T-2020

The T-2020 is a tier 8 Soviet 122mm heavy tank. It has a solid armour profile, a decent enough gun, and pretty decent mobility.
Its most interesting feature is by far its visual elements: the shooting animation that built into the model.

1. Armour
2. Gun
3. Mobility
4. Equipment, provisions, & consumables
5. Gameplay advice
6. Overall
7. Is it worth getting?
8. Most recently sold for:
9. Camo cost:
10. Historical info:

Armour

(The T-2020 in the images is using Enhanced Armour)

vs 225mm AP (left image), 265mm APCR (right image)
When facing head on:
Upper plate 250-270mm
Lower plate 195-200mm
Turret cheeks 290-335mm
Hatches 205mm (170mm on edges)

Note that enhanced armour is extremely important on this tank, and the review is given based on the tank using enhanced armour.

VS tier 7:
If the T-2020 is not angled, then only tier 7 heavies can penetrate the lower plate.
If the T-2020 is angled, then even most heavies will struggle against the lower plate.

The upper plates and turret are both very strong to tier 7 tanks, the only way for a tier 7 to penetrate the upper plate would be if the T-2020 is angled, and the enemy tank has over 235mm APCR or 240mm HEAT. If the T-2020 is using enhanced armour than tier 7 tanks basically have no chance against the upper plate.

The hatches are weakpoints, but they are hidden behind spaced armour, which make them quite troll against lower penetration tanks.

VS tier 8:
To most tier 8 tanks, the lower plate is a weakpoint. Lower penetration lights and mediums will struggle against it if its angled or using enhanced armour.

The upper plates are both strong. If un-angled, nothing other than TDs will be able to penetrate it, and if using enhanced armour, even TDs may struggle.

If the upper plates are angled to the side, then the only tanks that can penetrate it will be tanks with over 230mm penetration (in closer ranges) and 248mm (such as on the T34 and M6 EXP). Again, if using enhanced armour than even the 230mm penetration tanks will need to use premium ammo.

VS tier 9:
Due to the higher penetration of tier 9 heavy tanks, most will be able to penetrate the un-angled armour, eve if you are enhancing your armour. Most medium and light tanks will still really struggle against the upper plates.

The turret is still very strong, so unless enemies have very high penetration APCR (290mm+ APCR needed), or they shoot the hatches, then the turret essentially can withstand most hits.
HEAT is unreliable against the T-2020’s turret armour, as its covered by a 25mm spaced armour plate, and that 25mm plate is well angled, not flat. You can check why this is here.

T-2020 can sidescrape, unlike the IS-5 and IS-3. Due to having a “flatter” and thicker pike nose, it loses less effective armour than the IS-5 and IS-3 when it turns the hull.

It also has very thick side armour of 100mm, the upper part is angled, so its over 300mm (in the above image), and its an auto-ricochet.
The lower flat part of the sides are also 100mm thick, with 20mm tracks, and 10mm spaced armour covering the area you would usually shoot it at.
If you enhance the armour, then the upper plate will not be penetrated unless enemies shoot premium ammo at it.

Gun

T-2020 mounts a 122mm gun

-Alpha damage is 400 on AP, 340 on HEAT, and 500 on HE
-It has a 11.8s reload giving it 2036 DPM
-Penetration on APCR is 221mm, HEAT is 270mm, and HE is 61mm.
–Estimated aim time is 5.2/5.6s
–Base aim time is 2.78s, but it can get down to 2.36s.
-Dispersion is 0.389/0.350
–Gun handling is 0.25/0.25/0.12, or 0.21/0.21/0.1 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -6 degrees

Overall this gun is decent. Its the same as other 122mm guns in every regard other than its aim time, which is actually pretty decent (for a 122mm). The gun depression is also notable, as the T-2020 has a flattened IS-5 hull, so its slightly lower profile than all other 122mm tanks in tier 8.
Other than this, the penetration is good, DPM is decent, but accuracy and gun handling are both very poor and are on the worse end of the 122mm spectrum.

The APCR shell has an amazing 1,400m/s shell velocity, the best of any standard ammo in tier 8 heavy tanks.
Though it loses 12.67% penetration over distance, so at 500m it only has 193mm of penetration.

Mobility

-Top speed is a very good 40km/h forwards, and -15km/h in reverse
-Traverse speed is 37.3 deg/s on hard terrain, and 29.9 deg/s on medium terrain.
-In game acceleration rate is shown as 14.0 hp/t, it has a fairly decent 819hp engine for its 59 ton weight.
-Actual acceleration rate is 11.7 hp/t on hard terrain, and 9.3 hp/t on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are average, at 1.2/1.5/1.9

Considering that the T-2020 has actual frontal armour unlike the IS-3 and IS-5, its mobility is not terrible. It has a great top speed, and good traverse speed. Its acceleration on hard terrain is decent, but its quite slow on medium terrain.
The mobility is quite decent and it can reach its 40km top speed along flat ground, but it will feel quite slow going up slopes or on uneven terrain.

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

The T-2020 has no special consumables or provisions.

Engine power boost consumable:
This tank does have a 40km top speed, which is very good for a heavy tank; however due to the slow acceleration, the T-2020 struggles to get there. Take this consumable so that you can utilize the top speed to get into positions early or get up a hill quicker.

Double fuel provisions:
10% fuel is mandatory on every tank. If you don’t use this consumable then the tank will just be unbelievably slow and struggle to even reach 30km speed, let alone 40km.
Use the additional 3% fuel if you want to take advantage of that top speed, it adds about 1 deg/s traverse speed and 0.3 effective hp/t.

Gun Rammer:
Just as with every other 122mm heavy tank, this has great HEAT penetration. Its standard ammo is also pretty good, so there is no need to use calibrated shells. Use a gun rammer to give this tank decent DPM, you can’t afford to make it lower.
Gun rammer gives this tank an 11.8s reload with 400 alpha, giving it 2036 DPM.

Enhanced Armour:
Enhanced armour is mandatory on the T-2020. For similar reasons to the WZ-111, players just think “bad tank + pike nose = can penetrate”, if you don’t use enhanced armour, then some enemies will be able to penetrate it when angled.

Using enhanced armour essentially adds 9-10mm of armour to the upper plate of the tank, and 8mm to the lower plate (effective thickness). This makes the tank much more durable frontally, and many players will still try to shoot the upper plate.

The tank has decent 1750 base HP, so there is not much reason to improve it, it’s not a low HP tank.

Engine Accelerator:
The T-2020 already has quite good traverse speed, and it struggles with acceleration on medium terrain. Use engine accelerator to make its acceleration rate better, this helps the tank’s mobility far more than the improved traverse speed, as the tank’s traverse is already good.

Vertical Stabilizer:
The T-2020 is a frontline heavy tank. Its constantly moving and using its armour, because of this it should be using vertical stabilizer so that it can be more proficient with its shots after it moves. Refined gun won’t benefit it much as in close quarters fights what matters is your gun stabilization being good.
Vertical stabilizer will give this tank 0.21 dispersion when moving, 0.21 when turning the hull, and a very good 0.1 when turning the turret.

Gameplay advice

The T-2020 plays just like the other 122mm heavy tanks in tier 8. Its armour is easier to use than tanks like the IS-3 and IS-5 as it can turn the hull without being an instant penetration to most enemy tanks.

Go hulldown. Even though the turret of the T-2020 is not quite as solid as the IS-3 or IS-5, its still very strong and you should definitely utilize the hulldown capabilities of it. The T-2020 is also lower profile and has a flatter hull than all the other 122mm tier 8 heavy tanks, it means its able to expose itself less and use more pieces of cover as hulldown positions. It also means its effective gun depression feels more comfortable than the taller Obj.252U, even though both tanks have -6 degrees.

Use gun depression. You can do this by going parallel to the ridgeline. There is a full guide here.

Sidescrape where possible. The T-2020 is actually a pretty good sidescraper as long as you hide the front while you reload. The front armour is strong to standard ammo, but if you expose it while you don’t have a shot to shoot, then it gives enemies time to just load premium ammo and shoot the upper plate.

Aim your shots. The T-2020 still has poor gun handling and dispersion even though its aim time is better than its competitors. Unless its absolutely necessary to shoot immediately, give your gun a bit of time to aim in before shooting. Of course this is the correct way to play any tank, but its especially important with the tier 8 122mm heavy tanks, as they have particularly poor dispersion, gun handling, and aim time.

Trade shots, not DPM. Do your best to avoid head-on fights with lower alpha heavy tanks, as usually they have more DPM. Often these tanks may try to push on you to put in 2 or even 3 shots while you reload. Use your armour and hard cover to avoid them until you have a shot ready.

If you trade shot-for-shot with enemies, generally you will come out on top as your 400 alpha is quite high, or at least the same as most other heavies in tier 8.

Other than the above mentioned, the T-2020 is just a regular generic heavy tank with -6 gun depression. It has strong frontal armour, can sidescrape, and is decently mobile, so just play it like you would with other similar heavies.

Overall

Overall the T-2020 is quite a good tank for a 122mm heavy. It has good armour, decent mobility, and most importantly better aim time than its competition. This aim time and and solid armour are really noticeable if you have played that are similar to this.
Though its gun is not quite as consistent as the IS-6, IS-2Sh, or WZ-111, its still better than tanks like the WZ-112-2 and 112 Glacial.

Is it worth getting?

This tank is not worth it if you already have another 122mm heavy tank. Its also not worth it if you want to buy it for being a good and fun tank; while its fairly good, its definitely not that interesting to play or very fun.
While its overall combination of decent mobility, solid armour, and decent gun is nice to have, its playstyle is rather mundane and slower than other 122mm heavies.

The tank is also just out-competed by the WZ-111, which just has a better gun, better mobility, and stronger hull and turret armour. Though, the T-2020 is better at sidescraping, if that’s what makes you excited.

The T-2020 is worth 6,500 gold. The tank is pretty good, all things considered, its just not very fun or exciting.
It does look quite cool when it shoots (it has a special shooting animation, where the shell ejects from the turret), and some player may like its unique look with its spaced armour and the moving fan on the back.
Whether its price is worth it for the unique animations and look of the tank, that’s up to your opinion.

Most recently sold for:

7,500 gold (in a bundle with Lorraine 40t & Chieftain/T95) – May 2023

Camo cost:

Historical info:

T-2020 is a fake tank created by WG in 2020. They advertised it as being amazing, having the hull of an IS-5 and the turret of a ST-I with additional screens.
But they didn’t advertise the fact it gained 9 tons in weight but kept the same engine, had a flattened version of the IS-5’s pike nose (so it was less armoured), lost the angled upper side armour, and had a weakened version of the stock turret of the ST-I

Fortunately WG buffed it soon after release, giving it 20mm stronger side armour, buffing the turret armour, and buffing the upper plate by 20mm, giving it actually good armour.

Ironically, this tank should be an autoloader, just like the IS-3 Defender. It has the mechanism of an autoloader even displayed on the roof for the world to see, yet its just a single shot tank.

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