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DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NEVER PLAYED THE IS-4, SO I AM SPEAKING GIVING OBSERVATIONS ABOUT HOW I KILL THEM, AND HOW YOU CAN PREVENT ME FROM KILLING YOU ALONG WITH HARD AND SOFT STATS OF THE VEHICLE.
The IS-4 is like the not-so-famous child of the superstar with famous children. The IS-4 is like the ugly Kardashian (Carly?).
But the IS-4 is definitely a beast in it's own right, and you should NEVER underestimate this very impressive tank. With gun handling better than it's more famous brother, the IS-7, you can't let your guard down with this thing closing in on you.
GUN:
Penetration: 258 AP/ 340 HEAT/ 68 HE
Damage: 420 AP/ 420 HEAT/ 500 HE
Dispersion (100m): 0.38m
Aim Time: 2.9 seconds
Depression: -6
Elevation: +16
ARMOR:
Turret:
-Front:
250mm/230mm cheeks (270-600mm effective) plenty of auto bounces on the outer 1/4s of the turret The top of your turret has a weak spot similar to the IS-3's, but it is much, MUCH smaller and difficult to hit unless you're higher up than the IS-4
-Side:
--Front Half:
230mm (265-290mm effective armor) Don't shoot here
--Rear Half:
200mm (230-240mm effective armor) Shoot here
-Rear:
--Middle 1/3rd: 170mm (210mm effective armor) 80mm effective on the top 1/4th of the rear
--Outer 1/3rds: 200mm (233-370mm effective armor)
Hull:
Front:
-Upper Plate
--Outer 1/4ths: 160mm (Auto bounce from the front if not angled)
--Middle 1/2: 140mm (220-240mm effective armor) 420mm effective around the driver's view port
-Lower Plate: 160mm (220mm effective armor)
Side:
-Upper Half: 160mm (175mm effective armor) Front 1/4 is 310+mm effective armor
-Lower Half: 160mm+20mm spaced (180mm effective armor)
Rear:
-Upper Half: 120mm (145mm effective armor)
-Lower Half: 100mm (110-140mm effective armor)
MANEUVERABILITY:
Engine: 750hp (15% chance of fire on impact)
Speed Limit: 43kph (I don't think this is what it will realistically achieve. Maybe 35kph)
Track Traverse: 25 degrees/ second
Turret Traverse: 17 degrees/ second
HOW TO PLAY:
Consumables/Equipment
Consumables
For consumables I would run what I run on every tank that I possibly can. Multitool+Adrenaline+Rations.
You can trade the rations for an extra repair kit, or an extra first aid kit.
Equipment
For equipment, I would use the standard heavy tank loadout. Rammer+Laying Drive+Vents.
You can use VStabs instead of either the Laying Drive OR the Vents.
How to Angle:
The front of the IS-4 is strong, but un-angled won't reliably stop anything with more penetration than the average T8 heavy tank. The fact that the sides of the IS-4 has 20mm more armor than the front lets you angle in such a way that would spell doom for many tanks. What you want to do is point your gun barrel over your front drive wheel. Angling in such a way will give an IS-7 no higher than an 80% chance to penetrate you with an AP shell, But tanks with around 300mm of penetration (T9-10 TDs) will have a 90+% chance to penetrate the panels that are auto bounces from the front if un-angled. The IS-4 is like a pike nose with a very fat tip, but unlike a normal like nose like on the IS-7, you want to angle. NOTE: THE AREA THAT GIVES THE BEST CHANCE TO PENETRATE IS RATHER SMALL, AND THE MAJORITY OF THE TANK WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE PENETRATED UNLESS A T10 TD IS SHOOTING AT YOU (or gold rounds)
Going Hull Down:
When the IS-4 is hull down, the strong Russian turret does NOT disappoint! The effective armor values rival the IS-7s, and make the T-62A's look like paper maché. If at all possible, going hull down and using every last degree of gun depression you have will put you in an extremely strong position. NOTE: THE IS-4 SHARES A WEAK SPOT WITH THE IS-3. THE MIDDLE OF THE TOP OF THE IS-4 HAS AN EFFECTIVE ARMOR VALUE OF 75MM. YOU WILL WANT TO DRIVE BACK AND FORTH MAKING YOUR ENEMY'S GUNS MOVE LEFT AND RIGHT SO THE ALREADY SMALL CHANCE TO HIT IT IS ALMOST 0%
Sidescraping:
The 160mm of side armor on the IS-4 is perfect for sidescraping, but beware... if you expose the front part of your tank the angled panel in the front of the tank is a weak spot, so expose that as little as possible.
HOW NOT TO PLAY:
Flanking:
Don't do it. You WILL not make it in time to impact the battle. Just. Don't. Do. It.
Lone Wolfing:
The IS-4 is a strong tank. But just like every other heavy tank, it can be easily circled by mediums if it is caught out in the open, and alone. Best to stick with a group, and don't go anywhere without back up consisting of at least 2 other vehicles.
Any questions, comments or corrections are welcome, but please be polite because I do this to help y'all.
