The circles on the mini map explained

On your mini map in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, you can see three different circles. I will explain the meaning of these here, and how you can and should use them. (If you by any chance cannot see the mini map, press the “m” key to turn it on.)
This is a screenshot of a mini map:

World of tanks mini map

As you can see, there are three circles on it:

1. The closest circle, which is green, shows your current view range. Any enemy tank inside that circle, will be visible to you and your team mates, unless the tank is behind a rock or building, or if it is inside a bush.
2. The middle circle, the white one, shows the maximum view range in the game, which is 454 meters. If you have a good crew, and a tank with good view range, the green and white circle will have the same distance from your tank. (They show almost as one circle.)
3. The third circle is the render range, which is the range where tanks spotted by one of your teammates will be visible also to you, even if the tank is outside your view range.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier VII medium

There are 11 tier VII medium tanks in World of tanks (by patch 9.20):

• A-44
• Comet
• Konstrukta T-34/100
• KV-13
• Leo
• Panther
• T-34-1
• Type T-43
• T20
• Type 5 Chi-Ri
• VK 30.03 (D)

Note: I have not played hte T-34-1, but I believe this would not have won here, anyway.

There is a lot of variety here, and the play style differs accordingly. Some have punchy guns with good alpha damage, others have pea guns, some have a bit of armor, others have paper thin armor. Some are slow and some are fast and agile.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier V light tank

There are five tier V light tanks  (by patch 9.19):

• T-50
• Chaffee
• M7
• Leopard VK 16.02
• AMX ELC bis

All light tanks now get regular matchmaking.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier VII tank destroyer – UPDATE

I have previously said that the Challenger is the worst tier VII tank destroyer in the game. Now, there is a new “king” in town…

There are ten tier VII tank destroyers in World of tanks (as of patch 9.17):

• SU-100M1
• SU-152
• Jagdpanther
• Sturer Emil
• T25 AT
• T25/2
• AMX AC mle. 46
• AT 7
• Challenger
• ikv 90 B

I have now played all of them, except the AT 7, and I am 100% certain that I can point to the (new) worst one. Some say the T25/2 is a bad TD, but I have still had quite fun in that one. Some point to the Sturer Emil as a bad TD, but the top gun is absolutely magnificent, with 231 penetration and 490 alpha damage. The AMX and the SU-100M1 also get some bad reviews, but they are both good in their own way.

The SU 152 can make you giggle like a child, when you one shot Cromwells and other tier VI tanks.

(The best is the Jagdpanther, of course.)

The Challenger was the previous loser, but now we have the Swedish tanks. After playing the ikv 90 B for more than 60 battles, I hereby conclude: This is a turd of a tank destroyer. It is as reliable as an ice cube in the Sahara desert.

Pros:

• It has good camo rating
• Fast, at 65 km/h, but this only applies when falling of a cliff?
• 10 degrees of gun depression
• Wide gun ark
• The NEXT tank in the line might be fun

Cons:

• No armor
• Slow traverse speed
• Unreliable gun

When you play this, you cannot get spotted. Try that in the maps we have to endure… This tank only works in you can “kemp bush”. The penetration is supposedly 210, but it can easily bounce of the side of a light tank…

I hate every minute in this tank. It feels sluggish, and the gun is inaccurate as hell. It is supposed to have 0.33 of gun “precision”, but it behaves more like it has 0.37 or 0.38. You cannot trust the gun at all. 210 mm of penetration should be enough, but since it fires some sort of APCR ammo, you will struggle to penetrate if the armor on the enemy tank is sloped somewhat or if it is spaced.

Here is what an ACE tanker game looks like:

See all best/worst tanks here.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier V tank destroyer

There are eight tier V tank destroyers in WOT, as of patch 9.16:

• SU-85
• Pz. Sfl IVc
• Stug III Ausf. G
• M10 Wolverine
• T67
• S35 CA
• Archer
• AT2

These are very different tanks, at least more different than TDs at tier IV. The T67 is the best, I think, even if it has no armor. The AT2 is the opposite, (one of?) the best armored tier V’s in the game.

However, it is quite easy to pick the worst one. A tier V tank that is slower than the T95…. It is the Archer. It’s top speed is 12 km/h. However, the reverse speed is 32 km/h, so you can escape fast. But this one is hopeless. Really bad. Even if the gun is decent. But it’s speed, combined with the armor, is horrible.

Pros:

• You can escape quite fast
• Good gun, penetration is 171, and DMP is 1915,5
• Good gun traverse.

Cons:

• Bad armor, 20 mm everywhere
• It’s slow!

You have to snipe with this tank. You can penetrate everything you meet, but damage is only 150, so don’t get spotted. So stay hidden, and shoot at what you’re allies spot. I recommend you get clutch breaking on the driver, sixth sense on the commander, camouflage before snap shot on your gunner and camouflage on the rest of your crew. You should also choose camouflage as the second skill on your driver. But I’m confident you will not keep this tank.

Let’s have a look at an Ace tanker game:

Notice how the three heavy tank drivers on the enemy team doesn’t know how bushes work in World of tanks. Quite funny.

See all best/worst tanks here.

The tanks I’m going to keep – UPDATED version

Here is a list of tanks I am going to keep, and why I’ll keep them.

• Tier I: T1 Cunninngham. Because I might need a tier I tank sometime.
• Tier II: None. Because I don’t need any tier II tanks.
• Tier III: Renault UE57 and FCM 36 Pak 40. They are fun to play sometimes. The FCM is a premium used for training crews.
• Tier IV: SU-85B, Hetzer and Matilda. These are the three best tier IVs. Playing lower tiers every once in a while is fun.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier IV tank destroyer

There are eight tier IV tank destroyers (as of patch 9.15):

• SU-85B
• Hetzer
• Marder 38T
• StuG III Ausf. B
• M8A1
• T40
• Somua SAu 40
• Alecto

It was difficult to choose the best one, as I said a while ago. If you ask almost anyone, they would call me mad or at least an idiot, because the Somua is a hated tank among a lot of people. But I did very well in that tank. My WN8 rating when I sold it was 2,038. Part of this is because I played it somewhat recently, after I had learned a lot about the game. I played only 17 battles before I sold it, but during those battles I had a win rate of almost 59% and got (at least) one Ace tanker game. Even if I should declare this as the worst tier iv tank destroyer, I can’t, Or rather: I will not.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier VII heavy tank

There are nine tier VI heavy tanks (by patch 9.15):

• IS
• KV-3
• Tiger (P)
• Tiger I
• T29
• AMX M4 mle. 45
• Black Prince
• IS-2 (the chinese tank, not the russian premium)
• O-NI

Note: I have not yet played the O-NI or the AMX. But I am quite confident none of them are best in class, so it will not affect the verdict.

I am a bit strange, I guess, because I really enjoyed the KV-3. It is a nightmare when it is bottom tier, but when it is top tier in a city map it can be a monster. I might even like it more than the IS, which may be a better tank, all things considered. So in my personal opinion the KV-3 is the Russian candidate. I bought the “Berlin quartet”, so I have the IS-2 (russian premium tier VII heavy tank) in my garage. But was the KV-3 good enough to keep? No, I sold it once I unlocked the KV-4. (If I had had another Russian heavy tank crew, I might have kept it.)

The two German tanks are quite similar, but the Tiger I is in my opinion better than the Tiger (P). The armor on the Tiger I is not the best, but the gun is great, and the damage per minute is best in class. I have kept the Tiger I, but that is partly because I grinded it at the same time as I grinded the Tiger (P). The Tiger (P) was sold quickly and the crew moved on to the Tiger II.

The T29 has a lot going for it. The strength of the turret is legendary, and the gun is also pretty good, even if the gun on the Tiger I is better. I have kept the T29 and will keep it.

The Black Prince is a piece of shit, because of the gun. Low penetration and low alpha damage. In addition it is very slow. The turret is quite strong, but is easy the flank it, and get the side of the hull.

The Chinese IS-2 is almost the same as the IS, but the gun handling is worse because of worse gun depression and gun elevation. It also has less hull armor. The IS is definitely better.

So, which one is the best? 

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – best tier III light tank

There are fourteen tier III light tanks  (by patch 9.14):

• BT-7
• T-46
• T-70
• Pz. Kpfw. 38 (t)
• Pz. Kpfw. I Ausf. C
• Pz. Kpfw. II Ausf. G
• M3 Stuart
• AMX 38
• Cruiser Mk. II
• Cruiser Mk. IV
• Stuart I-IV
• (Cz10) LT vz38
• Type 2597 Chi-Ha
• Type 98 Ke-Ni

None of these get matchmaking as scout tanks. When I started to write this post, I noticed it would be difficult to argue for my choice. There are a lot of good tanks here, actually. As I have mentioned, I’m doing a reroll to experience these tanks without having decent crews. I noticed very fast that many of these are fun to play.

Best and worst tanks by tier and type – worst tier II light tank

There are seventeen (!) tier II light tanks in WOT, as of patch 9.14:

• BT-2
• T-26
• T-60
• Pz.Kpfw.35 (t)
• Pz.Kpfw.I
• Pz.Kpfw.II
• M2 Light tank
• D1
• FCM 36
• Hotchkiss H35
• Renault R35
• Cruiser Mk.I
• Cruiser Mk.III
• M2
• Cz03 LT vz35
• Vickers Mk.E Type B
• Type 95 Ha-Go

I am currently on a reroll to test these vehicles in order to identify the best and worst light tanks. I’ve yet to play them all, but I am quite confident I can say which one is the worst.

But first: These light tanks do not play like the high tier light tanks. They are not scout tanks,and they meet only tier I, II and III. Low tier tanks tend to have almost equal armor and penetration values. The difference between light tanks and medium tanks in the lower tiers is of limited significance.

And even if a tank is bad, you can grind through it in very few battles. If you win and perform well, two or three battles should be enough. So you do not need to stick with tier II for long.

Among the best in this category are the following: BT-2,  M2 light tank, both the cruiser tanks, Cz03 and Type 95. During my battles one tank stood out as especially bad. That is the T-26. It has got no good features when in battle, even if it on paper should be average or even better than average in this class. The gun wouldn’t behave at all and it was really slow. I tried it for quite a number of battles when I discovered how bad it actually performed, to see if I was correct or not. But no. It is terrible, even if I do not know why.

Pros:

• High ammo capacity – but who need 140 shells?
• High penetration – but all of these tanks penetrate their opponents…
• The next tank in the line (T-46) is quite fun, even in tier V and you do not have to play many battles in the T-26

Cons:

• To slow
• The gun does not behave. Even fully aimed shots can miss by a mile

I was surprised how bad the tank performed, compared to other tier II lights. The statistics do actually lie, it seems?

Here is how an Ace tanker looks like:

This guy also has some useful tips, so pay attention. (But I disagree with his verdict on the T-26…)
See all best/worst tanks here.