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Are you a new(er) player who is hooked on WoT, but tired of getting your butt handed to you in a majority of your battles? It’s not just you who has been blasted to smithereens time and again in the valley in Province! WoT is a hard game to master as a solo player (which is also what makes it great fun), and most of us have experienced the steep learning curve of the game - especially at higher tiers.
If you feel like you are drinking from a fire hose trying to master the basic mechanics of the game, here is a list of ten awesome things I have learned from this forum and other websites about surviving, and ultimately thriving as a WoT player (I’ll get back to you when I get to the thriving part)! [Disclaimer – this information is available in more detail in other posts and websites – this is simply my compilation of what I have learned from others that has really helped my game move from “noob” to more confident and capable!].
1) Don’t rush to higher Tier vehicles and matches. The lure of the tech tree is strong! Before you realize it, you’ll be a week or two into the game and sitting in a T-71 facing Tier IX and X players as a complete novice. Don’t make the same mistake I made – go back and play your favorite Tier I tank for at least 100 matches and try to get your “Mastery” badge on it. Seriously, the game moves much slower at Tier I and you’ll master a lot of techniques like firing angles that will really help you later on.
2) Research tanks – starting with the ones you own. If it seems like a lot of work, it is! There are many, many vehicles in the game, and beyond Tier II (or even with some Tier II’s like the Micro Maus) you are going to know need to know where to hit the enemy to score damage. The sides (above the tracks) and rear of most tanks are obvious targets, but hitting higher tier tanks in their frontal armor requires some knowledge of weak spots like ports, cupolas, or the kooky sounding “lower front glacis.” Google WOTINFO or wotguru.com to get started with weak spot guides, or watch the multitude of YouTube replays available for specific vehicles (mostly from the PC version). Also look for tips on what equipment to carry on your specific tank depending on its strengths and how you like to play (for example, typical sniper = binocs, camo net, vents; typical brawler = rammer, gun laying drive, vents; etc).
3) Research maps – to find the best routes to take for each type of vehicle you like to drive. More work?? I thought this was supposed to be fun? It is fun once you know where to put your tank on the various maps to properly spot, snipe, flank, or spearhead an assault without dying immediately. Maps will take much repetition (for all except the photographic memory types) before they become second nature – don’t get frustrated and check out wotguru.com or my favorite, wotdb.info for great map tips! Playing one specific section of a map for successive battles can also help hone placement and tactics that work for you.
4) Watch the training videos and play the tutorial TWO times (you get FREE gold, silver and XP for doing it!) if you are just starting out. If you are me, it took you an hour to download WoT and you were really itching to get started once you finally got to the garage! I rushed through the tutorial and missed perhaps one of the most important controls in the game – the ability to ZOOM IN in sniper mode (push down on the right stick while holding the left trigger). The basics you learn in 20 minutes invested here will save you countless battles of futility later on!
5) Don’t rush to engage at the start of battle and CHECK YOUR MAP often. While the countdown clock is ticking down, click the black “Back” button to left of the silver “XBOX logo” button to click open the “big map” that takes the full screen. You’ll see a list of your team on the left and enemies on the right. If you are at the top of your team list, your tank is well-powered vs. your competition – get ready to kick some tail. If you are low on the list, you are going to struggle to penetrate enemy tanks from the front, so a more cautious playing strategy might be in order. When it's time to "roll out," wait long enough to see where you team is going (5 to 15 seconds) before you commit to a path on the map - and please consider alternatives to suiciding straight into the enemy base! Open the big map often to get a sense of where the enemy team is concentrated and where you can help out the most. Lastly, you need to know if the other team has “Arty,” or artillery on their team (square icons). Potential death from the sky will drastically impact how you play for the rest of the game.
6) Find and remain around hard cover (rocks, buildings, etc) or concealment (bushes, felled trees) both before the shooting begins and during the battle. A good rule of thumb is to NEVER sit out in the open for long (even in a heavy tank), especially if you are firing. It’s best to be on the move from one covered position to another. Pick out one spot ahead of you that you can advance to and have an idea of a spot that you can fall back to if you get outnumbered. Yes, falling back at times can allow you to regroup with teammates and can keep your gun in the game longer!
7) When the fighting starts, use “Auto-Lock” to select targets - then aim with purpose. Read kingrich06’s excellent post on using your right button (RB) to quickly find available targets to fire at. The auto-lock feature is a godsend for rapidly detecting exposed enemies, but it won’t necessarily aim at the weak spot of the tank you are trying to kill (one exception, you can use auto-lock to aim for you when you are firing on the move). Once you have locked onto a target, take manual control in ZOOMED SNIPER MODE to aim for a precise spot on your enemy and fire (per your weak spot research in point #2!). Hold down the left trigger and let your aiming circle shrink down to minimize error (“dispersion”
BEFORE firing, too! Aiming small will help increase your hit rate and your chance to deal meaningful damage.
8) Angle your armor during battle, even a little bit. With a few notable exceptions, such as certain Tank Destroyers, try pointing the front corner of your tank directly at the enemy vehicle you are engaging. This will increase the “effective” thickness of your armor and increase the chance that shots bounce entirely off your tank, too. Try to not simply trade shots, but angle such that you can duck back into cover while reloading. See Icesev’s post on angling techniques such as “side-scraping” for some great tips.
9) Detected! is WoT speak for move your [edited], NOW! Once you are detected, you’ve got to move, PERIOD. Don’t take "just another couple shots" to finish off the low health tank you are engaging or continue to sit out in the open. Duck off of the ridge you are on, move to cover, back the heck up, do anything but sit still (zigzagging while you go is best). If the nearby tank that has spotted you doesn’t get you, his Arty partner sitting back at their base will (did you check yet to see if the other team has Arty on it per point #5?). Getting 6th Sense as a crew perk will let you know even quicker that you have been detected – it is highly recommended.
10) Communicate with teammates when possible. Use the radial menu or a mic (NOT your Kinect mic) to signal your intentions to your teammates in a constructive manner. WoT is a team-based game, even when you are playing as a “lone wolf.” Teaming up at the end of a battle when numbers on each team have thinned out can be especially important to increasing your chances to not only survive the battle, but win it! Use the “Help!” button to signal that you are sitting in a weak flank or facing an enemy assault by your lonesome. Many times folks will not respond to your communication (it’s the nature of the player base), but it’s fantastic when they do and it turns the tide of battle!
BONUS TIP – you can buy premium ammo or consumables WITH SILVER by using the “Y” button to change the currency type when loading up your tank. Try loading 3-4 APCR rounds to increase your penetration chances when you have to take on the beasts either in your, or above your, Tier.
I hope this list gets you on the road to longer survival in battle and greater overall success in WoT! Thanks to all of the forumers who have answered my stupid questions and helped me improve my game, as well as for the offers to platoon, too! I’ll take you up on it one of these days…
About the author: delp5117 is not an expert, but has completed over 4,000 WoT battles, mainly in Tiers VII and below. I am a lifelong casual gamer with 45 year-old reflexes, but a decent dose of guile and a keen interest in getting better at WoT!
Edited Point #5 based on community feedback!
Edited by delp5117, 12 January 2015 - 07:48 PM.
