Topic tuto taken from @ochilov 's work
Hello everyone,
Dear player, in anticipation of a possible tutorial for the game, I’m creating this topic in the hope of teaching newcomers something important.
Not long ago, I had a rather frustrating experience, and that’s when I realised the problem: most players don’t use the cable correctly.
!! Detail !! that tutorial are a traduction with Deepl of my work in french section. Images are in french, copy/past form the original topic.
For the story, here it is (you don’t have to read it):
Click Here: The story of _Ochilov_
I was in a tank game with my Russian low-tiers, the game progressed, I used my t34-1942 and my zukov-machin chose i-153 M62. Then I respawn in 72-K gas (yes, you know, the milk truck there …) and I run into the biggest plow of the game, I think he was in bt-7 (don’t ask me why he was playing that in 3.7) in short, he runs at me, blocks me, shoots at me in vain (fortunately) and ends up knocking me over. He could have left it at that, BUT NO! He pushes me, ends up getting sniped and dies.
What could I do? I called for help in the chat room in English, BUT NO ! They were all using the Cyrillic alphabet ! So I pressed “à” and waited. An ally arrives, miraculously, he was speaking English in the chat, I thought I was saved. **BUT NO! This clown (to put it mildly) hangs his cable on the bottom of my truck and drags me for 20m instead of putting me back on my wheels. He does it again, BUT NO ! still not, I yell at him “Put your cable at the top of my tank !” and he ends up straightening me out.
-1°) The basics
You can use the cable by pressing the “à” key by default. Once you’ve done this, the hook icon at the bottom of the shell interface will activate. Other players will then see a hook above your vehicle. This is where it gets interesting, because if another player clicks on ‘to’ while pointing the viewfinder at you, they’ll hook a cable connecting you to the tank in question. This very practical feature of war thunder means you can link up as many tanks as you like, even at the same time. The only condition is that you can only hook up to allied tanks.
Click Here: Icons in battle
The hook on a request for help is grey/white when the person has pressed “à” (2) and turns yellow when the mouse is moved over it (1).
-2°) Cable characteristics
For simplicity’s sake, there are several characteristics that apply to the towing cable in the game:
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1-The cable does not have a fixed length, meaning that you can attach a tank that is 20m away from you just as easily as one that is 2m away. However, once it is attached, the length of the cable does not change.
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2-The cable will hang where you aim on the tank (except for the moving parts like the tracks and the gun, the turret remains to be seen). Of course, you don’t have to wait for the gun to be pointed in the right place - the large round on the HUD is all you need.
Click Here: Hooking up a cable
On this image, you can see that the cannon is pointing elsewhere (line red) yet the cable (arrow green) is hooked exactly on the large round HUD (arrow blue).
(Note that he hooked the cable in exactly the right place to put the tank back on its tracks (see Chapter 4).
- 3-The cable will hang wherever you want (see previous point) but whatever you do, it will always run from the middle of your tank to the rear (which is the perfect place):
Click Here: Cable position on your tank
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4-The cable doesn’t care about the laws of physics. Let me explain: once you’ve hooked a cable onto another tank, the cable will stay in place until you press ‘à’ (see 5). Even if it goes through trees, other tanks or even the ground if you’re on a bridge.
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5-To remove the cable, just press “à” again, which will cancel your availability status and nobody will be able to hook you up again. Of course, all the cables attached to your float will be removed at the same time (including those you’ve attached yourself).
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6-It seems that some 3D decals block the cable, so you may not be able to attach it to a can, for example. Even if this is fairly rare, don’t insist, you’ll just be wasting your time.
-3°) The possibilities offered by cable
This feature can be used in many ways, from the most useful to the most delirious and even the most Machiavellian.
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You can help an overturned allied tank onto its own tracks.
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You can pull an allied tank that is slower than you are.
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-You can help a damaged tank that can’t move, just pull it out of the way of enemy fire.
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You can play the balancing act by attaching an ally and letting it dangle in the air, from the top of the Korean barrage for example. Your ally could then have the depression to hit everything above it, i.e. where the armour is minimal.
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You can play tug-of-war with tanks each pulling in opposite directions to see which is more powerful (try this on water with amphibious tanks, it promises to be interesting).
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You can also apply the method I call ‘push and pull’. Basically, you’re in a game with a friend, there’s an obstacle that’s a bit big for your tank and you need help. That’s where this method comes in, you just have to push your friend to help him up first, and once he’s up, all he has to do is pull you over using the cable.
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You can pull or push a destroyed vehicle.
I’ve probably forgotten a few, so don’t hesitate to add to the list.
-4°) How to put a tank back on its tracks
This is what most people don’t know how to do, you shouldn’t hook the cable just anywhere, if you hook it underneath you’ll just be towing your ally.
It’s better to hang the cable above, i.e. as far as possible from the pivot point (in this case, the lower track). In this way, you will tip your ally by leverage.
Click Here: Like this
Of course, use common sense and don’t pull a MAUS with a milk truck. The example may be a bit disproportionate, but you never know!
However, sometimes a tank can end up on its back (don’t try to understand), in which case there are 2 possible outcomes:
1-The tank sinks halfway into the ground and there’s a big bug. The only solution is to leave the vehicle (press “J”).
2-Or he’s lucky and you can put him back on his tracks that way:
Click Here: Turning a tank on its back
Step 1, turn it on its side:
Step 2: Place the cable on the upper track as seen before.
I hope this helps and that I’ve given you an intelligent explanation of how this famous cable works. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and/or make comments.
Thanks again to @ochilov for the groundwork for this topic ;)