(I stopped playing around 2022, since then there have been new additions and changes to the game. Still, I believe my opinion still holds value.)
Games that heavily revolve around tank-on-tank combat are rare. In fact, there are only two big-budget titles that fill that niche – World of Tanks and Warthunder. There has been an eternal debate about which of the two is better. As someone who has played both, I would say that they are equal in terms of how much fun I had. If you are wondering which of the two to pick, I would say Warthunder due to the bigger community, and it seems to be going in a better direction overall.
WOT is a free-to-play team-based PVP game featuring a gigantic number of armoured vehicles (mostly tanks). It can be said that this is the more arcade-y and unrealistic one of the two. That is mainly due to it having mechanics like health bars and enemies being invisible until spotted, and the uncountable number of historical inaccuracies in the tanks featured, some of which are straight-up made up. Those are only flaws depending on how you look at them.
The real problems lay in the free-to-play aspect. There are pay-to-win mechanics, like being able to spend money to get a tank better in every way than the one that you can get for free. In my experience they aren’t THAT bad, I would say it’s more pay to get an advantage.
Overall, World of Tanks offers a unique gameplay experience that I have yet to see an equal. Unfortunately, it’s one of those games that only gets really fun once you get good, and the barrier to entry seems to keep getting higher.
Can I recommend it? Well, I had fun, but from the hundreds of hours I’ve sunk into it, I can barely remember any of it. Make of that what you will.6
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
True to its genre, there is no story.
𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲
When I say unique gameplay, I mean it. Even its rival Warthunder is very different. The closest comparison I can make would be a hero shooter like Overwatch, even then the differences are glaring.
There is a heavy amount of strategy that goes into skilfully playing World of Tanks. You have to utilize your own tanks' advantages, knowledge of the map, knowledge of your and your enemies’ tanks, and you have to constantly watch how the battle develops. That seems like a lot to take in, but WOT is a slow-paced game, quick reactions aren’t as important as in most other PVP titles. The main objective of every battle is to win by either destroying all the enemy tanks or capturing the base. Generally, if you play well, you will win more than you lose.
WOT also reminds me of mecha games in the way that there are so many stats to consider. Every aspect of your vehicle has a stat determining how good it is. In addition, every vehicle has a detailed armour model, which if not taken into consideration may lead to you dealing zero damage to your opponents.
Once you start playing, you will notice that the cool tanks on the cover aren’t unlocked. That’s where the grind comes in. You start at tier 1 and go all the way to tier 10, along the way you get introduced to various mechanics. For me, it took more than 2000 battles before I got to the top tier. (that’s a lot of time)
Various other game modes come and go, some fun, others not so much. The game gets consistent support and will probably continue to do so for the coming years. This has caused the barrier to entry, i.e., the amount a new player has to learn, to keep increasing. So, in the beginning, it may be quite overwhelming.
Overall, WOT is fun, it just requires patience to get good at it and also to ignore all the various pay-to-win mechanics. I stopped playing because I felt unsatisfied after so many hours spent on a game with no end. I could be doing better things with my time, what I thought to myself.
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬/𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
The graphics are good, not next-gen or anything, but they still hold up. A major reason for that is the artistic direction taken when creating the various maps. There isn’t a single boring-looking one.
𝐀𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞/𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
Out of all the PVP games I’ve played, not a single one has managed to invest me in a battle as WOT has. The music, the way all your teams’ tanks are lined up, the voice line telling you to roll out, it all somehow creates a feeling that this is serious and you have to win.
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤
At one point, I dropped the game, only to start playing again after hearing the soundtrack. It’s the best part of WOT for me.
Every map has different music. This begins with a short but intense intro while still waiting for the battle to start, after which it fades out and stays quiet. Not many know this, but the game has dynamic music. If you are winning the music becomes more heroic, if you are losing it becomes intense and fierce, in a way pushing you to keep trying.
Another reason why I love this OST is how well it fits into each map. A map with a train station has the sound of trains as its main motif, a map with a factory has machinery incorporated into its theme, and so on.
My favourite part is “Kraftwerk”.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
If you are good at this game, you will win more than you lose. You can’t get bad teammates thousands of battles in a row.
Games that heavily revolve around tank-on-tank combat are rare. In fact, there are only two big-budget titles that fill that niche – World of Tanks and Warthunder. There has been an eternal debate about which of the two is better. As someone who has played both, I would say that they are equal in terms of how much fun I had. If you are wondering which of the two to pick, I would say Warthunder due to the bigger community, and it seems to be going in a better direction overall.
WOT is a free-to-play team-based PVP game featuring a gigantic number of armoured vehicles (mostly tanks). It can be said that this is the more arcade-y and unrealistic one of the two. That is mainly due to it having mechanics like health bars and enemies being invisible until spotted, and the uncountable number of historical inaccuracies in the tanks featured, some of which are straight-up made up. Those are only flaws depending on how you look at them.
The real problems lay in the free-to-play aspect. There are pay-to-win mechanics, like being able to spend money to get a tank better in every way than the one that you can get for free. In my experience they aren’t THAT bad, I would say it’s more pay to get an advantage.
Overall, World of Tanks offers a unique gameplay experience that I have yet to see an equal. Unfortunately, it’s one of those games that only gets really fun once you get good, and the barrier to entry seems to keep getting higher.
Can I recommend it? Well, I had fun, but from the hundreds of hours I’ve sunk into it, I can barely remember any of it. Make of that what you will.6
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
True to its genre, there is no story.
𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲
When I say unique gameplay, I mean it. Even its rival Warthunder is very different. The closest comparison I can make would be a hero shooter like Overwatch, even then the differences are glaring.
There is a heavy amount of strategy that goes into skilfully playing World of Tanks. You have to utilize your own tanks' advantages, knowledge of the map, knowledge of your and your enemies’ tanks, and you have to constantly watch how the battle develops. That seems like a lot to take in, but WOT is a slow-paced game, quick reactions aren’t as important as in most other PVP titles. The main objective of every battle is to win by either destroying all the enemy tanks or capturing the base. Generally, if you play well, you will win more than you lose.
WOT also reminds me of mecha games in the way that there are so many stats to consider. Every aspect of your vehicle has a stat determining how good it is. In addition, every vehicle has a detailed armour model, which if not taken into consideration may lead to you dealing zero damage to your opponents.
Once you start playing, you will notice that the cool tanks on the cover aren’t unlocked. That’s where the grind comes in. You start at tier 1 and go all the way to tier 10, along the way you get introduced to various mechanics. For me, it took more than 2000 battles before I got to the top tier. (that’s a lot of time)
Various other game modes come and go, some fun, others not so much. The game gets consistent support and will probably continue to do so for the coming years. This has caused the barrier to entry, i.e., the amount a new player has to learn, to keep increasing. So, in the beginning, it may be quite overwhelming.
Overall, WOT is fun, it just requires patience to get good at it and also to ignore all the various pay-to-win mechanics. I stopped playing because I felt unsatisfied after so many hours spent on a game with no end. I could be doing better things with my time, what I thought to myself.
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬/𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
The graphics are good, not next-gen or anything, but they still hold up. A major reason for that is the artistic direction taken when creating the various maps. There isn’t a single boring-looking one.
𝐀𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞/𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
Out of all the PVP games I’ve played, not a single one has managed to invest me in a battle as WOT has. The music, the way all your teams’ tanks are lined up, the voice line telling you to roll out, it all somehow creates a feeling that this is serious and you have to win.
𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤
At one point, I dropped the game, only to start playing again after hearing the soundtrack. It’s the best part of WOT for me.
Every map has different music. This begins with a short but intense intro while still waiting for the battle to start, after which it fades out and stays quiet. Not many know this, but the game has dynamic music. If you are winning the music becomes more heroic, if you are losing it becomes intense and fierce, in a way pushing you to keep trying.
Another reason why I love this OST is how well it fits into each map. A map with a train station has the sound of trains as its main motif, a map with a factory has machinery incorporated into its theme, and so on.
My favourite part is “Kraftwerk”.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
If you are good at this game, you will win more than you lose. You can’t get bad teammates thousands of battles in a row.