Commanders!
The holiday season is a time of surprises. And what holiday treats do fellow Commanders enjoy the most? Brand-new vehicles, of course! This year’s Large Boxes will feature three formidable Tier VIII Premium tanks, each with its own unique advantages, so you can find a cool tank that best fits your individual playstyle. These vehicles will be available for the first time in the game, and they can all be yours! Let’s take a look at each tank and its gameplay.
The M-IV-Y: A Versatile Brawler Featuring Unique Mechanics
This is a Premium representative of the brand-new Yoh branch in the American Tech Tree. If you missed the Developer Diaries announcement about the brand new Yoh mechanics, check it out here.
The M-IV-Y heavy tank is a classic front-line brawler with a well-armored turret and a comfortable, high-penetrating 105 mm gun with 360 HP of alpha damage. It also features short aiming time, low gun dispersion, and high accuracy.
Its hull resembles that of the T110E5, but its turret is something different—it’s oscillating, cylindrical, and features a protective "skirt" that’s not a screen! The turret’s armor is up to 279 mm thick in the frontal projection and 241 mm on the sides, so your opponents will have a hard time trying to penetrate it. The weak point is the commander’s cupola, which is rather large, but not easy to hit from a distance.
The M-IV-Y’s gun has great elevation and depression angles (–10/20 degrees), allowing it to take advantage of terrain irregularities on any map. Thanks to the short aiming time, you can roll out into a firing position, fire a shot, and quickly pop back into cover. While the enemy is aiming at your commander's cupola, you will already be back in position. Even if the opponent shoots, your tough turret will be able to block most of the shots.
The M-IV-Y is moderately maneuverable but has a good top forward (45 km/h) and backward (18 km/h) speed for a heavy. The armor penetration value of the M-IV-Y’s standard AP shell is 220 mm, while the penetration of the special APCR shell is 250 mm.
Finally, like other high-tier vehicles of the Yoh branch, this Premium features a unique mechanic, namely, a pair of smaller reserve tracks in addition to the main ones. If the main set of tracks is broken—one or even both—the vehicle won’t stop and can continue to move, but at a reduced speed. If you lose another track, the speed will be reduced further. But the tank can still turn or move forward or backward. To immobilize the M-IV-Y, you need to destroy at least one reserve track in addition to the main one.
Repairing tracks also has its nuances. The reserve track is repaired first. As soon as this is done, the repair of the main track begins. The vehicle can move at this point, but a penalty is added to the repair time. If the tank remains stationary, there will be no penalty. A Repair Kit will repair all tracks at once.
The Caliban: Large Caliber With an Unusual Autoreloader
This unusual British Tier VIII heavy tank features a 2-shell autoreloading system and a menacing 152.4 mm gun that fires HE shells as standard, dealing 850 HP of alpha damage with 180 mm of penetration. The Caliban’s special AP rounds cause less damage (600 HP) but have a higher penetration value (292 mm). However, the Caliban is primarily a tank for HE-based gameplay.
The reload time between shells is only 3.75 seconds, so this tank will be a real menace in close-range combat, no matter what shells you fire. But for big alpha, you have to pay with poor accuracy, and massive reloading and aiming times. When firing this gun, you’ll need to aim carefully and seize your moment to hit the opponent. But once you get used to this gun and catch the enemy at the right time, you'll be dealing maximum damage time and time again.
Considering its firepower characteristics, the Caliban performs best on the front line or from the second line of fire, trading HP at a high rate. Its gun depression reaches –10 degrees and can take full advantage of hilly terrain. The thickness of its frontal turret armor is up to 250 mm, but in battle, the Caliban is better off relying on its destructive firepower.
The tank has a top speed of 33 km/h, so you’ll be able to take key positions at the same time as other heavy tanks. This speed can be further improved with equipment to make the Caliban faster and more maneuverable.
The Bofors Tornvagn: The Viking With a Bulletproof Turret
This versatile Swedish heavy tank features a turret of an unusual design. It is narrow, rectangular, and has no vulnerable hatches. Its armor thickness in the frontal projection is up to 280 mm, so there’s almost no point in targeting it. Hitting this turret is not easy, and it’s even more difficult to penetrate, so don’t waste your time—try to flank the vehicle instead.
The Bofors Tornvagn is the epitome of classic heavy tank gameplay and has everything you need to succeed on the battlefield. It is armed with a 120 mm gun with 400 HP of alpha damage. Its standard APCR shell penetrates 248 mm, while the special APCR shell penetrates 297 mm! This is one of the best penetration values for the special round, giving you confidence in any situation on the battlefield.
In addition, the Bofors Tornvagn has a short aiming time, as well as great gun depression and elevation angles (–10/20 degrees). It will fight decently in the hills and on other irregular terrain—simply go hull down, expose your incredibly solid turret, and you will triumph in any duel.
Its forward speed is nothing special, but is easy to maintain. It has no obvious weaknesses and easily realizes its high combat potential thanks to its comfortable, well-balanced gun and decent armor. You can calmly make your way to the front line, fire a shot from the hills, and then pop back into cover to reload. This simple yet effective tactic will allow you to stay constantly in the heat of battle and terrorize your opponents.
We're sure you’ll love playing in these vehicles, Commanders! See you on the battlefield!