Hello everyone!
I originally posted an earlier version of this thread in the general section. It didn’t get much attention, and it’s been pointed out to me by other users that it would be a better fit for the academy section, so here it goes.
I’m looking to get better at using the Jagdtiger, and I’d like to hear from experienced players, so that I can hopefully learn something new.
In the interest of unequivocal clarity, let me specify a few things in advance, so we don’t have to discuss them later.
Yes, I know this is not a “meta” vehicle. I want to become a better player in general with several vehicles, and I know there are several Ground RB skills that are essential no matter what vehicle you’re using. But I have a soft spot for the JT, and so a secondary personal goal of mine is to become really good with it in particular.
Yes, I’ve read the wiki entry. I’m not looking for the basic tips like “go hull down” etc, which might be useful for someone approaching this vehicle for the first time. I have 2609 battles in it, and decent results, what I’m looking for is the next step. Which is arguably harder: going from “bad” to “ok” is one thing, from “ok” to “good” the curve becomes steeper.
I’m making this about the Jagdtiger because it’s relevant to my personal experience, but if you have pro tips that apply more generally to vehicles that are slow and have long reload times, by all means, pitch in.
Ok, with that out of the way, I’ll elaborate on my thought process for this.
What inspired the creation of the original thread was that I must have been in very good form in August, because I had a great run with it, and finished several matches narrowly missing on a nuke by a few spawn points, in one case by NINETEEN spawn points lol. Examples below:
To be clear, I’m not one to obsess about nukes, I know I’m not playing solo thunder. But missing multiple nukes by a few spawn points, sometimes in matches that we ended up losing (and that would have been saved if I’d squeezed a tiny bit more out of it and gotten the nuke) pushed me to reflect on what I could have done better.
Now, of course, heavies are not exactly the ideal vehicles to go after nukes, right? In a Jagdtiger, you’re unlikely to be the one capturing points in the first half of the match - though it does happen when matches become strung out with only a few players surviving on either side.
You’re also unlikely to get many kills in a short engagement time, because that’s just the nature of having an 18s reload. Push too aggressively, and you’ll die. Play too passively, and you won’t contribute to the team, or to your own score.
Having to make that judgement call in a prolonged match that could go either way is also quite difficult at times, at least for me. When it’s right to push, and when it’s right to be patient.
Come to think of it, two of the three nukes I’ve gotten had me get most of the way there with the Jagdtiger; then, die; then, respawn with the JPz 4-5, which allowed me to go the rest of the way. Maybe that combination is no coincidence.
As I mentioned earlier, I also know there’s lots of room for me to improve. I was wondering if any player out there has experience squeezing the maximum possible performance out of somewhat “impractical” vehicles like these, and if you’d be willing to share with the class :D
And of course any and all anecdotes or reflections you have are super welcome.