Team Battle Guide
Fulcrum's Guide* to 7/42 Team Battles
Introduction
The 7/42 setup is the premier battle format for professional World of Tanks leagues across the world, as well as numerous regional challenges and skirmishes. Now, with the introduction of Update 8.9, this format has become much more accessible to the player-base, offering practice and training for emerging teams wishing to familiarize themselves with their understanding of map tactics and tank line-ups in prepration for higher levels of comepetition. While seemingly simple at first glance, the 7/42 format challenges commanders and players alike to perfect their team and hone their skills.
We, Fulcrum Gaming, would like to introduce everyone to this battle format by offering our insights into what we recommend for this type of play to remain competitive and have fun at the same time!
Basic Format
7/42 battles demand a maximum of 7 players while utlizing a maximum of 42 tier points in World of Tanks. While teams could play with fewer participants, they would lose 1 point per missing player. With that being said, teams could also play without fulfilling 42 points should that be a hinderance, but it is highly not recommended.
In the current iteration of 7/42 team battles, World of Tanks matchmaking will choose maps in Standard battle mode at random (no Encounter/Assault). Skill-based matchmaking has been implemented into the sorting system for more competitive and fair matches. Each player will have particular Team Battle ratings assigned to them as they participate in more battles. However, everyone starts off the line equally in terms of ratings, whether it be professional or casual players. Therefore the first few weeks will be challenging and potentially discouraging for many until enough of a gap in ratings emerge. So, if you're being pitted against professional players right now, please don't give up! The matchmaking system will kick in soon.
Typical lineups demand five tier VIII tanks, and two tier I tanks. While bringing tier VII and below tanks is allowed, these are not tactically favorable when engaging tier VIII tanks head-on. On occasion, teams may find artillery to be useful in certain maps and strategies; we would not recommend it due to the uncertainty in map rotation and enemy lineups.
There are a few things to consider in planning team composition. Generally, World of Tanks boils down to three factors: speed, armor/HP, and firepower (alpha or burst). If one has watched professional World of Tanks matches, one would observe similar lineups used on the same map. Since community team battles have maps randomized, it is best to formulate a jack-of-alltrades lineup capable of dealing with maps in rotation. We will get into more of this later.
Current map rotation follows that of the WGLNA Season 2 rules, and includes: Abbey, Cliff, Ensk, Himmelsdorf, Mines, Prokhorovka, Ruinberg, and Steppes.
Interface
In order to enter Team Battle mode, select the drop-down menu from the big red button in the top-mid area.
Now you will be taken to the title screen of Team Battle mode, where you are greeted with the options to:
- Search for a forming team
- Create your own team
- Select the tank you want to play and enter a random team determined by matchmaker
If you are planning to use autosearch, check off the tanks you wish to play in this mode, and you will be randomly placed on a team that requires one of the tanks you prefer.
However, if you wish to join a forming team, then you will be directed to the team browser where you can see the name of the leader and that player's Personal Rating. Upon hovering your cursor over the team, you will see which vehicles in your garage meet the requirements set by the team leader.
Lastly, if you prefer to make your own team, you may do so by clicking the "Create" button and come to this screen:
Here, you may choose to invite your friends or clan-mates to join your team, or leave it open for all players to join. Should you want to limit unknown players joining, you may hide your forming team from the team browser. Here, you can select the vehicle you wish to play once you have occupied a slot. You can also freeze unused slots in case you do not want any volunteers to place themselves without your permission.
Now, if you wish to be strict on your tank selection, you may do so by clicking the button beside "Vehicles" and arrive here:
This is where you may set requirements for specific vehicles you want in your team, and will inform any potential players of what you wish them to play.
Once you've gotten everyone onto the team and readied up, you will be able to click "Battle," and you will be entered into the queue where your team will be matched with a similarly skilled team!
Forming the Right Team
Since the map rotation is random, choosing a highly specialized lineup will be risky. Therefore, the team leader must take into account the right balance of speed, armor, and firepower in order to avoid those awkward encounters.
For example, the IS-3, one of the 7/42 mainstays, has decent armor and speed while having the biggest alpha (damage per shot) in tier VIII heavy tanks with reasonable gun characteristics. In the hands of a skilled player with team-coordinated focused fire, 4 IS-3s can vaporize an enemy tier VIII tank instantly. Meanwhile, a skilled IS-3 player could utilize cover defensively to hide its weak front hull and only expose the very strong turret and sideskirts.
On the other hand, you may see the tank AMX50-100 very often accompanied by IS-3's. While the 50-100 suffers from its large size and virtually non-existent armor, it contains a 6-shot autoloader capable of putting out 1800 damage in a matter of ~16 seconds. Basically, this means that an AMX50-100 can kill any other tier VIII tanks in one clip, assuming all shots penetrate. Therefore, it is a common tactic for IS-3's to engage and take the brunt of enemy fire while AMX50-100's flank and unload their clips during enemy reload. However, you would not see these tanks outside of city maps often, as they are very vulnerable if flanked and cannot take advantage of rolling terrain due to lack of gun depression and sheer size.
Therefore, outside of city maps where open terrain dominates, you would see more mobile setups consisting of light tanks like AMX13-90 or the medium T69. Whereas the former has nearly unrivaled mobility and camouflage value, the latter can abuse terrain features with great gun depression. One feature you may have noticed is that both these tanks have autoloaders. The AMX13-90 has a 6-round drum, while the T69 has a 4-round drum capable of putting out 1440 and 960 damage respectively in a short amount of time. This is the advantage of burst damage, as a coordinated team can eliminate a tank quickly before they can retaliate, resulting in an HP advantage early in the engagement.
The autoloaders are not without their faults though, as they can be caught while reloading their clips, which takes 40 seconds and 24 seconds respectively for the AMX13-90 and T69. So, make sure to communicate!
Generally, tank destroyers are not preferable for this format, as they are highly dependent on their own team to play at the TD's pace and can be a liability once spotted. But with that being said, some of the more mobile tank destroyers like the Jagdpanther II have been utilized by teams in the past.
Lastly, many would ask, "Why bring the two tier I tanks?" Tier Is are used for vision and map control. Since they have great camouflage values due to their size, they can hide elusively in a bush and provide intel for your heavy hitters to react to your enemy's tactics and location. Alternatively, you can use tier I's as insurance to lock down certain lanes in maps, so your team can attack or defend without fear of getting flanked. Furthermore, tier I's are very often used for capping the enemy's base when they leave it wide open! This puts on pressure for at least one of their tier VIII's to reset the cap timer and can offer an advantage in team fights. At the moment, the T1 Cunningham and the Leichttraktor are popular choices for profesional teams, as the former has mobility and anti-tier I firepower, and the latter has greater view range and the ability to penetrate certain tier VIII's.
Recommended Team Compositions and Closing Words
IS-3 / IS-3 / IS-3 / IS-3 / IS-3 / T1 / T1
This is the infamous IS-15 composition that can be very deadly if all the heavy tanks travel cohesively and focus-fire their targets. This format offers an excellent ability to destroy single targets and respectable armor. However, it is very susceptible to autoloader flanks and restricted by view range.
IS-3 / IS-3 / 50-100 / 50-100 / T69/13-90 / T1 / T1
This is a more balanced setup retaining the ability for a pair of IS-3s to spearhead pushes while having 50-100s for supporting fire and flanking. The lone light/medium tank can be used to scout or flank as well. This setup requires the autoloaders to be situationally aware and be able to focus fire to eliminate enemy tanks quickly.
IS-3 / T69 / T69 / 50-100 / 13-90 / T1 / T1
Compared to previous setups, this lineup has less HP as a trade off for higher burst damage and greater mobility. The IS-3 can push with support of the T69's and 50-100, while the 13-90 focuses on flanks and scouting. The advantage of this lineup is the high burst potential of the autoloaders and the ability for the T69's to stay in the fight with only 24 seconds for re-clipping. However, it is vulnerable to separation and must be played with good coordination.
While these are only recommended lineups consisting of the most popular tournament tanks, please feel free to experiment with your own compositions!
Need more hitpoints and armor? Bring a KV-5 or KV-4.
Need more hull down ability? Bring T32's instead of IS-3's.
Playing more passively? Bring a tank destroyer and make sure to guard it well!
In closing, while tank composition plays a significant part in a team's ability to win, the matches will still boil down to individual skill and team cohesion. So, work together as a team! Don't get separated from your teammates, and remember to focus fire! (Take a shot for your teammate if he's really low health, too!)
*Our sincere thanks to the author JackQueRudo, a member of Fulcrum, WGLNA's defending champions!
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