World Of Tanks

[Dejin]

What’s the best gun for the T-26? I’ve been using the 45mm but it seems like most people are using the tier-3 37mm because of its higher penetration?

Personally I’d go for the 37mm ZiS, for its higher penetration and much higher accuracy. But it partly depends on how you are playing. If you like closing to point blank range and then blasting away, then accuracy doesn’t matter as much, nor does penetration, since you’ll be shooting sides and back more often – and the penetration numbers are fairly close.

[Waltzer]

Personally I’d go for the 37mm ZiS, for its higher penetration and much higher accuracy. But it partly depends on how you are playing. If you like closing to point blank range and then blasting away, then accuracy doesn’t matter as much, nor does penetration, since you’ll be shooting sides and back more often – and the penetration numbers are fairly close.

Actually, it turns out that I did the grind out of that tank so fast it didn’t matter. I’m running around in a Marder II and a T-46 now. The Marder II keeps getting placed in matches with heavy tanks that it cannot penetrate, but then I still have the stock gun, so it might be I just need an upgrade.

[Jason_Townsend]

The better guns for the Marder do make a big difference.

[Waltzer]

The better guns for the Marder do make a big difference.

I am glad to hear that - they are stupendously expensive compared with other modules I’ve bought. Should I hold out for the top-tier gun or is the middle-tier worth it?

[Stridergg]

Huh, while I could see it being underpowered in the beta, with the horrid matchmaker there, now it’s a very different case. The short 88mm is pretty good for the tier 5-7 opposition one gets matched with. Tier 8 heavies are more of a problem but still are quite vulnerable from the sides and back.

And this also gives me the opportunity to brag a little. :)

This is what the JagdPanzer IV can do! This would never have been possible in the beta, as the matchmaker would have paired me with a bunch of tier 8 and 9 vehicles, and not a bunch of tier 5 through 7s.

I actually really like this thing. It’s got a great thin profile that makes it harder to hit even when spotted – and it doesn’t get spotted easily thanks to its stealth capabilities. Its armor actually bounces things once in a while in the tiers it participates in and the gun deals very nice damage for the tier. It’s also quite accurate and has a fast reload.

Pretty much the only weaknesses of the vehicle are low penetration (at least relative to Russian tier 5/6 vehicles) and low maximum speed. Who’s bright idea was it to cap this thing at 38kph?

Good job, Ender! Heh, you damaged 12 out of 15 enemy tanks! :) I don’t think I have ever shot more than 30 rounds.

I know, I know. Objectively speaking, JgPz IV is a nice TD and to be honest I do quite well in it - something like 65% win rate. It’s just that the long boring 62K grind is frustrating, I compared it to SU-100 and SU-100’s tree is IMO done in a more interesting way, having to unlock 2 guns and then grind out 30K.

I actually had quite a few fights with my JgPz IV on top of the list, really nice fights. Which is actually true for most of my tanks, looks like balancer improvements, more people playing, less gold around and no 5x exp events improved the situation drastically comparing to beta.

I can’t wait to try out the US TD’s. The turreted M36 Slugger and the 305 mm front armored T28 (or was t85?) look interesting, I just hope the devs don’t give them crappy guns to compensate.

Just started playing this yesterday and I’m getting into it. One noob question, is it better to go for guns that have high penetration or ones that have a higher average damage.

I usually go for penetration but it really depends. For JgdPz IV, for example, I went for the short 88 mm, losing a few mm’s in penetration but gainnig some damage. It really depends on the guns and the kind of tanks you are facing in general.

[Dejin]

I am glad to hear that - they are stupendously expensive compared with other modules I’ve bought. Should I hold out for the top-tier gun or is the middle-tier worth it?

The middle tier is a very big improvement over the original. The best gun is great and can damage anything 2 or 3 tiers above you (sometimes higher depending on the target, how lucky you are, and their facing).

I tend to go through and purchase each upgrade as soon as it becomes available, but I’m running premium, so I probably have more credit available than someone playing non-premium.

Personally I think the 5cm can be frustrating depending on the level of the match you end up in, so I’d upgrade it as soon as you can.

Another thing to be aware of is that the Hetzer (next tier above Marder in the German TD line) is generally disliked. Although I found it to actually do rather well under the new matching system. It’s got relatively tough armor for its tier, but it is very slow, and the gun traverse is very narrow, forcing you to turn the vehicle for more than a very minor change in your target’s movement. Hetzer gun is decent, but even when fully upgraded it’s not as good as the top Marder gun.

OTOH the StuG above the Hetzer is a great vehicle.

[Harkonis]

Some days I just love tiny tier

Other times I miss the open tiers of beta with 1-10 in them

[Waltzer]

I feel like the MS-1 is just head and shoulders above the other tier-1 tanks. It is still my best w/l ratio, and I think I had a 5-kill round in it.

[Harkonis]

I have horrible W/L, and good K/D. Whether I play defense or offense, my team tends to just run into the enemy while they defend. Either that or my whole team goes one way leaving me and 1 guy to defend while they enemy rushes both sides.

[TheWombat]

People in game chat were complaining that the US TDs will break the game, and that that’s one reason why they’ve been so long in coming. Folks were speculating that a tank destroyer by its nature exists to carry a more powerful gun than a tank of equivalent rank or level, and that’s balanced by its lack of flexibility. With a turret, you end up with a powerful gun and no loss of flexibility, and only the generally lighter armor to compensate. Given that many existing TDs don’t have great armor but also lack turrets, some folks are wondering how things like the M-10 or M-36 will be balanced.

I have no idea. Historically the weakness of US TDs was their open topped design, which made them susceptible to infantry (not in the game) and arty, their light armor, and various other tactical factors that made them less flexible than medium tanks in general use but which are hard if not impossible to model in WoT. The trick will be to create a line where people will have a decidedly different experience playing, say, the M-10 Wolverine with the 3"/76mm gun vice the M4 with a 76. Will it be merely a matter of vulnerability? Will they make the M-10s gun hit significantly harder? Have to wait and see I guess.

[Dejin]

People in game chat were complaining that the US TDs will break the game, and that that’s one reason why they’ve been so long in coming. Folks were speculating that a tank destroyer by its nature exists to carry a more powerful gun than a tank of equivalent rank or level, and that’s balanced by its lack of flexibility. With a turret, you end up with a powerful gun and no loss of flexibility, and only the generally lighter armor to compensate. Given that many existing TDs don’t have great armor but also lack turrets, some folks are wondering how things like the M-10 or M-36 will be balanced.

I have no idea. Historically the weakness of US TDs was their open topped design, which made them susceptible to infantry (not in the game) and arty, their light armor, and various other tactical factors that made them less flexible than medium tanks in general use but which are hard if not impossible to model in WoT. The trick will be to create a line where people will have a decidedly different experience playing, say, the M-10 Wolverine with the 3"/76mm gun vice the M4 with a 76. Will it be merely a matter of vulnerability? Will they make the M-10s gun hit significantly harder? Have to wait and see I guess.

One possible way of balancing them is to push them up a tier or 2. This will make them a bit less fun to play with, but should keep the matches balanced.

Personally I’m expecting them to play similar to the Marder. Excellent gun, but lighter armor and not being able to take many hits.

Also they should be harder to hide / easier to spot than the lower profile TDs like the Hetzer or PzJgr IV.

[TheWombat]

One possible way of balancing them is to push them up a tier or 2. This will make them a bit less fun to play with, but should keep the matches balanced.

Personally I’m expecting them to play similar to the Marder. Excellent gun, but lighter armor and not being able to take many hits.

Also they should be harder to hide / easier to spot than the lower profile TDs like the Hetzer or PzJgr IV.

Could be. I guess what’s necessary is that they offer something different within each line, rather than necessarily across lines. That is, for someone in the US line, the TDs have to play differently than the mediums or heavies. It doesn’t matter if they play just like the TDs in the other lines, or at least, not so much.

[JoshV]

The better guns for the Marder do make a big difference.

Better guns on most tanks make a huge difference. I hated the stock T-28, I had to grind out to its top gun, which had better accuracy and a larger caliber, and suddenly it became a great sniper tank. Still has tissue paper for armor, but its fast and maneuverable so it can reposition itself on whatever front is needed and take pop shots.

The T-46, someone was asking about guns for it, I actually like the hilariously inaccurate 76mm with HE rounds, as it can one-shot other tanks and arty at that tier, and damage the big boys if they ignore you. Has the typical Russian paper armor, but hey at least you aren’t three times the size of most tanks of your tier like the T-28.

I finally got my KV, any suggestions for it? I’ve already noticed the painful difference of having to basically commit to a direction and just go, as turning around takes forever.

[Supper_s_Ready]

Actually, I changed my mind. The penetration on the JagdPanzer IV is not sufficient. After I posted that image, the very next game I dinged on the same KV-3 six times in a row (and I was out of HE ammo). Only his front armor was exposed and there was no way to flank him.

A KV-1S, T-34, KV-2 or SU-85 even with their 175mm/167mm penetration guns would have been able to punch through with at least half of those shots. The German short 88’s 132mm penetration simply doesn’t cut it against heavily armored targets from the front.

I can’t wait to get out of it and get to my beloved Jagdpanther, which gets a whopping 203/200 mm penetration for its best guns. But as Stridergg points out, the 64k XP grind is slooooooooow.

…

As far as US TDs go, we already had a taste of what they will be like in the T30 heavy tank, which is going to become a TD. Low (hull) armor has already forced it to be played as a TD, and from what I could tell fighting them (never got to one, indeed only got to the T32 on the US heavy line) they were very effective in that role – but like any TD got in serious trouble when confronted in close quarters combat.

I finally got my KV, any suggestions for it? I’ve already noticed the painful difference of having to basically commit to a direction and just go, as turning around takes forever.

If you’re going for the KV-3, then the engine upgrade you get on the way helps a lot with maneuverability. Of course if you equip the KV-2 turret and any of its associated guns (107mm and 152mm) you go back to being slow and lumbering again.

As I mentioned a few posts back, if you’re going KV-3, unlock the KV-2 turret and get yourself the amazing 107mm gun. If going KV-1S then stick with the stock turret and unlock the 122mm U-11 HE spammer. This allows you to save a ton of XP (~18k) and gives you something effective to use on the KV-1S until you unlock its best gun.

[Jab]

Can someone explain how accuracy and detecting enemies work? I’m having a hard time understanding why my shots are missing even when I have the reticule as small as possible. I’m using the AT-1 right now and I miss a shot against a tank standing still but then hit someone moving. Also with the accuracy rating on the turret do I want that value to be higher or lower for better accuracy?

With detecting it always seems that I’m getting hit by someone halfway across the map and have no idea how they are seeing me even when I’m still.

[Stridergg]

Could be. I guess what’s necessary is that they offer something different within each line, rather than necessarily across lines. That is, for someone in the US line, the TDs have to play differently than the mediums or heavies. It doesn’t matter if they play just like the TDs in the other lines, or at least, not so much.

In their writeup about the US TD’s, the devs mention that open top turrets result in slightly higher view range but more vulnerable crew. I guess the crew will be more susceptible to HE fire, especially arty.

This will present the players with a choice - M4 that is more mobile, better armored, has a lighter gun or M10 with a better gun, less mobile and more vulnerable.

[TheWombat]

In their writeup about the US TD’s, the devs mention that open top turrets result in slightly higher view range but more vulnerable crew. I guess the crew will be more susceptible to HE fire, especially arty.

This will present the players with a choice - M4 that is more mobile, better armored, has a lighter gun or M10 with a better gun, less mobile and more vulnerable.

That’ll work.

[JoshV]

Can someone explain how accuracy and detecting enemies work? I’m having a hard time understanding why my shots are missing even when I have the reticule as small as possible. I’m using the AT-1 right now and I miss a shot against a tank standing still but then hit someone moving. Also with the accuracy rating on the turret do I want that value to be higher or lower for better accuracy?

With detecting it always seems that I’m getting hit by someone halfway across the map and have no idea how they are seeing me even when I’m still.

This link really helps explain things, it was posted a few pages back, and it really helped me understand. I think the accuracy number represents the size of the reticule at its smallest, so you want smaller numbers.
http://wiki.worldoftanks.com/Battle_Mechanics

[Dejin]

Actually, I changed my mind. The penetration on the JagdPanzer IV is not sufficient. After I posted that image, the very next game I dinged on the same KV-3 six times in a row (and I was out of HE ammo). Only his front armor was exposed and there was no way to flank him.

This is why I like the new proposed tech trees. KV-3 is the tank I most consistently have problems with when using the best guns for tier 5 and 6 German and American tanks (haven’t played Soviet since, beta, and I don’t remember their guns performance vs. KV-3). Probably far more often than not, I bounce shots of it. I occasionally bounce shots off of VK3601(H), but I can even shoot Tigers and King Tigers more consistently than the KV-3. Moving it up a tier to Tier VII (same as the Tiger I) means they don’t have to change the presumably more-or-less accurate armour values, but can still better balance the game.

I also like that they lowered the Tier on the Panther and Panther II, which should address some of the concerns that the German medium line isn’t as good as the very highly praised Russian mediums.

[maxle]

I was under the impression that if I buy a gun, I don’t have to buy it again on other tanks. Except the gun equipped on my Su-76 isn’t available on my Su-85. Do I have to dismount it first or something?