World of Tanks Mark 2

[Skywalker_T-65]

So its like the 3601, just with less (much less from what I've heard) brawling ability? Since I consider the 36 to be a medium/heavy.

And I've got the last module in line for the 3002 already researched, so its just a matter of getting the 30k or so xp I need from the 3601...probably faster and more fun than regrinding the III/IV and then going through the 3001 (H)

[Vanas]

The Panther's substantially faster than the 3601, but don't expect to take quite as many hits. If you're the top tank, it's a suprisingly good bully of even IS tanks. If you're not, the L/100 is even more accurate than the L/70 so stand well back and fire fire fire.

[The Infidel]

The VK3002(db) is much more of a brawler than the Panther, but still a bit lacking. It's cannon does little penetration but OK damage, while the Panther does little damage, but is fast shooting and does OK penetration. The Panther is really a TD in disguise. It's 75mm cannon is probably the most accurate in the game and the Panther is a good tank to use as a sniper from distance while your russian allies keeps your target occupied. The Panther is not very well suited for close combat.

[Skywalker_T-65]

Yeah, that's what I heard. Thankfully I tend towards sniping anyway (only brawling when needed) so that should help matters.

[Deathstalker]

I ran into the first hack I've seen tonight. A Bt-7 couldn't be damaged. It rolled up and stopped and 2 TDs, a tank and my Grille kept shooting it and did no damage. I hit it with two point blank arty shots and did nothing.

[Nephtys]

Impossible. Shots and damage are server-side authoritative. The architecture literally does not make that possible.

[xthetenth]

Do you have replays on? I'd like to see that, because I've seen a good few glitches which were obviously the server reaching out and telling my client that no, my turret was aimed that way that were obviously caused by lag and the server being the authoritative

World of tanks is pretty much a thin client. Turret rotation visually happens on your end and can thus become desynched, everything else is at the server's say so. I know because a while back I had my network card go on my computer in a weird manner that caused a lot of bugginess that gave me a really good look at what was effected. Short version is turret rotation isn't visually and you get muzzle flash and sound when you click iirc.

[Deathstalker]

I called a hack because everyone said it was. It could have been something with the server, as the invulnerable BT-7 stopped moving and everyone was shooting at it. I saw others hit it from all sides and it took no damage, its health bar did not move even with everyone hitting it.

[PeZook]

If the server got desynched, then it could've stopped moving because the server wouldn't be receiving any input from the driver's client. I mean, why would it just stop and show off its invulnerability, instead of doing something like murdering everybody?

[weemadando]

Yeah, sounds like desynch issues more than a hack.

[The Infidel]

I experienced something similar a while back. We were 4 tanks shooting at the last survivor of the other team. It was a low tier fight, and I even switched to premium shells and pumped his rear with them. Nothing happened for a minute or so, then he started to lose xp and finally died. We surrounded him at close range so that he could not move, so there is no chance the shots missed him. I record all my battles, but didn't tag this one and will not go trough hundreds of battles to find this one. I think he drove the premium PzIIJ.

What is desync issues? How does it work?

(Oh, I checked: The PzIIJ has 80/50/50 armor. Maybe it wasn't an issue at all, but BT-2 with ZiS-19 and premium shells should tear through the rear of that tank like tissue paper.)

[Simon_Jester]

Could someone explain a desynch to me? Exactly what are we saying happens here?

I'm curious.

[The Infidel]

WTF? I played my T18 and noticed a PzJäger1 shooting wildly around him at the beginning of the game. After a while he turned blue for teamkill, so I shot him. Don't need teamkillers on my team. I was penalized with a negative kill! Why? When someone turns blue, doesn't that mean they are outlaws and can be shot freely? I didn't get any reduced credits or xp for it. That bastard cost me a Top Gun! I got 5 kills despise my negative one.

[The Vortex Empire]

WTF? I played my T18 and noticed a PzJäger1 shooting wildly around him at the beginning of the game. After a while he turned blue for teamkill, so I shot him. Don't need teamkillers on my team. I was penalized with a negative kill! Why? When someone turns blue, doesn't that mean they are outlaws and can be shot freely? I didn't get any reduced credits or xp for it. That bastard cost me a Top Gun! I got 5 kills despise my negative one.

Yeah, for some reason it still gives you a negative kill despite not penalizing you any credits or xp. Makes about as much sense as charging you for ammo in training rooms while making repairs free.

[Skywalker_T-65]

On a different subject...I had a match in my 3601 where I was holding up an entire flank on my own since the rest of the team charged the other flank. I think I got shot at by at least 6 tanks...T6 and T5 thankfully. I couldn't even see because so many shots were bouncing off my armor. I do think I killed a couple of them though.

[Vanas]

It's slow! It's a little bit crap! It's filled with tea! It's really, really slow! But oh, does it sometimes work.

Victory!
Battle: El Halluf 09 October 2012 19:02:24
Vehicle: Matilda Black Prince
Experience received: 2,976 (x2 for the first victory each day)
Credits received: 37,134
Battle Achievements: Steel Wall, Master Gunner, Sharpshooter

Claimed a T-34, KV-1, ELC, M7 and a T-50, of which the only one I snap-shotted was the T-50. The KV and I had a head to head brawl,;whether it was the angle or the gun, he never seemed to pen me.

[PainRack]

On a different subject...I had a match in my 3601 where I was holding up an entire flank on my own since the rest of the team charged the other flank. I think I got shot at by at least 6 tanks...T6 and T5 thankfully. I couldn't even see because so many shots were bouncing off my armor. I do think I killed a couple of them though.

In what seems to be my last hurrah, my M2 MT did the exact same thing, although it wasn't the same as being entirely on my own.

It was that swamp map and I delayed a whole 5 tanks from advancing up the flank, while inflicting damage and acting as a scout for arty and in the final scene, for a TD on the ridge as they came into range......

I didn't rely on armour though, instead, it was scoot and shoot from rock to rock, losing visibility and trading ground for opportunity.


God, that was fun:D Too bad, it seems to be my last hurrah... Been screwing up every other battle since........

[Vendetta]

I find good and bad performances come in waves. I've been having days where I get really low win rates for reasons that often feel beyond my control (in an AMX-12t my ability to control the battle is highly situational, and sometimes those situations just don't develop).

It also feels like high tier games are far more vulnerable to matchmaking imbalance in terms of how good the players on each team are. There's no weighting that, for instance, compensates for the fact that that T34 on your team has actually played less than 400 battles and has no tanks he's earned above tier 2, he's just bought a hard to use Tier 8 heavy that should be having a major effect due to its outrageous gun and sucking hard at it, acting as a handicap rather than a benefit to the team.

[PeZook]

Turns out life tends to approximate a standard distribution when the results depend on more than one person

[Vendetta]

Yeah. Though the effect of personal skill is enough that the winrates distribute themselves in about the 40%-60% range, rather than absolutely everything coming out in the wash.

The reason is that the way the battles flow in WoT means that instead of having a 15v15 battle you're actually engaging in a series of smaller engagements of usually 3-5 a side, and that the way combat works in WoT means that outnumbering is very powerful. All else being equal, Two tanks fighting three tanks will do significantly less damage than they would have against two, because they'll get less shots off each. That means that where a 2v2 would have one seriously damaged survivor limp away, a 3v2 will have at the very least two healthy tanks on the winning side.

And even where the numbers are even, a 3v3 might functionally be a 3v2 if one of the players is just crap, especially at high levels where it matters more to know and aim for weak spots, or if one player is particularly good and can consistently and quickly aim for those weak spots whilst angling himself properly, taking down an opponent far quicker and at less cost than simple slugging would achieve.

And that means those healthier tanks move on to tip the balance of the next engagement, making even a small outnumber difficult to recover from.

[Highlord Laan]

I am seriously starting to loathe my T-43. Well, not the tank, which is still a solid piece of hardware, but the matchmaking it gets. It'd be fine if there were more than just heavies and TD's on the field every goddamed match.

[xthetenth]

It also feels like high tier games are far more vulnerable to matchmaking imbalance in terms of how good the players on each team are. There's no weighting that, for instance, compensates for the fact that that T34 on your team has actually played less than 400 battles and has no tanks he's earned above tier 2, he's just bought a hard to use Tier 8 heavy that should be having a major effect due to its outrageous gun and sucking hard at it, acting as a handicap rather than a benefit to the team.

Well, I'm absolutely terrible in the T34 as well.

[Vendetta]

I am seriously starting to loathe my T-43. Well, not the tank, which is still a solid piece of hardware, but the matchmaking it gets. It'd be fine if there were more than just heavies and TD's on the field every goddamed match.

Now, many people would call that the promised land. The promised land where they can poke their noses half an inch out from their rock without five artillery shells simultaneously landing on it...

Yeah, at high tier matches heavies predominate in the tanks. Mediums can form an effective wolfpack if there are a few of them though, and are an unholy terror to lights because they're harder to flank and harder to get away from (see: Type 59s can fuck off.), or fight as flankers if there aren't. The smaller your tank is the more important it is to learn the weak spots on enemy tanks. Even as an AMX-12 (Tier VI Light) I've landed multiple consecutive penetrating shots on an IS-7 (Tier X Heavy) because I simply knew where to shoot him (and, admittedly, there was a Maus facehugging him, which kept him rather distracted, though the Maus didn't actually do anything other than be there taking damage)

[Skywalker_T-65]

Speaking of meds...I got bored and started comparing my precious VK 3601 to the other T6 tanks...and it has better armor than all three of the Soviet T6 heavies and the 34-85 (actually, it stomps the 34-85 in that regard).

As for the Mericans and Frenchies...

The 3601 has better side armor than both the M6 and the ARL 44, though the former has SLIGHTLY (only 3 higher) side-turret armor. The 3601 is also nearly even with the M6 in the frontal armor department, though it is 20 below the ARL.

What is really funny is that it has much better armor than the Panther (aside from the lack of a slope), and darn near equal armor to the Tiger (a better turret actually).

So yeah...the 3601 really should be a heavy, not a medium.

EDIT: Well, a better turret than the Tiger's stock one. More or less equal when the Tiger gets its historical turret.

[Skywalker_T-65]

I killed the thread with my VK fanboyism.

Speaking of said tank...had a match where I killed two T7 tanks earlier. An IS and a Tiger P. Quite a WTF moment since they normally slaughter me (that's more my skill level/luck than the tank though).