By: _Marine
Table of Content:
Setting It Up | How To Play | Competitive Play | Yay or Nay
Hello everyone, welcome back to “Survival Guide”, this time with a new tank review! Today I’ll be taking a look at the newly brought back Lorraine 40t, a tier 8 Premium tank.
The Lorraine 40t (aka 40t) has seen many changes. Those who have been around the game for a very long time, will recall that it used to be a tier 8 Medium tank, while the
X
Bat.-Châtillon 25 t
was a tier 9 Medium. During this time, the 40t was considered a strong and capable tank. It still had a 6 round magazine, with good view range and acceptable gun handling for the tier. With the introduction of tier 10 Medium tanks, it was bumped up a tier and only gained some Hit Points. With this version, it was often considered one of the worst tier 9 Mediums, as the,
IX
T-54
, and
IX
E 50
were all much more capable. Eventually, it was replaced with a more suitable tank for its roll, the
IX
Bat.-Châtillon 25 t AP
and the 40t disappeared for a time.
Recently, World of Tanks brought back the Lorraine 40t with some changes to the tank as a tier 8 premium tank, with the crew aligning very well with the
X
Bat.-Châtillon 25 t
. So, what do we need to know?
Setting up Your Lorraine 40t
The 40t is an auto-loading Medium Tank, meaning it features four rounds of ammunition which can be fired in rapid succession with a 2.7 second delay between rounds, before reloading for about 33 to 35 seconds, depending upon crew skills and consumables. Its mobility is nice, and has an ‘ok’ base view range as well, while the camo is very “meh” for a Medium Tank. Its strengths are certainly those first three things (autoloader, mobility, view range), so we’re going to look to make its strengths stronger, and mitigate its weaknesses (camo, reload time between drums) with playstyle.
For equipment, I’ve chosen
- Vertical Stabilizer (V-Stab)
- Optics
- Ventilation
If V-Stab is available, in 99% of all cases (My personal exceptions are the
X
E 50 Ausf. M
and
X
FV215b
) I will chose this, as it reduces the size of the aiming circle by 20% at all times. Optics help secure a view range exceeding 445 meters, and Vents improve the overall tank. You could chose to use a Gun Laying Drive, but unless you’re sitting still this is worthless. I would not recommend any other equipment.
For consumables, I’ve chosen
- Small Med Pack
- Small Repair Pack
- Strong Coffee
You can certainly feel free to use an Automatic Fire Extinguisher, but I did not catch fire while playing the 40t in several public battles and in Strong Holds. I would never recommend using anything else apart from these four options.
For ammunition, it’s pretty simple. I carry 32 standard AP rounds (9600 potential damage), 16 APCR rounds (4800 potential damage) and no HE rounds. You could drop a clip of AP and carry a drum of HE, but I would not consider dropping any APCR rounds as this could help deal with the plethora of Super Heavy tanks at tiers 9 and 10 in clutch situations. That also said, I’ve played a good deal of battles now in the 40t, and have yet to dip into the premium rounds.
Typically, I would profit about60.000 per public battle utilizing a premium account and strong coffee which was purchased while on sale for each win. In strongholds, I was making significantly more even while paying full price for coffee, generally no less than120.000 profit per battle in a win.
How do I play the Lorraine 40t?
Like many autoloaders, the Lorraine 40t is an ambush tank. My goal for playing each and every autoloading tank is the same: The first drum of ammunition should be spent without taking any return damage. Penetrating each shot is not required, simply do not lose any health. With each drum, I am willing to take slightly more risk as more guns are removed from the battlefield. Your autoloaders are the strongest at the endgame stage, as your clip potential increases with each passing moment. I find that the first 60% of the battle, I deal about 40% of my average damage, whereas the final 40% of the battle, I will deal significantly more. The more damage you’re able to deal while keeping your health, the more damage you’ll find you do overall.
However, the player must be mindful of their reload timer. If you overextend into the enemy, you will be caught out and be destroyed VERY quickly. As you’re playing a Medium Tank with good speed, this is certainly a problem is you’re not aware of your surroundings. Never ever position in a way where you have no retreat into hardcover, especially when needing to reload.
Generally, I would play an active 2nd line support tank with heavy tanks in front of me, punishing players who overextend to get a shot out by tracking them and forcing them to use their repair kit. In more open maps, I may position a bit more conservatively, as this is often the time than many players will “yolo” for a couple shots of damage before dying. However, as the battle progresses I will quickly adjust to playing a more aggressive role either establishing vision for the team or punishing players out of position.
Will It be used in Competitive Play?
Certainly can be! As light tanks are getting their teeth kicked in, tier 8 medium tanks will quickly replace them as they will feature superior firepower, just as good view range and enough mobility. On some city maps, I can see the 40t being used instead of
VIII
AMX 50 100
as their gun handling and mobility are superior. On open maps they would probably see less use except in certain strategies as they do not feature strong turrets or sustained fire situations that medium tanks often find themselves in. Overall, I believe this tank is suitable for any game mode and would provide good value.
Yay, or Nay?
This tank is a solid purchase. It features good enough firepower, high utility opportunities, and an excellent trainer for anyone going up to the
X
Bat.-Châtillon 25 t
who wants a solidly trained crew. I would recommend this tank to anyone who likes the autoloader playstyle and has at least played a tier 8 or greater autoloader.
