Matross

I bought it, despite all the negative feedback. My $0.02 from a teal sh*tter, in the case anyone else is also wondering what it's like. 
 
The bad:
1) The armor is weird. Sometimes you bounce JPZE100's, and other times, other TD's AP goes through your gun mantel. You cannot trust the armor. Tanks that are not TD's, will just aim for your machine gun hatch, or, will take the time to shoot your underbelly. You feel like your turret is strong, but it is only strong if it is angled, and when it is, they just aim for your machine gun hatch anyway.
2) It's slow, not as slow as the FV215b 183, but it is slow. Compared to this tank, the Grille feels like a Ferrari. The traverse is slow, the turret turning is slow.
3) The gun bloom is bad, and the accuracy is also bad. Sometimes you make some freak shots and say "well, it isn't too bad", but it's a fluke, the accuracy is bad. Furthermore, the shell velocity is also slow, so sniping things is difficult. 
4) Arties love you. Since you're slow, if you get caught out in the open, you take 300 - 400 damage shots from arty shells that land around you, and then one of of your crew dies and most likely, get tracked. In games with multiple arties, it sucks, even more so, if you're focused.
 
The good:
1) The gold round is amazing, you don't really worry about not penning. Bobjects are lolz, FV215b 183 armor is lulz, basically, anything that isn't round stalinium or angled IS4 armor will pen (assuming you hit it).
2) It looks cool (subjective). I think it looks cool ASF. I dislike tanks without a turret, so I bought the E4, thinking I might have fun in it. 
 
Ending comments/thoughts:
- It's not a reliable tank to play. The shell velocity is crap, armor is unreliable (at best), and you wish you had some more side armor for arty shells that land around you.
- It's limited to peek-a-boom tactics & support play. Since the shell velocity, coupled with bad accuracy, sniping is out. (then again, Grille shell velocity is also sh*t, so at least it has some more armor than a Grille). It doesn't have the mobility to really defend itself (nor the armor), so I feel like it's a support tank, that takes the front with other heavies. You can lead a charge in the JPZE100, but not really with the T110E4. 
- I'm left wondering if I should have went down the E3 line instead, but not i'm not kicking myself for it because I originally planned on just ending the grind at at the T30. The T30 gun and the E4 gun feel similar, but E4 gun has the better gold shell. T30 is slow, so E4 does feel like an upgrade there. Compared to the T30, the T30 has better gun depression and a fully rotating turret.

I've come to the conclusion he has 0CD.
source: the official NA forums.

Welcome back RNG!

Just my $0.02.
- Good lord I am bad! I used to comfortably sit around 3k+ and thought that most people should be able to. I thought I would be able to pick up where I left off after a few rusty games but that is definitely not the case.
  ===> Takes some time getting used to. Teams are a lot more passive and campy these days.
- The meta is simultaneously much more passive and much more aggressive. By this I mean it feels like as a single player there are much fewer chances to make successful aggressive plays to change the outcome of the game or push the pace of a match. However on a whole team scale the matches feel like they are much faster in general. The average game feels about 4-5min in length with few exceptions. It feels like there is very little back and forth where a good play can change the game and more lopsided rolls each way. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the new maps or just me being bad but the game flow definitely feels very different.
  ===> Bad maps & steam rolling platoons (a good 3 man platoon can totally dominate a flank, which causes domino effect, and the 3-4 min games). With the new player base (or evolution of bad players) where they camp and wait for prey, the passive play gets punished by the bigger flank of attackers or coordinated attack of a platoon. The maps are a more corridor-like and allows TD's to camp better and hull down tanks to defend easier. It rewards camping game play imho. Unless you have the overwhelming force and/or coordinating in a platoon the long matches are pretty much campy stalemates where you have to carefully move around the map and look for cross shots.
-There are a lot of new and reworked maps. The general theme seems to be that there are a couple areas made viable for each type of tank that you are mostly shoe horned into playing with very little room to take different/aggressive positions. Do you guys find this to be the case or am I just out of touch when it comes to map knowledge?
  ===> Pretty much, it got easier for TD's to camp safely and tanks to go hull down. The only aggressive plays I have seen are pretty much from mass pushes from one flank. The new wheely-bois are the ones that really "scout" actively at least, since they have the speed to try and spot a camping nest of TD's and hulldown tanks, and make it out alive doing "passes" if you would. Regular light tanks become more important end game than ever, trying to find the last few tanks that are hiding in their camping nests. 
-Arty is still here, it no longer one shots you most of the time which is nice I guess. I realize the rework is ancient history to most people now but what was/is peoples overall opinion on it? From my games coming back it feels like we didn't really go anywhere just maybe rearrange the furniture a bit. Still has the overall same effect of punishing anyone who dares get spotted but maybe even more effectively now with the bigger splash.
  ===> Arty is still dangerous. It helps defenders defend easier against pushes, and also, does damage to campers. IMHO they have become more effective than before since they shoot more often. Yeah, they can't one shot as easily, but still do a good 300-500 damage per shot, plush with the stun mechanic, if you're sitting outside in a field, you're probably going to have a bad time with the camping "meta".
-The player base feels super tiny. When I left the top end was already a fairly small group who mostly knew of each other but there was still a multiple viable clans and a good chunk of mid level clans that sometimes punched above their weight. Now it seems like there is only a hand full of the mid level clans and even fewer high level clans. Has the player base really shrunk this much or do I just miss-remember?
  ===> There are new "good players" and fewer of the "best" (guess they retired). Since the "best" players left, the newer "good players" are the "best" players? Not sure. For me, I used to be dark blue, sometimes purple, but now, my aggressive play style is punished and now I have to work harder to be dark blue. Fck these missions forreal, if I didn't grind missions for T-55A, I could probably be dark blue/light purple again. 
-Kinda linking on to the last point but it feels like most of the people I used to play with are gone or log on once in a blue moon. Is the player base really this dead or is it just a new group playing now? 
  ===> I think it's new players, and more kid's playing. I noticed WG is going full ham with experience boosters, so people don't have to "grind" as much for their higher level tanks. Things go on sale left and right, and overall I feel like WG is doing everything they can to make this game more accessible to people, giving them incentives to stick around and play more. Even monthly missions or events usually reward playing multiple tiers (5-6, 6-7, 8-9 or 8-10).  

The good things that changed? IMHO:
- The matchmaker
- Arty nerf (yeah, it sucks they shoot more often + having stun mechanic, but at least no more getting 1 shotted?)
- New tanks to play with
- New game modes (depends on if you play them or not)
- x5 XP bonus's and option to weed out maps out of rotation if you have WoT Premium account

The bad IMHO:
- They're going to nerf gold shells, and reward regular shell use
- They nerfed my beloved Type 5
- Arty shoots more often, introduction of wheelybois (depends if you love playing them or hate countering them)
- Camp fest rewarding corridor style maps / players that like to camp
- I feel the player base has overall less situational awareness than before

To sum up what happened, Gold ammo for free made heavies useless therefore WG thought that they should buff armour rather than removing  premium shells. This has led to power creep which means that some tanks can steamroll a flank because nothing can counter them. As a conquence battles last less and less.
The power creep has made the game dumber as people are less worried about aiming and more about pressing the 2 key. So many have left. In addition WG has made huge PR mistakes (like the Foch gate), created OP tanks for the month (which drive people away because their tank was now suddendly shit like E5 after the Sconq) and OP pay to win premium tanks. These mistakes have pushed people away from the game especially good players making the playerbase worse and smaller. More bad players over good ones has helped the rise of turbobattles as bad players do not know what to do and die early hence the quick falls of teams.
Arty still sucks and still punishes you for playing the game.
WG has made maps with many OP camping spots. Pubbies tend to push them and die.
So practically you either drive a unpennable tank and murder the poor bastards who cant do shit to you or you camp and punish idiots who make mistakes and then clean up.
This is the new meta
 

The game is 100% more fast paced now, more or less being Called the SteamRoll Meta currently.
The arrival of more MBT like tanks with combinations of Armor/Speed/Alpha/ and RoF (5A,277,430U,V4,Cheiftian,279)has caused higher tier game play to fall apart, even i find it difficult to perform at 3k+ on a regular anymore. also tanks like the EBR contribute to this, yolo'ing in and spotting everyone within the first 30 seconds of the game.
The playerbase you knew is gone, as you mentioned a few oldies might pop-in every once in a blue moon to check out major changes....but thats about it.
Mid level clans are dead, the gap (at least for NA) between good/shit clans has grown larger than ever. its basically a few good clans and then everyone else is shit. to further that point, there's hardly any competition in competitive WoT (again for NA) anymore.....its the same clans dominating over and over rinse and repeat style

I started playing back in 2013 and played fairly solidly up until I left for school in 2016. Some friends got me interested in playing the campaign around Christmas and again for the most recent one. After that I decided comp play was kinda fun again and that I might check out some pubs to get some of the new tanks. These are a couple observations I had after jumping back into the game, I would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts on them.
- Good lord I am bad! I used to comfortably sit around 3k+ and thought that most people should be able to. I thought I would be able to pick up where I left off after a few rusty games but that is definitely not the case.
- The meta is simultaneously much more passive and much more aggressive. By this I mean it feels like as a single player there are much fewer chances to make successful aggressive plays to change the outcome of the game or push the pace of a match. However on a whole team scale the matches feel like they are much faster in general. The average game feels about 4-5min in length with few exceptions. It feels like there is very little back and forth where a good play can change the game and more lopsided rolls each way. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the new maps or just me being bad but the game flow definitely feels very different.
-There are a lot of new and reworked maps. The general theme seems to be that there are a couple areas made viable for each type of tank that you are mostly shoe horned into playing with very little room to take different/aggressive positions. Do you guys find this to be the case or am I just out of touch when it comes to map knowledge?
-Arty is still here, it no longer one shots you most of the time which is nice I guess. I realize the rework is ancient history to most people now but what was/is peoples overall opinion on it? From my games coming back it feels like we didn't really go anywhere just maybe rearrange the furniture a bit. Still has the overall same effect of punishing anyone who dares get spotted but maybe even more effectively now with the bigger splash.
-The player base feels super tiny. When I left the top end was already a fairly small group who mostly knew of each other but there was still a multiple viable clans and a good chunk of mid level clans that sometimes punched above their weight. Now it seems like there is only a hand full of the mid level clans and even fewer high level clans. Has the player base really shrunk this much or do I just miss-remember?
-Kinda linking on to the last point but it feels like most of the people I used to play with are gone or log on once in a blue moon. Is the player base really this dead or is it just a new group playing now? 
 
Edit: Also I apologize if this is the wrong sub section for this post please do whatever you need to do if it is.
 
TL;DR, Push me to the edge all my friends are dead?

I see you earned yourself a reward tank. Have you made up your mind what to get?
Must be a good feeling getting there this time around. I felt pretty sorry for all you guys caught up in the NICO bs that happened last campaign.

I’m pretty sure @CarbonWard was running two repair kits back when they were single use. So, I don’t think it’s best anymore. 

pretty good, just come back to the game after a few month hiatus.
The type 4/5 nerfs bought me back
What about you?

I'm hoping this T95E2 is a replacement and current owners get the new one because they both pretty much have the same name. 
That E75TS thing is odd, but at least they have tuned the armour down from tier 9, I wonder how strong that LFP, could make it OP if its VK 1001P or Defender levels. 

So... my T95E2 gets overshadowed by the new LPC? *sigh

Hey matt long time.

Good luck! This is a clan with a bunch of great guys (and gals maybe). Always a pleasure to platoon with anyone from FD_UP. They are the best worst tankers I know… j/k

Command & Conquer intensifies

2.3k base DPM for 320 alpha on tier 9 is pretty crap to be honest. 
AMX 30 has 2.8k base and Patton 2.7k base and that is with 390 alpha as well.
-----------------------------------------
Overall it looks nice, some good points, some bad points, but I think it'll depend on that turret armour, how much is 250mm, how far it goes back (40mm side turret armour is a worry if you can see it from the front) and how well rounded it is.
If you can get the sort of bouncing a Cent 7/1 gets, then that will be a pretty decent tank.
Like a hybrid of a Cent 7/1 and AMX 30. 
On initial stats I am happier I put more effort into ranked than I have Frontlines. 
I also think it looks alight, they just obviously haven't rendered it. 

No, we are not currently doing nightly, or even scheduled stronks.  We now do those whenever there is enough interest and attendance.  We are also very light on callers at the moment.
We do have a contingent that are interested in doing stronks when they can, but I can't guarantee you any regularity of it.   
You are more than welcome to stop by our TS (minions.enjinvoice.com) and say "hi", see what's up, or whatever.  

A 45 battle 3 Mark at tier 9 with 4.6k avg well beyond anything I had ever done before


All games were streamed 
 

Sexually transmitted infection - intensified.

Use your mobility to impact the map. Contest early game valued areas, rotate to pressure advantages (almost always better than to reinforce weaknesses), and your camo on the move to gather as much information as possible for you. (Your team doesnt make use of it)

My purely 'green shitter who has not played all year' opinion
110E3 - really fun on about 1/3 of maps, functional on 1/3 of maps, RIP life on 1/3 of maps.  Much more of an upgrade from the tier 9 than the E4
Maus - Probably the best tank on your list, can carry definitely a keeper
STRV 103B - The purest form of Wargaming meme, it is both cancer to play with AND cancer to play against.  If it suits your style by all means get it
Object 268 - utterly pointless, line now peaks at tier 6
Object 268V4 - I have no idea since it got nerfed I don't see it as much, its dropped way off of the replay channels on Youtube 
AMX M4 54 - get to the tier 9 and quit while you are ahead
EBR 105 - This seems inferior to the AMX 13-105 in every way, wheeled tanks seem to lose effectiveness in higher tiers when faced with high velocity ammo and huge bore guns
Object 705A - A niche tank for collectors, but seems decently balanced but kind of boring to play, the proposed alpha/HP buffs will probably favor it a lot

If your looking at TD mission completion over CW I would go the 268 v4 route.  I suggest don't get in a rush and keeping/sticking with the SU-100 to work on the casement TD play style as 390 alpha at T6 is fun and more forgiving.  The 100M1 and 101 are good for many of the TD missions.  (I think I went back and rebought the 100M/101 for some of them)

Presuming there are no time rushes or other factors.  Why not just start the Maus and 268 v4 lines and grind what ever you feel like.

Note: that the AMX M4 54 goes ontrack tomorrow and even if you only do your 5 premium "manageable XPs" with a booster you should be able to rip through a lot of it... although it really goes no where you get the discounts and crew XP and maybe some equipment.    

Picked this bad boy up as soon as I got home as I make my way towards the Maus (never though I'd say that).  I'm actually likin' it quite a bit and the armor has worked better than I expected. It can feel godlike in T8 games and is still serviceable in T10.  Anyone else liking this thing?
 
There are my stats thus far, all solo (but with liberal gold rounds).  There were 7 steel walls in those 24 games, including at least one at T10.

your denier request has been denied. please insert quarter

I personally really enjoyed the Maus grind. Tier 6 is an awesome tank for its tier. Tier 7 is a bit shit but not as much as some of the other shitty tanks at this tier. Tier 8 is fantastic and so is tier 9, just need to keep your tanks angled, including the turrets until you are ready to shoot.
Currently I'm grinding the AMX M4 54 myself. Tier 6 was solid and I found tier 7 to be actually enjoyable even through many hate this tank. The secret is to use the big gun and shoot only gold (330 alpha), then the tank is solid. Currently am on tier 8. That is a truly awful tank. As if its design was inspired by failure and disappointment. Tier 9 is supposed to be great though.