World of Tanks vehicle classes explained

Five classes, five jobs. Knowing what each one is for makes you useful to your team, whatever you drive.

Every vehicle in World of Tanks belongs to one of five classes. The class tells you roughly what the vehicle is good at and what your team expects from it. Individual vehicles vary a lot within a class — a fast heavy tank or a well-armoured tank destroyer exists in several nations — so treat the descriptions below as starting points, then read your own vehicle’s statistics in the garage.

Light tanks: the team’s eyes

Light tanks are usually the fastest vehicles in a battle and often have the best view range. Their main contribution is spotting: revealing enemies so teammates can shoot them. Because the game only shows enemies someone on your team has detected, a good scout can decide a battle without firing much.

• Do: find a bush with a clear view and stay still (moving reduces your camouflage). Relocate after being spotted.
• Do: use speed to spot briefly and retreat (“active scouting”) when there is nowhere to hide.
• Avoid: charging into the enemy team at the start. It rarely achieves anything and leaves your team blind.

Some nations also have fast wheeled vehicles, which count as light tanks but handle very differently, with high speed and reduced ability to climb and turn in place.

Medium tanks: the flexible all-rounders

Medium tanks combine reasonable speed, armour and firepower. They are expected to read the battle: support whichever flank needs help, punish enemies who push too far, and finish off damaged vehicles. Many have accurate guns and good gun depression, which lets them fight from behind ridges.

• Do: watch the minimap and move where your presence changes the outcome.
• Do: use ridges and hull-down positions so only your turret is exposed.
• Avoid: trading shots head-on with heavy tanks, which usually have more armour and hit points.

Heavy tanks: holding the line

Heavy tanks carry the thickest armour and the most hit points, usually with powerful guns. They take and hold key areas such as towns and corridors, and lead the push when the team advances. Their weakness is mobility: once committed to a flank, a heavy tank cannot easily change its mind.

• Do: angle your armour so shells hit at a slant, and keep weak spots (lower plates, hatches) behind cover.
• Do: go where your armour works — close quarters with hard cover — not open fields.
• Avoid: showing your side to the enemy; side armour is thinner.

Tank destroyers: the ambushers

Tank destroyers usually have strong guns, good camouflage and sometimes heavy frontal armour, in exchange for weaknesses elsewhere. Many have no rotating turret (the gun is fixed in the hull with a limited arc), so they work best from a prepared position covering a likely approach.

• Do: fire from well back behind bushes; staying unseen is your armour.
• Do: pick positions where enemies must come to you.
• Avoid: close combat against fast vehicles that can circle you.

Self-propelled guns (artillery)

SPGs fire in an arc over long distances, using a top-down aiming view. They can only target enemies that allies have spotted, and they are fragile, so they rely on staying far behind the front line. Their shells can briefly stun the crew of a vehicle they hit, reducing its performance for a short time.

• Do: target vehicles that are slow, stationary or holding up your team.
• Do: move after firing if enemy scouts are near; your shots can reveal your position.
• Avoid: sitting in the open near your base early in the battle.

Artillery is the most debated class in the community; some players enjoy its strategic role, while others find being targeted by it frustrating. Wargaming has changed its mechanics several times.

Which class should a beginner choose?

There is no single right answer. Medium tanks teach the broadest set of skills; heavy tanks are more forgiving of mistakes thanks to their armour; light tanks teach spotting mechanics that make you better in every class. The cheapest way to find out is to play Tier I–IV vehicles of several classes, which are quick to unlock and inexpensive to run.

Sources

• Wargaming, official World of Tanks website (game guide, patch notes, system requirements): worldoftanks.eu / worldoftanks.com
• Wargaming, corporate website: wargaming.com
• Wargaming legal documents (End User Licence Agreement, Terms of Service, Fair Play Policy): legal.eu.wargaming.net
• World of Tanks console edition: console.worldoftanks.com
• World of Tanks Blitz: wotblitz.eu
• PEGI age ratings database: pegi.info

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