SU-130 PM: German tank in Russian clothes?
Upload: June 10, 2020 - Last Update: July 16, 2020
The SU-130 PM is well known for anyone who has ever played World of Tanks PC. It's mostly referred to as the Russian version of Skorpion G, a very popular German glass cannon tank destroyer. Recently introduced in Blitz via crates, I got lucky with my small crate purchase and got it in my first crate, which means I have the chance to review this tank before everyone actually has it. For the record: I don't encourage anyone to buy crates! Wait for a direct sale is my advice. The main question I want to answer in this review: it is really a second Skorpion G? Or are there some differences after all. And how are you supposed to play a glassy TD on the small Blitz maps? Don't fear, my review is here!
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The statistics: sneaky and deadly, but above everything very vulnerable
At first sight, the SU-130 PM looks like a carbon copy of the Skorpion G. Great 460 alpha shots? Check. Terrific pen of 245? Only 1 mm less than the Skorpion. Great mobility? Check. Similar DPM? Of course, check. This might lead you to the conclusion that the SU is basically redundant, as a lot of people already have the Skorpion. Why wasting money on a tank that's ridiculously similar, right? I would dare to argue that the SU-130 PM is actually very different from the Skorpion. I have several reasons to believe that.
First of all: the SU doesn't have a fully traversable turret, which makes it a less versatile in battle. A lot of good players and unicums like tanks that are versatile, because they can place their tank on any place, depending on their team and the enemy teams actions and skill level. That is harder if you only have 45 degrees of turret traverse to both sides. Once someone gets behind you in the SU, you're dead meat. Fortunately, the SU has other things going for it. The lack of real turret makes it better suited for a sniper role. The brilliant camo helps a ton with that goal, as it's much better than the Skorpion or other tech tree TD's. It's almost as good as the Borsig Waffenträger, known for being the most sneaky one of them all. The gun handling is pretty good too, not stellar but more than good enough to snipe from any distance on the rather small Blitz maps.
I would even dare to say that the SU 130 PM is a better long range sniper, because you have almost Borsig camo while having a very reasonably accurate gun. Like any TD at tier 8, you lack severaly in the hitpoints department, which really cripples any ability to trade shots. Unless you're absolutely sure that you can take out a tank, you should probably never be on the frontline. Personally, I find this playstyle very boring, but if you're a TD-main, you will love this tank, since it's the perfect long range TD.
One last statistic I'd like to point out is the fact that SU 130 PM has 7 degrees of gun depression on a really small tank, low to the ground. This means that peaking over a hill is very doable. If you're on hilly terrain, you can use this to your advantage to get closer to the enemy, something most Russian tanks lack. This really distuingishes the SU from it's competition, in my honest opinion.
Load out for this sneaky bugger
The SU-130 PM is one of these tanks that has a good gun by default. That means that, while I recommend using 7/9 slots, you will be fine with only the first row unlocked. Next to this text you can see my current loadout. I will explain my choices below. This is for all intents and purposes my opinion, and like always, you mileage my vary. I strongly recommend this loadout for anyone who doesn't know which equipment to use.
I also note that while I use most of my most of the time used equipment, this tank has more options than the average tank does. Don't be too careful and try out several combinations for your personal best result!
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Gun Rammer. This tank can actually really take advantage of calibrated shells, and that's what I started with, but the DPM gets kind of lowish that way and you have plenty of pen to get rid of any tier 7, 8 or 9 tank, even tanks like E75 that are notorious for their thick armor. The reload comes down to 10 seconds this way, which is the exact amount of time it takes to get unspotted. Really great way to ensure you're no longer spotted after shooting targets at closer range.
For the second slot, I chose Protected modules. I usually don't really care which one I take. but a LOT of tanks will try to ram you before finishing you off. Protected modules decreases the amount of damage done to you by others ramming you, which helps if you only have 1100 of them. In the end it does not matter that much, you shouldn't get yourself in those kind of situations in this tank.
Since Camo net also helps while moving and this tank has great camo values, you definitely want to use a net instead of improved optics. Spotting your own targets is the last thing you need to do in a paper TD, after all. Don't be afraid for late game 1 vs 1's, your camo is so good you will outspot most targets, even light tanks, as long as you position your tank properly.
Enhanced gun laying drive. Supercharge is most definitely an option, but the shell velocity is already great, so decreasing aim time even more is probably more helpful in most cases. This also depends on how you play the tank of course. If you only snipe, supercharge might make more sense to you.
100 percent sure Improved assembly. Some people argue that improved armor might cause some non penetrating HE shots, but that mostly works on tanks that are on the brink of being HE-able. Any tank above tier 4 can punch through your armor with HE, so that's kind of worthless. You should take any more HP you can get.
Engine accelerator. This both benefits your traverse and horsepower. Since the SU is a very light tank with a weak engine, the effect is very noticable. The traverse is already very good for a non-turreted TD, which means the extra mobility is what you should go for.
The seventh slot is probably the one a lot of people will disagree with me. Refined gun seems like an obvious choice, but the 0,317 dispersion is really good by itself, and Vertical Stabilizer does not only help with aiming in general, it also makes shooting targets that try to circle you much easier thanks to the 20 percent bonus to aiming while moving. If you have aspirations to do anything more than passively sit in the back, I strongly suggest to use vert stabs.
The last two slots are again easy, you always use the toolbox if you spend credits on it and the last one depends on your consumables load out. I usually opt for quicker refill on tanks that don't reload within 5 seconds without adrenaline.
For the second slot, I chose Protected modules. I usually don't really care which one I take. but a LOT of tanks will try to ram you before finishing you off. Protected modules decreases the amount of damage done to you by others ramming you, which helps if you only have 1100 of them. In the end it does not matter that much, you shouldn't get yourself in those kind of situations in this tank.
Since Camo net also helps while moving and this tank has great camo values, you definitely want to use a net instead of improved optics. Spotting your own targets is the last thing you need to do in a paper TD, after all. Don't be afraid for late game 1 vs 1's, your camo is so good you will outspot most targets, even light tanks, as long as you position your tank properly.
Enhanced gun laying drive. Supercharge is most definitely an option, but the shell velocity is already great, so decreasing aim time even more is probably more helpful in most cases. This also depends on how you play the tank of course. If you only snipe, supercharge might make more sense to you.
100 percent sure Improved assembly. Some people argue that improved armor might cause some non penetrating HE shots, but that mostly works on tanks that are on the brink of being HE-able. Any tank above tier 4 can punch through your armor with HE, so that's kind of worthless. You should take any more HP you can get.
Engine accelerator. This both benefits your traverse and horsepower. Since the SU is a very light tank with a weak engine, the effect is very noticable. The traverse is already very good for a non-turreted TD, which means the extra mobility is what you should go for.
The seventh slot is probably the one a lot of people will disagree with me. Refined gun seems like an obvious choice, but the 0,317 dispersion is really good by itself, and Vertical Stabilizer does not only help with aiming in general, it also makes shooting targets that try to circle you much easier thanks to the 20 percent bonus to aiming while moving. If you have aspirations to do anything more than passively sit in the back, I strongly suggest to use vert stabs.
The last two slots are again easy, you always use the toolbox if you spend credits on it and the last one depends on your consumables load out. I usually opt for quicker refill on tanks that don't reload within 5 seconds without adrenaline.
Provisions & consumables
If you don't use premium time or lack credits, I think you can get away without using any provisions. For the best possible outcome, a fully equipped tank is always better of course. I recommend using both 3 and 10 percent crew enhancement kits, aswell as either the protective kit to reduce HE-damage on your modules or the mobility boost if you like moving between your shots.
Consumables are a different story for this tank. Since I don't use CS, my DPM is okay and I tend to reset my camo after shot, which means adrenaline has little use for me most of the time. On the other hand, if I get hit by a HE shell, I tend to get set on fire very often. That's why I use, besides the two repair kits, also an automatic fire extinguisher. It helped me out several times already. If you have top tier firefighting crew skills or like to live dangerously, you could try either adrenaline or engine boost instead.
What's to learn from Rabbit's performance?
I must admit: the first 10 games I played in this tank were horrible. I played way to agressive, and being a heavy and medium player first might have something to do with this. I died every single time as one of the first ones on my team. This tank really needs a patient driver. If you can't be patient this tank is not for you. This might sound blunt but it's the truth. After being more patient things got better and I started to actually contribute instead of dragging my team down.
This might sound like this is a tank for unicums only, but I don't think this is true. For great results and actual fun you'll need better skills than I probably have. At the start of a game, you have to follow the majority of your team (regardless of your skill), and set up in the back, close enough that you have good view on the area your team will spot enemies. If nothing is spotted and your teams keeps driving forward: DO NOT WAIT. This means you're getting flanked and while you have great camo, once enemy tanks are close to you without your team you're toast. Use that mobility, you're not just a sniper.
If you sit in a good spot you can start dwindling the enemy down. Keep a good eye on the mini-map and make sure no red light tanks are trying to creep up on you from behind. This is essential for any TD but even more for a vulnerable one like the SU 130 PM! From here, the gameplay of average and above average players is different: sniping is fine but might get a bit boring and you probably can't use your DPM to it's full potential, unless the red team are really donkey-like of course. I would suggest to move slightly closer regardless of skill once more red tanks are taken out, but if you really can handle the tank well, you can actually move really close to the enemy, as long as you're in a hilly area and not in the open. Use that gun depression to quickly put shots in. This is where EGLD and VertStabs really come in handy. Make sure you have hard cover, and make sure you have a way out.
In the end a lot comes down to your team as well. You need a team that doesn't die within the first minute. A trash team can work as long as they are meatshields for long enough. Don't blame yourself if your team dies within the first 2 minutes: there's not that much you can do with a paper tank with little HP against several healthy and smart red players, after all. Make sure you let that gun sing without too many hiccups between reloads and you'll do fine in this tank. I strongly suggest playing tech tree TD's first though, if you can do well in the Borsig or ISU-152, the SU-130 PM will instantly feel like home.
My final verdict (also known as TL;DR)
I'll never be a fan of TD gameplay, and even though this tank has some characteristics that help it in other roles as well, notably the good gun depression, the lack of health points and armor really can hold this tank back. If you're a tank destroyer fanatic though, you will really love this tank. For most people that only sometimes play TD's and look for a premium TD (for example to train TD skills), the Skorpion plays more like the conventional tank, due to it's fully traversable turret and versatility. That leads me to the conclusion that as long as it's in expensive crates, most players should probably not bother. But if you like the playstyle I described in my review, you won't be disappointed either. It's something you have to decide for yourself.
Want to know more about SU-130 PM?
If you have any more questions or remarks about this review, feel free to contact me here, on the forums or in game. I gladly help you! Also: most community contributors have made a video about the SU 130 PM. Most of these videos contain some mastery game play. If you like a visual representation of what I told you that's most definitely the way to go. I'll link some videos in next to this text.
The amount of videos about this tank is relatively limited, because it's a crate tank. I will include more videos once more pop up. |
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