@ Jamiet99uk
I am currently working my way through the American SPGs and I find them to be the best SPGs in the game. The M37 and the M7 Priest are both relatively worthless without their upgraded guns, which require enough XP and credits for not only the upgraded gun but the upgraded suspension. Without these upgrades, both the M37 (Tier III) and the M7 (Tier IV, immediately follows the M37) have a maximum effective range of around 400 meters.
With the upgrades to the suspension and gun, both the M37 and M7 Priest are cross-map capable, and can fire in excess of 1000 meters depending on terrain. Both have 105mm howitzers with similar reload times and can fire HEAT rounds for a vastly increased price (2800 credits per shell the last time I checked). I normally do not use HEAT rounds unless I am engaging a particularly tough but stationary high-Tier heavy tank, but I do keep 4-10 HEAT rounds in the ammunition rack just in case.
With the M37, you're going to be in matches with Tier VI's and occasionally Tier VII's. The 105mm howitzer with standard ammunition is very effective against all enemies except for high-Tier heavy tanks.
The M7 Priest has similar performance to the M37, but a much lower ammunition capacity (69 rounds for the M7 and 126 for the M37). This difference should not be a consideration, because even in a long match with a target-rich environment, there's no way you will be able to fire more than 20 shells in a match.
Also, as I previously said, the M7 is one tier higher than the M37 so you're going to get stuck in matches with tougher opponents, for no real increase in performance over the M37.
I would have to consult the exact armor, hit point, and traverse speed numbers but in my experience the M7 Priest has better survivability in close combat against enemy light tank kamikazes. With practice, use of direct fire in close combat with the M7 can have devastating effects on light enemies.
Overall, the M37 is the easiest and cheapest SPG to obtain that still has effective armament and cross-map firing capability, as well as a higher ammunition capacity than the M7 Priest.
The M7 Priest is one tier higher and therefore more costly to obtain, and it takes longer to upgrade the gun and suspension than it does with the M37, but it does stand a better chance in close combat than the M37, but this should not be a major consideration because the smart thing to do is to displace if you are at risk of direct engagement by enemy tanks.
In either case, if you are still clawing for the XP to make the necessary upgrades, both of these vehicles can be pressed into service as pseudo-tank destroyers with considerable success if you really know what you are doing and don't mind paying repair costs, as their stock 400-meter range is nearly worthless on bigger maps.
redhouse must die
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