Post by Woody on Nov 25, 2012 11:00:00 GMT
ISU-152 is a tier 8 Heavy Tank Destroyer. One of the Soviet stealth fighters, this beastly machine uses a combination of camouflage and incredible damage per shot to ward of its attackers. A true Beast Killer ™.
Previous vehicle: SU-152 (Beast killer)
Next vehicle: Object 704
Overview:
Relatively low profile, good camouflage, incredible fire power and absolutely no armor for its tier are the defining characteristics of this TD. The only thing that might (notice the might part) bounce on this tank is the gun mantlet. The speed and acceleration are first class when it comes to heavy TDs, but its turning rate is absolutely miserable. The BL-10 is not really all that accurate, though its penetration and damage are almost equal to those of a T10 TD with superb its camouflage.
Price: 2,547,000 credits
Camouflage: Very good
Gun Depression: -6°/+18°
Gun Arc: -8°/+8°
Pros:
- That gun hits hard.
- Camouflage is good.
- Speed and acceleration are very good
- AP penetration is the highest in the game.
- Gun mantlet is tough.
- Low profile.
Cons:
- Armor is useless.
- Turns like a whale.
- BL-10 seems to have a life of its own… I have to admit its very opinionated.
- Horrendous upgrade path.
- Bad gun depression.
Designation:
1. Warrior 2. Heavy Support 3. Heavy Tank Slayer
Crew:
1. Commander (also a radioman)
2. Gunner
3. Driver
4. Loader
5. Loader
Using your SU-152 crew is recommendable
Armor:
90/75/60
No sloping and very poor thickness means that almost nothing will bounce. Even most tier 5 tanks will penetrate. Only mantlet may bounce tier 7-8 tanks. Side and rear are made of cake.
Suspension:
ISU-152 / Max. capacity 48.6 / Turn speed 18 deg per sec
ISU-152M / Max. capacity 54.4 / Turn speed 21 deg per sec
Getting the better suspension is your first priority. Not only does it allow you to use the BL-10, it also slightly compensates the atrocious turn speed of the ISU and upgrades the mobility on soft terrain (still sucks though). Even so, it will still be like a beached whale.
Engine:
V-11 - 600 h.p. - 15% chance of fire
V-2-54IS – 700 h.p. – 12 % chance of fire
Getting the better engine will make a real difference to your mobility. It’s a grade A engine and will help you unlocking the rest of the Soviet tech tree. You can use it on the Object 704.
Radio:
10RK – Range 440 meters
12RT – Range 625 meters
The stock radio is pretty crappy and I suggest upgrading to the 12RT.
Gun:
152 mm ML-20
Bad gun, but it’s your best choice for you until the BL-10 or BL-9s. Poor accuracy, slow reload and pretty pathetic AP penetration means you will be forced to use HE almost all the time. But at least you will always deal (a hell of a lot of) damage and break modules.
122mm guns (A-19 and D-25S)
Though good on the SU-152, they are outclassed on tier 8. No reason to use them, as they will have a hard time with most tier 8 tanks.
122mm BL-9S
A pretty good gun, however its very expensive to research and pales in comparison to the BL-10. Good enough penetration for all tier 8 and 9 tanks. With aim it can take on tier 10 vehicles. Only real use in unlocking it is for the other TD line. It will make the grind there not quite as bad..
152.4 mm BL-10
DMG: 850/850/950
PEN: 295/342/90
ACC: 0.41
RoF: 3.41
The real deal and the reason why ISU is so feared. It causes extreme damage and its penetration is insane. With gold rounds it has the second highest penetration in the game (after the JagdTiger) and can practically auto aim tier 10 tanks. The powerful HE shell means that even the Maus tank can feel threatened, no matter the slope or distance. On the other hand, even this powerful gun has flaws. It aims so slowly, you might think it does it on purpose. Although decent, the accuracy is not that good and the RoF means that missing is a luxury you don’t want to afford. Another great “feature” is that this gun has a mind of its own. I’m serious…
Premium ammo is APCR, which loses penetration with distance but gets a normalization bonus against sloped armour.
Proposed upgrade path:
1. Suspension
2. BL-10
3. Everything else
*If you dont have the 122mm guns researched… may your god be with you!
Comparison with its peers:
ISU-152 vs Ferdinand
The Ferdinand has armor that is very capable of bouncing, unlike the ISU. It also has a much more accurate and fast firing gun and seems to behave more sluggish. The ISU-152 has better damage and penetration, therefore a much bigger threat to tier 10 tanks. Its also faster in a straight line than the Ferdi.
In short:
Ferdi is more accurate and fires faster
ISU has better camo (controversial as the Ferdi seems to have a Klingon Cloaking Device
)
Ferdi has better armor and hull down ability
ISU has MUCH better damage per shot and penetration
ISU-152 vs T28
T28 is a lot more armored than the ISU. Its also MUCH slower. It carries a faster and more accurate gun, however lacks the damage and penetration. Both have good camo, though ISU is awesome in this category.
In short:
ISU is much faster than T28
T28 is a lot more armored
Both have awesome guns, but the BL-10 is just better
Historical ISU:
ISU-152 was a Soviet multirole fully enclosed and armored self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II, with a subsequent use, mainly in the Soviet military, till the 1970s.
The initial variant, developed in 1943. The factory designation was Object 241. It was armed with the 152.4 mm ML-20S gun-howitzer, with a barrel length of over 4.2 meters (27.9 calibers). The self-propelled gun carried 21 rounds of two piece (shell and charge) armor-piercing and high explosive ammunition. The gun had a maximum range of 6,200 meters.
In historical battles, it usually has the 152mm howitzer. Its capable of dealing extreme damage to most normal vehicles and can deal limited damage to JagdTigers and King Tigers. It should be guarded well.
Suggestions for better balance:
- Make BL-9S an actually useful investment… somehow...
- Buff ground passability at least a little as it has the mobility of a drowning elephant on soft ground.
Previous vehicle: SU-152 (Beast killer)
Next vehicle: Object 704
Overview:
Relatively low profile, good camouflage, incredible fire power and absolutely no armor for its tier are the defining characteristics of this TD. The only thing that might (notice the might part) bounce on this tank is the gun mantlet. The speed and acceleration are first class when it comes to heavy TDs, but its turning rate is absolutely miserable. The BL-10 is not really all that accurate, though its penetration and damage are almost equal to those of a T10 TD with superb its camouflage.
Price: 2,547,000 credits
Camouflage: Very good
Gun Depression: -6°/+18°
Gun Arc: -8°/+8°
Pros:
- That gun hits hard.
- Camouflage is good.
- Speed and acceleration are very good
- AP penetration is the highest in the game.
- Gun mantlet is tough.
- Low profile.
Cons:
- Armor is useless.
- Turns like a whale.
- BL-10 seems to have a life of its own… I have to admit its very opinionated.
- Horrendous upgrade path.
- Bad gun depression.
Designation:
1. Warrior 2. Heavy Support 3. Heavy Tank Slayer
Crew:
1. Commander (also a radioman)
2. Gunner
3. Driver
4. Loader
5. Loader
Using your SU-152 crew is recommendable
Armor:
90/75/60
No sloping and very poor thickness means that almost nothing will bounce. Even most tier 5 tanks will penetrate. Only mantlet may bounce tier 7-8 tanks. Side and rear are made of cake.
Suspension:
ISU-152 / Max. capacity 48.6 / Turn speed 18 deg per sec
ISU-152M / Max. capacity 54.4 / Turn speed 21 deg per sec
Getting the better suspension is your first priority. Not only does it allow you to use the BL-10, it also slightly compensates the atrocious turn speed of the ISU and upgrades the mobility on soft terrain (still sucks though). Even so, it will still be like a beached whale.
Engine:
V-11 - 600 h.p. - 15% chance of fire
V-2-54IS – 700 h.p. – 12 % chance of fire
Getting the better engine will make a real difference to your mobility. It’s a grade A engine and will help you unlocking the rest of the Soviet tech tree. You can use it on the Object 704.
Radio:
10RK – Range 440 meters
12RT – Range 625 meters
The stock radio is pretty crappy and I suggest upgrading to the 12RT.
Gun:
152 mm ML-20
Bad gun, but it’s your best choice for you until the BL-10 or BL-9s. Poor accuracy, slow reload and pretty pathetic AP penetration means you will be forced to use HE almost all the time. But at least you will always deal (a hell of a lot of) damage and break modules.
122mm guns (A-19 and D-25S)
Though good on the SU-152, they are outclassed on tier 8. No reason to use them, as they will have a hard time with most tier 8 tanks.
122mm BL-9S
A pretty good gun, however its very expensive to research and pales in comparison to the BL-10. Good enough penetration for all tier 8 and 9 tanks. With aim it can take on tier 10 vehicles. Only real use in unlocking it is for the other TD line. It will make the grind there not quite as bad..
152.4 mm BL-10
DMG: 850/850/950
PEN: 295/342/90
ACC: 0.41
RoF: 3.41
The real deal and the reason why ISU is so feared. It causes extreme damage and its penetration is insane. With gold rounds it has the second highest penetration in the game (after the JagdTiger) and can practically auto aim tier 10 tanks. The powerful HE shell means that even the Maus tank can feel threatened, no matter the slope or distance. On the other hand, even this powerful gun has flaws. It aims so slowly, you might think it does it on purpose. Although decent, the accuracy is not that good and the RoF means that missing is a luxury you don’t want to afford. Another great “feature” is that this gun has a mind of its own. I’m serious…
Premium ammo is APCR, which loses penetration with distance but gets a normalization bonus against sloped armour.
Proposed upgrade path:
1. Suspension
2. BL-10
3. Everything else
*If you dont have the 122mm guns researched… may your god be with you!
Comparison with its peers:
ISU-152 vs Ferdinand
The Ferdinand has armor that is very capable of bouncing, unlike the ISU. It also has a much more accurate and fast firing gun and seems to behave more sluggish. The ISU-152 has better damage and penetration, therefore a much bigger threat to tier 10 tanks. Its also faster in a straight line than the Ferdi.
In short:
Ferdi is more accurate and fires faster
ISU has better camo (controversial as the Ferdi seems to have a Klingon Cloaking Device
) Ferdi has better armor and hull down ability
ISU has MUCH better damage per shot and penetration
ISU-152 vs T28
T28 is a lot more armored than the ISU. Its also MUCH slower. It carries a faster and more accurate gun, however lacks the damage and penetration. Both have good camo, though ISU is awesome in this category.
In short:
ISU is much faster than T28
T28 is a lot more armored
Both have awesome guns, but the BL-10 is just better
Historical ISU:
ISU-152 was a Soviet multirole fully enclosed and armored self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II, with a subsequent use, mainly in the Soviet military, till the 1970s.
The initial variant, developed in 1943. The factory designation was Object 241. It was armed with the 152.4 mm ML-20S gun-howitzer, with a barrel length of over 4.2 meters (27.9 calibers). The self-propelled gun carried 21 rounds of two piece (shell and charge) armor-piercing and high explosive ammunition. The gun had a maximum range of 6,200 meters.
In historical battles, it usually has the 152mm howitzer. Its capable of dealing extreme damage to most normal vehicles and can deal limited damage to JagdTigers and King Tigers. It should be guarded well.
Suggestions for better balance:
- Make BL-9S an actually useful investment… somehow...
- Buff ground passability at least a little as it has the mobility of a drowning elephant on soft ground.
