13 replies to this topic

[citylightva]

Just wanted to get an opinion on an in game move I made to see what some other players would or wouldn't do in the same situation.

Standard battle on Steppes from the South spawn.

The majority of the team all decide that the rocks would be fun a place to go.  That leaves me (T-62A) and a Panther II alone heading to the "valley".  An AMX 13-90 comes zooming down, which I hit once for a fire and finish off with the next shot.  The Panther II is still moving up and gets the spot on a T57 Heavy.  I proceed to move up about 1/3 to the north still in the valley and spot an OBJ 268 around the 2 line.  I notch into one of the curves with cover pretty near the Panther.  He decides to just blast around the corner and let the T57 destroy him in 3 shots with 1 from the Object.

Now I'm all alone with a 100% OBJ and 100% T57.  I took a quick peek at the T57 and he fires one for a miss.  

Here's where my real question lies.  T57 backs way up after that shot which is a pretty good telltale he's on clip reload.  I weighed my options quick.  Sit still in cover and wait for inevitable burst clip death OR roll over an try to inflict as much damage as possible thus giving the lemmings a better chance of finishing him off since they are all still in rock world (also knowing the 268 would be gunning for me at the same time)?

I went for the damage.  I got 5 (about 1600 damage) shells in him before his reload was completed and he finished me off.  Of course I took one shell from the 268 during the roll over.  I was trying to keep the 57 between myself and the OBJ, but obviously the 57 is not exactly a turtle in the maneuverability column.  I know it was a suicide move, but they both knew I was the only tank left over there since the AMX was around the 9 line when I got him.  Would've been nice to get the kill on the 57 though      The T57 ended up with a Top Gun because even after all of that no one paid any attention to what was happening over there.  Still got a win though, somehow.

Good choice or bad choice.?

P.S. - I don't care about being the best tanker ever, but many of the actual helpful topics in here have really helped my game as of late.  Thanks for those!

Yes, my stats are meh but the 60 day is coming up.

Edited by citylightva, Feb 12 2013 - 06:52.

[lololZombiedogs]

Replay would be useful too.

[citylightva]

I know...I should really turn that on more often...That's my bad...

[Khanka]

Best choice you had at the moment. If you stayed, the T57 would have reloaded and they both could have rushed and killed you easily. The only other option would be to try to fall back, but they may have been able to spot you and advance.

[Orange_Oberst]

It was an ok move , not good not bad.

Best thing you should have done imo was ask for help at start of game to get mor tanks with you.

When you spotted the t57 and obj 268 you should have pinged the map and asked arty for help.

The string of not so good decisions you took earlier forced you in a bad spot and you did the best out of it.

The key to becoming a great player is improving your decision making, communication, and map awereness.

I did that kind of overly aggressive play many times, so work on it, by being conscious of it you'l improve ;)

[Prium]

 Khanka, on Feb 12 2013 - 07:03, said:

Best choice you had at the moment. If you stayed, the T57 would have reloaded and they both could have rushed and killed you easily. The only other option would be to try to fall back, but they may have been able to spot you and advance.

It was more problably that, in the option you explain, the T-57 would have stayed right there, since no one with auto loader would move on with its clip still reloading, and the 268 is not fast enough to get you while you retreat. In my opinion you should have retreated and climbed the hill on the curve of the valley, then if the T-57 moved on you had shot him from above...

[HotAndSensualDonut]

 Orange_Oberst, on Feb 12 2013 - 07:12, said:

It was an ok move , not good not bad.

Best thing you should have done imo was ask for help at start of game to get mor tanks with you.

When you spotted the t57 and obj 268 you should have pinged the map and asked arty for help.

The string of not so good decisions you took earlier forced you in a bad spot and you did the best out of it.

The key to becoming a great player is improving your decision making, communication, and map awereness.

I did that kind of overly aggressive play many times, so work on it, by being conscious of it you'l improve ;)

If the lemmings didn't bother at the beginning, I doubt they would've if he asked. Pubbies usually ignore any cry for help or advice.

And to the OP, I think you did the best you could've in your situation.

[blznguns]

I agree that you can't really expect help in a PUG just because you ask.  I mean, sure, go ahead and ask, but play as if you expect that you are on your own.  One could simply say, "you won, so right move".  I think the correct course however, would have been to use the opportunity of the T57 reload to withdraw and relocate to a more tenable and survivable position.  Had you kept yourself alive and your gun still in the game, you might have been able to do more damage elsewhere, or had the opportunity to circle back in and attack the T57 later in the match when his attention was elsewhere or he was taking fire from more tanks than just you--the very thing a medium is built for anyway.

[Whiski]

It is hard to determine if it was the proper move or not.  Sure you won, but "what if" plays into the mix here and since you won the most you could have hoped for is to kill the T57/Obj and survive .  What if I had retreated and fired from the hilltop, what if I had asked for help at the beginning of the match?

As for me, if I hear a pinging during the match, I will respond if possible for me to do so without jeopardizing my health before I can assist.  Simple fact is I can not keep my eye on everything while in a scrap with an enemy tank.  So, people who have S/A on another part of the map can ask for assistance....there are people that will respond and those that won't.

[ShivaX]

Probably should've run away.  Doing some damage was probably the next best choice.

[F0R_M0T43R_RU55IA]

I'd say bad (but not horrible) choice.  You're relying on the remainder of your (probably doofus & team stupid) players to finish him off.  In my experience, you can never really rely on another player on your team to do the obvious, unless you brought that player with you in a platoon.

I would have tried to get two into the heavy, while avoiding return fire and avoiding any damage from the Obj.  Get two or three shots into the heavy and then return to cover and hope that arty will engage to support while you spot.  At least if you retreat, you have the option of spotting for arty or getting support from other tanks on your team.  Once you have been destroyed, you can't help the team at all /obvious.

Think about this: Never commit yourself to a path which is likely ( >80%) to end in your destruction.  This may not seem practical, but it is one way to ensure that you are around to the mid or late stages of the battle, so that your gun can make an impact.

I know you can recall the countless times where you have taken similar actions in the hopes that all the pub tanks that are right there with you, would respond to the call for action, jump into the firefight and engage the enemy, only to be disappointed as they stay in cover and watch you get destroyed.

[Wunderwaffen1945]

All of us can say that they would do something different, but all deppend about us really getting in that situation.......i would do it probably almost the same

[citylightva]

Thanks for the insight    To be a little clearer, I did ping in the beginning to no avail as many people thought.  I T'ed up the OBJ on first spot and arty did take care of him 20-30 seconds after my death.  Retreat was a very close second choice, but the damn W key got pressed haha.

[Sollus]

As soon as I noticed that I was seriously shorthanded on that side with little prospect of assistance, I would set my goal as stalling whatever tanks were advancing. I probably would not have advanced north, or would have only to spot and with a clear path for retreat to set up for a defense. That slope and those curves give an immediate advantage to the side that has numbers whereas if you pull back to the berm that separates the flats from your cap you force them to into the open if they want to advance.

If the question is what to do after you've already advanced, I would have moved high to the flats and tried to use my speed to at least disrupt them. One option would have been to simply go around them and feint that you're flanking, and go onto their base. They would turn to defend their flank and and you would then have some options regarding whether to harass them or proceed to their cap.

It's hard to say without knowing your specific position and the that of other tanks in the area, much less the entire map. One question you need to answer in that situation is "it it now better to help speed the push or slow the opposition on this flank?" That's hard to answer without seeing the whole picture.

In sum, when confronted with overwhelming force you need to ask yourself "what options do I have to help my team win this match?" Very often there are creative alternatives that do not entail simply doing as much damage as possible before you're taken out.