Not in the same league

Matchmaker can be a funny beast, not so much as being hilarious, but something equal to how sour milk can taste....you know, funny. Take this screenshot for example. I know the general mechanics of tier spread, platooning, the price of oil in third world countries, etc and how it works in Armored Warfare. The funny part is being at the bottom of the list, the only tier VII vehicle for my team and having a tier IX at the top and this is on Hard mode. 

I wasn't going to give that doom-and-gloom feeling a chance to set in, so I hunkered down and took stock of the tools and knowledge I had going for me. First, I know the map fairly well, or at least, the parts of it I usually play on and from. I also had faith in my Challenger 1, a tank that has won me over for being highly durable in previous events that appeared to be hopeless circumstances. However, I knew something was up when at this point, a mere three minutes into the battle, not a single kill for me and our top dog has six.

Yeah, I eventually got one. Even my usual platoonmate, F50ACE appeared to be having a more difficulty time getting points for their scorecard. As you can see here, I was more or less a shield for the vulnerable Draco, spotting for them as well, while they were racking up damage and kills.

A second kill to add to my collection. The battle was intense and fiercely fought, on both sides. It felt like the waves of spawning foes would never stop and the reload timer for my main gun felt a lot slower than the numbers were indicating.

A third kill, as I was trying my very best to cover F50ACE from behind and just a short distance away.

I was rather proud of my self, upon seeing this. F50ACE told me, on a few occasions, that a ten thousand damage benchmark is what I should be striving for each battle, at a minimum. Sometimes, I come up a little short, other times, I get lucky and hit the mark.

Then, my pride was humbled. I sat for a long time (or, what felt like it) staring at this screenshot, just dumbfounded that my best effort was mere a third of what our top teammate was able to deal out. The rational side of my brain was telling me about things like commander and crew skills, choice of retrofits, how long has that player been in the game, etc. My emotional side just wanted to be in shock, never seeing numbers like that before now.

This screen has no real meaning now, eclipsed by the previous one.

And, this was the machine they did it with, the tier IX armored fighting vehicle, OTO Melara B1 DRACO.

I guess the old saying that looks can be deceiving could very well apply here.