Crew training on your US lights or scouts going to slow? Well besides playing your lights on crew xp bonus events and missions. There are other ways to get it going faster. The US low tier premium tanks don't just offer a wast income bonus for the average player. As a good round on those is 10 to 20K. But also serves as a good crew trainer for your US light tanks with no need of re-training. The most common reason why people buy them.
But sadly the low tier premium US lights don't offer all the crew positions on each tank. So some crew members will go a tad slower if you only buy one. With the exception of the T71 sharing the exact same crew slots as the M22 Locust. Chaffee and T21 crews don't all fit in any of the low tier Premium lights sadly. So some of em like the Radio operator and Loader will only get one run. And the rest will get 2. You do also have the gift tanks that offers more crew slots for a wider training option. But still some will go faster then others. But the commander and driver will get in all of em. IMO the two most important positions of a scout tank anyway. As sixth sense is vital to get going. And I can't drive a scout with no offroad driving at 100% as it makes the job so much easier. But the lack of crew slots does have its benefits. When the Gunner of you Chaffee is in the M22 he can also select loader skills as his new skills. If you want to have safe stowage on the loader, but do want the other skills to. You can put em in the M22 and use the gunner to train loader skills once a new skill is unlocked. Or the commander to train radio operator skills so you can have both the view range bonus and the radio range bonus going both as a 2nd or 3th skill just to name a few to get other skills going faster that you also want. So you can tailor it to your taste and style faster if need be.
So yes. Even tho you don't buy em as income machines. They are effective crew trainers for your US scout tanks, especially when there are crew events going. And they are fun to play to. Even though they offer a bit different play styles then some of the scouts do. So here I will review the US low tier premium lights and even the WG gift tanks just to give my thought on em and how I like to play em to get the most xp out of it for my play style anyway. These will be methods that worked for me, but might not work well for you, so keep that in mind when reading.
Light tank crew skills setup:
This setup goes for all my scout tanks so I'll just have it here early on. Tho the order does variate on play style and such for each tank. The skills are usually the same. But this is my preferred setup. Your opinion or experience may vary form mine. But this is how I like to get going on my Scout crews. The skills listed as the first 2 are the skills I think should be first. Skills not mentioned here for each crew are what I consider to be less important for a scout tank. And are skills you can pick as you go after that. BIA is not important for an passive scout. But might be a game changer for an active scout. But still not a priority for me either way on scout tanks.
Passive scout:
Commander: Sixth sense, Recon, Mentor, BIA
Gunner: Camo, Designate Targets, repair, BIA
Driver: Off road driving, Camo, repair, BIA
Radio Operatior: Situational awareness, Camo, Signal boosting, BIA
Loader: Camo, Repair, Safe stowage, BIA
Camo makes all the difference at times. And off road driving is vital to get to the good spotting points fast on maps with lots of swamps and other soft surfaces. Radio operatior don't get camo for me early on. Due to the view range bonus and the ability to keep targets spotted for longer when they move out of your view range that I find more important. The TD's behind you will thank you for it.
Active scout:
Commander: Sixth sense, Recon, Mentor, BIA
Gunner: Snap shot, repair, camo, BIA
Driver: Off road driving, smooth ride, repair , BIA
Radio Operatior: Situational awareness, Repair, Signal boosting, BIA
Loader: Repair, camo, Safe stowage, BIA
For the active scout some of the same rules apply for me. But camo is less important since if you move all the time around on top of hills and down again ect. The time form when you should have been spotted and form when you was spotted is so small its not worth it early on. Unless its a hybrid scout. Skills for shooting on them move is more valid as hits and runs are more likely. And repair is more in focus since getting de-tracked is something that will happen more often in an active scout. And nothing sucks more then getting stuck in an open field for to long with 1 track less with 10 seconds to repair it. And if you are more active and driving around. Signal boosting to help your fellow SPG's is not a bad thing either when you get to the other side of the map. But you rarely go outside of their radio range 90% of the time anyway.
T2 Light tank
Info and crew:
The T2 Light tank is priced at 750 gold at tier II. Housing a crew of 3 inc Commander that also works as the gunner & loader, driver and radio operator you do get the 3 most important crew skills IMO to train in a scout tank. Commander with its 6th sense and recon. Driver with offroad driving and radio operator with skills for view range and radio range. So you will get those trained faster with this tank.
Specs:
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| Getting some air is not uncommon in it. So watch the tracks. |
Weapon and ammo:
Its armament is a 20 mm gun. doing 108 rounds pr min and with 1200 rounds at 9 to 15 damage pr round. Having 15 shells in a clip with 3 rounds pr burst. Its damage potential is big at 1235 pr min and a reload time on a 100% crew at 7,5 seconds. But the pen is so low that not all rounds will do damage even at close range on most targets, even soft targets to. It can use both AP "30 pen" and APCR "41 pen" ammo. The gun is not accurate. Sniping with that gun, even with APCR at distances of 100m or more, you will have 0 pen and the spread will be to big to be effective anyway. At 50 meters the spread is still big, but enough that most rounds will hit the target. The gun is best used at 20m or closer, so that most of your rounds will hit. At that range a full clip is enough to kill of most tier II tanks. But crews skills is recommended it fire on them move to increase accuracy. As its a bit though to get hits if you fire on the move at medium distances or more.
Equipment suggestions:
As for equipment and such. I got Vents and camouflage net and binoculars. Spall liner is an option but it adds lots of weight. It can also use GLD and Optics. But they cost 500 000. A bit to much for that tank. As for consumables I got Medkit, repair kit ofc and octane gasoline. Fire extinguisher is not really needed. Chance of engine fire is still 20%. But based on my experience with it. You can ditch it for other consumables if need be.
Play style:
Its so fast and agile that you don't lose speed when turning to avoid fire. And with the small size and speed. Your a hard target to hit. To make the most out of the gun you should be using it at ranges form 30 meters and closer. As mentioned above, its a waste of ammo to snipe with it as you can't even pen a Medium I at 100m+. So to make the damage most effective with one clip. Get up close and drive around em. The dpm at tier 2/3 battles is good and you can kill most tanks you face alone within seconds. Reload is still quick, but doing hit and runs is the best option. So it can't kill 2 tanks with one clip form above half health. It works great on urban maps as an active scout and hit and runs on both weak and full hp targets. But on the more open low tier maps you need to keep moving. On Malinovka you can move to E5 near the center lake and try to spot the enemy base if that's to your liking. But its usually better to go hill or below it and support and push. The map where this tank excels is Karelia & Mines that are so small maps that you can get around fast and do some damage and get away while you support your team mates push. Its not really a scout. Its more like the AMX lights. So if you have both AMX scouts and US scouts, you should feel right at home in it. You can ofc play it with a scout setup and try to be the team spotter. But with the low view range, even with a good crew and equipment. Its still hard to spot targets at long range on most maps.
Advantages:
- Fast rate of fire
- Can do lots of damage in a short time
- Fast and agile
- Small size
- Don't bleed speed
- Big ammo storage
- Lack of armor
- Poor view range
- Long reload time
- Poor sniper
- Low pen
Conclusion:
Is it worth it? Yes it definitely is. Its high speed and gun is what makes it fun. And the multiple ways it can be played. It offers both fun for new players that don't have high tier lights yet, but wants a moderate income machine. Its easy to play and not as easy to master right away due to the low pen. But a great way to learn the basics of fast lights and the value of flanking. And it will offer both fun and valuable crew training solutions for more experienced players. Its definitively a tank all US light tank lovers should have.
M22 Locust
Priced at 900 gold its definitively worth it. This time at tier III and housing a crew of 3 and the exact same crew setup as the T71. Commander, Gunner and Driver. With the commander as a radio operator and gunner as the loader to.
Specs:
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| Urban maps with a medium tank playstyle is where it can do really well |
Weapon and ammo:
The gun is good for its tier. Its the same 37 mm M6 gun found on the M3 Stuart to. Doing 30 to 50 damage pr shot and got 42 to 70 mm of pen on a low/high roll. So gold is not really needed for it. And 26.2 rounds pr min it gets a potential damage of 1093 pr min. Gun is fairly accurate at long range, so can be played as a support tank if need be. Supports both AP, APCR and HE at 56/78/19 average pen on each.
Equipment suggestions:
As for equipment Vents ofc and camo net and binoculars as I don't really know if I want to play it like a scout or medium until I see the map and MM setup. It can use spall liner and wet ammo rack. But first adds weight and the 2nd one is not really needed tbh. The rest like GLD and optics and tool box is at 500 000. Again a bit to much for that tank. Consumables its Med kit, repair kit and Octane gasoline again. As this tank hardly gets set on fire to and the bonus to turret traverse and speed is always nice.
Play style:
As for its play style. It can be played both as a scout and like a medium. Its fast and can relocate to most areas of the map to either spot or provide cover. In most cases its better to let the bigger tanks do their job. And flank or support form the 2nd line and use its dpm. It can also with the right crew skills and equipment be played as a hidden sniper, flanker as its camo value is good. But I normally play it as I do my mediums and distract, support and flank more then I scout. But its a versatile multi-role tank. And should fit most play styles and thus should fit most of you. Regardless of you taste in roles, it can do it all really well and is the tank I recommend of the two so far if you need a crew trainer.
Advantages:
- Good sniper
- Good pen
- Fast
- Excellent camo values
- Good traverse speeds
- Moderate speed loss when turning
- Lacking armor
- Slow up hill
Conclusion:
Is it worth it? Yes it is, but for scout and light fans I recommend the T2 Light more. But overall for most people its definitely the one to go for of the two due to the universal role of the tank at times. Great little tank for new players to learn the basics both staying hidden and the general role and rule of medium tanks, and due to the good pen on the gun new players will find it easy to get damage done. Old players will be right at home in it regardless of taste and style. Its not hard to master and it rewards you well as soon as you do.
T1E6
A WG gift tank form Christmas 2012. If you don't have it, missed out on it or sold it and want it back. Well it was in the gift store in a 15K gold bundle during the Christmas sale in 2013. So it might come back again. But if you do have it and just kept it as a collectible, but never use it and still got US scout tanks. I'll do my best to give you some pointers at it. Its a tier II Light and it houses a crew of 3. Commander, driver and loader. Commander also works as the gunner and radio operator on this tank. So no, sadly it can not train a full crew of any the current US scouts. But it still houses the Commander and driver to get those skills going faster. Gunner is not really an important part of a scout tank crew. But if you toss camo skills on him. You will get that bumped up faster to.
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| Steep hills should be avoided if possible. But the hill on mines is not the worst hill with min speed loss. |
Specs:
Sitting on 160 Hit points that is a little above the normal for a tier II tank. The reason is simple. No sloped armor and slow speeds. Its not the most agile tier II light in the game. It bleeds speeds when turning at times and it weights 9 tons with a 244 HP engine and a top speed of 48 Km/h. But on a flat urban map you will see that speed often. But it turns well and its not bad at getting away form danger if need be. But on maps like Mines with variated ground surfaces. 38 to 41 is to be expected on most flat surfaces. Hill climb is painfully slow. So avoid big hills if you can if you want to get to choke points fast. Should also avoid soft surfaces like swamps in an open area. As its soft terrain ground resistance is really bad. Tho crew skills can help to counter that. Its still not good. Armor is mostly flat and not at an angle. Its looks is close to the T1 US Light tank on the hull, but only with a more centered turret. Armor on the hull is 15mm on the front and 12 on the turret. 6 on the side, rear on both the hull and turret. So don't expect to bounce anything besides what the exposed tracks might eat. Its view range is 260 and radio is at 325. So its not ideal as a scout either on the more open maps. But got enough view range to get an early warning on the urban maps. But still if you want to scout in it. It can work to with a good crew with all the view range skills added. But you need to get closer then you are used to in most cases.
Weapon and ammo:
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| The gun is strong enough to take on most tanks. |
Equipment suggestions:
As for equipment? well I got Vents and small spall liner on mine due to all the low tier lights ramming me all the time with it and a GLD to speed up the aim time even tho its pricey. Even at close range it helps. Camo and Binoculars are ofc valid options to if you prefer it. But since the gun is more effective close up. I hardly get to use em as I move around all the time.
Play style:
Its not a strong tank and should seek help by going in a group and staying a bit back. Going alone in this thing is never a good idea. To get the most out of it you should hope for a more closed map. Find a group of tanks to follow and support em. Or find some cover overlooking the open to send shells down range form as it still can be a good sniper if you take the shooting slow. The turret is dead center in the hull. So you will expose much either way when you pop out to shoot some one. So keep that in mind. The best dpm you get by going up close. The clip is usually not enough to kill off most tier 2 tanks in one clip. But if they have taken 1 hit before. Its an easy quick kill. As the pen and damage close up is really good.
Advantages:
- Auto cannon
- Lots of damage in a short time
- Big hit point pool for a tier II tank
- Flat armor
- Low speed
- Poor hill climb speed
- DPM drop when sniping
Conclusion:
Was it worth keeping it? Well yes it kinda was. Tbh I don't use it that much. But if you really need crew trainers. Don't sell of WG gift tanks. Not really worth it. The tank is not the best tier II tank around. Its got lots of weak points. But if you do get up close and spam that ammo. Its really rewarding and fun. But open maps is the devil and kills off some of that fun at times. And it suffers form it. But its not a bad tank on open maps either. It can be a good support tank if you take time with each shot instead of just unloading the clip fast.
T7 Combat car
Info and Crew:
Yes. Like the VIC it was not well revived amongst the players when it came. On paper it looks bad, but can be a good tank if you play it right. Its a tier II tank with special MM. So it only sees tier 1/2. Its always top dog. Well I say top dog, but its always in a tier II battle. It houses 4 crew slots. Commander that also goes as the gunner. Driver, Radio Operator and Loader. So a wider option for crew training to get those important view range skills going.
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| Its not an agile tank. But the gun makes up for it up close. Best played on urban maps. |
Specs:
It got 150 hit points and is rather heavy for a tier II light at 9.9 tons.
Sitting on a 262 hp engine it still does not get that big of a speed. Top speed at 38 Km/h and its slow getting there to on most surfaces. It should avoid soft surfaces like swamps and deep water like the plague. As it has one of the worst soft ground resistance stats of the US lights. Its good on hard and medium surfaces tho like Grass, roads and sand. Hull traverse is 44 that is good, but turret is only at 24 that is way slower that most tier II lights. Its mostly flat armor at a small angle. The hull got some slope going. Slopes aside. It only gets 16 effective armor on the hull and 13 on the turret. So don't expect to bounce anything at all. With a 280 view range and 325 it can be used with binoculars and camo nets to use it as scout since its only tier II matches it will come in. And there are hardly tanks with 300m view range anyway.
Weapon and ammo:
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| Getting on the enemy's flank to get the best effect. |
Equipment suggestions:
As for equipment. Vents ofc to reduce that long reload. But sadly there is not much worth in the rest of it besides camo and binoculars that you can take off and add for free. GLD is not really needed as you need to be close for most targets. Spall liner can be handy, but only if you feel like your crew needs it more then the tank. Optics if you really do play it as a scout. But its still not worth it at that price.
Play style:
Its a big wide target so not an easy tank to miss for most. So open fields should be avoided. But its a slow tank to for a tier II light. So not easy to avoid getting shot either. Not the ideal assault tank. But a great support/flanker tank. At that role its not as bad as most wants it to be. It got the most damage potential of any tier II tank with an autoloader in a short amount of time. It shoots really fast and got plenty of shells in a clip to deal with multiple weak targets. But if there is a medium or some of the TD's there. You need help form your team mates. If they go first and take the heat, you can flank and get the side/rear armor. And really dish out the damage. Its not the ideal head on brawler as the lack of pen makes it do little damage on most tanks. French low tier and the T18 should not be taken on head on. But if it sees the side or rear of a big pile of campers. The damage will come really fast. Its good on most maps really. But like the last gift tank. Its usually a bad idea to go alone. Its bad as a 2nd line support or sniper to as you can't effectively pen anything at 75+ meters away even on a really high roll. Sitting on the side on Province and shooting across the map is a waste of time and effort. But its to slow in most cases to get down and dirty fast with it. So best played in a toon or as a flanker support on urban maps really. What about as a scout. Well, its view range is not bad. And with a good crew then yes. I have played it as a scout to test it. I got my ace badge on Provice going center, using buildings and bushes as cover and spotted the ridge line. And did it just as well form one hill to the next. I've gotten 500 to 900 base xp with it and not fired a single shot just to get crew training going. So its valid to play both passive and aggressive. I have not played it that much yet. But enough to find it fun at times and with the special MM is not hard to find it either. But that's just me. It might not if your play style at all. But even so. A win on it will give your crew a boost anyway on big XP or crew events. So why sell it?
Advantages:
- Rapid fire gun
- Massive clip
- Most damage in a short time then any tier II tank
- Limited MM so it only sees tier II battles
- Worst ground resistance of any tank on soft surfaces
- Slow speed.
- An even worse hill climb speed
- A wide target
- Longest reload of any tank you face
- Low pen
- Lack of alternative ammo types
Conclusion:
Its not a good all rounder. But it can get the job done. Both on getting kills and getting good crew XP in many ways. It takes some getting used to ofc. But if you mix your medium tank skills with the scout's hit and run skills. It will reward you well.
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