World of tanks update 8.4 - tier 3 german light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G or Panzer II G

In addition to the race car known as Panzer I C, update 8.4 will bring us the Panzer II ausf G, a machine that is by tactics, a polar opposite of the I C.

How and why?

First things first, let's describe the Pz II G. Standing at 11 tons when elited, with a crew of 3. Armour wise its similar to the Pz I C, though a bit bigger in size. In terms of speed and maneuverabilty though, the Panzer II G is nothing to brag about - the 65 kmph top speed is not something it can achieve by its own power.

To demostrate how it handles, here is a video of it.

The video brings us to the one specific point of the PZ II G - the gun. You will first encounter the 3cm M.K.103 gun on the Pz II G so you'd do best to learn its quirks now, because you will see it on the new Luch and leopard as well.

The 3cm is an autocannon, with a 3x2 magazine allowing for 180 damage per mag, and the quite impressive 95mm penetration(!) This is topped by poor accuracy, poor aim time and very long reload - 17-18 seconds.

Needless to say -95mm is quite the overkill for tier 3 and you will have no problems penetrating. The damage output however, combined with the slow reload mean that your offensive abilities at tier 3 are not very adequate. In comparison the 40mm Bofors on the Cruiser IV can dish out 200 points of damage every 5-6 seconds with better accuracy and aim time. Ok, so if you can't fight other tier 3 tanks, what CAN you fight? The answer is in the video as well - you fight big fish. 95mm is enough to punch through KV1, T-1 Heavy as well as Panzers, shermans and t34-s frontally. Thus where other tier 3 tanks can only grind their teeth in anger when placed in a tier 5 game, the Panzer II G, simply locks and loads. In this matter its a polar opposite of the Panzer I C.

World of tanks update 8.4 test 2 - tier 3 German light tank - the 8.4 Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. C or just Panzer I C

The new update will bring us new faces in the german light tank branch. One of them is the Panzer I C, a new high speed, machinegun tank. And boy does it have things to offer...

The first thing that catches the eye is a top speed of 79kmph(!). No, thats not a typo, since it was not fixed in Test 2. The tank is indeed capable of reaching that speed(though with difficulty) and has the turn rate to supplement it too.

With view range of 340, and 700 radio range - its abilities as a scout are more than adequate for tier 3.
The armor layout is, actually quite decent too - 30mm front turret and hull.

Two crew members mean its good for fast training of a driver/commander.

Here you can see it on a quick test run showing both the speed and the gun.

Ah yes - the gun. The Mauser AT machinegun is a little wonder. With 33 penetration, it can fire 40 shots in 5x8 bursts for a whooping 360 damage. Of course a good deal of that will bounce of course, though if you are experienced in driving a T2 light tank, you'd know what to do to avoid it. Loading a new drum takes less than 10 seconds which is another bonus. In fact you pump out so many shots, its possible to run out of ammo.

Now the cons. Its not all good here. While the Pz I C can wreak havoc in a tier2-3 game, versus tier 4 and 5, the top gun is virtually useless, and you are relegated to scout duty and hoping your team is decent. The two crew members is both a boon and a problem. As with the Hotchkiss, its not unlikely that you will be knocked out from losing your crew before your actual tank is destroyed. Still, those are minor issues that all similar tanks suffer from.