The arrival of 9.7 brought many new things to World of Tanks, including a new map (Overlord), another new tier 8 premium tank (T-54 First Prototype), and a whole boatload of bug fixes (sadly, not everything was fixed, but whatever). The most important thing that came in this update, however, was a whole bunch of new French light and medium tanks. And oh boy, they're all a lot of fun. The line is a little weird, however; several tier 2-5 tanks were added, but they serve as an alternate line to the ARL-44, and a tier 9 and 10 medium tank were added, but they are researched through the AMX-13/90. A little complicated, yes... but hey, at least we got the tanks in the first place (they were apparently on the shelves for a few years).
So, here we go: a review on each of the new French tanks introduced in 9.7 (besides the AMX 30B, as I don't actually have that one yet, and I don't plan on getting it... I'll explain why later. You'll see).
So, here we go: a review on each of the new French tanks introduced in 9.7 (besides the AMX 30B, as I don't actually have that one yet, and I don't plan on getting it... I'll explain why later. You'll see).
Renault R35 & FCM 36
If you've ever played the Hotchkiss H35 or Char D1 before, you'll have no problem fitting to the playstyle of these two monsters. Don't let the light classification fool you; the R35 and FCM 36 are definitely the heavies of tier 2, with very slow speed and mediocre maneuverability, but plenty of armor to match. They also share the same gun selection: you can either mount a rapid-firing, high-pen 25mm with low damage per shell, or a more punchy, 37mm alternative with less accuracy and penetration.
So, what's the difference between the two? Glad you asked. To start, the R35 is slightly smaller overall compared to the FCM36 (although it doesn't make much of a difference), but because of this, the modules and crew members are positioned closer together, which makes it easier to knock out multiple modules in one shot. However, despite the decrease in size, the R35 actually has more all-around armor compared to the FCM; you get 40mm at the front and sides, and 32mm at the rear. This makes the tank particularly hard to penetrate, especially if you angle even slightly. On the other hand, while the FCM36 gets 40mm of frontal armor as well, the side and rear armor drops to 20mm. This may seem like a huge problem, but it really isn't: the sides and rear are both angled very nicely, which allows for you to bounce plenty of shots once more. Just below the top plate of armor, there's even a section of 20mm-thick spaced armor covering the top of the tracks, which increases the effective armor thickness to around 60mm due to the combination of the 20mm side, 20mm spaced plate and 20mm tracks. Another thing to note is that the R35 has a total of 155 hitpoints, while the FCM36 only has 140, which makes the emphasis on armor even more important to the survivability of both vehicles. So, overall, despite the low amount of hitpoints, both tanks are pretty damn hard to take down.
Next up: the guns! Both tanks have reasonably good gun depression (R35 has -16 degrees, while the FCM has -9 to -17 [!] degrees depending on your gun selection), and the armor penetration values for both the 37mm and 25mm guns are decent for tier 2. However, the 37mm trades accuracy and rate of fire for slightly more damage, while the 25mm gets better penetration and rate of fire, but less damage per shell. I'd suggest using the 37mm on the R35 due to the good gun depression and better all-around armor (it makes trading shots with other tier 2s far easier) and the 25mm on the FCM due to the -17 degrees of gun depression it comes with (the 37mm only gets -9, remember) and the lower hitpoint pool (better rate of fire means you can get more shots off in a bad situation versus the 37mm).
I am definitely going to be holding onto these two beasts due to the reasons listed above as well as their low operating costs (these are tier 2s, after all) and, well... let's face it, they're both incredibly cute for tanks. TWO THUMBS UP!
So, what's the difference between the two? Glad you asked. To start, the R35 is slightly smaller overall compared to the FCM36 (although it doesn't make much of a difference), but because of this, the modules and crew members are positioned closer together, which makes it easier to knock out multiple modules in one shot. However, despite the decrease in size, the R35 actually has more all-around armor compared to the FCM; you get 40mm at the front and sides, and 32mm at the rear. This makes the tank particularly hard to penetrate, especially if you angle even slightly. On the other hand, while the FCM36 gets 40mm of frontal armor as well, the side and rear armor drops to 20mm. This may seem like a huge problem, but it really isn't: the sides and rear are both angled very nicely, which allows for you to bounce plenty of shots once more. Just below the top plate of armor, there's even a section of 20mm-thick spaced armor covering the top of the tracks, which increases the effective armor thickness to around 60mm due to the combination of the 20mm side, 20mm spaced plate and 20mm tracks. Another thing to note is that the R35 has a total of 155 hitpoints, while the FCM36 only has 140, which makes the emphasis on armor even more important to the survivability of both vehicles. So, overall, despite the low amount of hitpoints, both tanks are pretty damn hard to take down.
Next up: the guns! Both tanks have reasonably good gun depression (R35 has -16 degrees, while the FCM has -9 to -17 [!] degrees depending on your gun selection), and the armor penetration values for both the 37mm and 25mm guns are decent for tier 2. However, the 37mm trades accuracy and rate of fire for slightly more damage, while the 25mm gets better penetration and rate of fire, but less damage per shell. I'd suggest using the 37mm on the R35 due to the good gun depression and better all-around armor (it makes trading shots with other tier 2s far easier) and the 25mm on the FCM due to the -17 degrees of gun depression it comes with (the 37mm only gets -9, remember) and the lower hitpoint pool (better rate of fire means you can get more shots off in a bad situation versus the 37mm).
I am definitely going to be holding onto these two beasts due to the reasons listed above as well as their low operating costs (these are tier 2s, after all) and, well... let's face it, they're both incredibly cute for tanks. TWO THUMBS UP!
Somua S35/S40
We're only at the tier 3, and yet this is where the line begins to change drastically. Other than its classification as a medium tank (rather than a light), the Somua S35 still has a high rate of fire with poor damage per shell (and pretty bad pen against tier 4-5 tanks), but now, the armor is much less effective against the guns it faces. Sure, it gets 47mm frontal armor compared to the wonderful 40mm of armor on both tier 2 tanks, but... at tier 3? Eh, it's less than ideal, especially when you meet KV-1s (119mm pen) and VK 30.01 Hs (150mm pen). You'd think the ineffectiveness of the armor would justify a huge increase in mobility, but, although the S35 is slightly faster than its predecessors, it isn't enough to give this thing the ability to flank most higher-tiered tanks (which is problematic, as - well, you can probably already figure out why). Overall, this tank is a little "meh" in my eyes due to the fact that it can meet tier 5s, but when this thing gets into tier 3 and 4 games, it can absolutely wreck other tanks with its rate of fire and decent amount of armor.
SARL 42
At first glance, this thing looks a little inferior to the S35 - it has 40mm of frontal armor (even though it's a tier higher, it loses 7mm of armor), somewhat slow acceleration, worse traverse speed, and it can see tier 6s now. However, this thing gets one massive advantage over the S35 - better guns. There are 2 competitive options for this tank. On one hand, you can choose to use a very rapid-firing 47mm with great penetration (106mm), good accuracy (.36), very fast aim time (1.9sec), and, in turn, high DPM for a tier 4 tank (1,738 with a gun rammer equipped), but with relatively low damage per shell (55hp). If this doesn't suit your fancy, you can use a 75mm gun with a lower rate of fire, worse accuracy (.43), less penetration (100mm), and lower DPM (1,416 with a gun rammer) but more damage per shell (110hp). Somehow, this upgrade to the gun selection makes this one of my favorite tier 4s, even with its sluggish speed and near-useless armor. Another thumbs up.
Renault G1 R
I feel as though the G1R is having a bit of an identity crisis: it has the side armor and mobility of a heavy, but the gun, frontal armor, and hitpoints of a medium. Annoyingly, the "upgraded" turret on the G1R has only 60mm of unsloped armor at the front of the turret, and the BDR G1's monstrous cupola sits casually on one side of the turret roof, which gives this thing a fairly low camo rating (and makes it easier to hit). The gun itself is a 105mm howitzer comparable to the M4 Sherman's 105mm, although this version has a lower rate of fire, but a higher shell velocity. The gun depression isn't too bad either (-8 degrees), but it doesn't have the turret front to poke over ridgelines like the Sherman does. There's another twist to this, however: the tank has 60mm of all-around armor. Yes, that's right: the front, sides, and rear of the hull and turret have 60mm of armor, which can lead to some hilarious troll bounces. Also, since the side armor is spaced (50mm of spaced armor!), you can sidescrape very well against tier 5s and 6s. This thing, despite appearing to be a little inferior when compared to the M4 Sherman or Panzer IV H, has proven itself to be a fairly fun heavy-style medium, which works nicely when you consider that this thing leads to the tier 6 heavy in the French tree, the ARL-44. More thumbs up for this one.
AMX 30 1er Prototype
Now, it's time to jump all the way up to tier 9 for the AMX 30 1er Prototype (yes, that's the actual name). This is definitely my favorite tank of the line by a longshot. It sacrifices nearly all of its armor for a good gun and fantastic acceleration. The gun is comparable to the 105mm L7A1 mounted on the Leopard PT A and the Centurion 7/1, as it has wonderful accuracy, a decent aim time (2.2 sec), and great accuracy (.31); however, on the 1er prototype, it has a faster rate of fire when compared to both of these tanks. This, coupled with the good gun depression, high camouflage value, and epic acceleration means that the 1er excels in bullying heavies and mediums, especially at mid-to-long ranges. There's a few drawbacks to the tank, however: as mentioned earlier, the armor is pretty crap (80mm at the most), the gun dispersion after moving is a little bit bad, and the turn rate is horrendously slow for a tier 9 medium (36 deg/sec). Gladly, though, the epic gun and flexibility of the tank make it shine in almost any fight. I need more thumbs for this...
Extra thoughts: Amx 30B
Remember how I said I wasn't planning on getting the AMX 30B? I'll explain why now. To start, I absolutely love the AMX 30 1er as-is, so I don't see much of a need to upgrade to the 30B. Also, the 30B isn't much of an upgrade anyways: sure, it has a slightly better rate of fire, more hitpoints, and better gun dispersion on the move, but they aren't improved enough to justify its status as a tier 10. Hell, it gains a little weight from the 1er while keeping the same engine, so the horsepower per ton ratio is slightly lower. Will I research it eventually? Sure, as I want to elite my 30 1er. But will I play it? Probably not. Only time will tell, I guess.
Anyway, that's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and playing the tanks, for that matter). I should have a special article going up either today or tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.
Once again, thanks for reading!
Anyway, that's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and playing the tanks, for that matter). I should have a special article going up either today or tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.
Once again, thanks for reading!