Just over 2 years ago, 5 tanks were selected for the punishment of public shaming. “Bad tanks” they were called… Some of the worst in fact! Soon, they were to be cast aside by the masses and forgotten.
But one tank persisted. It would not be given up on, it would not be forgotten to time itself!
A brave, French tank by the name of the ELC Even 90. “Review when” people asked, over and over again, like those seagulls from Finding Nemo.
So fine. You win. 2 years later, I have decided to revisit the ELC, to give it a second chance.
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Table of Contents:
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Intro:
The ELC Even 90 never had it easy. From its very creation, it had one “tiny” problem… Its size!
All its life, it tried to be a true tank, like the ones it would see roaming the hills of Prokhorovka or the wide open fields of Malinovka.
But alas, t’was not to be. Instead, it got picked on and bullied by the bigger tanks. The ELC would be grouped up with its buddies, its gun marks taken away and placed on the barrel of a bigger tank, and told to “Reach for them” to get them back!
This saddened the ELC, but was only made worse by its battle results.
There was a reality it had to face – It was simply no match against the bigger tanks.
Alas, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, as some would say. The ELC Even 90 would not give up! It loaded up the Strong Coffee, mixed it with some 105 Octane Gas, and was ready to train. A 3-shot autoloader, insane camouflage and a zippy top speed.
It was ready for Round 2… But how does the ELC Even 90 really stand up? Is it just an angry looking teddy bear, or is it a true French assassin? Time to find out, once and for all.
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General Overview (Basically a TL;DR for the rest of the guide)
Pros:
★ Solid potential damage of 660 with its 3-shell autoloader
★ Smol tonk makes it very hard to hit. Sometimes because it’s too tiny… Othertimes because the enemy can’t bring themselves to shoot at something so cute!
★ Great top speed of 70km/h… “I am speed” ~ELC Even 90
★ Spectacular camouflage values; some of the best in the game!
★ Good gun depression of 9 degrees. It was looked down upon before… Now it looks down on you!
Neutrals:
↔ Acceptable hp/ton of 23.88. What is this, 2016?
↔ Decent alpha damage of 220. Better than some lights, worse than others.
↔ Reasonable traverse speeds across all terrains
↔ Alright viewrange of 380m. Definitely not up to par for some scouts, but it’s not too bad either.
↔ Intra-clip reload of 2.5 seconds isn’t amazing, but shouldn’t make you too vulnerable either if you’re careful.
↔ Penetration is average for a Tier 8 light, but it’s pretty poor for Tier 8 tanks in general.
Cons:
Θ Very lengthy aim time of 2.9 seconds, especially for such a low alpha damage gun.
Θ Poor accuracy of 0.38 means it’s definitely not a sniper
Θ 900 HP is one of the lowest at Tier 8, and means many same-Tier tanks can 2-shot you with HE.
Θ Shell velocity is horrific on AP / HE, and only “acceptable” on its APCR.
Θ Gun handling values on the move are poor at 0.18, and turret traverse handling is horrific at 0.15.
Θ Paper thin armor is penned by even the lowest caliber HE shells.
Θ Abysmal DPM of just over 1,150 is worse than even some Tier 1-3 tanks!
Θ Super light-weight tank means that even small bumps can take away big chunks of your HP.
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Ammo:
I run with mostly APCR; using 15 AP, 30 APCR, 0 HE.
Sadly, the ELC’s poor standard pen, combined with horrific standard shell velocity means that APCR is almost a must if you want to win battles through your own damage output.
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Consumables:
Choosing consumables for the ELC Even 90 is surprisingly difficult, far more than you would expect it to be for most tanks.
If you want to go with your standard first aid / repair kit, then your third slot could be a fire extinguisher, 105 Octane Gas or Strong Coffee.
However, I recommend a high-risk, high-reward loadout: Large First Aid, 105 Octane Gas, Strong Coffee – That’s right, no repair kit!
You have to be super careful playing without a repair kit, but the ELC’s relatively poor hp/ton really benefits from the 105 Octane Gas, and the poor gun stats benefit quite a bit from the Strong Coffee. Combine the two, and you get some surprisingly peppy performance from the ELC!
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Equipment:
The equipment loadout I recommend on the ELC is pretty similar to what I recommend on most autoloaders that can’t use rammers – Gun Laying Drive, Coated Optics, Vertical Stabilizers.
That being said, if you prefer a scouting-oriented loadout, you can easily drop the Gun Laying Drive for Binoculars.
I don’t recommend using a Camo Net, since the ELC Even 90 already has such high camo values that you can hide near proxy distance in a bush. Plus the ELC’s small size means it can hide in bushes that practically no other tank could fit in.
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Gameplay:
The ELC Even 90’s speciality by far comes from its small size, amazing camouflage and autoloader. So, how exactly to play this thing? Let’s start with the most obvious method – Passive spotting.
Passive Scouting:
You’re rolling around the battlefield, confident that your base is secure.
Suddenly, there’s a rustle in the bushes. As you approach, you realize you’ve just stumbled into a hornet’s nests of French baguettes! And they’re not afraid of stinging you!
All of a sudden, your peaceful stroll has become a frantic rush to swat the ELC’s away. They retreat back to their nests, but now you move around with an air of caution.
Just don’t forget, that you’re not the only tanks that can hide away in the bushes / trees.
Mosquito:
Thanks to the ELC Even 90’s super small size, you can get underneath the guns of many taller tanks.
Whether you want to do it on your own…
Or swarm them…
Your small size becomes a surprising advantage at close-quarters combat. Just be careful not to get crushed!
At the end of the day, that’s about all there is to the ELC. You’ll alternate between scouting from stealth, to ambushing an unsuspecting opponent.
Try to get a magazine off into your target, then run off to the bushes for your reload. When your magazine is back up, it’s time for another run.
The trickiest part is mastering your timing for your ambushes, and the positions you use for scouting. The best ELC drivers will be able to make use of unexpected bits of cover, spotting deep into the enemy lines from locations that other tanks would never dare to go to.
A good scouting location for the ELC should also have easy access to ambush opportunities. That way you can easily transition from scout, to angry hornet, back to scout.
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Comparison to Same-Tiered Light Tanks:
Before we compare the ELC Even 90 to other Tier 8 scouts, let’s take a look at the scout/assassin food chain at Tier 8:
The ELC Even 90 is squarely at the bottom, along with some other truly horrific tanks at this Tier.
That being said, it still fills in a vital part of the food chain! While some producers provide their HP to others, the ELC Even 90 provides something else – Spotting damage!
So, how does it actually compare to others?
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HP: Worst in class.900 HP is the smallest HP pool you will see on any Tier 8 light tank. It’s a small HP snack, fitting with the tank’s small size I suppose.
Armor: Worst in class.The ELC Even 90 may as well be a cardboard tank with just how paper-thin its armor is. Even the lowest caliber HE shells it can fight against will be able to penetrate it with ease.
Mobility: Average.The ELC Even 90 has a great top speed, but has fairly sluggish acceleration and traverse by comparison to some of the other lights. This means it will feel fine compared to other scouts, but nothing special either.
DPM: Worst in class.1,150 DPM is so bad, that even the Tier 1 LolTraktor has more DPM than the ELC Even 90 does. I hope you’re ready for a nap in between your reloads… Or as one person in my training room did, washing some dishes between reloads!
Penetration: Bad.175 AP pen and 215 APCR pen is pretty commonplace for Tier 8 light tanks. However, it’s definitely below what other lights get, especially when it comes to the Premium shells.
Alpha damage: Good.220 alpha isn’t quite the Blackdog’s 240 alpha, or the WZ-132’s 250 alpha punch, but it’s still very solid to have. The HE is disappointedly poor though, with only 270 alpha. The Senlac gets 280 HE damage while also having much better pen, and even the 85mm’s on the LTTB and LT-432 get a whopping 300 alpha.
Aiming Speed: Worst in class.2.9 second aim time is by far the worst out of any of the Tier 8 lights, and when you combine it with horrible gun handling values too? You’re not in for a fun time.
Gun Handling: Worst in class.0.18/0.18/0.15 gun handling values are worse than any other light tank at Tier 8, and means that you will struggle to hit anything while moving around.
Accuracy: Average.While only 2 lights have worse accuracy than 0.38, a lot of Tier 8 lights have accuracy values of 0.38, placing it perfectly in the middle of the group.
Shell Velocity: Very Bad.The shell velocity on the ELC Even 90 is truly sluggish, and makes sniping a difficult task unless you shoot APCR. Only the Hwk 12 has worse shell velocity, although I’m 95% certain that the Hwk’s shells are delivered by carrier pigeon rather than being shot out of a cannon.
View Range: Average.As is the case with the accuracy values, while only 2 scouts have worse values, 380m View Range is surprisingly common for Tier 8 light tanks. And at least you actually have some view range, unlike the wheeled tanks.
Camo Value: Best in class.Despite how poor everything else about the tank seems to be, its small size does have one major advantage – It is by far the stealthiest light tank at Tier 8, and can pull of some miraculous ninja ambushes, as you've seen in the Gameplay section of the guide.
Battle effectiveness: Average.The ELC Even 90 is a bipolar tank without a doubt. When it comes to scouting, few tanks can do it better. However, when it comes to firepower, all of its eggs are in its autoloader. Everything else about the gun is horrific. When you do deliver that full 660 alpha magazine, it feels great – But far too often, you’re struggling to pen 1-2 shells out of each magazine, making your already horrific DPM even worse. It works in some ways, but not in others.
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Overall Rating:
4/10 (Poor)
The ELC Even 90 truly is a one-trick pony. It’s a small, sneaky tank with an autoloader. It can scout from positions that few other tanks could, and it can pack a bit of a punch if it manages to nail all 3 of its shells.
However, it has so many downsides to it, that in many battles you’re left wondering what influence you could possibly have in the battle. There are so many matches that you won’t be able to carry, that other lights and mediums could have, that the ELC Even 90 simply feels pointless in them.
Nonetheless, it can be pretty entertaining to ambush someone from the tiniest patch of grass, and run away laughing “Hon hon hon, master assassino!”. And for that, the ELC wins in one area some light tanks can’t – Entertainment value.
Overall however, it’s still a tank I don’t recommend buying for anything other than the meme / novelty factor. And it most certainly deserves that #5 spot on the “Top 5 worst tanks in the game” list.
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Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield.
(The ELC's hold their pride, shrugging off my negative comments. They shall stick together on the battlefield, being the cute, yet annoying hornets they've always been)
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