Hi, The_Twit here.
I have been following the development of the LT-432 (formerly the Obj. 432) for a while, wondering how what at first seems to be an OP tank would be handled at the supertest (and later the common test) level. I guess you can say I am a little bit let down by how this tank has panned out over the month in the supertest.
From my perspective, this tank (in its current form) will be broken as a top tier light tank and very competitive as a bottom tier LT.
Why?
The LT-432 is inherently broken as a tier VIII light tank when you compare the tank to its tech tree peers.
Rewind back to when the first set of stats were released:
That initial set of stats concerns me (via The Daily Bounce). You are suggesting that a tank that has 7 degrees of gun depression, T-100 LT silhouette and ~500dpm advantage over the nearest light tank in the tech tree should be sold!
Going deeper into the gun handling for the initial stats, 4.13s reload is edging on T34 levels of shooting. This is without considering the bonuses that can be applied, like
- food
- gun rammer
- bonds
- crew skills
You could probably reduce this down to say 3.7 secs with some of those boxes ticked, which would raise the DPM to something like 3,000!
Some ire was raised at this and soon an updated version of the tank appeared:
In the video, a clearly capable tanker is able to dominate Westfield as a top tier light tank, scoring 4k damage on its own.
The statistics were also updated, but I think this seems inadequate.
Going over the current stats:
Armour
This tank has probably the most comparable armour to the T-100 LT, simply due to the low profile of the tank. That silhouette can only really be compared to the EVEN 90 for its tier, but the two tanks are leagues apart. The EVEN 90 has no armour to compensate for the tiny model and the LT-432 has some pretty troll armour.
Speaking of the T-100, here is the values for the hull and turret armour:
I would argue that the LT-432 is better than the T-100 LT tier-for-tier simply because it has to face tier VI tanks. Tier VI-VIII light tanks (and most tanks at the same tier or below) will simply bounce or ricochet their shots off the frontal hull, due to the Soviet angling.
If you looked at the video above, you may recall a Skorpion G bouncing a shell off the turret/hull of the LT-432 .
Gun Handling
The 432 has simply the best gun handling for its tier. Simple as that. Here are the stats:
Here it is compared to the tech tree tanks:
The 432 is able to match and outperform all of the tech tree tanks save for penetration. Note the similar gun stats for the LTTB and the 432. Fully kitting the tank out, the reload can be reduced to 3.97 secs. One could argue that this tank is one of the most forgiving light tanks to drive simply because of the armour and the fast reload. Stuff a shot? It's alright, you only have to wait 4 secs for another go!
Mobility
The LT-432 has the fastest top speed at 70 km/h, but some of this is balanced out by the relatively bad terrain resistances - from all the weight stemming from that armour.
Of course none of this matters, because you are going to be unloading shot after shot into the enemies with your superior DPM and .34 accuracy, the best of its tier.
Physical Impossibilities
One of things about this tank the gun depression. Take a look at the tank side-on. See anything?
The turret simply is too short to allow the elevation from the gun breach when the tank is depressing 7 degrees.
Which is extremely strange, considering the LTTB has 5 degrees of gun depression for something that has a larger turret...
What does this mean?
- This tank, in its current form, is simply pay-2-win. It is outright better than all the tech tree tanks.
- A player stuck grinding a light tank will inevitably come up against this tank in a top tier matchup, and they will not be able to counter this tank.
- Where's the fun in playing a game where tanks are straight out better because you paid for them?
- Hello tier 8 CW and a statpadders galore!
Of course, these things are subject to change.
So, to summarise:
This tank has better gun handling, DPM, armour, accuracy, and matches all the tier VIII lights for mobility. It is also physically impossible.
:/