Adapting gameplay

One of the biggest limitations for a new player to improve to become better is rigid gameplay.

You might have a one good game in a certain tank, where you used a certain position and got huge damage results; and because of this, you always use that same position in every tank you play.

This is rigid and inflexible gameplay, to become better at the game, you have to adapt your gameplay depending on your tank, the enemy team, your team, the map, the tier you’re playing, etc.

1. Short version:
2. Adapt gameplay to tank type
3. Adapt gameplay to the specific match
4. Adapt gameplay to the situation in battle

Short version:

Adapting gameplay is a multi-step process,
-First you have to look at your tank type and change gameplay based on that.
-Next you have to account for the battle what you are playing and see what type of enemies you’re fighting against.
-Then you have to adapt to the situation in battle when it changes, or adapt to the team (players) you are put with.

Adapt gameplay to tank type

The first most basic step to breaking out of rigid gameplay is to play differently in each tank type, and not just use the same positions and tactics with all tanks.

There are 4 main tank types in the game:

There is a full detailed breakdown of each tank class, their sub-types, and how each should be played differently here.

Adapt gameplay to the specific match

Not all battles are same, so to play well, you can’t treat every matchup in the same way.

Adapt to the tier:
Your tank has different capabilities in different tiers. In WoT Blitz you face +1/-1 matchmaking, so you will always either be fighting tanks that are 1 tier higher or 1 tier lower than you.

For some tanks in the game, their gameplay hardly changes between tiers due to their capabilities, but for most tanks, you have to play a bit differently depending on the tier of enemy that you face.

For example:
If you are a tier 8 tank, in a battle with only tier 7-8 tanks, you are top tier and have a bit of an advantage over the tier 7 enemies. In such a battle you might play a bit more aggressively.

If you are a tier 8 tank but facing a tier 8-9 matchup, then you are bottom tier, and are at a disadvantage compared to tier 9 tanks. Knowing the limitations, you may play a bit more cautiously.

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Differences:
-When you are top tier and fighting lower tier tanks, you generally have higher HP, higher DPM, better armour, and higher penetration than the lower tier tanks.
-When top tier, you generally should be more confident in gameplay, since you can’t expect the lower tiers to do all the fighting when they are at a tier disadvantage. 

-When fighting higher tier tanks, your HP is at a disadvantage, your DPM is generally lower, its harder to penetrate enemies, and enemies can penetrate you easier.
-When you’re bottom tier, you need to be more wary of the limitations of your tank, and play a bit more carefully. Now you’re the one at a tier disadvantage and may have to rely on the higher tier allies to take some hits or put in damage.

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Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your tank will really help you to adapt to tier-difference gameplay, mitigating the weaknesses and utilizing the strengths in the right situations.

You also can’t always rely on allies, in fact you shouldn’t, since you don’t know how good or bad of a player they are.

Adapt gameplay to the situation in battle

The last major step to adapting your gameplay is to change it with the battle situation.

The battle is constantly changing, if you’re a newer player to the game, it might be hard to notice every detail of the battle situation

At some points:
-Your team has more HP
-Your team has more tanks alive
-Your team has more supremacy points
-Your team has more captured bases
-Your team has more control of the map or dominant positions

And of course the alternative, where its the enemy team with all these advantages.

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Its hard to give a guide on this aspect of gameplay, since every battle situation is different, and every battle will change in different ways. You have to judge for yourself what is the right move in each situation and take an action on it.

This part of gameplay is quite trial-and-error, especially if you’re a newer player, its harder to be able to immediately make the right action in the fairly fact paced battles of Blitz.

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Generally, try to keep track of these things:
-Supremacy points at the top of the screen. The team closer to 1000 points is often the team closer to winning.
-Supermacy bases at the top of the screen. The team with more bases is the team which gains points faster.
-Team kill counts, if the enemies have more kills, then your team has fewer tanks, and vice versa.
-Enemy positions, mainly where the hidden and unspotted enemies are, where you think they might go, etc.
-Allied positions, where your team is on the map, where they have relocated to, can they support you from where they are, are you alone on the flank, etc.

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Supremacy points:
-In Supremacy, points go up with kills, killing a tank increases your team’s bar by 30-40, and decreases the enemy team’s bar by 30-40. So getting a kill will make a difference of between 60-80 points for the 2 teams.

-Supremacy bases bring 5 points per second on maps with 3 bases, or 3 points per second on maps with 4 bases. Getting multiple bases can snowball points in your team’s favour, but don’t be distracted with points since teams can still win by killing all 7 enemy players.

-Your tank type affects Supremacy late-game gameplay, if you’re a slower vehicle, you might want to get bases  and play defensively to stop a quick enemy from just running away and winning on cap points.
If you’re in a fast tank, you might just want to cap as many bases as you can and run from the enemy to secure a victory.

Supremacy is a balance between having the points to put pressure on enemies, but also being careful to not lose too many tanks to the enemy and then losing the battle to kills.

Kills:
-The team with more kills is the team with more guns, and the team with more guns can deal damage more quickly and spot a larger part of the map.

-In later game scenarios, where the battle is close, its often far more important to focus down low hitpoint targets, since even if an enemy tank only has 1 HP, it can still spot you or your allies, it can still shoot and damage you, it can still capture bases. 

-Securing kills and focusing down the same tank in the early parts of the battle is still important, and can help to win later game scenarios. 

Enemy & allied positions:
-Knowing the last position of an unspotted enemy, or guessing where an enemy might be based on damage you took, or a predictable position, can really help with making the right moves in battle. 

-Know when to retreat, you can’t rely on your allies to follow what you do or say, since you don’t know how good or bad they are. Look at the minimap to see if you’re alone, and if there might be enemies near to you.

In some situations you might push forward to flank enemies if there are none close to you or pushing your side, but in other situations where all your allies have already been taken out on your flank, then you probably know which enemies there are and if they outnumber you, it may be best to fall back.

Use your team:
Don’t rely on your teammates, use them as a tool.

Some teammates will be better tools than others, they might listen to you or support you in pushes, flanking maneuvers, support you with cover fire, play actively, etc. Usually these are good or at least willing team players.

Other teammates might just sit in one position for the entire battle, not moving, hoping to see an enemy to shoot. Instead of expecting them to reposition, play actively, support you, or to make a game winning action, you should see how you can make use of them in that situation.

Maybe you can fall back to a position which would force enemies to push into the open to get to you, and your un-moving ally can shoot them then, or fall back behind that ally and use them as a distraction to take the hits while you shoot the enemies.

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