...but did you?

You won the game, congrats. But what did you accomplish? The battle was probably over in 12 minutes or so. Maybe you helped with one or two caps. Maybe you got a couple thousand in damage. Maybe you got a couple of shots into objectives. So...what did you get?





The most important thing to learn about Frontline is that the objectives are not the objectives.









What are your stats in Frontline? What's your win rate? You almost certainly don't know, and as far as I can tell Wargaming doesn't track those stats.





Do you get significantly more rewards from winning than losing? Hard to tell. But in any event I'm not suggesting don't win. I'm suggesting you redefine what winning means, in Frontline.

It's all about the Benjamins (sorta)

What is Frontline REALLY about? It's about earning credits, XP, and crew training. It's about the rewards you get from advancing up the ranks and tiers and, ultimately, gaining reward tanks. Other than that it has NO effect on your World of Tanks stats.





It's fun, and there are rewards. That's it. So you should be looking to maximize those rewards. The way you maximize rewards is through your ranks.





I've seen that imaginary scenario above play out many times - from both the attack and defense side - and it's always frustrating. Why? Because almost nobody in that battle likely advanced past Captain. I've had battles where I was playing well, driving and dealing, capping and spotting, and when the battle was over (after just 11 minutes and 31 seconds) I was only a Lieutenant! I just didn't have enough time or opportunity to advance past that.

So how do you win?

You win by getting to General as many times as possible; or failing that to Major. And you do that in LONGER battles, not shorter ones. So sure, go fast cap A. Make sure and deal some damage if you can in the process. But once you have A, don't assume D is the next step. Might be better to go over to B and help cap there too. Once you get B, maybe go help C?





Capping (or defending cap) is the surest, fastest, way to General in the game. And the longer the game, the more damage and the more assisted damage you can deal. And that drives you towards General too.





So cap, cap, cap. Cap all 6 of the caps before you even look at the numbered objectives. And even going after the objectives, look to deal as much damage to enemy tanks as you can. The numbered objectives are just icing on the cake.





If you've got more time on the clock, DON'T kill that last objective yet. Brawl it out with the enemies some more and deal some more damage.

...but I'm on defense...

It's slightly harder to control the pace of the game on defense, but fortunately it's also a bit easier to level up. I've made Lieutenant or Captain just by defending the first cap point. So defend defend defend...but if the clock is running out and you're not General yet, maybe let the other team cap one.





Remember: A longer battle benefits you and it benefits them AND it benefits your entire team. The longer the battle, the more chances to deal damage, defend or block cap, and rank up.





I played four games of Frontline this morning. General once, Major twice, Lieutenant (see above) once. How many of those games did we "win" or "lose" according to the official objectives? I have no idea.





Making General is how you win. Regardless of whether the end plates say "Victory" or "Defeat",









GLHF!





You've got your Tier 8s ready to go! You pop a couple of personal reserves to maximize credits and crew training, select Frontline, select your Progetto 46, and clickYou and your team are the attackers and the instant the countdown ends you rush to the A cap. The hapless defenders are in disarray and you cap it quickly. Seeing that you have a numbers advantage you rush cap D and fast cap that one as well!Now the floodgates are open! Your teammates from other zones spawn or flank into your lane as fast as they can and 20+ green tanks descend on the numbered objectives. 1 and 2 go down in fast succession. Bypassing the relatively easily defended objective 3 you decide to go for the surprise attack, flanking all the way over to objective 5. The defenders in that lane are still way back at cap C holding off your few allies that are still making an attempt at that cap.After a brief skirmish you triumphantly take down objective 5, winning the game!