The World of Tanks Supertest has welcomed an impressive addition to the French heavy tank lineup: the Terrifiant, a Tier IX premium heavy tank that continues the design philosophy of France’s “alternative” heavy branch.
A Rare Firepower Combination
The Buryan’s defining characteristic is its exceptional firepower package that combines two attributes rarely seen together in Soviet heavy tanks at Tier IX:
Impressive Alpha Damage: The Buryan wields a gun capable of delivering 490 HP of damage per shot. This alpha damage is notably higher than most Tier IX heavy tanks, placing it in an elite category of vehicles that can trade shots with devastating efficiency.
High Damage Per Minute: What makes the Buryan truly special isn’t just the impressive single-shot damage—it’s the combination of that alpha with high DPM. Most tanks that hit for 490 HP sacrifice rate of fire, but the Buryan maintains strong sustained damage output alongside its powerful punch.
Exceptional in Duels: This rare combination of high alpha and high DPM makes the Buryan exceptionally strong in one-on-one confrontations. In a duel scenario, the tank can deliver crushing blows while maintaining pressure through consistent damage output, forcing opponents into losing trades regardless of their approach.
The firepower package creates a fascinating dynamic: commanders get the satisfaction of massive single-shot damage while maintaining the ability to continuously pressure opponents without long reload times diminishing their battlefield presence.
Gun Handling Characteristics
The Buryan’s impressive firepower comes with notable trade-offs in gun handling:
Mediocre Gun Handling: The gun handling characteristics are described as mediocre, suggesting less-than-stellar accuracy, longer aim times, or increased dispersion values compared to more refined weapons systems. This is the price for the devastating firepower.
Limited Gun Depression: With only -6 degrees of gun depression, the Buryan falls short of the comfortable -7 to -8 degrees that enable effective hull-down gameplay. This limitation significantly restricts positioning options and makes the tank unsuitable for ridge-fighting tactics.
Close-Range Focus: These gun handling limitations naturally push the Buryan toward close-range engagements where the poor gun depression matters less and where mediocre accuracy becomes less punishing. This design philosophy reinforces the tank’s role as a brawler rather than a support heavy.
The gun handling trade-offs are deliberate design choices that focus the Buryan’s effectiveness into specific tactical situations rather than trying to create a jack-of-all-trades vehicle.
Armor Profile and Survivability
The Buryan brings solid defensive capabilities focused around its turret:
Sturdy Turret: The turret features 250mm of frontal armor, providing robust protection that can reliably block shots from same-tier opponents when properly positioned. This solid turret armor is crucial for the Buryan’s close-range brawling role.
Face-Hugging Capability: The combination of strong turret armor and limited gun depression actually works together in close-range situations. When fighting at point-blank range, the poor gun depression becomes less relevant while the sturdy turret becomes increasingly difficult for opponents to penetrate.
HP Trading Advantage: The armor profile supports the Buryan’s role as an HP trading specialist. You can afford to take return fire because your turret can bounce shots, and when penetrations do occur, you’re dealing 490 HP while potentially receiving less.
The armor focuses defensive strength where it matters most for the Buryan’s intended playstyle—enabling aggressive close-range positioning where the turret becomes the primary defense.
Mobility Characteristics
The Buryan’s mobility profile matches its close-range brawling role:
Limited Top Speed: With a maximum speed of 36 km/h, the Buryan is not winning any races. This relatively modest top speed for a Tier IX heavy tank limits its strategic mobility and map presence.
Adequate for Repositioning: While not fast, the mobility is described as adequate for short repositioning. The Buryan can move between nearby positions and adjust to local tactical situations without feeling completely immobile.
No Flanking Potential: The 36 km/h top speed definitively limits flanking potential. This isn’t a tank for racing around the map seeking opportunities—it’s a vehicle for holding key positions and dominating local engagements.
Frontline Fighter: The mobility package reinforces the Buryan’s identity as a frontline fighter that advances with the team, holds captured territory, and dominates close-range confrontations rather than seeking elaborate maneuvers.
This mobility profile is honest about what the Buryan is and isn’t. You won’t be executing dynamic flanking maneuvers, but you will have sufficient mobility to stay relevant in evolving battle situations.
Tactical Considerations
The Buryan’s characteristics create clear tactical guidelines for effective play:
Close-Range Dominance: The combination of high alpha, high DPM, and sturdy turret armor makes the Buryan exceptional in close-quarters combat. Getting within brawling range transforms the tank’s weaknesses into strengths.
HP Trading Specialist: Few tanks can match the Buryan in sustained HP trading situations. The 490 alpha damage combined with good DPM and reliable turret armor creates consistently favorable trade ratios.
Avoid Hilly Terrain: The -6 degrees of gun depression makes hilly positions a significant disadvantage. Commanders must consciously avoid terrain that would expose the tank’s inability to depress the gun adequately.
Urban Warfare Excellence: City maps and urban environments play to the Buryan’s strengths perfectly. Close corners, limited sightlines, and flat terrain eliminate the tank’s weaknesses while maximizing its brawling advantages.
Positioning Patience: The limited mobility means poor positioning decisions have lasting consequences. Commanders must think carefully about where to commit the Buryan since relocating takes time.
Playstyle Implications
The Buryan rewards commanders who embrace its role as a close-range brawling specialist:
Aggressive Positioning: The tank excels when commanders push into close-range positions where the high alpha and good DPM can be fully leveraged. Passive play wastes the Buryan’s strengths.
Map Awareness: Understanding which areas of each map feature flat terrain versus hilly sections becomes crucial. Route your advances through favorable terrain and avoid ridgelines.
Calculated Trading: With 490 alpha damage, every shot matters significantly. The high DPM means you can afford to trade more frequently than typical high-alpha tanks, but shot placement still requires attention.
Team Support: The limited mobility and poor gun depression mean the Buryan benefits greatly from teammate support. Fight alongside other heavies rather than trying to carry flanks independently.
Commanders looking to master the Buryan should consider:
- Prioritizing flat urban areas and close-range fighting positions
- Aggressively pushing into brawling distance where firepower advantages dominate
- Using the sturdy turret to absorb damage while dealing devastating return fire
- Avoiding hilly maps or hill-dependent positions entirely
- Maximizing the high DPM through sustained engagement rather than hit-and-run tactics
- Planning advances carefully since limited mobility makes repositioning costly
- Supporting teammates in taking and holding key positions rather than attempting solo plays
Community Reception
Initial community reactions to the Buryan have been generally positive, with players appreciating the focused design:
Clear Identity: Players appreciate that the Buryan has a clear, focused identity as a close-range brawler. The strengths and weaknesses align logically with this role rather than trying to do everything moderately well.
Comparison to Obj 590: Some community members have compared the Buryan to a “fattened up Object 590,” suggesting similarities in playstyle but with more bulk and possibly more armor.
High-Alpha Appeal: The 490 alpha damage at Tier IX generates excitement among players who enjoy the psychological impact and trading advantages of high per-shot damage.
Concerns About Meta: Some players worry about adding another high-alpha vehicle to the game, particularly one with good DPM alongside that alpha damage. Questions remain about whether the gun handling limitations adequately balance the firepower.
What Sets the Buryan Apart
The Buryan occupies a unique niche in the Tier IX heavy tank landscape:
Rare Stat Combination: The pairing of 490 alpha damage with high DPM is genuinely uncommon at Tier IX. Most tanks sacrifice one for the other, making the Buryan’s combination special.
Honest Design: The tank doesn’t try to hide its weaknesses or pretend to be versatile. It’s a close-range brawler through and through, with every characteristic supporting or necessitating that playstyle.
Soviet Brawler Philosophy: The Buryan exemplifies classic Soviet heavy tank design—massive firepower and solid armor focused on direct confrontation, with mobility and gun handling as secondary concerns.
Duel Specialist: In one-on-one situations on flat terrain, few Tier IX heavies can match the Buryan’s combination of alpha damage, DPM, and turret armor. It’s built specifically to win individual confrontations.
What’s Next?
As a Supertest vehicle, the Buryan’s final statistics and characteristics remain subject to change. Wargaming will need to carefully evaluate whether the combination of 490 alpha and high DPM is properly balanced by the gun handling and depression limitations.
Key questions for the testing phase include:
- Is the high alpha + high DPM combination too strong for close-range situations?
- Do the gun handling limitations adequately balance the firepower advantages?
- Can the -6 degrees of gun depression be worked around effectively on most maps?
- Does the 36 km/h speed limit strategic impact sufficiently?
- Will the turret armor prove reliable enough to enable the aggressive playstyle?
- How does the tank perform in various matchmaking scenarios?
The Supertest phase will reveal whether the Buryan’s focused design creates interesting tactical gameplay or results in a vehicle that’s either too dominant in its niche or too limited in application.
Final Thoughts
The Buryan represents focused tank design at its finest. Rather than trying to be adequate in all situations, it excels dramatically in close-range brawling while accepting significant limitations elsewhere. This design philosophy creates a vehicle with clear strengths and weaknesses that require intelligent positioning and tactical awareness to maximize.
For commanders who enjoy aggressive heavy tank gameplay, direct confrontations, and the satisfaction of devastating alpha damage combined with sustained DPM, the Buryan offers an compelling package. The requirement to avoid hilly positions and the limited mobility create meaningful constraints that prevent the tank from being overpowering while ensuring that skilled positioning decisions are rewarded.
The combination of 490 alpha damage, high DPM, and sturdy turret armor creates a dueling specialist that dominates close-range HP trading. If you embrace the limitations and position yourself in favorable terrain, the Buryan becomes an absolute monster in its preferred engagement range. The key is understanding that this isn’t a tank for every situation—it’s a specialized tool for close-range confrontations where its rare firepower combination can shine.
Whether you’re excited about the high-alpha brawling potential or concerned about the poor gun depression and limited mobility, the Buryan offers a distinctive take on Soviet heavy tank design that prioritizes overwhelming firepower in close quarters above all else.
