World of Tanks (Vol 2)
Discussion
All that jazz said:
You should know by now how WoT works. Each tank line generally goes good tank, bad tank, good tank, bad tank. The reason for this, of course, is that you burn your gold - or XP if you have any - and "free XP" your way straight past it to the next one. It's done deliberately to get you to spend your money. 
Yes, the game is finely balanced and every line has one stinker in it, at the least. I won't skip the Bishop, I'll just keep grinding it. Even with the best gun the damage is still anaemic, at least the Bert can zip around the field playing like a TD that can shoot over objects, the Bishop really can't do that, and using hills to increase the range of the top gun for the Bishop doesn't work either since it's not elevation-limited. I really would like a Bert in the garage though, and if I never go beyond that I won't be too upset. The server downtime message has just gone up for Thursday, meaning when I get home from work on Thursday evening, I can start grinding the Maus line, so I've piled 30,000xp onto my Panzer IV ready to hop right up to the tier 6 as soon as it's uploaded.By the time I'm done with the Maus line, I'll probably have doubled and tripled my way to a Bert, and the French arty will have arrived, those are the high tier SPGs I really want, I'll pick up the tier 5 French prem arty, and I'll keep my Bert and my Sexton for lower tier SPG fun. If the Bert doesn't gel with me, I'll be going back to the Birch gun as that tank is a real gem, and an unexpected one too. The 360 degree turret and super quick aim time offset the puny damage and make it a really good tank.
I saw the most awesome stat padder earlier. They were on my team 3 games in a row, weirdly enough.
Their overall win rate was nearly 61% after 27 thousand games. During which time they'd racked up exactly 1,500 Top Guns; 1,359 of them were with the T18, with which they'd played an incredible 15,370 games and killed over 40 thousand tanks.
They'd also played over 2.7K games in the Su85b and had 62 top guns with that as well.
Their other tanks were played to a more normal level and so was their win rate in them.
I guess they've found their comfort zone.
Their overall win rate was nearly 61% after 27 thousand games. During which time they'd racked up exactly 1,500 Top Guns; 1,359 of them were with the T18, with which they'd played an incredible 15,370 games and killed over 40 thousand tanks.
They'd also played over 2.7K games in the Su85b and had 62 top guns with that as well.
Their other tanks were played to a more normal level and so was their win rate in them.
I guess they've found their comfort zone.
I finally got the top gun in the Strutter Emil last night. Doubt it will make it any more tolerable, also there is no gold ammo option (it can only carry 15 rounds of the 12.8cm ammo anyway), I usually like to keep a couple of rounds in the box just in case something a bit hard comes around the corner.
As has already been said, each line has a stinker in it (some are properly awful others are just rubbish) the Strutter Emil falls into the properly awful with a turd garnish; its only saving grace is the epic gun depression. The French lines seem to have more than their fair share of rubbish though, but that’s possibly to offset the ludicrously overpowered Bat Chat.
As has already been said, each line has a stinker in it (some are properly awful others are just rubbish) the Strutter Emil falls into the properly awful with a turd garnish; its only saving grace is the epic gun depression. The French lines seem to have more than their fair share of rubbish though, but that’s possibly to offset the ludicrously overpowered Bat Chat.
jimmyjimjim said:
Actually, the ability to knock an enormous chunk off an enemy does make a difference. It's still pants, though.
Ohh that is a plus; I have never seen a Tiger II reverse so quickly in my life after I knocked 512hp off him with one shot.My biggest peeves with it are a) it’s so bloody slow and b) the gun traverse is non-existent.
These two things combined mean that entire battles can pass you by as you just have to sit and hope that something comes into that five degree arc. And if you go down a flank and the other team lemming trains down the opposite one you can go from start to finish without firing a shot. Still only 70,000xp to the Rhm-B.
The top gun on it is very good and it does make the rest of the grind less onerous.
For me it's the terrible mobility that makes the Sturer Emil so bad. I can live with the lack of armour if I can move back into cover, but it's too damn slow.
Here's a look at the one Sturer Emil left (of 2 built):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laCf88Sb1d0&in...
At least with the Borsig, the stock gun is the best one in my opinion. To get what is, in all but name, the same gun on the other German tier 8 TDs (Jagdpanther II & Ferdinand) is a 63K XP grind.
For me it's the terrible mobility that makes the Sturer Emil so bad. I can live with the lack of armour if I can move back into cover, but it's too damn slow.
Here's a look at the one Sturer Emil left (of 2 built):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laCf88Sb1d0&in...
At least with the Borsig, the stock gun is the best one in my opinion. To get what is, in all but name, the same gun on the other German tier 8 TDs (Jagdpanther II & Ferdinand) is a 63K XP grind.
Edited by Beati Dogu on Wednesday 19th November 18:13
WG's cack-handed developers appear to have leaked the update announcement message on the game's boot portal by accident, it says that was as well as the Maus line, we're getting some new Soviet TD's which can only mean the SU-100M1 through to the Object 263. I've seen the tier 7, 8 and 9 in videos the tier 9 and 10 interest me but the 7 and 8 look crap. If indeed this line does drop, it will go on the "maybe" pile.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
Some quick thoughts on the SPGs I've been playing these past few days.
Sexton I (premium): This sits in a difficult place for an arty, at tier 3 it sees too many games against low tiers. Low tier, new players have the arty-safe advantage of often not playing predictably, buzzing around the map like flies looking for something to shoot. The gun is too slow aiming and inaccurate to really tackle low tier tanks well, and too low on damage to work higher tier tanks hard. I was hitting a Ram II at the 900m range on El Halluf, I hit him 6 times and he was still going. I did find success against a KV-1 by tracking him with an HE, then loading a premium round and penetrating reliably with those - they need to be bang on though as there is no splash on them.
Bishop: I was dreading this, but you know what, it's not a bad SPG, it needs it's own skill set though, it can't position like an FV304, even when fully upgraded. What it does have, is an accurate, fast aiming gun that can turn a T29 into a stricken hulk with repeated shots, blowing out tracks, view finders, guns etc, allowing the team to attack them. It also has good one shot potential against lower tier lights / mediums and open top TDs. As it only has 500m range, despite a low shell velocity it still lands it's shot quickly after firing. I won't miss it when I get the Bert, but it's not the s
theap it felt like when I first played it. The gun, track and engine upgrades have made a massive, massive difference though.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
Some quick thoughts on the SPGs I've been playing these past few days.
Sexton I (premium): This sits in a difficult place for an arty, at tier 3 it sees too many games against low tiers. Low tier, new players have the arty-safe advantage of often not playing predictably, buzzing around the map like flies looking for something to shoot. The gun is too slow aiming and inaccurate to really tackle low tier tanks well, and too low on damage to work higher tier tanks hard. I was hitting a Ram II at the 900m range on El Halluf, I hit him 6 times and he was still going. I did find success against a KV-1 by tracking him with an HE, then loading a premium round and penetrating reliably with those - they need to be bang on though as there is no splash on them.
Bishop: I was dreading this, but you know what, it's not a bad SPG, it needs it's own skill set though, it can't position like an FV304, even when fully upgraded. What it does have, is an accurate, fast aiming gun that can turn a T29 into a stricken hulk with repeated shots, blowing out tracks, view finders, guns etc, allowing the team to attack them. It also has good one shot potential against lower tier lights / mediums and open top TDs. As it only has 500m range, despite a low shell velocity it still lands it's shot quickly after firing. I won't miss it when I get the Bert, but it's not the s
theap it felt like when I first played it. The gun, track and engine upgrades have made a massive, massive difference though. Edited by Mastodon2 on Wednesday 19th November 23:07
Mastodon2 said:
WG's cack-handed developers appear to have leaked the update announcement message on the game's boot portal by accident, it says that was as well as the Maus line, we're getting some new Soviet TD's which can only mean the SU-100M1 through to the Object 263. I've seen the tier 7, 8 and 9 in videos the tier 9 and 10 interest me but the 7 and 8 look crap. If indeed this line does drop, it will go on the "maybe" pile.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
The 268 line is the better line in my experience. The tier 7 su100m1 and tier 8 su101 in the 263 line are tough to play well - they have decent mobility, and pretty high dpm but allied to poor penetration for TD's, horrific gun arcs (think sturer emil..) and next to no gun depression. The armour is very hit and miss too. It's not that they are bad, they can be very deadly, but they need a lot of practice to get right. The su152 line by comparison is pretty much just jump in and derp things in the face right from the get go - much easier. I paused the 263 line after eliting the tier 8, the signs are that the tier 9 is going to be better but still gimped by gun depression issues. The tier 10 too, although at least it has pretty tough armour.Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
Yeah, the tier 7 and 8 don't get much love, but I thought they were pretty good actually. They're small, mobile and quite bouncy frontally. Decent guns too.
The tier 7 gets the LB-1 gun from the tier 8 T-44 tank, with a better reload and gun handling.
The tier 8 gets the (high pen) D-54 gun from the tier 9 T-54, also with a better reload and gun handling.
I have the tier 9 SU-122-54 and despite a recent gun reload buff, it's still quite disappointing. In fact I really don't like playing it at all. The top gun is the same as the IS-8/IS-4/ST-I. Until you get that, you can use the D-54 from the previous TD.
The lack of gun depression is the same on the previous ones, but the front armour is not very good against the tanks it has to face and the top gun just wants to inflict critical hits all the time. At least it seems to troll the hell out of me. To be honest I think I did better with the D-54 gun.
All those factors combined just make it a struggle to play in my experience. Give me the Object 704 any day.
The tier 7 gets the LB-1 gun from the tier 8 T-44 tank, with a better reload and gun handling.
The tier 8 gets the (high pen) D-54 gun from the tier 9 T-54, also with a better reload and gun handling.
I have the tier 9 SU-122-54 and despite a recent gun reload buff, it's still quite disappointing. In fact I really don't like playing it at all. The top gun is the same as the IS-8/IS-4/ST-I. Until you get that, you can use the D-54 from the previous TD.
The lack of gun depression is the same on the previous ones, but the front armour is not very good against the tanks it has to face and the top gun just wants to inflict critical hits all the time. At least it seems to troll the hell out of me. To be honest I think I did better with the D-54 gun.
All those factors combined just make it a struggle to play in my experience. Give me the Object 704 any day.
Ah its a pity to hear that about the tier 9, but not massively surprising. I know some of the streamers had not been keen on it either, so I'll probably leave it longer for now - at least until there is a hefty sale.
In a weird way I kind of enjoyed the challenge of playing the tier 7 and 8 in this line, which is probably how they should be viewed - Fun if you want a challenge.
On a different note I've been playing the T150 almost exclusively of late trying to get to 3 marks of excellence, got to 89.5% (need to get to 95%) so far but it's actually a surprisingly fun tank to play. Don't know if the line continues in the same vein, but focussing just on the one tank really makes it easier to play. Makes me wonder if just having a few select tanks in the garage isn't the best way forward...
In a weird way I kind of enjoyed the challenge of playing the tier 7 and 8 in this line, which is probably how they should be viewed - Fun if you want a challenge.
On a different note I've been playing the T150 almost exclusively of late trying to get to 3 marks of excellence, got to 89.5% (need to get to 95%) so far but it's actually a surprisingly fun tank to play. Don't know if the line continues in the same vein, but focussing just on the one tank really makes it easier to play. Makes me wonder if just having a few select tanks in the garage isn't the best way forward...
bstb3 said:
On a different note I've been playing the T150 almost exclusively of late trying to get to 3 marks of excellence, got to 89.5% (need to get to 95%) so far but it's actually a surprisingly fun tank to play. Don't know if the line continues in the same vein, but focussing just on the one tank really makes it easier to play. Makes me wonder if just having a few select tanks in the garage isn't the best way forward...
Good stuff, I'm looking forwards to the marks of excellence system on the 360.I've just downloaded the new update, a bunch of Russian TDs that are pretty bloody far down my list of tanks I want to play, and 2 new Russian mediums, the MT-25 and the KV-13. The MT-25 looks like a brutal tank to start with, it's a tier 6 tank that must grind out it's first 8700 with a tier 2 gun! Needless to say I won't be rushing to those.
I've started on the VK30.01P, which is a dreadful tank. A medium that seems to turn slower than a T-25, with a selection of underwhelming guns, non-existent armour and to top it off, it's absolutely huge. Bring on the Tiger P!
bstb3 said:
Ah its a pity to hear that about the tier 9, but not massively surprising. I know some of the streamers had not been keen on it either, so I'll probably leave it longer for now - at least until there is a hefty sale.
In a weird way I kind of enjoyed the challenge of playing the tier 7 and 8 in this line, which is probably how they should be viewed - Fun if you want a challenge.
On a different note I've been playing the T150 almost exclusively of late trying to get to 3 marks of excellence, got to 89.5% (need to get to 95%) so far but it's actually a surprisingly fun tank to play. Don't know if the line continues in the same vein, but focussing just on the one tank really makes it easier to play. Makes me wonder if just having a few select tanks in the garage isn't the best way forward...
Here's a Su-122-54 game I've just had.In a weird way I kind of enjoyed the challenge of playing the tier 7 and 8 in this line, which is probably how they should be viewed - Fun if you want a challenge.
On a different note I've been playing the T150 almost exclusively of late trying to get to 3 marks of excellence, got to 89.5% (need to get to 95%) so far but it's actually a surprisingly fun tank to play. Don't know if the line continues in the same vein, but focussing just on the one tank really makes it easier to play. Makes me wonder if just having a few select tanks in the garage isn't the best way forward...
http://wotreplays.com/site/1352604?secret=594d1c81...
The gun was behaving itself and I was able to pull off a few marginal shots, including into the enemy Foch who was their best player. Then I ran into a fully loaded AMX 50 100 and nobody wants to do that. My graphics driver crashed near the end, so I had to upload the replay to see the result anyway. The T-49 player did a nice job cleaning up with his big derp gun.
The T150 was OK, but the aim time is horrible & it's inaccurate too. I much preferred the KV-3 at tier 7. It's tough as nails and has the 122mm gun from the IS to hand out the pain. Both of them are utterly horrible stock and I'd recommend anyone to use free XP to fully unlock them before ever playing them.
The KV-4 isn't great stock either, but fully upgraded it's one tough cookie and more than a match for an IS-3. I've sold it now, but haven't bought the ST-I yet. I already have the top gun for it though (thanks to the IS-8).
Beati Dogu said:
The T150 was OK, but the aim time is horrible & it's inaccurate too. I much preferred the KV-3 at tier 7. It's tough as nails and has the 122mm gun from the IS to hand out the pain. Both of them are utterly horrible stock and I'd recommend anyone to use free XP to fully unlock them before ever playing them.
I HAD to free xp the tracks and engine just for the KV-3 to be able to move from the start point.Mastodon2 said:
WG's cack-handed developers appear to have leaked the update announcement message on the game's boot portal by accident, it says that was as well as the Maus line, we're getting some new Soviet TD's which can only mean the SU-100M1 through to the Object 263. I've seen the tier 7, 8 and 9 in videos the tier 9 and 10 interest me but the 7 and 8 look crap. If indeed this line does drop, it will go on the "maybe" pile.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
Some quick thoughts on the SPGs I've been playing these past few days.
Sexton I (premium): This sits in a difficult place for an arty, at tier 3 it sees too many games against low tiers. Low tier, new players have the arty-safe advantage of often not playing predictably, buzzing around the map like flies looking for something to shoot. The gun is too slow aiming and inaccurate to really tackle low tier tanks well, and too low on damage to work higher tier tanks hard. I was hitting a Ram II at the 900m range on El Halluf, I hit him 6 times and he was still going. I did find success against a KV-1 by tracking him with an HE, then loading a premium round and penetrating reliably with those - they need to be bang on though as there is no splash on them.
Bishop: I was dreading this, but you know what, it's not a bad SPG, it needs it's own skill set though, it can't position like an FV304, even when fully upgraded. What it does have, is an accurate, fast aiming gun that can turn a T29 into a stricken hulk with repeated shots, blowing out tracks, view finders, guns etc, allowing the team to attack them. It also has good one shot potential against lower tier lights / mediums and open top TDs. As it only has 500m range, despite a low shell velocity it still lands it's shot quickly after firing. I won't miss it when I get the Bert, but it's not the stheap it felt like when I first played it. The gun, track and engine upgrades have made a massive, massive difference though.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
Some quick thoughts on the SPGs I've been playing these past few days.
Sexton I (premium): This sits in a difficult place for an arty, at tier 3 it sees too many games against low tiers. Low tier, new players have the arty-safe advantage of often not playing predictably, buzzing around the map like flies looking for something to shoot. The gun is too slow aiming and inaccurate to really tackle low tier tanks well, and too low on damage to work higher tier tanks hard. I was hitting a Ram II at the 900m range on El Halluf, I hit him 6 times and he was still going. I did find success against a KV-1 by tracking him with an HE, then loading a premium round and penetrating reliably with those - they need to be bang on though as there is no splash on them.
Bishop: I was dreading this, but you know what, it's not a bad SPG, it needs it's own skill set though, it can't position like an FV304, even when fully upgraded. What it does have, is an accurate, fast aiming gun that can turn a T29 into a stricken hulk with repeated shots, blowing out tracks, view finders, guns etc, allowing the team to attack them. It also has good one shot potential against lower tier lights / mediums and open top TDs. As it only has 500m range, despite a low shell velocity it still lands it's shot quickly after firing. I won't miss it when I get the Bert, but it's not the s
theap it felt like when I first played it. The gun, track and engine upgrades have made a massive, massive difference though. 
Arty scumbag!!!!!! GET OUT >>>>>>> 
bstb3 said:
Mastodon2 said:
WG's cack-handed developers appear to have leaked the update announcement message on the game's boot portal by accident, it says that was as well as the Maus line, we're getting some new Soviet TD's which can only mean the SU-100M1 through to the Object 263. I've seen the tier 7, 8 and 9 in videos the tier 9 and 10 interest me but the 7 and 8 look crap. If indeed this line does drop, it will go on the "maybe" pile.
Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
The 268 line is the better line in my experience. The tier 7 su100m1 and tier 8 su101 in the 263 line are tough to play well - they have decent mobility, and pretty high dpm but allied to poor penetration for TD's, horrific gun arcs (think sturer emil..) and next to no gun depression. The armour is very hit and miss too. It's not that they are bad, they can be very deadly, but they need a lot of practice to get right. The su152 line by comparison is pretty much just jump in and derp things in the face right from the get go - much easier. I paused the 263 line after eliting the tier 8, the signs are that the tier 9 is going to be better but still gimped by gun depression issues. The tier 10 too, although at least it has pretty tough armour.Has anyone played this line much? I don't see them in many replays, tbh I think the Object 268 line are probably stronger tanks at every tier, unless the 263 line has some hidden talents.
. True it has no armour anywhere else so you MUST keep your front to everything which is not much different to any other TD. I play the SU85B as my primary tank so know all about no gun depression, zero gun elevation and no gun arc, so none of this poses an issue for me when playing the 263. You don't see many about because of the M1 and 101 grind but that's nowhere near as painful as people make it out to be.Gassing Station | Video Games | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff