T82

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Good acceleration and top speed
• Good gun elevation
• Excellent view range
• Very powerful close range firepower with the 105mm Howitzer
• High penetration, decent accuracy, high rate of fire, and decent damage with the 57mm gun

Cons:

• Poor accuracy with 75mm and 105mm howtizer
• Horrible armor; even HE will easily penetrate
• Some-what large target
• Relatively inaccurate with the 57mm compared to the Valentine AT and the SU-76

Performance

The T82 is an extremely different approach to combat compared to its earlier parent the T18 in terms of armor and firepower. Where the T18 was sluggish to turn and had thick armor for its tier, the T82 is extremely fast both speed and turning with only 13mm of armor for protection. However, don't let the lack of armor dismay you, this tank can be a blast to use even in a stock configuration. The tank starts out with the 75mm gun, which if you used on the T18, will still pack a relatively good punch until upgraded. The two other choices will be the 105mm howitzer or the 57mm gun. The 105mm can one shot tier 3 tanks and the occasional tier 4. However, the 105mm is slow to reload, slow to aim, inaccurate, and fires a very slow moving projectile, so either good timing or close in shots are a must (which, with your lack of armor, better be the first and last shot needed, or you may not survive the return fire). On the other side, the 57mm gun provides a different play style. The 57mm gun is extremely accurate, fast firing, and is well suited for long range support. Its penetration is so well that it will be able to realiably penetrate and damage any tank it should face, including the KV-1 from the front. Both guns have different play style and are entirely up to you to decide, and both guns are considered overpowered for tier 3, making the T82 arguably the best tier 3 TD.

As an interesting trait, the gun sits high to the point where it almost forms the top of the tank's silhouette, making any form of cover that you can shoot over very effective in protecting the vast majority of your tank if used correctly. This could come in handy where you are trying to protect a lane of approach, since you cannot rely on bouncing any round at all and trying to dodge all of the enemy fire would render your ability to return fire hampered if not eliminated due to the hull mounted gun.

Early Research

• The Continental R-975-C1 engine carries over from the T18. mount it immediately.
• Researching the upgraded suspension first is a good place to start since it's cheap.
• Next, take your pick between the two guns, the 105mm Howitzer or 57mm gun.
• Go from there.