Weak Spot Guide: IS-7 - World of Tanks Guru

The tier 10 Russian heavy tank IS-7 has a formidable armor scheme  that relies heavily upon compound angles and trickery to protect it.  The trick to facing an IS- is to try and aim for the spots that are not angled heavily since it gives you the best chance to punch through it’s armor….but it is not that easy in some areas since the armor has multiple hidden layers.  The driver’s port and top commander hatches also are unlike many tanks in the way they are modeled which can lead you to be puzzled when you cannot damage them easily.

Frontal Views

Frontally the IS-7’s armor has both very thick places and heavily angles places that give it a very tough frontal armor scheme.  Like most tanks the main weak spot is the lower frontal glacis (LFG) and there are also some weaker parts near the mantler on the frontal turret armor(FT #1 / FT #2).  However, the driver’s port located under the gun is deceivingly strong and the commander hatches(the yellow strip on the first image and more specifically the second frontal image) are also designed to fool you. Looking at the IS-7 the left commander hatch(A3-A5) is tougher than almost any other commander hatch you will find and also has a gigantic view port on it that takes no HP damage.  The right commander’s hatch on top(A6-A7) only takes damage if you shoot the small “lip” behind it unless if you are shooting directly down from above.  These two spots are not very apparent but are your best choice if you are stuck shooting at an IS-7 that is very close to you. The actual hull armor is very tough aside from the obvious lower frontal glacis(LFG) weak spot.  The upper glacis’ are all heavily angled and while they are only 150mm thick are extremely strong due to the angles.  If you are able to negate the angles by shooting down while close/above an IS-7 they become a better option than the LFG.  The driver’s hatch in A1/A2 is very strong as well since it’s angle actually increases when compared to the glacis plates around it.

Side View

The side of the IS-7 is easy to figure out after you loose enough of your shells aiming high on the side hull armor or the turret.  The USH #2 area has a 20mm flat piece of spaced armor on it which hides the reverse angled hull armor behind it which throws off a lot of people shooting at the side of the IS-7.  All lower side hull armor locations are weak since they are not angled and are not very thick.  The side turret has several different areas(and that 20mm spaced armor box) that are tough for non-tier 10 tanks to penetrate but the main rule of shooting at the least angled part holds true here.  Any areas without titles assigned to them are not worth trying to shoot at since they are stronger than the surrounding armor. Ammo racks are located behind USH #1 starting at ST #2 and ending at ST #3.  There are also larger ammo racks sitting beneath the mantlet starting at USH #2 and ending just above the tracks.

Rear View

The rear of the IS-7 is not protected well aside from the outer portions that are angled heavily.  Stick to aiming at the center of the IS-7 and you’ll be find.

Angled View

Usually IS-7 drivers do not angle since their armor scheme focuses on keeping the frontal armor pointed directly at their opponent.  This keeps those compound angles on the frontal armor and thus makes the IS-7 difficult to damage aside from the lower glacis.  If however an IS-7 driver actually does decide to angle then you should still stick to either the lower frontal glacis or if they angle heavily switch over the lower side armor.  The ammo racks are located just behind the driver(under the front of the turret) and behind USH #1.  Aim here and make them regret angling.