Introduction
In this guide, I will be briefly going over what the frontlines mode entails then going over general tactics, good tanks, and finally some map specific information. This guide is aimed at players who have little or no experience with frontlines; however, hopefully players of all skill levels will be able to find something useful. I will also be writing this guide with the assumption that the reader wants to achieve maximum rank in frontlines to earn the tokens required for reward tanks as quickly as possible.
What Are These "Frontlines"?
Frontlines is a special gamemode which occurs once a month (when available) for one week. This game mode differs from random battles in that instead of 15v15, frontlines is 30v30, tier 8 only, on a much larger (9x) map where players can also respawn. One team is attacking and must capture 2-6 zones to gain access to the 5 objectives (large turrets). They must then destroy at least 3 of them before time runs out. Capturing new zones adds more time to the match to a maximum of 30 min total. The defending team must prevent the attacking team from destroying the objectives before the time runs out.
Players start the match with one respawn and gain new respawns every 5 minutes up to a maximum of 2. Additionally, the capping mechanics are different from standard matches. In frontlines, base capture points are only reset if the capping vehicle is destroyed. Damaging a vehicle only temporarily stops its accumulation of capture points. The defending team can also prevent capture point accumulation by entering the cap with appropriate reserves.
Frontlines also gives you access to combat reserves, unique abilities to help you accomplish your tasks. The first reserve is an airstrike which does a small amount of damage and 26 seconds of stun to all vehicles in a fairly large area (50mx30m). The second reserve is the artillery strike, which does a large amount of damage to vehicles in a very small area (10m). The third and most important reserve is engineering. Engineering increases your capping speed and how long you block enemy capping if you damage them. It also reduces the cooldown on resupply points and allows defenders to block capture by entering the cap circle. Fourth is inspire, which provides a 15% boost to your crew's major qualification when activated. This bonus extends to all allies within 40m. Recon Flight, the 5th reserve, spots all vehicles in a 300x750m lane. The final reserve is smoke screen, which creates a smoke screen which conceals vehicles, but reduces their view range by 1/3.
For accomplishing battlefield tasks such as capturing objectives and doing damage, players are awarded with XP like normal matches. However, this XP also determines what rank you receive. The rank requirements and the XP bonus are listed below:
| Rank | XP | Experience Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Private | 0 | 0% |
| Sergeant | 150 | 10% |
| Lieutenant | 350 | 25% |
| Captain | 600 | 50% |
| Major | 900 | 100% |
| General | 1200 | 200% |
It addition to an XP bonus, this rank also allows you to advance your frontlines progress level, which in turn allows you to unlocked the reward tanks. This guide will be written on the assumption that you want to optimize your frontlines rank. If that is not your goal, I encourage you to reconsider your strategy or go read another guide.
General Tactics
- PROLONG THE MATCH AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Longer matches mean more opportunities for points. Winning or losing doesn't matter for your point progress. Yes, this means if your are stomping the enemy as an attacker, you should delay your attacks on the 3rd objective as long as possible. If you are stomping the enemy as a defender, let the enemy capture points as they need them to prolong the match. Winning quick is (currently) a terrible strategy and less desirable than losing slowly. Seriously, KEEP. THE MATCH. GOING!
- Playing the objectives is the best way to get points. If you are an attacker, try to be part of a successful base capture; if you are a defender, try to block the cap or kill the cappers.
- Engineering is the best perk because it helps you play the objective.
- As much as I hate to say it, artillery is a very easy way to accrue points on defense if you have engineering. You can damage and therefore block a large number of vehicles even if they are in cover. All it costs is your soul.
- Mobility is very important on these larger maps
- If you're on your side or far from the action and in a slow tank, you can hold "J" to self-destruct your tank
Good Tanks
- – Fast, accurate, autoreloader
- – ibid
- – Extremely fast, great HE to punish other light vehicles, great gun handling
- – see above
- – Fast, hard hitter
- – Decently mobile, usable armor, good gun handling and DPM
- – Stealthy, low profile, fast, gun depression for some reason, great little gun
- – same as above, but not as low profile and no gun depression
- – fast, heavy hitter
- Basically anything fast with a decent enough gun (and, sadly, premium tanks are often the best choices).
- However, you can make just about any tank work given the right situation
Further Reading
Final note: I'm quite tired, so I may return to polish this tomorrow. If you have any suggestions for things I should add, feel free to do so in the comments.
