A Fulcrum Review/Guide, the mighty T34.

What starts here is a review/guide to one of the oldest and most veteran tanks in the entire game.

So without further distractions, let's get this going



(again, obligatory tank power porn is obligatory)

Now let's get the groove on talking about the T53A1 120mm, a super sexy gun filled with a lot of power for a tier 8 heavy, this motherfucker right here has 248 pen and 400 alpha at tier 8, that's pretty damn good, time FOR SOME IN DEPTH TALKING OF ZE GUN JA?!

The T53A1 is an interesting weapon for a tier 8 heavy, as said above it has monstrous penetration and alpha, but what downsides does it have? wellllllllllll, the gun has some of the worst dispersion in the entire game and pretty dire DPM.

But that's also coupled with pretty awful base aim time of 3.4 which will leave you aiming for ages, but the tank also comes with 0.34 accuracy so if you're used to Russian aim times you'll be pleasantly surprised with the accuracy.


I'll get to how you should use this nearer the end.

Now on to mobility.

This tank moves like shit, like really shit, an 810hp engine propelling a 64 ton tank, which has bad terrain resistance values of:

1.34 on hard
1.63 on medium
3.26 on soft, fricking 3.26 that thing will move like shit in a bog

The engine gives this heavy piece of crap a 12.49hp/t ratio, which will feel MUCH worse when combined with the horrific terrain resistance (I'm a firm believer that WG should buff the terrain resistance on the T34, since the tank got hit hard when it was downtiered from tier IX, 3 or so years ago) 

Let's talk traverse rates now, this is where more pain comes in to the mix, the tank turns it's hull at a ridiculously slow 22 degrees and it rotates that big ass turret at 18 degrees, so this thing is easy to flank :/


ON TO THE ARMOUR FINALLY!

Yeah this motherfucker has armour, that bloody turret for one is a god damn fortress

(couldn't find a chart with the armour zones :/)

But as said above, the turret is a fortress, when pointing this turret forwards it's almost impenetrable, you need a very high penetration round to put a dent in this thing when it's looking right at you (side note if you fighting a T34, wait until they turn their turret a little bit to the left or right, it flattens out the side and you can get some tricky pens), also this turret when combined with the 10 degrees of gun depression, allows that gun to kick ass and repel damage.



The hull is not that good though, it's 101mm at the front sloped back, gives it around 160- give or take effectiveness, the side armour is 76mm, and it does have thick tracks, so sidescraping can be a thing at times

Rear armour is shit, don't need to say much.

And on about the turret the sides are very weak, so be wary.


Recommended Setup -

Gun Rammer, Optics and Vert Stabs, (why no GLD? because it's normally fucking useless and you have the turret to help you aim) 

Skill path - Repairs, then swap it out for sixth sense, then train up repairs again, THEN replace it for BIA, then fully train repairs, now you want to get off-road driving.

After that train whatever you want, I fully recommend clutch braking though, since this thing turns like a boat.


Consumables, standard repair kit, first aid kit and FE, I might switch my standard FE out for a premium one since my controller is fucked.

Ammo.

29 Standard, 5 APCR. (you don't really need APCR most of the time, but it is useful when you need to take down a tier X)

I don't really carry HE, but the tank does carry 34 shells and you won't really run out any time soon since my set up only permits around a 12s to 12.5s reload, so feel free to switch it out if you need to, since the HE could be useful for Borsigs and the like

Playstyle - 


I keep close to my team and hug ridgelines for heavy fire support, I keep my gun singing and I always try to have team mates with me to nullify my weaknesses i.e bad DPM and horrific traverse.

You want to focus on finding ridgelines at key chokepoints to create a power play, you want to be the controller of engagements, so that is why you find a hull down spot.

Another tactic to use so enemies can't fire back is to rock back and forth, it fucks with your aiming circle, but stops Johnny Smalldick in his 263 from having an easy time penning you. 

Now on to non-hull down positions

As I mentioned earlier this tank hull is a bit shite, but it can sidescrape if need be, when you want to approach with a sidescraping manoeuvre, try to over-exaggerate the angle just a tad, not enough for them to rip your engine compartment to shreds, but just enough so the shells will impact and be absorbed by your monstrously sized tracks, and another thing about this tank, albeit it is quite large, the hull in comparison to the the turret is deceptively low profile so the turret can still be a use in a city engagement.

When dealing with flankers? back up to the nearest, rock, wall, hippy van, idk, back up to something and that will prevent them from circling around you like nobodies business.






And the concludes it folks, if you need any more help, post below and I'll get to helping ya.