What is a Replay?
It's a complete video recording of an entire match that you played in WoT, showing exactly what you saw and did during the match.
How do I make a Replay?
In game, hit your Esc key, then click on Settings.
In the first tab (labeled Game), look down at the bottom of the list on the left.
You will see "Enable Battle Recording". Check this box, then click Apply. Now close the Settings window and play a match.
When you want to watch the replay, quit the game, then navigate to your World of Tanks program directory on your computer.
Your actual path might be a little different depending on your computer, but mine is C:\Games\World_of_Tanks\replays
In this folder you will find all of the replays you create.
Just double click on one, and the WoT game client will start and play the entire match back, just as if you were watching a movie.
You can change your camera view just like in the regular match, so you can look around and see what other tanks were doing around you while you were fighting or whatever.
The game will make replays for every match you play, until you turn off the Battle Recording check box in Settings.
Anyone who watches your replay will see exactly what you saw in the match, including the way your turret was looking and so forth.
Why should I use Replays?
Without the pressure to actually try and survive the match, you can focus on how you fought it. This will show you where you did dumb things - like thinking you were hidden behind a rock, but your turret was too tall, for example. It will also let you see what the other tanks around you were doing. Have you ever said to yourself "what happened to the guys who rushed with me"? Well, now you can see exactly what happened to them. You can also see all of the chat that went on, while you were too busy fighting to read it. (This can be embarrassing, if you realize that everyone was screaming at you to go back to the cap, and you never noticed while it was going on...)
Replays are also good for showing off the awesome games you have, where you totally dominate the battle, or you got off an amazing shot that killed a monster opponent. These are good for bragging rights, or just to remind yourself that you can have great games, even when it feels like you are on an endless losing streak.
Finally, in a replay you can see the names of players who did well (or behaved badly), which might be important to you later. I use replays to keep an eye out for exceptional players who might be worth recruiting to my clan. If you aren't in a clan, you can use replays to note which "clan tag" players are helpful/skilled and which ones are not. That might help you make a decision is someone tries to recruit you, or you decide to go looking for a clan to join some day.
What should I look for when I watch my Replays?
Imagine you are watching someone else play the tank. As he drives around, pay attention to where he tries to use cover. Is he really protected? Does he stop in the middle of an open area to try and take a shot? Does he react when artillery starts splashing around him? When he hides, turn the camera and check to see if any part of his tank is sticking thru the bushes (the gun barrel is OK, anything else is not OK). Does he drive over things he could have steered around? Is his turret looking in the right direction? Is he fighting hull down? Does he get stuck on the sides of hills or rocks? Is he trying to flank the enemy, or shooting at their front all the time? Is he aiming for the weak spots on his target, or just blasting away with Auto-Aim? Does he back up behind cover to reload? Lots of little things go into making a good player out of an average player, so be your own toughest critic. When you aren't sure what you did wrong, or how to improve, you can show the replay to others and ask for their advice.
How do I post a Replay?
You should use a third party file service, like MediaFire (etc) and just upload the replay file there. (I use a free program called Dropbox, which has a 2GB maximum storage limit when you use the Free level of the service). Then you can post a link to that uploaded file for others to download, without having to worry about broken forum links and such. Most clans have their own forum and depending on which forum program (hosting) they have, you may or may not be able to save them on the forums server directly, rather than use a third party storage service.
That's pretty much all there is to using replays. They are a great tool for the player who is serious about improving their performance, and a valuable training tool for clans who try to educate their player base.
Now go pop some popcorn, and watch the war play out for you!
Edited by pekiti, Aug 18 2012 - 09:43.
