And, another hotfix is rolled out

From the web, the Mercenary Showdown numbers.

As announced, the hotfix is deployed for the server and to the clients.

My Zhang progress numbers.

I think I should stop taking the Twitch bait

I am going to start this off by saying this, this isn't some bitter rant about not winning stuff from a Twitch stream.

I am also not going to lie here either, I have allowed myself to get caught up in the whole Chieftain Mk VI giveaway hype train. I keep reading posts on the forums on how easy it is to get one, how everybody on Twitch and/or YouTube is giving them out like candy. Then, I read from those winners going on about never giving up has finally paid off.

Baloney.

I have never been a lucky guy (okay, except for my wife and children, but I consider myself blessed, not lucky), I don't play the lottery in real life, I don't go to casinos, I don't enter raffles and this list goes on. Why? The few times I do, I comes up short.

Now, I know about the law of averages and how doing something over and over and....just might finally pay off. I also know about beginner's luck, since I have experienced that a few times in my life, but in my day, we called that a fluke.

For me, I am just tired with this feeling I am wasting my time chasing this British rainbow. The real funny thing, I didn't need it, I just wanted it. That was my wake up call. I already have two higher tiered premium vehicles to grind out some extra credits and reputation, a tier V is not only a step down, but defiantly not worth all this trouble either.

However, something could be said about this. Unlocking Zhang's offerings is very different, since the progress earned to entering the Chinese vehicles runs concurrently with normal game play. And, it goes well above and beyond tier V.

Same thing with the tier IV premium, BWP-1M Puma. For the past while, it has been a wild goose chase all over the internet, coming up short because everybody else on the planet has claimed those precious codes from most foreign sites. Then once again, the winners come onto the forums telling anybody who will listen about how easy it is to claim one and starts the stampede of people looking for them.

Nope, I am done with that too, since a more guaranteed way is supposedly right around the corner. It has been suggested a Mission system will be coming in by this weekend (subject to change, since anybody who does know, isn't carving this into stone to be held accountable if/when something goes wrong). So, when that does happen, all the energy I have conserved from wasting time chasing this wild goose, will be focused on a truly achievable goal.

So, if you want to take your chances on Twitch, YouTube or some other social media lottery for a premium vehicle, go right ahead. There is one less person for you to compete with and I wish you the best of luck.

Say, want a chance to win a Chieftain Mk VI?

DeJager, a fellow blogger from the Armored Warfare forums is having a simple, easy to enter contest for a chance to win an infamous Chieftain Mk VI. Go here http://armoredwarfareid.blogspot.ca/2016/03/chieftain-mk6-contest.html for all the details.

I took a few minutes to look at their layout and content, I was impressed. Consider adding this site http://armoredwarfareid.blogspot.ca/ to your bookmarks, very informative and easy to navigate.

The fading light

Mercenary Showdown numbers from this morning.

Zhang dealer progress.

The Sheridan was one of those surprise tanks in Armored Warfare for me. Coming from World of Tanks, Light Tanks there are fragile compared to cousins here, not able to take the hits, deal out the damage to higher tiered opponents and easily stopped dead in their tracks. Here, although vulnerable, they aren't glass cannons, able to contribute to the battles I was placed in, through a variety of ways....

 ....like destroying enemy vehicles. Despite the glacial reload times for the main cannon, landing a successful shot got to be a very rewarding experience.

Wining streaks, this tank claimed more of those than any other, from solo play, in my garage.

From places that were hot....

....to others that were not, the Sheridan kept on rolling.

Got a team that can't help with secondarys? No problem, I will cover them all!

Now, don't think I am making any claims the Sheridan is some kind of super-tank. Making a wrong choice, being out numbered or losing one's bearings on a map, will all come back to bite you.

But, keep your head in the game and stay ahead of a changing situation can nab results like this. A winning streak, where have I seen this before....

For all my praise of the Sheridan, there is another who is slowly stealing away that spotlight.

Producing results I never thought possible, considering the tier it comes from.

Forward....meow....March

So begins another month in the real world and even though Armored Warfare just got the recent 0.13 update, it seems 0.14 is already right around the corner. Also, a very strong indicator on how the rest of the playerbase might have an opportunity to pick up one of these....

....could be revealed before the end of this week.

Hmmm....I guess I will carry on with the cat theme.

Finally, I have crossed over into tier VI on the Leopard line. After unlocking it a short while ago now, I collected enough credits to put the regular Leopard 2AV into my garage.

First things first, throw on some free base paint, not that it has anything other than aesthetic value. 

Next, rotate Juan Carlos Miramon into the commanders seat, since I believe the new, untrained could benefit the most from him, from among my other commanders.

Now, queue up a medium PvE battle and see how the package performs.

Based on the vehicles alone, looks to be a pretty solid team, but the battle will decide if my first impression was the correct one.

In position in my usual first spot on this particular map. I can spot the enemy vehicle climbing up and out of the river and the side of the hill towards the zone.

After a few kills and taking damage of my own, this friendly T-72A has taken my usual second spot. I make do with taking shots over their turret.

On post at my third and final spot, if this were any other day....

.... except today, I break with my normal routine and go south, to support the T-72A to complete the final secondary objective....

....that proved to be a fatal mistake.

Brand new tank, first battle, not so good results. While the regular 2AV mirrors the ICE version in many ways, the major point that is noticed going into battle was the lack of level 5 crew. This new, untrained crew, compared to their fully trained cousins, bring zero advantages to the fight or to the machine itself.

Meh, I have started with a bottom crew in a new tank before, what's one more time?

A paper sword in the lion's den

The current numbers for Mercenary Showdown.

Here is my progress for unlocking Zhang's offerings. Notice a little movement on the PvP side of things?

Last night, I teamed up with my friend, EspressoForHammy and made a few attempts at collecting just one win in our tier III Type 59 Legends. However, we crossed over into that chaotic realm known as PvP. I have played in this environment before, here and both World of Tanks and War Thunder Ground Forces. In Armored Warfare, with the choice between two modes of play, I prefer playing in PvE.

From my own experiences, PvE seems to be stronger in forming teams out of strangers than PvP and here is my reasoning behind this thought. First, there are known objectives, people either know what to do or figure out things rather quickly. Secondly, with most players doing what as know as farming, they cover off each other, without realizing they are doing this, in the hopes of pulling in those big numbers.

Granted, this all is under ideal conditions and some exceptions do apply. PvE has it's critics, one reason is that it's too easy or not remotely challenging like fighting against human players. For me, the biggest difference between the two modes is the tanks themselves. In PvE, no matter what difficulty level I choose, I can rack up the damage and collect the battle rewards. In PvP, everything changes.

I believe the critics when they do make those easy claims. Every battle I had against human opponents, I would try my best to aim, fire when the time looked right and watch my shot go flying off and kill a tree or blade of grass. The mechanics in PvE and doing the very same thing? I would have been that match's rockstar! In PvP, just another player on a losing team, since almost none of the skills from the other environment, it seems, transfer to this one.

On a related note, my video making skills are improving and I have added a running commentary/tips/advice to my lastest Youtube upload. Sadly, I didn't have a active microphone during this PvP battle, but even with a one-sided conversation going on, still worth watching. Check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OGIDli78-g be advised, some course language (but funny in context).