The Noobs Guide to Driving Tier X

By:

IrmaBecx

No matter if you are no-lifeing or slow grinding, sooner or later you are going to come to the end of the tech tree line. A lot of people decide to stay at tier IX and not take the six million credit plunge, either because they aren’t interested in that particular tier X tank, or they feel the tier IX is “stronger in its tier”, and they don’t think the tier X is that much of an upgrade.

But sooner or later you are going to take an interest in one of the top tier offerings; a lot of them have either solid or notorious reputations, are historically noteworthy, or just simply look really cool. And then there is the pervasive notion that you are going to remain a noob forever unless you have a tier X tank in your garage and actually drive it, that’s been around forever.

This, then, is a short guide to tier X, written for tier X noobs, by a tier X noob. It represents about 2500 games’ worth of experience, admittedly with pretty mediocre results, but my focus will be on how to approach tier X gameplay rather than how to actually play once you get there.

The Gameplan

The first thing you need is of course a tier X vehicle, and your first one should just be whichever one you can get without too much trouble. It doesn’t really matter, because it’s mostly going to be a learning experience.

 If you are still at middle tiers, you have a lot of time for planning, but your considerations should be fairly simple. Look at what tank type you like driving best and are most successful in. Decide which nation you want to play. Then look at the lower tier vehicles in the line and make sure there are no hurdles for you; tanks you might struggle with more than necessary.

For example, chosing between the Maus and the E100, going for the Maus means you have to drive the Porsche VK tanks alternating between forward and rear mounted turrets, while the E100 line is more consistent in terms of design.

But really, all you need to do is find a tank that you think might be fun and that you should reasonably be able to grind out and play. I mean, if you are mostly into Heavy tanks, then don’t go for the Leopard 1.

Playing tier X can be intimidating. You face bigger guns, thicker armour, more hitpoints to get through, and besides all the Unicums seem to basically live up there. But the only way you are going to get over your nervousness about driving tier X is to actually drive tier X. Don’t try too hard, just try to get a feel for what it’s like up there, because it can be quite a shock at first.

What happens is, mistakes are punished much harder at tier X. You take bigger hits, and you are often up against better players. Very likely you are going to need to slow down your gameplay a little; stay a bit longer at each spot, and advance a bit more cautiously.

But if you stay with it, you will soon find out it’s pretty much business as usual. The tanks still have their dedicated roles, there are still noobs everywhere, people still block and fall off bridges and Yolo, just like they do at tier V.

Another thing you might not be prepared for is having to step up and carry the weight. Being top tier all the time is of course nice, but it’s also a responsibility. As a top tier tank, you are expected to make a significant contribution, and it’s more important that you actually fill the intended role of your vehicle.

Getting Serious

So when you start feeling more comfortable rolling around tier X, it’s time for a bit of self-evaluation. I don’t mean looking at your stats; likely you’ll have been performing a bit worse than you did at tier IX, but it doesn’t matter. Like I said, you are still learning.

What you should be evaluating is your choice of tank. How is it performing? Taking into consideration what you now know about tier X gameplay; did you make the right choice? Do you feel like the tank has untapped potential, or do you feel like it’s holding you back in some way?

In other words, it’s time to start planning for your second tier X tank.

You may be lucky and feel like you made the perfect choice, and if so, then congratulations. You can start thinking about something that can complement the tank you already have, or maybe one that is similar to it. Maybe you want to get something crazy or extravagant just for fun.

But in most cases, you will have found your vehicle of choice to be a bit lacking in some way on another. Maybe it’s not fast enough, or armoured enough; maybe you got an autoloader and wish you had a regular gun. Maybe it’s the other way around. The point is, once you have some actual experience of top tier gameplay, you will be in a much better position to choose a tank that will fit your needs and match your style.

In my mind, the most important thing is getting a tank you are excited about driving; I say that all the time. But the fact is, a lot of top tier tanks are hard to actually recommend to someone else. You kind of have to know what you are getting yourself into; it’s not as simple as “this tank is good, and this tank is bad”. Don’t stare yourself blind at statistics or reviews; don’t get your second tank because someone else said it’s the best, get it because you, yourself, really want it.

Playing tier X is expensive, it’s frustrating, and there is nothing to grind for except stats, crew skills and free XP. It has to be worth it in some way other than you becoming a unicum, because if you are just starting out, you can’t really expect that. For me, driving a tank I really like makes it all worth it when I do manage to have a good game once in a while.

Setting up your tank for tier X basically means throwing everything you can at it that you think might help a little; spare parts, camo, expensive consumables, anything you can think of. You will need to grind credits to play tier X anyway, so there’s no reason to be stingy with your resources. Go big or go home.

Notes on Playstyle

Tier X, as I said, is a hostile place. The way to deal with this as a beginner isn’t some kind of advanced playstyle, but rather the other way around. Going back to basics, and making sure you check all the boxes.

You don’t want to be too agressive. Don’t try to be a hero and push forward unless you know exactly what you are doing, because you don’t want to be the first one spotted. What happens when you play against more experienced players is they are quick to reach their first position, and they will be pre-aimed at choke points, spotting bushes, and common advance routes.

But you also don’t want to be too passive. If you get left behind, you are very likely to get isolated, pushed up on, and taken out. If you are used to playing the support role, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Try to choose an initial position that isn’t too far forward, where you can still be effective.

By “getting back to basics” I simply mean things like using cover, maintaining your situational awareness, resetting camo, and taking advantage of whatever strengths your particular tank has: speed, armour or firepower. Little things like good gun depression or a sturdy gun mantlet are what’s going to give you an edge on the competition, so make sure you don’t forget to use them.

Other than that, playing tier X is a lot like playing any other tier, and when you start feeling like it’s not such a big deal anymore, that’s when you know you are startign to get the hang of it. The best advice I can give is to not be afraid to try; just go for it. Not only will playing at top tier make you a better player overall, it’s also a lot of fun.

The only “problem”, I suppose, is that people won’t actually stop calling you a noob just because you drive tier X.

Further Notes:

Speed is not in and of itself a problem, but it does tend to get you into trouble faster than you can get out of it. Jylpahs research shows that players of all levels tend to do better in tanks with armour than without it at tier X; since mistakes are punished harder, having a few useful bits of armour will be enormously helpful for newer players. Both these things should be taken into consideration when choosing your tier X vehicles.

And yes. There is the argument that one shouldn’t rush through the tiers, but we all did it starting out; that’s how we know it’s a bad idea. You can tell people to try and progress slower, but I think the best deterrent is actually giving it a try for yourself, because you will then realise it’s too soon for you, and you will move down the tiers to get more practice. My aim with this paper is not to encourage people to play top tier, but rather to offer some advice on how to plan for when they do eventually get there. Like I said, the only way to learn is by doing, and once you start playing higher tiers, you will need to go back down the tiers again to grind credits. When you do, you’ll find things you learn at higher tiers makes you a better player at lower tiers.

(…)

I love tier VII and always will, those were the first tanks I put spare parts on. I think the Panther/M10 is the tank I have played the most to date, that will probably be my first tank to reach 1000 games in.

But a while back I made the decision to get serious about playing tier X. I had a few tier X tanks already, but I was still afraid to drive them. It just felt like a shame to have them collecting dust in my garage, and I wanted to push myself a little instead of padding my stats in the lower or middle tiers. Now I’m at the point where it doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore; I have a nice credit buffer so I don’t have to worry about my loadout, I’ve carried a game or two, and I even played a few rating battles to see what that was like. I will sometimes drive one of my tier Xs jsut for fun, without having to sit down, concentrate, get in the zone, and drop some premium time so I won’t get ruined. It’s not like a grind for me anymore.

But playing tier X is not an end in itself, and if you aren’t feeling it, there’s no reason to do it. That’s what I mean when I say you need to find a tank you are excited about playing; don’t play tier X just to be doing it, do it because you really want to, otherwise there’s no point.

I wanted to get comfortable up there, and now I am. It’s getting to where it’s like playing any other tier for me, and that’s all I wanted. I kind of quit rating battles, because I want to work on my tier X stats a little; at least get the tanks over 50%, and one of these days I guess I’ll start running the M60; that doesn’t even have spare parts on it yet.

I have some of my favourite tanks at tier X, and I’m getting a few more I really like. And even though it can be really frustrating, I do actually enjoy pitting myself against the biggest, strongest, and campiest tanks in the game. There’s nothing like taking down a massive Heavy tank in your flimsy Medium or landing the killshot on campy TD, getting some payback for all those one-shots and ammo racks, but it’s not going to make me forget about my beloved Rudy and Cosplay Panther any time soon.

(…)

I forgot to mention that grinding your crew from even 75% to 100% at tier X is not only frustrating because your tank doesn’t perform as well as it is supposed to, but it take for ever. If there is one thing I recommend spending gold on, it’s tier X crew training.

I used to be a full on gold noob, and I think I paid gold to train the crew on all my tier X tanks. I saved up all the gold I got from crates and missions and everything for my next tier X purchase so I don’t have to worry about that; it usually costs 1000 gold.

But yeah, once you get more comfortable, doing the “whole” grind can be fun; the tank performs a little better every time you drive it, and there are of course the bragging rights when you have a good game with less than 100% crew. I would say it depends on the tank a little; many vehicles already have all they need to be successful, especially since there are seldom any modules to grind at tier X, but something like the Leopard or BatChat that relies on mobility for survival I would probably just throw money at…

(…)

Let me just try and expand a little on why I say the second tank is the one to focus on.

Note also I did say that if you find the tank you chose to be the perfect tank for you, then I can only congratulate. That gives you more options when it comes to choose your second tier X, maybe as a kind of luxury or something you choose more for emotional reasons than practical ones.

I’ll also mention my own first tier X tank was a pretty level headed decision. I had gotten the Jagdtiger, but had zero interest in the Jägeru. I had gotten the E75, but wasn’t feeling the E100 at all. But when I did the Panthers and was getting close to the E50, that was the first time I felt like I really wantedto drive the tier X as well; it felt like a realistic proposition. Much later I came to realise the E50 M was actually the perfect choice for me as a first tier X, although I didn’t understand it at the time.

And finally, there are a lot of people who claim the STB-1 is actually the best tier X Medium in the game now (It’s not – that’s still the Obj 140), and if you manage to somehow grind through the gauntlet that is the Japanese tech tree, you will at least be used to not having much armour. It’s also a question of perspective. I have been playing for years at this point, and I tend to think about the game long term; most of my writing presupposes a driver that is going to stick with the game, and one day have played tens of thousands of games. I also consider selling tanks past tier VII pretty much a total waste, and something you do only in extreme circumstances.

From that perspective, having a tier X tank in your garage is never useless. You will at some point realise your shortcomings and move back down the tiers, and you can always come back to your tier X project later. Even if the tank is the wrong vehicle class for you, that may not always be the case. As you get better, you will evolve as a player, and your interests may change as well. The way I see it, a tier X tank is always an investment for the future.

Finally, here’s my point:

There are two reasons why I think you shouldn’t worry too much about your first tier X. First, when you start playing top tier, you are very likely going to struggle, and if you have built up too many expectations about your first tank, you are going to be really disappointed. For that reason, I think you should just get something you think you will like and think you can drive passably. Starting out at tier X is a baptism of fire; not only do you have to learn how to drive a new tank, you also have to learn to play tier X in in the first place. Once you’ve actually played a tier X tank, and this is my second reason, you will be able to make a much more informed decision about your second tier X vehicle, and it’s likely to be a better choice.

A small parenthesis: I believe my second tier X was the Leopard 1, which kind of goes agains what I have just said because that was of course madness at that time. In my defence, I did get it as an investment, because I knew full well I wasn’t ready for it yet. I could be wrong; it may also have been the STB-1, and if that was the case, I made a much more sensible choice.

I am not saying your first tier X isn’t important, because it is. It’s a momentous occasion, a milestone, a great achievement. I am just saying you shouldn’t make it too important, because you will have a lot of things to learn. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment, prepare yourself for a learning experience instead.

Of course, trying to make as sensible a choice as you can will also help avoid disappointment.

(…)

IrmaBecx Guide to Driving Tier X Tanks (Alternate Version)

1. Fall in love with tier X tank

2. Yolo your way through line until you have it

3. Fail at tier X gameplay

4. Play tiers VII-IX until you git gud (20-30.000 games)

5. Tell other people not to rush up tiers

(2017)

Stats For Noobs Part II: The Case Study

By:

IrmaBecx

So I’ve set myself the goal to git gud at playing my tier X Mediums. And in doing so, I’ve started caring a little more about my stats than I usually do. Let me tell you, they’re not fantastic.

 There is a lot of information out there, and I thought I’d go through some of it that I’ve found helpful in my quest towards Medium tank nirvana. A sort of case study, if you will.

 So let’s see; following my previous article, what do the numbers tell me?

The Project

 Playing tier X is harder in and of it self than palying other tiers, so I should expect to be struggling. That means I can’t compare my stats at tier X to my stats at lower tiers, because I’ll just be disappointed. And although variety is the spice of life, sometimes you have to focus on the specific.

 The reasonable thing to do would be to drive my Foch (155) at tier X. That has the highest winrate, highest damage output, and I’ve driven it quite a bit. But that’s not what I want. I want to drive Mediums at tier X, and so the obvious choice for me is the E50 Ausf. M; my beautiful Spear of Destiny.

 The E50 M makes sense in a lot of ways. There is the deep emotional attatchment of course, but that doesn’t always translate into decent performance statistics. Looking at Jylpahs delta winrate calculations, and Wargamings balancing statistics, the E50 M is actually one of the better performing tier X Mediums, likely because it has armour. Damage output is slightly low, but that is to be expected. The E50 M has the second lowest DPM at tier X I believe, and Mediums aren’t supposed to deal the bulk of the damage.

 So what does this mean? Well, the problem is obviously me. The tank itself is a solid performer when driven correctly, and unicums do like 2300 average damage.

 How am I doing?

 I do almost 1600 average damage in the E50 M, which doesn’t sound so great, but it’s pretty good for me. My top damage dealers with a decent amount of games on them are the Foches around 1800 average damage.

 In terms of actual gameplay, that means I need to land one more round every game on average for the E50 M to be my top damage dealer, and two more rounds every game to get my damage output up to unicum levels. That doesn’t sound so impossible?

 Following my previous article, the winrate doesn’t look great either: 45%. But that’s the global or career winrate, and if I look at my recent winrate, things look a lot better. Over the last 50 games, I have gone from 42% winrate to 45%; that’s a pretty substatial increase.

 Curiously, over the same period, my average damage has actually gone down a bit. It’s not a lot, but it could mean I am not contributing to the wins as much as I could be, and probably that I still play too agressively and get killed early with no damage.

 Spots per battle can be a good indicator of aggressive play, and I can see my spot rate has increased over the last 50 games. Coupled with my damage output being down, likely I am doing something wrong here, like taking too much damage when I am spotting.

 The 105 mm L/52 on the E50 M is renowned for its accuracy, and I do actually hit 85% of my shots.  With the snap shots, blind shots and speculators, I think that’s pretty good; not a case for concern.

 Getting curious, I had a look at my survival rate. 23%. That means I survive less than one in four battles, which isn’t good. It’s on the same level as the Foch (155), and that doesn’t even have a turret.

 So what have I learned? Well, there is room for improvement, and I have some indicators of potential problems. In order to improve my stats long term, I need to work on my damage output and my survival rate, and if I am going to keep spotting like I do, I have to do it better.

 But my stats also tell me I am on the right track, my winrate is increasing, and with a few adjustments in terms of playstyle, I am sure I can keep improving.

 Never Give Up!

 Statistical information provided by:

Jylpah:

http://forum.wotblit…er-tier-page-5/

Unkindest:

http://forum.wotblit…628#entry654628

Blitzstars:

https://www.blitzsta…yer/eu/IrmaBecx

Further notes:

I’ll take the opportunity here to relate this to my first article. As you noted, the battle count on my Type 61 is really low, and it’s been a while since I drove it. What happened was, I was really digging the STA-1, and so I gold-noobed the STB-1 for my birthday. That means the few games I’ve driven in the Type 61 were during the “honeymoon period”, and I had all the modules and 100% crew, full equipment, tier X pre-nerf penetration and also binocs. As I wrote, anything with less than 100 battles you should be slightly suspicious about, and in this case, it’s practically a fluke. If I started driving the 61 today, I am positive my results would be much worse.

I get caught out and outnumbered, and I take big hits from Tank Destroyers; those are my two main problems. Both can be seen in my relatively low damage output and low survival rate. And the solution isn’t to do more damage, but to stay alive so I can do more damage.

I had a look at my press account stats in the E50 M, and it turns out I do the same average of damage on that, over a couple hundred games. It’s fair to say I take more risks on that account, I often put myself in difficult situations for what you might call “research purposes”, and of course it suffers the same bias of driving maxed-out tanks. But I always play to win, and so even if my average damage stays the same, I should expect to win a bit more by concentrating on my positioning and survivability.

Returning to my main stats, I think I broke 46% today. I need to win like 15-20 battles more than I lose to break 50% global winrate. And of course, stuff like platooning and playing fewer games in a row could accomplish that no problem, but remember I am not actually interested in stats for their own sake, but as indicators of performance. I want my winrate to be higher, of course, but what I am aiming for is a steady increase over time; not hitting an actual number. It’s not about hitting a 60% winrate or whatever, but maintaining that winrate once I get there.

And it’s going to take a while. That’s OK. What happens, children, when you get old and jaded like uncle Irma here, is that you focus more on what the numbers mean than what they actually say. If that sounds obtuse, I just mean that I respect any player who has purple stats across the board. That is a clear indication of skill. But I respect a player more who has purple stats across the board and has driven tens of thousands of games to get there and is still playing and maintaining those purple stats as the game and the maps and the meta changes.

Another reason it’s going to take a while is that sometimes all I want to do is just drive my E50 M. And if your puny Russian Medium looks at me funny, or tries to shoot at me when I’m driving by, I might just want to drive it into your face for the sake of it; I don’t care if you have your team right beside you. Or if you park your stupid Heavy tank at the bottom of a hill or under a ledge, I might just drive off it and land on top of you, because why waste 60 km/h once you get those 62 tonnes going that fast?

Sometimes, you just have to pay the “noob tax”…

(…)

I have a problem with general map awareness. Part of this is because I don’t drive a lot of the tanks I face; Heavy tanks especially. So I don’t know the usual positions by heart, so to speak. I try to pick up on that when I look at gameplay videos: where are people going? What positions are they using, and where are they getting shots? But it is something I struggle with; good positioning.

The other part is I just don’t look at the minimap enough, and I don’t keep track of enemy positions well enough. I think it’s because I like the faster tanks; I don’t give myself enough time to maintain proper situational awareness. That’s partly because I’m just sloppy, but also because I am struggling. I have to spend more time concentrating on doing basic things, and so it gets harder to keep your eye on the overall situation.

It’s also about mindset. Driving tanks like the Foch and the E50 M, it’s hard to be unassuming; they’re just not conductive to modesty. Everyone always said the E50 M was a “sniper tank”, but it was always a big, beautiful bruiser to me. A brawler tank. Same with the Foch. And when I go into battle with that idea in my head about the tank I am driving, I am more likely to just dive into a situation than to hold back and make sure I know exactly what it looks like, because I have a bit of armour and I know I can get a bounce or two.

(…)

And this is, after all, what I like about the E50 M: the playstyle. The ability to put thought into action. And here’s where tank driving becomes more art than science. Making the tank dance.

I like to say that Medium tank driving at its best is like impressionist painting. Casemate TDs, by contrast, are more like cubism. Trying to draw a flower with a ruler. But as expressionism, that can still be a pretty good flower; you don’t have to know anything about art movements to know art when you see it. The problem is doing it yourself.

But the great thing about art is that being an artist isn’t something you happen to be, it’s something you learn to be. Once you got the basic techniques sorted, you need to make it all come together to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s OK if your work is derivative; it can still be really good. But if you skip on the basics, the result, however great, won’t be very convincing.

How To Read Stats For Noobs

By:

IrmaBecx

I did a lot of Social Science at university, and this whole “Critical Thinking” deal is basically just not automatically accepting things at face value, and asking yourself what things really mean.

So when people say stuff like “play to the strengths of your vehicle” or “mitigate incoming damage”, that’s my first thought: What do they mean by that?

Of course, this is also the first question of anyone who doesn’t quite hear, or completely fails to understand what someone else is saying, so that’s modern education for you.

But being a self-imposed tank philosopher, I care about these things; explaining what stuff means, I mean. I think being able to explain something to someone is a prerequisite for really knowing it, and as a bonus; when you explain something to others, you are also making it clear to yourself.

Everybody wins.

Not having access to knowledge is a great hindrance for understanding. But it doesn’t matter how much is being revealed to you if you don’t know what to do with it all. Like staring at your own global stats at your favourite Blitz stats website.

Stats for Noobs

I don’t care about stats. That’s Elitist posturing. But it’s also true. The more I play, the less impressed I am with stats, both my own and others. You’ve seen enough to realise they don’t tell the whole story. You know how to stet ped and denoob, but more importantly, you come to the profound realisation that stats are temporal, dynamic; they are a process that is always going on, always changing, and in the end, you are only as good as your last battle.

Once I hit 50% I pretty much stopped caring. About the actual number, I mean. In fact, I think it’s kind of funny the way some people get triggered by “getting beaten by a noob”. As if it wasn’t possible without something being wrong. As if it was somehow unfair.

But I never stopped periodically checking my stats, because I still care about my own performance, and statistics give me relevant clues about it. I can track my own progression. I can compare myself to myself.

And this is advice often given to new players: monitor your stats so you can track your performance. But when you go look at your stats, all you see is a bunch of numbers, and it’s not always easy to understand what it is they are trying to tell you.

There are any number of sources for stats; Blitz assistant, in game spread, different websites. It doesn’t really matter which one you use, but make sure you keep using the same one. Me, I’m a Blitzstars fanboy all the way, I always have been, and I can’t imagine I’ll switch at this point. Let us all praise Sockrobber for the enormous debt we owe him for his tireless work.

But yeah, find one you like and stick to it. And start by checking just a few things so you don’t get overwhelmed by the wealth of information.

I thought I’d take you through a typical rundown of my stats, to illustrate some things you can learn about your playstyle and performance from yours. And then all you need to do is to “play to the strengths of your vehicle” and you should be carrying harder in no time.

For clarity, I will be using the Blitzstars format in my examples.

First things first

So yeah, winrate. That’s first. But there are several winrates you might be interested in.

There is your “career” or “global” winrate. That’s the actual one. Then there is your recent winrate, which is usually the last 30 days of playing. The relationship between these two can tell you several things.

First off, if your 30 day winrate is higher than your career winrate, then you are doing better; you are learning, you are progressing. But there could also be other explanations; maybe you have been driving a lot of lower tiers, or rolling an OP tank, or platooning a lot?

Then there is the winrate on each and every tank you own. That’s pretty self explanatory, but again, there could be different reasons for it. If you want to find out of you are really doing well, you need to look at other tank statistics in relation to the winrate, and here is where things tend towards information overload.

Battle count

This will tell you your level of familiarity with the vehicle. Is this a new tank for you, or have you had it a long time? If you have thousands of games in a tank but the winrate is still low then chances are you may be doing something wrong with it, or that it was one of your first noob projects.

Conversely, you should be less reliant on stats in vehicles with a low battle count. This, by the way, is how you spot a reroller: they will have suspiciously high stats without having played a lot of battles.

More importantly, if you have a high winrate in a vehicle, but a low battle count, and the overall stats are low, then it could be you’ve just had a lucky winning streak. It could of course also be because the tank caps bases like a boss.

As a rule, 100 games are required to get into top ten or top 100 lists, so that’s a good benchmark for familiarity.

Damage Output

This one is called DPB on Blitzstars; “damage per battle” and also “average damage”, because that’s what it is; the average damage output over all the games played.

Again this is given both as a global stat and for each tank, and I don’t really follow my global damage output, because it’s across all tiers and everything.

For many players, though, average damage is the only stat that counts, and it is generally considered to be the best indicator of how hard you carry.

And it’s common sense, really. By taking away more of your opponents hitpoints, you will get more XP, more credits, clear more missions, and ultimately win more games.

So: a low damage output should also mean a low winrate. If you have a high winrate but low damage output, then either you are contributong to the team in other ways such as spotting, tracking and capping bases, or you are simply being carried. If you have a high damage output but a low winrate, then either WG hates you, there is something wrong with the game, you keep getting the noob team, or you are doing most of your damage after the game has already practically been lost.

That means you camp too much.

But there could be other explanations. Maybe you aren’t good at finishing people off; you do damage, but don’t get any kills. Maybe your tank is slow,a nd you have trouble getting to effective poritions. And again, look at the battle count to see what level of confidence you should have in the numbers.

Spots per Battle

 This is simple the average number of tanks you spot each battle, and it tells you your level of aggression.

 In faster vehicles, you should expect the spot rate to be higher, if it’s not then you may be using them wrong. Slower tanks will often fire at already spotted targets and so the spot rate will likely be lower.

 If you don’t have a high spot rate in a faster tank, and your damage output and winrate are also low, then it may well be you are staying too far back and not taking full advantage of your mobility.

 You will note I haven’t given examples of actual numbers. That’s because you should be comparing your stats to themselves over time. I find it’s more productive to think in therms of more or less and of general improvement than a set target number, at least until you feel you understand what that number tells you.

 Hit Rate

 This is the final thing I usually check, and it’s the percentage of shots you fire that actually hit their target.

There will be some variation of possibility here. Gun stats aside, an autocannon will have a lower hitrate than an accurate sniping weapon because of their different playstyles. Your own personal style of play also has an impact; do you often take snapshots, blind shots and speculators?

Either way, a low hit rate may indicate a problem. If it’s a problem with the tank, you can’t change that, but you can change the way you use it. HIgh hit rate but low damage output and low winrate? Maybe you are playing too close to the action. Can’t seemt o hit the shots? Spend more time aiming, or simply move closer.

Closing Remarks

All in all, that’s five stats I check and compare, and I feel I understand what they can tell me about my gameplay.

 Trying to make sense of your stats may seem overwhelming at first, but just concentrate on a few of them, and follow them over time. Once you have a basic understanding of how they work you can start adding more, just ask yourself if the information they provide is really helpful to you in terms of self improvement, or if they are mere curiosities.

 Also, please remember to try and not throw peoples stats in their face. It’s not considered comme il faut in polite society.

Further notes on winrate:

The thing about using winrate as your main point of reference is, sooner or later you are going to plateau or decline, ad the closer you get to 100%, the harder it gets to maintain your performance.

If you follow other stats, you will still be able to work on improving your gameplay and identify potential problems. I was well on my way to becoming a 60% player a while back, but that was mostly because I was playing a lot of lower tier vehicles. When I moved up the tiers again, it was more like 50%. But my global winrate has been showing a small but steady increase over the same periods, so overall I still felt like I was improving. Following my damage output, I could see that I was being more effective, although my hitrate at the same time was dropping, from 90% to around 80%.

Stats don’t tell the whole story. But they do tell you something. I know I am plateauing, and my global winrate at the moment I think is pretty accurate. I also know if I really cared, I could go work on any number of de-noob projects and I would be on the rise again, but I don’t. I want to play my new high tier vehicles, I want to experiment and learn new things. And I know that once I get more comfortable with the things I am trying to learn, my stats will be improving again.

[2017]

Tank Philosophy Primer

By:

IrmaBecx (2016)

Introduction

There are a lot of strategies you can use to get better at driving tanks and doing damage to others, but to me they are all aspects of the same basic premise: In order to improve you first need to understand the process you are trying to improve.

Now, being the curious type who is always asking uncomfortable questions about stuff people take for granted, things aren’t that simple for me. I’ve always found that when basic assumptions are made clear, discussion and comprehension both go much easier.

For this reason, I will here present some basic schools of thought that are prevailent in the “Blitz Universe”, as Martindogger likes to call it. I will also endeavour to explain how holding certain beliefs and making certain assumptions (like “we are going to lose” ) will impact your tank driving over time.

You will note, perhaps with some amusement, that I am very firmly rooted in my own beliefs, and I will make no attempt to conceal this fact. On the contrary, I will attempt to explain exactly why I feel they are the most warranted.

The Solipsist View

Solipsism is the belief that no other minds exist outside the self, meaning other people aren’t real. This is very often what it feel like when you are new to the game; you don’t really feel like you are playing against other people – you feel like you are playing against faceless pixels.

As you progress, the Solipsist view is very hard to get rid of, especially since it lies very close to one of the basic principles of Tank Philosophy; namely the idea that you always have to look to yourself first when you review a battle.

So if you want to disregard the fact there are other people inside those tanks, where’s the problem? It’s not so much Solipsims itself as the consequences of Solipsist thinking that are harmful to your progress.

The Solpisist player will not cooperate with the Green team, because they are all in his or her head anyway. Even if this doesn’t amount to actual Yoloing, the player who goes off with total distregard for team tactics will not achieve long-term success. The Solipsist player will also struggle to learn things about other players and use them against them later, for the same reason.

Any change or event in the game is perceived to be aimed at the player personally: They have been nerfed or cursed or Matchmaking and RNG has been fixed against them personally, et cetera. The fact this is akin to actual paranoia aside, in all my years as a tank driver, I have never seen anything strange happen that couldn’t happen to any of us, at any given time.

This refusal to view the self as part of a collective is the basic problem of Solipsism, and it is what hinders progress and evolution. Solipsists are concerned only with themselves, and so they fail to take into account the fact that everyone struggles the same, and this can be used against them.

By the same token, Solipsist players will rage and spew obscenities at others, totally oblivious to the fact that it’s only a game and peoples’ feelings get hurt.

Sadly, the Solipsist will never achieve true understanding of tank philosophy: only technical proficiency is available to them. Also loneliness, despair, depression, and ultimately, Tetris.

The Stoic view

I will admit to having had the most clashes with Stoic players over the years. The Stoic view means to accept the facts, things and processes around you as they are, and realising your own inability to change them. For this reason, one should seek solace in acceptance, and not go off like Münchhaussen and try to fight tier X windmills.

The Stoic view is championed by some excellent players, much better than I am, and so it is perhaps hard for me to criticize it. Another reason for this is I find many aspects of the Stoic mindset appealing – yeah, I agree some teams cannot be carried, some armour cannot be penetrated, and sometimes there just isn’t anything else to be done; you will have to settle for top damage on a loss.

You will also be excused for thinking I have made Stoic arguments in the past: I do think there are premises and facts that are the same for everyone, and so could be considered unchangeable, but the fact is these “facts” change all the time. Vehicles and maps are adjusted, added and removed allt he times; physics and functions are changed all the time. The “physical” pixel-world is constantly changing, as are players themselves with every battle they enter.

So the true Solipsist view holds that nothing ever really changes, and that what you need to learn isn’t what you can imagine yourself doing, but what your limits are. As long as you keep within the boundaries of your own limitations and the limitations of the world around you, you’ll be fine.

And a lot of it makes sense. Some of my best friends are Stoics. That said, some of my best friends are Solipsists as well, so… Either way, I don’t agree with the basic assumption of Stoicism; namely that our constraints are constant. I think they are in flux, and I think that makes a huge difference.

The Constructivist

We come at last to my own view: the Constructivist as I like to call it. Social Contructivism, where these ideas come from, holds that the world around us is not accessible to us except through the filter of our own perception and understanding, as expressed through language.

If you thought “constructivism” had something to do with being constructive, I think it does. The realisation that both the self, other selves and our environment are constantly changing, means we can employ strategies to give this change direction.

This sounds complicated, I am sure, but it really is quite simple. If you drive tanks a lot, you will get better at driving tanks. Everyone knows that. So if you decide to drive a lot of Baby Panther, you will git gud at Baby Panther. You have then given your change direction.

The environment around us is harder to change, and it takes longer, but it it still possible. If you drive enough bad games in your Löwe, it will get buffed, I seen it happen.

So with the basic premise that change is possible, and being at least somewhat the master of ones’ own fate, not only can you git gud, you can actually work towards gitting gud in very specific ways.

For me, looking to yourself first is constructive, as long as you look to others as well. Accepting there are certain constraints is likewise constructive, as long as you don’t let them limit your imagination.

Criticism

To the extent tank philosophy gets a bad rep, and I don’t think it does generally, it’s because of the many words and because it’s Elitist.

Now, Sometimes you have to use a lot of words to explain something really simple, because this simple thing needs to be seen in relation to other things in order to be understood correctly. Like “carry harder”. That’s a simple concept. It’s usually extrapolated to mean “get hit less and do more damage”. That also sounds simple.

But if you are grinding your tier VIII Medium with stock everything and getting circled constantly by laughing Heavy tanks, that may seem near-impossible; the very idea that you should be trying even harder than you already are seems ludicrous. Clearly someone who says “carry harder” is jibing you?

Not everyone who says “carry harder” is a tank philosopher, but when a tank philosopher says it, it doesn’t mean “do even more of what you are doing”, it means “do something different”. There is always something you can do, and that something doesn’t always have to be dominating the battle completely and stealing all the damage. Sometimes “carrying” means doing other things, like tracking, spotting, or taking one for the team; keeping people busy or distracting them.

The way you change from bad to better is by doing things differently. If you try to do the same thing over and over again, you’ll likely get the same result, only faster.

The charge of Elitism, I am afraid is true. I cannot argue against it. But to me, Elitism isn’t such a bad thing, because to me Elitism means Synergy, and all my friends pretty much are in Synergy.

Conclusion

Making decisions about ones world view can take a whole lifetime, and I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone what to think. With my stats, I shouldn’t even be telling people how to drive.

I would, however, make the suggestion that before you enter your next battle, take a moment to think about what kind of tank driver you are. And no matter what you decide, the very fact you are clarifying your basic assumptions will help give your progress some direction.

And if it doesn’t, it’s because Wargaming has nerfed you again.

Nothing to be done about that.

Suffer through it. Think happy thoughts.

-IrmaBecx

Poker is an excellent example of where I agree with the stoic viewpoint, because a lot of people think it’s about luck and not skill. I the same manner, people think Blitz is about MM and vehicle statistics, when in fact it is also about skill.

Also the Stoic view is helpful when you are facing insurmountable odds; here again we are in agreement.

A nice counter-manoeuvre is making the fact of change a constant. I can’t argue with that, although I think separating the two is slightly more useful, methodologically. Still, good show.

This is where it gets interesting, because the Stoic mindset I think is what makes a lot of Stoics such good players, or perhaps it’s what makes good players Stoics? Either way I think that’s exactly right – your expectations are invariably going to fail to materialise, which is a huge source of disappointment, rage, and other negative feelings.

When I say I don’t agree with the basic premise of Stoicism, that may be slightly pointed of me. Basically, we want the same thing: to reach a state of blissful existence in which we can drive tanks without any kind of hindrances or negativity. As the Blitz universe is random and chaotic, as well as influenced by the whims of thousands upon thousands of human agents (and Wargaming RNG voodoo), serenity must always come from inside yourself.

For me, accepting that some things are inevitable is a good start, but it isn’t enough for me, because it doesn’t tell the whole story. I think the realisation of potential through change is more important, and perhaps more basic than the constraints that surround it? This can of course be a question of disposition, and I suppose everyone has to find their own way to – and interpretation of – success.

So this has perhaps been less Basic tank philosophy and more basic tank Philosophy. To me the sight of Russian tanks is always a reminder of Stoicism:

I wonder which Russian tank is the most Stoic? I had a thought it might be the KV-5.

[This is an early attempt at formulating what is meant by “tank philosophy” and how one might relate actual philosophical thought to pixel tank driving.]

Welcome to the IrmaBecx School of Tank Philosophy.

This is a collection of writings on pixel tank driving by IrmaBecx, Community Contributor for Wargaming EU.