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If you haven't already noticed as to what it says in the tags, I am here to discuss the t49, The king of derp lights that had been brutally dethroned by WG (or is this an exaggeration on my part?). What piqued my interest in this tank is it's low pen. I have been a 'fan' of low pen vehicles and right now I'm proud to stand ranked in my T7 Combat Car and valentine II (i think), and so I had already played the French light line and experiencing their pen issues, I took a shot at the T49 (same tier as amx 13 90 ) and played with it. In reality I have not felt any severe issues with this tank in terms of penetration (with the 152mm) as I have the mobility to compensate it and hence killing off an IS-8 and even an e75 isn't hard if I get on their sides, with some natural luck on my side.
However, I did share (with at least 90% of other members) a negative opinion on the T49 nerf, and although I didn't have the tank back then, I felt that the fun of the T49 would be drained out. This was far from the case IMO when I took the plunge and bought it to grind for the T57 Heavy
Yes everyone says "HE shells do not make this tank profitable" , but at the same time one needs to control their usage (in 80% of wins I use about 1-3 on average, and I make a 8k profit). So that means that you don't go on everyone front up and blast them with HE. The HEAT is still a usable ammo and with 723 credits (fairly cheap vs other t7 or t8 tanks) and if you get to the sides, you are almost free to unload 560 damage on anyone, with a few exceptions (like a KV4 and IS 8 which have unreliable pen chances). Also don't just hit someone (unless for low hp kills) with HE, which you know will splash as that is many of the reasons why many think it is unprofitable (I remember Mintelrose quoting a figure of 1 million credits per 100 games- That would have been real frightening 
). It's all about deciding when to gamble or not
Just a while ago, I had a game in it in Desert sands, and it was quite a desperate situation.
A) The T44 on my side (i joined him) got destroyed by the outnumbering t7s, and I had to retreat to right side.
B) An AMX AC got flanked and slaughtered.
C) The only tanks that really proved to show some effort was the T29 and an IS whom I assisted , killing a T54 Lt, and a T44 to save them (but as you would have guessed, they were taken down afterwards.
Then came a 1 vs 4 showdown. I was facing an AMX 13 90, a Panther, a comet and a T23E3.
I then loaded up Heat and HE shells and took down the comet with an aimed HE shell to the side turret and killed him while he was distracted. The AMX then pursued me and after enduring 640 dmg, I took him down with a HE round. Now I moved from the curve and evaded the panther and T2. Then near base I was detected again and so they naturally chased to end me. A heat shell took care of the T2 who rushed in and now the panther was a threat to me at 890 HP and I felt after 5 kills I would lose (I was at 432 HP by that point). Then RNGjesus gave me a blessing and as I finally reloaded while he traversed to hit my back, My HEAT shell ( a high roll) on the side, set him on fire and destroyed him! 
The Point is, that the recent nerf by WG should not dissuade players from trying their luck with it. It is still what it is: A One-Trick Pony and if you master it, then you could well be a master of Low pen guns in this game as a whole 
And to conclude, The T49 although may be down and battered, It is still a beast to be feared 
Edited by ERWINROMMEL1915, 08 November 2017 - 12:46 AM.
