Why is IS-2 so underpowered?

[MAVEN]

I watched ww2 chronology video compilation of raw footages yesterday, many nations, tanks, planes, trains and so on. On several scenes there was a clear presentation of german tigers (e) and several T-4s advancing while IS-2 in the frame would shoot and blow one of them up to pieces from what appeared a great distance of 1-2 km away. There's no doubt 122mm cannon is a very powerful one, especially with the shells it used, so why is it that IS-2 can't one shot tigers and panthers (e and in this BR) from up close let alone distance yet it alomost always dies from one shot from any tank in the game, what ignorance is this? The only solid opponent (at that time) to IS-2 was Tiger 2 P, which in many ways had specs lower than IS-2 except for armor which was greater, but tiger e and panthers (not 2 and up) had no chance of surviving an IS-2 hence howitzers were used to combat it.

Why is IS-2 so underpowered, especially considering it's long reload time and slow mobility? Why are even crappy 76mm sherman cannons made better than what IS-2 has even though those had to be upgraded immediately right after failure in ardennes proved 76mm is not sufficient for german tanks at range?

This game used to be very well balanced and fun, now it's completely biased towards german and us tanks and planes so much balance is broken (as players choose those mostly so they can win) and upranking happens eventually leading to huge waiting times and players leaving the game in frustration. Also, where is the premium IS-2? I looked for it I can't find it anymore.

[Kay]

A. You mean the Sherman 75mm gun? They were upgraded TO the 76mm gun.

B. How on Earth are you not killing Tigers and panthers in one shot with the IS-2? Are you using exclusively HE or something? The APHE shells will immediately kill most tanks after penetration

[MAVEN]

Originally posted by Ki'agh:

A. You mean the Sherman 75mm gun? They were upgraded TO the 76mm gun.

B. How on Earth are you not killing Tigers and panthers in one shot with the IS-2? Are you using exclusively HE or something? The APHE shells will immediately kill most tanks after penetration

Nah I meant the 76mm, it was later upgraded to a longer barrel with muzzle extender and even over 80mm cannons.

And I honestly don't know how I can't one shot tigers and panthers with IS-2, I use AP rounds, front it almost never happens, side only if I shoot in the hull or bellow tracks I get a one-shot kill and even that is questionable, I had the shell not even do damage (and it didn't bounce btw) with a direct 10m away hull hit on tiger e....

[Kay]

Originally posted by MAVEN:

Originally posted by Ki'agh:

A. You mean the Sherman 75mm gun? They were upgraded TO the 76mm gun.

B. How on Earth are you not killing Tigers and panthers in one shot with the IS-2? Are you using exclusively HE or something? The APHE shells will immediately kill most tanks after penetration

Nah I meant the 76mm, it was later upgraded to a longer barrel with muzzle extender and even over 80mm cannons.

And I honestly don't know how I can't one shot tigers and panthers with IS-2, I use AP rounds, front it almost never happens, side only if I shoot in the hull or bellow tracks I get a one-shot kill and even that is questionable, I had the shell not even do damage (and it didn't bounce btw) with a direct 10m away hull hit on tiger e....

No, no it wasn't.

The 75mm was upgraded to the 76mm which had muzzle breaks in some cases, but those do not increase the power of a cannon.

the 90mm cannons and upwards were used by the Egyptians and French on Sherman tanks, not the Americans. And the 76mm was actually just as good if not better than the long 75mm on the PzIVs, easily capable of engaging and destroying them.

With the IS-2, if you hit center of mass it'll kill them in one shot. If you hit the side, same thing. the turret is the only real "maybe not" but it's likely to one-shot anyway.

[RetroRun]

IS-2 UNDERPOWERED[\b] whaaaaaaattt!!!!!! Am I in a parallel dimensions, I mean whaaaaattt!!!!! Serious case of "GIT GUD"

[MAVEN]

A longer barrel increaces velocity which in return increases penetration, muzzle breaks decrease recoil and increase stability for the projectile. This is the reason T-34 57mm cannons were very effective, zis cannons were well crafted. IS-2 has 122mm long barrel with muzzle brake and it still can't one shot tigers and panthers at times, the only one I can ALWAYS one shot is panther d, which is weird as panthers are better than tigers contrary to what many think, they had better cannons, speed, angled armor, and in some instances even more armor than tigers did but this wasn't enough against 122mm cannon the IS-2 has, even on ~2km it could defeat those exception being tiger 2 p of course. IS-2 used to feel like a real heavy tank whos role is to push forward and support medium and light tanks or cover a given sector, now it's made into a joke.

@spacekiller, "git gud" is a phrase toxic kids like yourself use in games like siege. Your toxicity doesn't work on me so gtfo out of my thread.

[HauptmannTinus]

@ maven: altough spacekillers reaction might be considered "toxic" he has a point.
There is nothing wrong with the IS2 so probably a learn to play issue.

[RetroRun]

My reaction maybe Toxic or not, but you not one shotting Tigers is a serious "GIT GUD" condition, panthers is understandable because of trolly UFP, but that is rare with the 122mm shell, if you can't pen them, the problem lies with you only YOU. Like it or not, learn to play!

[MaxPower]

As a heavy Is-2 user i can give you some tips.

First, don't rely on your armour. This is true for all tanks, but especially for this one. It may seem to have some defense, but a round in the turret mantlet will destroy you. Abuse the reverse speed and peak-a-boom a lot.


Second, don't bother firing Panthers in the turret, you can't rely on the fragmentation of the aphe. Shoot the hull while they're facing you, this will wipe Panthers almost every time.

For Tigers it's the same, fire the hull and they go boom.


p.s. Don't use the Is2-1944, it's not worth the repair cost. Use the one at 5.7 as you face tanks you can pen with ease, rather than constant Tigers 2 H spam that require you to get close to pen their turret.

[MAVEN]

Originally posted by InsertRandomName:

As a heavy Is-2 user i can give you some tips.

First, don't rely on your armour. This is true for all tanks, but especially for this one. It may seem to have some defense, but a round in the turret mantlet will destroy you. Abuse the reverse speed and peak-a-boom a lot.


Second, don't bother firing Panthers in the turret, you can't rely on the fragmentation of the aphe. Shoot the hull while they're facing you, this will wipe Panthers almost every time.

For Tigers it's the same, fire the hull and they go boom.


p.s. Don't use the Is2-1944, it's not worth the repair cost. Use the one at 5.7 as you face tanks you can pen with ease, rather than constant Tigers 2 H spam that require you to get close to pen their turret.

Thanks for these. Will consider.

I'm not a pro in this game but sometimes a shot so obvious has no penetration. This wasn't an issue some 2 yrs ago when IS2 Mest premium was sold as well.

[Meowscarada]

Originally posted by MAVEN:

A longer barrel increaces velocity which in return increases penetration, muzzle breaks decrease recoil and increase stability for the projectile. This is the reason T-34 57mm cannons were very effective, zis cannons were well crafted. IS-2 has 122mm long barrel with muzzle brake and it still can't one shot tigers and panthers at times, the only one I can ALWAYS one shot is panther d, which is weird as panthers are better than tigers contrary to what many think, they had better cannons, speed, angled armor, and in some instances even more armor than tigers did but this wasn't enough against 122mm cannon the IS-2 has, even on ~2km it could defeat those exception being tiger 2 p of course. IS-2 used to feel like a real heavy tank whos role is to push forward and support medium and light tanks or cover a given sector, now it's made into a joke.

@spacekiller, "git gud" is a phrase toxic kids like yourself use in games like siege. Your toxicity doesn't work on me so gtfo out of my thread.

"git gud" is a valid statement, it means your issue is directly related to your skill as a player. its not toxic, its almost always valid information, even more so in online games. And to the issue at hand. i've never had an issue taking out any tank i face in the is-2. Also you're russian, you have a national bias towards soviet tanks. Also Zis cannons where about as good as most russian equipment, cheap and easy to produce.

[Kay]

Originally posted by MAVEN:

A longer barrel increaces velocity which in return increases penetration, muzzle breaks decrease recoil and increase stability for the projectile. This is the reason T-34 57mm cannons were very effective, zis cannons were well crafted. IS-2 has 122mm long barrel with muzzle brake and it still can't one shot tigers and panthers at times, the only one I can ALWAYS one shot is panther d, which is weird as panthers are better than tigers contrary to what many think, they had better cannons, speed, angled armor, and in some instances even more armor than tigers did but this wasn't enough against 122mm cannon the IS-2 has, even on ~2km it could defeat those exception being tiger 2 p of course. IS-2 used to feel like a real heavy tank whos role is to push forward and support medium and light tanks or cover a given sector, now it's made into a joke.

@spacekiller, "git gud" is a phrase toxic kids like yourself use in games like siege. Your toxicity doesn't work on me so gtfo out of my thread.

The longer barrel was the 76mm gun. The 76mm gun was never made longer by the americans for the Sherman. The muzzle break was on the gun only to decrease recoil so it could be mounted properly.

the 122mm D-25T gun can easily penetrate both of those, but that doesn't mean it is lethal. The explosive filler and shrapnel, along with the spalling, are what make it lethal, and it is lethal.

[Arwing20]

A Russian tank underpowered???? You may need to practice a little bit.

[RetroRun]

Originally posted by Arwing20:

A Russian tank underpowered???? You may need to practice a little bit.

Practice alot

[MAVEN]

It's not my skill that lacks, I just had a round where I wiped out clean 6 US tanks including 2 T29s only to be destroyed by a flanking M18. I know that us tanks in this game have best armor in the hull but I mean lol they are better armored than some of the german tanks (stats wise in the game not in reality) so theres clearly something wrong with tigers and panthers in this game.

[RetroRun]

@Maven yup, is that they are seriously underpowered