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So I am using this tank now because I am working up towards the Mauss, and I would be close but I think they changed the tank order, or something because now I am going towards the e-100 with my pzk 3/4. Thats not the point though, though I wouldnt have this problem now. This tank has absolutely no upside to it, so far I have been near the very bottom every single game, I kid you not every game with tier 5s and 6s. So this already takes away half the tanks I can damage. I also have extremely slow speed, my average speed is 30 mph and has slow turret speed and traverse speed, wihch means I have to camp or move slowly with other tanks. My gun is also terrible, I am using the 4,7 cm gun which cannot penetrate anything above my tier it seems, unless it is a light tanks from behind, I could barely deal damage to an arty, so I know the power of the gun don't tell me you were taking out heavies or anything. SO how do i use this tank, and make my experience more enjoyable.

Hate to say it, but get used to it with this POS......matchmaker is going to use and abuse you......

grind thru it to the next tier........play it as best you can.....and it's gonna absolutely SUCK, been thru it.....

Really? I never had any issues with the Panzer 38t.   Wait until you get to the Panzer 38nA, the match maker will treat you as a scout then.

You're gonna LOVE the next one, then. Same basic tank, albeit with a better gun, but in tier 8 and 9 matches all the time. If you can get yourself past it, though, the PzIV is loads of fun.

 DrenMadre, on Jun 15 2012 - 13:24, said:

thats what I get for reading so quick, thought he was talking about the nA.......  

Great, just got into the 38 (t) yesterday and hated it from the start and now I have the 38nA to grind thru as well...
At least it gets me closer to getting to the "fun" part of the game!

Really guys? The 38t is fine, it only gives you up to tier 5 MM, so OP is wrong there unless he got platooned up. It's 47 is both accurate and does fair dmg.
Tier 5 matches make you feel worthless but tier 3-4 matches are where you can rack up some points. My problem is 56 shots is never enough.
Don't judge stock tanks, the 38t is comparable to t46, luchs, and m2mt. Its better in some ways, worse in others.

Good luck on the nA though.

Maybe I'm just judging it harshly as I'm getting one shotted so often with the stock gear.
I'll keep grinding away at it and hopefully it and I will get better at not being one shot but it's really hard when your one of the few T3's on a field loaded with Churchie's since the price drop...

38(t) isn't all that bad...Top Gun'd with it a couple of times. Lower tier matches are better...or stick w/ the heavies in a tier 5 encounter and try to detrack. Rush past and go for the arty or lower tier td's that turn slower then molasses.

The 38(t) is my favorite tier 3 tank, and the only tier 3 I have in my garage despite having elited it long ago.

The main advantage is the extremely low aim time of the gun, allowing you to use most or all of your gun's DPM at medium distances.  This feature is otherwise rare in other tanks that are tier 3 or below.  This may seem like a trivial advantage, but low tier fights involve enemy tanks randomly popping in and out of line of sight, and your aim time allows you to destroy them easily as they do so.

As for how to play this tank - you should play it like a fragile medium tank.  The speed is bad if you are trying to suicide scout, but it's more than adequate for flanking, and otherwise playing it like a medium.  Carefully support your allies, play tag around buildings with bigger tanks while your allies shoot at them, hold the right mouse to look around corners and peek out while their turret is pointed the other way, don't commit to a battle to the death unless you are likely to win [edit: and survive], and so forth.  You want to try and be sneaky, and attack opponents when you think they won't fight back effectively, because the DPM-to-health ratio of low-tier tank is extremely high, meaning that sustained firefights are much more dangerous in low tier tanks than high tier tanks.

If you are having trouble penetrating, all I can suggest is to learn weakspots.  Using its gun effectively does require a large amount of knowledge about the game, unfortunately.  But in general, shooting tier 5 heavies in the rear lets you penetrate them, as long as you are carefully doing so at a flat angle [edit: and shooting tank armor at a flat angle is a good idea in a general].  Though once you get the hang of it, it's nice because you practically have as much firepower as a tier 4 light tank and even some tier 4 mediums, even if your armor and health are lower.

Well, I can platoon with you if you want, but I don't have a mic.
Edited by Silty, Jun 16 2012 - 23:36.

I agree with Silty.
I hated 35t, skipped through the 38na but I enjoyed & kept the 38t to train up a 2nd crew for Porsche line.
Its a great harrasser.

The 62mm pen on 47mm gun is fine on a T3 tank, combined with high RoF, reasonable accuracy & quick aim time.
It can effortlessly destroy most T4s & quickly put in a surprising amount of damage on hull side/rear of higher tier tanks.

Mobility isn't amazing but not terrible, medium like really.
With careful driving making most of terrain you can keep up a respectable average speed.
Edited by hoom, Jun 25 2012 - 16:24.

 ScatRD, on Jun 16 2012 - 20:23, said:

It's REAL good with the better parts, and it's nearly invincible in lower-tiered matches.

Just got a 7 kill game in it.

That was my 2nd topgun in 32 battles, 56 kills & 63% winrate.
Edited by hoom, Jun 28 2012 - 12:10.

38t is amazing.  I play it as a sniper or flanker depending on the situation and I've had several 8 kill games, a 9 kill game, and a 10 kill game with it.  

I have vents/binocs/camo net as the setup.

Its a hard one to get through because of the match making it gets. Just grind thru it as fast as you can.

It's not a bad tank at all. It's not very fast, but use it as light support. Don't shoot at the tier 5s you face...pick out targets you can damage and go for them. Gun is pretty accurate too.

To OP; I actually very much enjoyed my 38t. It was a decent flanker and didn't have much to say for itself in terms of armor or gun but it always managed to cough up a kill or two for me each battle. i really don't see what you have against this tank. Panzer 38t is a good tank and taught me a few things that i kept when driving my mediums, like flanking and shoot n' scoot.

Oh and BTW, if you hated the 38t, you're going to ABSOLUTELY LOVE the Panzer 38 nA. *sarcasm*

You may want to consider a different line if you're hating on the 38t. Because here are the facts; the cats and their offspring are temperamental tanks. You really have to pet them and treat them nicely for them to purr. Hell the VK3601 was basically the 38t all over again in medium tank form.

 agentKmurph, on Jul 05 2012 - 08:35, said:

I'd go as far as to say that the Pz38(t) plays like a great medium tank.  If you can't take advantage of its amazing soft stats, you're not cut out to be a medium tank driver, period.  However, heavies are a little different from mediums, so OP might still like tier 7+ German heavy gameplay.  Have fun grinding there, though!

 ScatRD, on Jun 16 2012 - 17:10, said:

If you think the game is going to magically become "more fun" as you go up in tank tiers, you're in for a crushing disappointment.  If you can't enjoy low-tier play you may as well quit now, because 7+ is going to frustrate you into a quivering ball of rage and tears.

Maybe it's the German Tech Tree's way of saying. . .if you can't tough it out through THIS tank . . .then maybe  you should go play easy-mode with the Russian and French Tank Trees.