This is the Semo... Se... Se... Se-mo-ven-te CoRtra...
Contra... Whatever!
This is the Vipera! An autoloading tank destroyer!
Well, sort of autoloading, I mean, not exactly...
And not exactly a TD either.
But it has a rotating turret!
Which...rotates…somewhat.
It also has armor!
But not always...
Anyway, let’s just think of it as “Schrödinger’s vehicle”,
and find out what it's all about!
This vehicle rolls!
Or, to be more precise, it doesn’t move in a hurry.
With a power-to-weight ratio of 11.7 horsepower per ton,
this 50-ton Italian accelerates up to 30 km/h.
That’s more than enough speed to make it to the heavy tank flank
before the start of the skirmish.
On smaller maps, you can even reach the far flanks,
like the castle on Himmelsdorf,
the town on Lakeville, or the railroad on Live Oaks.
You’ll a bit late to the fight, sure,
but you’ll be perfectly positioned for the heat of the action.
But it’s important to not stop.
Because every bush on your way will entice the Vipera to nestle in it
for added concealment.
And if you do decide to give in, get ready...
That was a shed.
And that was your ally’s hull.
And that was the only person in the game!
Looking at its characteristics,
it’s clear that the Vipera is a wannabe stormtrooper from a famous saga.
Dispersion is 0.44. Aiming time is 3 seconds.
With these kinds of stats, you’ll hit the enemy,
but likely miss their weak spots.
So, you can stand in the bushes, but you won’t be much use.
And you’d be wasting your impressive armor.
Yes, there's armor indeed!
300 mm in the turret, 270 mm here, and 270 here.
That's a decent Italian monolith, even without a commander's cupola!
The armor is weakest in the lower part of the lower glacis plate.
The very lowest part, almost at the bottom.
This slope on the roof, too.
Even at close range, they’re hard to hit.
But from long range, it’s almost impossible.
And the armor is perfectly capable of handling the standard shells
of same-tier vehicles.
Still, the Vipera’s armor is kind of an enigma.
Higher-tiered tanks can penetrate its upper glacis with standard shells.
And if special shells are fired, the turret might get pierced as well.
It’s hard to deflect shells confidently when you’re at the bottom of the list.
But it’s possible if you think outside of the box.
For example, use the terrain.
The vehicle has an excellent -10 degrees of gun depression.
You just need to find a small hill or pile of debris,
and that's it—even special shells won't help your opponents now.
And remember that the turret rotates!
It looks like this.
Skeptics will say this is photoshopped or edited,
but no—it really rotates 90 degrees: 45 degrees to each side.
Here’s what you need to do: turn the turret as far to the side as possible,
roll out from behind a corner, deflect a shell from a menacing Tier X tank,
fire, and roll back to cover.
Just don't get the steps mixed up.
First roll out, then shoot.
To make your attack as smooth as possible:
First, try to not roll out too much and expose your front wheel.
Even Tier VII vehicles will penetrate you easily there.
Secondly, only expose your front.
Don't take any risks from the side.
After all, the little slopes on the armor
will prevent you from deflecting shells efficiently.
So, you’ll need some geometry knowledge to survive a face-off
with a Tier IX or X,
but the Vipera will be able to withstand hits from Tier VIII tanks
and lower without a problem
Shooting is where things get really interesting.
Sure, the Vipera has an autoloader in name.
It deals five shells with 400 HP of damage per shot,
takes 36 seconds to reload the magazine, and has a reload time of…
SIX seconds between shots!
Yeah, this isn’t your typical “autoloader”...
That’s why you need to start firing,
and most importantly, THINKING like a regular cyclic tank.
A good cyclic tank.
No, an excellent cyclic tank.
Let’s put it to the test, so you can see for yourself.
A regular, classic duel.
Let's find a few opponents with similar damage per shot a
nd excellent damage per minute.
It all becomes clear from the first shots.
Sure, a few of the opponents gave us some trouble,
but they were defeated nonetheless.
At the same time, if you equip the Vipera with Improved Hardening,
it can handle most opponents,
even if they are equipped for maximum DPM.
Just make sure to penetrate them with every shot.
The opponents never stood a chance.
And that's all thanks to our Italian’s amazing autoloader.
In 24 seconds, it dishes out as many as 2,000 HP of damage.
Nothing gets in its way.
Not artillery stun, not a damaged ammo rack,
and not even injured crew members.
It's always 6 seconds between the shots,
so you can be sure that any Tier VIII vehicle is a potential frag
to your scoreboard.
Even in regular fights, with enemies ducking behind cover
and hiding from your "autoloader-but-not",
the vehicle will play just as comfortably and have the same advantages.
You fire several warning shots.
The opponents are caving in, so you reset your clip
and initiate the advance after its reload.
36 seconds is just enough time to decide on your tactics,
change position, and reach your full potential.
There are several ways to equip your Vipera:
the most universal option would be with Improved Aiming,
Improved Ventilation, and Improved Hardening.
If you have a need for speed,
use the Turbocharger instead of Improved Aiming.
But if you want to have the most accurate Vipera in the Wild West,
choose Improved Aiming, Ventilation, and the Enhanced Gun Laying Drive.
It's always better to have two equipment sets to switch between.
That's where your Field Modification will come in.
The bonus to stabilization or Parallax Adjustment
for better accuracy can also help you out here.
The Vipera is a vehicle of contradictions.
It doesn't have much in the way of dynamics, but they’re enough.
It has excellent armor, but with some limitations.
And, finally, it has a strange but excellent autoloader
that doesn't look like an autoloader at all.
But even in this duality, there's still one undeniable fact:
The Vipera is an unusual vehicle that’s sure to bring unusual experiences.
And if that's what you like, this new Italian is the tank for you!