Struggling to use the M48 and its variants once again. Would love a guide on it
I’ve been keen to give it a go again for some time, what tech tree, and what variant of the M48. I’ll have a crack at it this afternoon and give you some notes if you like. Get the discussion going anyway.
magach 2, though the US M48 would be good too since I play that also
Apologies for the Delay.
The following relates to the M48A1, M48A2C, Magach 1 and Magach 2.
Frankly, I can’t recommend a strategy for playing these vehicles. I spent a few hours with them over the last couple of days and it has been quite unpleasant. My lineup consisted of an M48, M47, M103 and the M163, but I also took the M48 out on solo runs.
The firepower of the M48, specifically the 90mm M41 Cannon is very unreliable. I find the HEAT shells to be the main culprit of this tanks issues. The amount of shots that I fired where the heat shell would ricochet, fail to fuse or penetrate but do no damage completely diminished any confidence in the firepower. The only matches where I was able to acquire multiple kills was when I switched to the APHE shell. The APHE is excellent however, it’s the same shell that the M36 gets at 5.3 and the low penetration means that the shell is only effective for side shots or light tanks ( noted that the APHE was better at dealing with vehicles like the BMP, FOX etc. than the HEAT).
The Mobility is suprising, the tank feels very agile and Its possible to take some aggressive positions on the map however the size of the tank makes it a massive liability. The size cause issues with gun handling also, due to the relatively high centre of gravity, when stopping to shoot the cannon bounces quite a bit making quite shots impossible, as it takes 1.5-2 for the gun to rest on the target for an accurate shot. Another issue with the size is the lack of armour which means that the enemy has far more opportunities to shoot and damage you, while your HEAT-FS needs a great deal of precision to be effective. The gun handling isn’t bad per-se however, the issues of the large silhuoette and high centre of gravity create a situation where the enemy will have a much higher probability of scoring the decisive hit when engaging you.
Even when I took this tank to the extremes of the map and attempted to snipe from safety with the range finder, my heat shells either failed to disable the tank, or the enemy was able to escape and repair.
I’m quite fond of the M48 but I simply don’t know how to work and I would struggle to imagine how anyone else might get better use out of the vehicle. I have a feeling that I ruined it for myself and I was playing too aggressively because I really wanted the M48 to shine (It did not shine it was awful). I don’t think the tank itself is the issue, I really think the main problem boils down to the 90mm gun. I’ve played many battles in the Premium Magach 3 in the US tech tree and the M48G2 in the german tech tree and without any special effort I’ve found those vehicles to be far more rewarding to play and I truly think it’s the firepower that has made the difference. For whatever reason, the M47 performed better in my hands, and that was in a 7.7 lineup as a backup for the M48. It seemed where I was getting maybe a kill and an assist, or worse, just getting nailed without scoring any points, the M47 seemed to be able to get into position and deliver effective fire (even with it’s longer reload) the additional crew member also helped to increase the suvivability.
I’m going to have another crack at the M48 tomorrow, just to see if I do better after a good night’s sleep, but I’m not optimistic.
I would not feel bad about struggling in the M48, I’m not a great player but I go alright and I found the M48 to be quite the struggle also. Hopefully there are some more skilled players who might be able to offer some advice.