Tired of getting clubbed in Frontlines by Progettos, Lorrs, Defenders, and 432s? Fight back with standard tanks that are worse! This is a guide to some of the tier 8 standard tanks that I think are good for Frontlines. The mode just ended, so you have a few weeks to grind up to tier 8 on any of these lines. Disclaimer: I wanted to highlight some of the best standard tanks I have experience with. If there are other tanks you like, feel free to leave a comment.
Let's get started:
P44 Pantera (T8 Italian Medium)
- I like to think of the Pantera as 90% of a Progetto. It has the same pros as the Progetto: mobility and firepower. Both tanks have the same autoreloader mechanism, which makes them very versatile. This allows the Pantera to dump all 3 shells when you need to block a cap, but still keep firing with a reduced DPM if someone tries to push you. The Pantera's top speed of 60 km/h helps with moving between zones, especially when your team has just finished taking E but C is still uncaptured.
- Mediums now have 2 slots for combat reserves. I think engineering is a must so you can cap and resupply faster, but also block enemies for 15s when you shoot them on the cap. The other slot can be used for inspire or smoke. Inspire will help you reload faster, but will also give you exp when tank using your inspire do damage. Smoke helps with capping. The Pantera is a big tank, but it's fast enough to get on cap when needed.
- The Pantera has a longer intra-clip reload than its premium counterpart (2.5s vs. 2s). The Pantera also has worse gun handling, less gun depression, and less view range.
Caernarvon (T8 British Heavy)
- The Caer is a great all-around heavy tank. It has excellent DPM, view range, and gun depression. The gun handling and accuracy are pretty good, as is the armor. The Caer's fatal flaw is the ammo rack location in the lower plate. Safe stowage is a must and you might even want to mount a wet ammo rack.
- The Caer has 3,000 DPM with a gun rammer. It does 280 alpha damage and reloads in about 5 and a half seconds. This is great for resetting caps because you can block an enemy for 15 seconds with each shot. Running this tank with inspire is scary.
- The Caer also has 400 base view range, which is best in class. The turret armor is about 250 mm and the upper hull armor is about 210 mm. The lower plate is very weak and the ammo rack can be hit there easily. The mobility isn't bad with a top speed of 34 km/h.
- Heavy tanks now have 3 slots for combat reserves. The Caer is an excellent defender when using engineering, inspire, and artillery strike.
Charioteer (T8 British TD)
- The Charioteer has good mobility, gun depression, shell velocity, and penetration. It's probably the best replacement for a Skorpion you can get.
- The Charioteer has APCR shells standard, so you get excellent shell velocity for sniping. The base penetration is 268, but pen drop is higher on APCR shells. The gun has 10 degrees of depression, and the turret rotates fully.
- TDs get 2 slots for combat reserves. I would run engineering and smoke, recon, or arty.
Lynx 6×6 (T8 French LT)
- The Lynx has excellent mobility and gun handling. The gun depression is very good, and so is the HE ammo.
- The Lynx has a top speed of 80 km/h in speed mode. It also has excellent gun dispersion on the move. This means that the gun bloom while moving is very low. It has a 90mm gun with low DPM and accuracy, but the HE shell has 90mm of penetration and 320 damage.
- The Lynx is good for pushing caps and circling enemies. The view range is very low at 310m, so active scouting from close ranges is a must. I would run the engineering reserve.
I'll post a comment later talking about some honorable mentions, like the T32, Centurion I, Udes 03, and WZ-132.