Who needs a Tier VIII gun at Tier X? This week’s release of Tanks Reforged sees one of the tankiest Tier X heavies get a serious firepower increase. Let’s take a look at what is in store for the iconic IS-4 and the Tech Tree tanks of that line!

Soviet Tier X IS-4 Heavy Tank

The IS-4 tank had several gun options unlike most Tier X vehicles, with the first gun’s performance closer to Tier VIII tanks. This made the initial stats of the IS-4 appear less exciting and forced players to battle with the tank to unlock its full potential.

In this balance pass, we have removed the original low-performance gun to allow players to unlock directly the 122m M62 gun, which has now received a buff to some of the stats that reduce its performance. The 122m M62 now sports faster aim time with lower dispersion values during movement and rotation, as well as an increased rate of fire.

To help when playing hull-down, we’ve increased the armor on top of the turret to prevent lower-caliber guns from overmatching the armor and allow the tank to survive longer.

Details:

• Removed stock gun: _122-mmD-25T_with_wedges_shutter
• Gun: _122mm_M62-T2
  • Aim time: 2.9 -> 2.6
  • Reload: 12 -> 11
• Chassis
  • Dispersion during vehicle movement: 0.25 -> 0.20
  • Dispersion during vehicle rotation: 0.25 -> 0.20
• LVP removed, tank is Elite upon purchase
• Top turret armor: 30mm -> 45mm
• Driver’s hatch armor: 210mm -> 240mm
• Front hull armor: 140mm -> 160mm

Soviet Tier IX ST-I Heavy Tank

Leading to the IS-4, the line from the KV-3 to the ST-I suffers from a low damage output mainly caused by having the least amount of shots fired and hitting their target due to lower rate of fire and accuracy. This leads to a less-than-average performance across various metrics.

To address this, the ST-I had its guns improved with better aim time, accuracy, and reload time. These changes will help you land more shots to increase your effectiveness on the battlefield. With the increased firepower, we should see an improvement across the board as they are now more capable of defending themselves during an engagement which, will lead to a generally improved performance.

Details:

• Upgraded turret
  • 122mm M62-T2
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • 122mm BL-9
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
    • Reload: 12.6 -> 11.8
  • 122mm D-25T
    • Accuracy: 0.46 -> .40
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
    • Reload: 11.7 -> 11

Stock turret

• 122mm BL-9
  • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • Reload: 13.2 -> 12.6
• 122mm D-25T
  • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.40
  • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • Reload: 12 -> 11.7

Soviet Tier VIII KV-4 Heavy Tank

Continuing down the line to the KV-4, we have improved accuracy across all of the guns and have removed the stock gun (107mm ZiS-6) due to its poor performance. Players will now start off with the 122mm D-2-5T to help improve the stock grind of the vehicle with a more capable gun for its tier.

The upgraded turret was also poorly armored for its tier and has received a considerable increase to 220mm of armor. This will provide much better protection and increase the overall survivability of this vehicle.

Details:

• Upgraded turret
  • Frontal armor: 180mm -> 220mm
  • w/ 107mm ZiS-24
    • Accuracy: 0.38 -> 0.35
    • Aim time: 2.9 -> 2.3
    • Reload: 10.3 -> 10
    • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
  • w/ 122mm D-25T
    • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.40
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
    • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
  • w/ 122mm D-2-5T
    • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.42
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.9
    • Reload: 14.4 -> 13.5
    • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
  • REMOVED 107 mm ZiS-6

Stock turret

• w/ 107mm ZIS-24
  • Accuracy: 0.38 -> 0.35
  • Aim time: 3.1 -> 2.3
  • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
• w/ 122mm D-25T
  • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.40
  • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
• w/ 122mm D-2-5T
  • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.42
  • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.9
  • Armor: 180mm -> 220mm
• REMOVED  107 mm ZiS-6

Soviet Tier VII KV-3 Heavy Tank

The KV-3 receives the same treatment with the various gun improvements. The 85mm S-31 gun was removed completely due to its poor performance while the stock gun (85mm F-30) was kept on the vehicle as its historical gun. With the removal of the 85mm S-31 gun, players will now get the much better 107mm Zis-6 gun quicker to ease further unlocks on the tank.

Details:

• Upgraded turret
  • 122mm D-25T
    • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.40
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • 122mm D-2-5T
    • Accuracy: 0.46 -> 0.42
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.9
    • Reload: 14.7 -> 13.8
  • 100mm D10T
    • Accuracy: 0.40 -> 0.38
  • 107mm ZIS-6
    • Accuracy: 0.45 -> 0.39
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
  • REMOVED 85mm S-31
  • 85mm F-30
    • Accuracy: 0.42 ->0.38
    • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.6
    • Reload: 5.1 -> 4.8
  • Adjusted module unlock order following the gun removal

Stock turret

• 107mm ZIS-6
  • Accuracy: 0.45 -> 0.39
  • Aim time: 3.4 -> 2.8
• REMOVED 85mm S-31
• 85mm F-30
  • Accuracy: 0.42 -> 0.38
  • Aim time: 2.7 -> 2.6
  • Reload: 4.9 > 4.8

Premium Tanks:

These two premium vehicles, based on the KV-4, see improvements in aim time, accuracy, and reload speed for their guns. We also improved the armor thickness of the flat strip of armor across the upper hull to improve the tanks’ ability to side-scrape more effectively. The terrain resistance values were decreased to improve the general mobility of the tanks so they feels a bit better to drive.

These improvements combined will improve the vehicle’s performance all around for a more enjoyable experience.

Details:

• 107 mm ZiS-24
  • Aim time: 2.9 -> 2.3
  • Accuracy: 0.38 -> 0.35
  • Reload: 11.3 -> 10.5
• Upper hull plate: 140mm -> 180mm
• Chassis
  • Terrain resistance: 1.4 / 1.5 / 2.8 -> 1.1 / 1.2 / 2.3
• Health: 1500 -> 1650

Check out the Community Update stream on Friday, August 20th, for information on the next tanks being rebalanced in Tanks Reforged! The stream starts at 2:00 PM Central time (19:00 UTC) on our Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/wotconsole. Don’t miss it!