ELC AMX Guide

The ELC AMX (I will just call it ELC in the future), despite being a tier 5 light doesn't have a dedicated branch on the tech tree and is the step between the tier 4 AMX 40 and the tier 6 AMX 12t. As it is not a scout it doesn't recieve the harsh MM of the T-50-2 or Chaffee, neither does it have the increased repair cost. It does however have similar matchmaking as the tier 4 scout T-50 and leopard (6 to 9, facing everything from tier 4 to 9)

The ELC is researched from the tier 4 light tank AMX 40 for 14'900 xp and cost 315'000 credits to purchase, making it one of the cheapest tier 5 tanks to purchase.
The basic turret have 400 HP, 360 meters view range and have a limited traverse arch to 15 deg per side. it lacks a turret upgrade so this is also the final stats of the elited vehicle.
Before rushing off to scout remember one of the ELC's unique features: It have an absolutely aweful radio even when fully upgraded, only reaching out 360 meters.
Modules:
Turret ELC AMX: Stock
Radio ER 52 (300 meter range): Stock
Radio ER 53 (360 meter range): 610 xp, 3650 credits

Crew:
The ELC have a crew of 2, a commander (who is also gunner, loader and radioman) and a driver. The low number of crew members is both a good and a bad thing:
Good: Training and retraining is cheap, training BiA doesn't take many other usefull skills when trained 1st, basic skills like camo (important) or repairs have high effect even when only trained of a single crew member and a single medkit can restore many crew functions
Bad: Few skills can be trained at the same time, the crew is easily knocked out leaving you out of the game with HP left, losing the commander is painfull

Mobillity:
Here is one of the reasons to why the ELC is such a popular tank (and why they often die first), the mobillity of the tank is top notch. The top speed is 65 kph and is reached quickly due to a power-to-weight ratio of 35 bhp/ton, rivaling the famous T-50-2 in acceleration. The traverse of a fully upgraded ELC is 38 deg/sec according to the suspension information but the powerfull engine makes the effective traverse much higher.
Even though the listed stats are similar to those of the T-50-2 the ELC doesn't handle the same. It bleeds speed at a higher rate while turning and doesn't powerslide unless on a slope.
Modules:
Engine Sovam de 150 cv (150 hp): Stock
Engine SOFAM 8Gxb (250 hp): 1150 xp, 16'000 credits
Suspension ELC AMX A (36 deg/sec, 7.3 ton capacity): Stock
Suspension ELC AMX B (38 deg/sec, 7.95 ton capacity): 2420 xp, 9510 credits

Armor:
This is also an important factor to why the ELC often dies first: the hull and turret have the same armor, 14 mm front, 12 m side and 10 mm rear. This is not even enough to protect you from a stock T1 but there is another value that protects the ELC from evil eyes.
The ELC's protection doesn't lie in it's abillity to stop shells heading in it's direction but in it's abillity to not be shot at in the first place. It's got one of the best camo ratings in the game and with a 100% camo crew tier 9 tanks (400 meter view range) won't spot you untill they are 260 meters away from you when you're standing in the open.
Modules:
Hull ELC AMX (14/12/10): Stock (duh )
Turret ELC AMX (14/12/10, 44 deg/sec, 15 deg traverse to each side, 360 meter view range): Stock

Armament:
The stock ELC is equipped with the short 75 mm SA32 from with AMX 40, giving it a painfully low penetration of 74 mm and an accuracy rating of 0.46. The next upgrade is the 75 mm Long 44 which give a significan boost to both penetration (100 mm) and accuracy (0.36) and cost 2700 xp.
These guns are both pretty rapid fiering but they lack the power requierd to be usefull in the matches that the ELC lands in, the last gun solves these issues. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 90 mm D914. This gun is completely different from the two previous guns with low rate of fire, high penetration and alpha for it's tier. The 90 mm gun deals 240 damage per shot, have 170 mm penetration and shoots 5 rouds per minute with an accuracy rating of 0.38. This gun enables you to damage everything you face either by doing strafing runs or sniping from far away. Like most 90 mm guns it benefits hugely from the use of gold ammo which boosts the penetration to 248 mm, making the ELC able to penetrate E-75s frontally.
The ELC sadly suffers from the french bad accuracy on the move so you have to be within 50-70 meters of your target to ensure a hit when moving at top speed.
Modules:
Gun 75 mm SA32 (110/110/175 dmg, 74/100/38 pen, 15.6 RpM, 0.46 accuracy, 2.5 sec aim time, 60 shells): Stock
Gun 75 mm Long 44 (110/110/175 dmg, 100/129/38 pen, 15.6 RpM, 0.36 accuracy, 2.5 sec aim time, 48 shells): 2700 xp, 27'000 credits
Gun 90 mm D914 (240/240/320 dmg, 170/248/45 pen, 5 RpM, 0.38 accuracy, 2.9 sec aim time, 36 shells) 3880 xp, 61'000 credits

Personal review:
According to me the ELC is one of the best tank curently ingame. it's fast, it's sneaky and it packs one hell of a punch for it's tier. Being a crappy scout player I play the ELC like a rapid response ninja tank destroyer, when the game starts I try to find a spot where I can return fire on the enemy as they get spotted either by me or by my teammates untill the ranks thin out enough for me to safely move around helping to find the last enemy tanks. Unlike what many people say the ELC is not fit for hunging artillery as it have a long reload which force you to dodge shells for 10-12 seconds.
My crew is trained in BiA, 6th sense, clutch braking and camo, this allows me to peek out and know if it's safe to stay and keep aiming at my target or if I should relocate. The modules I use are Medium caliber shell rammer, improved ventilation class 1 and binocular telescopes
Using this tactic I have managed to keep a win rate of 61%, a kill/game ratio of 1.25, 900 average damage, 550 average XP (non prem) while maintaining a 52% survival rate.

One final Tip to new ELC players: Ignore the people who tell you to scout by rushing the enemy base in the beginning, make up your own tactics instead.

Pros:
High top speed
Good acceleration
High manuverabillity
High penetration for it's tier
High Alpha damage for it's tier
Above average accuracy for it's tier
Great camoflage
Cheap repairs
Good tier 5 earner
Small profile making you hard to hit within the 3 sec untill the 6th sense kicks in
Good view range for a tier 5 tank

Cons:
Low HP
Nonexistant armor
High target priority
Bad accuracy on the move
Long reload
Long aim time
Tier 4 scout matchmaking
Vulnerable to HE shells
Bad view range for a tier 5 LIGHT tank
Bleeds speed while turning
Limited turret traverse
Bad gun depression (-5 degrees)

Suggested Crew skills:
This is very much "same ol', same ol'"
Commander: 6th sense, camo, repairs, retrain BiA, 6th sense, camo when 2nd skill reaches 100%
Driver: camo, clutch braking, off road driving, retrain camo, BiA, clutch braking when 2nd skill reaches 100%

As you don't have any armor worth mentioning and everyone is out after your butt in particular it's important to stay hidden and to know when you're not hidden anymore. BiA is mostly a bonus

Suggested Equipment:
"The Scout"
Vents, Camo net, Binoculars

"The Strafer"
GLD, Vents, Rammer

"The Sniper"
Vents, Rammer, Binocs

"The Active scout"
Vents, Optics, Enhanced springs (+30% track HP, you don't want to stop when running around)

"The Clueless"
Spall liner, Wet Ammo Rack, Toolkit

Extra notes:
The ELC AMX is one of the most flexible tanks in the game so there are few "wrong" playstyles, This is a guide based on my experience and playstyle but it might not suit you.




Originally written by xCaptainObviousx

About Equipment sets:

• The Scout set is really bad choice since it turn ELC into TD with very BAD accuracy.
  The Strafer set is actually about nothing... GLD won't help you much on high speed.
  The Sniper set is... Well, the same about the scout set. Questionable choice.
  The Active Scout set is your typical Skirmisher set. The best choice and the most flexible of all. But I suggest to change Springs for Rammer (if you know how to drive on hilly grounds).
  The Clueless set is totally clueless.

If you ever want to snipe with the very long aimtime ELC... GLD is only viable when you're stationary, so it makes absolutely no sense when strafing. Gun rammer is always nice on any tank, as it increases your potential dpm by 10%, and ELC might find themselves in the situation where they find a lone German heavy, they can use their low profile to glue to their front/rear/side and just hammer on them as they can't even hit you. Vents and coated optics are the only 2 things that increases vision while moving, and staying stationary as an ELC is a bit pointless, as there are better passive scouts out there (Chaffee)

I went with the "active scout" setup on mine, and it's worked pretty well for me so far - I'm going that way with crew skills too, but I can't decide so far if Off-Road Driving or Clutch Braking would be more useful. It loses a lot of speed whilst turning and weaving, which one is going to help in reducing that loss of speed more?