After several rounds of testing in custom battles on the live server, we can definitively state that all “Leopard 2” tanks with D-type armor exhibit the following problems: no ricochet at 81°, and penetrability at armor weld seams. We conducted tests with various vehicles and various munitions on the “US Desert City” map on the road; below are the identified issues:
- We separately tested M829A2, DM53, DM43, 3BM60, 3BM42-2, and OFL120F2 against the German “Leopard 2A8”: all of the above munitions at a distance of 50 m to the A8, with both sides at the same position/height, penetrate the A8’s UFP.
- As shown in [Figure 1], the penetrable locations are within the D-protection add-on armor; if the central bolt is taken as the dividing point, everything from it toward the driver can be penetrated (the red-circled portion is penetrable, the yellow portion is penetrable with probability).
- As shown in the figure, the closer to the driver’s hatch, the easier it is to penetrate; regardless of whether the angle exceeds 81°, APFSDS can penetrate this side.
- Across the entire UFP area of the hull, there is random post-penetration effect when penetration is possible (the higher the munition’s penetration, the higher the lower bound of post-penetration effect and the higher the probability of crew casualties); some locations in the protection simulation are shown as impenetrable, but in actual tests have a probability of being penetrated with post-penetration effect, and the post-penetration effect is extremely unstable: it may immediately kill a crew member or merely wound them.
- When the “Leopard 2A7V” was added to the game in 2023, the game designers rejected the request to strengthen protection in a separate announcement, arguing that the current version had no munitions capable of penetrating the UFP; but it is now 2026, and many munitions already have penetration of 600+ (e.g., Type 10, M829A2, M338, DM53, KE-W A2, M829A3), and the community manager has acknowledged that information in this regard is unreliable and outdated, so I believe it is necessary to reopen discussion on the D-armor’s resistance to penetration.
- On all “Leopard 2” tanks with D-armor, in addition to the add-on armor, there is a probability of no ricochet at 81° on the hull UFP.
- All “Leopard 2” tanks with D-armor have difficulty maintaining the hull at the 81° angle that guarantees ricochet in combat; however, the 81° ricochet mechanism is the survival mechanism of the “Leopard 2” series; without this mechanism, the base protection is less than 500 KE resistance to penetration, which is no longer sufficient to withstand most munitions of the modern level, so the materials on D-armor’s resistance to penetration should be re-examined.
The survivability issues of the “Leopard 2” series tanks at the current top tier are causing increasing concern; discussion should be reopened on the D-armor’s resistance to penetration and whether D-armor is built-in composite armor or add-on external armor.
