World of Tanks

[Abagadro]

Yup. Nailed one as it ran into the cap, then looped around the block three different times to kill the others.

[Tmon]

That said if I'm going to have a vehicle to combine passive scouting and having a gun that might matter I'll experiment with the french lights. AMX13/75 is probably cheaper to repair and more fun than a VK2801.

From what I've read the T-50 is considered fine and the T-50-2 is being replaced by a wheeled scout tank model, but again not for 7.4.

The 13/75 isn't a great passive scout, where I found mine to shine was to have it hang back until things got mixed up then to swoop in and finish off the distracted and wounded.  I'm finding the T49 to be a good passive scout, it's fast enough to get set in a good overwatch position and the td cammo bonus really helps you stay hidden.  It has a decent gun so you can do some damage when you do start firing.  The turret traverse is very slow but it's still fun and cheap to run.  It also avoids the scout matchmaking.

I love my 50-2 and usually run it as a kind of palate cleanser after spending multiple games in stuff that reward a more deliberate style of play.  It's fun to play a tank that not only encourages but rewards running around the map like a coked up spider monkey.

[Ginaz]

Gotta post this considering it was on freaking Himmelsdorf in an arty:

 Battle: Himmelsdorf Thursday, June 14, 2012 6:00:46 PM
Vehicle: M40/M43 Experience received: 4,026 (x2 for the first victory each day)
Credits received: 51,493
Battle Achievements: Mastery Badge: Ace Tanker, Defender, Top Gun

Took out an IS8, IS4, Type 59 and Type 54 in my own cap (from the cap mind you, not from across map). Also bombed a 95 and IS3 on the other side of the map.

I've done that a few times while playing arty.  Not with tier 9's and 10's but I did almost one shot an IS3 with my GWPanther (destroyed him though as he already had some damage) and I've gotten a few tier 5's and 6's with my Hummel.  Its fun as hell.

[WayAbvPar]

I got a Master Class II badge with my M7 Priest (I am TERRIBLE in arties) on Sand River the other night. Abagadro had his big boy arty and I just plinked and harassed multiple Tier VIII- X tanks until I was one-shotted. No kills, but 4 or 5 damages. About the most fun I have had with it in a river of grinding pain.

[Merusk]

Priest is one of the more fun Arties I've owned.

Tho I had slapped the -aim and -load time equipment on to it, so it spat out shells P.D.Q.

[WayAbvPar]

I avoid putting equipment or consumables on anything under a Tier V, with the exception of camo nets on my TDs.  If/when I am an in game 1%er I might add stuff to them. Although you might on the right track, since it is a pretty steep grind to Tier V.

[Ginaz]

That said if I'm going to have a vehicle to combine passive scouting and having a gun that might matter I'll experiment with the french lights. AMX13/75 is probably cheaper to repair and more fun than a VK2801.

From what I've read the T-50 is considered fine and the T-50-2 is being replaced by a wheeled scout tank model, but again not for 7.4.

The 13/75 isn't a great passive scout, where I found mine to shine was to have it hang back until things got mixed up then to swoop in and finish off the distracted and wounded.  I'm finding the T49 to be a good passive scout, it's fast enough to get set in a good overwatch position and the td cammo bonus really helps you stay hidden.  It has a decent gun so you can do some damage when you do start firing.  The turret traverse is very slow but it's still fun and cheap to run.  It also avoids the scout matchmaking.

I love my 50-2 and usually run it as a kind of palate cleanser after spending multiple games in stuff that reward a more deliberate style of play.  It's fun to play a tank that not only encourages but rewards running around the map like a coked up spider monkey.

The French lights aren't really great scouts.  They're fast but I find they don't turn as well or acclerate as fast as the true scout tanks.  The t-50-2 is crazy fast with good turning and decent accleration, the VK accelerates better than any other tank with great speed but mediocre turning while the Chaffee has decent speed and acceleration with excellent turning.  I'm partial to the T-50-2 just because its so much fun zipping around the map with it but the VK packs a bigger punch with the mini derp gun and can take a few more hits.  I've one shotted a few enemy arty with it.  Derp gun on the VK or GTFO.  The Chaffee is mediocre as an arty hunter, imo, so I tend to use it more for spotting and flanking since it has essentially the same gun as the Easy 8 which means it can do some damage to most tanks if it hits the sides or back.

[kildorn]

The french lights are fun combat scouts. I run them with coated optics and vents, and just do my thing a bit ahead of the firing line while providing a crazy view range.

They're not built well for the aggressive 50-2 arty rush or anything, they just happen to provide silly visibility while fighting like the Patton or the BatChat.

[Merusk]

I avoid putting equipment or consumables on anything under a Tier V, with the exception of camo nets on my TDs.  If/when I am an in game 1%er I might add stuff to them. Although you might on the right track, since it is a pretty steep grind to Tier V.

Yeah I ignore the tiers and pay more attention to the grind or if I've elited and am keeping the tank because I enjoy it.  I'll spend the gold to demount the equipment if I ever do sell the tank.

[Kageru]

I got my hands on the AMX 16t, though I was sort of sad to hand back the keys to the AMX 40... the iron duck was a lot more fun than I expected. I like the way this tank plays, you can't do the crazy dodgem car driving of the T-50 but then neither could the Leopard and I imagine the same dynamics would exist with the VK2801 versus the T-50-2. It's a little slow to start off, but turns nicely and the low profile/light tank camo is huge. Sit back with the artillery and give incoming fast scouts a nasty surprise then fast enough to move up to the front lines and either exploit gaps, flank engaged tanks or find a bush a bit ahead of the fight and extend the view range of tanks in it. This is more like how I imagined the leopard would play. And unlike the VK2801 when I get smoked I still make money, especially if I can get some shots off.

I think the frustrating thing about this is game is the matchmaker combined with the armor mechanics. If you can at least land some damaging shots before you run into a lurking TD and buy the farm it's reasonably satisfying. The Leopard had too many "bounce bounce bounce explode" episodes that make you wonder why you bother, especially in PUG games where the heavy tanks all just want to find a nice choke point where they can trade shots with each other.

Hopefully I can get the AMX 13/75 before it gets re-tiered. Should be possible. Then when it gets modified decide whether to focus on the new tank, the AMX 16t or the 13/75

[Nebu]

What has ruined the scouting game for me is that I'm typically tracked on the first shot.  Then I get to just sit there and die while being unable to really do much.  It's just not fun to play a scout against skilled tankers. 

[kildorn]

Accurate guns and good shots pretty much murder scouting in any decent match. Though admittedly, I watch my teammates miss the easiest shots on 50-2s all day long while I reload to finish the buggers.

[Kageru]

Pretty much. The view range, accuracy, power and skill of some of the high tiered tanks means a lot of scouting runs are going to end extremely abruptly. And the T-50-2 also gains here because speed is a preemptive defense rather than the passive scout model of "I'll know if someone can see me when I explode". It also works much better on the cramped maps which have virtually no cover like the city maps.

The getting stuck with a big repair bill because they consider the VK2801 "an end game tank, like the Tier 10's" is just salt on the wound. Plus it's a massive grind to get there anyway.

Accurate guns and good shots pretty much murder scouting in any decent match. Though admittedly, I watch my teammates miss the easiest shots on 50-2s all day long while I reload to finish the buggers.

Having shot at quite a few now I have some sympathy. They're really hard to hit, even more so than their insane speed and handling would suggest.

[Abagadro]

The key to good scouting IMO is knowing how to use the terrain/map to get stuff to pop up on the map while not necessarily exposing yourself to shots.   You can use hills to crest or peak just slightly and the game will treat you as seeing the enemy but you only present a tiny sliver of a target.

[Kageru]

Yeah, that technique does favor a low profile too... there's lots of gullies and small rises that become useful.

I'm pretty much still learning the maps. Some of the new ones, like dragon ridge, just confuse me. As does learning where all the invisible walls are.

[Tmon]

... As does learning where all the invisible walls are.

This
Learning the corners you can and cannot cut are a big part of learning to scout.  There are also rocks and fixed vehicle hulks hidden by bushes on some maps and those can really ruin your day.  When they finally get around to nerfing the t50-2 I'll probably buy another Chaffee, I liked running it more than I did the VK.

[kildorn]

That is one of the perks of using a 13/75 or 13/90 as your scout toy of choice: it doesn't have the repair cost kick in the nuts that the 50-2/chaffee/2801 have. Those fuckers are expensive to run for no logical reason, while a 13/x will pretty much always make a load of cash no matter what happens.

[Kageru]

12t too... getting suddenly popped by a higher tier tank is a lot less irritating when you are not paying for the privilege.

[WayAbvPar]

Speaking of no cash tanks- finally got into the T29 over the weekend. Tank is a beast (especially with the 105 installed), but I make DICK for money in it. If my team loses I am lucky if I don't lose money, and if we win I might make $10-20k if I have a good game. Gonna make me run a lot of Type 59 games to make up for it.

[Nebu]

Speaking of no cash tanks- finally got into the T29 over the weekend. Tank is a beast (especially with the 105 installed), but I make DICK for money in it. If my team loses I am lucky if I don't lose money, and if we win I might make $10-20k if I have a good game. Gonna make me run a lot of Type 59 games to make up for it.

You bought a Type 59 and became a wallet warrior?   

[Kageru]

They're all over the place... had one game with 4 Type-59's on each side. And unlike Churchill's they're a real pain to do damage to.

[Merusk]

It's a damn fun tank and worth every penny if you're regularly playing.

You know as well as I that the only ones who fling "wallet warrior" are kids who can't afford it.   Aesop had a fable about it.

[kildorn]

I dislike types simply because they're a bitch to hurt in some matches (and the shit gun rarely matters against the tanks I drive. If you bounce off a T20's hull it was a shit shot to begin with), nothing really against the idea of buying them. I've actually had a much easier time with them in my T-44 (which I'm growing to sort of like, some days) simply because they have issues dealing with someone who can bounce their shots right back.

The T29 fully upgraded isn't that expensive to run, it's just your first tank in that line where it's expensive to MISS. In a good run I rarely fire more than 10-15 shots due to the slow reload and need for good angles. If I fire 20-30 rounds I will lose a ton of money because I was probably bouncing shit all over the place.

This last week I've been reminding myself that I'm a TERRIBLE arty player. Got through the SU-5 (14 rounds? REALLY?!?), and still suck at using the SU-8 with the stock gun. Dead hit! 3% damage! *grumbles, plays medium instead*

[apocrypha]

And unlike Churchill's they're a real pain to do damage to.

Ammo rack is round the rear right quarter of the turret, a good hit there can 1-shot it. I know because I've been both the giver and the receiver of such a shot  

Actually, here's some pics that show you where to shoot the Type 59 - those lower side areas behind the tracks can really mess up a Type's day!

The mistake a lot of people make is they shoot at the upper front glacis and the front of the turret, and shots bounce like a motherfucker doing that!

[Nebu]

You know as well as I that the only ones who fling "wallet warrior" are kids who can't afford it.   Aesop had a fable about it.

I can afford it and I was just giving WAP a hard time.  He's a good player and likely better with it than I would ever be.  I just get sick of seeing so many of them in the matches I play my tier 7's in. 

[Furiously]

Speaking of no cash tanks- finally got into the T29 over the weekend. Tank is a beast (especially with the 105 installed), but I make DICK for money in it. If my team loses I am lucky if I don't lose money, and if we win I might make $10-20k if I have a good game. Gonna make me run a lot of Type 59 games to make up for it.

You bought a Type 59 and became a wallet warrior?   

Actually I gave him a really late 40th birthday present.

[Merusk]

You know as well as I that the only ones who fling "wallet warrior" are kids who can't afford it.   Aesop had a fable about it.

I can afford it and I was just giving WAP a hard time. 

I know, dude.  I was giving you a hard time about using the kiddie slam when there's so much more we can mock Way for. 

[WayAbvPar]

If you ever play 5 minutes with me you will have no end of material for mocking, I can assure you.

[kildorn]

Well, got my T-44 ace badge for a match where I killed 6, damaged 4 more, and scouted the entire team. Thank you hostile AFK lowe for blocking all your defender's angles on towards the end!

[Sheepherder]

I have an ace badge for the A-20.  I have mixed feelings about that.

[Ginaz]

If you ever play 5 minutes with me you will have no end of material for mocking, I can assure you.

You saw my performance, or lack thereof, tonight in my Churchill.  Not my finest hour.

[Kageru]

Retired my Leopard, the T-50 is just a lot more fun to drive and I've lost interest in the VK2801 that would make me consider grinding 50k+ exp on a tank I don't enjoy.

I'd also never really looked at how ugly it is. The AMX 12t looks sporty, the KV-1 looks like a moving building, the T-50 is a race car and the Leopard looks like a metal box with excessively large wheels on the side and a puny turret plonked on top.

[Merusk]

Yeah the T-50 is pretty sharp looking.  The KV line doesn't look decent until the 3, IMO.   Love the look of the American T-29, myself, which is good because it's taken me 3 months to get up to 80kxp.   Only 20k more to go  . 

Speaking of badges, I got my first Kamakazie one last night.  I'd never known that existed, quite hilarious.

[Ginaz]

The Churchill special was pretty good.  I made 2.5 million credits just using my Churchill.  Averaged around 50k per match with about a dozen or so like these ones.  Still have a losing record with it.

[Ginaz]

Oh, and it looks like 7.4 is set for release tomorrow.

http://worldoftanks.com/news/1365-74-release-and-server-down-time/