FV215b (183)

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Highest alpha damage in the game-- 930 with AP rounds and 1300 using HESH or HE
• Decently mobile
• Decent at sidescraping
• Frontal armor and upper hull can bounce shots when angled
• Armour is enough to not be penned by HE

Cons:

• Reverse speed is very bad (9 km/h) considering that when you have an 18 second reload, you're going to be doing a lot of reve
• Accuracy at 0.40 is terrible
• Aim time is especially slow
• Turret only has a 45 degree range to either side
• Lowest ammunition capacity in the game (12)

Performance

The FV215b (183) is commonly called the "Death Star" by players for its giant gun, which features greater alpha than any other tank in the game. The 183 with it's premium HESH shells will have no difficulty 2-shotting tier 9 meds and even some heavies with high rolls. However, the gun is very dependent on one immeasurable factor. Luck. HESH shells need to hit primary armor to have a chance to penetrate and deal full damage, as tracks and spaced armor will detonate the shell prematurely. And even with a penetrating hit, the HESH shells have massive damage range, and can hit from anywhere between 300 and 1600 damage. It is highly recommended you take the time to aim HESH shells unless you are willing to accept missing weakspots and hitting for ~500 damage every shot. If you don't want to roll the dice with HESH shells, the AP rounds are a reliable choice. The (183) has the best AP round penetration in the game with 310mm of penetration, and it still features a respectable 930 damage per shot. All of this firepower however, comes at the cost of up to a 23 second reload time, during which the (183) is highly vulnerable.

The low ammunition capacity of a mere 12 rounds will be a highly limiting factor, and care must be taken to avoid running out of one type of ammunition, or even running out of shells entirely. Choosing an ammo loadout wisely is highly recommended (8 AP rounds and 4 HESH rounds is a good choice)

The armor on the (183) isn't the best. While the hull armor is comparable to the Conqueror, it's not as well sloped and tier X guns will penetrate it with ease. The turret, unlike in the PC version, is fairly weak, and overall the armour profile makes sidescraping difficult. As a result of it's poor armor, the 183 is most comfortable sniping from a distance where the enemy can't shoot back, and the 183 can safely reload.

The mobility, while workable, still isn't very good, but is adequate for taking early game sniping positions, or keeping pace with heavies, unlike the Tortoise's atrocious speed limit of 20km/h.

Early Research

No research, the grind is done!