World of Tanks Mark 2

[Simon_Jester]

I loved the AMX 40 because it was so good at bouncing 37mm gunfire. It's also the first French light to get a 'real' gun- not a great one, but at least one with enough firepower to be a serious threat.

[Skywalker_T-65]

I love it now since I can appreciate it more. At the time though...that was a different story.

[Zinegata]

Of course, sometimes you should just look at the enemy tank and go "nope," and find something more penetrable to fight. Lightly armored and low-tier tanks in a match usually should try to steer clear of places where you can predict ahead of time that lots of well armored heavies will come roaring through.

As a general rule, I'd actually say discretion is the better part of valor in most situations as opposed to "sometimes". If you cannot penetrate an enemy tank with your AP shell, don't bother fighting it - redeploy and find a softer target. Targeting weakspots can mitigate this, but it has to be a high-probability weakspot (i.e. lower glacis of a Tiger II), and not a tiny weak spot (i.e. the hatch of an E-75).

For mid-tier tanks, which still have reload times around 3-5 seconds, but routinely fight well armored Tier 6-7 heavies... I'd say the HE can be worth it. Just make sure it makes sense to be fighting the heavily armored enemy at all- no point taking on a Jagdtiger head on in a Sherman, even if you know you can ding half a dozen HE rounds off his frontal armor before he gets round to killing you.

Tier 5 HE doesn't actually do very well against well armored enemies, especially with guns smaller than 105mm. Don't get me wrong though - the 105mm HE is still pretty good - but what you should target are enemy high-tier mediums, particularly squishy tanks like the T20. One good 105mm HE hit can knock off 1/3 of its health, which is a solid contribution for a Tier 5.

By contrast only rear shots (and sometimes side shots) will do any real damage to a Tier 6-7 heavy.

[Zinegata]

Well as I have discovered, light tanks are a death trap. I'll spend matches were I never shoot, just scoot from cover to cover and look around. I'm actually considering buying a cam net for my M3 just for that little advantage.

As someone who also cannot drive lights with any level of competence, I'd suggest you try the mediums or the heavies. Lights never really get to shoot back that much.

[Aaron MkII]

I'm working my way to the KV-1, at the T-28 right now but the KV is 13500xp, gonna be a while.

I wanted to like the lights, and I do like the Stuart but yeah, very frustrating.

[Zinegata]

I'm working my way to the KV-1, at the T-28 right now but the KV is 13500xp, gonna be a while.

The KV is a very sweet tank. It can take actual hits and has a decent gun.

But save enough money to ensure the crew is trained up to 75% or else it will be an extremely sluggish tank (with a good crew though, it's only kinda-sluggish), especially if you're used to faster and more responsive tanks. The T-28 in particular (little armor, good speed) doesn't do much to prepare you for the KV.

====

Also, regarding the Stuart: It's actually one of the few combatty-lights given its tier, armor, and firepower. As you go up the "don't shoot back portion" gets even worse except for a handful of oddball lights (i.e. the Chafee with a big gun) that tend to not be liked very much by anyone.

[Zinegata]

I'll have to agree there. I pack maybe 2 HE rounds just on the off-chance that I find an arty while I've only just started to reload.
Or to make sure that the Type 59 explodes when shot.

Funnily, I used to run "default" ammo setups, which is about 2/3s AP and 1/3 HE until I had a match playing a Type 59 wherein I completely ran out of AP shells. It was a very close match which we lost (because I was now essentially useless flinging HE at heavily armored Tier 8s), and I resolved never to repeat the same mistake again.

After that I reduced the HE count in all of my tank magazines down to just 2-3.

[wautd]

I'm working my way to the KV-1, at the T-28 right now but the KV is 13500xp, gonna be a while.

The KV is a very sweet tank. It can take actual hits

Last night I was the last man standing in my KV-1 against 6 or so lesser tanks. I was immobilized (something that happens a lot in a KV-1 ) and couldn't see or hit any of my foes (b/c limited gun depression + poor accuracy from a damaged gun). I was continuously getting shot for litterally 2(!) minutes from all directions before I finally kerploded. It was awesome.

[PainRack]

Well as I have discovered, light tanks are a death trap. I'll spend matches were I never shoot, just scoot from cover to cover and look around. I'm actually considering buying a cam net for my M3 just for that little advantage.

As a new player as well, I like to say that the Stuart is effective against a lot of other tanks, from tank destroyers to artillery on top of other light tanks.
Its armour is also thick enough that it can actually survive one hit from an enemy gun.

I destroyed a total of 4 tanks/SPG where I racked it up by outflanking the enemy tanks and venturing into their rear while they were focused on the other mediums. I just play it differently from my medium. Whereas my medium shoot and scoot away from the enemy, my light shoot and go running around like a mad donkey, trying to throw obstacles in the way of the enemy while I inch in close enough for another shot.

[PainRack]

WOOH!!!!! I earned 834 xp and got Master Gunner, Mastery Badge Ace Tanker by wiping out 5 tanks, missing my last shot against a stuart before the T-57 got their shot in and drop shells in on him:D

Got my first two kills by acting as a TD on top of Himmelsdorf, cursing and swearing as the gun huge inaccuracy caused huge long range misses. Before a Stuart decided to eliminate the T-57s hiding beside me, only to realise that there's a medium tank up on the hill as well. Took me down to 30% hp and then caught two enemy tanks by surprise and in the rear when they were capping the base.

And a flank assault caught both me and the attacker by surprise, when the T-57 and the Stuart appeared out of nowhere, a last minute shot dropped my HP down to 3 before two blasts from my gun killed the T-57. The Stuart had foolishly ran away after it saw the T-57 die and well...... as I was cursing the other M2 tank to actually go in and draw the enemy attention(at 100% hp)!, I shifted to another flank and would had died if I didn't dodge behind a destroyed tank chassis........ where my arty dropped its shell on him:D

A huge drop of luck of course, since they should had realise that there was an enemy tank up on the hill, especially after I blasted the Stuart but I'm willing to take it when its presented.

[PeZook]

Last night I was the last man standing in my KV-1 against 6 or so lesser tanks. I was immobilized (something that happens a lot in a KV-1 ) and couldn't see or hit any of my foes (b/c limited gun depression + poor accuracy from a damaged gun). I was continuously getting shot for litterally 2(!) minutes from all directions before I finally kerploded. It was awesome.

The sweetest moment I had in my KV was when, near the end of a match, I destroyed a...I think it was an M7 medium, who was trying to rush our cap. He didn't see me through some bushes and slammed right into me, kersploderizing himself in the process.

I just kept on trundling ominously towards the remaining enemies, who were all vastly lighter than me.

[wautd]

Last night I was the last man standing in my KV-1 against 6 or so lesser tanks. I was immobilized (something that happens a lot in a KV-1 ) and couldn't see or hit any of my foes (b/c limited gun depression + poor accuracy from a damaged gun). I was continuously getting shot for litterally 2(!) minutes from all directions before I finally kerploded. It was awesome.

The sweetest moment I had in my KV was when, near the end of a match, I destroyed a...I think it was an M7 medium, who was trying to rush our cap. He didn't see me through some bushes and slammed right into me, kersploderizing himself in the process.

I just kept on trundling ominously towards the remaining enemies, who were all vastly lighter than me.

Heh... I made I comparable "kill" like that yesterday as well. I was just standing still, minding my own business when I think it was a T49 that drove slowly backwards, made a slight bump against my side and suddenly vaporized in a giant fireball. I hardly noticed the bump so I was pleasantly surprised it counted as a kill

[Rekkon]

My best KV moment was a few days ago. We were on Siegfried Line, and my team was lackluster. Our center was weak, so I made my way into the city where I ran into a T1, and a hilarious slap fight ensued. We traded a half dozen shots or so through the column gaps at the base of one of the building corners, never getting any good shots and doing absolutely no hit point damage, just some damaged tracks. He took cover around the corner, and when I saw he was engaged with others, I pulled around to plug him in the ass and get the kill. By now our center had folded, and our remaining top tier (KV-1S) was a coward. I saw him basically flee from their second T1 Heavy without even trying to trade shots. The enemy had two 1Ss, and they were working together. They pushed into our side of the field, and I started plugging their sides, which was when they turned toward me. I did everything right, wailing on the weaker guy and backing behind a corner so that only one of them could hit me, but they had me outnumbered and outtiered and they knew it and charged. Now fighting them at point blank range I entered that sort of "battle zen" where I knew my destruction was assured, and all of my attention was focused on getting just one more 85mm round into that first guy's lower glacis. Then he exploded. That was unexpected, and I turned my fire onto the other guy. They had bounced off me a surprising number of times, but I was now down to about 15 HP. Then the second KV-1S exploded, and suddenly I was a complete badass. I had zero time to rejoice, because the minimap showed another enemy heavy pulling around the corner on my 3 o'clock. My side armor was exposed, and there was no way I could take another hit. I forget if he missed or got a no-damage crit or what, but someone I did not die. It was another KV-1 in rough shape. I Wittman turned for my life, and my 85mm ended him too. By now my (dead) platoonmate is yelling incomprehensible things in my ear, and other dead teammates are typing things like "You are a beast KV." I loiter in cover long enough to disappear from arty view, then chug around the corner (engine and double track damage). I can see that second T1 down a road and put a round into his flank. He was fighting others, but properly prioritizes me and swings around his turret for a paniced snap shot. It misses. I calmly wait out the reload and make him explode too. Arty barely misses me. Somehow an encounter I should not have even survived has turned in to me almost single handed massacering ALL the enemy heavies. As we move to mop up, I get a shot on the arty, making it an even six kills for the Top Gun. Man I wish I had had replays enabled for that.

[xthetenth]

Yeah, a lot of top guns are just because you did everything right and a few small enemy mistakes.

It's been forever since I've received positive feedback in tanks. Got some yesterday in warplanes though, that was amusing.

[Skywalker_T-65]

You see, maybe I'm just odd, but I make it a point to congratulate people who do good. Like if they get a really improbable kill, I'll say 'Good kill *insert tank name here*'. Granted, I never get any back, but I still do it myself.

As for the KV...I've had a lot of fun moments in that tank, its just barely below my 3601 in that regard. Quite a fun tank once you get the upgrades (like the 85) onto it.

[Zinegata]

I tend to say "XYZ, nice shooting" even if it's an enemy for particularly good performances. I get responses sometimes.

I've rarely been praised that way in return, though I did get one recently while playing the M103. I supported a push that smashed up one entire flank, before capping the enemy base with an AMX-13 at 1% health. Three enemy tanks went after us, and I proceeded to protect the AMX-13 while killing all three of our attackers. Granted, all the enemy tanks were one-shottable by this point, but the team seemed really impressed by how I didn't miss any clutch shots and how I kept taking hits for the AMX-13 (which had done most of the capping) with my much healthier M103.

Though I'm beginning to think my best tank is really the T20. Last night I had a match where we lost 12 out of 15 tanks, while the enemy only lost 5 out of 15, yet we won. Mostly because we out-capped the enemy while I defiantly held off multiple heavies trying to reach the cap .

[Skywalker_T-65]

My best tank is still the 3601. I've actually had similar situations like that one...tonight for example, I was capping the base alone, and killed:

A PzIV
A Grille
A Sturmpanzer II
Another VK
A Hetzer

And held off some other guys long enough for other teammates to get up and help me. Fun times, and I'm upset I didn't think to have recording set up.

[Simon_Jester]

Those of you who've played the test server, how DO the new physics affect the American medium line? That intro video was not encouraging...

[xthetenth]

The nerf to the Patton's moving dispersion and RoF is far more painful than anything else, and the American mediums lost far less of their maneuverability than faster ones over rough terrain because of their high acceleration and lower top speed. Those videos are occasionally true, but some of them are horribly wrong. I think the effect on American mediums is going to be closer to the latter.

[Nephtys]

Greater emphasis on hills and small bumps means that US medium tanks'll probably as a whole, be fine. They've all received slight nerfs in gun elevation though, generally utterly inconsequential (except on T29).

The M48A1 just got hideously nerfed due to their poor understanding of statistics. The T62A is the superior tank in nearly every way now. Sad. I still really enjoy my M46 though.

M103 is going to be great in the next patch though.

Edit:
I'm amused at the 'fixes' to the brokenly bad E100 though. The tank with poor speed, ok armor, and a terrible gun. The problem was that it's gun was just so bad, as to be virtually useless vs it's competition.

Solution? WG gives it +200 hitpoints. Hah. Way to miss the point.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Excuse me for a second...

WOOT!!!! 8.0 IS FINALLY HERE TOMORROW!!!

I am so looking forward to playing with the physics in my ELC.

[Zinegata]

Wait, the M103 is getting buffed?

[Nephtys]

Most projectile normalization is being reduced. This incidentally, buffs the armor on heavilly sloped tanks. M103 has one of the more sloped designs in the game, which'll apparently equate to approximately 20-30mms thicker armor on most parts of it from a frontal hit.

[Zinegata]

... Awww, I was kinda hoping they fixed the M103's habit of losing modules like no tomorrow

BTW, xthetenth, when I get the M26 should I probably immediately get the better 90mm gun? Can I use it without turret or suspension upgrades?

[wautd]

My upgraded T49 (best gun + engine) is turning into a nice little tank. 6 kills of a similar tier in one match and just a little flesh wound on myself

Entered tier 6 with the KV-1S now. Upgrading to will be a pain because the stock gun is nigh-useless so I spend some free experience on the mini derp which seems kind of fun in the matches I had with it so far.