World of Tanks - Free to play Panzer MMO

[InsaneApache]

Yeah the last 5% can take some time to get up to 100%. If you think that's bad I got a crew with 5 skills and they're on about 70% of the fifth skill and it's already into triple figures to get to the next 1%.

However, it is worth it esp camo on TDs. You will see the difference when they get to 100%. When you get to 100% on the Marder come back and let us know your thoughts on the next skill/perk.

Personally I'd go for mentor for commander and repairs on the crew.

Oh don't forget to install ventilation. You get another 5% crew skill bonus for it. it all adds up.

[Sigurd]

Yeah the last 5% can take some time to get up to 100%. If you think that's bad I got a crew with 5 skills and they're on about 70% of the fifth skill and it's already into triple figures to get to the next 1%.

However, it is worth it esp camo on TDs. You will see the difference when they get to 100%. When you get to 100% on the Marder come back and let us know your thoughts on the next skill/perk.

Personally I'd go for mentor for commander and repairs on the crew.

Oh don't forget to install ventilation. You get another 5% crew skill bonus for it. it all adds up.

I doubt ventilation will work on a Marder
On the Stug though...

[InsaneApache]

I doubt ventilation will work on a Marder
On the Stug though...

Yeah I forgot. It's a convertible TD.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Already have the extra vents on the garaged Stug.

Sigurd, you post like a TD fellow....the instant a mistake is made and <<zing>> the round crashes home on target...poor IA

[Gregoshi]

Sigurd, you post like a TD fellow....the instant a mistake is made and <<zing>> the round crashes home on target...poor IA

Sigurd the Ventilator

[Sigurd]

Sigurd, you post like a TD fellow....the instant a mistake is made and <<zing>> the round crashes home on target...poor IA

Husar has a bad influence on me.

I didn't start out as a TD tanker - I was into the brawler tanks. I have done only the one TD branch of the American tech tree and only recently. Currently accumulating exp on the T30 to get to the E4 (All though it isn't as interesting now as it used to be).
Played German SPGs from the start though. (kept the fully upgraded GW Panther and GW Tiger in the garage).

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Did a little brawling -- even grooming the Brit starting 5 for Churchill service -- but it just isn't as fun to me as snapping in a shot from 400m. I find this especially fun when targeting KV-1's from a raised firing spot thus reversing the value of their armor slope and exacting retribution for their disdainful smushing of my Marder on level ground.

Track hit. Repaired instantly and rolling. Track hit. I move back and around the rock. Side shot! Hit, knocking 20% off HP. KV turret spins. Ring hit, loader killed. I back up. KV shell clips upper corner of front plate, pens, blows the Marder to scrap. KV then limps forward, kills both arties despite the direct arty hit as it wades in, takes flag. Driver no longer needs to move so he steps out for a piss while two light tanks whip back to base to die impotently. KV caps for win.

Oh yes, I do love plunging fire and retribution.

[rajpoot]

It might be April Fools but I love my Karl. It's like Minecraft in WoT.
Here's hoping they don't take it away.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I think they should do a real Karl as a Premium Tier X SPG. Buff its rate of fire up to 1/5 min so it would have four shots (which was its ammo limit in the first loader). It should devastate whole areas and leave an enlarged shell crater at point of impact. It should also use the "early" physics model with tank turrets flipping 30-40 meters. Commander, 2 Gunner, Radio Operator, 2 Driver, 15 Loaders.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Suggestions please.

The Marder is a fair spinner but is not fast. If I am not sniping from way far away I find myself in situations where I am under cover as the KV-1 advances, but that if I move from behind that cover I will be chummed (I have tried, you just end up shot anyway unless you begin to run when they are 300m+ distant). No KV driver is dumb enough to drive up to me with the turret reversed so that I can hit him readily. So, what to do? I can track them but the turret is forward and tracking them so that they cannot bear on me is unlikely. I have tried to shoot them but there is nowhere on the front hull that I can penetrate without using sabot rounds and your cannot use those without a litany of abuse and a loss of credits. Do I just have to blow up? It seems so pointless.

[Gregoshi]

Suggestions please.

The Marder is a fair spinner but is not fast... Do I just have to blow up? It seems so pointless.

Make yourself a Martyr?

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Make yourself a Martyr?

Generally cannot. When it happens that in swatting me they get chummed by the arty, that's okay. Usually though, the martyrdom is pretty pointless.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

There's a strips of vertical armor on the KV-1 that the top gun of the Marder II should penetrate, at least with an average or above pen roll. You'll have to hit it close to straight on though, which is not always possible.

Anyway, here's a weak spot guide:

http://wotguru.com/weak-spots-guide-kv-1/

[Sigurd]

The Marder should probably not shoot at the KV turret (even the back of it), unless it's stock. The upgraded turret has 110 mm armour all the way round. Best option for a Marder not shooting "gold", is to aim for the machine gun port in the front or the drivers hatch.
Angled KV1 = machine gun port.

We are discussing the Marder 38T right? the one before the Stug. Not the tier 3 Marder II? Well... I see they have more or less the same guns so nvm.
KV-1 is a tier 5 tank - and your team's tier 5 tanks should deal with the KV-1. E.g. the American small but mighty T49 - will eat KV-1 for breakfast.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The Marder should probably not shoot at the KV turret (even the back of it), unless it's stock. The upgraded turret has 110 mm armour all the way round. Best option for a Marder not shooting "gold", is to aim for the machine gun port in the front or the drivers hatch.
Angled KV1 = machine gun port.

We are discussing the Marder 38T right? the one before the Stug. Not the tier 3 Marder II? Well... I see they have more or less the same guns so nvm.
KV-1 is a tier 5 tank - and your team's tier 5 tanks should deal with the KV-1. E.g. the American small but mighty T49 - will eat KV-1 for breakfast.

I am referring to the tier 3 Marder. I fight it well, I think, but it is the KV-1 and the PZ1c that are my banes. The 1c I have no "problem" with, per se, I get one hit on the run in and it is all about the second hit (and damage amount). It is the scat-scout with an AC that will chew me up even if it takes all 40 shots to do so. But it has no "untouchable" status, it is just my gun v his speed -- fair contest.

No, the problem is the KV, which all too often is still more or less intact after waxing the two tanks in front of me that I was sniping in aid of.

I will try for that MG port, I have found the driver's hatch to be a tough angle most times. I saw the guide on the front of the turret, but hitting that flat point without touching the mantlet and negating your shot is probably going to be even harder than the MG point.

Thanks for the advice though. The crew is nearly complete with their camo skill, and they will then transition to the Stug. Now THAT is a 75 that can reach out and tap someone. Though it will also mean level sevens, which I have never faced. To read about them, the don't seem that much "better" than the tier 6s, but I have no experience of it.

[Husar]

As Sigurd said, you're not exactly meant to beat a KV-1, if you were why did that poor KV-1 driver grind his way to tier 5 only to get pwned by your puny tier3? You're not alone in your team, so let others engage him and then maybe flank if possible.

I'm a jack of all trades, master of none, don't have a single crew with 4 skills yet IIRC.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

As Sigurd said, you're not exactly meant to beat a KV-1, if you were why did that poor KV-1 driver grind his way to tier 5 only to get pwned by your puny tier3? You're not alone in your team, so let others engage him and then maybe flank if possible.

I'm a jack of all trades, master of none, don't have a single crew with 4 skills yet IIRC.

Oh, I get your point. I don't necessarily think I should beat them, at least not often. I'd just like to get a thump or two in before they chum me.

[InsaneApache]

Being one of the 'bully' KV-1 drivers I could offer you some tips on how to kill me. Then again I might not!

OK. The KV-1 is not Superman. It has it's weak spots. The bottom plate at the front of the tank is one. If you shoot him there you will damage him. Ignore the turret. I don't even bothering to shoot the turret in my Tiger 1. Again at the front of the tank there are a couple of other weak spots. The drivers slit. The coaxial machine gun port. Keep shooting there and you will, especially if you use HE, damage and even kill the driver and radio operator. At the side of the tank, just below and behind the turret is where the bully keeps his ammo. OK you might not rack him but if you pen then you can slow down his rate of fire. Then of course you can always track him.

I feel your pain though. In my Chaffee, a tier 5, I regularly get put in tier 10 games, (I'm a scout) and the only way I can make any damage to the enemy is by using HE rounds and that's with the Firefly gun on it. So expect more of the same grinding your way up the tree.

Then when you get to the IS-3 it all, somehow, seems worth it.

[Sigurd]

Now THAT is a 75 that can reach out and tap someone. Though it will also mean level sevens, which I have never faced. To read about them, the don't seem that much "better" than the tier 6s, but I have no experience of it.

Just wait until you run into a fully upgraded KV-3 or a IS. Those 122mm will really hurt.

I don't know if any of you have read Sven Hassel's books? I did when I was a kid. I especially remember the vivid description when they met the Iosif Stalin tank on the east front. The despair when they heard the characteristic sounds of that tank. They knew their puny PzIV tanks would not hold up against it. This danish writer allegedly served in the Wehrmacht as a tanker and later in a "strafferegiment" (don't know the English equivalent) 27. Panzer Regiment z.b.V

[InsaneApache]

Wasn't it called Walls of Steel or summat?

NB: I was thinking of Wheels of Terror.

wiki is your friend.

[Sp4]

Just wait until you run into a fully upgraded KV-3 or a IS. Those 122mm will really hurt.

That is if they hit. After driving around an entire night in a KV1S in companies, every other tank felt super accurate =P The 390 avg dmg from the 122s does become kind of meh at around Tier 8 if coupled with the long reload time on the guns and the lack of accuracy. That said, I did accidentally queue for a Tier 8 match in my 1S at some point with some friends in IS-3s and I did come out on top of the list at the end of it all.
Because of my silly choice of tank, I was flinging around APCR all game though which is like 225 or 175mm avg pen? Anyways, it brings the gun up to the performance of a fully upgraded BL-9 on the IS-3 except in accuracy of course.

[Sigurd]

Wasn't it called Walls of Steel or summat?

NB: I was thinking of Wheels of Terror.

wiki is your friend.

In my language which is very similar to Danish -its 'Døden på larveføtter'. Google translate that and you'll get: Death on caterpillar tracks.
This is his second book out of 14. The first one being the best - as it is believed it was the one he actually wrote himself.
book spoiler:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You meet all the main characters in the first book... but they all die. The rest of the books are stories using the same dead characters.

That is if they hit. After driving around an entire night in a KV1S in companies, every other tank felt super accurate =P The 390 avg dmg from the 122s does become kind of meh at around Tier 8 if coupled with the long reload time on the guns and the lack of accuracy. That said, I did accidentally queue for a Tier 8 match in my 1S at some point with some friends in IS-3s and I did come out on top of the list at the end of it all.
Because of my silly choice of tank, I was flinging around APCR all game though which is like 225 or 175mm avg pen? Anyways, it brings the gun up to the performance of a fully upgraded BL-9 on the IS-3 except in accuracy of course.

We are talking about shooting Stug IIIs with 122mm cannon (175mm pen/390hp avg. dmg against a 350 hp tank with max 80mm armour) You will always run into something bigger and better until you reach the top tier. Even then...

Anyone sniping with these tanks - aren't using them right. The Heavy Soviet tanks are brawlers and works best up and close to the enemy. I had a fight in my IS4 a few months back (could be longer...). I held an entire flank by angling at a perfect spot earning over 60 hits and a potential damage count in the fifty thousands. Near all shots bounced - and I guess I finally succumbed to the few smart ones (Arty) firing HE.
A typical brawl.. they come around a corner - and there you are angled and with a dangerous gun.

I positioned myself at the red X and I only had two other tanks to my rear. The others went around the other way. I took shots from three groups (indicated as red arrows).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Almost all of the KV1 and 1s' I have faced have been packing the 122. So I have been slagged by that gun when running my hetz or my marder on many an occasion. I see -- at least on NA -- very few folks using the 85 or the 57 clipper on their KVs. I never see someone using it as a sniper. Sometimes you see people sniping with the Churchhills (since they take 6-8 weeks to reach the front line).

[Sigurd]

Almost all of the KV1 and 1s' I have faced have been packing the 122. So I have been slagged by that gun when running my hetz or my marder on many an occasion. I see -- at least on NA -- very few folks using the 85 or the 57 clipper on their KVs. I never see someone using it as a sniper. Sometimes you see people sniping with the Churchhills (since they take 6-8 weeks to reach the front line).

122 U-11? The HE derp? I don't know... You are talking to Ivans who played the KV as a combined KV-1 and KV-2. I think the 122 was an option back then as well, but I can't remember anyone using it since we got the 85mm from the T28 in the previous tier. Then it was all about grinding the 152mm Derp gun and the 107mm Zis gun (sniper). I don't really understand why 122 HE derp is a good idea on the Kv-1 as it will run into Tier 7 tanks - that thing would hardly scratch the paint off a KV-3 or a T29 (unless spending gold or ton of credits on HEAT ammo).
Using the 152mm (HE) on the KV-2 against tier 8 tanks, does only 200-300 damage - which just makes them angry. An angry IS3 with the BL9 is not good. That's a 1-2 shot disaster waiting to happen. And he can fire those before the 152 is reloaded.

But it (u-11) does good damage though.. so against lower tiers it could do 2367 dpm while the 85mm "only" does 1920 dpm. the 57 does 2210 dpm. The 85 has 120mm penetration though. Which you need against higher tier.
See.. I think like this, because I want to hurt higher tier tanks. But really you should prep your tank for the enemy on the same tier. As a top tier, your responsibility is to deal with the other top tier tanks.

So.. the 122 fires about 5 shots a minute - but can deal 450 damage if it penetrates something less than 61mm - unless you spend money on HEAT which does 1946 dpm and has 20mm better penetration then the 85mm. Right - so you need to be a wealthy player to use the 122 on the KV-1 for it to be useful.

[InsaneApache]

Bonus code for 200 gold J1NXSUPPORTSTHEGRANDFINALS.

I had to go through wowp to enable it.

[Slyspy]

The tier three Marder should penetrate the front of the KV1 fairly easily unless it is angled. Aim for the armour plate with the viewport and mg port on it. Aim for the mg or for the bottom of the view port if possible. If the KV is angled then you will struggle with the RNG, although it is still possible. You could even try some gold ammo if necessary.

[Husar]

I feel your pain though. In my Chaffee, a tier 5, I regularly get put in tier 10 games, (I'm a scout) and the only way I can make any damage to the enemy is by using HE rounds and that's with the Firefly gun on it. So expect more of the same grinding your way up the tree.

The Chaffee gets a 17 pounder?

Then when you get to the IS-3 it all, somehow, seems worth it.

Never liked the IS-3 a lot, best moment of my WoT-life was when one thought he could rush my little SU-100M TD and I killed him with my puny 175mm pen through repeated shots into his roof plate before he could even hug me. And I wasn't even in an elevated position.

a "strafferegiment" (don't know the English equivalent)

I think in Englicanameristralia they call a "Strafregiment" a "penal company".

Sometimes you see people sniping with the Churchhills (since they take 6-8 weeks to reach the front line).

So true, I had some games where I just followed the team around and never really saw any action until we won.

122 U-11? The HE derp?

I think he meant the KV-1S with the 122mm D-5-T.

[InsaneApache]

The Chaffee gets a 17 pounder?

IIRC the 76mm is the Firefly. That's the top gun on the Chaffee.

The Chaffee has great potential in fighting other tanks thanks to its 76 mm Gun T94 - which is even superior to the 76mm used by the M4A3E8 Sherman. Thanks to its high agility and speed, the Chaffee can hold its own even against some tier 8 heavies in close quarters when used correctly
http://wiki.worldoftanks.com/M24_Chaffee

[Slyspy]

Chaffee is great, but it's MM is the most brutal in the game while the tide of the meta game is currently flowing against light tanks in general.

[InsaneApache]

Here's a battle I played in the Chaffee last night. When it goes well, it goes very well.

http://postimg.org/image/s3k3psskb/

Yes the MM can be brutal at times, in tier 10 matches some of the heavies can see further than I can. However, I have a Romulan cloaking device and often get called a cheat or hack at lower tiers. Puts a smile on my face anyroad.