PBS VS BSC WAR: PBS VS BSC - 29/06/2025 20:30

[Anonymous]

***   HLL TANK TACTICS GUIDE   ***

(Update 11)

 

Dear tank enthusiast,

I’ve been gathering some thoughts on how to play tanks in Hell Let Loose and would like to present a tank tactics guide for beginners and seasoned players alike. Successful tanking requires a basic understanding of the general dynamics of the game as well as specific map knowledge. Therefore, I would first recommend learning the game as infantry as well, in order to understand how infantry moves on the map and in this way be able to use tanks more wisely. In the following I give some basic advices that I think should be important for tankers. Indeed, this guide is a wall of text. Good you decided to go in tank then.

 

1. “Mic, mate?”

 

In my experience, tanking is very much about crew interaction and teamwork. You’re never alone in a tank. In public games, tank crews change from match to match. Sometimes that kind of variety seems entertaining and refreshing. Sometimes you get lucky, things work out well, and you learn something from other tankers. However, you’ll also be playing with less experienced or overly competent tankers, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially in public games. But this random experience can also be frustrating.

So a good place to start is to find crew members and play regularly with your tank mates. Ideally, there are three of you. You know what to expect from the tankers you know. That way you gain experience by playing together. Communication is crucial, so each crew member knows what the other is doing. This is so important that, as a matter of principle, I don’t tank with people without a microphone because it just doesn’t work. Playing tanks requires a certain level of cooperation.

As for the “command structure,” all three squad members should discuss equally and ideally agree on the best course of action. Some prefer an old fashioned top-down command structure where authority rests with the tank commander. In that case, I hope your tank commander knows what he/she is doing. Having more than one opinion about what to do may give your squad more options. Six eyes might see more than two eyes. Even the best and most experienced squad leader will make mistakes or miss something. Also remember, every member of the crew can see what the recon plane is showing on the map. The spotter is usually best suited for the role of the tank commander.

 

2. “Can you put a move marker on the map?”

 

Knowing the map and your particular vehicle is essential for driving. As a driver, familiarize yourself with the specific gear mechanics of each tank. For beginners, I would recommend starting with medium tanks (Sherman 75, Panzer 4, T 34) as they are affordable and tactically versatile. As you become familiar with a map over time, you will find the best routes and positions to move your tank all by yourself. For initial orientation, it helps to set up a move marker. The driver has a limited view of the action around the tank. To make navigation easier, the spotter can ping the way.

On every map there are better and worse places to drive to. Good locations for tanks, for example, are wide open spaces or high-ground areas from which you can easily survey any movement in a given area. That what you are able to “lock down” whole areas. Such “sweet spots” give you an advantage, but you must assume that the enemies also know these locations and where to expect you. So you should naturally play both factions to get to know the respective positions of the enemy tanks. Your tank will also benefit from cover options.

Narrow streets in cities or tube roads easily become death traps, especially for low speed turning tanks like the Sherman 75. Destroyed vehicle wrecks can completely block a road. Ask an infantry squad to satchel the blocking wreck. Roads are generally a favorite target for enemy AT mines. Either avoid roads completely on your way or try to spot potential mines. You can destroy mines only with the main cannon. If you hit a mine, stop immediately, watch for enemies nearby (some AT players start an ambush by using mines) and then repair your tank.

Apart from that, of course, how you find your way depends on the layout of the map and the general dynamics of the game. At all times, you should ask yourself the question: Where is the tank most useful, effective, or impactful at the moment? Even the best tank locations are useless if they have no strategic value at the moment. It can be advisable either to retreat and help defend or advance towards the attack. To decide which of both actions currently suits better, you should estimate how the match will likely develop and communicate a strategy with your team. There’s some gambling to it since you never know for sure how the critical engagements will result.

Driving takes time, so try to anticipate where you want to be in the next few minutes as the match progresses. For example, when your team likely will lose the defense point, there’s no point anymore to drive further towards the attacking point. Because the old defense point will become the new attacking point so the old attacking point will be locked. In turn, when your team is quickly capping that recently lost defense point back, you could benefit by being close to the old attacking point already. And so forth. Avoid going too far away from your allies. A tank can take some shots but without any further support it ends up as easy prey. Further, avoid “phantasy flanks” where there’s no enemies or cap sectors anyway. In a tank, you’re looking forward to make contact in order to make your tank useful.

 

3. Nemesis: [HLL] Physics

 

Avoid obstacles like trenches or other things that your tank gets stuck on. The game physics are inconsistent with some objects, for instance different stonewalls on Sainte-Mère-Église,  that you can or cannot drive through. You can figure this out through trial and error until you become more familiar with the terrain of the maps. Occasionally it helps to shift into 1st gear to get past minor obstacles or when you get temporarily stuck. Some objects like wooden barricades or even smaller tank traps can literally be “climbed” this way. Try not to stop while climbing a ditch or another object because the gunner will look into the sky and therefore cannot operate.

If you have managed to get totally stuck, you do not necessarily have to give up the tank. Another vehicle can help you by pushing your tank. Don’t be ashamed of the ridiculous collision simulation in HLL. Ask for help, it is fun. In rare cases, a shot from the tank turret can shake the tank and move it just enough to dislodge it. Especially as a novice driver, you often make this frustrating experience in the beginning. However, after spending some time in this game, I would consider the clunky driving physics in HLL as a “part of the game”. Experienced drivers simply know over time where and how best to drive.

Most of the time, you will drive at top speed. If danger is imminent or you want to take a fight to a tank, shift to second or first gear. When there is sufficient visibility, make a full stop to give the gunner a clear shot. Driving straight, the gunner can still aim at the target, and that makes it easier for the observer, too. Watch out for uneven terrain that causes uncomfortable shaking for both the gunner and the spotter when using zoomed perspectives. Keep zoom levels rather low while driving.

Basically, the driver turns much faster than the gunner’s turret towards the desired direction. So the gunner should keep the cannon mostly facing front. But there are occasions when the gunner turns the turret 3 or 9 o’clock to cover more area. Some players turn the cannon 6 o’clock to protect the rear when driving through narrow streets. The turret rotation speed is fastest at the lowest zoom level.

Depending on the situation, it may be advantageous to stop and hold a position for a longer period of time. At some point, however, enemy squad leaders are sure to mark you, so still try to change positions whenever possible. Infantry using glasses on you indicates that you’ve been marked. Enemy AT or tanks will know your position and will have the advantage.

 

4. Companions forever wherever you go: enemy AT

 

In general, the driver should face the front of the tank towards the enemy positions. This way, the hull’s machine gun can engage the enemy infantry from the front. However, it is better to focus on close targets. Firing the machine gun at long range may give away your position to the enemy. How do you aim without a crosshair? Even though a box in the bottom right corner is supposed to assist your aim I end up just looking on the machine gun traces. Compared to the gunner’s MG the driver’s one has less bullet drop and is able to target much faster.

AT rockets will not penetrate the front of a medium tank in most cases. But rockets often can penetrate the side of a medium armor. The biggest weak point of every tank is its rear. Therefore, you should park your rear towards a wall or some other hard cover that will block the enemies’ way behind your tank. Coordinate with the observer for optimal positioning, and ask the gunner for the desired gun depression.

Smarter AT soldiers will sneak up on your rear. If you are being attacked and your engine has been damaged, this certainly indicates enemies in the rear. As the driver, react quickly by turning the tank 180°. For most tanks, the fastest way to do this is in 1st or reverse gear, except for the medium Sherman tank (good luck…). So when stationary shift to reverse or first gear to be able to react immediately.

Try to face the tank front towards the enemy AT missile while swinging left and right. The spotter pings at the AT to help the driver with orientation. An AT soldier carries only two missiles (without explosive ammo or respawn). If the first missile misses or is deflected, you are lucky and will probably survive. In this case, it’s time to get out of here. More ATs might come for you soon.

Always take your repair torch with you (2nd loadout). If your tank has taken damage, try to move it to a safer place (e.g. a friendly garrison) and repair it out of combat (ideally driver + spotter). Jumping back into the tank, driver goes first. In critical situations like broken tracks, keep in mind that tracks only need to be at 1% health to be fully operational again. Jump out, quickly repair a tiny amount of the tracks, get back in the tank and get the hell out of there. So most of the time you can fairly ignore damage on tracks. You should especially take care of your engine and hull health. Full damage of the former immobilizes you, full damage of the latter kills you.

It may be advisable to reverse instead of turning around and keep the front armor in the direction of the enemy. A decent driver already moves the tank autonomously (≠ randomly), not just if told so. The tank commander is not holding a carrot on a stick for the rest of the crew. You see, the driver has a remarkable responsibility for life or death in a tank. Don’t get frustrated when things don’t go so well. Blaming never helps. Besides, HLL requires not only skill, but also a tiny amount of luck.

 

5. “I think we’ve been satcheled. Really? … where do we spawn?”

 

Be constantly on the lookout for enemy infantry running behind your tank and holding an explosive device: the satchel. A placed explosive charge on a tank usually detonates within 30 seconds. Someone from the crew should leave the tank as soon as possible and disarm (10 seconds) the device by pressing F. So in total you have 20 seconds to respond to this threat. Defusing the satchel is the only chance to save the tank, assuming the satchel is properly placed on the rear, so it will definitely blow up any tank.

In my opinion, this is the only occasion when jumping out of the tank is a sensible action. Tank commanders equipped with a submachine gun who frequently jump out of the tank to kill random infantry may want to prove his/her bravery to you: anything but decent tank gameplay. On the other hand the tank commander’s submachine gun comes in handy to deal with enemy infantry placing satchels. Leaving the tank still leaves you pretty much vulnerable against hidden enemy infantry. So the repair torch still remains the better choice in my opinion.

In consequence dying outside weakens the tank’s overall capabilities and makes it necessary to pick up the respawned crew member at the nearest garrison. Isn’t the very purpose of a tank to provide protection from small arms fire? At least one should always remain in the tank, preferably the gunner. Fully abandoned tanks usually then quickly turn into wrecks. Otherwise you have 15 minutes before an empty vehicle despawns. Driving at maximum speed may prevent the placement of satchels. In better times you get out of the tank, look for that satchel and find nothing, after 30 seconds you’re still alive. Congratulations, you were lucky.

 

6. “Tank, cover me, do not reverse, I’m right behind you, tank…”

 

Often it is advisable to creep forward carefully and peek slowly around a corner instead of playing Rambo. Be aware that (enemy) tanks can be deadly even at long range. On the other hand, tanks can certainly be used as spearheads in the siege of a strong point to help your infantry advance or hold the line. Moving the tank on a strong point ensures some cap power that cannot be easily destroyed. Yes, you are playing a t a n k, so do your job and draw some infantry attention on you so that friendly infantry can join you in breaking through the enemy lines. Suspecting an enemy outpost, driving close to it will destroy it.

In return, your infantry provides some protection against enemy ATs. Combined arms with infantry support is always a good idea and makes some infantry players quite happy. You also benefit from the support of the engineers and their repair stations. As a tank commander, ask your commander or infantry unit leaders where your tank is currently needed. As a tank, you could play for an achievement like “The Name’s Khan, Genghis Khan”. But more important than making lots of kills is helping your team with the objective.

In the heat of battle, it’s difficult to respond to individual needs expressed via proximity chat, such as “don’t drive the tank so fast” or “don’t move back, I’m behind you”. Often you’re busy enough not to die at enemy AT encounters, maneuvering around, so there is barely time to play personal bodyguard for individual soldiers. Playing a tank’s no wishful thinking. As alienating as it may sounds: Some tons of steel are more worth on the battlefield than a life of an infantryman that just can respawn. Sorry, pal. Still, try your best to help the infantry.

 

7. “Spotter, you see something?!”

 

It’s important for the spotter to see through the periscope what’s going on around the tank in particular and on the map in general. Provide your tank squad with markers that are relevant to your position. Intel about enemy tanks is critical for your survival. Taking them out helps your team a lot. In the command channel, ask to mark enemy tanks. Advanced spotting also tells the direction the sighted tanks are currently facing. For example: “Tiger stationary, facing north on George marker”. Try to make most accurate markers by using your mouse instead of the map. In an ideal scenario a tank does not even require to have visual on the enemy tank. Simply shoot on the marker. It can work but I wouldn’t count on it.

The spotter is the only crew member who has 360° all-around vision. He/she has the special task of informing the driver, gunner and, of course, the entire team about enemy movement. Use the ping function to show your crew the direction or exact position of the enemy. For example, “enemy infantry on ping” or “enemy AT bearing two-twenty”. Prioritize your targets by focusing on the enemies that potentially threaten you first. If you feel that the enemy is crawling all over the place, it is probably time to retreat from your position. Dying friendly infantry on the map indicates close enemies.

Something’s shelling you and you can’t tell where it’s coming from? Shells keep landing on your tank but no hull damage? In this case it might be a recon or light tank trying desperately to pen your medium tank from the front. As spotter switch to the lowest zoom level of your periscope. This way you should be able to see the direction of the enemy shell and let your gunner send a shell back. The driver can spot enemy tank shells from the front and tell the degrees, too. Check also the sky for pew-pew-pew respectively red colored machine gun traces for the Allies, green for the Axis. The traces of the tank machine guns look thicker than those of the infantry.

Note on AT guns: At the current state of the game AT guns appear to be overpowered. They can 2 shot a heavy tank from the front and their shells appear to be more difficult to spot them from long range. Well, if you’re able to spot them first, it only takes one shell to silence. Good luck! The opposite goes for the enemy artillery: Do not waste a single thought about enemy arty firing HEs upon you. It very rarely hits your hull so it’s mostly a waste of munitions on tanks. Even direct hits do almost no damage. But it can be effective at forcing you to give up your position with smoke shells.

As you can see, tanks in skilled hands carry some weight on the battlefield. A heavy tank theoretically can encounter anything the enemy team throws at it. Therefore, it is important to spot, mark, keep tanks alive or take them out. But rarely will a tank crew win a game all by themselves. It still requires to be well supported by infantry and vice versa. The best anti-tank measure remains a tank. This brings with it the responsibility of the tanks to favor other tanks as targets when it is advisable to engage them.

 

8. “I’ve accidently shoot somewhere, enemy garrison destroyed …”

 

Unlike the driver or spotter, the gunner should look less at the map and focus predominantly on the immediate action in order to react directly. Keep in mind that the gunner can splash high explosive shells at any object directly in front of the tank, so enemy infantry moving behind the tank might be hit within the explosion radius. Use this tactic especially while cornered. Do not be concerned about the ammo except when playing a recon tank.

Also use HEs to “bombard” enemy positions and destroy outposts or garrisons. You will be surprised how often “blind” HE shots hit enemy structures near the objective. Give preference to trying to hit houses or other cover where infantry would likely build OPs or garrisons. Watch out for friendly infantry on the map to minimize friendly fire. The spotter should warn the gunner about close friendly infantry. Briefly apologize in the chat if killing friendlies. For some reason, friendly fire does not apply to vehicles. So do not worry about hitting friendly tanks.

The moment the word “enemy tank” is uttered, the gunner should immediately load AP (and fire out the HE shell into the air if necessary). Leaving the HQ, always load AP first. At least medium and heavy tanks should prefer AP to HE shells for a simple reason: A suddenly appearing enemy tank is less likely to surprise you with an AP shell in your barrel. By the way, enemy infantry still can be fairly well engaged with AP shells. Just practice your aiming.

So when engaging enemy tanks with AP, always aim for the hull/plate armor. Track hits do not kill a tank, and turret hits potentially require more shots than hull hits. You may think of disabling the turret first in order to cripple the enemy tank’s ability to kill you. But more often damage to the hull kills a tank simply faster. Maintain a perpendicular angle (<45°) or the shell may ricochet and therefore does no damage. Familiarize yourself with the tanks’ hit zones in order avoid ricochets.

In long-range combat against tanks on maps like Kursk, the gunner must be aware that from a distance of 300-400 m, the bullet drop seriously starts. The exact distance can be read from the spotter’s ping. In this case, the gunner must aim slightly higher. Bind a key in the options for the so-called “precision aim” which is not bound by default but provides the gunner with an important tool for better ballistics control and more accurate aiming in total. The spotter should tell the gunner whether the shell landed too low or too high. A metallic sound indicates a penetrating hit. Experienced spotters will directly indicate to the gunner where to aim precisely by using pings. Note: the spotter is located slightly higher than the gunner in a tank. It is possible that the spotter does see the target but not the gunner. Shoot the ping.

 

9. “Scheiße, it’s a Tiger!”

 

It’s crucial to know what you’re up against when facing an enemy tank. You must decide quickly whether or not to engage it. That requires some knowledge about the “tank hierarchy” in HLL. To make it brief: The heavier, slower and pricier the tank the more powerful and better armored. Still, even a recon tank can kill a heavy by hitting the rear plate but therefore requires more skill in my opinion (aim for the engine compartment to cripple its mobility before it turns towards you).

Feeling confident, accept a challenge and go with lighter tanks. I wouldn’t advise it for beginners, though. Here I do not cover tactics for recon or light tanks in particular. In a medium tank facing an enemy recon, light or medium tank, you should dare to attack. Heavy tanks can only be taken out by medium tanks facing their side or rear armor. So when facing a heavy from the front, it is not a good idea to attack it (quickly you become scrap metal). If the enemy heavy hasn’t spotted you yet (its gun is traversing not in your direction), don’t fire upon it yet, as a shell can easily give away your position. Rather, consider moving your tank to a covered position and wait for a better opportunity. Confident enough, try to flank it.

In the medium vs. medium tank scenario, it’s all about who lands the first shot. The same goes for the heavy vs. heavy encounter. Retreat and try to take cover when the enemy tank lands the first hit on you. Repair and try again. You prove more beneficial for your team by hiding and surviving than engaging hopelessly a stronger tank and therefore die. Patience is your best advisor when playing tanks in HLL.

At the current state of the game, fuel can run out quickly due to the high cost of heavy tanks. Instead of complaining about a lack of nodes or fuel, the least you can do is constructing three nodes by temporarily converting your tank crew into an infantry squad. You could even build all of the required 9 nodes by your squad alone, by swapping engineer roles with enough supplies (1 supply truck of 300 + 3 supply drops of 150 by each squad support role). So not only the commander is responsible for the economy of your team. By wasting tanks, you give the enemy team an advantage and cause therefore “tank poverty”. So that’s another reason to keep your tank alive as long as possible.

On the scoreboard, in the upper left corner, you can see the resources of your team. To acquire a tank, it’s 100 fuel for a recon tank, 150 for a light one, 200 for a medium and finally 600 for a heavy. After a few minutes, the tanks respawn for free in the HQ when they are destroyed, except for the heavy. Don’t always request a heavy one. Let other crews play the expensive tanks too and take the free ones. In this respect good tank players are humble. They manage to balance their encounters in your team’s favor, ideally with a minimum of fuel. On the other hand, if you are the only tank crew, a heavy is the best chance for your team. By destroying at least one enemy tank of the same class, it’s worth the investment. Under best circumstances all crews drive a heavy. Live long and prosper.

 

10. SFX

 

Listen to the battlefield. HLL offers some pretty sophisticated audio gameplay. By distinguishing the sounds, some players are even able to identify tanks by their main cannon sound. Use headphones to hear if it’s heading towards left or right. The volume of the sounds also indicates the distance and grows louder the closer you get. So even if no one marks the enemy tanks, you get a hint just by listening. At the expense of spontaneous mobility, the driver can turn off the roaring engine to get a cleaner acoustic impression. You will perceive footsteps of infantry near you easier with this.

Fire from an MG-34 rather indicates an enemy tank than an infantry MG (simply because most Axis machine gunners use the different-sounding MG-42). The Panzer II “Luchs” probably makes the most characteristic sound with its main gun. Its high rate of fire distinguishes the Luchs from any other tank. So in general you could tell the tank types by their rate of fire. Faster fire rate indicates a recon, light tank or an AT gun with a loader. Slower rates of fire indicate a medium or a heavy.

Each “boom” and “kaboom” is caused by the players’ activity and therefore provides you with potentially useful information. Experienced tankers are capable of tracking down an enemy tank just by following their ears. But make sure to check your map because the sound source could be friendly. Do not mistake artillery gun fire for a tank. Tank cannon sounds are pitched higher, arty lower with more bass.

Being attacked, sounds also provide helpful to identify the weapon you’re being attacked with. A Bazooka or Panzerschreck creates a typical rocket-like sound. If you detect this sound effect, you can be sure that there’s an enemy AT close to you. Another important sound remains the metallic penetration sound of a tank shot. If this sound was the last thing you heard before suddenly your tank went up in flames, you conclude that has to be most likely an enemy tank.

***

 

Congratulations, you made it through the wall. Some of these tips may be regarded as situational. In an actual match, more factors may come into play. Nevertheless, I hope, this guide is useful especially for new tankers and you have discovered here one or another aspect that you haven’t considered yet. Disagree with some of the advices, questions or a completely different approach towards tanks? I’d be glad to exchange different points of view. Finally, the very most important thing is to have fun. Feel free to share.

 

Tank you for your attention,

 

[PBS] Odo[benus]

[Powerbits]

Great post m8, thanks

[Anonymous]

Great guide, lots of good tips and tricks.

[Author]

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