Table of contents for World of Tanks: A Century of Armoured Warfare in Gamesmaster

The World of Tanks environment can be a daunting one for fresh commanders. Wargaming’s title is deep and difficult to master, demanding a combination of battlefield experience and statistical nous, sprinkled lightly with some historical context and old-fashioned twitch-aiming skill. The best tankers are often wily veterans of many a battle, with a symbiotic tank-human relationship and complete understanding of the surrounding terrain, but you don’t have to put in thousands of hours to compete on the field. Let us take you through some of World of Tanks’ basic ideas, demystifying the more complex concepts and giving you a sense of what you should be worrying about, and what you can work towards unlocking and mastering. We can’t stop the opposition lobbing shells at you from behind that farmhouse, but…

CLANS FAQ What is a clan? A clan is a union between players who share common aims and objectives. They always have a name and abbreviated ‘tag’. What do clans do? Socialise! Joining a clan means that you’ll always have friends to play with as well as more experienced players to help you learn the ropes. Aside from that, clans also have access to Clan Wars mode and Strongholds. What is Clan Wars? In Clan Wars, clans battle to control and protect areas of a global map. Time and resources are invested in order to secure intel and deploy units around the world. What are Strongholds? In Strongholds, each clan builds a base using special resources which can then be upgraded. These give your clan bonuses in every single battle.…

Havoc199: Himmelsdorf is a close quarters map with lots of buildings and narrow roads. Heavy tanks have a great time as this environment is perfect for them. A good example is the road to the east of the square, affectionately known as ‘banana alley’ by many players. Medium and light tanks are able to exploit undefended alleyways to flank unaware enemies and use the hill to get shots onto unsuspecting enemies below. Many fast tanks use their speed to take the hill quickly but beware, committing too many tanks to the hill can lose you the fight in the city - and the city is vital to winning the map. Tank destroyers can be successful on this map even though it’s relatively small, because there are a few key…

PANTHER DPM 1919.81 Penetration 198/244/38 Aim Time 2.21s Top Speed 55km/h Gun Depression 8 degrees Hull Armour 85/50/40 Turret Armour 120/60/60 10 SirHavoc: I must say, this tank is a joy. Play to your strengths and manage your weaknesses, do not rely on your armour too much and work your gun well: it can spit accurate fire down range every 3.63 seconds. Nikita: The Panther is one of the more iconic tanks in the game. Equipped with the long 7.5cm Kw.K. L/100 gun, it’s not only accurate but extremely fast firing, allowing you to chew up opponents quickly. NEED TO KNOW DPM: Damage per minute, factoring in reload speed and shell damage. Penetration: Values refer to standard ammo/premium ammo/HE ammo. Aim Time: The time it takes for the aiming…

ŠKODA T 40 DPM 1995.03 Penetration 145/200/44 Aim Time 2.21s Top Speed 50km/h Gun Depression 6 degrees Hull Armour 65/40/30 Turret Armour 65/40/40 5 MisterCro: The Škoda T 40 tank was created by the Škoda company under the TVP (general purpose tank) program in 1946. It’s a fast Tier 6 premium tank with a great gun. I’d say it was a good value premium tank because it costs only 3700 gold and earns a lot of credits. The T 40 uses a 8.8cm vz. 37N gun and, for its tier, this gun is brutal! It’s a good tank for aggressive players, with great DPM, speed, acceleration and a great view range. You’ll get a lot done. NEED TO KNOW DPM: Damage per minute, factoring in reload speed and shell…

SteelZenith: Malinovka is a map with long view ranges and plenty of bushes for scouts to hide in. Spotting is key, and there are plenty of areas where a scout or medium tank can do so effectively. The field between the bases is mostly a ‘no go’ zone, but a path along the south western edge can be rushed in the early game and should always be defended to prevent this from catching you off guard. Once a scout reaches the edge of the base they can easily spot any tanks still there and will be very difficult to dig out. The borders of the lake in the centre are another effective scouting location, able to spot tanks heading up to ‘windmill hill’ on the north eastern border of the…

TYPE 64 DPM 2180.52 Penetration 128/177/38 Aim Time 2.01s Top Speed 72km/h Gun Depression: 10 degrees Hull Armour 25/12/19 Turret Armour 25/12/12 5 SirHavoc: The Type 64 has really good mobility and view range making for a capable active scout tank. That twinned with 10 degrees of gun depression and a 2 second aim time means you can fulfill an harrasing role more than adequately. The downside of this tank is that it can be a little inaccurate and I sometimes find myself running out of ammo. Nikita: Fully upgraded, this is one of the best scouts in the game. It’s certainly one of the fastest and lets you get into position quickly. Don’t rely too much on the rapid firing 76mm M1A2 gun - you might be able…

Havoc199: The forest area far to the east of this open rural map is great for tanks with good gun depression and is suitable for a push with medium tanks and heavies. The far west of the map offers less cover, and is more suited to heavies that like to brawl around the corners of the hills. Tank destroyers can place themselves on the northern and southern ends of the western side of the map, or to the north and south of the forest area. These positions allow them to provide support to the team with long range fire. Light tanks can have a great impact if they use the available cover to their advantage. There is a specific ridge line at the centre of the map which is…

You’ve read about them, researched them, unlocked them, and driven them into battle: isn’t it time you got to meet a tank in person? To help you do exactly this, we’ve teamed up with The Tank Museum, Bovington to offer five pairs of tickets for next years TankFest celebration. From the 24th-25th of June 2016, the Tank Museum will host TankFest - the world’s biggest and best display of historic moving armour. This is the highlight of the museum’s calendar, treating spectators to the sight of real tanks taking part in arena displays. Alongside these, tanks and armoured vehicles from the British Army are displayed with guest vehicles from other private and national collections. There’s also loads of trade stands to explore, and your ticket includes admission to the…

The first Battle of the Marne in September 1914 saw the combined might of six French field armies and the British Expeditionary Force finally halt the progress of Germany’s Imperial Army, a stone’s throw from Paris. The furious tempo of the fighting that followed the outbreak of World War 1 less than two months before, now gave way to the grinding attrition of trench warfare, as both sides began to dig in. Battlefield tactics in 1914 had yet to catch up with the technological advances of the preceding decades. The deadly combination of barbed wire, machine guns and powerful, accurate artillery made crossing open terrain impossible without risking heavy casualties. Defensive technology on both sides had simply outstripped offensive capability, and Allied commanders worried that without fresh ideas, a decisive…

You’ve read our beginner’s guide and you’d like to see what it takes to succeed in World of Tanks. Or perhaps you’re already a player and you’ve hit a point where you could use some help to take your game to the next level. Well, this guide is for you. We’re going to take a look at what occurs over the course of a battle by putting ourselves in the shoes of those that are playing. By the end of this guide you will have an excellent idea of how to approach a match, along with understanding of the thought processes that are required to lay claim to a great score and confidently lead your team to success. We will study a range of strategies and techniques you can use…

During any one of these scenarios, if the plan doesn’t go to plan then it normally means that you’ve been destroyed and have found yourself back in your garage. In this case, it’s time to dust yourself off and carry on: but don’t be in a rush to jump into your next game. Allow yourself a few moments to review what went wrong and think about what you could have done differently - and yes, there’s always something you could have done differently. Did you take a shot? Was the tank that shot you spotted? If yes, then you could have been more aware of the danger. I like to go over some of my replays and take account of what I could have done better. The ability to watch…

CONQUEROR DPM 2383.67 Penetration 259/326/120 Aim Time 1.82s Top Speed 34km/h Gun Depression 7 degrees Hull Armour 130/50/38 Turret Armour 254/88/69  10 SirHavoc: You need to cover up this tank’s lower plate as it can be easily penetrated by the other tanks of its tier, but once you’ve found some good cover let the Conqueror’s rate of fire, aim time and accuracy do the talking. Not the most mobile heavy tank in the game but not bad either, this is fast enough to relocate to a better position enabling you to carry the game or to just get a bit more damage in. Nikita: This is a heavy tank that really excels if you can find a hull down position on the map. With frontal turret armour of 254mm and…

Havoc199: Cliff favours aggressive play. Controlling the middle area, including the ‘donut’ rock and the cliff with the lighthouse is absolutely vital if you want to win. The cliff itself is great for fast light tanks with good view range as they can spot more than half the map from up there, providing vital intel for their team. Medium tanks tend to gravitate towards the ‘donut’ rock, as this area allows for flanking shots into the centre of the map while providing good sightlines to both bases from the ridges. Heavies like to dominate the ridges and rocks in the middle area. Alternatively, if there’s a lot of artillery, heavy tanks can work their way around the far east of the map behind the lighthouse. Tank destroyers usually sit…

Havoc199: Prokhorovka is an old map and one of the few remaining that allow for effective scouting. Light tanks tend to rush west as soon as possible as there is a great selection of bushes to hide in to get intel for your team. They can also spot from the central ridge. Medium tanks can fight almost anywhere on the map. Their diverse role means that they can snipe, flank, or even do some spotting themselves. One key location for mediums is the hill in the far east. Heavy tanks can fight in the centre of the map along the train tracks, or can join the mediums in pushing the hill in the far east. It would be wise to bide your time before making pushes into the enemy…

AMX 13 90 DPM 1602.66 Penetration 170/248/45 Aim Time: 2.88s Top Speed 64km/h Gun Depression 6 degrees Hull Armour 50/20/15 Turret Armour 40/20/20 10 Nikita: The thing that makes a lot of the French tanks stand out is their auto-loading guns. The AMX 13-90 is a great medium tank at Tier 8 with its 6-shot clip delivering between 1020 and 1488 points of damage – enough to ‘single clip’ some of its opponents. Remember, though -reload time is your worst enemy. SirHavoc: The AMX13-90 is great at what it does but it often receives bad press due to its bad gun depression, accuracy, penetration and aim time. It is not meant for sniping or consistent fire. Its job is to scout and put the odd safe shot in early game…

Havoc199: Siegfried Line is a really well balanced map, allowing all classes of tank to be useful. The city is a great arena for heavies, well-armoured mediums and tank destroyers while the field supports progressive pushes by light tanks, fast mediums and sneaky destroyers. SteelZenith: This is a map of two halves: the city area in the east, and the relatively open fields in the west. As has been said, the city is a good place to head if you’re in a heavy tank, although it has a lot of streets packed into a small area and you should be cautious when advancing as there are many opportunities for the enemy to flank you. The tangle of streets can be good hunting ground for mediums, offering ambush spots and…

CHECK THEM OUT! Find the videos here Wargaming have a special interest in bringing history to life, and over the course of the last year or so they’ve collaborated with numerous partners including The Tank Museum to create a series of virtual reality video experiences. These ‘360 degree videos’ allow you to move the camera around inside a 3D space using your head or simply your mouse cursor, experiencing history as it happens around you. The first videos in the series, called ‘Virtually Inside The Tanks’, is pretty self explanatory: they’re mini-documentaries that let you see inside a range of operational tanks, learn facts about them, and even take a rider from the driver’s perspective. Then there’s the much more ambitious 1941 Battle re-enactment video, which shows you a World…

Wargaming have launched a free app for smartphones. Called Tank 100, this latest piece of mobile tech enables a set of augmented and virtual reality experiences designed to tie in with the 100th anniversary of the tank. To pull this off, they’ve worked with Ballista Digital - a pioneering producer of history apps for museums. The app lets you look through your phone camera to ‘see’ life-size tanks in the real world. Users in the UK will be able to track down stunning recreations of Mark I tanks at a hundred locations in towns and cities throughout the country. The app also provides access to virtual reality recreations of tank warfare - skip ahead to page 122 to find out more about the experiences and how they were made.…

1 BROWSE THE STORE You’ll need to load up the App Store (pictured) or Google Play and search for World of Tanks Blitz. Then, start the download. On iOS you’ll need an iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPod 5 or better. For Android you’ll need a device with a good GPU and Android 4.0 or above. 2 CHOOSE YOUR REGION This is important because it determines how smooth your connection to the game will be. Be sure to pick the region that you’re in, but if you want to play with overseas friends then you’ll need to decide on a region that suits you all. 3 CREATE A WARGAMING ID As with the PC version, you’ll need a Wargaming account to play on mobile devices. You can either log in with…

GOAL SETTING AND STRATEGIC ANALYSIS Before we jump into a game, I’d suggest that you set yourself some goals. Head to one of the many World of Tanks resource websites that can give you more information about your lifetime score. I would like you to pay particular attention to WN8, win rate, and battles survived. Win rate and battles survived are both self-explanatory, while WN8 is a bit more complicated - long story short, it’s a complicated formula that calculates your average contribution to the matches you play. The objective, at the end of the day, is to get all of these ratings to rise. If you see a rise in winrate with a low WN8 and battle survived it suggests that you are positively affecting the outcome of the…

SteelZenith: A relatively small map, Mines is one of the first maps that new players will encounter. It’s also one of the oldest maps in the game, and it holds up well at all tiers. The most important area of this map is the central hill. Capture it and you’ll give your team a huge advantage with lines of sight to large parts of the map yielding spotting and sniping opportunities. Scouts and fast mediums will often rush the hill at the beginning of the game. The village to the east of the map is where most of the heavier tanks head to brawl it out. Be cautious when pushing past this area s the raised platforms near the base provide a vantage point for snipers. The far west…

SteelZenith: This map offers ideal terrain for sniping as well as quick flanking attacks. The key areas of note are the far west and far east of the map. While tempting, the central road emerges into the open areas of the base and should not be pushed in the early game. The area to the northeast is split into two levels and is composed of mounds and hills. Medium and fast heavy tanks will generally head here. The road in the ditch can be a trap if your team is outnumbered, so only go down this way with a large force. If this area is lost, the enemy will have direct access to your base. While a blocking force can prevent the loss of the game at this point,…

T67 DPM 2248.66 Penetration 128/177/38 Aim Time 1.63s Top Speed 61km/h Gun Depression 10 degrees Hull Armour 12/12/12 Turret Armour 25/12/12 10 SirHavoc: Paper thin armour and track traverse that makes you think you’re driving through treacle can get you into a lot of trouble in this Tier 5 tank destroyer. However, the top speed, epic DPM and heroic gun depression will always get you out again. Sit back, stay invisible and blow stuff up! Nikita: I loved this tank when it had a roof and still love it even though they turned it into a convertible! Tearing around the battlefield is great fun, but don’t stop! Standing still in the T67 is the worst thing you can do. NEED TO KNOW DPM: Damage per minute, factoring in reload speed…

IS-3 DPM 1834.80 Penetration 225/265/68 Aim Time 3.26s Top Speed 38km/h Gun Depression 5 degrees Hull Armour 110/90/60 Turret Armour 249/172/100 10 Nikita: For anyone serious about competitive gaming at Tier 8, the IS-3 with its hard hitting BL-9 122mm gun is a must have. This tank generally forms the backbone of a team’s fighting force and offers the perfect combination of agility, firepower and armour. SirHavoc: The IS-3’s great mobility, armour and firepower allows you to bully the enemy and advance with confidence. In the right hands this is a force to be reckoned with. It is a great trainer tank to prepare yourself for top flight play. NEED TO KNOW DPM: Damage per minute, factoring in reload speed and shell damage. Penetration: Values refer to standard ammo/premium ammo/HE…

Havoc199: Ruinberg is mostly a city map, but with surprising versatility. The long city roads are wide and allow for great sniping shots, while the city itself is great for brawls between heavy tanks who like to push aggressively to get out to forward locations. The small town area to the east is an important point of conflict for medium tanks. This area has a mixture of buildings, bushes and open areas. This makes it very suitable for the versatile style of play favoured by mediums. Tank destroyers also enjoy this eastern area due to the bush cover and long sightlines. However, the small town in the middle of the map offers equivalent cover to the enemy. For this reason, it’s important to be able to push up and…

TYPE 3 CHI-NU KAI DPM 1564.29 Penetration 124/155/38 Aim Time 2.21s Top Speed 38km/h Gun Depression 6 degrees Hull Armour 50/25/20 Turret Armour 75/50/50 5 SirHavoc: The Chi-Nu Kai is a Tier 5 medium premium Tank. Its purpose is for you to make some money and grind some crews ready for high tier play. It is slow for a medium, so you are not going to flank to great effect in this tank - and its armour is easily penetrated. However its gun has awesome DPM for its tier. Nikita: If you’re just starting out and want something inexpensive to get you some credits, this could be the tank you choose. Another great tank for crew training and working on your medium tank skills. Get it fully upgraded and use…

PROJECT 1 WINGS OVER SIBERIA Commemorating international cooperation with a historic journey Last year, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War 2, Wargaming’s Special Project group orchestrated the ‘Warplanes to Siberia’ project. In collaboration with the USA-based BRAVO 369 Flight Foundation and Russia’s Rusavia, pilots flew a historic Douglas aircraft from Alaska all the way to Siberia. They followed the route used as part of the Lend-Lease program during the war. This was an effort on the part of the USA to supply the Allies with warplanes and supplies from 1942 to 1945. Aircraft were constructed in the US and then flown to Fairbanks, Alaska, for inspection by Soviet pilots. They were then flown to Krasnoyarsk in Russia across unforgiving and desolate terrain - a journey,…