Fugly Fire Power, New T8 RU Prem TD

From the 27th of April, the T-103 Russian Tier 8, Premium Tank Destroyer T-103 will be available from the (EU) premium shop. That's right another Russian prem tank, as we all whoop for joy. But is it OP? Is it worth the money? I'll give you a run down of the stats etc so you can make up your own opinions.

First impressions for me was, man this thing is FUGLY!! Its like a KV-3 and a KV-5 had some sexy time and this was spawned. It was actually developed on the basis of the experimental T-100 heavy tank. It was built with the intention of neutralizing fortified emplacements and also for coastal defense. However the work on the project was discontinued at the blueprint stage and never entered service.

So, in the game then, which is what you really want to know, what modules does it have? (click pics for slideshow)

A very nice 130mm gun, with 440 average damage per shot, with a dispersion of 0.32. However i have found that the shells seem to dip low in the shot from the reticle. Its also worth to note that the premium shell is also AP with 307mm of penetration but costs 4.8k per shot. The HE shells have 65mm of pen and can do anywhere between 435 and 725 damage, obviously if you pen. Its fairly mobile for a chunky type TD with a top speed of 40kph and the gun depression of 8 degrees is good. With my crew I have the reload down to 9 seconds, aim time to 1.88 seconds and the DPM to 2917!! The view range is decent at a base 380m

The overall stats for this as a premium seem well balanced (100% crew)-

The armour also in my opinion can be a bit deceptive, strange angles on the hull can allow for some bounces but not many, and also the two 'R2D2' turrets on top of the hull, as well as the Commanders cupola are obvious weak spots to shoot. So you need to be very hull down for protection. However the turret itself is rather strong, frontally. (click pics for slideshow)

As it is a premium tank, what kind of revenue can you expect? Well this was a T8 game (ignore the fact it was an Ace tanker due to very low numbers of tank on the server right now)

Click for slideshow

Well it certainly makes money, even with my resupply of the consumables etc, and if I wasn't running a premium account i would have still made a profit of 24k. I have also had losses where i have made 30 to 40k profit.

The question you will want to ask, is it worth it? Well as I always say, its your money to do with as you please, but if you prefer the stronger type of td as opposed to the su-130pm glass canon type then this is for you.

In a nut shell, decent alpha, decent reload, decent view range, fairly mobile, ok turret traverse speed, bad camo rating but in my opinion it is fun to play. Its satisfying when you connect with the shots and with that reload, keeping the gun in the game you will the damage rack up.

Sorry that this is a short and written review but at the moment (and that Ive only just got this tank to review) I have a lot on my plate RL, however I'll be back doing video reviews next time.

Take it easy, stay healthy

Salty