Perhaps the finest part of World of
Tanks is that each
‘tier’ of tank battle is much different than the others. style="">   As a newbie,
you’ll come up against other
newbie tanks and the occasional Tier 2 light tank and Tier 2 medium
tank.  While
mistakes are accepted and expected as a
new player, with a few simple strategies you’ll have more fun, get more
experience, and get the most credits out of your time spent on the
battlefield.   So
without further ado,
let’s break down the strategies and tactics of the sissy light tanks,
which are
anything but sissy!

style="">Traits of the Tanks

The Light Tanks of this tier of
combat have very low hp and
armor values for the most part.  Unless
you’re landing shots from afar directly in the front of the vehicle,
chances
are your shots will land true and penetrate the targets.

You won’t come up against any Tank
Destroyers or Artillery
at this level of combat, so rest assured that you’ll have a fair shot
against
anything that shoots at you (mostly). 
However, that isn’t the case once you upgrade so don’t
develop any bad
habits just because those threats aren’t on the field.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/96615"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 360px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96615">

style="font-style: italic;">As a Light Tank, you can speed
ahead of your allies and get good scouting information.  You
can also be the first to die, since your speed is not a significant advantage in this tier.  Stick with the pack and fire on targets as
a team!

style="">Noteworthy Exceptions

One of the big assholes of this tier
is the German PzKpWg
38H.  This tank has
incredible armor for
the tier, even on the sides, and most shots will ping right off its
thick 34mm
armor.  If you see
these from afar, try
and flank them or hide until they pass. 
They lack speed as well, so if you’re piloting a speed
demon such as the
M2 Light Tank, you might be able to surprise them with speed and
outmaneuver
them for an easy kill.

Speaking of the M2 Light Tank, this
bad boy is quick to
unlock and can haul serious ass.  You’d
think that the more you upgrade your tank, the slower it gets, but that
much is
definitely not true in World of Tanks. 
The M2 has killer acceleration and top speed, and is an
amazing scout
and skirmish tank, especially against weaker players that can’t predict
your
movement.  If you
pilot this, you can
outrun your opponent’s turret turning speed and get in critical back
shots for
great penetration… which is necessary though. 
This tank has a weak (by comparison) heavy machine gun
instead of an
actual tank gun.  Its
accuracy suffers,
and unlike normal main guns, fires in a burst that requires you to aim
carefully to land the full payload. 
You
also have to resist the urge to drive like a damn madman through
everyone like
you’re playing Halo or Borderlands. 
You
WILL get hit.. and if your tracks get blown off as you’re doing this,
heh, just
exit the battle right there.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/96614"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 363px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/96614">

style="font-style: italic;">Light Tanks are the masters of
flanking, even when the enemy is a Light Tank as well.  Drive
hard and fast from behind, and light them up!  Chances are
they'll die before they can even rotate to get a shot on you.

style="">The Combat Flow

Since the super light tank tier is
filled with newbies,
you’ll run into a lot of silly tactics like driving along roads into
the enemy
base. Don’t be that guy.  However,
you
can use these guys to your advantage. 
Follow them, but stay in trees and behind terrain and wait
for them to
spot enemies for you.  Take
careful aim
using Shift and zoom in using Mouse Wheel Up (default settings) and go
for the
direct hit.  At
least by the time the
charging guy dies, he’ll have given you intelligence on the enemy
positions,
and chances are they’ll have stopped to take aim on that brave
soul—giving you
the perfect opportunity for a shot.

Camping is rare in this tier, but
possible in high traffic
areas, such as the main roads to your flag. 
The problem with this strategy is that your shots aren’t
strong enough
to instagib.  If the
enemy survives your
shot, which is highly likely due to weak armor penetration and simple
bad luck,
you’re going to take a shot back for certain.

Very few people hang back on defense
in this tier of
tanks.  Circling the
outside of the map
and swooping in on the base area of your opponent is a tactic that will
net you
a good flank, or the beginnings of a capture. 
Even if you don’t get the capture, you’ll cause a panic
that will make
remaining enemies turn and hunt you down, and often times open them up
to fire
from your allies already engaging them. 
So if you die on the flag, chances are it wasn’t for
naught!

If you have a speed demon and enemies
are remotely close,
use it to your advantage!  Many
people
can’t keep up with a 40 kph tank at close combat, and forget to drive
their
tank at the same time to help them aim their shot. 
If you can get behind them, it’s certain
death in 2-3 shots.   The
main problem
with this is possibly driving into the firing arc of enemies trailing
behind
them, but that is less of a problem at this tier since armor
penetration values
are so low and fall off considerably with distance.

Just resist the urge to charge
forward with guns blazing,
and you’ll do great at this tier. 
The
brave die young, as the saying goes. 
Just make sure you can use them to your advantage first!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Tanks Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

Comments