I'm still plodding away at World of Tanks most nights. I say plodding not because the game isn't fun, but rather because I'm simply not very good at it. Yes, still. Some nights are better than others, but I'm not one of those people with racks of Top Gun medals (I only have one) and a nice average kill ratio. I do have a big pile of Steel Wall awards though--people like to shoot me (a lot) and sometimes I get lucky and they don't manage to kill me. That's worth something, right?
Overall I'm finding I enjoy the tier 5 and 6 battles the most, and prefer to drive the tier 5 and six tanks when I can. I currently have a Panzer IV, Ram-II, and M10 Wolverine for tier 5, plus a VK3601 and M4A3E8 for tier 6. They're all fun tanks to play, but if I had to rank them it would probably go M4A3E8 > Panzer IV > Ram-II > M10 Wolverine > VK3601. The VK is a solid tank, but sloooow. The Panzer IV is probably my most deadly tank to date, as I think it's biggest gun is probably a little overpowered for a tier 5. Shh, don't tell!
Unsurprisingly, I have much more fun driving my tier 5s when most of the enemies are tier 5s, and less fun driving my tier 5s when the enemy has tier 7s and 8s. I like being able to go into a battle thinking "ok, I have a fair chance against anyone in this match, if I blow up uselessly it's because I screwed up or they're more skilled than me." I don't like going into battle thinking "aww crap, 12 tanks I can't even scratch, I'm going to go sit in that bush for a while."
Which is why I hope Wargaming.net really does add a new queue system that gives you a choice between fast matchmaking and a wide spread, or longer matchmaking and a tighter spread. I would gladly wait several minutes to have a fun balanced match that lasts 10 minutes than spend 10 seconds in the queue for a match where I can do nothing and get one-shot after a minute or so.
Out of curiosity, anyone have any tier 5 (or even 6) tanks that they think are really fun? I wouldn't mind adding another one or two to my collection . . .
I can attest to the SU-85. Similar to the PV-IV, its gun is a bit more powerful than what I'd assume a tier-5 gun should be. Thankfully, it can still do significant damage to higher tier tanks if you can shoot the weak zones. It's fairly slow and immobile, plus it doesn't do that well when you need to adjust your aim rapidly, so positioning is important. But overall, it's a solid piece of steel.
ReplyDeleteHeh, I still haven't managed to get a single Steel Wall in 1,400-odd battles... I'll second the SU-85, though, the 107mm you can fit on it is a Tier VII gun and can one-shot a lot of lower tier stuff, even some Tier V tanks if you get a lucky shot. You can fit the same gun to the KV in the KV-2 turret instead of the crazy 152mm as well, though I've generally had better luck in the SU (much less survivable, but fit a camo net and get in a decent position and you can wreak havoc).
ReplyDeleteI also have Easy8 and Ram-II, and they're my top two favorite tanks to play.
ReplyDeleteThe rare times that that my E8 faces a higher tier heavy alone in the open when I can run circles nibbling on them with HE completely make up for when I (frequently) get beat up by those very same higher tiers.
With a rammer, vent, and 100% crew, the RamII is a machine gun. Even when you arent penetrating, you just know how annoying it must be for that Lowe or Ferdi driver who's screen is bouncing red again and again as they try to aim at somebody and you're continually bouncing BB's off them.
But you already knew those two tanks were fun.
As the other commenters say, tier 5 soviet TD SU-85, is tons of fun once you have one of the better guns in it. Like all T5 vehicles, its in the sweet match making spot where you sometimes get to dominate, but unlike most T5's, it packs a fierce punch even in the matches where it is low man on the totem pole. I thoroughly enjoy the SU-85. Put a rammer, vent, and cammo net on it for extra fun.
Well, I guess my next project will be to build up to an SU-85 then :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not really liking the Wolverine that much as a TD. It's an ok tank, but doesn't really feel like a TD, it's too tall and has a turret and doesn't really have that big of a gun. It just feels like a funky tank, and I have better T5s for tank gameplay.
Ram II rocks but at the moment I have replaced it with the M4Sherman and am having a lot of fun. Good matches to be had with me on the top quite a lot. My kill ratio is as high in the M4 as it was in the Ram (I was 202 kills in 250 matches with the Ram) and the option to use the 105 with HE eliminates the problem of the Ram's lack of penetration.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a fun, laid back kill-fest I highly reccomend the Tier III SU-26 arty (which counts as a Tier 5 because of the plus 2 arty gets in matchmaking). It an absolute blast to play and is unlike any other arty due to the fast reload and the turret which means less waiting to zoom in. I can't belive the amount of kills I get with this thing (something like 200 in 160 matches....).
If you like the mediums and want to venture a bit higher take a look at the KV-13 (Tier 7 Russian medium). I just got this and it is the most fun I've had yet. Even facing off against a Maus I feel I can contribute and god help the other team if I'm on top!
It's armored, maneuverable and can carry a 122mm gun for derping fun. It tops out at 60 km/hr (66 with mods). I abandoned the E8 and the Amercian medium line to get this one and it is a great tank. My average experience in the E8 was 460 a match and with this it 565- much more than in my T8 Tiger II.
Didn't much like the Russian meds before it (they are too flimsly for my style) so I used a boatload of free experience to get it (75k or so) and I don't regreat it!