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A number of players have been talking on the forums about repurchasing and rehabilitating tanks that they did poorly with the first time around. The idea was to bring each tank's WR at least up over 50%. I've been working on that off and on. I was a pretty marginal player for a long time, so there were lots of tanks that showed up red in my record on wotbstars.com.
After fixing the WR of a couple of tier I and III tanks, I repurchased the Soviet tier 4 medium, the T-28. I have almost no memory of this tank the first time around other than a vague sense of frustration. I think it may have been my first tier 4. The record showed an abysmal 37% WR over about 70 battles. Embarassing!
I re-bought the T-28, equipped it, and started playing it again. With more experience, I find that it's an effective medium for its tier. My WR with it has finally passed 50%. I like the T-28 enough to keep it and plan to work on slowly getting the WR up closer to 60%, which I think is quite achievable.
CHARACTERISTICS
- The 57 mm ZIS-4 is an excellent gun and is really what makes this tank what it is. On the T-28, it has a ROF of 13.62 and alpha of 90, giving it 1,225.8 potential damage per minute. Average penetration is 112 mm, which is very good for a tier 4 medium, allowing you to get through the armor of any tier 4 tank (even the Matilda) and be a threat to any tier 5 from most angles, although you will struggle with the KV-1. In contrast to most Soviet guns, the ZIS-4 is extremely accurate (0.34 m dispersion at 100 m). Aim time is 2.3 seconds, which is quite workable. If you can keep this gun shooting, it can be decisive, even with low average damage per shot. (This gun carries over to the T-34, with even higher ROF on that tank. I think it's a competitive choice at tier 5. At tier 4 it's really, really good.) I've done over 2100 damage with it in really good games, which is tough to manage in most tier IV tanks.
- Gun depression is only -6 degrees, which is typical for a Soviet tank. You must be careful in hilly terrain, and there will be times when you can't get a shot or have to overexpose yourself to get a shot. If you are working your way up the Soviet lines for the first time, get used to this. You need to develop an eye for how to make use of terrain in a way that minimizes the disadvantage posed you your limited gun depression.
- Mobility is good, but not as good as the light tanks you will encounter at this tier. With the top engine, HP to weight ratio is 29.27, with a top speed of 45 km/h. Traverse is 40 deg/s. The tank accelerates quickly, turns well, and goes fast. Wth upgraded tracks, it does well on all terrain. That compares to the M3 Lee, which is heavier and has a weaker engine, has a lower top speed (38 km/h), and slightly better traverse speed (43 deg/s). The British medium, the Matilda, is almost a stationary fortification by comparison.
- The T-28 has 540 hit points, which is OK for a medium at this tier. It compares to 500 for the Lee and 590 for the Matilda. The Germans have no mediums at tier 4, but the Pz. 38 nA (light tank) has 530 hit points and the D.W. 2 (heavy) has 600 since it was buffed in the 1.8 update. The T-28 can take a few hits, but not many.
- All tier 4 mediums, including the T-28, have the same view range of 230 meters.
- The armor can't be relied on from any angle. You'll have to rely on mobility and cover to avoid being hit.
- The T-28 is a big flat slab of a medium tank. It's designers were unaware that angling might be helpful. It does have a couple of cool-looking secondary machine gun turrets, which might be helpful if the developers ever decide to add infantry to the game (note: they will never add infantry to the game). Although the tank is box shaped, the armor is insufficient to allow effective sidescraping.
EQUIPMENT
I run with vents, gun laying drive, and gun rammer. An argument could be made for telescope or optics (or both) if you want to be a scout/sniper.
PLAYSTYLE
As with most mediums (Matilda excepted) the T-28 dies quickly on the front line. It also fares poorly if used as an aggressive medium against most tier IV tanks. It excels at long or medium range, taking advantage of the rapid firing, highly accurate, low alpha gun. It shines in a support role, firing at distracted enemies. You can bully lower tier and light tanks, but they can still usually penetrate your armor. Sneak around the battlefield, not too far from allies or cover, looking for shots. You can penetrate most enemies from most angles, so take advantage of that. If you start taking fire, don't wait to get that last shot; reposition immediately. Peek a boom tactics can also be effective, but only if you can avoid getting hit or use your excellent DPM to whittle down their hit points. If you trade shot for shot with tanks such as the Lee that have high alpha guns, you'll die fast. At your own tier, Matildas and TDs are the biggest threats. The Covenanter is also dangerous if you let it keep shooting you.
You must play very carefully against tier 5 tanks. Wait to see how the battle plays out and hang further back. Taking the lead is almost always a mistake. Wait for your team to decide which way to go and assist one of the groups of friendly tanks. You can try flanking wide or hang back and support higher tier tanks. You will die quickly if caught in the open.
I hope you find this helpful.
Edited by Asiaticus, 02 May 2015 - 10:57 PM.
