Leaderboard

Disclaimer: everything in this guide is purely of my own opinion. I am not infallible, please don't take my word to be gospel but simply advice. Squishy: noun, singular. Anything with insufficient practical protection against being shot at. Plural: squishies. Non-squishy: noun, singular. Anything that isn't a squishy. I've always hated the game's vehicle classifications, because they encourage the belief that each vehicle class fulfill certain roles. The "classic" belief is that MBTs brawl, lights flank, AFVs scout and TDs snipe. This belief is entirely incorrect since any class can perform any of the above mentioned roles perfectly well, given the player is experienced enough to do so. There's no reason why AFVs and TDs can't flank or lights can't scout. A keen player will quickly realize that even though any class can perform any role, it doesn't necessarily mean they will excel at it. A PL-01 can certainly try push up against hordes of T-15s, it may even succeed given the ideal conditions but any MBT would be much more suited for that role. At the same time however, a K21 could maintain vision control almost as well as a Sphinx, but any advantages the Sphinx may have is purely due to its stats and not differences in vehicle class. Even though any class can perform any role, some of them simply perform said role better than others even within the same class (ie. T-15 vs Wilk). Who says a Sphinx is needed in heroic ch2? At the very core of the game, vehicles could be classified into two primary types: ones that could survive against being shot at, and ones that could not. The term "squishy" would apply to the latter, this includes practically all AFVs, most TDs and lights. Why would I wrap them all into one category, you ask? Because they all fundamentally similar to each other in terms of gameplay. They tend to survive by not being shot at, have high vision control capabilities, and have far higher tactical mobility than any non-squishy (some exceptions apply). Take the following vehicles for example: Bradley Dragun Sprut All 3 vehicles have similar vision control capabilities (view range + camo). They all have high effective DPM and relies on not being shot at to survive. Their mobility are similar as well, with the Bradley lagging behind in top speed. The Sprut and Dragun in particular are essentially siblings, with the Sprut trading DPM for slightly better vision control. There's no reason why the Bradley has to be the scout out of them all, or why the Sprut couldn't flank and skirmish just as the Dragun could. The classic belief falls apart when the differences between classes get blurred and they could all substitute for each other. Non-squishies are far easier to classify: almost all MBTs fall under this category, as well as hardy TDs such as the T-15 or Termi series. They have armor, they can afford to get shot at and still come out relatively intact. If you feel comfortable with getting shot at and staying alive longer than squishies, you're a non-squishy. Not much else to say about that. Note even with this simple dichotomy, the line between squishy and non-squishy can often blur depending on the situation. Certain squishies such as the PL-01 and Draco may sometimes become non-squishy if you are in hulldown positions, as their turrets are unmanned and could afford to take hits. Likewise, if an MBT doesn't have sufficient practical protection to survive being shot at, it should be relegated to being a squishy by virtue of having to avoid getting hit. Having enough hitpoints to afford trading damage doesn't mean you can afford to get shot at, it just means you can survive a little longer. The Cent 155 is very much a non-squishy if you can hide that hull. Surprise! Try to argue the Leo 1A5 isn't squishy. I tried, I couldn't. The takeaway from all this is that vehicles should be played according to their capabilities, not their arbitrary classifications. If you have good vision control, go exercise vision control. If you have mobility, run around to tag objectives or get flank shots on targets. If you have armor, go use that armor.