[Weasel]

Sorry for bringing up a dated thread. This is part of a write up I did for new players, along with contributions on other aspects by other players.

Tanks:

Face it, everyone loves buying big bad beasties to roll over their opponents. However, in my experience I find players just buy the most expensive tank they can, thinking it is the best. This is not correct; there are considerations to be had. First to explain the fundamentals of tanks:

Vision: how well the tank can see. This number ranges between 0-50. If the number is below 40 it represents the unit’s ability to see at night. Once a vision of 40 is shown it means the unit also has thermal imagery sights which will allow it to see through smoke.

Fire Control and Range finder: how well the tank can lay its’ gun on target and engage. This is basically the sighting system of the tanks, anything from the Mark 1 eye ball to state of the art computers. The higher the number the better the fire control. The same goes for range finder, the higher the number the better the laser system on board.

Stabilizer: whether the main gun is stabilized or not. This number ranges between 0-5, with 0 being no stabilization, so you must stop and shoot to be accurate. Having stabilization while your opponent does not can give you a HUGE advantage. Even a stabilization of 1 is far superior to no stabilization at all.

Weapon Killing ability: Over an over players ask “what do those numbers mean”. It is all very simple. Let’s take the Panzer Faust 44 versus a Challenger 1 for an example. The pzfst 44 unit data sheet states under HEAT 37. Under PEN it states 2. This means the pzfst 44 can penetrate up to 37 points of HEAT armour, and up to 2 points of steel armour. Now we compare those numbers against the Challenger. On the Challenger unit data sheet we see a front hull steel rating of 62, HEAT of 97, and ERA of 0. This means that the Challenger can withstand a HEAT weapon of up to 97 points. So the pzfst, with a HEAT penetration ability of 37, is 60 points below what is needed to kill the Challenger from the front. So basically you just compare penetration ability number against target armour number. Bigger number wins.

Which one to buy? This all depends on the enemy. When buying tanks I first look at my opponents tanks and determine which his best tank is. Once I figure out which is his best tank I look at the killing power of that tank which is derived by looking at the above plus the characteristics of the main gun itself. When looking at the main gun you will see the following:

ACC – accuracy or how accurate of a gun the tank has. Figures of 10 and below are basically post WW2 pre-Vietnam guns. Modern tanks have a figure around 13 – 15.

KILL – the killing ability of the main gun against infantry when firing HE ammo. A figure of 11:0 means when firing HE the kill factor is 11 (same as a 105 howitzer) and 0 when firing AP rounds.

PEN – is the penetration ability of the gun when firing HE ammo. A figure of 3:0 means it can penetrate 3 points of armour when firing HE and the 0 is ignored (this figure will always be zero).

HEAT – is the penetration ability of the tank when firing HIGH EXPLOSIVE ANTI-TANK rounds. These are chemical rounds that actually burn a hole through the armour of the tank to punch through. So a figure of 35:0 means the round, when hitting a tanks’ armour at a 90 degree angle can penetrate 35 points of armour.

APCR – represents the penetrating ability of the tank when firing special rounds like SABOT. These rounds kill enemy tanks by using brute force and high speed to punch a hole through the steel, causing shrapnel (called SPALDING) to brake off inside the tank and immobilize the crew.

NOTE: HEAT rounds never loose their hitting power no matter what the range. Since they use a chemical action to penetrate a target their velocity is irrelevant. HEAT rounds can be defeated by spaced armour (HEAT armour in the game) and reactive armour (ERA). APCR rounds use velocity to penetrate a target. Thus the farther away the target is the less hitting power the unit has. APCR can be defeated by reactive armour and sloped armour (the round, moving so fast, bounces off).