pool.
Historical
Overview:
Infos
well done, thank you
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