Scorpiany

Title says all... the "Centered" icons are far from the center with the recent modpack.

Update: Added a FV4005 Review to the "Tanks" section of the Forums. Enjoy!

Cookies and death rays! Get your cookies and death rays here! Also have British monocles and Cuban cigars here, but get your cookies and death rays here! In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the FV4005, explain the gun choices and/or performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 10 Tank Destroyers. Let's get started, shall we? ***Please note that from this point on in the guide, I may refer to the FV4005 as "Top Hat" or "Ol' Brit"; in connection with the image at the end. ^-^*** Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices and / or performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Highest alpha damage on any non-artillery in the game, and more alpha damage than the Bat-Chat 155 58 and Obj. 261. Scary, really. With HESH, can one-shot every Tier 8, almost every Tier 9 and even a handful of Tier 10's, assuming the shell penetrates. 5.05 m splash radius; can damage multiple tanks in one shot, or damage tanks with near misses. Has a pseudo-turret which turns 45 degrees in either direction Incredible penetration with the AP at 310, with 1,150 alpha damage to boot - this makes the AP even more dangerous than the German death star, and very comparable to the Obj. 261's AP Good terrain resistance values, almost half of what's on the FV215b 183; which allows for much better acceleration and traversing Good track traverse speed of 30 degree/second for the kind of cannon on the tank. Good terrain resistance values only helps further with track traverse Surprisingly good accuracy of .36, makes the gun fairly reliable when aimed in Rather quick aiming time considering the caliber of the gun, at only 2.88 seconds. Good DPM with either shell, with equipment can reach 2,725.32 with AP and 4,177.22 with HESH Neutrals: Reasonable gun depression of 5 degrees. Not great, but not terrible either. Reasonable soft stats for such a large caliber gun. With the good aiming time and accuracy, you'll get your reticle onto the target fairly quickly Alright view range at 390m. The tank is either fighting at close ranges or sniping at exposed targets though, so the view range doesn't really matter Acceptable shell velocity of 830m/s - better than the Obj. 261's without a doubt, despite having an entirely superior gun Turret traverse is only 12.51 degrees/second, although alternatively this brings your turret traverse soft stats down, which is actually fairly important for such a high caliber gun 12 round ammo capacity may seem very low, but the gun does so much damage per shot that it usually doesn't have any real ammo problems Crew and modules are vulnerable to HE, but will easily resist regular shells The tank is very tall, although this gives you the advantage of being able to shoot into hull roofs and turret roofs. Cons: The tank is very large, easy to hit Hull armor won't do much other than block HE shells and bounce a few shells at strange angles Turret has 14mm of tissue paper all around. At least your crew has something to blow their nose with. Very limited gun elevation of only 8 degrees. This can be a very annoying thing Low HP of only 1,850. The minimal armor makes this problem worse Vulnerable to HE shells, as can be expected with any tank with such little armor (crew does a much better job at surviving than something such as the waffle though) Very expensive HESH shells, at $8,000 apiece. I suppose this is expected from a 183mm cannon though. AP shells are also quite pricy, at $2,250 apiece Limited forwards and reverse speeds, at only 35 km/h fowards and 12km/h backwards. You will reach your top speed at a rather quick rate, unlike the FV215b 183 thanks to your good terrain resistance values, although once you reach that speed, you're stuck with it - can be rather limiting. Equipment: Personally, I mount Improved Ventilation, Gun Rammer and Enhanced Gun Laying Drive on Ol' Top Hat. Other equipment could be considered, but is situational. Recommended: Improved Ventilation: Ol' Top Hat makes rather good usage of the Ventilation, even though the gun handles fairly well for a 183mm as it is, Vents do give it a nice touch. Gun Rammer: If you can mount a Gun Rammer on a tank, you should; regardless of the vehicle. Ol' Top Hat is fine with it, so long as you have some tea as well. Enhanced Gun Laying Drive: A 2.88 second aiming time may be very good for a 183mm cannon, but improving it with an Enhanced Gun Laying drive will give your gun more consistency, which is an important thing for a vehicle with such a hard-hitting gun. Optional: Coated Optics: Coated Optics Monocoles will bring your view range up to 445m with the Ventilation, which is always nice. However, I don't really think this is the kind of tank that should be spotting things on its own, thus only use these if you feel as though it's necessary, or as though the GLD isn't doing much for you. You can replace Vents or GLD, whichever you feel like. Binocular Telescope: Ol' Top Hat has 390m of View Range, which with Binoculars, will be enough to spot tanks at a distance. If you find yourself sniping with that .36 accuracy, Binocs may occasionally come in handy. However, even though you can snipe, you should be spending more time up close rather than from afar. Replace Vents or GLD if you mount Binocs, likely Vents; as you'll want the GLD effect to make sniping easier. Darth Vader: If you're going to operate a Death Star, may as well have Darth Vader on board. He probably knows its functionality a bit better than you do. Ammo: My ammo layout on the FV4005 is 10 HESH, 2 AP. In general, the HESH will give you far better usage of the gun than the AP would - if you're going to shoot AP, why not just use the Jg.Pz.E-100? With HESH, you can one-shot any Tier 8, quite a few Tier 9's and even a handful of Tier 10's (especially Russian mediums). If you don't penetrate the tank, you'll still usually do 500-900 damage with splash. Also, regardless of whether or not you penetrate, you'll do rather significant internal module and crew damage to your opponents. The only time to shoot AP is if you know you're going to be shooting something such as an E-100, which you can't penetrate with HESH. However, if the E-100 is angling well, your HESH will still do a healthy amount of damage, and kill a couple of crew members. Consumables: For Consumables on the FV4005, I use a Small Med Kit, Small Repair Kit and Automatic Fire Extinguisher. Small Med Kit: Standard with practically every tank in the game. Ol' Top Hat doesn't even need a Large kit, as the crew is not allergic to the interior of the tank, unlike something such as the Waffle Small Repair Kit: Once again, standard consumable. If your Top Hat has a hole in it, wouldn't you want to patch it? Automatic Fire Extinguisher: Your Extinguisher actually is a pressurized bottle of tea. Since Ol' Top Hat isn't all that flamable, you could consider replacing your pressurized tea canister with Pudding and Tea, to cheer up your jolly good crew. Guns: Ol' Top Hat has acquired Darth Vader's Death Star's laser, and has equipped it as it's own weapon. This makes the gun more dangerous to get hit by than almost any arty's. The closest match to Ol Top Hat's 183mm is the FV215b 183's 183mm. Below, I've compared the two guns. On the left is Ol' Top Hat, on the right is the Original Deathstar 1.0. Blue is a superior value, whereas green is an approximately tied value. Guns: Rate of Fire: 2.09 (2.09) Aiming time: 2.88 (3.26) Accuracy: .36 (.38) DPM: 2,398.57 (2,398.57) Penetration: 310/230/92 (310/230/92) Damage: 1,150/1,750/1,750 (1,150/1,750/1,750) Shell Velocity: 830/830/830 (830/830/830) Soft Stats: .32/.32/.34 (.26/.26/.40) Ammo capacity: 12 (12) Gun Arc Limit: 45/45 45/45 The verdict? Ol' Top Hat may look friendly, and he really is to most people, but if you cross onto his bad side - he may just one-shot you. Also, compared to the FV215b 183's gun, Ol Top Hat's weaponry is more accuracy and aims in rather decently more quickly. The soft stats on hull movement are worse, but that's because Ol' Top Hat gets around a lot more quickly, and turns more quickly. Turret traverse soft stat is better, but that's only because he likes to enjoy the scenery and turn his turret a bit more slowly. 183mm L4: The 183mm L4 is actually a 182mm gun. Because logic and all. Anyways, Ol' Top Hat's gun boasts incredible penetration and alpha damage with the AP, and decent penetration yet mind-blowing alpha damage with HESH. The HESH is capable of one-shotting a lot more tanks - you could very well one-shot at least one tank in every battle you play. The gun also has rather good aiming time for a 183mm (182mm), and has surprisingly good accuracy. This gives you decent sniping capabilities, and you should have no problem hitting tanks where you want to up close. The accuracy is perfect for penetrating those poor M103's in their checkerboard armor of "weakpoint" / "strongpoint". To get a good understanding of what Ol' Top Hat is capable of doing to your tank - imagine an artillery, say the Obj. 261. Now imagine it with over double the penetration, 50 more alpha, a third of the aiming time, half the dispersion (double the accuracy), double the shell velocity and a 3mm greater caliber. That is the FV4005's 183mm. A gun so good, it makes an artillery's cannon look weak. How to play it: Ol' Top Hat is quite a fine ol' chap, although a bit shy; and a bit allergic too. You see, whenever you try to communicate with him, he pokes around a corner, sneezes out of allergies, and pokes right back behind. That's how you should play the FV4005 - get close to the action, stick with a few allies, and peek-a-boom. As soon as an enemy is distracted or reloading, you can put a massive 183mm shell into it's tank. If something is trying to side-scrape, just pop a shell into or between its tracks - you'll do 500-600 damage to the tank just by hitting the tracks, and likely still kill some crew. If the tank is low HP and holding a corner, you can always put a HESH round into the ground next to it - assuming the tank has little enough HP, or isn't very armored, you should be able to kill it just like an arty could. Most importantly however, support your allies. You have a fair amount of mobility - use it. Shoot at enemies which your allies need shut down, and provide that continuous 183mm support fire. It's a mutual-benefit relationship - you need your ally's HP and armor to take the hits, and they need your accurate death laser to tear the enemy down. Comparison to same-Tier Tank Destroyers: HP: Very bad. 1,850 HP is very low for a Tier 10 TD, especially for one with so little armor. At least you're not the waffle, your tank's HP is entirely it's own; whereas the waffle sucked all of the HP out of its crew for the 2,000 the tank has. Too many calories perhaps? Armor: Very bad. Your hull may get the occasional strange bounce or shot-absorption, but beyond that, you'll be penetrated by anything and everything. Your turret also will be penetrated by all HE shells that come at it. Somehow though, it manages to remain thicker than the waffle's. Mobility: Good. Ol' Top Hat is reasonably mobile for a Tier 10 TD. The acceleration and top speed are "average", but the track traverse is "Very Good"; thus it balances out to be "Good". Penetration: Best in class. The penetration on Ol' Top Hat's AP round is the best out of any AP round on any Tier 10 TD. Your HESH also has ridiculously good penetration for essentially being a giant HE shell. Alpha damage: Best in class. 1,750 alpha damage with HESH would be "Average" for a Tier 10 artillery. For a Tier 10 TD, it's simply unheard of. Even the AP with 1,150 damage has the best damage out of any AP round (and also would be "Average" for artillery AP&quot. Artillery cannons on TD's for the win! Aiming Speed: Bad. Even though 2.88 second aiming time would be considered "bad" for a Tier 10 TD, you do have to keep in mind that this is a 183mm cannon with 1,750 alpha damage. 2.88 seconds is the same as on the Foch, and is also significantly better than the FV215b 183's aiming time. Accuracy: Very bad. .36 accuracy statistically is "Very Bad" for a Tier 10 TD. However, it still is better than the FV215b 183's 183mm, which has the exact same gun. Also, considering this gun is entirely superior to the gun on the Obj. 261 (which is a Tier 10 artillery of all things), .36 accuracy is actually pretty damn good. Shell Velocity: Average. 830 m/s shell velocity is "Average" for a Tier 10 TD. It does contribute to making sniping a bit difficult with this tank (that, and the long aiming time), although it's not terrible. Did I mention it's twice as good as the shell velocity on the Obj. 261, the Tier 10 artillery with an inferior gun? =P View Range: Best in class. 390m is technically "Best in class", although 5 other Tier 10 TD's are tied for this title as well, so don't feel too happy about it. Camo Value: Very bad. Ol' Top Hat likes everything big. Bit hats, big guns, big tanks. He wants to be noticed... thus, you don't really have any feasible camo value. (When someone asks though, you can always say it's almost 20 times better than the waffle's... you may have 1% for camo, but waffle has .06%) Battle effectiveness: Strange. This tank is hilarious in it's own way, but in terms of battle effectiveness? Well, you're going to be dishing out a lot of damage and wrecking plenty of internal modules and crew members. However, the gun still can be a bit inconsistent. In terms of accuracy, the gun is actually rather reliable. Sure, you'll occasionally get some strange misses, but the accuracy is for the most part just fine. The biggest thing is the HESH round. Sometimes you'll do 600 damage to the tracks of a BatChat (true story), other times you'll penetrate the front of a Maus's turret for 2,000 HP (also true story). One shell you'll penetrate an IS-7's angled side from 700m away, right out of draw distance, firing blind, doing 1,700 damage to him (true story), other times you'll do 600 damage to one's overly-exposed lower plate (once again, true story). Essentially, it's an RNG box. Over the course of the battle, you'll do quite a bit. However, consistency wise? Egh. The tank looks for opportunities and uses them. Everything what the tank has going for it is the mobility (which is pretty good) and the antimatter artillery cannon (which is a giant RNG slot machine). So all in all - it depends. There will be battles when doing 8,000 damage in 5 shots was as easy as writing your name. Other times, doing 2k will be a challenge - have you sacrificed enough dissidence to SerB? Overall Rating: 6.5/10 (Good) Ol' Top Hat all in all is a rather good TD. It makes its impact by not only massive amounts of damage, but also by how quickly it eliminates enemies, by the internal module and crew damage it deals, by the way it breaks side-scraping as though it wasn't a real thing, and also by reacting to your ally's positioning. The tank primarily revolves around damage, but it has quite a bit more flexibility than something as the waffle. Even though waffle's gun is a lot more consistent, it's a one-dimensional machine. Ol' Top Hat gives another life to the battle. Also, it's a 183mm cannon which is superior in every single way to a Tier 10 artillery's cannon (poor Obj. 261). Fair and balanced, comrade. One-shotting tanks is simply hilarious. Honestly, it's like the KV-2 of Tier 10, except with a significantly more accurate gun. And just like the KV-2, the only thing that really makes the tank "good" is what the gun is capable of. It's an RNG slot machine in many ways with the HESH rounds, but when the gun works, it does things so dirty that you feel as though you need to take a shower every time you click your mouse button. Sometimes the tank will work wonders, other times it will fail you. All in all, it balances out to usually have quite a decent impact on the battle. Compared to the FV215b 183, Ol' Top Hat sacrifices all of the armor for a rather decent increase in accuracy, aiming speed and overall mobility. The lack of armor does take away a bit from what Ol' Top Hat is capable, but it's not devastating. As a TD, especially if you want to be able to carry with not only the gun presence, but also an armor presence, than the FV215b 183 is probably a better choice. However, that doesn't mean that Ol' Top Hat isn't good. Just not quite as good as the FV215b 183. Although, if you ever want to get your hands dirty with a 183mm cannon only (cannon only, ignoring armor and whatnot) FV4005 takes the cake (FV215b 183 still has the pie though); simply because of how it can get the gun onto target a lot faster (30 degree / second track traverse with good terrain resistance values will surprise some tanks) and because of the improved gun handling stats, allowing you to get a handful of dirty sniping shots in. Good TD. FV215b 183 is better, but don't entirely discredit Ol' Top Hat - he's still quite the capable chap. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (Ol' Top Hat says "Hi!" )

Update: Added a Pz. Sfl. IVc Review to the "Tanks" section. Enjoy!

Tired of your tank's gun feeling weak and limp? Forget Viagra, you need a 8,8 cm Flak 41 L/74! Yes sir, that's right. With a one-time purchase of this wonderful machine, your gun will go from Tier 5 to Tier 8; and from 0 to 90 degrees in a matter of seconds. Buy it now for the cheap price of $112,180 Credits! 100% money back guarantee. For business inquiries, please phone 1-800-TOASTER. In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the Pz. Sfl. IVc, explain the gun choices and/or performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 5 Tank Destroyers. Let's get started, shall we? ***Please note that from this point on in the guide, I shall refer to the Pz. Sfl. IVc as the "Toaster"; it's easier to type than "Pz. Sfl. IVc".*** Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices and / or performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Best gun you can find on any Tier 5 vehicle, the gun is the same as the Panther II's gun, except on a Tier 5! Incredible penetration values with the Flak 41, you can butter through even O-Ni's with AP; let alone APCR Good damage per shot at 240, this is enough to one-shot quite a few Tier 3's Good DPM of 2,002.29 One of the most accurate guns at the Tier (if not the most accurate), at .31 accuracy Very quick aiming time of 2.01 seconds Very quick shell velocity of 1,000 m/s with AP and HE, and 1,250 m/s with APCR Best gun elevation in the game; better than any artillery. 90 degree gun elevation means that your gun can stand up and aim at any cloud you wish to, or perhaps that pesky bird that's been circling your tank and dropping crap onto your camouflage. Very mobile TD; HP/ton ranges from 15.5 to 17.5 depending on the gun choice, and the top speed is 60km/h Great tank traverse of 48 degrees / second Good reverse speed of 20km/h, can quickly back up behind a ridge as necessary Good ammo capacity of 48 rounds with the Flak 41, and 60 rounds with the Flak 37 Very good gun arc of 24 degrees to either side with the Flak 37 Good gun handling in the sense that you can still very quickly aim in once you stop moving. You shouldn't take snapshots though, it's not quite good enough for that. Neutrals: Penetration values with the Flak 37 are decent, but nothing special; especially when compared to the Flak 41 O.K. View Range of 340m. With Binoculars, you should be able to spot tanks as necessary (although you usually don't want to be put into such a position that you have to spot tanks on your own in the first place) Gun depression is reasonable at 5 degrees. It would be nice to have some more, but it's not terrible. Average shell velocity with the Flak 37, once again nothing special; especially when compared to the Flak 41 Alright terrain resistance values. They shouldn't interfere with your mobility too much Flak 41 is very expensive XP and Credit wise, although it's a huge upgrade over the Flak 37 in almost every way; thus I'd say it's worth the cost Decent radio range of 550m. This should be reasonable enough in most situations, although may be a slight issue on larger, especially open maps. Cons: The tank has no armor to speak of. Well, actually it does... you can get up to 20mm! That's right, 20mm of incredible tissue paper! Any kind of HE shell can penetrate you regardless of angle. The tank is huge, which makes it a very easy target to hit. Despite it's great mobility, the size makes it a fairly easily artillery target if you're predictable. The camo value is fairly poor due to the large size Poor gun arc on the Flak 41, at only 5 degrees to either side. Luckily however, this is the only downside of the Flak 41 The Flak 41 does not carry over to any other tanks, so it should only be researched for the novelty of it; or if you plan on keeping the Toaster The Toaster has a strange crew configuration with two Gunners. This configuration doesn't carry over to any other German tank, so you may need to (re)train a new Gunner Frontal mounted engine, with a 20% chance of fire. Luckily, the engine is only damaged if you get hit in the bottom of the hull (since most people will shoot at the giant gun shield and tank walls). Regardless, a Fire Extinguisher would be nice to have. Low HP of only 350 HP. The tank can't afford to take many hits at all. Crew will die fairly easily when hit by HE or by machine guns. Regular shells however, aren't too much of an issue for the crew. Equipment: Personally, I mount a Gun Rammer, Camo Net and Binocular Telescope on the Toaster. Other equipment isn't of much use. Recommended: Gun Rammer: If you can mount a Gun Rammer on a tank, you should; regardless of the vehicle. Toaster is no exception. Besides, how else is it going to prepare your waffles or toast in time for you to head off to work? Camo Net: The tank's camouflage is pretty bad, but with a Camouflage Net, it can actually remain decently concealed; especially at distance. The poor gun arc on the Flak 41 may mean that you'll need to turn your hull reasonably often however, meaning that the Camo Net isn't going to be active continuously. Binocular Telescope: The Toaster has 340m of View Range, which is reasonable at the Tier. Combined with a Binocular Telescope, it can go up to 425m without crew skills. This should allow you to out-spot most opponents. Being able to see your enemy from further away also gives you the benefit of being further away when you shoot; thus making it more likely for your Camo Net to keep you hidden. Optional: Toast: What good is a toaster without toast? Waffles: C'mon, you know you want some. Syrup: Great on top of those waffles! Let's complete the breakfast to start your day right! Ammo: My ammo layout on the Toaster with the Flak 41 is 35 AP, 10 APCR and 3 HE. With the Flak 37, it's 41 AP, 15 APCR, 4 HE. The Flak 41 really doesn't need any APCR, although I always have some in my tank for some reason. I don't really use it unless I feel like overkilling tanks, or if there's a Japanese heavy (which even then, AP can usually butter right through). I never find myself running out of AP either, so I suppose there isn't really reason not to carry APCR; although there isn't really reason to load any either. As for the HE, I load three HE rounds for the occasional Scorpion or Hellcat; although I usually don't shoot the HE in battle unless I know my next shot will be at a paper tank. If you feel as though you're still seeing a lot of Scorpion's and Hellcats from the Mystery Mayhem Monster Tank event and On Track to the T110E4, then you could easily replace a few of the APCR rounds with a few extra HE shells. The Flak 37 does actually need the APCR however, seeing how it has significantly less penetration than the Flak 41 at 132/171/44. You have a 60 round ammo capacity though, so you can play around with the ammo loadout as you feel necessary. Consumables: For Consumables on the Toaster, I use a Small Med Kit, Small Repair Kit and Automatic Fire Extinguisher. Small Med Kit: Standard with practically every tank in the game. Toaster doesn't have any special needs other than desiring some butter for its toast. Small Repair Kit: Once again, standard consumable. If your toaster breaks down, how will you get your breakfast going if you can't fix it? Automatic Fire Extinguisher: Even though the toaster does have a frontal engine, you won't be set on fire too often. However, with the already low HP and potential for an easy fire, you want to be able to put out the flames immediately. You don't want burnt toast or waffles, do you?! If your toaster seems to be the latest fire-resistant model, you could consider some Chocolate; although there's no real reason for it. Besides, who eats sweets for breakfast? You don't want to have a mid-day crash! Guns: The Toaster has two different guns to choose from, although one is almost entirely superior to the other. The Flak 41 is a Panther II, Tier 8 gun on a Tier 5 vehicle; whereas the Flak 37 is a boring Tier 6 gun, although it does gain rather significant gun arc. Below, I've compared the two guns. On the left is the Flak 37, on the right is the Flak 41. Blue is a superior value, whereas green is an approximately tied value. Guns: Rate of Fire: 9.20 (8.34) Aiming time: 1.82 (2.01) Accuracy: .34 (.31) DPM: 2,024.37 (2,002.29) Penetration: 132/171/44 (194/237/44) Damage: 220/220/270 (240/240/295) Shell Velocity: 773/966/773 (1,000/1,250/1,000) Soft Stats: .24/.24/.12 (.24/.24/.14) Ammo capacity: 60 (48) Gun Arc Limit: 27/27 5/5 The verdict? The Flak 41 gun will absolutely butter any tank's armor, even Tier 7's, and is exceptional at sniping. The Flak 37 may give you some more room for closer ranged engagements however, as the gun arc may come in handy for such situations. Flak 37: The Flak 37 on it's own isn't all that bad of a gun. For a Tier 5 TD, it's pretty good. It has good pen, damage, accuracy and aiming time. It carries a lot of shells, and has a great gun traverse arc. However, whilst it is a good gun for the Tier, it's almost entirely inferior to the Flak 41. The main reasons to use the Flak 37 are either a) Because the extra gun traverse allows you to integrate the Toaster into your playstyle a lot more efficiently or B) You don't plan on keeping the toaster and just want to get the grind over with as quickly as possible. Beyond that, there's not much reason to use the Flak 37. Flak 41: The Flak 41 is one of the most ridiculously powerful guns Tier for Tier in the gun. The penetration on it is so high, it would be considered "reasonable" on a Tier 8 tank... this is a Tier 5 vehicle; the highest Tier you'll ever see is Tier 7. Aside from a T29's turret, you can butter just about any vehicle you encounter, even when they're angled. The accuracy is also ridiculously good, you can easily hit weakpoints even from a distance (although with that kind of penetration, shooting at weakpoints is often unnecessary even). As for the gun elevation on the Flak 41, it's 90 degrees. This means that you can point your gun straight up; meaning it's impossible for any tank to be above your gun elevation. You could be hugging the edge of the mountain on Cliff, and if a light tank popped up above you, whereas most allies would never be able to hit it, you would have no problem getting your gun on target and tearing it apart. In order to raise your gun to 90 degrees, park your tank on flat ground (or on a downwards slope) and go into Sniper Mode. Whilst in Sniper Mode, keep raising your gun. It's a massive attention grabber too, as most people have never actually seen that gun elevated all the way up - besides, it's as long as the Obj. 261's cannon! The gun is taller than many various buildings. Ah, that gun. It's awesome. Back on topic - in terms of gun arc limitations, 5 degrees to each side is pretty bad - however, that being the only actual downside to the gun, the limited gun arc is more than worth it in order to gain all of the other incredible stats of the gun. The Flak 41 really should be your gun of choice (Some would argue that if the Flak 37's penetration is already fairly good for the Tier, that there's no reason to need the extra penetration and accuracy of the Flak 41 - however, the Flak 37 will actually meet tanks it can't bounce, and can't go through a handful of tanks if they try to side-scrape. The Flak 37 also will need find APCR as a necessity against a few vehicles. The Flak 41 will never encounter these problems, and will be able to do things that the Flak 37 could only dream of doing). How to play it: The way the Toaster is played is fairly similar regardless of which gun you use, although there are a few differences worth noting. Flak 37: When using either gun on the toaster, you want to be sniping from a distance; shooting at what your allies spot. The Flak 37 however, can possibly go into closer ranged engagements with allies and shoot at enemies between their reloads, thanks to the gun arc. However, you will need to aim a lot more carefully with the Flak 37 than you would with the Flak 41 - with the Flak 37, side-scraping tanks may be difficult to penetrate, and there will be tanks, especially higher Tier vehicles, which you'll need to aim at weakpoints for. Flak 41: With the Flak 41, you're a bit more restricted to a sniping role, although the mobility of the Toaster can still make shooting at reloading enemies at closer ranges possible, so long as you have allied support. Unlike with the Flak 37, the Flak 41 allows you to essentially point and shoot at just about any tank you encounter. You will butter Japanese tanks with ease, practically nothing can dream of side-scraping against you, and only a few turrets are actually strong enough to compete with your gun. Even the Sherman Jumbo's stock turret will begin to struggle a bit, especially if you load APCR (however, you do need to aim carefully if you shoot at a stock Jumbo turret). All in all, the Flak 41 will turn your opponent's armor to butter, and only a T29's turret can actually compete against the Flak 41's incredible penetration. The Flak 37 gains a bit more flexibility with the significantly increased gun arc limits, although that comes at the cost of a lot of penetration and fair amount of accuracy. The Flak 41 is almost entirely a superior gun, and the only reasons not to use it are if you find the gun arc overly challenging, or you just want to research the Nashorn as quickly as possible. Comparison to same-Tier Tank Destroyers: HP: Bad. 350 HP is actually fairly standard for a paper TD at this Tier, although it's only better than the S35 Bathtub's 330 HP. The bathtub however, is designed to contain water, whereas the Toaster (as with any electrical appliance) must be kept away from such substances at all times. Armor: Worst in class. The armor on the Toaster is so thin, there is a debate on whether or not it actually exists, or if the metal we see on it is merely a fignment of our imagination. There's also a conspiracy theory that it is actually made of tissue paper, in a secret WG attempt to make the tank drown in water more quickly. Mobility: Best in class. Yes, T67 accelerates a lot more quickly. However, the Toaster not only has the same top speed as the T67, but has an incredibly good track traverse speed, whereas the T67 find turning to be very complicated. Penetration: Best in class. The penetration on the Flak 41 isn't just the best in class, but the best in the entire Tier, and one of the best even against Tier 6's and non-TD Tier 7's! It's a good Tier 8 gun on a Tier 5 vehicle! Alpha damage: Very good. The Flak 41's 240 alpha damage is one of the best on any of the Tier 5 TD's, with the exception of howitzers and the S35's 105mm. Aiming Speed: Average. Even though the 2.01 second aiming time is very short, it still falls right in the middle of other Tier 5 TD's. The Flak 37 would be learning towards "good" in this regard, but still would be between other TD's. Accuracy: Best in class. .31 accuracy isn't just the best in class, but also the best in the Tier and one of the best in the game. .31 accuracy is ridiculously good, and simply will not let you down. You could snipe at weakpoints if you felt like it - but why bother with that, when you make the O-Ni's armor seem no thicker than the T67's? =) Shell Velocity: Best in class. 1,000/1,250/1,000 m/s shell velocity is simply unheard of at Tier 5. It is by far the best of any Tier 5 TD, tank or otherwise. View Range: Very good. Even though 340m of View Range isn't all that great, for a Tier 5 TD, it's one of the best. In fact, only the AT-2 has superior view range. Other Tier 5 TD's are either tied for View Range or are inferior in this regard. With Binoculars, you can reach 425m without crew skills or food. Camo Value: Very bad. The toaster is huge, and isn't afraid to show it. In fact, with a gun so long that it makes Tier 10's jealous, why would the toaster not want to flaunt it around? C'mon, you know you're entirely envious. Just admit it. Battle effectiveness: Good. The gun on the Toaster is simply mindbogglingly incredible. Nothing at the Tier or even most higher Tiers can compete with it, let beat it. This should technically mean that the tank is unstoppable, especially with the mobility. However, it's not so. The giant size, mediocre camo, average View range and limited gun arc can create some problems. There should be no reason for you not to be able to make quite the impact on the battle, but you're not always going to be able to carry, especially on smaller maps or city maps where sniping isn't quite a possibility (although not an issue when top Tier, simply because of the damage you do per shot). Overall, it's a very good TD which can make quite the stand. However, it typically let's the gun do the talking; with the occasional nimble relocation. Overall Rating: 7/10 (Good) The Toaster is a very competitive TD, with many unique features. The gun is by far the best on any Tier 5 and even Tier 6 tank. The gun on the Panther, which is already considered to be a very good gun, is actually inferior to the Toaster's gun. The Toaster has the mobility you need to relocate, the firepower to easily tear apart higher Tier opponents, and the accuracy to hit exactly where you want to. What prevents the tank from being overpowered are its various glaring downsides, such as huge size, lack of any useful armor, limited gun arc, low HP and only average camo and view range. In fact, so many downsides may seem indicative of a bad tank, but luckily the gun is more than powerful enough to help significantly make up for the Toaster's other downsides, and the mobility gives it what it needs to be a "good" TD. If you're grinding this tank, don't be afraid to pick up the Flak 41. There's truly no other gun like it in the game, in the way it butters even some of the strongest Tier 7's. Also, what's not hilarious about 90 degrees of gun elevation? Unless you're anti-social and hate attention, you'll feel quite a bit of joy simply from having that kind of gun, and especially from the amazement and jealously it induces. All in all, it's a good TD with several very unique features. The tank can easily make an impact regardless of which Tiers or types of opponents it has to engage. The most important thing for the toaster is the map, as an open map, or one with the ability to shoot and quickly get back into cover, is what the toaster needs to excel. When top Tier, city maps aren't all that much of an issue simply because of the alpha damage and DPM of the gun, which allows the Toaster to quickly tear apart opponents. Against higher Tier vehicles however, city maps are a major Achilles's Heel. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (Toaster Bus has prepared some breakfast for you - how nice! )

Update: Added a Sherman Jumbo Review to the "Tanks" section. Enjoy! :)

No Mr. IS-3! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please don't shoot me! Haha, got ya! I wasn't scared of you at all... now to feast on those delicious tracks. Your measly repair kit shall do nothing to save you! Feed me your HP... feed me your tracks! Bwahahahahaha! In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the Sherman Jumbo, explain the gun choices and/or performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 6 Medium Tanks. Let's get started, shall we? ***Please note that from this point on in the guide, I shall refer to the M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo as the "Jumbo"; it's easier to type than "M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo".*** Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices and / or performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Very thick armor for a Tier 6 tank, let alone a medium Stock turret is the most armored turret you can find on any Tier 6 tank, and best all-around turret up to Tier 7 with a consistent 152mm all around Lower plate is actually incredibly thick, if someone tries to shoot at it, they'll bounce off Cupola is not a weakpoint on the stock turret; in fact, it's just as thick as the rest of the turret with great angling - it will auto-bounce almost any Tier 8 gun Very good gun depression of 10 degrees all around the tank Very reasonable DPM with either gun Very high ammo capacity with either gun, you should never run out of ammo even in the most intense battles Good gun elevation of 25 degrees, usually more than enough for any standard engagement Decent aiming time and accuracy stats for the 76mm Great aiming speed for the 105mm howitzer Reasonably quick for such an armored vehicle Good view range with the upgraded turret Very good radio range for a Tier 6 tank; it will prevent you from losing contact with allies with poor crews or radios (which can be a problem for some tanks, especially for lower Tier allies) Very dynamic gameplay, and great options available in terms of turret and gun combos; multiple playstyles are possible with the tank Neutrals: Decent HP pool of 760. With the stock turret you only have 730 HP, although the significant armor increase makes the 730 HP last much longer than the 760 HP of the upgraded turret Mediocre terrain resistance values. The tank still gets around reasonably quickly for such an armored vehicle though O.K. side armor at 76mm. It's not great by any means, but it's enough to get some rudimentary side-scraping done, and can still bounce shots (especially from same Tier or lower Tier vehicles) Stock turret has a mediocre view range of 330m. However, the gameplay of a Jumbo with the stock turret does not require much view range, so it balances out Mediocre penetration with either gun. The guns do have redeeming features, but they're just "decent"; nothing special about them O.K. gun dispersion values on the move considering the aiming speed. It shouldn't take too long to aim in Cons: Upgraded turret is actually fairly weak, still reasonable when top Tier, but really won't stop shells from same or higher Tier guns Very thin rear armor of only 38mm; can be penned by some HE shells Very thin turret roof armor (which isn't really a problem because of how tall the tank is; no one will practically be able to shoot at it) Very tall tank, can be fairly easy to hit for artillery (although thick armor helps negate some of that damage) Upper plate is actually the weakest part of the hull (whilst still very thick at 140mm effective armor without angling); which means hull-down would need to hide the entire hull. Hiding the lower plate only is actually counter-intuitive, as your lower plate is the thickest part of the hull Very low shell velocity with the 105mm howitzer Ineffective HEAT rounds on the 105mm howitzer 76mm needs to hold quite a few APCR rounds Equipment: Personally, I mount Improved Ventilation, Gun Rammer and Vertical Stabilizer on the Jumbo. A Medium Spall Liner can be put in place of Improved Ventilation, as deemed necessary. Optics may be used as well, if the 76mm gun is preferred with the upgraded turret. Recommended: Improved Ventilation: The 5% boost to crew skills (2.5% to tank performance) is always a nice touch. Jumbo doesn't have any kind of great necessity for other equipment, so Ventilation as a standard (especially if you can't afford other equipment) will be just fine. Gun Rammer: If you can mount a Gun Rammer on a tank, you should; regardless of the vehicle. Jumbo is no exception. Vertical Stabilizer: A Vertical Stabilizer will greatly help you get your reticle aimed in on the target as necessary, and may allow for some close-range snapshots. It's a very nice piece of equipment to have on the Jumbo. Optional: Medium Spall Liner: The Jumbo is a very armored vehicle for its Tier, and as such, may benefit from a Spall Liner; especially when people switch to HE or arty begins firing at you. When using the stock turret, the Spall Liner will be most useful, as it will almost entirely negate any artillery damage from Tier 4-6 fluffy sky clicking piggies of artillery death rain. The increased crew survivability will also be helpful when it comes to engaging another howitzer, especially another Sherman Jumbo. If a Spall Liner is used, it should replace Improved Ventilation. Coated Optics: Coated Optics should only be used if you choose to mount the upgraded turret with the 76mm gun. The 10% increase in View Range will allow you to easily out-spot a lot of targets, and may be very useful when sniping is necessary. If you use the stock turret and howitzer, there is no reason to use Optics, as the gameplay will no longer require it. If Optics are used, they should replace Improved Ventilation. Ammo: My ammo layout on the Jumbo with the 105mm is 55 HE, 15 HEAT. With the 76mm, it's 60 AP, 34 APCR, 10 HE. With the 105mm, you should primarily be firing HE. Even though the HEAT isn't very useful, there are times when it is a good shell to use (against Togs, M4's, T-25's, etc.). 55 HE will still be plenty if you need to fire solely HE, and the 15 HEAT will provide you as much HEAT as you could possibly need in a battle as well. The large ammo capacity of the Jumbo truly allows you to have all of the ammo of each shell type which you may need. When using the 76mm, you can hold 104 shells. That's an absolutely ridiculous number, and allows you to really be generous with your APCR and HE counts. 60 AP rounds is already more than enough ammo for most battles. Seeing as how the 76mm on a Tier 6 tank is lacking a bit of penetration, having a healthy number of APCR rounds for higher Tier opponents will come in handy. And since you can carry so many shells, why not put on 10 HE for those Scorpion's and Hellcat's which have been invading the battlefield recently? Consumables: For Consumables on the Jumbo, I use a Small Med Kit, Small Repair Kit and Automatic Fire Extinguisher. Small Med Kit: Standard with practically every tank in the game. Jumbo doesn't have any special needs, so a small medical kit should suffice. Small Repair Kit: Once again, standard consumable. Jumbo doesn't really have any reason to use anything else. Its modules do a good job at staying intact, so one kit should be enough; especially if you have Repair skills for your tracks. Automatic Fire Extinguisher: The Sherman Jumbo isn't necessarily flammable, but with all of the HE and artillery which may end up flying at you, it's always nice to have that reassurance. If you feel very comfortable with your Jumbo's resistance, you could replace the Automatic Fire Extinguisher with a Case of Cola. If you do so, I would consider training your crew in Firefighting though; every now and then a Bert (FV304) may end up hitting your engine deck. Guns: The Sherman Jumbo not only has two guns to choose from, but also two turrets. You can either choose to use the stock turret with the 105mm or the upgraded turret with the 76mm. Personally, I recommend the stock turret and 105mm; although either combo can be used depending on playstyle. Below, I've compared the two guns and turrets. On the left is stock turret and 105mm, on the right is the upgraded turret and the 76mm. Blue is a superior value, whereas green is an approximately tied value. Guns: Rate of Fire: 8.89 (18.96) Aiming time: 2.16 (2.21) Accuracy: .52 (.38) DPM: 3,643.63 (2,180.52) (Keep in mind that the 105mm's effective DPM will be far less than the listed one) Penetration: 53/101 (128/177/38) Damage: 410/350 (115/115/185) Shell Velocity: 472/381 (792/990/792) Soft Stats: .24/.24/.16 (.24/.24/.12) Ammo capacity: 70 (104) Turrets: Armor: 152/152/152 63/63/63 HP: 730 760 Turret traverse: 32 39 View Range: 330 370 One of the combos focuses around heavy armor and competing against Tier 8's. The other combo focuses more on plowing through top Tier and some mid Tier matches. Both combos are very viable, although I feel as though the stock turret + 105mm gun is the most consistent and reliable regardless of the Match-making, map, etc. Stock turret + 105mm gun: The stock turret on the Sherman Jumbo is the best turret on any Tier 6 and below tank, and is the second-best all-around turret even against Tier 7 turrets (only T29 being superior). This already gives you a great armor advantage, which allows you to even reliably hull-down against Tier 7's and 8's. 152mm of armor all around means when top Tier, you don't even have to worry about which direction your turret is facing. The 152mm however, has a large gun mantlet covering most of it, with great angling in almost every area where the gun mantlet is absent. The Jumbo's turret's effective armor values range from 152mm to 1,088mm; with the majority of the turret ranging from 182mm to 338mm. This essentially means that unless you're a Charioteer, don't shoot at a Sherman Jumbo's turret... and even then, half of the shells would bounce off. As for the gun, the 105mm may not be all that powerful at Tier 6, but it allows you to damage Tier 8's regardless of angling, hull-down, etc. If you're being rushed by a Tier 8, all what you need to do is shoot at its track. Even if they have repair skills, most of the time they'll be far from able to fix their track on time before you can put another shell in. With your great ammo capacity, you can keep any tank permanently tracked, and do bits of damage to it with each shot. If you're facing a hull-down tank such as a T29 or T32, all what you need to do is shoot at it's turret roof of ring, and the splash damage can do up to 150 damage a shot. If you're facing a KV-4 or something of the sort, you can put shells into it's hull roof to do 100 damage a shot to it consistently. Essentially, tanks which the 76mm could never even dream of damaging, the 105mm is capable of punishing. All in all, the stock turret with the 105mm allows you to compete with higher Tiered opponents, and essentially gives you no fear of the MM. Hull-down, you can even give the Tier 8's a run for their money. It's also a great combo for working together with allies, as you can keep opponents immobolized, provide armor support, and help weather down tanks which non-howitzers may not be able to damage. Upgraded turret + 76mm: The upgraded turret on the Sherman Jumbo sacrifices practically all of its armor to gain turret traverse, view range, a 76mm gun and a bit of HP. With all of the benefits of the upgraded turret, you may wonder what the point of the stock turret is, but then you have to realize - the upgraded turret only has 63mm of armor all around, and even the gun mantlet only increases it to 88m. This is 2 and a half times worse than the stock turret. The thickest effective armor you can possibly reach in a tiny sliver of the edge of the gun mantlet on the upgraded turret is only 156mm thick, and thickest consistent part is only 115mm. A 76mm gun can penetrate practically any part of the turret with no chance of bouncing. Even Tier 5's and 4's can go through it. Essentially, the upgraded turret is butter. On point of what the upgraded turret allows you to do however, is mount the 76mm gun. Whilst the 76mm may struggle competing with Tier 8's and some Tier 7's, it can output incredible DPM which will tear apart any opponent it can penetrate. This essentially means that when top Tier, so long as people don't shoot at your turret, you can easily roll through the enemy. When bottom Tier however, you'll need a good amount of APCR and a few allies with you; as you can't hull-down against anything. The hatch also becomes a weakpoint, which is something to keep in mind. The view range, especially with Optics, can make the tank seem like a sniper, but you'd then be putting the hull-armor to waste. Having a butter turret also counteracts the usefulness of such thick armor at the Tier. This is why I find the combination awkward and in general inferior to the stock turret + 105mm combo. How to play it: The way the Sherman Jumbo is played will depend on the turret and gun combination. Stock turret + 105mm: When using the stock turret with the 105mm, you want to play a front-line support tank, or a front-line, hull-down steel wall. Essentially, you want to get as close to the enemy as possible, hull-down to laugh off their return fire, and put HE shells into their turret roofs or hull roofs whenever possible. If the tank is side-scraping, you can shoot it between it's tracks, immobilize it and do damage. You'll reload quickly enough to put another 105mm HE shell in the same spot, so the enemy won't be able to repair the tracks; thus being effectively permanently immobilized. When a dangerous opponent is advancing on you, it's very easy to track it and completely shut-down it's approach. If an enemy is wiggling to avoid or bounce allied shells, you can be of great service by once again immobilizing the vehicle. You not only will be able to do a fair amount of damage to any kind of opponent, but will also gather incredible amounts of assisted damage, which will easily help you make XP and Credits at minimal cost. Upgraded turret + 76mm: With the upgraded turret, you can no longer hull-down. In fact, hull-down would only make you easier to penetrate, as you'd then be hiding your significantly stronger hull. Using the 76mm will essentially be a DPM support tank. Against higher Tier vehicles, you'll need to position yourself in a way to try to get side-shots, or simply avoid engaging higher Tier vehicles entirely. The 76mm will maximize your damage output when top Tier, but still affects your carry potential, as without that amazing armor of the stock turret, you simply cannot reliably bounce shells anymore. A Sherman Jumbo with the upgraded turret and 76mm gun is like a slower M4 Easy 8 with a stronger hull. This combo is an awkward one, and is a lot more situational than the stock turret + 105mm. In general, the stock turret with the 105mm is the superior combo simply due to its consitency and competitiveness against higher Tier vehicles. The stock turret + 105mm howitzer is kind of like having a Tier 6 T29 with a howitzer. However, if you're looking for something like a more armored Easy 8, rather than a Tier 6 T29, then the upgraded turret + 76mm may be what you're looking for. The stock turret can mount a 76mm gun, but it loses its DPM advantage, which would render the gun far less effective; and wouldn't make it better or worse than the 105mm when top Tier. However, against Tier 7's and 8's, the 105mm will go a lot further. Comparison to same-Tier Medium Tanks: Mobility: Very bad. The Sherman Jumbo isn't actually that slow when you consider the amount of armor it has, but in comparison to other Tier 6 mediums, it's one of the slowest; barely surpassing the Firefly. Alpha damage: Average. The 105mm's alpha damage per shot tends to be around 150 if used properly, which puts it right in between Tier 6 mediums. The 76mm only has 115 alpha, but that's fairly standard for a 76mm gun. Armor: Best in class. The armor on the Sherman Jumbo with the stock turret is absolutely incredible. It's not only the best armor on any Tier 6 medium, but it's the best armor you can get on any Tier 6 tank at all. In fact, the hull on the Sherman Jumbo is about as effective as the T29's hull, and the turret Tier for Tier is just as good as well. A Tier 6 medium with very good Tier 7 heavy tank armor... absolutely amazing. HP: Average. 760 HP with the upgraded turret is average for the Tier. With the stock turret, it's only 730 HP, but the armor makes the HP go a lot further than the 760 with the upgraded turret could ever dream of doing. This average is blue because it ranges from average to good, depending on the turret choice. Penetration: Average. The penetration on the Sherman Jumbo with either gun are absolutely average. For a 76mm and 105mm gun, they're perfectly average, and they're also right in the middle of the various Tier 6 mediums. Nothing special, but not bad either. View Range: Good. With the stock turret, 330m View Range is actually fairly poor. However, the playstyle of the Sherman Jumbo with a stock turret does not need any more view range. Also, the upgraded turret offers a very nice 370m View Range. Camo Value: Bad. The Sherman Jumbo doesn't have all that much camo. Even if you use the upgraded turret with the 76mm, there's no reason to be playing the tank in such a manner which it may need camo. You should usually be fairly close to the enemy, thus camo shouldn't matter all that much. Accuracy: Very bad. .38 with the 76mm is nothing special and .52 with the 105mm is a very bad value. Since the tank is more of a closer range tank, it shouldn't actually matter that much. Neither gun feels more accurate than the other in effective combat though - the 76mm needs to aim at weakpoints a good deal, thus needs better accuracy. The 105mm on the other hand simply needs to hit the tank, thus doesn't need as much accuracy. Aiming Speed: Good. The aiming time on the 76mm gun is 2.2 seconds, which isn't a bad value on it's own. However, interestingly enough, it's actually worse than the 105mm's aiming time, which is only 2.1 seconds. The less accurate howitzer aims more quickly than the more accurate 76mm. Having a 2.1 second aiming time on a howitzer is a very good value. Shell Velocity: Depends. With the 76mm, it's average. With the 105mm, it's fairly bad; although that's expected from a howitzer. Battle effectiveness: Very good. The Sherman Jumbo is one of the few Tier 6's which can maintain very competitive even against Tier 8 vehicles. When top Tier, nothing can touch you if you play the tank properly. When bottom Tier, you can still give Tier 8's a run for their money. The stock turret + 105mm gun is a very effective combo, and is something to fear regardless of which tank you're in; assuming the Jumbo is playing properly. The upgraded turret with the 76mm is still fairly good, but isn't nearly as great against higher Tiers. The gun is better against same Tier and lower opponents, but isn't nearly as consistent or effective as the 105mm. All in all however, the Sherman Jumbo is a very competitive tank, and is a must-have Tier 6 vehicle. Overall Rating: 8/10 (Very good) The Sherman Jumbo is a tank which not only stands out amongst its peers, but can still take quite the stand even when greatly out-Tiered in battle. The armor on the Sherman Jumbo with the stock turret is beyond ridiculously good, it's honestly like having a Tier 6 T29. The tank also boasts quite a surprising amount of mobility for the level of armor protection it has. The gun is nothing special, but it's consistent and effective. The 105mm won't have very good DPM, but certainly will be a very prominent part of an engagement. The manner in which it can damage hull-down tanks, keep vehicles permanently tracked and damage modules and crew is very important to have for the Jumbo to do effective damage against Tier 7's and 8's. As for the HP the tank has, 730 is actually plenty when you have the kind of armor which the Jumbo has. In the right hands, this vehicle is an absolute beast; and is something to be feared on the battlefield. It's also a pleasure to play, and a very enjoyable tank as a whole. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (Sherman Jumbo flaunting its ludicrous armor values. Don't worry though, the Jumbo is actually very friendly!)

Update: Added a WT auf E-100 Review to the "Tanks" section. Enjoy!

Yes, I'd like four large chocolate chip waffles please. No, no sugar. Strawberry syrup please. Extra blueberries on top. It will be 56 seconds? O.K. What's that? I get a 5th waffle for free? Whole meal has 560 calories without the syrup, 750 with? That's what I get for ordering so many sweets at once. In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the WT auf E-100, explain the gun choices and/or performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 10 Tank Destroyers. Let's get started, shall we? ***Please note that from this point on in the guide, I shall refer to the WT auf E-100 as the "waffle", or some variation of the sort; it's easier to type than "WT auf E-100".*** Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices and / or performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Very good mobility considering the size and weight of the vehicle; you'll get to where you need to go Strong hull armor, shells that do occasionally hit the hull will typically bounce off. Very high damage output in a very short period of time (2,800 in 8 seconds after 5 shells with one gun; 3,000 in 9 seconds after 4 shells with the other) Very quick aiming times on both guns (1.5 or 1.9; depending on the gun) Great accuracy, 128mm is the most accurate gun in the game at .29 accuracy (other gun has .34) Good alpha damage per shell, 560 or 750 depending on which gun you use. Good gun handling combined with great aiming stats allows for very quickly selection and engagement of targets. Don't shoot on the move though, it's not quite good enough for that; you do want to actually aim the gun in. Very high ammo capacity, you likely won't ever find yourself running out of shells Decent enough hitpoint count at 2,000. It's actually pretty good for a TD, but you don't have any armor to go along with it Good rammer, a 101 ton tank going 40km/h with 200mm of hull armor will really bring the hurt to the enemy if you collide. Only ram out of necessity however, you want to avoid taking any kind of fire Has a turret. It actually turns fairly quickly for a turreted TD too, at 22 deg/sec Very good shell velocities (with the 128mm) Has a decent fear factor to it, when you're loaded Neutrals: Survivable gun depression of 5 degrees. It's not great, but in most cases the waffle doesn't really find itself needing much more. Gun elevation is also enough at 15 degrees 26 deg/sec hull traverse. Since you have a turret, you're usually safe from being circled, but there are cases when you just won't be able to swing around quickly enough. View Range of 380m. It's not great by any means, but with Binoculars it's usually enough. The waffle isn't the kind of tank that wants to rely on view range in general, but if it has to, you still have enough to make things work Expensive shells, but you usually do enough damage to cover their costs. Decent enough reverse speed of 15km/h; it will get you out of trouble as necessary. Sometimes feels as though you need more though, simply due to the size of the tank and lack of hull traverse speed Penetration is good, but somewhat low for a TD, at 276/352/65 with the 128mm Doesn't start off as elite, as you need to actually research the 15cm (for a very expensive 68k XP). You'll be fine with the 128mm though, and most people think of the 128mm as a better gun anyways. Cons: Huge, absolutely gigantic turret on a giant hull. A KV-2 with a damaged gun and dead gunner could hit this thing from across the map... The turret has no armor to speak of, the most you get is... 20mm. 20mm. Tier 1's shooting HE can pen that half of the time. Anything and everything the waffle will ever see can load HE shells and wreck the turret The entire turret is the gun. What this means is that any shell you take to the turret kills your gun, every single time. If you're unfortunate enough to get shot at after you've used your repair kit, you lose your entire accuracy advantage The gunner and loader love to die, especially if you're hit by HE The tank is a massive arty target, and despite the decent mobility, simply cannot avoid it. If you're on an open map and get spotted with arty aiming anywhere within the same postal code as you... may as well as say your last words. Horrendously long reload of 56 seconds, and that's with a 100% crew. If you lose one of your loaders, just hope you have a good form of anger relief. Very tall vehicle, cannot hide in any kind of bush or tree, and some low profile tanks can actually drive underneath its gun at close ranges Zero camo value to speak of. Legend has it that the WT auf E-100's camo value is so bad, that it hit the negative scale, and now provides a camo penalty to any vehicle within a square mile of your tank Appallingly one-dimensional gameplay. You sit around for 1 minute munching on a bag of chips. You then wait around for another minute waiting for something to be spotted, or for an enemy to actually shoot their gun. Then you finally can move out, dump your clip and repeat the process. Accuracy "advantage", as though it wasn't crippled enough with the horribly weak gun module HP and prone-to-dying gunner, is only further reduced with the fact that the gameplay of the waffle either forces you to be so far back that RNGesus will begin making at least 2 shells in each clip miss or bounce, or so close that you will be shot at = dead gun and dead gunner Very subpar penetration with the 15cm for a TD, at only 235/334/85 Very team dependent vehicle. You can't really do anything yourself unless you're engaging a single lone enemy when you're reloaded. In general, you rely on your team to take hits, to spot the tanks and keep them lit, to draw vehicles out, etc. etc. There's very little you as a tank actually have to do other than shoot the gun when an optimal situation presents itself Can often find itself in the "To reload or not" dilemma with only 1-3 shells left in a clip after shooting a bit. If you make the wrong decision, it could be the end of you. Hull armor advantage is almost entirely negated with the huge turret If your team folds, unless your clip of damage is enough to turn things around, you can essentially accept not being able to carry. The tank wins by doing large amounts of damage every now and then throughout the battle, but it can't actually carry by any means Actually is prone to being circled by some vehicles. If the enemy knows what they're doing, they could actually keep your gun permanently destroyed and leave you entirely helpless Very poor shell velocity on the 15cm To the enemy, you're like free money as soon as you go for a reload; and everyone who was once trembling in fear of you, is now poking fun at you with a stick, and the stick is laughing at you in unison. Equipment: Personally, I mount Super Heavy Spall Liner, Camo Net & Binoculars on the Waffle. Most of the equipment on this tank other than the Binoculars are really pointless though, it can't really mount anything that will help it. Recommended: Super Heavy Spall Liner: Anything and everything, their dogs, plants and houseflies will shoot HE at you. Then, the shell casings will also come to life and begin throwing more HE at you. Arty loves seeing your tank, as you're just an easy pool of 2k damage if they're even remotely unsatisfied with their order of waffles. Occasionally, the Super Heavy Spall Liner will somewhat, vaguely remotely protect you from some splash from a close call arty shell. The primary reason for using the Super Heavy Spall Liner is to protect your Gunner and Loader (especially the Gunner, who appears to really just be a bunch of sticks held together with a few marshmallows). They'll still die every other shell, but it's better than every shell, right? Camo Net: Because why not, really. It will provide you with somewhat of a camo bonus, but most of the time you'll still be spotted. Only towards the very verge of the 445m mark will it sometimes help keep you hidden. Binoculars: The Binoculars are the only piece of consistently useful equipment on the Waffle. 380m View Range isn't great, but when you use Binoculars, you'll reach 475m, which is actually a fairly good number. Other TD's don't usually mount Binocs, so you will keep up with them most of the time or surpass them, but that's at the cost of having no camo value and no other useful equipment... Optional: Anything: Toolbox, Optics, GLD, or whatever else you want to mount if you find the above layout useless, do whatever. Honestly, none of the other equipment is of much use. Nothing: The mystical piece of equipment available to only the Waffle Truck. It provides you with a 0% camo bonus, 0% reload bonus and even a 0% usefulness bonus! Incredible! Seriously, the equipment on the waffle is... more often than not useless. Ammo: My ammo layout on the Waffle is 35 AP, 25 APCR. (With the 128mm) The penetration on the gun is good at 276mm with AP, but it is lacking behind other TD's. However, you do have 2,800 damage in a clip, which is an advantage. Load as much or little APCR as you want to, it really doesn't matter all that much. I would still keep a clip or two around though, in case you need to fight E-100's, Maus's, etc. who know what they're doing, as they may still give you some trouble. If you're fighting at close range, so long as your gun and gunner are still functional, then you can more than easily hit weakpoints. In most other cases, you're either sniping or regret going down the waffle line because your marshmallow gunner just jammed the firing mechanism, rendering the accuracy far less useful than you'd hope it to be. Consumables: For Consumables on the Waffle, I (would) use a Small Repair Kit, Large Repair Kit and Large First Aid Kit. I say "would" simply because I don't have the Credits to run that comp, so I'm just running the standard Small med / repair kit with an Auto Extinguisher Small Repair Kit: Your gun has less armor than an LolTraktor, and less HP than one. You need a repair kit to put it into action as soon as possible once it goes out. Large Repair Kit: What's that? You repaired your gun? Don't worry, my MS-1 will put a single shell into your turret and knock it out yet again. You definitely want two repair kits if you want to be useful during the entirety of the battle (especially in situations where you can't CHAI snipe beyond 445m, but actually have to risk getting spotted and shot at, which is never fun). Large Med Kit: With mashed potato Gunner and allergic-to-HE loader, that 20% boost to crew survivability will be rather nice, especially when combined with a Super Heavy Spall Liner. They'll still die very often, but at least not every single time someone on Earth takes a breath of fresh air. Don't show your rear and you won't be set on fire, it's (usually) as simple as that. Food won't really help you, as the gun is already incredibly accurate (until it dies), the tank won't benefit from any extra mobility that food could provide, and the reload speed increase will be just pointless, as you'll still be sitting around for an entire minute either way. Guns: The waffle has two guns; a 128mm and a 15cm. One is better for sniping, one is better for closer ranged mini-nuke launching. 128mm can go without Premium rounds, 15cm often times needs them. Essentially, do you want an autoloading Tier 9 waffle at Tier 10, or do you want a paper yet auto-loading version of the E-100? A comparison of the two guns is below. The 128mm is on the left, the 15cm is on the right. The blue value is the superior one, a green number is essentially tied (within a small margin). Values are with a 100% crew, so they may be slightly better than the "stock" values you see in the Garage. Rate of Fire: 4.72 (4.21) Aiming time: 1.44 (1.82) Accuracy: .28 (.33) DPM: 2,640.83 (3,160.93) Penetration: 276/352/65 (235/334/85) Damage: 560/560/700 (750/750/950) Shell Velocity: 1,200/1,500/1,200 (757/606/757) Soft Stats: .2/.2/.25 (.2/.2/.14) Ammo capacity: 60 (60) One is a higher alpha, higher DPM gun for closer ranged engagements, the other is high shell velocity, high pen gun for sniping roles. Depending on how you play the waffle, pick the gun of your choice. 12,8 cm Kanone L/61: The 12,8 cm Kanone L/61 is the name of the "stock" gun on the Waffle. It's primarily meant for sniping, as it lacks DPM, but boasts exceptional accuracy, aiming time and especially shell velocity. It's truly a sniping gun. If you take it to a closer range engagement, so long as you can safely dump the clip, you should be fine, but it doesn't pack as much alpha and over a span of time simply won't be as effective as the 15cm. As a whole however, I would have to say that the 128mm is a superior gun over the 15cm, as it brings some kind of flexibility; as you can now actually snipe, whereas the 15cm simply doesn't enjoy doing that very much. 15 cm Pak L/38: The 15 cm Pak L/38 is the "upgraded" gun on the Waffle. It's definitely meant for more brawling and / or peek-a-boom engagements. It lacks penetration and shell velocity, but it certainly packs a punch. Do expect to use quite a few Premium rounds with it however. What it brings to the table over the 128mm is really the DPM and alpha, which gives it more gun flexibility to some extent. Ultimately however, it lacks tank flexibility, as that shell velocity and pen very highly limits it from a sniping role. The higher alpha is nice, but compared to 560, it really depends on the situation. Sometimes that 750 is just what you needed to get the kill, whereas the 128mm may have to waste two shells on the same target. Alternatively, 560 may be just enough, and you end up spending one out of your only 4 shells in the clip on something with low HP. Double edged sword in that behalf. You'll be more than fine using the 128mm, and it does give the tank some more flexibility, which is nice considering how inflexible the vehicle is as a whole. If you do want to use the 15cm, prepare yourself for a 68,000 XP and 340,000 Credit grind. How to play it: Earlier on in the "Pros and Cons" section, I mentioned that one of the Cons is the Waffle's extremely poor flexibility, lack of carry potential and one-dimensional gameplay. Let me clarify on what I mean by that. When playing the waffle, you want to avoid being spotted, avoid arty, avoid any kind of gun, avoid being left alone or away from allies, avoid being forced to spot for yourself, avoid having to try to scramble for cover, etc. There's actually very little you can do other than shoot. The tank is the gun. What you really want to do when playing the Waffle is avoid taking any kind of fire, and dishing out an entire clip of hurt onto your enemy whenever possible, preferably once every 56 seconds. Because the only thing that the waffle brings to the table is the gun however, you lack any kind of actual carry potential. Sure, that 2,800 or 3,000 damage in a single clip may sometimes be devastating and even flank-changing, but you have to realize that's the only thing the waffle can do. In addition, that's if it gets to do so. If the Gun or Gunner are out of action, if you're reloading, if your Loader is dead, if allies aren't spotting for you, etc.; if anything goes wrong, you're actually rather useless. In end-game situations, especially "solo-carrying", unless the enemy has less HP and tanks than you have clip damage and shells, there's no realistic way for you to actually win unless the enemy does something monumentally moronic. Most of the time, you'll be spotted far before you spot anything yourself, and you'll immediately be entirely shot up. Even if you do escape, you likely won't be able to out-spot the enemy, you'll certainly be spotted once you fire, and you're likely to have lost your Gun, Gunner and perhaps even Loader. The only realistic way in which you can carry is if the enemy is very isolated, and you're able to clip one small group of enemies, cross the entirety of the map without the enemies capping, and then find another small isolated group of enemies. It would have to be a city map however, the chances of you being able to do something on an open map is actually very slim, simply because you are more than likely to be spotted and shot at from anywhere and everywhere. The tank as a whole is actually rather frustrating to play. More often than not, you feel beyond useless. Sure, it's fun during the 10 seconds that you're actually shooting the gun... but most of the time, there's little for you to do; and during those extended periods of time when you're not actually able to accomplish anything, you're doing your team no good; and they're usually short a tank. You can technically make up for this by putting in a massive clip worth of damage once you're finally reloaded, but if you fail to do so, your team is going to have a very bad day. At the end of the day, the tank lacks flexibility and lacks carry potential. Comparison to same-Tier Tank Destroyers: Mobility: Good. The tank is actually decently mobile, especially considering it's a 100 ton behemoth. You'll be able to relocate as necessary, so long as you're not shot up before you can do so. The lack of turret armor justifies the mobility, but even then, other TD's at this Tier which are faster still have more armor than you. Alpha damage: Bad. If you're using the 128mm, 560 alpha is the second-lowest alpha damage out of all of the Tier 10 TD's. Even with the 15cm, your alpha damage is only "average" at 750. The waffle does somewhat make up for this with the fact that you have an autoloader, but if you're engaging a (properly) side-scraping heavy tank (who knows what they're doing), they're much more likely to peek against your 560 damage to put in an HE shell into you which usually will do similar or greater damage, than they would against any other TD at Tier 10. Armor: Worst in class. Armor? What's that? Sure, you have that hull... but no one actually shoots at the hull, considering they have an E-100 sized turret with 20/10/8 mm of armor to shoot at. There are Tier 1's with more armor than you. HP: Good. 2,000 HP is a very healthy amount, and is more than a handful of other TD's. The downside to your HP pool however, is that you have no armor or camo; meaning when you're being shot at, you'll take far more punishment than any other TD at this Tier (even compared to the FV4005, as its Gun / Gunner / Loader don't die every shot it takes) Penetration: Worst in class. 276/352/65 penetration with the 128mm isn't bad, but it is statistically the worst out of any Tier 10 TD. When it comes to the 15cm, you're even worse off. View Range: Very Bad. 380m of View Range is one of the worst values out of all of the Tier 10 TD's. Only the Obj. 268 has less at 370m. The Foch 155 ties you at 380m. Everything else has 400. You are one of the only TD's which will consistently mount Binocs, but that comes at the cost of having no other useful equipment, and also at the cost of any kind of armor or camo; ultimately making that a downside regardless. Camo Value: Worst in class. Or second worst in game. Whatever you'd like to call it. The Type 5 Heavy is the only tank in the game with worse camo than you. Welcome to hell, comrades. Accuracy: Best in class. .29 accuracy is statistically the best value in the game. However, when it comes to practical effectiveness on the Waffle, it's not so. The Gun and Gunner die far too often for it always be useful, and the typical necessity of extremely long-ranged sniping only further reduces the effectiveness of the .29 accuracy. As for the 15cm, the accuracy is still decent at .34, but the poor shell velocity and penetration will be a pain in the rear. Aiming Speed: Best in class. 1.5 second aiming time is incredible, and one of the best in the game (not the instant-aim of the Pz. S35, but close enough). Even with the 15cm, 1.9 second aiming time will get the gun on target very quickly indeed. You won't find yourself having many issues aiming at all (until the Gun or Gunner die). Shell Velocity: Depends. With the 128mm, it's one of the best in class. With the 15cm, it's the worst in class. Simple as that. 128mm can snipe at moving targets easily, 15cm can't hit a wounded slug at 5 feet if it's moving. Battle effectiveness: Very situational. During the 10 seconds when you get to shoot the gun, it (usually) can make a great impact. As soon as you go for a reload however, you're as useless as a tank could be to your team. So useless that an AFK E-100 would be more useful, as it can still bounce shells and get spotted, whereas you'd be hiding in a corner with no potential for any kind of influence. You can't even spot unless you have an entire forest concealing you, as you have such poor camo. Throughout the battle, if you're able to put in fairly full clips worth of damage fairly often, you can actually make a huge impact simply because of the amount of raw damage you dish out. However, whenever you're reloading, or if your clips are somewhat failing you, if the situation isn't right for you to shoot the enemy, or if you have to get shot in return, then you lose almost (if not all) effectiveness. Overall Rating: 5.5/10 (O.K., leaning towards bad) Most people say the tank is ridiculously OP or broken, but that's only true during the few seconds you get to shoot. The tank has downside upon downside, has zero flexibility, and only has any sort of carry potential if the enemy team has no idea what they're doing, and your team is doing enough to let you actually put the gun to work. Otherwise, the tank leaves so much to be desired. The incredible accuracy and gun handling is very often mitigated by losing the Gun, Gunner and Loader every other shot you take, and not taking fire is also typically hard as you're a huge target with no camo and sub-par view range. The tank can dish out a lot of damage with a fully functional gun, but that's only once every minute at the very best. You leave a huge, but very temporary impact when you fire the gun. During the reload however, the impact you created begins to become mitigated with your idleness, until nothing really special has been done, at which point you're finally ready for another go of shooting. It's a very situational vehicle. Only under perfect circumstances is it truly "OP". When it comes to damage output, yes it disproportionately is capable of dishing out unusually large numbers of damage by the end of the battle than a handful of other vehicles. However, unlike almost every other tank in the game, damage is really the only thing the Waffle can do. It's very one-dimensional, situational & team-dependent. It lacks carry potential in any sort of end-game situation. Ultimately, the tank is broken, but not in the typical "It's a god tank" that far too many people think of it as. In fact, it's broken in the sense that it can essentially one-clip a Tier 10 in a matter of seconds, and then do absolutely nothing for at least one minute, but more often than not longer than that. The tank has absolutely nothing to realistically offer to the user other than that clip potential. Also however, many times you won't be able to one-clip a Tier 10, and you'll be put into far less than ideal circumstances. How many times have there been waffles on the enemy team? How many times have you been clipped by them? There are Waffles in battle all the time, but very rarely are they actually a huge issue to the player. Only in perfectly ideal circumstances for the waffle is it a huge threat, and even then, it's only temporarily so. It's broken, inconsistent, lacks dynamic, lacks carry potential and is extremely team-dependent. It is also extremely unforgiving as a tank, both to the user and the receiver. All of these reasons mean that it's actually not a very good choice of a TD. In any kind of competitive environment, I simply would not ever want to risk bringing a Waffle, as it is so inconsistent and would be more than likely to simply shrivel up and die. Other TD's are better choices as a whole, as they can provide a far more dynamic and continuous impact to the battlefield than the Waffle could ever dream of. The autoloader is the only thing keeping the rating at 5.5. Other than that, it's truly a terrible vehicle. Hopefully the replacement to it will be more dynamic; not useless 90% of the time, and not ridiculously OP as can be the other 10% of the time; but rather a dynamic, consistent and independent vehicle. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (Waffle Truck is offering a sale on a Waffle Breakfast Buffet!)

Update: Changed the name of the "Tank-Based" section to "Tanks" Changed the name of the "Map-Based" section to "Maps" Added a KV-5 Review to the "Tanks" section. Added a 59-Patton Review to the "Tanks" section. Added KingAlphyn's Noob Friendly Tips (For beginning players, a good overview about some of the "Do"s and "Don't"s of WoT. to the "A Compilation of guides from other players" section.

Missing: R2D2 Last known words: Beeeeeep bloop beep bleep beeeeeeeep!!! Culprit: KV-5 Additional Information: Find R2D2 you may. Penetrate you shall. In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the KV-5, explain the gun's performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 8 Heavy Tanks. Let's get started, shall we? Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices and / or performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Decently thick frontal armor, will reliably bounce a good number of shells from lower caliber guns if angled. Problem is that there are a lot of flat zones. Very good side armor at 150mm. You can angle the tank very generously and trick people into shooting your sides, only to laugh as they bounce. Great HP pool of 1,780 HP Good top speed of 40km/h. Great rammer. It's a 101 ton tank boasting 180mm of frontal armor with a 40km/h top speed... if you can get it up to that speed, you can really hurt your opponents. Might not be as much Tier for Tier as the O-I Experimental, but it is still a very effective tactic. Rear armor can be very troll. The bottom 2/5'ths is 140mm, the middle 1/5th is 220mm. When angled, this can really frustrate the opponents... also helps make reverse side-scraping more effective, if you happen to accidentally show your rear. Decent acceleration, with an HP/ton ratio at 12.01 Decent DPM of 2,190. Sadly, this is the only good thing about the gun (to be discussed later). Has Premium Match-making. Hurray, Pref MM! Can be a practically invulnerable tank in the right MM set up. Tank is fairly resistant to HE rounds, although arty can still prevent a problem if being shot at without a Super Heavy Spall Liner, or shot multiple times by higher caliber artillery. Neutrals: The turret armor is... alright. It's 180mm thick, but there are many flat zones, the rounded areas don't go beyond 200mm effective, and the gun mantlet is also only 180mm effective, with a giant 0 armor hole behind it. The raw thickness is great, but you can't really angle it. When top Tier, for the most part the turret will do a lot of great things for you. Against Premium rounds from equal Tier guns, or against higher caliber guns however, the armor on the turret can quickly become next to useless... it all depends on your MM. Premium tank Credit making potential... which is significantly hampered due to the "special" gun it has. (More on this later). Gun depression is 7 degrees. Whilst this may seem decent, the fact that the tank is so tall means that it has trouble aiming at lower profile vehicles, lower plates, etc.; especially at close range. 15% chance of fire. The tank doesn't actually light up often, especially since when played properly, most tanks can't penetrate the areas with your engine or fuel tanks. Only problem comes from arty hitting your engine deck. Has a 6 member crew... take this how you wish. In one aspect, you'll have plenty of crew slots to train multiple Soviet heavy crews. On the other hand, if you don't have more than one Soviet heavy crew, you'll actually have to recruit a couple of new crew members (such as I had to do) Cons: Huge R2D2 weakpoint on your front, which is only 120mm thick. Reverse side-scraping typically addresses the issue, but if you're not careful, it still may end up sticking out. Horrible traverse speed of 18 deg/sec Speed bleeds incredibly when turning Poor turret traverse speed of 21 deg/sec Very prone to being circled by lights and mediums... Your armor should be able to stop them for the most part, but if you find something such as a T71 or Bulldog, you can tell yourself good night... Upper 2/5ths of the rear is only 90mm, which can be an annoying thing for reverse side-scraping, which is the way this tank is often played The gun is absolute garbage. It's the T-150's gun with slightly better DPM... that's pretty much it. When top Tier, you can APCR spam and actually still pull some great results damage-wise if the tank is played properly, and your opponents aren't armored vehicles; thanks to the DPM. However, the gun more often than not is a huge downside 167mm of AP pen means that you'll have to shoot a lot of APCR... APCR rounds with 217mm of pen... which means you'll be bouncing a lot of APCR rounds too. Very poor .43 accuracy combined with a 2.74 second aiming time makes the gun even worse Poor gun handling is thrown on top of it all, to give you the worst possible gun for your platform. Huge vehicle, you can't really hide it anywhere - it's a very tasty arty target. There is no camo on the tank. It's extremely large profile, so you can't even use the terrain to your advantage. If you can see an enemy, it certainly can see you. Your view range is a very abysmal 350m... this makes the vehicle extremely blind. It is true that this is a close range, brawling vehicle... regardless, the view range may present some issues, especially on more open maps. Turret becomes a giant "shoot me box" similar to the waffle's turret if the enemy has 250mm of pen, such as with most Tier 9 guns, or most Premium rounds. You can't angle the turret without exposing a giant weakpoint, and you have no effective armor more than 200mm in 85% of the turret. 440m of radio range... even those since it's Tier 8, and most allies will have far better radios which can still easily communicate with yours, you may actually have radio range issues on large, open maps. Equipment: Personally, I mount Rammer, Vertical Stabilzer & Super Heavy Spall Liner on the KV-5. Other equipment can be used depending on your playstyle, although I feel as though this particular lineup will give your KV-5 the most combat effectiveness. Recommended: Rammer: If you can mount a rammer, you should. It's a given for any tank; reloading 10% faster gives you an edge over the enemy at all times. Plus, increasing your DPM from "decent" to "good" is always nice. Vertical Stabilizer: The gun is garbage, to put it mildly. You need that Vertical Stabilzer if you want to hit your target at all... Super Heavy Spall Liner: When your tank is a giant arty, howtizer and HE magnet in general, you may want to invest in a Super Heavy Spall Liner. In addition, the vehicle is a very good rammer and can actually employ it as a great tactic. Having such a significant added resistance to HE shells and ramming damage will be very nice. Also helps keep your crew alive a bit longer during arty strikes. Optional: Improved Ventilation Class 3: A 5% boost to your crew is a very nice addition, and actually would be a nice addition to help counter the gun's horrible stats; especially if paired up with food. However, I honestly cannot recommend Vents due to your tank's attraction to artillery shells. Toolbox: When getting hit by so many HE shells, you will lose your tracks very often. Sometimes, when reverse side-scraping, your tank will block many shells, but you may be hit in the tracks fairly often. There are times when being able to get the tracks back up to change the angle, pull back, etc. may be very beneficial. Regardless, replacing Super Heavy Spall Liner is still not something I can recommend, as the reason for needing a Toolbox is the fact that you lose tracks so often to HE, and being such a large arty target means that things will be knocked out... removing the Spall Liner would only make you more vulnerable to HE, and thus increase the original problem... greater consequences of arty, but more easy to address the consequences... your choice. Ammo: My ammo layout on the KV-5 is 35 AP, 25 APCR. Sadly, you need that APCR, and you really need it... there are far too many times you'll run into opponents with some form of armor that you cannot penetrate at all, even at a Tier lower. The AT-15A for example, its commander's hatch will bounce KV-5 AP quite often, especially with the KV-5's poor accuracy. T32's are immune to your AP, T34 hulls actually may troll you when angled... good luck against the even more armored vehicles without the APCR. What this means is that your Credit profitability is really going to drop in the KV-5. It still can make some decent money, but not nearly what you'd want from a Tier 8 Premium. There are rare times when you can get by with only AP, but that's entirely up to the MM... more often than not, you'll need to fire a handful of Premium rounds. Consumables: For Consumables on the KV-5, I (would) use a Large First Aid Kit, a Large Repair Kit and Automatic Fire Extinguisher. I don't have the Credits to afford running large kits, although if you haven't been selling the ones WG has been throwing out on a daily basis, then you may have quite a few to use. Large First Aid Kit: Standard with almost (113 being an exception) any tank. This tank hates arty, and it will be hit often. You want to get that crew back into action. Losing multiple crew would really suck as well... if you use a Super Heavy Spall Liner, as well as a Large First Aid Kit, you can increase your crew survivability significantly. Large Repair Kit: Repair kits are fairly standard. I would use a large one for the KV-5 simple because of arty once again. If you get hit by a large HE shell, and you lose more than one module, your tank will likely become useless. Also, often times tracks end up using the repair kits simply because they lack the repair speed. The 10% repair speed boost from the Large Repair Kit could help keep the tracks on a bit more often, especially if combined with a Toolbox. Automatic Fire Extinguisher: Even though this tank doesn't get set on fire often, on occasion you'll take a massive arty shell to the engine deck and light ablaze. Arty loves to shoot at these things, so you really want to do everything possible to address the consequences of arty rain. If you have managed to create a truce with artillery drivers however, then you may be better served off running Combat Rations - the gun is garbage, so improving its handling & soft stats with Rations could be very helpful (especially if combined with Vents). Gun: The KV-5's gun is a WarGaming April Fool's Joke which accidentally slipped through their quality control checks. They have mounted you with a 107mm pool noodle, which fires meatballs at your opponents (sauce not included). Not only is the gun as bad as it could get on a Tier 8 vehicle, but you need to spam all APCR to be able to do remotely anything with it. Let's just compare it to the KV-85's 100mm gun (on the right side), just so you can appreciate the meatball shooting potential of this "incredible" potato. The blue number is the superior value, the green highlights tied values. Rate of Fire: 7.30 (8.42) Aiming time: 2.74 (2.53) Accuracy: .43 (.36) DPM: 2,190 (2,104.79) Penetration: 167/219/54 (170/210/50) Damage: 300/300/360 (250/250/330) (Tier 8 tank vs. Tier 6 though... 250 alpha at Tier 6 is more effective than 300 at Tier 8) Shell Velocity: 830/1,038/830 (900/1,125/900) Soft Stats: .18/.18/.12 (.22/.22/.13) (Keep in mind that the KV-85 is more mobile though, thus it would naturally have worse soft stats) Ammo capacity: 60 (41) The verdict? On the bright side, you can load more ammo than the KV-85, right? Heh... heh... yeah... The gun is a sad, sad joke. If you run it without APCR, you're a masochist. And even if you do run it with APCR, you'd have to have quite some steady aim and lots of patience to make the gun work... unless MM is very kind to you, your gun will have many, many issues. 107mm ZiS-6M Foam Jellybean Launcher: The 107mm ZiS-6M is the name of the upgraded gun on the KV-5. WarGaming misnamed the gun however, and left out the most important part, the "Foam Jellybean Launcher" portion. The gun has fairly good DPM, and when spamming APCR, is actually rather effective when top Tier. You should be able to penetrate a good number of enemy vehicles and dish out quite the bit of punishment. However, there are two key things to note: 1) You must spam APCR and 2) MM must be kind. There many, many times when the gun goes to crap due to MM, even when you are spamming APCR. Without it, you'll suffer... Aiming well is essential if you want to hit, let alone penetrate. All of the problems with the gun are made even worse with bad MM, a slightly hurt crew or internal modules, or low FPS. I honestly would rather than the KV-85's 100mm on the KV-5 than I would the 107mm that the KV-5 has. With the KV-85's gun, you can at least hit relatively close to where you aim, which may help you hit weakpoints more often. What the KV-5's gun is in reality, is a slightly buffed T-150 107mm. On the T-150, it's not that bad. On a Tier 7, it would be pretty sucky. On a Tier 8, it's just painful. When a non-buffed KV-85's gun is better than what's on your Tier 8 heavy though... you know you're in for it. How to play it: Despite all of the crap I've given the tank so far, it's actually a pretty good tank when it comes to combat. Playing it isn't overly complicated, and you can definitely make an influence on the battlefield. Tactic wise, you always want to find a corridor on flat ground where you can reverse side-scrape from. When reverse side-scraping, you can reveal your vehicle at a fairly nice angle - often times, the enemy will think that your sides are over-angled and will be baited into shooting them... then they're surprised they didn't pen. When it comes to your turret, you always want to wiggle it between shots. It has a hatch on top, it has numerous flat areas, it has giant flat area on the middle of the gun mantlet, and the cheeks are also weak. Don't let the enemies aim for any of these areas if you want any hope of bouncing any shells off of the turret. If you're facing against a higher caliber gun, or a tank which is firing Premium rounds, try to bait them into shooting your hull without revealing your turret. Your turret becomes butter against a certain caliber & penetration level of gun, whereas your angled hull (especially when reverse side-scraping) can still hold up fairly well. When driving towards the enemy, always maintain a good angle if possible. Zig zag (very, very long zig zags due to your very poor hull traverse) in diagonal lines when approaching enemy guns, as to maximize your effective armor. It's also best to drive in such a manner that your R2D2 radio operator hatch is moving away from the enemy, not towards them. You can also ram vehicles, especially during one vs. one engagements. Your tank is extremely well armored, very heavy with a very reasonable top speed which it can actually reach. Going downhill, if you can collide with a vehicle, you can take it out of the battle potentially without firing a single shot. Just avoid ramming the Japanese heavies, they're the only thing at the Tier which will actually do more damage to you than you would do to them. Comparison to same-Tier Heavy Tanks: Mobility: Good. The tank actually isn't very slow for 101 ton behemoth with 180mm of frontal armor. You have a good top speed limit of 40km/h with a very reasonable HP/ton ratio of approximately 12. The track traverse is rather abysmal, and the vehicle does speed bleed on turns, but in a straight line it's fairly quick. Alpha damage: Very bad. 300 alpha damage is one of the lowest amongst the Tier 8 heavies. Only the FCM 50t has a lower alpha damage, and that's technically a medium tank. The FCM 50t however, has good gun handling which allows you to actually put the damage to use. On the KV-5, even hitting the enemy is a challenge on its own. Armor: Very good. 180/150/140 armor on both the hull and turret are very, very good. There are times when the armor will falter, and there are weakpoints to it, but it's still a very good number. Just be warned of your giant R2D2 and rather weak (against high pen shells) turret armor. Reverse side-scraping and wiggling your vehicle should easily help counter these issues though. HP: Best in class. 1,780 HP is the best HP at Tier 8 (that I know of). The tank can definitely take a beating. Penetration: Worst in class. 167/217/54 pen is just a joke. There are actually quite a few Tier 6 vehicles with identical or superior penetration. This is a Tier 8 heavy... with penetration that's "average" for a Tier 6. It's bad... very bad. View Range: Worst in class. 350m of View Range makes you just as blind as the IS-3 and IS-6, which are both very blind vehicles to begin with. You're even worse off than those two tanks however, since you can't hide your tank behind terrain, and certainly can't hull-down effectively (and more often than not you shouldn't hull-down). Camo Value: Worst in class. What camo? There is no camo. The camouflage patterns on the tank may be pretty, but they certainly won't do you any good. You have no camo values to speak of on the KV-5. In addition, you're a giant target. If you can see the enemy, they can certainly see you. Accuracy: Very Bad. .43 accuracy is one of the worse values you'll find on Tier 8 heavies. The IS-6, WZ-111, IS-5 and 112 are the only vehicles with worse accuracy... The other 13 Tier 8 heavies are sitting there laughing at you. Aiming Speed: Very bad. 2.7 second aiming speed is very, very slow; especially for such a weak gun. You'd think it would have decent soft stats for it to have an average Tier 6 gun on a Tier 8 vehicle, but nope... your soft stats aren't anything special either. You will feel the full extent of that aiming time, even with a Vertical Stabilizer... Shell Velocity: Very bad. 830m/sec shell velocity is also one of the worst of all of the Tier 8 heavies. Once again, the only vehicles with worse shell velocity are the IS-6, WZ-111 and 112. The other 14 (IS-5 joined the others) are laughing their arses off at your stubby pencil sticking out of your turret. Battle effectiveness: Good. The tank, regardless of all of its downsides, is still fairly good in battle. When top Tier, you're an absolute beast in most cases. When bottom Tier, you're a lot less useful. When it comes to the gun, in over 50% of battles your gun is going to be very, very ineffective; and in almost every battle you're in, any other Tier 8 tank on your team will have a more effective gun. When it comes to the armor and HP presence, when the tank is played properly, it's a very formidable opponent indeed. Reverse side-scraping can significantly improve your armor potential, and you will be able to soak up shells without taking much damage, and even when you do take damage, you can take a lot of it. The one thing which really breaks the armor's usefulness aside from highish pen guns shooting at your turret, would be artillery. Arty loves to wreck your tank, and sometimes (especially on more open maps), arty is the only thing that can actually put an end to your reign of armor terror. Your gun might not be very effective, but your armor does the speaking for the vehicle. Stay arty safe, reverse side-scraping, and wiggle between shots, and your tank may very well be the most survivable tank on the battlefield, with the exception of a KV-4. Overall Rating: 6/10 (O.K., leaning towards good) The tank has many, many downsides to it, but at the end of the day, the armor & HP are vastly redeeming features. Even though the KV-5 isn't as armored as the KV-4, the KV-5 has Pref MM, and will more often than not see same Tier vehicles. The armor can truly do wonders for you and your team, and will carry your allies. You do have to use the tank properly however, as the armor still has its downsides. You have a giant R2D2 on the front, you have a 90mm panel on your rear, you have a 150mm hatch on the top of your turret, your gun mantlet has a 0 armor hole behind it, there are several flat zones to your turret, etc. You need to make sure that the enemy can't capitalize on your armor's weakpoints, then you'll do fine. When it comes to the gun, forget it. To get good results in terms of damage, you have to have great MM, spamming APCR against opponents which don't have large amounts of armor to begin with. A good T32 or Super Pershing driver will be the bane of your existence. British TD's can truly be a pain in the [edited]to handle. Anything hull-down, regardless of the size of its hatch may be hard to tackle. The gun is just pathetic. On a Tier 6 vehicle, the gun could be considered fairly decent. On a Tier 8, it's horrendously bad. Overall, the tank has a kick to it, and can make its influence on the battle, but has many downsides to it, is very situational, and can be very RNG and MM dependent. The reason for the 6/10 rating are those factors. The gun is horrible. The view range and camo are non-existent. It actually has radio troubles every now and then. The armor is littered with weakpoints, and you can very well be useless in certain situations. Don't get me wrong, there are times when the tank does wonders. But there are also times when you kind of shrivel up and die without really having been able to do anything. It's very situationally OP, but also situationally garbage. An inconsistent tank simply cannot get a high rating, regardless of how well it can perform in certain scenarios. Some buffs to the vehicle would be very welcomed. Whether it's the gun or the armor which gets buffed, it doesn't really matter... a buff to both would be most optimal though. It needs some consistency behind it, especially as bigger and badder vehicles are continuously introduced into the game. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (KV-5 welcomes thee!)

Need to build a new tank... let's see here... the hull of a Type 59... yeah, that will do. What else, what else...? The turret of an M48 Patton? Sure, why not? Let's just put the two together, and... presto! The 59-Patton! In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the 59-Patton, explain the gun's performance, equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 8 Medium Tanks. Let's get started, shall we? Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices & performance Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Good top speed of 50km/h Very well rounded vehicle Good turret traverse speed of 44km/h Nice HEAT penetration at 250mm Very profitable vehicle; like the Super Pershing, if played well, you can spam Premium rounds and still walk away with a profit even on a loss. 9 degrees of gun depression. Good value to begin with, but considering it's a Chinese vehicle, it's actually an amazing number; second highest from all Chinese tanks (Type 64 surpasses it with 10) Good hull traverse speed of 46 degrees/second Very acceptable terrain resistance values HEAT has a 1,219 m/sec shell velocity, which is actually very good. Crew slots are compatible with all other Chinese mediums other than the Type 58, so if you bought it as a crew trainer, it will do the job properly without needing any extra crew (or leaving any behind) Very low chance of fire at only 12%. I haven't had issues with the fuel tanks either, so you can actually run food over a fire extinguisher if you so desire. Tank can easily spot enemies which are hidden behind terrain, without getting yourself spotted (more on this later) Neutrals: 1,895 base DPM. Not a bad value, but could be better Armor is inconsistent. Some parts of the turret will give you ridiculously high auto-bounce armor values, other parts are unusually weak. The armor will get you through and will save you every now and then, but don't rely on it. Mobility will definitely get you around, but don't expect to be circling tanks other than TD's in this tank. It's actually the acceleration which prevents you from doing so, not the terrain resistance Acceptable gun handling & aiming stats 1,400 hit points isn't great, but it's definitely enough to get you through if you play the tank properly Mediocre HP/ton ratio of 14.13. It's not quite bad enough to categorize it as a Con, but it certainly doesn't do you any good either. Tank does require quite the bit of HEAT to play. Whilst the HEAT is actually a very effective shell on the 59-Patton, it certainly cuts into your Premium credit making potential. You'll still profit, just not nearly as much as you may hope for in a Tier 8 Premium Tank can certainly make an impact on the battle, and can carry during the match, but it can't so much carry in a "last-stand" effort. You have to make your presence known during the battle, not after. That being said, it's certainly pretty decent when it comes to doing well in battle. Commander's hatch gives your tank a unique spotting potential. More on this later. It's a "Neutral" because in order to gain that unique spotting capability, you pay with an enormous hatch. Decent camo values. Not sure what the exact values are, but with camo skills, I seem to be able to stay hidden at acceptable distances 54 round ammo capacity. I haven't run out of ammo yet. Reason it's a neutral is because I feel as though it's not enough to put in several HE rounds into the mix. If it was 60, you probably could. Cons: AP penetration is a very sub-par 173mm. The tank needs to shoot HEAT It's a very tall tank as it is, and you have a gigantic commander's hatch. For the most part, this is a downside, although I've managed to create a playstyle which actually counters it, and sometimes makes the tall hatch a good thing. More on this later. 370m view range. You're not as blind as an IS-3 or IS-6, but many tanks at Tier 8 will still have better view range than you. Poor radio range at 525m... but let's be honest, it's radio range. At anything above Tier 6, radio range really doesn't matter. Rear armor is 45mm on the hull, 50mm on the turret. Most rears are weak though, so it really doesn't matter much either... you're not a Japanese heavy. Equipment: Personally, I mount Vents, Rammer & Stabilizer on the 59-Patton. Other equipment can be used depending on your playstyle, although I feel as though this particular lineup will give your 59-Patton the most consistency in battle. Recommended: Vents: There are so many "neutral" characteristics to this tank, that if you want it to stand out and be "good" in many aspects, you need to give it that extra boost from vents (and from food). Rammer: If you can mount a rammer, you should. It's a given for any tank; reloading 10% faster gives you an edge over the enemy at all times. Plus, increasing your DPM from "decent" to "good" is always nice. Vertical Stabilizer: The gun handling on this tank isn't bad, but it's very unreliable without a Stabilizer. The Stabilizer significantly improves the consistency of your vehicle, and allows for more snap-shots. Optional: Coated Optics: A 10% boost to View Range is fairly nice, and you'd think that with somewhat sub-par view range, that Optics would be a primary choice. However, there are two reasons I think otherwise. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the tank benefits quite nicely with the boost from Vents when stacked with food. Secondly however, even if you put on Coated Optics, you still would not reach the 445m mark for view range as you may want. I don't find myself needing to spot beyond 400m in the first place, and if you're not going to be able to reach the maximum spotting distance with a playstyle that doesn't even need it, why bother? Regardless, if you like to play from more of a distance, then Optics are still a viable choice. Ammo: My ammo layout on the 59-Patton is 29 AP, 25 HEAT. The tank makes enough money shoot a lot of HEAT and still profit, even on a loss if you play well. I don't load HE for two reasons. Firstly, it's a 90mm gun... the HE isn't very useful in most cases. Secondly, depending on what MM throws at me, I do still find myself sometimes running out of AP or HEAT (one or the other, not both). I don't want to limit the number of either shells I have with HE, especially since the HE is very rarely beneficial on this tank. If you hate spamming HEAT, this isn't really the tank for you. However, if you still want the tank, then you could reduce the HEAT count by a bit to load 2 or 3 HE rounds (definitely not more than that). Reducing the AP count isn't necessarily a good thing either, as it will cut into your profits in those battles where MM throws you plenty of tanks that you can penetrate easily with AP. Consumables: For Consumables on the 59-Patton, I use a Small First Aid Kit, a Small Repair Kit and Combat Rations. Small First Aid Kit: Standard with almost (113 being an exception) any tank. Since the crew on this tank is exceptionally important, you will want to put them back into action whenever they die. You don't need a large kit though, since it's very rare for you to lose more than one crew member in this tank, if you even lose any crew at all. Small Repair Kit: Once again, fairly standard. Your ammo rack is the second most common module for your tank to lose (second to the tracks), so it's important to keep a repair kit available for that rack. Your tank will become garbage if you lose the rack. Origini: The 10% boost, combined with Vents, is very useful. It's just the extra edge you need to bring the tank from "Decent" to "Good". The tank has a lot of neutral characteristics, so giving it a combined 15% boost (20% if you toss in BIA!) to the crew would greatly assist you in amplifying the tank's potential. Such a combo helps any tank, but this tank is one which benefits a lot more than some other vehicles would. Gun: The 59-Patton's armament is a 90mm cannon. Aside from the sub-par AP penetration, it's actually a fairly average gun. Nothing special about it, but nothing really bad about it either. Below, I've compared it to the T95E2's gun (since the T95E2 is the Tier 8 medium closest in performance to the 59-Patton). Blue is the superior value, green is a relatively tied characteristic. Rate of Fire: 8.23 (8.34) Aiming time: 2.4 (2.21) Accuracy: .36 (.35) DPM: 1,975.94 (2002.29) Penetration: 173/250/45 (173/250/45) Damage: 240/240/320 (240/240/320) Shell Velocity: 914/1,219/732 (914/1219/732) Soft Stats: .14/.14/.12 (.22/.22/.12) Ammo capacity: 54 (64) The verdict? The guns are practically identical. For the most part, T95E2 has a slightly better gun all around, but not by much. However, the 59-Patton actually has better soft stats on the gun, which helps make up for the other tiny advantages the T95E2's gun has. 90mm Gun M41 The 90mm Gun M41 is the name of the gun on the 59-Patton. Overally, it's a fairly average gun. The AP penetration is lacking, but the HEAT pen makes up for it. Otherwise, there's nothing special about the gun, but there's nothing necessarily lacking either. For the playstyle the tank has, it actually is fairly decent. It will get the job done. Just avoid getting into alpha-trading situations, or DPM situations. You want to use the gun as an opportunistic weapon, don't engage loaded enemies, don't one vs. one opponents either (unless it's a CDC, it will bounce you, you will never bounce it). Essentially, be an annoyance to the enemy team. Be the mosquito that no matter how hard you try, you can never get rid of it; once you get home, you have bites all over your arms and legs, and the mosquito is still alive out there. It waits for opportunities to engage an enemy whenever it can without taking return fire. Most importantly however, stick with allies and play a support role. You actually don't want to be too far away in this tank, the gun isn't quite accurate enough for that, and the playstyle doesn't need long range gunnery in the first place. How to play it: I'm actually going to split this section into two. First, I'll discuss the basics of the playstyle as a whole, and tell you essentially everything about playing it. Then, I'll talk about unconventional spotting with the commander's hatch, and how to use the commander's hatch size to your advantage. Overview of Playstyle: The tank isn't necessarily anything special. It will get to the battlfield at a reasonable speed, it will be able to provide continuous support fire for a while, and its armor will do enough to keep the tank alive. There isn't anything that really stands about the tank. All in all, it's a pure support role vehicle. You want to be relatively close to the front lines with your allies, but you do want to keep a slight distance. You can flank your enemies in the sense of getting behind them, but you certainly won't be able to circle most vehicles unless they're a TD. Make usage of the gun depression and mobility to relocate into a position where you can provide support fire to your allies without taking return fire. Between shots, wiggle both your hull and turret as retreating. The turret and track traverse rates are both great, so you can easily throw off the enemy's aim with simple wiggling maneuvers. The most important thing about this vehicle is to look for opportunities to shoot the enemy without taking damage in return. If you need to change flanks, you can. The 59-Patton certainly isn't slow, and will reach its top speed. It's just when it comes to circling vehicles that it lacks. However, you can relocate whenever necessary. The gun isn't anything special, but it's rather consistent. Always provide support fire to your allies and avoid taking hits whenever possible. If you have to take a hit, wiggle your hull and turret, and try to take the hit hull-down whilst wiggling. The enemy is likely to either shoot your turret and bounce, or aim for your hatch and miss (mobility catches enemies off-guard, and don't expect you to be able to move the cupola nearly as quickly as you can). Using the hatch to your advantage: O.K., maybe the hatch isn't necessarily an "advantage"... having such a giant weakpoint on the top of your tank is never a good thing. However, I have found ways to make the Patton's hatch actually not nearly as bad as people say it is; you can at least prevent it from being a hindrance or a disadvantage. Part 1: So, how to do it? Well, there are two aspects to it. The first one is fairly simple, using the cupola to bait shots. Exposing say, half of your hatch over a ridgeline, and wiggling around up and down, side to side as the enemy begins turning their gun towards you will often times bait the enemy into shooting and missing. It takes practice to get used to, it's not as simple as just exposing a giant "shoot me" box to the enemy and moving. You need to do it tactically. In techincality, you can do this with any commander's hatch. However, the 59-Patton's hatch is unique in the sense that not only can you reveal your hatch without showing your turret (which is a good thing with inconsistent armor), but it's mounted on a surprisingly mobile platform. Let me explain. Most people think of the 59-Patton as a relatively slow vehicle with a decent top speed. The fact of the matter is that the Patton only lacks acceleration, the rest of the mobility is actually very good. You can surprise the enemy with how quickly you can move that hatch. If you time things properly, it's actually very easy to make the enemy mis-fire right as you move the hatch away to safety. It takes practice to get used to, and takes analysis to determine when you can and when you can't do so, but I've found actually quite a fair amount of success with this tactic. I would only employ it against low alpha guns however, unless you have no other choice. It's a good way to avoid little bits of damage here and there, and putting the enemy into slight disadvantages every now and then. Or, you surprise a high alpha gun who thought he caught you off-guard, but then you throw him off with an extremely quick relocation of the hatch. Part 2: This is what's "unique" about the hatch, and it's contribution to your style of gameplay. The hatch is extremely tall. Imagine the M48 Patton's cupola. Now, increase the height by 40%. Then, throw on a view port that's 40% of the height of the original cupola. That's the 59-Patton's hatch. It's absolutely huge. However, the addition of that tall view port on an already very tall cupola on an already very tall tank, means that you can spot enemies where no other tank could. Essentially, you can see over ridges, hills and into depressions and spot vehicles that thought they were hidden, and find the enemy's advances ahead of time. This should be incorporated into your gameplay fairly actively in my experience. Being able to spot vehicles which should have been hidden is a very good capability to have indeed. To top it off, you can remain hidden even when seeing the enemy when using this tactic. It's very convenient for spotting incoming pushes without getting spotted yourself, even if in relatively close range. Notice how I'm not spotted in the image below, even though I'm able to see the enemy T-54 Lightweight? None of the T-54's tank is exposed, but my cupola are so tall cumulatively, that I'm able to spot him safely. Over a ridge: From the T-54 Lightweight's point of view: He can't see any of my vehicle! T-54 Lightweight's point of view (PoV) When I go into Sniper Mode, you can better see how absolutely none of his tank is showing: Sniper mode: Here I am doing the exact same thing to a KV-220, which is only 89m away from me. Despite being so close, and despite me being able to see him, he has absolutely no idea what spotted him. Spotting KV-220 over large mound in the terrain: From his point of view, absolutely nothing is poking over. If you looked very closely, you could see my view port sticking out (above the terrain between the KV-220's ports), but view ports aren't spotting checks for detecting enemy vehicles, although they are where your spotting checks originate from. What this means is, if your view port can see the enemy, and the enemy can only see your view port; you will see the enemy, but the enemy will not be able to see you. From the KV-220's point of view (PoV): To summarize - even though the hatch is a huge weakpoint in combat, you can actually exploit a few tactics from it to your benefit. Firstly, you can use it to bait shots with your tank's unexpected mobility. Secondly, you can use the height of the hatch and view port on top in order to spot enemy vehicles over cover easily, without getting spotted yourself. Very convenient for seeing vehicles in nearby ridges, over rubble mounds, etc. Essentially, you will no longer be oblivious to enemy's locations, even if the enemy thinks they're hidden. This gives you an interesting advantage over other vehicles. Comparison to same-Tier medium Tanks: Mobility: Good. The mobility is actually very good on this vehicle. It has great top speed, track traverse, turret traverse and even terrain resistance. The only downside is the lack of acceleration, which limits its moving potential to some extent. Regardless, you should be able to fairly easily reach your top speed. Alpha damage: Average. 240 alpha damage is right on par with other 90mm's. Other tanks with higher caliber guns will have higher alpha, obviously. Regardless, there are many other 240 alpha tanks at your Tier. Armor: Decent. The armor itself isn't bad. However, it's inconsistent. There are some parts of your turret with 500mm+ effective armor, other parts with 170 only. Your hull is decent, but will only bounce shells when angled. You can try side-scraping against lower pen guns, but don't do so against anything with a good caliber if it's avoidable. The hatch is only 76mm though, so don't get shot in the hatch if avoidable. HP: Average. 1,400 HP is just fine for a Tier 8 medium. It's not great, but it's not bad either. The armor allows you to actually take a few hits, whereas something like a CDC with the same HP pool finds itself a lot more limited with health. Penetration: Decent. 173/250/43 pen is also fairly decent. The AP pen is actually pretty bad for a Tier 8 vehicle, but the HEAT more than makes up for it. The profitability of the vehicle actually allows you to shoot the HEAT. View Range: Bad. 370m of View Range means you're not blind, but it is below average for this Tier. Camo Value: Good. I don't know the exact value for the camo, but it does seem to keep me hidden at reasonable distances fairly often. Whatever the camo value is, it's enough. Accuracy: Good. .36 accuracy isn't award winning, although it certainly isn't bad. It's actually fairly reliable. Aiming Speed: Good. 2.4 second aiming time isn't too bad. With Vents, Stabilizer and Combat Rations, as well as the already good gun handling soft stats, the aiming time doesn't feel very long at all. Shell Velocity: Good. 914 m/sec for AP is just around average, although having a HEAT round with a 1,219 m/sec shell velocity is very good. All in all, your shells will reach their targets at a reasonable rate. Battle effectiveness: Good. The 59-Patton is actually a fairly consistent vehicle, which can make a good presence during battle, every battle. You can provide consistent support fire, and get the job done. As a support vehicle, the 59-Patton excels. However, it's a team-dependent tank. It can't go off and carry on its own, it needs backup with it. Your armor will make your HP last a lot longer than it would with some other mediums, but the armor isn't reliable. Sometimes it will do miracles, other times it just shrivels up and dies. The armor may not be reliable, but it is consistent in the fact that it will typically do its job of keeping you alive for a bit longer, and blocking its fair share of damage. You do need to shoot quite the bit of HEAT in the vehicle, albeit having the profitability to afford to do so. However, the HEAT does have its advantages - it actually is a quick flying shell, unlike the HEAT of most vehicle. This immediately takes out one of the downsides you may expect from such a gun. The commander's hatch is a huge target, but actually adds dynamic to your gameplay. Interestingly enough, there are times when its height can actually be used to your advantage; spotting enemy vehicles which thought they were hidden by the terrain, without getting yourself spotted. You can also use the hatch to bait shells. Just realize that if you do get shot in the hatch, everything other than HE shells will be able to penetrate it, as there's only 76mm of armor on it. (Bottom part is covered with optics, which counts as spaced armor and can block a few shells, but that's right next to the turret roof and is unlikely to be hit). Overall Rating: 6/10 (Rather O.K., leaning towards good) The tank doesn't really excel in any regard other than consistent support fire. At that, it's a great support vehicle. However, on its own, it does somewhat falter. The tank isn't bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. It's fairly well-balanced in other characteristics, and doesn't quite fall behind in them. However, they're not quite good enough to give the tank something which is strongly going for it. It's a consistent support vehicle, which will make you money and doesn't really care too much about the match-making. It has a rather dynamic gameplay, as it doesn't quite play as other mediums would. It's certainly unique in the way it performs the support role, and has a very unique method of spotting and baiting enemy vehicles. Overall, I like the tank. It's not spectacular, isn't anywhere close to OP, but it's not bad either. It's a good, well-rounded medium. For the price (assuming you don't mind the bundle), it's worth it (The tank itself costs $29, the rest of the bundle cost was all of the extra Gold, Premium time & Garage slot). It's certainly a tank which I will keep in my Garage, and will take out to battle every now and then. It hasn't disappointed me, and is rather fun to play. It doesn't stand out over other mediums, but it doesn't fall behind either. "But wait, Scorp! The 59-Patton was only for sale during the first week of September! Why are you only posting a review now, when no one can buy it anymore?!" Well, that's because I got the 59-Patton fairly recently; a reward from the WarGaming Academy Contest. This review isn't going to help people decide whether or not they want to buy the tank, since it's no longer for sale; although it certainly can assist those who already own one and want a more detailed look into it. Also, if it ever goes up for sale again in the future, then you can look back at this guide to make a more educated decision. In addition, when you have to face against one (or you see one on your team), you'll know what to expect from it. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (59-Patton says hello!)

If I'm correct, you need at least 5 Forum posts prior to being able to access the Shoutbox.

Update: Added an O-I Experimental Review to the "Tank Based" section. Hope it helps! Enjoy!

102 tons... the size of an E-100... the gun of a T-150... and... the mobility of an M4 Sherman??? In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the O-I Experimental, explain the gun and equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 5 Heavy Tanks. Let's get started, shall we? Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Very high alpha damage, at 300 a shot. Good penetration for its Tier, at 130/150/53 Tied for one of the highest hit point values of its Tier, with 700 HP 102 ton tank means that anything which rams you is going to take far more damage than they do to you; if they even damage your vehicle Very nice top speed limit of 40km/h, which is exceptionally quick considering the size and weight of the tank Decent HP/ton ratio, with 12 horsepower available per ton of weight. This allows the tank to reach its top speed with relative ease The tank is a great rammer; if you get the opportunity to run something over, go for it. Even a gentle tap can do anywhere from 100-300 damage, depending on what you're ramming. At top speed, you can take out all of the HP of a Tier 5 with ease when ramming Surprisingly good traverse speed (considering the size and weight of the vehicle) at 24 degrees per second. When comparing this tank to the KV-5, which has the same size, weight and top speed, you realize that the O-I Experimental has 6 degrees better track traverse per second than the KV-5; 33% better. Decent DPM of 1,856 (un-equipped). The alpha damage makes that DPM far better than it would be on some other tanks 360m of View Range. Most Tier 5 heavies have anywhere from 310 to 350... this is the highest View Range (I think) of all of the Tier 5 heavies 100 ammo capacity... with 300 alpha, this means you have 30,000 damage worth of shells available. What this means - you'll never even come close to running out of ammo, and you can afford to carry as many different shells as you wish. Great gun depression at 10 degrees Turret traverse of 26 degrees a second. Once again, considering the size and weight of the tank, it's actually pretty decent. It also means that when combined with the track traverse, you can move your gun at 50 degrees/second, meaning you can avoid being circled by most non-scout tanks. Surprisingly profitable tank, even when shooting a few Premium AP rounds a battle, it's relatively easy to make some money in the tank. Repairs aren't overly expensive either. Neutrals: The accuracy is .41... this isn't terrible (same as the T67), but isn't great either. You should be able to connect your shots so long as you let your gun aim in. Aiming time is 2.6 seconds... this is technically bad, but for such a hard-hitting gun, it's actually fairly decent. The armor is 75mm all around on the turret, and 75/70/70 on the hull. For a Tier 5, this is actually very good all around armor, but it's severely limited in purpose due to the tank's massive size. There are so many places the enemy can shoot you, no matter how well you angle, there will always be somewhere an enemy can penetrate. Not only this, the armor loses its effectiveness in higher Tier battles. Gun dispersion is... questionable. You will definitely need to take some time to aim your shells, but it's not bad enough to be considered a "Con". Cons: The ammo rack is very weak and prominent right in the side. It's actually surprisingly easy to get hit in the side & ammo rack, which can be an annoying thing. Don't over-angle during side-scraping, and if you need to take a penetrating hit, do so frontally. The tank is huge. Absolutely huge. There is very little cover which will actually hide the entirety of your tank from the enemy. It's very easy for smaller tanks to hug up right against your side, and there's nothing you can do except move around. If there are multiple enemies near you and you don't have an ally to kill it, you're essentially dead; as the small tank will easily kill you one way or the other The tank loses a lot of effectiveness when fighting one of its own kind, or anything higher Tier. Not only is your armor worthless at those higher Tiers, but your gun simply isn't consistent enough to do damage to the enemy without having to load Premium AP, or shoot multiple times. Unlike higher Tier Japanese heavies, the O-I Experimental relies far more on mobility than armor. If your driver or engine are knocked out and you can't put them back into action, you're a sitting duck with minimal further usage in the battle. Ridiculously expensive top engine... 27,500 XP? Really? That's more than it takes to research the Tier 6 O-I! Sadly, you have to research the engine... even though you could in theory skip it, it's not in your best interest to do so... it's the exact same engine which will be used on every Japanese heavy tank all the way up to Tier 9 (inclusively). Very annoying to have to grind it before getting the O-I. You could do the grind on the O-I, but the O-I's lack of mobility will really make you suffer without the upgraded engine (even though it's not all that much better with the engine). Two radio operators... not only does that mean you'll have to train a new one to begin the line, but you'll also have no usage for them beyond the Tier 8... the Tier 9 and 10 have two loaders instead. Have fun with that extra R/O. Maybe you could strap him/her to the front of your tank as extra armor once (s)he gets knocked out? Annoyingly vulnerable to HE... due to its relatively thin armor for the size, it's actually very easy to wreck with howitzers, arty and even regular HE shells. Considering the tank is already a giant arty and howitzer magnet... good luck with that. No camo value due to the massive size... which is a double whammy, since you're not only too large to have any camo, but you're too large to find any useful cover in many cases. Horrendously low Radio Range at 425m with the upgraded radio... the stock radios are so bad, that the Radio actually is a fairly important module for you to research. Even the upgraded radio isn't any better than a Tier 2's... on larger maps, allies and enemies alike may very well disappear off of your screen & mini-map. Very slow shell travel time, at only 640m/s with both AP shells, and 620m/s with the HE. Sniping at anything will be exceptionally difficult with this gun, let alone at moving targets. Equipment: Personally, I mount Rammer, Gun Laying Drive & Super Heavy Spall Liner on the O-I Experimental. Other equipment can be used depending on your playstyle, although I feel as though this particular lineup will give your O-I Experimental the most reliability. Recommended: Rammer: If you can mount a rammer, you should. It's a given for any tank; reloading 10% faster gives you an edge over the enemy at all times. Plus, increasing your DPM from "decent" to "good" is always nice. Gun Laying Drive: 2.6 second aiming time is already somewhat derpy as it is, but combining it with mediocre .41 accuracy and mediocre gun handling, you'll really want to do something to improve the aiming time of that gun. Super Heavy Spall Liner: When your tank is a giant arty, howtizer and HE magnet in general, you may want to invest in a Super Heavy Spall Liner. My O-I Experimental already takes far too much damage from HE shells with the SH Spall Liner... considering it cuts the HE damage in half, I can't imagine how bad it would be without it. Also, having 50% protection to your crew from injuries is always nice. This tank really can't afford to lose any crew other than the radio operators. Optional: Improved Ventilation Class 3: A 5% boost to your crew is a very nice addition, and actually would be a very nice edge to give to the O-I Experimental. If you feel as though your aiming time is fine as it is without a GLD, or perhaps your O-I Experimental doesn't get hit by much HE, then you could easily replace one of those two pieces of equipment with Improved Ventilation. Toolbox: When getting hit by so many HE shells, you will lose your tracks very often. Your tank actually has the mobility to relocate if necessary however, so getting those tracks back into action quickly is very important. If you're fine with your aiming time, replace the GLD with a Toolbox. I wouldn't replace the Super Heavy Spall Liner, since the reason for the necessity of a Toolbox are the HE shells which are hitting your tank... removing the SH SP would only make you more vulnerable to them, which would only further increase the issue. Ammo: My ammo layout on the O-I Experimental is 80 AP, 20 Premium AP. What should you load on the O-I Experimental? Anything, really anything. You could go 33 AP, 33 Prem AP and 33 HE and still have more than enough ammo to not even run out of regular AP in the battle. Load whatever you want, you have so much ammo for such a slowish firing gun, that ammo is not an issue, ever. Now, how many Premium rounds do you need? Actually not that many - having a few loaded for Tier 7's will come in handy however... and against the Tier 6 O-I. Consumables: For Consumables on the O-I Experimental, I (would) use a Small First Aid Kit, a Small Repair Kit and Origini (I actually run an Auto Extinguisher over Origini, since it's far cheaper and I'm trying to save Credits... but if you have the Credits, use the Origini... this tank doesn't get set on fire at all) Small First Aid Kit: Standard with almost (113 being an exception) any tank. Since the crew on this tank is exceptionally important, you will want to put them back into action whenever they die (unless it's a radio operator). Small Repair Kit: Once again, fairly standard. Your ammo rack is the second most common module for your tank to lose (second to the tracks), so it's important to keep a repair kit available for that rack. Your tank will become garbage if you lose the rack. Origini: The 10% boost, combined with Vents, is very useful. It's just the extra edge you need to make up for the mediocre gun stats. Do you absolutely need it? Not at all... however, if you don't use Origini, you're far more likely to need an Enhanced Gun Laying Drive. Gun: The O-I Experimental's primary gun is a 100mm cannon. If you're considering using a different gun, extract the thought from your mind and discard it. The 100mm is really the only gun which allows this tank to be a prominent force on the battlefield. However, this gun is... interesting. This is also the gun you're (likely) going to want to use on the Tier 6 O-I, however, the characteristics on the O-I Experimental's 100mm are actually almost entirely better than the Tier 6 O-I's gun (aside from a significant difference in penetration). Here's a comparison of the 100mm on the O-I Experimental (Left side, Tier 5) and the O-I (Right side, Tier 6). The blue number is superior, a green number is a tied value. Rate of Fire: 6.19 (5.41) Aiming time: 2.6 (3.2) Accuracy: .41 (.43) DPM: 1,857/2228.4 (1623/1947.6) Penetration: 130/150/53 (175/201/53) Damage: 300/300/360 (300/300/360) Shell Velocity: 640/640/620 (720/720/665) Ammo capacity: 100 (100) The verdict? Enjoy the gun whilst you have it on the Tier 5, because it goes to crap at Tier 6. The penetration and shell velocity significantly increase however, which helps maintain the gun as a viable choice. 10 cm Cannon Type 14: The 10cm Cannon Type 14 is the name of the upgraded gun on the O-I Experimental. It has very high penetration and alpha, decent DPM and mediocre gun handling stats. It's definitely a peek-a-boom gun / tanks; poke around a corner against a single enemy, put 300 damage into him and pull back. Don't stick around the corner for too long, and definitely don't take longer ranged shots. Shoot whats in front of you, and help your allies focus down tanks. Trade with low damage guns, don't take multiple hits. Use the gun depression and height to get shots at enemies over ridges which normally tanks couldn't shoot over. How to play it: Really, this tank is actually fairly simple to play. Peek-a-boom against low alpha tanks, provide support fire during enemy's reloads against higher Tier targets. Try to avoid taking hits, and take nice meaty chunks out of the enemy without taking any return fire. If the opportunity arises in a one vs. one scenario, you can afford to put a shell into the enemy, ram it at full speed, put another shell in and finish it all off with another ram. At Tier 5, a 102 ton tank going at 40km/h will wreck anything it collides with. Use that to your advantage. If there are lower Tier tanks shooting you, in general you can (and should) ignore them if there are larger threats around. Lower Tiers can't really penetrate you so long as you implement rudimentary angling. Prioritize opponents with high alpha damage if it's a peek-a-boom scenario. However, if there are tanks with high DPM around, you must avoid pushing into them; rather focus them down with more peek-a-booming. A Churchill III for example, is more than capable of tearing apart your tank without even fully aiming. Your tank is so large, and has such marginal armor at the Tier, that high DPM tanks will shred through you if your'e out in the open. Also, try to find as large of a chunk of cover as possible to peek-a-boom from. You are a massive target, and it is exceptionally easy for arty to kill you. If there is a howitzer trying to shoot you, avoid side-scraping against it, it will damage you long before you come close to getting a shot at it. Your tank in general is vulnerable to HE, and to DPM. Ultimately, you want to peek-a-boom against low alpha guns, or shoot enemies during their reloads. Close range engagements only, don't get caught in the open, and especially stick with allies since you simply don't have the armor to do things alone. Comparison to same-Tier Heavy Tanks: Mobility: Superior. I will never understand what WG was thinking when they introduced a 102 ton tank which is faster than almost every other Tier 5 heavy (Only KV-1S is faster). 40km/h top speed, 24 degree/second traverse, and even a 12 HP/ton ratio. Yeah... it's surprisingly mobile. Alpha damage: Best in class. 300 alpha damage is more than any other Tier 5 heavy has, aside from the howitzers, which tend to have low penetration and inconsistent HE. It's a very hard-hitting gun for its Tier, and can two-shot most Tier 5 tanks with ease. Armor: Good. The armor is 75mm all around on the turret, and 75/70/70 on the hull. This is one of the better all-around armors of the Tier 5 heavies. However, the tank is so large with so many strange angles on it, it's actually much easier to penetrate it than you would think. No matter how you angle, there's always a flat portion for the enemies to shoot, and even if you think you're in cover, part of your tank could easily be sticking out. 75mm really isn't anything impressive. HP: Best in class. 700 HP is tied for the best HP at Tier 5, which means you can definitely take a few hits. Penetration: Decent. 130/150/53 pen doesn't seem bad at all for a Tier 5, and it reallly isn't. However, in comparison to other Tier 5 heavies, you're lacking pen one way or the other; either in terms of standard ammo (as against the BDR or VK) or in Premium ammo (T1 Heavy). It's still good penetration though, and you should easily be able to get through higher Tier opponents if you aim well, and even T29 hulls aren't too hard to pen with the Prem ammo. View Range: Best in class. 360mm of View Range is the best value of all of the Tier 5 heavies (I think). You can actually see what is shooting you for the most part, unlike something such as a KV-1. The problem is that you have no camo to speak of, and are a massive target. If you can see the enemy, expect them to be able to see you. Camo Value: Worst in class. What camo? There is no camo. The camouflage patterns on the tank may be pretty, but they certainly won't do you any good. You have no camo values to speak of on the O-I Experimental. Accuracy: Bad. .41 accuracy isn't too horrible, but it's definitely worse than everything else at Tier 5. Aiming Speed: Very bad. 2.6 second aiming time is one of the worst at Tier 5 other than from the howitzers. It's not the end of the world, but it certainly could be better. Shell Velocity: Worst in class. 620m/s shell velocity is one of the worst values you can find in the game from non-howitzer shells. It's truly underwhelming, and makes sniping even more difficult than it already was with the sub-par gun handling stats. Battle effectiveness: Good. The tank can definitely do its fair share in a battle, especially when top Tier. 300 alpha on a Tier 5 vehicle is absolutely incredible, and the ramming potential on the tank is also very nice to have. However, with unreliable armor, no camo, a tank which is larger than an E-100 and a reload of over 8 seconds, it actually can be hard to do as much as you may want to. When Top Tier, the tank wrecks everything. Mid Tier, its decent. Bottom Tier, it really begins to struggle. Peek-a-booming at any Tier sometimes makes the tank feel overpowered, until the moment you get hit by an HE shell, or are caught out by a DPM tank, or face anything with similar alpha. When you are alone, if you have to fight multiple targets at once, you will have a hard time. Unless you can get back into cover after each shot, without taking more than 100 damage in return, you will begin to wish you were in a different tank. Very often in battle, it works well for a while, and then just falls apart. It's not a bad tank at all, and could arguable be OP in some situations especially when Top Tier, but anything outside of its comfort zone of peek-a-booming is really a balancing factor for the vehicle. Overall Rating: 7.5/10 (Very Good) As tempting as it is for me to give this tank a lower rating, if I want to give it an un-biased review, I'd have to give it a 7.5. Having that kind of gun on a Tier 5 heavy is ridiculous, and more ramming potential than a KV-5 is very convenient. As a Tier 5 tank, it's a pretty good choice. At the end of the battle, you shouldn't have any trouble doing 1k damage or more with minimal effort, which is really good for a Tier 5. The largest issues with this tank arise from its inconsistencies. Outside of peek-a-booming, you begin to struggle a bit. Against a DPM tank, you're dead. Against HE shells, you will be crippled easily. On maps with minimal large solid cover, you will also struggle. The gun really makes it seem OP at times, but the tank lacks carry potential in far too many situations for it to be truly OP. It's really a situational tank. In a peek-a-boom scenario against low alpha guns, the tank wrecks face. Against DPM or HE, it really struggles. City maps are great for it, open maps not so much. Hills are very nice to have to put your gun depression to use, and sometimes the top speed coming down the other side to ram, although flat ground tends to put those features to waste. Good tank? Sure. OP? Not really. Consistent? Relatively, but there are times when it certainly falters. Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (O-I Experimental says hello!)

Update: Added a Charioteer Review to the "Tank Based" section. Enjoy!

Which vehicle has the camo of a light tank, mobility of a medium and a gun which even makes the Rhm look weak? None other than the Charioteer, your ride to victory! In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the Charioteer, explain the gun and equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 8 TD's. Let's get started, shall we? Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment, ammo and consumable layout Gun choices Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Incredible camo stationary; at 17%, it's better than most light tanks. Good camo on the move. 10% isn't spectacular, but it's still fairly decent. Incredible penetration for a Tier 8. In fact, the penetration is better than most Tier 10 mediums! Very good accuracy of .35 Good alpha damage at 390. Great track traverse speed, makes the tank almost feel like a medium. Nothing can circle you either. (For those saying "It turns slower than a medium though", keep in mind this a TD, not a medium. It almost turns like a medium.) Amazing HP/ton ratio of 21.19 Very high top speed, at 52km/h One of the best reverse speeds in the game, at 20km/h. This means it's very easy to back out of trouble if it's necessary. Very good gun handling when moving the turret - the bloom hardly changes. It has a turret, which is a great plus for the tank considering that it's a TD. Great DPM of 2,319 (without equipment). Fully set up, this tank approaches the 3,000 mark. Stock grind isn't all that bad, with fairly competitive guns all the way throughout The tank has one of the greatest carry potentials in the game, very few tanks can carry matches as well and as consistently as the Charioteer. Incredible shell velocity of 1,478 m/s with the standard APCR. Even the HESH and HE travel at a very competitive 1,173 m/s. Hitting moving targets is exceptionally easy with that kind of shell velocity. Very decent terrain resistance values of 0.9/1.0/1.8. This means that on most terrain (other than soft), it's very easy to get up to speed. Almost no penetration loss over distance. Seriously, at 650m, you still have 260mm of pen. That is mind-blowingly good. Neutrals: The turret turns fairly slowly, at only 18 degrees per second. However, it's not complaint worthy; considering that it's a TD with a turret. View range is 370m. That isn't great, but it's not terrible either. With a decent crew, Vents and Binoculars, you'll still easily reach the 445m maximum spotting distance. Premium round is HESH, rather than a higher penetration HEAT round. 210 HESH pen with 480 alpha can come in handy, but it's an unreliable shell. As for the lack of a higher penetration shell - if you're struggling to go through the enemy with 268mm of APCR pen, you're doing it wrong. Decent aiming time of 2.4 seconds. It really doesn't feel that long. However, you will actually need to take some time to aim in your shots, especially at longer ranges 1,050 hitpoints is very low, but considering that other TD's at this Tier usually don't get many more, and the fact that the Charioteer has one of the best mobility and camo values of any of the Tier 8 TD's, the low HP really isn't much of an issue. The ammo capacity is 30 rounds. The capabilities of the gun are incredible however, so you won't find yourself missing or bouncing very many shells, if any at all. Regardless, when it comes to hardcore carrying, towards end-game situations you may find ammo becoming a limited commodity. Cons: The armor is very thin. The hull won't be penned by HE, but the turret certainly can and will be. Gun depression is only 5 degrees... this is the same as the T-62A however, and the Charioteer's gun is more powerful than the T-62A's! Regardless, you will need to have fairly good map knowledge and practice with tanks without much gun depression to make it work. Gun elevation is an abysmal 12 degrees. This means that when going down a hill, you likely won't be able to shoot at anything. It's not that hard to counter, but it is a lower gun elevation than most other tanks. Ammo rack and engine have few hitpoints and are easy to take out when hit. However, they're very small targets, and you will rarely find yourself having those modules damaged. A single small repair kit is more than likely to be all you need during any battle. Very poor gun handling when moving the hull. Just like the Cromwell (which is what the Charioteer's hull is based off of), when travelling at full speed you'll be missing tanks from 100m away. Keep in mind however, that the poor gun handling is only during hull movement. When the turret is moving, there's almost no additional bloom; and you have incredible dispersion. When the hull kicks in though, don't think about snapshots. Equipment: Personally, I mount Vents, Rammer & Binocs on the Charioteer. Other equipment can be used depending on your playstyle, although I feel as though this particular lineup will give your Charioteer the most carry potential. Recommended: Vents: An overall boost to the crew is always nice. The Charioteer already has a lot of characteristics which are very good, but could use an extra edge. Vents (combined with Combat Rations) gives you that perfect extra level of performance you need. Rammer: If you can mount a rammer, you should. It's a given for any tank; reloading 10% faster gives you an edge over the enemy at all times. Plus, increasing your already good DPM even further is always nice. Binoculars: The Charioteer's View Range is decent at 370. However, with the mobility and camo you have, you would want more to be able to go out and spot your own targets. With Binoculars, its very easy to find a bush, spot targets from afar and snipe them down. Optional: Camo Net: If you want to stay hidden whilst shooting, a Camo Net isn't a bad choice. However, the Charioteer's camo value whilst stationary is already incredibly high; a Camo Net simply wouldn't provide all that much benefit unless sniping in the 300m-400m range. Even then, it's a situational piece of equipment. Personally, I feel as though you're much better off with the additional boost which Ventilation provides. If you do choose a Camo Net, replace Vents. Coated Optics: Coated Optics are only for people who like to move around a lot (which the Charioteer can do with its mobility). However, you have to keep in mind that the traverse speed and top speed aren't quite as those you'd find on light tanks - you won't really get much active scouting done. If you want to take more aggressive locations, that's fine, but in general you'll either already be close enough to the enemy to see them without the extra view range, or the enemy will be far enough away to the point where you can sit still without getting spotted; in which case Binoculars are once again a better choice. If you mount Optics, use them as a replacement for Binoculars. Ammo: My ammo layout on the Charioteer is 25 APCR rounds, and 5 HESH. When I had originally purchased the tank, I had 20 APCR and 10 HESH. The more I played the Charioteer, the more I began to realize that I really wasn't using the HESH very often. Not only that, but carrying too many HESH rounds meant that I was often running out of APCR, which was inconvenient for end-game situations. Now, I brought the HESH count down to 5. However, I still hardly find myself using it. On the few occasions when I do shoot it, I rarely use more than one or two rounds of it. I very well may end up bringing the HESH count all the way down to only 3 or 4. APCR is really the main kind of ammo you want to be shooting from this tank. Consumables: For Consumables on the Charioteer, I use a Small First Aid Kit, a Small Repair Kit and Pudding & Tea. Small First Aid Kit: Standard with almost (113 being an exception) any tank. Driver occasionally will die, so having one of these is always important. Small Repair Kit: Once again, fairly standard. It's possible for your ammo rack or engine to be damaged due to their low hit point values. However, they're very small, and will rarely be damaged. One Small Repair Kit is more than enough to take care of any module issues you may come across. Pudding and Tea: The 10% boost, combined with Vents, is very useful. It's just the extra edge you need to make up for the mediocre View Range and somewhat slow turret traverse. It also makes your hull turn as quickly as a medium, so you no longer even feel like a TD; but rather a medium with a massive gun. You really don't need a Fire Extinguisher on this tank - it rarely gets set on fire. In fact, I haven't been lit up even once so far! Gun: The Charioteer's top gun is a 105mm cannon, but it's definitely not a typical 105mm. It's a Tier 10 gun, and is better than Tier 10 heavy guns, even staying extremely competitive when compared against Tier 10 medium guns. In fact, just to put things into perspective, I've matched up the Charioteer's gun in comparison to the Obj. 140's gun. On the left is the Charioteer's values, on the right are the Obj. 140's values. Blue is the superior value. Green is a tied value. Rate of Fire: 5.94 (9.09) Aiming time: 2.4 (2.1) Accuracy: .35 (.35) DPM: 2,316.6/2,851.2 (2,908.8/2,908.8) Penetration: 268/210/105 (264/330/50) Damage: 390/480/480 (320/320/420) Shell Velocity: 1,478/1,173/1,173 (1,535/900/900) Ammo capacity: 30 (50) The verdict? That's one kicking gun. A Tier 8 having gun which is extremely competitive along a Tier 10 medium's gun, in fact even having better characteristics in various aspects, is just incredible. On a Tier 8 vehicle, this gun will wreck anything which comes across your sights. 105mm AT Gun L7: The 105mm AT Gun L7 is the name of the upgraded gun on the Charioteer. As the comparison above showed, the gun is more than worth of being labelled as a Tier 10 gun. At Tier 8, you will out-DPM, out-spot and out-gun everything. 268mm of penetration is one of the highest values at Tier 10 when comparing it to anything which isn't a TD(for a standard shell), let alone Tier 8. On a Tier 8 vehicle, you can go through enemy armor as though it doesn't exist. Aiming at weakpoints is more often than not unnecessary (doesn't mean you shouldn't aim for them though, especially against higher Tier vehicles). Regardless of how you play the Charioteer, your number one priority is putting that gun to use. Early damage, easy penetrations on the enemy is crucial. If you have the opportunity to hit something, take it. The gun hits well and hits hard. If you can put it to continuous use, you will have no problems getting an average Damage Per Game (DPG) similar to what you'd get on your Tier 10 vehicles. That's how good the gun is. How to play it: The Charioteer has many incredible features. The most noticeable are the camo, mobility and gun. You can very well take up aggressive spotting locations if you wish to do so. Just keep in mind that you don't quite have the mobility of a light tank, so make sure that you don't need to zig-zag back and forth to evade fire. Avoid putting yourself in a bad location where you'll be spotted when you don't want to be. Regardless, the speed allows you to not only take up aggressive locations easily, but also get away from danger as necessary. The most important thing when it comes to playing the Charioteer, is putting the gun to use. When you have a gun which would be considered one of the better guns at Tier 10, let alone at Tier 8; all on a Tier 8 vehicle, you absolutely must put it to use. The name of the game is early damage, relocation and more damage. If you're not shooting, you're doing something wrong. Waiting for an opportunity or for the enemy to make a move is fine only if you know that the enemy will move, and soon. You definitely don't want to sit around doing nothing. If tanks aren't coming to you, then you need to find the tanks yourself. Obviously however, stay alive. Support allies which need it as well; don't shoot your own thing if there's a more important target elsewhere. If you want to win, you need to get early damage in, prioritize targets, and put in continuous fire at all times. Relocate as necessary, spot your own targets as necessary, but make sure that the gun, mobility and camo aren't being wasted. Comparison to same-Tier TD's: Mobility: Best in class. Having a 21.5 HP/ton ratio with a 52km/h top speed and a 36 degree/second traverse speed (actually better than that, Garage number is incorrect), makes you the fastest Tier 8 TD in the game as of now. Even the JPanther II, SU-101 and AMX AC 48 can't compete with the Charioteer's mobility Alpha damage: Good. Having 390 alpha at Tier 8 is very good. However, there are TD's with more alpha than you. Armor: Bad. The Charioteer's armor is practically non-existent. Only the front has any remote hope of bouncing a shell, and even then, that's only at a 70 degree angle. The hull will block HE shells, but that's about it. The turret's armor is even lower. The only thing that prevents this tank from having "Worst in class" armor is the fact that the Rhm exists. HP: Inferior. Let's face it, 1,050 hit points isn't very many at all. However, it's not the end of the world. The camo and mobility of the Charioteer mean that in general, your low HP count won't be an issue very often at all. Penetration: Best in class. 268mm of standard APCR penetration is better than Russian mediums... in fact, only the E-50M has better penetration than that from the Tier 10 mediums. However, we're talking about 268mm of APCR penetration on a Tier 8 TD... simply unheard of. "But wait, Scorp! Did you forget about the ISU-152 with its 286mm of pen?!". Forget about the ISU-152, it has AP and AP only. The rest of the ISU's shells are pointless. Let's talk Premium round here - the Charioteer has a HESH round which has 210mm of pen... it's essentially an HE shell... with 210mm of pen. That's ridiculously good. This gives the Charioteer dynamic. You don't need a Premium round with any more penetration, 268mm of pen is better than Tier 10 mediums. HESH actually has usage on the Charioteer though, unlike the APCR or HE on the ISU-152. View Range: Decent. 370mm of View Range isn't bad, but it's not great either. With Vents & Binoculars however, you'll easily reach the 445m range you want. Camo Value: Superior. 17% stationary, 10% on the move and 3.8% after shooting is incredibly good camo, even for a TD. Putting on camo skills will allow you to remain a very stealthy sniper. Not only that, but this gives you one of the better camo values of the Tier 8 TD's. 17% stationary is better camo than light tanks have. However, the one thing which makes this tank's camo more useful than something such as an Rhm, is that the Rhm is forced to stay far back and hope the enemy comes to you. With the Charioteer, you can actively relocate and move around, play more aggressively, etc. This means the Charioteer makes far better usage of the good camo values than the Rhm does. Accuracy: Very good. .35 accuracy... just let that number run through your head. That's the same accuracy as the Obj. 140. .35 accuracy is very, very good and means that you will be able to reliably put in penetrating shells into the enemy from long ranges. Aiming Speed: Decent. 2.4 second aiming time isn't the fastest at Tier 8, but it's certainly not bad. You'll be able to aim in fairly quickly well before the enemy can get away. Shell Velocity: Best in class. At 1,478 m/s, it's not only best in class, but it's one of the best in the game. Obj. 140's APCR is barely, barely faster, and that's two Tiers higher. However, when you look at the HESH and HE velocity of the Charioteer, which both sit at 1,173 m/s - you realize that even the HE and HESH on the Charioteer travel more quickly than the Rhm's or ISU-152's APCR! That's just to put things into perspective... when your HE and HESH, supposedly the slowest shells you have, are quicker than the APCR of other TD's... you know you have a good gun. The APCR standard ammo on the Charioteer has a ridiculously quick shell velocity. Auto-aiming at light tanks from 350m will hit if they're moving at any angle what-so-ever (although I don't recommend doing this). You hardly need to lead targets, and when you click, the enemy won't have any time to react - even if the enemy is at 600m, they have 0 hope of moving in any way which hides a weakpoint or changes the angle. The shell hits practically as soon as you click. Battle effectiveness: Best in class. There are five primary factors which can determine whether or not a tank can reliably carry. Those factors are camo, mobility, DPM, penetration and accuracy. Charioteer has all five. You can spot your own targets, you can go through their armor as though it's not even there, you have very competitive DPM especially for the Tier, you have the camo and mobility to take aggressive locations or to get out of trouble, and you have the firepower to make any opponent think twice about engaging you. The Charioteer has some of everything. The only thing it truly lacks is armor, but with as many redeeming features the tank already has, there's no need for armor. Played properly, you'll never find yourself needing to take any hits in the first place. It's an incredible tank with an incredible amount of carry potential. Overall Rating: 10/10 (Exceptional) This is the only tank which I currently have in my Garage which I would genuinely give a 10/10 rating to. The amount of carry potential the tank has is ridiculously good. It's flexible in terms of gameplay; can scout, can get out of trouble when needed, and especially can hit hard. Also, you have to realize - this is a Tank Destroyer with the potential to easily circle all other tank destroyers. It's a Tier 8 vehicle with better penetration, damage and shell velocity than a Tier 10 medium. It's a TD with better camo than light tanks. There isn't anything bad about this tank which is actually detrimental to gameplay. The only downsides this tank have are the lack of armor and HP (which really don't matter when the tank is played properly, thanks to its incredible camo, mobility and gun), the poor gun handling on the move (which is only bad when the hull is moving, and also doesn't matter, since the gun is so accurate when fully aimed in, and also aims as well as it does. Plus, gun handling when the turret turns is spectacular), and lastly the poor elevation and depression angles (which yet again, doesn't matter. The mobility and camo once again mean that you can take locations where the gun angles don't negatively affect you, and the gun hits so hard, occasionally having to re-angle the tank to find the depression or elevation is such a minor nuance in play that it may as well not be an issue in the first place. Ultimately, anything negative about the tank is more than easily made up for by something else. However, when it comes down to the strengths of the tank, it has everything a tank needs to carry. Remember the big five from earlier? Camo, mobility, penetration, DPM and accuracy. With camo, you can easily abuse vision mechanics which is essential for carrying. With mobility, you can relocate, take more strategic locations, flank, etc. Combined with the camo, it means you can now scout. With penetration as incredible as the Charioteer's, you don't have to waste time aiming for tiny weakpoints on tanks. You point and shoot, meaning you spend less time aiming, and less time distracted. That's also important to carrying. DPM is always important, when you can kill an enemy vehicle faster than they can kill you, you will have the upper hand. Fully equipped, the Charioteer has 2,900 DPM with its standard APCR. This is already an incredible value. When top Tier, especially in one vs. one situations at closer range, the HESH not only has the penetration to go through the enemy, but also the damage to really wreck their tanks. 3,600 DPM with the HESH. Incredible values with either shell, perfect for engaging the enemy. Lastly, accuracy. What good is a gun if it can't hit the enemy? Well, Charioteer doesn't have to worry about that. .35 accuracy with a 2.4 second aiming time is very good. The incredible gun handling when turning the turret is also very important when aiming your shells, as that's even less time spent aiming. However, Charioteer not only has those 5 characteristics, but even has two additional bonuses - not only does it have a turret (which is spectacular to have on a TD of any kind), but it also has a shell velocity which makes APCR from Rhm's seem slow. The shell velocity is the same as Russian medium's when it comes down to the standard APCR, but superior by a very large margin it terms of Premium rounds and HE. Having HE which travels faster than Rhm APCR - that's nice. Having standard APCR which travels as quickly as a WT auf. E-100's APCR? That's really nice. It's a great tank. Truly capable of carrying, and truly fun to play. I can't recommend this vehicle enough. If you haven't already picked one up - what are you waiting for? You won't regret a thing! Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful! I genuinely wish all of you the very best of luck and fun, both in real life and on the battlefield. (And for those who want a peak at the beauty, beauty and beast, beast from the East itself, here's a screenshot of the Charioteer casually over-watching Windstorm.)

Update: Added a StuG III G Review

Day or night, a hidden assassin lies in wait. Ready to support allies at any and all times, the StuG III G is prepared for any opponent which shows its face. In this guide, I shall cover all of the various Pros and Cons of the StuG III G, explain the gun and equipment choices, give you a general overview of its gameplay style and compare it to other Tier 5 TD's. Let's get started, shall we? Table of Contents: General overview (Pros and Cons) Equipment and ammo layout Gun choices Gameplay style Comparison to other same-class tanks of its Tier Overall Rating General Overview: Pros: Excellent camo stationary Decent camo on the move Incredible penetration for a Tier 5 Best accuracy you'll get at Tier 5, with an astounding .32 Very fast aiming time of 1.7 seconds Good alpha damage at 135 Great track traverse speed, very few tanks can cirlce you Good HP/ton ratio of almost 19 Neutrals: Decent DPM of 1,800 80mm of armor for the Tier is thick, but it has a multitude of weakpoints, and can't be angled due to the weak sides Mobility is limited to 40km/h; it reaches the speed quickly, but the traverse & HP/ton really has limited purpose due to the top speed Gun traverse isn't great, but not too bad. Considering the StuG III G is a long range sniper, you won't get into too much trouble with the gun traverse. Dispersion on the move is actually pretty bad considering the speed it goes at, but the aiming time is so good that it really doesn't matter. 350 hitpoints is very low, but considering that other TD's at this Tier usually don't get many more, and the fact that the StuG is usually far enough away to not get spotted, means that the low HP isn't too much of an issue. Cons: Horrendous reverse speed of 10km/h. Even if you're backing off of a small ridge, you're much better off turning your hull around and driving fowards to get off. The most angled part of the armor is 40mm; can be penetrated by most guns. The 80mm panels are flat too. The view range is an appalling 310m. Even with my set-up which brings it up to 419m, it really reduces your spotting potential. The limited top speed also means that even with an amazing crew, you just can't get into the positions you need to in order to spot your own targets The tank is very team dependent. The fact that it can't spot its own targets safely means that you need your team to do the spotting for you. Unfortunately, at Tier 5 most of your teammates are new to the game and have no idea what they're doing... this means that far too often, you're left with a very limited selection of targets which don't even remain lit for very long. Frontal mounted engine with few hitpoints in the flat lower plate; a single 76mm shell is all what it takes to knock it out. Equipment: Personally, I mount Vents, Rammer & Binocs on the StuG. A Camo Net is optional, but I feel as though the nature of the StuG means you're far enough away to not get spotted, so being able to spot targets at those distances is more important. Recommended: Vents: An overall boost to the crew is always nice. There really isn't a wide variety of useful equipment for this tank, so I put on Vents. Can be replaced if necessary however. Rammer: If you can mount a rammer, you should. It's a given for any tank; reloading 10% faster gives you an edge over the enemy Binoculars: The StuG's view range is very poor at 310m. However, with Vents, Recon and Situational Awareness, Binoculars can bring your View Range up to 419m. That's still not great, although it will actually let you spot the enemy before they see you, which is always a good thing. Optional: Camo Net: If you value having extra camo, the camo net may be of use. However, at long ranges you aren't likely to be spotted in the first place. The already good camo of the StuG and the liklihood of you sitting in a bush means that the Cano Net simply does not have as much purpose. Regardless, it still isn't a bad choice. If mounting a Camo Net, I'd put it in place of the Ventiation, as having a Rammer & Binoculars are almost essential. Ammo: My ammo layout on the StuG III G depends on the gun I'm using. For the 75mm Pak 42, I load 26 AP and 10 APCR. However, the penetration of the gun means that I rarely find myself using the APCR rounds - you could very well replace a few of them (3 or 4) with AP or HE, depending on what you feel you need more of. For the 105mm Howitzer, I load 23 HE and 5 HEAT. The AP on the 105mm is pointless, the HEAT is entirely superior. However, having only 104mm of HEAT pen means that it's really not a reliable shell. When using a 105mm, you really should be shooting almost entirely HE, and unless you're shooting something such as an M4 Sherman, which you can't penetrate with HE but can penetrate with HEAT, there really is no reason to even load the HEAT Despite carrying a few APCR & HEAT rounds on the two guns, I rarely find myself using them - in fact, I haven't used them yet. The penetration on the 75mm Pak 42 is more than enough to not need APCR in 99% of cases, and the HEAT is so situational that I haven't loaded any either. Due to this fact, you could very well reduce the number of those types of rounds you take; perhaps even by half. Gun choices: The StuG III G has two guns which can be considered viable. One is a 75mm Pak 42, the other is a 105mm Howitzer. Below is a comparison of the two. The 75mm is in black, the 105mm is in blue. Rate of Fire: 13.33 (8.33) Aiming time: 1.7 (1.7) Accuracy: .32 (.53) DPM: 1,800 (3,415.3) Obviously, the 3,415 is with HE and only if your shells always penetrate... they won't. Penetration: 150/194/38 (64/104/53) Damage: 135/135/175 (350/350/410) Ammo capacity: 36 (28) 75mm Pak 42: The 75mm Pak 42 is what makes the StuG the long range sniper it's meant to be. The gun has great aiming time, accuracy, penetration & decent alpha. The DPM is kind of low, but everything else about the gun is great. If you want to learn how to play a sniping TD, this is the gun to use. It's the gun I use on my StuG, never regretted a thing. Ultimately, the StuG is a much better platform to get used to this kind of gun that some of the other TD's at Tier 5. The StuG has the mobility to get around, camo to stay hidden and has enough armor to the point where if you're shot at, you may still survive. Pz. Sfl. IVc for example, is a lot less forgiving due to the large size and armor that even Tier 3's will penetrate. The type of tank you shoot at with the 75mm doesn't matter all that much; you can penetrate everything. Simply pick a priority target and go for it. If you see something more heavily armored, go for it. It will greatly help your team to wear down the enemy's heavier tanks from a distance. Put the great penetration to use. The accuracy is great, but at the range you'll be playing the StuG at, you still won't hit weakpoints. However, don't be afraid to shoot targets towards the edge of your draw distance if they're high priority. You should be able to fairly easily hit them. One thing to keep in mind whilst sniping is that the gun traverse is somewhat limited. The further away your targets are, the less the gun traverse will affect you. If you need to turn your hull, you can still easily do so - the aiming time will snap you back onto target very quickly. 105mm Howitzer: The 105mm is for people who liked the Hetzer. Using the 105mm on a StuG is essentially the same as having a Tier 5 Hetzer. The aiming time is extremely good for a howitzer, so shooting at stationary targets even at range isn't very difficult. Just remember that your StuG's armor isn't nearly as effective at Tier 5 as the Hetzer's was at Tier 4. You're quick to accelerate, quick to traverse, but slow to reverse and limited to a 40km/h top speed. The gun isn't quite as effective as it was on the Hetzer, but it's still a decent choice at Tier 5. This gun is a matter of preference. If you liked the 75mm on the Hetzer, use the 75mm on the StuG. If you liked the 105mm on the Hetzer, and want that kind of playstyle, use the 105mm on the StuG. When using the 105mm, aim for targets which are easiest to hit. A limited ammo capacity of 28 may not be your main concern, but the 6.6 second reload will. The StuG can't get too close to the enemy, so you may still have to snipe with the howitzer. Tanks which are entirely exposed are much better targets than partially concealed vehicles. As for target prioritization, you should aim at targets in this order of affinity: Entirely exposed, stationary, slowly moving lightly armored, higher Tier / high armor targets. Obviously, this is just my personal preference. However, when I'm using the 105mm, my first priority is finding a target which is relatively easy to hit. 1.7 second aiming time isn't an issue, but .53 accuracy is. Entirely exposed, stationary targets will always be my main choice. From there, if there's something I can penetrate with an HE shell, I'll take the shot - the opportunity to do 410 damage in one shell is not something to pass up. Lastly, higher Tier & heavily armored targets also hold priority. Your HE shells can help your team wear down higher Tier threats, and thus will contribute towards winning the game more-so than they would if you were shooting at lower Tier targets. Beyond those four kinds of targets, what you shoot at is mostly up to you. How to play it: The StuG III G by its very nature is a long range sniper. With its exceptional aiming time, accuracy, penetration & decent alpha, you're more than equipped to take out targets at a distance. However, the limited mobility & view range means that it simply cannot spot its own targets - it entirely relies on its allies to do so. The fact that the StuG is a Tier 5 means that your teammates are typically newer players who have no idea what they're doing. This really limits the StuG's potential, as a long range sniper is useless if you don't have targets in the distance to shoot at. You need to place your tank carefully. You cannot reverse your way out of any trouble for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, you go 10km/h in reverse... that's so incredibly slow, a Tog II could catch up with you. Secondly, the engine is frontally mounted - this means that if you're being shot at as you're reversing, you could lose your engine. Your 80mm of armor isn't going to stop most guns either with the exception of Tier 3's and some lucky bounces from higher Tiers. Ultimately, when getting out of trouble just turn your tank around. You'll get away more quickly, and you won't lose your engine. Your positioning is important for those reasons; if you can avoid getting spotted & shot at, you won't have to feel the effects of the crappy reverse speed and engine placement. The tank is essentially all about the extremely good gun and camo. You have more than enough pen and accuracy to go through almost any tank you come across; even T29's hulls are relatively easy to go through. However, communication with your team is essential. If they don't spot for you, you won't have targets to shoot and thus will be useless. The camo allows you to stay hidden, albeit limited gun traverse, so you should be able to take up advantageous bushes to snipe from. No matter what you do, don't rely on your armor (even against low pen guns due to the weakpoints you have), and especially don't put yourself into a situation where you have to back up. Unlike the French which have 2 gears for forwards and 6 for reverse, the StuG is the exact opposite. 6 for forwards, and... one half... for reverse. When using the 105mm, you're a slightly faster Tier 5 Hetzer with less armor. That's really what you are. Don't get overly aggressive, don't rely on your armor, shoot at ranges where you can stay hidden but can still hit the enemy. The gun might not be the most reliable, but when it works, it works well. Comparison to same-Tier TD's: Mobility: Decent. Whilst the acceleration & traverse speeds are incredibly good, the top speed is a limiting factor. In addition, the reverse speed is so horrible, that it just limits what the tank can do with its forwards mobility. Alpha damage: Good. Having 135 alpha at Tier 5 certainly isn't bad. There are some TD's such as the S35 & SU-85 which have more, but you're not going to be left behind. The Howitzer in theory has exceptional alpha, but the fact that you're either shooting HE or low-pen HEAT means that you just won't get to do full damage most of the time. Armor: O.K. Most Tier 5 TD's have pretty bad armor aside from the AT-2, so you'd think that 80mm would be better than "O.K.". However, the multitude of weakpoints, lack of angling, etc. all reduces the effectiveness of the armor. It might make you immune to most Tier 3's, but anything Tier 4 or above has a good chance of penning you, and anything Tier 5 or above can reliably penetrate your armor. You can get some lucky bounces, the the armor in general is inconsistent. HP: Inferior. 350 HP simply won't get you very far. Even though many Tier 5 TD's don't have many more hit points, 350 is still a very limited supply, and towards the bottom of the list. Penetration: Best in class. Having 155 AP pen & 195 APCR pen is simply unheard of at Tier 5. Very few tanks come even close to that. Your AP has more than enough penetration power to go straight through T29 hulls with relative ease. View Range: Very bad. Only the SU-85 has worse view range, and that's only by 30m. The 310m view range on the StuG is really a sad joke; entirely limiting your tank's potential. Camo Value: Superior. 23% stationary, 13% on the move and 5.6% after shooting is incredibly good camo, even for a TD. Putting on camo skills will allow you to remain a very stealthy sniper. Accuracy: Best in class. At .32, your gun is the most accurate at Tier 5. Absolutely nothing comes even close to competing with you. Aiming Speed: Best in class. 1.7 second aiming time is tied amongst the best of its Tier, alongside with the T67, AT-2 and Wolverine. Battle effectiveness: Good. The gun allows you to reliably tear down your opponents, and the accuracy simply will not let you down. When it comes to providing long range support fire, this tank does it best. It may be limited in other categories, but in comparison to the other Tier 5 TD's, this tank certainly is no laughing matter. Overall Rating: 6.5/10 (Good) For me, this tank is a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, you have a gun nearly identical to the E-25's in every way aside from reload & DPM. On a Tier 5 tank, this is entirely ridiculously good. You can excel in long range support fire, even when shooting at Tier 7 tanks. You simply don't feel limited in that aspect. The mobility also allows you to set up into sniping positions fairly quickly, so you'll get to shoot at what your allies spot. On the other hand, this tank lacks one key thing - carry potential. The lack of reverse speed, limited top speed, mediocre DPM and especially the poor view range mean that this tank is simply team dependent all the way through. A team-dependent tank simply cannot carry. If your team will spot targets for you, the tank can lead a team to victory even when bottom Tier. However, with the average team at such low Tiers being so incompetent, you simply cannot consistently pull good results. There will be times when you simply hate the tank. Ultimately, the tank does what it does very well; yet it lacks flexibility and carry potential. The gun is great, and being bottom Tier is nothing to be afraid of. What does scare the StuG is your team. Far too often, the StuG cannot put its strong suites into usage simply because the team can't spot for you, or leaves your flank undefended. The StuG can't get out of trouble with the frontal engine & 10km/h reverse speed, and it lacks the view range to fend off the enemy before they come close. This tank will teach you how to play long-range, supporting sniper. The tank won't be circled & will never struggle to penetrate or hit the target, but it won't single-handedly take your team to victory - it just won't happen. You need a team, it's a team-dependent tank designed for supporting its allies.

No worries, I'm always working on something! They do take a while though. Map guides are definitely something which I haven't created yet, it's something I'll have to work on in the future. For now, I'm planning on first updating all of my old guides with newer, more accurate information. Afterwards, I'll do a few more tank class guides, a couple of interface guides, and then I'll get into reviewing particular tanks, lines & of course map strategies. :)

Don't worry. I see that you are lost and confused, in need of guidance and support. Lucky for you, thou have stumbled into the Scorpion's Den; with guides aplenty. This particular edition contains A Guide to Spotting Mechanics. If these are the drones you were looking for, sit back, turn on some pimping music and read away... all of your questions shall be answered here. "Yes... perfect... I'll just set up right here and ambush the enemy as soon as they show themselves... What?!?! How did that TD see me?! Haxorr!!!11!1111one!". Far too often, players set up believing they're safe from fire; yet they quickly are spotted and destroyed. A proper understanding of spotting mechanics can easily help alleviate any confusion about how, why or when you are being detected. Let's begin, shall we? Foliage: The flora and fauna (mostly the flora) of WoT. Bushes: Perhaps the most renowned aspect of Spotting Mechanics; bushes are the primary source of camouflage bonuses that you may find on the battlefield. The larger the bush, the better it conceals your tank and the more camouflage it provides. However, it is a bit more complicated than that. Another variable beyond bush size which also affects how much camouflage you are receiving from a bush is your own distance and positioning in regards to said bush. There are 5 positions that come to mind when it comes down to choosing where to place your tank in correlation with a nearby bush. However, only 2 of these positions are widely accepted, with a third being highly situational. In Front: Hiding in front of a bush is a mistake rarely made; however I have seen a few very new players believing that a bush will provide you camouflage as long as you're next to it. Wrong! The bush must be directly blocking the enemy's line of sight in order for your tank to receive a camouflage bonus. In the Bush: This is the very situational positioning. Usually hiding inside of a bush reduces the camouflage the bush is providing you with; as only part of the foliage is actual in the enemy's line of sight, rather than the entire bush. However, if you are surrounded by enemies from all sides, and need to try to cover every nook and cranny of your tank, then hiding inside of a large bush is most likely your best hope of not getting spotted. Please keep in mind that if any part of your tank is sticking out of the bush, you can easily be spotted. Press and hold the right mouse button, and turn your camera around the bush you're sitting inside of. If you see part of your tank sticking out, no matter how slight, you may need to re-position. As soon as the enemy has a direct line of sight to the exposed bit, they will spot you. Slightly behind the bush (with the very front of the tank partially inside): This is an accepted form of hiding your tank; hiding mostly behind the bush, with only a small part of your frontal hull inside of the bush. However, be aware that the closer you are to the center of a bush, the less camo it provides you with. If there are no enemies to your sides, than you can be directly behind the bush to gain maximum camo value. Although if tanks are somewhat to the sides, then moving closer will help conceal your sides a bit more. 1m to 15m behind a bush: This is also an accepted form of hiding your tank. If you keep a small distance behind the bush that you are using to camouflage your tank, then the bush is providing you with the most camo that it can. However, the bush must be directly in the enemy's line of sight towards your tank. If part of your tank is not being blocked by the bush, then the enemy can easily spot you. This is why if there are enemies off to either direction and you're uncertain whether or not the bush is covering your sides, moving up a bit into the bush is safer. More than 15m behind a bush: While hiding far behind a bush still provides you with camo (and lots of it), assuming the bush is blocking the enemy's line of sight, there is a catch with this form of hiding: It also reduces your own View Range. Any bush or tree farther than 15m from your tank provides you with camo, at the cost of View Range. Those bushes and trees will then be providing camouflage to the enemy as well; thus making it harder to spot them. This is why tanks are so hard to detect in the "Magic Tank-Eating Forest of Death" in Murovanka or in any location with very dense foliage. This 15m concept is what allows even Heavy tanks to stay so well camouflaged when given a large amount of foliage. It's not hacks; just plant-life. Some people complain about this system, yet think about it. When you are strolling through a dense forest, when would you spot a bear wandering around? You probably wouldn't see the bear until it is relatively close to you outside of the foliage. When it's a distance behind trees and bushes, you won't see it. The same thing applies to World of Tanks. Even a heavy tank can be hidden entirely if given the right amount of foliage to hide behind. A bonus to the 15m rule - when you are firing your gun, any bush within 15m will have its camouflage bonus reduced. Bushes outside of 15m are un-affected. Thus if you want to shoot at an enemy whilst in a bush: Spot it, back 15m behind the bush (it will become opaque in sniper mode; you can no longer see through it), shoot at the enemy and then pull back into the bush. Rinse and repeat and the enemy will never know what hit it. Keep in mind that this only works up to 100-150m away from the enemy (depending on its view range). Anything closer than that and the bush won't provide you with enough camouflage. Trees: Standing trees also provide you with large amounts of camo; especially when they are in tight clusters. This is why Muronovka's forest is called the "Magic Tank-Eating Forest of Death". Even heavy tanks can easily remain hidden! Once again, I felt as though a visual example would be best to accurately depict just how effective trees can be. In this image, there is a StuG IV directly in the trees where I'm aiming. Even though he has a 50% crew, has no camo net, no camo paint or even camo skills, he ultimately is able to remain hidden simply due to the quantity of thick foliage in front of me. Spoiler However, watch what happens as soon as all of the trees are removed. I am still in the same location, yet the StuG is now spotted! Spoiler This is why invisible snipers are so common in dense forests - the foliage is thick enough to conceal a large majority of tanks. Please keep in mind however, that the trunks of trees do not provide any camo bonuses, only the foliage does. In order for a tree to hide a tank, its leaves and branches must be covering it. The trunk plays (almost, will be discussed later) no role. Fallen Trees: If a tree has fallen in the middle of a forest, and no one who is spotted is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer is yes. But does it provide camo? The answer is also yes! However, keep in mind that a fallen tree provides less camo than a standing tree. The StuG IV in the previous image still had a fallen tree covering his tank, but it wasn't as effective at hiding his tank as the standing trees were. Regardless, fallen trees (especially in numbers) can still be exceptionally effective forms of concealment. Over here, I am only meters away from a T-150 heavy tank, and there aren't even any standing trees providing him with camouflage! Regardless, there certainly are fallen trees. Lots and lots of fallen trees have managed to hide even this giant machine from my crew's trained eyes. Spoiler Here is an aerial view of what was in front of the T-150. I have now moved my tank right next to him so that he would be spotted. Spoiler All of those fallen trees managed to hide that heavy tank. He would be even harder to spot if those trees were standing, however the fallen trees still provided him with more than enough camouflage to remain hidden until I was right next to him. As for the 15m rule for fallen trees, this is where the trunk comes into play. The only usage the trunk has is gauging how far away from a tree you need to back up in order to be able to shoot without getting spotted. 15m away from the foliage doesn't work for trees, it has to be 15m away from the trunk of the tree. Obstacles: Be it a rock, building, part of the terrain or even another tank, many things come to mind for hiding a vehicle. Which ones work and to what extent? Let's find out. Solid Map Features: Any sort of obstacle such as a cliff face, rock, building, etc. can also hide a tank. The tank must be completely behind cover in order for it not to be spotted. Even if a little bit is sticking out, you may very well be detected. Here is a visual example in order to clear up any confusion as to what this means. In this first image, I am right next to an ELC AMX. In fact I'm only 70m away from it, yet it's not spotted. That's because the entirety of his vehicle is hidden behind cover. Spoiler Here is the same scenario, except this time I moved in close enough to detect the ELC. He was a small enough tank to fit entirely behind the tank wreck without getting spotted. Spoiler Note: The wrecked tank in this image is considered to be part of the map. Vehicles destroyed in combat do not conceal your tank. Essentially, putting your tank out of the enemy's line of sight behind a solid piece of cover will keep you hidden. The hardest part is making sure that you don't accidentally stick part of your tank (other than the gun, your gun can't get you spotted) out of cover. Hiding behind destroyed tanks: Unfortunately, tanks destroyed in combat do not function as solid cover from spotting checks. Even though they'll block shells, they won't do anything to prevent your tank from being spotted. See this BT-SV? You probably can't see his actual tank, since it's entirely behind the dead tank... but you can still see his name hovering there, and his mini-map image. He's spotted despite being covered by a dead tank. Unlike the ELC in the previous image who was hiding behind a wreck which is part of the map, this BT-SV is using a tank destroyed in combat to hide. BT-SV behind wreck: Come on out Mr. BT-SV... we can still see you! You're not fooling anyone! =) Hiding Behind Allies: You see a large heavy tank in front of you, so you decide to place your scout tank directly behind it in hopes of preventing yourself from being detected by an enemy. The heavy tank is an ally, and is 100m away from the aforementioned enemy directly in front of it. Unfortunately, hiding your tank behind the heavy will not hide your tank as it would if it were a rock or building. I tested this out several times with even an ELC AMX, and the same results came: The scout was spotted behind the heavy tank; despite the fact that it was completely covered by the heavy. A visual example is below. Spoiler See what I mean? The scout tank is still spotted; even though no part of his tank is directly visible. Spoiler Ditches and Bumps: Ditches and bumps are also effective methods of hiding your tank. Essentially if you can hide your tank behind the map's terrain, so long as no part of your tank is exposed to an enemy's line of sight, you can stay hidden. In this first image, I am in my IS-5, less than 80m away from a Type 59 medium tank. There are no bushes or trees blocking my lines of sight towards the heavy tank, nor are there buildings or rocks. However, the Type 59 is in the ditch next to the lakeside, thus his tank is out of my line of sight. He can see me, but I can't see him. Spoiler After moving closer however, I now can see his tank. Spoiler And there he is! If your tank is in a deep ditch in the ground, or protected by a large bump, then you tank is also much harder to spot unless the enemy vehicle is very close to you. So long as no part of your tank is directly exposed to the enemy's view port, you can stay hidden like the ninja Type 59. View Ports and View Mechanics: Essentially anything and everything relating to the numbers and geometrical locations themselves. View Ports: The one thing that allows your tank to spot enemy vehicles is your View Port. In order to spot the enemy, your view port needs to have a line of sight to the enemy (which is why when side-scraping around a corner, the enemy will see you before you see them). Below, I have lined up several different kinds of tanks in order to spot one lone BT-SV on the Himmelsdorf hill. The tanks lined up are a waffle with a very tall turret and left-mounted view port, a T110E5 with large turret and Commander's Hatch, an E-25 with a very small profile and a View Port mounted on the machine gun port on the very left side of the tank, and an A44 with a rear-mounted turret. First up is my Waffle truck. Notice how despite the very tall turret and view port, the leftwards placement of view port requires me to show a good portion of my turret. Waifu / Waffle truck / tractor! The height of my turret still meant that I could use the rubble pile to spot from, and didn't have to leave its cover. Regardless, I was still rather exposed. Next in line is the T110E5. It has a very tall commander's hatch with a top-mounted view port. This means that it can expose a very minimal amount of its tank to spot over the rubble pile, with minimal fear of retaliatory fire. T110E5 Next up is the poor E-25. One of the worst off in this scenario, the E-25 has to reveal his entire tank due to the positioning of his View Port. It's also on the left side, just as with my waffle... except since the E-25 is a very low-profile tank, he has to go around the rubble pile in order to spot. This means that the enemy will see him and be able to shoot at him far before he can do the same. In addition, when trying to use small ridges to conceal your tank, the E-25 typically has to crest the ridge in order to spot, whereas other tanks are tall enough to spot over it without moving. E-25: Last but not least is the A44. With a rear mounted turret and View Port, the A44 has to expose the front part of his hull before being able to crest his view port over the rubble pile. Luckily, the A44 is tall, so exposure isn't as bad as it would be with something such as the Tier 9 waffle, which is too short to even spot over the rubble. A44: If I was driving that A44 and wanted to spot, I would turn my tank around and reverse slowly to spot the enemy. My coming out backwards, I can spot over the rubble without sticking any part of my tank out of cover aside from the hatch and view port. A44 coming out backwards: The point is, know the location of your View Port. If your View Port does not has a clear line of sight to the enemy vehicle, then you will not spot the enemy! Also, when peeking around corners, over ridges, etc., it's very likely that part of your tank will be exposed to the enemy's view port far before the enemy is exposed to yours. Thus expect to be shot at when driving around a corner, even when you can't see or aim at the enemy! Maximum View Range: No matter how poor the enemy's camo is or how good your View Range is, it is impossible to spot any tank that is farther than 445m away from your vehicle. That's about it for Maximum view range. Radio Range vs. View Range: If an ally has a low Radio Range, then any allies outside of that Radio Range will not be able to see that first ally; even if they are within the 500x500m square around the tanks... unless they're within view range. In order for you to see an ally, you must either be within their Radio Range, or they must be within your View Range. This is why at lower Tiers, your allies on Malinovka so often disappear out of sight. Also, if an ally is spotting an enemy that is outside of your View Range, but that ally does not have enough Radio Range to signal the location to you, then you will not be able to see the spotted enemy. Essentially - At lower Tiers, tanks often times have very poor view ranges, and thus can only see allied and enemy tanks that are within their own view range. At higher Tiers however, you can see allies across the map despite them being far out of view range. Radio ranges are so good at higher Tiers, you will always see your allies. Problems are only at Tiers 1-4, on the rare occasion Tier 5. There is a catch however - radio range communication is not based off of only one vehicle's radio. The distance at which you can communicate with allies is the combined total of your own tank's signal range as well as your ally's radio range. This calculation is performed for all tanks on your team individually. This means even if one ally can see all of his allies on his screen or map, that doesn't mean that someone else on your team can do the same thing. Here's a visual example. In this image, you see my LolTraktor just chilling in the Malinovka field. On the mini-map, I can see every single one of my allied tanks; I have the upgraded radio. My allies other than the Patton however, all have stock radios. Despite the allied tanks having... 70m of signal range, my 350m combined with their 70m is more than enough for me to see them. As for the Patton, he's across the map; however he has a Tier 10 radio with 750m signal range, so combined with my 350 it's still enough for us to see each other. I see you: Not all of my allies are as lucky though. Take a look at the situation from my Patton's perspective. I am the only ally which he can see on his mini-map. Our combined signal range is over 1,000m, which is more than enough to communicate. However, I cannot tell my Patton where the other allies. I can see them, but I can not relay allied locations to other allies. That is a tank-to-tank communication basis, meaning for him to see my allies, they must have enough signal range amognst themselves, without help from allies. Since the other tanks on my team have stock Signal Flags (70m of radio range), even combined with the Patton's 750m, it is not enough for them to keep in touch. The T1 in the prior image above was actually closer to the Patton than I was by about 30m. Despite him being closer, the lack of radio range has failed him. Here's the screenshot from the Patton's perspective. Patton thinks he only has one ally: This is why Radios are, yes, important! (At least in lower Tiers). Something else to mention - at any Tier below 6, the "Signal Boosting" skill for the radio operator does provide significant benefit, especially at Tiers 1-3. Even though you yourself won't see any benefit, your allies certainly will - chances are, they have poor radio signal range and can't see many allies or enemies, even when they're clearly there. Your tank having that skill will help your allies see more. At anything above Tier 6 however, the skill is absolutely pointless. Tier 6 itself is that "middle zone", where 99% of the time the skill is useless, but it's still possible for a low Tier allied Tier 4 to lack signal range. Maximum Draw Distance: Around your tank is a theoretical 500m x 500m box which represents the maximum distance at which you can see any tank, whether it's an ally or enemy. This is one of the reasons why you can be shot by tanks even when you're far outside of their view range. If you have been spotted by one tank, any tank inside of that 500m x 500m box can also now see you and shoot at you. Morale of the story? Try not to get spotted in the open. Or if you have to be spotted, make sure you have cover around you. Here's a T49 sitting 610m away from my IS-5. Since I'm spotted, so long as he's in that draw distance square (diagonally it can reach up to 700m distance), he can shoot at me all day long. If you look on the mini-map, the blue square is the draw distance; and my IS-5 is still just barely inside of it at 610m. Swiggity swooty, coming for dat IS-5 booty: Other Mechanics: Any other mechanics which may affect the spotting system. 50m Circle (Auto-Detection Range): Around every tank there is a concept known as the "auto-detection range", which is 50m circle around your tank. Essentially, if your tank is within 50 meters of an enemy vehicle, no matter how well camouflaged or well-hidden the enemy is, you are guaranteed to see him/her. This was implemented into the game in order to prevent tanks from being able to remain 100% invisible even if you are inches away from them. In particular, this affects any tank within very thick foliage and tanks behind solid cover. Here is a brilliant visual example of this concept. In this image, there are 5 tanks directly above my LTTB. Since they are within 50m of my tank, I can spot them even though I have no direct line of sight. A 6th vehicle, an E-50M, is outside of the 50m; thus he remains un-spotted. Tanks! Since they're spotted, I can see exactly what their tanks are doing, where their guns are pointing, etc.; so long as I move my camera a bit. Looks like... they've lined up to crush my LTTB. ;-; R.I.P. Any tank within 50m of your tank will be spotted; regardless of its location, camouflage, and obstacles around it. Tank Destroyers: Massive Guns and low profiles. Tank Destroyers were designed (at least some of them in this game) to annihilate anything in their way without being spotted, just like a ninja assassin. Tank Destoyers pre-9.0 have camo bonuses after shooting; thus they don't lose as much camouflage as most tanks would after launching a shell out of their barrel. However, after the release of Patch 9.1, Tank Destroyers will lose the same amount of camouflage as any tank on the battlefield after propelling a shot. Despite this they still maintain very good camouflage values, and Premium TD's remain un-affected. I have a visual example for you. Over here, I have lined up one tank of each class. I then had all 5 of them shoot simultaneously. Which tank was the only one not to be lit up? The Tank Destroyer of course! The E-25 was not affected by the camo-after-shot changes, and thus has as much camo after shooting as medium tanks have when moving! TD still remains hidden: Fear the mighty tank destroyer! Sitting next to Allies: This has been extremely well covered by Lert. Here's the link to his Mini-Guide to this. http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/204215-psa-what-not-to-do-when-someone-is-sitting-in-a-bush/ And here's my version of Lert's guide... Here are 2 different images. In the first, I see a line of Tier 10 tanks. I must dump my 30 round APCR clip into them! Spoiler Go away Tier 10's! Shoo! Fear my MT-25! Spoiler And I've killed them! Wait a second... no I didn't... instead, I killed the BT-SV and FT AC who were spotting me from the bushes. Spoiler The morale of the story is: If you see a smaller tank hiding in a bush, don't sit next to it. Otherwise, you can easily be spotted, and thus fire will be attracted towards you. The enemy thinks that they're shooting at you, but in reality, they're hitting the ally that is right next to you! And that ally hasn't even been spotted! Thus this same scenario may end up happening - because you decided to carelessly sit next to the ally, you may not only get yourself killed, but you also indirectly cause the death of your ally. Please don't make this mistake!!! Please? I'm certain your allies would appreciate it. =) Importance of crew skills, equipment, etc: Your tank's crew skills and perks, equipment layout, crew's major qualification training, etc. can all influence your ability to spot or stay hidden. A 50% commander on a tank with 400m of base view range will only be able to see up to 314.3m... that's almost 25% less! The same thing applies to radio range. A 750m base radio with a 50% radio operator will only be able to signal 589.3m. The better your crew, the better your tank's performance. Camouflage paint, camo skills, Vents, BIA and food all can influence your vehicle's stealth. The better outfitted your tank is, the less likely you are to be detected. The size of your tank also plays a role - the larger your tank, the worse your base camo. Improved Ventilation, Coated Optics and food affect your view range as well. Skills and perks such as Recon and Situational Awareness, camouflage and Brothers in Arms also provide benefits. It's also important to remember when your tank has the most camo, and when it has the least. In order from greatest camo to worst camo, with "foliage" depicting a medium sized bush: Stationary behind foliage Moving behind foliage Stationary in the open Shooting behind foliage Moving and shooting behind foliage Moving in the open Shooting in the open Moving and shooting in the open Foliage will always provide great concealment to your tank. When sitting still, all tanks have their maximum possible camo. Upon moving, all tanks other than scouts (not just lights, but scout tanks exclusively) will lose some of their camo upon moving. After shooting, the tank loses almost all of its camo. Here is a graphic showing the BatChat 25t's various camo levels, with and without foliage. With foliage: Without foliage: The last thing that's worth mentioning is that foliage is not absolute cover, even when sitting still. If your tank has very poor camo values, only great quantities of foliage can conceal your vehicle at very close ranges. When shooting, foliage only keeps tanks hidden at a distance. And even when applying the 15m rule prior to shooting, you will only be un-spotted until about 120m. Here's an image of a Black Prince behind various trees, yet still being detected. The other tanks nearby him have greater camo and are able to remain hidden. Him however, being the least stealthy of them all isn't. I see you, Churchill! Essentially, keep in mind that not all tanks can be hidden in all bushes. The larger the bush or tree, the more likely you are to remain hidden. The better your vehicle's camo, the less likely you are to be spotted. If you have a Camo Net activated, detection chances are even further reduced. Regardless, all of that just wasn't enough for the Churchill. His base camo is just far too low. I would also like to give a very special thanks to all of the following people for contributing to this guide in one way or another: orinn123 SupSupCanadian SkunkButt Mikosah Inciatus hwboy3 XSlay_J1 ANiceGuy Lert CharAzn NightWolf5628 Blackshot01 Zinroe der_Sensennman cmdr_riker Sanisk HowitzerBlitzer Emmett257 _Parox And anyone else who was in the Training Rooms who I forgot to mention. I hope that this guide is useful! May all of you have the best of luck and fun, both on the battlefield and in real life, tankers. Link to compilation of guides and tutorials: http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/444249-%E2%98%85-scorpions-den-my-compilation-of-guides-tutorials-useful-links-more-%E2%98%85/ This guide was an update of one I made over a year ago. I will keep updating my old guides with new and current information, in order to ensure that you are receiving the best content possible.

Update: Added "The Ultimate Light Tank & Scouting Guide" to the Game Mechanics section. 'Tis my longest guide to date.

Don't worry. I see that you are lost and confused, in need of guidance and support. Lucky for you, thou have stumbled into the Scorpion's Den; with guides aplenty. This particular edition contains The Ultimate Light Tank & Scouting Guide. If these are the drones you were looking for, sit back, turn on some pimping music and read away... all of your questions shall be answered here. Light tanks - sometimes they seem more like Lambo's than combat vehicles. Rocketing around the battlefield somehow trying to survive in matches of higher Tier armored beasts. Your gun may seem like a magnum in comparison to the AR's and AK's pointing at you. And hitpoint wise, you're a cripple fighting MMA pros. So how do you get anything done? Appearances are deceiving; these little light tanks are truly the ninja assassins of any battle. This guide is here to help you unlock their true potential. Prior to becoming a ninja assassin of the battlefield, you must first learn how to just be a regular ninja. That's one of the key aspects of light tanks - remaining hidden & stalking the enemy, spotting them for your allies to eliminate - better known as "scouting". There are two different kinds of scouting, both of which are covered. There's active scouting & passive scouting. As the names imply, one involves movement and seeking the enemy yourself, whilst the other is all about lying in wait for an unsuspecting opponent. Let's begin with active scouting, since the first thing you'll notice about light tanks is their incredible mobility. Active scouting: Active scouting is all about putting the full extent of your horsepower to good use, moving out further than your allies & spotting the enemy. Your task is to not only identify how the enemy has deployed, but also where they are hiding & locating sniper positioning. To begin, we'll identify the various manuevers and tactics a scout tank can employ in order to spot. Remember, we're only focusing on detection for now, not engagement. Once the various tactics have been identified & explained, we'll unify them into a fluid scouting run throughout a battle. THIS WILL BE AT THE END OF THE GUIDE HOWEVER, AFTER THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SCOUTING TERMINOLOGY IDENTIFICATION. Peeking over ridges (back and forth): There's more to spotting than just running around in an open field like a headless chicken. You need to make usage of the terrain features around you in order to maximize your chances of survival. One easy way to spot the enemy is simply poking your head over a ridge-line just enough for your view port to glance over, and then pull back. If there is something behind the ridge, you will have detected it & immediately pulled back to safety. This has multiple purposes for aggressive spotting, just as detecting the entire west side of Sand River, or finding tanks on the Himmelsdorf hill. It's easy reconnaissance with minimal risk. There are several things to keep in mind when peeking over any sort of hill or ridge however: Expose as little of your tank as possible. Remember, your gun doesn't need to be able to point at the enemy for you to see them. All what you need to do is reveal the very top of your turret so your view port sticks out, and immediately pull back Before cresting the same ridge again, wait 10 seconds until you are un-spotted. During those 10 seconds, turn your tank around and begin to drive away from the ridge, using some wiggling motions to evade artillery fire. By driving in the other direction, the enemy may be tricked into believing that you have left; and won't be ready for your next peek. Don't stick around at the same ridge for too long. Spotting the enemy is important, but once you've found them, then what? If your allies don't have shots at the enemies you're spotting by peeking, leave the ridge and find a new area to scout. Initial spots are essential, that way your allies know what to expect. Beyond that, if your allies can't shoot what you're spotting, there's no need to peek more than a couple of times. In addition, if your allies don't have shots, the enemy may just push over and kill you if you stick around for too long. Here's an image of Laceylace in her AMX 30B peeking over a ridge - this is how much of her tank that she revealed, and she immediately pulled back. If the enemy isn't ready for you, they'll never be able to react in time to even aim in your direction, let alone shoot you. And even if they are pre-aimed there, so little of your tank is revealed for such a short period of time that chances are, the enemy will miss. It's essential to learn how to expose as little of your tank as possible: Image: Minimal exposure Driving on ridges (across, actively spotting): Peeking over a ridge is one thing, driving near the edge of a ridge is an entirely different concept. When peeking, your view port is only in one place, and you may have a limited view of the enemy; especially if it's a large open map with various terrain features. However, if you're driving along side near the top of the ridge, cresting your view port and a bit of your turret across part of, or the entire length of a ridge-line, you will likely spot significantly more targets. So long as you've mastered minimal tank exposure, you be able to safely crest ridges despite the increased exposure time. Keep in mind however: Your camera angle points down at your tank; centered to the gun's would-be line of sight at said angle. This means that there may be more of your tank revealed than you think. Take your tank's height minus 1/3rd of your turret size. That's how far down the top of the ridgeline your tank should be; so only the top of your turret + view port is pointing out. You need to keep up speed. A slow scout is an easy target, and is also exposed for longer. If you lose speed maneuvering the turns looping around the slope, go back and gather up some momentum. The faster your tank is travelling, the more of the slope you'll be able to cross with less exposure time. In addition, even if the enemy manages to try to aim a shot at you, they will likely miss if you're travelling quickly. Sometimes, the enemy is distracted and no guns are aiming at you. Assuming there is nowhere that a hidden TD could be lying in wait, you may be able to crest your entire tank over the hill to get a shot off. Keep moving as to not give the enemy time to aim at you, but if the opportunity arises, take a shot whilst spotting the ridge-line. Chances are, you would have been spotted either way, so taking a shot may benefit you. Keep in mind that you will be spotted and should still try to get into cover as soon as possible. You can't afford to take a hit most of the time, so you can't actually spend time aiming any shells you fire. If you are unable to get enough gun depression to shoot, don't risk it. If you can't take a shot and fall back in a matter of seconds, don't bother with shooting. Auto-aim may help with this; especially since you'll see your crosshair centered on & highlighting the enemy if your gun is in position to take a shot (less work for you, less time trying to line up a shot, less chance of you being hit) Looking at the map; analyzing it: This is one of the most important things for a scout - the mini-map. You must look at the mini-map often, and must make decisions based off of what you see. You need to be able to determine whether or not your allies have shots, if there are more enemies elsewhere that could be or need to be spotted, whether there are openings in map control that you can capitalize on, etc. These are the key things you should take from the mini-map: 1) When & where to position yourself and move up - How useful are you in your current location? Is there somewhere else that your scouting would have a greater effect? Can your allies shoot what you're spotting, are there better detection opportunities elsewhere, is it possible to advance to a better spotting location? Let's analyze these mini-map images: Here's my T71, detecting a Tiger & a T110E5. Yet, my spotting is doing absolutely nothing to contribute to the battle! Here's why - notice where my allies are? On the other side of the map! Yes, I'm spotting enemies, but there isn't anyone to shoot those spotted enemies! Not only that, but now my allies on the other side of the map don't have any vision as to what's ahead of them. A glance at the mini-map in this situation would inform me that I should re-locate and spot elsewhere. Mini-map Image #1: What about this image? I'm in the same spot, spotting enemies - this time there are allies with shots! Yet, this still isn't where I should be. The reason lies within the distance between my allies and the enemy - only 2 map squares; about 200m! This means that my allies are able to spot those enemy vehicles on their own, and me sitting in that bush isn't contributing anything either. See how they say that they are spotted in the chat? They're close enough that their own view range will do the job. Mini-Map Image #2 + Chat: I would be much better off spotting the other side of the map here to make sure that there aren't any enemy vehicles trying to flank around. At the very least, I'd be useful flanking behind those two enemies, as to be shooting them and also distracting them. Sitting in that bush however, is accomplishing absolutely nothing. 2) Looking for flanking opportunities. Something else that the mini-map will be able to tell you is whether or not there is an opportunity to flank. Over here, I was able to sneak through the middle of the map, get a few cross-shots onto the enemy, then fall back and finish my engagement on the 8/9 lines. In a Random Battle, this would work the same way, except I would fall back further to my own base (back the way I came from) before continuing an engagement on the 8/9. Image #1: Shooting AMX 50 B Image #2: Returning to cover Image #3: Finishing 8/9 line engagement. 3) Looking for artillery hunting opportunities. One of the tasks of light tanks is to eliminate the enemy artillery. Many people believe that this can only be done towards the end of a battle; and light tanks kill the arty simply because they're the fastest and first to reach them after the engagement is over. However, light tanks actually have a very crucial role in disposing of the enemy arty in the heat of the battle. When the enemy has committed to their flanks, often times there's a route (typically near the middle of the map) which is entirely un- defended. If you are able to identify such situations, you can easily sneak through enemy lines, kill the arty, and get out the same way you came from. If the enemy doesn't react to your ninja assassination of artillery, you can then proceed to spot the enemy snipers from behind, and get flanking shots as well. Many of my Pascucci's medals, as well as my Dumitru's and Burda's medal all came from sneaking through enemy lines and killing enemy arty in the heat of the battle. There are significant benefits to killing the arty during the intensity of a battle - your allied tanks will not longer be taking massive damage shells from the sky, and your tanks now can sit still or be in the open safely, whereas the enemy still is vulnerable to your own artillery. In addition, you gain map control. Arty dens are hardly ever defended, thus you now have vision control in the very back of enemy lines; you can find a bush and detect their TD's without worry. Lastly, you are a significant distraction. Whether you flank, the enemy notices you in the arty den and pulls back to stop you, or perhaps you get on cap to get the enemy's attention, you will interrupt the enemy's tactics in additon to taking out some of their main firepower. Take a look at this image. Notice how the enemy has committed to both flanks, with nothing guarding middle? Arty Den undefended: I am now able to go over the bridge, kill the arty and proceed to flank the town. This is how I got a Dumitru's medal in my MT-25, and turned a 5:11 match into a 13:14 one (enemy capped whilst I was still alive, it was close though). 4) Find ways to capture the enemy base. Those artillery hunting openings are the very same paths which lead to the enemy base. Often times, you can use this as an opportunity to sit on the cap long enough to split enemy forces entirely, or perhaps capture the base. If you see such an opening, especially when your team is losing, take it. If you can have some Platoonmates or allied lights / mediums join you, it's very well possible to win with a base capture. I've done this on numerous occassions, and I can say that it is exceptionally effective, and can be done a lot more often than is realized. Be aggressive! You can't spot if you're too far back: This is fairly simple. When you're active scouting, you need to be far enough ahead so that you'll be able to actually spot the enemy. Often times, that means moving to the half-way point of the map, perhaps even into enemy territory. This does NOT mean rush into the enemy. You must have extremely good map knowledge in order to actively scout in enemy territory. If you don't feel comfortable with such high-risk, high-reward scouting, you can hang around near the mid-way point of the map. Regardless, it is imperetive that you are close enough to the enemy to be able to spot them. The further back you are, the fewer tanks you detect; including reduced liklihood of spotting enemy scouts, snipers and on the rare occasion, artillery. No one needs a dead scout, but a camping scout is just as useful as a dead one. I will discuss this in conjunction with the next section. Leave an escape route: When actively scouting, sometimes you may find yourself in an unexpected and very dangerous situation. You need to have a way back in case something goes wrong. Let's identify the various types of escape routes: Ridges, depressions and hills: If you're scouting on high ground and need to get away, the easiest solution is to simply drive to low ground, where the natural elevations in the terrain will protect your tank from fire. For example, if you're spotting the 3 line on Prohorovka / Fiery Salient, chances are that you're on the high end of the ridge. If you're spotted, just drop right down into the lower ground. Their tanks won't be able to hit you, and only arty will pose any sort of a threat. Moving around and ziz-zagging will keep you arty safe, and nothing else will have shots at you. Once you're un-spotted, you can peek right back up driving along the ridgeline and repeat the process. Buildings, rocks, etc.: Perhaps your situation is more grave - you're scouting on Sand River on the 5 line, and out of nowhere you find a 152mm barrel of an Rhm staring down at you. Unless you're right at the edge of the ridge, you may not be able to drop down without getting hit. The next best thing at the time is a rock. Make a quick dart to the rock near you and stay behind it until you are no longer spotted (so long as the rock is covering your tank, you can expect not to be spotted as soon as the enemy Rhm disappears from view + 3 seconds). At that point, you have two options: 1) Stay at the rock and wait for backup or for the Rhm to fire or 2) Begin to drive away, using the rock to cover the Rhm's line of sight. As soon as possible, relocate and get as far away from the Rhm. On Sand River, this would be done by first using the rock as cover to get close enough to the drop next to you and then carefully sliding down aforementioned drop. From there, you can safely move to a new location. Either way, it doesn't quite matter if it's a rock, building or something else. Hug it, once you break contact with the enemy, use that same rock or building to block the enemy's line of sight as you're driving away. If there is no way to escape without getting re-spotted by the threat, you can at least use the rock / building to gather some speed & to have a stealth advantage; since you won't be spotted until you cross the enemy's line of sight again, which may catch them off guard. It really depends on your situation. The most important thing however, is simply breaking initial contact; seeing how as long as you're spotted, the enemy will be able to keep track of your every movement. Allies: Sometimes, allied tanks are the best form of cover. I'm not saying cower behind an allied tank; but rather simply return to allied lines. This is most effective when there is a tank chasing you. If there's an enemy scout picking on you whilst you're reloading, lure him into allied lines of fire. The enemy will either a) Break pursuit early, realizing where you're going, b) turn back as soon as he sees another one of your allies or c) keep chasing you and be blown to oblivion by your allied forces. Enemies: This is the worst situation to find yourself in, as well as one of the most situational. However, there are times when you think part of the map is clear and you end up coming across several enemy vehicles. Most of these camping enemy vehicles are turretless TD's - if you end up coming across an AT-15A and a Rhm (perhaps driving to the enemy base on Sand River to find those two on the base circle, active) and it's too late to turn back, go straight to the AT-15A. Not only is its gun not nearly as large of a threat, but it has no turret and is very slow. If you use it as cover, the Rhm won't be able to shoot you. Obviously, eventually the AT will end up turning around to the point where either a) you need to expose yourself to the Rhm or b) expose yourself to the AT's gun. As soon as you drive up to the AT, you want place your tank in such a way that the AT is blocking the Rhm's line of sight. At that point, begin driving in the opposite direction, watching the Rhm & AT. As you're driving, turn as needed to ensure that the AT remains an obstacle for the Rhm. You will likely soon be able to find an escape route such as a depression, building or rock, etc. and get away with your remaining HP. It's better to take a shell or two from an AT than a 128mm or 152mm Rhm shell. Maneuvering: This is somewhat of an extension of the "escape route" section. When actively scouting, you want to avoid shells flying at you. However, there are times when it's inevitable. During those moments when the enemy is aiming & shooting at you, employ as many evasive maneuvers as possible. The most important thing to maintain is speed. The faster you're travelling, the harder you are to hit. A slow target is a dead target. Obviously, speed will only get you so far however. Anyone can lead a target given enough time. That's why randomness is such an important factor. You want to ziz-zag, turn your tank in various directions; all in an unexpected, unpredictable manner. You can't just wiggle left and right. Throw the enemy off. Make sharp turns on occasion, but keep driving towards your escape route. Keep in mind that turning will likely reduce your speed. Unless you're in an MT-25 or LTTB, sharp turns can significantly slow down your scout tank (and in the case of the MT-25, can cause un-controlled drifting). Turn to the extent that you can and that is needed, but don't over-do it to the point of self-sabotage. Distance is also key. The further away from the enemy you are, the more random turns will affect their ability to aim at your tank. Get further away from the enemy and keep driving away from its gun. Ultimately you're travelling to cover; not just running around like a headless chicken. You are a chicken... but a chicken with a purpose, and that's of survival. Running away isn't cowardice, sometimes it's the damn smartest thing you could do. Passive scouting: Active scouting seems simple enough, right? If you liked that, passive scouting is a whole lot better. Even amongst Unicums, I see players that think "Get Fiery Salient - Sit at E1 bush. Get any other map - farm damage" is how passive scouting is supposed to be. I cannot even begin to tell you how wrong that is. There are so many people that think that passive scouting roles are limited to very small and fast light tanks only on Fiery Salient & Malinovka; and even then limited to the spawn you get. There is so much more opportunity to be found. Once again, we'll discuss basic terminology. This time, it's a bit more advanced however. Even though passive scouting seems easier than active scouting (after all, you're only sitting in a bush, right? WRONG.), it in reality has a lot more technique that goes into it. A good passive scout will be able to make use of a significantly larger majority of maps, game modes and spawns. In addition, even though some spotting locations seem to be too far into enemy territory for safety,t it all comes down to placement. Many good passive scouting locations seem un-conventional, and some really are, but all of them are accessible. Term time. The first set of terms will be down to the various camo values that can be provided to you by the terrain, or will be listed by the extent to which your own vehicle's camo matters in those various locations. . In the open: Obviously, sitting out in the open provides you no camouflage bonuses other than what your tank already has. When passively scouting, you want to avoid being in the open. Exceptions are when a tank is slowly advancing in your direction from a distance away. If there is a slow tank coming towards you that you want to keep spotted (usually this comes into play on Encounter & Assault game modes, especially Assault), you may drive in the same direction that the enemy is, at the same rate of speed he is. Perhaps there is an enemy approaching your allied base from the 1/2 lines. Find the distance at which you can spot him yet he cannot spot you, and keep your tank within that proximity of the enemy. Even though there are bushes you can use, if the enemy is advancing, those bushes won't do you much good when it comes to not getting spotted; as soon as the enemy drives by, you'll be lit. That's why staying at 370m-400m from the enemy as it crawls towards your base will be most effective. You will be able to keep the enemy spotted, as well as keep yourself hidden for the entire duration of the enemy's approach. Once you can no longer drive down the 1/2, it's easy to find cover at that point. Even though you're moving, this is still passive scouting - your tank is not spotted, nor is there risk of the tank being lit. (If the enemy has more view range, keep a larger distance. It's common sense. Also, don't fire your gun. If you're out in the open trying to passive scout, shooting your gun is a suicide wish.) As with active scouting, you want to keep an escape route. Whether you're sticking near allies, a depression, rock, etc. it doesn't matter. Just make sure you have a plan B, in case you get spotted from another direction despite your precautions. How much can you rely on 6th sense in this situation? Trust the enemy's gun direction before 6th. If the enemy is looking straight at you, or looks as though he's trying to aim at your tank, activate Plan B. 6th sense has a 3 second delay, and there will be times when those 3 seconds are just what the enemy needs to hit your tank or perhaps even destroy it. Worst thing that will happen is that you begin scrambling for cover when you're not spotted; you'll still be safe. It's better to falsely presume that you're spotted than it is to falsely presume that you are hidden. In a bush with gaps: There are many bushes on quite a number of maps. However, some of these bushes don't actually cover your tank - they may be gaps in the bush's foliage which you will still be spotted from. It's important to be able to identify such situations. A visual example is below. It's Sand River, and I'm trying to passively spot. However, I got spotted. A close examination of the bush I was sitting in quickly reveals the problem; a giant gap in foliage on the bottom left side (bottom right in the image) of the bush. Gap in the bush: Using trees to cover the gaps: Sometimes, there are trees nearby the bush which you can knock over to cover the gap in the hole. New image, now I've knocked down a tree and used its leaves as additional foliage cover. I am no longer getting spotted when driving into that location. Using trees to cover the gap: In a small bush: All bushes provide you with bonus camouflage values, however the size of the bush will affect how much camo you get. Very small bushes not only provide fairly low amounts of camo, but they also may not be able to cover the entirety of your tank. Assuming that your tank fits in the bush, you still need to keep your own tank's camo value in mind. Bushes usable by WZ-132's may not be viable for VK. 28. 01's. simply due to the difference in camo value. It all comes down to how far away from the enemy you are though. Most light tanks are able to make usage of any bush they sit in, so long as they're not too close to the enemy. It's other tanks which risk getting spotted by sitting in small bushes. Regardless, the bigger the bush, the better. In a big bush: Large bushes on the other hand, are exceptional at hiding your tank. Bushes which are thick enough can easily conceal any tank at all. An important thing to keep in mind however, is that just because there's a big bush, does not mean that you won't be spotted in it. Light tanks are 100% safe from being spotted in large bushes so long as they don't shoot. The less base vehicle camo you have however, the more likely you are to be spotted by enemies approaching you. Simply to demonstrate the effectiveness of large bushes, here's my 113 stalking... I mean spying on... I mean spotting Laceylace in her AMX 50 100. My perspective: Swiggity Swooty, coming for dat booty From her perspective: Her perspective: As the #1 Princess of the world, I own this lake. Now, spotting is one thing. Shooting, is another. Tanks without camouflage values shouldn't rely on bushes to keep them hidden (better than nothing though). Light tanks however, have potential. In this location on Lakesville, where my 113 is (113 because I didn't take the screenshot in a light for... reasons), light tanks can not only spot any enemy which crosses, but also safely shoot at them without getting spotted (in most cases that is, there are actually two locations where an enemy light tank can spot you from, but this occurs in 1% of cases only). Since I'm 350m+ from any enemy whilst in that bush, they have zero hope of detecting my light tanks, even if I'm shooting. Yes, you just saw this image. It had two purposes. =P In order to shoot from such bushes: Since we're already discussing shooting, let's go into more detail. Other than the size of the bush, there are multiple factors that will determine your sucess or failure at shooting from bushes. Your own tank's base camouflage, camo skills, Vents, BIA, food, Camo Net, etc. will all assist you in staying hidden when it comes down to shooting. The distance from your bush also matters... and in many cases may guarantee not being spotted. Here's how: It's called the "15m rule". If your tank is 15m away from a bush, you can no longer spot through the bush, but the enemy can't spot you through it either. The best way to employ this tactic is to find a bush, spot an enemy, then slowly back away from the bush whilst in Sniper mode. As soon as the bush becomes opaque (meaning you can't see through it; the leaves are no longer transparent), you are 15m away from said bush. You are now free to fire... in most cases. Here's the exception: Against vehicles with high view ranges, you must be at least 135m away from the enemy (150m+ for safety) to employ the 15m rule without getting spotted. For those of you light tank drivers wondering how some people manage to get large assisted damage values as well as deal actual damage, this is one of the ways. Keep in mind, that after 7-12 seconds of the bush being opaque, the enemy will disappear from view as well. This means that in most cases, you have to go back into the bush as soon as you've fired off a shot. Warning: When backing away from a bush, make sure that you are not exposing your tank to being spotted from other sources. In addition, if you are backing up a hill, be wary - don't let the top of your turret stick over the top of the bush, otherwise you'll be spotted. Here are some screenshots: Here's me, shooting the Bulldog from 148m without getting spotted; by using the 15m rule. See how the bush (and tree) are opaque? Now we've switched sides. The Bulldog is shooting my tracks from the bush without getting spotted. All he had to do was back 15m away prior to shooting. All the chaos on my screen, and I can't see where it's coming from! =) Disclaimer: The 15m rule does not work in the standard sense when using trees. It works, but in a different manner. More info later. Spotting with trees: Standing trees (thick ones!): Not much to explain here. As long as the base of the tree is touching the ground (thick pine trees), then the tree acts just like a bush in the standing position. However, most trees are not like this; which leads us to the next section. Fallen trees: Fallen trees are one of the the few mechanics which can make an enormous difference for light tanks; and will allow you to make usage of so many more spotting locations in a vast majority of maps. Fallen trees act just like bushes. So long as their leaves are on the ground and covering your tank, you will be hidden. It is important to keep in mind that most trees are not quite as dense as bushes, so some of them don't provide quite as much camo as bushes; but it still is a significant amount. Knowing how to use fallen trees is even more essential. Whether it's defending a base, spotting in an even more aggressive location, or in an otherwise impossible-to-stay-hidden spot, knocking down trees have nearly endless potential. Determining where you want them to fall is easy - simply glance around the tree's trunk and figure out where you would want a bush. The tree will fall the length of the trunk and presto, you have a bush (assuming the trees falls over entirely and the leaves touch the ground, some trees don't fall like this. Most do though.) Knocking the tree down is a different story. You have to be very careful with how you touch the tree. Knowing how to knock down the trees will not only allow you to control the direction that the tree falls, but also will allow you to avoid getting spotted (which for say, E1 at Fiery Salient, is essential). Here's the simple stuff: Tap the middle of a tree with the middle of your tank, it will fall forwards. Tap the left side of a tree, it falls to the right Tap the right side of a tree, it falls to the left Rocket science, right? The hard part is maneuvering your hull to control the angle of the impact. Making a tree fall to the right is easy, a muppet could do it. But how far to the right do you want it to fall? All what I can say is practice helps... and: Tap the back (the part you see, on the side of the tree) of the trunk to make it fall forwards, to the right or left Tap the middle (of the side) to make it fall simply right or left Tap the front (of the side) of the trunk (closer to the part you can't see) to make it fall back, to the right or left Practice it in Training Rooms and learn how to control the impact of the tree! Once you master it, you will have so many more scouting opportunities. Since Sand River is one of my favorite maps for light tanks, here are some screenshots from Sand River, showing you two exceptionally effective locations to passively scout from; which otherwise would be impossible if it weren't for the usage of trees. Right here is a perfect Assault mode scouting spot. I can spot, shoot, etc. It does wonders. Sand River - Assault This second image may seem familiar to some people - the area in which I knocked the trees down used to have a bush there before the Sand River rework. Ths bush has now been shifted behind the elevation of the sand, meaning you can no longer spot from it. However, they added trees which can be knocked down. If you knock all three trees down in the manner in which I did, you now have a bush on flat ground to spot from, just like before! =) Sand River - Standard Battle From Sniper mode: Shooting in trees is risky: It's important to keep in mind that most trees are not as dense as bushes. Some are, but the majority... no so much. This means that they don't provide as much camo value, and thus you are more likely to be spotted when shooting from trees alone. However, using trees to enhance the thickness of a bush will make it even more difficult for the enemy to spot you. Time to discuss the 15m rule for trees. It works, but not in quite such an intuitive manner. If you knock down a tree and back 15m away from the foliage on the ground (now serving as a bush), it will still be transparent. Rather than backing 15m away from the foliage, you have to back 15m away from the base of the tree; where the bottom of the trunk was originally planted into the ground. Here are two images demonstrating this. In the first one, you can see my T71 having backed 15m away from the bushes. Yet despite the foliage of the trees being ahead of the bushes, it's still transparent whilst the bushes have become opaque. Because of this, I was spotted upon shooting. 15m away from foliage: In this second image however, you can see how I backed up even further, to be 15m away from the base of the tree trunks. Now the trees are opaque as well, and I can shoot freely without worrying about being spotted. 15m away from trunk of tree: Using trees to enhance your cover; hide gaps, etc.: This has already been covered, but for some clarification - knocking down trees to create cover for yourself is always useful. The uses of fallen trees are many and plenty, including: Covering gaps in your current bush Expanding the cover the bush provides you Creating an artificial bush in any direction you wish Using the 15m rule to shoot; backing 15m away from the base of the trunk Increasing the camo value of the bush you're in Regardless of how you use trees, proper usage will give you a lot more potential on quite a few maps. On those maps or fields where you don't have any bushes, only clumps of standing trees - most people end up skipping the trees entirely thinking there's nothing they can do to keep themselves hidden to spot. Simply knock the trees down in the direction you want and presto - you have effective cover to passively spot from. Use them and love them. 50m rule: This is a fairly simple spotting mechanic, and can be used for active and passive scouts alike. The 50m rule dictates that if there is an enemy vehicle within 50m of your tank, regardless of any cover it has solid or otherwise, the vehicle will automatically be detected. The application of this rule is fairly simple as well - you know there's an enemy vehicle right around the corner or right behind the dune, you want to spot it but don't want to take return fire by exposing your tank. You may not have to! Simply hug the edge of the dune or corner. If the enemy is close enough, you'll spot it. If not, you may have to improvise. To demonstrate how this works, and to provide a visual example of the distance necessary to spot the enemy, here's an image of my T71 spotting an enemy 113! =) Image 1: From my perspective Image 2: From an aerial perspective Making sure the bushes & trees cover you entirely: Originally I was going to leave this out to common sense, but... common sense isn't such a common commodity. So, here goes - in order for the tree or bush to conceal your tank, the entirety of your tank must be hidden by the foliage of fore-mentioned tree or bush. As I mentioned earlier in the guide, bushes with gaps in them are about as useful as camouflage on a rock. It's not. Make sure that: Your tank is not sticking out of the bush; turn your camera for this The bush covers all enemy lines of sight, not just the front of your tank The top of your tank doesn't stick out. Your view port itself won't get your tank spotted, but anything beyond it will. If any part of your tank sticks out of the bush, you'll be spotted Your gun can be anywhere you want it to. So for you LTTB drivers that are worried your unusually long gun will get you spotted - it won't. The height of the tank however, might. Here's a visual image on Sand River. The position I'm sitting in is one I actively use in battles on Sand River - Assault. I've knocked down the trees in a strategic manner, and have placed my tank in such a manner that there is foliage covering it from every possible line of sight the enemy has on my tank. Sand River - Assault Simple enough, right? Make sure the bush actually covers your tank and you'll be fine. Making sure you have lines of sights: This also is somewhat common sense, but here goes - When choosing a bush, select one with which you will have a line of sight onto the enemy. If you're trying to spot TD's on the 1/2 line on Fiery Salient / Prohorovka, I can tell you that the E1 bush is useless. It's good for spotting advances, not TD's. Make sure that your tank is positioned in such a manner that there will not be foliage or obstacles blocking your line of sight to the enemy vehicles which you desire to spot. It's that simple. Also, if you're not spotting anything where you're at; and rather just waiting for the enemy to make a move, sometimes they won't! That's when you need to relocate to a different bush, or perhaps switch to active scouting. Mask your approach: If you've ever driven into a bush and gotten spotted as soon as you sit in it, chances are that your approach wasn't concealed. When closing in on a bush or tree, make sure that the enemy doesn't have a line of sight on you whilst you're still in the open. This may seem simple enough, but even a tiny bit of exposed tank may be enough to get yourself spotted. In fact, there was this very interesting Thread a little while back about a Type 64 who was seemingly entirely in cover, yet got artied twice in the bush. Supposedly there was no where the enemy could spot him from. I took a closer look, and found that indeed there was an enemy scout who was able to spot him. The scout chose a fairly effective spotting bush, and indeed he spotted the Type 64. Here's where the enemy Chaffee was spotting from: Chaffee's spotting bush: Here's a screenshot of the Type 64 climbing into the bush, taken from the Chaffee's line of sight. If the enemy Chaffee was anywhere else, the Type 64 would have climbed in safely. However, it was not so. Spoiler Be careful when climbing into a bush! Don't let any part of your tank stick out to potential enemy scouts or snipers. It takes time to understand where these locations are, however once you acknowledge them, you will be able to not only keep your tank safe, but also be able to enhance your scouting possibilities. Combat in light tanks: Even though a light tank's main role is that of a scout, it also serves combat purposes. Mostly, light tanks are support tanks when it comes to engagements. Regardless, they often times are very independent & opportunistic hunters. Here's a (relatively) quick description of a light tank's main battle potential. Finding isolated targets & out-circling them: Most light tanks have a massive speed advantage over any opponent. This makes them exceptional for finding a slower, isolated target and circling around it. So long as your light tank is fast enough, you can keep ahead of the enemy vehicle's gun & react to anything it does, evading its attempts to ward you off. Wait for the opportunity to find such a target (careful analysis of the mini-map significantly helps with this!), and spring upon your target. If you can use ridge-lines, bushes or trees to mask your approach, the enemy is even more helpless. The most important thing is simply making sure that the enemy won't be able to intercept you. Make sure that there are no hidden sniper dens near-by that you may not have spotted. Also, if there are fast light or medium tanks on the enemy team, make sure you're far enough away from them to finish your assassination prior to interruption. Pay attention to the map, check last-known enemy locations, which enemy vehicles haven't yet been spotted, etc. Make a logical analysis of all of the information & come to the conclusion: Is it safe to circle the target or not? Flanking behind TD's: This is similar to the previous one, except this is even easier. Most TD's have no turrets, and those which do have no armor (more on those later). There are a few psuedo-turreted TD's, which have turrets that don't turn all the way around, but all of them are very slow & can be flanked. If you find an isolated TD, or an opportunity to flank behind one using the terrain & enemy's deployment, take it! Once again, make sure there aren't any tanks which can intercept you, and try to remain un-spotted until you're within circling proximity of the enemy. Stealth is key. Once you're circling the TD, simply stay behind its gun's arc. Except, there's a key word there... behind. If a TD is nearby a building, a skilled player would back his TD up to that building, and ultimately squeeze you to his front. If you are behind the TD however, he can't do this. Even if the TD backs up to the building, your tank is there to prevent him from actually touching the building. Ensure that your tank prevents his TD from touching any cover, and you'll be fine. What if you find a turreted TD though? It depends on many factors; in particular where the TD is, whether you have allied support fire, the mobility of your tank, and the mobility of the enemy. Trying to circle a Challenger or Charioteer may not work if your tank doesn't have top-of-the-line mobility. So how do you fight them if your tank can't circle? Catch them off-guard and put some shots in, but make sure you have an escape route and / or cover. They may have a turret, but they can't out-run your light tank. Regardless, it's situational even beyond that. You don't want to put yourself in an isolated location engaging a turreted TD if the enemy can return to support said TD. It's better to avoid such engagements if you can't keep ahead of its turret. Find a slower target if necessary, or play vision games with the TD by using bushes & trees. Hunting arty: There are many, many times when artillery is un-defended. The hardest part is simply getting behind enemy lines to the arty den. Read the mini-map, make analyses & spring on opportunities you find. Please, please please make sure that you have an escape route and that the enemy cannot defend the arty. You're not trying to suicide, but rather capitalize on an opening in enemy lines and SAFELY eliminate the artillery pieces. There are several things to keep in mind about arty: They have few hit points (thus are easy to kill), they are slow and turretless (for the most part), have extremely inaccurate guns and poor gun handling (in most cases) and have an exceptionally long reload. If you see an arty shoot, obviously it's safe to charge right at it (don't ram it....). However, assume that all artillery you find are loaded and ready for you. These are the most important things you need to know about hunting arty: 1) DO NOT shoot unless you know that the arty is aware of your presence. If you come across an artillery looking off to the side, don't shoot at it! Chances are that it's in arty mode paying 0 attention to the map. The moment you hit it with a shell however, it will react and realize that its being hunted. Sometimes, you can come behind several arty with none of them knowing you're there. Once you're behind them and have set up, then begin shooting. 2) If the arty is aware of your presence, shoot at will. Auto-aim can very much help. It's more important to be able to avoid the artillery's gun than spending time manually aiming each shot. Right click on the arty and shoot that way. Focus your attention on avoiding the arty's gun. 3) Never slow down when engaging arty, and never drive in a straight line. Zig zag, turn, keep up speed, etc. It's better to charge at full speed to the right side of an arty than it is to slowly backup over the ridge you just jumped over. 4) THIS is how to approach an arty. The most effective arty hunting tactic is... crossing its gun's line of sight. What? You drunk Scorp? Nope - arty has one shot and one shot only at you. They're also slow. It's very easy to convince them that you're going to try to beat its gun's traverse by driving to its side... and that's what most scouts do... however, randomly crossing the arty's line of sight at speed will bring you to safety. Please don't follow these words when trying to do that - but rather follow the image below! =) The image has text to explain what's going on. This does take practice to master... done correctly though, it works 99.8% (give or take .2%. ) of the time. Support fire to allies, basic assistance in engagements: Light tanks have guns... not very powerful guns, but they're guns. If you see allies leading a push, whether up close or in the distance, try to provide some support fire. If the allies are up close, join them and flank around the distracted enemies. Make sure to evade their guns, if needed shoot between their reloads... regardless, you will not only distract the enemy, but also contribute to their destruction. And the sooner the enemy is destroyed, the sooner your allies can keep advancing without shells coming at them. Alternatively, you may see your allies pushing (or the enemy pushing into your allies). If it's an open map, you should be able to provide some support fire (hopefully). This is more map-dependent and situational, but regardless you can contribute. If you're trying to passively scout, shooting may not be an option unless you use the 15m rule. Yet when possible, put your gun to work. Sometimes, those couple of shots into the enemy will make the difference between winning or losing a battle. Long-ranged sniper fire: This is somewhat of a continuation of the previous one. If you have the opportunity to (safely) shoot the enemy, take it. If you are spotting in a bush which doesn't provide the opportunity to use the 15m rule, then don't risk getting spotted. Alternatively, even if you can use the 15m rule, but you are in a high-risk location without an escape route, don't risk shooting either. Make a proper analysis of the situation. If you can safely shoot the enemy, do so. If not, don't risk it. Ultimately, any damage you can deal without taking return fire will contribute to a victory. (On city maps), cheeky peek-a-boom tactics: This is also a continuation of the allied support fire - there will be times when you can't really scout due to the enemy's placement & the map (Himmelsdorf with the enemy having map control for example). At that point, put your gun to work. Between enemy's reloads, put a shot or two into them. Aim for weakpoints, and if needed, load some Premium rounds. Regardless, if it's impossible to scout, then you should be providing support fire. Just make sure you're aware of the enemy's reload - you don't want to be taking any shots in return! If you're uncertain of the enemy's reload, take one shot and pull back. With practice comes perfection - eventually, you'll be able to time your shots at the enemy flawlessly. Also, pick your fights carefully. Make sure you have backup and aren't vulnerable to an enemy flex / reaction. Don't become this bird: Putting all information together; fluid integration of the tactics in a battle: Now that we've covered the main terminology & basic information about passive and active scouting, it's time to integrate all of those splatters of words into a fluid, effective combat technique. This will be organized into a "tree" of information, with each branch indicating a possible battle scenario. If you can follow such a tree of thought in battle, you will be able to adapt to scouting very, very effectively. Start of the battle: Communicate with the team, ping the map, type strats in the chat, etc. Try to inform them where you are setting up! Analyze the map. Which map, gamemode & spawn is it? Are there enough bushes or trees for you to passively scout, does the map require running around like a headless chicken, or will you have to provide support fire throughout? What's the enemy's line-up? Are they a heavy force which allows you to easily flank, or are they very mobile & can counter aggressive scouting? How many TD's & arty do they have? Is the enemy likely to come to you (thus allowing for passive scouting), or is the enemy likely to camp (thus requiring active scouting) Initial team deployment: How is the team setting up? If they are lemminging (because that's a word ) in one direction, you'll want to spot the other side but allow for a very quick & safe escape route upon first contact with an enemy. Alternatively, if your team has set up evenly, pick the side of the map which your scout is most effective at (by virtue of terrain features, foliage, etc.). If your team is camping, you'll have to scout for your team. Whether it's passive or aggressive, you want to make sure that you spot the enemy when they're within range of allied guns. If you're too far ahead, your campers can't support you. Early lights: One of the most important things for a scout is detecting the enemy's initial deployment. If you can figure out where the enemy is going, your team will be able to make some very important decisions. When gathering initial spots, ask for allied arty & TD's to set up for shots. If you get your team's attention and can get early damage done to the enemy, that will significantly increase your team's chances of victory Shooting at other light tanks. Sometimes, maps create scenarios in which two light tanks (one allied, one enemy) will come face to face. Try to avoid taking damage from the enemy light tank, but don't let it leave without a scratch! If possible, put a shell in! It will make the enemy scout more reluctant to repeat another such aggressive run. Early engagement between allies and enemies: This is the stage when allied and enemy vehicles are beginning to slug it out. Slower tanks may still be setting up, TD's and arty still getting ready, etc. This part of the battle is still crucial to spotting enemy set-ups. In addition, if you can spot a tank which is still positioning itself and put a shot into it (double bushing, virtue of distance, etc.), you will help to interupt the enemy tank dispersion. You will slow down their advances to flanks, cause damage to them that will lead to their destruction later on, etc. Early spotting & early damage is what this stage is all about. Take advantage of the fact that the enemy is still setting up. They won't be ready for you. Be very careful! If you take damage, especially significant damage, this early into the battle, it may entirely cripple your abilities to influence the battle later on, and to employ aggressive tactics. Conserve your HP! Early shots are important, but be careful. If you can do damage without taking it in return, you're setitng yourself up for victory. Heat of the battle or stalemate: After initial engagements between allied and enemy vehicles, battles typically split into two categories: 1) A long, drawn out, slow-paced shot trading festival or 2) An active, heated engagement with very aggressive & strategic play. Depending on what has happened, you will need to change your gameplay. Campfest: If the battle is now a campfest, it is your job to organize pushes, to spot enemy vehicles aggressively, and get something done. Communicate with your allies, spot tanks for them to shoot at, and try to coordinate fire or pushes. If you can spot the enemy's camping positions safely, then you may give your allies enough map knowledge to move up on one of their flanks. If your team is too far back to do anything and they have no intention of moving, you still want to aggressively spot; perhaps get a few shots off if spotting mechanics will allow you to do so safely. However, as soon as either team makes a move (eventually one of the two teams will), you need to respond to it. If your team is beginning to move up, get ready to give them reconnassainse. If the enemy team is organizing a push, fall back to a passive scouting location where you are close enough to your allies for them to shoot the enemy as they move up, but also for you to be far ahead enough of your allies to spot the enemy push with enough lee-way for your allies to react. Heated battle: If the battle quickly turns into an intense engagement, you have two options: Look for flanking opportunities to kill arty, get on cap, etc. During heated battles, tanks are typically committed to a push, or aren't so much camping. Support your allies. If the battle is close & intense, any support fire you can provide can make a significant difference. If you can't kill enemy artillery & TD's to reduce the fire your allies are taking, then you should at least be able to provide proper support fire. Keep in mind throwing yourself into the middle of a heated battle in a light tank will only get you killed. If you put yourself into the enemy's line of fire, expect bad things to happen. Use heated battles as a time to provide distant support fire, and especially to flank for anything that happens after the battle. If your team wins the engagement, you flanking will spot any enemy TD's and campers for your now advancing allies to easily shoot down. Alternatively, if the enemy wiins the engagement, you are now safe behind their lines and can spot them from behind to give your remaining allies a chance to get the first shots off. In addition, by being behind the enemy territory, you're safe by virtue of unconventional placement. The enemy will think you've retreated to your remaining allies, when in reality you're in the last place they'd ever look. Please remember that there will be times when your allies desperately need support, and your single tank is all what they need to win the engagement. Take a look at the situation, and if your team needs you, go there. Make your tank a distraction, carefully trade with the enemy, etc. Do whatever you need to, but give your allies that support they need. The easiest way to tell whether or not your team needs you there - how close is their engagement? How many tanks vs. how many tanks? What are the HP values, Tier spread, etc.? If those factors are fairly similar amongst both allies and enemies, that means your light tank is needed in the fight. If the enemy is pushing, you need to spot the push before they manage to complete it. You cannot let an enemy force catch your allies by surprise. Make sure you can spot an enemy flank, attack, push, etc. ahead of time. That way your allies will get the first shots off, as well be able to react to it. You will thus eliminate the enemy's advantage of the element of surprise, and your team may very well survive the attack. Aftermath, battle dying down: At this point, either your team has won or lost the engagement. Either way, you should have been able to set up into a strategic location whilst the enemy was distracted. Now it's you that's using the element of surprise. This is where you analyze the situation yet again. How close is the battle? Here are the three scenarios: 1) Your team is winning by a large margin, and it's simply a cleanup. Move up, actively spot the remaining enemy and it's gg. 2) The battle is still close, HP values, tanks alive, etc. are close enough to the point where neither team can just push in. Strategy is key here, and now your spotting is more important than ever before. You need to detect the remaining enemy as well as be able to identify any tactics they may be trying to employ. In addition, your damage that you deal is exceptionally important. If both teams are low on HP, any damage you do can be game-changing. Just stay alive. Dying at this point will almost guarantee a loss. 3) Your team is going to be swarmed. At this point, any enemy campers have already began moving up, and the enemy team simply needs to clean off your remaining allies and win. Don't let that happen without a last attempt. If your team still has light tanks alive, or other fast tanks, have them follow you and lead a push into the enemy base. You MUST do this when the battle just begins dying down. If you let the enemy move up too far, they'll be too close to you for you to remain un-spotted. Use the terrain features & mini-map to organize a route to the enemy base which the enemy does not have a line of sight on, and which the enemy abandoned. 50% of the time, such a route will be present. If you can organize a good allied push with fast tanks into that route, you may get a win in. Will it happen often? Probably not; the enemy out-numbers you signifcantly and has almost the entirety of map control. Chances are, they'll be able to stop you. However, if sticking around for a defense won't do any good and has no chance, then pushing into the enemy base is at least an attempt which occasionally will yield results. Especially if the enemy team is slow, and / or has committed too far to their pushes to fall back and defend, it's possible for you to win by sneaking by enemy lines. I've done this times in the past several days alone. It adds up. If your Platoonmates are alive and are in fast tanks, it's even more likely to suceed. It won't work often, maybe 10% of the time. Yet if you're still alive & have properly planned out a route, you'll be surprised by what you may be able to do. (Best example of this I've seen was a 4:13 battle, won by two Platooned light tanks which snuck by the middle bridge on Highway, waited for the enemy to approach our cap, and then got onto the enemy's cap. 11 enemy tanks still alive, and the two light tanks won by capping.) After the battle: Analyze the battle! What went well? What mistakes did you make? What opportunties did you miss, why did you take the hits you did? Essentially, you want to figure out how to improve. Watch the replay if it was a close battle which was entirely in your hands, yet you lost. Or perhaps you should have been able to easily win, but you made a mistake that made the battle far closer than it should have been. Watch the replay, perhaps send it to some Unicum friends, and get some feedback; both from others and from your own analysis. P.M. players that did something very well. If there was a person on either team that made a move that won the game for their team, or that nearly won it, let them know that they did a good job! It will encourage more good gameplay from them in the future! Who knows? Perhaps they'll be on your team later, and they'll remember that they were praised for such a move earlier, and they'll repeat the same game-winning tactic again. =) Think about your equipment & ammo layout. If the tank you were driving is fresh out of the factory, and you're still trying to figure out the equipment & ammo layout you should have, think about how each battle goes - did you need more or fewer Premium rounds than you had equipped? Is your tank better suited for Optics or Binocs? Perhaps a camo net? Is the tank in need of a GLD or Vents? If something went wrong in the battle, or there were opportunities missed because of your layout, and such situations occur multiple times where you regret your set-up, then change it! Experiment & figure out what's best for your tank. For now, that's it for this guide! I was originally planning to do a comparision of the light tanks in the game, listing their strengths & weaknesses, as well as display various tactics which can be used on different maps, but that will have to be seperate. When it's finished however, it will be added to or linked to this guide. I hope this helps! Good luck both on the battlefield and in real life, tankers!

Update: Added "A Guide to going AFK with minimal effect on your team" Added Zeven's Twitch.tv stream.

Don't worry. I see that you are lost and confused, in need of guidance and support. Lucky for you, thou have stumbled into the Scorpion's Den; with guides aplenty. This particular edition contains A Guide to properly suiciding / going AFK. If these are the drones you were looking for, sit back, turn on some pimping music and read away... all of your questions shall be answered here. The heat of the battle is going strong, the fighting is thrilling and intense - yet something disturbs your killing spree. A wild "real life interruption" appears! And sadly, it is super effective at stopping your gaming session. Now what? You don't want to randomly disappear & disappoint your allies, yet you must leave the game as soon as possible. We've all been there, done that. In the middle of a heated battle, your wife interrupts and gives you "the look", the baby begins crying or perhaps you simply received a phone call that you must respond to. Chances are, you're left with only a few seconds to do something in the battle (assuming it's not a "every second counts life or death" emergency; if that's the case, GTFO the computer). What do you do in those few seconds that will maximize your team's chance of victory? This guide covers your options. Obviously, your tank can do a multitude of roles throughout the course of a battle. When you need to abandon the game immediately however, you only have so many options which you can do in the span of 5-10 seconds. You could: Drive your tank into the nearest enemy tank and face-hug him Fire off a well-aimed shot Leave your tank at an angle; side-scraped around a corner Idle the tank in a bush Cruise Control in a random direction Turn your tank side-ways as cover for your allies Type a suggestion to your team in chat Fire off an un-aimed shot (SPG's or no targets spotted) Let's discuss each option in some more detail and discuss the "when's" and "if's", shall we? Drive your tank into the nearest enemy and face-hug him: During a close range brawl, there's usually an enemy tank within very close proximity to you. If you need to leave, charging into the tank on the enemy team with the longest reload / most dangerous gun can be a good idea - if you get him to shoot (say it's a Jg. Pz. E-100), then your allies have 25 seconds to push up without worrying about taking a 1,050 damage shell to the face. Not only will you make your targetted tank suffer, but by ramming him you may also end up destroying a track, blocking his line of sight and also attract fire from other sources as well. When selecting a target, find a tank that: Has a dangerous gun with a long reload Most important Will not benefit from your destroyed wreck (you don't want to provide T32's with improvised hull-down cover!) Average importance May take damage from the face-hug ram Least important, not necessary If it's possible for you to cruise-control towards the enemy (which takes 1 second to activate) use your time to tell your allies "Must AFK, yolo'ing XYXY tank, push after he shoots". It takes about 5 seconds to type out, and will (hopefully) let your allies know what's going on, and perhaps allow them to capitalize on your tank's loss. That way you leaving will still allow your allies to push through an important flank; maximizing chances of victory. Fire off a well-aimed shot: Perhaps rather than suiciding, it will be more useful for you to fire off one more shot and then leave your tank where it is. Obviously, putting in a well-aimed shot has its benefits; the enemy takes more damage, or perhaps you kill a tank before you leave. When peeking out to take the shot, don't be afraid to take heavy return fire - remember, you're about to leave the computer in the next 5 seconds. What happens to your tank after you leave doesn't matter. It's what you do in those remaining 5 seconds that does. After shooting, you can either leave your tank exposed to more fire, or pull back into cover before leaving. Chances are, pulling back is the better option - that way your allies can use your tank as cover; whereas if you leave your tank exposed, the enemy may end up making use of it. When choosing a target to kill, consider the following factors in your split-second decision: The Tier of the tank - damaging a top Tier tank is more beneficial than damaging a bottom Tier one The skill of the opponent - if you wound an Unicum's tank, it limits his options and makes him more likely to be destroyed. The sooner a good player is taken off of the battlefield, the more likely your team is to win. Whether the enemy is stock or not - your allies can easily kill a stock M103 without much worry, but a fully upgraded one is a much larger threat The HP of the vehicle - it's better to damage a low HP vehicle than a full HP one. The less HP the enemy has, the sooner they will be destroyed. If you can knock a 500 HP IS-7 down to 100 HP, chances are that the IS-7 won't last much longer. Not only that, but the IS-7 will be much more likely to play more passively or pull back; which means that his gun and especially his armor are no longer in your team's face. If you can kill the tank or not - if the last shot you fire kills a tank, especially a skilled opponent or top Tier tank, that's one less dangerous gun your allies have to worry about shooting them. Not only that, but your allies won't have to waste a 490 alpha shell on a tank with 50 HP; their 490 shell can then actually knock 490 off of an opponent, since you took care of the 50 HP tank. Essentially, pick the priority target to be the recipient of your shell. As soon as that shell is fired, pull back and get away from the computer. If your tank is very slow and it would take time to pull back, just leave your tank where it is or cruise control forwards. I do not recommend cruise controlling backwards as your tank may end up slamming into an ally and messing up his aim, or your tank may go off in a direction where it won't direct any enemy fire. Leave your tank at an angle, side-scraped around a corner: This one is fairly simple - if you leave your tank side-scraped around a corner, you may trick the enemy into shooting you and bouncing. The fact that your tank is angled means that it's likely to survive for longer, and thus direct more enemy fire. Not only that, but when the enemy sees a tank that is side-scraping, they are more likely to believe that the tank still has a player controlling it, and thus will be more cautious about peeking out to shoot it. Just keep in mind, you want to leave your gun pointing towards the enemy; in particular, point your gun where they will peek out. If your gun is aiming directly at them whilst you're side-scraping, even skilled players will believe that you are still commanding your tank, and will take their time moving to shoot. This can do anything from wasting the opponent's time & allowing your allies to perform a flanking maneuver, or perhaps it will delay the enemy's push and it will give your allies more time to get away. Idle the tank in a bush: Leaving your tank in a bush will do both, keep your tank hidden and thus safe from return fire for longer, but will also allow you to spot the opponents and make them warier about your tank's location. If you are in a bush, they won't know where your tank is, and may believe that it is active in play elsewhere, and may be more careful about moving in. This especially works for tanks with good camo & view range, or high "fear factor" tanks. If it's the latter, the enemy will be much more cautious about pushing as they believe they'll take a massive damage shell to the face if they're careless; even though you're really no longer at the computer. If the enemy thinks that you're active, it slows down their advance, and thus also gives your allies more time; which may be very valuable if they need a few more seconds to win their other flank or to reach the enemy base. If you're in a light tank or some tank with great mobility, if there is a good bush nearby you that you can reach in the 5-10 seconds that you have left, go for it. It doesn't matter if your tank is AFK in a great spotting location - if you're in a good location, you will spot the enemy and assist your allies regardless. (I actually completed LT-15 this way! I went AFK for half of the battle in a good bush on Prohorovka with my WZ-132. By the time I came back, I had racked up 4,500 spotting damage; which allowed me to easily farm the remaining 3k upon my return! Much better than hiding at the red-line where I wouldn't have spotted anything!) Cruise Control in a random direction: Whilst this is the least favorable of your options, it can still have benefit. If you don't know where the enemy is, or you can't tell whether your team is winning or not, sometimes you may just have to triple tap the "R" key to cruise control somewhere. Take a guess where your tank will be most useful, and send it driving that way. When choosing the direction to send your tank, keep the following things in mind: If your allies are losing their current flank, cruise control your tank in a direction where it will be able to hit a building and spot the enemy as they are advancing (assuming that you are not near the engagement) If your allies need some targets spotted, or need some hidden TD's / artillery to fire off a few shells, send your tank in the direction where the invisible tanks are. You will (hopefully) spot a few targets and allow your allies to rack some extra damage or perhaps even take out a few targets. If the enemy's location is unknown, take a guess where they'll be and have your AFK tank intercept them. If it's early on in a battle, cruise controlling through the 1/2/3 lines on Fisherman's Bay for example isn't a bad idea - you'll let your allies know how many tanks are there, and what kind of tanks are there. Who knows? Your tank may just hit a rock where it can keep spotting from safety. Will you attract high caliber guns, or perhaps force an enemy scout to retreat? If it's say, Malinovka, yolo'ing your tank across the field will not only spot targets and allow your allies to easily get shots off, but if there's a scout at the H2/G3 bush, your suicidal tank will end up spotting the scout or forcing him to retreat. Or perhaps it's a Swamp campfest simply because there's a WT. auf. E-100 or Jg. Pz. E-100 guarding the enemy base. Sending your tank in that direction will make the TD waste his shell and allow your allies to push up. Make your AFK tank have the greatest effect! Turn your tank side-ways as cover for your allies: Sometimes, all what your allies need is a little bit of improvised cover. Tell them that you have to leave in chat, and then turn your tank side-ways. This will allow your hull-down tanks such as T32's & IS-7's to make use of your wreck and stay safe from enemy fire. Or perhaps you just gave your allied E-100 a new place to side-scrape from; except now he can side-scrape in either direction (s)he want to! Worse case scenario, your tank is now a road-block for the enemy to avoid and you'll have at least attracted a few enemy shells. By telling your allies in chat that you're going AFK, you'll let them know what's going on at least. Perhaps telling them "I'm going AFK, use my tank as cover" will allow your more watchful allies to take advantage of you having to leave. Type a suggestion for your team in chat: Take a glance at the mini-map and your surroundings, and tell your allies something useful. Whether you're telling newbies how to penetrate a KV-220 / AT-2, telling your lemmings that they out-number the enemy on the flank, or if you see that your LTTB will have a clear shot to the enemy base from the 6 line. Whatever you say, just make sure that it's informative. Once again, the more watchful of your allies may notice your suggestion & capitalize on it. Who knows? Your 5 second message may have just given your allies a game-winning idea! If there's nothing you can say that would contribute, just tell them you need to leave, so they will know not to rely on your tank anymore. Fire off an un-aimed shot (SPG's or not targets spotted): If you're in an SPG, there's really not much you can do. Chances are, you're sitting in a bush next to your base, far away from the actual combat. Before you leave, assuming that you're reloaded, aim your gun where there is likely an enemy and discharge a shot. If it's early in the battle and you know where enemy's usually are crossing at the time, your shot will be very likely to do something. Otherwise, you still will have taken a chance. Whether you shoot at TD camping spots, SPG bushes, etc. is ultimately up to you. Who knows? You may just end up killing something. Or perhaps an enemy arty notices your tracer and wastes a shell blind-firing at your location. Worst case scenario is that you missed, and your SPG is now spotting any enemy that comes close to your base. Alternatively, you may be in a regular tank, far away from the battle with no targets spotted. Assuming it's an open map, aim your gun where there may be enemy's camping / crossing, and take a shot. You have two options when doing this however: Take the 5-10 seconds you have to aim your shot, so it has the greatest chance of landing where you aimed; thus the greatest chance of hitting something if a target was where you aimed. Take a snap-shot in the direction where the enemy may be, and use the remaining 5-10 seconds to cruise control your tank in a desired direction, rather than aiming the shot. Regardless, your took a chance at the very least. A 1% chance of hitting an enemy is better than no chance at all, right? I hope that this guide gives you a few ideas about your options at hand when you have to leave mid-battle! Perhaps the option you choose may be just enough to push your allies to victory! Good luck both on the battlefield and in real life, tankers!