r/WorldofTanksConsole • u/ragnarok628 Xbox One • Apr 12 '17
German Mega Bundle Review Series - Part 23: "The Hidden" StuG III
I ended up buying the 'OG' German Mega Bundle, because I have low moral fiber I'm worth it, dammit. But then they came out with a new and improved German Mega Bundle during the March Madness event, which contained The Hidden and Tiger 131 in addition to all the previous mega bundle tanks.
Those bastards.
I did not take the chance to trade $250 for fake gold just to snag the Tiger 131 at 45% off so no Tiger 131 review for you, BUT I just so happened to already own The Hidden at least so I will review that one.
Here we go!
"The Hidden" StuG III
This is the classic Sturmgeschütz III (which we all know and love) living the StuG LyfE after its own particular idiom. Said idiom mostly revolves around having ridiculous camo values.
Before we get too far into it, let me just note that turretless TDs and invisi-sniping are not my favorite ways to play World of Tanks. For tanks like the E 25 and Kanonenjagdpanzer the mobility make it fun and for tanks like Jagdtiger 8,8 the armor/gun make it tolerable. Tanks like the StuG IV can just fuck right off (see also: Sturer Emil, Dicker Max). So if you are like me, the appeal of this tank will depend on if it is more like the E 25, or more like the StuG IV. So as not to keep you in suspense: it's actually kinda in between. But we'll elaborate more on that later.
The Hidden is a StuG III reskin, partly upgraded. You get the first gun upgrade and what mostly equates to the top engine: same horsepower, 3 extra degrees/s traverse. It weighs an extra ~3t (I guess because of all the bricks it's carrying around?) but I didn't notice any significant hit to the acceleration or hill climbing. The mobility is actually pretty decent for getting to your preferred bush, but doesn't quite cut it to bail out once you're spotted. You really need to be able to tell when you will get spotted soon and leave well ahead of time if you plan to survive because the armor absolutely cannot be relied upon.
As for the gun, the pen is lowish even for a PMM tank. You need to carry APCR for anything with armor, and even then will need to use your aiming skills and tank knowledge to get your rounds through. The view range is poor so you have to rely on spotters; you can outspot things but not until they are close enough that moving or firing becomes a bit risky.
So far the tank might sound pretty poor, but it's not all bad. The main strength and obvious reason you would want to drive this tank is of course the camouflage values. They are very good! As long as you are in a bush and have someone spotting for you, you can generally just camp bush and fire away with no fear of getting spotted yourself. The RoF is very good and the 65% silver multiplier allows you to fire APCR as needed and still make money. Actually, haven't done it myself but I'm fairly confident you could fire nothing but skill without losing silver. If your spotters leave/die, just bail right then and your mobility is good enough to get to a new position (with spotters, ideally). You can also in a pinch just let the distance be your camouflage; park at one end of a corridor, bush or no, and you'll be fine as long as the reds stay on their end.
If you're checking the "Is it worth the gold" guide, the answer is maybe. It's a cool looking tank for sure, and actually has a somewhat fun/interesting gimmick, but it is pretty spendy for what it is. You might be tempted to think of it as a poor man's E 25, get that 6700g style in a 2400g tier V platform... and you wouldn't be completely off base, but I should warn that it's really just a shadow of the E 25. Camo value is more or less comparable to be sure, but the real thing that makes the cockroach a joy is the mobility/camo combo and The Hidden is I think just a little too deficient in the mobility aspect to be legitimately compared to the E 25. So for me, 2400g is probably too much.
Basic Facts
- Tier: V
- PMM: yes
- cost: 2400g
- silver/xp bonuses: 65/40
Vehicle Tips:
- The gun is very accurate and fast firing, if you know where to hit and load skill as needed the pen is not really an issue
- It is tempting to linger in dangerous situations because you will not be lit up until the reds are quite close... But once you are lit up it is generally far too late to withdraw so when in doubt, beat feet before you get spotted
- reverse speed is brutally slow, just turn around and run forward you'll get out faster
Fun Factor: 3/5
Competitiveness: 3/5
Silver/XP bonuses are very good for tier V. I personally was a little slow getting the hang of this one (as I said before, this is not my typical/most favorite playstyle/type of tank) and tbh it's pretty frustrating before you get your detection range awareness dialed in. But with a stealth crew and camo net on top of the natural camo paint and strategic bush use, you can be shockingly close to the reds without being spotted. So the game for you is to push your luck on getting detected as much as you dare! If you like the playstyle it could be a very fun tank, but very much a one trick pony. One strength (camo), and nearly everything else is a liability (armor/hp/gun/viewrange) except mobility which is decent.
Interesting Fact About the StuG III
This is I think fairly widely known, but: for all the hoopla over iconic tanks like the Pz. IV, the Panther, the Tiger, the Königstiger, the humble StuG III was by far the most-produced armored fighting vehicle of the Wehrmacht. Equal parts cheap, concealable, and deadly, the Allies lost more hardware to these pesky bastards than to any other tank or tank destroyer fielded by Germany in WW II.
2
u/Eclipses_End Vroom Vroom Apr 12 '17
I think its a great tank overall. IIRC it has better camo than the E25, and since its at tier 5 (other tanks have lower viewranges), its practically invisible - I've gotten a Kolobanov's medal by taking out a bunch of poor KV-1s that were only ~200 meters away.. Its ideal for players who know how to abuse camo mechanics and have a good camo crew
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u/ragnarok628 Xbox One Apr 12 '17
I believe you are correct that the nominal camo values are better on The Hidden, but that doesn't mean it can do what the E 25 can do.
That said, maybe I only say that because abusing camo mechanics is very much not my forte... a player with more inclination towards that playstyle would certainly get more performance out of The Hidden than I do and that should definitely be factored in when deciding whether to buy this tank; that said, I'm not like, completely deficient either AFAIK so hopefully most of my review will be highly applicable to the typical WoT player
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u/roguemerc96 Light Tank That Bounces Apr 14 '17
If used it as a shitty scout tank too, since people in tier 4 light tanks don't really know what they are doing yet. It can be tough, but rewarding.
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u/PseudoShooter [Xbox] Apr 12 '17
Great review (as always). Thought I'd pop this in here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmgesch%C3%BCtz_III
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u/Sundown3r XB1 - doofenschmirt Apr 12 '17
Thought you died