Kinda the same, but way different

With most of my short term goals complete in the other tank titles and maintaining a watchful eye on both Portals for sales, events and etc, it's time to head on over to War Thunder.

*Warning, very picture heavy, proceed with caution*

First, the login bonus. War Thunder did away with a X2-X5 Daily bonuses long ago and replaced that with a roulette wheel of goodies. This move, after all this time, is still a bit of a controversy and I have accepted it for what it is, still missing a reason to play all my other nations and collecting Silver Lions and experience for them.

Next, comes my tank selection. Unlike my experience in World of Tanks, I haven't gone on a premium asset spending spree here. I have given a lot of thought to the direction I wanted to go in with each nation that currently offers tankplay, America, Germany and Soviet Russia and picked up premium tanks that I think can help me out the best, on a tighter budget.

For my Soviet choice, I went with the copy-paste premium version of the Rank III T-34-57. Other than a more powerful gun, I saw no reason to spend anything extra on the Rank IV version with the 100mm cannon. Everything else was the same compared to the Rank III version, except for the Silver Lion and experience modifiers. And, the opponents it would see, after MatchMaker was done with it and me.

Another thing I am not overly fond of is the, for a lack of better terminology, dehumanizing of the crews ingame. In World of Tanks, along with Armored Warfare, the crews maintain their humanity, with portraits and names. Here, nothing more the extra numbers, added to the equation. One of many things that makes Ground Forces so different from the other tank titles.

I select an Arcade battle and wait for the countdown. No a long wait and was greeted with the load in screen. With three choices for re-spawn to be had, I started off with my premium tank first.

Oh joy, not really. Based on previous outcomes that I have been a part of, I didn't get a good feeling about where this could be going. Most times, when maps pop up that have more than one capture point, I have seen the dance of the chaotic tank zombies. Of all three titles, Ground Forces seems to me, the hardest to rally up teamwork. Sure, there is communication, but I think it either goes mostly ignored, or players are fighting the game itself it get anywhere.

See, Ground Forces has....realistic driving conditions, to use that term. Tanks slide around when turning at higher speeds, they don't stop on a dime and to aim at an object through the scope, all of this can be very frustrating. Some have mastered this environment, I am not one of them.

One of the cool features about Ground Forces I do like; kill cams. If I take out an enemy asset, or they take me down, I can see just where they hit me and what kind of damage their shot accomplished. Since Ground Forces doesn't display or openly use a hitpoint system, this is the answer as an alternative.

Needless to say, my experience was ended rather quickly in my T-34-57, so I broke out the mighty, Rank III KV-1 ZiS-5.

Did my rolling wall of Soviet Steel turn the tide? Nope, after foolishly charging in, guns blazing and no support, I was just ended.

My last kick at the can, so I took a few seconds to think things through. I carefully selected what I thought would be the best ammunition from my unlocked stocks and loaded in. For a final time, this fool was removed from the battlefield, this time from an enemy who was playing the field in their favor, all hidden behind debris, using cover to their advantage.

I left the battle, after my third and final death. On my way out, I quickly paused and glanced at the team roster and battle didn't bode well in our favor. Much to my surprise, in my absence, they must have finally rallied and avoided what I had written off to be a certain defeat.

So, where and what went wrong? First off, I just jumped right in, totally forgeting about themajor differences in game mechanics Ground Forces have over WOT and AW. I should have spent some time in Test Drive mode, getting used to how the game feels, after playing the other two titles for so long.

Second, I should have selected the better ammunition right off the bat, something I wait till the last tank to do. The up side is I did distribute some skill points to the crews, before I clicked the Battle button.

Thirdly, slow down. I shouldn't have just rushed in, guns blazing and where Angels fear to tread. Taking my time, reading the map and watching the flow on the battlefield would have gone a long ways to maximizing my time and contribution potential during this and future sorties.

Best part of all of that, I am bound to forget most of my good advice, the next time I load up.

A taste of the Big Time

The choice of buying the tier VI premium Main Battle Tanks, MBT-70 MERC, wasn't a move I have yet to regret. Nor, should my teammates have worries over, either.

There has been a certain mindset expressed, seen on the forums of Armored Warfare, World of Tanks and on occasions, War Thunder, that players should be locked out from buying higher tiered premium assets, unless the have achieved the same or higher level from playing the game itself. In other words, there are some out there that would have liked newer players, such as myself, restricted from purchasing my MBT-70 MERC, until I had a tech/dealer tree tank of the same tier, earned in my garage.

To a degree, I can agree with this opinion.

The very concept of grinding out tech/dealer tree assets is to learn how to play the game. Familiarizing a player's self with the ingame assets and environment and over a long period of time, improving those skills, increasing the ability to contribute more to the gaming experience and the reward of unlocking the next asset inline.

However, with purchasing higher tiered/ranked premium assets, players have the ability to jump into a level of play where some view them of not belonging. I can understand that too. Some are content on plunking down a few dollars, taking a shortcut and entering the game with little to no experience on where to go, what to do.

Take this battle with my MBT-70. I could just imagine a groan or two as some of the other players read through the countdown list, seeing a recently released MERC premium tank on the roster. I am willing to bet that at least one of them had serious doubts about the performance levels that would even be generated, seeing my name attached to this certain vehicle.

Nevertheless, I did bring some hit-and-miss experience to the table and contributed to this battle as best I could, along side what would appear to me, more seasoned players of the game. While I did come in at the bottom of the list, despite my first time in an upper tiered PvE match, at least I didn't die and lived to see this screen....

Sometimes, people have to take a chance on each other, they never know where a team player just might come from, if a certain opportunity to play on a premature higher level is denied.

Hail to the Chief!

Now, I have crossed a threshold in Armored Warfare, from easy mode to the real challenge; mid tiers.

First, I knocked back a few more victories in PvP mode, in an attempt to increase my chances at collecting a tank from the final round of the Black Friday Lottery https://aw.my.com/us/news/general/black-friday-lottery-results-round-1

Next, it was time to go to PvE and grind out the Daily Missions there, collecting the reputation and credits to add to the nest egg. Then, I noticed it was time to cash in....

MUHAHAHAHA....er....no. I failed to remember, not only did I have a brand new tank for my garage, but also a brand new, untrained crew to go along with it. I didn't figure this out until I started it's very first battle....

Yeah, a great way to start off with a new toy. The tank performed under par to what I was used to. Slow to move, slow to aim, slow to rotate the turret, slow.... After using my tier VI premium MBT-70 MERC, I took for granted having a fully trained crew and all the benefits they bring to the battles. Since I couldn't switch out the crews, I did replace the Commanders and hoped for any gains from that....

....which were collected on the very next sortie. The Chieftain shares a lot of the same ingame qualities as my MBT-70, so the playstyle isn't going to be that steep of a learning curve. True, there are some minute differences that will improve over time, but it still felt familiar and somewhat comfortable.

Plus, I better settle in for the long haul, going to be quite a while before it's replacement hits my garage.

A slow gain of numbers

Today's session in Armored Warfare had two simple goals, collect enough PvP wins to secure a spot in the second round Black Friday Lottery....

....combined with my three victories from yesterday, I hope this entry will be enough for consideration. I will know for sure sometime after the 6th of December, a winners list should be posted on the main site, much like last time.

The second part was a split goal. Choosing my hardly used Commander, Sabrina Washington, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I pulled her from the Wolfli selections and put her into both the T-62 Veteran and MBT-70 MERC for training. At the same time, try and inch my credits up, get a little closer to purchasing the tier V Chieftain Mk. 5.

I put both tanks through the PvE Daily Missions and ended this session on a high note. Despite the last battle not being one of my more stellar performances, I have had worse games, with much poorer results.

Up the tall ladder.

So, with three-ish weeks under my belt, I am slowly moving up through the lower tiers in Armored Warfare. Here is a look at what I brought me to this point.

By collecting the promotional T-62 Veteran at tier III, I was able to get a good handle on what the game had to offer and give me that opportunity to see if I would enjoy it, or not. Needless to say, I am hooked.

Staying with the theme of the invitational promotion of the T-62, I looked at my ingame options and chose to go along the Soviet/Russian lines. The dealer named Marat Shishkin offered armored fighting vehicles of that flavor.

Breaking through the starter tiers didn't take long at all, the first slow down was experienced with the tier II T-54 Main Battle Tank, but I pushed through and up.

This purchase, with real world money, was not only a wise investment gamewise, but continues to pay dividends every battle I enter with it. The tier VI MBT-70 MERC will come in very handy for Commander training (since, I can't move the crews out of their designated tanks to other units, but the Commander is free to go in any other tank, without penalty) and credit generation. When I finally break into the higher tiers, this tank will be seeing a lot more of the battlefield to support some expensive habits.

Not that long ago (days, actually) my tech tree tanks were at first on par with my invitational tank, but past it quickly onto the next tier. The tier III T-62 brought no surprises over my starter tank, since they are pretty much the same model. At tier IV, the T-64 is starting to feel different, since it is seeing some more of the mid tier action, a place I will be spending a lot of grinding time.

Since I get unlimited garage slots, something that sets Armored Warfare apart from the other two Tank titles I play, I don't have to buy more or sell tanks to make room for new assets. When I have the chance, I throw everything from tier II through tier IV, including my MBT-70 MERC and T-62 Veteran into the Dailies Bonus collections. Low and behold, I unlocked the Western European side branch of the British Main Battle Tanks.

By the numbers, that tier V Chieftain Mk.5 looks pretty good in my eyes. I might have to save up for it and pick one up.

Caving, part 2

While I am not much of a real world gambler, I have been known to be a sucker for certain online contests. Every once in a while, World of Tanks will hold these little events with a chance win a premium tanks, based on a random lottery system. Here is an example of one from a while ago....

Caption Contest - Win a T-54 First Prototype! http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/438003-caption-contest-win-a-t-54-first-prototype/

Simple rules, add a caption to the picture above for this April 2015 contest. Some entrants before and after me, put there caption in the picture itself, something perhaps I should have done. Nevertheless, I entered with this....

.... http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/438003-caption-contest-win-a-t-54-first-prototype/page__pid__8905773#entry8905773 and twelve days later, the contest closed. No prize for me.

Fast-forward a few months and this comes along http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/473029-type-59-giveaway-contest-2-proving-ground/

A new PvE mode for testing? Get five kills and submit those screenshots,  you say? Sure, I will give this another try http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/473029-type-59-giveaway-contest-2-proving-ground/page__st__220__pid__9618827#entry9618827 ....

Yeah, that contest closed too, I couldn't find myself on that list of winners either.

 
War Thunder ran a drawing contest, that I found out too late to take part in https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/272998-art-contest-the-unofficial-war-thunder-art-challenge/ for a chance at the rank 3 Finnish KV-1B premium Heavy Tank.

Armored Warfare was and will be again, running a lottery of their own. Theme with Black Friday and open from 27th-29th November....ah, read it here https://aw.my.com/us/news/general/black-friday-lottery-results-round-1

I know I got in my five wins in PvP mode, that experience alone will create memories for sometime to come. By the way, did you click the list of winners box? Yeah, so did I.

Perhaps, during the second round, 4th-6th December, I might get luckier.

Caving, part 1

So, badged with a limited time offer, after reading the World of Tanks forums and watching a few Youtube reviews, I broke down and bought this....

The strongest selling point to me was the reference to how this new, un-player tested premium tank was so much like the old version of the tier IV T-28, with the 85mm gun, from my good old days. I ran mine, long ago now, for over five hundred battles, using it to train up a decent crew and secure enough credits to finance me for a while afterwards. But of course, this was also back when I didn't know as much about the game and how it worked, like I do now.

Another part of getting this, I have high hopes that it will become a rare tank, much like the sold-oh-so-briefly tier III premium Soviet Tank Destroyer, SU-76i, or the made-mythical-by-propaganda tier VIII Chinese premium Medium Tank, Type 59.

While I am not a fan of buying lower tiered premium vehicles, I do make exceptions in a few cases. I consider tier IV the start of the middle tiers, that stop at tier VI. Tier III and below, I have flat out purchased two, my tier III Captured-French-put-into-German-service Pz S35 739 (f) and the tier III British premium Artillery, Sexton I. All the others I have acquired over the years have been giveaways, promotions and login rewards.

However, as a low cost Soviet Medium Tank crew trainer, I believe it will do a much better job than my old and tired tier V premium Matilda IV, if only to act as another set of Dailies to collect with.

My first victory (since the two previous battles were stellar defeats) wasn't all that great, but it did provide me with some valuable lessons going forward. Despite having thicker armor than it's tech tree twin, I have to learn to not rely on it too heavily.

More so, put more faith in the gun, to get the job done.