Best tank class and tier, tier-for-tier?

[Tanager 150]

So I've seen numerous comments about how, for example, "tier 9 heavies are just crazy strong right now," etc.  I was wondering what folks thought were, across nations, the strongest tier and class tuple, tier-for-tier?  Is it tier 9 heavies?  There's obviously a good argument to be made for a group that includes the E75, M103, and T10.  Is it the tier 7 lights?  You've got the T71 DA, AMX 13 75, and WZ-131, in a tier where vision games can still make a big difference.  Or is it something else?

And no, it is NOT the tier 8 mediums.

I'm curious what others think?

[Reluctor 15]

Tier 6 - Meds. Crom / Skodas / prem Swedish auto loader / 34-85M / Jumbo sherman are all pretty beastly.
Tier 7 - Heavy. T29, O Ni, IS / IS 2, very strong.
Tier 8 - TD's. Tier is a toss up so its close, but with the Swedish TD's invis sniping, Skorp G and even the new premium TD's, they seem to be in a good place.
Tier 9 - Meds. T 54 and buffed Cent 7/1 are pretty OP at the moment. T54E1 is a great one too. E75 is the only heavy that I would call great, the others are too specialized and inflexible in the roles they fill. 
Tier 10 - Super Heavies. Maus / VK 72 / Type 5. No explanation necessary. 

[Tanager 150]

I meant across tiers, in case that wasn't clear.  As in, are tier 9 meds (in your opinion) stronger, tier-for-tier, than tier 8 TDs, for example?

[Reluctor 15]

Oh I see. I apologize. 
I would say that tier for tier the tier 6 meds are the strongest, however its hard to see because they can face tier 8 tanks. Tier 9 meds are a close second and that is more obvious because they can never be more than 1 tier down.

[kolni 69,670,872]

strongest one is still T10 heavies

the gap is just so ridiculous between them and anything in the game

maus, type 5, is7, 5a are just so good and easy to play compared to other stuff

 

tier 9 meds are also pretty damn good tier for tier and probably the most diverse class/tier combo in the game

so much fun stuff and nothing really bad

PTA, Cent7/1, AMX 30, BC AP, E 50, M46, Type 61, T54E1, T-54, Obj430v2, WZ-120, Skoda T50 and whatever else I could have forgotten are all genuinely fun tanks to play with their own quirks

[Assassin7 4,353]

I would say tier 10 Superheavies myself, but Second I would put as the Tier 9 meds IMO. 

1 hour ago, Kolni said:

tier 9 meds are also pretty damn good tier for tier and probably the most diverse class/tier combo in the game

also this. I personally consider Tier 9 to be as a whole the best tier in the game Right now. it has the most diverse selection of tanks, and play styles, with the least underperforming or overperforming outliers, and is just the most fun tier in general IMO.

[MagicalFlyingFox 1,022]

The WZ-111 1-4 makes a strong case for tier 9 mediums. 

[Tanager 150]

5 hours ago, MagicalFlyingFox said:

The WZ-111 1-4 makes a strong case for tier 9 mediums. 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but I'm surprised there isn't more support for tier 9 heavies.  I've read numerous posters referring to them as tier 9.5s, and they also offer some pretty varied playstyles (1-4/T10 vs. M103 vs. ST-I vs. E75).  To me they're supremely forgiving as well.

[Gr1nch_1 257]

Tier 10 is by far the strongest tier. There no doubt about that.

Outside of tier 10 tier 9 is the only one worth playing imo. You have e50, m46,t50, t10, wz1-4.

All the other 9s are decent aswell but id say the ones mentioned will perform in any given scenario.

[Mikosah 65]

There's going to be a few strong tiers at any given moment. Tier 9 for instance has the benefit of being pretty much just as strong as tier 10, getting limited MM by default, but not being as expensive as tier 10. So any tier 9 that isn't riddled with cancerous drawbacks is going to be very strong in the meta. And likewise for other tiers that are treated well by the MM. But say for instance tier 6 fastbois do have to be concerned with penetration due to the recent armor saturation, as do many other mid-tier machines with meta potential.

But generally speaking there's a basic formula for the making of a playable machine, and it concerns the answers to a series of questions.

1- Is the penetration (code 22 or otherwise) adequate for frontal engagements in a worst case scenario?

2- Does the tank have enough view range to avoid blindness while using a practical equipment/crew setup?

3- Is the mobility non-ebola?

Any tank that can meet these basic criteria has potential. It may not necessarily be meta-friendly, let alone profitable to run, but if a tank can perform the basic tasks of positioning, spotting for itself, and then penetrating enemy armor, then its usable.

[lavawing 498]

1 hour ago, Mikosah said:

There's going to be a few strong tiers at any given moment. Tier 9 for instance has the benefit of being pretty much just as strong as tier 10, getting limited MM by default, but not being as expensive as tier 10. So any tier 9 that isn't riddled with cancerous drawbacks is going to be very strong in the meta. And likewise for other tiers that are treated well by the MM. But say for instance tier 6 fastbois do have to be concerned with penetration due to the recent armor saturation, as do many other mid-tier machines with meta potential.

But generally speaking there's a basic formula for the making of a playable machine, and it concerns the answers to a series of questions.

1- Is the penetration (code 22 or otherwise) adequate for frontal engagements in a worst case scenario?

2- Does the tank have enough view range to avoid blindness while using a practical equipment/crew setup?

3- Is the mobility non-ebola?

Any tank that can meet these basic criteria has potential. It may not necessarily be meta-friendly, let alone profitable to run, but if a tank can perform the basic tasks of positioning, spotting for itself, and then penetrating enemy armor, then its usable.

Viewrange is pretty much the same across the board from Tier 9 onwards. Besides, vision is much less or a thing than it used to be. I mean, it might have been crucial in the great TD/medta, but it's the corridor fuckfest we are talking about. Still, I guess you could make an argument for the importance of vision in Grand Battles and digging out STRV pancakes.

IMO to make a tank great, I'd add:
Is at least some of your armour abusable?

A tank that can always deal damage, relocate, and hold points is a keeper. And IMO most T9 meds and heavies can do all that with distinction.

[Tanager 150]

16 hours ago, lavawing said:

A tank that can always deal damage, relocate, and hold points is a keeper. And IMO most T9 meds and heavies can do all that with distinction.

I find tier 9 heavies to even beastlier than tier 10 b/c the gap between 9 and 10 really isn't that huge - by and large, you have the same (or nearly the same) guns, e.g., view range is pretty much a wash, basically you get bigger HP pools (I'm oversimplifying, but bear with me).  But tier 10s have to see tier 9s in addition to tier 10s - so for my $$$, a tier 10 will always see at least 8 (3 x 10 + 5 x 9, minimum) tanks capable of going toe-to-toe assuming competent drivers.  A fully elited tier 9, however, is a world apart from a tier 8, let alone tier 7s.  I'm basically average/mediocre in every fashion - which I think makes me pretty typical.  I can consistently pull 53% or better in my tier 9s, and in many cases quite a bit better.  I absolutely struggle to hit 50% in most of my tier 10s.  Better players?  Sure, but IMHO that's only part of the equation (I can't back that up with data).  I just think that, on an average day, a tier 9 will see many more tanks it can outright abuse than a tier 10 will, and it will never be wholly outclassed (unless you're driving a scout).

But I also think tier 7 scouts deserve mention - tier-for-tier, they are far above most of the same tier tanks - they can abuse view range (except when facing hordes of t20s), camo, and mobility against tanks which, by and large, do not have effective counters (and are all too often crewed by potatoes).

[hazzgar 730]

On 20.11.2017 at 11:06 PM, Reluctor said:

Tier 6 - Meds. Crom / Skodas / prem Swedish auto loader / 34-85M / Jumbo sherman are all pretty beastly.
Tier 7 - Heavy. T29, O Ni, IS / IS 2, very strong.
Tier 8 - TD's. Tier is a toss up so its close, but with the Swedish TD's invis sniping, Skorp G and even the new premium TD's, they seem to be in a good place.
Tier 9 - Meds. T 54 and buffed Cent 7/1 are pretty OP at the moment. T54E1 is a great one too. E75 is the only heavy that I would call great, the others are too specialized and inflexible in the roles they fill. 
Tier 10 - Super Heavies. Maus / VK 72 / Type 5. No explanation necessary. 

What is this? 2013? Patton, AMX 30, E50, Skoda 50 stomp them easily. 

 

Also e75 less specialized and flexible over T-10 and Conqueror? Sir please stop doing drugs. 

[3MAJ86 126]

Tier 9 meds and heavies are definitely the most fun to play at the moment. Apart from few outliers, there isn't really any bad tank among them. Also they benefit the most from the MM. Getting a tier 10 match is not that harsh, and quite often you get to bully poor tier 7 tanks. 

Also, within the tier itself, tier 9 is by far the most balanced tier. There is no tank that does more than 750 damage per shot (which should be the case for tier 10 as well, imo). There are some tanks that are a bit too strong (T10, WZ1-4) but they are not as cancerous as some of the counterparts in other tiers. And also, with premium account you can make nice profits while playing in this tier, because you are not pushed to spam prem ammo all the time.

 

I would really love to see WG does a tier 9 campaign for once. That would be amazing. And also some other tier 9 tournaments. I once participated in a 3v3 tier 9 torunament, it was a lot of fun!