Chinese Heavy Grind: WZ-111 model 1-4

Chinese Bias? The WZ-111 model 1-4

By:

IrmaBecx

So I rushed through the WZ-110, and yesterday I unlocked the WZ-111 model 1-4. I dropped some gold to train the crew and free XP:ed the tier X gun, because I’m no Pro at tier IX at the best of times, and now there are only the obligatory two weeks or so of waiting for timers before I can actually drive it.

Yes, people, equipment timers are the worst.

So what I did was load up the old press account and throw massive amounts of gold at it, and so instead of grinding credits like I should be doing, I’ve been driving a fully loaded model 1-4 a handful of games to see if it’s the tank of my dreams like I’ve been hoping.

Short answer? Yes. Yes, it is.

A while back, I stated if the WZ-111 5A ever came to Blitz, I would swear off Medium tank elitism and get one, because I can deal with one IS-7 in the game, but not two.

What happened was of course we got the “other one”; the 113, and after being involved in testing it, I very quickly decided I was going to get that one. I don’t know what it is about Chinese tanks, I just like them a lot. Maybe that explains why I am throwing bouqets at what is after all just a copy of the IS-8 with a bigger gun on it.

Well, “copy” isn’t exactly fair. “Interpretation”, maybe? “Variant”? When you say “copy” about something, it implies it is practically the same only slightly worse, and I just think there is more to Chinese tanks than that.

I took the time to try the IS-8 out before the Chinese line dropped; I’ve not driven a lot of Russian Heavy tanks before, and I kind of liked it. Specifically, I liked the mobility and the pike nose, and the 122 mm M62-T2 main armament is an old favourite of mine from the Yolo Wagon grind. The pike nose on the WZ is different from the IS-8; it’s actually a sort of cross between a pike nose and angled front plate. Also the side armour is thicker. Predictably, the WZ doesn’t turn as well and doesn’t have quite the same power, but it still does 50 in a straight line, same as the IS-8.

So The WZ is a hull down/side scraping beast. Angle that curious looking frontal armour back a little, and you’ll have about six different autobounce angles for people to bounce off of, unless they want to shoot at your tomato coloured turret. But what is truly beast about the WZ-111 1-4 is of course the huge 130 mm main armament.

I always liked 130 mm guns. There aren’t a lot of them, I can only think of three off the top of my head (Box Tenk, Yolo Wagon, IS-7). Naturally, you’re not going to have the monstrous DPM of the Object 263, but you will have the biggest gun around except for big TDs, the E100 and the Kpz 70.

Okay, so the difference isn’t all that big. The German 12.8 cm guns have the same alpha, and the 120/122 mm weapons aren’t far off. But you are still going to land bigger hits than most others, and you’ll have a slightly more useful High Explosive round against lower tiers and Light tanks.

Maybe it’s placebo, but I just feel a bit more confident rolling out with a 130 mm. Gun stats are pretty average for the tier other than your slightly higher alpha, but the gun isn’t going to win you games by itself anyway, it’s just part of the package. There are tanks that are “all about the gun”, but this isn’t one of them, you need to take a slightly more holistic view to the WZ-111 1-4.

“Holistic, if you are unaware, means focusing on how the parts of something work together, rather than looking at them separately. And the WZ-111 1-4 does work. You have speed, armour and firepower in healthy doses; keeping in mind this is a Heavy tank and so it doesn’t turn so well, there really isn’t a lot other than that to hold you back.

As usual I couldn’t wait for the blasted timers to run down; that’s going to be another two weeks, and naturally I want to get on with grinding the WZ-113. So I am now driving a fully upgraded model 1-4 with just stage I equipment on it on my regular account.

And it’s fun. It’s not quite the brawler the WZ-110 is, you need to work a little harder to get bounces off the front plate, but the fact it has so many different angles means if you just keep moving, it’s going to give you those inexplicable bounces that make people throw their tablets at walls.

The side armour looks like it has spaced armour, I can at least say I’ve bounced 122 mm rounds off it at 90 degrees angle. Even if it’s not spaced, it’s still 120 mm thick. Even the back end I’ve bounced a few off, all in all, the armour is super trollish. It is going to troll you too though, lower alpha guns with good accuracy can pepper your weakspots and lower plate with ease and ruin your day completely. Still, I think you have to push the armour a little in order for it to show what it’s really capable of.

The weapon is perhaps not quite the Maus-slaying monster I imagined it was going to be, but it certainly puts out the damage. You have about a 12 second reload, which gives you plenty of time to angle up and look around or relocate. That’s about tier standard. But it means you will have trouble getting your shots off fast enough in some situations; when close up brawling, when dealing with multiple opponents at once, and when chasing after the enemy team while your teammates drop like flies.

So yeah. Dropped a bit of gold on this one, but I think it’s well worth it, because that means the grind is now basically done. All I have to do is drive another couple of hundred games, grind at least five million credits, and then wait another two weeks for stupid timers, and I’ll have my first tier X Heavy tank!

But I’m not worried about that, because something has happened.

I am enjoying playing tier IX.

That’s been a problem for me, because usually I prefer the tier X tanks to their tier IX predecessors, and I didn’t get the Kpz 70 or the AMX 30 B, both of which would have accomplished the same thing. I’ve been looking for a tier IX daily driver for a while now, and I think I may have finally found it.

So what’s the verdict? Should you get it?

No. Don’t grind it. Don’t do it, I am serious. I want to have the WZ-111 model 1-4 all to myself, I’m so happy with it. No one else can drive it!

What you are getting is a Chinese alternative to the IS-8 with a bigger gun on it, thick, trollish armour, and a healthy dose of speed. Even a noob like me can make that work. And it’s a great drive. I am not sure how impressed someone who has driven thousands of games in something like the IS-3 or the IS-7 is going to be, but for me, this is top of the line stuff.

If you like Chinese tanks already, this one is a no brainer. If you are curious about Chinese Heavy tanks, you will be well past the real hurdle once you get to tier IX. Grinding 66.000 XP to get the top gun is going to be a chore since you’ll have to use the 100 mm; it’s an obvious free XP trap, but once that’s done you’re home free.

As I’ve said before, if you look at the WZ-111 model 1-4 and all you see is a Russian clone tank, then just leave it alone. The 130 mm isn’t enough of a novelty to make the grind worth is for you.

But if you see something else, and you like what you see, IrmaBecx says stop reading and get grinding!

Tier II Happy Tanks: The T1E6

Happy Tank: the T1E6

By:

IrmaBecx

I recently stated that high tiers is where it’s all happening for me these days, but I still feel compelled to write a few passages on the infamous T1E6 that’s finally coming, after years of speculation.

In spite of being a top tier elitist, I am actually the proud owner of three tier II tanks, and I’ve even spent a bit of resources on them.

They are my “Happy Tanks”.

Happy tank one is the Japanese Ha-Go with the Girls und Panzer camo on it. There’s nothing super special about the tank itself, it’s kind of slow and has a pop gun, but it just looks so good it makes me happy driving it. It’s also a bit of a rarity out there; lots of people have all the other three GuP tanks, but not a lot if them have the fourth one. I believe the camo has only been sold once or twice.

Happy tank two is the T7 Combat Car. I think I sold it right away the first time it was gifted, and I haven’t had it on my press account for some reason, so I was really happy when it was gifted to us again. Not every day you get to drive a low tier tank you haven’t driven before.

I mean, it’s pretty useless, of course. Some tanks you just can’t penetrate, last time I drove it I did 8 damage. That’s a single penetration out of maybe five full clips. These things will happen. But when you get it right, it can be glorious; burning people down with the massive burst damage and then awkwardly manouvering away to reload the clip and do it all over again.

The T7 Car doesn’t turn very well, doesn’t have much armour, doesn’t even have premium rounds to help the abysmal penetration values, but it’s still so much fun to drive it just makes me happy. I even spent some spare parts on mine so it would turn better, and I put the blue and orange birthday camo on it for extra happiness!

Happy tank three is Chinese. Or British, I mean. But most of all, it’s a promise for the future. I don’t normally say that about low tier tanks.

But the Vickers Type B has a three shot autoloader. Just like the AMX 50 B, just like the T57 Heavy, the BatChats, T71, and the upcoming Lorraine 40t. It’s going to be my proxy tank for learning how to play all those three shot autoloaders. I put the new whitewash camo on it, dropped for improved controls, and I’m going to call it “White Death”. Promises for the future always make me happy.

Newest Happy Tank ready for action!

Which brings us to the tank in question, the T1E6. It’s a boxy, goofy looking American tank with a 37 mm, five shot, rapid fire autoloader. That’s a tier I gun, by the way, so don’t expect too much of it.

But yeah, it’s tier II. Which in theory means it should be pretty easy, but in fact since lower tiers are so chaotic, it can sometimes be worse than tier VIII trying to carry. And of course, if you meet one of those French “Light” tanks, you’re going to struggle same as everyone else.

I don’t get a lot of mileage out of my tier II tanks, but I really like having them around. They’re such a small investment, if you find one you really like, there’s really no reason to hesitate.

“HELLO! My Name Is: T1E6”

So I loaded up my press account T1E6 and rolled out to see how Happy it is. Meadsy69 and I both happen to have the tank on our accounts, so we have a bit of early access this time. It’s a Mines game, and people driving off aimlessly all over the place, so I roll up on the hill, noting the mobility is quite good, and then it’s a classic hill battle from there.

I ran a few more games, and was left with the impression the T1E6 is a lovely little tank. I’s quite nippy, gun handling isn’t fantastic, but it fires fast, and five shells in the clip gives you a few more options. Clip reload is around nine seconds for a 175/200/250 damage potential depending on ammunition used.

Okay, so it’s fun. It’s goofy, but cute. So who should drive it?

Well, maybe not me. Looking through my collection of tier II Happy Tanks, I don’t think the T1E6 would necessarily add anything to it. That said, it is a lot of fun to drive, and at the time of writing, I don’t know how much the tank is going to cost.

But if you think the T1E6 looks like it might be fun, I can tell you it is. It’s a Happy Tank for sure. And having a few low tier tanks around for when the grind gets grindy is always a good idea.

Buying a tier II Premium tank is an extravagance. It’s not certain you’ll get a lot of mileage out of it, and it’s not really useful as a credit grinder. You drive it for a bit of stet pedding fun and low tier relaxation.

So if you like the look of the T1E6, I am here to give you my wholehearted recommendation. It’s cure and boxy, and the five shot autoloader adds some options to your gameplay.

If you are in the market for a tier II happy tank, IrmaBecx says this one is positively exhuberant.

🙂

WZ-110 First Look!

First Impressions: The WZ-110

By:

IrmaBecx

So I skipped the IS-2. I just wasn’t excited about it, and all I’ve been thinking about is whether or not I was going to keep it after the grind is done. I know I said I was going to give it a chance, but I just didn’t. I like tier VII, but if I’m going to drive a Heavy tank at tier VII, I’ll just drive the AMX M4 45. Or the KV-13, for that matter.

The WZ-110 however, I was excited, or at least curious about. The 62-100T is one of my favourite 100 mm guns, and I just think it’s refreshing to see a communist tier VIII Heavy that doesn’t have a 122 mm. I am kind of hoping it’s going to be the Chinese Löwe; not that Chinese Heavy tanks make a lot of credits.

What you get is basically an upgrade of the Chinese IS-2. They welded on an aggressively angled pike nose, gave it a new turret and the 100 mm gun off the WZ-120. I guess the 122 was too heavy.

If you’ve done the Chinese Mediums, all you have to grind is a set of tracks and a new turret so you can mount the top gun. A little over 30.000 XP. After that, it’s 150 K to get the tier IX, which for me looks like it’s going to take maybe 100 games running Premium.

What’s it like to drive?

It’s not bad, actually. The pike nose feels slightly awkward at first, but once you get the feel for how it works, it can be ruthlessly effective. Basically, you just point it straight at people and do your best to try and mess up their shots. It works quite often, especially against same and lower tier opponents.

Seems like six degrees of gun depression is the new China. Not great, but I don’t feel like I struggle a lot with it. It’s enough to go hull down behind low hills and hide the lower plate, which is really all you need.

But yeah. That is a Medium tank gun, and I am putting out Medium tank numbers with it so far. It also has Medium tank penetration. I manage to bounce some inexplicable shots against soft targets with it, but in fairness I just have base equipment so far and I’m not used to the tank yet.

I already said I like the 62-100T; as is usually the case I prefer the Chinese copy to the Russian original, which I suppose would be the 100 mm D-54. But the weapon itself is secondary to the application. Most Heavy tanks at tier VIII and IX have around 400 alpha. The WZ-110 has around 300, but will comfortably beat the reload of those higher alpha tanks and outtrade them. I found I quite enjoy the playstyle.

It’s a different rhythm. Slightly more uptempo. Not only do you need to shoot more rounds to do the same damage, one of the strengths of the WZ-110 is having high DPM for a Heavy tank and so of course you want to try and realise that potential. This, along with angling the armour should be your main consideration.

So it’s a bit of a novel tank, and yet instantly recognisable as Chinese. It’s fast in a straight line, it doesn’t turn very well, and its a bit slow to get going, especially on soft ground. I can’t wait to get some improved controls on it.

That’s right. I’m keeping this one. If it had a 122 mm top gun it’s not certain I would, but the pike nose/100 mm gun combination is a winner in my book. It can be awkward at times, and it’s not fantastically powerful, but it’s an engaging drive and I feel it has a lot of potential.

So what’s the verdict?

Fans of Chinese tanks will feel right at home, the WZ-110 works pretty much the way you think it will. It’s not very difficult to drive, and just keeping the tank straight will go a long way towards keeping you relatively safe.

If you’ve done a few thousand games in an IS tank, you’ll not have any trouble with the WZ, but the question is if you’ll get a lot out of it. Other than trading alpha damage for DPM there isn’t a lot that sets it apart. I guess the question is whether you feel like 310 alpha is a novel variation, or just an outright weakness. There is also the “Chinese knock-off” thing to consider; if you think Chinese tanks are boring copies of Russian tanks, the WZ isn’t going to change your mind.

But I like it. I don’t like a lot of Heavy tanks, but this one I like. It’s not that special, and it’s not super complicated, but it’s a well executed design, and it definitely works as intended. I am not sure it’s the Chinese Löwe, but if there was a Chinese Löwe, I don’t think it would be very different from the WZ-110.

So if you are looking for something along the lines of a pike nosed, 100 mm carrying, hull down/peekaboom brawler, IrmaBecx says look no further.

Heavy Tank Bias: The IS-8

Traitor! The IS-8

By:

IrmaBecx

So the Chinese Heavy tanks are taking forever to appear. That’s like the only reason this ever happened, I want to make that clear.

Well that and the IS-5. I always kind of liked the IS-5. It’s the fastest IS clone, it has tier IX armour, and APCR standard. Other than being a dam IS clone, what’s not to like? I even liked the pike nose after a while.

It was the pike nose that got me. I said a few months ago if the WZ-111 5A ever comes to Blitz, I am giving up Medium tank elitism and getting one. Well, it didn’t come, but the 113 did, and I instantly fell for it, in spite of it being just a regular old Heavy tank.

And I think Heavy tanks are boring, most of them. Especially Russians. The Chinese tanks are different for some reason, they just appeal to me more.

Now, the thing is before the 113, or WZ-113 as it is now called, you get the WZ-111 model 1-4, and I’m liking the look of that more and more. It’s got a 130 mm main armament at tier IX, which is cool. I like a 130 mm gun. It has that massive spaced side armour and a pike nose, just like an IS-8. Also it does 50 km/h and has pretty good traverse numbers for a Heavy tank, so I am thinking it will be quite good.

But yeah. I’m no star player at tier IX to begin with. And I don’t even own an IS-5, except on the press account.

I took the IS-5 out for a spin, actually, but it just wasn’t the same. What about the actual IS-8, though? Maybe I should try that?

Dirty Dreams: The IS-8 looking butch in Century Oak

I’ve never driven a high tier Russian Heavy tank other than the IS-5 and the Shamurin, and I didn’t think I ever would. But thinking about it, there are actually a few things to like about the IS-8. It’s no slough, to start with. It has the wonderful M62-T2 off the SU-122-44, and of course you get that stronk side armour and pike nose I am so interested in right now.

Maybe I should get some tier IX pike nose practice? What would be the harm?

Yes, I know I am being silly. I drive Russian tenks already, and no one can see my stats on the press account anyway.

I figured “what the hell?”, spent the gold and credits and spare parts, and away I went in a brand new, maxed out IS-8, looking resplendent in newly applied Century Oak warpaint.

You all know what happened. I got in one of those honeymoon-period top tier games and did four thousand damage.

There’s nothing to it. As top tier, you just drive at people and bomb their tanks to bits. Hide the front plate, bounce stuff off the sides, and if that isn’t opportune, just point it straight at them and watch them struggle against your kinky angles.

The armour isn’t as impressive at tier X, but you still have the speed and manouverability, not to mention tier X penetration values. It’s not like you’re going to struggle inordinately.

And yeah, it was fun. Being a Medium tank elitist, you kind of have the feeling Heavy tank driving is somehow beneath you because there’s nothing to it and besides it just takes too long. But it doesn’t have to be like that. There are some Heavy tanks that are a lot of fun to drive and offer dynamic gameplay.

It’s fun because it’s strong, of course. There’s no denying that. I drive a lot of Russian tanks that are really strong; the Rudy, the Yolo Wagon, the Lightweight and the 140. Russian bias is real, and it works. No shame in letting it work for you for once.

Not going to say I’m a convert, but I did have the though I could actually get an IS-8 of my own, and it wouldn’t be hard. I have the KV-13 already, which leads on to the IS, the IS-3, and the IS-8. A couple of hundred thousand free XP, tops.

No, I’m not going to check. It’s not happening. Why would I want the old IS-8 when I am getting the new WZ-111 model 1-4 as soon as it drops?

But yeah… I’m still going to be driving the press account IS-8 I suppose. A bit. For the pike nose practice, you understand. Not because I like it, or anything.

Variety is the spice of tank philosophy?

Further Thoughts on the AMX 30 Prototype

Thinking LIke A Leopard

By:

IrmaBecx

So I got into a few tier X games since my initial “first look” evaluation of the new AMX 30 Proto, and like I said it’s basically a PTA in a lot of respects, chief among which the armour; by which I mean “lack of armour”, of course. It doesn’t deal well with HESH unless it hits the gun mantlet, which, let’s face it, isn’t exactly huge.

Even the official news text brings up the Leopard as a facsimile, and admonishes us to play as if every hit would be our last.

Sound advice, to be sure. The thrill of having excellent mobility is being able to outturn your enemies in a brawl, but the point of having excellent mobility is not being where people can shoot at you in the first place.

Yes. That means running away, people.

Well, no; not running away, per se. But playing the sidelines, keeping your distance, and following the Medium tank doctrine very closely.

As your ideological forebearer, you will certainly benefit from Chinese guerilla warfare tactics: victory through gradual expansion of map control, destroying isolated tanks, and gaining a numerical and territorial advantage for the final stage; the eradication of your remaining enemies.

The AMX 30 Proto is a true Medium tank. Driving it means staying close to the core Medium tank playstyle, and to execute that playstyle, you could hardly ask for more than the new French option offers. You even get some training wheels in the form of a gun mantlet.

Saying that, I am presupposing the Leopard PTA is the best tier IX Medium tank in the game, and one can certainly make that argument. The Leo carries a proper tier X 105 mm gun and puts out tier leading DPM numbers, plus it’s the fastest. Other than not having any armour at all, the PTA delivers in all categories.

So if you are doing well in your Porsche Leo, you are going to perform much better in the 1er Prototype, because the gun mantlet makes it slightly more forgiving to drive. Sure, you have a lower alpha weapon, but you are also going to take less damage and so get to fire more rounds. The trade off between armour and firepower in comparison to the Leopard PTA seems completely logical.

Either way, returning to the question of Medium tank ideology, your guiding principle should be pragmatism, and for me, there is no greater Medium tank pragmatist than Bushka. He taught a lot of us how to drive Medium tanks, in fact he’s still out there doing it; working away to try to hammer his oft-repeated lessons into our brains.

Bushka taught me to drive Mediums as well, and the weapon I fielded back then isn’t terribly different from the one before me today. Excellent mobility. Superb gun stats. A selection of useful rounds. All you need for Medium work.

Because Medium work is all about moving the weapon around so it can remain effective throughout the battle. That’s all you do. You do this in order to either hold enemies back from your cap points, or wipe them out, both of which lands you the victory. As a concept, the playstyle isn’t complicated.

Now we come to the “how” of all this. How do you execute the Medium tank playstyle? Bushkas first rule of becoming a blue player is “No Yolo”, so first off: don’t drive yourself into trouble and decimation.

You want to stay alive as long as possible, and to do this, Bushka says the best way of not getting hit is not being seen. This rhymes well with Leopard thinking: be extremely wary of taking hits; in fact, play as if the next hit could be your last.

So you move from cover to cover. Hide behind hills and trees and houses and mounds, and small dips in the terrain. Focus on not getting spotted until you are ready to, which is with your gun pre aimed at a target, ready to poke out and take a shot. That’s when you are ready to get spotted, not before.

After you shoot you pull back of course. That’s instinct. But when you do, you want to immediately drop bach into “not being seen” mode, and reset your camo. This is probably the most repeated of all Bushkas lessons. Don’t try to look back out when people can still see you, because you are going to take a hit.

Even without a rammer or provisions, the reload on the AMX Proto is well under 8 seconds, and that’s not enough for your camo to reset. The loss in DPM brought about by not firing on the reload is many times outweighed by not taking damage and staying in the game much longer, but it feels counter intuitive. That is why not being seen needs to be your number one priority.

But yeah. People aren’t always stupid, and they do figure out where you are. When they start moving in, trying to wear you down so they can rush you, Bushka has another strategy for you: trade distance for damage.

This one is a lot easier to get your head around, because when people drive tanks at you, you will want to shoot at them anyway. But the strategic consideration behind why you shoot at them is something else. First of all you want to get them to stop so they don’t get too close. You also want to catch them out so your teammates can hit them easier. Also, you want to take off as much of their hitpoints as possible before one of three things happen: a brawl, them retreating, or them backing off, and if you are still there after any of that happens, any of the three is a good outcome.

I asked Bushka if he had anything to add to this basic description of Medium tank strategy, and he said if you have gun depression, remember to get some angles on your turret. This is especially valid for the AMX 30 Proto; the “forehead” area above the gun mantlet is 100 mm thick, but the roof behind it is only 40 mm.

From straight ahead, that gives you maybe 220 mm of effective armour, but before you even reach half your gun depression it’s going to be an autobounce zone, and using ten degrees they will hardly see top of the turret at all.

The more you depress the gun, the less of your tank you need to be showing to get a shot off. Again, we return to the first consideration: not being hit by not being seen.

This may seem like a lot to think about just to be driving a tank, but it’s not like that. A lot of these things, like using gun depression and resetting camo will become second nature; something you do automatically while you are looking around and following what’s going on.

Even if you are thinking about doing these these different things, you have time. The whole point of going through these motions is to put yourself int he endgame. Granted, you will want to have been effective enough up until then to have put your enemies in a bad position, but more importantly you will want to be ready for when you get there, meaning not being heavily damaged.

Look, it’s like this. We are talking about a tier IX Medium tank here. We are comparing it to the PTA, which is easily the most difficult tank to play out of all the tier IX Mediums. Understand, you’re not going to pay your way into tier IX and get away with it.

The AMX Proto is slightly easier and more forgiving to play than the Leopard PTA, but in some ways, the PTA is decidedly better. The tier X L7A1 is a magnificent weapon that spews APCR death from the sidelines. The SA47 may have been given a new lease on life with the tier IX Medium platform, but novel as it may be, it’s still just a 100 mm.

But with the ten degrees of gun depression and superior penetration values, it’s a wonderful 100 mm. Given that the AMX Proto is going to be a tricky drive to begin with, the SA47 is not just a reasonable armament, it’s practically inspiring. There certainly isn’t anything else quite like it in the game.

And yea, that kills me a bit. I really, really like the AMX Proto. But I guess there is some consolation in the fact that if you are in the game for the long haul, sooner or later you’ll get a chance to own whatever tank you covet, and after tens of thousands of games, it’s nice to still have something to aspire to.

As it is, I do at least get the chance to drive all the tanks I covet, which is fantastic, and I am very grateful for it, but it’s not the same. You never really care about your performance in a tank until you drive it on your main account. And one day, I am going to have purple stats in my very own AMX Proto.

Until then, if you got one and didn’t overspend, I am happy for you and super jealous.

I guess I’ll go drive my communist tanks some more.

First Look at the AMX 30 1er Prototype!

Learner’s Leopard: The AMX 30 1er Prototype

By:

IrmaBecx

So once again, you can risk your hard earned cash to maybe get a high tier Premium tank. This time it’s a tier IX French Medium tank, the AMX 30 first prototype.

And it looks good. I have to say the preview pictures don’t do it justice.

The numbers don’t look half bad either. What we have here is a fast Medium tank with a weak hull and a bit of a gun mantlet, a 100 mm SA47 and ten degrees of gun depression.

It’s the same weapon you get on the AC 46, the AMX 50 100 or the Bat Chat AP. It compares pretty favourably to the 62-100T and the D-54; most stats are along the same lines except notably the penetration, which is much better on the SA47: 232 mm.

But the WZ-120 and T-54 aren’t really what you want to compare the AMX 30 Prototype to, it’s much more reminiscent to the Leopard PTA. The AMX isn’t quite as fast, but has the same specific power, and you get a bit of armour instead of a 105 mm weapon.

This “bit of armour” is pretty much your gun mantlet. That may not sound like a lot, but with 10 degrees of gun depression, it can be ruthlessly effective. The little cone around the gun is 200 mm of spaced armour with 150 mm of armour behind it. You’ll get more than 400 mm of effective armour around the gun.

The upper front plate is angled at like 75 degrees, but it’s only 40 mm thick. That means a tier VIII tank with a 122 mm gun is going to overmatch it and go straight through. Sides of the hull are only 30 mm, so a 100 mm weapon will overmatch that.

So you can’t sidescrape most of the time. But you can hull down all day with that low, smooth turret, or shove the gun mantlet in peoples face and bounce pretty much anything.

In comparison to the Porsche Leopard, the AMX isn’t quite as fast, but it turns much better. It has slightly better specific power than the PTA, which in turn has slightly better ground resistances. Bottom line, the AMX turns about 10 degrees faster.

Ready for action!

Notes on Playstyle

So it’s no T-54. It doesn’t have the hull armour. But if you’ve driven tanks like the Comet, the Indien-Panzer, Type 61, T23E3, Centurions, Leopards, CDC or the Dracula, you’ll feel right at home. It’s the same type of highly mobile gun depression tank.

Actually, from the looks of it, it will probably end up being one of the better ones. A strong turret front is a very useful gimmick; once you get used to finding hull down spots anywhere and everywhere, you’ll be able to keep yourself relatively safe unless people push on you, and even then, you’ll have a good chance to take them down.

The AMX is going to outturn a lot of opponents, and like I said, if you make sure they are staring straight into your gun mantlet, you can mitigate a lot of incoming damage. You can even bounce an AP shell from a death star, but the HESH will hit you for maybe 4-500 damage.

The weapon is great. A long barrel French 100 mm with top notch penetration, good DPM and a quick aimtime. It won’t aim quite as fast as the WZ-120, but it can point the gun down twice as much instead, and it’s not far off; like a fifth of a second.

So you want to play the mobile support role. You can’t be too aggressive, but you can hold a position as long as you can hull down. Don’t let people rush you into taking hits too early; try to hold on to your hitpoints so you can use them for brawling later in the game.

If you have to fight up close early on and take some damage, you can still be effective playing the sidelines, and as long as they can only see your gun mantlet, you’ll be fine.

Remember to make use of your mobility, especially to run away from bad engagements. From any angle that isn’t looking at the front of the turret, you are still a big, soft target, and people will sit and wait to get a shot at you. Better to push off and pop up somewhere else.

Tier IX has some great Medium tanks already. The HESH-toting Cent 7/1. The Bias machine T-54. The “ram king” E50. But it doesn’t really have one like this one, because this is what the Japanese Type 61 probably should have been, a 100 mm tank that can bounce stuff off the turret front. Instead, you get a 105 mm that’s pretty much one big weakspot.

So as far as tier IX Mediums go, the AMX Proto is going to be a contender. It’s pretty straightforward to learn: mobility, gun mantlet, gun depression. Nothing to it. Also, it has put the 100 mm SA47 on my list of “favourite 100 mm guns”. There is nothing like a Medium tank platform to make a weapon really show what it’s capable of.

The Verdict

If you’ve read my previous review on the 121 B, you’ll know what’s coming.

I am not getting one.

I wan’t one, but I’m not getting one, and it’s because of the crates. I still cannot justify spending money without a guaranteed purchase, and I still don’t want to support that kind of business practices. Again, if you feel otherwise, I’m not going to stop you, and if you get lucky, I’ll freely admit to being a bit jealous, because I think the AMX Proto is a great drive. I like it. It can certainly hold it’s own among the tier IX Mediums; I think it really adds something to the lineup.

Just make sure you are understand that no matter how much money you spend, there is no guarantee you will get the tank.

Still, just like the 121 B, I feel Wargaming did a good job with regards to balance. If you manage to get a good deal, and you like the gun depression Medium playstyle, I think you’ll be very happy with the AMX 30 first prototype.

Me, I’m going to go drive my press account loan vehicle some more.

See you out there!

Test Server: The WZ-113 Question

What Is It About The WZ-113?

By:

IrmaBecx

So after spending a day on the test server playing around with the new Chinese Heavy tanks, I am really looking forward to seeing them in the game. Especially I have my eye on the new tier X Heavy tank, the WZ-113.

Which sounds suspicious. I don’t even like Heavy tanks.

And these tanks aren’t even that special. I’ve said that before; about the Foches, about the Yolo Wagon, about the LeKpz M41 90 mm “Black Dog”, and they have still ended up being some of my favourite rides in the game.

Part of this anticipation I think just comes from where I’m at as a tank driver right now. My garage is well stocked, I am getting more comfortable at top tier, and I may not be progressing at the same rate I was a few years back, but I am still learning, and still evolving my playstyle. As the games stack up more and more, I’ve become more interested in things like details, nuances, and wider perspectives.

Tier X is really where it’s all happening for me these days. Through persistence, tank philosophy, hard work, and good old fashioned gold-noobery, I have put together a fairly impressive collection of elitist, highly philosophical, “thinking-man’s-tank” type vehicles for my top tier assault, and I figure in a couple of thousand games I’ll get the hang of driving some of them.

Basically, I have the gun depression Mediums, the heavy Mediums, and the Russian Medium, and then I have the two brawler Tank Destroyers for when it gets dicey ut there. Mixing up my Medium gameplay with different caliber guns and some mobile casemate TDs has been a really great learning exerience.

That’s kind of the perspective I view the game from at the moment, and from that perspective, adding some kind of Heavy tank to the lineup to further expand my playstyle seems like a logical, and fairly obvious next step.

The choice closest at hand for me is the AMX 50 B; I’m on the last stretch slow-grinding that. It would mean having to learn how to drive autoloaders again, and besides, it’s not really your typical Heavy tank. In fairness, I am probably just as close to the E100, but I never liked that at all, and I sold my E75 ages ago.

The rational choice I suppose would be the IS-4. I’m not getting an IS-7, that’s just not going to happen, and anyway the IS-4 I think would suit my playstyle better. But getting one would mean grinding through the entire line; I have the KV-13 which crosses over to the IS-7, but the IS-4 is a separate line.

None of this matters, of course. I went to the Chinese showroom, and again I came away from there with the decision already made. The WZ-113 is a great drive, that’s what’s important. Also I think it looks really cool which is not an insubstantial selling point for me, and it’s going to be a pretty short grind through some Russian-inspired vehicles – meaning they likely won’t be hard to drive – to get it.

I’m not going to get through this next part without saying “appeal to the imagination”, so I’ll just start with that, because I think these tanks do. Ironically, the whole “Russian knock-off” thing doesn’t make them boring to me; instead it makes them more approachable.

And that’s a big part of the attraction. The WZ-113 is a pleasant drive. It’s comfortable. It’s likeable. Even when I didn’t perform so well, I still really liked driving it.

So what’s to like?

“HELLO! My Name Is: WZ-113″

It’s kind of slow doing low speed manoeuvres, and it doesn’t like mud and water, but that’s fine since it’s a Heavy tank, and does have a bit of armour to make up for it. Once you get it in high gear, it will take off at a quite respectable pace doing 50 easy on a downward slope. It’s not a race tank or a sports tank, and it certainly doesn’t turn like one, but it is actually one of the fastest tier X Heavy tanks. You have plenty of speed for effective relocating, short flanking, and reaching good positions early.

It’s a big tank, but it’s not very tall. Nice big 120 mm front plate with a wicked angle on it; steeper than the Obj 140 even. Its hull extends out above the tracks with some kinky angles, side armour is given as 120 mm, but that’s just a strip; the rest of the hull armour is 90 mm. The turret looks like it’s in the middle, but it’s actually about as far forwards as it can be with that angled front plate.

On flat ground, people shooting at your front plate are hitting it at like a 68 degree angle. This means you don’t need a lot of angling to get it to an autobounce angle; four degrees of gun depression is quite sufficient to do that, and no one is going to overmatch it. You can sidescrape out to 20 degrees no problem, which gives you around 350 mm of effective armour both front and sides, leaving only your lower plate and turret hatches for people to shoot at.

The turret front is 260 mm, meaning Medium tanks will really struggle to go through. Roof is 40 mm, so 122 mm Russian Heavy tanks will overmatch that, and then you have maybe 200 mm effective armour on your two hatches. These hatches, along with the lower front plate and front drive wheel, constitute your weak spots; no surprises there. Overall, the armour is pretty solid.

Firepower I is fully adequate for a Heavy tank. DPM is top notch. Accuracy is good. Aimtime also good. Nothing really stands out, but the weapon shouldn’t give you a lot of headaches either. Your only real problem is the gun depression.

Looking through these last few passages, I realise this doesn’t exactly read like a fervent promotion of the WZ-113, although that is the feeling I have about it. These are test sever stats, but for all intents and purposes this is the 113 we are going to see in the game, and the numbers don’t look all that fantastic. It’s not some kind of monster, just a well crafted Heavy tank that I found it very easy to get along with.

It’s not the first time I get excited about what looks like a pretty average vehicle, and the more I think about what it is about this one, the less I have to show for it.

There is the fact it’s Chinese, and I like Chinese tanks. But the WZ-113 is more than that; it’s a sound Heavy tank design, and it gives you a few tools to work with that, although they may not be terribly exciting, are nonetheless effective.

I suppose the thing I am most excited about is simply learning to drive a tier X Heavy tank, and finally I found one I really like.

If you like Medium tanks, the transition to the WZ-113 isn’t going to be very difficult. It’s still pretty fast, and you will soon get comfortable with the way it moves and what makes it different from your regular drives. If you are a fan of Russian tanks with low gun depression, you’ll have an even easier time.

If you are looking for your first tier X Heavy tank, there isn’t a lot to recommend the WZ-113 specifically, but there is also nothing that really speaks against it except not being an IS-7 or an IS-4. Giving someone advice on choosing their first tier X is tricky, and everyone will tell you to get a Russian anyway.

If you already have a few tier X Heavy tanks, and you’re not a collector, it’s not certain the WZ-113 is going to add anything significant to your garage other than the novelty of being new to the game. If you are of the opinion Chinese tanks are just cheap knock-offs of Russian tanks, then I don’t think the WZ-113 is going to change your mind about them.

Again, “There is nothing wrong with it” may not be the glowing endorsement I struggle to express, but it is at least my honest opinion. Driven with a bit of care, the WZ-113 isn’t going to struggle.

Is that really all I’ve got? I mean listen to it. “These tanks are nothing special”. “It’s not some kind of monster”. “It isn’t going to struggle”. Although fair descriptions all, they don’t express any of the excitement I feel rolling out on the battlefield; the sense of exhilaration that makes me want to drive it again and again. “It’s fun to drive” doesn’t begin to express it; there is just something about the WZ-113 that makes it the perfect fit for a Medium driver looking to dabble in Heavy tanks.

This is, I think, because the WZ-113 is everything it needs to be; a veritable wonder of balance. You have a super strong turret, so you don’t get gun depression. But you don’t need gun depression, because the front plate is really angled already. To make things fair, the hull is low to the ground so people can aim down at it, but of course that also makes you a smaller target. Top speed is among the highest of all tier X Heavys, so it doesn’t turn so good. To make up for that, you get sturdy side armour, which in turn also lets you side scrape really well. Add to this a tier-standard 122 mm with good aimtime and good DPM, and those are the tools you have to work with. It all fits together.

And it all makes sense. It all works. The tank is greater than the sum of it’s parts; it’s a well thought out design. It’s not as flamboyant as the AMX 50 B, it’s not as sturdy as the IS-7, and it’s not as big and boxy as an E100. It’s none of these things, because it doesn’t have to be, it already is something else; filling a niche that wasn’t there before. A Chinese Heavy tank, and recognisable as such. If that sounds strange I just mean it fits in with the other Chinese vehicles in terms of gameplay and design elements; if you like one, you’ll like the other.

So that all means the WZ-113 is going to be all about the gameplay. Learning what positions you can use with the gun depression, getting good angles on your armour, anticipating peoples movements so you have time to turn the tank around, finding the limits of your speed and mobility. It’s not about the tank, it’s about the driver.

I would go off on something like “…the expression of the tank through the driver…” here, but I fear more philosophy will make me lose the plot.

Because the WZ-113 is about pragmatism. A simple tool, that can do many things. And that’s what appeals to me.

You may think that sounds generic and uninteresting.

I think it sounds like a promise for the future.

See you guys out there.

Test Server: Chinese Heavys first look!

Chinese Heavy Tanks: The Showroom

By:

IrmaBecx

So here I am, back on the Russian test server by kind invitation, looking at a fresh new batch of Chinese tanks. Heavy tanks.

Normally, I wouldn’t be very interested, but Chinese tanks are different. I like them. I bought the 121; now called the WZ-121, even though no one really needs 122 mm in a tier ten Medium tank, and I’ve had my Hype tanks for ages.

At a bit of distance, the WZ-113 looks like a generic Russian or Chinese Medium tank, but up close, you’ll see the difference in size. A nice, flat front plate, rounded turret, and thick side armour.

Taking it out for a drive, it’s doesn’t turn super quick, but it’s kind of fast once it gets going, and it’s a comfy drive. Four degrees of gun depression sounde terrible, but you get into it before long, and most Chinese are like that anyway. The armour will hold up if you use it proplerly; side scrape and hull down, and gun stats are pretty good.

I can say right off the bat the overall feeling I am getting from the WZ-113 is balance, not power. It’s not going to rule tier X. There is nothing that really stands out about it; everything is pretty good, and so you don’t really have any specific weaknesses other than standard ones like lower front plate, turret hatches, and not being able to turn like a Medium tank.

So yeah. The WZ-113 is the new tier X Heavy tank for me. It will do any Heavy tank job out there pretty well, it looks good, and it’s not very hard to drive. A real workhorse type of vehicle. You may think that makes it dull and uninspiring, I think it makes it comfortable and likeable. But with that settled, what about the other three tanks in the line?

The IS-2

Trying to get into a tier VII game on the test server is hopeless, but I had a go in the IS-2 in a training room. It’s not very quick, and gun depression is terrible, but it seems fine.

I’ve never driven the Russian IS-2, the IS, or the KV-1S, so I don’t really have a lot to compare with either way. I will say it doesn’t look terribly exciting, and I’ll be surprised if it turns out to be a favourite of mine.

That said, I don’t think it’s going to struggle either.

The 110

This one was a bit of a surprise. It’s basically an IS-2 with a pike nose and a tier IX 100 mm Medium tank gun on it. I managed to get into a couple of tier VIII games, didn’t necessaritly do too well, but the thing has some potential.

Again, it’s not very fast, but it gets around a bit, and it can put out the damage if you’ve got a bit of cover. I found the 100 mm a bit of a novelty, easy to work with, and it seems to be really stable on the move. 7.33 second reload with 310 alpha gives you tier IX Medium tank DPM.

The hull is sort of tall, and working with a pike nose is kind of a good news/bad news situation. I think if you manage to avoid getting shot a lot, you’ll be all right, but taking a few big hits will quickly put you out of commission. Working with a Medium tank gun means you will have to stay active to do good damage, which means taking more risks than you would need to with a higher alpha gun.

The WZ-111 Model 1-4

At tier IX, you will find what looks like an IS-8 or an IS-5. Yawn.

But wait, this one gets a 130 mm gun, just like an IS-7. It may not be quite as powerful, but it should certainly make the tier IX grind more comfortable.

In fact, there aren’t a lot of 130 mm guns in the game, especially not at tier IX. That means if you get comfortable working with the higher alpha, you’ll have a slight edge over people running lower calible weapons.

Again, I don’t think the WZ-111 model 1-4 is going to rule its tier, but it looks solid enough. I’ll have to drive it some more and try to get a better feel for it.

Tentative Conclusions

Having had a first look at the new Chinese Heavy tanks, the main attraction for me is still the WZ-113 at tier X, and since it’s a branch off the Medium line, I would consider it worth it to grind through to that one even if the other three tanks were terrible.

As it is, I don’t think they are, but they’re also not fantastically exciting. The top guns provice a bit of novel variety, but none of them really stands out to me as a definite winner in the making.

I hope to be proven wrong, and that one or more of the lower tier offerings turn out to be a new favourite of mine. If I had to guess, that might be the tier VIII, and if I had my wish, it would be the tier IX, but this time I’m not betting on it.

So yeah. Really excited about the WZ-113, mildly expectant about the rest of the line. I think at worst, they will turn out to be average.

Here’s hoping the WZ-111 1-4 will turn out to be a beast!

Test Server WZ-113 Heavy tank Stats

Just a quick newsflash, the Russian test server just went live, and it has the upcoming Chinese Heavy tank branch.

I will be having a stroll through the showroom this evening, paying special attention to the tier X offering. I’ve been so happy with my Chinese heavy Medium, I may have to get an actual Chinese Heavy tank as well:

I quite like the aesthetic; very functional, minimalist tank design:

So while I read through some of the promotional materials and have a closer look at the lower tier vehicles, please enjoy these few quick snap shots.

Here is the new tech tree:

Here are the new stats for the WZ-113:

Stay tuned for more!

Object 140 Moments

Obj 140 Diary

By:

IrmaBecx

Back in August last year I wrote about the Object 140. I called it a “fallen star” and all that, and I stated if this wasn’t the Obj 140, if it didn’t carry the stigma of having once been the best tank in the game and my most hated adversary, it could well have been the perfect Medium tank for me.

But, I wrote, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to disregard my past history with the 140.

It turns out I didn’t have to. Wargaming fixed it for me. By buffing the other Russian Medium tank, they have completely altered the position of the 140; now widely regarded as being super boring, pedestrian, plebeian, second rate; possibly even obsolete.

With this simple act of reverse psychology, it didn’t take very long before I found myself the owner of one. Spending spare parts on what used to be the finest Medium tank available is of course a no brainer, and I’ve since started driving it tentatively.

No. That’s a lie. I’ve started driving it like its tail was on fire.

Plain Jane “Century Oak” paintjob – Sneaky!

As is usual, I had a good run initially, but then reality started catching up with me. Tier X is a hostile environment, and I don’t have enough experience up there to carry a lot of games. Camping Tank Destroyers. Hordes of Heavy tanks. Hordes of camping Heavy tanks. Full health Mediums who push on you the second you take a big hit. No support.

But those are just exterior forces. There is a deeper problem here, and it’s not the matchmaking. It’s not the death star. It’s not my teammates.

The problem is I’ve not been playing very well lately.

I mean you can’t win them all. You can’t help people camping, or going the wrong way, or dying early, or bouncing their shots, and I do sometimes lose with top damage and the most kills on my team. But a lot of the time, I’m the one who gets killed early, because I’m out of position, because I’m too aggressive, and because I don’t think before I act.

And yet, those two out of five games I actually manage to win turn out to be some of the best games I’ve had in a long while.

Conventional tank wisdom dictates I should drop back down the tiers and drive something else, but I’m not really going to do that. First of all, I don’t want to. All I want to do is drive my new tier X tank, now that I finally got it kitted out with equipment and everything. And second, there is no doubt there is overlap between the things you learn in different tiers, but there is also a limit to how much you can actually learn about playing tier X from playing other tiers. And although the first reason may be slightly more important to me, I do feel the actual tier X gameplay is what I struggle with in the first place. Stuff that works in lower tiers doesn’t work up there.

And it is me. I know that because I see myself doing dumb things all the time and getting wrecked for it. I know, because I insist on driving Medium tanks even though they are the hardest to perform well in.

But yeah. Once you get that Russian bias working for you, it’s just fantastic. It’s not a lot of bias; just some amazing soft stats, and of course that tier leading DPM.

And I go looking for trouble. The Object 140 can take down any tank in the game in a one on one; I know that because I’ve taken them all on. My favourite thing in the game is brawling, and I think now at least I have about the best brawler I can get my hands on.

As I’ve said before, it’s not a lot of things that make the 140 work. The steep angle on the front plate. The accuracy on the move. The best camo rating of all tier X Mediums. The tank gives you some great tools to work with, but you will have to actually do the work. It takes at least a halfway decent driver to get results. You have to stay active; always be either moving, hiding, spotting, firing, or angling up to take a shot.

What fast tanks do really well is help you put thought into action. All you really need to do is make sure your thought are somewhat coherent, otherwise you’ll just drive yourself into oblivion. The thing is, the object 140 puts thought into action with such effortless ease it constantly ends up outpacing my train of thought.

That’s just a fancy way of saying I yolo too much, but at the same time it’s a hard balance to strike between being suicidal and being proactive. Working with the lowest alpha in tier X, you are going to heve to poke your head out a lot. You want to do 5000 damage? That means 16 to 20 penetrations doing the average number, depending on your ammo selection.

This is where all those little biases, or soft stats if you prefer, will start working for you. The rock steady stabilisation. The superb mobility. The overall small, sneaky, angular design and tier leading camo rating. The more you drive it, the more comfortable with, and; ultimately, reliant on them you will become.

You will be out there, riding down some gully, and someone gets spotted halfway across the map. Your turret is pointing in that direction anyway, but it’s not worth stopping for a shot. And then it hits you:

“Wait a minute… I’m in the Object 140!”

So you stick the auto aim on them, pull the trigger, and wham! ; the shot goes in. Next time you’ll be going full tilt at an IS-7, trying to get around it, and you will recall that shot. Gun is pointing at them anyway, so you take a snap shot, and it goes in too.

Pretty soon, you will be throwing out those speculative shots all the time, and a lot of them are going to fly true, because that’s what the 140 does. Your damage numbers are on the rise, and you are being more effective.

Then you will be barrelling down some other gully, and you’ll spot a big herd of Heavy tanks, putting you in a bad spot. And it hits you again:

“Oh, wait. I’m in the Object 140!”

“They won’t see me” you think, and so you just veer off towards the bushes, and you don’t get spotted. After a while you will start looking for those situations; surfing the viewrange of the enemy team, cutting it closer and closer, and likewise you will end up being more effective.

There will be all kinds of these “Obj 140 moments”, and with time they will become part of your gameplay. They will reassure you, give you confidence, and faith in your vehicle and gameplay both. This snap shot will go in. They won’t see me. I’m going to bounce the return shot. The front plate will hold up. My tracks will eat it. What all these moments add up to is the overall feeling of “I am going to get away with it”. And I think that very feeling is the reason I like driving the Object 140 so much.

So browsing through all my favourite tanks for todays batch of missions, I chose the 140. I’m on a day of premium time from the latest event, so I don’t have to worry about the credits. Clear all three messions in two battles, and then I just keep driving. Mix it up with the little Black Dog, which has a birthday and nets me 130.000 credits in one go.

Tank life is good.

And then it just sort of happens. I push the flank on fails creek against a Medium advantage, and hold the cap with just DPM and my front plate. Wreck them completely. I get the cap, and then move into the middle to circle a hapless Heavy tank trying to cap B and ending up the proverbial fish in the barrel. For my finale, I hit an insane snap shot at the drive wheel of an IS-7 trying to pull back into cover, keep it tracked and get the kill a few shots later.

It’s the Mastery. Almost 5K damage. Cap points earned and seized.

I ended the session with a player from a well known clan on the reds, so I had set myself up for a loss, but our desperate flanking manouver caught them by surprise and we pulled a win out from under them. Not going to pretend I am not a bit smug about that.

And so this has been my first 50 games in the Object 140. I’ve had some spectacular losses. I carried a game or two. Overall, the winrate is terrible so far, but I don’t care. Damage output is solid; second highest of all my tier X tanks. I’m sure it will work itself out over time.

Because the drive is fantastic. It has that quality that makes you feel like the more you push it, the more it’s going to step up to the challenge.

Perhaps it’s only naturall I should feel this way, driving a tank that is a miles better vehicle than I am a driver. And you might argue this is all just my trying to justify driving a mediocre tank to myself, but I am of the firm conviction no tank should have to be justified, except as an addition to your garage, and any such justifications are of course purely subjective.

I think I’ve made my subjective justifications pretty clear. The Object 140, to me, is the best Medium tank in the game. The fact no one else seems to think so only makes me like it more. Also I think it looks great.

So yeah. Object 140 moments. That’s what I live for these days. Prowling around in my Russian bias machine, looking to make the play that will turn the game around and get us the win.

I have all the tools I need to make it happen, all I need is some practice, and then I am finally going to git gud.

But most of all, I am having fun. There is no greater take away than that.

See you out there.

And if I’m in my 140, you know I’m going to go for the brawl.