Are the Merkavas any good?

[def.]

I once had the idea of grinding the Israeli tech tree just to try out the Merkavas, but honestly looking at it now as a non-paying (and not planning to any time soon) player i don't think i can stomach this tech tree.
I do want to know if Merkavas are anyhow unique or strong at top tiers, they look ultra slick as vehicles tho,almost alien.

[Wandering Flare]

Outside of being terrible for corner-peeking due to the turret's position and generally not great for using low cover, they are pretty average if your opponent doesn't spend their time hammering the engine. Definitely not worth grinding and there's a reason they're are rare as unicorns at 11.7.

[Jaes]

Not really. I'd much rather use a Japanese MBT than a Merkava because at least you can use terrain masking to your advantage.

Inexperienced players will keep slinging rounds into your Engine block. Experienced players will aim just above where your engine sits and one shot you and there's really nothing you can do to effectively prevent that. It can't even really Hulldown properly as its turret also has plenty of vulnerabilities.

[Bucher]

The early ones are in a better place than the late ones.

[Shyue Chou]

I will say a bit about it tomorrow, I have played the Merkava 1, 2, 3, and 4, every model, not extensively for some of the Merkavas, mind you.

[xCrossFaith]

I would say the Merkavas are worth it for their looks alone, but if you are planning on staying free to play sadly those modern vehicles are not designed for you to get them

They are... Decent, not awesome, not terrible, keep in mind at those ranges everything can both one shot and be one shotted

You can reach them for sure, but it will take an absurd ammount of time, and Israel is one of th shortest trees in the entire game

[Corinarh]

Not really they are way too slow for 9.0-10.0 meta. And their armor and engine will only create more spalling that will kill your crew. Also your fuel is also in the front so good luck with trying to peek or trying to flank. They are the meme nation. I dunno about 11.0 and above+ since i don't play there.

[def.]

Originally posted by xCrossFaith:

I would say the Merkavas are worth it for their looks alone, but if you are planning on staying free to play sadly those modern vehicles are not designed for you to get them

They are... Decent, not awesome, not terrible, keep in mind at those ranges everything can both one shot and be one shotted

You can reach them for sure, but it will take an absurd ammount of time, and Israel is one of th shortest trees in the entire game

I think japan is sort of shorter? and the main problem of israel is that its full pretty much the same vehicle over and over,so not only it would take a lot of time,it would also be boring af

[Shyue Chou]

Ahh. I had meant to reply earlier but I did not.

As Jaes had said earlier, all Merkavas have a weak point just above the engine (like the turret overhang of the M1), except that this weak point allows the Merkava is to be one shot from the front.

The Merkavas can be divided into two, Merkava 1 and 2s forming one type and 3 and 4s forming another due to their properties.

Merkava 1 and 2s are extremely slow, because of the poor engine output, it will remind you of the snail-like Sho't tanks. There is little choice but to play defensively as it is too slow to move from cover to cover.

Merkava 3 and 4s are okay with regards to engine output. The Merkava 3 and 4s can be played aggressively.

With regards to gun depression, all Merkavas have 8 degrees depression which isn't particularly great for a tank with a huge hull. More often than not, if you adopt a hull down position, part of your upper hull would be showing, that is where that weak point is!

The APFSDS for the Merkava 3 and 4 is alright, it is competitive, one of the best penetrating ones in the game.