The Somua SM is a French Tier VIII Premium heavy tank with an autoloader. It is to the AMX 50 B line what the AMX M4 mle. 49/Liberté is to the AMX M4 mle. 54 line – similar gameplay with a couple of differences to pay attention to, but all in all a great choice if you're a fan of that type of gameplay.

Gameplay

The AMX 50 100 is famed for two specific traits: the autoloader and the good mobility, allowing it to keep up with medium tanks. The Somua SM's mobility is on par with other heavy tanks but far weaker than the other French vehicles. What it got instead is improved frontal armour, both on the hull and the turret, allowing it to surprise its opponents with unexpected bounces. The side armour is quite tough as well, angle your tank a little bit to increase the effective armour value.

Don't revolve your playstyle around the armour. Consider it a useful bonus instead of the main trait. A strong side armour does not mean you should side-scrape – expose yourself with the Somua SM as little as possible. It's not your job to take damage.

Let's have a look at the most prominent feature of the Somua SM, its gun. With five shots in the magazine and a fairly quick reload time between those rounds, you can seriously damage or even destroy same-tier vehicles in a short amount of time. A downside of it is the mediocre accuracy;  forget about sniping at distant targets. Compared to the AMX 50 100, the reload time of the magazine isn't that long. Retreating into cover isn't that difficult because while the forward top speed is average, the backward top speed is pretty neat.

Having a high burst potential may lead to greedy and overconfident play. Always try to unload your magazine into the enemy without taking too much damage in return. It's better to not fire all five shells if the likelihood is you will get a lot of punishment for it.

Equipment

Recommended Setup

Hover your cursor over the images for more information on each piece of equipment.

 

As with any autoloader in the game, it relies on landing as many hits as possible, which is why we're focusing on stabilisation and aiming speed. The Improved Ventilation will grant useful bonuses for accuracy, aiming time, and reload speed.

Crew Skills

COMMANDER
GUNNER
DRIVER
LOADER
 

As with most vehicles, Repair is the go-to skill, especially for vehicles with autoloaders. In the end, the last thing you need is destroyed tracks while you are retreating to reload. Snap Shot, Smooth Ride, and Brothers in Arms will all contribute to making your gun more reliable.

Adrenaline Rush

Decreases the gun reload time by 10% if your vehicle's HP drops below 10%.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Brothers in Arms / Sisterhood of Steel

Increases the training level of your crew members by 5%.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100% for every single crew member.

Band of Brothers

Increases the training level of your crew members by 5%.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100% for every single crew member.

Also works if other crew members have Brothers in Arms / Sisterhood of Steel.

Call for Vengeance

Reports the enemy vehicles' location for two more seconds after the destruction of the own vehicle.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Clutch Braking

Increases the traverse speed of your vehicle.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Concealment

Increases the camouflage value of your vehicle.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Controlled Impact

Increases the ramming damage dealt and decreases damage taken by ramming.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Deadeye

Increases the chance of landing a critical hit.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Designated Target

Keeps targetes vehicles visible for two more seconds.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Eagle Eye

Allows you to identify damaged/destroyed modules as well as injured crew members of an enemy vehicle by hovering your mouse over it for several seconds.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Firefighting

Reduces the duration and damage taken by fire.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Intuition

Grants a slight chance of changing the shell type without having to reload again.

Doesn't work with autoloaders. Works also while reloading.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Jack of All Trades

Reduces the performance penalty of wounded crew members.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Mentor

Increases the Crew XP gained for each member apart from the commander.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Off-Road Driving

Increases the mobility on medium and soft terrain.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Preventative Maintenance

Reduces the chance of taking fire.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Recon

Increases the view range of your vehicle.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Relaying

Increases the signal range of your allies' vehicles within your signal range.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Repair

Reduces the repair time of destroyed modules.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Safe Stowage

Increases the durability of your vehicle's ammo rack.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Signal Boosting

Increases the signal range of your vehicle.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Situational Awareness

Increases the view range of your vehicle.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Sixth Sense

Shows a lightbulb three seconds after you've been spotted.

Works only if the skill progress has reached 100%.

Smooth Ride

Reduces the dispersion penalty while driving.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Snap Shot

Reduces the dispersion penalty of traversing the turret.

The higher the skill progress, the higher the effect.

Additional Grousers

Increases the mobility on soft and medium terrain.

Binocular Telescope

Increases the view range of your vehicle by 25%.

Your hull must stand still for at least 3 seconds.

Camouflage Net

Increases the camouflage value of your vehicle tremendously.

Your hull must stand still for at least 3 seconds.

Enhanced Gun Laying Drive

Reduces the aiming time of your gun by 10%.

Coated Optics

Increases the view range of your vehicle by 10%.

Tank Gun Rammer

Reduces the reload time of your gun by 10%.

Spall Liner

Decreases damage taken by ramming and high-explosive splash.

Toolbox

Decreases the repair time of destroyed modules.

Cumulative with the Repair skill.

Improved Ventilation

Increases the training level of your crew members by 5%.

Vertical Stabilizer

Reduces the dispersion penalties of hull and turret traverse, as well as driving by 20%.

"Wet" Ammo Rack

Increases the module HP of your ammo rack.

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