6 replies to this topic

[Lycopersicon]

Calling all expert Churchill players!

I went stamp collecting today, and being in masochistic mood, decided to play Churchill VII as much as I could take it. Not an enjoyable tank, tbh, but I was kind of intrigued on what the hell is the optimal way to play such tank when not top tier. I racked up a bunch of bottom tier games, most of which gave the expected result of the beautiful map being throughly mopped with my well-armoured arse. I'm not posting replays, they are of no interest, but I'm interested in what game plan people would make in each of these games, so I'm posting screenshots (mostly from the beginning of the game) and a short description of how it went.

 

In pretty much any other tank, I would have some idea how to put myself into use. In a Churchill, however, that has lots of armour (which is as good as nothing when most enemies are much bigger) and nothing else at all, and definitely not the speed to say "freck you, I am a medium now" as I would do in a faster heavy tank... Go and make a sandwitch? Surely, I cannot eat that much.

 

Spoiler

 

Completely clueless. Went to the centre, planning to offer support holding the E4 rock. Nobody went there, so I attempted to shoot the enemies pouring in from E5-E6 and was punded down by artillery that had evidently nothing better to do.

Spoiler

 

Trundled behind teammates, watched the enemy team melting away, eventually met the ISU-152 and realising that this was my only chance to get some damage at all, shot it until it killed me.

Spoiler

 

Figured that I had no reasonable way to influence the outcome, planted myself shamelessly behind the corner at F2 and hoped that some enemies would arrive before the battle ended. They did arrive, I did some 1000+ damage and bounced and tracked and spotted some; rather successful battle.

Spoiler

 

This one is obviously the end of the game, after spending five minutes trundling up the map along the 1-line from where I hoped to get side shots at the heavies brawing at E2 (found a few shots but bounced them) or to dig out snipers kemping at the NW corner (they died before I arrived).

Spoiler

 

Went to B3, hoping to help the team with their brawl for the C1 hill. Somehow, in this position I always attract higher-tier zombies who come from the low ground and throw their tank away in order to take most of my health; this time it was the Bulldog. Missed a lot, did I think three shots of damage before the enemies won the corner and walked over my precious body.

Spoiler

 

Went to the banana road to offer moral support for our O-Ho who didn't need any help to outplay the enemy O-Ho there. I attempted all game to at least track the latter, to no avail. Two shots of damage.

 

Finally, something completely different, in case someone really wants to watch a replay. Here's a top tier game for a change, where I figured that I had lots of armour and not much else, not even the gun depression to play those bloody hills, so the plan to snail my way to B2 as if enemies did not exist seemed like the most natural. Unfortunately, the entire enemy team could somehow trample on my back unhindered and eventually managed to overcome the armour problem, so it didn't turn out too well. So, again, what the hell would you have done instead?

Edited by Lycopersicon, 30 March 2018 - 03:27 PM.

[Bordhaw]

Probably why nobody plays British heavies.

[RamRaid90]

Bordhaw, on 30 March 2018 - 01:43 PM, said:

Probably why nobody plays British heavies.

 

​Tier V - VII

 

VIII+ are excellent.

[chiggy]

My plan was to sell every Churchill I ever owned in the British tree. Then purchase the Russian Churchill III. There are no lies with that tank.

[crnakoza]

Churchill VII in tier 8 game? Roll over and die. It is actually a decent tank in tier 6 and 7 games, but dreadfully outclassed by pretty much anything tier 8. Load skill ammo and pray.

 

I have to say I rather liked the Churchill I and Black Prince. Churchill VII I'm undecided on precisely because of tier 8 issue.

[Lycopersicon]

chiggy, on 30 March 2018 - 06:09 PM, said:

My plan was to sell every Churchill I ever owned in the British tree. Then purchase the Russian Churchill III. There are no lies with that tank.

 

There are only lies with Church III: it is really really bad for moving on in the British heavy line. Also, my soviet heavy crews are fine as they are, so the III would unfortunately be absolutely useless. Looks like I have to stick to the VII

 

crnakoza, on 30 March 2018 - 06:36 PM, said:

Churchill VII in tier 8 game? Roll over and die. It is actually a decent tank in tier 6 and 7 games, but dreadfully outclassed by pretty much anything tier 8. Load skill ammo and pray.

 

I have to say I rather liked the Churchill I and Black Prince. Churchill VII I'm undecided on precisely because of tier 8 issue.

 

Yep, that's how it feels: in tier 7 game, the armour is still an argument and the gun still hurts - if you can make it to where the enemies are while there is still some fighting going on. But in any case, I suspect that there are better and worse ways to roll over and die even in T8 games, and given that most of the games will inevitably be T8 nowadays, it looks like improved methods of being the floorwipe could be the best bet for doing better, so I'm looking for any ideas.

 

 

Edited by Lycopersicon, 30 March 2018 - 09:25 PM.

[HassenderZerhacker]

most heavies up to tier 8 sadly stand no chance in battles where they are bottom tier.

going to classic "heavy lines" ends very often in premature death.

the armor works best if far away from the enemy.

best way to make credits is to shoot higher tier tanks, possibly with premmo. premmo really helps getting better results. if you shoot tanks one tier over you frontally, the use premmo. 2 tiers above, shoot premmo even whe flanking them. every shot counts to kill them before they kill you and in these situatiobs nobody can afford a bounce.

so my tactics *NOW* (don!t look at what I did years ago) as a tier 5 to 7 bottom tier heavy tank is to hang back, second line support, seek out some position with arty cover and take opportunity shots at higher tier scouts or flank the enemy.

places that are absolute no-gos are places likely to be covered by higher tier enemy TDs and HTs.

 

what i would have done in your examples:

-overlord: my first position would have been B9 to get hull down there while unspotted and defend against lights and meds, if spotted to C8, the big bunker there offers arty cover while still being able to defend. if the battle progresses well, drive down the road to possibly get a couple shots at their arty.

-el halluf: i have also suffered there driving slow tank, even when top tier when a couple of try hard statpadders were on the team. 

maybe on that map the best spot would be near the TDs (hard kemping) to take shots at attacking lights and meds. if battle goes well, forget about driving up to the enemy, your tank is too slow. better try to win some capture points if playing encounter

-mannerheim line or whatever this map is called... i think your tactics were  good. could also have gone to e1 to support other tanks there.

-murowanka... my opinion is that firing with a bottom tier potato gun at top tier heavies is never a good idea (except on tiger  II and similar HP pinatas). on this map i do one of 2 things, if there are other players attacking the forst i follow as a second line support tank. if not enough players attack in the forest, i try to take position in arty covrer behind a house and ready to suppprt defense from there, or if no other tank defends that position, i would probly join the TDs on the hill

-next map of which i always forget the name, taking a slow bottom tier heavy to a lights and med fighting spot sounds dangerous to me. I'd rather try to support the meds by taking position at B4, where it's also possible to cover the middle and take some cheap shots at lights.

if things surn sour on this flank, i would retreat early (slow tank!) to A7, from where you can still spot, take some opportunity shots and defend base

-himmelsdorf: city map, bottom heavy... not a good combination. but this is a game wherr logic can help: too slow for the hill, too weak for bib banana street, too weak for TD death alley... leaves the railtracks . go hulldown behind the flat waggon and hope for no arty and no tds there.

all the above is just my opinion, others will probably say i'm a noob, lol.

i haven't watched the replay yet, but your short description of the battle  sounds like you had been going to some place alone, without team support.

 

 

 

Edited by HassenderZerhacker, 30 March 2018 - 10:24 PM.