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. Continue reading →
There are twelve tier VI medium tanks in WOT (patch 9.13):
A-43
T-34-85
VK 30.01 (D)
VK 30.01 (P)
VK 30.02 (M)
M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo
M4A3E8 Sherman
Cromwell
Sherman Firefly
Cz08 T 25
Type 58
Type 4 Chi-To
A lot of these tanks are really good, and a couple are “not so great”. They differ a lot in play style, even more than you should think. I believe the Cromwell is the best one, but which one is worst? There are four clear candidates, but let us get rid of the best ones first: The Cromwell is out, and so is the T-34-85. I also believe we can rule out both of the american ones, and both the VK 30.01 (D) and the VK 30.02 (M). I have not played the T 25 yet, but it is doing quite well in the battles I have played where I’ve seen them in action. The Sherman Firefly has a great gun, even if it’s slow, so it is also out.
I have covered equipment for heavy tanks, for tank destroyers and for light tanks and artillery earlier. Now, it’s time for medium tanks. It is kind of difficult to choose one set of equipment for all medium tanks, both because not all tanks can fit all equipment, and because it depends on your play style. But I’ll give it a try.
First: If your tank can fit a vertical stabilizer, use it. Your gun will be much more accurate, and your aim time will decrease. However not all medium tanks can fit one.
All medium tanks can fit ventilation, and it is a good all round equipment to fit.
These two are easy to choose. But what about the rest? Here, I can only suggest you choose from the following:
Coated optics, which increase your view range by 10%, to give you an advantage compared to especially heavy tanks.
Or you could choose binocular telescope. I have mounted them on my Cromwell, and it works quite well, especially in the beginning of a match.
A gun rammer will come in handy, to reduce your loading time by 10%.
Last, you can also consider an enhanced gun laying drive, especially on some russian mediums with a long aim time, like the A-44.
On a lightly armored medium you may actually find that a camo net can be useful, be not very often, since mobility is a strength that medium tanks should take advantage of.
You can see which one I think is the best here. But what about the worst? It used to be the M3 Lee a while ago, and when World of tanks introduced the British Grant tank in patch 9.5, we got a new worst tier IV medium tank for a while. It is very similar to the M3 Lee, but the mobility is a little bit worse, and you need good mobility and traverse speed in a medium without a turret. However, there is a new kid on the block, and that is the SARL 42. It has really nothing going for it. No armor, no speed, and horrible damage per minute. I recently played through it, and kept asking “Why?!?!?”
Some might argue that the Type 1 Chi-He is even worse, with it’s lousy accuracy, but at least it has got a turret and fantastic gun depression.
Pros:
It is not the slowest tank in the game
Cons:
Eveything
This is what an Ace tanker game in this tank looks like:
There are nine tier V medium tanks in World of tanks (patch 9.7):
T-34
Pz.Kpfw. III/IV
Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. H
M4 Sherman
M7
Renault G1
Sherman III
Type T-34
Type 3 Chi-Nu
They are quite similar in playstyle and in how to deal damage. The only expetion is the M7, which is quite fast. It is therefore difficult to point to one single tank as the best, so this will be my very personal opinion. Some say that using “derp guns” is something only bad players enjoy. I disagree, and my verdict is based on using a derp gun. That leaves us with the M4 Sherman and the Pz. Kpfw. IV Ausf. H as the the two best ones. (But also the Renault and the Sherman III has the option of a derp gun.)
What separate the Pz from the M4 is rate of fire and gun depression. Pz shoots and aim a little bit faster, while the M4 has a fantastic gun depression at 12 degrees. This makes the M4 Sherman the better tank, and since the turret armor is slightly better, I choose the M4 Sherman.
Pros:
Great gun depression
Derp gun
Cons:
Not very fast
Not very good armor
Not the best view range
In my opinion, all the tier V mediums are quite similar, when using the “normal” guns, like a 75 mm or a 76 mm. So picking one winner is all up to personal preferences. I played a lot better with the Pz (56% win rate) than the M4, but that is because I was a better player when playing the Pz, I guess.
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