Leopard 1 Final Thoughts + Guide
Feb 20, 2016 7:24:14 GMT
TangoThatAlpha, RagingxMarmoset, and 2 more like this
Post by HaloHelix2000 on Feb 20, 2016 7:24:14 GMT
So I got my beloved Leopard back in June 2015, and after 191 games and over 2 MOEs on it, I have my final thoughts on this largely underestimated Tier 10 medium. At first, I had problems learning how to play it effectively due to my aggressive playstle with the M48 Patton, Bat-Chat, and E50M that I acquired before it. However, over the months it has become my favorite and most played Tier 10 Medium as it grew on me and I learned it's legendary sniping characteristics.
So why, you might ask then, do I like it so much? After all, it can get wrecked by every other tier 10 tank in a matter of seconds if caught off guard.
For me, the combination of best in class accuracy, fantastic gun dispersion values, rocket-like mobility, high penetration standard APCR rounds, 9 degrees of gun depression, and a sexy modern design sold it for me. However, the most important thing about this medium is that it taught me some of the most advanced tactics that I use today. When you have 0 armor, a reliable gun, and great mobility, you really gotta focus on what both teams are doing and relocate on a dime, not to mention learning many maps and their appropriate locations to carry with. The Leopard 1 operates on one main idea, to "think fast" and think how to outsmart your enemies while taking as little shots as possible. This tank is one where you rarely want to trade health with. If you have patience and determination, this tank will reward you in the long run.
Sniping and relocating as the battle progresses is your best friend. If you see that your flank is falling and you will be outgunned soon, never be afraid to relocate to a safer position, or even go to help push another flank, you will be surprised how effective it can be in the Leopard. When you have .30 accuracy and your ammoracks are made of butter, staying back and helping from afar as your team pushes is your main priority. Only brawl when you have no choice or you think you will get out alive, but in general try to stay away from close-quarter combat. If you are with other tanks and ever encounter another Tier 10 medium at close range and he is focused on killing you primarily, (which is common because an exposed Leopard is super easy to kill and is often viewed as a XP piñata) DO NOT ENGAGE IN TANK ON TANK COMBAT with him, unless you are sure that you can kill him before he kills you (you have a health advantage, his loader is dead, ROF advantage etc). Nobody is afraid to brawl against a Leopard at close range. Let your team take shots for you instead and then go in to shoot him as he reloads, or relocate to a position where he will have to fight a battle on two flanks. Because you only have 1,950 HP in the Leopard and 95% of shots fired at you will penetrate, it is important to do as much damage as possible while taking the least damage in return, similar to a Waffle E100 playstyle. If you are not aware and cautious of your health pool, you will be shocked when you see it vanish before your eyes in seconds.
Another thing to watch out for are some of the Leopard's overlooked weaknesses, such as the lack of fast turret traverse speed and poor gun dispersion values on the move. The Leopard's hull turns at a blazing 54 degrees per second, but it's turret turns at a surprisingly slow speed of 36 degrees per second. You will often find yourself coming in at 65kph, pulling a hard right as you get behind an enemy TD, autolock, and pull the trigger, only to see your shell hit the rock right next to his rear because your turret hasn't caught up with the hull traverse. As a result, it is important to wait an extra second or two before firing after flanking if your turret was pointing away from the target as you approached, or in other words to make sure that your turret has caught up with the hull or your target. In addition, you should never shoot on the move with the Leo and expect to hit if you are at medium to long ranges as the dispersion values as you drive around increase significantly. Only shoot on the move/autolock as you flank if you are sure that you are close enough for the shell to hit the target anyway.
The last important tactic is the element of surprise. This can go for any medium, but it's also important for the Leo. If you are spotted behind a rock/hill and are headed in one direction around the rock/hill with an enemy watching you from the other side, the moment you get unspotted, turn around and swarm him from the other direction. Most likely his gun will be pointed in the direction he saw you heading to and will be caught off guard as you come from behind him and attack. You stand a much better chance at flanking successfully if you have the first shot off and the upper hand in your positioning. Unless you are confident that they will miss or they are distracted, try to never rush out infront of a Tier 9 or 10 TD, no matter what speed you are traveling at and at what distance. If they lead their shot correctly, they will hit you, and it will cripple you. I had many situations where I thought my speed would save me, but it didn't matter to the Deathstar that hit me for 1800, set me on fire, and killed me before I could react to put it out, even though I was 300+ meters away and traveling at top speed.
As for avoiding arty shells, play like a light tank and take no chances if you know that one is watching you. I have been one shot multiple times from them penetrating my armor by just stopping for a moment to shoot. Your only advantage when it comes to arty is your mobility, try to stay moving at all times if one is watching you and attempt to move perpendicular to his gun barrel, therefore making it harder for him to hit you. Sometimes they will hit you even if you are moving at full speed, but it's a much smaller chance than if you are stationary.
Finally, don't be a afraid to peek-a-boo your gun around a corner to shoot. The 1.9 second aim time combined with the super high shell velocity and high pen standard standard rounds on the L7A3 cannon are fast enough to often get away with snap-shots from close to mid range, but it is recommended to aim fully for long range fire. If you aren't rushed, it is also reccomended to aim fully at close-mid range just to negate the chances for the enemy tank to pull a random bounce. This of course varies from tank to tank and relies on common sense, never auto-aim on tanks that you know you can't autopen frontally without aiming for weakspots, such as German Heavies like the E100.
Reccomended Equipment~
I use a gun rammer, binocs, and vert stabs. However, you can replace the binocs with optics if you crave a more aggressive playstyle, or replace the vert stabs with a camo net if you prefer a more passive playstyle.
Reccomended Consumables~
The Leopard's Modules and crew members get taken out constantly. As a result, I carry a small repair kit, large repair kit, and a large first-aid kit. I don't carry a fire extinguisher because the diesel engine is rarely set on fire, with only a 10% chance of it bursting into flames. However, I've trained fire fighting on my crew to decrease the damage if it happens, and I would strongly reccomend this.
Overall I am thankful to the Leopard for teaching me how to be a better player, and I hope you guys liked this mini guide/review that I made
Any questions, thoughts, or opinions? Feel free to post them below
So why, you might ask then, do I like it so much? After all, it can get wrecked by every other tier 10 tank in a matter of seconds if caught off guard.
For me, the combination of best in class accuracy, fantastic gun dispersion values, rocket-like mobility, high penetration standard APCR rounds, 9 degrees of gun depression, and a sexy modern design sold it for me. However, the most important thing about this medium is that it taught me some of the most advanced tactics that I use today. When you have 0 armor, a reliable gun, and great mobility, you really gotta focus on what both teams are doing and relocate on a dime, not to mention learning many maps and their appropriate locations to carry with. The Leopard 1 operates on one main idea, to "think fast" and think how to outsmart your enemies while taking as little shots as possible. This tank is one where you rarely want to trade health with. If you have patience and determination, this tank will reward you in the long run.
Sniping and relocating as the battle progresses is your best friend. If you see that your flank is falling and you will be outgunned soon, never be afraid to relocate to a safer position, or even go to help push another flank, you will be surprised how effective it can be in the Leopard. When you have .30 accuracy and your ammoracks are made of butter, staying back and helping from afar as your team pushes is your main priority. Only brawl when you have no choice or you think you will get out alive, but in general try to stay away from close-quarter combat. If you are with other tanks and ever encounter another Tier 10 medium at close range and he is focused on killing you primarily, (which is common because an exposed Leopard is super easy to kill and is often viewed as a XP piñata) DO NOT ENGAGE IN TANK ON TANK COMBAT with him, unless you are sure that you can kill him before he kills you (you have a health advantage, his loader is dead, ROF advantage etc). Nobody is afraid to brawl against a Leopard at close range. Let your team take shots for you instead and then go in to shoot him as he reloads, or relocate to a position where he will have to fight a battle on two flanks. Because you only have 1,950 HP in the Leopard and 95% of shots fired at you will penetrate, it is important to do as much damage as possible while taking the least damage in return, similar to a Waffle E100 playstyle. If you are not aware and cautious of your health pool, you will be shocked when you see it vanish before your eyes in seconds.
Another thing to watch out for are some of the Leopard's overlooked weaknesses, such as the lack of fast turret traverse speed and poor gun dispersion values on the move. The Leopard's hull turns at a blazing 54 degrees per second, but it's turret turns at a surprisingly slow speed of 36 degrees per second. You will often find yourself coming in at 65kph, pulling a hard right as you get behind an enemy TD, autolock, and pull the trigger, only to see your shell hit the rock right next to his rear because your turret hasn't caught up with the hull traverse. As a result, it is important to wait an extra second or two before firing after flanking if your turret was pointing away from the target as you approached, or in other words to make sure that your turret has caught up with the hull or your target. In addition, you should never shoot on the move with the Leo and expect to hit if you are at medium to long ranges as the dispersion values as you drive around increase significantly. Only shoot on the move/autolock as you flank if you are sure that you are close enough for the shell to hit the target anyway.
The last important tactic is the element of surprise. This can go for any medium, but it's also important for the Leo. If you are spotted behind a rock/hill and are headed in one direction around the rock/hill with an enemy watching you from the other side, the moment you get unspotted, turn around and swarm him from the other direction. Most likely his gun will be pointed in the direction he saw you heading to and will be caught off guard as you come from behind him and attack. You stand a much better chance at flanking successfully if you have the first shot off and the upper hand in your positioning. Unless you are confident that they will miss or they are distracted, try to never rush out infront of a Tier 9 or 10 TD, no matter what speed you are traveling at and at what distance. If they lead their shot correctly, they will hit you, and it will cripple you. I had many situations where I thought my speed would save me, but it didn't matter to the Deathstar that hit me for 1800, set me on fire, and killed me before I could react to put it out, even though I was 300+ meters away and traveling at top speed.
As for avoiding arty shells, play like a light tank and take no chances if you know that one is watching you. I have been one shot multiple times from them penetrating my armor by just stopping for a moment to shoot. Your only advantage when it comes to arty is your mobility, try to stay moving at all times if one is watching you and attempt to move perpendicular to his gun barrel, therefore making it harder for him to hit you. Sometimes they will hit you even if you are moving at full speed, but it's a much smaller chance than if you are stationary.
Finally, don't be a afraid to peek-a-boo your gun around a corner to shoot. The 1.9 second aim time combined with the super high shell velocity and high pen standard standard rounds on the L7A3 cannon are fast enough to often get away with snap-shots from close to mid range, but it is recommended to aim fully for long range fire. If you aren't rushed, it is also reccomended to aim fully at close-mid range just to negate the chances for the enemy tank to pull a random bounce. This of course varies from tank to tank and relies on common sense, never auto-aim on tanks that you know you can't autopen frontally without aiming for weakspots, such as German Heavies like the E100.
Reccomended Equipment~
I use a gun rammer, binocs, and vert stabs. However, you can replace the binocs with optics if you crave a more aggressive playstyle, or replace the vert stabs with a camo net if you prefer a more passive playstyle.
Reccomended Consumables~
The Leopard's Modules and crew members get taken out constantly. As a result, I carry a small repair kit, large repair kit, and a large first-aid kit. I don't carry a fire extinguisher because the diesel engine is rarely set on fire, with only a 10% chance of it bursting into flames. However, I've trained fire fighting on my crew to decrease the damage if it happens, and I would strongly reccomend this.
Overall I am thankful to the Leopard for teaching me how to be a better player, and I hope you guys liked this mini guide/review that I made
Any questions, thoughts, or opinions? Feel free to post them below
