Frequently Asked Questions
Where does this idea come from?
You all know I love Blitz and have put a pretty big amount of money in it. Thats okay because I don't put money in other games usually and know my limits. I also love this community, which most of the time doesn't have the financial means to buy every premium tank WG puts in the game or time to investigate what tank fits their preferences best. That's why I would love to combine those two things with eachother: I buy a lot of premium tanks and would love to shine a light on the tanks for those who want to buy 1 tank once in a while of actually considering their first purchase ever.
This is redundant: everyone can look up videos on YouTube made by one of the CC's or other Blitz enthousiasts, or read the reviews made by eg Stubbo.
First and foremost: Stubbo's topics on new and returning tanks are very handy btw and I actually think those are probably one of the best sources in your research before buying a premium tank! Same goes for the efforts done by the CC's whom we all love and watch. I recommend them and others like Pantouflee on Blitz. Where I think I can make a difference is that for one I'm only an average player, and secondly; I'm just not a YouTube guy and I know a lot of people rather read than watch. And I think that my thoughts on premium tanks can be really interesting for people that are average as well. A lot of CC's have recognized this criticism and have started to share more "mediocre" gameplay on their channels, but that doesn't change that the majority of the playerbase can't relate with their skill. To put it bluntly: people that are very good at the game have more issues to help someone who's pretty bad at the game understanding how a tank actually performs in the latter group's hands.
Can you give an actual example of this?
I can! For example the notion that IS tanks are the best tanks for noobs, because going hull down is an ''advanced technique''. You don't need to understand the game at all to understand the concept of going hull down (once someone explains it of course). Furthermore, IS tanks usually have atrocious guns and rely on luck rather than good positioning, both on the giving and receiving end. Sure, that leads to IS tanks being okay to play with for a noob, but it learns them nothing, or in the worst case: doing dumb stuff that only works because you have good RNG. This issue leads to another thing: youtubers putting some tanks that are really suited for newer or less experienced players in the "only for pro players" category. For example: the notion that the T34 is a hard tank to play (or American heavies in general), while the only thing you have to think about in those tanks is having cover in front of your hull. They have good guns, good DPM, good turrets and great gun depression. Better than a tank that can bounce or get penned anywhere equipped with a troll cannon, and needs to crest a hill to get a shot off while getting rekt in the lower plate.
A more recent example would be the Chimera, which has a very solid turret and upper plate when angled, good gun depression, great alpha, great pen, great gun stats, mobility good enough to not get into trouble while enough to influence the battle, great DPM for the alpha. Basically no downsides (a couple of years ago this would be called an OP tank). Meanwhile a lot of people call this a tank for experienced players, with a high skill ceiling. I have seen so many below average players seen doing great things in it that I can say that this obviously isn't true. Yet a lot of people that aren't great at the game might not buy it because they don't want to be a burden on their team - which isn't a bad sentiment but might hurt the game in the long term, and cause more and more lack of tank variety on the battlefield.
A more recent example would be the Chimera, which has a very solid turret and upper plate when angled, good gun depression, great alpha, great pen, great gun stats, mobility good enough to not get into trouble while enough to influence the battle, great DPM for the alpha. Basically no downsides (a couple of years ago this would be called an OP tank). Meanwhile a lot of people call this a tank for experienced players, with a high skill ceiling. I have seen so many below average players seen doing great things in it that I can say that this obviously isn't true. Yet a lot of people that aren't great at the game might not buy it because they don't want to be a burden on their team - which isn't a bad sentiment but might hurt the game in the long term, and cause more and more lack of tank variety on the battlefield.
Now you sound angry!
I'm not! I think the game can use another fresh look on the premium tanks though. That's why I wanted to start this little series. I will start with my thoughts on the Thunder, a recent battle pass addition to the game, and then see what the general feedback is, and either change my approach or just stop all together (I don't want to write useless topics after all). I hope you guys like my take on a review though. I want to approach it like someone who knows the game mechanics but doesn't always use them to his advantage. Which is true for a lot of people ranging from purely average (eg 48 percent WR) to people slightly above me in terms of WR (almost reaching 60). From my standpoint I want to share my thoughts and how to play a tank according to my experience and knowledge.
How would your reviews look like?
I would like to use a recurring format, consisting of an intro about the tank, some thoughts on the general statistics and pros and cons (also compared to similar tanks or tanks in the same tier), my take on equipment, provisions and consumables, followed by my experience and how I would recommend transforming my experience into good experiences for yourself, basically talking about the best strategy for the tank.
How often can we expect a new review?
Blitz is a hobby for me, which means I put free time in this little project. That's great but it also means that I don't always have much time. My goal at the moment is to publish one new review every week, possibly more.