Hello everyone. I decided to translate some of my guides on AWtactics which might be useful for other people on this forum. The original guide in german can be found here
Keep in mind that english is not my native language, I try my best to write correct sentences. Aswell I use google translate on my original text to keep the effort a bit lower. So there might be some errors I'm missing. In this case feel free to correct me.
In this guide I'll give you some tips on how to achieve a successful gameplay. This is not a guide on how to play and what tactics to use but more of an insight of what factors can separate a decent player from someone who is not good at the game. I myself am fairly experienced in PVP/GLOPS gamemodes and am a decent player overall. I'm probably not the best player out there but I know what I'm doing 
. Therefore I'd like to share some tips with you and hope that both experienced players and newbies can learn some things here. Keep in mind that the guide is (due to my background and preferences) a bit more on the PVP side of things, but I'm sure that this will help some PVE players as well as the tips are more or less generally useful.
Content:
I try to cover multiple things that some of you might be thinking are obvious. However, playing this game since closed beta, I could often observe the contrary.
- Think like your opponent
- Learn from mistakes
- Learn from other players
- Do the unexpected and use unconventional tactics
- Never give up!
- When you have a bad day
1. Think like your Opponent:
In my opinion this is probably the most important point to be successful in the game. A good player thinks like his opponent, he knows what the opponent will do next and adjusts his playstyle accordingly. He uses the opponent's behavior to his advantage and always tries to control the battle.
These sentences above may sound a little hollow at first, but they explain very well what is meant by “thinking like the opponent”. Let me split the whole thing up and show you what it's all about:
Before starting the game:
For a good player, the game starts as soon as he sees the loading screen. The loading screen is not only cosmetic, it also contains very useful information. Here you can see which map you are going to play on and can therefore already think about what you could do with your chosen vehicle. The team composition offers even more information. Here you can see how your own team and the opposing team are put together. Are there many tanks of a single class? What spotters/afvs does the enemy have? Has the enemy more MBTs than your team? Are there any above-average players in the opposing team, or platoons that could use a certain tactic or gameplay? All of these things should be compared and analyzed, before the game starts. A decent player already has a plan of what he could do before the battle begins and how the allies and opponents could behave based on the information gained. This process is of course very complex and difficult to explain. In general, this is where experience comes into play, which logically cannot be gathered within a day. But if you keep playing the game and analyzing the enemy and your own team you'll very soon get a hand for predicting things like these.
Start of the game:
The start of the game is essential. It basically decides the next steps to take as a player. As soon as the tanks move, an experienced player very often looks at the minimap and observes where the allies are heading. Where are the MBTs going, where are the TDs, what is your AFV trying to spot, is the ally trying to rush a flank? These are questions that can be answered with a fairly high degree of certainty at the beginning of the battle by just using the minimap. You as a player adapt accordingly to achieve the maximum effect against the enemy team. As soon as the first opponents are spotted, you can make initial assumptions about the enemy team. Where are they? Are there any places/flanks which are poorly covered or occupied by the enemy? Does the opponent rush one side? Based on all this information, the experienced player can adapt his playing style and thus turn the battle to his advantage.
During the game:
The minimap should be constantly observed during the game. It is also observed where the allies and opponents are located and how many HP the respective tanks still have. You can see that the minimap has become an essential tool because it offers a lot of important information at a glance. In addition, the remaining HP of the allies can either be viewed directly in the game window above the respective tanks, or as a bar on the team list. This information is useful to see the state of allied tanks, which for example defend or attack important points.
Direct confrontation (1v1 situations and general combat):
In a direct confrontation with the opponent, a good player tries to think the same as the opponent and can thus estimate what the opponent will do next. What does the opponent want to achieve? Does he have support? What does the opponent expect from me? This is also knowledge which one acquires with increasing experience. It is important that you watch your opponents carefully. You will notice ordinary behavior patterns of the enemies that happen again and again quite quickly. Plan your next move in the game accordingly to gain an advantage over your opponent.
2. Learn from mistakes:
A very important part. Everyone started out small and had their first game in Armored Warfare. What distinguishes a good player from a bad one is clearly that the good player learns from his mistakes.
Everyone has experienced this situation: You’re rushing ahead with your MBT and have been processed into scrap metal faster than you can count to three.
Now you can do two things: get frustrated about it and blame your opponents or teammates for your own death, or the better option: you analyze the situation and ask yourself how it could happen. This is where a useful tool from Armored Warfare comes into play, namely the replay function: the replay function records your battle so that you can watch it afterwards. (Your replays, as well as the option to record your battles as replays, can be found in your dossier). Now you have the opportunity to watch the game again as a replay. You can stop the time, go to other points of view and thus understand very well why you were processed into scrap that quickly. You can ask/examine the following things:
- Where do I stand with my tank (was I too exposed, did I show my weak spots, ...)
- Where were the allied tanks (could they provide fire support, were they busy with something else, ...)
- Where did the opponents stand (were they spotted, did they have a good firing position towards you, where/why were you spotted, ...)
- What is the general situation in battle (how are the allies and opponents distributed on the map, were you outnumbered, ...)
If you learn from your mistakes through this self-reflection, you have an enormous long-term advantage over the players, who blame everyone else but themselves for defeats.
3. Learn from other players:
What you learn from your own mistakes can also be learned from your own teammates. I personally have benefited the most in my WOT (World of Tanks) times by watching lifestreams and Clanwars of very good players. There are many opportunities to learn from your fellow players. Here are some:
Platoon with experienced players:
You can benefit a lot here. If you are in a platoon with experienced players, you can certainly learn a trick or two. You can see how your platoonmates generally react to the battle and what they do to win a game as often as possible. A good start to finding experienced players is to join a clan. There are usually opportunities to play together in a platoon. In addition, you can of course also ask in-game players (who you consider experienced or perform well in battle) via the chat function whether they would like to participate a few games with you.
Watch videos and lifestreams of good players:
There are some good players on YouTube who regularly upload gameplay videos. In addition, there are of course various streaming platforms where players can stream their gameplay directly. Of course you will also find plenty of video material on AWtactics (especially in the area of vehicle guides but also tactics). These are great ways to "look over the shoulders" of another player and learn from their tactics and techniques. Take a close look at the video material and look for things that you could adapt for your gameplay. The important thing is to actually try it out ingame. Have you seen something that you want to try yourself? Go ahead! Even if it fails, you can still learn and benefit from it.
4. Do the unexpected and use unconventional tactics:
This point also defines a good player: he always tries to do the unexpected (from the opponents pov) and thus gain an advantage. Here is a small video example:
Here you can see what unexpected tactics can do: within 2.5 minutes I manage to do 14,000Dmg and 6 kills. In addition to the considerable confusion in the enemy team, this makes it possible for my team to cap cappoint 1, which results in a great advantage for our team.
If we take a closer look at the video, we see that I initially drive the SPHINX directly into the opposing spawn point. What seems like a suicide squad succeeds. I can destroy the defenseless artillery vehicles and can now drive directly into the northern flank at high speed. Again, only the opposing CRAB was paying attention to the minimap and is attacking me. The rest of the opponents are now spotted and can be shot at by the advanced allies. The attacking Kornet is overhasty and does not hit me as I take advantage of the cover (helicopter). In close combat, a Kornet has significant disadvantages compared to a SPHINX (due to the lack of a gun), which I of course use to my advantage. With the subsequent death of Thunderbolt 2 (that obviously did not look at the minimap), the entire northern flank has been cleared, cap point 1 can now be capped. I now see on the minimap that the allies need more time for the capping, so I try to rush through the enemy spawn again to slow down the opponents. Here I manage to kill an artillery vehicle, after which I am shot down myself. Nevertheless, the cappoint 1 could be capped without any problems which is all that matters.
You see that actions that look like suicide rushes at first glance can also succeed. It becomes clear how important it is to confront the opponent in unexpected places and to perform unexpected maneuvers. Again, it is important to know what the opponent will do next in order to react accordingly.
Don't be afraid of new tactics:
Again, you should try new tactics and ideas, they can be successful. If they are not, you can still learn from the mistakes.
5. Never give up!
The name of the paragraph tells it all. Never give up! A good player will fight tooth and nail even in practically hopeless situations. He will try to do as much damage as possible while doing as many kills as possible. I would like to show you this concept in a video (It's a german commentary, but I will try to explain it to you below):
In this video I'm driving my SPHINX. Unfortunately for whatever reason I forgot to load ATGMs. Therefore I need to rely on my gun. This is a disadvantage of course but even without ATGM the SPHINX is a capable spotter with a strong gun so there is no point of giving up yet. All I try to do is to spot as much as possible and help the team winning. At 3:00min it is clear that the enemy is going to have an advantage by rushing the northern flank. At this point things are getting worse for my team. After a necessary attack on the leclerc and T90MS (To get accelerate the push of my team) I'm down to 300HP. Lot's of allies have already been destroyed and I'm left as a oneshot. There is not much hope at this point that we can win the game. But even without ATGM I'm trying to do the best as I can to do as many damage as possible. Starting from 5:15min the enemy is getting too confident and not paying attention to any possible ambushs. This is the point where the game starts to turn to our favor. With the competent help and toughtful gameplay of the rest of my team we can finally decimate the enemy team and win the game. You can see that at the end of the game I managed to get 8k dmage and 3.5k spot. Even tough I had no access to ATGM. This proves that even in hopeless situations there can be a way out.
As a second situation I want to show you the following video:
Here I'm in the battle with the BWP-1M Puma. Unfortunately I have no ammunition left. All I can do now is to scout and mark enemies. I try to do this as best as possible, but our team is decimated and ultimately I'm alone against the rest of the enemy team. Since I have no ammunition left, I have no choice but to ram the opponents. This action kills the VBL, but of course also myself. Nevertheless, I still got the maximum possible damage and made a kill.
6. When you have a bad day:
You are just unlucky today and lose almost every battle, are you getting killed over and over without doing any damage yourself? Don't worry, I have a solution for that too! I dare to say that every player knows this situation and is occasionally confronted with it. In such situations there is only one reasonable solution:
Turn off the game and do something else!
It is intended that I write this in bold and in the middle, it is really the only solution that has proven to be very effective, not only for me. When nothing is working and everything fails, the most effective way is to simply turn off the game and do something else. Are you angry because you just lost today? Go outside and do some sport (your anger will turn into brute force 
) Read a book or do other things, as long as you do something else.
The problem in such situations is as follows:
The ongoing defeats make you angry and frustrated (that's clear, because nobody likes to lose. At least I haven't met such a person yet). Now that you are angry, your gameplay is becoming increasingly aggressive and uncontrolled. I personally tend to be too offensive in that case and do thoughtless actions, which inevitably lead to the rapid destruction of my own tank. You become part of the problem by not playing properly due to the anger and frustration. This only favors the defeats.
I can really recommend this tip to everyone, since it is probably the most effective technique to avoid such a problem. The next day you can start the game with renewed motivation and without frustration or anger.
That's all for now. I hope this helps 