World of Tanks

[The Dark]

The Hetzer is a terrible TD, the fact that it can bounce enemy rounds every now and then doesn't make sticking with it a good choice and citing that it works great with a gun that by it's designation is probably meant for a Stug isn't really a good argument in it's favor.

There were plans to mount the 105mm on the Hetzer, though it never happened (essentially making it like the VKs as a "what-if" weapon). They actually did mount a 150mm sIG33/2 howitzer on 30 of the Hetzers, so technically there should be an SPG Hetzer . My best so far is 6 kills with a Hetzer on the map with the two lines of fortifications in the west and a small town across a lake to the east, including a KV-3, using 18 shots with the 75mm. I've also died horribly by getting swarmed by Leopards. The Hetzer is very dependent on the draw of maps for utility. On the open maps, it's darn near useless unless someone gets distracted by combat and you dogpile. On the tighter maps, it can be a decent ambush weapon. I still dislike TDs overall, but they have their purpose as low-visibility ambush vehicles, particularly for guarding SPGs.

[Rightous Fist Of Heaven]

I heard a rumor that the next update is going to wipe all your accounts tanks, but remember it is definitely an out there sort of rumor.

This will most likely happen. It happened with the previous major patch and I'd expect the devs to do it again. Although, if they go about it like they did with the last patch, they will convert all your expended experience to free exp, give you a bunch of credits and a crapload of gold so the wipe wont matter. You'll propably be able to go up a tier from whatever you were driving before the wipe if it goes down like it did the last time.

[Agent Sorchus]

This will most likely happen. It happened with the previous major patch and I'd expect the devs to do it again. Although, if they go about it like they did with the last patch, they will convert all your expended experience to free exp, give you a bunch of credits and a crapload of gold so the wipe wont matter. You'll propably be able to go up a tier from whatever you were driving before the wipe if it goes down like it did the last time.

Good to know, thanks.

[Norade]

Does anybody know if the 122mm gun for the KV is worth getting or should i skip it and rush for the 107mm?

[Highlord Laan]

If it requires the refrigerator turret, don't go for it. It may have huge armor and allow the KV to mount massive guns, but it's traverse is so slow that it really isn't much of a payoff.

[D.Turtle]

You know instead of going by vague rumors or whatever, why don't you just look in the WoT forums at what the mods/developers themselves say?

Quoting from here

v. 0.5.5 main changes:

- 2 new maps: Komarin and Cliff.
- Adjusted speed of burning of all tanks during the fire. Now the tank will burn at about 5% of durability per second.
- Fixed collision-model of tank "Tiger I". Significantly decreased size of turret rotation mechanism.
- Balance and vehicle tweaks:
• StuG III, VK1602, SU-76 - decreased tracks repair time.
• StuG III - added rammer.
• Grille price increased from 140400 to 147100 credits.
• BT-7 - increased traverse speed for both suspensions by 4 deg/sec. 7% accuracy increase for the 2nd suspension added.
• Fixed truck rotation on SU-14.
• SU-26 – weakened platform rotation mechanism.
• PzIV – Hummel upgrade cost increased from 34220 to 35400 experience.
• KV - S-51 upgrade cost decreased from 144730 to 127320 experience.
• VK3002DB the 2nd suspension upgrade cost decreased by 4000 experience, total VK3002DB - Panther upgrade cost increased by 4000 experience.

Currently planned to release on Oct 18-19. Though they have repeatedly delayed this (and other) patches.

The big update will probably come 2-3 weeks after 0.5.5 and will include:

beta v. 0.6 / 0.7 main changes:

- New tech tree - American tanks. 21 researchable tanks + 4 premium tanks. US tank crews added.
- From 2 to 4 new maps, including "Cliff" and "Komarin".
- Removed "teleports" of tanks at great distances when aiming at them.
- Introduced advanced graphic settings.
- Now for the first battle of the day (24h) player will receive double experience.
- Reworked interface of the platoon creation.
- Adjusted speed of burning of all tanks during the fire. Now the tank will burn at about 5% of durability per second.
- Multiple fixes and adjustment to match-making system.
- Team mode added. Form a team of 15 and face the opposing one in battle.Probability of appearance - high.
- Clan mode. Alpha test version with some basic features available. Probability of appearance - medium.
- Fixed several places where tank can get stuck on the maps "Himmesldof", "Prokhorovka", "Lakeville", "Hills".
- Changed crash models and collisions of some objects.
- Added destruction of some objects.
- Removed dog squeals when driving over dog booth.
- Fixed collision-model of tank "Tiger I"
- Fixed awarding "Steel wall" posthumously
- Fixed repair time of tracks for some tanks.
- Redesign of screens “Barracks”, “Depot”, “Store” to match the general style.
- Fixed minors error with re-training.
- In the info window of a tank added description of the tank (so far for german and soviet vehicles only).
- Added voice announcements when crewmen are damaged.
- In the info window of a tank added description of the crew.
- Limit on display of number of medals increased from 99 to 999.
- Under button “Battle!” added description of the current battle mode.
- Fixed wrong display of percentages for wins and losses in some cases.
- Added new graphic post-effects. This feature has become possible due to new game engine version.
- Executable file renamed to WorldOfTanks.exe

Then there is the next version after that (0.6.1) that will be released some time after that and will include:

0.6.1 - main changes:

- 2 new maps added: Monastery and Dried river.
- light US tank Т2 added.
- Crash to garage with 0 credits 0 exp fixed.
- "Vehicle stuck in battle" bug fixed.
- Crew interface fixed: personal file, barracks.
- Fixed error, when unable to change graphic settings.
- Non-demountable modules in the module list marked with "lock" icon.
- Battle hero achievements adjusted in accordance with their descriptions.
- Fixed medals/achievements counter bug.
- Platoon creation and invite sending fixed, including training battle mode.
- Water readjusted for all maps.
- Login queue added. Enabled when servers are overloaded.
- Randomization in penetration and damaging decreased.
- In-game sound messages readjusted.
- Explosion of HE shell adjusted.
- Track "jerking" effect when moving fixed.
- Fixed bug, when shots at destroyed vehicles counted as hits.
- For SPG: moving mouse when RMB is pressed allows to separate camera from reticle.
- Heaps of minor UI fixes and adjustments.

As for wipes:

Personally, I think we can expect at least one more soft wipe before the release. Very likely that it will be required to introduce clan wars mode.

Those are all quote from Overlord in that thread I linked. I can't be arsed to link the individual posts.

You can back to your regular unsubstantiated rumormongering based on gut feelings now...

[Bhaal]

Does anybody know if the 122mm gun for the KV is worth getting or should i skip it and rush for the 107mm?

The 122mm works with the standard turret and has a reasonable fire rate compared to the fridge turret HE chucker. It's useful when you're taking on much higher tier people than you as you can at least do something against them so I quite liked it personally as all too many battles have me against IS-3s and King Tigers.

[Broken]

While I do not have a KV myself, I do know that some players enjoy putting the 152mm HE cannon on it and playing semi-mobile TD with it. That cannon will put the hurt on just about anything on the field, but has a truly abysmal reload time. While 910 HE damage is awesome, the 152mm is down the path to S-51 and is not used on any other tank. If you have the credits stashed, burn through the KV tree and get into another tank to be honest. If you need to make credits and xp for your next tank, I'm not sure what the best money-maker combo is on the KV. From what I have read and seen in fighting it, the KV is just a horrid tank that you have to suffer through to get to the goodness that is the S-51 "Finger of God" SPG or the IS "Bounce Everything" line of tanks. I've personally gone down the German line, but if we get another soft wipe, I may have to use the opportunity to skip the KV grind and get to the IS goodness without all the pain.

[Slacker]

The KV is godawful. I can't count the number I've completed annihilated in my T-44. Hell, their turret rotation is so slow I've killed them in my A-20 nickel and diming them to death.

[JointStrikeFighter]

I really quite like the VK3001H with an 88 l56 i am rocking

[Commander 598]

I have personally found the Hetzer so terrible that I would rather grind the 93,000XP for T43->T44 upgrade than try to upgrade Hetzer->Stug.

[Broken]

I really quite like the VK3001H with an 88 l56 i am rocking

How does it compare to the VK3001P and VK3601? Fully upgraded the VK3001P is very fast in a straight line and carries the short 88, but feels fragile. Still useful as a light/med interceptor to defend arty or hunt down the other team's arty quickly. The VK3601 feels much more balanced, slower with better turning and armor. I actually keep a 3601 in my hangar as a goto money maker.

[JointStrikeFighter]

No idea because I havnt got them but the 3001h Is more or less a better pz4

[Highlord Laan]

Got the 85mm on my T28, and am now suddenly tearing new orifices on almost all levels. I can load up HE and one shot Leopards, tear up PZIII's and be an artybitch's worst nightmare, or I can chamber AP and actually start laying out some damage on IS/KV series tanks and Tiger II's if I catch them from the side or rear.

I look forward to the KV in 10k XP or so. The 85mm T28 starts to encourage cagey playing and sniping, with enough speed to GTFO if you fear getting spotted by GDI's Ion Cannons. KV should be something else, though the first KV is a bit of a question in itself. The 85mm F30 in the T28 isn't available at all on the KV, which is stuck with long barreled 76's, which strikes me as strange.

My other tank, a T34, is an annoying, frustrating, arty-raging grind. I may just leave it there and occasionally toss some free XP it's way which sticking to the KV-IS line.

[Mr Bean]

My other tank, a T34, is an annoying, frustrating, arty-raging grind. I may just leave it there and occasionally toss some free XP it's way which sticking to the KV-IS line.

See that I don't understand. A T-34 is a great little escort for IS/Tiger series tanks, the key is to let them start trading shots with the big guy your backing up then dart out and start pecking away at him with the 6pdr (IE the 57mm gun) which reloads quickly and penetrates just as well as the 76mm's if for not as much damage. You can easily smash tracks, jam guns, and if yo get side on to someone you can damage the hell out of them by targeting the running wheels or the area right above it.

You have enough armor yes to shrug off hits from Lepoards not using special ammo, any 37mm gun or 2pdr. And you CAN take a few hits from 76 or 75mm guns. It's only 88's and above that will kill you instantly.

[Bhaal]

The problem I find with most of the lights/mediums is that the tracks come off tanks an awful lot and as soon they do you're dead as the big guns or ion cannons will then just erase you which can make playing them very frustating at times. Once you get a good leveled crew with repair skills then you have more of a chance but all you can really do is harass other scouts and if you're lucky the enemy artillery as although suppoting your own big tanks is good in theory the enemy rarely come alone either and it's very hard to dodge thee barrels at once. At the moment I'm working my way through a KV-3 and as long as you can avoid the enemy artillery for me it's less frustrating than some of the mediums although it can be less fun at times and I still love my PanzerIII for rushing around the map sometimes.

[Broken]

As frustrating as it is, the main role of lights/lower tier mediums in most matches is to defend against rushing scouts before they get into view range of your own arty and/or do a suicide rush to spot enemy arty and survive as long as possible for the detection bonus. The leo with is super slope armor (I've bounced 88mm rounds off that damn thing's rear armor) is excellent in the survival role. Just defend/scout, die in a glorious fire, leave battle and repeat in a new tank. It's fairly poor game design, but until there are enough players/battles going on to have low tier battles where the biggest thing is an non-upgraded T-34(these games are awesome) it will remain the standard for new players/smaller tanks.

Besides, as a scout you sometimes get to win the battle all on your own. On the camperville map (big open map with trench on one side and buildings on the other with a village/river as one border) I ran my A-20 across the open killing field, straight through the enemy defensive line all the way to the forest behind their base where the last big arty was setting up (hummel or SU-14, iirc) which got toasted along with all the other enemy arty I spotted as I drove by. By the time my tracks got blown off and then an IS gutted me, I was the only thing on my team dead. Their three arty and three other vehicles were gone by then. Just because I managed to get across the field and into their lines.

Edit: It didn't hurt that while the enemy team was furiously trying to kill me, a IS-4 rolled across the field and into their trench, getting rear armor shots on lots of stuff.

[Exonerate]

The T-34 is actually a pretty fun tank, especially if you get put into a match where you're one of the highest tier tanks - you can pretty much zoom around and terrorize everything that isn't a KV. It's the one tank that I've kept on my grind to the T-44. I suggest using the 57mm cannon - it doesn't deal much burst damage, but IIRC it has the highest DPS. I found the 34-85's lack of acceleration and match placement actually make it less fun to play than the T-34.

I think playing mediums in general can be very frustrating because you're inferior to same tier heavies in every way except for mobility. Bring this up on their game forums and people will answer "just flank lol", but it's not as though flanking confers some huge advantage, it just allows you to penetrate tanks that you wouldn't otherwise be able to and perhaps avoid fire from the tank you're flanking. You might as well just play a heavy and let other tanks take the damage for the same results. Not to mention when you're flanking, thanks to terrain, very often you're attempting to flank into unknown territory and that single heavy you're trying to flank may very well just be the vanguard of half their team and by the time you realize this, you're already committed to the attack even your vaunted superior mobility can't extract you from the situation. Maybe instead of insisting on 12v12 battles with more or less the same tanks on each side, they could balance by weight/tier. That way they might actually get a feel for the balance between different tanks.

I can't see myself playing this past the imminent softwipe. I've never been a fan of grinding games and there's just elements of the basic gameplay that I dislike. I'd make a giant post on their suggestions forums about it, but apparently you need 50 posts on their forums to do it (clearly how much time you spend on their forums is more important than how much gameplay experience you have).

[Stark]

Things like the damage system (and that they apparently think some tanks take too long to repair damages) are really interesting; Aside from the hitpoints (which are kind of poo) it seems they're either going for a regenerating system or want to make sure people seldom get disabled... which is odd for a game about tanks.

[Mr Bean]

Things like the damage system (and that they apparently think some tanks take too long to repair damages) are really interesting; Aside from the hitpoints (which are kind of poo) it seems they're either going for a regenerating system or want to make sure people seldom get disabled... which is odd for a game about tanks.

Being disabled would be much less of an issue if it were not for artillery. Without self propelled artillery being the wounded tank without a track to move on turns you into a dangerous pillbox... or nearly useless/helpless (IE tank destroyer)

Without the arty, losing a track is a much less huge issue. With arty it's a huge issue. Losing a track in a T-34 is a death sentence not from that IS-3 but from that Grillie, SR-21 or Hummel that shoves a 150mm shells up my back side for the instant kill. I know I've done it dozens of times to poor T-34s or Panzer IV's. If your not in at least a Tier 7 your dead in one shot. I've even got 90% damages on KV3's before with the Grillie's best gun, and the Hummel has a better one.

[Stark]

I think its particularly an issue due to the flaky hitboxing and HE cheese; it's ridiculously easy to de-track some tanks, even with 20mm and the like, and as you say once you're stationary you're doomed.

I guess they're trying to use mobility to counter the ease of killing people?

[Mr. Coffee]

Which one of you is Applejack in game? If you're on after the server reset give me a yell and we'll set up a platoon.

Also, I got permanent premium, so anytime people want to platoon up just give me a yell if I'm on.

[The Dark]

Which one of you is Applejack in game? If you're on after the server reset give me a yell and we'll set up a platoon.

Also, I got permanent premium, so anytime people want to platoon up just give me a yell if I'm on.

I also have permanent premium as of today.

[Mr. Coffee]

We should go forth and shoot other people in the face then.

[Broken]

If you need an extra tank to help shoot people in the face with, I will gladly lend my aid once work settles down a touch in a day or two. Permanent premium and a nice stable of tanks: leo (rigged), VK3601, hummel, King Tiger, Panther (rigged), Ferdi, and T-34-85 I am slowly grinding towards a T-43/T-44.