So lets get the bad stuff out of the way first, one of the main weaknesses of the T-34-85 is it's not terribly effective armour. To be fair it is a medium tank, meaning that speed and maneuverability is generally taken over effective armour protection. With armour stats of 45mm for the front and side of the hull and 40mm for the rear, its chances of bouncing incoming shots is minimal. The tanks turret isn't as bad as the hull, with both the stock and upgraded turret being 90mm at the front of the turret. This can bounce when top tier and on occasion against tier 7's, making hull down tactics a possibility. This tactic shouldn't relied on however, as with the lack of a sizable gun manlet and only 90mm of base armour on the front of the turret, it won't bounce terribly often, especially when in tier 7 or 8 battles.
Now onto the good stuff, something which this tank doesn't lack. First off is its speed, which is has plenty of. While not being quite as fast as the Cromwell it is still plenty fast enough to perform the job a medium tank should, exploiting flanking opportunities and taking advantage of distracted opponents. This speed and ease of movement is complimented by a very good gun. The 85mm top gun which this tank gets has 144mm of penetration, 1mm less than the Cromwell. It does however have significantly higher alpha damage than the Cromwell, with 180 compared to its British rival which has 135. The Cromwell does come out on top in the end with a better damage per minute stat and slightly better accuracy. This still doesn't stop the T-34-85 being a very good medium tank, able to dish out a quite damaging shot to an opponent and still have a good rate of fire.
So is this tank worth getting? Well my view is that it is definitely worth it, as it combines everything which is needed in a medium tank and is a lot of fun to play. For me, it is a reliable medium tank that rarely lets you down, having the speed to relocate on the battlefield should the need arise and exploit those flanking opportunities when they occur. It's potential as a scout is not as high as the Cromwell's, but being a medium tank this is not really its job, the scout role being covered more effectively by light tanks. Though its armour is not high, its angling can enable bounces to occur, especially when top tier. This is something which the Cromwell can only dream of, as it's armour is flat virtually everywhere, making bounces a very rare occurrence.
That has been the post for today, I hope you enjoyed it and are happy to see the return of the tank reviews for World of Tanks. Until the next post, bye for now.
