preface
What is reliable armor?
Stuck in the corners, ricocheted with side armor, is armored; Look for gentle slopes and take the hardest turret to face the enemy head-on, and of course, armored.
But there is such a very ancient method of armor, it is simple and easy to understand, as soon as you say it, the image is vividly called - top cow!
The S series rear turret mid-tank, the past of the 430 Project II in the ancient version, you commanders must also be recalling it! No matter what kind of X-level Tan Annihilation and Heavy Tan Big Brother the opponent is, the 430 Project II can be topped, relying on weird armor and high-piercing deep shells, and fighting on the top.
And now, a tank with a similar style has entered the test suit: it is the ST-66 in the Tier VIII gold coins of the S series, can it reproduce the glory of the 430 Project II? You'll have to read it to find out!
Note: The ST-66 discussed in this article is based on publicly available vehicle data in the 1.26.1 beta client.
When the car is implemented, the data is subject to the announcement and patch!
Can top the cow, can sell the side!
Since it is necessary to use "top the cow" as the main gameplay, there are two main points for the selected tank: one is not easy to be penetrated when resisting the ox, and the other is that it is best to have a large piercing deep shell, which can penetrate the opponent's face most of the time.
The ST-66 is a Class VIII mid-tank, and it has both: its armor configuration is extremely similar to that of the old version of the 430 Project II, with armor thickness of 120-40-60 mm from the top of the nose to the top of the hull (the horizontal part of the front of the turret), while the same part of the old version of the 430 Project II is 120-60-40 mm; In contrast, the new version of the 430 Project II only has 80-40-30 mm strength body protection, which is very easy to be crushed and broken, and naturally has no chance with the "top cow".
Kinetic energy projectiles with a caliber of 120 mm (and below) are basically unable to deal with the ST-66 of the top cow.
The ST-66's 40 mm hull roof armor is also concentrated in two small triangles that are difficult to aim, and it is not easy for the tank on top of it to aim here, but at the same time, the ST-66 can easily penetrate the opponent:
It has a gold coin bullet HEAT with a penetration depth of 290 mm, and the tanks of the same level with this penetration either sacrifice DPM, or have a special mechanism to make its output not smooth, but ST-66 is not affected - it is a very simple single-shot reloading tank, and the DPM has come to 2195 under the premise of 300 points of shell damage, which is close to 2206 of AAT60, and it is difficult to suffer from the blood exchange of the middle tank top cattle in the same level.
In contrast, the DPM of the Type 59 is 1898, and the double disadvantage of single damage and continuous damage makes the Type 59 basically "unbearable" ST-66.
Chrysler K: There is thickness, but there are no modules that provide additional protection on the sides.
Secondly, the forte of the rear turret tank, that is, the corner side of the wall - although the side armor of the ST-66 is "only" 60 mm, the double guide wheels of the two tracks provide additional clearance protection, and the armor-piercing projectile will be multiplied by the gap armor in this area, no matter how deep it penetrates, its performance will be multiplied by the gap armor.
As for kinetic bombs? As long as the angle is right, only a large caliber like 183 can crush 60mm armor, and 176 can't come, ST-66 said!
The side armor seems to be weak, but in fact there is still room for maneuvering.
However, it should be noted that the solidity of the overall armor must come at a cost, and the "small weaknesses" of the ST-66 are not ordinary: the vertical protrusion of the turret seat, the two protruding hatches (head packs) of the turret, plus the flaws in the hull armor, and the traditional "crotch", if you want to ensure that you have an armor advantage, small actions when pushing the bull are essential.
On the contrary, if you simply "hold on", it is inevitable that the situation will become a simple "exchange of blood", fortunately, the ST-66's base blood volume is not weak, at least there is a decent 1300 points, and there is still a fight with the same level of heavy tank.
Terrain Adaptation: Forever Sore
The rear turret has a +6 degree depression angle, which is destined to make the ST-66 not suitable for fighting on the top of the slope, and even a small stone on the ground will affect it to fire at the enemy on flat ground.
Of course, if this gun has to be stolen/opened, the omnidirectional turret of the ST-66 also allows it to play a 6-degree depression angle when sideways/back, at least so that the tank will not be stumped by a small stone for dozens of tons, but at this time the ST-66 is almost equivalent to hullless armor, so be careful.
Sell heads!
First, the crotch is very weak; Second, the turret seat part of the hull will be directly penetrated by the low and high AP.
In view of this, the ST-66's gameplay is closer to standing up in a melee and finding an opponent to withstand the pack of wolves and dogs that have been exchanged for blood, rather than the traditional sense of finding an advantage in the terrain and slowly rubbing the terrain to gain an advantage.
Of course, if the commander of the car has determined when driving the ST-66 that the opponent will not be able to get reinforcements in a short period of time, then he can also drive it boldly against the bull - it can be exchanged for one without loss, and it can defeat the opponent and still have a large amount of blood to earn.
The body of the ST-66 has a bit of 430II verve, so it's okay to think of it as a 430II.
If the map doesn't allow close-range dogfight, the ST-66 can't say no in terms of black guns, and the APCR silver coin bullet with a base velocity of 1180 meters +300 points of damage per shot is at least much better than those old-timers with 280, 250, or even 240 points of damage per shot, isn't it?
What, you said you want to drive the ST-66 to make a cameo appearance and light the light? It must be remembered that since the ST-66 is an S series tank, its two major traditions are one that does not leak, although the concealment is high, it only has a basic field of view of 370 meters.
Protection is significantly better than STG, at the cost of a little maneuverability.
Compared to the existing S series rear turret VIII mid-tank STG, the ST-66 has the most significant ability to fight on the front line, and the firepower performance and armor required for sustained engagement are greatly superior, at the cost of only partial maneuverability (track adaptability, reversing), and single shot damage.
On the whole, it is obvious that ST-66 is more suitable for the current version of the environment, and it is not pleasant to rush into the Chongtan combat zone and start directly to find a person with a small caliber who does not need to look at the face of the car and the black gun car!
epilogue
Even if it is the selling version, the turret armor is the king version, to this day there are still many commanders who are keen on topping the bull, and they must be on top when they see it, and they are skilled in blocking the barrel and shaking the head!
If you are a master of the top cow, then the ST-66 must be suitable for you, no need to talk about any strategy, no need to cumbersome steps, see the top is the top, the top win is the top one, the game needs to be simple and happy, welcome the commander to share your expectations for the ST-66 in the comment area, or your experience of the top cow, let's see you next time!