World of Tanks

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

An odd thing I noticed with the AMX 40 is that its sneaky. I couldn't tell you how many times I rolled mine right up into the enemy base completely unopposed, and didn't get noticed untill I started capping or killing arty. It is a sly Frenchman indeed, oui?

Also, your battle cry is "LeQUACK!"


The AMX 12t is well worth the grind, but the lower French tanks don't teach you a damn thing about how to run it.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Funnily enough, when I was grinding my way up with the AMX 38, I got into a shootout with a 40. He had the base gun, while I had the upgraded one...so we were just sitting there bouncing shells off each other. I think some of the other players ground to a halt to watch the slow Frenchman battle it out. At least until someone with a bigger gun decided to track me. Then he just circled around and hit me in the sides and rear.

[Vanas]

So, scuppering my attempts to hard free XP for the coveted British tanks, I picked up an M8A1 Tiny TD. And... it's actually really fun to drive. Not sure whether to use the cheap US knockoff of the amusingly mighty 6-pounder or the full-blown 75mm cannon though. I get the feeling the 75 might work better, providing boom and then allowing a zippy escape.

[The Vortex Empire]

So, scuppering my attempts to hard free XP for the coveted British tanks, I picked up an M8A1 Tiny TD. And... it's actually really fun to drive. Not sure whether to use the cheap US knockoff of the amusingly mighty 6-pounder or the full-blown 75mm cannon though. I get the feeling the 75 might work better, providing boom and then allowing a zippy escape.

I'd highly recommend the 57mm. Better pen, better accuracy, higher ammo capacity and far better DPM. Pretty much better in every way. The M8A1 has really poor acceleration anyway, so that zippy escape isn't likely to work out.

[Vanas]

Yeah, I've been scooting around with it for a while today to test it. It's... well, a marginally slower-firing 6-pounder. So, awesome.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Got into a shootout with another AMX 40, and we litteraly rammed each other and kept bouncing shells off at point blank range. It was funny to watch I'm sure. Two identical tanks, locked together and unable to do any thing but bounce shells off each other.

And of course after that, I ran into a KV-1...and still bounced the shells! If nothing else, this tank works well as bait for keeping the enemy occupied till bigger guns can wreck them.

[Simon_Jester]

Got into a shootout with another AMX 40, and we litteraly rammed each other and kept bouncing shells off at point blank range. It was funny to watch I'm sure. Two identical tanks, locked together and unable to do any thing but bounce shells off each other.

And of course after that, I ran into a KV-1...and still bounced the shells! If nothing else, this tank works well as bait for keeping the enemy occupied till bigger guns can wreck them.

I enjoy winning duels like that by repeatedly shooting the enemy tank through the vision slit.

That's the slot cut in the front of the armor- for the AMX 40, it's right along the centerline of the tank, just below the turret. It's where the driver looks out to see. Poke him in the eye with a cannonball. Or two. Or three.

The vision slit is a vulnerable point on almost every tank that has them, and most tanks do. Another vulnerable point is a gunport for a driver's machine gun (there's a BIG V-shaped notch in the front armor of the T-14 like this).

[Zinegata]

Got into a shootout with another AMX 40, and we litteraly rammed each other and kept bouncing shells off at point blank range. It was funny to watch I'm sure. Two identical tanks, locked together and unable to do any thing but bounce shells off each other.

And of course after that, I ran into a KV-1...and still bounced the shells! If nothing else, this tank works well as bait for keeping the enemy occupied till bigger guns can wreck them.

I enjoy winning duels like that by repeatedly shooting the enemy tank through the vision slit.

That's the slot cut in the front of the armor- for the AMX 40, it's right along the centerline of the tank, just below the turret. It's where the driver looks out to see. Poke him in the eye with a cannonball. Or two. Or three.

The vision slit is a vulnerable point on almost every tank that has them, and most tanks do. Another vulnerable point is a gunport for a driver's machine gun (there's a BIG V-shaped notch in the front armor of the T-14 like this).

This reminds me of trying to "slot" the damn IS-4s.

[Simon_Jester]

Well, it's not easy or certain on most tanks- it just works better than pounding dents into the front glacis.

[Vanas]

Ugh. Did I hear right?

According to a friend on the test server, the KT, E-50 and E-75 are all hilariously getting slapped with the nerf bat. Not with less manouverability or less armour, no. By moving the gearboxes to the front (of the 50 and 75) and making all of them stretch the entire width (if not height) of the lower glacis.

Seriously, why not just have a 'German heavies start the match on fire, with no engine' patch if you're doing that?

[Scottish Ninja]

Since the E-50 obviously needed to be knocked down from its throne as King of the T9 Mediums.

No love for the Germans ever, though to be sure, there is no Russian bias, Russian tanks are not OP, that's why three of them had to be moved up a tier; that's why Russian tanks get buffs for "historical realism" and everyone else gets nerfs for "gameplay"

I do play a good bit of Russian tanks though so I can't complain too hard, but this will probably make me sad when I get to those tanks. Good thing I'm already training Preventative Maintenance on all my German drivers.

[Mr Bean]

Question is there a current list of the current OP tanks by tier, or at least best tanks of the tier? Was kind of wondering what was regarded as the gold standard best low tier tank destroyers and low tier artillery.

[Broken]

Yes, the E-series it currently looks like will be getting the nerf bat with the engine/transmission movement. M103 and T110E5 are both getting RoF slightly nerfed, T30 is also getting its gun nerfed again and the JT is getting slightly larger while one of the high tier soviet arty pieces is getting slightly smaller. The problem as I understand it, is that Wargaming balances by win-rate. So the better players (clan war winners, constant platooners, people who play or pay a lot, and just plain good players) drift to tanks that if they have any natural advantages results in unbalanced win-rates. Which WG then uses to decide which tanks need a nerf and which a buff.

Not that I think WG doesn't have at least a slight, ingrained anti-german tank bias (speed of Tiger tanks as an example, the KT model in game being slightly larger then in real life and the E-series being specifically designed to remove the engine and transmission from the front of the tank).

[xthetenth]

Since the E-50 obviously needed to be knocked down from its throne as King of the T9 Mediums.

Well, the E-50 and the Batchat are the two mediums that get taken with any frequency at all in clan wars. The E-50 is also a hilarious pub tank. It's absolutely top notch in pub matches, it is by far the best at just ruining lower tier tanks' days with impunity etc. I wouldn't be surprised if its stats are high enough to warrant a small nerf, and with extinguishers, that is a small nerf.

No love for the Germans ever, though to be sure, there is no Russian bias, Russian tanks are not OP, that's why three of them had to be moved up a tier; that's why Russian tanks get buffs for "historical realism" and everyone else gets nerfs for "gameplay"

And yet the IS-4 was and is a bad tank. The E-75 was a better tier nine than the IS-4 and yet the IS-4 still got moved to tier ten. Funnily enough, the IS-8 is a better tank than the IS-4. Right now, I'd say there's a real good chance that the ST-I is the worst tier nine heavy, and the E-75 is still just amazing compared to the rest of tier nine. The 4502 P is overshadowed by the E-75 yet I think it's still competitive with the rest of the tier. The KV-3 got moved up a tier, but in so doing it got a big engine and gun buff. Upgrading two of the three of the triumvirate of armor, mobility and firepower in a move up a tier indicates that the KV-3 probably could've gotten nerfed a little bit and stayed at tier 6, they just don't like touching armor and more changes to the gun or engine would make the tank too frustrating to play. The KV-2 gun probably needed to get moved to tier six, but I always found the KV terrible, and am rather glad they made the KV-1 a viable option. But right now as it stands I'd say the best heavies in tiers 5-10 are:
[*]5: T1, has a faster aiming gun and much more mobility than the KV-1
[*]6: KV-1S, has serious firepower and the speed to rely on the alpha of its gun
[*]7: T29, has good mobility, a very hard hitting gun, and better hull armor than most things its tier with good angling.
[*]8: AMX 50 100, Oneshot in a can, mobile, very high pen.
[*]9: E-75. Accelerates like the M103 to nearly the same speed, has about as good armor as the 4502P, has one of the best balanced guns in tier 9, with a lot of alpha and good accuracy. Quite literally has no weaknesses that aren't there on other tanks to a similar or greater degree.
[*]10: T110E5, omnipresent in clan wars to an even greater degree than the IS-7 used to be, totally marginalizes the IS-7 except in specialized cases, and for pubs has amazing accuracy and really good frontal armor on a very mobile platform.

I'd be hard pressed to recommend even one Russian medium tier five or higher over its counterparts. I wouldn't consider myself qualified to talk about tank destroyers, but the two Soviet TDs I'd recommend strongly, the Su-85 and ISU-152 both have issues. The Su-85 has the great misfortune of sharing a tier with the T49, which is an amazing tank that can do ridiculous things, and the ISU is a BL-10 carrying device and as such totally at the mercy of its gun, which is not really noted for its precision at long range, and it needs to stay at long range to keep camo so it doesn't get shredded in seconds. I've also heard very little bad about the T28 prototype, and the Ferdi is a truly obnoxious bastard of a TD to fight. As far as artillery, there's really only three soviet pieces of note, the Su-26, S-51 and Object 261. The Su-26 is a pubstar tank but even then the gun is rather anemic. The S-51 is a big shell and that's it, the GW Panther definitely matches it. The Object 261 is really common in clan wars because it's accurate, but I'm thinking the Batchat arty is going to cut into its role.

Question is there a current list of the current OP tanks by tier, or at least best tanks of the tier? Was kind of wondering what was regarded as the gold standard best low tier tank destroyers and low tier artillery.

I'd say the Marder II and the T82 for low tier tank destroyers, the T49 if low tier goes all the way to tier V, and the Su-26 as one of the best artillery, not sure what else is on that list.

[Vanas]

Well, yeah. I don't mind nerfs. But it's a slight difference between 'nerf the ROF' or 'make the engine provide less HP than is stated' and 'Change the tank so that the slightest tap to it's primary weakspot has a decent chance of completely fucking the tank up'.

[xthetenth]

So I decided to go pubbing in my T-50-2 a bit tonight. I'm trying to work up a good crew for it because it's a useful tank for clan wars and having the tier tens isn't enough for me for some bizzare reason. And I got me an orlik's medal. And a Bölter's medal. Two matches later I have to ask the team in chat to actually kill the arty I've been lighting and get told by someone in a Type 59 to get a real tank. Turns out I get as many kills per match in my 50-2 as he does in his "real tanks". I love this game sometimes. The best thing is that game with the bölter's and 1930 xp wasn't my highest xp for the night.

[Zinegata]

And yet the IS-4 was and is a bad tank.

Aside from armour, I've never feared the IS-4 while playing as a Tier 8. And that also changed once I got the T34 Heavy.

[*]10: T110E5, omnipresent in clan wars to an even greater degree than the IS-7 used to be, totally marginalizes the IS-7 except in specialized cases, and for pubs has amazing accuracy and really good frontal armor on a very mobile platform.

This has better be true, because my grind with the M103 has been mostly agony

[Hawkwings]

Showoff.

Pubs are pubs, what can you say? You remind me though, I need to get grinding on my T-50 and get the T-50-2 before they replace it. And I also have to grind up my M41... 50k XP to go before the M12 and getting in some champion companies. The grind is awful in arty.

[xthetenth]

And yet the IS-4 was and is a bad tank.

Aside from armour, I've never feared the IS-4 while playing as a Tier 8. And that also changed once I got the T34 Heavy.

[*]10: T110E5, omnipresent in clan wars to an even greater degree than the IS-7 used to be, totally marginalizes the IS-7 except in specialized cases, and for pubs has amazing accuracy and really good frontal armor on a very mobile platform.

This has better be true, because my grind with the M103 has been mostly agony

If you can drive the T110 to take advantage of the really fast aiming time to only show yourself for a few seconds it can chew most anything apart. Tier tens are at their best in clan wars, of course, but it's really solid and has relatively small weakspots, while being able to maneuver brilliantly.

Showoff.

I set my record for 50-2 xp twice tonight, I don't usually do that well.

You remind me though, I need to get grinding on my T-50 and get the T-50-2 before they replace it. And I also have to grind up my M41... 50k XP to go before the M12 and getting in some champion companies. The grind is awful in arty.

50-2 is a hell of a tank if you know what you're doing in it. The arty grind is unbearable for me. I have an M41, and that's it for arty, and I've ground a lot. I have all the tier tens, a Patton, a Chaffee, a T-50-2 with a 100% secondary skill crew, and a lot of progress on a bunch of other lines. I just can't grind arty though, it's too boring to me, and the grind on the same piece is eternal.

[Nephtys]

OP tanks by Tier generally only appear after Tier 5. Before Tier 5, there's only underperformers, utter garbage, and tanks that are cool. Most tier 5s fall into the 'cool' category, while nearly every single Tier 4 vehicle is bad.

Most OP scout: T-50-2. Nothing else even approaches it's ludicrous speed and maneuverability.
Tier 7 Heavy: The T29 really outclasses the IS-1, Tiger H, Tiger P and AMX-M4. It's combination of decent gun and utterly invincible turret makes it a beast.
Tier 8 Heavy: Not sure anymore, they're all really close.
Tier 9 Heavy: The E-75's just got a bit of everything you need, I suppose. Though the old IS-4 being here used to huurrrt.
Tier 7 Medium: The T-20 is a monster if used properly, crap if not. Great tank.
Tier 8 Medium: They're all really quite close. The argument of Pershing vs buffed T-44 could go on a while.
Tier 9 Medium: See above. Only replace those words with 'T-54' and 'Patton'.

[Thunderfire]

[*]5: T1, has a faster aiming gun and much more mobility than the KV-1
[*]6: KV-1S, has serious firepower and the speed to rely on the alpha of its gun

The KV-1 has a better gun selection. It also has a better W/L ratio 48.23 vs 46.17. The SU-85 is one of the best T5 at the Moment thanks to its 107mm gun. All T5 scouts are great too.

The KV-1s top gun has high alpha/pen and low DPS. It also has less armor compared to its ancestor the KV-1. A good player is able to do well in this tank but most players suck with this one. The SU-100 is a better option for most players(better DPM , gun selection, smaller tier spread)

[Alkaloid]

I have no idea how you guys pull 1900 xp in a match. My record is the 1200 odd I got the other day in my jumbo, and to do that I had to go solo with a t29 and get lucky enough to take the bastard thing out.

[Scottish Ninja]

My best is something a little north of 2500 - that involved taking a T29 to the top of the hill in the valley on Lakeville and soloing half the enemy team. That was the first of two Boelter's that night.

[Mr Bean]

I've gotten 3000 something back in Beta driving a Lee and killing two Panthers and a T44. The first Panther was not paying attention the second I got lucky and set him on fire and the T44 got his turret broke by arty so I sad behind him shooting shell after shell into his engine deck till he lit up and died. Also got damages on a few other tanks and killed a hiding arty to end that game. Got lots of spotting credit and lots of damages plus the four solid kills, the first Panther was mine and mine alone.

[Vanas]

My second highest XP score I distinctly remember because it was so completely unexceptional. Two KVs and a Lee, while driving a Churchill. Ended up with 1990 XP.

Mercifully, the Panther II went on a little killing spree a few days later and ran my only ever over 2k match. I don't think it was a top gun match either. Not that they happen very often at all.