Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Tank Tuesday - Tier VI

VK 3601 (H)
So I finally grinded (ground?) up the experience for my Tier VI medium tank, the VK 3601 (H).  And my first impression is "OMG, you're kidding me! THIS THING IS AWESOME!"

It plays very much like the Panzer IV right now. I immediately upgraded the turret with free experience and mounted the familiar 75mm L70 on it, the same gun as on the Panzer IV and StuG III so I know what its capable of. The tank moves like the PzIV but has better armour overall and nearly double(!) the hit points.


Stat  Panzer IV VK 3601
Health 460 850
Hull Armour (mm) 80/60/20  100/60/80
Turret Armour (mm) 120/60/60 110/80/80
Turret Traverse (d/s) 24 30

What this means that shots to the sides and rear that would cripple the Pz IV have far less effect on the VK 3601 and I can take a world abuse more before dying. No more bang bang dead matches that often occurred in the smaller medium.

I'm still working on the better tracks and two upgrades to engines, and the next tier gun: the 88mm L56 aka the short 88. It has slightly less penetration than my old favourite 75mm (132 mm to 138mm with AP ammo) but a lot more damage (220 compared to 135). Against targets in the same tier or lower (or on side/rear armour of higher tier targets) it should give me a boost in performance.

6 comments:

  1. I don't get how WoT's works. Is it new player friendly? How do you grind experience?

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  2. WoT is fairly newb friendly as the match maker only pairs you against tanks of your own tier or a couple lower/higher (in theory). So a starting player will only face other newbs.

    You grind experience by playing in matches (15 versus 15 on random maps) and early going is very quick. You'll be in Tier III tanks before you know it.

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  3. Anonymous12:53 pm

    I'm riding a VK 3601H right now. It certianly is tougher than the Panzer IV.. though I found that financially, you need to be more aggressive than before. I put on extra camo and the reload modification (permanent), and that seems to give my VK 3601H the edge. I'm not a big fan of the Tier VII gun they offer (I think it's pretty much a toy for those who have the gold ammo), but the 88mm still handles well.

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  4. Anonymous3:26 pm

    The bad thing about the VK3601H though is the matchmaker. Tier 6 is kinda a bad spot in that you are very very rarely the top tank, and quite a few times you're put up against Tier 9s which can be unpleasant if you're using a penetration gun like the 75mm or the short 88. Granted its still better than the Pz4 up against tier 9s, but then due to being tier 5 the Pz4 gets its fair share of being top dog.

    Planetary Genocide, I'd recommend getting the 122mm first if you're grinding to the derp gun. First off, it really makes the grind much faster. Sure, you save that exp now but really you will get more experience once you upgrade out of the stock gun. Plus you're probably going to keep the KV for a long time anyway, because a) it's awesome and b) you get a free garage slot and free heavy with 100% crew when the Russian tank tree update hits (if ever). So you're going to be playing the KV for a while anyway, might as well make it more enjoyable quicker and not skimp on "wasting exp".

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  5. Second what 2ndAnomalyFromTheLeft said,
    financially the VK3601H is the most expensive Tier VI tank I own, besides about 5 others. Dying = hurting, the repair costs sometimes eat up my revenue in matches where few targets presented themselves.

    Financially it's a lot easier in the VK3001(H), which I like better. Same firepower with same shell-bounciness with much moar mobility.

    pockie,
    sticking to the KV for a long time is indeed a good plan. Remember how often it got double the credits on those special weekends?
    Unfortunately I had to sell mine to climb the hill to the KV-1S and then sell this one to get to the IS, but the big gun comforts me well.

    Miura "Horns" Bull,
    grow some balls and try it for christ's sake :D
    Let the Rifter swarm manage itself for a bit!

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  6. If you can spare premium for a month, the VK3601H can make serious cash with the 88 since it does more damage.

    Just keep the front armor aimed at the enemy and use it's speed to your advantage. Fully upgraded that is probably my favorite medium tank!

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