The Tank Commander’s Guide for Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad – Part 1

You might be outgunned, outnumbered and surrounded. But if you know what you are doing you, and your tank will survive any critical situation, and come out on top.

Congratulations, you are inside a tank.Your very own Panzer IV or a T-34. Now you can drive through the ruins of Stalingrad and bring about the destruction of your enemies, main gun and machine guns blazing! You will run over enemy positions, forcing entire companies to flee from you, allowing your team to advance to victory, or hold back the Red/Fascist horde thanks to your indestructible steel plating and precise gun. Now, that we are done with this Fantasy, let us jump to the facts.

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The Basics

Being the Tank Commander or Crew Member at your disposal you will have a number of positions within the tank available to you between which you can swap at will. There are four positions in the T-34 and five in the Panzer IV. They both share the Gunner position, Radioman, Driver and Loader (which is not available to the player). The Panzer IV has an additional position of the Commander, meanwhile the T-34’s Gunner is the Commander at the same time. As long as a position is not taken by another player you can swap between them at will. When a position is not taken by a Player there will always be an AI NPC controlling the slot. This also means they will for example, automatically fire at enemy tanks/infantry and listen to your orders when it comes to driving the tank around. Whether you ask the Driver to drive in a specific direction or turn (using the WSAD buttons) or ordering him to drive to a specific location (holding down the F key and pressing the left mouse button where you want the tank to move) the NPC driver will be highly obedient to your orders, although not nearly as efficient if a player was a driver.

When a crew member is dead on the Tank UI you will be able to see which positions are unmanned (there will be a red x over the slot). When you sit in a specific position you can shift to that slot leaving your old position unmanned but now a different position will be occupied. Whenever the Loader dies a random crew member will take him place (most often the Radio Man or Driver). In order to restore your crew members, or repair the tank you have to drive up to an ammo dump. Just like Infantry you will get back all of your ammunition as well as any damage done to the tank will be repaired. There is a recharge timer which does not allow you to use the Ammo Dump constantly, and often the Ammo Dump positions are open for flanking by enemy tanks or ambushes by enemy Tank Hunters.

With the basics discussed let us move on to discuss each specific slot within the tank, and how to use it effectively, or at least on the basic level.

When damaged or in need of some broader orientation the map is your friend. You know where you have to attack, you know where the critical ammo dumps are, and of course you know where you are. With the use of Recon you can also tell where the enemy is!

The Tank Slots

Driver

The Driver always occupies the area to the front and left of the tank. From the outside perspective you can easily tell where the driver is sitting due to the vision slot present in the hull. In both the T-34 and the Panzer IV the Driver operates on the same principles. You use the WSAD buttons to drive the tank forward, back and turn left or right. You have the option to drive the tank in two ways. One which I call the “Throttle” setting, and one which I call the “Car” setting. The Car Setting is what you start of automatically. When you hold down W you drive forward, steadily speeding up and the moment you let go of it the tank will steadily slow down. The Throttle setup means that when you press W or A you increase the amount of power to the engine. I personally prefer the Throttle Setting as it allows you to keep a more or less constant speed, both when the driver or on any other positions since the AI will follow the same principle. This also means you do not have to be bothered with holding down the W key all the time, and whenever you want to halt or set the Throttle to zero you press the space bar.

As the driver your job is to quickly or cautiously drive your tank to enemy positions, most often through difficult terrain and obstacles. When you are starting off you will very often hit against walls because you did not take into account the width of the tank, or you will fall into pits which you did not notice. Take into account when driving that it is very had to fire from the gun while the tank is moving. Very often even when the Gunner has taken aim he will lose it the moment you drive into a hole or over an obstacle. Stay in contact with the Commander/Gunner as they might suddenly spot a target and you will have to quickly position the tank and angle it in order to commence effective firing (more on Combat later).

Lastly, remember, some types of obstacles can be crushed by your tank. Lamp Posts, trees and other tanks can be pushed aside with enough speed. Stone walls and buildings cannot be smashed into, and there will be plenty of obstacles that you will not be able to cross over. With time you will learn what these are in full.

The inside of the T-34. Not as “nice” as that of the Panzer IV, nor are there any side slots to look through. In other words, it feels like a coffin

Hull Gunner/Radioman

Historically the Hull Gunner in RO2 is the Radioman. When you will look around the cockpit in this position you will often see the radio facing you. Your role is much more limited in RO2 however and you will be forced to pepper away at enemy infantry with your machine gun. There is a difference between the Panzer IV and T-34 however. In the Panzer IV you have many more vision slits and even a top hatch which allows you to be an effective additional spotter, whether against infantry or enemy tanks. The Panzer IV also has a handy scope in their machine gun which allows you to focus fully on what you see. The T-34 lacks either one of these benefits. Your only vision is provided by that small hole above your machine gun. Although you can zoom in with your Shift key (much like infantry) you will still be greatly impaired due to the hull of the tank blocking your sight.

The Tank Commander’s Guide for Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad – Part 1

Whether in the Panzer IV or T-34 you have to keep a close watch on your ammo supply. It is very easy to be carried away, firing off at advancing infantry with an endless stream of bullets (and mildly accurate too, due to lack of recoil), but then you will find yourself lacking ammunition. The only way to resupply your ammo stock is via the Ammo Dump, which on some maps might be hard to perform, and other times simply impossible. Fire in controlled bursts and only against infantry that you clearly see. Your machine gun can pierce certain walls and obstacles so take that into account when facing against hidden infantry. Always pay attention to Tank Hunters and warn the Commander/Driver of incoming Engineers or Anti-Tank Riflemen.

The front view from the commander seat. There are multiple “windows” like these around you so you can get a good idea of what is happening about. There is even a handy marking right above the window to tell you where is the front of the tank. The only option to improve your “sight” is open the top-hatch. A highly dangerous venture.

Gunner

In the Panzer IV the Gunner focuses fully on firing. In the T-34 the Gunner is also the Commander. The firing system is exactly the same for both tanks. You have two types of shells to fire. The AP (Armour Piercing) and HE (High Explosive) shells. The first type is meant against tanks, though in critical situations it can also kill enemy infantry. HE shells are designed against infantry and they make short work of them even if the shell hits a short distance away from them. The one “silly” thing is that once your gun is loaded you can swap between shell types without the need for a full reload. So once the gun is loaded you can merely press the 6 button and swap between HE and AP shells (the type of shell about to be fired will be highlighted).

You also have the Co-Axial machine gun which works on the same principle as the Hull Machine Gun. While fighting against infantry do not be afraid to use your machine gun instead of your main gun. Shells are much harder to come by than bullets.

Your shells will not penetrate through walls, but they are capable of destroying different types of obstacles. Do note that your HE shells can often destroy roofs and window frames, as well as most wooden walls with well placed shots. This way you can clear an entry for your infantry to pass through, or to guarantee that an incoming barrage will have an easier time landing inside the house, rather than smashing against the roof. If the enemy is holed up inside a room an accurate shot through the window will quickly empty it out, or at least leave everybody inside completely startled.

In long distance fights take into account shell drop. In both the Panzer IV and the T-34 you can adjust your sights. While it is useful to calculate the distance/angle without the use of the in-game adjustments there is nothing wrong in using them. I have found that on large battlefields (like the Gumrak) you will have to use the range adjuster, it simply makes life easier.

You are a hunter. You are a tiger. Wait patiently for your catch, wait for them to move forward, oblivious to the threat and when you are ready… Fire!

Commander

The Panzer IV has a separate seat for the Commander, while the T-34 shares this slot with the Gunner. The Commander orders the tank about (theoretically). In the Panzer IV this role is much more clear somewhat since the Commander can fully focus on handing out orders and situational awareness. There is a key difference however between the two tanks. In the Panzer IV the Commander has vision slots in the turret but they have very limited visibility. The only way to see further is to open the Top Hatch and use your Binoculars, which exposes you to enemy fire, though you still get incredible awareness in your immediate area. Meanwhile in the T-34 the Gunner/Commander aside from the main gun has a highly practical “Turret View” with a similar scope to that of the main gun. You can take a good look at medium/long distances all around the tank without having to move your turret, and when in need you can also open the top hatch and use your binoculars.

So, on one hand, the Panzer IV Commander has better Low/Medium distance awareness without having to expose himself, while the T-34 Commander has good Medium/Long distance awareness. Which one is better? Questions of style, though in terms of usability the Panzer IV always has an extra crewmen which can take up a position of a dead crew member. Meanwhile the loss of any crew member within the T-34 costs you the loss of some part of your tank.

Done here? Want to read some more? Follow this link to the “Lessons” on using your Tank. Worry not, it’s not as scary as driving an actual tank. Link HERE.

Rating:9/10 Pros:Mildly Realistic
Tripwire at its finest
Very big potential with future updates! Cons:Limited Tank section
A bit buggy Game producer's website:Tripwire Interactive Official website:Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Game available at: