Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier VII tank destroyer – UPDATE

I have previously said that the Challenger is the worst tier VII tank destroyer in the game. Now, there is a new “king” in town…

There are ten tier VII tank destroyers in World of tanks (as of patch 9.17):

• SU-100M1
• SU-152
• Jagdpanther
• Sturer Emil
• T25 AT
• T25/2
• AMX AC mle. 46
• AT 7
• Challenger
• ikv 90 B

I have now played all of them, except the AT 7, and I am 100% certain that I can point to the (new) worst one. Some say the T25/2 is a bad TD, but I have still had quite fun in that one. Some point to the Sturer Emil as a bad TD, but the top gun is absolutely magnificent, with 231 penetration and 490 alpha damage. The AMX and the SU-100M1 also get some bad reviews, but they are both good in their own way.

The SU 152 can make you giggle like a child, when you one shot Cromwells and other tier VI tanks.

(The best is the Jagdpanther, of course.)

The Challenger was the previous loser, but now we have the Swedish tanks. After playing the ikv 90 B for more than 60 battles, I hereby conclude: This is a turd of a tank destroyer. It is as reliable as an ice cube in the Sahara desert.

Pros:

• It has good camo rating
• Fast, at 65 km/h, but this only applies when falling of a cliff?
• 10 degrees of gun depression
• Wide gun ark
• The NEXT tank in the line might be fun

Cons:

• No armor
• Slow traverse speed
• Unreliable gun

When you play this, you cannot get spotted. Try that in the maps we have to endure… This tank only works in you can “kemp bush”. The penetration is supposedly 210, but it can easily bounce of the side of a light tank…

I hate every minute in this tank. It feels sluggish, and the gun is inaccurate as hell. It is supposed to have 0.33 of gun “precision”, but it behaves more like it has 0.37 or 0.38. You cannot trust the gun at all. 210 mm of penetration should be enough, but since it fires some sort of APCR ammo, you will struggle to penetrate if the armor on the enemy tank is sloped somewhat or if it is spaced.

Here is what an ACE tanker game looks like:

See all best/worst tanks here.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier VII heavy tank

There are nine tier VI heavy tanks (by patch 9.15):

• IS
• KV-3
• Tiger (P)
• Tiger I
• T29
• AMX M4 mle. 45
• Black Prince
• IS-2 (the chinese tank, not the russian premium)
• O-NI

Note: I have not yet played the O-NI or the AMX. But I am quite confident none of them are best in class, so it will not affect the verdict.

I am a bit strange, I guess, because I really enjoyed the KV-3. It is a nightmare when it is bottom tier, but when it is top tier in a city map it can be a monster. I might even like it more than the IS, which may be a better tank, all things considered. So in my personal opinion the KV-3 is the Russian candidate. I bought the “Berlin quartet”, so I have the IS-2 (russian premium tier VII heavy tank) in my garage. But was the KV-3 good enough to keep? No, I sold it once I unlocked the KV-4. (If I had had another Russian heavy tank crew, I might have kept it.)

The two German tanks are quite similar, but the Tiger I is in my opinion better than the Tiger (P). The armor on the Tiger I is not the best, but the gun is great, and the damage per minute is best in class. I have kept the Tiger I, but that is partly because I grinded it at the same time as I grinded the Tiger (P). The Tiger (P) was sold quickly and the crew moved on to the Tiger II.

The T29 has a lot going for it. The strength of the turret is legendary, and the gun is also pretty good, even if the gun on the Tiger I is better. I have kept the T29 and will keep it.

The Black Prince is a piece of shit, because of the gun. Low penetration and low alpha damage. In addition it is very slow. The turret is quite strong, but is easy the flank it, and get the side of the hull.

The Chinese IS-2 is almost the same as the IS, but the gun handling is worse because of worse gun depression and gun elevation. It also has less hull armor. The IS is definitely better.

So, which one is the best? 

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier VII tank destroyer

There are nine tier VII tank destroyers in World of tanks (by patch 9.13):

• SU-100M1
• SU-152
• Jagdpanther
• Sturer Emil
• T25 AT
• T25/2
• AMX AC mle. 46
• AT 7
• Challenger

I have played all of these, except the AT 7. It plays in a similar way to all the heavy british TD’s, so I have a pretty good idea what it’s like. When you look at at the characteristics of these tanks, they are quite different. The AT 7 is slow with very thick armor, the SU-152 has got a derp gun capable of killing tier VI tanks with a single shot, the SU-100M1 has got a ridiculous high rate of fire, while the T25/2 and Challenger has got turrets. The Jagdpanther, T25 AT and AMX AC are more “middle of the road”.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier VII tank destroyer

There are nine tier VII tank destroyers in World of tanks (patch 9.7):

• SU-100M1
• SU-152
• Jagdpanther
• Sturer Emil
• T25 AT
• T25/2
• AMX AC mle. 46
• AT 7
• Challenger

I have not yet tried all of them, but I am 99% convinced that I can point to the worst one. Some say the T25/2 is a bad TD, but I have had quite fun in that one. Some point to the Sturer Emil as a bad TD, but the top gun is absolutely magnificent, with 231 penetration and 490 alpha damage. The AMX and the SU-100M1 also get some bad reviews, but they are both good in their own way.

The worst of these, in my opinion, is the Challenger.

Pros:

• It has got a turret
• Low aim time, even though it does not feel like it
• Fast, at 52 km/h, but it does not accelerate very fast

Cons:

• No armor, and the turret armor is worse than the hull armor
• Slow turret traverse, by 16,7 degrees per second
• Low alpha damage, only 150 hp
• Not high enough penetration, considering it’s low alpha damage, by 171 mm

When you play this, you cannot get spotted. Stay in second line, and shoot at what your allies spot for you. You will not bounce a single shot fired at you. The gun is what let’s this tank down. It’s the same gun as you get on the tier V British TD (the Archer). You have to fire a lot of shots to make any impact, and if you stay in one place, you will get spotted and killed.

As always: Good players can make this tank work.

See all best/worst tanks here.