PzKpfw VIB Tiger II Guide 2

Welcome to the Tiger 2 (AKA King Tiger, Royal Tiger, Tiger ausf B, VK 4502 (H)) a Tier 8 heavy tank from the German Tech Tree.  With its fearsome  105mm L68 this legendary tank can finally engage Tier 10 heavies and expect to at least damage them head-on.

Stock tank specs:


Upgrade tree:


Overview:
The King Tiger starts off with the 88L71 (the long 88, its historical gun) which is actually the best stock heavy tank cannon at tier 8.  It fires cheap ammunition, penetrates a lot and is accurate. Its rate of fire is damn impressive too. The KT is very slow out of the box (first engine) and not really all that maneuverable, but if you have researched the best engine on the tiger, you can put it in now and see that it makes a huge difference. Fully upgraded it sports a relatively high damage gun, excellent maneuverability and great frontal armor. Sides and rear are weak, so you must do your best to cover them, though they are at least strong enough to allow you to slope your already impressive frontal armour. This vehicle prefers long range combat with its accurate gun. Good thing is, its armour  allows it to survive close combat too.
Price: 2 450 000
Camouflage: This brick is sexy, therefore very easy to spot.
Gun Depression: -7°/+17°

Pros:
-Good looking (yes, that is actually quite important).
-Accurate and fast aiming top gun.
-Best stock T8 heavy gun.
-Very tough frontal armor.
-Pivot turn ability! Its also relatively agile.

Cons:
-Big target.
-Weak side and rear armor.
-Could have been faster.

Designation:
1. Warrior  2. Sniper  3. Steel Wall 4. Heavy Support

Crew:
1. Commander
2. Gunner  
3. Driver
4. Radio Operator  
5. Loader

Use your Tiger I crew. They are probably near a second skill by now.

Modules:

Hull:
Armor scheme currently in use

Spoiler:

*The turret front is now 185, mantlet is impenetrable.
The frontal armour is 150mm, but the slope increases it greatly to around 200 mm of protection. Most tier 7 and even some tier 8 guns(88L71 included) will have problems going through this part of the tank. Weak spot is the lower hull armor, its only 120mm and even with the slope its not enough to stop the more powerful guns. Do know that you should slope yourself in order to increase the armor. Even the mighty BL-9 can bounce when using this tactic.

Suspension:
1. Standartketten (stock) / Max.capacity 68.5 / Turn speed 23 degrees per sec.
2. Verstartke ketten/ Max.capacity 72.97 / Turn speed 26 deg per sec.
The suspension is the first thing you need to get! It also seems to increase off-road mobility. Do keep in mind that KT is easy to immobilize due to the track's size.

Engine:
Maybach HL 210 P 30- 650 h.p.– 20% chance for fire on impact
Maybach HL 230 P 45– 750 h.p.– 20% chance for fire on impact
Maybach HL 234 P 45- 870 h.p.- 20% chance for fire on impact
That's one long research path, but its worth it as the best engine gives the KT of around 12 h.p. per ton. Lets not even mention the fact these engines are also used on the JagdTiger and Panther, and will help you in the long run of unlocking the entire German tree.

Radio:
FUG 7– range 415m
FUG 12– range 710m
Surprisingly, getting a better radio soon is advisable this time. 415m is just not enough sometimes.

Turrets:
1. Porsche-turm (stock)
Armor 100/80/80
Rotation 30 deg / sec.
View range of 402 meters.
2. Henschel-turm
Book 185/80/80
Rotate 25 deg / sec.
View range of 402 meters.
I suggest getting the better turret ASAP. Its much better armored and gives you a RoF increase. The impenetrable mantlet (that also takes 1/3 of the turret front) can be combined with turret sloping after each shot in order to bounce the enemies's counter. Do keep in mind the commander's cupola is a weak spot that can be exploited in CQC by the enemy.

Guns:
88mm L71
RoF: 7,4
Penetration: 203/237/44
Average damage: 240/240/295
Accuracy (100m): 0,34
Aim time: 2,9 sec
This gun is a beauty, as it has no problems penetrating IS-3 and T32. Its accurate and cheap, and I would not be surprised if some people are using it, as it allows the user to actually make money (if he is good enough) even without premium. Hell, if you can get a lucky shot, this gun can penetrate even the mighty IS-4 heavy tank.

105mm L52
RoF: 5,77
Penetration: 200/244/60
Average damage: 320/320/420
Accuracy (100m): 0,37
Aim time: 2,3 sec
Its debatable whether this is an actual upgrade, as you lose 3mm of penetration and some accuracy for 100 more damage. Its also very expensive with its ammo costing 1030 a shot. It does fire somewhat fast though and can be used on other German tanks, like the VK 4502 A.

105mm L68
RoF: 4,77-5,25 (depends on turret)
Penetration: 225/285/60
Average damage: 320/320/440
Accuracy (100m): 0,34
Aim time: 2,3 sec
The damage and cost is the same as the other 105mm gun, BUT you get 25 more penetration and is just as accurate as the 88L71. Possessing 225mm of average penetration means the KT can now penetrate other tier 8 vehicles quite easily. Its also a good idea to start learning tier 10 and 9 weak spots, because this gun is good enough to make use of all of them. When confronted by something heavy like an IS-7, for example, load HE rounds or shoot its weak spots with AP. This REALLY is an upgrade, despite the slower rate of fire. Unfortunately its very expensive to use at 1030 cred/shot. Do at least research it at ALL costs, as it will make the E-75 grind much better.



Proposed upgrade path:
1. Suspension
2. Turret
3. Engine
4. 105L52 (can also be number 3)
5. 105L68 (can also be number 4)
6. Engine (best)
*Note, i hope you have already researched the engines on the Tiger 1, because this will really shorten the grind.

Comparison with its peers:

Panzer VI Tiger ausf B vs VK 4502 Ausf A
The two vehicles are nothing alike. If the KT is an effective heavy fighting vehicle with good armor and great accuracy, then the VK is the heavy medium made to HUNT medium tanks and obliterate smaller vehicles.
In short:
KT has better armor and durability, but cant compete in terms of agility, speed and overall mobility.
The KT has a gun that is overall superior, though with a lower DPM.

Panzer VI Tiger ausf B vs AMX 50 100
AMX 50 100 is much faster than the Tiger. It also is capable of dealing a lot more damage in a relatively short amount of time (though after that its gonna be pretty much useless for a while). AMX 50 100 even has a gun with more penetration. Despite this, the AMX suffers from almost nonexistent armor all around, vulnerability to arty and can be penetrated by HE in the sides (VERY BAD).
In short:
AMX 50 100 is better suited to tier 10 battles thanks to the better gun and vastly superior speed.
Tiger 2 can actually take a beating and push the enemy thanks to its armor. AMX cant.

IS-3 vs Panzer VI Tiger ausf B
An extremely tough comparison for both tanks. The Tiger 2 has a gun with EPIC accuracy and aim time, his frontal hull armor is superior to IS-3s. IS-3 does more damage per shot and has better side and turret armor but less health. Both have the same 225 penetration (awesome!)
In short:
IS-3 is better vs smaller tanks than KT, thanks to its all around armor.
Tiger can bounce Tier 10 guns more often than IS3 due to hull armor, but less often on the turret.
IS-3 is faster, but KT is no slouch either.
1v1 they are as a whole well balanced.

Panzer VI ausf B vs T32
King Tiger has a superior hull, but the T32 has an invulnerable turret. Both are about the same agility-wise. King Tiger has the better gun in every stat, except RoF.
In short:
T32 is again better vs small tanks thanks to RoF.
T32 can turret-hug Tier 10 tanks into submission .
1v1 they are balanced, but as a whole KT is easier to use thanks to 27 more penetration.

Historical KT



Mounts the 88L71 and can use both turrets. An absolute menace during WW2, it had no problems knocking out even the best allied tanks such as the IS-2 and Pershing. Only the IS-3 might have been a worthy opponent, and there are rumors that the two monsters met in Berlin, but nothing is sure.
The Tiger 2 is almost indestructible in historical battles, as no other tank can penetrate its armor. Only HE and side shots from IS tanks can kill it, but its never alone as PZ4s and Panthers will guard the Tiger and turn it into a fortress.


Originally written by Charcharo