di_duncan 24 Posted July 11, 2020 Since up-to-date guides for Armored Warfare are few and far between, I’ve decided to contribute a comprehensive crew overview/guide (in spite of how much of the crew system is already common knowledge). Since I will be writing it, the content presented may come off as long-winded and/or excessive. A side effect of university papers perhaps… Apologies in advance if this is the case. On the other hand, if the community here enjoys my transcribed thoughts and opinions, I may decide to create more of these posts/topics. I think the ArmoredLabs forum is an excellent platform and initiative, where perspectives, information, and discussion pertaining to AW can be shared between and archived for players, experienced or not. Note that some elements of my writing will be influenced by personal opinion, so please do not take everything here as gospel. Much of it can be classified as suggestion instead of fact. Any suggestions and/or constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. Please notify me of any errors and/or discrepancies, edits will be made if necessary. I will strive to keep my posts up-to-date. With that out of the way, here is my AW crew guide: Crew Vehicles in AW (all currently manned) require a [healthy] crew complement to support and sustain combat capability during battle(s). The bulk of the material within this overview is not applicable to commanders. Although commanders are also technically crew members, they employ a skill and leveling system far more complex while also boasting significant/substantial distinct abilities and mechanics; therefore requiring a dedicated guide of their own. When a new vehicle is purchased/acquired, it is assigned crew members automatically, each with specific roles/duties to fulfill in their respective vehicles. Crews will also have skills and attributes related to their position. Skills: Crew skills are selectable performance improvements available to individual crew members. Different crew roles will each have their own respective sets of [unique] skills relevant to their position. Two skills can be chosen for each crew member, with the first skill slot unlocked upon reaching level 2 and the second slot upon reaching level 4. Attributes: Predetermined set of intrinsic competencies relevant to the specific crew member’s function within the vehicle. Designed to reflect a crew’s mastery of the vehicle, its percentage/potency increases alongside a crew’s level of proficiency. Attributes are maxed once a crew attains level 5. Crew Progression: Unlike commanders, which can be moved and/or shared between different vehicles, the other crew members of a vehicle must remain with their respective vehicle. Crew members gain crew experience tied to the amount of base experience (based on performance) gained from battle(s). Consequently, crew experience can be augmented by winning (in PvP), completing [primary and secondary] objectives (in PvE), first win of the day multipliers, and premium account. However, crew experience income can be further increased with certain boosts, applicable insignias, and special event bonuses as well. As a vehicle’s crew accrues experience, their proficiency level will gradually increase. Higher levels will progressively increase their [passive] attributes while reaching levels 2 and 4 will unlock a skill slot respectively. Proficiency is maxed upon reaching level 5. Crew experience required for level up: Level 1 → Level 2: 3,000 Level 2 → Level 3: 17,000 Level 3 → Level 4: 70,000 Level 4 → Level 5: 110,000 Players are also presented with an option to immediately “promote” the crew to level 3 (with credits) or to level 5 (with gold). But this is generally unadvised, as the crew grind is rather seamless and quick, occurring in parallel to the corresponding vehicle grind. Some premium vehicles come with a level 5 crew as standard: Crew in Combat: Similar to internal vehicle modules/components, crew members are modeled with a hitpoint pool and located at their respective positions within their vehicle. A penetrating shot in or around these particular area(s) may injure crew member(s). Whereas modules are [eventually] repaired automatically, injured crew cannot recover without the use of a medical kit or first aid cabinet. Crew Consumables: The three consumables relevant to crew are: Medical Kit: Heals all injured crew members in your vehicle (single use) First Aid Cabinet: Heals all injured crew members in your vehicle (3 uses, 90 second cooldown) Both medpacks feature a passive 15% bonus to crew resilience (crew “durability”). There is no reason not to equip the first aid cabinet over the medical kit (especially if you play GlOps), unless you are particularly low on credits. Energy Drink: Increases crew stats (attributes) by an additional 5% for a single battle Energy drink (and some commander skills) buff crew stats, but this only improves crew attributes, not crew skills. Therefore, vehicles with a manual loader should be equipped with energy drink. A vehicle with a level 5 loader trained with Rapid Fire combined with energy drink would see a considerable 10% increase to its rate of fire (without factoring in any additional crew stat buffs) Crew Configuration: The number of crew a vehicle seats may vary from vehicle to vehicle, from a minimum of 2 (Wiesel) to a maximum of 5 (Some SPGs, AFT-10, etc.). All vehicles require two crew members minimum, specifically: Commander Leader of the vehicle. Guides, instructs and directs crewmen during operation of the vehicle under his/her control. Responsibilities encompass communications, navigation, target acquisition, operating weaponry, etc. A commander injury disables any commander abilities and results in a sweeping debuff to vehicle characteristics, such as mobility, targeting, and firepower, even if the crew member corresponding to that function is still alive/unharmed. Driver Drivers are responsible for mobility; specifically driving and/or manoeuvring a vehicle. They steer and control the hull movement of vehicles, namely forward/reverse movement and turning/rotation. An injured driver will have significant negative effects to speed, acceleration, hull traverse, etc. Attributes: Traverse Speed (+5% max, +1% per level) Self explanatory, the rate at which a vehicle rotates its hull. Expressed in degrees (°) per second. Terrain Resistance (+10% max, +2% each level) How evenly a vehicle distributes its weight to the ground. Better terrain resistance effectively improves vehicle acceleration off-road. Skills: Smooth Ride: Overall accuracy while moving is improved by 10% Use/Function: Better accuracy while firing on-the-move Classes: MBT, LT, AFV (particularly LTs and AFVs) Vehicles: Most LTs, AFVs which are able to fire on-the-move (eg: SPHINX) Battering Ram: Ramming damage increased by 50% Use/Function: Increased outgoing ramming damage Classes: MBT Vehicles: M1A1 Storm, T-80U, Obj 640 Off-Road Driving: Acceleration on off-road terrain increased by 20% Use/Function: Better off-road mobility Classes: All Vehicles: Any vehicle which feels sluggish off-road (eg: Challengers) Spin to Win: Hull traverse speed improved by 5% Use/Function: Improving turn rate Classes: All Vehicles: Vehicles with poor hull traverse/large turning circles (eg: Merkavas) Field Repair: Track and wheel repair rate improved by 25% Use/Function: Decreasing track/wheel repair times Classes: MBT Vehicles: Brawlers and/or vehicles frequently receiving fire The vast majority of vehicles will also feature a gunner. Gunner Gunners operate vehicle weapon systems and it is their task to aim and fire upon targets. Vehicle turrets and/or weapons are manipulated by the gunner. When the gunner is injured, a vehicle’s accuracy and turret traverse speed will decrease drastically, while aim time will increase considerably as well. Attributes: Aim Speed (+10% max, +2% per level) Self explanatory, the time required for a vehicle to minimize its aim circle. Turret Traverse Speed (+5% max, +1% per level) Self explanatory, the rate at which a vehicle rotates its turret. Expressed in degrees (°) per second. ATGM Accuracy (+10% max, +2% per level) The missile guidance stability of a vehicle. Skills: Do the Twist: Turret traverse speed improved by 8% Use/Function: Improving turret rotation rate and target engagement Classes: All Vehicles: 490, MGM, ADTU, etc. Quick Draw: Aim speed improved by 5% Use/Function: Improved gun handling/targeting Classes: All Vehicles: Any vehicle with longer than desired aim time Sharpshooter: Max spread is improved by 5% Use/Function: Improves maximum (best) accuracy. Classes: All Vehicles: Any vehicle which has less accuracy than desired Preventative Maintenance: Cannon hitpoints are increased by 50% Use/Function: Making disabling weapon(s) more difficult Classes: MBT Vehicles: MBTs with easily disabled guns (XM1A3, 490, etc.) Accuracy: Accuracy decay rate while firing is improved by 25% Use/Function: Decreasing weapon bloom after firing Classes: Some MBTs, LTs, and TDs Vehicles: CATTB Some vehicles will also retain a loader, until higher tiers (especially tier 10) where they are largely replaced by autoloaders. Loader Loaders are mostly self-explanatory. Vehicles without an autoloader must rely on a human loader to manually replenish (reload) their armament. When loaders sustain an injury, both vehicle reload speed and weapon/ammunition swap time increases substantially. Hence, loaders are both potential liabilities and/or beneficial assets. An injured loader can effectively disable a vehicle’s weaponry, although (or conversely) loader effectiveness can be buffed with energy drink. Attributes: Rate of Fire (2.5% max, 0.5% per level) Self explanatory, the rate at which a vehicle is able to fire its weapons. Applies to reload times on single fire weapons, both reload and intra-clip reload times on weapons with ready-rack/magazine and the RPM of autocannons. Skills: Rapid Fire: Rate of fire increased by 2.5% Use/Function: Increasing DPM Classes: All Vehicles: All Preparation: Ammo swap speed improved by 50% (Bonus is higher on clip-style autoloaders and large magazine autocannons. Activates only if the number of shells are full.) Use/Function: Improved weapons and ammunition flexibility Classes: MBT, LT Vehicles: Vehicles with longer reloads but decent gun/ammunition Explosive Shells: Module damage increased by 10% Use/Function: Greater module damage Classes: All Vehicles: Any vehicle set up for module damage (eg: Cent 120 w/ Sabrina) Secured Ammunition: Reload speed not reduced when ammo rack and/or breech are hit Use/Function: Eliminating reload penalties for damaged/disabled ammo rack/cannon breech Classes: MBT Vehicles: Any MBT with easily damaged/disabled ammo rack and/or cannon breech (eg: Leopards) Vehicle Expertise: Repair speed increased by 10% Use/Function: Improved module repair speed Classes: MBT, some LTs Vehicles: Vehicles with modules that are consistently/routinely destroyed Safety: Chance of explosion during a fire reduced 22.6% Use/Function: Chance to preventing additional damage from ammo rack explosion Classes: MBT Vehicles: MBTs with vulnerable ammo racks (Leopards, Ariete, etc.) Notable vehicles/lines without a loader: [Most] Russian MBTs [Most] Chinese MBTs AFVs Autocannon [exclusive] vehicles [Most] Missile [exclusive] vehicles Note: Some vehicles may have a crew member assigned as both a gunner and a loader. In this case, the crew member will serve as both roles simultaneously and will have attributes and skills available from both positions. Accordingly, dual-role crew members should benefit from loader skills (trained in Rapid Fire) while their vehicles should also be equipped with energy drink. Interesting fact: Crew members can be customized in AW. First and last names can be chosen from an extensive list of different names originating from various languages and/or nationalities. Crew portraits can also be changed; another likeness can be selected from yet another expansive list of appearances of varying race, ethnicity, gender, and attire. Fin 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quantum_Ranger 14 Posted July 11, 2020 I can see where the first aid cabinet is really useful in PvP, where you only have 1 life to live. So I'm wondering about the economics of the first aid cabinet over the medical kit... seems like it only becomes worthwhile at a certain tier in PVE. At T7 the first respawn costs 7500, so if I just go ahead and die once in each of 3 matches, I've spent 22,500 (and reloaded all my ammo and completed all repairs, too.) This is just half the cost of burning a cabinet. I hardly ever need second respawn, because usually that late in the game there's not enough opportunity to mitigate the additional cost. At what point is the cabinet worthwhile? And if you have a cabinet, what's the optimal threshold for breaking it open? One problem is that once you buy the cabinet, you can't set it aside and just use the medical kit if you are going off to play PVE for awhile. So do people just keep 1 vehicle prepped for PVP and a different vehicle prepped for PVE? Thanks for a great tutorial, and for enlightening us noobs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
di_duncan 24 Posted July 12, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: So I'm wondering about the economics of the first aid cabinet over the medical kit... seems like it only becomes worthwhile at a certain tier in PVE. At T7 the first respawn costs 7500, so if I just go ahead and die once in each of 3 matches, I've spent 22,500 (and reloaded all my ammo and completed all repairs, too.) This is just half the cost of burning a cabinet. I hardly ever need second respawn, because usually that late in the game there's not enough opportunity to mitigate the additional cost. At what point is the cabinet worthwhile? And if you have a cabinet, what's the optimal threshold for breaking it open? This is certainly true. In fact, I would even claim that the cabinet is unnecessary for PvE at any tier. With the respawn mechanic, there is little incentive to choose the cabinet. However, there is one scenario where a cabinet always trumps the single-use kit: When a vehicle is still healthy and combat-ready, but has already suffered from a dead crew member. In this case, intentionally taking enough damage to die only to respawn away from the fight is inefficient and wasteful. On the other hand, continuing to play with an injured crew member may also be rather frustrating, especially if it's a commander or loader. While such occurrences are quite rare, this is where the cabinet's 3 uses proves valuable, even if running the consumable isn't particularly cost-effective. TL;DR: The cabinet allows PvE players to ensure crew survival throughout a single lifespan and/or without relying on respawning. As for when a medpack should be applied, it's entirely dependent on the tolerence level of the individual player. Someone could technically complete a game without healing an injured loader, but I'm sure most rational/reasonable players would immediately restore their loader(s) to full combat effectiveness. An injured commander or loader should be an immediate med. It's very annoying/fustrating to play with a global debuff or a terrible reload. Gunners are also crucial, as AW transforms into WoT when they are injured, so healing them is also usually advised. Finally, I would say drivers are the least urgent/serious, since mobility is not vital to perform well. As for me, I heal any injured crew member regardless of role. I detest anything and everything which degrades my vehicle's overall capability. 12 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: One problem is that once you buy the cabinet, you can't set it aside and just use the medical kit if you are going off to play PVE for awhile. So do people just keep 1 vehicle prepped for PVP and a different vehicle prepped for PVE? As players become more advanced and/or experienced in AW, they will eventually begin accumulating credits (earning more than they spend). Wealthier players (with excess/disposable income) may simply ignore consumable or even retrofit costs, equipping their vehicles however they like. PvP players (GlOps players especially) usually spare no expense in outfitting their vehicles either, since their respective gamemode(s) require them to overcome diverse and distinct challenges. It also helps that PvP modes offer better relative credit (and XP) income. 12 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: Thanks for a great tutorial, and for enlightening us noobs. You're welcome :) I hope you found it helpful/useful. Edited July 12, 2020 by di_duncan Additional comments (see edit history) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TekNicTerror 5 Posted July 12, 2020 You can take the consumables off and on on any tank at any time. AKA... you can buy a 3 use repair or medical... you play your battle and didn't use it, you don't want it on for the next battle, you can replace it with the single use version that is free, the 3 use version is still in your consumable inventory to use whenever. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quantum_Ranger 14 Posted July 15, 2020 Duncan said: Crew experience required for level up:Level 1 → Level 2: 3,000Level 2 → Level 3: 17,000Level 3 → Level 4: 70,000Level 4 → Level 5: 110,000 This is very interesting, because the crew xp threshold seems to be uniform regardless of tier, while the cost to buy into level 3 or level 5 scales upwards by tier. The gold is definitely not worth it, but I can see where the credit expenditure to get to level 3 is worthwhile at low tiers (say T2-T3), because the marginal cost isn't that much if you accept the daily bonuses or have a higher tier tank you can use as a credit printer for a couple matches. Plus it seems to take longer to accrue the xp at the low tiers to level up compared to higher tiers. But knowing what the xp thresholds are to level up the crew definitely will make me want to save the credits for leveling up at T6 and above. Thanks!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
di_duncan 24 Posted July 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: This is very interesting, because the crew xp threshold seems to be uniform regardless of tier, while the cost to buy into level 3 or level 5 scales upwards by tier. The gold is definitely not worth it, but I can see where the credit expenditure to get to level 3 is worthwhile at low tiers (say T2-T3), because the marginal cost isn't that much if you accept the daily bonuses or have a higher tier tank you can use as a credit printer for a couple matches. I can see what you mean. Considering many lower tiered vehicles also have manual loaders, promoting their crews may also make the initial low tier grinds much more tolerable as well. That being said, I personally skip over low tiers entirely by advancing them to renowned with reputation (sometimes without even purchasing the vehicle). But this is definitely a privilege, as I'm only willing to do this because I already have a decent stockpile of reputation and vehicles (premiums included); plus, I don't really like low tiers. 3 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: Plus it seems to take longer to accrue the xp at the low tiers to level up compared to higher tiers. This is expected, since XP gain (in general) is considerably less at lower tiers compared to at higher tiers. This is also likely why lower tiered vehicles often achieve renowned before their crews reach level 4. 3 hours ago, Quantum_Ranger said: But knowing what the xp thresholds are to level up the crew definitely will make me want to save the credits for leveling up at T6 and above. Thanks!! Glad to know my work is useful/helpful to others ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
