Heiya can anyone help me play with Leopards? I have 0 clue

Hey everyone, hjnbnb here, wanted to get into higher BR matches but I just can’t. I have researched up to the Leo 1 but I can’t use it, it’s so bad. A mate bought me the 2A4 PZBTL 123 but that sucks too, it has 0 armour with a cannon that doesn’t do much, then there’s also the 2AV I just got from the crates which I’m having a bit better luck with because of a better matchmaker, but the 105 HEAT seems really lackluster. Any tips?

idk if this helps but I’m used to British low tier 1.0 - 7.7 playstyle

Well Leo 1 (especially the base one) and 2s are different in lot of ways, but the playstyle should remain the same.

tl;dr avoid getting hit.

For Leo 1 you dont want to be pushing due to lack of stab and paper thin armor (which kinda sucks if you dont get paired with another nation on city map). You want to be either flanking, or snipining hulldown. Think Hellcat playstyle.

For Leo 2 it remains the same, but you now have stab so you can also push. While 2A4s hull armor sucks, and arguably the turret is bad too, it at least has gun depression so you thrive in open maps. Good luck on city maps tho.

With top tier issue is you shouldnt rely on your armor at all. Even with the most armored MBTs we have in game armor is there to give you time to kill your oponent first, not to tank shots because eventually, even if by pure luck, one will slice through your weakspot.

Watch your ammo count in both. Its been a while since I played base Leo 1, but Leo 2 has ready rack of 16 shells + 1 in the gun, take any more and they will be stored in the hull next to driver.

Learn the weakspots of commonly faced enemies.

for the love of god look at map.

With Leo 2s dont bother with HEATs against MBTs - at this BR everything has either composite and/or ERA making tank HEAT shells next to useless.

There are few vehicles that shares both mobility, armor and firepower in a single machine, you can’t play IS-4M and put the same strategy of driving right into enemy fire without concern about being destroyed in another vehicle. Play ground vehicles as you don’t have armor. Try to apply the survivability onion and you should be good—don’t be hit, this is the key point, specially in late german vehicles with mobility in mind.

All of the vehicles you mentioned (Leopard 1, Leopard 2AV, Leopard 2A4) are good, though you’re playing it wrong, they do excel in sniping position with good firepower for their respective battle rating. Regarding the Leopard 2AV’s 105 mm HEAT; you’re in composite armors’ territory, you should always look for weakspots regardless, you’re unlikely to take out the weakests of the vehicles at this battle rating range (e.g. T-72AV (Turms-T)) just pointing and clicking like you’d with APDS-FS.

Bit difficult when I have the worlds biggest skill issue ngl

I actually heavily dislike the Hellcat :sob: I may hbe cooked

only issue is that the Leo 2AV was stock so I was forced to aha. Now I have DM23 but even that seems incredibly lackluster - especially in full uptiers.

Appreciate the help.

Don’t be there: x I’m playing war thunder
Don’t be seen: x I tend to overextend without knowing it or I stay in one place long enough for my team to die around me till I’m left on my own surrounded
Don’t be hit: x Nah lol I have a skill issue and can’t defend myself to save my life

I don’t even know the slightest thing about MBT combat, I don’t understand composite armour or ERA or anything, I just know that whatever I point at will not die when I click the shoot button lol

Thanks for the help chaps

Other issue is that I’ve been almost exclusively getting city maps

weve all been there. its downright impossible to do on some maps (hello sun city and sweden, how i weep that only one map ban is allowed) so theres nothing else to do but embrace the suck.

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RIP i guess. Issue is all Leo1s play like that. Inb4 someone will come rushing in calling Leo 1s the bestest brawlers in teh wurldddddd - dont listen to them. Chances are they never touched Leo 1s.

Anyway if you ever decide to stick with them, i highly advise to skip A1A1 for now. Back when it was 8.7 it was great, nowadays at 9.0 not only it doesnt have proper lineup, mere 0.3 BR higher you got the 1A5 with LRF, thermals and better shell; not to mention that you would be outclassed by lot of tanks in sniper role as LRF are becoming quite common at this BR.

it will only get worse. not even the 120mm L/55 with DM53, the second highest pen MBT gun in game (after Obj 292) cant lol pen the UFP of top tier russian tanks. Weakspot hunting is the name of the game.

But good luck with that when you eventually reach 2A5/2A6 and have BVM appearing from behind the corner going 60kmh when all he needs to is to point and click in general direction of your hull.

as said above, check the map.

thats not about parrying the enemy shells like youd do in sekiro lmao. Its about finding positions to take where you are protected for most part. For Leos thats sitting below the ridge line and scanning the area with binos and exposing yourself only to fire or use thermals. Or knowing not to drive in front of the enemy side first if he is looking at you.

yeah would advise you to stick to Leo1s and keep away from Leo2s for now until you get hang of it gameplay, and then gradually working up the tree. People hate on grind but it does job well introducing some mechanics gradually. Maybe do some reading but tl;dr - sabots are your main weapon of choice 90% of the time.

thats sadly not issue unique to leos but game as general. Sadly theres a demographic that prefers instant action on CoD style maps, often forgeting that unlike CoD, tanks dont have vertical mobility to rotate around the map like you would do with infantry.

I appreciate all the help brother. I’m getting so much better with the 2AV, the 105 damage is a bit inconsistant, either one hit killing or just… not with the DM23 but I suppose I need to learn where to hit more - carousel seems to be a bit iffy on Russians, they either blow up instantly or it does nothing, and crew hunting with a 105 is a bit tricky but my KD is positive now I think!