World of Tanks

[Mr. Coffee]

New patch releasing today. They're fixing the UTC time bug for joining platoons and companies, and changing the tier field for some of the tanks (Like moving the T-54 up one so now it can only play in matches with tanks in tier 7 to 10). See if it works after they finish the patch loading.

[Rightous Fist Of Heaven]

As it is now if the soft-wipe ever does come then there's going to be a hoard of IS-4s and T-54s afterwards as they seem to be the best in their classes by some way at the moment although I think there will be a lot of people going for Americans as their secondary choice. Germans I think are going to be confined just to TDs as most of their other high tier stuff is abysmal compared to the Russians.

Personally though I'm working my way up the Russian trees after getting the German T8s and I should be able to get to the Russian T8s and 9s before the soft-wipe "early next year" to test out which tree plays better for me.

I beg to differ, I'll take my Tiger II over the IS-3 any day. The German heavies can quite reliably outshoot the Russian heavies at long range not to mention having better penetration with premium ammo and you should always carry a few premium rounds. Although the German heavies are in many respects inferior compared to the IS-line, their superlative gun performance makes up for it quite a bit. They're still the underdogs of the game but if you know how to fight with a King Tiger, you can put the hurt down even on IS-4's and IS-7's.

[Bhaal]

I beg to differ, I'll take my Tiger II over the IS-3 any day. The German heavies can quite reliably outshoot the Russian heavies at long range not to mention having better penetration with premium ammo and you should always carry a few premium rounds. Although the German heavies are in many respects inferior compared to the IS-line, their superlative gun performance makes up for it quite a bit. They're still the underdogs of the game but if you know how to fight with a King Tiger, you can put the hurt down even on IS-4's and IS-7's.

Good point there actually. The King Tiger and the VK 3002 are probably the stars of the German tree but I still prefer most Russian tanks with their ability to bounce shells off them. The panther for me was a big disappointment playing more like a heavy tank minus the armour as opposed to an agile medium and the Tiger 1 was actually pretty good until someone hit it and half the subsystems went down. Especially the ammo rack on it which I lost nearly every other battle.

[Agent Sorchus]

I don't know but I had a good run in a KV-1s, the true underdog of the game. The trick with it is to use the throttle so you are always crawling forward a little, arty can't aim well enough to get you at even a couple of kmph and heavies who are trying to hide underestimate a slow crawl being able to move them into view. That was three kills before getting into a unsupported gun duel with a king tiger which I did bring down from 56% to 6%. (Stupid shell bounced or I would have had him before he got me.)

[Zinegata]

The problem with KTs is that a lot of players tend to treat them as brawlers, as opposed to long-ranged shooters. Similar to how a lot of Easy 8 players try to dance around heavies rather than shoot and scooting.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Good point there actually. The King Tiger and the VK 3002 are probably the stars of the German tree but I still prefer most Russian tanks with their ability to bounce shells off them. The panther for me was a big disappointment playing more like a heavy tank minus the armour as opposed to an agile medium and the Tiger 1 was actually pretty good until someone hit it and half the subsystems went down. Especially the ammo rack on it which I lost nearly every other battle.

I enjoy my Panther immensely. The only real problem with it is, as ever, the matchmaking. Its position in the tech-tree doesn't really make sense, as a Real Life Tank from late WWII, and a 'mere' medium to boot, the odds are absurdly stacked against it when it has to regularly compete with post-war Fantasy Tank heavies.

Other than that one issue (i.e., being hopelessly outmatched against an IS-7), I think the mistake people make is immediately gunning (no pun intended) for the fantasy guns/turret. A competent player can put the historical gun and turret to excellent use, even setting aside the unrealistically nerfed performance of the gun that Mr Bean mentioned. Using the Panther's 75 L/70, I can win most engagements with T-44s by a fair margin. I can sing the virtues of the L/70 all day long, but I think the real kicker and vindication for its use is the Panther-II tech tree: Being mostly a fantasy tank, it sports a fantasy 75mm that's even longer than the L/70, which upon examination is stupid overpowered.

The uber-long 75mm is even more accurate than the already laser L/70, reloads even faster, and has the penetration of the King Tiger's long 88... all with no disadvantages or trade-offs from the L/70, except for a negligible weight increase. Used properly, the L/70 is still competitive in high-tier matches, which makes the new uber-long 75mm a serious beast.

So to reiterate, the Panther is literally not designed to use that long 88. It excels with its historical gun in a pure medium-tank role (i.e., you aren't stupid and try to engage an IS-4 head-on). I've got a vertical stabilizer on mine and it's become capable of the kind of high-speed shots I used to pull off on my Panzer III before the big patch awhile back. It can snipe, scoot and shoot, and even brawl with tanks in its class such as the T-44.

[Zinegata]

As an Easy 8 driver, I tend to think that mediums should strictly refuse to engage heavies of the same or higher tier unless you're supported by other heavies. That I tend to flatten mediums unless they outnumber me 3:1 (and they are of an equal tier) while riding an IS has further reinforced this view.

The biggest killer of medium tanks is quite simply the heavy tank. You can, once in a while, "dance" around a heavy and pump it with shells, but the heavy driver has to be either terribly distracted or exceedingly incompetent.

[Slacker]

Or you have to be significantly lucky with your shots causing crits.

That's a good rule of thumb, but not always accurate-my T-44 eats KVs and regular Tigers for breakfast, for example. In same-tier or near-tier situations, you're absolutely right, though-I've got my T-29 just about fully upgraded and it eats VKs and PIVs for lunch. I can actually see off Panthers in certain situations or hurt T-43s and 44s, which is nice. It's slower than shit, but I love the T-29.

[Exonerate]

I don't have a Panther, but with a T-44 and IS-3 as my higher tier tanks, the Panther is a respectable opponent. It's definitely better than the T-44 at range, and at close range the fight can go either way. Oh, and if you think the Panther can make shots on the move, you should see the T-44. I've occasionally nailed opponents 250m away while barreling down a hill at 51 kph. I can't wait to see how the T-54 will do with its even higher accuracy gun. It's a pity that even tanks on the move are so easy to hit, or I could have fun with a strafing playstyle. I used to try and dogfight with it, but it's just a losing proposition almost all the time. I've switched to an opportunistic playstyle (Aka sneak up from the flanks when another tank has the enemy's attention then draw behind cover after blowing my load) and it works much better.

I'm glad to see the T9 Mediums actually have some firepower that lets them hurt Superheavies and the armor to take some hits frontally. It's a long overdue buff - I'm just sort of perplexed by the sudden leap in performance from T8 to T9. It would be really nice to see a slow increase in performance from tier to tier, instead of stagnating between a few tiers then a sudden jump.

[Slacker]

Eh, the T-44 can hurt superheavies. The only tank I can't put holes in with my T-44 is the Maus-I carved up an Ausf B last night at range while it was sparring with an IS-4 on Abbey. Then I bounced six shells off the Maus, it noticed me, and smote me in my hiding place.

[Broken]

I was out of town for about a week and just updated the game. The cannon sounds seem much beefier then they were, which is a minor complaint I had before. Not seen too many of the new tanks yet, but they seem impressive. Now just trying to figure out what line to concentrate on. I'm 140k xp from a T-54; 100k from a Panther II; and 80k from a Ausf B. Too bad I only have around 2.7m credits so I can afford one of those tanks when I grind up the xp since I'm also in the KV-3 grind on the way to the IS line. Probably end up with the softwipe well before I'm in any of those tanks though.

[Zinegata]

Or you have to be significantly lucky with your shots causing crits.

That's a good rule of thumb, but not always accurate-my T-44 eats KVs and regular Tigers for breakfast, for example. In same-tier or near-tier situations, you're absolutely right, though-I've got my T-29 just about fully upgraded and it eats VKs and PIVs for lunch. I can actually see off Panthers in certain situations or hurt T-43s and 44s, which is nice. It's slower than shit, but I love the T-29.

Medium tanks scoring crits help your supporting heavies a lot because they often keep the other heavy from fighting properly. I do very well on the Easy 8 as the pursuit tank which detracks enemy heavies when they try to flee.

But one on one, a medium fighting a same-tier heavy is just delaying the inevitable.

Also, the T-44 is a higher tier than the KVs and Tigers, so you shouldn't be afraid to engage them. Heck, it's not inconceivable that you can trade shot for shot with these tanks and still win.

It's when you meet a same or higher tier heavy (i.e. IS-3) that medium vs heavy battles become very suicidal.

[Slacker]

Well, there's a profound difference between the Tiger and the KV-the KV is a target, the Tiger versus T-44 is a pretty even fight. The Tiger is only one tier below the T-44, after all.

[Highlord Laan]

I enjoy munching KV's in my M7. That pathetic traverse is nothing my fleet, beautiful medium can't handle with ease, and APCR to the ass end will seriously ruin a KV's day. Tiger too, for that matter. IS's I have to be careful of, and Tiger II's will likely win if they spot me at range. I haven't fought many US heavies, but from what few I have tangled with, I've learned that they're a real bear. Their turrets are faster than other heavies, and they're just fast enough that I have to really be on my toes.

Still. The best fights I've been in were lights and mediums on other lights and mediums, with an odd T1 Heavy, upgraded PzIV, or KV tossed in for fun.

Strangely, it's the PzIV that I give the widest berth and try hard to avoid. They've got a blend of speed, armor and hitting power that really makes them shine when theres a good player doing the driving.

[Zinegata]

The MK IV and the Sherman (with 76mm, or Easy 8 ) are probably the two best killers of speedy lights/mediums. They have a rapid fire gun and pretty good maneuverability/turret rotation, so they can spit out fire at a charging M7 and score a couple of disabling hits.

How "helpless" a KV is also somewhat dependent on its loadout. One that has the KV-2 configuration (152mm gun) is really a slow heavy-killer, whose shots are somewhat wasted on mediums. But the KV-3 with the 107mm is a different beast with fairly rapid shooting that's devastating to most mediums.

[Commander 598]

It's when you meet a same or higher tier heavy (i.e. IS-3) that medium vs heavy battles become very suicidal.

This is only true if you encounter a GOOD heavy player/team. (Spoiler: 90% of tanks players are terrible and you will often inflict significant damage/death on them with casual ease)

I was trashing IS-3s, -4s, and King Tigers with a T-43. If nothing else I was knocking off 75+% of their health as they continually missed point blank shots against me as I outran their turret traverse and shot them in the ass...and then got killed by arty or their buddy finally came to rescue them (Sometimes that ended badly for them as well).

[Rightous Fist Of Heaven]

It's when you meet a same or higher tier heavy (i.e. IS-3) that medium vs heavy battles become very suicidal.

This is only true if you encounter a GOOD heavy player/team. (Spoiler: 90% of tanks players are terrible and you will often inflict significant damage/death on them with casual ease)

I was trashing IS-3s, -4s, and King Tigers with a T-43. If nothing else I was knocking off 75+% of their health as they continually missed point blank shots against me as I outran their turret traverse and shot them in the ass...and then got killed by arty or their buddy finally came to rescue them (Sometimes that ended badly for them as well).

Countering this as a King Tiger player, I often see T-44's and Panther's attempting to close range with me into knife-fighting range apparently in the belief that all heavy players fail at close range. Most often T-44 players especially learn here that their medium isnt actually a problem for a KT player who knows how to handle their tank. De-tracking these circling mediums is trivial and once they lose their mobility they are as good as dog food.

A prime example today, a T-29 and T-44 (T-29 at 78% and T-44 at 88%) attempted to gangbang me on the hill behind the windmill at Malinovka. The T-44 player appeared to be firmly in the belief that he could dash in and out from behind the windmill before I could get a return shot off and ended up dying rather quickly after I had finished off the T-29.

High tier mediums are dangerous, but they are also quite difficult to play correctly unless you are facing heavies who are absolutely incapable of keeping their stronger armor facings presented against a close range maneuvering threat and unable to hit the broadside of a barn at point-blank range.

[Slacker]

I find as a medium knowing reload times is absolutely essential-barring something really unlucky, I can take a hit from a KT/IS. I'll risk that shot, trying to dodge to make them miss, and then I know roughly how long I have until they can shoot again. If their one bite at the apple doesn't score big, then it's a matter of skill and maneuvering to get in behind them, which is a contest I win more than I lose.

Of course, when that goes wrong it spectacularly goes wrong, like getting ammo racked by a Hetzer in a bush nearby or having both tracks blown off by a shot that doesn't penetrate.

[Mr Bean]

Nothing pisses me off more than double de-tracking because it makes no damn sense. Worse is the fact there's a script built into de-tracking, you don't keep going then stop, you do a weird 45 to 100 degree turn and then stop. I've had de-tracking spin me almost all the way around in my Su-85. Nothing sucks more then being perfectly stationary trading shots with a KV3 with it's 107 gun then suddenly your tossed 60 degrees to the right can no longer see the KV3 AND both of your tracks are broken. Yet you can see that hit your front plate. It makes no kind of sense. And it gets me killed very often in my TD to be de-tracked and tossed sideways.

[Highlord Laan]

I can see that happening when pelting across the hills at 60km/h, but having it happen while stationary is dumb. OTOH, if you get nailed by a 152mm, I expect to see my M7 get tossed, but that never happens.

[Highlord Laan]

Dammed edit timer.

Just got my Easy 8. Immdiately dropped in the Wright Centennial engine and the M1A1 76mm. Popped on a rammer and snagged a few APCR. First match in, I maul a KV3 to death before moving on to splattering a pair pesky A20's, gutting a T44, and wrecking an IS3. A T43 finished him off.

I really like the Easy 8. I do dislike it's slower speed, but I'm an M7 junkie so it's understandable.

Bought a T-14 for shit and grins, even though I decided to generally avoid playing heavies after the dismal experience I've had with the KV and T1. The T-14 though, is a beast. It's slow, but it's front armor makes up for it, and while a bit undergunned, I know how to place my shots for effect. All in all, a good tank to play.

Actually went and looked up the T-14 after playing it. Design was ready for production, but was equaled by the upgraded Churchills already in service. That, combined with it's massive weight, got the T-14 nixed. Eventually, it led to a very productive medium tank program that led to the T23 and M37, only to have the whole idea killed off by the mindless waste of space dipshit REMF's in Army Ground Force Command that decided that arming a tank well enough to defend itself against other tanks was something unholy and wrong. Which of course led to them deciding that feeding hordes of Shermans to the Tigers and Panthers of the Reich, secure in their "knowledge" of modern combat doctrine that neither of the aforementioned German tanks were all that numerous, that tanker officers seeing whole companies of Shermans getting wiped out didn't know what they were talking about, and that they were the true masters of armored doctrine, safe at home and never serving a day in one of the deathtraps they kept putting people in.

Don't get me wrong, the Sherman was a great tank. In 1942. By D-Day, it was obsolete; only superior to it's enemies by weight of numbers. I sincerely hope that every one of the fucking bastards in AGCF at that time spends the rest of eternity roasting in a sizzling M4 hull somewhere in hell.

[Slacker]

The American heavy line gets rewarding once you're in the T-29. The T-32 is a beast, as is the T-34. The T-30, the T10, is a bit expensive to operate, the two people I know with them run a loss unless they're monsters in the game they're in.

[Mr. Coffee]

I'm digging the E8 Sherman and the T-20 medium. The E8 pretty zippy and manueverable once you've got the engine and tracks upgraded, and A2 76mm's hilariously high rate of fire makes it great for either drive-by run and gun play or pop out from cover and shoot play (I can get two or three rounds off in the same time it takes my Tiger's 88 to fire once). The T-20 I still haven't gotten fully upgrraded yet, but it's a zippy little bastard once ti gets up to speed. I'll tell ya this though, the 105mm (I call it the Derp gun on account of the noise it makes when firing) for it is great for screwing up TDs and Arty, but it's not so great against other mediums and heavies in the same weight class. I'll let you know how the 90mm gun works once I get it, but everyone tells me it makes a great sniper gun.

[Zinegata]

I want the 90mm for my Easy 8 .

Barring that at least the option for the 105mm. Heck, the 105mm E8 isn't even a prototype. It's a production model that saw action in Korea.

[D.Turtle]

The 105mm will be available in some future patch - the modeling wasn't finished in time IIRC.