(SKOOL)
WoT Clan: War College
"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." -Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Building a Better World of Tanker
There are five aspects to buiding a better World of Tanker. Knowledge, Survival, Equipment, Crew, Teamwork, and Application. Each of the first five are critical, but unless you can apply them all together they mean nothing. Below are those very same aspects outlined in our training regimine.
Knowledge: Tanks, Tactics, and Terrain
Knowing your Tank as well as the enemies will help you to be the Victor in any Battle. Know the weak points of your tansk and cover them as much as possible. The strongest Tank has weaknesses... no Tank is invincible.
Tactics follow that principle about Tanks. Use of tactics such as angling armor to add to its overall thickness and use of cover and concealment to prevent being sighted and shot at are keys to success.
Terrain follows Tactics because the use of terrain (man-made or natural) can mean the difference between victory or defeat and death or survival.
Equipment: (The 3-B's)Beans, Bullets and Bandages
Every Tank comes equipped for battle, but more equipment can be added for credits to improve the functionality on the battlefield. Optics, gun rammers, torsion bars, camo netting, gun laying drives, ventillation and other non-consumable equipment can vastly improve you game play.
Consumable equipment includes chocolate, lend lease oil, tea, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, repair kits, tool boxes, and even coca-cola to name just a few. These generally improve crew skills and some are specific to the Nation of the Tank in which you are driving.
All of the "3-B's" cost either credits or gold... so stock up when they are on sale!
Teamwork:
Gung-ho and Gamers
The Term "Gung-ho" translates as teamwork. In World of Tanks, you will notice that most of the time when you have as little as one platoon or a teram full of them, the team with more Platoons generally does better.
The larger and more established Clans use teamwork and Callers (Battlefield Commanders) to their advantage. Working with someone can increase the chances of survival, contribution to the team, and thus your Win/Loss ratio. A team mate can switch places with you to cover you after you have taken significant damage. Remember, a Tank with 1 hp left can do just as much damage as one with 1000 hp. By workign together, you keep your Tank in the fight longer and thsu are able to do more damage.
Survival: Contribution or Cannon-fodder?
The worst Tankers run out and get killed immediately. "YOLO-ing" is rampant amongst some players. They do it out of ignorance or frustration but the end is generally the same.
Surviving a battle means you can contribute more to any single battle than you could by running out and getting yourself killed off the bat.
Another aspect of survival is the Tactics you use. Nothing can help you more than situational awareness. Use your mini (tactical) map to know where the enemies are. If an area shows no enemies but has not been scouted... all enemies not seen thus far are potentially there.
Working as a team will also help ensure maximum contribution via survivability.
Crew: Men in the Machine
Your Tank Crew is just as important as the Tank itself. You might control the tank, but the view range, loading speed, driving speed, turning speed, firing accuracy, and ability to enter battle all revolves around your Crew. Without a Crew, your tank goes nowhere...
Giving your crew the correct skill sets is one of the biggest attributions to your success in World of Tanks. Different Tanks require different skill sets for each position. Similarly, each individuals style of play also sets the skill sets to which that players Tank Crews need to have. Active (Mobile) Warfare requires different Crew Skills and Equipment than does a more Passive (Set Piece) style of play.
Application: Putting it all together!
Combining Knowledge of the ins-and-outs of the Tanks, Survival through situational awareness, proper Equipment, a well trained Crew with appropriate skills, and Teamwork wil all contribute to a more enjoyable experience in World of Tanks.
In the end, it is up to the player and how much they want to learn and enjoy the game. At teh War College, we strive to give you the tools to make you a better Tanker, but you have to apply yourself and most of all...pay attention!