World of Tanks

[Scottish Ninja]

I did bag an IS-3 with the Sherman's 105 when I was playing a week ago. I bought a few gold rounds later, and then had a match where I one-shotted three Lees in a row with HEAT rounds. That was awesome. Then I bounced two shots off a Ram-II and a Hetzer before dying, one kill short of Top Gun. No idea how that happened.

The T18 or whatever the Tier II American TD is, is amazing, though, with the 75mm howitzer and 50mm+ frontal armor.

PeZook, are you on the US servers often? I haven't seen you on lately, though that might just be time zone issues.

As above, I'm BakerEasy in-game. I plan to fill my garage so as to create "Uncle Jim Bob Baker's Old-Time Country-Style Sherman Showroom"*, especially once we get the British trees so I can get a Firefly. Those will be fun times.

* including such models as the dependable and roomy Sherman minivan (M3 Lee), the sporty Sherman roadster (M10 Wolverine)...

[Simon_Jester]

Speaking for myself, I'm definitely not buying gold in the game in any real quantity, so special ammunition is pretty much out of the question. The M2 Medium's 75mm gun seems to work about as well as I could ask- what it can't seriously hurt, the 37mm couldn't either, or such is my impression.

What's giving me trouble now is that I'm seeing a lot more T3, T4, and T5 tanks, and I don't really have a handle on some of them.

I learned the ins and outs of fighting against T1 and T2 tanks well enough- they're thin skinned and they're mostly reasonably slow.

I understand how to deal with significantly more powerful mediums, and heavies- they're bigger and tougher than me, but essentially similar. I can wrap my brain around how to cope with that. Strategies include:

-Hide in the bushes, wait for them to pass, sneak out, and shoot them in the back.
-Hide behind a building, wait for them to pass, sneak out, and shoot them in the back.
-Hide behind a mountain, wait for them to pass, sneak around/over, and shoot them in the back.
-Wait for them to get distracted murderizing something else, and shoot them in the back.
-Die in a fire.

And so on. While I may not be entirely happy about my interactions with these (relatively) powerful tanks, I grasp the basic reality of the situation and can devise, or at least imagine, reasonable countertactics.

But what I'm having trouble with are the T3 and T4 light tanks. Basically, I'm driving a relatively big clunky US medium, and these things are literally running rings around me pelting me with 37mm fire. At the same time, I've got my first gun that takes more than two seconds to reload, and while I can hit the bastards enough to have a hope of handling them, their mobility baffles me.

Can anyone give me advice on how to avoid being totally screwed by this? What maneuvers should I be taking to counter attempts to run rings around me and pound away (presumably with auto-aim; I know I can't circle-strafe enemy tanks without it).

I may actually be able to function better when dealing with tanks that take longer to reload, because there's time for a decision loop- I can draw the shot, stop, fire, and be moving again before they reload. Although I dunno.

Also, does anyone have advice on optimal targeting for the 75mm howitzer in the M2 against various opponents, given that I'm restricted to standard HE rounds?
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By the way, I saw your hello, Hawkwings, and immediately my client crashed. Again. And I closed up for the night. Just goes to show- I really can't sustain conversations much in there. Sorry.

[xthetenth]

xthetenth, and I have tanks for most any occasion. That means tier 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 usually. I really need to get my T30...

I'm off for a while due to saving my newsletter pay, so I'll be returning in a week or so.

[Hawkwings]

I've struggled my way up to Tier 5 without spending any money. I think I'm going to top out at Tier 7 when I eventually get there. All without spending a dime. The grind is slow but at least I'm entertained.

Simon_Jester: When fighting those, try ramming them to stop them. Also don't stop and rotate in place, keep moving at top speed so that they have to travel a farther distance to circle you. Buildings and alleyways are also your friends, as are teammates.

With the big howitzers with long reload, I prefer waiting an extra second for the gun to stabilize. Since they're relatively inaccurate and slow to fire, every shot counts, so don't waste any.

Also, what is autoaim? I don't think I'm using it... I just point and shoot.

Just had a game with 6 or 7 arty per side, and me in my 105 Sherman. I got five arty kills, all one-shots, and got cheated out of a sixth and my second top gun.

[Simon_Jester]

Autoaim keeps the gun trained on the center of mass of the target automatically, with no calculations for leading the target or weak spots. It's useless except at point blank range or against static targets, really- but it does help you circle-strafe something with a gun that puts out 30 shots per minute, since you can literally fire the gun as fast as it's reloaded without having to line the shots up while frantically avoiding any obstacles that might slow down your circling.

Right mouse button.

[LaCroix]

Also for across the map sniping... if the target is only 4 pixels in size, you can't aim, anyway...

[Zinegata]

Is the T-29's 105mm really that good? So far it seems to take as much shots as the 90mm to kill enemy tanks, costs a lot more silver per round, and shoots slower. I'm tempted to take the ears turret just to have my RoF back up and see if it improves matters any.

[Simon_Jester]

Also for across the map sniping... if the target is only 4 pixels in size, you can't aim, anyway...

Is why I said "long range against static targets."

At those ranges, the circular error probable for your shots is pretty high, so hitting the target's center of mass is about as good a way of hitting as you're going to get. But you're not going to hit anything at those ranges unless it's parked, not by relying on auto-aim.

[White Haven]

Say it with me, Zin, 'Penetration.' Stop shooting bottom-tier tanks and start punching holes in T7 and T8 heavies and you'll feel the difference big-time.

[Slacker]

Autoaim keeps the gun trained on the center of mass of the target automatically, with no calculations for leading the target or weak spots. It's useless except at point blank range or against static targets, really- but it does help you circle-strafe something with a gun that puts out 30 shots per minute, since you can literally fire the gun as fast as it's reloaded without having to line the shots up while frantically avoiding any obstacles that might slow down your circling.

Right mouse button.

Worse, actually-it keeps the gun trained on the center of the turret. So it's not going to penetrate all that terribly often.

[Force Lord]

So, today I had my best match yet. Was in my T-26, armed with the 37mm ZiS-19, in Malinovka. At first there was fighting near the fields, and I my first kill of the match was against a light tank (can't remember which model it was) that tried to hide behind a bush. Later however the battle became a sniping contest, and for a little while I hid myself in a bush waiting frustrated for some enemy to reveal himself. There was a standoff where no one did anything, which was then broken by the opposition sending in a few tanks to outflank us from our left, actually getting to the rear of our base! Losses were mounting, so I decided to leave my hiding place and coax out the sneaky bastards from the forest. I added yet another kill and helped the survivors finish off another, and that was when a few more tanks made a direct attack on our base! Again I scrapped a foe and helped out the others, and when the smoke was clear, I found myself the only one left in our base, with less than half my health remaining. The enemy still had two more tanks in reserve, but they were out of position, and that was when the other survivor of our team captured their base.

That guy was the real hero of the match. He was driving an MS-1, and apparently forgot to reload before the match because he later complained that he had only two rounds left, and must had run out a little later. So the guy was forced to sit on his ass, until I suggested to the team to send a tank on an outflanking maneuver, or at least scout ahead. The ammoless tank guy volunteered, and drove slowly (he must have had a slow engine) towards the enemy base, travelling on the far right of the map. For some reason no one from the other side bothered to check the area he was around, focusing on the rest of us. They didn't even leave a single tank to cover their base, which allowed our ammoless tank guy to sweep in unopposed and capture it!

Thus finishes the story of my best match so far... and the tale of the heroic ammoless tank that captured an enemy base by itself.

[Zinegata]

Yes, I know about the extra penetration. But it doesn't seem to actually penetrate much better than the 90mm, particularly since I more able to go for weak spot shots with the 90mm like the lower hull glacis with its better accuracy.

Maybe I need a match that's filled entirely with T9s and T10s for me to see its value, as I've honestly never had a problem with T8s with the 90mm.

[xthetenth]

Yes, I know about the extra penetration. But it doesn't seem to actually penetrate much better than the 90mm, particularly since I more able to go for weak spot shots with the 90mm like the lower hull glacis with its better accuracy.

Maybe I need a match that's filled entirely with T9s and T10s for me to see its value, as I've honestly never had a problem with T8s with the 90mm.

It penetrates better, and it does enough more damage that with the second turret you'll be corking out significantly more dps with more alpha. It's almost a viable gun at tier 8 for crying out loud. If you aren't running premium you might be able to justify the 90 though.

[Zinegata]

Not on premium, but I haven't lost money using the 105mm yet. I make less money than using the 90mm though - from 10-15K per match to around 5-10K. Hopefully the second turret solves my DPS woes.

[PeZook]

God, Easy 8. People haven't been joking when they said it's a fun tank.

It's just as nimble as the Sherman, yet can take much more of a beating. Yesterday in El Haluf or whatever the map is called I singlehandedly held off a freakin' King Tiger on my tem's flank, popping in and out of cover and constantly shifting position while poking it full of holes. Even though I died well before he was in real danger (took off 40% of his HP after fighting like hell), it felt pretty goddamned awesome.

[Block]

God, Easy 8. People haven't been joking when they said it's a fun tank.

It's just as nimble as the Sherman, yet can take much more of a beating. Yesterday in El Haluf or whatever the map is called I singlehandedly held off a freakin' King Tiger on my tem's flank, popping in and out of cover and constantly shifting position while poking it full of holes. Even though I died well before he was in real danger (took off 40% of his HP after fighting like hell), it felt pretty goddamned awesome.

Yeah, at this point me in my Easy 8 one on one with a heavy means I win 75% of the time now.

[xthetenth]

Yeah, my best hilarity in kill the mod was in the E8 or the lights (pz 2 luchs or M5). The easy 8, I was on cliff and went high and showed my face on the high side, then quickly swung down to the 1-2 road, helped whack a KV-5, lured a T-44 into E-75/IS-4 assisted suicide, and finally got teamkilled by a slugger (whoops!) I seem to remember ram killing in both the others for their hilarity. That was fun.

[Vanas]

I'm Seffs in-game,Vanas on EU should anyone be there. Possibly the only german driver here as well. I've got tanks for most occasions, though I top out at VIII for the moment. I'm perpetually moneyless as I buy literally every tank I can. My most played tank accounts for 16% of all matches, so there's that.

Currently, the KT with it's default gun and the Panther with it's Absurdly Long 75mm are my tanks of choice. The KT's Long 88 has a fire rate approching 10 rounds a minute (and exceeds it with rammer), decent penetration and serviceable damage. It's really not worth upgrading to the Short 105 and I'm debating picking up the Long 105 soley for the fire rate probably lowering my damage output and the fact it costs 4x as much for the luxury of missing.

Can't really speak of high-tier medium experience; the Panther plays as an aptly weird hybrid of medium and heavy.

[PeZook]

I just recreated the SDN channel on the US server. You don't need premium to do that, though I think it disappears when I log out.

So let's just say that whoever's online at a given time can recreate #SDN so that we can meet for delicious platoon stomps.

[LaCroix]

Great news, the performance- mod is installer-only for 6.7. It promply roasted my game, but I don't know what files exactly it did roast... Re-Install ahoi...

[Rogue 9]

Autoaim keeps the gun trained on the center of mass of the target automatically, with no calculations for leading the target or weak spots. It's useless except at point blank range or against static targets, really- but it does help you circle-strafe something with a gun that puts out 30 shots per minute, since you can literally fire the gun as fast as it's reloaded without having to line the shots up while frantically avoiding any obstacles that might slow down your circling.

Right mouse button.

Worse, actually-it keeps the gun trained on the center of the turret. So it's not going to penetrate all that terribly often.

Worse than that; it keeps the gun trained on the height of the turret at the center of the tank. Firing at the flank of a vehicle with a forward-mounted turret with autoaim will result in rounds flying right over the hull and missing. This also happens with particularly low-slung TDs, notably the JagdPanzer IV.

[Block]

Blockx58 is my user name.

[Force Lord]

Blockx58 is my user name.

Searched, can't find that username.

[Block]

Blockx58 is my user name.

Searched, can't find that username.

Hah, wrong game, Blockx11.

[Hawkwings]

Channel is still there and you're currently offline, so it will stick around. To create a platoon you have to be premium, correct?