Windows: World of Tanks

[Huntn]

Anyone? I'm going to install it to make my Son happy and play a few rounds with him. It is a multiplayer game, not an MMO. I wonder if there are any Planetside 2 players who care to make a comparison? My Son seems to prefer World of Tanks over PS2. I'm thinking compared to PS2, it's kind of single minded, instead of the variety of threats you get in PS2 you face wallet warriors who may have paid to upgrade their equipment substantially. We'll see.

[Dirtyharry50]

Originally Posted by Huntn

Anyone? I'm going to install it to make my Son happy and play a few rounds with him. It is a multiplayer game, not an MMO. I wonder if there are any Planetside 2 players who care to make a comparison? My Son seems to prefer World of Tanks over PS2. I'm thinking compared to PS2, it's kind of single minded, instead of the variety of threats you get in PS2 you face wallet warriors who may have paid to upgrade their equipment substantially. We'll see.

I've heard very good things about this game and watched some video of tank battles. It does look like it would be fun. However, as you noted I would expect to have to pay money for a fully enjoyable experience. I've yet to see a f2p game I'd play for free because they always cut enough to get you to pay. I guess I cannot blame them. How can they stay in business if nobody pays to play? Anyway, it's nice you can give it a good test drive and get a good feel for if it is something you'd enjoy and so not mind paying for.

Does this have a native Mac version? It's been a while since I looked at it and I can't remember.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by Dirtyharry50

I've heard very good things about this game and watched some video of tank battles. It does look like it would be fun. However, as you noted I would expect to have to pay money for a fully enjoyable experience. I've yet to see a f2p game I'd play for free because they always cut enough to get you to pay. I guess I cannot blame them. How can they stay in business if nobody pays to play? Anyway, it's nice you can give it a good test drive and get a good feel for if it is something you'd enjoy and so not mind paying for.

Does this have a native Mac version? It's been a while since I looked at it and I can't remember.

No Mac version.

Played this game last night for the first time. Considering the focus it's a great game.

WOT is about tanks, period. No other units in the game. Different game modes can be played ranging from 15v15 to (I believe) 30 v30. I played Random Battles where I started with a Tier 1 tank, 15v15 for a 15 minute round. The server organizes the matches grouping similarly tiered vehicles, so for a Tier 1 tank, my group consisted of tier 1-3 tanks.

WOT Combat Mechanics- Technically I have a driver and a gunner. There is a large floating reticule in the view screen that gets larger or smaller depending on what I'm doing and represents the gunner's scope (if that is the right word). If I visually zoom in on a enemy, I will see a red outlined shape representing the enemy tank if there is a clear shot . The reticule is controlled by my gunner, and independent of my controls (other than where I'm looking) it will slide over the target as the gunner sets up the shot and reduce in size as the range is locked in. At its smallest size, on the enemy, if I pull the trigger (order the shot), most likely I'll score a hit.

WOT in game currency- everything can be earned or purchased, except for specialty tanks, which I believe can only be purchased. I don't know much about that. Personally I think being able to buy all of your upgrades is bad. It makes for what is called a wallet warrior. The $30 starter pack, which can be purchased online for about $18 (Amazon) includes an elite light scout tank, fully upgraded, along with gold to buy stuff. For free-to-play, I earned, depending on my performance enough xp in the game to feel like I was making significant progress with hardware upgrades, much more so than with Planetside2 (PS2).

I'm starting a separate PS2 vs WOT thread to discuss the differences.

[Huntn]

Established a WOT guide.

I'm a new comer to the game. That's why my highest tank is Tier 4 where the top tier in game is Tier 10. It's been out for a couple of years. Why play so many tanks? They all lead to different ends and are fun to play!

My Current Tanks:
T-18 Tank Destroyer (USA Tier 2).

M2 Light Tank (USA Tier 2).

PzKpfw 35(t) Light Tank (Germany Tier 2).

PzKpfw II Light Tank (Germany Tier 2).

T-26 Light Tank (Soviet Tier 2).

M3 Stuart Light Tank (USA Tier 3).

T-82 Tank Destroyer USA Tier 3).

Cruiser Mk iV Light Tank (G.B. Tier 3)

Marder II Tank Destroyer (Germany Tier 3)- featured in last battle of Saving Private Ryan. The one with the molotov thrown into it.

T-46 Light Tank (Soviet Tier 3)

SU-76 Tank Destroyer (Soviet Tier 3)

Valentine II Light Tank (Soviet Tier 4, Premium- paid $1.75 on sale!)

[ArthurWellsley]

I very much enjoy playing WoT. Like all games of this nature the leveling game is very different from the endgame.

Endgame mechanics revolve around top tier tanks in groups using voice communication. The most successful teams have light tanks to scout, medium tanks for speed manoeurves, and heavy tanks to punch out the main fight. In addition they have artillery, which when played well is highly important. Very occasionally endgame teams may use a tank destroyer, but not often. In addition team composition tends to depend on the map to be fought over. During endgame play teams chose a map to contest.

During leveling play team composition is more random, and the server randomly chooses a map.

This is a very fun pvp game. You will need to run boot camp, and have a Windows partition on your mac to play it.

[palenran]

I've been playing WOT for about 18 months. It's quite a bit of fun...I have been in over 3,000 battles.

You don't have to be a wallet warrior to enjoy the game, but the higher tier (heavier, more powerful) tanks will be effectively out of reach. The tanks are divided in to 10 "tiers" and in random battles, you will typically see a spread of not more than 3 tiers in the battle.

For example, when you start out with Tier 1, a small, fast, lightly armored vehicle, you will typically play with other Tier 1 and Tier 2 vehicles, with some Tier 3 mixed in. You can easily play the first five tiers without spending any money.

What the money does is allow you to accumulate in-game cash and experience faster, which allows you to advance to higher tier tanks faster. The bonus is signifiicant; 50%. Thus, it will take you a lot longer to get to the higher tier tanks unless you use real money. That said, there is nothing different about the mechanics of the game at higher levels. The tanks are bigger, heavier and more powerful, but the opponents in the matches are also bigger, heavier and more powerful too, so they balance each other out. It may take 6 shots for a Tier 3 to kill another Tier 3 and it may take 6 shots for a Tier 9 to kill another Tier 9. You can play quite happily in the low-mid tiers (I do most of my playing in Tiers 2-7) and not spend a penny.

Money also allows you to purchase some "premium" tanks, available at many tiers, that are slightly better than the regular tanks, but not enough to tip the balance. Of the 30 or so tanks I've played, only once did I buy a premium and it's not my favorite.

The other thing you can do with in-game money is buy better ammunition or better fuel or repair kits and the like. Again, these all give 5% or 10% improvements to your vehicle, and in the end, don't really tip the balance. If you are a good player who plays as a team, thinks strategically, knows when to back down and when to advance, those are way, way more important to your performance and winning percentage than any small advantage you can get with in-game purchases.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by palenran

I've been playing WOT for about 18 months. It's quite a bit of fun...I have been in over 3,000 battles...

Thanks for your insight! I updated the MacRumors WOT Guide as follows:
22Feb- Reorganize guide, adding new info on upgrading in The Basics and Strategy sections.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

Current Tier IV Tanks:
Valentine II Light Tank (Soviet Tier 4, Premium- paid $1.75 on sale!)


M5 Stuart


M3 Lee- No turret!! That sucks.

Most feared tank (as of now) :
Hetzer- Tier 4 German Tank Killer.

[Huntn]

Just update the WOT Guide:

04Mar- updated Free to play, WOT Premium, WOT Money sections and added Premium vs Elite blurb under the basics.

[Huntn]

WOT Guide updated:
07Mar- Added Garage section and updated info within it.

[Huntn]

WOT Guide Updated:
26Mar- Clarified Clan Wars a little. Added T-40 to DERP Tanks. Added the 'I learned the Hard Way' and 'Map Strategies' section.

[ArthurWellsley]

You should perhaps consider that certain derp guns will give an even better performance when firing HE, particularly into a target with light armour.

One of the most fun derp guns in the game is on the VK2801, and that should always fire HE. Using HE it will critically damage Tier X heavies, crippling them for your tier X's to deal with, and it will one shoot arty.

Re Equipment

I can confirm that re-usable equipment can be moved from tank to tank (cost 10 gold each time). When you are grinding tier 8, too 9, too 10, you tend to use gold to re-train the crew to the next tank and move the modules across. This is because most people sell the tier 8 when they move to the tier 9, and then sell the tier 9 when they move to the tier 10. If you look at company battles, the only tier 8 heavy that is consistently used by most teams is the Russian IS3, as it is clearly the best tier 8 heavy. The company leader will occasionally allow a French auto loader heavy, but that is unusual. Thus all other tier 8 heavies are worth selling. Always sell tier 9's, as they are redundant once you have the tier 10 heavy.

A heading for company battles?

A heading for clans?

A heading for end game clan wars?

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by ArthurWellsley

You should perhaps consider that certain derp guns will give an even better performance when firing HE, particularly into a target with light armour.

One of the most fun derp guns in the game is on the VK2801, and that should always fire HE. Using HE it will critically damage Tier X heavies, crippling them for your tier X's to deal with, and it will one shoot arty.

Re Equipment

I can confirm that re-usable equipment can be moved from tank to tank (cost 10 gold each time). When you are grinding tier 8, too 9, too 10, you tend to use gold to re-train the crew to the next tank and move the modules across. This is because most people sell the tier 8 when they move to the tier 9, and then sell the tier 9 when they move to the tier 10. If you look at company battles, the only tier 8 heavy that is consistently used by most teams is the Russian IS3, as it is clearly the best tier 8 heavy. The company leader will occasionally allow a French auto loader heavy, but that is unusual. Thus all other tier 8 heavies are worth selling. Always sell tier 9's, as they are redundant once you have the tier 10 heavy.

A heading for company battles?

A heading for clans?

A heading for end game clan wars?

Thanks for offering this. They are briefly mentioned. I've only been playing for a couple of months. Regarding the VK2801, I assume you referring to the 10,5 cm gun? For Derps, are the HE, the gold rounds? I'll add this to the guide.

This is one part of the game (ammo costs) I am not thrilled about. In many cases gold rounds are too expensive if you are climbing the tiers preparing to buy the next expensive tank, trying to play for free.

No I'm not playing for free and have probably sunk about $100 into the game, buy purchasing a couple of premium tanks, and silver if I don't want to grind 500,000 for a piece of complex equipment.

There is much I don't know. My highest earned tanks are Tier 5. I know people in my clan who say that lower tier battles are more fun. Would you agree? I have a Tier 8 Lowe, and despite it's limitations, seems to be a fun environment at the higher tiers with no real tactical difference except the hardware.

Would you say there is anything drastically different in the mechanics of gameplay in the 8-10 range from the 3-5 range? Or is it all relative, same tactics, just more armor and more powerful guns?
Thanks!

[ArthurWellsley]

Thanks for offering this. They are briefly mentioned. I've only been playing for a couple of months. Regarding the VK2801, I assume you referring to the 10,5 cm gun? For Derps, are the HE, the gold rounds? I'll add this to the guide.No HE are the rounds in 3, they are also much cheaper generally

This is one part of the game (ammo costs) I am not thrilled about. In many cases gold rounds are too expensive if you are climbing the tiers preparing to buy the next expensive tank, trying to play for free.

No I'm not playing for free and have probably sunk about $100 into the game, buy purchasing a couple of premium tanks, and silver if I don't want to grind 500,000 for a piece of complex equipment.

There is much I don't know. My highest earned tanks are Tier 5. I know people in my clan who say that lower tier battles are more fun. Would you agree? I have a Tier 8 Lowe, and despite it's limitations, seems to be a fun environment at the higher tiers with no real tactical difference except the hardware.The Lowe is a great money earner, but if you ever get the chance to buy a Type 59 do so

Would you say there is anything drastically different in the mechanics of gameplay in the 8-10 range from the 3-5 range? Or is it all relative, same tactics, just more armor and more powerful guns?Yes. But only when playing in Tank Companies and Clan Wars. Most companies and all clan wars teams play with voice communication. This makes for much better team co-ordination Try watching this video to see the degree of systematic movements required:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=T0BmaJ3DPmQ
Thanks!

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by ArthurWellsley

Thanks for offering this. They are briefly mentioned. I've only been playing for a couple of months. Regarding the VK2801, I assume you referring to the 10,5 cm gun? For Derps, are the HE, the gold rounds? I'll add this to the guide.No HE are the rounds in 3, they are also much cheaper generally

This is one part of the game (ammo costs) I am not thrilled about. In many cases gold rounds are too expensive if you are climbing the tiers preparing to buy the next expensive tank, trying to play for free.

No I'm not playing for free and have probably sunk about $100 into the game, buy purchasing a couple of premium tanks, and silver if I don't want to grind 500,000 for a piece of complex equipment.

There is much I don't know. My highest earned tanks are Tier 5. I know people in my clan who say that lower tier battles are more fun. Would you agree? I have a Tier 8 Lowe, and despite it's limitations, seems to be a fun environment at the higher tiers with no real tactical difference except the hardware.The Lowe is a great money earner, but if you ever get the chance to buy a Type 59 do so

Would you say there is anything drastically different in the mechanics of gameplay in the 8-10 range from the 3-5 range? Or is it all relative, same tactics, just more armor and more powerful guns?Yes. But only when playing in Tank Companies and Clan Wars. Most companies and all clan wars teams play with voice communication. This makes for much better team co-ordination Try watching this video to see the degree of systematic movements required:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=T0BmaJ3DPmQ
Thanks!

I don't buy premium rounds. This does put me at a disadvantage. The power of a gold round, I estimate to be about 15% greater, maybe more or less. For those not playing, you can either purchase premium rounds (gold) for $ or you can use in-game currency (silver).

For the benefit of others not familiar, there are premium vehicles available for purchase that has high earning rates. One example is the Tier 8 Lowe, a German tank that costs about $50. This tank typically makes a lot of silver. Just for showing up you can make 15000 silver. If you have a really good game, the best I've had, I earned 70,000 silver for one battle. Some players use the income from this tank to buy premium ammo which runs from about 2000-4000 per round, at least at the tiers I've experienced.

World of Tanks is how a free game should function- you can either grind or you can pay cash to avoid grind. For example if I get a new tank, I don't want to grind 500,000 silver (in-game currency) for a gun rammer ( a device that makes the gun load 10% faster). I'm willing to pay $6* for this device. There are millions of players playing and paying.

*Purchasing 6500 gold cost $30, so 1 dollar = 216 gold. 1 gold = 400 silver, so 50000 silver = 1250 gold= $5.78.

An important point- as compared to a traditional MMORPG, there is no real WOT grind in that there is no end game you are rushing towards. Each battle is to be enjoyed at all levels, and all battles with the usual 1-3 tier spread are just as fun, no matter what level tanks you have. What you'll find is that the upper tier battles do have more experienced players and can be a little less forgiving. No need to rush to that is there?

This 2012 article says WOTs is making over 10 million a month. This is how you do a free game. The only absolute thing you have to buy if you want to keep a variety of tanks is garage slots at 300 gold each, a little over a $1.

Free-to-play MMO World of Tanks is generating "double digit" million dollar revenues a month, according to Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi.

[costabunny]

I am a big fan of this game. I much prefer it to standard fps games. No bunny hoppers or prone-shooters.

If any MR demis want to find me online I am MissBunny.

I am currently totally enjoying playing an IS-8 and have nearly got an IS-7. I do play in a clan.

Its a game that sometimes can be frustrating as the mix of player levels is quite random, but over all its still fun to play.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by costabunny

Its a game that sometimes can be frustrating as the mix of player levels is quite random, but over all its still fun to play.

I am a firm believer that as a rule, all the heavies should stick together on relatively open maps. It's called projection of power. Too often I'm on a team where heavies scatter in all directions doing there own thing, and then here comes a pack of 6 heavies to roll you over and kill the team in short order... In town, a bit more spreading out seems to work, taking advantage of the corners. While Mediums can take down heavies, mostly there should be heavy-on-heavy action.

[costabunny]

interesting update - I am away from home.

I have had some great long sessions on tanks on my Macbook Air - 2011 with HD3000 graphics. Its very playable at 40+ fps.

I have even been using my iphone headset for teamspeak. Its a bit tinny but worked well last night and had some great games in my IS-8 and have now unlocked the IS-7 (just grinding credits to be able to buy it now).

Happy days

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by costabunny

interesting update - I am away from home.

I have had some great long sessions on tanks on my Macbook Air - 2011 with HD3000 graphics. Its very playable at 40+ fps.

I have even been using my iphone headset for teamspeak. Its a bit tinny but worked well last night and had some great games in my IS-8 and have now unlocked the IS-7 (just grinding credits to be able to buy it now).

Happy days

That was one of my points (stated somewhere), there is no traditional grind. What you see at Tier 1 is the same as Tier 10. While it might feel like grinding to get to the next tank, there is no MMORPG style end game and every battle is to be enjoyed.

[costabunny]

Originally Posted by Huntn

That was one of my points (stated somewhere), there is no traditional grind. What you see at Tier 1 is the same as Tier 10. While it might feel like grinding to get to the next tank, there is no MMORPG style end game and every battle is to be enjoyed.

Absolutely - I get as much enjoyment out of my Tier 1 and 2 as I do my Tier 9. The game is pretty much the same at all levels.

I play to have fun mostly and I actually get a kick out of sore losers and moaners. Its all about trying to play well, but having a good time also. If I didn't have fun I think I would stop playing.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by costabunny

Absolutely - I get as much enjoyment out of my Tier 1 and 2 as I do my Tier 9. The game is pretty much the same at all levels.

I play to have fun mostly and I actually get a kick out of sore losers and moaners. Its all about trying to play well, but having a good time also. If I didn't have fun I think I would stop playing.

I am incredibly humbled by this game. Daily I get my ass handed to me.