13Disciple | 06-Dec-19
The sum of the lessons in the Micro Position and Micro Play section are all intended to improve this core idea of trading efficiently - vehicle to vehicle. By introducing the lessons in the Micro Position and Micro Play section you’ll begin to trade more efficiently in your matches and as a result you should begin to see a direct correlation in your WN8 and PR improvement.
The second lesson in Trading Efficiently is found in the Macro Position and Macro Play section and is targeted at improving your win rate, and all of the lessons inside that section are intended to improve the core idea of trading efficiently - Vehicle to Objective.
The second lesson in Trading Efficiently is found in the Macro Position and Macro Play section and is targeted at improving your win rate, and all of the lessons inside that section are intended to improve the core idea of trading efficiently - Vehicle to Objective.
Trade Efficiently
If you have watched popular World of Tanks streamers or you-tubers I’m sure you’ve heard the term “trade efficiently” or at least a reference to a "bad trade," "good trade," or even something like "free shots." At its root this simply means the difference between the damage you caused versus the damage you received. This is the basis of the survivability onion (Crab Paradigm) discussed in lesson 2.
Many new plays will begin the game, and their admirable goal is typically to obtain enough damage in the match equal to their hit points - they believe if they accomplish this, at least they can’t blame themselves for contributing to the loss. I find this logic a bit too simple. Especially since not all tanks share the same hitpoints, and it doesn't take into account the importance of assisted damage. In many instances, especially if you’re top tier, if you only do your hit points in damage you end up being a detriment to your team. I would instead challenge all players to a new paradigm. Make every trade a good trade. This simple shift in logic will find you evaluating your micro plays much better. In the end you’ll accomplish the same exact impact of doing your hit points in damage, but this will scale better as we get into different lessons, and is a better mindset to get into when trying to get better at the game.
Below is how I would classify trades, for every shot you take, you should at the very minimum try to make it a good trade. You may get mixed trades overall in a single engagement, or a full battle. However if you can average at least good trades, you’ll find your statistics go up, your exp go up, and you’ll be making a bigger impact on your teams wins.
Below is how I would classify trades, for every shot you take, you should at the very minimum try to make it a good trade. You may get mixed trades overall in a single engagement, or a full battle. However if you can average at least good trades, you’ll find your statistics go up, your exp go up, and you’ll be making a bigger impact on your teams wins.
- Best Trade - doing damage without taking any in return
- Good Trade - doing damage that is more than the damage you took in return
- Neutral Trade - the damage you caused is equal to what you took in return
- Bad Trade - you took more damage than you caused
- Worst Trade - you took damage without damaging an opponent
Hit Points are a Resource
Now that your thinking has shifted to imagine your engagements in terms of trades, it becomes a simple step to think of your hit points as a resource. The reason I want to establish this thought practice is because I run into players who hoard their hit points so much that it's a detriment to their team's success, or waste their hit points so quickly that they have almost no impact in a match.
You generally want to focus your play on the ‘best’, and ‘good’ type of trades, but there will be times when it's ok to accept a bad trade. There is a point in a match on both sides where a team is just a few tanks or a couple cap points away from victory. Many times I’ll witness an allied tank that is nearly full HP hesitate to go in on an enemy tank when victory is nearly inevitable. Don’t be afraid to spend your hit points in a bad trade to secure a little extra damage and XP at the end of a match. I will warn you, sometimes the premature victory dive can turn a battle against you. This generally only happens when tanks go in one at a time. If you are unsure of victory, wait for an ally and go in together. The worst choice is to just sit in the back, and end the match with hit points you could have exchanged or spent for more damage.
On the flip side of this event is the team that is just on the verge of a loss. To that player I say don’t stop fighting. If you make ‘best’ or ‘good’ trades at the end of match you could improve your damage and XP quite a lot. I see some tanks just camp and wait for the cap to end because they are afraid of the repair cost of their tank. What is the point of playing if aren’t at least going to try and win even if the odds are against you? I will drive to reset caps, and do damage as my last act in many battles. I will gladly sacrifice my hit points at the very end of match in order to just get the game to go a little longer or do that little extra damage.
On the flip side of this event is the team that is just on the verge of a loss. To that player I say don’t stop fighting. If you make ‘best’ or ‘good’ trades at the end of match you could improve your damage and XP quite a lot. I see some tanks just camp and wait for the cap to end because they are afraid of the repair cost of their tank. What is the point of playing if aren’t at least going to try and win even if the odds are against you? I will drive to reset caps, and do damage as my last act in many battles. I will gladly sacrifice my hit points at the very end of match in order to just get the game to go a little longer or do that little extra damage.
The bottom line is that you should treat your hit points as a resource and strive to spend your hit points efficiently. The rest of the lessons in Micro Position and Micro Play section will focus on introducing you to techniques that will enable ‘best’ and ‘good’ trades. The trading efficiently archetype is demonstrated in the model of the crab paradigm in the next lesson.
