How Do I Ground Tanks?

Lately, I've been seeing way too many of those people during my games both on the NA server and here on the EU server. You know, those people who go about driving things like stock KV-1S's with the 76 mm ZiS-5, stock T29s with the 76 mm M1A2 gun, and other tanks that are otherwise quite useless in their stock configurations, before going onto the official forums to complain about how their poor stats are because they always grind stock tanks? This guide is here to teach you how to not become one of those people.

Grinding in World of Tanks is a rite of passage that everyone must go through, from the lowliest LOLtraktor to the mightiest Maus...well, the Maus doesn't exactly have a grind, being one of the original Tier 10s, and comes fully elite...but you get the point! Everyone goes through it. But that doesn't mean it necessarily has to be painful. There is method to the madness of grinding.

RULE #1 - Plan your grind
Grinding is not an art. It is a science. Unlike in some other games, where you have to craft items or get them from random drops or other nonsense like that, World of Tanks provides you with a very clear picture of what you need for your grind, and allows you to pick the modules that you want to research via the Tech Tree. This allows you to plan your grind, in order to minimise unnecessary effort.

First, you pick the tank you want to grind towards. Let's say, for example, the Churchill I, perhaps with the FV215b in mind for the future. Now, take a look at the Churchill I's tech tree.



So, there are two ways to get to the Churchill I from the Vickers Medium Mk. I:
- Vickers Medium Mk. I ---> Cruiser Mk. I (A9) ---> Cruiser Mk. II (A10) ---> Valentine ---> Churchill I
or
- Vickers Medium Mk. I ---> Vickers Medium Mk. II ---> Vickers Medium Mk. III ---> Matilda II ---> Churchill I

You will also note that in order to get the top gun, the 75 mm Vickers HV, you will have to grind through:
- The stock Ordnance QF 2-pdr Mk. X (a horrendously bad gun at Tier 5)
- The Ordnance QF 6-pdr Mk. III (bad, but not quite as bad)
- The Ordnance QF 6-pdr Mk. V (mediocre)
- The Ordnance QF 75 mm Gun Mk. V (mediocre)

That looks like a nasty and painful grind, a combined total of 16,300 XP, not including the turret. But here's the thing: usually in these cases, you will be able to unlock one or more of the intermediate gun upgrades on a previous tank. So let's take a look at the Matilda II and Valentine.

Here's the Matilda II's tech tree:



If you choose to unlock the Churchill I from the Matilda II, the only gun you can research there is the Ordnance QF 3-inch Howitzer Mk. I. This gun is marginal at best on the Matilda II, and like the 2-pdr Mk. X, is completely useless on the Churchill I, but you will have to grind it in order to unlock the Churchill I from the Matilda II. Sadly, the Matilda II's superb Ordnance QF 2-pdr Mk. X-B does not carry over to the Churchill, so you will still have to grind all that XP to get the top gun on the Churchill with essentially the same stock gun that the Matilda had at Tier 4. Except you're now at Tier 5. Not only that, but you will have to waste effort grinding a gun that you will not need or use on either the Churchill I or the Matilda II.

What about the Valentine?



Well, things are looking a lot better. Not only can you get the 6-pdr guns on the Valentine, you can also research the 75 mm Gun Mk. V there! If that's not enough, you don't even have to research the 6-pdr Mk. III in order to get the other guns! You'll still want to research them all, though, since you can't research a module unless you've researched all preceding modules. But, you can mount the 6-pdr Mk. V or 75 mm Gun Mk. V right away without bothering with the useless stock 2-pdr. It will also be much easier grinding that XP with the 2-pdr at Tier 4 than at Tier 5.

Now, if you want to actually play the Matilda II because you like the tank, that's fine too. By all means. It is one of the most powerful Tier 4 tanks currently. But if you don't have any real interest in it, and just want to get to the Churchill, the path through the Valentine is much easier and quicker.

A few rules of thumbs to remember when planning your grind:
- Heavy tanks generally get the same guns as medium tanks, but receive them a tier earlier. For example, the 75 mm Vickers HV is the top gun of the Cromwell, a (fantastic) Tier 6 medium tank, but is also the top gun of the Churchill I, as mentioned above, at Tier 5. Going down a heavy tank line generally lets you get better guns earlier.
- Tank destroyers and other tanks do not share guns.
- It is usually easier to grind through a line from the start than to move onto it via transition tanks such as the KV-13 or the M4A3E2 Jumbo.
- Exclusive to the American tank destroyers; playing the non-turreted tank destroyers first allows you to unlock the bigger guns first that are also used on the turreted tank destroyers.
- Exclusive to the Soviet heavy tanks; playing the IS-3 first allows you to also unlock the 122 mm BL-9 gun for the ST-I, thus obviating you of the need to play the ST-I with the 122 mm D-25T.

RULE #2 - Use free XP to unlock modules, not tanks
Wargaming.net provides you with what is known as "Free XP"; experience which can be used to unlock any module on any tank. You gain it automatically at a rate of 5% of your regular XP earned in battle, or convert it using real money in the form of gold on elite tanks. It is a valuable commodity.

However, far too many people use it to unlock tanks to save themselves from having to grind the tank they're currently on. This is a grave mistake. Unless you really absolutely cannot stand the tank you are currently grinding, you should refrain from spending free XP to skip a tank. You can unlock guns, sometimes engines and radios on other tanks, but what you cannot unlock on other tanks are things like turrets or suspensions. You can only unlock those without grinding the tank using free XP.

Returning to the Churchill I example, I mentioned earlier that you needed to unlock the upgraded turret in order to mount the better guns. By Tier 5, even if you are a completely free-to-play player, you SHOULD have earned the 1,200 XP required to unlock the turret immediately upon purchase of the Churchill I. Again, returning to Rule #1, you must plan and save up your free XP for something you really need.

RULE #3 - Fully research your current tank before moving on
World of Tanks often offers you a quick route to grind through a tank to the next tank. Do not fall for this! It's a trap! As mentioned earlier, many tanks share modules with other tanks, and it is usually easier to grind for them at a lower tier.

Take, for example, the French heavy line, starting with the ARL 44. Suppose you've played a few battles in it and don't particularly like the ARL 44 (understandable, it is a horrible stock grind), and you take a look at the tech tree.



You think to yourself, "Meh, I don't really like the ARL 44, I'll just grind for the ARL 44 nouvelle turret then go straight for the AMX M 4." (I'm assuming you already unlocked the 90 mm DCA 30 on the BDR G1 B, because noone can possibly be that stupid...I hope.) But then you'd be falling into a trap.



Good luck using the 90 mm DCA 30 against things like E-75s, ST-Is, and M103s. You'll be in a slow, weakly-armed, and thinly-armoured tank that is basically a big, fat XP piñata to the enemy team.

Now let's say you unlock everything on the ARL 44. Now, upon purchasing your AMX M 4, you can equip the 105 mm Canon 13TR or 90 mm F3 (depending on which you prefer), the second engine (the Maybach HL230 P 45F), and the top radio. Not only that, but you will also have the top 90 mm DCA 45 ready and waiting for you when you unlock the second turret and upgraded suspension. No only that, but the 90 mm DCA 45 also carries over to the AMX 50 100 as its intermediate gun.

RULE #4 - Enhanced Suspension equipment is your friend



This piece of equipment is here to help you. Its sole purpose is to give you that extra 10% to load capacity, allowing you to mount modules that you would otherwise have to wait until the upgraded suspension is researched. Oh, it also adds 30% more HP to your tracks, but who on Earth uses it for that?

There are many vehicles which are near-overloaded with their suspensions, and cannot mount upgraded turrets and/or guns without the upgraded suspension. Here is a short list of the more infamous ones:


The Aufklärungspanzer Panther.


Everyone's favourite duck, the AMX 40.


The VK 30.01 (P), renowned for its horrendous stock grind.


The PzKpfw V Panther.


The T-43.


The T-44.


The KV-13.


The Heavy Tank T32.


The BDR G1 B.


The AMX M 4 (1945).


The StuG III.


The Jagdpanzer IV.


The SU-76.

And of course...

The ARL V39. Generally considered the worst stock tank in the game, which cannot mount anything until the suspension has been upgraded.

Of course, one thing to remember is that Enhanced Suspensions are complex equipment that can only be demounted at the cost of 10 gold, or by destroying it for no compensation in credits. Whether you think this is worth the effort and pain saved is up to you. For me, it is.

It also takes up an equipment slot, but really, how helpful are those Vents/Rammer/Vertical Stabiliser/Gun Laying Drive when you can't even scratch the enemy tanks with your stock gun?

So there you have it. Four fairly simple rules to alleviating Stock Tank Syndrome (TM):
- Plan your grind wisely.
- Use your free XP wisely.
- Elite your tank before moving on.
- Don't be afraid to spend credits for the enhanced suspension equipment.

World of Tanks is supposed to be fun. It is a game after all. And hopefully with this advice, you'll have more fun instead of pain grinding stock tanks. Grind smarter, not harder.

Nice work on this one. Although I agree that you have to look carefully at what modules are used in multiple tanks, I would not always agree that you cannot rush a development. Some tanks I dreaded and free exp-ed to the next tank. Why? The higher tier tanks can also generate more XP and can therefore also have quicker access.

As a matter of fact: there are some modules that you have to research on your tank, that are in the stock configuration of the next tank. I typically will not spend any time on those, except when I really have to to get to the other tank, or when the current tank is really unplayable without it.

Also: some tanks are a pain to play. They are not bad, they are horrible. The next tank may be more your playing style.

I personally never buy the enhanced suspension. Tracks typically are not difficult to research, so I prefer researching those. If you struggle with that, ask for people to help you in a platoon. Then again: I am always short on credits, so that affects my decision making

Stock tanks I usually grind with first victories, to get more XP and less pain.

try grinding a stock E50 paying 23k exp on tracks instead on turret.

When it's possible I try to grind tanks with a similar playstyle as the tank which is next. This works for vehicles with 2 or more entries to unlock a vehicle.

For example: I bought a KV-1s to learn a playstyle that's more similar to IS then KV-3. I only bought KV-3 because It would be uptiered (tier6->tier7), and I would gain a free garagespot.

Boos B wrote:Nice work on this one. Although I agree that you have to look carefully at what modules are used in multiple tanks, I would not always agree that you cannot rush a development. Some tanks I dreaded and free exp-ed to the next tank. Why? The higher tier tanks can also generate more XP and can therefore also have quicker access.

While that is true, that's usually a personal preference thing. If you spend little to no money on the game (like I do here on the EU server), you can't afford to waste free XP skipping tanks, especially later in the higher tiers. Its most valuable use is so that you don't have to grind stock tanks.

As a matter of fact: there are some modules that you have to research on your tank, that are in the stock configuration of the next tank. I typically will not spend any time on those, except when I really have to to get to the other tank, or when the current tank is really unplayable without it.

That isn't very common, though. Usually, if you do that, you're missing out on modules that actually make the tank worthwhile to play. If it's a gun or engine, it will help you get more XP, making the grind to the next tank shorter.

Also: some tanks are a pain to play. They are not bad, they are horrible. The next tank may be more your playing style.

This is true, but I usually feel that playing a bad tank will teach you more about the game than playing a good or, better yet, OP one.

I personally never buy the enhanced suspension. Tracks typically are not difficult to research, so I prefer researching those. If you struggle with that, ask for people to help you in a platoon. Then again: I am always short on credits, so that affects my decision making

It's a value judgment, but I personally feel it's usually a good choice. Take the T-43, for example. If you're coming from the T-34-85, you will already have the top gun (85 mm D5T-85BM) and top engine (V-54K). But you can't mount the top gun until you get the second turret. And you can't mount the second turret until you get the suspension. That's about 16,000 XP required. What you could do is just free XP the turret, slap on the Enhanced Torsion Bars 3 t class, mount the turret, top gun, and engine and start getting much better XP in order to unlock the suspension, shortening your grind immensely.

Stock tanks I usually grind with first victories, to get more XP and less pain.

Sure, but grinding them in better configurations than stock usually gets you more XP

CountOfTuscany wrote:When it's possible I try to grind tanks with a similar playstyle as the tank which is next. This works for vehicles with 2 or more entries to unlock a vehicle.

For example: I bought a KV-1s to learn a playstyle that's more similar to IS then KV-3. I only bought KV-3 because It would be uptiered (tier6->tier7), and I would gain a free garagespot.

That's usually a good idea.

Great feedback. Like I said: I do appreciated the posts, but wanted to show that it was not always the golden rule.

Nice guide, it looks like we have the same idea about what to use free xp on etc.

Wen90 wrote:
This piece of equipment is here to help you. Its sole purpose is to give you that extra 10% to load capacity, allowing you to mount modules that you would otherwise have to wait until the upgraded suspension is researched. Oh, it also adds 30% more HP to your tracks, but who on Earth uses it for that?

I do It can help a lot on tanks wich have shell eating tracks but seriously need the mobility (eg T29) Since that extra hp will alow you to drive on until the next shot. I use this if not sure what else to use. This equipement is seriously underrated. Also using this module can alow you to not invest on repair skils but taking another skill instead.

Boos B wrote:Great feedback. Like I said: I do appreciated the posts, but wanted to show that it was not always the golden rule.

That is true, but then again, no rule in WoT is ever really a golden rule. (Except maybe "don't fail platoon")

crazytony0 wrote:Nice guide, it looks like we have the same idea about what to use free xp on etc.

I do It can help a lot on tanks wich have shell eating tracks but seriously need the mobility (eg T29) Since that extra hp will alow you to drive on until the next shot. I use this if not sure what else to use. This equipement is seriously underrated. Also using this module can alow you to not invest on repair skils but taking another skill instead.

Well, maybe you. ;P

Usually, though, I find you have much better options, like the Vert Stab, Vents, GLD, or the Rammer. I guess maybe if you like reverse-angling a lot it may come in handy.