I have about 50 hours of ground arcade. I play Italians and I wonder if:
players up to BR 2.7 are all noobs and those from BR 3.0 and above are all eagle eyes;
Italian tanks up to BR 2.7 are great and those from 3.0 and above are trash (or other nations’ tanks are no match for the Italians);
A mix of both.
I wonder because until BR 2.7 with my line (Celere sahariano; M15/42 and M14/41) I do pretty well, scoring an average of 4/5 kills during a match, while when I try to up the BR it’s a tragedy (barely 1 kill a match): always. I try the M4, the M24, the Panzer IV premium… no way. Two constants I noticed were:
the presence of the T 34: unkillable for me. One shot from me, a scratch; one shot from him, a kill.
The augmented reload time. I play on xbox and controller and I’m not an eagle eye nor an instant reflex (i do not know if it is the right term), due also to my age. So, I’m not used to place the perfect shot the first time.
Besides those above, do you have any other thoughts?
Your fighting vehicles that you are going to have trouble engaging from the front, attempt to play defensively and engage via flanking. You still gonna die a lot but it’s still better than nothing.
I use the same strategy (also in BR 2.7 engaging from the front with the Italians is a suicide) in all BR (flanking), but the side of the T 34 is still made of marble…
What I remember about my time grinding low tier in Italy was how much I enjoyed playing the M3A3 and M24.
Both are excellent light tanks at their BRs, with good mobility and stabilized guns. With a bit of map knowledge these tanks allow you to take flanking routes, popping up in places the enemy doesn’t expect. The stabilizer is very useful for making accurate shots at low speed, or from a quick stop.
Both should have little trouble dealing with T-34, as long as you play to the vehicle’s strengths. The M24’s 75mm cannon allows you to 1-shot T-34 frontally, while M3A3’s 37mm needs a couple of shots, preferably from the side.
I bought all of the GE 3.7 vehicles when they were 50% last year and started Italy from there. You get 2 medium tanks, a fighter, and a strike aircraft. Dramatically less pain than trying to fight early/pre-war tanks vs some of the most storied and successful AFV’s in the history of warfare.
There are more new players at those lower BRs, and once you start facing rank 3s you’ll be also facing a lot of very experienced players that are just there for doing daily tasks for Battlepass or events.
Once my favourite tank in this game was a exclusively italian tank, OF-40 (MTCA), it was the best premium tank and the most fun to use in my opinion, most of the rest in between are the same as in other nation’s trees like the M24, M18, M4, M26, etc… R3 used to be a very fun SPAA and at the beginning was a great tool for getting air kills, tank kills or even assists for the daily tasks/events.
Then…
It’s one of the best tanks in the game as it was irl. It has good mobility, great armour and a good gun/shell. Their armour bounce a lot of shots and their shell has a lot of explosive which is why you usually get one shot killed.
I used to play this game on PS4 exclusively with a controller until the day I moved to PC. With a controller you will hardly be much competive in tanks against keyboard and mouse users since you will find many tanks where you need to aim at weakspots fast and precise, and you cannot do both with a controller. Consider using a mouse and keyboard on Xbox, many console players do that. If you don’t you will always play with a big disadvantage.
No, I think you are just starting to find those experienced players doing their daily tasks at the lower BR they can.
I think too that this is the thin line where many new players meet the long term players. You get more uptiers and many players tend to play the fast rush style from rank 1.
I think our OP is different because he is thinking about what he is doing and asking for help. So sardinha put it all together pretty good. @CattyPear74 Keep your head down and learn it will come to you. I promise.
Yes I know, the learning curve. I experienced that on planes where I have much more hours and I’m pretty good at the max br for me (5.7, I like props and WW2 era). Adding that I’m an Italian main (exclusive), the fact that I cannot imagine to drive a vehicle with a keyboard and the suffering (together with more experience) is guaranteed… thanks guys. I enjoy this game even if I’m self inflicting pain… 😉
Italy top tier here, If you don’t have premium, money, time and patience, do not play Italy, just switch to USSR or Sweden-USA, Italy is FUN to play but really not good to grind and have fun continuously.
I still enjoy italy but never play a serious game with it.
You’re an Italian main exclusive, I’m a German main exclusive, but it does mean I can give you some advice on Pz IVs. I play RB, not AB, but I expect a degree of cross-applicability, so these are my two cents.
Pz IVs are glass cannons. Angling the hull can sometimes save you from a rushed shot, but generally speaking, pretend you’re playing a Breda. Never count on your protection to save you. Compensating for this, however, you have an insanely good cannon that remains very deadly at range - which is where T-34s will be on the backfoot against you.
However, the map rotation and composition in game is extremely heavily biased towards CQC. Even then, there is a flip side for you, as it allows you to more accurately target T-34s without falling foul of the notorious volumetric bugs. More specifically:
When shooting the driver’s hatch, which is a great frontal weakspot, make sure to avoid hitting the optics. They absorb all damage. Even 128mm Sturer Emil shells disappear into a different dimension when they hit T-34 optics.
When shooting at the turret cheeks, try to go as far from the mantlet as possible, while still hitting a relatively flat area. The small calibre of the 75mm is actually helpful here, because there is less risk it will brush against the mantlet and start bouncing like it’s made of rubber.
Almost forgot to address it. The T-34 is one of many tanks, from many tech trees, that will occasionally survive broadside shots thanks to volumetric. Typically this happens when your shell hits two adjacent armour plates - the game counts them as if they were additive, with the hilarious effect of doubling the effective protection for no reason.
When shooting something broadside, especially something common like a T-34, it helps to know where the plates are, so you can minimise this risk.
Another option for broadside is to shoot lower, exactly between the tracks. This bypasses the plate problem, but be warned that if you hit one of the wheels, the round will bounce. So, aim where there’s nothing but the armour you actually want to pen.
Close to the idler wheel tends to be a pretty reliable spot.
When I built my PC back in 2017 I was playing exclusively on PS4 and PS3 since at least 2008, always with a controller. I had to relearn how to play this game with mouse and keyboard when I was already pretty good with the controller in Air Arcade. A lot of times I was hitting the wrong keys or just pressing them without even notice but soon enough I got used to it and I could see the results, especially in tanks.
There’s no doubt that the driving and flying is so much more fun with a controller, you got the controller vibration that gives you more immersion and I even set my tank controls like I had for GTA V on my PS but the aiming with a controller will never be competitive against a mouse.
A little late, but here it is! I made a shoddy diagram showing where to shoot/not to shoot on the T-34.
When shooting from the sides, be careful not to hit any edges or the roadwheels, as they can absorb your shot entirely. You’ll want to hit somewhere in the green area, avoid the red zones.
Sorry but I’m a boomer… what is CQC? Any way, thank you for your indication, food for my thoughts. Me too, I have been surprised to find out how the Panzer’s armor is weak, generally speaking; especially the turret: I meet many Panzer II, III and even IV F2, and my italian 47mm has generally no great problems dealing with. Until they shoot you first: their gun (especially the Panzer III J) is powerful.
Very interesting. I have also noticed the side turret (yesterday I killed a t-34 1940 with my M15/42 with one shot in this way), but I did not aware of the part of the side you have highlighted nor of such volumetric thing. I will give a try if they (the T-34 folks) give me the possibility…
Yes, I know but I play for the amusement not for competition. Besides this, it’s also a great pleasure (I know, it’s stupid given my age) when you are constantly targeted for your @live nickname (especially in air, you notice it because you’re the first to be attacked at the beginning, moreover in a stupid way), shot down the aggressor in a dog fight or in a head-on and then receive an angry message by the little boy for cheating, because as a console player you cannot be good but cheater…
