IS-3: where to shoot in World of Tanks. Player recommendations and features

For the test, we used the IS-3 - a level eight heavy aircraft in a top configuration and a crew pumped up to an average of 80%. There are three tanks against us - the heavy Soviet tank IS of the seventh level, the light French AMX 12t of the fifth level and the Soviet artillery SU-8, also of the fifth level. The shooting was carried out from a distance of 100 meters while standing (the tanks did not move or dance). Of course, the conditions are not quite combat conditions, but close to them. In battle, you are unlikely to stand like a statue and wait for a serve from the enemy. Therefore, this test gives a general idea of ​​the penetration zones of the IS-3 . The AMX 12t is unlikely to stand still at all - rather try to spin the IS-3 and shoot anywhere and try harder not to fall under the heavy paw of our test subject.

We fired ordinary shells, not gold shells. Technique used in the IS-3 penetration :

1. IS - 122 mm D-25T cannon, top-end. HP damage: 390. Penetration: 175.
2. AMX 12t - 75 mm SA49 L48, top gun. Damage: 110. Penetration: 108.
3. SU-8 - 152 mm howitzer ML-20 mod. 1931 top gun, fired a land mine. HP Damage: 910, Penetration: 88.

First, you can look at the IS-3 reservation scheme:

Leveling up

• Research requires 77,000 experience units. The previous tank is the IS;
• First of all, we’ll examine a top weapon that has decent penetration;
• Next we study the top tower. It increases the level of protection of the tank, its visibility and the amount of HP;
• We are studying and installing a top-end chassis, which will have a positive effect on the maneuverability of the tank and will allow the installation of heavy equipment;
• Lastly, let’s increase the communication range and buy a top-end walkie-talkie;
• The next tank in the branch is the IS-8. To research it you need 164,700 experience.

Soviet destroyer

Surely all players are familiar with one of the best Soviet attack tanks. The IS-3 in World of Tanks truly inspires respect and fear in its enemies. Thanks to its excellent design, this tank feels great in a flank attack. Its armor is very high, and the corners are so sharp that not everyone will be able to penetrate it even at close range. Its high speed and maneuverability make it an excellent vehicle for flank attacks, and its powerful weapon is capable of hitting even armored targets. True, there are some downsides. The gun, although it deals high damage and is distinguished by its penetration, takes quite a long time to bring down, and its accuracy leaves much to be desired, which makes using this tank for long-range firefights extremely problematic.

Top equipment

Advantages and disadvantages

After a detailed acquaintance with the parameters of the technology, we will draw some conclusions, identifying the strengths and weaknesses.

Advantages:

• high damage from a doublet shot;
• strong tower;
• high damage per minute;
• good stabilization of the top gun;
• good mobility for a TT.

Flaws

• low armor penetration;
• small one-time damage;
• long mixing;
• low traverse speed of the chassis and turret;
• mediocre review.

Review

Since both in real life and in the game the IS-3 is a development of the IS and IS-2 tanks, the style of play will be approximately the same - support at medium and close range, breaking through directions with weak defense, flank attacks and base defense.

The armor, compared to the IS tank, is greatly improved, and it protects against guns like the D-25 and ZIS-6, but practically does not protect against long-barreled 105 mm guns. The turret is better armored than the hull.

The turret's forehead is fully protected from the top guns of the Royal Tiger and other tanks, but has a thin cover that is pierced by the three-caliber rule. The sides have bulwarks that absorb shells of any guns and calibers without damage.

The powerful top gun BL-9 has good armor penetration, damage and rate of fire, but poor accuracy, which does not allow it to be used at long distances.

The length of the hull does not allow you to hide behind small houses, but the tank has a low silhouette, so you can camouflage the tank well.

Due to the small vertical aiming angle, you have to fully show the thin side of the hull and turret to the enemy, and poor visibility does not allow you to see a hidden tank destroyer before being detected yourself, however, good maneuverability and high speed allow you to quickly escape from fire and occupy defense

Also, the “pike nose” of the forehead makes diamond tanking difficult.

Basic fighting style

The entire line of Soviet Joseph Stalin heavy tanks in the WoT game has approximately similar characteristics, and therefore their battle tactics are approximately the same. Every IS player must remember this and strictly follow his role so as not to let his comrades down.

Of course, each match develops differently, and you can never predict exactly what will happen next, so it happens that ISs take on other tasks. But this is rather an exception to the general rule.

Main aspects of the fighting style and assigned tasks:

• Active actions at close and medium distances.
• Support for durable and powerful tanks of tiers 9 and 10 allies.
• Assault on important points on the map.
• Breaking through enemy defenses in the most vulnerable places.
• Sudden attacks from the flanks, entry from the rear.
• Base defense, rear cover.

In this capacity, the IS-3 becomes the most effective in combat. Although, of course, a lot depends on the allies. Often this level 8 tank becomes the main striking force.

How to penetrate IS-3

The angular armor of the IS-3 can give you a lot of ricochets and missed shots if you don’t know where to shoot. You can easily waste some of your shells trying to shoot through a turret with excellent frontal armor or the sides at a high angle.

The sore spot of the IS-3 heavy tank is considered to be the ammunition rack, which is located both in the turret and in the hull, so when the opportunity arises, we criticize it. The IS-3 crew located in the turret is fairly well protected. The mechanical drive located behind the sloping frontal armor will be much easier to reach.

Everyone has their own role

The branch of Soviet tanks in World of Tanks is represented by almost all the equipment of those times, from incredibly powerful self-propelled artillery units to light tanks like the BT-7, which played more of a reconnaissance role than a combat vehicle. Each of the representatives of military equipment performed its own narrow task: artillery bombarded the enemy with powerful high-explosive shells, turning the battlefield into a real nightmare, heavy tanks pushed through the central defense, medium vehicles and anti-tank installations were used to support heavy ones, as well as to protect the flanks or rapid attacks.

Module location

On the left side, the IS-3 has one big problem in the form of an ammunition rack located along the entire front half of the tank, including the turret. While the engine and fuel tanks are located at the rear of the tank.

On the right side there is a similar situation, except that the ammo stowage area is slightly enlarged. In general, the right side is practically no different from the left. The turret is the hardest part of the tank, so it's best to shoot at the sides in hopes of damaging the ammo rack, engine, or fuel tanks.

In the frontal projection, the damage goes to the lower armor plate, but if you find yourself in a clinch, then direct all the fire to the observation devices. The upper armor plate is at a large angle, which leads to massive ricochets.

The rear part of the tank makes it possible to damage the engine in case of penetration. Damage to the engine leads to a loss of tank speed or a fire. The back of the turret is a difficult target, especially if it is rotating.

Crew upgrade options

In principle, each player has the right to choose perks depending on their own preferences. If you like to carry out assault missions to break through defenses, then you should improve your speed and driving performance. If preference is given to duels at close and medium distances, then combat parameters and the effectiveness of the crew’s actions should be improved.

Historical reference

Decision No. 5583 of April 8, 1944 began the design of a new heavy tank. At the 100th plant, where the leading tank engineers were G.N. Moskvin and V.I. Tarotko, they decided not to deviate too much from the IS-2 design mastered in production, but at the same time the upper frontal part of the hull was made of two connected and strongly armor plates inclined to the vertical plane, rotated in plan at a large angle.

These sheets were covered on top with a triangular roof, inclined to the horizon at an angle of 7°. In this roof, directly above the driver’s head, there was a hatch through which he could get into and leave the tank. Subsequently, this design solution was called the “pike nose”.

Commander skills and abilities

We will not consider the general skills of the crew and will go straight to the commander, since his skills are among the most important for a tank of this type. Of all the available skills and abilities, “Expert” and “Mentor” seem to be the most effective. Pay attention to them right away if you don’t know which perks to download. On the IS-3, the “Sixth Sense” and “Eagle Eye” perks look completely useless. “Jack of all trades” is a rather interesting skill, but in real combat it is not useful enough to pump precious experience points into it. Although, if you play very aggressively, then it makes sense to pay attention to it. Let's look at the Expert skill. It allows you to see what critical damage a particular vehicle has received.

If you play aggressively, and this is almost mandatory for the IS-3, you can easily track damage to enemy tanks, understand when it is better to retreat, and when the enemy’s ammunition or gun is damaged. You only need a “mentor” if you plan to closely develop the crew of this vehicle, since this skill will not manifest itself in any way right away, but will allow you to quickly develop other soldiers.

Light gun in the stern

Already from the heavy gun one can judge that an attack from the rear will be very unpleasant for the IS-3, and with the transition to a light gun nothing changes - you can easily penetrate the rear armor of the tank and cause damage to it. But given the fact that your weapon is not so powerful, and even if it penetrates the armor, it will not be able to remove so many health points, it is best for you to aim at the weak points of the tank. The fuel tank has already been mentioned above, but the IS-3 still has a very unpleasant point approximately in the center of the strip connecting the turret and the lower armor plate. If you manage to aim accurately and hit it, the result will be impressive - the likelihood of the enemy tank catching fire in this outcome is extremely high, and the fire can cause quite impressive damage, even if the crew of the enemy tank uses a fire extinguisher. Accordingly, the rear is the best place to penetrate the IS-3, even if you are driving a light tank, so once you are at the rear, try to use this opportunity to the fullest.

Light weapon to the forehead

Now we need to ask a very important question - where to shoot the IS-3 in order to penetrate its armor with a light cannon? Or is it better to just run? In fact, escaping is not a bad option if you know that your gun is unable to penetrate 122 millimeters of armor of an enemy tank, but there is another option - you can attack the tracks. After about three hits you should be able to succeed, but the likelihood of you being able to score three direct hits on the tracks when the IS-3 is facing directly at you is extremely low. And in other ways you won’t be able to inflict damage to the forehead at all.

Heavy gun in the stern

The question remains - where can you penetrate the IS-3 if you approach it from the rear? Everything is quite simple here, because for most tanks the feed is the weakest point. Therefore, you will almost never have a situation in which you can calmly shoot an enemy tank from the back. But if such a chance arises, and your opponent is the IS-3, then you should avoid hitting the turret, since it is surprisingly well armored and has an unpleasant angle of inclination for the attacker. The best target is the fuel tank, which can be targeted without any problems. Now you know where it is better to penetrate the IS-3 if you have a heavy weapon. But what about those tanks that have lower penetration rates? What should they do?

Artillery

As for artillery, everything is very clear here: you won’t be able to aim anyway, so the main thing for you is to hit the tank. As field experiments have shown, about five hits are needed to completely destroy the IS-3. Naturally, we are talking exclusively about direct hits, which do not happen very often in the game, because tanks are in constant motion. However, from a statistical point of view, the IS-3 withstands artillery strikes quite well, since five shots is quite a lot, and it takes time to fire them. Well, now you know where to shoot the IS-3, which means you can control this tank competently. Or target him in order to destroy him as quickly as possible.

How to play

The two-gun system has several firing modes, each with its own nuances:

1. Cyclic (standard): firing with one weapon, which is reloaded after each shot

After firing from an active weapon, for example, the left one, it begins to reload. The second weapon (right) becomes active.

When the left gun is charged, fire the right gun. The right gun will begin to reload, the left one will become active again, and the cycle will repeat.

2. Sequential: alternate shooting from both guns

After firing the active left gun, the camera will move, but you will not be able to immediately fire the right gun. The timer will show when you can shoot.

Remember that the reloading of the first (left) gun will be interrupted, and the sequential loading of shells for each gun will begin again.

Salvo: simultaneous firing from two guns

Hold down the left mouse button to prepare a shot (this will take a few seconds). The reloading process is displayed in the sight area. When preparation is complete, a double shot will be fired automatically.

If you release the left mouse button before preparation is complete, the process will be interrupted. Please note: you will be able to remap the double shot button in the control settings menu.