Commanders,
We published a new regular update of our game today.
The main content of this update is a new German tier VIII tank destroyer:
ELEFANT
The Elefant, originally designated as the Ferdinand after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, emerged as one of World War II's most formidable yet flawed German tank destroyers, repurposed from 90 unused chassis of Porsche's rejected Tiger I prototype bid, which lost to Henschel's design in 1941. Weighing around 65 tons with frontal armor up to 200mm thick and powered by a complex petro-electric hybrid drive system, it mounted the devastating 88mm PaK 43/2 L/71 gun, enabling it to obliterate Soviet tanks at ranges exceeding 3 kilometers, as demonstrated during its combat debut at the Battle of Kursk in July 1943.
What are the characteristics of this tank in our game?
Advantages
Solid level of frontal armor protection for its tier
A very powerful top tier gun
Weaknesses
No rotating turret
Longer gun reload times
Lower mobility = speed and turning circle
How to play this tank in our game?
Keep at the back of the battle, use the viewrange threshold for long range sniping
Utilise the strength of your top tier, high velocity, long barrel accurate PaK 43/2 L/71 88mm gun
Cover your tank as much as possible, keep your lower hull plate hidden at all cost
+1 tier tanks pose danger
A piece of history from the real combat use of the Elefant tank:
Elefants saw their first battle at the Battle of Kursk, where units from the 653rd and 654th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalions claimed over 500 enemy vehicles destroyed but lost nearly two-thirds of their number to mechanical failures, mines, and close-quarters infantry attacks due to the initial absence of a secondary machine gun. Following heavy losses at Kursk, the surviving 48 vehicles were retrofitted in late 1943 with a hull-mounted MG 34, a commander's cupola for better visibility, and Zimmerit anti-magnetic coating, then renamed Elefant by Adolf Hitler himself; these upgraded behemoths saw further action in defensive roles on the Eastern Front and during the Allied invasion of Italy at Anzio in 1944, where their immense firepower continued to shine but was undermined by poor mobility, frequent breakdowns, and vulnerability to air and artillery strikes. Despite earning a reputation as a "white elephant" for its high cost and unreliability, the Elefant's elite crews and kill ratios highlighted its potential as a long-range sniper on the battlefield, with only one fully intact specimen preserved today at Russia's Kubinka Tank Museum, captured during the war.
Game development will continue with update 0.307, which is currently being prepared for you and is scheduled for release the next month, i.e. October, 2025.
We look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!
Best regards,
Your PANZERKAMPF® development team