So, You Want To Drive A Light Tank…

Vickers, Batchat, Object 140

By:

IrmaBecx

So this will be an experiment in comparative tank philosophy.

I recently grinded out two of the three tier X Light tanks currently available, and I thought I might compare them to each other for the benefit of prospective Light tankers.

It’s like this; I think you either want to drive a Sheridan or you don’t. It’s not really a proper Light tank, it’s more of a novelty, and if you want to drive one, there isn’t a lot I could tell you about it.

That leaves the Vickers Light and the BatChat. But there is one more tank you might consider. Before there were top tier Light tanks, driving an Object 140 was about as close as you would get, and it still has the best camo rating of any Medium tank at tier X. If you are curious about Light tank gameplay, you could do a whole lot worse than going up the Russian Light tank line and getting an Object 140.

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The 140 is of course not a proper Light tank either, but it can do some Light tank jobs. It doesn’t really have a lot of armour, it’s small and stealthy, and compared to an actual Light tank, you are basically trading firepower and armour for speed and camo on the move.

The way to make the Object 140 work as a Light tank is really down to playstyle. You don’t want to brawl your opponents; you want to spot them up and ambush them. Don’t attack frontally if you can help it, instead take advantage of your mobility and learn the most important thing for a Light tank driver; which is to run away from bad engagements and utilise the open parts of the map.

Choosing the Object 140 to get into Light tank gameplay may seem like the lesser option. It’s not super quick, and it’s missing the key feature of a Light tank – camo on the move, but in return you get much higher DPM and a few bits of armour to cover your worst mistakes. An Object standing still has better camo rating than a Sheridan; almost as good as the Vickers or the BatChat, but on the move it’ll be noticeably worse.

I drive a couple of games in my old 140, trying to keep to the sidelines and really concentrate on the spotting and support role. It’s going pretty well, although it is perhaps not quite as exciting as driving a BatChat. There is certainly a lot of overlap between Light and Medium tank gameplay.

You have to work a little harder to get the most out of the camo, but it does work. The tank being so small means it’s easier to hide, and if you get caught out, you have the confidence of being in an actual Medium tank with top shelf DPM and that wicked angle on the front plate.

While nowhere near as mobile as an actual Light tank, the 140 does provide an excellent starting point for further exploration.

“But Irma,” you say “could I not substitute the T-62A? I hear that’s better now.”

My answer would be “no” and “besides, it’s not”, and that’s not just because I am an Object 140 degenerate. The 62A is a different animal with slightly different capabilities, and what you are trying to do is play to the strengths of your vehicle. In terms of Medium tank gameplay, the stronger turret, gun depression, and pinpoint accuracy may seem like a worthwhile tradeoff. But we’re not trying to play a Medium tank here; we are trying to play a Medium as a Light tank, and in that sense, the 140 is simply a better ersatz Light tank than the 62A is.

A Light tank doesn’t need traverse, it needs speed. It doesn’t care about accuracy, it needs stability on the move. It doesn’t need armour, it just needs autobounce zones, and of course it needs good camo rating. The 140 does all of these things better, and is therefore more convincing in a Light tank role.

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So if you want to go straight to the source, the choice is down to either the Vickers Light or the BatChat, and for most drivers, I think the Vickers should be their first choice.

I wrote in my review that these British Light tanks are very nearly Mediums. Your DPM and armour profile does rival some Medium tanks, and your tank is much more agile and has about the best camo around.

The Vickers can sidescrape about as well as the 140 can, it can get bounces off the front plate and turret sides when angled properly, and with over 3000 DPM on tap, from some angles it does look like a better Medium tank. But playing too aggressive means you aren’t taking advantage of two of the main strengths of the Vickers; namely superior viewrange, and superior camo rating.

This is one reason I run calibrated shells on my Vickers; to slow down my gameplay a little. The other is of course you get “cheap HESH” shells, and I want to max out the penetration on those. Driving it, the overlap between Light and Medium tank gameplay seems even more obvious. The Vickers is really just a regular tank, and it can sometimes be difficult to see what sets it apart.

Again, making the most of your top tier Light tank comes down to focusing on your playstyle. You can frontline your Vickers, get a few bounces, and trade shots. But if you do, you’re not really doing the tank justice, and you’re not learning good Light tank habits and taking full advantage of your Light tank strengths.

The beauty of the Vickers light is that it’s just a regular Light tank; like a tier X Type 62 or T-54 Lightweight. The only thing out of the ordinary is the high penetration HE rounds. It’s also quite strong with an almost full power 105 mm L7A1, made even more powerful by the excellent mobility and Light tank capabilities.

It’s not very difficult to drive. If you can drive the Object 140, you can drive the Vickers; with ten degrees of gun depression and 350 alpha it’s actually easier in some ways. And as this is a true Light tank, it allows you to learn how to take advantage of the Light tank camo on the move.

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Your third option, then, is the famous BatChat. And although it may not look like an option for your first top tier Light tank, there really is no reason to shy away from it.

The BatChat has the same camo rating as the Vickers, and a competitive viewrange, not far off Medium tanks like the M48/M60 or the AMX 30 B. It’s just as fast as the Vickers, but has much better specific power, and there are a few other tradeoffs. You only have six degrees of gun depression, the armour isn’t as good, and of course you have an autoloader.

The BatChat armour is actually better than you think. It has a 60 mm front plate sloped back at 68 degrees, so you only need a two degree downward angle or a 25 degree side angle, and you will autobounce any gun in the game except the FV215b 183. The rest of the armour isn’t very good, but will sometimes bounce low caliber guns.

The autoloader has the same 310 alpha the Object 140 does, and if you look at the numbers, it has much, much lower DPM. But that’s deceptive, because the point of the autoloader is that with a full clip, you get something like 6200 DPM over six seconds for a potential 930 damage burst.

As you can imagine, that makes the BatChat extremely dangerous in late game situations; anyone with 900 hitpoints or less is a potential candidate for clipping out if you can isolate them. But the autoloader also makes it more versatile all through the battle; all you need to do is figure out your reloads so you don’t get caught out with an empty clip.

I get about a 14 second clip reload on my BatChat, and that’s not really all that long. It’s about twice as long as the Vickers, or about the same as a large caliber Heavy tank or Tank Destroyer.

Also, the clip reload provides a natural pause in gameplay you should learn to use for relocation and maintaining awareness of the situation around you.

Learning how to drive a BAtChat isn’t all that difficult. You are basically driving the same style of tank from tier VI onwards, and once you start getting your head around the autoloader playstyle, the rest is mostly proper positioning, resetting camo, and relocating effectively.

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So I have been driving all three tanks lately, and having a lot of fun.

Light tank gameplay is exciting; that is why we drive them. The Object 140 doesn’t feel out of place in the trio, and I dare say I’ve been doing a little better in it trying to convince myself it’s actually a Light tank.

When I grinded out the Vickers and the BatChat, I thought the Vickers was going to become the daily driver, and the BatChat would just be something I kept around because I like it, but don’t actually drive a lot. In actuality, it has been the other way around; I just can’t get enough of driving my new BatChat.

If you already have the 140, or you have the T-54 and can grind it out pretty quickly, I maintain it’s a good learner vehicle for Light tank gameplay. It’s not quite as fast, so you won’t drive yourself into too much trouble, and when you do, you have some proper Medium tank armour and firepower to defend yourself with.

But there’s no reason not to go for a proper Light tank right away, and I do feel the Vickers is slightly more accessible. After the power crept Comet, the grind isn’t all that hard, and if you’ve been thinking about it, you might want to get it done before the Vickers Cruiser gets nerfed.

For me though, the fact I’ve enjoyed the BatChat so much is the big takeaway. The autoloader is not so much an obstacle as a catalyst of versatility, and it brings new possibilities to your Light tank gameplay.

In any of these tanks, you will get focused, you will be taken out early, you will take big hits from high alpha guns, and all sorts of trouble will befall you. But you will also learn to overcome these tribulations, to your immense satisfaction and enjoyment. The “high risk/high reward” nature of Light tanks is why they are so much fun to drive, and I think any well stocked garage should have at least one.

The fact I happen to like the BatChat best should perhaps not be taken as a recommendation if you are a newer player. Any of these three tanks will provide their own set of difficulties, and the autoloader is perhaps the most lopsided in terms of balance. But they also come with their own set of strengths, and the 900 plus damage burst potential also makes it situationally very powerful.

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Learning how to drive a top tier Light tank is a tough job, but it’s also very rewarding. You do it in order to become a better player, plain and simple.

There are other tanks you might set your sights on at lower tiers; the Ru 251, the T-54 Lightweight, or any of the premiums out there. Even the quirky AMX 13 57 or the fairly useless Type 64 are worthwhile because they are Light tanks.

Light tank gameplay revolves around a few key ideas; reset your camo, run away from bad engagements, and trade distance for damage. Then learn to use all the space where there aren’t any tanks to your advantage. None of this is very complicated, it’s just with so narrow margins of error, and with so many possibilities at your disposal, there are so many ways to get things wrong.

But this is also why no matter how good you get, Light tanks will always provide a challenge for you. No one ever truly masters Light tank gameplay.

Driving Light tanks makes you look at the game in a new way, and if it doesn’t, you’re not quite gotten there yet. No other style of tank can translate thought into action with such ease as a Light tank. And grinding out a tier X Light tank and learning how to make it work not only makes you a better, more experienced player, but will also give you a sense of accomplishment other grinds can’t match.

You may not think you are good enough to drive one. Remember I said no one is, really; and the only way to learn is by doing. You may think Light tanks are too skittish and don’t match your preferred playstyle, and that I think is fair enough. You shouldn’t drive tanks you don’t like just for the sake of it.

But I would still encourage you to give it a go if you have the opportunity. Maybe you have one in the back of your garage, collecting dust. There could be a Light tank out there that is a good fit for you in spite of everything, and certainly they will have things to teach you, no matter what kind of driver you are.

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So I drive a few more games, just to make sure. I have good games and bad games in all three tanks, and somehow I feel like the good games make up for the bad ones.

The 140 is the one I feel most confident in, which is just as well since it’s the worst at running away. I feel like I can hold my own in my full race Russian sports Medium when I get caught out.

But in terms of Light tank gameplay, I do feel the Object 140 is the least rewarding. If I had just gotten one because I was interested in Light tanks, it would only serve to strengthen my resolve that this is the way I want to go: I want more of this, so I’ll get a proper one.

I like the Vickers Light a lot more than it may appear, I realise that when I drive it again. It’s true I haven’t driven it a whole lot since I got it, but then I did start the BatChat grind right after I had gotten it.

The Vickers is a great drive, and it does everything it says on the box. I drive all over the map, trying to keep my engagements at range so I can fiddle with the ammunition selection, and I do land a couple of good “cheap HESH” hits. This is a proper Light tank, there’s no doubt.

I have the worst game of the session in the BatChat, but I also have the best game in the BatChat. BatChat platoon versus two random BatChats with a Sheridan on each team, and we took them down.

The BatChat is the most fun, but it’s not by a huge margin. I just find the autoloader gameplay so compelling. But it does make the BatChat an “either or” tank to a slightly greater extent than the other two. You could say it’s the most fun because it’s the most challenging.

What you might tanks away from this is that if you just want to dip your toes in Light tank gameplay, the 140 is a safe bet. If you want consistency, you go for the Vickers first. And if the possibilities of the autoloader sound interesting, you get the BatChat.

While you ponder this experiment in comparative tank philosophy, please enjoy that BatChat game I was talking about: