World of Tanks (WoT) is a game that intricately combines strategy, skill, and knowledge. One of the critical elements that can significantly influence your performance on the battlefield is your tank crew. This guide delves into the advanced aspects of crew skills, providing comprehensive insights on how to maximize your crew’s potential and enhance your gameplay experience.
## Understanding Crew Basics
Before diving into advanced strategies, it’s essential to grasp the basics of how crews work in World of Tanks. Each tank is operated by a crew, typically consisting of multiple members such as the Commander, Gunner, Driver, Radio Operator, and Loader. Each crew member plays a specific role and contributes to the tank’s overall performance.
### Primary Skills
Every crew member has a primary skill corresponding to their role:
– **Commander:** Commanding
– **Gunner:** Gunnery
– **Driver:** Driving
– **Radio Operator:** Radio Communication
– **Loader:** Loading
These primary skills start at 50% proficiency and can be increased to 100% through battle experience and training.
### Secondary Skills and Perks
Once a crew member’s primary skill reaches 100%, they can begin training secondary skills and perks. Secondary skills improve various aspects of the tank’s performance, while perks provide additional benefits once fully trained to 100%.
## Choosing the Right Skills and Perks
Selecting the appropriate skills and perks for your crew can be a game-changer. The optimal choice depends on your tank type, playstyle, and role in the game.
### Commander’s Skills
– **Sixth Sense:** This is arguably the most crucial perk for any Commander. It alerts you three seconds after being spotted by the enemy, allowing you to take evasive actions.
– **Recon:** Enhances your view range, which is vital for spotting enemies early.
– **Mentor:** Increases the experience earned by all crew members, accelerating their skill development.
### Gunner’s Skills
– **Snapshot:** Reduces the dispersion penalty when the turret is rotating, which is beneficial for accurate shooting while on the move.
– **Deadeye:** Increases the chance of inflicting critical damage to enemy modules and crew.
– **Armorer:** Improves accuracy of a damaged gun, maintaining your effectiveness even when your gun is hit.
### Driver’s Skills
– **Smooth Ride:** Reduces dispersion penalties while moving, aiding in firing accurately on the move.
– **Off-Road Driving:** Improves the tank’s performance on difficult terrain, enhancing mobility.
– **Controlled Impact:** Reduces damage from ramming and increases the damage inflicted on enemy tanks during a ram.
### Radio Operator’s Skills
– **Situational Awareness:** Increases the view range, complementing the Commander’s Recon skill.
– **Relaying:** Extends the radio range for all allied tanks within your communication range, ensuring better coordination.
– **Call for Vengeance:** Allows the Radio Operator to extend the time they can communicate enemy positions after the tank is destroyed.
### Loader’s Skills
– **Safe Stowage:** Increases the ammo rack durability, reducing the risk of catastrophic explosions.
– **Adrenaline Rush:** Speeds up reload time when the tank’s health falls below 10%.
– **Intuition:** Provides a chance to switch shell types without reloading, useful in dynamic battle situations.
## Skill Progression Strategy
To maximize your crew’s potential, it’s essential to prioritize and systematically train skills and perks. Here’s a recommended progression strategy:
1. **Focus on Essential Perks First:** For the Commander, Sixth Sense should be the first priority. For other roles, choose skills that directly enhance your tank’s performance based on its type and your playstyle.
2. **Secondary Skills for Synergy:** After essential perks, select secondary skills that synergize well with your tank’s strengths and combat role. For instance, a light tank crew should prioritize view range and mobility enhancements.
3. **Comprehensive Skill Training:** Once primary and secondary skills are in place, aim to develop a balanced skill set that covers all aspects of combat, including offense, defense, and support roles.
## Retraining and Skill Resets
In World of Tanks, you can retrain your crew members to new roles or reset their skills. This can be particularly useful when you acquire new tanks or change your playstyle.
### Retraining to New Roles
When retraining a crew member to a new role, they will lose a percentage of their primary skill proficiency depending on the training method (credits, gold, or free). It’s crucial to retrain using the best method you can afford to minimize skill loss.
### Skill Resets
Resetting skills allows you to redistribute skill points without losing progress. This can be done using gold or credits, with gold providing a more favorable reset. Skill resets are beneficial when you need to optimize your crew’s skills for a new tank or strategy.
## Advanced Tactics for Skill Utilization
Maximizing crew skills isn’t just about choosing the right skills—it’s also about employing advanced tactics to leverage these skills effectively in battle.
### Pre-Battle Preparations
– **Consumables:** Use consumables like Chocolate, Case of Cola, or Strong Coffee to temporarily boost crew skills by 10% during a battle.
– **Equipment:** Equip your tank with gear that complements your crew’s skills, such as Gun Laying Drive, Ventilation, and Coated Optics.
– **Training Rooms:** Utilize training rooms to practice and refine tactics that rely on specific crew skills, ensuring you’re prepared for live battles.
### In-Battle Tactics
– **Situational Awareness:** Constantly monitor the minimap and use your crew’s enhanced view range to spot enemies early.
– **Positioning:** Use the terrain to your advantage, taking positions that maximize your crew’s strengths, such as hull-down spots for tanks with strong turrets.
– **Team Coordination:** Communicate with your team to relay critical information gathered by your crew, such as enemy positions and weak points.
### Post-Battle Analysis
– **Review Replays:** Analyze battle replays to assess how effectively your crew’s skills were utilized and identify areas for improvement.
– **Skill Adjustments:** Based on your analysis, consider making adjustments to your crew’s skill training to better suit your playstyle and tank role.
## Special Considerations for Different Tank Types
Different tank types benefit from specific skills and tactics. Here’s a breakdown of optimal crew skills for each tank type:
### Light Tanks
– **Key Skills:** Sixth Sense, Recon, Situational Awareness, Smooth Ride, Off-Road Driving.
– **Tactics:** Focus on scouting and mobility. Use your speed and view range to spot enemies and relay information to your team.
### Medium Tanks
– **Key Skills:** Sixth Sense, Snapshot, Smooth Ride, Situational Awareness, Jack of All Trades.
– **Tactics:** Balance between offense and defense. Use your versatility to adapt to changing battle conditions and support both front-line assaults and flanking maneuvers.
### Heavy Tanks
– **Key Skills:** Sixth Sense, Repairs, Safe Stowage, Brothers in Arms, Adrenaline Rush.
– **Tactics:** Prioritize durability and firepower. Position yourself to absorb damage and break through enemy lines, utilizing your crew’s skills to maintain effectiveness under fire.
### Tank Destroyers
– **Key Skills:** Sixth Sense, Camouflage, Deadeye, Concealment, Situational Awareness.
– **Tactics:** Emphasize stealth and long-range firepower. Use concealment and view range to engage enemies from a distance without being detected.
### Self-Propelled Guns (SPGs)
– **Key Skills:** Sixth Sense, Camouflage, Intuition, Brothers in Arms, Safe Stowage.
– **Tactics:** Focus on indirect fire support. Use your crew’s skills to improve accuracy and survivability, positioning yourself to provide continuous support while minimizing exposure to enemy fire.
## Continuous Improvement
World of Tanks is a dynamic game where continuous improvement is key to success. Regularly evaluate your crew’s performance, adapt your strategies, and stay updated with game changes to maintain a competitive edge.
### Staying Updated
– **Patch Notes:** Keep an eye on patch notes for updates that may affect crew skills and tank performance.
– **Community Resources:** Engage with the WoT community through forums, YouTube channels, and Twitch streams to learn new tactics and strategies.
– **Training Clans:** Consider joining a training clan or participating in clan activities to gain insights from experienced players.
### Experimentation
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different skill combinations and tactics. The best way to find what works for you is through trial and error. Use free experience and crew books to accelerate training and test new setups.
### Adaptability
Adaptability is crucial in WoT. Be prepared to adjust your crew’s skills and your tactics based on the evolving meta, new tank releases, and your personal growth as a player.
By understanding and optimizing your crew’s skills, you can significantly enhance your performance in World of Tanks. This advanced guide provides the foundation for maximizing your crew’s potential, ensuring you’re well-equipped to dominate the battlefield and lead your team to victory.
