Jan Žižka was a legendary Czech military commander.
An unrivaled strategist. Fearless. Instilled with iron will.
Žižka developed the first Military Regulations in Western Europe
that clearly outlined the rules for the soldiers in battle.
His army was disciplined, well-organized, and highly trained.
Their main weapon was their wits. And it always paid off.
Now a successor of this Czech military genius has appeared in the game.
A keeper of traditions. The Škoda T 27.
In World of Tanks, many vehicles have the letter "T" in their names.
If you think about them as a kind of a family, then…
Well, T 27, we need to have a serious talk.
You were adopted. And it's not only about the letter.
The secret lies in the tank’s nationality.
While the Americans are famous for their strong patriotic spirit,
the Czech prefer something more practical.
For example, crystal glass.
And this is what the entire armor of the T 27 is made of.
Just like Dominik Hašek, the goaltender, but vice versa.
KEŠAH!
Sounds about right for this armor.
However, the Czech commander could always compensate for weaknesses!
To understand how exactly, we need to study the Regulations.
Let's take a standard situation.
You're on the Steppes map in a battle in our brave T 27.
Three options are available. What should the Škoda do?
Reflexively, you think about heading right together with other medium tanks.
Take position closer to the enemy, get ready to meet them head on, and…
it's over pretty soon.
To sum up, something went wrong. Let's figure it out.
Survival in battle is fundamental for effective play in any vehicle.
And this parameter is particularly relevant for the T 27.
There are two ways to survive:
you either use concealment and stay undetected.
Or find the right position and take cover in time.
But staying safe is only one part of the equation.
It's important to be efficient.
And—surprise— this doesn't always mean shooting.
It's all about control.
If you or your allies see all possible enemy advance routes to positions
where they can deal serious damage, you’re doing everything correctly.
You’re controlling the situation!
And if you can also fire at your opponents,
Jan Žižka would be proud of you.
The third component of success
is the ability to maintain this state of safety and effectiveness.
Simply put, to find an opportunity to switch positions.
These three factors form a general formula
that delivers an incredible result.
You're hard to hit, you’re able to fire,
and you're ready to change positions at any moment.
This maximizes the enemy’s limitations in their actions against you.
That's why we’ve introduced a new notion: superiority distance.
Superiority distance is the distance between two positions
where most active actions of the enemy are advantageous to you.
Sound difficult? In fact, it’s not.
Superiority distance shows itself in many situations.
And you already know most of them.
For example, the superiority distance for the IS-7 may work like this.
For the Borsig, like this.
Our T 27 has this superiority distance.
The most important thing is that all three conditions are met:
the enemy can't hurt you, you control the situation,
and you can change position any time.
It doesn't matter if it happens because you have an impenetrable front
or your opponents don't see you or don't have time to shoot.
What matters is that your position in comparison to the enemy is stronger.
This is the distance of superiority.
It's all clear and simple if you and your opponents are in a static position.
But tanks tend to move, you know.
The Škoda T 27 has excellent dynamics. Almost the same as the T-44.
The speed is 50 km/h, and the specific power is 22.5 horsepower per ton.
This cavalry is quite enough for maintaining superiority distance,
switching flanks, and just running away while firing back at heavy tanks.
But you can't be a great commander if you rely only on physical parameters.
To keep superiority distance, you need to know clearly
where, when and why you’re on the move.
Firstly, Jan Žižka always knew what the enemy was going to do.
Monitor the minimap to predict where the opponents may appear,
where your allies can go, and always plan escape and attack routes.
This is a matter of habit and specific knowledge.
Secondly, fast vehicles are more dangerous than slow ones.
Your dynamics are good, but not the best.
Light and medium tanks can overcome your superiority distance.
You should gun them down if possible.
Thirdly, know the lines of fire.
Superiority distance works most effectively when you can fire.
Ideally, in several directions.
To do so, you need to know maps and potential lines of fire.
Fourthly, support your allies. No tank can battle alone against 15 enemies.
But everyone can use their team to their benefit.
Even at moments when the team plays… far from what you want.
This is one more principle of superiority distance.
You need to manufacture situations when your team helps you.
They might not even know about it, but it works. And this is how.
No, no, no. Okay. You shouldn't do this.
But here's how it's done.
For example, there's a skirmish on one of the flanks.
During this time, you've found superiority distance
and are methodically firing at the enemy.
In this situation, there are several ways your team is working for you.
A. The enemy's attention is focused on your teammates,
so you can cause damage scot-free.
B. When you distract opponents, your team can cause damage to them.
And C. If an opponent decides you need to be punished no matter what,
they will likely become a sitting duck for your team to take out.
And… This all sounds good. But there's a catch.
You can't always create superiority distance.
There are a whole bunch of reasons for that.
From the peculiarities of the map to situations
where there are just no opponents in suggested positions.
In such cases, you need to play more aggressively,
shorten the distance, and take risks.
To do so, Jan Žižka bequeathed a drum to you!
A distinctive feature of top Czech vehicles!
A three-shell drum with a reload time of 24 seconds,
which can be emptied in 3.6 seconds!
The damage per shot is 240.
Armor penetration is 202 and 242 mm correspondingly.
Improving aiming time is a must.
And in combination with сorrect use,
the Czech's gun starts delivering excellent results.
Here's a situation: you approach your opponents, each of them is busy,
and you have a choice— who to fire at?
First, you need to know which vehicle you can penetrate.
Then consider how many shots are required to take it out.
And finally, pick the right moment.
Perfect.
However… This situation could have played out even better!
Because this is how a regular player sees it.
While this is how a highly skilled player sees it!
The quick-firing Škoda's drum is perfect for damaging modules.
Both external modules— track the opponent,
they use the Repair Kit, and track them again.
And internal ones—say hello to the fuel tanks and ammo rack.
However, the autoloader has a flip side as well—temptation.
The opportunity to dish out 720 damage often turns out badly quite quickly.
You need to control your urge and make cold calculations.
Jan Žižka always kept this in mind. That's why he never lost a battle!
Even though you have three shells in your drum,
it's not necessary to fire them all straight away.
Imagine this tank is you.
What's your reaction to a shot from an autoloader tank?
The first shot is always unexpected,
but it gives you information where the enemy is firing from.
The second shot as you’re almost turned towards the opponent.
The third shot as you completed the turn and fired back. The logic is clear.
A regular player will let you shoot twice at them before they strike back.
Don't get greedy. It's better to reload,
appear where the opponent doesn't expect to see you, and repeat the lesson.
The reverse speed allows you to do it without losing hit points.
Perfect. However, this is how a regular player sees the situation.
While this is how a highly skilled player sees it!
The Škoda T 27 is a flexible tank. It's not limited to one route.
You can play the tank both aggressively and conservatively.
It can dish out damage, or it can play a supporting role.
This vehicle isn’t ideal for duels, but it can win them with savviness.
This is a vehicle that makes you think.
And, most importantly, this is a vehicle that makes you better!