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What I'm at in World of Tanks

Playing three tanks at the moment:

A tier 2 Russian AT-1 tank destroyer which I love. Playing a tank destroyer is a bit like fishing - mostly its a waiting game but every so often you get lucky and haul in a bumper catch. One unexpected bonus of playing tank destroyers is that the stealth bonuses mean I am often one of the last tanks left alive. Several battles have come down to just artillery and tank destroyers left on both teams.  If you are only interested in levelling then this longevity is a disadvantage because you get to play fewer matches but I love the intriguing end game as these normally stationary beasts trundle into slow motion battle to try and capture the enemy base or hunt down the remaining defenders.

A Tier 2 PzKpfw 35 (t) light tank. WoTs rating system ranks this tier 2 as less valuable than the AT-1 so I usually find myself thrown into low level matches with tiers 1 and 2 only. It is nice to be a big fish even if it is a small pool but somehow I doubt this is teaching me any valuable lessons about how to drive a light tank at higher tiers.

A Tier 1 Leichte Traktor. This is a weak tank equipped with a pea-shooter gun. I ignored this ungainly tank initially because its weak gun struggles to penetrate even tier 1 armour but recently I have come back to it as a kind of challenge. I have found some success driving it aggressively close to an enemy and using the rapid fire of the auto-cannon to keep them distracted while the tiny increments of damage add up.

Currently saving up for a Marder II tier 3 Tank Destroyer. This is actually a sideways move from the Russian AT-1 but I the Marder seems to have better gun options than the Russian tier 3 TD plus it is a lot cheaper to buy. Happily I have enough "free experience" accumulated to allow me to bypass the German tier 2 tank destroyer so it shouldn't take too long to get there. This strikes me as a very good use of free XP.
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Comments

Jayedub said…
Hmmm, you have peaked my interest in this game, I may just have to give it a try. I hear it has quite the learning curve, but I do like me some tanks!
3:55 pm
mbp said…
Do try it Jaye - it is a blast. I wouldn't agree that it has a steep learning curve rather I would say the game has a lot of depth. The basic controls are very simple WASD to move, mouse to aim and shoot. Handy extra commands are mouse wheel to zoom in and right click to lock onto a target. You will be up and driving your tank fairly quickly. Of course learning the strategies to stay alive takes a lot longer but you still get experience and earn credits even if you lose so you will advance none the less.

There is no tutorial mode sadly (although there are tutorial videos)so you learn by driving around getting killed. You will be in with lots of other beginners though so no-one complains if you do silly stuff.
4:28 pm
Anonymous said…
Isn't this game fun? My son found this game and asked me to install it. Three weeks later, I am hooked too. Unlike you, I have found my affinity is for artillery pieces. I recommend you watch the sky for HE shells from a T-57, courtesy of Jak_Danels.
7:43 pm
mbp said…
I'll watch out for you Jak. Yes I have already had several rude awakenings as an artillery shell lands on my head and one shots me. I really think that artillery adds a vital element to this game. It makes it much harder to camp in safe spots and it makes scouting all important.
8:19 pm
JThelen said…
I too play WoT and have had a blast with it. I've also dipped into buying gold from them, and really only see the need to buy gold in order to convert experience; for the most part, I just don't think buying tanks with real money is worth it, and that's after buying two of the supposedly better tanks out there(T2 Light Tank and the Ram II Medium Tank). While they're good for generating extra experience and credits, I find that I don't really enjoy the Ram II and there are light tanks I like much better than the T2.

As for the RMT Ammo, the thought of shooting pennies at my opponents fills me with such abject horror that I can't imagine ever buying ammo for Gold.
10:33 pm
Gankalicious said…
The Marder is regarded by many as the best tier III tank in the game. It has amazing penetration, good speed and the a very wide arc of fire. Unfortunately its paper thin... think of it as a Kleenex box on tracks, with a big gun, and you'll do fine :)
11:14 pm
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