Earlier in the week I was considering which path to take from the Soviet KV-1 heavy tank. There were three options, the KV-1s, which seemed like the most popular choice, the T-150, which seemed like the best path to some really heavily armored Soviet beasts, and the KV-2, which seemed more like comic relief than a viable choice.
Yet here I am in possession of a new KV-2.
I still have a long ways to go until I get enough experience to buy the 152mm “derp” gun that can terrorize the field of battle. But even with the stock 122mm piece, I can do a lot of damage. My first shot ever was a nice hit broadside on a medium that blew up completely. One shot, one kill. I got the Reaper achievement, 3 or more one shot kills, in my second battle.
So it certainly has that going for it, even early on.
On the flip side, I have notice that people will go way out of their way to take a shot at you. I have seen whole columns of tanks suddenly turn towards me as I become visible. I cannot tell is this is a matter of joy at having a huge target to shoot at, or if it is more the sort of reaction one gets when a giant cockroach appears; Kill it! Kill it fast!
So I end up dead a lot.
Still, the one-shot aspect of things sort of makes up for it. It seems that if I can catch a medium tank broadside, he’s dead in one shot. And light tanks are often good from any angle if they will stop and let me draw a bead on them.
I have a ways to go to get to the 152mm fun gun. To support it I am sure I need the upgraded tracks and turret, plus I should really get the engine upgrade.
The selling point though was that, with the KV-2, it turns out that the price of researching the T-150 is reduced to 13K experience from 24.5K. So that path becomes a bit cheaper. I wonder if that counts towards the research on the KV-1 line?
Anyway, it is the KV-2 path for me for a while now.