I've just finished a 6 hour stint of playing World of Tanks today.

It's a free (or microtransaction) Tank battle game.

Unlike so many other sim's lately it JUST WORKS. No mucking about. Reliable. Great fun!

After beating my head on Cliffs of Dover and DCS:A-10 it's just great to be able to sit down and have fun without any hassle.

What is this "World of Tanks."

I have never, ever heard of it before.

Do you have more information on this "game"?

Yep, here you are:
http://www.simhq.com/_land3/land_121a.html

As a game it's not great, but it is addictive. The tier system should provide for balanced gameplay between vehicles in the same tier but usually the match-make clumps together any vehicles it can find so long as they're 3 tiers above you. The goal-posts continually change, get a PZIII and it'll put you in with Tigers, get a PZ IV and it'll put you in with IS-3's. The system works a bit like a casino, it keeps you playing and the house doesn't lose. It took me about a weekend before I realised I was playing "Dress-up Barbie: History Channel edition" purely for the sake of dressing up.

If you really want to enjoy the game for the gameplay then I'd suggest getting an MS-1, teching it up and staying at tier 1 where there is atleast some balance.

But it's free so shouldn't complain !

Cheers

I think the behaviour you talk about above occurs when there's not enough people playing and the game has to match who is available for that battle.

A buddy and I played together for those 6 hours and the balance was almost perfect - usually within 1 of each type (ie 3 vs 4 artillery etc).

I am working to having tanks in a couple of different tiers. Trying to stick to the German tanks at the moment.

Like I say, when you're rolling around in loltraktors you're fine. It's when you get up to tiers 4,5 and 6 that you get the imbalance.

EDIT: Here's the kind of imbalance I'm talking about.

Putting a PZ III in against tanks 4 tiers higher is just ridiculous. Moving through tiers 3, 4 and 5 can be a real grind, in many battles you're actually better off just hiding and hoping your team wins.


And maybe you aren't so safe in the tier one tanks. Last battle I played there were 2 tier 1 tanks added into the battle. Thankfully for them we took pitty and formed a defensive ring around them else they wouldn't have lasted long.



Cheers

it's true, the matchmaker hates you.

without paying for a premium account, grinding to a higher tiered tank is slow and painful. I am lucky because I got to spend seven months playing the beta before the full release. during the beta I went crazy playing as many different tanks as I could before the full release wiped all my efforts away. So when full release rolled around, I knew exactly what tech tree branch to focus on in order to get those higher tier tanks.

if you're playing F2P like me and want to get into a higher tier tank, the trick is to discover ASAP what kind of tank you enjoy playing with the most and then focusing on that tech tree branch without exception. I'm not saying play with just one tank, but make one your main focus and never lose that focus or else you'll be puttering around in low tier tanks forever.

join a clan or get to be friends with someone that has premium so you can form platoons and play together. like most MMOGs, effective coordination and communication is going to see your team come out on top more often than not. playing solo is going to really draw the grind out even longer than necessary.

wish I had better advice for getting into a high tier tank, because part of the fun is figuring out what kind of tank(s) you like to drive. but the entire time you're finding out which type of tank floats your armored boat, it's all time wasted that could have been spent focusing on that one tech tree branch. you can research nearly every tier two tank for a nation after a couple of GOOD wins in the crapboxes. then it is a matter of saving up credits to purchase those tanks, driving them around for a few battles and discovering what really fits your play style. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to start focusing on a single branch ASAP. Especially for F2P players and people that WANT to drive higher tier tanks.

personally, I focus on the American heavies. that means I save every single free xp point for that branch's modules (spend free xp for modules only, NOT for researching tanks), and every credit I save is for the next American heavy. I researched the tier eight heavy a couple of days ago and I'd be driving it now if I didn't get side tracked by grinding out the Russian's tier six heavy (for free garage slots..free stuff is cool).

So yeah, you can drive a high tier tank with a F2P account. it may take you over a month like it did for me, but it is possible.

oh, another suggestion I have is to get a "money maker" tank for when you need credits. arty is a good money maker, but I don't like playing arty so I use the Easy 8 Sherman as my money maker. these money maker tanks are even more important as you get into the higher tiers, because the high tier tanks will NOT pay for themselves if you have a bad run of luck with many losses in a row. all premium tanks are money makers.

Was playing till my system went south on me.
Might be a blessing in disguise since I was stuck in the M3 Lee and that tank with no premium is a long painfull grind.
I played the beta since September so I knew the shortcomings of the game and I won't play Russian so I was going US heavy but I'm not sure I'm going to bother going back once I get my gaming rig back up and running.
It was starting to get boring due to slow progress and lack of content.

WoT just got an update, two new maps and the old ones got a really nice make-over. The graphics are really crisp now. I'm not too sure about the balance and matchmaking yet.

I'm currently going up the german research path, with focus on TDs, arty secondary, and tanks "for fun". Any advice appreciated.

And if someone can point me to a tank platoon/clan/group that plays on UK time, that would be awesome.

I don't know. I applied for the beta or what ever it was several times over the last few months and never recieved the email I was supposed to receive to activate. I gave up. yes, I checked my spam filter.

The game is out of beta now so you can download it and play it without the email confirmation.

On tiers 4-5 and 6 right now - still not seeing an imbalance.

Maybe it's the time of day etc.

Are you playing on the North American servers?

It's more like you're being ridiculous thinking your PZ III can take on the heavy tanks.

Did you not read the game manual? You in your Panzer III are supposed to avoid combat with the heavies. It's like complaining that a foot solder in Arma with a submachine gun isn't able to take out an Abrams and blaming it on the game rather than the inherent ridiculousness of taking on an Abrams with an MP5.

This imbalance you think is a flaw is a gameplay mechanism and one of its strengths - forcing you to play smart - or die.

In your situation above I'd try to spot the enemy for my artillery, or avoid combat and try to slip around the heavies and go deep looking for the enemy's artillery and take them out to help my team.

Have you ever seen how people handle the imbalance? 9 times out of 10 they suicide charge their A-20/PZ3 straight into the enemy formation purely to 'spot' targets for the purposes of harvesting XP. Why do they do that? Because there's literally no opponent on the server they have any chance of fighting.

A PZ III has a speed advantage over a KV, ok. A Hetzer can mount a half decent gun, fine. But a Cunningham has absolutely no advantages whatesoever over a PZ IV so why should it be placed into the same game? There's no playing in that match up. Only dying.

It's not about playing smart, it's all about encouraging people to skip their way up the ladder by purchasing gold. That's the choice of the developers and they're free to do whatever the heck they like. I chose to work my way up the ranks and I now rock a F2P Tiger so I have no problems.

Cheers

But it still makes me wonder, if they couldn't make something that simple work, what else will be FUBAR. I will try it again anyways because I'm just a an armor nut...

This is what Im talking about:

I tried to register during the beta phase, several times, and never received confirmation. Now I appear to be caught in a loop in the process: I am trying to register (pressing the big play button on the home page) and the app indicates that my email address is already a registered user. When I try the password recovery it indicates that my email address is not a registered user. I also tried account recovery but that also does not recognize me and will not take the help request.
Just to be sure I went through the process a few times with the same results.

I put in a help ticket...

I'm also downloading the games and see if I can just play without the email confirmation and Wolf suggested. If it want raining so hard, Id ditch this and go fishing!

Wow, while I was typing the last post I received an auto-response email and a second email indicating someone had fixed the problem.
I'm impressed

you did go fishing, and you cought a big one.

About the matchmaking system:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/10168-match-making-system/page__p__553302#entry553302

Ok, so it's the game's fault people are stupid?

I work with two friends, one uses a light tank and operates a little forward to help with spotting, I support him as a heavy tank while a buddy supports me further back in his TD.

It is ALL about playing smart. Sure you can go and do something stupid (and die, like the A-20 rushers) but that's not a problem with matchmaking or the sim in any way, it's a problem with people being too stupid to figure out how they're supposed to be playing (ie - in this case being a spotter for artillery and absolutely avoiding combat until they know where the heavies are and can go pick on the enemy artillery).

Even in pub games - where I play a light tank as much as I play any other - I don't whine about how imbalanced the game is because the enemy have heavy tanks or rail at the developers - I appreciate that I am being given a tactical challenge that I am going to have to think about to overcome. If I am successful - great - if not I'll be in another battle in 45 seconds tops.

Thanks for posting that. Proves there's some serious bugs in the match making system as I've seen tanks from tiers far outside the scope of the chart's potential range being put in against each other.

I doubt they'll fix the balance any time soon, it's just too much of a money maker to mess with.

Cheers

A friend posted about E3 on their Facebook page and they've got Tanks outside promoting WoT.

Elf

Not only that, they have announced

World of Warplanes

http://game.worldoftanks.com/news/general_news/wargamingnet_expands_world

Anybody here part of a team or I guess the term is "clan"?

I'm tired of being a run and gun solo son.

I'm fairly low maintenance and having been a mech infantry platoon leader, served in a Mech Infantry Division (though as an SF officer ;-).....only on the staff.....the Army did teach me a thing or two about combined arms and armor tactics (22 years active duty and then retirement a few years ago)

I'd like to apply the concept of "mutual support" and "bounding over watch"...etc......

Can't do this solo

Suggestions?

SB

I decided to join up and get in the fun last night but I have an 'issue'.
As soon as the round starts all the tanks 'dissappear' and all I can see is their shadow.
During the count-down to the start of the round I can see them no problem.
This isn't a feature surely?

You got something wrong there Chucky,

I've not had any technical issues save a very rare warp phenomena, normally as I was going to lay my gun on someone's flank. Upon start you should see everyone on your side and be able to scan (by mouse look) around at everyone, while your vehicle remains frozen in place waiting for the 30 second countdown to complete.

SB

I have had graphic similar issues Chucky - I think a DirectX and driver update fixed me.

Good Luck.

Thanks guys,I will try a few fixes tonight.

I must say I felt very inadequate put-putting around in my 'Leichttractor'

Those little Loltractors are fun, though!

I've brute forced my way through several tech trees in order to escape the low end entry crawlers (tier 1) --- they are just tooooo sloooww for real armored warfare.

That said, I've spent a good deal of money buying gold for premium access so that I could get 50% experience bonuses for all my hours spent so far. I don't profess to know "they system" well, there are FAQ's in terms of researching and choosing your tree branches wisely ...

Me....I'm just racing down several branches simultaneously and have not escaped the light category of AFV in any class yet excepting Russian TD's (I would estimate I have played about 24 hours so far)......you will find that every time you jump a vehicle in terms of an upgrade that it really is like taking a step backwards --- as the stock vehicle in the next class is always underpowered, under-gunned, etc, etc....compared to the heavily modded and improved tier you just left behind in order to get your new ride.

Last night when I was on there was something like 7,000 users on in North America....the developers have apparently mimicked the MMOG economies in terms of upgrade paths for cash......and it seems to be working....I expect if they plow profits back into this game that it will get better and better with more maps and perhaps vehicle trees absent at the moment

SB

I decided to buy myself some power,unfortunately I chose poorly.There goes 1500 Gold down the pan.

The Churchill is slow and can't fire HE rounds so to try to keep it competitive I have to purchase premium rounds for gold and it's getting expensive.

I have to lol when I join some games and look around at my fellow players before the round start.My Churchill looks like a toy compared to others.

I now have half my Clan hooked on this game

ALmost done with the grind in the VK3002(DB), and the Panther is within reach. I just need the credits for it now, heh. COsts a whopping 1.99mill(!)

I was playing for quite a while; but soon got bored of paying for tanks/upgrades just to get owned in the next battle by tanks at a higher tier. Plus, the lack of teamwork doesn't help either when most people just rush to their deaths trying to get a few extra credits for an upgrade; leaving the people who actually want to stay alive to fend for themselves.

This is a problem. But then again it's no different for a lot of on-line games unfortunately.

Forming a platoon with friends/clan mates seems the only way to overcome this.

I've been playing this game everyday for... the past month or so. Here are a few things I've learned:

1. If you're spending real money on this, splurge and buy a Lowe. It's a German heavy. Best sniping gun in the game, but slow as heck. Makes a #%&*$#-load of credits though. I remember looking at upgrades costing 500,000 creds and thinking "how could anyone afford that?" My Lowe makes me 20-30K in profits on a good battle (and I'm not playing with a premium account so I don't get the 50% bonus XP and credits), so 500,000 is just a couple of easy fights away.
2. Playing with a platoon or a clan increases the fun factor a lot. Sure, you may still be doomed by the matchmaker but it's fun doing battles and coordinating with other players, not mindlessly flailing about the battlefield.
3. Know your role. You may be in a heavy tank but that heavy might be better suited to sniping than being a front-line tank.
4. Look at the other guys. Sometimes you may luck on a game wherein other players know what they are doing, leap-frog advancing towards the enemy. Go and give them support.
5. Have fun. You will not always win, you will not always be alive at the end of the battle. Make your presence count and make your contribution to the team.

If you are spending lots of gold on rounds you are doings something wrong. Better to spend it on upgraded crew to 100 percent (particularly the loader). Then equip with an autoram. The 57mm suddenly becomes almost as quick to reload as an autocannon, and if you get in flank attacks can quickly reduced even heavy tanks to rubble.

Dont get in close. Standoff near cover, get on the flank, and pump rounds in as quick as possible. With a good crew, I find the Churchill a very good tank indeed. I very rarely use gold rounds for it.

Thanks Stuart,I no longer buy the premium rounds.I'm not really sure they were much better anyway.
Working on the crews now.

I sold the Churchill now but I miss it

No need for premium rounds in this game. Not unless you're doing clan wars anyway, wherein every advantage counts.

Aim for the spot between the left and right tracks, that's usually the "soft spot" for tanks, where the front armor meets the bottom armor/plate.

The platoon system only allows 3 players??

Plus,if you want to create a clan you need 15 players with tier 5 tanks.

I hope they address this in a future update.

Creating a Clan only requires one person with a premier account and spending X gold.

To join in Clan wars you need 15 members, yes.

The EU SimHQ clan has... 3

I just got into this, great on-line game! Working on the Russian tanks, upgrading as best I can, without spending any actual cash.

Yep, 3 players only for a platoon. Still beats going solo. If you want to clan-war, you need at least half of your guys on tier 9 tanks, else you don't stand a chance.

I used to be part of the SimHQ group but only a few members and not online too often so switched.

the engagement range in this game is a joke. get a larger environment. real ballistics(not some auto range adjust bs) and this might just be fun. in it's current state, it's more like tank quake.

Are you saying the engagement range is short? Have you tried playing on the El Halluf map? That is a big open environment. Most of the time though, it's the terrain that gets in the way.

Having said that, there are lots of complaints regarding line-of-sight and camo issues in the game. And you'll notice your tank only has a certain "sight range," meaning if it's further out than that, you will not see the opposing tank.

This is almost the 'perfect game' for me.It's simple to play,not requiring too much skill.Perfect for when I've had enough of the 'realism' of SB Pro et al.
It is fun,although a bit of a slog through the research trees.
Playing with clan-mates is a right laugh via a platoon using TS.

I have played it non-stop for the last 3 nights,starting at 7 and ending up going to bed after midnight.I see tanks in my sleep.
When I watch youtube movies on WoT I try to change my view with the mouse.I need a break.

I only have issue with the cammo system... Once I've spotted a tank, it should not just dissappear once it goes behind a tree, or bushes or something and sits for a while. I should still be able to spot it! I've seen enemy tanks by the flag from a distance, then they just sit there and they disappear on me until someone else spots them or they move... I understand they are trying to model the limited viewing from inside the tank, with an outside view system that exists in the game, but there are real issues with how it's done.

I think the logic is that someone else on your team sees the tank and radios its location back to you. If YOU spotted the tank and it moves behind cover, you "know" it is there for only a short time. If you do not "see" it again due to cover, it "disappears" because you do not know if it is still there or not.

For instance, you are at the very back of the map and an enemy is at the very front. One of your team mates goes to scout. If either/both of you got a good radio, he will be able to "radio back" to you the target enemy's position. If not, he will see it but not you. Thus it is important for scouts to have good radios.

Your view is not different in or out of the tank, meaning you will not see targets further if you opt for the external view. What affects view range is your crew skill, tank mods (binocs or optics), and any intervening terrain (bush, building, rock).

I think you are right. And I agree with Chucky in that this game represents to date a near perfect synthesis of game play and simulation with it being infinitely repeatable due to all the variables in play not the least of which is human skill and team tactics. Last night I entered a Standard Match where one of my team mates immediately complained over the lack of balance in the Matching system (the enemy had a bunch of Tier VII tanks vs our side which was dominated by Tier IV and V). Less than 7 minutes later the game was over and the middle weights (our side) had won eliminating all the opponents tanks while losing only 2 on our side.

I have seen this happen often enough to know that it is not unusual and highlights the concepts of "momentum" and team work in achieving a rapid rollup of a slow to respond opponent who may be technically superior.

I think the game does a remarkably good job with all the variables in play to allow one to enter a game and play with minimum overhead (learning, tweaking, configuring) while it has enough depth and complexity to keep you coming back for more.

Balancing is an issue for some players - they will look at the teams and say "I'm matched against a **** tank several tiers higher".

The devs have explained that the balancing takes into account the "weight" of every tank in a team. Several factors are considered in this figure, not just it's physical weight!

I enjoy the variety in the teams. No complaints here.

Vitesse is right. "Bigger" tanks are not necessarily "better." Having said that, the matchmaking sometimes has some odd moments...

This game is very easy to get into, all you need is the standard keyboard and mouse. Drive, point, shoot. As to actually winning... the tactics, coordination, and luck involved makes it very addicting.

I've stopped playing ALL other games that I own and have been playing WoT probably too much!

It's a great game, with enough sim in it to satisfy my tactical thinking requirements.

Friday night, beer and friends on teamspeak has been the best gaming I've had in a long long time. I wish all developers cared enough to do such a good job.

same - and the challenge! It's satisfying to be in my little PzIII light tank, avoiding the big guns and performing recon for the arty on my side and threatening the arty on theirs when I've gotten sick of plinking heavies at long range in my TD with an 88 or manoeuvering for flank attacks in my VK.

I'm about 10K short of the experience to get a Tiger. Can't wait.

The grind is excessively tedious if you don't have a premium account. To be honest, I've hit a plateau with this game. I still play to get my daily double XP and sometimes have a few hours of fun playing, but if it weren't for my clan, I would barely play this game. Co-ordinating with team mates makes this game so much more fun!

Yes the premium account is absolutely essential to cut the grind

As is buying the Lowe and using it to rack up transferable experience to help buy your way thru the vehicle trees (I'm finally at the tier 5/6 level with heavy, medium tanks and tank destroyers --- have no interest in artillery)

I've not played within a clan yet....so I am adapting to the roulette matchmaker....you really never know what you are going to get in terms of potential team play and experience. I've been stupefied by seeming utter incompetence and lack of situational awareness and initiative among team mates in some games while on the other hand conversely impressed by what appear to be spontaneous acts of coordination and brilliant examples of mass and maneuver to completely roll up an opposing side within 5 minutes while taking only two losses for the team

In short --- the game is tremendously re-playable and versatile in which you really never know what is going to happen from game to game regardless of what vehicle tier you enter.

I have spent more time playing this game in one month I think than the many years of playing IL2 --- and the best part --- I'm actually playing and not spending endless hours (weeks/months) under the hood configuring the game and my system in order to work around bugs or problems in the design of the game itself.

Ah yes, the game is beautiful in many ways - simple to get into (only need a mouse and keyboard, gasp!!!), beautiful graphics, detailed tanks, addicting gameplay...

I do not want to buy a premium account since I will then be pressured to play and play and play to get the most out of my money --- WoT is at the moment just a "daily thing" getting daily doubles every day after that, no pressure to keep on playing so I can go play other games or sim or spend time with the kids... Converting XP to free XP is just too expensive as well, so I'm just grinding my Lowe crew and getting them specialized.

I do agree about some great spontaneous coordination and winning battles. Usually 30 seconds into the battle I can tell if my team has a chance of winning. Pity the "n00b rush" occurs a lot and the whining in-game chat is hilarous sometimes. Thus I joined a clan to have more "coordinated battle" experience than a random roulette.

Well, no kids and no wife means a little more spare time and disposable income.

But the beauty of the game is that you can find (relatively) the same game dynamics at lower tiers that you can at upper. I find the low tier fights much more fluid due to the speed of the lighter armor.

One thing I have found which is hilarious is I have been in a few high tier fights with the Lowe in which a T1 Cunningham appeared either on my side or the other side and I had to laugh and think WTF? All he could do was run around and scratch the paint of nearly every other vehicle in the fight. I remember one such occasion I was in the Lowe and spun my turret in response to getting hit indicators coming from my left rear and saw a little PZII with 20mm parked right up against me (and under my 105 --- which BTW I have learned to game the game --- you can have two tanks butted right up to each other and if the barrel points through the hit box of the other tank it won't register a hit when you "fire thru them" --- so this is a bug) Anyway that little knucklehead poked away at me till I went to back over the top of him since --- I could not shoot him....then he ran away into the weeds like a little mouse!

The bug with the guns is there because in the closed beta players complained that shots originated inside the turret so that two touching tanks with muzzles pointing into thin air could still hit each other.

What needs to happen is collision detection with the barrel!

One-shotting a low tier tank is brutal but fun.

Cheers!

You're right....collision detection on the barrels would change things significantly --- I'm not sure if the tradeoff is worth it though.....since every tank is controlled by one person whereas in reality there is a crew who could be "exposed" or at least their heads outside the hatches and thus creating more situational awareness (now simulated to a degree with the 3rd person perspective and gun running through walls and things as you move along those very same objects)

I've read somewhere that they are playing with a new version with more physics involved (driving off of cliffs allowed or rolling tanks when driving parallel with a steep incline). So they may have some fix for the barrel problem in the works. Right now it is a bug though that introduces some real silly ramming and death dances.....which can be amusing...or stupid depending upon if it is happening to you and you are not in a charitable mood

New patch! American TDs are in.

http://game.worldoftanks.eu/news/general_news/kursk_operation

The Battle of Kursk that took place on the Eastern Front in July and August 1943 was a severe period during World War II for both, German and Soviet forces. The Battle of Kursk is a name of a whole range of combat operations including the Battle of Prokhorovka. Being a significant tank battle the Battle of Kursk couldn’t but be noted by WOT development team.

Starting July 1st and till July 4th the following bonuses will be available:

- experience received for the first victory will be multiplied by 5;

- a 7-day premium account can be purchased for the price of a 3-day premium account.

Starting July 1st and till July 8th the following bonus will be available:

- Consumables can be purchased with a 50% discount.

Only for EU. US had their 5x weekend.

and the damn awful new voice acting!

I restored the old voice files - there is a link on the WoT forums for the download and instructions.

I am playing this like crazy.

Finally got my PzIV and am working towards putting a nicer cannon on her.

I turned off the voice sounds in the audio menu.

Btw - a tip for people:

Your reticle marker (the V) turns different colors when you move it over an tank. From red (little chance of damage), orange (decent chance) to green (good chance) depending on which tank, your gun and where on the tank.

I just started this. How long does it take to get out of the first tank. That thing is a rolling casket!

It's a fun game but man, I've got no chance most games....

Should be able to "get out" of the starter tanks fairly easily, about 5-10 battles IIRC. The "grind" is easy until levels 5-6 on most tanks or level 4 on arty.

As for "chance," that all depends on the matchmaker and which tanks you're in. It's a bit skewed for some tanks but others will give you decent matches. Remember that the matchmaker has to deal with who else is online and what tanks they're bringing (no AI tanks here) so if you're on a low-level tank and 95% of the other players are on higher levels, you may get a very skewed fight.

You could always buy a 'Premium' tank although this will cost you real money.
I have the Churchill and the Lowe and find them pretty good credit makers,especially with a fully trained crew and mods.

If I have one complaint with the game it's the fact that you need gold to convert experience to free experience.
That's why I am working on getting my crews fully trained in all skills rather than continue down the research tree.

I need some contacts in this game...

Add me, Snapdad, so we can do some damage together mates.

US or EU server Snapdad?

Oh yeah... US.

I can't stop playing this.... Solid game... no crashes... fun... quick.... lots of tanks...

A long way from the Panzer Commander days...

The game has a projected mulitple year life span to boot. Meaning we will have new content for a while.

It is quite fun until you hit tiers 5 or 6 when the grind starts to become apparent. Playing with friends and/or a premium account will dampen the grind a bit.

Quite a bit of investment money-wise as well, if nothing but to convert XP from elite tanks to Free XP to be used on other tanks.

So...how much have some of you spent on this "free" game?

I've bought one month's worth of premium.

Was one of those midnight Saturday paypal buys! The extra credits got me through to a level where I've a decent upgraded medium to run and several other types grinding.

I'm making enough credits on my standard account but as Ice says above, I'd like to unlock the spare experience points I've accumulated. I'm not going to spend any more real money though.

Cheers!

Near enough 80 British pounds ffs

I'd guesstimate about £60 over the past few months. At first it was to get some easy in-game credits. Then bought a Lowe, which basically got rid of the in-game credits problem. Now I use it to buy 100% crew from the get-go whenever I buy a new tank that I know I'll be using for a good while. That, and to convert XP to free XP.

I spend it to convert XP to free XP as well. I've stopped buying credits, I'll just be patient and grind it instead.

My current active stable are:

VK3001(H) (elite)
PzkfwV Panther
Grille
Löwe (elite)
PzIII Auf (elite)
PzIII/IV (elite)
M7 (elite)
M4 Easy 8
M10 Wolverine

I sold my StugIII once it got elite, ponderng buying a Jagdpanzer IV but I hear they stink badly.

I've spent about $200 bucks --- which on first blush seems like a lot compared to the traditional $50 paid for a traditional shrink wrap game. But I've logged some 2500+ battles (not sure how many hours that adds up to but a considerable amount)and have worked my way through each tree from the bottom to

Tiger 1 in German Heavies
IS1 in Russian Heavies
T1 in American Heavies
VK3002DB in German Meds
T43 in Russian Meds
T20 in American Meds
SU100 in Russian TD's
JAGD IV in German TD's

And of course this means I also have all the light tanks/TD's that were needed to get to the above vehicles

I've not acquired any of the Arty vehicles (no interest)



Here's my stats


Games Played: 2 521
Victories: 1 218 (48%)
Defeats: 1 254 (50%)
Battles Survived: 692 (27%)
Battle Performance
Destroyed: 1 808
Spotted: 3 236
Hit Ratio: 62%
Damage: 1 256 083
Capture Points: 4 091
Defense Points: 1 175
Battle Experience
Total Experience: 1 017 525
Average Experience per Battle: 404
Maximum Experience per Battle: 1 930


Rating Value Place
GR Global Rating 188 15 473
W/B Wins/Battles 48% 67 404
E/B Average Experience per Battle 404 17 832
WIN Victories 1 218 11 999
GPL Games Played 2 521 11 343
CPT Capture Points 4 091 12 667
DMG Damage 1 256 083 13 570
DPT Defense Points 1 175 26 030
FRG Targets Destroyed 1 808 14 245
SPT Targets Spotted 3 236 7 948
EXP Total Experience 1 017 525 11 367


I would agree that once you hit Tier V it turns into a credit slog, even by buying premium and getting the Lowe (which I also have) there seems to be no way around slogging your way through to Tier VI and beyond

It's like the acquisition cost both in research credits and game credits rise somewhat geometrically through the tiers

I've spent more time playing this game/sim than any other game/sim in 20 years of being in this "market" This game simply works. It does what it is intended to do with no tweaking, or constant aggravation due to software bugs or design flaws. I've completely dropped IL2 ClOD as at this point in my life I've no more patience for poorly written code or the expectation by developers that I have to pull the simulation into the garage and spend hours on my back under the body in order to get it to perform as advertised.

This game simply works beautifully......and when I think of the hours of enjoyment it has given me for the price...it is a value compared to the weeks of frustration and never getting it to run right with other titles.

One of the strong advantages of this game is how beautiful it works -- the way the gameplay works, the beautiful graphics, the simple but challenging way of playing different tanks, the ease of play (no cockpits or headgear required!). A lot of complaints are about match-making and tanks being "nerfed" but these are easily remedied by a subsequent patch if the devs feel it is worth fixing. Most match-making complaints hold no water anyway -- as it is a MMO, the match-making program has to work with what it has at the moment... unless players are happy to wait for half an hour for a "perfectly balanced" match.

MadDog, German TD-wise, the Marder II kicks ass, then goes downhill from there. The Jagdpanzer IV suffers the same as the Stug III in terms of matchmaking --- you'll be surprised if you dent your opponent. I think I ricochet 80% of the time, so switched to HE rounds. Better a little damage than none at all. Having said that, once you finish the JgPz IV, the JagdPanther simply rocks and you'll be able to whack 20-30% off from most tanks you come across.

I've learned that the fastest way to get the next tank is to NOT sell your elite tanks. When you do your daily double XPs, each elite tank can get 900-1200XP (on a non-Premium account). Whatever tank you're grinding only gets that double XP once, then each subsequent battle gives you less XP. Even if you grind your highest tiered tank at the moment, all that 900-1200XP from elite tanks do help a lot. Imagine one elite tank, played just enough to get one win each day (thus get the double XP), will have at least 6,000XP by the end of the week. 5 elites and you have somewhere around 30,000XP!

One thing they should do though is have a little more transparency in how XP and credits are awarded. There seems to be a correlation between credit and XP rates alongside of Tiers. So all things being equal it "pays more" to use an elite tank at Tier VI than it does at Tier IV because assuming your victory and performance levels are the same you will accumulate credits and XP faster at the Tier VI level than the IV level.

This is an important question from an "efficiency" standpoint when you are trying to slog through the trees.

I personally have found that I "win" more often in certain vehicles than others. I'd attach an excel spreadsheet of my stats if I could to prove my point. Some vehicles I am more "efficient" in. This probably says as much about the match maker as it does my skill in those vehicles as it has been my observation that at certain points (that is what is your configuration of options on a given vehicle within a given tier) I will get better matches...and conversely I will get bad matches more often than not be in the lower half of the ranking when the game comes on in certain other vehicles.

So they should reveal more stats on accumulating experience and credits so that for those of us wanting to optimize our time online to accumulate credits and XP we know what vehicles to pull out of the garage to improve our odds.

TD's are funny animals. If you maintain standoff range they can be pretty good provided you never show your flank or rear. The marder II does seem to get good relative match making results which makes it a relatively good TD compared to the STUG III and Jagd IV though it has lighter armor.

Slope of armor is a big deal. The better upper glacis slope of the Jagd IV vs the STUG III will shed more rounds depending on the angle of attack and the IV has 600 hit points vs the STUG III's 350. So it's conditionally better.

But I find all TD's to be very vulnerable to flank attacks, so you never want to get close nor get flanked. Get a hull defilade position where the barrel is just poking over the ground along with some weeds to hide in and then snipe away from a distance.

Can you have any fun with this, if you don't want to spend any money? Or will you just wind up getting frustrated and give up? (Or give in, and spend some money!)

You can definitely have fun without spending.

The first few tiers do not get mixed in with the top tiers so you can be competitive without frustration or cost. When you wish to move up, the choice is yours to grind or pay for a quicker advance.

The mid-tier tanks can be very frustrating as you may barely break even using a standard account.

My current favourite is the Marder 2 tank destroyer. Not much armour but a fantastic accurate gun. From a good sniping position I can regularly get 4 kills per game and that gives up plenty of exp and credits for it's tier. The Marder can deal it out to tanks a tier or two higher which takes away the horror at finding yourself at the bottom of the team list!

Well I have on rare occasions seen the Matchmaker throw a LOLTractor (LeichtTractor) into a game with Tier 5-8 tanks

It's pretty funny --- unless of course you are that Tier 1-2 tank

SkullBiscuit, a TD is designed for ambush tactics. If any tank can flank a TD and track it, the TD is then pretty much dead. However, if a TD can get a shot it, it sure can pack a lot of hurt. The reason the Marder II kicks ass is because it gets put in more "even" matches, which is mostly lights and mediums, with maybe a heavy or two. So you can get at least 3-4 kills easy with the Marder. When you start with the Stug and JgPz IV, you are now in a totally different league and it will take at least a JagdPanther to be competitive in this new grouping. Sure, you may get "even" matches with the Stug and JgPz IV, but they are rare and far between, thus making you feel they suck. I'm very confident that with all things being equal, the Stug and JgPz IV are better than the Marder, it's just that with the way the matchmaker works, it throws those two tanks in very bad matches.

While I do agree that a clearer way of awarding XP is nice, it would be very hard as I'm guessing this is based on a lot of factors such as the tier of the attacking tank vs. target tank, the amount of damage inflicted by the attacking tank vs damage done by allies, crew skill level, etc. etc. Things can get confusing very fast.

Pooch, you can definitely have fun without spending any (or too much) money, but you'll have to be realistic with your expectations. I've pretty much played up to Marder II level without spending any money and was very fun. If you're happy to play the lower-level tanks, then that is entirely possible. However, if you want to play with the "big boys," expect a very tough grind.

Vitesse, what mid-tier tanks are you talking about? I've had fun with most mid-tier TDs and arty I've played, which is mostly German TDs, lights, and arty.

A favorite tank (tank destroyer) of mine, is the M18 Hellcat. Is it in there? Any good? How long would it take to get it? Should be very fast. Fastest tracked fighting vehicle of WW2. Maybe , ever! Almost 60 MPH.

Not quite sure, Pooch, the name doesn't ring a bell. There are some tanks that do 60+ though, very good scout tanks.

No it's not there Pooch.
There is the M10 Wolverine and the M36 Slugger though.Not sure how quick they are.

I play the game quite a bit. I was in the beta from about September last year onwards, so I was kinda burned out by the actual launch and didn't play for a while this spring. Mainly working on my VK3002DB and T29 at the moment. Go by Merakys in game.



The fastest tanks in the game only go 60-65 kph (40 mph or less). Some of the lower tier US TDs are very fast though.

What's with the abuse against Premium Tank owners?

Not everyday but at least 2-3 times a week I attract attention in my Lowe particularly.

I laughed at being called a 'Wallet Warrior' but some guys get real nasty.

I wouldn't mind but I have 4-5 other tanks I worked up to elite status with fully trained crews.

Maybe I am too sensitive?

Can't you just kill them?

I saw some mild abuse at a Lowe driver the other day...was all in fun though.

Ice - sorry, missed your question from the other day. I was thinking about mediums such as my VK3601. It does not generate cash as readily as I'd like (I'm playing on a standard account). Next step is the Tiger and I'm a long long way from affording it. I'm not sure I could run a Panther at a profit, particularly once the cost of ammo is factored in.

In the Beta I ran a heavy VK4502. Ammo was over 1K per shot. I sure didn't blast away at anything that moved! I always had a premium account then, as well.

Cheers!

I've had abuse when in the Lowe as well, but I give it right back

The downside is it seems like they've nerfed the Lowe a bit... not reloading as fast as it used to, and generates less XP and credits than before. Still a bit better than other tanks of the same tier, but nowhere near what it was, like 40K credits even on a loss.

Beta was fun since a lot of stuff was free and we got free gold too; I doubt a VK45 shot costs 1K now... I can't see how people can break even with that even with a win. A win AND a premium account probably... but then you'd be spending a lot of money on this game.

Most all of the tier 7+ heavies have ammo that's 1k or more per shot. My T29 and the Lowe are both right around 1k, I think the IS3's shells are about 1200. You usually just don't take as many shots. On the T29 and Lowe both I'm often under 10 shots.

Hmmm... TBH I've not looked at how much the Lowe ammo costs... I've rarely "just broke even" in the Lowe, I'm usually earning credits with the Lowe, win or lose.

Yes you can kill the jerks, but once you do so, odds are you'll be tagged as a "Team Killer," and become fair game for everyone to retaliate upon. Also, you'll get a fine (in the amount of credits you earn per game and in experience) and/or temporary ban - the ban depends upon the number of times you've earned the "Team Killer," tag during one day, I think.

And as far as "Premium RAAAGEEE" goes, I've been TK'd right off the bat in my Matilda (a very slow Premium tank, of all things) by the typical mouth-breather who went on with the "wallet warrior," quips and then some.

I admit to some pretty foul language being used by myself in the chat box after that happened.

The thing about these "kids"...as I think many of them are...who complain about "wallet warriors" is you only need to remind them that without wallet warriors....they would have nothing.

Free to Play...does not pay for the development or maintenance of this game. World of Tanks is not a non-profit supported by government taxation.

So the next time one of the "ignorant ones" spouts off about wallet warriors

Just say....."you're welcome....eat as much as you can while the wallet lasts..."

And I think that the premium tanks are actually less capable than their equivalent tier counterparts. I have a Matilda (which I love the quick firing 57mm but it crawls along the ground) and a Lowe which I think is a big lumbering target with an under modeled 105mm gun.....so it's not as if with these tanks you are ruling at that Tier level. Quite the contrary I believe.

The Premie tanks are indeed less capable than their Tier counterparts. Their only advantage comes from their ability to generate additional credits, free XP to use on other tanks (but this costs gold to do, though) and their use to train up crews for use elsewhere. Also, repair costs are supposedly cheaper but I honestly never look at that stuff. Those in the know feel free to correct me on all of this I just said; I've only been at this game for about a month or so now.

Otherwise, the Premies are gimped in some form or fashion (my opinion). I.E. the Ram II (a premium tank)only has a 6 pounder which can only fire AP or Gold shells yet it frequently gets stuck in fights with T6 and up tanks where the 6 pounder can only scratch the paint. The Matilda (premium) has a quick firing gun of respectable caliber and great armor yet it is horribly slow for a Tier 5 tank and speed is life when arty is involved (or an enemy wolfpack).

Having said that, I do like my Premies as they provide a challenge to play well when thrown against bigger/better tanks.

Indeed

I really wish they had a more transparent accounting system. At least from the standpoint of understanding the full costs associated with a given vehicle. All I know is the ratios of victories to defeats in the vehicles I have. I have no real idea about what it is costing vs what I am earning over time with the vehicles I have.

I'm sure they withhold this information in order to keep you "inefficient" --- spending more than you might otherwise in order to scale the various vehicle trees. Considering their meticulous accounting for everything else in the game I'm sure they know these stats and just choose not to publish them.

How do you mean SkullBiscuit?

Obviously you have a good idea of what a destroyed vehicle+ammo will cost to replace against what you will earn with it in an average battle.

Given a rough 50% win lose ratio...

As I recall, with a premium account I never used to worry about credits too much until I got to the VK4502 and it's biggest cannon. I think it averaged about even, but I could sub it with the Panther and T44.

Well I vary in terms of my win rate per vehicle from something like 62% of the time down to 20%. And of course these are different vehicles at different tiers and therefore have potentially different earning power (assume they are all elite) so that from a money making standpoint (and factoring in time) I would have to know what my success rate is AND of course the consumables I use, including gold ammo, etc, vs how much I am earning by using that vehicle in order to accumulate credits and transferable experience. This might also help me understand Match Maker bias ---- such that when I am in a given vehicle and lets say everything else is equal --- teammate quality, map assignment, and of course my style of play....it may indicate that given a certain vehicle with a certain collection of options on that vehicle (consumables, spall liner, gun rammer, camo net, etc) that Match Maker throws you consistently into lopsided contests where you get creamed.

There are a lot of variable in play here to be sure. But I think that if we had more disclosure in terms of the real costs of being in one vehicle vs another you would see some definitive trends emerge that could help you spend your time wisely online if your main purpose it to climb the tech tree as efficiently as possible.

Right now I am slogging on through Tiers VI and VII on all three nationalities and all vehicle classes except arty...and I'd just like to know better stats so that I would spend more time in whatever elite vehicle(s) I needed to in order to accumulate credits and XP as fast as I could.

Hah! And I thought my tank ADD was bad; currently running up the German Heavy line (3601) and TD (StuG) as well as the American Medium (E8) and TD line (T28 - got the option to go to the Slugger via the E8 as well but probably won't).

Good luck, mate!

Honestly, for me, I get money through my elited TDs, the Lowe, and the Ram. My other stuff isn't quite so hot, and my win/loss average tanked bad when I was in the early stages of the American stuff - M5 in a T8-9 fight = burning multi-ton speed-bump real quickly.

Either way, I do so love this game. Its reawakened a love for armor that has been quiet for a while now. Can't wait to dip my toes in World of Warplanes as flight sim games have to be my favorite of all and I've been away from them for so long now...

Yes, it is the most addictive simulation/war game what have you that I have ever played!

There is a lot to it within a very tightly wrapped and on the surface easy to get into, but with many layers of complexity and nuance to it; game....and best of all it is rock solid code.....even on the rare occasions when I have had a CTD upon entering a match, I have been able to restart the game and join the same matched game I was entered into as if I never had the CTD.

A lot of fun.

Agreed; my niggling little issue with the game is not being able to "check out" of a game once I'm dead and thus, on to another tank.

Think that might have to do with the number of people who are online at the time or something as I generally don't have that problem in the morning.

Just hit Esc and exit battle...

Yes exactly....and this is one of the reasons to have at least 3 vehicle branches going on at once. You can leave the virtual battlefield while it is still in progress and jump into another vehicle from a different tree branch and proceed. This way you should never be waiting for a battle to end to begin making progress on another branch.

Skull, while I do agree that some more detail is in order, I guess what you want to do is far too complex to work out properly.

Regarding earning XP and credits -- sure, they may give us the formula and you may determine Tank A is the best tank to do so... however, if you do poorly in the game (ie, get killed early or no kills), you'll STILL be getting less XP/creds. The formula may sa Tank B is a so-so earner, but if it gets matched in a good battle and you perform nicely, you may get MORE XP/creds... so I say just go with the tanks that give you the most fun and that will numb the grind a bit.

Regarding matchmaking -- again, some clarity would be best but I do believe the devs (or someone) once posted which tanks get slotted to what tiers most of the time. Note I said "most of the time." Again, you'll have to remember that the matchmaker has to work with whoever's online at the time and what they want to bring into the battle... so if you want that perfectly balanced game, you may have to wait for some time. Can you imagine being in a light or medium, low-tier tank and then 80% of the people online are slugging Tiers 7 upwards... how long before you get into a "balanced" game then?

Oh, I do do that. Its just that when I click the "yes" button to exit, the "no," button looks like it is the one that is pushed and it acts as such.

Go figure.

Well you're right....there is no telling with Match Maker Roulette....and that goes for team dynamics as well. About the only thing I am certain about is that anyone driving a T54 is to be avoided. That machine is rapier among fencing and broad swords. It seems that anyone who gets it normally gets about 3 kills per game before they end up being killed and it always seems to be up close and personal. Low silouette...fast, very well sloped armor, and killer gun. I remember lusting over a model of one as a kid. Had damn near every tank model you could think of save that one and so I hope that I will finally get there the hard way some 30+ years later.

That baby is a Tier 9 medium tank. Best medium you can get. Low profile, sloped armor, fast speed, deadly gun.

I don't even bother engaging one.

Servers are currently down while the 6.6 update is being released (sometime today).

Premium account holders will get an extra 24 hours added.

New maps and tanks inbound.

PS I find the torrent is usually quickest. Don't DL the 6.5 version by mistake. I started to but realised that 6.6 wasn't up yet!

Gawd.....what a slog....last night a couple of quick games after getting home late....and it's amateur night team wise

I hate it when I'm the only one who understands what "key terrain" is

Like the center high ground on the "Cliff" map where if you control it you can shoot down on 3/4 of map and use the benefit of what used to be called "interior lines" from the civil war --- that is move from one point to another faster than your opponent because they have to go around where you can just go in a straight line.

Some days are just butt your head up against the wall days

On the other hand --- once knocked out --- you can trade witticisms such as wishing to hear Foster Brooks sing a song about kittens

Cool thing about this game is when you and your group click - stuff is like magic (an ad-hoc Medium wolfpack is an amazing thing to be a part of).

Obviously, the opposite is true when it seems like you're dropped in the midst of a 3rd grade tour group who've just been handed guns and told to "take that hill!"

Be interesting to see if the participation numbers drop now that school is back on.

You're spot on with the contrast between the "wolf pack" or as it is called in real life, mass and speed --- the concentration of a lot of combat power at a very narrow point on the battlefield in order to systematically roll up an opponent

and on the other hand

the 3rd graders ---- which on some nights...I had to push myself away from the desk after getting creamed being in a group of such lest I loose myself in what Buddhism calls...."The afflicted emotions"

I remember one battle with the map...name? ...the city-scape and rail yard with the big hill and castle in the east

Anyway I and another guy went up the hill together tagg teamed one enemy tank on top and made short work of him and then proceeded down the other side and appeared in the enemy's rear and then proceeded to rip right through them with fast maneuvering and quick firing 76mm (we both had E8 Shermans)

It was just like an account from WWII in which suddenly and unexpectedly enemy armor appears in what was regarded as the safe rear, and then all hell breaks lose and the whole defense becomes unhinged by the rear attack destabilizing the defensive belt while pressure is maintained from the front

Yeah I'm game, but I've been playing it a lot. I've read through all the replies in this thread and the complaints. It occurs to me the only problem isn't necessarily with the tier system, or even the matchmaking, but the silly arcadish gameplay. Tanks running full speed and getting accurate shots, no tank gun 'shake' while moving (what, every tank had stabilizers back then to keep guns perfectly still???) Other issues that make this more an arcade game.

Now I understand there may be a hardcore mode. Perhaps that will take care of the issues.


One more thing, it seems to me that the enjoyable part of the game is in the garage, using your credits that you achieved in the secondary annoyance, which is the actual gameplay. Maybe a little harsh, but I get more excited AFTER the battle than I do before, especially if I've just gotten lots of credit. That seems to be all jacked up - the enjoyable part should be the actual gameplay. Maybe that will be resolved in the future too. It would do them well to study Panzer Elite SE for realistic tank combat.

I would like to see the hardcore mode as well. The arcadishness is a bummer and all the dumping down that goes along with it. But its the price we pay for being able to come home from work jump on and get some cheap thrills without much waiting . Tier mismatching doesnt bother me too much. There have actually been very few matched battles in history. Mismatches make you think, develop tactics and pray for luck.

Actual it doesn't bother me that much that some people don't know how to play, that's a given. What I really dislike its trolls who take potshots at people who don't know how to play rather than exercise some leadership and offer tactful advice. Or just trolls who attack good players when the world according to the troll doesn't work out.

One of my favorites, something like: "been playing all day and every team sucks" or words to that effect. My translation: I have played all day and have failed to observe what my side is doing and adjusted my playing style accordingly"

Sorry, what was the topic