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World War II Online Beginner's Guide July 22, 2004 Jakub Wojnarowicz |
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Summary: So you've been hooked by Jakub's World War II Online re-evaluation and wanted to give it a try. You dive in, mouse and keyboard ready... only to find out you need a joystick to drive tanks. Plus, your tank doesn't seem to want to fire. And you die all the time. On top of that, you don't understand what a forward base or army base or depot or anything else are. You'd ask for help, but you're a man. That's fine, we understand, we've got this guide up. If you want to read it, you know, we won't tell anyone.
 Getting Started | Page:: ( 1 / 15 ) |
So you've bought World War II Online or downloaded the free trial. Now what? For starters, make sure you're using Microsoft Internet Explorer to launch the game, it's currently the only one capable of doing so. Also, be sure to check out the hints and tips at the end of the article.
Well, with most games, it's sufficient to click the desktop icon to start the game. However, World War II Online uses a web login to start the game. The game's icon will take the player to the main page. This page contains automatically-generated news summaries that hint at the state of the war. Up top is a thick menu bar with several options on the left, but the important ones - "Click to play for Axis/Click to play for Allies" are on the right. Pick either side for now, it doesn't really matter. You'll be taken to the dedicated "news" page for your side, and the thick menu bar up top now has an option that says "Click to play for XYZ Forces - Click to Play! " That's what you're looking for. Keep in mind that you can't switch sides between Axis and Allies for 2 hours after you last played.
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Once you are in the game, it is going to be mighty confusing. There's a map and a multitude of buttons to press, it's almost like a smorgasboard of goodies. The map starts out in a zoomed out view. The flashing yellow areas represent what are roughly the front lines. If you double-click one of those, the map zooms in for a closer look. You'll see a lot of cities, towns and villages with strange-sounding names.
The ones with dull-colored flags, be they Axis, French or British, are towns behind the front lines and thus will, for all intents and purposes, see no action in the immediate future. The interesting towns are the ones with bright-colored flags over their names. But which of these to choose? Here things get a little more tricky.
You might notice some of the cities have different icons near them. Some show a flashing tank outline, others infantry, yet others will show both. This means that the town's early warning system (EWS) has kicked in. It does so automatically whenever an enemy unit gets within a certain range. This doesn't mean the city is under attack, it could mean that an enemy is simply sitting outside town preparing to attack or simply scouting. Other cities will have an exploding icon, this means it's under attack. Action is happening. Unfortunately there's no way to tell how big an action, but odds are there will be something to shoot at.
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A radio tower icon means the town is overrun. This is a command that players in the city can type into their chat, which triggers the icon. Overruns are called either when defenders are facing an overwhelming number of attackers and are trying to get an attention on the map, or when the enemy has the spawnable buildings camped and it's very dangerous to leave.
| More main map | Page:: ( 2 / 15 ) |
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Some of the enemy cities may be under attack as well. It's an awful long drive, never mind walk, from one of your towns to the enemy. Fortunately you don't have to travel all that distance. Between all connected cities on opposing sides are forward bases, which we'll explain in a second.
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In each city, there will be at least one army base and several depots. The army base is what stores all the ground units for that town - anything from a basic rifleman to the mighty Matilda tank. The depots can spawn only infantry, and only when a mission is posted in them. An army base can spawn basic units all the time, but the rest of the units become available also only when a mission is posted there. Missions are divided by priority - 1, 2 and 3. Priority 1 gives you the most experience, priority 3 the least. A mission will show you the target, the name of the poster and the starting point. Sometimes, they'll have comments in them - look for these. You can often find warnings not to spawn tanks if it's dangerous for the tanks, or what the purpose of the mission is.
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Now, all towns are interconnected through a network of depots. If a city has four of them, each of those is named after a nearby city. Eind, for example, has depots to Weert, Panningen and a couple of other towns. In return, those towns will have depots for Eind.
Now, if a city is connected only to friendly cities, it's considered not to be a front line town and thus safe from attack and capture. However, if the enemy captures a town with a depot to that city, the city now becomes a front line city. A forward base will pop up between the two. Only one forward base can exist between any two hostile cities, and control of that forward base is what drives much of the action in the game.
Forward bases draw on the army base of their host city. They can spawn any and all units that appear at the army base. If the Allies control the forward base, it appears closer to the Axis town. If the Axis control it, it will pop up near the Allied city, but it's always a relatively safe range away, often in trees or bushes and always near a road between the two cities. If you look at the screenshots below, you'll see that Hasselt, being connected by depots to Diest, Paal and Helchteren, has forward bases up and active with all three British towns since they're hostile. However, the Brits could get any or all of these forward bases back by blowing them up.
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To take back a forward base, the enemy's needs to be destroyed. To do this, you need 16 satchel charges - 8 on the vehicle spawn building, and 8 on the infantry spawn building. A Sapper is the only unit in the game who carries satchels, and he only carries four. So in order to take down that base, you need 4 sappers. If any action in the city is going on, the forward base is very likely to be defended and thus you'll need extra help to demolish it.
Now, not only does the side that controls the forward base have a quick attack route to the enemy, but it is also capable of using its spawnable depot in the enemy city. If the Allied town of Eind is attacked from the Axis town of Weert, the Axis attackers will be trying to capture the Weert depot in Eind. This is because once the depot is captured, if Axis hold the forward base between the two villages, they'll be able to spawn infantry in Eind from the Weert depot there. This is what is often meant by the 'spawnable'. So how do you get it?
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| Capturing | Page:: ( 3 / 15 ) |
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Once a building is captured, the town becomes 'Contested'. You can check the status of the town you spawned in by typing ".own" (with the period, all chat commands in the game start with a period). If you want to check the status of another city, you type ".own CityName" (no quotation marks are ever necessary). A timer starts as soon as the city becomes contested. After 20 non-stop minutes of being 'Contested', a radio table appears in the bunker of the army base. The army base is the key to the city, it's what must be captured, and usually the last building to fall. Army bases are easy to recognize, they'll have several large green barracks for infantry spawns and a large, dirty green/gray garage that's used as a vehicle spawn area.
Keep in mind that as soon as a facility, particularly a spawnable, is captured in a town, the enemy will likely spawn in and look to get it back. An organized attack has the attackers already waiting to move in with their tanks and follow-up infantry. Depots quickly run out of infantry to spawn, so attackers will inevitably bring more in with trucks from the forward base.
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Whether you're defending or attacking, keep an eye on the chat channel. It will not only make life a whole lot easier to know where the enemy has been spotted moving and firing, it will also notify you of captures in the town. Friendlies may try to warn you about "EI" (enemy infantry), "ET" (enemy tank) or "EA" (enemy air) coming your way or in your vicinity, and you should endeavor to do the same.
When taking on tanks, remember that they have poor visibility but someone with good headphones and volume turned up can hear you running or jogging up to him. A grenade in the commander's hatch can kill the commander and possible injure/kill the crew, but this requires a lot of accuracy. There's a small chance of crew or tank damage from a grenade thrown at it, but the odds aren't in your favor. Gun rounds into an open driver's slit can kill the driver, effectively nullifying most of the tank's value since its mobility is gone. Keep in mind that there's really no way to tell if a driver's slit is open, the tanks that have them visible on the outside always show them open even if they're not. Best to call in Sappers or ATGs your way.
| Infantry, ranks | Page:: ( 4 / 15 ) |
Upon reaching Corporal, most units in the game become available, and Lieutenant makes all of them accessible. Keep in mind that these ranks need to be reached not only for each army (French, British, German), but also each service (naval, air, ground). So just because you're a French ground general and a British air colonel doesn't mean you get to pilot the Type 1934 destroyer on the German side. Also, once Lieutenant is reached, you can post priority 3 missions. These aren't going to gather much attention but are useful nonetheless. However, posting missions isn't a beginner concept and thus beyond the scope of this guide.
Infantry
Infantry are the core of the game. Most players play as infantry; they're necessary, they're vital. Infantry make the best scouts, they're quiet, hard to spot and can easily take cover. They're the only ones that can capture facilities, they're the best units to infiltrate towns and strike from within, they're necessary to root the enemy out.
Infantry controls are basic. WASD keys move the infantryman around, buttons 1-5 select weapons, 0 selects binoculars (available upon reaching captain rank). Q and E turn the head about 60-70 degrees left and right, respectively. Shift runs, 'n' makes the mouse move only the head. V puts an infantryman in prone position and F in crouched. T toggles between the standard jog and walking. Keep in mind that an infantryman makes a lot of noise while jogging, so if you're sneaking up to a tank to sap it, use crouched or even prone (if you're worried about being visually spotted).
Riflemen are the most basic infantry in the game. They're cheap, expendable, and always what you should spawn in as if you're not sure of the status of the town. Rather than spawning a tank in a forward base or army base that's potentially been camped and thus losing it, a rifleman is the best choice because he is expendable. Once you're sure it's safe, or something else is needed, pick another unit. Riflemen carry 100 rounds of ammunition for their rifles, 2 high explosive grenades (watch it, they're really powerful), 1 smoke grenade, the all-but-useless knife (every infantry has one), and the ammo pack which replenishes the primary ammunition for whoever you give it to. Save these for light machine gunners, because they're always running short. Submachine gunners and Sappers are good choice for the ammo pack as well.
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| More infantry | Page:: ( 5 / 15 ) |
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LMGs, or light machine gunners, are exactly that. They have a light machine gun with 300 rounds of ammunition and a knife - that's it. They chew through ammo like Bricktop's pigs go through human flesh. A machine gun needs to be deployed - this means pressing V to go prone, aiming yourself in the direction of your target, and pressing B to deploy. LMGs deploy only on relatively flat surfaces, and they have a limited traverse. So if your target moves too far, you'll have to re-deploy. LMGs are good when defending or camping enemy depots. Fire in bursts to conserve ammo and maintain accuracy.
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Grenadiers are like riflemen who fire rifle grenades. They're limited to 60 rounds of rifle ammo, which is still more than you're ever likely to fire. French and German grenadiers have 10 high explosive (HE) rifle grenades each, while British grenadiers have 6 high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) grenades. For a rifle grenade to be used, press B to put on the attachment, then R to load a grenade. Once a grenade is loaded, it must be fired before you can go back to rifle mode again. British grenades are very poor against infantry but have the capability to kill tanks. It requires a direct, perpendicular hit against a flat surface. Go for the weak spots that sappers go for. Rifle grenades can be fired from any position, but from crouched position they're fired at a very high angle, like mortars.
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Sappers are the mainstay anti-tank infantry and also the units which bring down forward bases. A Sapper has only 30 rifle rounds but 4 HE and 4 smoke grenades. He also carries 4 5kg (11lb) charges of TNT. These can be placed on the weak spots of tanks to kill them. This site has weak spots for all tanks. Place your satchels where the little package icons are on the tanks.
Anti-tank rifles have been introduced very recently and the verdict is still out on them. They have a poor rate of fire and the knockback from the gun is significant, taking out a lot of ATP (stamina, the stuff you use for running), and the noise they make is very distinctive and loud. Infantry and tanks from all around are sure to hear it.
You should definitely check out Snoop's infantry training videos even if you never plan on playing infantry. They give you a good idea of infantry tactics as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This helps you defend yourself from them as well as work with them.
| Deployable gun basics | Page:: ( 6 / 15 ) |
Some guns have optics with range adjustment mechanisms, these can be adjusted using the Page Up and Page Down keys, just above the arrow keys. Range usually has to be estimated by practice (AKA "Kentucky windage") but the FlaK 36 88mm German anti-tank gun has a rangefinder. Use the commander, target the object and press "R" to get range.
Also, all guns can be towed. The small ones will hook up to the light Bedford and Opel trucks, usually by reversing to the back to the truck and pressing H. The bigger ones need the dedicated heavy towers like the SdKfz 7, Morris CDSW or Laffly S-20, and these hook up by moving forward to the tow truck's rear and pressing H. When being towed, to minimize the odds of being disconnected because of the tow bug, do NOT alt-tab to browse or use the map (M).
The PaK 36, SA mle 1934 and 1937 have limited traverse, meaning they have a limited turning radius from where they are deployed. All other guns can turn 360 degrees.
To use an anti-tank gun requires patience. They're not fast like tanks, they can't move rapidly from position to position unless they're being towed, which usually destroys their stealth advantage. You must remember to find cover but nothing obvious - it's better to park a 2pdr anti-tank gun in the middle of an open field than next to the only cluster of trees for a mile. If you're far enough, you'll still be difficult to spot and the enemy will obviously focus on looking for you in the trees. Choose your shots carefully, you can't engage in a duel with a tank because you have no armor. Fortunately, British tanks have only one machine gun and no high explosive ammunition.
| Anti-tank guns | Page:: ( 7 / 15 ) |
ATGs
Anti-tank guns are just that. They kill tanks. In fact, they're extremely good at it. An anti-tank gun is very quiet, it's difficult to spot even when moving (except the FlaK 36, which is both huge and slow), and quite deadly.
The PaK 36 is a 37mm German-only gun that is not useless, but needs to be used with skill and caution. On the upside, it's small, has great optics, is fast on foot and quite mobile. On the downside, it's very poorly matched against Allied, particularly French tanks. The 37mm gun can kill the Vickers and A13 tanks with well-placed shots where the gunner, commander and driver would be. It is also as capable against the French H39 and R35, but otherwise needs to pick its fights very carefully. A French Somua S-35 is vulnerable only a relatively close distances from the flanks and rear, the French Char B1 bis is vulnerable only on its radiator to the left side of the tank, and the Matilda … well … it's killable with the PaK 36, just make sure to get close, fire fast and hard and hope that the armor starts flaking inside the mighty Mattie. Keep in mind that the PaK 36 is an excellent weapon to snipe infantry with, thanks to its superior optics. Just don't fire too often or you'll give your position away. This is the same 37mm gun as used on the Pz III F.
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The german FlaK 36 is everything the PaK 36 is not, and also nothing that the PaK 36 is. The only trait they share are excellent gunsights. A FlaK 36 is huge, it's heavy, and as far as ATGs go, it's easy to spot. On the other hand, it can easily kill tanks 2km away. The best way to use one of these is to have a very good friend you can bum tows from, or to have a second computer with a dedicated towing account. Yes, that is worth it. A FlaK 36's greatest value isn't so much in the damage it does as the fear it inspires. Allies are prone to over-react to one by either desperately trying to destroy it or avoiding spawning tanks. This is quite a legitimate fear.
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The French have two guns, the almost-useless SA mle 1934 and godlike SA mle 1937. The 1934 is a long-barreled high velocity 25mm gun that's also used on the Panhard scout car. It's very accurate at range and shares some of the best optics in the game, but just doesn't have the necessary killing power. It's good against the Pz 38(t) from the side and Pz II C from any direction relatively close, but even upon penetration it requires an accurate hit against a gunner, commander or driver to do damage.
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The SA mle 1937 is easily my favorite anti-tank gun. It can kill even the Pz III H up to a kilometer away frontally and all others almost as far as the eye can see. It's almost as mobile as a PaK 36 or SA mle 1934, it's much better camouflaged than the German guns, it has amazing optics, a good supply of ammunition and unlike the 88, it doesn't produce a distinctive sound when firing, so it won't draw as much unwanted attention. The only drawback is that, typically of Allied guns, it doesn't have HE ammo.
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The British 2pdr is a 40mm gun with 360 degree traverse, very good mobility, a small profile and decent camouflage. The 2 pound shot it fires can demolish any German tank at good range from the front, except one, the Pz III H. The III H is best attacked from the side. Aim for the turret to kill the gunner and commander, just behind the front wheel to kill the driver and just in front of the rear wheel to kill the engine. The optics on this are horrible, and the gun has a nasty habit of not firing quite where it's being aimed at.
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| AA guns | Page:: ( 8 / 15 ) |
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The FlaK 30 is a German 20mm AA gun with either HE or armor piercing (AP) ammunition. It has a sight that's great for taking down aircraft but like the Bofors, isn't all that great at range. The 20mm AP is capable of hurting Vickers and A13 tanks and the HE can take down trucks, aircraft and infantry quite well. Incidentally, this is the same 20mm gun used on the SdKfz 232 scout car and Pz II C light tank.
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The Allies share the CA mle 1938 25mm anti-aircraft gun. It fires exclusively high-explosive ammunition and like the FlaK 30, does so quickly but needs clip reloads. It has a very strange gun sight that's of more use to anti-tank guns and in fact works well for harassing enemy vehicles and infantry, but takes a long time to get used to for anti-aircraft work.
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All three guns are useful to suppress enemy infantry from spawning or even approaching. However, unlike infantry-held LMGs, these do produce tracer fire and can be quickly tracked down. AA guns, unlike AT guns, work best from open areas. They need a clear line of sight against aircraft in order to hit them. Naturally, you're most likely to hit an aircraft that's heading your way or has just left. Remember that you not only need to lead them, but compensate for your rounds dropping over time. Also, if your army or forward base has enemy air swarming over it, it's probably best to seek cover in trees and bushes before firing, and choose your targets judiciously.
| Tank basics | Page:: ( 9 / 15 ) |
Forget everything you learned in Battlefield 1942. In World War II Online, tanks are a completely different beast. First of all, the game models armor and ballistics with a physics engine, like Combat Mission. A tank's interior is also modeled, it has a crew, an engine, ammo storage, and of course its gun. Thus, when fired upon, a tank might bounce an enemy round off its hull or turret harmlessly, or the armor might spall (flake) from the force of impact and hurt the crew, or it might be penetrated and take damage.
When a tank gets penetrated, it's not just the round that goes through, it's also the scorching hot metal that the round pushed out of the way. This hurts the crew. Someone gunning for a tank will shoot at areas where the vital crew members - the commander, gunner and driver - are going to be hit. Other targets include the engine and ammunition storage. A tank with a dead gun, damaged tracks or a dead crew member counts as killed, it cannot be recovered even if it returns to the base. A touch unrealistic, perhaps, but so is the fact that each town constantly spawns in new tanks up to its limit.
Obviously the closer someone is to a tank, and the better the angle, the more likely a penetration is to occur. Powerful guns like the 47mm of the French, 88mm German or 50mm German gun are more likely not only to penetrate, but to kill. Penetrations from small guns like anti-tank rifles or the 20mm FlaK 30 aren't going to hurt as much.
The other thing to know about tanks is that they're noisy beasts. You'll hear them before you see them. Conversely, this also means that the enemy will hear you before they see you. It's almost impossible to surprise someone by attacking with a tank. Even with the engine shut off and in neutral, the tracks and wheels make a racket that will be heard for a mile. Tanks can and will be not just spotted but identified by their movement and firing sounds. A 2pdr sounds different from a 37mm German gun from a 37mm Czech gun from a 47mm French gun. If you roll up to an enemy town or forward base, odds are they have binoculars looking for you already, and if you're spotted, ATGs and Sappers will silently make their way in your direction. Lone tanks are targets. A successful tank run usually involves infantry support and multiple tanks covering each other from sappers and ATGs. Whoever has the most eyes, wins.
Don't ever charge into town if you're not sure of the enemy strength. Creep up. Go from cover to cover, shut your engine off to hear better (and not be heard) pop out your commander, use his binoculars to scout, and then move up again if you feel it's safe. Communicate with your fellows or die through ignorance of enemy position and strength.
| Tank Basics 2 | Page:: ( 10 / 15 ) |
Once your engine is on, press forward on the joystick to build up some revs. Then hit the ']' key to go up a gear. Tanks have anywhere from 4-10 gears. They're much faster on roads than cross-country, but easier to spot on roads. Bombers eat tanks for breakfast. A bomb hit isn't likely to kill the better tanks outright, but it will hurt your crew terribly, making their vision go red. A gunner and driver who can't see well are for all intents and purposes useless, making a swift return to base the best option.
Switch between crew positions with buttons 1-5. The driver is always crew member #1. In most tanks, the gunner is #3, though the Pz 38(t) and Pz II C at least use a combined gunner/commander. Commanders are #2. German Pz IIIF/H and Pz IVD tanks have an extra machine gunner at #4 and a loader/radio op at #5. The #5 crew member is useless. The StuG is an interesting conundrum, since its optics have to be deployed. As gunner, press O and D to open the hatch and deploy the optics, then they work as usual with the Del/. key.
In driver position, forward on the joystick adds gas, back brakes, left and right turn. Be careful about where you drive, especially if you're going to tilt the tank on its left or right track, because tanks are very top-heavy and will roll over very easily. Practice offline to get a feel for the difficulties of driving a tank. Also, a Matilda has 2 engines and 2 transmissions, these can become desynchronized, requiring an engine shutdown and full stop in neutral to get them working together again.
A commander's hatch can open with the O button, permitting him to pop out his head and look for targets and threats. On the 38(t) and Pz II C, press the keypad 0 button, otherwise the Del/. key to switch to binoculars. Use the joystick to aim them.
The turret and gun is also controlled via joystick. Button 1 fires the main gun, button 2 the machine gun. Machine guns generally don't fly as far as main guns, so you'll have to raise aim to compensate. Tanks without HE ammunition definitely want to use their MGs against anti-tank guns, otherwise you need a direct hit on an ATG crew member with the main gun for a kill. Currently, tank HE rounds aren't nearly as powerful as even common grenades, limiting the effectiveness of the StuG III B and Pz IV D with their big 75mm guns in particular, but good enough to kill ATGs. Keep in mind that the shields around the PaK 36, 2pdr and SA mle guns do offer limited protection against MG fire.
Finally, keep in mind this is World War II, not Gulf War II. Tanks are go-stop-fire-and-go weapons. Find a spot, fire a few rounds from it, and when it's safe, resume movement and/or seek other cover. Enemies are bound to be zeroing in on the foe that just killed or threatened them. Firing while moving is generally not a good idea, but neither is sitting still too long.
A tank is in an inherently unstable tactical position. It's often the biggest and primary target on the battlefield but also one of the hardest hitting weapons there. It has to maximize its ability to hit while minimizing its exposure. Being in deep cover exposes it to infantry and those anti-tank gunners who feel like moving up to him. Being in the open makes him safer from infantry but more vulnerable to aircraft and ATGs. The trick is to keep moving and scouting. Find where you want to move to next, look around if it's safe, go there. Scout around to see if you're safe, hit your enemy a few times, find a new spot to go to. Wash, rinse, repeat. A tank isn't about its gun or its armor. It's about moving that gun and armor, making it useful while keeping it alive.
| German tanks | Page:: ( 11 / 15 ) |
German
German tanks for the most part are inferior to their Allied counterparts in a pitched fight. The only exception to this rule is the Pz III H, which has enough frontal armor and the best tank gun in the game so far. German tanks are fast, but due to their gray paint very easy to spot and they are, as a whole, the loudest in the game.
The SdKfz 232 isn't a tank but we'll include scout cars in the same category. The 232 is fast, quiet, very agile and incredibly hard to kill without high explosive ammunition. You have to aim for the gunner in the turret and driver below the turret to hope for a kill. It carries a light machine gun and a 20mm rapid fire cannon with HE and AP ammo. Axis players like to race these towards nearby airfields and attack aircraft that are taking off. A cheap tactic, but war's not about being fair - it's about winning. A good way to disable a 232 is to attack its tires with a CA mle 1938. The 232 is expected to be very vulnerable to ATRs (anti-tank rifles).
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The Pz II C is a slow, loud, more vulnerable version of the 232. It's a tank with the same armament, slightly stronger armor but nothing to stop enemy tanks with. In fact, the Pz II C has difficulty against both the French Panhard and British Daimler scout cars. Like the Pz 38(t), it's one of the two tanks available to new German players. Like the 232, the Pz II C is not expected to do well against ATRs.
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The Pz 38(t) is the first real tank in the German lineup, with 37mm gun that's supposedly more powerful than the one on the Pz III F or PaK36. The tank is quick, relatively quiet as German tanks go and has a low silhouette. It's a good match against an A13, H-39 o R-35. Its weaknesses include a driver's slit rather than a periscope, and a shared gunner/commander position. The 38(t) is expected to be vulnerable to ATRs from the side and through the driver's slit. Use the 38(t)s mobility in order to tank on the Char B1 and hit it in the radiator or the S-35 in the side. A Matilda is a very risky proposition, but if you can get close and fire enough rounds at it, you might kill the crew through flaking armor or a lucky hit.
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The Pz III F is the main German tank of the early part of a map, until the Pz III H is researched. A III F is basically a Pz 38(t) without the weaknesses. It has a periscope, superior armor, the same speed and a similar 37mm gun. ATRs are not expected to give it difficulty. The Pz III F, like the 38(t), has to be careful about how and when it engages the Allied heavy tanks, the Matilda and Char B1. The III F also has a 10-speed gearbox, though we don't know if this is actually historically accurate or not… it rocks.
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The Pz III H is often considered the best tank in the game. It's got the best gun, a very accurate 50mm with both HE and AP ammo. It can kill even the Matilda frontally, while maintaining the speed and mobility of the earlier III F, though it doesn't have the 10-speed transmission any more. You can tell a III H apart from an F model by the bulge extending from the rear of the III H's turret. The ATR is not expected to give this tank any problems.
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The StuG III B isn't really a tank but a mobile gun. It uses a short-barreled low velocity 75mm gun identical to the one in the Pz IV D. It doesn't have a turret and has very little ammo, but is the most heavily armored German vehicle until the Pz III H appears. Sadly, the gun is very inaccurate and slow to load. The StuG was designed as mobile close support artillery, but it does a good job of killing the Allied heavy tanks if it can get close enough for its 75mm AP or HEAT ammo to be effective. Unfortunately the lack of a turret, while improving visual stealthiness, also means this tank is a cripple in maneuver fights against even the slow Char and Matilda. The ATR is not expected to give this tank any problems.
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The Pz IV D is, in my opinion, the worst tank in the game. It's not actually bad at what it does, and it can kill enemy tanks with ease if its rounds ever actually hit, but the tank is lightly armored for its size and it's big. It's almost as big as the Allied heavies, but without the fancy camo. It has the same gun as the StuG, but it does have a turret so it stands a better chance in a fight… if it's not spotted first. Which it almost always is. The ATR is not expected to give this tank any problems.
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| British tanks | Page:: ( 12 / 15 ) |
British
The British have only four tanks to their name, and one hardly counts as a tank. The Mk VI Vickers is really a tankette, a small tank equipped with a .303cal light machine gun and a .50cal heavy machine gun. Thanks to the MG bug it's doing better than usual against tanks this map, but it's still not doing well. The Vickers is great against infantry and stands an equal chance against both the Pz II C and SdKfz 232, but it doesn't have the mobility of the 232. Unfortunately this is one of the two Brit tanks available to Privates in the BEF. ATRs are expected to eat this tank up.
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To make up for the Vickers, I think the gods sent the Brits the Daimler. It's a scout car with a 2pdr tank gun. It can kill any German tank, while retaining the mobility and stealth of a scout car. Fortunately, it should die as easily as any scout car, though I haven't been able to use it except on the training server. Anti-tank rifles should be effective against the Daimler.
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The second tank available to Privates in the British Expeditionary Force is the Mk IV A13. This is a cruiser tank - lightly armored, fast, but equipped with the standard British 2pdr gun. It can be killed even from the front by 20mm ammo, but it can also kill any German tank with its gun. It makes a great raider, moving it behind an enemy town that's being attacked to stop them from resupplying tanks and field guns to that town is the perfect use. It also works well from ambush, since it's well camouflaged like most Allied tanks. ATRs are expected to be a problem for this tank, because of its dependency on the driver slit and poor armor all around.
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The British upgrade to the A13 is the A15 Crusader Mk II. With improved frontal armor and a slightly more protective driver's slit it's more capable against enemy tanks but still not a weapon to go toe-to-toe against the enemy with. The III H can still kill it in one hit and the 37mm German tanks require only a few more. However, it still vastly outclasses the A13. Also, both the A13 and A15 have a Christie tank suspension, making them more stable when firing on the move, but "more" stable doesn't mean it's an ideal choice or even a good idea. As with all Brit tanks other than the Vickers, it's armed with the 2pdr gun.
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The Matilda in North Africa is dubbed Queen of the Battlefield thanks to its superb performance against contemporary German armor. The 88 gained its fame first and foremost for being a Matilda killer. Matildas rule the battlefield before the Pz III H appears and even afterwards still have the edge. They are not vulnerable to 37mm gun fire except at close range and even then it takes a lot to bring them down. Sappers have difficulty with them and the only weapons in the German inventory that are truly effective are the FlaK 36 and Stuka. The Matilda is also the only Brit tank with a driver's periscope. On the downside, it's slow. Damn slow. This is extremely annoying when trying to resupply a town with them, but terrifying when an 88 has you in its sights and you're trying to find cover. It's also armed with the 2pdr, which does have difficulties against the Pz III H's frontal armor from anything beyond close range. Also, all 2pdr guns have terrible optics, get used to it.
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| French tanks | Page:: ( 13 / 15 ) |
The Panhard is the French scout car. It's got a 25mm gun identical to the one in the SA mle 1934, light armor befitting a scout car and is very fast on or off road. Unfortunately, it struggles uphill like no other vehicle. Due to this reason it's a terrible choice for hilly terrain. However, it does make a good scout car and can hit the lighter German tanks fairly hard, though it's still not a fight we'd advise since the 20mm guns on the SdKfz 232 and Pz II C fire much more rapidly.
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The Renault R-35 is an anemic tank, the French answer to the Pz II C and Vickers, but still a better option than either. Its 37mm gun is short and doesn't penetrate well, but again, still better than a heavy machine gun or 20mm cannon would. Few people spawn this tank and the Allied High Command removes it from production in favor of other tanks very quickly. For a small tank, it's rather slow. Because of the driver's slit and generally somewhat thin armor, it's expected to have trouble against ATRs.
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The Hotchkiss H-39 is basically a larger version of the R-35. It's got a longer gun that hits harder, more armor and has much better odds against German armor. Probably the best starter tank in the game after the 38(t), though it does worse than the A13 as the war progresses. The H-39 should only have trouble against anti-tank rifles from the driver's slit.
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The Somua S-35 is the first of the French tanks that give considerable Germans trouble. Technically a medium tank, it fights and moves more like a heavy. Very slow cross-country, it takes a long time to speed up even on the road. Also, as is typical of French tanks, it has only a driver's slit rather than a periscope. On the other hand, it has a 47mm main gun capable of knocking the Germans about before the Germans can get to it with their 37mm... if it hits. Too bad the tank is tall and easy to spot. The optics are great, but the 47mm gun does spread its rounds a bit liberally. Like the H-39, the Somua should be impervious to ATRs unless the driver's slit is open.
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The Char B1 bis was the original supertank of the game, a veritable Tiger ahead of its time. When the game was first released, nobody knew how to deal with them and they were a nightmare for Germans. Fortunately, more accurate modeling has since added their vulnerable radiator on the left side and the armor on it will flake and hurt the crew when hit by 37mm fire from up close. Getting up close can be difficult, given that like the S-35, it has a 47mm main gun with the same advantages and drawbacks thereof. The tank isn't quite as dominant as the Matilda and hurts against the Pz III H thanks to its overly large profile and poor mobility. The Char should not have trouble with anti-tank rifles at all.
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The ultimate French tank is actually American. Pretty much my favorite tank of the game, the M3A3 Stuart is a light tank with a 37mm main gun. How can it be the ultimate French tank then? Simple: the 37mm gun fires its rounds at a very high velocity, making it somewhat more effective than the 40mm British 2pdr. It's capable of knocking the Pz III H out frontally from a relatively close distance and eats it for breakfast from the side. The Stuart is extremely fast, with a low, thin profile and makes it difficult to spot and not much easier to hit. It travels cross-country as well as it does on roads. The only drawback is that it is the single loudest tank in the game, audible long before any Panzer. It sounds like the original jet turbine. I wish I were joking. M3s aren't likely to have trouble with ATRs.
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| Learning the game | Page:: ( 14 / 15 ) |
For starters, read the online manuals. They'll teach the basics of how to fly, drive, fight as infantry. It's a little on the long side and short on specifics and strategies, but it can answer questions like how to take off in a plane, for example.
If you'll go through your Start -> Programs menu and find the Playnet folder, you'll see that there's an offline practice mode available. This lets you learn how to drive a tank, how to aim at a target in the distance with a gun, to learn to wait for the gun to settle after it's been fired, etc. You can also use units you don't have access to because of rank restrictions in the game. So if you've wondered just how maneuverable that Spitfire Vb is in the air or how slow the Matilda is, you can check there.
The online training server has scheduled sessions and also permits you to play "online" as opposed to offline, but without necessarily having to worry about an audience. It also permits two friends to engage in tank, air, infantry or ship duels, or a squad to teach its newer members to play around.
By all means, feel free to hook up with a squad. It's really just a bunch of guys. Some are old, some are young, some are World War II grognards others just like to blow stuff up. There are people in squads who specialize at one thing and others who are available for whatever. A squad will not only make the game easier to play by always having someone to work with, but squaddies will help explain concepts to you. Finally, don't be afraid of making the step to voice communication. It is a big psychological step for many people, like learning to ride a bike on their own or asking a girl on a date, but once you do it, there's no going back. Voice comms are almost necessary with the poor chat interface.
Finally, if you're ever confused about something, check out channel 99. You can tune channels by pressing Enter to start chat. Then a box divided into four sections will pop up on the left-hand side. Usually two of these are filled, one with "mission" another with "objective". Mission means speaking to people who are on the same mission, objective means talking to people going for the same objective. If you spawn without a mission, you'll only have "origin", meaning the people that spawned in the same town as you. Now, if you click an empty box and type in 99 and press enter, you'll be tuned to channel 99 and people will be able to answer you there. This is also the way you can tune to attack channels. Be careful about joining channels though, most have been reserved for squads and it'd be bad manners to try to take over a channel for your own purposes.
You can find a guide to the chat here. One neat trick they don't teach you there is that if you want to communicate only to a specific channel (ie, your squad channel) rather than all the ones you have tuned, just type in ".3" with your message following it to message the channel tuned in your third box. You can also send private messages to people by typing in their names in one of the 4 chat boxes, or by typing ".m Username" followed by the message in the chat bar. No quotes necessary.
| Hints and Tips | Page:: ( 15 / 15 ) |
Infantry
Stick to your role and remain in the vicinity of others if you can. If you're a rifleman, stick to general tasks and remember you're expendable because there are so many riflemen who can spawn in. You want to be the one capping a radio, with SMGs protecting you, or scouting ahead for others. Remember the sounds and learn the compass.
After firing a rifle, keep holding the button down. This will pause the reload animation until you let go, permitting you to see where the shot went and how much off you were from your target. Sniping is very possible, there are those in the game who can hit moving infantry targets at 300m or more, and there are no scopes! It takes a lot of skill, this isn't Call of Duty 1.0 or Counter-Strike. Use the right-mouse button to bring the iron sights up and to hold your breath. Remember that if your ATP (stamina) is low (the green bar near the compass), your gun will wobble more. ATP is lost through running or being hit. It can never be higher than your health.
Return to base. Missions can't be successful if you don't return to a safe area to despawn. This means being in a friendly town. Also, try to wait for the 10 minutes to be up.
Remember what I said about tanks - go, stop, scout, fire, and go again. Don't rush blindly into traps but don't sit there like your driver or engine got killed either. Don't give your position away by blindly firing either. Make your shots count. This goes double for anti-tank guns.
If you're not sure what to spawn as, spawn as a rifleman. The worst that can happen is that you'll die and one rifleman is no loss. However, one Matilda spawning at a forward base that's been camped, dying before it can do anything is a huge loss. That's one less Matilda to defend the town with when the forward base finally falls. Never respawn if you died just after spawning in. Watch the chat and see if people are saying it's camped. In fact, it's a good idea to join a mission after selecting a depot, army base or forward base, selecting your unit (this reserves it for some time) and then watch chat before joining. This generally gives you a rough idea of what's going on.
Press the ~ key (above Tab) and the NumLock (top left of keypad) to turn on the information bars. Use the Tab key to cycle between Name, Vehicle Type and No Icons above friendly unit's heads.
When you're using an AA gun, if it's a Bofors, fire at the air target when the circle goes red. If you're not a Bofors but one of the smaller guns, wait until the target circle is bright red.
If you're infantry and unable to fire your gun because your cursor is floating over the chat box, press "n" to switch to mousehead mode, look straight up, and press n again to switch to mouse aim mode.
If you're a fighter aircraft, the first joystick button is machine guns and second is cannon if you have them. Machine guns have a ton of ammo but all they do is harass. Cannon have very limited ammo but are deadly. Save them for when you'll know you'll hit.
; and ' (both left of the enter key) modify your maximum propeller speed, while the throttle on your joystick controls the engine throttle. The higher the speed and the more throttle, the faster your aircraft will fly but the faster it will overheat. Look for the boost gauge on your dashboard and try to keep boost at 0 and the propeller setting at continuous in order to keep your engine cool while just cruising. Oh, and altitude and speed mean life. Plus, no aircraft in the game can currently outclimb the Bf-109F4. Similarly, don't try to out-turn a Spitfire. Messerschmitts boom and zoom by climbing, diving on their targets and climbing away again. Spitfires get in dogfights.
If you're having difficulty getting rank as a pilot, try asking to be tailgunner.
Also, your name will be a bright green while you're in the low ranks. If you ask nicely, people will be more than glad to help you. World War II Online players are remarkably dedicated to their game and know they need new blood, they're very friendly and helpful to newbies. Just stay away from the forums. While better than most MMO forums, they can take the joy of the game away.
If you're taking fire from the enemy, don't go running to your friends. You'll just lead the enemy that's firing at you to them. So if a machinegun has a bead on your infantry guy, seek cover. If you can't, it's better to die than show him where everyone else is. The same goes for all ground units.
If you see "enemy ground forces spotted near XYZ", that means infantry is approaching town XYZ. That also means that you spawn infantry and find the spawnable depot to protect it. If you see "enemy armor spotted near XYZ", that means armor is approaching that town and you spawn an anti-tank gun, not a tank. Tanks are primarily for attack. By putting them in a defensive role, you're limiting their mobility advantage. Besides, if the enemy armor is approaching, you'll hear it in your ATG, but he won't hear you moving silently his way.
Finally, every city has some AI defending it. This means at least one AI AA gun in the army base, plus several AI MG and ATG guns which usually cover the roads and 4 major points of the compass. Attack cities at odd angles and do the pilots a favor by blowing the AI AA with grenades or a tank gun if you can. The AI MG and ATG can and will see you through bushes but have very limited traverse ability, so they're not as much of a threat but still good to take down.