STK-2 Tank Review – Don’t use your DPM – World of Tanks

What makes this lane special is the extra good gun depression due to the hyroneumatic suspension, which gives amazing abilities for working a ridgeline.

While the STK-2 has more gun depression than any of the previous tanks in the line, using it with its gun is a very hard assignment.

Firepower

Let’s compare the STK-2 with the 2nd-best ridgeline tier 11 heavy in the game, the T803.

The STK-2 is on par with the T803 when it comes to the base DPM, but if T803 gets all of its stacks going, it absolutely murders the STK-2 with around 500 damage per minute advantage. Penetration on both tanks is pretty similar, but the STK-2 does have a lot better alpha damage at 480 and a bigger caliber gun, which enables it to overmatch more armor plates.

Gun Handling

While on paper, STK-2 has great stats, if the gun is used without pauses between reloads, it gets to the point where it’s unusable.

Both of the tanks have pretty good gun handling stats, especially the STK-2 when we consider the caliber of the gun. The sniper dispersion is the highlight of the vehicle, but the stats don’t tell the whole story. You have that 0.21 dispersion only after the gun is cooled down completely; the accuracy gradually gets worse as you keep firing without pauses between reloads. Meaning that either way, you are losing one of your greatest strengths of the tank. If you keep firing without pauses, your accuracy makes the gun unusable even in close-quarter combat, but if you wait between reloads to keep the gun cool, your DPM goes out the window.
The T803 might not be that accurate from the start, but its stats don’t get worse as it keeps firing; quite the opposite.

Dispersion on the tank traverse is identical, but the T803 has a lot better turret traverse dispersion, which makes the gun a lot more snappy.

STK-2, at least, is the king of the gun depression between the heavies with monster 14 degrees, as much as the STB-1. It really enables you to be incredibly flexible on any terrain.

Mobility

Mobility-wise, both tanks are nearly identical, with a slight edge going to the STK-2.

The only bigger difference between the tanks is the top speed, with STK-2 having 4 km/h more than the T803, meaning that you could get away without having to use the turbo on the STK-2, but not really on the T803.

Reverse speed is also a lot better on the STK-2, meaning that you can pull back behind the ridgeline a lot faster.

The rest of the stats are almost the same, and you won’t feel the difference.

Armor

This is where the good news for the STK-2 ends. Even when using its gun depression, it’s not as reliable as the predecessor.

The raw frontal hull armor is abysmall on the STK-2, with only 60 mm on the upperplate. While the angling is really good, as soon as the enemies get above you, it becomes paper. Keep in mind also that the FV4005 or FV215B 183 can completely overmatch your upperplate.

The lower plate on the STK-2 is huge, a lot bigger than the upper plate, and incredibly weak at only around 210 mm of effective armor, which means even Ares tanks might go through the lower plate frontally. T803 has a lot better lower plate at around 250 mm.

In terms of weakspots, both tanks have a cupola on the same side, but T803’s is a lot more rounded and harder to hit, while STK-2’s has a larger area in which enemies can score a penetration.

While the STK-2 has a lot more gun depression, the lower plate is incredibly hard to hide, and it is incredibly weak at around only 180 mm. Also, enemies can still hit your cupola or go for your track flaps. T803 has its cupola mostly hidden when using 10 degrees of gun depression, and the only weakspot it has is the bottom of the turret that sticks out of the hull, but those are small targets.

The side armor of both of the tanks is pretty identical, around 100 mm thick. With the introduction of Ares tanks, the side armor has become a pretty important aspect of the tank. Sadly, both of the tanks can easily be penetrated by any of the Ares tanks they can meet.

The rear of the STK-2 is absolutely horrible at only 40 mm of effective armor, it is very susceptible to the HE damage from any gun.

Conclusion: STK-2 is one of the easiest tanks to penetrate on flat ground, but also if it’s using the gun depression, it has pretty big weakspots that can be hit. Overall, the armor is a lot worse compared to the T803.

Miscellaneous

Both of the tanks have similar camo stats, slight edge goes to the STK-2, but nothing groundbreaking. Shell cost is higher on the STK-2 due to the alpha damage difference.

Conclusion

Very disappointed with this vehicle, I was very excited about the Tier 11 and expected that WG learned how to balance these Japanese heavies from the Type 71 release, but it seems like this is not the case.

Just the combination of the horrible lower plate that is visible when using your gun depression and gun cooling mechanic, which doesn’t allow you to use your DPM, really kills any interest and fun in playing this tank.

Other tanks like the Tashenratte or the T803 will outclass you in every way, even if you try your hardest in the STK-2. I would advise against getting this tank until and if it gets much-needed buffs to at least the dispersion when the gun is not cooled completely.