Casual Drive: WZ-113G FT and 111 5A

Sunday Driver

By:

IrmaBecx

Today is Sunday, and I’m about to start driving some tanks. I find myself in the enviable position of having almost all the tanks in the games I really want; I recently finished the Kranvagn grind, and I even managed to scrape together enough free gold for the crew on my new FV4202 so I can lose money shooting HESH at peoples tracks.

I recently wrote a paper on the FV217 Badger, which is the least popular Tank Destroyer at tier X, and it got me thinking about the next least popular, which is of course the Chinese WZ-113G FT.

It’s not surprising. For one thing it’s really just a tier X ISU clone with proper frontal armour, and it’s also one of the most monstrously expensive tanks in terms of XP required in the game.

But I always loved it. First in secret, and then in earnest once I actually got one. Making the decision to grind it out had a lot to do with pure pig headedness on my part, but that all changed once I actually got to drive it. I even sprung for the blue bicycle on the back, as well as my favourite premium camouflage, “Jade Shards”.

I don’t drive it all that much, and there’s a very simple reason for that. It’s called the Sheridan. But I’m not going to air my usual grievances about all the ways in which WG are trying to make the game less fun for people like me, instead I’m just going to drive. The plan is to campaign the WZ-111G Fake Tank, and since I’m expecting to lose a bit of credits and be taken out early, I’ll also be running my WZ-111 5A.

Not a bad plan, If I may say so myself?

*

Something quite extraordinary happens. My first five games are all wins. That’s not what you expect from a Tank Destroyer with the mobility of a SuperHeavy and paper thin sides. If you have nothing better to do for a quarter of an hour, here is some video footage of the whole thing:

As per usual, these games really aren’t that spectacular, just good, solid assault TD driving in a tank that is at the lower end of what is required for the role.

The tank does lose money. Firing off a HEAT round puts me almost 7000 credits in the red, but running a premium account and some low grade credit boosters, I still end up 30K in the black.

I also notice something strange. I run calibrated shells, but my AP rounds still seem to show the turret face of the E100; a popular tank out there, slightly rose tinted. That shouldn’t happen with a little over 300 mm of penetration. But on the whole, I don’t feel the second hand 152 mm 59-152JG FT has any problems.

Trying to clear a couple of missions, I run five rating games in the 111 5A. Two wins out of three is more what I expect, including a proper heartbreak the last game, chasing an AMX 50 B all around Dynasty’s Pearl and then missing the last shot and getting clipped out on the reload.

Sometimes I hate this game, I really do.

*

There are any number of reasons to fall for a tank. You may simply like the way it looks. You may not care about looks, and just focus on performance. Or it can be something deeper; a sort of connection you feel, something about the playstyle that feels just right. And for my part, I have many different forms of connections to different tanks.

So what is it about the WZ-113G FT?

I’m not sure I know. I wanted to start up the Chinese TD line because I was interested in the mid tier vehicles, but I wasn’t super excited about the two top tier tanks. Then, when I drove the tier IX, I realised I was actually having fun driving it, and naturally the tier X would be even better. I ended up slogging my way through to it, and it was everything I had come to hope for.

Which was really just a big box with a gun sticking out of it.

I suppose one thing is the very simplicity of the 113G. It’s certainly at the lower end of requirements for a “dynamic” Tank Destroyer, and what makes it work in that role isn’t so much the speed as the armour plating. It’s more of a turretless Heavy tank than anything else.

And I like that. I have two turretless Mediums already, so it does add something at least a little new to my collection. It’s also quite effective; I don’t seem to drive my way into as much trouble with it as I do in my Foch Formerly-known-as-155 or my Yolo Wagon. I even tried sitting at the back just now, racked up over 4000 damage, but naturally the rest of the team let me down and allowed the enemy to cap all three bases and acquire map control.

There are other options if you want a comparatively slow TD with good frontal armour and a big gun, and I suppose it’s hard to justify grinding something like 100K XP more to get this one. But personally, I wouldn’t give any of the others the time of day.

In other words, there is still a bit of that pigheadedness that made me grind it out in the first place involved. Being contrary. And I do have a history of being a proponent of unloved, underdog tanks.

But there is nothing wrong with the top tier WZ Tank Destroyer. It doesn’t struggle, except with pointing the gun sideways. I’m not really scared of anything when I drive it, except crossfire and getting flanked.

*

But yeah. As I said, I wasn’t just driving the WZ-113G FT. I was also driving the WZ-111 5A. And I mentioned casually I had real heartbreak of a game in it, but I didn’t show you that replay.

It strikes me maybe I should. For more reasons than one.

First off, you can watch any number of Mastery game replays, and sometimes people will walk you through them and tell you what they were thinking, explain their strategic and tactical decisions, and how all that came to win them the game.

It’s really easy to see how I didn’t win this one. I missed the last shot.

But more importantly, as much as I play to win, I play even more to have a good game; that’s the real reason I keep playing these days since I don’t actually care that much about my winrate; especially since it’s been the exact same for a few years now. And when I had calmed down, I had to confess this had actually been a really good game. I feel really ashamed I downvoted the AMX 50 B for being a coward; If I had any real backbone, I should have given it a worthy opponent.

Anyway, here it is. Watch and despair:

So first off, we have a Heavy tank disadvantage. I want to go up on the steps overlooking where the A cap usually is, but my team wants to go down to the fountain area, and so that will only get me isolated and killed. Instead I move towards the middle and start capping the base.

I’m not actually trying to cap, I’m just trying to put pressure on the enemy team, drawing them out, and giving my teammates time to realise they are all here like I knew they would be. I am wary of their two AMX autoloaders, and trying to hide my hull as best I can.

All their Heavy tanks have gone this way, and I have both the AMX:es in front of me. My flankers take out one of their TDs, and they are moving up behind the enemy as I start taking fire. I put a shot into the turret of one of the AMX:es, and as I get a lucky bounce from their Jägeru, it occurs to me I could position myself down the steps instead of up top in the open. With my seven degrees of gun depression, I can still get shots, and put an HE round into the turret or their low health E 100, taking it out.

It’s two kills to one, and I see the other AMX has moved up to flank me, but I poke up and get a tracking shot on the Jpz E 100. We are looking good except the AMX to my right, but they seem to catch up quick, and it’s suddenly three all. I trade a shot with the 50 B as the reds get another kill, and it’s time to do something. I carefully move up to the other ledge, but the low health AMX is there, and I bounce a shot off it as we pass each other on the stairs.

I can’t really follow it or I’ll get caught in crossfire, but I get an easy HE killshot into a low health E5, and now the 50 B is behind be, getting a shot in. I am down to 700 HP, meaning I’m a two shot. Luckily it drives out in front of me, and it’s another HE killshot; my third this match.

So here is where things start going south. It’s 6-4, meaning 3 on 1, but it’s an almost full health AMX 50 B, and none of my teammates have a lot of health remaining. I start moving left intending to flank it, but it’s way more nimble than my 5A is, and I turn around just in time to land an HE shell into the rear of it for almost 700 damage. The 50 B however takes out our Sheridan, and between our 50 B and myself we have less than one clip of hitpoints remaining for the AMX.

I drop the speed boost trying to catch it up, but I probably should have turned left instead of going straight towards their spawn. Our 50 B gets a shot in as it goes down, and it is now 1 v 1, I’m still a two shot, and the AMX as noted is lot more agile than I am. Thinking it might have doubled back, I turn right and drive around the block. No trace. I check the fountain area, but I realise the enemy 50 B could be just about anywhere by now.

Driving around the cap so as not to signal my position, I manage to spot the AMX just as I drive into cover behind the double decker cable cars. I have 791 hitpoints against 140; I can take one hit as long as my next shot connects and takes it out, and my speed boost is almost off cooldown.

So I drop the speed boost and go for the short flank, and I catch the 50 B trying the same, but for whatever reason my shot goes wide. I actually bounce the first shot, but it only needs two, I take one to the side, and the tall AMX has no problem putting the last shot through my upper plate at point blank range.

What went wrong? Well, I took a few wrong turns chasing the AMX around, and I definitely messed up the endgame. I had the hitpoint advantage, I was in cover, and I could have played it a lot more cool. If there hadn’t been stuff in the way to mess up my target locking my shot might have connected, but it was the wrong play to make being that aggressive.

*

So this is the stuff I claim to live for, and then I still act like a child when it doesn’t go my way. I don’t feel I was being very honourable.

And watching the game back, I can see the mistakes I made throughout, and how they ultimately cost us the game.

The AMX on the other hand, did everything right. Keeping to the sidelines throughout the game and putting out damage, then making a push towards the end to clear the two low health targets, and relocating to get the drop on me.

That was well played.

And a game like this may not be as exciting to watch as someone winning against all odds, but I think it can sometimes be more informative. I know I learned something.

I’ve still been running my 5A since Sunday, and things have been going better. As much as I like my Chinese Box, I like the 5A a little bit more, because it’s so versatile, and I love a good 130 mm weapon. Also, it usually doesn’t lose me any credits, so it’s always ready to go have a quick game with no worries. I like to at least drop a booster or two driving tech tree tanks.

I guess we’re not getting any closer to what it is about the 113G FT, but perhaps it doesn’t have to be very complicated. And I hope you enjoyed watching me noob out in my Chinese brawler and the flimsy but agile AMX 50 B coming out on top.

See you out there!

WZ-135G FT Blaze For Free?

Brown Bomber Returns!

By:

IrmaBecx

So if you weren’t around last time, tomorrow you’ll have a new chance to grind out the WZ Blaze, or “Brown Bomber” in the upcoming event.

I’m sure it will be pretty hard to actually get a free tank, and I can say right away I don’t think dropping a whole lot of resources on the Blaze is worth it.

But should you happen to find yourself the owner of a brand new Brown Bomber, or you think it looks cool for some reason, then here is a short breakdown of what you can expect.

*

The WZ-135 Blaze arrived in early 2017 alongside the WZ-112, you could grind them out in an event, and I was not very interested in either. The Glacial because it was a Heavy, it was blue and had dragons on it, and the Blaze because it was brown, fairly useless, and likewise had dragons on it.

I’m not a huge fan of dragons on my tanks.

But I do like the 112. If it had a different camo on it I would totally drive it. The thing is, I realised after quite extensive test driving I actually liked the Blaze as well, which struck me as strange because there really isn’t a whole lot to like about it.

It’s a fairly awkward drive, first of all. Not really all that slow, but doesn’t turn well, it only turns the turret 40 degrees to either side, and you can only point it up ten degrees. That means setting up your shots will be difficult, and your DPM isn’t great to begin with. The ubiquitous 122 mm D-25 only has 175 mm of penetration which will struggle against tier VIII opponents, and as you have APCR for premium, the calibrated shells won’t help a lot. There are a few pieces of 60-75 mm armour, but you’ll still only get troll bounces.

So what’s the upside? Uhm… well, 8 degrees of gun depression is pretty good. The aimtime is good; better than the tech tree T-34-2G FT, even. Specific power is good since it only weighs 24 tons, and it does 20 km/h backwards, which I believe is best in tier.

That’s not a whole lot of upside.

So this is not one of those “assault TDs” you hear about. You will need to stay back so you have time to set up your shots and then pull back, and if someone pushes you, there’s not a lot you can do, especially if they are faster or have any kind of armour.

So yeah, it’s fairly useless. But it does have a 122 mm at tier VII, and that can be both fun and effective. Your 65 mm penetration HE rounds can make a difference against some targets, but you only have 24 rounds capacity.

*

Usually when I try out a new tank for a review, I don’t drive very many games; just enough to get a feel and get into some high tier games so I know how it performs. But the WZ Blaze I ended up putting over a hundred games on; way more than I needed for a review, and that tells you something. It tells you I had fun driving it.

It’s a special kind of fun, sure. I called it a “rare bird”, and an “oddball vehicle” good for “a bit of comic relief tanking” back in 2017.

When you first drive it, you’re going to think it’s awful; it’s unwieldy, your shots won’t hit, and you will take all kinds of damage. Neither camo rating nor viewrange are very good, and you’ll be asking yourself where is the appeal, exactly?

Well, outside of having 400 alpha there isn’t a lot of it. I think for me the appeal simply came from driving a vehicle that so obviously struggles in a lot of situations and still managing to make it work once in a while. I actually ended up with a 57% winrate over 100 games.

The game has changed a lot over the last three and a half years however; there were no Smashers back then, not as many fast tanks, not as much IS-spam, and not as many high alpha guns around. The climate is a lot harsher for a vehicle like this nowadays.

But kitting the Blaze out and driving a few games today, it’s still fun. Awkward, but fun. I try to stay close to the action and support my team, and it does sometimes work out. While not an assault vehicle, it does do 50 km/h in a straight line, so it can be relatively dynamic as long as you’re not on your own, and you have some cover to hide behind.

Do enjoy some mediocre gameplay, fresh from the press account:

*

So how do you drive the Brown Bomber?

Camping a little at the start is a good plan. You don’t want to be spotted first, and you want to hold on to your hitpoints. But you can push forward and take a position, as long as you have some company.

What kills the mobility is really getting the Blaze turned around. It does pick up speed fairly quickly, but it doesn’t like to turn, and with the awkward gun arc, this will be noticeable. You can see in the last game I miss getting a shot at the Pantera because I drive too far forward, almost falling off the ledge, and I can’t get the gun elevation to aim at it.

Do make sure you don’t outsmart yourself with the limited gun arc.

One thing that works well is sidescrape peekabooming. Not because the Blaze can actually sidescrape, but because if you back out to get the shot, you will be driving forward into cover again, which is faster. To be fair, with 40 mm of side armour you can sidescrape against lower caliber shells, but your turret armour won’t hold up.

The 400 alpha will let you trade effectively against low caliber tanks, especially if you have the hitpoints to take a hit or two, and it will make you pretty dangerous towards the endgame. But this is without a doubt a support vehicle, and there is only so much you can do on your own.

You want to hold back, but not too far back, because the shell speed isn’t great. If you have driven other D-25 armed tanks, this will be no surprise. As you don’t have a lot of armour, you will need to stay at some kind of middle distance.

And once you get the hang of how the thing manoeuvres, you can try some cheeky flanking; this is where the Blaze starts becoming fun to drive for real.

But yeah; it’s going to be a struggle. If you are looking for a competitive credit grinder, then this ain’t it.

*

By the time you read this, the event details will have dropped, and you can read all about it in the in game news.

Basically, you have 100 games to collect event currency, and you’ll need 8.900 of them to get the Blaze. That means you need to average just under 900 base XP over 100 games to get it. Note that says base XP, meaning without premium or multipliers.

My recommendation would be if you have the slightest interest in offbeat vehicles you may not end up getting a whole lot of mileage out of, then line up your highest XP tanks and make a half hearted attempt at it, but be advised I don’t think dropping a whole lot of resources on it is worthwhile.

If you get it for free, then fine. If you don’t, that’s also fine. You will at least pick up some other freebies. I hear you can get a Smasher crate with a 4% drop chance.

Personally, it’s still a “no” for me. As much as I like driving the Blaze, I still think it looks terrible, and I’m not looking to add it to my collection. I’m just here for the free resources.

But I maintain the Brown Bomber is an enjoyable drive, I always liked it in spite of the looks, and for a bit of carefree I-play-for-fun tanking, the Blaze is definitely worthwhile despite all its failings. It’s fairly useless. That means not completely useless. And it is fun.

Best of luck in the event!

“Dynamic” Tank Destroyers And You

Assault Tank Destroyer

By:

IrmaBecx

The “Baby Foch”

So I came up driving Tank Destroyers. Not saying I was any good at it, but it was what I liked to drive before I got into Heavys, and later Medium tanks.

I drove the old German TD line all the way up to the Jagdtiger, but I was never interested in the Jägeru because it was just too big and slow and bulky. I started up the new German TD line, but lost interest when I got to the Nashorn.

Then the French TDs came along, and it was sort of a revelation for me. These were Tank Destroyers that didn’t have to be either slow and armoured or fast and flimsy, and you didn’t have to camp at the back in them; you could push forward with the Mediums, trade shots with Heavy tanks, and just generally have a more engaging drive.

After I got the Foch, I had developed a taste for this style of tank, and so I figured I’d get a Russian as well. I had been driving both the Hillbilly Tenk and the Yolo Wagon on my press account and really liked them both, but I just couldn’t bring my self to drive the hateful IS/ISU-152 or the ugly looking Object 704, and so the choice was simple, really.

Yolo Wagon it was.

Then the Chinese came along, and if the Foches and SU:s and the 263 were like turretless Mediums, the WZ-113G FT was more like a turretless Heavy tank. You could still push forward and bounce some shots, but it wasn’t as fast, and it turns like a boat. I was sceptical at first, but being a fan of the rest of the Chinese tech tree I decided to risk it, and it turned out fine in the end.

Most recently I grinded out the Ho-Ri III, which was basically a no brainer for me.

But what it is about these tanks that make them such a good fit? Why do I like them so much when I’m not really all that interested in Tank Destroyers?

*

It’s not completely true I’m not interested. It’s just I’m only interested in this one specific type. Turrets? Boring. Huge doom cannons? Yawn. Superb accuracy for across the map sniping? Give me a break.

All I want is a box with some frontal armour and a gun sticking out if it.

If I had my druthers, I prefer a slightly lower caliber, faster firing weapon. I like it to do maybe 50 km/h, and if it turns on a dime, then I’m really happy. If you think that sounds a lot like the AMX 50 Foch, then you’re absolutely right.

I love the cut down IS-7 hull of the Yolo Wagon 263, the fiercely angled front plate of the Foch, and the new 149 mm weapon of the Ho-Ri. But it’s not really the tanks themselves that interest me; it’s what they can do. The possibilities they engender in terms of gameplay.

Simply put: brawling, bouncing, and flanking is what I like.

*

So how do you drive something like this?

I want to say “aggressively”, but again, that’s not the whole truth. Perhaps “actively” is the better word?

The whole point is being able to push forward and get involved; not having to rely so much on the rest of my team doing the right things in order to be successful. Having mobility means you don’t have to commit to one side of the map; you can quickly go where you are most needed.

Even an assault Tank Destroyer is basically a support vehicle, but it can also be the spearhead in a favourable matchup. Having frontal armour means you can hold a position and tank some damage; all you need is people to stick with you so the enemy can’t flank and get at your sides.

If you’re not the top dog on your team, you can go off on the sidelines and help clear out scouting Lights and Mediums, or dig out other support vehicles from their flanking positions.

In a more philosophical sense, I also like the lopsided balance of a turretless vehicle. You have all this strength and firepower at the front, but past something like 30 degrees, you are almost completely defenceless. Your armour won’t bounce shells, and you can’t point the gun at someone to shoot back.

This is the reason I run the track upgrade and dual repair kits.

It means your gameplay becomes more linear; almost myopic. I’ve said before it’s like trying to draw a flower with a straight edge, end learning to play within these strict limitations is more fun, more engaging, and in the end it makes you a better driver. It stands to reason, if you can drive a tank without a turret really well, you can drive one with a turret even better.

*

Back when the Foch came out, the Bias-7 was still considered a serious threat. You may know I’m not exactly enamoured with it, and it is of course after having struggled against them.

My new Foch (155) was just as formidable an opponent from straight ahead, but from the sides, no one would bounce shots inexplicably off your biased armour. Originally, I wasn’t very fascinated by the 155 mm gun, but I found the longer reload and higher alpha actually suited the gameplay at tier X better, and of course it could punch straight through those IS-7:s I had been so worried about before.

I could have gotten a bigger gun and done the same thing much earlier, but the tradeoffs involved just didn’t interest me. The Foch however was like the very antithesis of Russian bias.

I had been watching people drive the Object 263 and get away with the most ludicrous game plans, plowing straight through their enemies, seemingly by sheer force of will and dumb luck, and it taught me something very important about Russian bias.

The Yolo Wagon is basically an IS-7 cabriolet, so really, I shouldn’t be a fan. But the open top design and strictly forward facing power makes it so different as to be virtually incomparable.

Russian bias, I learned, is to be found at the very edges of performance. You can’t sit at the back, hide behind your team and hope to reap the benefits; you have to put yourself out there to allow the bias to come into effect. If you’re not charging straight for the enemy, you’re not going to bounce dozens of shells. If you’re not firing on the reload, you’re not going to hit those one in a million shots, and if you don’t go head to head, you’re not going to win that brawl against all odds on just a handful of hitpoints.

Russian bias is real, and it does work. You just have to give it the opportunity to work for you.

The other Object; the 268, works similarly. People used to sit at the back in them, which I never understood. I mean it goes almost 50 km/h. It’s not actually an IS-7 variant; it was based of the tier IX IS-8, also known as the T-10. The choice is pretty much between a 130 mm and a 152, and between a flat front plate and an IS-style pike nose.

The log spoiler is why we call it the “Hillbilly Tenk”, and after the latest round of buffs especially, it’s certainly a very strong contender. If you can drive a pike nose Heavy, the 268 may very well be for you, and there is one more important tradeoff: the 263 only has four degrees of gun depression, where the 268 has seven.

Personally, I feel confident I made the right choice, and if I was considering getting the 268 also, that all became academic when the Chinese TD line came out.

I have to say I was suspicious. The top tier vehicles looked a lot like upscaled versions of the ISU-152. But I fell in love with the drawn-by-a-five-year-old look of the 113G FT, and basically grinded it out of sheer pig headedness. I wanted to drive that big, boxy, stupid looking thing so bad, even though it was just about the most expensive TD in the game in terms of XP.

My main worry wasn’t the look, however; it was the speed. 38 km/h is definitely at the bottom end of acceptability for me, any less and you could hardly call it “dynamic”.

Chinese tanks don’t actually weigh that much, even well armoured ones. They just have the armour where it counts, and so they get up to speed fairly quickly, and they are faster than people expect. The thick front plate gives you satisfying bounces, but you need to use everything at your disposal to make the tank work.

In a nutshell; the armour is useless without the mobility, the mobility won’t do you any good if you can’t shoot back, and doing so is meaningless if you can’t bounce the return shot. One might also say you cannot rely on any one feature to get you through, you have to use all of them in order to be successful.

This may sound like a lot of work when you could just be driving something faster, or more well armoured. But all “dynamic” Tank Destroyers work the same way to a degree, and it makes for a more engaging, more rewarding playstyle. Just as driving Heavy tanks taught me a lot about driving Mediums, the WZ-113G FT taught me a lot about driving my other Assault TDs.

I’ve written about the Ho-Ri III very recently, so I’ll not get long winded. Again you have the frontal armour, the the firepower concentrated in a small cone in front of you, and the excellent mobility. It’s a lot like a tier X Jagdpanther II or SU-101. It’s not very different from a Foch or a 263, but it has some unique features, and it definitely adds a little diversity to the assault TD segment.

*

So who should drive this style of tank?

For me, driving Medium tanks is the backbone of my playstyle, and paradoxically, that’s why I drive these Tank Destroyers. They allow me to expand on Medium gameplay using a different set of tools; is some ways they are much stronger, and in others a lot weaker.

I actually wrote about using the Jagdpanther II as a sort of Medium/Tank Destroyer hybrid way back in 2017.

As a Light or Medium driver, you trade agility for armour and straight ahead firepower. As a Heavy tank driver, you would trade firepower and sometimes speed for all around armour protection and having a turret.

But the main reason would always be diversity, in some sense or other. Coming from turreted tanks, you will be able to do some of the same things you did before, but not all. You can still push forward, you can still hold a position, and you can still brawl. You just can’t shoot at someone over your shoulder.

There is also the much simpler approach of driving these tanks for their own sake. You may think the new Ho-Ri, or the old Foch look super cool, and that’s why you want to drive them. You may not be looking for a new challenge, but simply for a new tank; a new look on the battlefield.

I’ve not discussed the lower tier tanks here, but fortunately it’s easy to find out if you are a Foch or a Yolo Wagon type of person. You simply start up the line. Most of these TD branches are fairly coherent. You could also drive something like a Jagdpanther, an SU-100, or a T25 AT which all have the same basic playstyle.

Tank Destroyers don’t have to be campy, they don’t have to be flimsy, they don’t have to be slow, or have a glacial reload between massive shells.

They also don’t have to be turretless, but for me, that makes them more interesting, and the tradeoffs are almost always worth it.

If you are struggling without a turret, then don’t sweat it. Casemate tanks are not for everyone.

But I do think they have something to teach everyone, and I recommend you at least give them a try. You may end up being pleasantly surprised, just like I was.

Everyone stay safe at home, see you on the battlefield!

WZ-120-1G FT Is Back!

The Huntress Prowls

By:

IrmaBecx

So I just learned the Huntress is back in store. I also heard it’s even more expensive this time than last time. And yeah, you get the nine equipment slots, but it’s still a pretty bare bones bundle.

Still, it is a straight up bundle, and you get exactly what you pay for, which as a business practice I have no problem with. Yes, I think it’s hilariously expensive. But I have paid those extortionate prices myself before, and over the years I’ve felt it was worth it.

In fact, I paid for this very tank the minute it was released, and I never regretted it. But I think in order for you to make the same successful purchase, you need to understand what it is you are paying for.

*

The WZ-120-1G FT is a monster. A tier IX Medium with a tier X gun disguised as a tier VIII Tank Destroyer, which is why they couldn’t get away with it having a turret.

I always loved thanks like that; fast and agile Tank Destroyers with powerful fixed guns, epitomised by something like the Object 263 or the new Autoloader Foch (155). And for that reason alone the WZ-120 Fake Tank acquisition was a knee jerk reaction on my part; anyone could see that as dynamic Tank Destroyers go, this will very likely be the very best.

And it is. The Huntress is the best turretless Medium tank in the game. The hype is real. I never denied the thing is quite frivolously balanced, I just said I was completely fine with that because it doesn’t have a turret, and there are limits to how overpowered a turretless tank can be.

So this is the first thing you need to understand. Yes, this tank is the very best. But it is the best in a very specific, and fairly narrow segment that doesn’t get talked about a lot, and that not a lot of people usually show much interest in.

It’s a monster, yes. In a small wedge shaped area in front of it.

*

The first thing to like about the WZ-120-1G FT is the excellent mobility. It will easily keep up with Mediums, and chases down Light tanks if they try to run. You have excellent traverse numbers to keep that wedge shaped area of overpoweredness pointed in the right direction.

The second thing to like is the tier X weapon. This is not some tier VIII D-25 knockoff; this is a bona fide high tier weapon, almost straight off the WZ-121, pushing out 3000 DPM. It’s accurate, fast firing, and hard hitting; it even points down six degrees, which is good cor a Chinese tank.

The third thing to like is the huge slab of armour across the front of it, 120 mm of flat, severely angled front plate that is super easy to learn how to use.

There are a few other things. It’s low to the ground. It has something like the third best camo in the game.

And that’s basically it. That’s what you get for your hard earned cash.

*

So should you buy one?

Well, if you are a person of means, and you have been waiting to get a hold of this particular tank, then yes; go right ahead. Sure, it’s expensive, but it’s going to do everything it says on the box.

If you heard the thing was OP, and you are afraid of getting left behind in the premium tank arms race, then you needn’t worry. The WZ-120-1G FT is powerful yes, but it takes quite a bit of skilful driving to make it devour entire teams on its own.

If you blunder straight into the red herd, you will be disintegrated, same as always. What you want to do is put your powerful strengths in the most beneficial position; out on the flanks, where the fight will be even more unfair against your enemies.

If you want to play support from the back, there are better premiums to fill that role, or you can do just as well in the tech tree with a higher caliber. But if you want to play close support, blitz through flanks, catch lumbering enemies by surprise, rush around the battlefield to get a beneficial angle, then that’s the kind of stuff that might make you want to consider the WZ-120 Fake Tank; if you want to drive a rampant Tank Destroyer, just like the ad copy says, then this is the one.

*

I bought three Chinese premiums in a fairly short while; this was around a year ago. The WZ-111 Heavy tank, the T-34-3 Medium, and the WZ-120-1G FT.

Ironically for a self confessed “Medium driver at heart”, I’ve driven the T-34-3 the least; around 270 games.

The TD and Heavy tank have both done close to 400 games, and they’ve both been about as successful as the other in terms of statistics. The Tank Destroyer does put out a little more damage.

So, in essence, I got just as much mileage out if a regular IS-spam tank as I did from the “super OP” WZ TD? I can’t really argue against that. I love my WZ-111 too, but for a different reason; because it’s the perfect IS spam tank for me.

There is just no denying the WZ-120-1G FT is the more dynamic vehicle, and I enjoy that. But it’s not going to be overpowered all on its own; it takes some clever driving in order to excel. Having said that, it does maintain excellent stats after a few hundred games driven; there’s no denying it’s a powerful tank either.

*

So the Huntress is prowling, and she is prowling for you.

Or, rather, prowling for your wallet.

Wargaming know there are still people out there who didn’t pull the trigger last time they had the chance and now wish they had. The price is set accordingly, and yes; for a tier VIII premium, it’s practically astronomical. Also you only get two days to decide.

If you are a newer player and you are afraid of missing out, then don’t sweat it. this is not a very noob friendly tank, and it’s still a hot item. By the time you feel ready to grapple with a turretless Medium tank at tier VIII, it will likely have dropped in price significantly.

If you didn’t get it last time and wish you had, then here’s an opportunity. But likewise, the longer you hold out, the less you will end up paying. At the moment, you will still be paying the exclusivity tax on the WZ TD.

Is it going to be worth it?

Maybe. I think the WZ-120-1G FT is a fantastic tank, and it certainly has the numbers to back those feelings up.

But this is still a fairly niche vehicle, and so IrmaBecx says make sure you have the driving ability to match it.

WZ-120-1G FT – Huntress Hype Is Real

WZ-120 1G FT – So Much Yes?

WZ-120 1G FT; Short Answer – “Yes”!

By:

IrmaBecx

So the beast is back. The “Chinese Huntress” , they call it now. And Wargaming aren’t shy about boasting it’s power:

“Repel shells with thick sloped armour and change position swiftly.

Turn enemies into ashes with a powerful tier X gun and farm credits!

Rush into battle with a rampant Chinese Tank Destroyer!”

The amazing thing is, none of that is hyperbole. Every single word checks out.

Wargaming know that, and so this is not a cheap bundle. It’s as hilariously expensive as the Type 59 used to be, and for the same reason. They know people want it.

And looking at it, that may seem a bit strange. What’s so special about a Tank Destroyer that people would even consider paying this kind of money? All you are getting is the tank and nine slots of equipment, plus of course the latest gold noob avatar.

What you see when you look at it, is a tier VIII SU-122-44, and since the SU has been power creeped, that doesn’t seem very exciting. What you don’t see, is that this is actually a tier VIII T-54 with an IS-8 gun on it, minus the turret. And that is very exciting.

I call these tanks “turretless Mediums”, and there aren’t a lot of them. Tank Destroyers that move fast, traverse fast, shoot fast, and bounce shells off the front, and because they can do all these things, they allow what you might call a more dynamic playstyle. They can do the same things Medium tanks do, except move the gun around 360 degrees. I like those tanks a lot.

And so when I saw the stats on the new WZ-120 1G FT, I knew what to look for. It does 50 km/h, check. It has good frontal armour, check. It has excellent firepower, check. In fact, even with calibrated shells, you should be well under a nine second reload.

It has 40 degrees of traverse.

Sold.

Looking at the numbers, it quickly became clear the WZ-120 1G FT is probably the best turretless Medium in the game.

*

You may not be an unrepentant Medium tank driver, which is of course fine. If you are used to a more traditional TD playstyle, the WZ is still going to do you lots of favours. You will reach TD positions faster, you’ll have a sturdy front plate to hide behind, and with the excellent gun stats of your tier X 122 mm, making the shots count is pretty easy.

This is the gun off the tier X WZ-121 Medium tank, and they didn’t tune it down a lot. In fact, in some respects it’s noticeably sharper, and no TD or Heavy tank with a comparable weapon at tier VIII is going to beat your reload.

As far as I recall, the camo rating is among the top five in the game; either way it’s excellent. Chinese TDs have some of the best camo ratings you’ll ever see. This one is also low to the ground and viciously mobile, which combined with the massive firepower makes for a truly dangerous tank.

I want to say it takes a bit of an experienced driver, but it’s not really all that hard. You can punch through most anything with standard rounds, you can get 250 mm of effective frontal armour with a little angling, and you can brawl Medium tanks with your excellent traverse if you have to.

Or want to.

More correctly perhaps, the WZ-120 1G FT benefits from an experienced driver, because they will be able to take full advantage of it’s strengths. It shows too; the thing has a 60% average winrate on Blitzstars.

*

So the WZ is perhaps the strongest tier VIII premium tank in the game, and it’s no secret. That’s what you will be paying for.

Is it worth it?

On the one hand, yes. This is a monstrously powerful tank. I’m not going to pretend that wasn’t a consideration when I bought mine. But that’s not why I bought it; I bought it because I really like fast casemate Tank Destroyers, and so having a premium like the WZ makes all the sense in the world for me.

On the other hand, of course not. Fifty Euros is a lot of money, and you want to make sure you know exactly what you are buying. Sooner or later, the novelty will wear off and the tank will be sold in cheaper and cheaper bundles. Time is on your side. 

Also, there are plenty of tanks in the game that are really strong, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I drive them. Even if the WZ-120 Fake Tank was the absolute best tank in the game, you might not feel comfortable without a turret, and so it would always be the wrong tank for you.

I may not be the best person to ask. I think the bundle is too expensive, and so I wouldn’t recomment you buy it. And yet, I myself did buy it, at the same price. That may strike you as somehow dishonest; you might think I want the WZ all to myself or something.

That is not the case; I just think you should know what you are getting yourself into. The WZ-120 1G FT is a complete monster; it’s a beast, a rampant Chinese Tank Destroyer, just like the ad says. But is that really what you want? Are you seriously going to spend fifty Euros on a tank without a turret?

The inner adult says “no”. That’s insane.

But the inner five year old says “yes”. I want to plow into hapless paper tanks doing fifty. I want to brawl Heavys and Medium tanks and get hilarious bounces off the front plate. I want to punch through tier IX armour effortlessly, and turn my enemies to ashes, and farm credits in a rampant Chinese tank destroyer!

The short answer is “yes”. That’s the immediate, visceral reaction. So much “yes”. But before you act on it, do consider the longer answer, which is “no; it’s too expensive”.

Chinese TDs Evaluation Part II

Chinese TD Line Evaluation II: Tiers IX – X

By:

IrmaBecx

As I’m starting this, I have almost 100K XP left to grind before I actually finish the grind; this is the part where most other tier X grinds are over.

But these are some of the most straightforward tanks in the game, and no amout of slogging is going to teach me very much about them except positioning and nuances. Philosophically speaking, the case is closed.

The Chinese TD line is a solid bet. It doesn’t falter towards the end; it’s strong all the way through.

That doesn’t mean go out and grind it, and I’ll try my best to explain why, but it does mean you aren’t risking anything by doing it except the time, effort, and resources. If you want a big box with a big gun sticking out of it, then here it is.

The two top tier tanks have pretty much nothing to slow them down that isn’t familiar to anyone with the least bit of experience, like lower plates and somewhat limited mobility. Their stats aren’t super exciting, but there’s nothing really bad about them either.

*

You just need to look at the two tanks to understand what they are all about. Frontal armour and firepower. End of story. And then it’s all up to you to try and figure out the best way to put them into action.

At tier IX, the 152 mm feels a little too big for the tank, and it’s not always a hundred percent. You will miss and bounce shots inexplicably, but it’s all within reason for a tier IX Tank Destroyer.

At tier X, the weapon is a lot more solid; it’s still a repurposed old artillery piece, but it doesn’t get a lot better than this iteration.

The two chassises are pretty much the same thing at different tiers based off a tier VIII/IX and X Heavy tank respectively. The move like you’d expect from a Chinese Heavy weighed down by a big cannon. But they don’t weigh all that much, and if you drop the hammer, they will actually leave a lot of other tanks in the dust.

They’re not fast. But they’re more mobile than you expect, especially if you run a speed boost. That will help both with relocation and brawling; consider running the ninth equipment slot to get either longer duration or a shorter cooldown. Both make a difference.

The frontal armour is enough to bounce the biggest guns in the game if used properly, and you really want to pull back straight instead of at an angle. Side armour gets weak with minor angling, and you don’t have fantastic traverse numbers.

But again, neither mobility nor protection is substandard. It’s just neither is a standout feature.

And here is sort of the main point. The WZ-111G FT and 113G FT don’t really have any standout features at all. They are what they are, they work like you’d expect them to, and they’re not hard to learn how to drive.

I just think there are other Tank Destroyers at tier IX and X that are more focused on one particular feature, that are stronger in certain regards, and that are perhaps more flamboyant and exciting. I think you should shop around a bit before considering these two.

*

But let us not focus on caveats, but on positives. Because if all you want is that big box with a gun, then you there’s a lot to like about the Chinese options.

Utility notwithstanding, driving a high tier Tank Destroyer is fun. My preference is not running a 150 plus caliber weapon, but I do enjoy a good one. If you cut them a little slack, these two are both great weapons.

152 mm is basically tier average for a tier X TD. And even with the penalties, having it at tier IX means you can smash through the casemate of a Jägeru, the cheeks of a Maus, or the turret front of an E100. It’s basically an elephant gun. And all that happens when you grow up to tier X, is you hold the thing a little more steady and fire it off faster.

The standard AP rounds will punch through most anything as long as they actually hit. If you need more, your HEAT penetration is outstanding, but the joy of running a high caliber weapon is having a really useful HE round. I use them all the time to finish off low health targets and punish hull down tanks.

You wouldn’t think so, but these are actually some of the sneakiest TDs in the game, only the Russians have better camo values. They have kind of tall casemates, but they’re not actually that big, and you do have the front plate to hide behind when you get spotted.

Having a slab of armour in front means you can play the Chinese variations a little closer to the action, and I really like that. Being able to throw a spanner in the works for the trundling hordes of big armour. You still need to work from cover, reset camo, and trade distance for damage, but the big TD Weazels are by no means defenceless when pushed on. Sometimes your best bet is just going for the throat.

Working with simple tools means your gameplay comes into focus, and it doesn’t get much simpler than this. It’s just basic close support TD gameplay, and that’s fun too. Sitting at the back in these tanks is wasting opportunities; you have everything you need to move up and chase the damage.

If you are a master camper already, then all you are going to struggle with is shell velocity and accuracy, and the speed is more than enough to reach camping spots nice and early. I just don’t have the patience for it. Staying at range will also make your armour more effective, but you aren’t really going to trade shots very effectively past something like 150 meters unless your target is stationary.

It doesn’t take very long to get comfortable in these machines, they’re not hard to drive. They will deal with most situations pretty comfortably, as long as you don’t get caught out, push too far forward, or get caught in crossfire.

*

It’s hard to say what it is exactly that I find so appealing about the high tier Chinese TDs, but I suppose it’s not simply one single aspect.

Not having a definite strength to base your gameplay around can feel disappointing, but it can also be liberating. When you have a good game, it’s not because the tank is especially powerful, it’s because you drove it properly, and took advantage of everything it has to offer to get you there.

I honestly thought the Chinese TDs would get less and less exciting the further up the line I got, but that just didn’t happen. They are powerful, they are easy to drive, and they can take chunks out of the toughest opponents you will come across in the game. I have to say I’ve been pretty impressed with them, despite their simple design.

My main caveat remains just that. These aren’t very complicated tanks, and there’s nothing about them you can’t tell by just looking them over. They really are just big boxes with big guns sticking out of them.

If you understand that, and you are sure that is what you want, then I have no problem recommending the Chinese TD grind. If you are looking for something different, then I don’t think you’ll be looking at these tank in the first place.

*

Finishing up, I got the WZ-113G FT researched, bought, crew trained, and decked out in the Jade Shards camo just like my WZ-121 and WZ-113. I stripped a few tier IX and X tanks of ammunition and equipment to raise the credits, and now I am getting it kitted out with equipment.

Not going to drive a tier X tank without Vstabs, which means I need to raise around 1.4 million more credits before I can start rebuilding my credit buffer and actually drive the thing.

I drove it a little on the press account just now, but it’s just not the same. Can’t wait to drive my own 113G FT, on my own account.

And that tells me I made the right decision. I wanted to drive a big, dumb Tank Destroyer, and now I can. It’s also proven to be more fun than I anticipated. Yes, it’s a long grind, but I would say worth it in the end; all the TDs have been pleasant new acquaintances, and learning to drive them all I feel has been rewarding.

If you want to get into some basic Tank Destroyer gameplay, you could do a lot worse than going for the Chinese option. These tanks are all well balanced, powerful vehicles, and none of them is especially hard to drive. You may not fall head over heels like I have, but there is certainly a lot of joy to be had from these simple tools.

Simple and deadly.

They say Medium drivers perform a little better on average when they switch to Tank Destroyers, and I’m sure that’s true. But I also think there is a synergy between Mediums and TDs, where the playstyles complement eachother, and I believe if you are looking to expand your capabilities as a Medium tank driver, then a casemate TD is the way to go. When you get tired of bouncing shells off armoured behemoths and are looking to upgrade your firepower a little, a casemate TD can be the answer.

But why these ones?

There’s no real answer. The best I’ve come up with is: why not?

See you people out there. I’ll be in the big, dumb box with a gun sticking out of it.

The WZ-113G FT Experience!

WZ-113G FT First Impressions

By:

IrmaBecx

If you’ve stuck with the Chinese TD line, in the end you’ll be rewarded with the inimitable tier X WZ-113G FT; perhaps the fakest tank there ever was.

I can’t wait. I think it’s marvellous. The tier IX never really moved me in the same way, but this one I just instantly wanted to drive.

Not going to lie, the thing isn’t going to win any beauty contests. It really is as basic as tank design can possibly get, and I do think it looks terrible. But still, in the context of things, it does have a kind of brutal elegance; sort of like the E50 M does, only not as pretty. It follows the same recipe a lot of tier IX and X tanks do.

You will forgive me if I say it’s a little sleeker than the 111G FT; because it’s certainly not sleek. But the overall shape is more refined; streamlined in search of more efficiency.

Yeah, it’s pretty much the exact same tank a tier higher.

The tier X doesn’t ride on a tired old tier VIII Heavy tank chassis, this is based off the tier X 113. For my money, you can’t get a better Heavy tank at tier X, and it lugs around the 152 mm weapon with a little less effort. It’s still not a fast tank, topping out at 38 km/h. Traverse is a little better, but it’s still not very agile. It doesn’t lumber like the Jägeru, but it’s definitely no Foch (155).

So what’s so great about it?

Well… nothing, really. Stats put it somewhere around the Foch and the Object 268 in terms of strength, and honestly, I think both those tanks are better than the WZ-113G FT. I don’t expect it to be an outstanding performer. It doesn’t have any tricks up it’s sleeve. It’s just a big, dumb Tank Destroyer; and I just happen to think it’s fantastic. 

I don’t think it will perform fantastic. I just think it is fantastic.

*

So you’ll still have strong armour that’s totally weak if you overangle it or they get at your sides, and you still have a tier X 152 mm with the same penetration numbers, only DPM and gun handling are both better.

It’ll be like changing up a gear on the tier IX. That’s about what you can expect.

Me, I am expecting something else. I am expecting the tank to come into it’s own at tier X, and a lot of that I am sure is just wishful thinking. But I’ve put my faith in a big gun poking through a thick front plate before without being disappointed.

And I would hate to see someone else feel disappointed after slugging their way through what is a long and arduous grind, but I don’t really see how anyone could mistake the 113G FT for anything other than exactly what it is. It’s a patently simple design, nothing at all obscure about it.

And that may be all wrong for you. In fact, unless you see something special in the WZ-113G FT; something that others just don’t seem to understand, I wouldn’t recommend you grind it.

There are better Tank Destroyers at tier X, and it’s not that there’s anything wrong with this one. It’s just there’s also really nothing to recommend it.

Except, you know; being new. And Chinese.

*

I’ve just passed the halfway point, and I am taking a little break, rewarding myself by driving the press account tank for a bit.

Rolling out, it’s uncanny how much the tier X resembles the tier IX, I kind of wish it didn’t resemble it so much, because the mobility doesn’t feel very much improved.

It’s not. Both tanks are about as fast. Or slow, if you like.

But again, it’s not all that slow; it will outrun some Heavy tanks. I’ve been experimenting with my setup a little; common sense dictates you run improved controls on a TD to max out the traverse, but I tried engine boost also. The difference is only one degree of traverse, and the tank does feel a little friskier with the extra 45 horses. In the end, it’s more a difference in feel than in actual performance.

I also tried running longer lasting consumables on the ninth slot so I’ll get a longer speed boost. Again, you won’t get a lot of mileage out of adrenaline, although you will likely blow it every game anyway. I opted for speedboost instead, and I find that a lot more useful.

The armour profile is a little sturdier, but it still works the same. The whole tank is very linear; you always want to work along straight lines to stay out of crossfire.

Weaponry is a definite upgrade, although it’s still the same gun. It’s markedly more accurate, and the 12 and change second reload is more comfortable to work with. But it’s still nowhere near a long range weapon; you really don’t want to be taking shots past 150 meters if you can help it.

So linear positions, and you also need space. If you’ve driven Chinese Heavy tanks, you’ll know what the 113 hull is like; it doesn’t turn so well, and it takes a while to get it going, especially on a slope. The 113G FT moves the same way, it has just enough mobility do do it’s job.

All very Chinese feeling.

*

But what’s is like to drive?

Well, it may be a big, dumb beast of a tank, but it’s not some kind of monster. Again you have the balance of protection, agility, and firepower, and you have to use all of them to get the job done.

There are a few things it does well, like punching through thick armour, and bouncing shots off the front plate. But it doesn’t like multiple opponents, especially not at multiple angles, and it’s not super fast, but it does move around.

And that’s what I find I like about it. The fact it’s about as simple as you can get in terms of design makes it’s strengths and weaknesses clearer. All the abilities at your disposal are immediately apparent, and once you step out of your comfort zone and try to stretch your legs a little, you will find you do have all the tools you need.

Let’s be clear. The WZ-113G FT is not the best Tank Destroyer at tier X. If I just wanted to drive something powerful, I would go French or Russian. Again, I also recommend you try something different for your first tier X TD.

But it is a great drive. I like it. I like the way it drives.

And I realise “nothing’s wrong with it” isn’t a great sales pitch, but this tank really doesn’t have a standout feature. It doesn’t work like that. The more comfortable I got with the tank, the more I came to appreciate how well balanced it is. It’s not fancy, but it’s well executed. Straightforward. The learning curve is pretty short.

You need to try and push the abilities of the WZ-113G FT in order to make it work, and that also means stretching the limits of your gameplay. You need to plan ahead so you don’t get stuck in a bad spot, follow the flow of battle to stay effective. Having a bit of frontal armour means you can move closer to the action, and in the right position, you can take on the biggest bullys in the game.

I struggle to express what I feel is so great about the WZ-113G FT, it’s just a good fit for me. There’s nothing special about it, and in a sense I suppose that’s what makes it so special to me, because it puts my gameplay into focus. It’s reminiscent of many TDs, but there’s no other quite like it.

*

I’ve said this before, but if you look at these tanks and all you see are carbon copies of other tanks, then get those other tanks instead. This is the joint most expensive tier X tank to grind in the game; you’ll want to make sure it’s the one for you.

But the only other negative is the tank isn’t really all that special. Not very novel. No bells and whistles. It’s certainly powerful enough. Just not very innovative.

It doesn’t take long to figure out what kind of positions work well, and which engagements you want to favor.

I like the close support playstyle, I like the “big dumb tank” look; the more I drive the 113G FT, the more I like it. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, if there was only something… well, to actually recommend it, or if there was some obvious category of player to recommend it to.

My feeling is, the WZ-113G FT will be an acquired taste. That’s not hard to predict; most Chinese tanks are. And it can be awkward, and fragile, and hopeless, but it can also be an extremely powerful close support tank. You can be the backbone of the team, and carry the day.

The only problem is, that’s not something unique for a tier X TD. It’s pretty much what people expect from them. And if you set your sights on this one, you’ll pretty much get what you can reasonably expect; and nothing more.

Me, I can’t wait. I wanted to drive that big dumb tank ever since I saw it was coming, and soon I will have one of my very own. That’s going to make me really happy, but I am sort of at a loss to explain precisely why. It’s just everything I wanted it to be.

The bottom line, then, goes something like this:

If you are in the market for a patently unrefined tier X Tank Destroyer, then it doesn’t get any more basic than this. It’s a long grind, but it’s not hard; all the tanks work really well, and they follow a coherent design philosophy; towards the end it’s coherent enough to be completely transparent.

Do consider your options; there are several strong performers out there already.

Having done so; if you still feel like the 113G FT is the way to go, then there’s nothing to not recommend it. Just take one last look at it, and make sure it really is the one you want.

*

I put over a hundred games on the press account WZ-113G FT, and it’s fair to say I’ve been struggling a bit. That’s not unusual at tier X.

But this is also not a tank for solo action; it’s a support vehicle through and through, and that will make you dependent on the rest of your team to some degree. You can’t just relocate and be on the other side of the map in no time, you have to plan your movements in advance, and you can’t always rely on your armour and firepower to get you out of trouble.

I tried running different setups, but in the end it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. In my experience, that’s more about tuning the tank to your preferences.

It’s pretty easy to average 2000 damage, that just means hitting three shots a game. It’s not very hard to hide behind the front plate as long as your lower plate isn’t showing. The hard part is keeping your wits about you, keeping track of the enemy team and their movements, and being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing all throughout the battle. Again, nothing unique for tier X.

And even though it’s been a bit of a struggle, I can’t stop driving it.

I still don’t know why. It’s just so big and stupid I can’t help it.

Again, that’s not exactly a rave review, but then this isn’t a fire breathing monster of a tank either. It’s perfectly reasonable. It’s everything it looks to be and nothing more. And it can be really effective, but only if your gameplay makes it so.

This is like my third attempt at writing something coherent about the visceral experience that is the WZ-113G FT, and it’s really all just repetitions of the following three propositions:

1. The WZ-113G FT is nothing special. 2. The WZ-113G FT works pretty well. And 3. The WZ-113G FT is big and stupid, and I think it’s fantastic, in part because it’s big and stupid.

Look. You could certainly do worst for your first tier X Tank Destroyer. It’s by no means rocket science to drive it. But you have to stay on your toes for it to be truly effective, and there is a certain brutalist poeticity to that. But don’t expect to find anything there beyond the big box with the gun poking out, because there really is nothing else there, and I think you have to be clear about that when you consider grinding it.

If you are, then all I can say is yeah; it’s big and stupid. It’s a great drive, and it works fine.

And it’s fantastic.

WZ-111G FT Mastery Dissection

Random Mastery Discussion

By:

IrmaBecx

So today, randomly, I managed to Ace the WZ-111G FT.

Feeling proud of myself, I uploaded the replay to the archive, and since it’s there, I thought I’d go through it and explain what I was thinking, in order to illuminate some aspects of WZ-111G FT driving.

This is the tank performing at it’s best, in spite of being driven by a noob who isn’t even sure if I actually like it or not yet:

So first off, you note both teams have some strong tanks, but nothing too bad to deal with. The one difference is, we have two strong Mediums, and I’m always going to try to support an Object 140 “Terror”. So the first plan is following our Mediums left, best case managing a quick cap of B, or failing that, C.

Seeing our Meds quickly scout the C cap area and finding it empty, I head for B to gauge my chances. Red Heavys start getting spotted at A, and an IS-7 driving past tells me I’m safe for the moment. No one should have a shot at me.

The bulk of the reds are on the other side, so my target is the Object 268 pushing forward. Sneak out and get a shot in, then back up into cover ready to take out the 268 while noting the E100 behind it. This is my next target, I know I have a 704 on my right, and that’s not going to stand up to an E100 on it’s own.

268 gets taken out, and I quickly have to switch focus to my left, seeing the reds approaching. I shoot the Chieftain Mk VI, then back up again.

By this point, there is a line forming between the two teams, and I am basically in the middle of ours. That’s not where I want to be, I want to move to the right flank and support the 704.

*

The poor think look to have taken a big hit, and seeing the E100 charging around the corner two blocks up, I move forward. I have both hitpoints and armor, so it’s better it shoots at me, so we can keep two guns in the game.

Turns out I make a good trade. I’m on a slight backward slope, optimising the armour, and the E100 doesn’t have much of a shot. It bounces off harmlessly. For once, mine flies true, effortlessly smashing through the flat turret face.

E100 backs off, and this isn’t really the position I want to be in anymore. The 704 is in cover, and I see the team calling for help on the left. I’d rather fight the E100 from two angles, but moving up there’s that Mk VI in the way, and it’s not necessarily a one shot.

It does have to go, because it’s putting our remaining Heavys in a crossfire, and they’re not going to last long. A tad over 700 hitpoints means an HE round could take it out, but it has to really penetrate. You’ll see me hold off changing ammo until the very last second, realising I have a straight rear shot, and won’t get a better one if I tried.

The HE round penetrates clearing the Mk VI, and I take a return shot from it’s allies for my trouble, so it’s time to back off.

The E100 has of course taken the opportunity to push our 704, and this is a risky move, because chasing after it, I am passing open ground and the reds will have shots at me.

I’m hoping they’ll be occupied with my team, or that my camo will save me or something, and no one fires at me. The 704 is sadly beyond salvation, but has left the E100 a one shot, and it is now a threat to our caps.

I need to take it out, and so of course the first shot bounces. I should be able to take one 15 cm hit if I have to, and start backing off to get cover. But here is where your best bet is going forward, with a bit of distance my lower plate is exposed, but moving closer I can get under the gun of the tall E100, leaving nothing much but the huge gun mantlet to shoot at, and the massive shot bounces again.

Still, I would have taken the damage to clear a tier X tank, and I would have gotten away with it. My next shot takes out the E100.

*

You will note I’ve not been far away from the B cap all game, and I knew what I was doing risking an early cap. The counter ticks over 1000, and it’s a win, just as my last remaining teammate falls.

It’s the Mastery. It’s a 1200 XP Mastery, which is pretty cheap, but I was still satisfied with my driving. You’ll also see me get a few charges out of the speed boost throughout; that’s a really useful consumable.

You’ll see me get a few lucky bounces, but I have also put myself in positions to get lucky. Backing away after clearing the Chieftain is the classic return shot failure; I’m too far out, and so when I turn to reverse into cover, the angled side plate and side of the huge gun mantlet flatten out, and are easy pens for most anyone. If I had just reversed, that would have bounced for sure.

You might have argued I didn’t do enough to support the left flank, but if I had, I think I would have had to trade more hitpoints, and we would have been flanked from the right. You have to know your limitations, and in an environment like this, you could be halfway around the block with your camo reset after 15 seconds of reload, ready to pop up unannounced.

But yea, a win is a win. We established map control early on, and kept it through the game; all we had to do was fend them off. It’s not always people will play Supremacy in this way; they will attack unnecessarily, or people won’t react to the red team pushing in force on one flank.

Dynasty’s Pearl is not my ideal map for this tank, but the game does I think show off some of it’s features. The mobility is good for such a slow tank. The front plate sometimes bounces big guns. And you can go after big game like tier X SuperHeavys, but you don’t want to do it alone, and if you can help it not straight from the front.

You will also have to expect the gun to let you down once in a while, missing or bouncing easy shots. Make sure you don’t gamble too much on each hit; sometimes I’ll not land a single shot all game. It will happen; sketchy gun handling being the main balancing factor of this tank.

*

So yeah. I think that’s quite enough patting myself on the back, and I’m happy with the golden M although it feels more like a banner of perseverance than singular achievement.

If you think the big gun chess game looks fascinating, then what you see is precisely what you get. I think making your mind up about what the WZ-111G FT is, is easy, the problem I have is what you would actually need it for.

For me, that’s not printing Masteries. It’s harassing tier X Heavy tanks and TDs, and as shown I do sometimes get away with it.

I can tell you choosing that path will significantly decrease your chances of survival, but it’s what makes lugging that huge tier X 152 mm around worthwhile for me.

You will note the stated reason is not “I enjoy the 152 mm playstyle”, and that is not an oversight. I am still a bit of a reluctant Tank Destroyer over here.

But yeah; the tank works.

The WZ-111G FT Experience

WZ-111G FT Reflections

By:

IrmaBecx

So I’ve settled well into the last leg of the Chinese TD line grind. From here, it’s all driving a fully kitted out vehicle just stacking up the XP. I’d say I have at least a couple of hundred games to go, and now it’s all about maximising performance.

Because the number one problem I am having other than getting wrecked, is making the shots count.

I regularly snap the shot off too early, don’t let the gun settle, or just have it veer off in an unexpected direction.

Hull down against an IS-8

You might say the weapon is balanced to discourage sniping. Both the accuracy and the shell speed lets it down, so you really want to be at some kind of medium range.

Chinese tank philosophy is based on Russian, but it’s not the same. And what makes Chinese tanks work, isn’t always apparent from the numbers, although they are easy enough to read.

You really need to get out there and experience them in order to fully understand, and it’s always going to be about balance. Three tank nations are all about balance, Russian, American and Chinese. American balance means jack-of-all-trades, or more pointedly perhaps; mediocricy. Russian balance is not seeing a problem with one or more categories being overbalanced, even though nothing else is bad enough to remotely compensate.

Chinese balance is about the parts working together in a particular, and very specific way. For instance, you can’t put all your trust in a Chinese 130 mm gun; it will always have to rely on the other aspects of the vehicle working in harmonious unison to function properly. And that’s the reason the actual strengths are not always immediately apparent; they need to be seen in practice to appear clearly.

*

It’s the little things. Optimisation. Being at the right range. Having adequate cover to work from. Not overangling the armour. Negating the advantages of your opponents.

And once you learn to place yourself in these advantageous positions, you’ll start being more effective; sometimes able to outplay stronger opponents.

In this, I find something falls into place. The meta isn’t going to change, and being what it is, perhaps the WZ-111G FT isn’t the worst tank I could be in right now?

The front plate can bounce the biggest guns in the game. That’s no mean feat, and it means you can put yourself in situations where a tank like the Object 704 would only have their firepower to get them out if there.

Armour beats DPM every time, as long as you actually get the bounce.

So yeah; the armour is not the main strength of the tank, but it can be a massive strength when used properly. I’m not talking about clutch bounces in the endgame; I am talking about the easy, calculated bounces you get all through the game because you sized up your opposition properly, and positioned yourself accordingly.

Same thing with the weapon. Yeah, that is a tier X gun detuned a little for tier IX, meaning first of all a longer reload. This is not a DPM gun; it’s a maximise damage gun. Not only is the premium ammo hilariously expensive, there will in actuality be very, very few instances when you actually need to use it. That’s only against the very thickest armour in the game, easy to remember.

The thing is when to get the most out of your high explosive. You may have run a 152 before, but have you run a tier X 152?

If, like me, you haven’t, then 640 alpha is a little hard to get your head around. It’s not always the HE shell will actually do much difference, simply because they just don’t have enough hitpoints left. All you are doing is giving them a chance to survive a badly placed shot, that would likely have easily gone through with the 290 pen AP.

This makes it even more important to be ready to use the HE rounds when they can actually make a difference. Three things mostly: the flimsy armour target is a given, but do make sure you can actually land the shot. 3-500 HE damage is a lot less than you could have expected from an average AP round.

Second, if you smack some hull down tryhard with it, you can hit them for like 300 damage, even if they have lots of Russian bias. Third, finishing off low health tanks can also be efficient, but again, make sure you have a reasonable chance to land the shot. Someone with just a handful of hitpoints can still bounce the entirety of an AP shell, but they’re not going to live through any kind of  HE splash damage.

*

Because of this, I had the idea I’d try some ammo upgrades, actually. I plan to run both calibrated shells and supercharge.

That puts your HE pen just under 100 mm, and the AP well over 300. The HEAT shells, hilariously at 413 mm, and remember you still get 550 alpha with that. Six thousand eight hundred credits a pop, though…

At 1190 credits, the HE shells arent exactly dirt cheap, and not that much cheaper than the 1740 credit AP rounds. It’s more a case of every little helps.

The supercharge is an even greater upgrade, bumping your shell speed up to just under 1000 m/s, and luckily, all three ammo types travel at the same speed. Your standard AP will lose less penetration over distance, and also normalise better, which AP rounds already do pretty well.

Obviously, what I am trying to do is maximise the effectiveness of the rounds. Also, the gun firing slower will hopefully encourage me to stay a little further back, which I think might be beneficial. That means “curb the yolo tendency”, yes; precisely.

That’s all in theory. I am giving up gun handling, so maybe the added shell speed will only make me miss faster? I’m already having trouble placing the shots. And after a few games, I went back to the rammer, keeping the supercharge. Few games after that, and I dropped the supercharge too, opting for the shorter aimtime.

Because gun handling is really what is holding the tank back; that’s the balancing factor, not penetration values. You can boost the pen to some hilarious numbers, but I quickly found out that doesn’t equal effective numbers. Better shell speed I feel I got the most use out of, but none of these upgrades matter at all when I can’t actually hit the target.

Back to the drawing board. The new plan is just working on positioning and trying to stay in the game.

I found out I can brawl a little, sometimes jamming the front plate is their face is your best option. The problem is what to do after that. I get 15,2 second reload with a rammer; that’s not brawling friendly. Neither is your traverse speed. The armour isn’t really for brawling either, it’s for covering you a little so you can let the gun settle. After good positional play, taking care in placing your shots is the most important thing.

I can’t help thinking the WZ-113G FT is sort of a Hype 59 in reverse. Instead of taking a tier IX Russian tank and detuning it for tier VIII, they’ve taken a tier VIII Russian tank and detuned it for tier IX.

When you take on an opponent, you need to have all your ducks in a row; you have high alpha, average mobility, good concealment, and a bit of frontal armour to help you land the shot. The way to be successful is utilising all these at once; you cannot rely on any one variable to save the day.

So although the feel of the tank is distinctly Russian, it doesn’t have nearly as much bias. It very easily could have. If it had more DPM, more armour, or more mobility, the thing would be overpowered. Even strengthening the angled sides of the front plate would make a huge difference in performance.

*

But yeah. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to do better than a second class Mastery, and looking at the recent Blitzstars numbers, the WZ-111G FT outperforms similar tanks like the 704, the Jagdtiger, Foch, and SU-122-54 in every category. Early adopters don’t seem to be struggling with it at all.

And I am not either, out on the battlefield. My struggle is philosophical. I learned a few things the tank can do, but I’ve still not gotten my head around it. I don’t always know where to go and who to support, and doing things all on my own just never seems to work out.

That’s user error. And it’s more fatal in a tank that needs a holistic rather than static approach.

You may think the tank looks nothing if not static, but it really isn’t. If this was a “sniper tank”, it would have less armour and more firepower. It doesn’t; it has frontal armour. And so the way to make the tank work is using it; or more precisely knowing when you can use it.

Being a bit of a Yolo-artist, I have sized the armour up against practically every tier IX and X gun in the game, and the reality is it sometimes works. But you really have to manoeuvre to get the best out of it, and it’s not your main strength. Neither is your derpy old 152. Definitely not your mobility.

Your strength is having a reasonably mobile, and reasonably armoured, and reasonably accurate, high alpha Tank Destroyer. That’s no surprise to me in retrospect, being a Chinese tank connoisseur. It’s just been surprisingly difficult to understand in the first place.

Creeping ever closer to the halfway point of reaching tier X, that’s about as far as I’ve come. It’s not groundbreaking stuff. The only change I did is running speed boost instead of adremaline, and carrying a few more HE shells.

Around 200 more games to look forward to, but what I’m really looking forward to is the tier X. I have the feeling the WZ-111G FT won’t see a lot of fights once I unlock that, because this is a classic example of “why would you not just drive the stronger vehicle?”

It’s not a lot of upgrades to look forward to. 500 more DPM. 30 mm of frontal armour. 300 more hitpoints. 3 Km/h, and 2 degrees of traverse. Oh, and you get much better dispersion. It’s just an upgrade of the existing vehicle; not conceptually different in any way. It’s even the same size.

But the 113G FT is the tank I wanted to drive, and I am not expecting it to be magical in any way. It’s just a big box with a gun on it, and it’s going to play the same as the tier IX, only top tier and a little more effectively.

If you like these lumbering, big gun TDs, then the tier X is going to be more of the same, and that’s a good thing. If you can drive one, you can drive the other. For me, not entirely comfortable at tier IX but performing all right, I guess I’m still hoping the WZ-113G FT is going to be something the WZ-111G FT is not. That may seem like a lot of hope to be hanging on such small changes in numbers.

 But it’s all I have. Remember the decision to grind the whole line wasn’t exactly rational in the first place.

*

Where does this leave us?

Well, the tank is solid. Even a noob like me, who has never driven a tank like this before, can make it work.

But it does take work. Working at the limits of your mobility to stay proactive, learning your armour profile, and timing your reloads.

You can of course hang out at the very back using your favourite camp sites, but then you’re not utilising the armour, and you’ll have some trouble landing your shots.

I said before I think there are better tier IX TDs, but I also said they are some of the absolute most powerful tanks in the game. And I think most people will find something to suit them long before they start eyeing this one, unless they have a particular reason to.

The WZ-111G FT does have a little, and very narrow niche all it’s own at tier IX, I’m just not sure I can imagine the kind of player it would be the perfect fit for. Except of course someone who doesn’t want to drive a Russian tank, but still wants the 152 mm experience.

I don’t know that a couple of hundred more games in the WZ is going to change my impression of it significantly. I am not expecting some kind of epiphany, or anything.

And yet; even though I don’t really have anything to say about it, I can’t seem to stop talking about it. It occupies my mind.

All I can say with any kind of confidence, is the tank works fine. The Chinese TD line doesn’t take a nose dive towards the end, it’s good all the way through.

Chinese TDs Evaluation Part I

Chinese TD Line Evaluation I: Tiers VI Through VIII

By:

IrmaBecx

So I answered a random question last night, advising someone that the first part of the Chinese TD line is a safe bet to grind.

Yeah. I though I’d stop whining about not wanting to be a camper, and try to get some perspective.

I don’t feel any remorse for my recommendation either. And so I just thought I’d assemble some general impressions and expand on why I think it’s a solid bet, even taking into account the two existing Russian TD lines.

We will not include Premiums like the ISU-130, because that way we won’t have to mention the fact the reason we own the WZ-120-1G FT is because it’s hilariously overpowered. These tanks are not that; there is basically no comparison to the Premium tank in the tech tree at all. The 120-1G FT is a turbocharged tier IX Medium in disguise with a rapid fire tier X 122 mm. Don’t expect anything like that.

But yeah. Unless you’ve done it already, the worst part of the Chinese TD grind is actually having to drive the boring Type T-34 to start it off.

*

The actual line starts off with fast, sneaky agile tanks with Ciinese Medium tank weaponry, and the higher you get, you will start trading mobility for frontal armour and tier X guns. You can pretty much tell from the stats, and my experience has not been different.

The first two tanks are pretty fast, topping out around 50 and they have really good firepower. What you’re not going to see, is the camo values are some of the best in the game. Wargaming doesn’t publish these numbers, but I am 100% sure, thanks to the tireless work of AFK veteran Frodo Nifinger. You can find his reasearch HERE ; go educate yourselves, people.

These numbers, then, are the truth:

The tier VI WZ-131G FT has almost 43% camo stationary, a tad over 26% on the move. That’s among the sneakiest tanks in the game.

The tier VII T-34-2G FT has 46.43%. That is the sneakiest tank in the game, and yes that means outperforming the E25. By almost 1%.

Thest tanks are pretty small too, especially the tier VII. I wonder where they put all those 122 mm shells it carries?

If the SU-122-44 was terrifying back in 2015, the D-25 off the T-34-2 is the new gold standard. It may be an old design, but they have done a proper upgrade, everything about it is just better. And with almost 200 mm of standard penetration, the firepower is massive.

And yes; the WZ-120-1G FT is right on the level of the tier VI. But we said we weren’t going to mention that.

So then what happens is you get a tier X 130 mm, and the thing hits hard. I mean really hard. The trade off for all this firepower, is your mobility is not at all on the same level. You also get a bit of frontal armour.

Now, you would think the added armour means you can move closer to the enemy, but that’s all wrong. The armouring doesn’t mean you can be more aggressive, it compensates your mobility. Unless you are going to execute someone, you always want to maintain distance with the WZ-111-1G FT. If you are going to fight close up, make sure it’s not against someone with high penetration values.

Once you learn to stay at a bit of range, you will find the WZ-111-1G FT is actually pretty mobile for a 35 Km/h tank. It’s not super powerful, but it is literally a Heavy tank without the turret, meaning it’s not actually very heavy.

The important thing about a 130 is that it’s not a 122. It’s not basically a 122. It’s different from a 122. A 122 always has to compentsate for not being a 130 in some way.

65 HE pen may not sound a whole lot better than a 122, but it is more reliable, and the thing is the higher alpha makes the shots worth it more often, not to mention you can smack someone for 800 damage.

You will also almost never have to fire a HEAT round in this thing. The penetration values are simply outstanding. This makes proper armour selection easier; it’s basically just AP or HE, and in a desperate situation or against Russian bias you just load the HEAT right away, because it’s so seldom.

Gun handling is also remarkably good on the tier VIII, I’ve managed some really high damage games in mine, and it’s not all that difficult. Once you get a feel for what distance you need to be at, this is a pretty easy tank to be really effective in, and although the armour is more troll than thick, it will always end up keeping you in the game longer.

*

After that, it’s another step in the exact same direction. The last two tanks in the line are nothing like the three first; like the Jagdtiger compared to the Jägeru. You have definitely gone past the line between Heavy and Super-Heavy.

The tier X is a Super Heavy TD that takes the direction of the tier VIII to it’s logical conclusion. A big box with strong frontal armour and 3000 DPM worth of tier X 152 mm. If not for the somewhar dodgy gunhandling, you’d go through every time. ANd when you have driven the first three tanks, this will all be very clear to you, and I think you will feel confident in deciding whether you want to actually finish the line.

In that sense also, I feel saying the first three tanks are a very solid proposition is true, because none of this stuff is rocket science. The tanks will all feel awkward at first, but maxed out you will have settled into their various speeds no problem. The weaponry is all strong and easy to learn, if somewhat sketchy actually putting every round on target. It’s a reasonable trade off.

*

I’ll not bore you with philosophising further, I’ll just summary the main points.

Chinese tanks are based on Russian ones. That means there will always be similarities, and if your main takeaway is that’s totally boring, then you can safely disregard them.

The constructive takeaway is once you learn the ways in which Chinese tanks aren’t as overpowered as Russian tanks; and remember we’re all in denial about the the WZ-120-1G FT, the rest of it is always going to be pretty good. It won’t be hard to learn. It’s going to work pretty well. And my experience is, beyond the super obvious shortcomings, these tanks really have absolutely nothing to slow then down.

Philosophically, you may want to just lower your expectations a bit in terms of originality. This is not ground breaking stuff. This is the destillation of stuff that really, really works. That’s all it will take.

And personally, I do enjoy Chinese tanks more than Russian ones on average, becuase they are more straightforward in their abilities, without anything really seeming completely foolproof. The very epitome of your own skill ultimately deciding your success.

IrmaBecx says I told you grinding the first three Chinese TDs is a safe proposition. They are going to be good.

I’ll stand by that.