The IS-3 is the third tank in the IS series. It retains the same 122mm cannon, gets a dome-shaped turret, and most famously - the armour has been heavily upgraded. Able to tank hits from most foes, it has gained an infamous reputation for being hard to kill. It also faces many tanks with the similar characteristic of a big gun with a slow reload. However - how do you get in those situations? And how is it played?
| Pros | Cons |
| Good armour and survivability | Sluggish |
| Good gun | Long reload time |
| Armour is very good against traditional AP/APCBC rounds | Armour struggles against HEAT rounds commonly found in uptiers |
Armament
The IS-3 is equipped with the same gun as the IS-2, a 122mm D-25T cannon. For the earlier vehicles, this is a respectable weapon, however on this tank it starts to lack, facing early MBTs with stabilisers, better reloads, and better penetration. While in downtiers you can easily destroy enemies, in uptiers you will struggle.
The gun, for starters, is rather large, making it easy to destroy. It has a 26-second reload, and an ammunition capacity of only 28. This means every shot must be made to count. You get access to 4 shells.
- BR-471 - The basic APHE shell. With 201mm of penetration at 100m on a flat surface, it is a fine starting shell to suit most of your needs. Due to the ridiculous amount of explosive filler (246g TNT equivalent), if the shell goes through, it is a likely one-shot.
- OF-471 - HE shell. More akin to an artillery shell, it has 3.6kg of TNT equivalent. This means that not only can it easily disable light vehicles, but it can also be used against heavier vehicles, and even MBTs (if you want to do an HE-only challenge). Make sure to have a couple, just in case.
- BR-471B - A ballistic capped version of the BR-471. Identical starting penetration, but better energy retention over distances meaning it has better penetration at range. 203mm of penetration at 100m on a flat surface. Again, like the BR-471, it has a stupid amount of explosive filler. This is a shell you will have to unlock, it is not a basic shell.
- BR-471D - The final shell that can be unlocked. Higher penetration at any distance (227mm at 100m on a flat surface). This has a trade-off of less explosive filler, however it is still enough to overpressure upon penetration.
Although these shells would have been great against most other tanks, the ones you face, you can make it work with careful shot placement. The recommended shell (once you unlock it) is the BR-471D, having the best penetration and still a crazy amount of explosive filler.
Armour
The IS-3 has very impressive armour. In real life, the pike nose and revised turret were revolutionary, becoming the trademark of many later Soviet tanks. In-game, while the armour can work incredibly well, in an uptier, you will get shredded.
To give you an idea of the enemies you will face regularly, there is a list of 2 common tanks to face, with the shell, the penetration, and the reload on them to give you an idea of their danger.
- Conqueror - Shot L1G (APDS). 496mm of penetration on a flat surface at 100m, and a 20s reload. Faster reload, fully stabilised, and a better shell. Only downside is terrible post-pen damage.
- M103 - M469 shell (HEAT-FS). 380mm of penetration at 100m on a flat surface. Can penetrate the IS-3 reliable, and only has a couple of weakspots for the shell you will use against them, the main one being the lower front plate.
The two vehicles mentioned above were designed to take out the IS-3 so it is not really a fair comparison. However, it is important to realise that when you face certain enemies, unless the enemy is incompetent, you can be penetrated very easily. Lesson? Don't rely on your armour.
In the right circumstances, the armour can be great. In terms of thickness, for the hull (front/side/back in mm) it is 110/90/60, and the turret is 250/172/70. The hull armour is sloped, meaning its effective thickness is much higher, and the frontal turret armour can be very hard to get through due to the gun breech eating the rounds. Typically, angling is a great way to increase armour protection, especially during downtiers. Angling is the process of turning 45 degrees so a corner of your tank points to the enemy. While this does hide weakspots and makes it harder to kill you, in an uptier, there is no point as you can be penetrated anywhere. Angling might not work even in a downtier, due to the T34 or Tiger II (H). The pike nose is technically optimised for eating rounds but it depends whether you want to sit at a corner or push whether you angle or not. What I mean by that is when in an open area or pushing, you don’t angle, but when peeking try to angle and hide your side armour using the walls and make sure only the turret and the angled front armour are in view. The side and rear armour are incredibly easy to get through, meaning if you are flanked, you are dead. As stated before, the armour is best against the traditional AP/APCBC rounds used in downtiers, in uptiers you will face HEAT rounds that your armour will struggle to defeat.
Mobility
The mobility of the vehicle is both surprisingly good and terrible at the same time.
On one hand, it has a good forward speed (40km/h) and backward speed (15km/h), allowing you to quickly arrive and leave. The low number of gears and the good traction allow you to climb surprisingly steep slopes.
The positives end there. Despite being light (48T), the acceleration is sluggish, and it doesn't turn well whether from a standstill or while moving. On top of that, the 520hp engine (power-to-weight ratio of only 10.8hp/t) makes the vehicle feel slow. The turret traverse is terrible (6.3°/s horizontally and 2.8°/s vertically), and the elevation/ depression angles are equally so (20°/-3° respectively). This makes it hard to deal with the increasingly prevalent rats, like the XM800T, which can't kill you but can disable each and every vital part of the tank.
In general, the mobility is similar to many other heavy tanks you can face - in one word, lacking.
Overall Playstyle
Depending on whether you get an uptier or a downtier, this vehicle must be played in a certain way to maximise its effectiveness. Let me explain.
Uptier
In an uptier, as stated before, there will be vehicles that can easily kill you - and lots of them. You cannot flank, as you will get bogged down in light tanks and your poor mobility prohibits that anyway.
Instead, you should try to stay out of sight. In a one-on-one engagement, 90% of the time you will lose. You must make sure that you stay out of sight. Try to find terrain that doesn't abuse your limited gun depression, and lob shells at the enemy, relocating from cover.
In urban environments, try to bait enemies from cover. If you can get them screaming around a corner looking for a meal, you can slice into their exposed side armour, killing them easily. All is well and good until you start getting flanked. Alternatively, you could hide in a corner and shoot the enemy as they come by.
No matter how you play it, you need to play cautiously in an uptier, otherwise, you will be shot and destroyed in a matter of minutes by enemies looking for an easy meal. Not only that, if they can't kill you, they can disable you.
Play cautiously.
Downtier
Downtiers are where this tank truly shines. Unlike some other vehicles, where a downtier is merely helpful, for this tank, it shines and becomes the Soviet's favourite assault wedge.
Try to get into a position where you cannot be flanked, and play as a breakthrough tank. Advance slowly, allowing your frontal armour to absorb shots while you deal them out in return. If your barrel and tracks are shot out, you can act as a bullet magnet, distracting the enemy and allowing your team to push without the enemy realising. I have sat, multiple times, through 5-minute periods being swarmed by every 6.7 German vehicle you can think of, not getting killed. In the right hands, you can turn the tide of a battle.
You just have to hope that the enemy isn't aware of your weakspots, and you need to make sure not to push too far, too fast.
I hope this guide helped!
Credits
WT Live // Caff_ I ripped off only his images. All images are his.
