Concept art of 2S14 Zhalo-S
Tank Destroyers, or TDs in short, are one of the playable vehicle classes in Armored Warfare.
Gameplay
- For a full list of playable Tank Destroyers, see Vehicles § Tank Destroyers.
Tank Destroyers are the most diverse of all classes: they can be wheeled or tracked, armed with missiles or guns, unarmored or armored. With the exception of Heavy Tank Destroyer subclass, this class is generally intended to be played as long range fire support.
Although Armored Fighting Vehicles and Light Tanks often share the same role in second line fire support, most Tank Destroyers are more dedicated in this role as they generally have less agility and view range than the two other classes. Such vehicles are mobile in the way that they are quick to relocate from one position to another, but not agile enough to engage in close range combat. They also have poor armor, and will not withstand much enemy fire in direct engagement.
A few Tank Destroyers are represented by infantry fighting vehicles and anti-tank variant of armored personnel carriers hence they can deploy Mechanized Infantry as an active ability. AT Squad and Mortar Squad can provide direct and indirect fire support respectively, whereas Sniper primarily provides additional spotting capability for themselves as well as other teammates.
Tank Destroyers largely fall into three kinds of categories:
- Gun Tank Destroyers have the most accurate guns when firing stationary, and their AP shells lose much less penetrative values over distance in comparison to other classes using similar shells and initial penetrative values. However, these guns suffer significant accuracy loss when firing on the move, making run-and-gun tactics unfavorable.
- Missile Tank Destroyers feature powerful anti-tank missiles and usually the best kinds among the classes within the same tier. If left unopposed, they can deal a lot of damage to enemy vehicles within a short window of time. However, these vehicles often have no other weaponry available and hence no effective ways to defend themselves in close range combat.
- Heavy Tank Destroyers are best represented by BMPTs and T-15 Armata, which largely differ from the other types of Tank Destroyers both in characteristics and play style. These vehicles tend to have poor camouflage, but also enjoy respectable amount of armor, allowing them to fight alongside Main Battle Tanks on the front line as heavy fire support. Their combined armaments of guns and anti-tank missiles can fight all kinds of enemies effectively.