World of Tanks - Free to play Panzer MMO

[Seamus Fermanagh]

...The KV2 is slow, blind, inaccurate and has a long aim time and reload time. Also the 152mm rounds fly slow. He isn't going to hit anything with the 152mm if he has to turn his tank and/or turret. So keep moving. When he fires and (hopeful misses) then you can plant a shell or two before he is ready again. Like all KV model tanks aim for the strip of armour with the MG port and vision slits etc, preferably aim for those weakspots in particular. If he is focussing on some other unfortunate then he is easy meat. If the KV2 is using the 107mm then bitch at him and call him a noob for missing the point of the tank (and run faster).

I have noticed the slow reload. I managed to hit one about 5 times (3 pen) while it moved up to duel a medium. I shot it in the back of the head for a kill when it was spinning the turret to kill the medium. Teamwork for the win, of course. Still a tough target by any measure; more so than the KV-3.

I wonder why so few folks use the 107 -- it seems to me like the best of the best. On the other hand, I think that NA has a lot of folks who prefer the "Derp" gun choices. Seldom see a Hetzer with anything else, NEVER see a stug b with anything else, 122 and 152 derp common on the heavier Russians and plenty of panzer 3/4s etc. using the 105. Only ones with long AP as first choice regularly seem to be the stug G and the hellcat/jacksons.

Is this true on the other servers I wonder.

[Sigurd]

Anyway, I don't mind a foliage to hide, but I generally prefer hard cover -- too many folks are too skilled at hitting targets protected solely by foliage. Rock or a house are far better.

Have you tried to hide behind foliage? (about 10m or so... if you can even measure that in game anyway) Apparently if you hide in it.. you will be revealed as soon as you shoot... hiding a bit behind it will keep you hidden even if you fire your gun.

[Husar]

It's relatively simple. There are certain points on your tank that, if they stick out, will let the enemy discover you. As such you should always hide behind and not right inside a bush. It has to visually cover you. When you are within a certain distance of a bush, so that you can look through it in sniper mode and you fire your gun, then the bush will not cover you anymore for about 5 seconds (firing your gun also triggers a visibility check on the server right away). If you stand behind the bush and cannot look through it, firing your gun will not remove the cover.

Since some people abused this by moving backwards a bit before firing (after spotting the enemy themselves), there are plans to rework the system so it cannot be exploited as easily anymore, so far that hasn't happened though AFAIK.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Have you tried to hide behind foliage? (about 10m or so... if you can even measure that in game anyway) Apparently if you hide in it.. you will be revealed as soon as you shoot... hiding a bit behind it will keep you hidden even if you fire your gun.

5-10m behind if possible -- a few folks taught me the error of the former strategy.

[Slyspy]

I wonder why so few folks use the 107 -- it seems to me like the best of the best. On the other hand, I think that NA has a lot of folks who prefer the "Derp" gun choices. Seldom see a Hetzer with anything else, NEVER see a stug b with anything else, 122 and 152 derp common on the heavier Russians and plenty of panzer 3/4s etc. using the 105. Only ones with long AP as first choice regularly seem to be the stug G and the hellcat/jacksons.

The whole point of the KV2 is the 152mm. It isn't available on any other tank. It is the king of derps. Any KV2 with the 107mm is a wasted KV2 and IMO a wasted slot on the team. They should just be using the T150 which is a far better platform for the 107 and, in truth, a better tank all round.

The Hetzer usually has the 105 because the HE rounds can do massive damage to many of the tanks which it can meet since they are often thinly armoured. Plus, again, the 105 derp is a feature not seen everywhere at that tier. I'm not even sure if the Stug B has a viable alternative. Some people use the 122mm on the KV1 but I didn't get on with it, preferring the rapid fire 57mm. The Pz 3/4 can't mount the 105 IIRC (unless 9.0 changed it) while I've not paid attention to the changes to the Pz 4. I've recently started using the 105 on the Stug G and it is more fun than the long gun IMO.

It's relatively simple. There are certain points on your tank that, if they stick out, will let the enemy discover you. As such you should always hide behind and not right inside a bush. It has to visually cover you. When you are within a certain distance of a bush, so that you can look through it in sniper mode and you fire your gun, then the bush will not cover you anymore for about 5 seconds (firing your gun also triggers a visibility check on the server right away). If you stand behind the bush and cannot look through it, firing your gun will not remove the cover.

Since some people abused this by moving backwards a bit before firing (after spotting the enemy themselves), there are plans to rework the system so it cannot be exploited as easily anymore, so far that hasn't happened though AFAIK.

I would hope that it doesn't get changed - learning such nuances is part of learning the game and it would be a shame to see it dumbed down too much.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The whole point of the KV2 is the 152mm. It isn't available on any other tank. It is the king of derps. Any KV2 with the 107mm is a wasted KV2 and IMO a wasted slot on the team. They should just be using the T150 which is a far better platform for the 107 and, in truth, a better tank all round.

The Hetzer usually has the 105 because the HE rounds can do massive damage to many of the tanks which it can meet since they are often thinly armoured. Plus, again, the 105 derp is a feature not seen everywhere at that tier. I'm not even sure if the Stug B has a viable alternative. Some people use the 122mm on the KV1 but I didn't get on with it, preferring the rapid fire 57mm. The Pz 3/4 can't mount the 105 IIRC (unless 9.0 changed it) while I've not paid attention to the changes to the Pz 4. I've recently started using the 105 on the Stug G and it is more fun than the long gun IMO.




I would hope that it doesn't get changed - learning such nuances is part of learning the game and it would be a shame to see it dumbed down too much.

I meant panzer 3s and 4s as a generic, not the specific 3/4 model -- forgot about that and sorry to create confusion.

I take your point on the KV-2...it's role is typically that of a brawler/wall of steel and it isn't necessarily supposed to be subtle.

In general, however, you and I have a difference in style. You appear to love the close-in hammer blow, whereas I would be content to snipe you from next week if at all possible. One of the things I like most so far in WOT is that both styles can add to the game. I have seen numerous other games that seemingly degenerate into backshotting and knifing and may the faster ping win.

[Husar]

I would hope that it doesn't get changed - learning such nuances is part of learning the game and it would be a shame to see it dumbed down too much.

I hope it gets changed to a more realistic system that can't be abused in a very gamey way but still provides you with some cover.
Yopu may think it's fun to shoot at enemies from 60m away and be completely invisible because you move 10cm back before you shoot, but for the other side it's frustrating and almost a cheat.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The 107mm is brilliant on the T-150, which has more armor and a bit more agility than the KV-2. But it isn't accurate enough on the KV-2, and the the KV-2 also relies on the 152 as a standoff weapon. If it has the 107mm, two tanks can easily swarm it, because they can afford to take 2-3 hits before the KV-2 finishes it. With the derp, the KV-2 can usually kill at least one of the two tanks considering rushing it.

If you like sniping Seamus, you're going to (eventually) love the JPanther. Great gun selection once you have the 88mm and 105mm unlocked, as you have the agility to act as a medium in a pinch.

Yopu may think it's fun to shoot at enemies from 60m away and be completely invisible because you move 10cm back before you shoot, but for the other side it's frustrating and almost a cheat.

No more or less cheating than popping out from behind a rock to blast somebody and then retreating back behind the rock like a coward. Vision control is a critical element of the game. Knowing when you are spotted (6th sense in particular) and when you can spot the enemy wins fights.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I hope it gets changed to a more realistic system that can't be abused in a very gamey way but still provides you with some cover.
Yopu may think it's fun to shoot at enemies from 60m away and be completely invisible because you move 10cm back before you shoot, but for the other side it's frustrating and almost a cheat.

Could you supply me with a list of such players? Most of the ones I face laugh at bushes and nail me anyway. Hard cover ftw

[Sigurd]

The foliage trick can be rather bothersome as it can hide allies as well.. I am usually not using the mini-map or watching the messages when in sniper mode and when I see red contour I usually take the shot. When I see it not hitting home and the red enemy retreats behind hard cover, I go looking for other targets... then on the chat a T54 calls foul... apparently he had been sitting in front of this enemy and soaked my shot. I didn't see him at all.. only the enemy tank. Too bad I got a high roll with the T30

[Husar]

No more or less cheating than popping out from behind a rock to blast somebody and then retreating back behind the rock like a coward. Vision control is a critical element of the game. Knowing when you are spotted (6th sense in particular) and when you can spot the enemy wins fights.

No, when you fire from behind a rock, you have to at least partially expose yourself and can be spotted. With the bush you can fire without getting spotted and spot for yourself. The idea is that the pspotting tank cannot fire without exposing itself while the allies can fire at the enemies from further behind. A single tank is not supposed to spot and then fire without getting spotted unless he is far enough away to be outside the enemy view range or has enough camo left even when firing. At least this is the intention of the developers and apparently they want to change the system because they are not happy with how it works now, it kind of favors camping behind a bush and makes passive scouting less useful after all.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

My single best outing to date. Top half in a tier 4/3 mixed game, ruinberg encounter, driving my m8a1 (all but t49 researched; all equipped). 8k, TG, HC.

This yank TD line is, taken as a whole, OP. You start in the t-18 (t2 brute, faster and better armored than almost anything it faces; 75 Derp ruins t1), then you segue to the T82 (speed, no armor, but the 105 derps all tier twos and most of its fellow tier threes), M8a1 (top gun hits as hard as any tier4 75 in the game and the m8a1 has good speed and fairly well sloped if somewhat thin armor); next you ride the t49, with a better 75/76 gun, even more speed, sloped armor and an enclosed hull -- easily rivals the stug 3g for best TD in tier (though some love the toaster better). After "suffering" through all of this, you step up to the Hellcat which, with the 90mm, can fight any tank in the game with some hope of contributing -- and which tears its tier 6 opponents apart.

None of the tanks in this line are so overpowering that they "break" the game, but there just isn't a bad experience in the process. Very little feels like a "grind."

[Sigurd]

My single best outing to date. Top half in a tier 4/3 mixed game, ruinberg encounter, driving my m8a1 (all but t49 researched; all equipped). 8k, TG, HC.

This yank TD line is, taken as a whole, OP. You start in the t-18 (t2 brute, faster and better armored than almost anything it faces; 75 Derp ruins t1), then you segue to the T82 (speed, no armor, but the 105 derps all tier twos and most of its fellow tier threes), M8a1 (top gun hits as hard as any tier4 75 in the game and the m8a1 has good speed and fairly well sloped if somewhat thin armor); next you ride the t49, with a better 75/76 gun, even more speed, sloped armor and an enclosed hull -- easily rivals the stug 3g for best TD in tier (though some love the toaster better). After "suffering" through all of this, you step up to the Hellcat which, with the 90mm, can fight any tank in the game with some hope of contributing -- and which tears its tier 6 opponents apart.

None of the tanks in this line are so overpowering that they "break" the game, but there just isn't a bad experience in the process. Very little feels like a "grind."

Of that TD line I kept the T18, Hellcat, T28 Prot and T30. They are indeed most enjoyable - each with its own play style. I haven't decided yet if I'll be getting the T110E4. I'll unlock it for sure when I get that far. It is still a feared tank in the game.

[Slyspy]

Hellcat is ear-marked for significant mobility nerfs.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Hellcat is ear-marked for significant mobility nerfs.

But the historical 'cat really did have that speed. The "didn't really happen" factor was the 90mm gun, not the speed.

Of course, historicity is of limited concern in WoT -- witness the hammering power and effectiveness of the dreaded M4 Sherman.

[Husar]

Historically the crew would have probably gotten knocked out had it used that speed over hilly terrain instead of a road.

And the Sherman probably looks stronger than it did because it faces different tanks most of the time and can easily be upgraded to a standard that was historically very rare (76mm gun) or probably not as useful against other tanks (derp gun). Just like the Ferdinand and the KT do not look as well armored as they would historically (although some say steel quality was sometimes horrible on them) when they face IS-3s with guns those never historically had while they get guns themselves they never fielded in the real war.

Balance-wise it's kind of necessary though, apparently. If people could only choose from historical tanks I think we'd have to wait for the dozens of required allied tank players all the time only to have those KTs have their gear boxes break apart 2 mins after battle start.

[Sigurd]

If you want a more realistic tank game, I would suggest WarThunder Ground Forces.
Now that is the way a tank game should be. If a shot penetrates - your dead.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

If you want a more realistic tank game, I would suggest WarThunder Ground Forces.
Now that is the way a tank game should be. If a shot penetrates - your dead.

Most penetrations either wrecked the tank or did serious bad things to crew or internal components...not just -110HP

[Husar]

I'd try it but I can't as it's not even open beta yet.
And last I heard it's all about camping because when you move, you always move into a trap and he who camps always gets the first shot because it takes ages to aim after moving.
I totally get how it's realistic, but I'm not sure whether it wouldn't bore or frustrate me endlessly.

Either way, the Hellcat nerf is cancelled for 9.1: http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/05/14/s...ges-cancelled/

[Sigurd]

I'd try it but I can't as it's not even open beta yet.
And last I heard it's all about camping because when you move, you always move into a trap and he who camps always gets the first shot because it takes ages to aim after moving.
I totally get how it's realistic, but I'm not sure whether it wouldn't bore or frustrate me endlessly.

There is a little "cheat" in arcade mode. When you move the cursor over an enemy tank your cross-hairs changes colour depending on the chance of penetration. This might lead some to camp more and just scan the terrain with the sights hoping for a green cross-hair even though you haven't really spotted an enemy. This might change soon (won't turn green unless tank is visually spotted).
Besides that, there is no aim time as you know it in WoT. When you fire, your tank "move" and your vision is clouded by the smoke, but you don't have to wait for any aim time to finish before taking the shot. Put your cross-hair on the target and shoot. Unlike WoT you need to factor in ballistics (that's what the "cheat" helps you with in Arcade). Aim above the target on long ranges. You train for this in Arcade with the "cheat" and you learn where to aim, because in Realistic mode, you don't have your little helper and you have to guess where to aim. Bad shooters needs closer range. I am guessing this would be a perfect game for a TD lover as they truly have better guns. In my picture I have the Su-76 which has a gun similar to the T-34 and the T-28 (76 mm), but it is so much better at long ranges than its contemporaries. And you can get HEAT round for it (same penetration no matter the distance).

It's not like the first shot is likely gonna kill you (all though that might be different in higher tier and it does happen in lower tiers on a very good aimed shot - e.g. ammo rack through a weak spot), some tanks can take a beating (t-28 and my Su-76) but as I said, if a shot penetrates it will destroy something, and usually ammo or fuel = dead tank. I have been up against some really good players, who will disable your gun, then tracks and move closer for inspection. That might be frustrating, but you have usually more tanks to field the game with (up to 3 (reserve) of the same type). And you can have as many as 5 crews without spending gold on slots. Each with maybe 2 tanks pr crew. That would be 10 tanks you can put into action in the same game. The funny thing is... they are the same crews you use on your planes. So you take your Bf109 F4 Expert crew and put it into a Pz II (they'll be as novice as any new crews in a tank - no help being highly qualified pilots, gunners or ground crew).
I didn't start my Soviet "campaign" so I had only the 3 reserve crews when I started playing ground forces.

Getting into the game pre-open beta is a buy-in. I bought the cheapest package. €20 for 2 premium tanks (tier 1) 2000 gold and 2 weeks of premium account. And you get into the closed beta. That is about 160 NoK and not enough to buy a pizza around here, so I think it is a bargain. Besides - ground forces is not a new client, so you get to use your war-thunder client with the added benefit of extra gold and premium account when grinding those planes. The tank battles is an event running during 12:00 GMT to 20:00 GMT so its not open 24/7. there is another time slot that starts at 01:00 GMT but that is in the middle of my night so I don't know the exact time it ends. In the closed beta the tank upgrades and prices is cheap, so you don't deplete you lions. A new tank might cost <1000 lions and upgrades ranges around 50. I guess the prices goes up the neared tier 5 you get. But compared to the planes - its really cheap. And you can take a round in your favorite plane and bring in another 100 000 lions anyway

[Sigurd]

HAHA... I might have been a little premature buying that package. The game has just released version 1.41 of WarThunder and it has Ground Forces in Open Beta. And as they announced, my account has been wiped

Linky

[Husar]

I tested it a bit tonight after downloading it from Steam. I haven't tried maxing the graphics yet but on High they are not all that amazing so far, tanks look okay but the terrain has too bright colours in many places it seems. When I aim at other tanks in external view (because the F-keys for view change didn't do a thing and the one time I accidentally got to the ironsight mode and didn't want it, I struggled to get out) it's relatively hard to see anything as the picture seems a bit blurry/unsharp, you cannot see details on enemy tanks and if they're not relatively close they just seem to blur into the terrain even if the red name shows up above them. Might be a graphics setting thing, but it wasn't all that impressive.

Key settings are a complete mess and just symptomatic for the confusing and badly made interface of the entire game. And I almost never complain about interfaces, but WarThunder somehow manages to take the cake. It's manageable and a bit better than in the early beta, but it still requires way too much work just to get somewhere and to get back. The control settings are confusing and since it apparently found my old settings, none of the tank keys were assigned to anything or maybe a joystick. Either way when it told me I neded to assign a key for fire extinguishers, I couldn't find them anywhere until it kicked me out of the menu because the match was over.

As for the actual gameplay and realism, the Panzer II in the game (arcade mode) would be perfect for drifting competitions and since the graphics didn't allow me to see anything at a distance and the 20mm cannoit penetrate anything at a distance either, I ended up playing it very similar to WoT, by moving as close as possible to the enemieswith a hill for cover and trying to hit their vulnerable sides as apparently their front was impervious, including the lower hull and so on. And once I got a bit used to the clunky controls, where gears need to be shifted to go backwards but not forwards, and learned to not stand around too much because everyone gets a magic off-map artillery strike that obliterates everything in a certain area, I managed to kill some enemies which were dumb enough to show me their weak sides. Against Russian T-26 you hardly stand a chance though apparently as they have a proper gun and are also relatively immune to the 20mm. Ammo upgrades might change this but only the last of three actually yields a penetration improvement, the others seem relatively useless.

Funnily enough it was the scary looking StuG-III that hit me twice and didn't kill me and then died somehow. It did set me on fire though, which apparently didn't do much for about a minute while I was trying to find the key to extinguish it in the controls menu.

I will definitely test it a bit more, play with the settings and so on, but I definitely don't see the big WoT killer yet, in many places the game seems really random and enemies just die to whatever because there is hardly a visual indicator for anything apart from the enormous white letters it plaster onto the screen after every salvo, indicating the amount of lions and stuff you got for a single salvo.

Oh and lastly, I was not impressed that it doesn't even allow me to view the russian tech tree at all after I chose the German tank one. The planes I unlocked for Germany months ago still seem to be unlocked, but I alos remember trying the Russian planes back then, they seem unavailable now. US tree was also blocked until I get 9 whatevers against other players, British and Japanese airplane trees were available.

[Sigurd]

I tested it a bit tonight after downloading it from Steam. I haven't tried maxing the graphics yet but on High they are not all that amazing so far, tanks look okay but the terrain has too bright colours in many places it seems. When I aim at other tanks in external view (because the F-keys for view change didn't do a thing and the one time I accidentally got to the ironsight mode and didn't want it, I struggled to get out) it's relatively hard to see anything as the picture seems a bit blurry/unsharp, you cannot see details on enemy tanks and if they're not relatively close they just seem to blur into the terrain even if the red name shows up above them. Might be a graphics setting thing, but it wasn't all that impressive.

Key settings are a complete mess and just symptomatic for the confusing and badly made interface of the entire game. And I almost never complain about interfaces, but WarThunder somehow manages to take the cake. It's manageable and a bit better than in the early beta, but it still requires way too much work just to get somewhere and to get back. The control settings are confusing and since it apparently found my old settings, none of the tank keys were assigned to anything or maybe a joystick. Either way when it told me I neded to assign a key for fire extinguishers, I couldn't find them anywhere until it kicked me out of the menu because the match was over.

As for the actual gameplay and realism, the Panzer II in the game (arcade mode) would be perfect for drifting competitions and since the graphics didn't allow me to see anything at a distance and the 20mm cannoit penetrate anything at a distance either, I ended up playing it very similar to WoT, by moving as close as possible to the enemieswith a hill for cover and trying to hit their vulnerable sides as apparently their front was impervious, including the lower hull and so on. And once I got a bit used to the clunky controls, where gears need to be shifted to go backwards but not forwards, and learned to not stand around too much because everyone gets a magic off-map artillery strike that obliterates everything in a certain area, I managed to kill some enemies which were dumb enough to show me their weak sides. Against Russian T-26 you hardly stand a chance though apparently as they have a proper gun and are also relatively immune to the 20mm. Ammo upgrades might change this but only the last of three actually yields a penetration improvement, the others seem relatively useless.

Funnily enough it was the scary looking StuG-III that hit me twice and didn't kill me and then died somehow. It did set me on fire though, which apparently didn't do much for about a minute while I was trying to find the key to extinguish it in the controls menu.

I will definitely test it a bit more, play with the settings and so on, but I definitely don't see the big WoT killer yet, in many places the game seems really random and enemies just die to whatever because there is hardly a visual indicator for anything apart from the enormous white letters it plaster onto the screen after every salvo, indicating the amount of lions and stuff you got for a single salvo.

Oh and lastly, I was not impressed that it doesn't even allow me to view the russian tech tree at all after I chose the German tank one. The planes I unlocked for Germany months ago still seem to be unlocked, but I also remember trying the Russian planes back then, they seem unavailable now. US tree was also blocked until I get 9 whatevers against other players, British and Japanese airplane trees were available.

You should reset the controls. [V] is the key to change to sniper mode. I had it to flaps up in the game, so I too struggled a little in the beginning using the mouse scroll to get in and out of sniper mode. You need to unlock the upgrade for fire extinguisher before you can use it. Same with repair and air strikes (Stug III doesn't get that btw). Fire extinguisher should be key [7] as indicated on it when it is unlocked and visible on the bottom of your monitor along side your ammo.

My graphics are very good BTW.. tried nVidia experience suggested settings for that game? I had to turn v-sync on because it gives me more frame-rates than my monitor could handle and thus stressed out my card and crashed the game.

These are my chargrins.

• Premium tanks are too OP. They should follow the WoT model for this - making them only good for experience and lions. (you run into T-34 prototype and Sherman in your tier 1 Stug III, which is just insane).
• Apparently you can "cheat" by turning grass and particles to minimum, making you able to see tanks that are usually hidden by the cammo such shrubbery gives.
• HEAT rounds usually penetrate every shot, but do near no damage. sometimes I need to shoot a tank 4-5 times before it blows up. (Might be you have to actually hit something inside, where ordinary AP rounds will coat the inside of the tank with shrapnel).
• meeting closed beta players grinding the same tanks as you isn't particular fun. (in closed beta - those who played the same tanks as you sucked as much as you).

BUT.. IMO it is a better Tank game than WoT, as it is more realistic. WoT seems more a specialized game for tournaments (like SpaceCraft.)

[Sigurd]

I know this is a World of Tanks thread, but I just thought this was relevant.

This baby took out a KV-1 frontally with one shot. I know Seamus had some trouble in the Stug III. Stock out of the yard, this thing just rocked. Man it is fun being TD in this particular game.

[Slyspy]

[*]Apparently you can "cheat" by turning grass and particles to minimum, making you able to see tanks that are usually hidden by the cammo such shrubbery gives.

Although I can't comment on the qualities WTGF since I haven't tried it yet this sort of thing is why WoT has the server-side set up and the spotting system that it does. Cheating with any significant effect in WoT is very difficult, I wonder whether WTGF is so robust in that department?

[Husar]

Although I can't comment on the qualities WTGF since I haven't tried it yet this sort of thing is why WoT has the server-side set up and the spotting system that it does. Cheating with any significant effect in WoT is very difficult, I wonder whether WTGF is so robust in that department?

Yes, absolutely.

As for my experience with WTGF, it's getting better, setting the graphics to "movie" certainly helped, as did using one of the standard keyboard setups and then customizing the one or two key shortcuts I found a bit odd. The feel of the tanks is certainly interesting, the matches are usually over fast because on a few maps hardly anyone even tries to capture the zones so they only change hands once or twice before one team wins (on other maps they are fought over harder apparently). The graphics are much better now but I still don't get how they are better than WoT as one hears so often. The tank textures are better than WoT standard ones, but WoT HD models seem superior and should be more so once they get moving parts with Havoc. I think one can just enjoy both games anyway though, WoT may well have the better payment model however.

Oh, and it's not promising that I have to research 6 vehicles to get to the next tier, that way they force all trees on you. And why is there only one T-54? I thought theoir tank tree charts hasd 2 or 3 versions with different guns?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I know this is a World of Tanks thread, but I just thought this was relevant.

This baby took out a KV-1 frontally with one shot. I know Seamus had some trouble in the Stug III. Stock out of the yard, this thing just rocked. Man it is fun being TD in this particular game.

pretty....

I did not have trouble per se, just commenting on the a-historicality of WOT. In silly old real life, a Sherman driver treated a stug 3g in the bocage with respect and vice versa as either might one shot the other. In WOT, even with a very ahistorical 75/90, a one shot requires a very lucky hit and the Sherman sheds shells or can be tricky to pen at range.

I game it well enough.

[Sigurd]

I did not have trouble per se, just commenting on the a-historicality of WOT. In silly old real life, a Sherman driver treated a stug 3g in the bocage with respect and vice versa as either might one shot the other. In WOT, even with a very ahistorical 75/90, a one shot requires a very lucky hit and the Sherman sheds shells or can be tricky to pen at range.

I game it well enough.

Ah well, I misread your posts then.
It comes to my mind that the gun that killed most allied tanks was the PaK40 (the horse drawn anti-tank gun). I don't remember who said it, maybe it was one of you guys or some old navy friend of mine.
The gun in the ausf.F is a very similar gun - StuK40 (same projectile but slightly shorter cartridge). You get 4 kinds of ammo for it (AP/HE/HEAT/APCR). Except the HE all shells do easily penetrate the contemporary tanks (rank II).

Spending experience to develop skills for its crew, I can't help notice a few interesting things. Like machine-gun proficiency for the commander and radio-man. I am wondering what they have in mind there? some of the tanks do have a top mounted anti-air? gun. I know there will planes trying to kill you, but some of the tanks do have frontal mounted machine gun ports for the radio-man. What would they shoot on? It remains to be seen how realistically warthunder wants to go, as Tanks seldom fought alone and was more or less support to infantry. Those HE shell would come to play against infantry.
There is a massive map of Kursk in the game... it lacks infantry.

[Husar]

Ugh, the grass thing is actually cheap, I turned the grass and tree slider all the way down in the graphics options and while there is still a bit more foliage around your tank, I could look straight through most of the jungle on the jungle/beach map and spot enemy tanks in there much, much faster.

It's certainly not the first game where having pretty graphics actually puts you at a disadvantage but I was hoping one day we could move beyond that. Apparently not.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Oy vey but tier 8's are beasts compared to tier 7.

My first 6 -- and SU 100 that was armed with an 85 until late yesterday's grind produced the 100 -- has exposed me to the STA and a few others for the first time. I shot at one chap -- failed to penetrate -- and only figured out a moment later based on subsequent target movement that I had shot him in the rear. 85mm, square hit on rear armor and still NADA. Sheesh.

Driving an SU100 against the 8s you are facing MEDIUM tanks that are faster, accel better, turn equally but also have a turrent, have guns which either pen 99% of the time for significant damage or guns that are 50/50 to pen but explode you in one round. Moreover, level 8 arty are total beasts.