Re: Royal Equestrian Armored Division

[Fuzzy]

Looks like an all around nerf for em.

Looks good to me.

[Vergil]

The one thing that troubles me about it is that they're nerfing RoF and accuracy instead of alpha and doing something about magical orbital death view.

[RoboRed]

I'm starting to wonder at this point whether or not I should just sell my Grille.

[hawkeye92]

What do you mean switching skills? If you switch them then you drop to something like 86% and it takes forever to get it back up again, especially on a non-elited tank. You sure that would have enough of a benefit really? I'd rather just get the skill faster myself.

I did the password change event and got 300 gold for free. I'll wait for a half price crew retraining weekend once I get my commander and loader to 100% on their skills then retrain for Sixth sense and safe stowage (might help against low callibre rounds at least) using gold for instant swap to 100%
EDIT: Just realised you can't retrain skills, only drop them. Well, darn.

[Fuzzy]

The one thing that troubles me about it is that they're nerfing RoF and accuracy instead of alpha and doing something about magical orbital death view.

To be honest, I'd have designed it as very inaccurate with larger splash but low damage and a much higher ROF. So it's less "targeted death" and more "area suppression" that forces any TD's out of hiding from having to stay there too long.

Also makes it a more cinematic engagement as it becomes less "Oh they die" and more plumes of earth kicking up on all sides as an artillery barrage starts crashing down upon you. In tactical terms, you just start shelling quadrants rather than precise locations, doing some damage to more tanks rather than lots to a single one. The artillery players still get the fun and people have less unstoppable insta-deaths.

[StoneSlinger88]

Keep in mind a lot of times artillery is thrown into matches way above it's tier; I've taken Tier III arty into Tier VII games. Result? Bouncing and maybe doing 7% damage if I'm lucky. Most of the time they just ignore me even when getting direct hits that should be criticals. So I just go for tracks and wait for someone else to kill him.

[Ketchup]

I play tier 6 artillery, the M12, (yes, I'm evil.) and tier-10 games aren't uncommon, given that there's only up to tier-8 artillery. Still, it can consistently do about 300-400 damage for most hits, 200 if it's a hit on the glacis of something like an E-75, and about max damage for lucky hatch hits on T30-type vehicles and the like.
It's fun to use as a TD, though it's dangerous, as always. The T30 actually mounts a gun that's about the same but is direct-fire.

[StoneSlinger88]

I'm trying to use the Grille, but the unlock for the bigger gun is a good 5000xp away, and it needs upgrades just to move faster than a slug, and without the larger gun I might as well use a wiffle bat in the higher-tier games. As of now, my StPzII is still very much in use because I love the thing and it usually nets me a fair amount of xp and money. And an untrained artillery crew can't hit the side of a barn.

[Fuzzy]

Well the advantage of more spread artillery from 2 to 10 is that it's going to mean more consistency in line with normal tiers. Tier 6 arty right now can compete in tier 10 games but put it in anything else and it will absolutely destory them with unbelievably unfair guns.

Nerfs and spreads across more tiers will ensure they're more properly fighting what they should be fighting. I sense it'll feel like a colossal nerf for artillery for a while, but really it's just finally putting them on a par with everyone else in the game rather than being the orbital gods of one shotting death anymore.

In essence, it'll end up more fun for everyone by the end of it.

[RoboRed]

@Stone: "wiffle" is a fun word.

[StoneSlinger88]

Arty is only overpowered (up to Tier V, which is what I have unlocked) when in games with the same tier as it is, hence why it can be thrown into tiers where it becomes useless. There's no real consistency; either I'm in the same tier, in which I can easily get 5 kills, or the tier's way over me, in which knocking off a track is about all I can do.

And "Wiffle" is a very fun word, in that particular case I most certainly agree.

[RoboRed]

VK36.01s are now on my shit list. I have just had several run-ins with the fuckers and I can't seem to do anything to them...

[StoneSlinger88]

Ever watch two Hetzers with 75mm's go at it? It's like watching toddlers hit each other with balloons.

[Fuzzy]

VK36.01s are now on my shit list. I have just had several run-ins with the fuckers and I can't seem to do anything to them...

May seem odd, but aim for their front armour. It has this huge flat section right on the front with tons of weakspots like MG post and driver viewpoint. Even tier 4 tanks can penetrate it. Essentially, try not to aim for their midglacis or their turret. The upper glacis, lower glacis and the spot between the spaced armour compartments on the side are very weak.

Turret is a huge no no. That mantlet is massive and covers pretty much all the front.

Ever watch two Hetzers with 75mm's go at it? It's like watching toddlers hit each other with balloons.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Hetzer that wasn't roling as a HEATzer.

[RoboRed]

Ever watch two Hetzers with 75mm's go at it? It's like watching toddlers hit each other with balloons.

I think I laughed at this far harder than I should have.

[Fuzzy]

Out of no-where, suddenly British SPG pictures.

Birch Gun

Loyd Carrier with a mounted gun (Think of it as a Bren Carrier by with an SPG)

Now doesn't that front armour look interesting?

Now this is kinda odd. It's reported from SilentStalker they want the Birch Gun to be tier 4.

How?

The Birch Gun is noted in history for being the world's first practical self propelled artillery piece. The only one preceeding it was the Mk1 Gun Carrier from 1917. So the Birch Gun is at maximum a tier 3 unit. However they also have the Sexton at tier 3 which is one from mid WW2.

My brain. It cannot even.

Also other nations' new SPG's and a new german TD in here too.

http://ftr-wot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/new-leaked-pics-from-supertest.html

[RoboRed]

Loyd Carrier with a mounted gun (Think of it as a Bren Carrier by with an SPG)

Gee, I can't imagine where I'd possibly aim at on that thing...

Also other nations' new SPG's and a new german TD in here too.

WTF is that frumpy-looking thing!?

[hawkeye92]

It took me eleven games with the Centurion and the unlocked tracks, turret and 20pdr to get the third class tank badge, so I've been doing below average all this time. Something which is not encouraging.
In the game where I got the badge though I was playing the Centurion how it should be played and although I only did about as much damage as I do in a fairly regular Comet game, the 20pdr can punch an IS-3 in the face at close range which is always nice- something the long 88 on my King Tiger and VK4502 ausf. A struggles with.

[RoboRed]

Hey, Vergil, you going to be up for some tankery tomorrow?

[Vergil]

Hey, Vergil, you going to be up for some tankery tomorrow?

I've got a class that could potentially run past 9:30 est, but I should be around for a while after that.

[RoboRed]

For Fuzzy:

[Fuzzy]

Funnily enough I just saw that. However his "review" is somewhat missing the point.

He doesn't mention it's major historical inaccuracies.

He doesn't mention the fact it gets ammo racked through it's lower glacis no matter what shoots you.

He doesn't mention that it's riddled with so many 1mm thickness glitches that arty always does something no matter what radius it hits.

He doesn't mention the 20 pounders absurdly low impulse. Nor does he mention it's ridiculous cost in credits.

He outright states that it's only good if you use premium ammo. Yes, unfortunately we're not all youtube minor celebrities who get our watchers todonate gold allowing for premium ammo use every day.

He doesn't mention the fact that it's murderously slow on hills when in fact the Conqueror hull (upon which the Caernarvon is based) was renowned for being excellent off road.

Lastly, the game he demonstrated in was an example of what needs to happen for a British tank to perform. Notice no-one paid him any attention and just let him sit there shooting again and again? Try that in 90% of games and people with greater DPM and alpha will just murder you. The artillery firing at him was worthlessly inaccurate. One hit from a Hummel can kill the Caernarvon no matter where it hits on the (extremely large) tank. He got lucky here and won through the other team being bad more than anything.

In short, he's given it the full gold treatment makeover and ignored the problems those of us who don't use minor cheat mods like he does and gold rounds when judging it. I like Quickiebaby's stuff I hasten to add. He is a great tactician and anyone can learn a lot from him in addition to being a very entertaining player to watch with Jingles and Ike. Even Jingles has commented in his own videos recently that QB's reviews are not really reviews due to the fact he constantly uses premium ammo at a rate we could never hope to afford. In this case his 'review' of the Caernarvon is nothing but extremely fraught with inaccuracy.

Make no mistake, this tank is as bad as they say.

[Vergil]

My computer is going ballistic robo, I'm trying to figure out what's wrong

[RoboRed]

Garg. >_<

[Vergil]

Pretty much. Bluescreening with error 101, which is basically one of my cores deciding to not report in on time

[RoboRed]

This makes me a sad Robo.

[Vergil]

How long you going to be around? I should be able to coax this thing into working for a little while at least.

[RoboRed]

I'll still be on for a few more hours.

[Fuzzy]

And this is why I love the Cromwell and Matilda. One allows you to be the one who decides on the pace and flow of the battle as a speedy little cheeky tank and the other reminds us all why the Tilly is indeed the Queen of the Desert.

These are likely my two best games of recent times.

Cromwell Game (Game went weird as it started, hence my doing nothing for the first 20 seconds or so)

Matilda Game

Edit - Fixed em to work.

[Vergil]

11 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw Robo.

I am ok with this.

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