Ferdinand Guide

Guide for the Ferdinand:
The Ferdinand is a tier 8 tank destroyer with the following general characteristics:
Cost: 2.570.000
Hit Points: 1200
XP cost: 150.000 when researched from the Tiger P, 77.500 when researched from the Jagdpanther

Crew:
Commander
Radio operator
Driver
Gunner
Loader
Loader

Mobility: When stock the Ferdinand has absolutely terrible mobility. Upgrading the tracks will be your first priority, it will increase the vehicle rotationspeed by 3 degrees, so you can have your front armour face the enemy more often. If you came to the Ferdi by the Tiger P you most likely will have the 2x Porsche Type 100/3 engine researched, install it if you can.

Armour: one of the best part of the Ferdi is it’s though, but not impenetrable, frontal armour. According to the stats the Ferdi has 200mm of frontal armour, but that’s not the entire front. The lower front plate is known to be weak, so try to hide it as much as you can (behind a dead tank or by standing in a crater or behind a small wall). There are some other, smaller weakspots (like the sides of the front armour, the small parts that have a 45 degree angle to the main front hull plate), but for this guide I won’t discuss them further.

Armament: The Ferdi can mount tree different guns. A 8.8 cm is the standard gun. It has 203mm penetration with standard ammo and 237 with premium ammo. It is somewhat more accurate than the second gun, a 10.5cm, but has a longer aiming time. If you came from the Jagdpanther you might have the 10.5cm unlocked, so you can try which one you like best. The 10.5 has 3mm more penetration but does more damage which each hit. Both these guns aren’t what makes the Ferdi a true tankdestroyer. The mighty 12.8cmm PaK 44 L/55 is the gun you want. It has a penetration of 246 with standard ammo and 311 with premium. On average it should do 490 damage with each shot but because of the random numbers generator in WoT it could do much more. If you hit someone’s ammorack you can destroy their tank with one shot. Also some scouts have so little HP that you can kill them with a good hit. All in all the 12.8 is a great gun for a tier 8 TD, with the only downside of a longer reload time.

Review: The Ferdinand is at this point my most played tank. The combination of a powerful gun and strong frontal armour, while still having some mobility is one I like. My crew has the Brothers in Arms perk and some other skills. Depending on the map and your position (top tier/bottom tier, the amount of arty, open map/city, the amount of scouts) you should plan your battle (as with any tank). When it’s an open map you can shoot from a long distance and hit hard with your big gun, while staying save yourself. Unlike some other TD’s the ferdi’s gun can still swing 15 degrees to the left and right. This is more than most TD’s and something which is very useful when angling your armour. Despite that it’s a tier 8 tank I can make a decent profit with it on most battles without a premium account, due to the huge damage the gun can deliver.

Advantages:
The 12.8 cm gun
Strong front armour
The 12.8 cm gun
Gun has bigger horizontal traverse than most TD’s
Did I mention the 12.8 cm gun?  

Disadvantages:
Slow without engine upgrades
Your big size and big gun make you a primary target for the enemy arty when you are top tier
Can only defend itself from frontal attacks, if the enemy gets besides you and does know what they are doing you are dead
Defenceless when tracks are destroyed and enemy is out of reach of your gun

Suggested crew skills:
Commander:
1 If you plan on keeping this tank forever I would go with Mentor first. If not go for sixth sense first.
2 Brothers in Arms (gives you more accuracy for long range shots and increases every stat of your crew).
3 If you have taken mentor at step one I would de sixth sense now. If not you can go for repair or Recon.

Radio operator:
1 Repairs (camouflage is not really useful on a ferdi, you are so huge it doesn’t make much of a difference, repairing your tracks in time could save your life).
2 Brothers in arms.
3 Situational awareness (if you think your ferdi catches fire often you could go for firefighting, but since my ferdi doesn’t burn that often I went with an increased viewrange).

Driver:
1 Clutch braking (the ability to rotate a bit faster is of vital importance to a ferdi).
2 Brothers in Arms.
3 Repairs for the tracks or off-road driving if you want to move a bit faster.

Gunner:
1 If you think your reticle becomes too large when you swing the barrel, go for Snap shot. If not I would go for deadeye.
2 Brothers in Arms.
3 The one you did not select at point 1 or repairs.

Loader:
1 Repairs
2 Brothers in arms
3 Safe stowage

Loader:
1 Repairs
2 Brothers in arms
3 Adrenaline rush

Suggested equipment:
1 Improved ventilation
2 Rammer (unloading the 12.8 10% faster )
3 Binocular telescope (you will be stationary sniping often, so this is better than coated optics)

Notes:
Always remember the shortcomings of the ferdi. You can’t defend yourself against an enemy that is standing next to you or behind you. Pay attention to your minimap, placement of your massive gun could change the outcome of the battle. Don’t be too hesitant to relocate to an entire different spot on the map. You have 1200 hitpoints, if you can destroy one of the enemies most valuable tanks while taking a hit, don’t be too shy. If a small scout is shooting at you, don’t turn around and expose your weaker sides. In a battle I ignored a Pz38nA for about a dozen (bouncing) shots while I killed an IS-6, after that I oneshotted the Pz38nA, prioritise your targets. Always check if the enemy has arty, if they don’t you gain a lot of options, if they do, stay in arty safe positions. Have fun.




Originally written by I_Manth

T-50-2 actually could eat Ferdinand alive if its driver has so-so Situational Awareness.

If this person think Ferdy's alpha is so extremely big (stated 12.8 so extremely many times), then I wonder what that person would think of ISU...

Either way, ferdys have easy to hit axles, poor turn speed and anyone can pen the side/hatch at rear, so approach it by shooting the tracks and voila, ferdy toast. The lower plate is easily penetrated by 160mm pen or above, while the upper superstructure plates around the mantlet is penetrated by 210mm pen or more (that's the 200mm area) however the ferdy can angle itself to increase its superstructure armor (its completely flat towards what the TD is aiming at).