Shooting with aircraft post-1.53

Me before Patch 1.53:

Me after Patch 1.53:

I swear they changed something, and so does everybody on the TS server I've spoken to about it. Even my Fw 190A-4 has now a hard time killing planes!

Tank Tactics in War Thunder - Part I

No work today, my client is upgrading ... spare time for writing.

I) Use of artillery

Artillery has become more powerful sometime during the last year. It's still advisable to focus the artillery fires on the points where they matter the most and on the most vulnerable targets.

Massed artillery fires (five or more fire missions on one spot) can be devastating to a group of red tanks, and such a bombardment is a great preparation for breaking a defensive position (such as the Southern hill on the Jungle map).

There's a different, much more smart use for artillery, though: It's fine concealment.

A tank in trouble (unable to move, under fire) can at times be saved by concealing it with a curtain of dirt thrown up by artillery. You my also get shot every time you drive around a corner before you can shoot at your opponent around the corner, 50+ metres distant. In this case you could call artillery between corner and opponent, angle your hull appropriately, aim roughly at the correct direction and when the curtain of dust is gone you'll stand an even chance.

II) Teamwork with planes in AB ground battles

As a fighter, your primary objective is either a red bomber or attacker or red interceptors. To shoot at open-topped vehicles is an icing on the cake. Players who dive to shoot at tanks with Spitfires et cetera while their team's bomber gets killed by red fighters are noobs.

You should not join with a fighter in three cases:

(1) you know that the attacker plane on this map is a Pe-3 or Beaufighter, the two least effective attackers

(2) you team will fly a bomber or attacker and no red fighters are queued

(3) you cannot hide your tank in a safe-enough spot in time

You don't need to when

(1) you know that the attacker plane on this map is a Il-2 without bombs or a I-153 (still not very effective)

(2) your tank is defending or supporting and would be dearly missed

(3) you know your team spawns a Wellington and two red fighters are queued already (Wellington gonna die anyway)

This explains why it's useful to announce to your team what attacker or bomber you got when you got one the first time. 

Fighters can support a bomber or attacker by flying ahead and engaging SPAAGs, but this is mostly relevant if the bomber approaches the battlefield from the "red" team's side and no red fighters interfered, distracting the blue fighters.

III) SPAAGs

The average SPAAG is near-worthless in AB ground battles. Go play RB is you want to play SPAAGs!

IV) Don't waste time

To waste time = cowardice. Go forward into a useful position ASAP! Players who begin to snipe at 1+ km distant targets from the spawn point are fools.

V) Spawn point

Choose your spawn point wisely. Some are better for killing, others are better for winning. Too many spawning in the spot for better killing will result in defeat, few research points and all-too often few kills.

VI) Hull angle

Some tanks such as the KV-1 have almost good-enough armor, which can be made impenetrable in a 1vs1 fight by proper positioning. A 45° angle between shell trajectory and armor plate increases effective armor thickness by approx. 50%. A 80 mm armor plate turns into a much more formidable 120 mm plate this way. Tanks with a strong side armor can exploit this. Position their hull in a 45° angle to the opponent, this will make the hull invulnerable in many cases. You can do the same with the turret if you'll take long till next shot is ready anyway.

VII: First shot

The first shot at a red tank should disarm him. This requires to hit the turret crew (or blow up its ammunition). A penetration slightly below the turret is usually a good choice if available. The second shot can then be aimed at the driver, ensuring a kill by knocking out enough of the crew, or at least stopping his retreat.

To disable the driver first would provoke a potentially catastrophic return fire by the red tank and one-shot kills are rarely a reliable option.

VIII: Know your opponent

Press the "N" key to see who's successful on the other team. Don't do anything needlessly risky when you meet one of those. An ordinary "team" usually has merely one to five effective players, with the others being really poor players or having a really poor match at least.

Know the opposing tank. Where can his armor withstand your gun, and where? Does he reload quicker or slower than you? Is his turret traverse painfully slow? Can he depress his gun as well as you can, better or worse? How many crew and where are they? Where is the ammunition? Can your armor withstand his gun?

IX: Predictability

Avoid appearing at the same spot (climbing a hill or driving around corner) again and again - some red player will notice this regularity and lie in wait to kill you. Do this to him.


Patching complete - see ya next time!

Another shit team

"Panzer Tactics"

In case you're interested in what using tanks was like in WW2:

http://www.farposst.ru/2015/11/16/Panzer_Tactics__German_Small_Unit_Armor_Tactics_in_World_War_II.html

(This is the English edition of a German book.)

also recommended:

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/

 particularly

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/panzer-profiles-1917-1945

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/panzer-statistics.htm

Boom!

Obviously, I play more tanks than planes these days...

My team

Design analysis of a A6M3 Rei-sen

"Design Analysis of the Zeke 32 (Hamp)"

Text by John Foster, Jr., Managing Editor, "Aviation"
Field sketches by Chester S. Ricker, Detroit Editor, "Aviation"

Design Analysis No. 12
Reprint from AVIATION

Shit team

15 tank players scored a spectacular 7 tank kills, losing 38 tanks and the match in the process!

It's the same as in air combat; "teams" are coined by their 1 to 6 useful players, with all others being little more than decoys that protect the useful players by distracting opponents and keeping them at a distance. The "team" with more of the few useful players wins. In this case it was a hopeless 1 vs. 3 matchup, with 15 and 13 decoys respectively.

This reminds me of a presentation a Blizzard employee (a developer) gave on a conference on massive multiplayer gaming years ago: He admitted that a few per cent of the players will dominate the rest, no matter how the devs balance the PvP.

This fits to the central idea of the Pareto principle, although in 1 vs 1 comparisons a much smaller percentage than 20% stands out as vastly superior in multiplayer gaming.