Gun sounds
Knowing what tank, what gun, and/or what gun caliber has which sound effect can help you in battle, since even if you don’t see the enemy, you’ll be able to tell if they’ve fired or not.
This is a fairly niche situation but its definitely useful to know, especially with guns that deal high alpha damage, since you don’t want to get shot by them but they also have a long reload, which gives you an opportunity to push them.
Knowing the gun sounds will also let you know what gun an enemy is mounting, for example on the E 100, its 2 guns have a distinct gun sound difference. Its the same for the M-V-Yoh or M-VI-Yoh.
Gun visuals
Similar to gun sounds, knowing what a gun looks like also gives you useful information on the enemy.
For example:
-The longer and thinner gun on the E 100 is a 12,8cm, this lets you know their reload is about 11 seconds, they only deal 460 alpha, and are a bit more accurate.
-The short gun with a thick barrel and large muzzle brake is the 15cm gun, which lets you know the E 100’s reload is closer to 17s, they deal 680 alpha, and are fairly inaccurate.
Knowing the gun they mount and the basic stats in relation to that gun will allow you to make more intelligent plays against that tank, such as when to push, if you can trade damage, etc. In some cases it also lets you know what ammo the enemy might use (for example the E 100 with the 15cm is much more likely to use HE against lightly armoured targets).
Tank capabilities
Knowing the general capabilities of an enemy tank (in relation to the tank you’re playing) also helps you to play against them better. Try to get a rough idea of what the most common tank you face are good or bad at.
For example:
The Tiger II has essentially no frontal weakpoint to shells with under 255mm of penetration, it has good HP, its mobility isn’t impressive, but it has good DPM with 310 alpha.
Knowing this information, you’ll know that facing a Tiger II head-on in a medium or light tank is a terrible idea, and you’ll lose to it in most situations.
Another example:
The T110E3 has a fairly long reload with high alpha, it lacks a turret, turns fairly slowly, but has good HP and penetration with very strong front armour, and can boost its mobility with a consumable.
This lets you know that the T110E3 shouldn’t be faced frontally, but is vulnerable to be flanked or shot on its sides.
By not even having a rough idea of what each tank’s characteristics are, how can you play well against them? You won’t know their weaknesses, and the enemy can just take advantage of that to beat you in a fight.
Typical gameplay patterns
Learn the “typical gameplay” that enemies exhibit when playing certain tanks. Similar to learning their capabilities, this will let you counter these tanks more effectively, and they are less likely to catch you out with an unexpected action.
For example:
Grille 15 is mainly played as a sniper tank destroyer. Knowing this, you can expect a Grille 15 to be in typical camping and sniping locations on the map, hidden behind bushes, far from the front of the battle.
Knowing that, you can try to avoid the lines of fire of these sniping positions, since its likely that there’s a Grille 15 ready to shoot from there.
Another example:
Medium and light tanks often like to push early and dominant positions, such as the hill on Mines, the center on Canyon, the bridge area on Mayan Ruins, or the center hill on Fort despair.
As a tank destroyer, or any other tank, you know where to expect these enemies to be on the map, and that lets you know where you might get spotted from when you move or shoot. It also lets you counter them by setting up ambush shots when these tanks cross out in the open.
Note that just because tanks have a “typical gameplay” doesn’t mean that a certain tank will always be played in that manner.
Worse players may catch you off guard by doing something completely crazy and unexpected, such as driving down the river on Alpenstadt and into the enemy spawn.
Great players also make unexpected plays which differ from the typical and expected positions and gameplay, and its good use of these that allows them to do better than a typical player.
GuidesBlitz 