So if [WANG] isn't going to be participating the clan wars, what might it take to sign up with [SIMP]?
Top tank is currently only my T32, but I expect to address that over the next week or so.
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
You basically have to be easy to get along with, halfway decent at the game, reasonably active (a few evenings a week in the 8pm to 11pm Eastern range is best), and willing to get on Mumble (voice comms) when doing group stuff. We badly need CW-ready folks, which means T10 heavy/T9 med/T8 arty, but we certainly won't turn away anyone who's getting close and looking to be involved when the time is right.
7.2's economics changes appear to be designed to mess with me personally. Chaffee income's getting nerfed - the other two tier 5 scouts are getting buffs. Easy 8 income's getting reduced, but that's just the appetizer for a 50% increase in repair costs - Jumbo's in the same boat. Object 704's getting hit too. I'm going to wind up funding myself with the damn Tetrarch.
ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Too bad about the M4A3EX repair cost boost. That said, my E2 does tend to live pretty well, something I don't think the E8 can boast as well ... It was a decent little machine for making credits, but not nearly so much as the tier 8 mediums I love so much. But, don't forget, they're making less money now too. =_=
Reeeeeeeeally want a sale on garage slots and barracks slots soon. I desperately need to expand either one ...
Christ. +50% repair costs is huge. No other vehicle got such a huge increase.
At least the Jumbo is fairly durable and has the capability to punch above its weight with the 105mm derp (which should be benefiting from the HE counter-buff at least somewhat).
The Easy 8, on the other hand, basically explodes if you breathe on it and the rapid-fire 76mm is ineffective against most bigger/higher-tier targets unless you drive into very risky situations.
I know, they can each use the "other's" gun now. But the 105mm doesn't really help on the E8 because it doesn't fit the playstyle, IMO. I guess it would be worth experimenting with before I sell my E8, though.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
I know, they can each use the "other's" gun now. But the 105mm doesn't really help on the E8 because it doesn't fit the playstyle, IMO. I guess it would be worth experimenting with before I sell my E8, though.
Funny you say that since I've always played my E2 with the M1A2 ... It's a nice little gun, minus the somewhat higher dispersion than it feels like it should have. But seriously, you aren't a killer in high tier games, but you're far from useless. The HE nerf was actually a good thing for me, because it forced me to look for weaknesses rather than just 'switch and spam'. The E2 is completely capable, in my opinion.
You basically have to be easy to get along with, halfway decent at the game, reasonably active (a few evenings a week in the 8pm to 11pm Eastern range is best), and willing to get on Mumble (voice comms) when doing group stuff. We badly need CW-ready folks, which means T10 heavy/T9 med/T8 arty, but we certainly won't turn away anyone who's getting close and looking to be involved when the time is right.
I'm pretty easy to get along with, at least there are no living witnesses to the contrary.
I can usually set aside that kind of time.
I consider myself to be reasonably adept at this ridiculous game, but I have good and bad days.
Going to have to focus though, if I'm going to get to the top tiers. I'll try to limit myself to 3 tanks for awhile and see how that goes.
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
that and the 105 is a pile of shit in every single possible way.
Do they still lime stuff for truth around here?
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
0
acidlacedpenguinInstitutionalizedSafe in jail.Registered Userregular
now you have to do it manually with a color=lime /color in BBcode
You guys can say what you want, I quite like the 105 on the Jumbo, occasional hilarious inaccuracy aside. I didn't get to play it pre-HE nerf so I can only imagine how much fun it would have been then, but given the choice between being able to sand 5-10% off of a high-tier heavy or bounce three shots from the 76mm in the same time span, I'll pick the former every time.
Really, I am not enamored of the M1A2 at all. When you fail to penetrate, doing it really fast over and over is small consolation. (Sounds like my sex life HEYOOOOOOO.) I can see how it would be nice for circling lumbering target and machine-gunning their flanks and backs (and YouTube videos of wolfpacks of Easy 8's doing this are certainly awe-inspiring) but you don't get viable, coordinated wolfpacks in pubs, the Easy 8 is too fragile to do that successfully by itself, and the Jumbo is too slow to try.
I'd actually say the 105 would suit the E8's playstyle more than any other gun. It allows you to deal damage from the front when you might otherwise be incapable, and you still get a large bonus for flanking as you can rail the sides of tanks for decent damage with it (and get the occasional pen).
You guys can say what you want, I quite like the 105 on the Jumbo, occasional hilarious inaccuracy aside. I didn't get to play it pre-HE nerf so I can only imagine how much fun it would have been then, but given the choice between being able to sand 5-10% off of a high-tier heavy or bounce three shots from the 76mm in the same time span, I'll pick the former every time.
Really, I am not enamored of the M1A2 at all. When you fail to penetrate, doing it really fast over and over is small consolation. (Sounds like my sex life HEYOOOOOOO.) I can see how it would be nice for circling lumbering target and machine-gunning their flanks and backs (and YouTube videos of wolfpacks of Easy 8's doing this are certainly awe-inspiring) but you don't get viable, coordinated wolfpacks in pubs, the Easy 8 is too fragile to do that successfully by itself, and the Jumbo is too slow to try.
There is nothing quite like circling a T29 in the E8, hitting it time after time in the side and back and magically having 80% of the shots bounce ineffectually. It's why I quit the E8 in the first place.
Also, to put the 76mm on the Jumbo, you need to mount the second turret, which some people may not want to do because it has inferior armor in trade for slightly better HP and view range.
But since I am going to probably sell the Easy 8 soon anyway when I get the T20, I am going to switch the guns on the two Shermans for a while just for experimental purposes.
Gaslight on
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
The E2 is all about awareness. You really need to keep your facings where you want them. The first turret is amazing in flexibility, but yeah, the upgraded one will provide you pretty much all the same benefits as long as you're engaging them on your terms.
If you're not engaging them on your terms in the E8/E2, it's probably about time for the next match.
The Derm on
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
This is one of the most ridiculous replays I've ever been involved with. Gw-E on Swamp, and we basically get crushed. At the end, though, I start getting miracle shots and manage to ambush two arties (IN A GW-E) and pull it out. Not gonna happen twice.
- Made some changes to the new version of the economy:
- M4A3E2: changes in the cost of repair is reduced 2-fold with 50% to 25%.
- M4A3E8: changes in the cost of repair is reduced 2-fold with 50% to 25%.
- M24 Chaffee: restored profitability at version 0.7.1.
- JagdTiger: restored profitability and the cost of repairs at version 0.7.1.
- T95: restored profitability and the cost of repairs at version 0.7.1.
- Object 704: The cost of repairs at the restored version 0.7.1. Reduced profitability changed from -7% to -5%.
Also:
- Parameters of the new U.S. TD-self-propelled guns and heavy tanks T34, T30, T110E5, M103 rebalanced on test results.
Ominous.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Ha ha, informative as always.
"Fixed US tank stats"
It lost 2 degrees on the hull traverse, .5 seconds on the fire rate (now at 4 rounds a minute), 10% worse gun dispersion on movement and I think 8% worse performance on terrain.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
I can only comment on 2nd-hand information, but my understanding is it'll boil down like this:
Even with the nerfs it'll be the best tier 8 heavy premium, and it'll still probably be worse than the Type 59. I would not expect life to change much with the T34 going premium, as the tanks it will see now were tanks it would see before, and the lower-level things that will encounter it more often never had problems with it to begin with.
I think it's a nice bonus for people who have a T34 already, and another not-worth-purchasing premium for the rest of us.
Ugh. I don't think I can tolerate playing upper tier without premium. I can get three kills in a winning match in my Tiger or T29 and still lose money on repairs.
Gaslight on
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
That's strange. Heavies are generally still profitable at tier 7, even non-premium. It's only 8 and above that you *really* will struggle with money without premium.
Just had a match in the Tiger where my team was defeated but I personally survived at about 50% health and got five kills. Of course I lost several thousand credits.
And it only gets worse from here on up?
Maybe I'm just in a sour mood right now but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I wasn't correct in my assessment of this game back when I quit playing during the beta: the point in the game where you finally start to break past the grind and get tanks that are actually fun to play is the same point where you start going broke paying for maintenance; so you either have to go back to playing your shitty mid-tier tanks that made you want to kill yourself most of the time just to make funds, or you can shell out for premium.
It's a pretty ingenious treadmill to get people on from the perspective of WG making money, but not terribly good game design. In fact, it's rather sleazy. As I said before, I couldn't recommend WoT to anybody who wasn't completely fascinated already by the subject matter, but I think even the love of military vehicles I've had since childhood can't overcome this feeling of futility, not to mention my increasing annoyance at the devs who often seem oblivious at best and cynical at worst. Think I'm going to set this aside for a while and let my burnout cool, maybe a month or few down the line I'll get the itch and feel like enough of a sucker to part with the spare cash for premium again.
Just had a match in the Tiger where my team was defeated but I personally survived at about 50% health and got five kills. Of course I lost several thousand credits.
And it only gets worse from here on up?
Maybe I'm just in a sour mood right now but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I wasn't correct in my assessment of this game back when I quit playing during the beta: the point in the game where you finally start to break past the grind and get tanks that are actually fun to play is the same point where you start going broke paying for maintenance; so you either have to go back to playing your shitty mid-tier tanks that made you want to kill yourself most of the time just to make funds, or you can shell out for premium.
It's a pretty ingenious treadmill to get people on from the perspective of WG making money, but not terribly good game design. In fact, it's rather sleazy. As I said before, I couldn't recommend WoT to anybody who wasn't completely fascinated already by the subject matter, but I think even the love of military vehicles I've had since childhood can't overcome this feeling of futility, not to mention my increasing annoyance at the devs who often seem oblivious at best and cynical at worst. Think I'm going to set this aside for a while and let my burnout cool, maybe a month or few down the line I'll get the itch and feel like enough of a sucker to part with the spare cash for premium again.
Standard account?
On premium account I almost never lost money in a tier 7 heavy, and with a standard I guess it's half and half?
Anyway kills don't give you much in the way of xp or credits, damage does. The more damage you do, the more credits you get.
Standard account. If you look up, you'll see that me commenting on how tough it is to make credits in upper tire tanks without premium is what started this discussion.
I'd like to think getting five kills means I did a pretty decent amount of damage, but I guess I handicapped myself because three of those kills were artys with very low HP. So even though I single-handedly wiped out the enemy's artillery, I suppose I'm rewarded for it less than if I had just slugged it out the entire game with an enemy heavy and finally killed him without doing anything else.
It's easy to lose money on a loss at tier 7 without premium. The Tiger has that repair cost, and the IS and T29 have expensive shells if you're using the top guns. With premium, no, you shouldn't be losing money.
Maybe I'm just in a sour mood right now but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I wasn't correct in my assessment of this game back when I quit playing during the beta: the point in the game where you finally start to break past the grind and get tanks that are actually fun to play is the same point where you start going broke paying for maintenance...
No accounting for taste, but I'm surprised you've found this to be the case. I have at least as much fun at tiers 5 and 6 as I do at 9, and hopping in the Tetrarch and stomping around a tier 2 game is always a nice change of pace.
No accounting for taste, but I'm surprised you've found this to be the case. I have at least as much fun at tiers 5 and 6 as I do at 9, and hopping in the Tetrarch and stomping around a tier 2 game is always a nice change of pace.
Tiers 4-6 are brutal.
No sooner had I escaped the deathtrap that is the M3 Lee (and the less said of that, the better) and into a Sherman than I started getting dumped in matches against Type 59's, Stalins, etc. Things were a little better in the German grind because while the Pz38NA is in its own way as useless as the Lee, at least I had the PzKpfw IV there, but that only became semi-passable once I could grind up to the bobblehead turret and long gun - up until then it was even worse than the M4. Tier 5 is in my experience so far the most painful point in the entire game in terms of matchmaking - it is where you have the highest chance of getting matched up against tanks you have no practical hope of beating or even appreciably damaging the greatest amount of the time.
Tier 6 has some tanks that are capable of giving a respectable account of themselves, and as we were discussing further up the page, I own two of them, but they're both having their repair costs skyrocket in the next patch (Oh gee, WG, it's only a 25% increase now instead of 50%? Well, the important thing is that it's still a bigger increase than any other vehicle in the game! Thanks a bunch!!) so I won't even be able to rely on them to turn a profit.
Much as I loathe Russian tanks just for being easymode (mock me if you want, I believe the bias is real, at least to a certain extent), I would have started on a Russian line by now just for variety's sake except I can't stomach the thought of grinding another line through the mid tiers.
And yes, getting in the Mini Maus and just wtfpwning everybody once in a while is good, as they say, for teh lulz, but driving a Mini Maus is not really the experience I signed up for the game for, and I doubt many people did.
Maybe I'm just in a sour mood right now but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I wasn't correct in my assessment of this game back when I quit playing during the beta: the point in the game where you finally start to break past the grind and get tanks that are actually fun to play is the same point where you start going broke paying for maintenance; so you either have to go back to playing your shitty mid-tier tanks that made you want to kill yourself most of the time just to make funds, or you can shell out for premium.
It's a pretty ingenious treadmill to get people on from the perspective of WG making money, but not terribly good game design. In fact, it's rather sleazy. As I said before, I couldn't recommend WoT to anybody who wasn't completely fascinated already by the subject matter, but I think even the love of military vehicles I've had since childhood can't overcome this feeling of futility, not to mention my increasing annoyance at the devs who often seem oblivious at best and cynical at worst. Think I'm going to set this aside for a while and let my burnout cool, maybe a month or few down the line I'll get the itch and feel like enough of a sucker to part with the spare cash for premium again.
Dude, you just sound super cynical about the game right now. I understand where you're coming from, but the solution is easy. Just stop playing for a month or so. Come back when there's new and shiny things to try out. I find it's really easy to get hooked into a pavlovian mindset where you are just chasing the carrot trying to get to the next tank. If you've reached the point where the tank you are playing right now is not enjoyable, then quit for a while. The 'shitty mid tier' tanks are some of the most enjoyable tanks in the game. Pz-IV, KV-1, KV-3, T-1. All of those tanks get very favorable match ups. Sure they get screwed from time to time, but it's very rare where they are in a match where they can't do anything at all.
Dude, you just sound super cynical about the game right now. I understand where you're coming from, but the solution is easy. Just stop playing for a month or so. Come back when there's new and shiny things to try out.
I think that's pretty much what I said I was going to do, though. :P But it's not even just a matter of being able to get to the next tank, it's barely breaking even with the ones I've got.
Pz-IV, KV-1, KV-3, T-1. All of those tanks get very favorable match ups. Sure they get screwed from time to time, but it's very rare where they are in a match where they can't do anything at all.
Two of those are Russian, and like I said I've never played Russian so I can't say for sure. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Russian mid-tier grind is easier than everybody else's, though. The PzKpfw IV I've had, and as I said above, it becomes bearable after you have the Vader-head and long 75, before that it's pretty much shit.
The T1? Really? I avoided the T1 but I had the M6 and that was Godawful enough. I used free EXP to get out of it as soon as possible. I don't even want to think about the T1, given the two are practically the same (really it seems like WG only separated them to fill out the US heavy tree) except the M6 actually eventually gets a gun that can hurt things.
When its top tank, the T1 actually has pretty good armor on the front where alot of things have problems hurting it and the gun is good for shreading lower tiers. The problem with the T1 is that even as top tank, you get matched with KVs. I'll say the T1 is probably better vs lower tiers, but a KV will just laugh at you and can actually be a threat to tier 8s if its not spotted.
The T1's M1A1 has 128 penetration. That's more than enough to handle a KV if you're hitting it in the right spots, even from the front. Just try not to hit the sloped part of the glacis or the gun mantlet.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
I'd argue that the KV has that advantage as far as 'front facing' since the gun manlet is pretty much 90% of the frontal surface area. I agree that the front of the lower hull is easy as pie though.
Just can't let the KV catch you with your pants down.
The PzKpfw IV I've had, and as I said above, it becomes bearable after you have the Vader-head and long 75, before that it's pretty much shit.
Stock tanks almost always suck.
I think the T1 would be pretty nifty if it got the M1A2 (and it really should, based on same tier heavy-TD symmetry). As-is, it's kind of a pain. I loved the M6, though. Given the realities of matchmaking, I prefer the M6's mobility and gun depression to the KV-3's armor. I feel like the KV-3 is extra super-screwed when it's grossly out-tiered.
Speaking of which, I think one of the last skills to develop in WoT is how to contribute when you're out-tiered. Some tanks are better at it than others, and there will always be battles where there's just nothing you can do. But I feel like after ~7,000 battles (including beta), I have a real good chance to pitch in even when I'm at the bottom of the list.
I'd argue that the KV has that advantage as far as 'front facing' since the gun manlet is pretty much 90% of the frontal surface area. I agree that the front of the lower hull is easy as pie though.
Just can't let the KV catch you with your pants down.
The bobblehead turret has a sizable space underneath the bottom of the mantlet that I think has only the listed 90mm of frontal turret armor. Honestly I usually pop it in the upper-front hull if I can, though. The other thing about the KV, of course, is that it's as maneuverable as an apartment block and the sides and back of both the turret and hull are super-squishy, so really there's not much reason to be shooting it in the front in the first place.
Speaking of which, I think one of the last skills to develop in WoT is how to contribute when you're out-tiered. Some tanks are better at it than others, and there will always be battles where there's just nothing you can do. But I feel like after ~7,000 battles (including beta), I have a real good chance to pitch in even when I'm at the bottom of the list.
This is true. As much as they sound simple on paper, it seems to take a lot of experience to learn to do things like retreating and flanking effectively. I guess a lot of it has to do with developing an intuitive sense for the pace of the battle, and figuring out timing - how long your teammates will be able to hold out against a superior opponent vs. how fast you can get into position, how late is too late to fall back and reinforce another flank, all that stuff.
Posts
Top tank is currently only my T32, but I expect to address that over the next week or so.
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
Reeeeeeeeally want a sale on garage slots and barracks slots soon. I desperately need to expand either one ...
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
At least the Jumbo is fairly durable and has the capability to punch above its weight with the 105mm derp (which should be benefiting from the HE counter-buff at least somewhat).
The Easy 8, on the other hand, basically explodes if you breathe on it and the rapid-fire 76mm is ineffective against most bigger/higher-tier targets unless you drive into very risky situations.
I know, they can each use the "other's" gun now. But the 105mm doesn't really help on the E8 because it doesn't fit the playstyle, IMO. I guess it would be worth experimenting with before I sell my E8, though.
Funny you say that since I've always played my E2 with the M1A2 ... It's a nice little gun, minus the somewhat higher dispersion than it feels like it should have. But seriously, you aren't a killer in high tier games, but you're far from useless. The HE nerf was actually a good thing for me, because it forced me to look for weaknesses rather than just 'switch and spam'. The E2 is completely capable, in my opinion.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
I'm pretty easy to get along with, at least there are no living witnesses to the contrary.
I can usually set aside that kind of time.
I consider myself to be reasonably adept at this ridiculous game, but I have good and bad days.
Going to have to focus though, if I'm going to get to the top tiers. I'll try to limit myself to 3 tanks for awhile and see how that goes.
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
Do they still lime stuff for truth around here?
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
Really, I am not enamored of the M1A2 at all. When you fail to penetrate, doing it really fast over and over is small consolation. (Sounds like my sex life HEYOOOOOOO.) I can see how it would be nice for circling lumbering target and machine-gunning their flanks and backs (and YouTube videos of wolfpacks of Easy 8's doing this are certainly awe-inspiring) but you don't get viable, coordinated wolfpacks in pubs, the Easy 8 is too fragile to do that successfully by itself, and the Jumbo is too slow to try.
I'd actually say the 105 would suit the E8's playstyle more than any other gun. It allows you to deal damage from the front when you might otherwise be incapable, and you still get a large bonus for flanking as you can rail the sides of tanks for decent damage with it (and get the occasional pen).
There is nothing quite like circling a T29 in the E8, hitting it time after time in the side and back and magically having 80% of the shots bounce ineffectually. It's why I quit the E8 in the first place.
But since I am going to probably sell the Easy 8 soon anyway when I get the T20, I am going to switch the guns on the two Shermans for a while just for experimental purposes.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bare and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen...
http://www.mediafire.com/?np3yd9yeol0goe1
Also: Ominous.
"Fixed US tank stats"
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Listen, WG, we know how much you hate American tanks, but you do want people to give you their money to buy this thing, right?
Even with the nerfs it'll be the best tier 8 heavy premium, and it'll still probably be worse than the Type 59. I would not expect life to change much with the T34 going premium, as the tanks it will see now were tanks it would see before, and the lower-level things that will encounter it more often never had problems with it to begin with.
I think it's a nice bonus for people who have a T34 already, and another not-worth-purchasing premium for the rest of us.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
And it only gets worse from here on up?
Maybe I'm just in a sour mood right now but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I wasn't correct in my assessment of this game back when I quit playing during the beta: the point in the game where you finally start to break past the grind and get tanks that are actually fun to play is the same point where you start going broke paying for maintenance; so you either have to go back to playing your shitty mid-tier tanks that made you want to kill yourself most of the time just to make funds, or you can shell out for premium.
It's a pretty ingenious treadmill to get people on from the perspective of WG making money, but not terribly good game design. In fact, it's rather sleazy. As I said before, I couldn't recommend WoT to anybody who wasn't completely fascinated already by the subject matter, but I think even the love of military vehicles I've had since childhood can't overcome this feeling of futility, not to mention my increasing annoyance at the devs who often seem oblivious at best and cynical at worst. Think I'm going to set this aside for a while and let my burnout cool, maybe a month or few down the line I'll get the itch and feel like enough of a sucker to part with the spare cash for premium again.
Standard account?
On premium account I almost never lost money in a tier 7 heavy, and with a standard I guess it's half and half?
Anyway kills don't give you much in the way of xp or credits, damage does. The more damage you do, the more credits you get.
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I'd like to think getting five kills means I did a pretty decent amount of damage, but I guess I handicapped myself because three of those kills were artys with very low HP. So even though I single-handedly wiped out the enemy's artillery, I suppose I'm rewarded for it less than if I had just slugged it out the entire game with an enemy heavy and finally killed him without doing anything else.
No accounting for taste, but I'm surprised you've found this to be the case. I have at least as much fun at tiers 5 and 6 as I do at 9, and hopping in the Tetrarch and stomping around a tier 2 game is always a nice change of pace.
Tiers 4-6 are brutal.
No sooner had I escaped the deathtrap that is the M3 Lee (and the less said of that, the better) and into a Sherman than I started getting dumped in matches against Type 59's, Stalins, etc. Things were a little better in the German grind because while the Pz38NA is in its own way as useless as the Lee, at least I had the PzKpfw IV there, but that only became semi-passable once I could grind up to the bobblehead turret and long gun - up until then it was even worse than the M4. Tier 5 is in my experience so far the most painful point in the entire game in terms of matchmaking - it is where you have the highest chance of getting matched up against tanks you have no practical hope of beating or even appreciably damaging the greatest amount of the time.
Tier 6 has some tanks that are capable of giving a respectable account of themselves, and as we were discussing further up the page, I own two of them, but they're both having their repair costs skyrocket in the next patch (Oh gee, WG, it's only a 25% increase now instead of 50%? Well, the important thing is that it's still a bigger increase than any other vehicle in the game! Thanks a bunch!!) so I won't even be able to rely on them to turn a profit.
Much as I loathe Russian tanks just for being easymode (mock me if you want, I believe the bias is real, at least to a certain extent), I would have started on a Russian line by now just for variety's sake except I can't stomach the thought of grinding another line through the mid tiers.
And yes, getting in the Mini Maus and just wtfpwning everybody once in a while is good, as they say, for teh lulz, but driving a Mini Maus is not really the experience I signed up for the game for, and I doubt many people did.
Dude, you just sound super cynical about the game right now. I understand where you're coming from, but the solution is easy. Just stop playing for a month or so. Come back when there's new and shiny things to try out. I find it's really easy to get hooked into a pavlovian mindset where you are just chasing the carrot trying to get to the next tank. If you've reached the point where the tank you are playing right now is not enjoyable, then quit for a while. The 'shitty mid tier' tanks are some of the most enjoyable tanks in the game. Pz-IV, KV-1, KV-3, T-1. All of those tanks get very favorable match ups. Sure they get screwed from time to time, but it's very rare where they are in a match where they can't do anything at all.
I think that's pretty much what I said I was going to do, though. :P But it's not even just a matter of being able to get to the next tank, it's barely breaking even with the ones I've got.
Two of those are Russian, and like I said I've never played Russian so I can't say for sure. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Russian mid-tier grind is easier than everybody else's, though. The PzKpfw IV I've had, and as I said above, it becomes bearable after you have the Vader-head and long 75, before that it's pretty much shit.
The T1? Really? I avoided the T1 but I had the M6 and that was Godawful enough. I used free EXP to get out of it as soon as possible. I don't even want to think about the T1, given the two are practically the same (really it seems like WG only separated them to fill out the US heavy tree) except the M6 actually eventually gets a gun that can hurt things.
Just can't let the KV catch you with your pants down.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
I think the T1 would be pretty nifty if it got the M1A2 (and it really should, based on same tier heavy-TD symmetry). As-is, it's kind of a pain. I loved the M6, though. Given the realities of matchmaking, I prefer the M6's mobility and gun depression to the KV-3's armor. I feel like the KV-3 is extra super-screwed when it's grossly out-tiered.
Speaking of which, I think one of the last skills to develop in WoT is how to contribute when you're out-tiered. Some tanks are better at it than others, and there will always be battles where there's just nothing you can do. But I feel like after ~7,000 battles (including beta), I have a real good chance to pitch in even when I'm at the bottom of the list.
The bobblehead turret has a sizable space underneath the bottom of the mantlet that I think has only the listed 90mm of frontal turret armor. Honestly I usually pop it in the upper-front hull if I can, though. The other thing about the KV, of course, is that it's as maneuverable as an apartment block and the sides and back of both the turret and hull are super-squishy, so really there's not much reason to be shooting it in the front in the first place.
This is true. As much as they sound simple on paper, it seems to take a lot of experience to learn to do things like retreating and flanking effectively. I guess a lot of it has to do with developing an intuitive sense for the pace of the battle, and figuring out timing - how long your teammates will be able to hold out against a superior opponent vs. how fast you can get into position, how late is too late to fall back and reinforce another flank, all that stuff.