User:_artek

Hi! I'm ftsartek (just call me artek). I've played Warthunder on-and-off since release, although I only really got into it more recently when I first picked up ground forces somewhere around 2016/2017.

I originally made my way up through the Russian ground lineup without touching another nation until I reached the Russian Rank V, when I started grinding the British.

Over time I worked my way up and as of October 2019, I have full Rank VII lineups for the British, the Russians and the Americans; a Rank VI lineup for the Germans and a Rank IV lineup for the French. I pretty regularly play lineups at just about any rank, though, depending on how I feel at any given time.

I also play a bit of Air RB, although primarily with the intention of grinding aircraft to support my ground lineups.

I have a VR setup and on occasion play Air Simulator Battles with it until nausea (or the ground) gets the best of me.

My intention on the Wiki is to (where possible) keep info up-to-date where possible, clean up any grammatical issues or simply help ensure that people can rely on the wiki for gameplay suggestions and recommendations.

Everything below is my opinion only; take it how you like.

Favourite Vehicles

Centurion Mk.10: I have a special relationship with the Mk.10. It makes up one of my favourite lineups in the game; 7.3 British. I mean, look at this thing! It gets a stabilised 105mm with over 300mm of flat pen, a decent reload, perfectly acceptable armour... Sure, it's not the fastest thing around, but who even cares when you don't need to stop to shoot?

Vickers MBT: Pretty much the same story as the Centurion. Except this time, you get to run around in a stabilised 105mm with one of the fastest reloads for its tier. Paper armour can be overcome but well-placed APDS can't. I think this is actually my most played medium tank.

Conqueror Mk.2: THIS is what a heavy tank should be. A beastly gun, serious armour, decent mobility. Even better, not many tanks you'll face in this thing stand a chance in a snipe-off. And again, British 7.3.

IS-7: Okay, enough fawning over that British lineup. This thing is great fun. It's not really the best tank at 8.3, where every game's against 8.7 tanks and armour means nothing... But jeez, this defies expectations. No heavy should be this fast, ever. And no tank should be in possession of such a veritable armada of machine guns. Besides that, the fun of a 130mm APHE shell popping in the middle of a tank is pretty unbeatable.

T-80U: This thing is great. Unless you get shot in the side, but eventually you've gotta get used to it. The gun, the mobility, the survivability... Incredible vehicle, extremely competitive at top tier.

Challenger Mk.2 & Mk.3: These aren't actually amazing tanks, but they look cool, they snipe well, and the fact that they're not super fast means they pace your gameplay. They force you to play more carefully, more strategically.

FV4005: The HESH Barn is the single most inconsistent vehicle I think I've ever driven in War Thunder. HESH is weird. But I've had a love for this thing since the first time I got a multi-kill; a round hit the side of a Panther, killing it and the Ru 251 directly adjacent, AND a plane that was in the vicinity. I don't even think the plane was that close. Yet to repeat that, but I have had a couple double kills with it since.

ZiS-12 (94-KM): This is not an AA. This is a tank destroyer disguised as a milk truck. I've probably killed like 3 planes for every 20 tanks I've killed with this. Driving around like a maniac in a truck is stupid and amusing. So damn amusing.

T-34-57: Who woulda thought a 57mm could do so much damage? This thing's right at the comfortable tier where it still has somewhat effective armour, and that gun is incredible.

IS-2 (1944): 122mm of APHE on a properly armoured hull (unlike the first IS-2 where anything can go through that flat upper section of the UFP.) The Russians just get me.

Firefly Scorpion: To be honest, the 17pdr is dirty at 4.7. Yeah, okay, the thing can't take a hit, but jeez, nothing it faces can either. Plus the Brit 4.7 lineup is a GREAT SL grinder (if you're good with solid shot, at least).

Panther II: An 88mm on a Panther hull was the best idea ever. I feel genuinely sad that newer players might never have the opportunity to get this tank. Still, they'll get the opportunity to get blown up by it; better than nothing, right?

Tiger II (10.5cm Kw.K): This really doesn't have anything over the Tiger II (H) but there's a sorta prestige to having a bigger gun. It's not even the best 6.7 heavy out there, but it sure as hell makes quick work of those pesky T29s/T34s.

Sd.Kfz.234/4: Speaking of pesky, this is the king of it. This is like the Centauro before the Italians dreamed of a light, fast vehicle designed just to annoy people in War Thunder. And on top of being light and fast, it's got a really good gun that can actually do some work in just about any uptier.

M6A1: Y'know what's satisfying? Baiting someone out of cover with a fake shot. Works every damn time, and never fails to amuse.

XM-1 (GM): I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this. I mean, really, it's a filthy vehicle. Nothing at 9.0 should be allowed to do what this thing can do. It's a damn Ferrari with a gun on top!

Hated Vehicles

ADATS: Above and before anything else, I hate the ADATS. It's not the missiles; sure, they're bloody ridiculous. It's just that the damn thing won't die. I have to survive long enough to fire off my APFSDS round, reload a HE/ATGM round, and then shoot it again. And half the time, HE isn't even enough to finish it. I've had an ADATS survive 4 HE shots before (this was prior to researching HEAT or ATGMs on the T-80U).

Ru 251: I actually got used to fighting Ru 251s pretty quickly, but once in a while I get got by an Ru and it frustrates the hell out of me. It's mostly my fault, though, because I should know better by now.

AUBL/74 HVG: Imagine a Leopard 1. Imagine that Leopard 1 is given double its power to weight ratio, a stabilised gun and only moved up 0.3 BR. You have successfully imagined the AUBL/74 HVG. It menaced my 7.7 German games for two weeks (spawn once, die early, no respawn), it menaced my 7.3 Brit/German and 8.3 Russian games for two weeks (supercar is in your spawn before you leave it). Least the thing dies easy.

SIDAM 25 (Mistral): This thing should actually be illegal. What it does to planes is probably against the law in most countries... It violates them. Jeez.

OTOMATIC: What's up with this thing? I swear its breech doesn't actually die when it dies. I've shot one out and it just starts shooting blanks at me, blocking my view. It's weird, and also you never see the shots coming in a plane which is a little rude.

C1 Ariete & Ariete PSO: If you can penetrate the turret cheeks of a Challenger 1, you need to shoot someone that isn't the harmless Challenger 1. They never did anything wrong.

AMX-50 Foch: Oh, it's a CA Lorraine. Cool, easy kill... Oh. Oh, it's a Foch. Oh, I'm dead. Oh. (I have nobody to blame but myself for this one)

M10 GMC: I paid for a turreted tank destroyer, not a casemate. Whose idea was this?

Flakpanzer 341: Love the concept. Still can't reliably shoot planes down or deal with tanks. Maybe I'm just bad.

Archer: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

M48A2 G A2: This is the only vehicle that I honestly think is just hopelessly over-tiered. For 0.4 BR increase, you get a stabiliser, a hell of a lot of speed, and it's not like your armour matters in the first place.

Also, all of the French vehicles prior to the B1 Bis. Anyone else who has also had to grind the reserve vehicles in the French lineup will understand why.

Considerations for WT

• I'd really like to see War Thunder get dynamic battle ratings implemented.This is, of course, a complex idea; probably requires lots of back-end work. Still, it'd be great for vehicles such as the M48A2 G A2 which is unbelievably out-classed until it gets APFSDS, and even then it's kinda over-ranked IMO.
• I don't think early ATGM choppers are healthy for the game. They make people spawn into missile AA at the beginning of the game, which (unless you're in an ADATS) means your early game impact is basically limited to saving your defenseless teammates. Just doesn't really fit. Make ATGMs something you've gotta earn again. If nothing else, limit how many choppers can spawn simultaneously; it's frustrating for both teams when 80% of a team is in choppers.
• A gamemode similar to Battlefield's Rush would be awesome in WT. It would probably require bigger maps, dynamic spawn points, etc, but god it'd be fun.
• Decompression. Everyone asks about it, and for a reason.
• A closer look at top tier balance. I feel like some tanks could do with better rounds now that they've been essentially power creeped (M1/IPM1, Challenger 1s, Chally 2, M1A1....)

• @ftsartek, welcome to the wiki! We are glad to have your help working on articles where you can share your experience with specific vehicles or tactics and in general making this an inviting place for people to learn more about War Thunder and the vehicles within. If you should have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. --AN_TRN_26 (talk) 10:27, 15 August 2019 (UTC)