Let’s get to know the newbie, the FV201 (A45). First off, the French “autoloaders” will be envious of his outstanding rate of fire. The Brit has a strong, robust and fast-turning turret and superb gun depression angles, so he can use the hilly terrain to his advantage throughout the battle.
This gentleman isn’t so great when turning so he’s not set to become a rally driver, but certainly picks up speed when going in a straight line; simply press the accelerator and you’re hitting “max speed”. To top it all off, the FV201 (A45) earns even more credits per battle! Take command and to the victor go the spoils!
Until October 19, bundles featuring the FV201 (A45), with and without Equipment, are available in the Premium Store. Pick up the package to suit your personal taste.
FV201 — A barrage of shots
Just like other British heavies, the FV201 is a combination of measured slowness and a crazy rate of fire. But now onto the most pressing information, the stats:
The armored body of the FV201 (A45) is not as impressive as that of all its peers, but this disadvantage is levelled out by a decent margin of hit points. Except for the “tin roof”, the tower is pretty well protected: 152mm frontal combined with a thick gun mask. Add to this, the great depression of the gun and we have a recipe that’s simple for any tanker in the FV201 (A45): hide your hull behind obstacles or hilly terrain and return those shells to sender with your durable tower.
The maximum speed of the FV201 (A45) is 31km/h, and the tank speeds up in seconds. This helps the machine to arrive on time at the best firing positions and contribute to the enemy team’s destruction. On the other hand, the Brit doesn’t handle turns very well and certainly slows down when taking corners. But the lights and mediums preying on this slow-turning target are out of luck: the tower turns quicker than Benedict Arnold and will be ready to blow off your tracks.
Now let’s draw our attention to the main feature—the gun! If an unsuspecting enemy runs into the sight of the FV201 (A45), they will remember their mistake as their tank might now look like Swiss cheese, getting struck once every 3.6 seconds. Thanking this gentleman for the newly received extra vent holes with reciprocal fire won’t work. The Brit’s DPM for the exceeds over 2600! If you bring Equipment and Consumables, the reload time will decrease to 3.2 seconds with a DPM of 3000!
A standard AP round offers 171mm of penetration; that’s enough to take on more tanks of Tier VI and VII. When dealing with Tier VIII steel beasts, you will have to look back to your book on weak spots. At least the gun allows you to be fairly accurate. Use your pinpoint accuracy to deal damage, and if in a tight situation, sacrifice the damage by loading APCR rounds: they can penetrate 239mm of armor!
The FV201 (A45) is a born and bred second line fighter, able to continuously fire at enemy targets. He can not only cope with damage, but also sacrifice a couple of shots to track an enemy. Stopped dead in his tracks, this tank will unleash one shot at the Brit, but no bother, he will return three.
Low one-time damage and a high rate of fire means that the FV201 doesn’t perform well when playing peek-a-boom and exchanging shots with enemies. To effectively use the gun, keep the enemy in your sights for as long as possible. Use all your advantages: large stock of shells, good accuracy and stabilization. You know what that means—shooting on the move. Don’t wait for the enemy around the corner to reload. Burst in and deal damage!
For such maneuvers, you will need a strong ally with good armor. If there isn’t anyone helping you out, choose routes with uneven terrain and objects to hide the hull.
Now that you know this gentleman better, you will be able to achieve outstanding victories and earn a decent amount of credits for each trip to the battlefield. The rapid-firing Brit is waiting!