The PTZ89 was born of a need by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to counter a possible invasion threat by Soviet-made armor. But instead of going the typical route of designing an ATGM carrier like the M113, the People’s Liberation Army instead went with the comparably ancient concept of a gun-based tank destroyer and produced what can be considered by many as the ultimate and final evolution of the concept of a gun-based tank destroyer.
| Pros | Cons |
| One of the easiest and most enjoyable stock grinds in the game | Rather slow reverse speed |
| Gets its APFSDS round when stock with good penetration value and extremely high muzzle velocity | Gun breech, engine and transmission are very prone to being disabled |
| Decent top speed and acceleration | Very weak armor |
| Has a two-plane stabilizer | No thermals |
| Gets a laser rangefinder | Ready-rack only has ten shells |
| Very low vertical profile | Gun depression is rather subpar |
Armament and firepower
Even though the PTZ89’s 120mm cannon may have less penetration value than many missile-based tank destroyers at the battle rating, 443mm of maximum armor penetration is nothing to scoff at, with devastating post-penetration damage that can reliably one-shot most tanks if aiming center-mass and doesn’t have the inconsistency in penetration that ATGMs/chemical munitions often suffer from. The 120mm APFSDS rounds have a velocity of 1740 m/s, one of the fastest muzzle velocities in the game that makes the PTZ89 feel like it has a railgun as its main armament. The 5-second autoloader also makes missed shots very forgiving as you can often get a follow-up shot ready before an enemy has enough time to react. however one should use their spare ammo box to minimize the chances of depleting their autoloader prematurely.
Mobility and gun handling
The PTZ89 uses the same 520 horsepower engine as the Type 59 or T-54 but weighs only 30 tons, giving a much better power-to-weight ratio and a slightly better top speed of 55 km/h, its reverse speed in comparison is not good at almost 8 km/h with no neutral steering. But contrary to most tank destroyers, especially early ATGM carriers, the PTZ89 possesses the ability to accurately fire on the move thanks to its two-plane stabilizer and has an adequate maximum turret traverse of 18 degrees per second. The gun depression on the tank is rather limited at only -5 degrees, however its extremely low and slim profile helps to partially mitigate this issue.
Armor and protection
The PTZ89 is by all means a glass cannon, any shot to the turret will very likely knock out the tank, or knock out either the breach or gunner, leaving you completely defenseless or dead, and any shot to the hull will likely knock out the engine, driver and/or transmission. Taking advantage of the tank’s very low profile to take cover behind the corpses of destroyed tanks or small barricades on the map to go hull-down is absolutely crucial to survival.
General playstyle
The PTZ89 has a very flexible playstyle thanks to it solving the two typical downfalls of tank destroyers which are a slow reload and lack of gun stabilization. The solving of these problems gives players the additional option of playing offense and pushing forward with the frontline as opposed to just sitting back and sniping at targets passively. With these properties in mind, it is an absolutely essential addition to any Chinese rank VI lineup and a good choice to talisman.
