So the developers have an open love to rivet copies of famous vehicles, turn them into premium tanks and put them up for sale. The IS-3 "Defender" is one of these copies. True, at the time of the release of the first “Zashchechnik”, the guys were still trying not to burn, as a result of which they got an interesting car, and not just a tank with a different skin. Next, we will analyze this heavy tank in detail, give advice on playing for it.
Characteristics of the tank
Weapons and firepower
Well, this is the destructor. That says it all. It takes a very long time to reduce, has disgusting accuracy and a terrible distribution of shells in the circle of the sight. But if it hits, it hits very hard. This is especially felt by TDs that lose a third of HP after one penetration.
But this destructor is not so simple. He is "drummed". That is, turned into a drum, but not the most common. We are accustomed to take a long time to load and quickly release shells, while the IS-3 “Defender” takes a long time to load and release shells for a long time. 3 shells, 7.5 seconds CD inside the drum и 23 seconds total cooldown. DPM is not much different from the standard 2k damage for such guns. That is, it turns out that we give up shells a little faster, but then we are forced to remain defenseless for a while. As a compensation.
And separately, as a kind of nonsense, I would like to note the UVN at -7 degrees. For the destructor!
Armor and security
NLD: 205 mm.
VLD: 215-225 mm + two additional sheets, where the total armor is 265 mm.
Tower: 300+ mm.
Boards: lower part 90 mm and upper part with bulwark 180 mm.
Stern: 85 mm.
What's the point of talking about IS-3 armor when everyone already knows that Soviet heavy tanks only tank at the expense of randomness? This one is no exception. If you are lucky and the enemy hits a protected square, you will tank. No luck - don't tank. But, unlike the regular IS-3, which has terrible HP, the Defender can afford to stand off the terrain and trade his monolithic bald head.
In general, the festive version of IS tanks much better than its upgraded counterpart. Its armor is really worthy of the title of a heavy tank.
Speed and mobility
Despite good armor, this heavy moves quite cheerfully. Maximum forward speed is one of the best, and the dynamics are good. Unless on soft soils the car gets very bogged down.
The hull and turret traverse speed is as normal as possible. It feels like there is weight and armor in the car, but there is no feeling of strong viscosity in the gameplay.
The best equipment and gear
Equipment. It is standard. Unless there is no adrenaline on drum tanks. Instead, you can take an additional first aid kit so that the crew members can see your concern.
Ammunition. There is nothing unusual about her at all. Two additional rations for combat comfort and one large gasoline for more active movement.
Equipment. The only thing that is very different from other vehicles is the first firepower slot. Since there is no rammer on drum tanks, calibrated shells are usually placed on them. The fan gives a general increase in performance, but this increase is cheap. On the other hand, calibrated shells give your heavies almost PT-shnoe penetration. You can play around with the survivability slots a bit, but the tank is not a crit collector and you won't notice any big changes.
Ammunition. Considering the reload speed, even not the largest ammo is unlikely to be completely shot. You can take it as in the screenshot, you can remove three high-explosive shells and scatter them to other places.
But then it is worth remembering that if you used a land mine in battle, it will no longer be possible to switch to HE with a full drum. If there are, for example, 2 HEs left in the BC, and you switch to HE with a fully loaded drum, then one shell simply disappears from the drum.
How to play the IS-3 "Defender"
Playing the Defender is exactly the same as playing any other Soviet heavy tank. That is, we shout “Hurrah!” and we go on the attack, get close to the opponent and periodically give him savory slaps in the face for 400 damage. Well, we pray to the god of Random that the legendary Soviet armor beat off shells.
Our main habitat is the flank of heavy tanks. Although, in some battles, you can try and push ST. This option will also be effective, because it is even more difficult for them to cope with our armor.
Also, this unit was given normal vertical aiming angles. That is, the “Defender” can stand in position. On dug up maps with a bunch of hills, the monolithic bald head of the IS-3 sticking out from the terrain will most likely force most of the opponents to turn around and leave, because it is simply impossible to smoke out the grandfather.
Pros and cons of a tank
Pros:
Simplicity. Whatever postscript the grandfather had at the end, he will always remain a grandfather. This is an eerily simple machine that forgives many mistakes for beginners and allows you to survive where the corpse of any super-heavy tank would have burned out long ago.
Unique gameplay. There are very few such drum guns in WoT Blitz. Such an interval between shots imposes many restrictions on the game, but it makes the gameplay sharper and more interesting. Now for a short time you have more than three thousand DPM, but then you have to leave the battle.
Cons:
Tool. But wrapping around a destructor doesn't make it normal. This is still a slanting and terribly uncomfortable stick, which can miss close, or can stick it into the hatch across the entire map. The pleasure of shooting with this weapon will definitely not work.
Stability. This is the eternal misfortune of any Soviet heavy. It all depends on the random. Will you hit or miss? Will you try or not? Will you be able to tank the enemy or will he shoot you right through? All this is not decided by you, but by the VBR. And, if luck is not on your side, get ready to suffer.
Сonclusion
If we talk about the car as a whole, then it is far from the most convenient and comfortable. Like its upgraded counterpart, the “Defender” is outdated and in modern randomness is not able to provide worthy resistance to the overpowered Royal Tiger, Pole 53 TP, Chi-Se and other similar devices.
But if we compare this grandfather with other grandfathers at the level, then the “Defender” surpasses them in terms of game comfort and combat effectiveness. In this regard, it is slightly lower than Ob. 252U, that is, somewhere in the middle.
