I like the American TDs for their ability to eventually field a gun that hits above their Tier level with each tank; either one or two tiers higher or better. German TDs don't really seem to get that much of a break (from what I've seen so far), but the German guns are blessed with great accuracy and I seem to do well with them all up to this point. BTW, I'm puttering along in my StuG taking my time drifting up the German TD branch while I focus on the American TD line.

Having said that, the turreted American TDs worked fantastically for me; the Wolverine moreso than the Slugger. Don't know why either, as I'm a fair-to-middlin' turreted tank driver.

The turreted TDs obviously have the advantage of the turret, but they are taller too so I'm guessing it loses a lot of camo value? In any case, the turret alone allows you to "strafe shot," ie, moving forward/backward with the gun pointing to the side... a feature not available to your regular TD.

strykerpsg, you do not get double XP for only premium tanks, ANY tank you have, premium or not, will get double XP for the first win for that day. Thus, more garage space allows you more tanks to "double up" with.

You cannot skip a tank per se, but you can quickly move through it. For instance, you are in a Tier 3 tank and have just researched a Tier 4 tank. You know you want to get through Tier 4 quickly as you have no intention of playing with it. You will still have to buy the Tier 4 tank and use it's research options to get to the next tank straightaway. To save credits, buy the tank without crew. So in your case, you have the Hetzer, and want to get to the JagdPanther as quickly as possible. Save up sufficient XP, research the Stug III, buy it (without crew), research the 7.5cm L/48 gun to allow access to the JagdPz IV and research that. Once done, buy a JagdPz IV, research the 7.5cm L/70 gun to allow access to the JagdPanther, and research that.

Note that you blaze straight through the tank's tech... you don't research any other gun, engine, or track... just research what you need to gain access to the next tank and do that.

Now how do you earn the XP needed to buy the research? That's where doing daily doubles on other tanks come in... Each time you gain XP (from either a win or a lose), a small amount of that XP goes straight to Free XP. For Elite-status tanks (the ones you've fully researched all modules), all the XP you gain also accumulates (you can chose to save it or use it to increase crew stats) which you can then spend gold to convert to Free XP. Note that in non-Elite tanks with less than 100% crew, the XP you earn all goes to increasing your crew's stats... but non-Elite tanks with full 100% crew still accumulates XP. Confused? Simply put, Elite tanks and those with 100% crew accumulates XP, otherwise the XP just goes to the crew regardless of it being a double XP or not.

To counter some of Ice's advice above (just a little and I certainly don't want to sound snarky), I don't think you have to buy the tank you are researching through. For example, I skipped the T2 Ami TD completely via free XP which allowed me to research all I needed to get to the T82 as well as researching several different modules for the T82 itself. When I was ready, I simply bought the T82 and was able to upgrade the tracks, engine and radio right away. I never bought the T18 at all.

I did the same going up the American "Medium," line that doesn't have the Lee in it; skipped the M2 and jumped in the M3.

Now, when doing this, I make sure everything is researched before getting into the next Tier tank because:
1. If all else fails, you now have an elited tank that you can fall back on later and that means possible free XP and a certain credit income.
2. Some of the modules you research for Tank A will carry over to Tank B, C or another tank elsewhere in the Tech Tree and that saves you research XP later on down the road.

But, this is what I do; YMMV and all of that.

Either way, happy tanking!

p.s. When it comes to XP, pump those specials that Wargaming offers like a small dog humping a basketball. The last special event, where they gave out 5x XP per game, put me well ahead in terms of research and the like when it came to me getting up to the T25 AT. The only kicker with that is that I had to buy more Gold to transfer all that free XP over to something usable.

p.p.s. And research the Premium tanks first before blindly buying them (I think I recall you saying that you wanted to buy one in the future). The WoT forum is an okay place for this info, but, as I've said before, that place hurts my head. As it stands now, the current darling is the Type 59 which is a T8 Medium and which also supposedly has a very good credit return while being cheaper than the Lowe. Anyhoo...time to go home...

So, I bought the Lowe last night and didn't see the Type 59 until after I purchased it. It certainly did bring in a wealth of experience and credits in the first fight but I was getting drilled by a KV2 and M26, both of which I struck several times to no avail. So, am debating on how important some of the premium round might be in helping to balance the equation. Would also be nice if we could tweak the power pack on the LOWE, as it just crawls along, would paint "Slug Bug" on it if there were an option to do so.

I might look into the Type 59 next, as it looked very well done and makes me wonder if WoT is going to do early 60-70's tank designs too, before the advent of thermals and laser range finders.

Anyway, is there a minimum amount of time to lapse before the server credits your vehicles as their first engagement? Not to game it, but I want to game it a bit if possible, by logging out after cycling through all my garage, then log back in to accumulate more credits.

Matt

I think the double XP for your first win of the day in a particular tank is per 24 hr period as based on the server's schedule or something like that.

To be honest, with the time constraints I've got, I'm doing good to get a daily double out of 2-3 tanks before wrapping it up for the night as I will focus on wringing out a double on a tank until I get one. Once that is out of the way, I'll usually drop back and play either my TDs or the two light tanks I've got which go really fast (the T-15 and Locust; both Premium tanks themselves) for fun for a round or two.

And yes, I wish to God the Lowe could move a bit faster too. But, if you are playing your Lowe out front, then I'd suggest changing tactics up and have the Lowe be in the "second," or "third," line of defense/offense as this would allow you to engage bandits who've probably been hit once or twice by the time they get to you. This seems to work for me tolerably well when I do haul the Lowe out of the garage.

Danger, sage advice. It's a shame that short of a clan war, you are stuck with a mottled mix of skillsets with your new created virtual team each time you enter a battle. I'm really starting to think the idea of a clan isn't a bad concept, versus the ones running out right away to engage and die. The problem then is getting a dedicated scout.

Will put some more time into her tonight, and may start looking at the American line as well. I absolutely hate that technologically we get nothing devastating until much later, almost anticlimatic. Anyway, will keep an eye out for all when I'm engaged. My avatar name is the same as my log in name here. See you on the high ground!

Matt

Thanks for the correction, Danger. Yes, you do not have to buy the tank you do not like... therefore you can skip buying it, but you will still need to go "through it" by researching some of it's modules to gain access to the next tank in the tier.

Matt, congratulations on your Lowe purchase! Be prepared for some hate from idiot players whining about "Lowe drivers = noobs" and "wallet warriors," learn to ignore them or use it to vent some of your working-day frustrations. T

he Lowe is a great tank, but you will have to learn how to play it. Obviously it is not a "pwn a11 dem n00bz" tank and as some pointed out, a similar-tier tank may be "more powerful" than the Lowe. The Lowe has a great gun, good for sniping, which is how I play the Lowe. You will notice it's not got much in terms of armor plating, so you do not want to go toe-to-toe with tanks... unless he's half a map away. So, the Lowe is not your front-line tank, even if it is a heavy tank. Also, you will need to learn where to place your shots to get the most out of the Lowe, or out of any tank for that matter. There are mods out there that will help figure out stuff like this, such as a paint scheme mod which I don't use. Look for Say's vehicle icon mod, that's really good to find out the armor values of enemy tanks. That way, you know where to aim for (body or turret) or if you're better off running away.

Regarding credits and XP, the game should reward you with it right after the battle, no need to wait. For your daily doubles, obviously you will have to wait for the server to "restart" for the next day to get the next set of doubles... as to what time zone the server is at, I have no idea.

Has to be the first time anyone has said that I've given good adivce! Thank you!

To celebrate a big, fat payday, I'm going to ride the cutting edge of Wallet Warriordom and get a Type 59!

What's Chinese for "Huzzah," ?

At any rate, catch you cats on the battlefield.

Oh, and they're celebrating Operation Market Garden with some specials; check 'em out at the WoT website!

Please do post how you like the Type 59. I ran into one last night, luckily he was on our side but I don't think he/she survived very long. I am wanting to now how it fares against the much more heavily armored behemoths like the KV2, Maus and whatever the American Heavy is.

And, it's nice to get inteeligent replies from more mature players. I went through the WoT forums and it is a bit of a headache to weed through all of it. SimHQ is much more calm....and easier to guide through.

Matt

Forgot to say, you're welcome, as it is great advice. Also will see what Operation market Garden offers for a special.

Matt