SU-76 has 60 meters weapon range, same like AT guns and allies tank destroyers. That is its big selling point for such a cheap tank. The StuG has only 50 range.
The damage is lower(120 stock, 140 at vet 2), yes, but if it had the full 160 damage, it would legit be busted OP for the price
60 range, but it immediately loses engagements if the enemy decides to close in. Would the damage be busted? possibly, but if you reach vet 3 with it, you might as well deserve the full 160, you earned it.
However, the better solution is to address the lack of reliable anti-infantry damage. The su-76 would do good with having a kv-2 lite siege mode, where it becomes immobile, but lobs HE shells instead of AP shells, letting you have a general purpose support weapon, that can ideally be used at all stages of the game effectively. we aren't the wehrmacht, so the su-76 will have to unsiege for a few moments, before it becomes mobile again, and it cant fire while setting up, that would make it balanced indeed.
(wehrmacht hulldown in fortified armor already exists, so i see no reason why this shouldn't either)
Get 2. It has some of the BEST AoE suppression radius, so it will suppress an entire blob. It doesn't suppress fast enough by itself though.
Otherwise, if you can slow the push and give it time to supress, again great AoE, so you only need 1. Its great to stop Pschrek blob chasing your T34.
Also, NO ONE steals a maxim, so OST will leave it where it dies. OKW will convert to fuel.
Sustained Fire is also not a joke. It really helps with suppression, but it triggers reload. So you have to do it AS the blob is rolling in.
If the blob has Obers and they are spread out to any real degree, its just going to die, not much to be done.
I don't think that the AoE suppression is as good as people claim, in my experience, the maxim only has enough time (outside of ability) to suppress a single squad, then it gets overwhelmed/axis infantry leaves arc of fire.
You'd be surprised, I saw plenty of maxims being stolen, which kinda shoots them in the foot, because it is far easier to kill a maxim than mg-42. The ability is nice, but imo idk if it justifies usage if you ever get the option of an axis mg
I consider the maxim, like all allied machine guns, garbage. I never build them in the early game, i find other soviet units to be more flexible.
However, what if I, god forbid, was wrong?? What is the forum opinion on the maxim, and, more importantly, how to effectively utilize it & what strategies are viable with it?
I use the SU-76 regularly, and I think it complements perfectly with t1 penal builds. In games where you are kinda low on fuel, you can slowly but surely get multiple SU-76, and I think they are devastating in groups of 3-4 because then you have a "tank blob" that will effectively trade in most fights, because if the enemy attacks you and loses a tank, usually you will not lose more than one SU76.
If fuel income is good, however, I would just tech straight for T34 and SU85 of course. Or get one only so enemy p4 rush doesnt push you off the map
Its simply a stop gap tank. It is worse stats wise than the zis-3 for AT, and the barrage is not a saving grace in my eyes, the cooldown is pretty long
penals should just get a dedicated ptrs squad, seeing as how 222s have some time before the su-76 comes around. I wish that the unit was slightly stronger, the fragility is fine, but the firepower leaves something to be desired. Hell, veterancy should give it full zis-3 stats and/or cheaper barrage, so it actually becomes rewarding to keep these shits alive.
the stug is 15 fuel more expensive, but inherits full pak-40 stats at vet 0. The su-76 gets less penetration and damage than the zis-3 does, veterancy doesn't make up for it entirely, either. Maybe i should just let it go and make 2 su-85s instead, who knows
I have seen several instances of the su-76 in both my games and in that of other people by now. I got to say that it is a pretty underwhelming vehicle, confirming my previous beliefs on it.
It lacks dps and durability, even the range aside, the stug completely destroys this machine (and can straight up rush into it). In conclusion, you delay t-4 and a t-70, all for a low damage cannon. Not worth getting.
I can guarantee you that if you charge 2 AT guns that can fire at max range that ST is not coming home. 220 armor is not much for dedicated AT weapons. Also it should not be countered by mediums except for flanking.
Related to topic:
Sturmtiger going in blindly against two ZIS-3s and one SU-85. the SU-85 misses at the end, but it had enough health to survive another shot
Can you name an arty piece that has 40 range? even with all its armor and hp you still take more risk moving the ST to the frontline then putting a kat or calliope in the back.
Never heard of arty shotgunning.
Also, have you ever fought against a sturmtiger? something tells me you haven't
I've seen several people post this. Yes it has a massive amount of hitpoints (1280-1440), but the armor is nothing special. 220-242/110-121 front/rear armor is bad for a heavy vehicle. For comparison, the AVRE has 290/180 armor.
When doing balance comparisons/reviews, its armor is definitely not a factor to take into consideration. It won't bounce much. Its durability comes mostly from raw health.
HP is more important than armor.
the sturmtiger can sustain (i think) two su-85 hits and it will still be immune to infantry snare, this is the only tank in the game that is capable of this. The armor still makes it bounce half the shots of most soviet mediums frontally
You risk much more driving frontally into two AT guns with an AVRE than you will EVER do with a sturmtiger, axis have higher penetration AT options anyway, that extra armor wont aid the avre much.
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