KaRath's Campaign Diary, Part 3

In my last talk about basic strategies, I mentioned pushing as one of the vital parts of how you contest for map control against an opponent. When committing multiple tanks against their tanks, this is often referred to as a brawl.

You can have both smaller and large brawls that can occur simultaneously on different sides of the map - and it's very important that basic principles are adhered to.

Thanks to our very own Gloster from our ANZBL for helping out with this brawling guide that he has written in the past - he's given me permission to share this knowledge that was used to help other ANZ clans in the past!

In a brawl, tanks should always be moving, stationary brawling should only occur if you’re in the optimal position (once you found a hull down position, you have setup for a crossfire, or you are receiving a push). The key point of brawling is mobility, as tanks that have the speed to get out of the bottleneck and choke point while sustaining the least amount of hits will be the most effective tanks. Avoiding said bottleneck in a brawl is a key component to winning the brawl, and it lies on the first tank in a push to draw fire for the rest of the push to engage safely. This first tank, it doesn’t matter who, needs to know and accept that they’ll probably be dead by the second salvo. Therefore, they need make it harder for the enemy's second salvo to kill them. It’s the job of the others to use this opportunity to push past in the brawl. I’ve noticed players will bottleneck and swarm a single tank. This is good focus fire but leaves our tanks often in overlapping fire that chips and bleeds their hp and leaves them worse off for the second/third/ fourth focus during a brawl.

Therefore, a priority for players should be during a brawl to be constantly moving, and seeking cover whether through slight ground elevation/depression, tank wrecks, or enemies to mitigate damage.

For example:

Green tanks are called to push the two red tanks below and crush the brawl, as this forces a 4v2 scenario. Even though you take early shots from the tanks on the top, as you have more guns in the fight at the bottom, assuming equal player skill, you will win the brawl at the bottom, then have more guns to kill the two tanks coming in to reinforce in the brawl. However, we oftentimes see a brawl that will end up like the diagram below:

This nullifies your advantages in a push, and as a result you will bleed out more HP, making it harder to win what could be a game decisive brawl. So what should happen, in a perfect scenario, is a manoeuvre which allows all your tanks to take the low-ground effectively, like this:

Now the tanks have pushed past the two lower tanks, and by using the enemy and terrain effectively, will avoid the crossfire that the two red tanks that are higher up.

Of course, once a brawl has been completed, there could be other fights you will then need to rotate your tanks towards. Therefore, you will need to consider your HP in the long run as well, while not baiting your teammates. Four tanks with reasonable HP is better than three tanks that are one shot and one tank that has all the HP in a critical battle.

Summary: When a push is called, push past and don’t bottleneck. Seek terrain and other obstacles that mitigate being shot from other angles. It isn’t a priority to save HP but a little self-preservation goes a long way in winning the game. Mobility and avoiding crossfire is an absolute must when attacking into an entrenched position.

Fighting fair, or rather, never fighting fair.

It should never be a fair fight. In theory, it should always be an over match (you have more tanks over the enemy) when a push is called, but reality is very different from theory. If a messy brawl breaks out where there are multiple tanks spread out, players should be considering what to focus fire to bring an advantage to their team at a sacrifice to their own personal advantage. For example, in the situation below: we have a 277 fighting a 279e (facehugging), with the 907 fighting against the Chieftain.

Individually, the brawls would lead to the demise of the 277 and 907 if left to their own devices. The 907 has little chance of winning against Chieftain bar a significant gap in player skill or RNG. Therefore, the 907 should instead be focusing on shooting the back of the 279E, helping the 277 win the brawl much easier. This then enables the 277 to take a better fight against the Chieftain with the 907, helping them commit into the overmatch. It is the role of the 277 or any friendly tanks in such position to remember that ramming an enemy tank into the open for allies is a valid tactic in brawling. Instead two separate 1v1s occurring simultaneously as it normally would, it would now be a 2v1 against the 279(e), as the Chieftain would need to relocate to the side of the 277 to get damage, or to chase the 907, who can relocate and focus down the 279(e).

When we are considering the opposite side on what the correct play would be to make, the Chieftain can deny shots to the 907 by reversing and blocking the rear of the 279(e). Often opponents will tunnel vision on hitting a target they’ve chosen, which costs precious seconds in a brawl when they readjust their aim for the opponent right in front of them.

Responding to Enemy Pushes

Games can be won or lost in a brawl by decisive mobility and counter-positioning. Oftentimes a great example is Serene Coast, where we can expect to see major brawls occur in the C1 corner of the map. Take the scenario below, where the north spawn has six tanks that arrive to the five tanks from the south spawn. You'll be feeling great as the two tanks on the side since you're not the focus - however, this means that there are six guns against three of your allies, and guess what's going to happen when your allies get melted?

Yeah, you just outright lose if the three tanks on the low ground do nothing, with the other two tanks flanking - this is an unfair fight from your side, and will lead to a loss.

So the best option is for the three tanks to push over to the other side, nullifying the effectiveness of tanks dumping over, and as a result, getting more of your own tanks into the fight:

Now when the enemy is re-pushing, they'll find themselves exposed to more shots when coming back up - thus equalising the situation, and potentially turning the tides to what could have been a defeat.

When push comes to shove, you'll need to relocate sometimes, even if means initial bleed. Fear of relocating into a better position means you bleed out slowly, then die as the number of enemy tanks overwhelm your own allies.