★ Charioteer Review: The Scout with an Orbital Laser Cannon ★

[Scorpiany]

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.)

 

[Grandorf]

Oh why, oh why?!

 

Scorpiany you amazing person. Now you made me wanna grind this tank again.

 

When UK TDs came out this tank looked so good on paper, I followed some 

gameplays and in the right hands this tank was so OP. 

I managed to forget it because honestly not many players use it. 

 

Well now I wanna forget reaching T-54 and go for this one.