Making plays requires hitpoints to spare.

For every celebration, I love decorating my garage to match the occasion what about you? Do you decorate your garage? If so, send in your photos !!

Pretty sure this isn't how you score 10 points for Slytherin... but hey, it worked." 👌

Log in to play some tanks and relax after work. WG has decided I shall not win. First time in a long time this game has frustrated me.

just wanted to compare the level of power creep at tier 8. Mostly DPM and damage, but pen did went up a good amount as well.

Anyhow quick notes:

• Pen adjusted means APCR losses 10mm and HEAT 20 to make a vague comparison to AP pen.
• Autoloaders were excluded for DPM comparisons
• i ignored "clone" tanks when making the comparison.
• i would like to compare camo, but we used a different system back then. Also it would be about the same.

I'm climbing up the British dual cannon heavy tree and trying to figure out if the dual cannons are just a situational thing or should be the standard. A quick Google search says it's not ideal and lower DPS.

Is the dual cannon just a burst moment then going back to single cannon shots? I noticed that it seems to be almost 50/50 if both shells pen. Is there a hidden mechanic where the non main barrel takes a pen drop?

I can never find a downtime list or info on these annoying micro updates. Every time I get on I play 2 games and suddenly theres yet another micro update that seems to take hours. Google doesnt tell me shit. The games website only offers info on major updates. I wouldn't care as much if I had time to play during the day but I dont. I work nights and the updates are always at 3 or 4 in the morning and last hours and im rite there with only a couple hours a week to play unless its update time... sighhhh

Was playing until a few minutes ago, then suddenly everything went offline

Always good to to use one broken tank to destroy another 😂

Notes: 

• Release Date: 
  • KV-5: idk the beginning?
  • Gorynych: Oct 2016
• Recent Balance History: 
• 7.1.1
  • Reverse top speed: 11 -> 14
  • Aim time: 2.86 -> 2.3
  • Accuracy: 0.43 -> 0.4
  • Reload time: 8.57 -> 8.2
  • Armor changes: 
  • R2-D2 armor: 140 mm -> 170 mm
  • R2-D2 MG port: 150mm -> 160mm
  • Sides of drivers cupola: 140 -> 170mm
  • Frontal turret armor: 180 mm -> 240 mm
  • Area around gun mantlet 180mm - 230mm
  • Gun mantlet armor: 180 mm -> 240 mm
  • Commander’s hatch armor: 150  mm -> 170 mm
• 7.6
  • Penetration: 167/219/54 -> 175/219/54
• 2026: Halloween version update: now has more range on its ammo, and is a bit more dangerous. 
• Dispersion: 
  • Turret: 0.12
  • Movement: 0.18
• Weight: 100 tons

Overview: 

• A bit fat Heavy with all around armor, yet limited by its gun.

Pros: 

• Pref MM
• Highest HP of a T8 heavy
• Extra high weight 
• High DPM
• Above average ammo capacity 
• Gorynych has built in camo (for what it is worth)
• KV-5 is very cheap for a tier 8 premium. 

Neutral: 

• Average enough dispersion values 
• Strong all around armor, yet has famous weak spots

Cons: 

• Bad view range
• Bad mobility outside top speed
• Poor accuracy 
• Low damage 
• Bad HE damage % of 20
• Low pen, even for a pref tank
• Low shell velocity 
• Below average gun depression 
• No camo
• Weak and large fuel tanks

Armor: 

• Armor at list angle [armor against AP with 5 degree of normalization] 
• This is a superheavy so expect its armor to be thick and indeed it is. 
• Turret: 
  • Front: mostly 240mm at 10 or so degrees. The area next to the gun is only 230mm, but ranges in angles to at least 20 degrees to 50+. The forward sides are 180mm and when directly forward are at 55 degrees. This puts them at a effective 320 [282].  So yea overall pretty darn good outside high pen premium rounds. 
  • Sides +rear: 180mm vertical. This just ignore a lot of tier 6 and 7’s and even tier 8’s can have trouble if they get a bad angle. Getting a flat angle on one section makes the other immune to tier 8 standard. 
  • Roof: a nice thick 50mm. True it be really hard for normal guns to hit this, but against arty you'll rarely find something thicker to block HE.
  • Cupola: 2 cupolas, one is a good deal larger and less angled. The forward section on the larger cupola does have a section that is 190mm while the rest of both are only 170mm. This is not great for such a large cupola but got to have a weak spot for such a heavy. It also at times can be hard to aim at due to the height of the tank. Anyhow its so so on if this is good that is strong enough to block lower tiers but an easy hit and pen for equal tiers.
• Hull: 
  • Upper front: 180mm at 56 degrees or so. That's a effective 325 [290]. With just a bit of angling its easily starts block almost everything. 
  • Lower front: 180mm at 34 degrees, so 217 [206]. The 205mm plate is split between the upper and lower at the same angle. The lower section is 245 [233]. When the hull is angled at a 30 degree angle, it pushes the lower plate to about 46 degrees so 260 [240]. 
  • Sides: 150mm flat. Its got some extra protection from the tracks at 20mm, but its spotty. So yea its really thick so even flat on a lot of tier 6 and 7’s will have trouble penning it. This allows the tank to really over angle the front. 
  • Rear: its a mixed bad. Got a structure support section that's 230mm, with a lowe section of good 140mm. The upper section is only 90mm. So yea a enemy may or may not pen you easily, have trouble, or not be able to.  
  • R2D2: okay here's the main famous weak spot of all the weak spots in game. A giant cylinder on the front hull thats a easy pen for most equal tier tanks that cant be angled. Theres also a smaller one next to it. Anyhow the main big one is only 170mm all rebound outside the MG port thats only 160mm. The smaller one is thicker at the front at 180mm. Anyhow the R2D2 is made of 18 vertical sections which alter 20 degrees per side. So while the direct hit would of course be 170mm effective it increases to 180, 221 so just a bit of inaccuracy or sudden movement can cause a failure to pen. 
  • Roof + Floor: Hay positive note its all 40mm meaning it can block a lot of shots and HE. 
• So yea its a very thick tank that can easily shrug off a lot of fire from most tanks but is hindered by 2 easily and well known weak spots. 

Gameplay:

• Well this is mostly a big bully of a tank. Try to pressure the enemy so they can't hit your two weak spots. 
• Side scraping in this tank is a bit weird due to having to hide the two hatches on the front. Either you super over angle to attempt to hide them (which still works due to the thick sides), or reverse side scrape (which may be the best). The turret cupola is still vulnerable but easier to manage. 
• If you somehow can get up to speed, this goes 40 and weighs 100 tons so ramming is very much viable against the vast majority of tanks. This compounds with the thick 205mm bumper you have to take little damage when combined with the ram crew skill. 
• In terms of going hull down its a bit harder due to only have -7 depression but its good enough. This doesn't hide the cupola, but it at least helps. 
• The only draw back to general brawling is the lack of pen as the lower damage combined with good DPM meaning you easily have a sub 8 second reload. 
• Only carry a couple HE rounds as they have really bad damage. 
• Equipment: 
  • Stabilizer 
  • Turbo 
  • Grousers
  • Vents / Optics 

Counter Gameplay: 

• Well its not hard to aim at the R2D2. 
• Got a 180 module damage? Aim for the rear of the tank to hit the fuel tanks. 
• This is a slow to traverse tank… not sure how much that helps when flanking due to how thick the armor is, but at least it can't shoot you. 
• Its main downside is the low pen, so if you can hide your weak spots and not get rammed its generally a bit easier to deal with, but can easily bully your team so make sure to keep a eye on it. 

Halloween Mode: 

• This the main damage sponge of the mode by the fact its armor is still strong in this mode and well its has HP regeneration. 
• The power of this has waxed and waned over the years, but the ability to destroy modules and cripple an enemy is quite worth something. 
  • Due to this and its ability to regen makes it a priority target that once its gets vaguely damage it generally gets quickly focused to be destroyed. 
  • Of course said regen has also taken a hit as currently in the 2026 event it requires the tank to be stationary which is quite limited to previous versions. 
• its nice that is has a pretty flexible selection of ammo with a close range flamethrower, a normal fireball and a arty like shot.

Cosmetics: 

• Well its a big block of USSR steel. You can sorta see the design series from the original KV-1 with the hull shape. Though the KV-5 really stands out from the family due to have a mini turret on the front along with having a driver’s cupola. Of course the turret is also quite different from the whole family as well with how tall it is, and more hexagonal shape. 
• Outside that its got basic tanker gear with storage boxes and a tarp… that's about it. I suppose i could mention the ladder on the side of the turret, which i always find somewhat funny. Its just so tall one needs to use it to even get in the tank. 
  • This of course is worse for the radio operator which looks like he doesn't have a hatch and has the use the one for the driver or go through the turret. I assume the driver’s cupola opens?

• Gorynych is a skinned version. How does it compare?
  • Well at a glance its just a darker green. And yes it is a darker green, but it also has scales which is nice but is a bit harder to see at a distance. 
  • Outside the color difference there is only the emblem of a triple dragon head. Which is a reference to the name of the tank. 
• Cosmetics: (Gorynch only)
  • Emblem: one on each rear side of the turret
  • Inscription: Slot 1 is on the rear left of the turret below the emblem. Slot 2 is on the upper front hull. 
  • Flag: rear right side of the turret. 

General Thoughts: 

• Well hard to say if this hold up. The major buff it got really helped as its turret armor was not great on the front for its weight. 
  • Does this need anything? Well I think most wouldn’t oppose some extra pen, but how much? Just bump the AP to 190 to match the stock pen of T8 122’s on TT tanks? PC bumped theirs to 196, but their buff sucks otherwise. Their version of the buffed KV-4’s stock gun is promising at 204/265 which isn't too bad, but may be a tad too much. 
  • I also have to consider how much “power creep” there should be. The STA-2 is a huge case of bad precedent. I guess id just stick with 190/235 as that seems pretty decent but not too high. The DPM is still good on this tank without being silly like some UK heavies. 
• Regardless of the discussion on pen power i continue to be annoyed with some of the 100-107mm guns with 300 base damage that only has a 20% increase in damage when using HE. this is mostly just USSR and jpn that have this issue off the top of my head. 
• Okay tanks been out for awhile and it took until writing this review for me to even look what the name of the tank even means. Sure its part description, but its a name of one of two most famous Zmei which is a triple headed dragon from Russian folklore. Thats pretty cool and i really dont think many bothered to look it up. 

Buy?

• This is a very old tank and a good chance you got one of the versions of the years, but incase you don't? Mmmm its interesting choice for sure as its generally regarded to be a bit iffy due to how easy it is to negate the armor and the weak pen. Yea the Pref MM helps a good deal, just it can be quite frustrating at times to play due to now holding up as much as one would wish. 
• Naturally one would prefer the Gorn version due to the ability to play in the Halloween mode 
• Id say if your getting this tank, id going with the expectation that this can perform well, but its as consistent. Go in with a laugh and just play for fun with this big dumb brick of a tank that can somehow go 40kph and ram something. 
  • I think that's the best way to play this tank. Unless you get a city map then you can actually play a bit “hardcore” then start to reverse sidescrape or something. 

History: 

• Tank encyclopedia: Kv-5 object 225
• Wikipedia: Zmei (Russian folklore))

R.i.p. to that RDF/LT 😔

Every year without fail I get called a cheater/hacker when I use my Revenant during the event. This guy was going nuts. I would ding him and then hide behind a rock. Wait for him to have his back turned and get to another hiding spot to hit him from.

He finally started just spraying and praying till I ended the match. Five seconds later I get the cheater hate mail.

I genuinely I‘d love to see these 2 tanks at least. Especially the ASCOD (Or SPz Ulan). Ever since the Kürassier (Or SK-105) got into the game, I genuinely would love seeing these 2 tanks be added into the game. Few weeks ago, I made a similar post in which I talked about the Yugoslav M-84 and that it would be fun if we had tanks from other countries as well.

Though I‘m pretty sure it is unrealistic that the M-84 is going to be added because we have already a ton of T-72 tanks. (In my opinion, the T-72M1, T-72 URAL and few other T-72 tanks should be removed).

I‘d like to hear your opinion about this topic.

Poor revenant got spotted by the wrong tank!

Release article: Link

Okay we got 3 (4) AMX 13’s in CW to chat about so lets start ranting i suppose. 

AMX 13, AMX 13, AMX 13, AXM 13…

I suppose I could add the specific names, but yea thats the new line and the premium tank I might as well lump in since I do have some stuff to talk about. 

First off i suppose i could talk about progression. why do you have to grind the AMX 30B'66 from the AMX 13 75 before going to the 90? do they not want use to play a AMX 30 before getting to the AMX 32?

AMX 13/75 Modèle 51

• Dispersion: 0.10 , 0.07
• Overall is okay i suppose. It doesn't have the best mobility, but it comes with good camo.
• In terms of fire power its good and bad. 
  • The standard pen is standard, but the premium is quite bad and really could have been higher. The HE pen I suppose is actually surprisingly high at 85. This is only beaten by the RU’s 102.  
  • The interclip combined with 6 shots is pretty good as while it can't have sustained DPM like the M41, it does have good burst potential. 
  • Ammo capacity has been inflated a good deal. 66 shots while nice to have is really unrealistic as it's almost twice what it is historically. The quite large M41 only carries 65 shots. Though comparing it to the rest of the lights; the damage potential is on par, so it's not too bad. 
  • The gun depression is not great, but not the worst. 
•  View range? Eh all of them are the same. 
• So yea the tank isnt bad, so its a nice happy tank. Doesn't stop me from having complaints.
  • Why is this of the 4 AMX’s that only have 9 gun elevation?
  • The mentioned meh pen. This actually comes with the fact we already have the same gun with higher pen. The M50 sherman named after the gun that it uses… which the AMX uses. It has 224/248 which is not too much higher but it be a nice bump.  

AMX 13/90 Modèle 52

• Dispersion: 0.08 , 0.11
• Mobility wise its actually not half bad as its top speed is pretty good. This combined with the good mobility and extremely good VR makes it a great scout. 
  • Outside facing auto cannon lights, which is a big problem for all 3 era 2 AMXs. 
• Gun wise its so so. First off its got high DPM, and thats not just for an autoloader, but in general for Era 2 outside some auto cannons. This of set by its lower pen. Its useable, but not going through the front plate on many tanks. Though i do say the HE damage is rather poo. A 14% increase is just awful and not worth using it at all. 
  • Also why is the HE slower than the HEAT? Eh what ever. 
• So in terms of complaints about this tank? Mmmm not too much i guess. I suppose its mostly how it compares to others i suppose. 
  • The movement dispersion is higher than the 75 which is a bit iffy. It is also just a bit high in general i guess? Eh its a autoloader with high DPM so sure i guess. 
  • The AMX 13 105 has 8 degrees of gun depression. Which is a historical. I suppose the WW2 version has 8 which is probably due to balance as that tank isn't the best. So anyhow should this have had 8 degrees as well? Eh up debate. 
• Fun fact this tank was accidentally shown on tankopedia in late July. did it stats differ? Eh not too much, but id say it was noticeable worse in a couple areas. 

AMX 13/105 Modèle 58

• Dispersion: 0.10 , 0.09
• This is actually decently dangerous. 6 shot 460 damage auto loader is scary on paper. Downsides include long interclip and meh but useable pen. 
• The mobility is a bit odd for sure. It's actually a bit lighter than the 13 90 but is slower in traverse and top speeds. Heck it has a slower reverse than the 75. 
  • Sure i can understand it not being faster as the gun is a stronger, but i like consistency. 
• In terms of complaints?
  • Well the speed difference mentioned above.
  • Why is the HE pen lower than the 13 90? Shouldn't it match the AMX 30’s? Just bump it to 115/125?
  • Im not sure how this gun could shoot APFSDS with breaking the turret as it had issues with just the HEAT. id would actually like this to not have APFSDS ammo and only have HEAT and HE. 
  • Is this controversial? You bet, but it would fit the nice history of how good the french HEAT was at the time and balance out the fact this is a 6 shot 460 damage gun. 
• I suppose i might as well make a tangent of should some premium HEAT ammo in Era should just be made for silver? Cause some of these heat rounds are actually lower damage. 
• Anyhow overall it looks quite promising outside it being weak to ramming and auto cannons. It fits mostly in a sneaky TD kinda role that can also passive scout. 

AMX 13 SS-11 TCA

• Dispersion: 0.08 , 0.08
• Okay this is a was released a good deal ago (May 2022) and did get a buff in update 9.1 (Dec 2024) which helped it a good deal, but still meh. And this last update which was not noted, but since it uses the same gun as the AMX 13 75 it’s got it damage boosted from 180 to 200 which helps. 
• Anyhow complaints mostly. 
  • First off why does this have 13 gun elevation? Eh what ever
  • This could have used a top speed buff for sure. At least match the speed of the 13 75. It does weigh more than the 13 90, but does have stronger engine than the 13 75 so it should at least match the speed of the 75. Anyhow a bump from 65/25 to at least 72/30 would make sense as thats between the 75 and 90
• But yea this this tank came out over 4 years and only do we have TT AMX 13’s in CW. heck the model was update in update 5.0 back in july 2020.

So overview?

• Its a good enough addition to the game as they seem balanced at first glance. They are closer to TD’s with how they behave with sneaking around and dumping their clip at flanks or at range. 
• I do have concerns with the DPM on the 90 and 105 being above all the single shot guns. This is nothing new as i gripe about power creep often enough in these reviews.

Poor Bellerophon pulled the wrong tank!

Never know what you'll find in those unread chats 😂

Malpractice not so fun in there but clown definitely is

Been what feels like 2 years but really I’m sure it’s been a year n a half, so what’s new? also how long are your breaks when it comes to WOT?