IS-6 – GuidesBlitz

The IS-6 is a good all-round heavy tank. It has a choice of 2 different guns, average HT mobility, and quite good all-round armour with nice angles and a decent lower plate.

Armour

(The IS-6 in the images is using Enhanced Armour)

Drag slider right -> to view 225mm AP
Drag slider <- left to view 265mm APCR

Armour when flat and facing head-on:
Upper plate 300-325mm
Driver hatch 255mm
Lower plate 215mm
Turret 180-260mm+
Cupolas 150-220mm

Note that the roof of the turret is 30mm, so all guns that are 90.1mm or larger can overmatch the roof.

Armour vs tier 7:
Most tier 7 enemies will be unable to penetrate the lower plate (and driver hatch) due to low standard penetration. Most will have to use premium ammo to go through, but a few high penetration heavy tanks can penetrate with AP (such as German or USA heavies).

The turret will be very strong against tier 7 enemies The left cheek weakpoint will be smaller and fewer tanks have enough penetration to penetrate it, but the hatches are still weak.

Armour vs tier 8:
Facing tier 8 tanks, the lower plate is quite weak. If the hull is coming round a corner (and angled sharply) it will be able to bounce enemy shells. If its flat, or even angled (like in the images), most enemy heavy tanks and many enemy medium tanks can still penetrate it.

The lower part of the upper plate is very strong, even when un-angled and to 265mm premium ammo it will show up as red. The upper area of the upper plate is very weak though, and most enemy heavy tanks will be able to easily penetrate it when its not angled. Medium tanks will still mostly need to aim for the driver hatch, since most MT don’t have 225mm of penetration.

Turret armour is strong, since the weakpoint on the left turret cheek is fairly small. If the tank doesn’t sit still, it will be quite hard for enemies to hit it.

Armour vs tier 9:
Tier 9 tanks will see the same as tier 8 enemies, but due to higher penetration, most enemies can penetrate the mid area of the upper plate. The left turret cheek weakpoint is also easier for tier 9 enemies to penetrate, and if not angling, the IS-6 will find it very hard to bounce on the upper plate.

High DPM Gun

Gun caliber is 122mm.

Firepower:
-Ammo: AP/APCR/HE.
-Penetration: 175/217/61mm.
-Alpha damage: 400/340/500
-Reload time is 9.9s for 2435 DPM.

Handling:
–Estimated aim time is 5.2/5.5s
–Base aim time is 3.1, but it can get down to 2.39s
-Dispersion is 0.389/0.331
–Gun handling is 0.23/0.23/0.12, or 0.2/0.2/0.1 with Vertical Stabilizer.

Usability:
-Shell velocities are 790/988/790 m/s.
-Gun depression is -6 degrees around the entire tank, except the rear where its -4.

High Penetration Gun

Gun caliber is 122mm.

Firepower:
-Ammo: APCR/HEAT/HE.
-Penetration: 221/285/68mm.
-Alpha damage: 400/340/500
-Reload time is 12.7s for 1885 DPM.

Handling:
–Estimated aim time is 5.3/5.6s
–Base aim time is 3.1, but it can get down to 2.39s
-Dispersion is 0.389/0.331
–Gun handling is 0.23/0.23/0.16 or 0.2/0.2/0.14 with Vertical Stabilizer.

Usability:
-Shell velocities are 790/988/790 m/s.
-Gun depression is -6 degrees around the entire tank, except the rear where its -4.

Both guns of the IS-6 are decent, both have better than average gun handling and decent gun depression.
The high DPM gun has far above average DPM, but terrible penetration.
The high penetration gun has below average DPM, and great penetration.

There isn’t really a “correct” gun choice, but the high DPM gun choice should be the one used, but only if you are a good enough player to do so. It provides far more interesting gameplay than the lower DPM gun, but its much harder to use effectively in battle.

Mobility

Raw stats:
-Forward speed is 35km/h.
-Reverse speed is -14km/h.
-Raw acceleration rate is 15.7 hp/t.
-Engine power is 805hp for its 51 ton weight.

Hard terrain mobility:
-Actual acceleration is 13.1 hp/t.
-Traverse speed is 35.3 deg/s.

Medium terrain mobility:
-Actual acceleration is 10.5 hp/t.
-Traverse speed is 28.3 deg/s.

Terrain resistance stats:
–Terrain resistances are 1.2/1.5/1.8

The mobility of the IS-6 is average for a heavy tank, its not anything too impressive, nor is it bad.
If you have played the Obj.252U before then you will know what the mobility of the IS-6 is like, as the IS-6 and Obj.252U have identical mobility stats.

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

IS-6 has no special consumables or provisions.

Gun Rammer:
If you use the high penetration gun, use the gun rammer. Your penetration will already be high, but your DPM will be one of the lowest in tier 8, so its imperative to use the gun rammer.

The gun rammer can also work on the high DPM gun. Sometimes it will work out well, where the the IS-6 is just able to use that high DPM and doesn’t have to face an E 75 (which it can’t penetrate).

Calibrated shells is generally a better choice if you use the high DPM gun, though your DPM will drop from 2363 to 2198 and reload from 10.2s to 10.9s, the DPM is still above average. Penetration on AP will increase from 175mm to 184mm, and on APCR from 217mm to 228mm. HE will go from 61mm to 67mm.

Enhanced Armour:
With such a well angled hull and such a solid lower plate, enhanced armour will definitely benefit the IS-6. Its base HP is already a decent 1800, so improved assembly is not essential on this tank.

Vertical Stabilizer:
As the IS-6 is a frontline brawling heavy tank, having better dispersion won’t benefit it. Its much better to have good gun handling during and after tank movement, so the shots can be aimed in faster, so use vertical stabilizer.

Gameplay advice

The IS-6 has quite decent armour all round armour, decent mobility, and a decent gun. It has quite a standard heavy tank style of gameplay, so its fairly easy to play.

High penetration, low DPM gun:
The main important point of gameplay is that the tank needs to be angled like shown in the above armour images. If not angled, enemies with good accuracy and/or penetration can easily just go through the driver’s hatch and the upper area of the upper plate.

If you have played any of the other tier 8 122mm tanks (IS-3, IS-5, Obj.252U, T-2020, IS-3 Defender, WZ-111, 112 Glacial, IS-2Sh), then you will know how to play the IS-6 and how to do well in it.
It has one of the most basic playstyles, which is quite user-friendly and easy to get used to. Its quite a generic heavy tank, just like the IS-4.

Low penetration, high DPM gun:
Note that using this gun requires a much higher skill level of gameplay and its much harder to make this gun work.

Use the DPM to your advantage:
Take note of when your enemies have shot, and if you know their reload, sometimes you can put in 2 shots of 400 damage before they have even reloaded their gun.

Don’t hesitate to spam HE or APCR at enemies:
Your strength is in a quicker reload then enemy tanks, and doing some damage is still better than bouncing your AP off the enemy’s armour.

Make sure to learn the weakpoints of enemy tanks at tier 8-9:
Knowing weakpoints will allow your to pre-aim for these areas when facing certain enemies, and you won’t have to waste as much time aiming in or choosing which shell to use.

You’ll also automatically know what tanks you absolutely can’t penetrate (such as an E 75), and just know to either avoid them or just try to splash a HE shell.

Its also good to learn the splash points on enemy tanks, or where their weakest armour plate is. If you know their weakest armour plate, you can shoot HE at it and still cause significant damage. This is especially important to know on tanks which you just have no chance of penetrating frontally.

Pick your enemies carefully:
If you see enemy heavy tanks which you can’t penetrate at all on the enemy team (such as an E75, 50TP Tyszkiewicza, or VK 45.02 B), then maybe avoid the heavy tank side of the map.

Sure you are playing a heavy; sure you might be abandoning some allies; but you are completely useless against tanks which you know you cannot penetrate, you may as well go to a part of the map where you can actually contribute to your team.

You have to play against tanks you can penetrate, so sometimes its best to go to the medium side, or just to take a 2nd line support position on the heavy side, you could flank around the enemy heavies; just don’t go head-on with enemies you have no chance of penetrating.

Go hulldown or use gun depression:
The upper plate of the IS-6 isn’t too impressive, and there are various weakpoints on the tank’s front.

Going hulldown would hide the lower plate, and if the cover is tall enough it would also hide the driver’s hatch. This takes away 2 major weakpoints on the front of the tank and forces enemies to take longer to either aim for the roof or for the turret cheek.

Using gun depression essentially removes the weakpoints on the upper plate, as the driver’s hatch would become over 260mm thick, and the rest of the upper plate is between 290 and 330mm thick.

With the higher penetration gun the IS-6 has just a very average heavy tank playstyle, with this gun the gameplay is quite low-risk, but also low reward.

With the lower penetration gun, gameplay is much harder since the penetration is extremely low, and many enemies aren’t penetrable. You have to really watch the team line-up to know what enemies you should fight and where to go on the map. This gun is very much a high-risk, high-reward style of gameplay.

Overall

Armour – 8/10
Gun – 5/10 (high penetration gun), 6/10 (high DPM gun)
Mobility – 5.5/10
Speed – 5/10

IS-6 is overall a good tank.

Armour is essentially perfect. Strong upper & lower plates, strong turret front & sides, very troll side armour. HE/HESH protection is very high. Sidescrape/angling ability is decent but not great.
Guns
–The high penetration gun has good alpha & good penetration. Its DPM, reload time, accuracy, gun handling, and aim time are all mediocre.
-The high DPM gun has great reload time & DPM with good alpha. Accuracy, gun handling, and aim time are mediocre, penetration is very poor. Both guns have -6 gun depression.
Mobility is generally good but nothing amazing, having a decent acceleration, decent traverse speeds, and good reverse speed.
Speed is average, 35km/h.

Overall the IS-6 is a decent tank. Its got solid armour and average mobility. With the high penetration gun its just a fairly average tank with not really any interesting trait.
With the high DPM gun it has very high damage output for its alpha, and its something that sets it apart from all the other tier 8 heavy tanks with 400 alpha, though with this gun its far harder to play.

Is it worth getting?

Unless the only reason you want the IS-6 is to specifically play with that high DPM gun, there is very little reason to buy this tank. Note that this gun is also very hard to use, and if you choose the wrong enemies to face or don’t know how to penetrate them, its highly unlikely you would enjoy using this gun.

Even for newer players, the IS-6 is only worth consideration, because there are other tanks, sold at the same price, which are better and can earn more credits.

IS-6 is worth 6,500 gold for its high penetration gun. Its just got standard and generic gameplay, with decent everything but not great anything.

If you’re an exceptional player and you can make the low penetration high DPM gun work, then the IS-6 is worth 7,500 gold. With such a setup its the only tier 8 heavy with both high DPM and high alpha, and when it penetrates, the gun is highly effective at dealing damage.
However, to make this gun work is hard, and its different for every battle situation and enemy.

Most recently sold for:

5,500 gold (Full bundle) – October 2022
5,500 gold (Full bundle) – March 2023

“Legend” camo: 2D, costs 1,450 gold
“Pioneer” attachment: costs 2,500 gold

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