when does this tank get put on 11.7 or 12.? it performs better than the HSTVL, has a wide range of ammo and still sits on 10.7 for whatever reason
4 Likes
worse speed, round, armor, and gun depression. When compared to the HSTVL, you get better thermals, LWS, and ammo capacity. Other than ammo capacity, thermal generation and LWS won’t give you a serious advantage when it comes to killing tanks.
I personally think the HSTVL should go down because the RDFLT is better but that is probably due to me valuing ammo capacity more than speed.
13 Likes
Pretty much this, & unless you’re gunning for consistent 10:1 KDR, ammo capacity isn’t much of a deal.
I’ve already started bringing 15 rounds in T-80s, & I’ve seen decent arguments for bringing 10.
26 rounds in HSTVL is more than enough for my goal of… less than 2:1 KDR. Lofty goal I know.
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been a while since ive seen a 2s38 post as its been surpassed by some even worse vehicles as of late.
Yea it should be higher, just because theres been a lot of powercreep its doesnt make it ok to stay where it is
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idk if 2s38 should be moved to 12.0, maybe 11.0
begleitpanzer sits at 9.7 at least in arcade and 2s38 being a superior version of this thing autocannon 1 br above seems quite balanced, never had problem dealing with this thing as its more or less fragile but the turret module is tricky similar issue to the bmpt turret
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It is very much underperforming and out of meta.
The armor lacks, so you cannot heavy brawl, you are big with no depression so sniping is also out of the picture, mobility isnt good by any means and combined with loud engine flanking is hard.
It is very match dependent, with the main reason its hard to balance is that it is an SPAA which is too good at destroying tanks but too bad at destroying true air threat, it is fine where it is.
Im not saying it should be taken down in BR, but comparing it to the RDF/LT or HSTV/L is just wrong, the RDF/LT and HSTV/L are underperforming mainly due to the unreliable darts Gaijin refuses to address, fix the darts and it is perfectly ok at 12.0, maybe 11.7, with their current state 11.0/11.3 makes more sense
2s38 stats:
for comparison:
HSTV/L:
RDF/LT:
2 Likes
Only MBTs can be meta after all.
HSTVL’s dart is fine as well, I just don’t shoot what I don’t have to.
Scout first, threat 2nd.
It is worse than HSTVL in every way except fire rate and ammo count.
More importantly it is much worse than HSTVL in every parameter that matters for a Light Tank
It is MUCH slower, it is bigger, it can’t work with terrait because of bad gun depression. What all that means is that it can’t go in places first and it can’t hide well enough. It is a bad Light Tank. Not to mention is has much worse survivability, 2S38 is an explosion box on tracks, it has no armor whatsoever. HSTVL on the other hand can bounce ANY apfsds with it’s UFP and has extremely small semi-crewless turret.
It has spalling issues, at least the RDF has.
Reported by the DoD during the testing for both the RDF and HS, the 76mm stoner was highly effective in post penetration damage, with the main (and only) complaint about the gun being that it couldnt front pen soviet ERA MBTs, when it did it was reported that it took very little rounds to destroy the target.
It also might be the weird way gaijin modeled soviet carrousel autoloaders, where it feels like the armor is protected by a layer of vibranium, but in general spalling is weird with the dart.
Source:
and I would argue not only MBTs can be meta, for a while the 2s38 was meta, when it was one of the only reliable drone destroyers, and also it seemed with time people learned how to deal with it.
Many vehicles which arent MBTs were and are meta, such as the 35mm SPAAGs
this is the 2s38 KD plot, as you can see it is indeed getting worse with time after a fairly strong peak.
Hah
It has nothing going for it over HSTVL besides thermal gen and ammo count.
HSTV-L has:
Better unmanned turret (can’t ammo rack them through it) - before you cope, the commander is the only crew member in the turret. Driver and gunner are in the hull.
Vastly superior mobility
Significantly better profile (2S38’s hull is as tall as an entire MBT. Not counting the 2S38’s turret added on top)
HSTV-L has some of the best gun depression in the entire game.
Face it, the 2S38 is pretty meh at its own br while the HSTV-L can manage egopushing especially Russian MBTs and still win (NATO ones are more problematic due to being bigger and less cramped inside)
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You are not doing it justice - it has INSANE gun depression. Stat card says -17 but it can go to -21 iirc on the sides.
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True…
Add the M1128 MGS and the 2S25M to the list as well. Both are completely out of place regarding their BR. They feature third-generation thermals, top-tier penetration, excellent mobility, and laser rangefinders; the 2S25M even has automatic target tracking.
Only 2S25M. The M1128 has pretty bad mobility, it is wheeled chasiss with bad acceleration, bad maneverability and bad reverse speed.
To make up for their other drawbacks, main of which is non existent survivability. Have you ever heard of concept “glass cannon”?
As for firepower, have you forgot about significantly bellow the average fire rate? 7.0 and 7.5 seconds reload.
At 10.0 -10.3 eveyrone has it…
Woooow, a niche feature you use maybe once every 5-10 games? Did you ask AI to write it for you? Those doesn’t seem like a genuine points from a person who has basic udnerstanding of the game.
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If it doesn’t get time fuze or proxy then the feature is indeed pretty useless with a tank cannon
2S25 also has pretty bad gun handling iirc
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Complaining about 2S38 in late 2026 is wild.
First of all, avoid taking cheap shots, it doesn’t help the conversation. Let’s analyze what you said: you questioned the maneuverability by comparing them to other wheeled vehicles… well, they’re all like that, even at 11.0, so that doesn’t mean they need to be at 9.7 for that reason; regarding penetration… other nations have nearly 100mm less penetration, even on “glass cannons,” or they have to reach 10.0 to get similar penetration; you’re absolutely right about laser rangefinders, but those vehicles are at 9.7 not 10.0; I use a translator since I’m not a native speaker, but the fact that you consider auto-tracking a niche feature suggests you might be the player who only knows the basics. You certainly don’t play SQB, because even without proximity-fuzed shells, it’s extremely easy to hit a helicopter using the tracker. That said, this is just my opinion, you can agree or disagree, but at least make a comparison before you speak… most likely, the US and Russia are the two factions you play the most.
You should have clarified that you are talking about arcade. This topic is for Realistic Battles:
First of all - my condolences.
Second - in arcade Light Tanks are a dead class, because flanking is not real there because of spotting system, you are seen a mile away and your lack of armor and survivability are infinitely more pronounced than in RB.
- I didn’t compare it to other wheeled vehicles specifically, M1128 has bad overall mobility among all vehicles.
- I din’t say it deserve to be at it’s current BR because of that, I was simply commenting on your take.
Lets see other nation’s TT Light Tanks at 9.7 - 10.0:
Radkampfwagen 90 - faster reload, SIGNIFICANTLY better mobility, better survivability, better gun depression.
Type 16 - faster reload, better mobility, better survivability, better armor(!) Type 16 has excelent protection against autocannons and HEAT shells, better gun depression.
ZLT11 - finally our first outlier, only has better reload, overall bad light tank.
Centauro/VRCC - faster reload, better mobility, better survivability, better gun depression.
Vextra - faster reload, better mobility, better survivability, better gun depression.
So yeah, they traded pen for literally being better at almost everything else.
Technically it pairs not bad with the ATGM to smooth out helicopter tracking, but as is the recurring theme of G2A engagements outside of a handful of outliers, if said helicopter isn’t afk it’ll have no issue evading it.
No, I was talking about Realistic Battles. You’re right, that’s my fault, I lumped them both in at 9.7, but the 2S25M is actually at 10.0. Anyway, you didn’t comment on my opinion regarding the wheeled vehicle, you just immediately shot it down. It’s not the same thing. So, let’s take a look. Radkampfwagen 90: better mobility… but didn’t you just dispute the mobility of wheeled vehicles earlier? It’s not better at all, it’s the same as the others. It has 100mm less penetration, a “glass cannon” , “better survivability”? Based on what? Your own assumption, grounded in what exactly? Less gun depression and a taller profile, besides, I don’t see the point of gun depression on a flanke, depression is for playing hull-down. An 8.7-second reload that can drop to 6.7 (a whole three-tenths faster than the 2S25M… I don’t know how you managed to survive until now with such a disparity). It requires a double currency investment, yet becomes completely useless if you lose the loader or if the battle is decided by the first shot. No thermals no autotracker no ESS no ATGM. Should I go on with the others?
I won’t go any further. I just wanted to offer a starting point regarding other vehicles, this thread is about something else.