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★ Pz. Sfl. IVc Review: Anti-Aircraft Toaster Appliance ★


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Tired of your tank's gun feeling weak and limp? Forget Viagra, you need a 8,8 cm Flak 41 L/74! Yes sir, that's right. With a one-time purchase of this wonderful machine, your gun will go from Tier 5 to Tier 8; and from 0 to 90 degrees in a matter of seconds. Buy it now for the cheap price of $112,180 Credits! 100% money back guarantee. For business inquiries, please phone 1-800-TOASTER.

 

In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the Pz. Sfl. IVc, explain the gun choices and/or performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 5 Tank Destroyers. Let's get started, shall we?

 

***Please note that from this point on in the guide, I shall refer to the Pz. Sfl. IVc  as the "Toaster"; it's easier to type than "Pz. Sfl. IVc".***

 

Table of Contents:

  • General overview (Pros and Cons)
  • Equipment, ammo and consumable layout
  • Gun choices and / or performance
  • Gameplay style
  • Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier
  • Overall Rating

 

General Overview:

 

Pros:

  • Best gun you can find on any Tier 5 vehicle, the gun is the same as the Panther II's gun, except on a Tier 5!
  • Incredible penetration values with the Flak 41, you can butter through even O-Ni's with AP; let alone APCR
  • Good damage per shot at 240, this is enough to one-shot quite a few Tier 3's
  • Good DPM of 2,002.29
  • One of the most accurate guns at the Tier (if not the most accurate), at .31 accuracy
  • Very quick aiming time of 2.01 seconds
  • Very quick shell velocity of 1,000 m/s with AP and HE, and 1,250 m/s with APCR
  • Best gun elevation in the game; better than any artillery. 90 degree gun elevation means that your gun can stand up and aim at any cloud you wish to, or perhaps that pesky bird that's been circling your tank and dropping crap onto your camouflage.
  • Very mobile TD; HP/ton ranges from 15.5 to 17.5 depending on the gun choice, and the top speed is 60km/h
  • Great tank traverse of 48 degrees / second
  • Good reverse speed of 20km/h, can quickly back up behind a ridge as necessary
  • Good ammo capacity of 48 rounds with the Flak 41, and 60 rounds with the Flak 37
  • Very good gun arc of 24 degrees to either side with the Flak 37
  • Good gun handling in the sense that you can still very quickly aim in once you stop moving. You shouldn't take snapshots though, it's not quite good enough for that.

 

Neutrals:

  • Penetration values with the Flak 37 are decent, but nothing special; especially when compared to the Flak 41
  • O.K. View Range of 340m. With Binoculars, you should be able to spot tanks as necessary (although you usually don't want to be put into such a position that you have to spot tanks on your own in the first place)
  • Gun depression is reasonable at 5 degrees. It would be nice to have some more, but it's not terrible.
  • Average shell velocity with the Flak 37, once again nothing special; especially when compared to the Flak 41
  • Alright terrain resistance values. They shouldn't interfere with your mobility too much
  • Flak 41 is very expensive XP and Credit wise, although it's a huge upgrade over the Flak 37 in almost every way; thus I'd say it's worth the cost
  • Decent radio range of 550m. This should be reasonable enough in most situations, although may be a slight issue on larger, especially open maps.

 

Cons:

  • The tank has no armor to speak of. Well, actually it does... you can get up to 20mm! That's right, 20mm of incredible tissue paper! Any kind of HE shell can penetrate you regardless of angle.
  • The tank is huge, which makes it a very easy target to hit. Despite it's great mobility, the size makes it a fairly easily artillery target if you're predictable.
  • The camo value is fairly poor due to the large size
  • Poor gun arc on the Flak 41, at only 5 degrees to either side. Luckily however, this is the only downside of the Flak 41
  • The Flak 41 does not carry over to any other tanks, so it should only be researched for the novelty of it; or if you plan on keeping the Toaster
  • The Toaster has a strange crew configuration with two Gunners. This configuration doesn't carry over to any other German tank, so you may need to (re)train a new Gunner
  • Frontal mounted engine, with a 20% chance of fire. Luckily, the engine is only damaged if you get hit in the bottom of the hull (since most people will shoot at the giant gun shield and tank walls). Regardless, a Fire Extinguisher would be nice to have.
  • Low HP of only 350 HP. The tank can't afford to take many hits at all.
  • Crew will die fairly easily when hit by HE or by machine guns. Regular shells however, aren't too much of an issue for the crew.

 

 

Equipment:

 

Personally, I mount a Gun RammerCamo Net and Binocular Telescope on the Toaster. Other equipment isn't of much use.

 

Recommended:

 

Gun Rammer: If you can mount a Gun Rammer on a tank, you should; regardless of the vehicle. Toaster is no exception. Besides, how else is it going to prepare your waffles or toast in time for you to head off to work?

 

Camo Net: The tank's camouflage is pretty bad, but with a Camouflage Net, it can actually remain decently concealed; especially at distance. The poor gun arc on the Flak 41 may mean that you'll need to turn your hull reasonably often however, meaning that the Camo Net isn't going to be active continuously.

 

Binocular Telescope: The Toaster has 340m of View Range, which is reasonable at the Tier. Combined with a Binocular Telescope, it can go up to 425m without crew skills. This should allow you to out-spot most opponents. Being able to see your enemy from further away also gives you the benefit of being further away when you shoot; thus making it more likely for your Camo Net to keep you hidden.

 

Optional:

 

Toast: What good is a toaster without toast?

 

Waffles: C'mon, you know you want some.

 

Syrup: Great on top of those waffles! Let's complete the breakfast to start your day right! Smile_Default.gif

 

 

Ammo:

 

My ammo layout on the Toaster with the Flak 41 is 35 AP, 10 APCR and 3 HE. With the Flak 37, it's 41 AP, 15 APCR, 4 HE.

 

The Flak 41 really doesn't need any APCR, although I always have some in my tank for some reason. I don't really use it unless I feel like overkilling tanks, or if there's a Japanese heavy (which even then, AP can usually butter right through). I never find myself running out of AP either, so I suppose there isn't really reason not to carry APCR; although there isn't really reason to load any either. As for the HE, I load three HE rounds for the occasional Scorpion or Hellcat; although I usually don't shoot the HE in battle unless I know my next shot will be at a paper tank. If you feel as though you're still seeing a lot of Scorpion's and Hellcats from the Mystery Mayhem Monster Tank event and On Track to the T110E4, then you could easily replace a few of the APCR rounds with a few extra HE shells.

 

The Flak 37 does actually need the APCR however, seeing how it has significantly less penetration than the Flak 41 at 132/171/44. You have a 60 round ammo capacity though, so you can play around with the ammo loadout as you feel necessary.

 

 

Consumables:

 

For Consumables on the Toaster, I use a Small Med Kit, Small Repair Kit and Automatic Fire Extinguisher.

 

Small Med Kit: Standard with practically every tank in the game. Toaster doesn't have any special needs other than desiring some butter for its toast.

 

Small Repair Kit: Once again, standard consumable. If your toaster breaks down, how will you get your breakfast going if you can't fix it?

 

Automatic Fire Extinguisher: Even though the toaster does have a frontal engine, you won't be set on fire too often. However, with the already low HP and potential for an easy fire, you want to be able to put out the flames immediately. You don't want burnt toast or waffles, do you?!

 

If your toaster seems to be the latest fire-resistant model, you could consider some Chocolate; although there's no real reason for it. Besides, who eats sweets for breakfast? You don't want to have a mid-day crash!

 


Guns:

 

The Toaster has two different guns to choose from, although one is almost entirely superior to the other. The Flak 41 is a Panther II, Tier 8 gun on a Tier 5 vehicle; whereas the Flak 37 is a boring Tier 6 gun, although it does gain rather significant gun arc.

 

Below, I've compared the two guns. On the left is the Flak 37, on the right is the Flak 41. Blue is a superior value, whereas green is an approximately tied value.

 

Guns:

Rate of Fire:         9.20                          (8.34)   
Aiming time:        1.82                          (2.01)
Accuracy:             .34                            (.31)
DPM:                   2,024.37                   (2,002.29)
Penetration:         132/171/44             (194/237/44)
Damage:              220/220/270          (240/240/295)     

Shell Velocity:      773/966/773          (1,000/1,250/1,000)

Soft Stats:           .24/.24/.12             (.24/.24/.14)    
Ammo capacity:   60                             (48)

Gun Arc Limit:     27/27                       5/5

 

The verdict? The Flak 41 gun will absolutely butter any tank's armor, even Tier 7's, and is exceptional at sniping. The Flak 37 may give you some more room for closer ranged engagements however, as the gun arc may come in handy for such situations.

 

Flak 37:

 

The Flak 37 on it's own isn't all that bad of a gun. For a Tier 5 TD, it's pretty good. It has good pen, damage, accuracy and aiming time. It carries a lot of shells, and has a great gun traverse arc. However, whilst it is a good gun for the Tier, it's almost entirely inferior to the Flak 41.

 

The main reasons to use the Flak 37 are either a) Because the extra gun traverse allows you to integrate the Toaster into your playstyle a lot more efficiently or B) You don't plan on keeping the toaster and just want to get the grind over with as quickly as possible. Beyond that, there's not much reason to use the Flak 37.

 

Flak 41:

 

The Flak 41 is one of the most ridiculously powerful guns Tier for Tier in the gun. The penetration on it is so high, it would be considered "reasonable" on a Tier 8 tank... this is a Tier 5 vehicle; the highest Tier you'll ever see is Tier 7. Aside from a T29's turret, you can butter just about any vehicle you encounter, even when they're angled. The accuracy is also ridiculously good, you can easily hit weakpoints even from a distance (although with that kind of penetration, shooting at weakpoints is often unnecessary even).

 

As for the gun elevation on the Flak 41, it's 90 degrees. This means that you can point your gun straight up; meaning it's impossible for any tank to be above your gun elevation. You could be hugging the edge of the mountain on Cliff, and if a light tank popped up above you, whereas most allies would never be able to hit it, you would have no problem getting your gun on target and tearing it apart. In order to raise your gun to 90 degrees, park your tank on flat ground (or on a downwards slope) and go into Sniper Mode. Whilst in Sniper Mode, keep raising your gun. It's a massive attention grabber too, as most people have never actually seen that gun elevated all the way up - besides, it's as long as the Obj. 261's cannon! The gun is taller than many various buildings. Ah, that gun. It's awesome.

 

Back on topic - in terms of gun arc limitations, 5 degrees to each side is pretty bad - however, that being the only actual downside to the gun, the limited gun arc is more than worth  it in order to gain all of the other incredible stats of the gun. The Flak 41 really should be your gun of choice (Some would argue that if the Flak 37's penetration is already fairly good for the Tier, that there's no reason to need the extra penetration and accuracy of the Flak 41 - however, the Flak 37 will actually meet tanks it can't bounce, and can't go through a handful of tanks if they try to side-scrape. The Flak 37 also will need find APCR as a necessity against a few vehicles. The Flak 41 will never encounter these problems, and will be able to do things that the Flak 37 could only dream of doing).

 

 

How to play it:

 

The way the Toaster is played is fairly similar regardless of which gun you use, although there are a few differences worth noting.

 

Flak 37: When using either gun on the toaster, you want to be sniping from a distance; shooting at what your allies spot. The Flak 37 however, can possibly go into closer ranged engagements with allies and shoot at enemies between their reloads, thanks to the gun arc. However, you will need to aim a lot more carefully with the Flak 37 than you would with the Flak 41 - with the Flak 37, side-scraping tanks may be difficult to penetrate, and there will be tanks, especially higher Tier vehicles, which you'll need to aim at weakpoints for.

 

Flak 41: With the Flak 41, you're a bit more restricted to a sniping role, although the mobility of the Toaster can still make shooting at reloading enemies at closer ranges possible, so long as you have allied support. Unlike with the Flak 37, the Flak 41 allows you to essentially point and shoot at just about any tank you encounter. You will butter Japanese tanks with ease, practically nothing can dream of side-scraping against you, and only a few turrets are actually strong enough to compete with your gun. Even the Sherman Jumbo's stock turret will begin to struggle a bit, especially if you load APCR (however, you do need to aim carefully if you shoot at a stock Jumbo turret).

 

All in all, the Flak 41 will turn your opponent's armor to butter, and only a T29's turret can actually compete against the Flak 41's incredible penetration. The Flak 37 gains a bit more flexibility with the significantly increased gun arc limits, although that comes at the cost of a lot of penetration and fair amount of accuracy. The Flak 41 is almost entirely a superior gun, and the only reasons not to use it are if you find the gun arc overly challenging, or you just want to research the Nashorn as quickly as possible.

 


Comparison to same-Tier Tank Destroyers:

 

HP: Bad. 350 HP is actually fairly standard for a paper TD at this Tier, although it's only better than the S35 Bathtub's 330 HP. The bathtub however, is designed to contain water, whereas the Toaster (as with any electrical appliance) must be kept away from such substances at all times.

Armor: Worst in class. The armor on the Toaster is so thin, there is a debate on whether or not it actually exists, or if the metal we see on it is merely a fignment of our imagination. There's also a conspiracy theory that it is actually made of tissue paper, in a secret WG attempt to make the tank drown in water more quickly.

Mobility: Best in class. Yes, T67 accelerates a lot more quickly. However, the Toaster not only has the same top speed as the T67, but has an incredibly good track traverse speed, whereas the T67 find turning to be very complicated.

Penetration: Best in class. The penetration on the Flak 41 isn't just the best in class, but the best in the entire Tier, and one of the best even against Tier 6's and non-TD Tier 7's! It's a good Tier 8 gun on a Tier 5 vehicle!

Alpha damage: Very good. The Flak 41's 240 alpha damage is one of the best on any of the Tier 5 TD's, with the exception of howitzers and the S35's 105mm.

Aiming SpeedAverage. Even though the 2.01 second aiming time is very short, it still falls right in the middle of other Tier 5 TD's. The Flak 37 would be learning towards "good" in this regard, but still would be between other TD's.

Accuracy: Best in class. .31 accuracy isn't just the best in class, but also the best in the Tier and one of the best in the game. .31 accuracy is ridiculously good, and simply will not let you down. You could snipe at weakpoints if you felt like it - but why bother with that, when you make the O-Ni's armor seem no thicker than the T67's? =)

Shell Velocity: Best in class. 1,000/1,250/1,000 m/s shell velocity is simply unheard of at Tier 5. It is by far the best of any Tier 5 TD, tank or otherwise.

View Range: Very good. Even though 340m of View Range isn't all that great, for a Tier 5 TD, it's one of the best. In fact, only the AT-2 has superior view range. Other Tier 5 TD's are either tied for View Range or are inferior in this regard. With Binoculars, you can reach 425m without crew skills or food.

Camo Value: Very bad. The toaster is huge, and isn't afraid to show it. In fact, with a gun so long that it makes Tier 10's jealous, why would the toaster not want to flaunt it around? C'mon, you know you're entirely envious. Just admit it. Smile_blinky.gif

Battle effectiveness: Good. The gun on the Toaster is simply mindbogglingly incredible. Nothing at the Tier or even most higher Tiers can compete with it, let beat it. This should technically mean that the tank is unstoppable, especially with the mobility. However, it's not so. The giant size, mediocre camo, average View range and limited gun arc can create some problems. There should be no reason for you not to be able to make quite the impact on the battle, but you're not always going to be able to carry, especially on smaller maps or city maps where sniping isn't quite a possibility (although not an issue when top Tier, simply because of the damage you do per shot). Overall, it's a very good TD which can make quite the stand. However, it typically let's the gun do the talking; with the occasional nimble relocation.

 

Overall Rating:

 

7/10 (Good)

 

The Toaster is a very competitive TD, with many unique features. The gun is by far the best on any Tier 5 and even Tier 6 tank. The gun on the Panther, which is already considered to be a very good gun, is actually inferior to the Toaster's gun. The Toaster has the mobility you need to relocate, the firepower to easily tear apart higher Tier opponents, and the accuracy to hit exactly where you want to. What prevents the tank from being overpowered are its various glaring downsides, such as huge size, lack of any useful armor, limited gun arc, low HP and only average camo and view range. In fact, so many downsides may seem indicative of a bad tank, but luckily the gun is more than powerful enough to help significantly make up for the Toaster's other downsides, and the mobility gives it what it needs to be a "good" TD.

 

If you're grinding this tank, don't be afraid to pick up the Flak 41. There's truly no other gun like it in the game, in the way it butters even some of the strongest Tier 7's. Also, what's not hilarious about 90 degrees of gun elevation? Unless you're anti-social and hate attention, you'll feel quite a bit of joy simply from having that kind of gun, and especially from the amazement and jealously it induces. Smile_blinky.gif

 

All in all, it's a good TD with several very unique features. The tank can easily make an impact regardless of which Tiers or types of opponents it has to engage. The most important thing for the toaster is the map, as an open map, or one with the ability to shoot and quickly get back into cover, is what the toaster needs to excel. When top Tier, city maps aren't all that much of an issue simply because of the alpha damage and DPM of the gun, which allows the Toaster to quickly tear apart opponents. Against higher Tier vehicles however, city maps are a major Achilles's Heel.

 

 

Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield.

 

(Toaster Bus has prepared some breakfast for you - how nice! Smile_Default.gif)

 

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