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Does anyone use heavy tanks in their army?

Mr Suplex

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I have long been convinced that heavy tanks are not worth the cost or amount of army capacity they take up, but it would be good to hear from others (particularly non-Roman players) who use them how they do so, and what the rest of the army is comprised of (including supporting tactics, etc).

I finally pulled the trigger on the level 3 Factory and I want to play around with this unit once it is available, but it just seems very hard to fit that 24/25 space into a 135 population army. How do you make these things work?
 
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Quovatis

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I use them in every attack. You MUST get the splash damage library upgrade first, otherwise they are useless. I use 3 HT, 3 artillery, and 3 planes. This 5-stars pretty much every base lvl 130 and lower without needing any tactics. As you upgrade your planes (focus on taking out AT towers), you can do even stronger bases. I rarely lose any planes or HTs on attacks. I'm German, BTW
 

Mr Suplex

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Wow, very interesting. What makes up the remainder of your army (assuming you have all library upgrades your army only takes up 99 troop space)?


The tanks are fast enough to 5 star bases on their own? I would think their low fire rate and small numbers would make it harder to do this. I assume the planes' main role beyond suppressing/destroying AT guns is to protect the artillery and just generally attack enemy infantry, correct?

Agree on the splash damage. It seems mandatory. Does it work similar to how donated artillery works on defense? Does the splash also hit buildings?

What nation do you play? I'm thinking German would be a top choice for this army given the need to control it and the damage bonus Germany receives.
 
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Quovatis

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I am German, but I rarely rally when attacking. As long as 1 artillery is behind each HT, you're good. Letting them spread is usually a good thing. Yes, the planes protect the artillery and clear the way for the HTs. I keep 6 foot soldiers in the bag for cleanup at the end. The splash damage can kill 6 HC in one shot.

Some players use a 5 HT army with success. I have not tried this personally.
 

Mr Suplex

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Awesome man this is very intriguing and I definitely want to give it a shot. So you seem to keep the army spread out and essentially in 3 smaller independent teams (1 tank supported by 1 artillery). Very interesting.

It will probably be 7-10 days before I have all the necessary upgrades but its something to shoot for.
 

Ravenlord

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Interesting that Quovatis mentioned he rarely uses the German rally - at first l was thinking this would be the only way to use HTs effectively given their slow movement. I only use the HT with my Roman nation because of the extra spaces and I only use 2 because l like a mixed army - easily 5 starring at 1200-ish medals even against IA bases. (I dont bother using them with my Brits)
I like HTs because they are a great distraction, letting your other troops wreak havoc. Maybe l should give them a go with my Germans ..... ?
 

Quang t legend

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Any one that try army of only French tanks with Versailles and armor blessing, they are near the same 22000 health like heavy tank, without the splash damage and anti tank bonus. But you can give them Sword blessing!

I need to try these!! Too bad nearly everyone I meet have tanks now!
 
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AbbyVille

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I do. French tanks with armor blessing has almost 21000 hit point 6 French tanks are almost the same as 4 heavy tanks mk2, almost :). Nothing give the shock value as the heavy tanks with splash damage. I also have with me 3 cannons and 3 archers from donations. You just have to trust that the hi hit points and damage of the HT can get themselves out of trouble without the constant rallies.
 

Quovatis

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yeah, regular tanks take forever to take down hoards of defenders one by one, while HT has splash damage and can take them out in one shot
 

Mr Suplex

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I finally had the chance to play around with these things and I think they are awful (even with the splash damage upgrade). I have no idea how you guys get them to work for you. They are very slow, and their AI is terrible. I think the normal tank AI is much more useful as they seek out defensive structures, instead of destroying random farms and caravans like heavy tanks do.


I'd take 2 normal tanks and 5 infantry to a heavy tank any day of the week. I want these things to work because they look so cool, but they just don't seem to cut it.
 
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Brand Marrow

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I thought they would be useless as well but now rely on one for every attack. However, my nation is pretty much set up for it with Germans, Brandenburg gate and now Mark 2 heavies. I just use one Hvy with 4 tanks, 3 artillery, 3 supply trucks, 22 rifles and airpower. Can 5 star most bases (at 1000 medal range) with minimal casualties- thats the big selling point for me, Hvy tanks absorb alot of damage and less casualties means less training in between battles..
 

Mr Suplex

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Yeah, I went from the army Quovatis recommended to just using one with my normal army, which went from this:

3 tanks
4 artillery
2 supply trucks
28 riflemen
27 Wehrmacht

To this:

1 heavy tank
2 tanks
4 artillery
2 supply trucks
20 riflemen
20 Werhmacht

It doesn't seem that different, but the 15 less infantry makes a huge difference as I go from a handful of survivors to nothing, and that handful of survivors usually is what wins me my battles.

For me, I think the main issue is the AI of heavy tanks, and their slow speed just exacerbates this issue. Normal tanks go after towers, taking the heat off other troops, but heavy tanks go after anything like shock infantry, and often end up being useless as a result. I much prefer my tanks to be shot at than other things and heavy tanks don't do this nearly as well.

They aren't awful, but I think you get so much more bang for your buck with 2 normal tanks and 5 more infantry. Maybe I need to wait until the Mk2 is available, but I am very unimpressed with them so far. At 20 troop space I would consider them, but at 25 its hard to sell me on them.
 
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Brand Marrow

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try swapping your infantry for a couple more tanks, my infantry always gets wiped out, but with a group of 4 tanks plus one heavy, I often loss only a few rifles when I take down an entire base
 

Mr Suplex

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What does damage if you get rid of infantry? How do you break down walls? I think I'm the only player left who actually uses infantry and thinks they are effective.

I like my Wehrmacht too much to give them all up just to try using a heavy tank. Oh well...
 

astero

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How do you break down walls?

My 10 HC (tanks) go through walls as if they just stopped to yawn for 3 seconds.

Then there's also this guy whose primary purpose is to put a hole in them. He comes out (along with raiders right behind him) if there are still walled-in mills or markets once my tanks have given up the ghost...

The heavy tank though is not ideal as it seems to go at anything. Without splash damage it could take a while to deal with infantry even...
 

Mr Suplex

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My 10 HC (tanks) go through walls as if they just stopped to yawn for 3 seconds.

Then there's also this guy whose primary purpose is to put a hole in them. He comes out (along with raiders right behind him) if there are still walled-in mills or markets once my tanks have given up the ghost...

What is your exact army configuration if you don't mind my asking. I know tanks can bust through walls, but shock infantry (especially Japanese/German) cut through it in seconds.

The heavy tank though is not ideal as it seems to go at anything. Without splash damage it could take a while to deal with infantry even...

This is exactly my issue with the heavy tank. Its stats are good, but its so slow and its AI does not focus on anything in particular, so it often isn't attacking meaningful targets.

I wanted to fit the heavy tank into my army, but it seems you have to build your entire army around these things, and I'm not willing to do that. Maybe in Global age when I have 15 more slots I'll replace a normal tank with a heavy tank.
 

astero

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What is your exact army configuration if you don't mind my asking. I know tanks can bust through walls, but shock infantry (especially Japanese/German) cut through it in seconds.

I'm playing as France and currently have 10 tanks, 5 raiders, a wall-buster and a single infantryman. I miss my saboteur who dealt with some buildings nicely, but I now have two planes that I've only learned how to use effectively.

When I go raiding and I know the tanks ain't comin' back, I tend to keep the planes out of it. But if I intend to win and have most of my tanks return then I bring out the planes as they are very useful at getting rid of opposing cavalry/tanks and for taking out heavy guns (ballista), especially when people annoyingly wrap walls around them. :)
 

AbbyVille

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If you are going to use heavy tanks then it's good when you have 3-4 as it can level the base with little resistance. Unlike tanks they hit everything not just defensive buildings but do not get stuck often cause it can blow thru just about anything including swam of troops.

One plus one air, 4 heavy tanks mk2, 2 heavy machine gunners, 2 healers and the rest are shock infantries, riflemen, and raiders do well on May base set up but if you don't finish off the defensive it's over 4K in oil, don't ask me how painful that is when you miss it by a few seconds. :)
 

Porcupine

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How else do you deal with maxed walls and lvl30 generals? (unless you have lvl30 yourself). I've successfully played with 1 to 6 heavy tanks combos and had good results, they act differently then normal tanks so you have to get used to it and plan/act accordingly.
 

Ravenlord

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I can 2nd the use of HTs. Today l decided to go with 4 HTs with my romans - the rest archers & some footsies - and they tear through bases!! Losses are usually the foot troops but thats fine cos they're easy & cheap to rebuild.

I'll be using this combo for a while .....
 
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