World of Tanks

[Mordan]

Hello,

Anyone knows this MMO game from Russia? It is free to play with micro transactions. I found it just a few days ago by clicking on an advertising ad. I wasn't very much interested. But I did give it a try and it is not bad though I dislike many choices made in the Tech Tree.

The big thing that seems fun are the Clan Wars where you actually have strategic decisions. You have to pay real money though to create a Clan. (10 euros)

Wouldn't it be fun to create a clan Slitherine or Panzer Corps? It would feel more homely.

I couldn't believe they have 45 millions players... obviously with lots of Chinese and Russians.

I'm LZ_Mordan on the european server if anyone happens to be out there. Add me so we can platoon and fight together. 2 players platooning is free.

[darkiemond]

I played WoT extensively.

It is quite addictive and fun... at first.
It looks and plays great, lots of strategy and teamwork involved. Once you get good at it and level up your tanks (you unlock other tanks by leveling up your current ones) you realize that your average random team just doesn't cut and you join a clan. Playing with people you get to know definetely adds another layer and talking to each other in battle is of course supported.

HOWEVER, I wouldn't recommend this game
It is really really geared toward those micro transactions. You can buy better shells, better crew, special tanks etc... and it ain't cheap.

Your progress through first tiers of tanks is lightining fast, but once you get to higher tiers it takes forever. That's what really bothered me.

If you don't spend any $ your progress is super slow.

I actually did spent money and at the height of playing WoT was spending about $200 a month and even then my progress was extremely slow. Finally I calculated, that to get to the next and final Russian heavy tank I would need to play about 150 more hours and spend money at a rate of around $200 a month. Or about 500 hours if I want to spend only around $20 a month.

I don't mind wasting money on games, but I wanna get my money worth and this one just wasn't cutting it.

PS: In my clan, which was rated 3-4th best rated EVERYONE spent at least some money. So, unless you got money to waste don't play this one.

[KeldorKatarn]

if you guys like WoT, you should keep your eyes open for the upcoming "War Thunder". It will be basically World of Warplanes, ..Tanks, ...Warships combined. Currently it has only the planes but already it does tons of stuff better than WoWP beta. You should check it out.

[Mordan]

Hello,

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't understand how you spent so much money. I spent 60 euros to buy the JagdTiger 88mm, some camo. I suck at the game but even then with a 33% win rate on the JT 88, after 10 days of playing, I'm 5000 xp short of the Tier 6 tank. 3 200 000 credits in the bank. I bought some premium ammo with credits and some 500 000 credit equipment like camo net, repair box, rammer for the JT 88. I also still have 2300 gold and 25 000 free experience in the bank. I don't really care going to the Tier 10. I just want to reach the Tiger 2 . I also grind my way up with the Grille.
I only spend gold on free experience when it is worth it.
I also spend gold for get crew to 100%. It is worth it imo. Those nasty micro transactions!

I read on some forums guys who reached the JagdTiger Tier 9 without spending any money.

TO get some perspective, the E100, i.e the Tier 10 tank 2 steps above the Tiger 2 (Tier costs 6 000 000 and 180 000 free xp. Credits aren't a problem it seems. But according to the exchange rate of 1/400 and 1/25. If you don't want to work on it, it would cost you 15 000 gold (70 euros) of credits and 7200 (35 euros) gold of free experience.

So roughly, 100 euros the Tier 10 tank. But honestly, credits shouldn't be a problem. When playing well, you can earn 10 000 to 50 000 credits per battle.
Strategy on the random battles on the EU server is a pain. Too many eastern country kids not speaking a word of english.

Some clans don't care about Tier. You can have lots of fun with Middle Tier battles.

[darkiemond]

how i spent so much money? It depends on how much you play and how many tanks you want to level up.
I did play a lot, 3-4 hours every day.

I bought expereince for the crew, had a premium account, two tier 9 tanks, 2 tier 8 artilerries and used special ammo only in 3-4 clan battles a day and almost never bought credits.
Trust me, I was actually trying to be frugal with the money I just played a lot and had several high tiertanks.

And I think you are wrong about credits, you don't earn that much per battle usually. And high tier tanks cost a lot to repair, so if you manage to die fast without scoring any kills you can actually lose credits.
And sure you might have heard of someone reaching tier 9 without spending money, but those are very very few and very dedicated. Instead I constantly heard and read on the forums about people getting to tier 7-8 and unable to make progress due to lack of funds due to repair costs.

Having said all that , things might have changed for the better (cheaper) since I have played WoT a couple of years ago.

[Iscaran]

Well I really dont see how one would have to spend soo much money in WoT...I do play 1-2 h a day (have to work so thats about it for me).

Still after 6500 Battles total I have 2 tier 9 tanks, one tier 7 arty etc. I could have more but it is true that you would have problems in keeping them up. Actually a tier 9 without the premium bonus is giving a small but constant minus in credits (6k respectively-9k per battle average for my two.

But really...you make that money up easily by playing one tier 5 match.

Battle: Malinovka
Vehicle: T-34-85
Experience received: 1.894
Credits received: 78.677
Battle Achievements: Patrol Duty, Confederate, Master Gunner, Mastery Badge: ""Ace Tanker"""

Other tier 5/6 tanks give similar results with an average surplus per battle of >10k mostly up to 15k.

So because of that I decided I would want to level the entire tech trees and with them small tanks finance my bigger ones - despite that I currently have nearly 10 Mio credits laying around...

I DID though occasionally for example when I had holiday buy a premium for a week. In total I may have spent 20-30€ on WoT in 1.5 Years now.

[Mordan]

Yes maybe the credit formula has changed.

@darkiemond. the game has changed a lot since 8.2... so I read in the review who rated the game one of the best of 2012.

I did realize yesterday playing in a platoon for the first time. Me JT 88 (premium tank) Him Tiger II. Last game he died without doing damage. He lost 19 000 credits. That's indeed a rip-off I was not aware of.
The good side of this is it forces players to play GOOD, otherwise it hurts your wallet.

I agree that Tier 5 tanks can earn you money just as easily as a Premium Tank Tier 8, but not as much. That was my rationale buying the Jt88, it costs a lot but afterwards, you can farm credits up to 100 000k per battle.

@iscaran... what's your WoT ID? Mine is LZ_Mordan. Been playing only for 15 days. Does it cost money to platoon with 3 people? I'm platooning with a very good Panzer Corps player.

It also my rational to buy premium account only when i had time to play the game non-stop for farming. even a one day premium may be worth it. I don't have full week dedicated to WoT.

[Iscaran]

for 3pl platoon you need to have a premium account running (at least one of the 3).

My WoT ID would be the same as my forum nick of course .

IMO using premium account time to either FOCUS on playing high tier tanks (9 and above) OR for credit farming is a good way to limit the money spent for this game. The focusing might be a good idea since with premium you are roughly at a no cost no surplus situation on average with tier 9 tanks...without premium you are as I posted in the above situation to have a "costly" tank per battle.

THUS in times where I do not have premium I limit my play to obtain the "bonus" x2 victory with my heavys (thus maximizing the experience per credits cost), and spend the rest playing the rest of the tech tree tanks I have...in fact this is time consuming enough for 1-2h per day.

Anyway - I platoon mostly with a good friend of mine as he has nearly same Free times in the eveninig (and he is living in the same timezone ).

[Mordan]

I reached the Tiger today buying my way to it. I reached the Tier 6 and lost 6 times in row without me doing anything. Either team was crappy or I got shot. Each time I was losing credits. So it was costing me money to play! And of course the tank starts with previous tier equipment so basically you are cannon fodder for 100+ games. It suuuuuuuuuucks.

I had some gold and bought the Tiger with Free Experience. There in Tier 7 it is even worse. You get match vs Tier 9. It is a grindfest it is not enough even funny. The stock Tiger is without any decent gun. It is slow as hell.

It is not fun. I'm not giving them anymore money. The match making is boring and unfair. There is no strategy.

I start to understand darkiemond. It is easy to be suckered to spend money to upgrade quickly your sucky stock tank just in order to be competitive in the games... I guess it becomes even worse as you go up in Tiers.

This game is SLAVERY!!

[Iscaran]

PzKpfw VI Tiger Games Played 365 Victories 201

I really dont understand your problem with Tiger tank...actually its my best Tier 7 Tank I ever played so far. And definitely from the German tanks one of the best....compared to Panther, Tiger is a King....unfortunately the King Tiger isnt as close as good.
Despite all that I agree that the Tiger in WoT is FAR from being the Tank it should be in history - part of the problem is the tier system. Tiger is a Tier 7 tank, but nearly ALL other tanks from Tigers historic time frame are only tier 6....which makes the live for Tiger so much harder. But that may be a balancing decision to avoid Tiger to be uberpowered (as most of the russian tanks are IMO - I mean, hell when I saw an IS with Tiger I immediately put in the rear gear, it took me some games to do this, since I would expect it historically kind of the other way round - but its WoT and not Panzer Corps).

Btw. I didnot spend anything to a) get to Tiger nor b) to buy credits or XP to level it up faster...I never do this. The only way I spend money through is to use premium accounting for "enhanced" gameplay feeling...the extra credits + XP are really worthwhile on days I have time to really play alot.

I think you have to rethink your gameplay tactics...despite it is really hard if you have a bad team WoT is actually a game where just a few good players can make a winning team. These days I consider "good" matches to only be those where I am the top XP gaining player in the battle outcomes statistics. My minimum target is to be the BEST player from my tier (regardless if whether the matchmaking made me pair with only higher tier tanks or not).
The point in WoT is you have to KNOW your role. A light tank is not for frontal assault, neither it is for a backlog / sniping role, nor for ambushing...a Heavy Tank on the other hand is to "block" certain routes when you have a superior firing position (arty covered, soft spots covered from enemy fire etc.) OR it can be used in conjunction with scouts AND other heavys to pave the way to victory.
Medium tanks are kind of "combat" scouts - or fast moving reserves. Or can be used as backlog snipers...

It is VITAL to understand each tanks specifications and capabilities and act accordingly.

I must admit that some tanks suit my game play style better, or that I understand the purpose and WAY to play of them better. Tiger definitely was one of those I would tend to say I know how it works...Panther was a pain to play and I never got good in it.
Thats why I apparently have a 53.5% Win Ration with Tiger - but only 40% with Panther.

[Mordan]

2 questions..

Since I bought the Tiger, my first Tier 7, I get Assault Mode battles with ALL my tanks.... Is there a way to disable that mode? I don't like it.

Is it normal that the stock Tiger has that ugly looking turret? How do you avoid losses when you stock Tiger is Assaulted by Tier8-Tier9 tanks in Assault Mode? Not a single penetration. A waste of time and credits!

It is a Russian game made by Russians, You can't expect them not to buff their tanks compared to Axis's . Vae Victis!

[Iscaran]

Hi,

"Is there a way to disable that mode? I don't like it." => Yes there is...somewhere in options - but assault is kind of fun IMO...also it adds difference to the maps since the targets are different.

Is it normal that the stock Tiger has that ugly looking turret? Yes the default turret is the prototype turret which in RL never was used after the testings.

How do you avoid losses when you stock Tiger is Assaulted by Tier8-Tier9 tanks in Assault Mode? Not a single penetration. A waste of time and credits!

You need to learn about armor protection, soft spots of targets AND yes it is pretty normal that you have little chance to penetrate a tier 8/9 frontally with ANY tier 7 tank - but especially so with the pretty low penetrating weak german guns (weak for their tier, compare to other tanks same tier) (dont we all like the russian way of thinking that an 88mm shell from a Tiger would be inferior ot a 85mm Shell of a T-34-85...penetration wise ).

If you play vs. higher tiers you have to make "flanking" - NEVER shoot frontally, you make your position visible and dont score any dmg. Either fall back or drive to enemy flank.

Thats what I mean you have to play the correct "role" of you tank. A tier 7, despite being a "Heavy" in a Tier8/9 match is either kind of a backup or a flanking/scouting tank...if you play backup(means you roll along with the heavys, shoot the "soft" spot targets first, while the tier8s, 9s will take care of the others. Or use the distraction caused to flank any single enemy opponent to force him out of his good position so your teammates can roll further or even kill him by side hitting him.

[Gwaylare]

Hi Mordan

So this MMO with small transactions is like all the others, you need to take care about your money. But in WOT it works fine to avoid most costs, if you do not want to play at top level.
My costs are limited by myself to 10€ per month and less than 100€ overall so far and it works fine.

Most things you get for gold are not really required. So it is fine to play without premium tanks or premium account for example, if you have some low tier tanks to earn money. Sure everything takes some longer this way.

Most important is not to grind to fast through the tanks. That is expensive and it is much more fun to play the tanks you like than those you need to go through.
Not every tanks works for every player. Especially the Tiger has the problem that it is the first heavy in the german tree and it is not really a straight forward heavy like KV-1. So you have to learn a lot starting with the Tiger. For me Tiger did not work well, but Tiger II does.

If you are using free xp or even gold to grind to a tank, dont us it to get faster to a certain tank, but to avoid a stock tank. So I just start with a new tank if there is enough free xp available to buy the most required components. In most cases turret, gun and may be suspension to use them. To skip a tank with free xp for me just worked for low tier tanks.

My gold is used for about 90% to get a good crew. So I do use 100% crews for a new tank or transfer my old crew to a new tank. It is horrible to drive a new stock tank with a 75% crew. So in my eyes everyting but a 100% crew is nice to have in WOT. A good crew and a tank you really like to play is the best to have fun! And my performance got better once I did play tanks for a longer time. Dont ask me for Pz III, Pz IV or Stug III. All tanks which should be really good did not work for me. So try to find YOUR tanks and give them a chance. Most players have problems to adjust the playstyle for a certain tank, so play the tanks where your playstyle fits to the tanks even if most people claim it is bad. So I am fine with Jagdpanzer IV and would never use Stug III sure

When I struggled with Tiger, I started a russian tank line. The KVs are much easier to play, not sure if they are really better. But with russian heavies I learned to play heavies. But still Tiger is the Tank with my max XP in one game. So this beast could be great, if you master it.

Best regards
Gwaylare

[Mordan]

Hello Gwaylare,

I agree I jumped too quick on the Tiger. Your strategy to save free experience in order to buy basic equipment so as not to play with a stock tank is a good one.

Now I also buy 100% crew, it is a lot more convenient and you need the other skills anyway. After more than 300 games I'm only at 90% of my first skill in the JT88 but I win only 33% of the time . Now I need up to 10 000 xp to increase by one percentage point! I'm not a good sniper. I don't like sitting and doing nothing. But I bought the JT88 because it earns good money and I was told shells are cheap. I don't have the Lowe so I can't compare. It is the only good thing about the JT88. In one game (premium), I made 80k in one game and my max experience of 1470. Imagine the money a good TD player could make with it

I believe buying a Tier 8 premium tank is the best investment to make when playing casually. You never bother with money anymore. Only XP is a problem. Of course, if you want to train a crew for a Tier 10 tank, you need to choose a tank in the right tech tree.

Right now the most fun I get is playing the Luch against other Tier 3s and a few tier 4s. I can earn easily 10 000 credits in a game. It is just fun to drive. You can do hit and runs. etc.

Clan Wars (where I think there is real strategy) should not be only for tier 10. The game mode should be for all Tiers. Some provinces could be battles only with some Tiers. But I think War Gaming is making a lot of money selling the dream to players so they buy free xp in order to reach Tier 10. It is kinda a Ponzi Scheme. Because they could change the rules at any time.

Still it is an enjoyable game when played casually, especially in a platoon.