9.6 Test: AMX CDC, STA-2 Feedback

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Hello everyone,

Wargaming learned from their mistake and did let us test the new upcoming premium vehicles, that will be sold for money – STA-2 and AMX Chasseur de Chars (furthermore referred to as AMX CDC). Let’s have a look at them.

AMX CDC

Model in garage:

shot_001

Modules:

shot_002

Armor:

sta22

Well, the moment we all waited for is here. AMX CDC, by far the most interesting vehicle amongst the premiums, all yours for testing. I strongly suggest you do before you commit or spend any money. Here are my impressions of the vehicle.

It’s okay. “What the fuck, just okay?!” I hear you say? Allow me to explain. When the first data were leaked, a lot of people assumed that this vehicle would definitely be OP as hell, based on the insane horsepower of the engine alone. I mean – 1200hp on a 34 ton vehicle, holy fuck! As a result of this, a myth arose that this vehicle simple HAS to be brilliant.

Well, it’s not, not that much anyway. It sort of works and it’s okay, but that’s it. First, the mobility. The mobility is much worse than what you would expect from that kind of horsepower, as it is partially balanced by hull traverse and partially (invisibly) by terrain resistance. The vehicle accelerated very quickly, but does not turn that well (STA-2 feels more agile!), but that’s not all. First, it loses speed VERY quickly when climbing any slopes, for example the Malinovka hill you will be climbing with the speed of around 30 km/h (!). That’s not much. Secondly, it loses speed very quickly during turns. Do NOT expect this vehicle to behave like a light tank (or a Batchat), it’s less agile. Secondly, there is the relatively low top speed of 57 km/h. Sure, on the paper, it feels like a LOT, but consider it a hardcap – even from very steep hill, where a light tank would easily reach 70+, you’ll be still going 60 km/h. It sounds a lot, but it is not, and let me explain why.

The size. This tank is HUGE, considering how fast and it is supposed to be. It is a big fat easy target – and it has no armor whatsoever. And I mean that, check the armor schematics. No armor at all. I had ONE lucky bounce from the mantlet, but otherwise – nada. So basically, what we have here is a big, fat medium tank version of a Hellcat – a tank that can go fast in one direction, but heaven forbid you want to make circles or maneuver around anything. It will get you fast to the spot you want to take, but not much else. Still, against slower tanks it can hold its own, it can circle around KV-4 for example, but if you get hit or (heaven forbid) detracked, you are dead, period.

But of course, there is the third part of the equation, the gun. Well, basically it’s a 90mm DCA you all know and love from the French tanks. Very roughly an equal to the German long 88mm. It fires AP and decent APCR shells as gold, which fly REALLY fast, that’s a huge plus. When standing, it’s decently accurate, but it loses a good portion of accuracy when on the move, plus there is the 9.6 accuracy nerf… in other words, do not expect to hit anything when moving, unless you are firing point blank. On the other hand, the gun has good depression, so you can (in theory) make use of various terrain irregularities.

All in all, it’s a mixture of speed and firepower – sort of like tier 8 Hellcat. If you get hit, you die, if you don’t, you can wreak some serious havoc. Or… can you?

There’s a HUGE catch. This vehicle does not have limited MM. This afternoon, I only was in two battles with tier 10 vehicles – this is a “speciality” of a test server: there are battles just LOADED with tier 8′s and therefore the server just ignores the higher battletiers and puts 8′s together. Against tier 8′s, this vehicle is really good, if you are careful. You rush and you are dead. You get exposed, you are dead. Everyone will shoot at you because you are a big fat target with no armor whatsoever. Again, a comparison with Hellcat comes to my mind. But in tier 10 battles, this vehicle is really, REALLY bad. In city maps, it’s too large and conspicuous to flank, although again, if you manage to flank or stay hidden, you can do some MAJOR damage. But in any case, it is not a vehicle for newbies – play it for example like a regular tier 8 premium medium and you are dead. For me, the unlimited MM is a sort of dealbreaker. It could be nerfed a bit and have limited MM, but in current state, it will be difficult to use in tier 10 battles.

Hard to say. For advanced players, it’ll be a nasty vehicle and unicums will be able to do a LOT of damage in it. In average hands, I think it’ll be a poor one instead. Results will have to show, but testing it is definitely a sobering experience.

STA-2

Model in garage:

shot_005

Modules:

shot_006

Armor:

sta2

….and now you expect me to tell you that this vehicle is shit, don’t you?

Actually, it’s not. Surprisingly, it’s quite okay.

I think that STA-2 was considered an underdog of this batch of vehicles from the start. I mean, it’s not a one trick pony, it has no massive redeeming quality. It’s sort of bland even. But it works.

First, the mobility – this vehicle is SLOW. And I mean it. Even on flat surface, you will rarely go over 40 km/h and even smaller hills will reduce your speed to 20-25 km/h easily. Malinovka hill? 25-28 km/h. It’s not a fast flanker and it should not be played as such. The engine horsepower is not exceptional, but what it lacks in acceleration, this vehicle makes up in agility. It turns extremely well, better than the CDC in fact – it is very agile, so no, no light tank will circle you, you’ll be able to turn around to face him nicely. It might not seem like a big thing compared to the lack if speed, but it is, the vehicle definitely feels comfortable.

The armor, as you can see, is however quite poor. The hull will not stop any shells and you will get torn apart if you get caught in the open. You don’t have the speed to evade shells either, so you have to be careful. The mantlet area however seems nasty and I had a nice shootout with a Panther 88 player, who shot the mantlet four times – two rounds it bounced, one came through and one was “eaten”. Not bad, certainly unexpected. Maybe it was just luck, but the turret is okay, unless of course you allow anyone to shoot at your weakpoints. Of course, it won’t stop tier 9 or 10 shells, but against other tier 8′s, it’s fine.

And then there’s the gun. It’s quite bland really – think Super Pershing. But it aims fast and fires fast – so that’s a good thing. The vehicle also has good depression. The ace in the sleeve are however the 275mm HEAT penetration gold shells, that can take care of even some tier 10′s and most tier 9′s. But that’s gold of course.

Overall, I am not sure what to think. I actually did fine with the vehicle, but most battles were tier 8′s. Against tier 10′s, without gold, you are completely outmatched and I suspect is that one of the points of not making this vehicle with limited MM (like the Super Pershing) is to increase the purchase rate of gold ammunition in hightier battles. On the other hand, the vehicle is very agile and comfortable to use. As a second line support tank, it will find its place on the battlefield and I surprisingly have better feeling of it than I have of the CDC.

Oh well, time will tell.

130 thoughts on “9.6 Test: AMX CDC, STA-2 Feedback”

  1. No preffered MM.. Thats low WG. Really low.

    Although im going to have a hard time im my Jagdtig 88 vs that STA-2 :s
    Due to gold..

    • Maybe not. I’ve played about 10 battles and finally starting to get a good mix of NON CDC/STA filled battles. CDC still held up well against tier tens but tried to circle a E75 in the STA and the E75 won. Just could not out maneuver the turret. STA-2 seems a bit on the sluggish side with a meh gun. Might be taking a pass on that on. The CDc is a keeper but I think I’ll pass on the JPN Med for now

      • You can’t expect to circles enemy tanks with the STA-2, and anyone that played with the STA-1 and other japanese meds before the Type 61 knows that. It’s meant to be a second line support tank, or a mid-range sniper. Once the enemy tanks close the distance between you and them, you’re pretty much done for.

        • The problem is that ppl don’t know that. Instead they try to play all meds like they’re russians or lights. Ppl with brain are very rare these days.

      • And what does non-beta now mean?

        I have never played any betas and wasn’t able to log in just like that, until I just logged in via the WG symbol below, which worked fine.

    • “WoT Server1″ Error recieving information about the player.
      Reinstalled twice, contacted support (turned out that they dont know a single sh*t about the problem and replied: “We do not guarantee that every player will be able to log in”)
      In other words: “We dont give a s… that some players have login problems, buy it – test it.”
      Quite a trololo from Wargaming.

  3. I’ll buy STA-2 no matter what, but your review pleased me anyway~ =w=

    Seems WG is finally balancing tanks appropriately (thinking of the: worse than a tank in top, better than in stock)? Because it surely sounds so, these won’t be as useless as stock tier 8s, but they won’t be as good as top tier 8s (in T10 battle, for example).

    • Weak armor on hull? ~180mm Penetration with a 90mm gun? ~40km/h? Strong turret? Good gun depression? Good mobility?

      Sounds a lot like the Pershing or the STA-1, so it could definitely be a very decent tank. If it plays like the Pershing, it would not have any problems in tier 10 battles either. Sounds interesting!

      I will have a look, too!

      • “strong turret”
        Have fun using your 70 mm effective “strong” turret to your advantage.

      • You have to prepare is a slow MT….feels like a 110 or -3 acceleration speed

        Rest are ok….but personally recommend to buy on discount..

      • It actually plays better then the Pershing in terms of mobility and aiming, but the armor is by far not that good. However since Jap tanks are my new obsession, gonna bí it anyways :D

        @AkinaGG : I don’t really see what everyones problem with it’s speed. It accelerates quite well, turns fast and I have no real issue with the ~30-34 km/h I managed to drive around with. Still better then that moster called a Super Pershing. Or at least it feels a lot better.

  4. CDC should have been a tier 8 on the AMX 30 line.

    WG, think in the LONG term. Not in the SHORT term.
    You will regret this like you regretted the Lowe as a premium, the SU-122-44, the Type 59 maybe even :(

    You are wasting tanks from the line for the premium slot :(

    • There was no use for SU-122-44 in the TD lines since they have a fitting tier 7 for each line, and Type 59 exists because nobody ever expected that they’d be able to make a Chinese line (and seriously, look at how poor it is).

      Lowe is a big mistake though.

      • Hmm

        Tier 7: Same as now
        Tier 8: SU-122-44 with the BL-9S from the ISU-152
        Tier 9: Su-122-54

        See how nice and logical? Not a tier 7 TD, a tier 8!

        Also
        Tier 8 premium: Current Uralmash 1

        • What’s illogical about the current setup though? If anything, SU-122-54 is the odd duck since I’d say Object 263 is quite alike SU-100M1 and SU-101.

          So again, nothing wrong with current line so SU-122-44 is perfectly free as a premium. And did it even have a BL-9S?

          • Nope. At most a suggestion.
            It will give a reason for the BL-9S to exist. Currently it has no reason to exist.

            That way we will have a funner, more cool tree.
            The 263 looks like an arty, I am all for replacing it with the probably fictional SU-130-62

            • Turret-less TDs era has ended… Whiners and moaners ruined the game forever, when the major problem was never TDs, but clickers and camo/spot mechanics, not the class perse… But WG’s logic: “Dead dogs don’t bite”.

              • True, classes themselves are never the problem. But look what whiners made out of artys..

      • they made it a med instead of a td because 1. people needed a french premium med to train their lorraine and batchat crew in. 2. there is already a french premium td. and 3. the cdc doesnt play anything like the french tds. it wouldnt be very wise for wargaming to make this a tank destroyer. just saying

      • Well you hit the nail on the head there, TOO busy with the eye candy making everything pretty. The term turd polish comes to mind.

  5. 275mm pen HEAT only good enough for some tier 10′s? That’s more that enough for most tier 10′s, even if it is HEAT ammo. STA-2 looks like a very decent premium for its stats.

    • only if ur in love with japan. is it better than fcm, sp or even is6 all with pref MM?, NOT!

    • True, yes, but they are also supposed to be competitive for the tiers they are able to see. You wouldn’t want to get into a tier 10 game with your IS-6 would you? Everything would pen you and you would have trouble penning anything even WITH gold rounds. The T34 on the other hand has 248mm of pen on it’s standard rounds so it is competitive. Both of these tanks are closer to the IS-6 as far as general stat level. I certainly would not want to play these in tier 10. If the AMX was faster and more agile (closer to the FCM 50t) then that would be different and the STA-2 shouldn’t need gold rounds just to be competitive. WG is floundering with this decision to eliminate preferential MM in my opinion.

      • But adding crap tanks to the game isn’t a that good idea.
        -CDC: deceiving
        -STA: nice, but slow
        -Panther 8.8: crap

        When you compare it with older premiums with pref MM, they are MUCH better.

        Only the IS5 looks good right now.

          • I like how he thinks that STA-2 is better than the 88,despite the fact that only thing that STA-2 has over 88 is better gun depression and thats it.

            • People love bashing the 88 but on paper it not bad at all. I was really looking forward to it but with -5 depression it’s not for me

            • Nope. Panther 8.8 does fine i had great games in it and even if I lose i end up doing good amount of credits. It’s one of the best, if not the best “snipers” at tier 8. Could be wrong, but that was my opinion

        • Tanks with decent guns can’t be neither bad nor crap. Tanks with shitty low-alpha-low-pen guns won’t be good.

          • i will never buy a prem tank that doesnt have pref MM unless the gun is OP like T34, which i got for free.

            • I literally just bought the FCM 50 T because based on what they’re saying it will be removed from the store sometime. Because it’s limited MM

              I expect i’ll by the CDC to it looks interesting. Im sure i’ll play it more than the T34

              i’d love to sell the t34 back like the super perishing

    • I sometimes don’t really get that logic. I pay for it with real money why do the make it worse. I’m not saying they should be better but sometimes they are just fucking us over. Probably to try to avoid wallet warriors a bit but they exist anyway.

  7. I don’t like the direction WG has decided to go with no Preferential MM. The AMX CDC has the same gun as the FCM 50t but is also slower… yet it can see tier 10s. It makes literally no sense. The STA is also under-gunned for being able to see tier 10s, I’ll be checking it out later on the CT but from what I understand it sounds like an STA-1 without the top gun and is slower… I mean, WTF WG? On a similar note I was really looking forward to the Panther 8.8 but upon hearing it sucked I held off hoping it would get Pref MM and come to find out it won’t, very disappointing… I’m not sure how many future premiums I’ll be buying if WG doesn’t decide to retract their decision to eliminate pref MM.

    • Mimimimimimi …

      Try driving a T-44, then tell us about the undergunned STA-2 with 275 HEAT.

      Don’t like it? Don’t throw your money at WG.

    • The STA-2 is a Stock STA-1 with the second gun which has a slightly higher rof and slightly quicker aiming time

        • plus I don’t really understand why people continue bashing Panther 8.8. yes, it’s not the fastest medium in the game, but it’s even better than Panther 2 (albeit slightly slower). so anyone who likes german medium tanks will feel home. i certainly do.

          • I second that. the Panther 8,8 is decent, somewhat like a better version of the Pz IV Schmalturm.

    • That is why they are pulling the pref MM tanks, they are overpowered. Now everyone is comparing tanks to them because of that when really you should be comparing the STA-1 to normal mm mediums and it compares rather well actually. It has the same pen as the Pershing which is one of the better tier 8s. The STA-1 has almost all the good features of the Pershing with the exception of the mantlet. But, you can play it and make money and I’m sure it will be fine for that.

      Yes, a tank like the T34 will make a bit more in tier 10 matches, but not by much. I have played the T34 and Lowe a combined 1,500 games — it is rare to really make that much in tier 10. You make all your money killing tier 6-8 and sometimes 9. That is where you get your 100,000 credit games. The STA-1 will do great in those games because of the DPM and decent mobility.

      But yes, the FCM is a better tank overall, both for winning and making credits. In fact it is better than all the tier 8 mediums if you account for its pref MM. And that is why WG will ultimately stop selling it.

  8. I love the CDC so far. Gun is great. Solo’d an E-50M in it dodging around and tracking it. And on Campinovka Encounter, got over 6,000 spotting damage and earned 100,000 credits.

    • SRSLY,
      sorry mate but in test server as everybody there aren’t many good players…
      imagine playing against EFE or S3AL or IDEAL player e50m…u won’t do any dmg to him

      • SRSLY,
        on regular servers are much worse players than on test severs … come on, i am enjoying playing on test servers much more than on regular servers.

        PS: Russians players are better than Siemka/PL/Withman players.

        • You are enjoying it because people on the test are easier to kill, everyone is just derping around playing tanks they don’t know and people are playing tanks above their tier level. I have had some of my best games ever on the test server and it has been easy pickings.

      • come on, i am enjoying playing on test servers much more than on regular servers.
        like…it’s your opinion and I respect.
        I enjoy too common test a lot,but let’s be realistic…will u ever encounter tomatoes in normal server at tier 10/

      • Compared to penetration of Pershing, T-44, Type 59, T95E2, SuperPershing, T-34-2, T-34-3, Panther II. Enough ?

        Not to mention 2.1 seconds of aiming time is currently the best of all tier 8 meds.

          • Test Server games r complete crap and teams r full of tomatos.

            Panther 88 sucks, yea, one good game on TS, u the MAN!

            LOL

  12. I got FCM and it is paper tank but it still can bounce e25 that uses ap and shots you frontaly and it can bounce some is6 shots and you rly need to be support with fcm I am pro with it I will be in CDC or too

  13. Yeah sure! Best Idea since a long Time from the Developpers to stop “limited MM” – i totally can see why and it absolutely makes sense to send such Tanks into T10 Battles! GG

  14. I suspect is that one of the points of not making this vehicle with limited MM (like the Super Pershing) is to increase the purchase rate of gold ammunition in hightier battles.

    Good, WG. You learned capitalism very fast. And fuck the customers.

    • There are studies showing that companies that put customers before shareholders end up doing better for both. WG is not a stupid company, don’t let your cynicism cloud your judgement. Pref MM gold tanks were a form of selling power and WG is removing that. How is that bad for the broad range of customers?

  16. The STA 2 more than deserves limited mm its a sta1 without the top gun simple as. It isn’t going to sell shit

      • My question is why the hell buy the CDC over the 50T theres no point at all. expect crew training and there aren’t exactly loads of French mediums

        • Because the 50T will probably be removed.

          And the point of the premium tank is to grind credits. If all you care about is winning in tier 8 meds play the Pershing and spam gold.

        • Upcoming AMX 30 line, plus the Bat Chat is one of “the” tier ten mediums both for pubs and clan wars. A French medium crew trainer is long overdue.

  17. So exactly, besides being a premium, why would anyone choose AMX Crap-Dunghole-Cartboard over AMX-50-100 ??? Oh yeah, so you can die faster and play the next IM. Good point.

  18. Now, SS, are you preparing something or why won’t you tell us with what vehicle the WTF E-100 gets replaced with?

  19. They nerfed the AMX CDC terrain passability all to hell. Even with 35 hp/ton it moves like a heavy.

    Orginal values
    Terrain resistance: 0,767/0,863/1,726

    9.6 Test 2 values
    Terrain resistance: 1.438/1.63/2.877

    • Oh right that explains it.

      However. With a great crew these numbers will come down a lot improving it greatly..

      • It feels like an FCM 50t when moving around the map. The 35 hp/ton is a red herring meant to make you believe its nimble like a light tank.

        All you’re really getting is an FCM 50t without the preferred MM and some armor. The only thing this really gains is an extra 2 degrees of gun depression.

        • For crew training purposes i can assure you it is quite awful to play a non-pref instead of a pref.Almost to the point where you’d be better off playing a stronger non-premium tank of same nation (Probably will be better off playing a regular t54 than a t54 proto).FCM and SP both have similarities with CDC and STA2 but will perform much better due to limited MM.More credits more xp more everything.

          • agreed, i would rather crew train in elite tier 6 german med, cant remember name, in leopard line, i make around 20K per game, than crap panther 88 at tier 8.

    • And SS even compares BC agility with agility from some LTs, lol.

      BC agility was always shit, otherwise it would be OP.

  22. What happened to the AMX-13/57? I thought it was supposed to be tested at the same time as these two.

  23. Silentstalker

    This is off the topic but do you know if the AMX 50 B model get fixed?

    • Why not just read the patch notes?
      “Fixed some issues with the damage models of the following vehicles: Е 100, Löwe, Tiger P, M2, T95, AMX 50 B.”

  24. How can any moron call amx bad when it has 212mm pen and 1400HP for a medium premium tank? Fucking scrubs. It nullifies armor on all tier 8 heavys like nothing.

    • It’s not bad, but it isn’t good either.
      FCM50T has 212mm pen and 1500HP, and has one tier lower mm. So, yeah if you compare with that, then the CDC is bad.

  25. After playing the Cdc on the test server I agree. Power to weight ratio is amazing for a medium but its mobility really feels lack luster to me. The gun is still good imo, as on the Fcm 50t which has more or less the same gun performs just fine without too much of a problem.

  26. I played both AMX CDC and FCM 50t during evening, a lot each, to make my opinion.

    FCM 50t is better.

    Why ?

    -6km/h less only, compared to AMX
    -Same gun, with preferencial mm
    -Better armor, with preferencial mm
    -Mobility as good, just acceleration a bit slower but not by much
    -Both are a giant ammorack
    -accuracy is quite the same
    -reload is the same
    -more profitable ! AMX repairs is 10k, FCM repairs is 8k !

    FCM is just a better tank.
    What you have with AMX CDC is just a tank with slightly faster acceleration, at the cost of even less armor and no preferencial-MM.
    FCM’s 120mm front can bounce sometimes, an 212mm pen do the job against tier 9, and 51km/h in 8s~ is quick enough.
    CDC doesnt even make a stock sherman M4 bounce from front, has less health, still ammorack super fragile, even less health…

    Arty -> dead
    Tier IX -> dead
    Tier X -> dead

    It’s worth the gold if you really want another prem tank, but if you’re looking for fun, and credit-making, FCM will do the job, and much better, because it wont fight tier X. An a CDC in tier X game… How frustrating to drive a borsig with no firepower.

  27. tell your contact at WG that no preferred MM = no money for them. this constant arrogance is killing this game giving people less and less for their cash. the majority of people are not going to buy premium tanks without preferred mm. just watch.

    • If players can buy TOGs or spend 100€ for a tier III tank (600€ for PzII J that I two-shot from my cruiser II), then there will be players to but something even as stupid as TOG with tier 10mm. You know, just for the lolz

    • Yes, this is clearly the truth because the T34, Lowe, SU-122-44, SU-100Y, FCM 36 PaK40, Pz. S35, T-25, etc. sell so few copies that they are almost never seen in battle. Oh wait…

  29. I thought the CDC was cancelled =D

    so I guess CDC is like a fat version of FCM that fires .22 secs faster (compared to the reload figure from WoT wiki) then =|

  30. Btw, CDS’s mantlet is trollish. I bounced some 200pen shots with it every now and then. And if you look closer at it, it’s understandable, because the form of it is similar like the Lowe one + it takes up quite a lot of space on the turret front. That is surely a welcome bonus compared to 50t. And it works nice together with better gun depression too.

  31. Cdc goes uphill faster than the t54 ltwt. I had one catch up from 15 meters behind and ended up pushing me as I went uphill. full crew, off road driving , bia and vents. Makes me sad…

  32. amx i sta2 mają mm do dziesiątych tierów wg puknij się w głowę
    NA PEWNO NIE KUPIE takisz gównianych czołgów

    amx CDC and sta2 have mm +2 so i will NEVER BUY so poor tanks
    in X tiers are so good tanks with autoloader and 2x Fv with so big gun
    play with them is sick idea i will never buy those tanks
    wg getting worse and worse,…

  33. IMO special MM is too easy and there’s not enough damage to do (earning potential) in such games. Seems like a good lehväslaiho medal farming tank (maybe only a bit low hp). I wouldn’t touch sta-2 (too much goldspam) or panther II tho.