I am literally unable to kill anything

[Karcel]

Came back to this game after many years of inactivity. My best tank is a Hetzer. I tried playing well, did what tank destroyers do and secured flanks.
But I cannot for the life if me kill anything. I hit tons of shots, also critical hits.
That is all I ever get though. Hit. Hit. Critical Hit. Hit. Critical Hit.
It never kills anything at all and I don't know why.

The reason I made this thread is because in the last round I just lost it.
An enemy tank was tracked right in front of me while I was seeing its flank.
I put round after round of AP into that damn tank but all I got was Hits and a singular critical hit. Enemy tank was a KV1 btw.

How the fk is that possible? How am I supposed to kill anything at all? I got served a defenseless tank on a platter and I was still not able to kill it.

This all ended with the enemy tank repairing its turret, slowly turning it to me and killing me in a single shot.
I tried man. I had enough time to put two shots into the side of the turret and 3 into the side of the chassis before I died.

Inb4 git gud.
I just really need advice man. Is it my ammo type? Did the AP ammo overpenetrate or something? What do I do...

[CaptainSpacetime]

You have to kill the crew to destroy the tank.

You're just hitting the same non-vital part over and over which just gets repaired.

Not sure on hetzer's ammo types but you want APHE not solid shot.

[Karcel]

Originally posted by CaptainSpacetime:

You have to kill the crew to destroy the tank.

You're just hitting the same non-vital part over and over which just gets repaired.

Not sure on hetzer's ammo types but you want APHE not solid shot.

Ammo stored in the enemy tank is non vital? The engine is non vital? 3 of my shots were centered on the enemy ammo and crew and it only killed 2 of the enemy crew at best.

[Illusionyary]

What ammunition were you using? For German guns you generally want to use the default shell, for the Hetzer that'd be the PzGr 39 shells, don't bother with anything else. Maybe a handful (like 3 or so) of Hl.Gr 38B HEAT shells for soft targets like trucks, etc.

[Karcel]

Originally posted by Illusionyary:

What ammunition were you using? For German guns you generally want to use the default shell, for the Hetzer that'd be the PzGr 39 shells, don't bother with anything else. Maybe a handful (like 3 or so) of Hl.Gr 38B HEAT shells for soft targets like trucks, etc.

The AP one, with the best penetration.

[CaptainSpacetime]

Originally posted by Karcel:

Originally posted by Illusionyary:

What ammunition were you using? For German guns you generally want to use the default shell, for the Hetzer that'd be the PzGr 39 shells, don't bother with anything else. Maybe a handful (like 3 or so) of Hl.Gr 38B HEAT shells for soft targets like trucks, etc.

The AP one, with the best penetration.

Don't use APCR it's garbage outside of very specific circumstances. As you saw it pens and then only destroys modules, you'd have to basically directly hit every crew member one by one.

Use PzGr 39 since it explodes in the tank.

[Jaes]

Originally posted by CaptainSpacetime:

Originally posted by Karcel:

The AP one, with the best penetration.

Don't use APCR it's garbage outside of very specific circumstances. As you saw it pens and then only destroys modules, you'd have to basically directly hit every crew member one by one.

Use PzGr 39 since it explodes in the tank.

This.

Penetration value is not an inherently good metric for a shell. It's very important to know what the shell does upon penetration.

An APCR is valuable when you need to kill a specific crew member/tank component of a heavily armored vehicle, but it is not inherently good for killing a vehicle itself. When to apply is going to vary and really depends on what tank(s) you're running into.

Below is a list of the different shell types in the game. I would be good to reference what shell type you're using with this list as it also explains how the shell works.


https://wiki.warthunder.com/Tank_ammunition


You can also view the shell types available to the Hetzer in game or here as well under it's "Ammunition" category. Different tanks will have access to different shell types.

https://wiki.warthunder.com/Jagdpanzer_38(t)

[Karcel]

Alright, I try using different ammo types. Thanks guys.

[Rinky]

Originally posted by Karcel:

Came back to this game after many years of inactivity. My best tank is a Hetzer. I tried playing well, did what tank destroyers do and secured flanks.
But I cannot for the life if me kill anything. I hit tons of shots, also critical hits.
That is all I ever get though. Hit. Hit. Critical Hit. Hit. Critical Hit.
It never kills anything at all and I don't know why.

The reason I made this thread is because in the last round I just lost it.
An enemy tank was tracked right in front of me while I was seeing its flank.
I put round after round of AP into that damn tank but all I got was Hits and a singular critical hit. Enemy tank was a KV1 btw.

How the fk is that possible? How am I supposed to kill anything at all? I got served a defenseless tank on a platter and I was still not able to kill it.

This all ended with the enemy tank repairing its turret, slowly turning it to me and killing me in a single shot.
I tried man. I had enough time to put two shots into the side of the turret and 3 into the side of the chassis before I died.

Inb4 git gud.
I just really need advice man. Is it my ammo type? Did the AP ammo overpenetrate or something? What do I do...

As people mentioned here your problem is about ammo types.

But I can't wait to see how you will be delighted to meet cold war era tanks on Panther and Tiger 2, when you can't do ♥♥♥♥ against them and they can penetrate you literally everywhere

[CaptainSpacetime]

Originally posted by Rinky:

Originally posted by Karcel:

Came back to this game after many years of inactivity. My best tank is a Hetzer. I tried playing well, did what tank destroyers do and secured flanks.
But I cannot for the life if me kill anything. I hit tons of shots, also critical hits.
That is all I ever get though. Hit. Hit. Critical Hit. Hit. Critical Hit.
It never kills anything at all and I don't know why.

The reason I made this thread is because in the last round I just lost it.
An enemy tank was tracked right in front of me while I was seeing its flank.
I put round after round of AP into that damn tank but all I got was Hits and a singular critical hit. Enemy tank was a KV1 btw.

How the fk is that possible? How am I supposed to kill anything at all? I got served a defenseless tank on a platter and I was still not able to kill it.

This all ended with the enemy tank repairing its turret, slowly turning it to me and killing me in a single shot.
I tried man. I had enough time to put two shots into the side of the turret and 3 into the side of the chassis before I died.

Inb4 git gud.
I just really need advice man. Is it my ammo type? Did the AP ammo overpenetrate or something? What do I do...

As people mentioned here your problem is about ammo types.

But I can't wait to see how you will be delighted to meet cold war era tanks on Panther and Tiger 2, when you can't do ♥♥♥♥ against them and they can penetrate you literally everywhere

What cold war tanks are people always complaining about? I play those BRs and don't even notice.

[76561199341125672]

There are many good answers already, but because this is so interesting topic, I want to contribute.

1) Where should you aim, varies. Tanks have their weak spots on different places. You just have to learn them. Use the protection analysis of any vehicle you are interested in, this case obviously KV-1. Use also the Test Drive. Test drive for Jagpanzer 38(t) includes many Soviet tanks. However it looks like KV-1 is not there. Even if you did not find the vehicle you were most interested, you could also start a Custom Battle, and limit the options enough to get those vehicles what you wanted to see on the enemy team. All other units except your own may be bots. The bots in the enemy team may be dumb, but if they drive the tanks you wanted to see, then that should be OK.

2) What is the best penetrating shell? That is a good question because it is not always the first and biggest number that reveals the shell you should use most. The first number you see on the table (top left) is the maximum penetration for a short distance and direct angle. But, quite often the distance is not short, and the angle may be something less optimal. So look at the other numbers for longer distance and worse angle. Use those numbers to compare different shells. Often the "best" looking shell is not the best in practice.

3) What does the shell do after penetration? Is it just a hot solid piece of metal, or will it explode? If a shell explodes inside a tank, it will probably kill the whole crew.

If you look at the numbers, it seems that PzGr 40 would penetrate 182 mm armor. Isn't that quite much for a 75 mm cannon shell? But, if you look at the number for 60° and 500 m, that is only 37 mm. Now, if you look at PzGr 39 the first number is "only" 145 mm. But, look also penetration for 60° and 500 m, that is 47 mm. That is significantly better. Also significant is the explosive mass. You see, PzGr 40 has no explosive.

Sometimes you may try very long distance shots, such as 1500 m or even more, then a HEAT shell may be the best. Especially if you got StuG III A or Pz.IV, the Hl.Gr 38C is superior.

[Xenomorph Kitty]

Russian bias. You were shooting a KV1, as it's russian, Gaijin made them more difficult to kill on purpose.

[76561199341125672]

If you can, watch the replay in slow motion and analyze:
1) Which shells did you use?
2) Did the shells penetrate armor?
3) Did the shells hit essentially same spot and crew member repeatedly?

[Blamite Delight]

another issue since you stated that you had "come back to playing after a few years" is the inclusion of volumetric ammo and armor, basicly your rounds will no non pen for no good ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reason

[Karcel]

Originally posted by Iron-56:

There are many good answers already, but because this is so interesting topic, I want to contribute.

1) Where should you aim, varies. Tanks have their weak spots on different places. You just have to learn them. Use the protection analysis of any vehicle you are interested in, this case obviously KV-1. Use also the Test Drive. Test drive for Jagpanzer 38(t) includes many Soviet tanks. However it looks like KV-1 is not there. Even if you did not find the vehicle you were most interested, you could also start a Custom Battle, and limit the options enough to get those vehicles what you wanted to see on the enemy team. All other units except your own may be bots. The bots in the enemy team may be dumb, but if they drive the tanks you wanted to see, then that should be OK.

2) What is the best penetrating shell? That is a good question because it is not always the first and biggest number that reveals the shell you should use most. The first number you see on the table (top left) is the maximum penetration for a short distance and direct angle. But, quite often the distance is not short, and the angle may be something less optimal. So look at the other numbers for longer distance and worse angle. Use those numbers to compare different shells. Often the "best" looking shell is not the best in practice.

3) What does the shell do after penetration? Is it just a hot solid piece of metal, or will it explode? If a shell explodes inside a tank, it will probably kill the whole crew.

If you look at the numbers, it seems that PzGr 40 would penetrate 182 mm armor. Isn't that quite much for a 75 mm cannon shell? But, if you look at the number for 60° and 500 m, that is only 37 mm. Now, if you look at PzGr 39 the first number is "only" 145 mm. But, look also penetration for 60° and 500 m, that is 47 mm. That is significantly better. Also significant is the explosive mass. You see, PzGr 40 has no explosive.

Sometimes you may try very long distance shots, such as 1500 m or even more, then a HEAT shell may be the best. Especially if you got StuG III A or Pz.IV, the Hl.Gr 38C is superior.

I used to play a lot of World of Tanks. I know some weakspots from there still so I don't know how well they translate to War Thunder.
After reading the comments I used other ammo types, including the recommended PzGr39 and I actually got a few kills now. So the advice I got here is already working.

[Chaoslink]

Yeah, the first main problem was that you were using APCR. That’s a round that will bounce often if you hit angled armor at all. If you do penetrate, the outer portion of the round crumbles away leaving a small solid core to penetrate inside. It basically turns your 75mm gun into a 40mm gun. The core of the round doesn’t carry much shrapnel from the small hole it makes either, meaning that you just break what is directly behind where you got through. Can be bad for the tank, but not always deadly.

The APHE explodes inside the tank for a much deadlier hit. For the KV-1, you can shoot the lower front plate if it isn’t angled too much. The KV series has a rear transmission unlike most tanks, meaning that there isn’t a huge obstacle the round gets eaten by. The round penetrates right into the middle of the entire crew and should wipe them all. If the KV is more angled, you want to hit the turret cheeks. It can be a rough shot, but it does work. Depends on the KV as well. The rounded turrets tend to be more of an issue as the armor overlaps in places you can’t really see. You can also shoot the cupola on ones that have it. When your shot gets in, the explosive should ruin the turret crew.

Mouse over the ammo types for a little animation of what the round does and how it kills the enemy. Watch for it passing clean through or exploding. You’ll note that HEAT doesn’t lose penetration from range. This is because it doesn’t use kinetic energy to defeat armor. It explodes on contact using a shape charge to flash melt a stream of molten metal and push it through a small hole to damage the interior. Same with APCR, it damages only what is directly behind where it got through. Unlike APCR, it won’t go through objects like fuel tanks. Being high explosive by nature though, it can kill light vehicles through the pressure of the blast alone. It has a lower velocity than most other shells too, meaning you can arc it more. You can hit vehicles that you can barely see behind a hull or something easier with these shells and if they’re open tops like the M10, you’ll kill it just by hitting it. That’s the common use for standard HE shells.