Commanders!
Now that Update 1.3 has been released, you may have noticed that the IS-3A has received a major overhaul. Previously, it’s been widely regarded as “just an IS-3” clone. The ‘A’ in IS-3A stood for ‘autoloader’. However, instead of an autoloader like the French vehicles possess, the IS-3A only had an autoloading mechanism in the sense that it doesn’t need a Loader.
What’s the deal with this tank?
With the update it can be considered as a completely new vehicle, so let’s see what has changed:
- An autoreloading clip has been added to the gun. Three shells are included in the clip.
- Reminder: An ‘autoloader’ reloads the entire clip at once, and an ‘autoreloader’ reloads each shell in the clip one by one.
- The more shells in the clip, the longer the reload time for the next round. This is the complete opposite to the Italian vehicles, so it means the IS-3A has an ‘inverse autoreloader’.
- The aiming time was improved.
Damage & Precision
As the Premium version has been in the shadow of the regular IS-3 in the past, let’s compare these two once again.
With the implementation of the autoreloader, it now has an immense burst potential (1,170 HP) almost on par with the French autoloaders. It also saw improvements to its aiming time. In general, the IS-3 still feels more reliable thanks to its higher accuracy. Note that, unlike the Italian autoreloaders, the new IS-3A cannot mount a Tank Gun Rammer to lower its reloading time.The stats displayed in the tables below correspond to a 100% trained crew.
*The reload time of shells inside the clip is 3 seconds.
Mobility & Survivability
Looking at the big picture, the IS-3 easily outclasses the IS-3A in terms of mobility. The top speed may be about the same, but the defining factor is the power-to-weight ratio that is much to the favour of the standard tank. It’s also more agile than the Premium version. In terms of survivability, the IS-3A is similar to the standard tank, with 50 HP extra.
| IS-3A | IS-3 |
| Forward speed: 40 km/h Reverse speed: 15 km/h Power-to-weight ratio: 10.61 hp/t Turret traverse speed: 22.94°/s Tank traverse speed: 27.11°/s Hit Points: 1,550 Hull armour: 110/90/60 mm Turret armour: 249/172/100 mm | Forward speed: 38 km/h Reverse speed: 15 km/h Power-to-weight ratio: 14.26 hp/t Turret traverse speed: 27.11°/s Tank traverse speed: 31.29°/s Hit Points: 1,500 Hull armour: 110/90/60 mm Turret armour: 249/172/100 mm |
Do I need to play the IS-3A differently now?
Overall, the role of the vehicle didn’t change that much. It’s still a vehicle meant for brawling, but it is now much more capable in doing so. Keep the following in mind, when it comes to the inverse autoreloader:
- On the one hand, you can easily cripple and finish off an enemy vehicle thanks to its burst potential, paired with good reload speed for its first shell.
- On the other hand, if the enemy forces you to trade shots, either your reload time will be abysmally long all the time, or they’ll make you waste your burst potential.
So, which of these two will be your favourite? The good ol’ reliable IS-3 with its perfect blend of survivability, mobility, and firepower, or the all-new IS-3A with its burst potential? If you like both of them, make sure to keep some space for these two in your garage!
Roll out!
So do our existing IS-3As get swapped for the new version, or will they become two different tanks (i.e. a bit like Defender)?
Presumably if the old ones get changed, then there will have to be some sort of refund or compensation offer for those who (at least claim to) prefer the conventional version.
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Old one gets removed, everyone who owned the old one gets a new one. It’s a 1:1 swap.
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Id have bought one same as kjpz105 and the old one….could have made some cash from me…nit sure why they didnt offer that option
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this tank is very slow, power to weight ratio is so bad
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I’m kinda mad that you can’t mount a gun rammer on it like you can on the Italian tanks since it’s the same system
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it’s not inferior at trading shots and it has a clear advantage of burst.
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I traded the old one, because it was useless. And what now? Wg could give me a chance to buy it back with credits?😀😀
Their answer will probably be🖕.
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Never sell or trade a tank, that’s my motto, even the little shitty gift tanks. You never know what WG might do to them, just like the IS-3A got buffed. It gathered dust in my garage for a year and a half, but now it is a real beast with the autoreloader.
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I just had visions of some crappy tier 2 garage slot, sorry, free tank, suddenly turning into an IS3A and being very rare ‘cos we’d all binned the crappy tank!
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Of all this, I’m amazed at how WG gave this tank an autoreloader that is better than the one used on the Italian medium tanks, for no gameplay-related reason at all (it’s a Russian tank, RU is the biggest customer of WG, yooo).
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Nice of WG to switch this, with 3-marks and all!
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If they keep doing this kind of things, everybody starts playing Russian tanks or turn their back on WoT.
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Ordered by Putin.
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Lol…. non russian tanks in 2k18.
Good meme.
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So they just change it without my permision? like wtf
With the KNJGDPNTER they asked if you want to swap the normal one to the 105 one
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Good thing you can go eat a dick aye?
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