Well, World of Tanks has truly got it's hooks into me. The latest update has brought a sexy new map - the Siegfried line and loads of new German Heavies (yeah, likes that's what the game needed?!?) ... that said, I had noticed that the German heavies were seriously outgunned by the T29, IS and KV variants ... still not making any sense?
Let me explain.
Unlike 40k, WoT is loosely based on the WW2 explosion in tank development and a massive leap from mobile sheds (at the end of WW1) to tank like the T34 (Russian) and T20 (American - confused yet?) which pretty much defined the boring period of tanks since.
Check out the WoT wiki, full of helpful hints and wikipedia information on the tanks of WW2.
This is the dull as dishwater period during and post cold war where the world is dominated by ONE main battle tank per country. It's like the world signed up to Chinese birth control doctrine...!
This is because the guns got so good that any gun could penetrate any tank, so the perfect balance between armour, speed and the gun meant that "strata's" of tanks were pointless.
Let me explain...
Tank types
Largely you have the following:
Light tanks: fast and twisty, these guys are the eyes and ears of the crew. You'll rarely survive a game, you'll amass points quickly and as a top tier speedster (like my lovely Leopard), you'll occassionally get a game where you really punch above your weight. A hobbit.
Medium tanks: Such fun! Mediums are the best balance, they can usually reach out and hurt the heavies, and work in conjunction with heavies to fire past and hide behind. Wolfpacks of mediums can be very very effective. A ranger.
Heavy tanks: Charge up the middle and stomp things. The heavy can deliver the best armour in the best position, allowing you to 'largely' ignore most medium and light tanks. Tank hunters and Self propelled guns are your nemesis, and also wolfpacks of mediums ... and well everyone will hate you (and you'll kill everyone).
Tank Destroyers: Sneaky tanks, hiding in bushes, sniping and destroying. Remove the armour and get a REALLY big gun, some tank hunters are monsters, with frontal armour to ignore even heavy tanks and enormous guns... but no side or rear armour and generally not that fast. Defensive, but devastating.
Self Propelled Guns: A howitser. Yep, you stand at the back and ping them from range. Can be great fun behind a good team (I've got 6 kills in a SU26 before) ... behind a poor team who leaves a hole, you're suddenly trying to fight off a light tank with your uber slow boomgun. Quite tough.
But that's not all....
Oh no, because all the tanks actually play very differently and this leads to some interesting roles ... The M3 Lee is a medium tank - but plays like a tank destroyer. My SU85B is still in the garage as it makes a superb scout tank, even though its a tank destroyer. And this is what I'll go into in the next World of Tanks article.
