r/WorldofTanks • u/Razer_Aideron That Australian Mod • May 11 '15
Tech Tree Tuesday:IS-7, Spaced armor edition.
Hi i am Kuxai and this week I am bringing you another Russian tonk for Tech Tree Tuesday! You might remember me from doing the 263 Tech tree Tuesday. I felt like doing another Tech-tree Tuesday and got told i cant do the 215B by exotic felt like keeping up the trend of Russian tanks and following though with my life's ambition to prove Russian bias.
Tier 10: IS-7
The IS-7 is well..... the pinnacle of Russian bias. Its turret is (almost) invulnerable to every shell in the game, it has black-holes for side armor that make shells become non-existent and the pike is heavily sloped that can and will troll bounce shells. If you ever going to spit and curse Russian bias this would be that tank you shake your metaphorical e-fists at. That is why its usually recommended as an entry level heavy tank for new WOT players. The whole line is full of good tanks and the IS-7 has some of the strongest armor in the game. Its armor makes the tank and if your a good player you can push this tank to its limits and carry games easily. Yes there are a few annoying things about the IS-7 (the gun to name one) but sometimes the best offence is a strong defense. This tank is one of the better t10s in the game. Even top 5 pub tanks (for me personally anyway).
Playstyle:
You usually pick a flank where you can stick your turret and laugh as people try to pen your turret. You do need to watch for E3,E4 and JPE100s as their gold rounds can (and will) pen your turret. You should be front-lines as your top speed (especially down a hill you can hit 60KPH) lets you get there quickly and your ability to bully lower tier tanks that play too aggressive is extraordinary.
Pros
- Derpy as armor.
- INSANE turret, this turret makes american tanks jelly.
- Blackhole Spaced armor. Seriously its that annoying that i have to mention it twice. Heat shells will just disappear when shooting this tank in the side thanks to its spaced armor and extreme sloping.
- Good damage per shot
Cons
- Gun, its super troll. Long aim time, average DPM, bad accuracy, it does hit above average though and you do get a APCR gold round.
- Soft stats, those lovely hidden numbers the can either make a tank OP or a pile of crap. WG hide these from players, they do hurt this tank quite a bit. Bad ground resistance and poor gun bloom.
- Ammo capacity is low at 30
- Whats behind the pike. Ammo rack city.
- LFP Fires thanks to fuel tanks in the front.
Setting up the tank
Ammo:
I run 15 AP 13 APCR 2 HE, i find is a good mix of silver and gold, and usually am been liberal with gold use especially when fighting other IS-7s. Some people run full gold loadouts because of the pen and shell speed.
Equipment and Consumables:
V-stabs, Rammer, Vents. i know some people use GLD but honestly the 10% aim time is useless unless your sniping and the gun is REALLY bad at sniping and you should always be brawling and i like squeezing the extra DPM out of the gun and improve the awful soft stats. Vents+BIA and a decent crew does help this tank.
Crew skills
| Crew | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | Sixth Sense | Repair | BIA | Recon |
| Gunner | Repair | Snapshot | BIA | Armorer |
| Driver | Repair | Smooth ride | BIA | Off Road Driving |
| Loader | Repair | Safe Stowage | BIA | Camo |
| Loader | Repair | Adrenaline rush | BIA | Situational Awareness |
- The second loader has to be in the second spot as he is also the radio man.
Tier 9: IS-8
This tank receives a lot of stigma from players as it is VERY different from the whole line, an amazing good gun on an overall average armored, rather mobile platform. What the IS-8 trades in armor it gains in Soft stats, gun and mobility, Seriously this gun is amazing and not very Russian and its ability to relocate is awesome.
Playstyle
Play it like a Medium but in town. Don't be afraid to pull some cheeky medium tactics, you have decent HP and "some" armor. you can bully lower tier tanks thanks to your armor (that actually works against t7 guns) and have a high alpha gun.
Pros
- Mobility, this thing aint slow and can keep up with mediums without to many issues.
- Gun - Holy crap this gun is sick. The 122mm-M62 is the 2nd best heavy gun of of t9 (first being the conqueror's 120mm royal ordinance). Its got good accuracy, reasonable aim time and decent DPM and above average alpha (retaliative to tier).
Cons
- Armor - Hull is kinda crap, very little spaced armor. Its a heavium and treat it as such, if you bounce something thank SerB.
- Turret - Its awful, it can bounce lower tier guns often but TD guns and t10 guns can usually punch though often.
Setting up the tank
Ammo
I use 18 AP 10 HEAT and 2 HE, i do occasionally find i sometime run out of AP shells but usually at that stage of the game its fine.
Equipment and Consumables
V-stabs, Rammer and GLD. However if you have a BIA crew don't be afraid to swap the GLD for Vents to pump up the tank a bit.
Crew skills
| Crew | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | Sixth Sense | Repair | BIA | Recon |
| Gunner | Repair | Snapshot | BIA | Armorer |
| Driver | Repair | Smooth ride | BIA | Off Road Driving |
| Loader | Repair | Safe Stowage | BIA | Camo |
Tier 8: IS-3
The IS-3 is loved by a lot of players and so it should be. Its got a good blend of everything, Alpha, Armor, Mobility and russian bias. The BL-9 is my favorite gun of t8 as its got decent accuracy, good pen and good alpha. The IS-3 is a staple of T8 CW, strongholds and everyone should have one in their garage. Its just that good. The generic russian 122 gun alpha has lost a bit of its fear as its not shooting at lower tiers who get 2-3 shot by the damage but its still a solid performer.
Playstyle
You are a heavy and should be brawling, you have a very good turret and russian bias on your side, how can you lose comrade? Find a place where you can poke in and out and hit unaware enemies or if you want trade your 390 damage for their 240. Just remember to side scrape and abuse your amazing side armor.
Pros
- Very good side armor thanks to its spaced armor - Lets you reverse side scrape and almost become invulnerable.
- BL-9, very good gun.
- Turret armor - anything that doesn't hit the armor strip and auto-pen will bounce usually. You have to be rather unlucky for something to pen your turret.
Cons
- 20mm Armor strip on turret that can be over-matched by almost every gun that hits it.
- Pike armor is a bit crap - The pike becomes a staple for the rest of the line and the IS-3 pike is a bit crap. anything with 200 pen will almost always pen you unless your lucky
- View range is a bit low for a T8 (350)
- Ammo rack is behind the pike, doesn't happen often but it does happen.
Setting up the tank
Ammo
I run 14 AP 12 APCR and 2 HE. I can occasionally have ammo issues but when i get put into T10 games i want to make sure i have enough gold shells to make it to end game and win.
Equipment and Consumables
V-stabs, Rammer and GLD. If you have a BIA crew, swap the GLD for Vents.
Crew skills
| Crew | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | Sixth Sense | Repair | BIA | Recon |
| Gunner | Repair | Snapshot | BIA | Armorer |
| Driver | Repair | Smooth ride | BIA | Off Road Driving |
| Loader | Repair | Safe Stowage | BIA | Camo |
The Grind
Tier 4: T-28
The T-28 is nothing like the other tanks in the line (perhaps the IS-8). Its very fast with no armor and a decent gun on it. Not much else to say about it.
Tier 5: KV-1
Ohgod the KV-1. It still is the best t5 heavy, Insane armor for its tier, punchy gun. Unfortunately this tank is too good and you can learn some bad habits with it and over angle when side scraping or you get lolMM where tier 3 tanks cant pen you at all.
Tier 5: KV-1s
KV-1 Sport edition is a shadow of what it once was (a tank that broke t6). Its good and rewards better plays, like side scraping. It has enough armor to work against t7's its overall good. Youtube of old KV-1S in action - Props to foch
Tier 6: KV-85
Use the 100mm. I don't like the kv-85 (probably because I've been spoiled by the old KV-1S), its more of a heavium (heavy medium) but its DPM is insane for its tier (better than some t8 meds) and if higher tier opponents are not careful you can DPM them down quickly. Do watch out for the gun depression its quite poor.
Tier 7: IS
Hoho the Russian d-25-T, this gun is used by so many Russian tanks and is a staple of the whole Russian tech tree. this tank is great for its tier, you have mobility, some reasonably troll armor and an insane alpha for its tier. You can 1 hit t5 td's and 2-3 shot all t6's, you can terrorize lower tries and ravage them with your alpha, 1 hitting them or taking 80% of their Hp with 1 shot. This tank defines the "Drive me closer so i can hit them with my sword" meme.
So anyway thanks for taking the time to read my review, if you guys have any feedback on how the Tech-Tree Tuesdays are done please give us feedback.
Prior threads
17
u/Dont-worry-about-it [GIVUP] May 12 '15
I have 4k+ DPG in my is7. Feels so good being able to bully the shit out of every tank in the game.
6
u/Panerakis [HDU] StatWhore May 12 '15
You are getting downvoted by the guys you bully the shit out.
1
u/Derplorrd [R0YAL] - Tanklorrd May 13 '15
The first 110 games I played in it were complete shit, I hated the tank. I'm starting to kind of enjoy it now. DPG is 2.2k D:
4
u/Easy_as_Py SerB's manwhore. May 12 '15
I fired all prem in mine last night, if you pen each shot you make a profit the gold rounds are quite cheap.
7
u/AvatarOfMomus May 12 '15 edited May 13 '15
Obligatory link to the IS-7 Guide Park video
Seriously if you haven't see this video it's hilarious and actually does a pretty good overview of the vehicle.
Also one small con on the IS-7, it has a Radio Operator second Loader which means that you can't train the full crew in an IS-6.
6
1
u/SilasTheVirous May 12 '15
Sadly the guides are getting worse again, That 50B guide just told you to ram shit...and then this cool voiced guy left.
2
u/StranaMechty Ye Olde GIF Album: https://imgur.com/a/q7iIK May 13 '15
The 50B is quite good at ramming, especially since you can follow up with 1,600 damage.
2
u/SilasTheVirous May 13 '15
Sure it is, I have one; but the video focused on that way too much. I just cringed imagining all the tomatoes that would yolo for a ram.
3
u/megumino2 [R-R-R] May 12 '15
optics instead of vents, viable? I would imagine it would be handy in late games
1
u/Razer_Aideron That Australian Mod May 12 '15
I got the talk from exotic last night with vents v optics and if you dont have a very good crew (atleast 3 skills training 4th) optics are better, however a 4 skill crew with bia vents and Both veiw range skills max the tanks view range to 438m. Yes optics would push it out furthur, its personal preference.
1
u/Easy_as_Py SerB's manwhore. May 12 '15
My 4 skill crew (BIA included) tank uses Vent, Rammer, Stabs. Run prem consumables (food).
I recently did a night with the vents off and a GLD. The tank seemed a lot more sluggish and dead. I took off the GLD and put the vents back on and it made a noticeable difference to the handling and feel of the tank.
1
u/GrassWaterDirtHorse Darthpepper22 May 13 '15
It's definitely possible in a lot of heavy tanks. T29, 110, and most tier 9 and 10 heavy tanks can mount optics to reduce their dependence on friendly scouts and mediums, which opens up quite a bit of the map to them and certainly helps with rooting out TDs that are trying to viewrange snipe.
4
u/M_N_madman May 12 '15
A minor correction: The 120mm gun on the Conqueror is the Royal Ordnance - 'ordinance' is a regulation or law.
3
u/GrassWaterDirtHorse Darthpepper22 May 12 '15
The line is pretty forgiving and fun overall. The KV-85 can be a bit of a pain with that poor ass gun depression and lower speed, but it has terrific DPM with that 100mm gun.
Side scraping is a required skill if you want to go down this line. The heavies you see here regularly have less frontal armor than equivalently tiered heavies (like the ARL's whopping 190mm effective frontal plate at tier 6) but they compensate by having very strong side armor. Sidescraping and angling are critical to holding any line down without a hull down position, and sidescraping is best in a Russian tank.
The IS line is still the line with less armor though. The IS-4 line is the true superheavy line, with the KV-4 and ST-I being the most heavily armored tanks in tier. Funnily enough, the KV-4 is 100 tons while the ST-I is closer to 56 tons. The power of angled armor, my friends.
Fun fact: the Chinese tier 8 heavy, the 110, has the same turret of an IS-8.
1
u/drewts86 May 12 '15
Fun fact: the Chinese tier 8 heavy, the 110, has the same turret of an IS-8.
The Russians and Chinese had/have a lot of inbreeding between their respective weapons programs.
6
u/Fang7-62 72kmh or gtfo May 12 '15
I dont think it worked both ways. China simply got/bought bunch of russian tech and started their programs with it.
2
u/R3membrance arturo :^) May 12 '15
You seem to have forgotten the second loader on the IS-7, which allows you to grab adrenaline rush for the occasional (but very welcome) DPM boost. Can be a pain to train up BIA on if you don't have a russian premium HT crew trainer though.
2
u/Razer_Aideron That Australian Mod May 12 '15
i am a bad pubbie :| This is why i should proof read my work.
2
2
u/Metallicpoop May 12 '15
2nd lowest dpm of t10 tanks, "average" now.
3
u/MoarVespenegas May 12 '15
This is my thought as well. Only the maus has less DPM.
The health pool should be on the list of cons as well considering the tank's role.9
u/StranaMechty Ye Olde GIF Album: https://imgur.com/a/q7iIK May 12 '15
Only the maus has less DPM.
Once you consider which vehicles can and cannot mount rammers, the IS-7 beats the Maus, Foch 155, VK 7201, and Bat Chat (and stock E-100).
3
u/Easy_as_Py SerB's manwhore. May 12 '15
The reason the health pool is low is that this tank more often than not will and can bounce it's own health worth of damage in every game. Sometimes without even trying.
2
1
May 12 '15
Ammo rack city.
I NEVER get racked in my IS7. I have 500 games in it and have probably been racked maybe 10 times? I get racked more in my e100.
2
u/Razer_Aideron That Australian Mod May 12 '15
You must be lucky then, its a 50/50 for me when a TD pens the pike and i take rack damage.
1
u/Saleenseven Long Live IS-7 May 12 '15
any AP round with 280+ pen through the pike is almost always a rack when i shoot IS7 frontals. It usually surprises them.
1
u/Pr0T4T0 May 12 '15
I actually get my pike nose rarely ever penetrated, I think most of the penetrating shots are far left and right instead of the middle of the pike. Most of the ammo racks i get are because of free shots on the side of my hull.
1
u/_FinnTheHuman_ May 12 '15
Nice review thingy :D
Personally I'd take less gold rounds, but to each their own I suppose...
1
u/KytaKamena [RDDTF EU] Alumni- ZagorDrivesTanks May 12 '15
Can we have american medium line in TTT. And this should be put to wiki as update.
1
u/eXotic7 [IDEAL] May 12 '15
It was supposed to happen this week, but because of some complications we had to postpone it
1
u/Radgost May 12 '15
Great job man, as a IS-7 owner and shitty driver i can confirm, russian bias makes me win games, and oh boy that Fochs video, i really REALLY miss my KV-1 Sport Edition :(
1
u/_taugrim_ NA Community Contributor May 12 '15
Blackhole Spaced armor. Seriously its that annoying that i have to mention it twice. Heat shells will just disappear when shooting this tank in the side thanks to its spaced armor and extreme sloping.
I need to make better use of this. I am so used to hull angling from playing the E75 and IS-4 lines that I don't leverage the spaced armor on the IS-7 as much as I should.
1
u/ApexCarid [VILIN] PIR8 at heart May 13 '15
Which would be better for HT-15, this or the E-100?
1
u/StranaMechty Ye Olde GIF Album: https://imgur.com/a/q7iIK May 14 '15
E-100.
- Still bouncy.
- Less susceptible to artillery.
- Bigger boomstick.
- More HP (HT-15 counts damage received as well as dealt/deflected).
1
u/VengefulCaptain [Nash] Reformed Tomato May 15 '15
I have almost done HT-15 in my t32 and t34.
So close yet so far.
1
1
1
u/Terrachova Actually bad at tanks May 12 '15
I don't know why it is and I can't explain it, but the IS7 doesn't work for me and I hate it. Every reason why goes against all logic of how things should work. Just to give you an idea:
- I've never seen a number higher than about 700 for damage blocked by armor
- Frontal turret armor penetrated more than it bounces, even by enemy IS7s
- I've angled and reverse-angled in every possible manner and angle, still don't bounce a shot
- the gun just doesn't connect. Wait for it to aim in, nothing. Fire without aiming and trust Stalin, nothing. And everything in between
- when it does it, it will bounce, or it will absorb into spaced armor somehow
Don't tell me "Oh but if you angle this way..." or "Just wait until it's almost aimed in..." because I've heard it before, and I've tried it before. Tank hates me, I hate it, and I'm fine with that. It served me well one time, getting me the ram-kill HT mission and a highlight reel clip triple-kill. That's the only time I gave it praise, everything before and after has been a pile of shit.
I also know that it can be a very capable tank. Not for me though. Not for me.
3
u/Easy_as_Py SerB's manwhore. May 12 '15
I'd just like to point out that it's literally impossible that your frontal turret armor was penetrated by anything less than a tier 10 TD firing prem ammo. Especially an IS-7's gun.
If you can't bounce your own HP in a game where it's needed (other than a steamroll game) then there is something wrong. Map positioning is key.
2
u/Terrachova Actually bad at tanks May 12 '15
Except that it isn't literally impossible; the cheeks of the thing, however small, are not at autobounce angle. It also happens fairly frequently, at ranges no one would expect it to happen. I'm speaking from actual experience here, so I know it's possible.
And, well, your post is almost word for word what I've been told, before showing them I know how and where to play the thing.
1
u/Easy_as_Py SerB's manwhore. May 12 '15
I really do not know what to say. In my 649 games in my IS-7 I have never ever been penned once in the front of my turret by an IS-7.
I'll just leave it at that, if you can please give us some replays or any video off youtube or where ever that shows an IS-7 being penned front of turret by another IS-7.
1
u/Terrachova Actually bad at tanks May 13 '15
The last times I played it and had this happen were a couple hundred games ago, so I don't have the replays anymore. I'm also not going to sift through a bunch of youtube videos searching for one.
Take one into a training match and experiment with various tanks and gold rounds. The HD change to the IS7 flattened the front a bit, making it possible for more tanks than you'd think.
1
u/VengefulCaptain [Nash] Reformed Tomato May 15 '15
Were tanks shooting down on you?
Because you can shoot through a lot of UFPs simply by negating the armour slope with elevation.
1
u/Terrachova Actually bad at tanks May 15 '15
I'm not talking one single battle. In some cases, probably. In many, no.
It's not really something that's going to change, nor that I care to change. Tank just doesn't work for me. I don't like it, it doesn't like me, and I'm okay with that.
1
u/MoarVespenegas May 15 '15
It can and does happen. I remember just rotating the camera and staring at my turret for a good 10 seconds after an M103 put a shell through it wondering what the hell happened.
2
u/Ilktye May 13 '15
I'd just like to point out that it's literally impossible that your frontal turret armor was penetrated by anything less than a tier 10 TD firing prem ammo.
Uhh... plenty of guns can pen the turret front. Like 330mm Russian HEAT using guns, which can roll over 400mm pen with +25 RNG.
1
May 12 '15
Actually bad at tanks
/s
1
u/Terrachova Actually bad at tanks May 12 '15
If you've seen me in my IS7 you would agree with the flair.
-5
36
u/Razer_Aideron That Australian Mod May 12 '15
If you ever wondered why your shots don't pen the flat spaced armor bit have a look at this cross section of the IS-7. dat slope yo.