Let’s see how it stacks up against the only other high DPM American heavy tier 11, the T803, and give you some tips on how to destroy it, and or if you manage to get one, how to use it effectively..
Firepower
| Spec | Black Rock | T803 |
|---|---|---|
| DPM Base | 2,503.20 | 2,850.87 |
| DPM with abilities | 3,276 | 3,167.63 |
| Penetration | 278 | 262 |
| Gold Pen | 330 HEAT | 340 HEAT |
| Damage | 420 | 410 |
| Caliber | 114 | 120 |
| Shell velocity | 1,100 | 1,100 |
| Ammo capacity | 50 | 46 |
In the base state, T803 has quite a big DPM advantage. By base DPM, we consider the DPM without any help from special abilities.
Black Rock has a special mechanic that will bring this DPM up by around 800. After penetrating 2 shots, Black Rock will load a burst a double shot, unlike the double-barreled tanks, it has a small delay between the shots, 1.5 seconds to be exact, so it can’t instantly deliver both of the rounds. While in theory it sounds great, it is quite hard to penetrate both shots while in burst mode since this 1.5 seconds gives your opponents an opportunity to change the angling and position of their vehicle.
Maintaining T803’s DPM is a lot easier, its ability is called Semi-automatic ammo rack – Every time you hit an enemy with a shell, you gain a reload efficiency level, temporarily boosting your gun’s reload speed. Levels accumulate with each hit. Destroying an enemy vehicle with a shell grants additional reload efficiency levels.
So while their max DPM is quite similar, maintaining and using it effectively is quite different.
Black Rock has a quite unique caliber of 114 mm; you will have a harder time overmatching armor, but the standard penetration is really good at 278 mm. The rest of the statistics are almost identical between these 2 tanks.
Gun Handling
This is where T803 dominates over the Black Rock.
| Spec | Black Rock | T803 |
|---|---|---|
| Aim time | 2.01 | 1.92 |
| Dispersion | 0.33 | 0.34 |
| … moving | 0.17 | 0.14 |
| … turret traverse | 0.17 | 0.14 |
| … tank traverse | 0.10 | 0.06 |
| Elevation | 20 | 20 |
| Depression | 8 | 10 |
The most noticeable difference is 2 degrees of gun depression less on the Black Rock; it hurts the vehicle a lot when it comes to working a ridgeline and overall flexibility. Dispersion values when moving and turning the turret/hull are also worse on the Black Rock.
Mobility
Here is the opposite story compared to the gun handling, Black Rock feels a lot more mobile than the T803.
| Spec | Black Rock | T803 |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed | 43 km/h | 37 km/h |
| Reverse speed | 14 km/h | 12 km/h |
| Power/weight | 17.27 | 17.17 |
| Weight | 55 tons | 60 tons |
| Terrain resist (hard) | 0.96 | 1.15 |
| … med | 1.15 | 1.25 |
| …. soft | 1.92 | 2.3 |
| Turret traverse | 36.50 | 33.38 |
| Tank traverse | 34.42 | 31.29 |
Mobility-wise, the Black Rock is one of the more mobile heavies, great top speed of 43 km/h paired with solid ground resistances and traverse speeds.
Armor
Not great news for the Black Rock.
| Spec | Black Rock | T803 |
|---|---|---|
| Hull armor | 172/89/51 | 215/76/64 |
| Turret armor | 330/120/76 | 215/120/70 |
| Health | 2,400 | 2,350 |
Black Rock’s upper plate is well angled, but it has pretty big 2 weakspots on the upper hull, which will be an easy penetration for most of tier 9s and up. The lower plate is also really bad at only 200 mm of effective armor. T803 has a really strong upper plate with no weak spots, a better lower plate by about 35 mm, and only 1 smaller turret weak spot.
The only great thing about the front of this tank is the turret, which is godlike with no weak spots. If you manage to go completely hull down, enemies will have a really hard time digging you out.
I’ve found tho some hidden weak spots with around 250 mm of effective armor, just below the manlet. This is pretty much your only chance of penetrating the turret.
While using 8 degrees of gun depression, it exposes the weak spot previously mentioned, but now it’s an incredibly easy target to penetrate for even tier 8s. This whole area below the manlet has less armor or will ricochet into the hull, which will guarantee the penetration.
If you angle your hull, let’s call it a hip, it will become an easy penetration for your opponents. Side scraping is almost unusable with this tank.
Side armor is also worse than the T803’s; it doesn’t have any spaced armor, and it has even less armor thickness.
Higher penetration HE rounds will be able to go through your side.
The rear of the hulls is almost identical, while T803 has a lot more armor on the back of the turret with added spaced protection.
Conclusion: In every position apart from flat ground hull down, you have big weak spots.
Miscellaneous
| Spec | Black Rock | T803 |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary camo | 5.59 | 5.30 |
| After firing | 1.01 | 1.01 |
| Moving camo | 2.79 | 2.62 |
| Shell cost | 1,317 | 1,246 |
| View Range | 400 | 400 |
On these stats, tanks are almost identical; most importantly, the view ranges are the same.
How to destroy
If on flat ground
- top of the frontal hull, can be overmatched easily, but it’s a small target
- The middle parts of the front plate
- Lower plate
If below him
- aim the area below the gun manlet, you can auto ricochet into the hull or penetrate the turret straight away with more than 220 mm of penetration.
If above him
- Aim for the upper deck; it can be overmatched with most of the guns
If on the side
- aim for the middle of the tank where it’s most flat
If on the rear
- Fire HE at the back of the hull
Tips
You have a very solid mobility for a heavy tank, which enables you to take hull-down positions early in the game, where you hide most of your weaknesses.
Surprise your opponents with trades when you have burst mode charged, but keep in mind that opponents will be counting your penetrations.
Be careful when using burst mode, as it can make you run out of ammo surprisingly quickly.
Conclusion
It is a very unique and fun tank to play, maybe not overpowered, but it is worth getting, at least while in this state. Many players also will not be aware of your mechanic, so you can use it to your advantage. Keep in mind, it’s pretty hard tank to play effectively, as you need to time your DPM wisely and position correctly.
Check reviews of other vehicles:
- Vz. 60S Dravec – the new Chieftain
- FV230 Canopener Review – New hulldown king?
- DZT-159 Review – Best premium at tier 9?
- XM57 Review – High alpha fortress
Here is also a post about the best premium tanks in the game:
Best premium tanks in 2025 – Easy credit makers
