AutoLoader: Fast grinds, Tank Rewards, and the Panhard

Hello tankers, I'm still here!  Hoping to have Tankers Workshop #4 finished up tonight or tomorrow, but in the meantime...

4th of July x5 Fireworks

The four day weekend (I took Friday off) was extremely productive from a grind standpoint and a big part of that reason is that Wargaming gave us x5 on the first win during those 4 days, AND there was some kind of x5 reward where I got x5 on 30 successive wins. As a result I was able to finish a few tech tree grinds: 

• ARL v39 - It's better than I expected, but not that great.
• A-43 - Glad to have unlocked the A-44. The A-43 is basically a T-34 at Tier 6, and the low alpha gun doesn't hold up as well at tier 6.
• KV-85 - Got the IS unlocked as I've started grinding up to the IS-7 and other top tier USSR heavies.
• At the very end started grinding up the German MT line towards the E50. Finished the PZ III J, which wasn't bad, and got halfway through the PZ III/IV which also isn't bad at tier 5.

And I also got within striking distance of finishing the T-34-1 (which I enjoy, so I'll keep it), the ARL 44, WZ-131G FT, T28 Prototype and several others.

Gathering in those x5 bonuses was like turbo-charging the grind.

Frontline is showing up just in time, because I need to grind credits to afford to buy all those tanks. :) 

Tank Rewards for July

The July Tank Rewards missions are open for business. The totals needed are lower, but there are also fewer days to get them done. And at the end of it, the Tier IV reward tanks are tier 5 this time; nothing especially sexy, but if you don't have a T 14 or a Ram II that's not bad. And if you already DO have them you WILL NOT get the credits or gold for the new tank...but you could sell the one in your garage, then claim the new one off Tank Rewards so you do effectively get some credits.

Just like last month I'm mostly interested in the blueprints offered as a Tier III reward, which is pretty achievable.

Panhard AMD 178B

A week or so ago I played a couple of games in the AMX ELC Bis and unlocked the Panhard AMD 178B. I wasn't that passionate about grinding the wheelies, but I figured I'd give it a shot. They're fun to play, if you like the Ferrari playstyle. I tend to be pretty successful in them; I've got a 75% win rate in my Panhard and 72% in my tier 8 premium EBR.

I'll do a full review eventually, I'll say the Panhard is a little tough to drive. For some reason switching from fast mode to turning mode (I can't recall the official names for those modes right now) doesn't seem to work very well on the Panhard, and I struggle to turn it reliably. But it's still kinda fun - especially fully researched - and has the same AutoAim that its big brothers do.

Are the wheelies OP? Not really, except in one respect - the ability to do 80KM/H drive-bys hitting shot after shot on autoaim. If WG nerfed the autoaim/turret traverse a bit that would be welcome, at least by me.

GLHF out there tankers!