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The trick is that the 75mm is inaccurate.

The M2 is interesting because at Tier 3, it's mostly fighting even lighter vehicles; Tier 2 and Tier 3 lights. Even in matches against heavier armor, it's still encountering a large proportion of lighter tanks. That has two effects.

One, it fights a lot of things so lightly armored that the 75mm HE shell will blow right through its armor and do full damage. That doesn't happen as often with the later 105mm howitzers, though it's a common experience for the KV2's 152mm derp gun.

Two, relative to other units in its generation, you have the HP and armor to play 'battlefield bully' a bit. Very few Tier 2 or 3 tanks will still be there if you shoot them twice. You can do a lot more damage with those two shots than they can by banging away with 20mm or 37mm guns for the five seconds or so it takes you to reload. So when I was in the M2, I never feared the outcome of a close encounter with a single enemy, unless they were agile enough to literally drive rings around me- I hadn't got the hang of hull+turret turning and my graphics made it hard to fight under those conditions.

I had a lot of success in the M2 Medium, both as a support tank like Zinegata says to try, and as a brawler. For a long time it was the only tank I'd won a Top Gun in, during the period when my laptop drivers were crappy, my game had 100ms lag at almost all times, and it kept crashing on me at least once per match so I had to reboot while my tank just sat there getting shot at.

That may have been luck, but any tank that even I could score seven kills in under those conditions can't be all bad...

Simon_Jester wrote:I had a lot of success in the M2 Medium, both as a support tank like Zinegata says to try, and as a brawler. For a long time it was the only tank I'd won a Top Gun in, during the period when my laptop drivers were crappy, my game had 100ms lag at almost all times, and it kept crashing on me at least once per match so I had to reboot while my tank just sat there getting shot at.

The problem with brawling with the M2 is that it simply can't stand up to Tier 5 or even Tier 4 opposition for any real length of time. You have to be top tank before choosing the brawling option. Otherwise a Sherman driver with a 105mm HE shell is gonna end up obliterating you very quickly.

Even then, I'd still say that the second line support is still the best option; simply because it allows you to maximize the output of the 75mm which lets you pack a punch way out of proportion of what a Tier 3 should be able to. Let the Stuarts and other Tier 3s soak up the hits for you; and focus on getting kill shots against people who are messing with your team instead.

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Also, the 105mm still penetrates quite a bit against equal or lower tier opponents (against higher tier it will have issues except for rear hits). Tier 5 is in many ways the most unforgiving tier, as showing your sides/rear to an enemy Sherman / Panzer IV / KV driver with the 105mm (or 122mm for the Russians) will lead to a very short game.

Obviously using the M2 as a brawler depends on context- I figured that was just common sense.

The 105's penetration isn't bad, but definitely not great- even with Tier Five tanks, the side armor can often prevent a penetrating hit unless you have a favorable firing angle. Look at it like this...

The 75mm howitzer has 38mm penetration. The 105mm howitzer has 53mm penetration.

It is a LOT easier to find a target covered by less than 38mm of armor at Tier 3 than it is to find one covered by less than 53mm at Tier 5. Or such is my feeling- you see a lot more heavy tanks at Tier 5, and reasonably tough mediums that will be at least resistant.

A video for the physics system is up for those of us who aren't in the test server:

physics video

Watch the part at 6:05...its hilarious!

The video is wrong.

The physics system is not called "realism".

It is called "hilarity". At least until everyone adjusts to it and stops driving off cliffs.

Yeah, I was laughing every time the guy said 'realism'. Especially when you've got T-50-2's (also...he says that name funny ) bouncing off rocks and flying through the air.

Skywalker_T-65 wrote:A video for the physics system is up for those of us who aren't in the test server:

physics video

Watch the part at 6:05...its hilarious!

"Everyone has to change everything. Except arty, because they never move anyway."

Lol. It's so true.

EDIT: Just saw 6:05-6:14. Epic TK combo, lol.

I'm just sad we don't get to see a Maus fly off a cliff and crush something.

Skywalker_T-65 wrote:I'm just sad we don't get to see a Maus fly off a cliff and crush something.

Almost what you asked for.

Between this and the World of Warplanes beta, how am I supposed to get any schoolwork done?

Personally I'm looking forward to achieving takeoff in my ELC-AMX. I've only just got it, and i'm already captain annoying in it.

Speaking of that tank...just had a great match in it. Killed a VK 2801 and a VK 3601, along with getting a Grille by facehugging it and staying below where its gun could shoot. Fun times.

The Vortex Empire wrote:

Skywalker_T-65 wrote:I'm just sad we don't get to see a Maus fly off a cliff and crush something.

Almost what you asked for.

This is making me wish for a Commissarial tank option to shoot drunken players who keep driving their tanks deliberately off cliffs...

Wohoo! Just had 8 kills and 1 damaged with my SU-26. The one I damaged was too close an ally for me to hit properly.
Victory!
Battle: Sand River 20. september 2012 11:07:33
Vehicle: SU-26
Experience received: 2 232 (x2 for the first victory each day)
Credits received: 25 585
Battle Achievements: Top Gun, Master Gunner, Sharpshooter, Reaper

That's amazing, congrats!

Aaron MkII wrote:That's amazing, congrats!

T(h)anks! I'm usually quite successful playing low tier, but I don't get my IS-3/4/8. How should they be played? I'm trying to play my IS-8 like a german medium, but my IS-4?.. I have 35% win rate, 41% on IS-8 and 45% in IS-3. In comparison I have 60% on BT-2, 70% on T18 and 63% on SU-26. I've played well above 100 matches in each of these tanks, so the statistics should not be bad because of too few games played. This means that when I play low tier, I'm a solid benefit to my team, but when I play high tier, not so much. I'm around 50% with my high tier germans, so I guess the russians should be played differently.

Skywalker_T-65 wrote:Speaking of that tank...just had a great match in it. Killed a VK 2801 and a VK 3601, along with getting a Grille by facehugging it and staying below where its gun could shoot. Fun times.

By the time you get the 90mm you can kill pretty much any tank you'll meet in the ELC. Last night I managed to down an IS, doing a good 50% of the damage myself, by tagging him point blank and running past as he charged around a rock to, he thought, murder my poor defenceless light, then circling back round to finish him as he ran crying from our artillery.

The Infidel wrote:

Aaron MkII wrote:That's amazing, congrats!

T(h)anks! I'm usually quite successful playing low tier, but I don't get my IS-3/4/8. How should they be played? I'm trying to play my IS-8 like a german medium, but my IS-4?.. I have 35% win rate, 41% on IS-8 and 45% in IS-3. In comparison I have 60% on BT-2, 70% on T18 and 63% on SU-26. I've played well above 100 matches in each of these tanks, so the statistics should not be bad because of too few games played. This means that when I play low tier, I'm a solid benefit to my team, but when I play high tier, not so much. I'm around 50% with my high tier germans, so I guess the russians should be played differently.

I guess I would have to say that German vehicles are better for sniping, but Russian vehicles are like Mike Tyson: get in close and try to hammer the other guy. If you try to snipe at long-range you won't do well because Russian guns tend to have poor accuracy.

To take one example, my IS-3 was once one of three tanks engaging a Tiger-II at long range. I could tell it wasn't going to work; he had most of his hull covered, and he was going to pick us off one at a time, especially since the other two were weaker than me. So I bull-rushed him: simply charged right at him until I could get a good shot at his lower glacis plate from close range, then side-hugged him and hit him in his vulnerable flank while the guys behind me were emboldened and joined the rush. If I had continued in that futile long-range sniping duel with him, I would have lost and the two guys with me would probably have lost too.

I haven't picked up an IS-8 yet; I've researched it but I don't have enough credits. How did you get the XP to go all the way to tier-10 in the Russian heavy line if you perform so poorly in it?

AniThyng wrote:1) Get a tank that is the same country and class as your favored or planned favored line, so you don't need to give them crews, just use your main tank crews as premium tanks don't give penalties if the crew are the same class, and reduced penalty if not. Must be same nation though. If you get a tank from a totally different line than what you're primarily pursuing I think it's a bit of a minus point.

2) They really do make money much faster, especially the Tier 8's. If saving time on grinding for cash is a concern for you, than I feel it's well worth the investment. At least, it's better then directly converting gold to credits! Also not worth it if you are actually still at T7 or below because it's easy to afford stuff at that level and not lose money from bad matches. If you are running T8's and above then perhaps it is a very valid concern, as it can take ages to make up enough money just to get a new tank..

Then again, WoT was recently offering a one year premium account for around $90, and a Lowe costs what, $60? With a premium account, all of your tanks make more money, not just the one premium. You don't have to play a particular tank over and over to make money or train crews; just run through your garage as usual.

So, which tank do we think will be the best for making a ramp so another tank can try and clear the gap in the bridge?

Darth Wong wrote:I guess I would have to say that German vehicles are better for sniping, but Russian vehicles are like Mike Tyson: get in close and try to hammer the other guy. If you try to snipe at long-range you won't do well because Russian guns tend to have poor accuracy.

Yeah, I'm trying to brawl, but am not too good at it. Guess I have to be more conscious about it. If I rush, I tend to die quickly and if I stay at second line, I miss a lot.

Darth Wong wrote: I haven't picked up an IS-8 yet; I've researched it but I don't have enough credits. How did you get the XP to go all the way to tier-10 in the Russian heavy line if you perform so poorly in it?

I've grinded the german line and played these like crazy this spring to get the IS-4 while it was still tier 9. Thanks to a lot of 5x days and converting a lot of free xp from the german line, I went straight to IS-3 and in 1-2 weeks grinded my way to IS-4. When 7.4 came, IS-4 became tier 10 and I got an IS-8 for free. This way, I got a tier X about 200 000xp cheaper than it usually would have cost me. I have about 20 tanks, most german (whom I got the hard way), so these holliday specials can give me a ton of xp. Then I used my credit card to convert to free xp. I regard WoT as a hobby, so I'm willing to spend a little bit on it. A little gold makes life easier. When I was grinding, I also had an premium account to get those 50% xp and credits extra.

A friend had/have the IS-4 and he said it was a beast, and a lot of players was complaining about the russian bias, so me and another friend was drooling to get one and hoped there would be something true about this bias (It's not!).

Alkaloid wrote:So, which tank do we think will be the best for making a ramp so another tank can try and clear the gap in the bridge?

Which one has a nice low sloped front?

The Infidel wrote:Yeah, I'm trying to brawl, but am not too good at it. Guess I have to be more conscious about it. If I rush, I tend to die quickly and if I stay at second line, I miss a lot.

It helps to play it a bit more like an aggressive medium and try to advance while using cover and undulating terrain for cover as much as possible. The full headlong rush across open ground is always dangerous; I've done it in cases where it was the only choice, but it's still dangerous. If you're going to do it, just remember the kind of tank you're driving; the IS-3 is an unusual tank in that it's best when pointed directly at the target, not angled at all.

Darth Wong wrote:

The Infidel wrote:Yeah, I'm trying to brawl, but am not too good at it. Guess I have to be more conscious about it. If I rush, I tend to die quickly and if I stay at second line, I miss a lot.

It helps to play it a bit more like an aggressive medium and try to advance while using cover and undulating terrain for cover as much as possible. The full headlong rush across open ground is always dangerous; I've done it in cases where it was the only choice, but it's still dangerous. If you're going to do it, just remember the kind of tank you're driving; the IS-3 is an unusual tank in that it's best when pointed directly at the target, not angled at all.

Thanks, Mike. I will remember that. I'm usually a sniper guy, so it's a different way of playing.

I would also note that brawling helps compensate for inadequate penetration. Players in World of Tanks often forget that AP round penetration decreases with range; I see people on the team chat complaining about not penetrating an enemy tank all the time even if they're at extreme range, when they should really know better than to expect reliable penetration.