World of Tanks Basic Scouting Guide

World of Tanks Basic Scouting Guide by noll11

I haven’t seen very many scouting guides on the forums, and those that I HAVE seen are much related to mechanics etc, which is interesting and useful for me, but might not be so for new players, or anyone who is new to scout tanks. That is why I decided to make this guide.

OK then, now that I have informed you about what I am attempting to do, let’s get started! (And crushingdestroyer, please stop snoring, I can see you)

I) General Scouting Tactics

Most maps have at least 1 or 2 open areas, that should be used if possible (use your maneuverability).Your best bet is for you to take a winding and zigzagging route that brings you nearish but not to near the enemy lines, then make a hasty retreat while changing course rapidly, and whatever else needs to be done to enable you to survive. (In scouting, never be afraid to improvise; it could save your life). That said, if someone asks you, nicely, to scout for them in a specific place, you may choose to do that, but DON’T SUICIDE RUSH whatever you do. It places your team 1 tank down and a fast one at that ( there ARE some occasions where a suicide rush is a possibility, though)

When you are back from your scouting run, assuming you survived, you should wait for a bit a little ways off from the arty (if their is any) to protect from attacks by enemy suicide rush-scouts (don’t do what they do, you will just die) and then zoom around helping, tracking, and distracting where needed.

Later in the match, when both teams are a few tanks down (best is 6-7), you should probably go after the enemies arty, or of they have none, you can try to annoy their TD’s by tracking them (use AP or HE, it doesn’t really matter, but use HE for enemy tanks higher than you). If you successfully get to the arty unscathed, DON’T STOP! It is the most common mistake made my scouts, as it enables any tank/TD/other arty hiding in a bush to get a good shot at you. Rather, keep going, circling your target unpredictably, and break off if too many enemy tanks start getting inquisitive. once you have damaged or destroyed some of their arty, or of it simply gets too hot for safety, decide whether to attempt to cap (if your team is on the verge of breaking through, a distraction can really help), or to hightail it back to base.

Some useful tips to follow when attacking the enemy arty are that you shouldn’t get to close to your target, in case one of YOUR arties tries to take a pot shot at the tank you are side-hugging, and that a stopped scout is generally a dead scout within a few seconds.

If you have successfully scouted, whether you have survived or not, then you should get some decent XP and Credits for the tanks you have spotted, damaged, etc. But don’t leave yet, there’s still more to learn! On to the next section;

II) Consumables and Equipment

There are many differing opinions as to whet consumables and equipment are best for scout tanks, and here I will show you what I think are best, and why.

Consumables
The three best consumables for a scout are (in my opinion) are the Removed Speed Governor, Small Repair kit, and First Aid Kit.

The Removed Speed Governor is very useful for getting a head start on the enemy’s scouts at the start of battle, and for getting out of dangerous places on a hurry, for example if your track was hit and was just fixed. It lasts for ever, unlike pretty much every other consumable which disappears after use, and it can be turned on and off.

The Small Repair Kit should mostly only be used to fix your tracks of they are broken, as a stopped scout is usually a dead scout. There are some occasions where it is better to use it for other things, such as if you are tracked in front of an arty and your gun is damaged (IE you have no hope of driving away, but you can’t shoot it either if your gun is broke). It should always put in the second slot to enable you to double tap 5 to get your tracks fixed – 1 tap opens it the 2^nd fixes the tracks, which are the fifth option.

The First Aid Kit is very useful for healing injured crewmembers, but should only be used on ones who are needed urgently for scouting. For example, if your driver or radioman gets hit, you should use it on them, but if the gunner or loader gets hit, you should save it for later, as your gun is less important than your ability to move fast and relay information.

Fire Extinguishers are largely un-needed, as if a shell penetrates you from behind (where the engine is) you are usually dead anyway from overdose of 122mm shell, or something similar.

Equipment
Like consumables, you are able to mount three pieces of equipment. For scouts, the best ones are a Camouflage Net, Binoculars/Coated Optics, and either a Cyclone Filter or Torsion Bars, depending on whether or not you are using a Removed Speed Governor.

The Camouflage Net is very useful, as it adds 25% camouflage when you are stationary for 3 seconds. If you don’t like to stay still, you might want to substitute this for either Cyclone Filter or Torsion Bars.

The Binoculars/Coated Optics are two different things, and one may be better then the other depending on your playstyle. The Binoculars give you +25% view range when you are stopped, but not when you are moving, while the Coated Optics give you a 10% increase at all times, moving or not. The Binoculars are better if you passively scout from bushes (see above paragraph), while the Coated Optics are better if you like to be on the move.

The Cyclone Filter and Torsion Bars fill different roles, and one or the other may be more useful to you. The Cyclone Filter gives you 50% more HP to your engine, which is useful if you use a Removed Speed Governor (which slowly damages your engine every match), or if you simply want to have less chance of getting your engine knocked out when you are zooming back to your lines. The Torsion Bars are the better choice if you don’t have the Removed Speed Governor, as they add 30% more HP to your tracks, which is very useful for scouts who want to actually survive

III) Crew and Ammunition

There are 3 different skills that you can train your crew to be good at once they have reached 100%, and two basic shell types, which are useful for different situations.

Crew
The three skills that you can teach your crewmembers are Firefighting, Camouflage, and Repair.

Firefighting lowers the length of fires (and, therefore, how much damage they do to you). It is less effective than a Fire Extinguisher, which puts out fires the second you use it, but is still useful of you don’t want to change your Equipment around to accommodate a Fire Extinguisher. I would recommend that you train your crew it third.

Camouflage lowers the chance that your vehicle will be spotted by an enemy when it is in a bush, behind a tree, etc. which is useful if you like to scout passively, or if you need to get unseen in a hurry. I would recommend they you train your crew it second.

Repair lowers the time it takes for broken modules to be repaired, and is a very useful skill, especially in a scout where being tracked for a while usually means death. It is a good idea to use it to get your tank drivable, and then repair the damaged module back to full health from orange with your Repair Kit, at they only do 1 step (from red to orange or orange to OK). I would recommend that you train your crew it first.

Ammunition
There are two basic kinds of ammunition; AP and HE, and they are good for different things. I usually load half AP and half HE, as scout tanks have room for a lot of ammunition, and you never know what kind of battle you will be in.

AP, or Armor Piercing, ammo only does damage if it actually penetrates the armor of the tank that you are shooting at. Its best uses for scout tanks are to shoot other scouts, high tier enemy tanks tracks (to make them an easy target for your teammates) and to try to kill artillery that is not open topped, such as the Object 212.

HE is the Jack-of-all-Trades for scouts. It is what you should load first at the start of a match, as it can so a bit of damage whether it pens or not, and will distract your targets from your high tier heavies. It is also useful for attacking artillery, as long as it is open topped.

I hope this was useful (it’s my first guide), and if there is anything that you think could be added/typos/etc, please comment below about it, and I will give you credit.

-noll11