I figured I would write a review for the Leopard Pt A considering I just 3 marked it:

//Current Efficiency/ WN8

1926.85 3719.61

Leopard Prototyp A:

wiki: (for pc)

http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Tank:G91_Pro_Ag_A

tankopedia:

https://console.worldoftanks.com/encyclopedia/vehicles/germany/G91_Pro_Ag_A/

Basic Information:

Tier 9 Medium German

Cost 3.45 million silver

4 Crew

65/23 Speed Limit

42 Hull traverse

36 Turret traverse

~21.19 Pw/ Weight

70/35/25mm Hull

52/60/60 Turret

390 alpha

2109.9 DPM

400m view

750 signal range

Pros/ Cons

Pros:

Decent mobility

Good camouflage values, not too large (low profile)

Good accuracy

Good gun handling

Cons:

Mediocre gun depression (6 degrees)

Very weak armor

Longish reload time

Poor snapshot ability

Painful grind

Extremely weak modules, especially ammo rack

Easy to kill crew

Opinion:

With that in mind, the Leopard Pt A clearly is a unique tank with many more weaknesses than strengths. As a consequence of its unforgiving nature, it is incredibly tough to learn its play style for inexperienced players. Often purported to be made of ammo racks, the Leopard Pt A is highly criticized and fairly unpopular; however, I believe that to be an unfair categorization. By playing to the strengths of the Leopard, it is possible to produce incredible results. Because of the Leopard's innate ability to snipe, it is asinine to bring it to the front lines. In order to ensure optimal benefit, my recommended loadout consists of this:

Equipment:

Gun rammer, Vertical stabilizer, and Coated Optics.

DPM, better gun handling, and out spotting, in order. Vents are not a valid choice for this tank, it only has 400m of view range, so the 10% bonus from optics is mandatory over the 2.2% from vents.

Crew:

It is necessary that your crew has Sixth Sense, Camouflage, Situational Awareness, and Brothers in Arms. Beyond those is pretty much preference, but anything to assist with view range and camouflage is needed. Personally, I believe using a crew with around 8 perks is ideal, because the Leopard benefits greatly by staying hidden and out spotting opponents. Safe Stowage is another possibility, but if you plan on being shot in the Proto you're doing it wrong to begin with. It's all about staying hidden. Gun performance is also key, so Snap Snot, and Smooth Ride accentuate the fantastic 105mm gun.

Supplies:

With 90mm gun: 2 repair kits of your choosing, and med kit

With 105mm gun: repair kit, med kit, and chocolate if you're feeling adventurous

*Note the Leopard Pt a rarely catches fire, so a fire extinguisher is a waste

Tank Line/ Grind:

The tank line for the Leopard Pt A is quite an anomaly. For starters, there is a light tank line and a medium tank line to get there. Also, the Leopards and some tanks in the line are the only tanks in the German tech tree to extend WW2 era, which is quite strange. The German army realized that with round penetration exponentially increasing with modern HEAT/ SABOT shells, armor became obsolete. Speed and gun performance took priority, so seeing the dynamic shift from tanks like the E100 to the Leopard is historically interesting. Beyond that, the line itself isn't very fun. Personally, I chose the light tank line, and swapped to the Indien Panzer, which was a big mistake. The Indien Panzer is probably one of the worst tier 8's, so I highly encourage the RU-251 instead of the terribly slow & inaccurate Indien Panzer. Luckily, the Leopard Pt a is a major shift in the line, and is arguably its pinnacle moment thus far.

As for the grind, the Leopard Pt a is one of the worst tier 9's in the game. It has absolutely no transferable modules, meaning all modules are unique to the Leopard = much more XP. This is a line I wouldn't be too critical of anyone free XPing. I found playing the 9cm gun to be atrociously bad, as it contradicts the Leopard's play style. Once the final turret is unlocked, the Leopard gets 400m of view range, better RoF, better accuracy, 1650 HP, and most importantly the ability to mount the 105. Once the 105mm gun is unlocked, so is the full potential of this monster.

How To Play:

The Leopard Pt should be played sniping in the back. Using camouflage is key, and understanding spotting mechanics is also very important. I highly encourage you to research how to utilize bushes to their full potential if you're not familiar with their mechanics. It is possible to scout, but it is usually best to find a bush and help defend certain critical zones/ advancing heavies. Preserving hitpoints is key, and if taking a shot is mandatory, try to prevent the enemy from shooting the hull, to preserve your ammo rack and driver. The Leopard has bad snap shotting ability, so if you use the Leopard for cleanup duty, make sure you swing close to the enemy to minimize missing/ bouncing. Re-positioning in the Leopard Pt a is also very key, and the mobility should be used 90% of the time for finding optimal positions, and 10% for flanking towards the ends of battles. Platooning in the Leopard Pt A can help prevent enemies from rushing you, as the Leopard is rarely feared by enemy heavies/ mediums/ even lights; however, do not let your platoon mates think you should be wolf packing or taking shots for them. One especially important bit of advice is to hide immediately when spotted, - being shot by artillery will ruin games - so taking that "one last shot" is always a big no no. Light tanks and auto loaders are the worst nightmare of the Leopard Pt A, because high damage clips will devastate even with low pen.

Complaints/ Difficulties:

The Leopard seriously puts all its eggs in one basket, so when RNG trolls your gun, which is all you really have, it is incredibly frustrating. I have often died as a consequence of expecting to hit/ pen targets. Another frustrating part of the Leopard is the 6 deg of gun depression. With such weak turret armor and okay GD, this tank can't quite fight like an AMX CDC by poking ridge lines. I've often been shot by enemies lower than me and overmatched before I could get my gun aimed down on them. The best way to minimize both of these issues is to fight from longer ranges and positions with wide, open lines of sight with little cover for the enemy.

Overall Rating:

The Leopard Pt a gets about a 8.2/10 in my books. While it isn't my favorite tier 9, it does many things much better than I had anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the tank improved upon fully upgrading it. The tank can be very frustrating to play at times, so I recommend spreading out mass grind sessions over a longer period of time with this tank to preserve sanity. I have yet to unlock the Leopard 1, so I am very much looking forward to that tank. It seems that it will have improved mobility and gun depression, so it fixes many of the disappointments of the Pt A.

The takeaway from this is that despite its poor reputation, the Leopard Pt A is a fearsome tank, and in the hands of a good player it can devastate. While it may not always carry a team or change the course of a failing battle, this tank isn't worthless either. It may not be the quintessential medium tank, but it is most certainly highly unforgiving to both the driver and the recipient of its 105.

Happy Tanking!

Please comment what you thought of this post/ if I should continue doing these. Feel free to add opinions.

-FD

Edited by Ferrari Driveby, 12 October 2016 - 11:41 PM.