2. Tank Knowledge

If this sounds obvious to you then you are probably a pretty experienced tanker - if not, then you will benefit by learning to appreciate and evaluate each tank both on it strengths and merits, and for its weaknesses.

Remember you never know what tanks you will come up against in a match - so at least a basic knowledge of each tank by class and type is not only useful in terms of deploying them with effect, but also for learning their weaknesses so you can defeat them!

Now with that in mind, we thought we would provide an example by showing you the basics for our favorite tank - and its screens - to help you learn how and where to find the information that is of most use to you in the evaluation process.

The M4A3E8 Sherman Tank

First enter the Garage and then select the Sherman (this applies to any tank really) and you will note that there are a variety of buttons you can press. The first - and perhaps for our purposes the most important - is the Info Button (the International symbol for Information being an italics “i” in a circle).

When we start out, the base tank has the following stats:

PROTECTION

Hit Points: 920

Hull Armor (mm)

Front: 63

Sides: 38

Rear: 38

Turret Armor (mm)

Front: 63

Sides: 63

Rear: 63

MANEUVERABILITY

Weight (t): 30.04

Engine Power (h.p.): 380

Speed Limit (km/h): 48

Traverse Speed (deg/s): 37

Turret Traverse Speed (deg/s): 38

FIRE

Standard Shell Damage: 120 - 200

Standard Shell Penetration (mm): 69 - 115

Rate of Fire (rounds/min): 8.62

Aiming Time (s): 2.1

Dispersion at 100m (m): 0.46

View Range (m): 230

Now we add the following kit to our Tank, making the following purchases based upon its current capabilities and the stock amounts:

CONSUMABLES

1. Manual Fire Extinguisher (2,000 Credits)

2. First Aid Kit (2,000 Credits)

3. Repair Kit (2,000 Credits)

AMMUNITION

1. 25 Rounds of AP (2.95” AP M61) Cost = 32 x 56cr = 1,792 Credits.

2. 25 Rounds of APCR (2.95” APCR M72) Cost = 25 x 7g = 175 Gold.

3. 20 Rounds of HE (2.95” HE M48) Cost = 7 x 56cr = 392 Credits.

EQUIPMENT

1. Medium-Caliber Tank Gun Rammer (-10% loading time) Cost = 200K Credits.

2. Camouflage Net (-25% to visibility when the tank is stationary) Cost = 100K Credits.

3. Enhanced Gun Laying Drive (+10% to aiming speed) Cost = 200K Credits.

Even with the above additions the actual stats have not changed - yet. But before we can think about taking this baby into combat, we need to check the Tech Tree to see what improvements we can make based upon what tech we have unlocked.

Ideally as you play you will unlock all of the available tech tree for your tank - which we have already done here - so we have maximum flexibility in terms of the upgrade path and we are now going to take advantage of that!

Obviously the stats will be altered based on the changes that these improvements make. So the above presents the basic tank and its capabilities, and now a quick trip to the Tech Tree will transform it into the best it is actually able to obtain in terms of stats so lets determine if there are any further improvements that can be made?

Under the Tech Tree we see that our base M4A3E8 has the following kit already mounted:

1. Gun: IV 75mm Gun M3

2. Turret: V D51072

3. Engine: IV Wright Continental R-975C1

4. Suspension: V NVSS T66

With the above selected that gives us overall characteristics of:

• Protection: 34%

• Firepower: 35%

• Shot Effectiveness: 36%

• Maneuverability: 45%

Clearly we can do better than that if we are willing to spend the money... Looking at the available upgrades on the Tech Tree we note the following for each category:

Guns

V 105mm M4: +44 Firepower / -21 Shot Effectiveness

VI 76mm M1A1: -3 Firepower / +12 Shot Effectiveness

VI 76mm M1A2: +10 Firepower / +16 Shot Effectiveness

Turret

VI D51080: +1 Protection

Engine

V Wright Continental R-975C4: +5 Maneuverability

VII Ford GAA: +8 Maneuverability

Suspension

VII NVSS T80: +3 Maneuverability

With those available options, choosing to upgrade the Turret to the D51080, the Gun to the M1A2, the Engine to the Ford GAA, and the Suspension to the NVSS T80, we end up improving the overall stats of the Sherman to:

• Protection: 35%

• Firepower: 45%

• Shot Effectiveness: 52%

• Maneuverability: 56%

Specifically that alters the stats of the tank with these upgrade as follows:

PROTECTION

Hit Points: 980 (Originally 920)

Hull Armor (mm)

Front: 63 (Unchanged)

Sides: 38 (Unchanged)

Rear: 38 (Unchanged)

Turret Armor (mm)

Front: 76 (Originally 63)

Sides: 51 (Originally 63)

Rear: 51 (Originally 63)

MANEUVERABILITY

Weight (t): 30.21 (Originally 30.04)

Engine Power (h.p.): 520 (Originally 380)

Speed Limit (km/h): 48 (Unchanged)

Traverse Speed (deg/s): 40 (Originally 37)

Turret Traverse Speed (deg/s): 39 (Originally 38)

FIRE

Standard Shell Damage: 120 - 200 (Unchanged)

Standard Shell Penetration (mm): 96 - 160 (Originally 69 - 115)

Rate of Fire (rounds/min): 10.49 (Originally 8.62)

Aiming Time (s): 2.3 (Originally 2.1)

Dispersion at 100m (m): 0.40 (Originally 0.46)

View Range (m): 240 (Originally 230)

As you can see some of the stats actually got worse, while others improved significantly. Bear in mind that in order to mount the larger and more capable gun we had to upgrade to the different model of turret.

The different types of ammunition allow for specific application based on the target, and overall the tank is much improved as a result of these upgrades!

The final important stat for each of the tanks you own and use is the Crew Mastery, which you can train up over time with experience and a training budget. Obviously when you start out with a new tank your new crew will be less effective until they get trained up, so you should put attention and effort into the training process.