tips for playing the merkava mk 4 the best way possible ?

[Tomblou]

i was rly hyped up by this tank but i just seem to not get how to play it
tips anyone ?
is this just a ♥♥♥♥ tank or am i just playing it like trash ?

[CMDR Sweeper]

Merkava is handicapped with a crap gun for penetration, very much like the British tanks.
As a result you need to be better positioned and land hits on weak spots rather than head on.
When you can penetrate, the ready rack will give you the best damage output possible, at the cost of ammo consumption which is another issue in itself.

[Aldeveron]

Publicado originalmente por Tomblou:

is this just a ♥♥♥♥ tank or am i just playing it like trash ?

I was using Merkava 3 and was looking forward to upgrading to Merkava 4, until I looked at the specs. Apart from the slightly better armour, the Merk4 looks in some ways inferior to the Merk3! Sustained damage per minute is less, targeting is slower. Speed and gun calibre are the same as on the Merk3. So it appears to be only slightly superior to the Merk3, yet, being a tier above, it will be faced with tougher opponents. So I am thinking of abandoning the Merkava line at this point. I'm not sure which line to switch to though...

I noticed that the Merkava 4 has a troop compartment... Is that an advantage, somehow?

[RenegadeReefWaveLength]

Troop compartments allow you to cap points a bit faster, but more notably they mean that you can repair a full 25% faster, which can be a lifesaver if your gun or track gets taken out mid-combat.
EDIT: And in addition, in a future update, they're going to be adding mechanized infantry as a mechanic, so the troop compartment on the Merkava 4 will actually make it the only vehicle at Tier-9 capable of deploying infantry (it only gets the mortar team, but still pretty big).

Also... are you comparing the stock stats on the Mk. 4 to the fully-upgraded stats on the Mk. 3? Because that might be the source of the issue... when you compare the fully-upgraded stats of one against the other, all else being equal (as in, no crew skills or retrofits involved), their firepower is completely identical, down to firerate, damage-per-shell, aim time, penetration...
The upper glacis armor on both is worth 1500+ versus HEAT, meaning they're both completely immune to any HEAT projectile in the game if it hits them on the upper plate. Merkava 4 is considerably better there against kinetic (1380mm effective versus 1065 after sloping is taken into account, putting you that much further away from anything that isn't the new LOSAT), as well as having considerably better side armor on both the turret and hull, and a fair bit better on the lower glacis as well.
The mobility on the Mk. 4 is also a titanic upgrade, the difference between taking over eight and a half seconds (when fully-upgraded without crew skills, retrofits, etcetera) to reach 32kph versus only six and three quarters, as well as having a better hull traverse rate.

So, yes, Merkava Mk. 4 is quite an upgrade in all ways other than firepower from the Mk. 3. Firepower, however, is completely identical. But these comparisons really only present themselves if you compare them both when fully-upgraded; the fully-upgraded Mk. 3 does beat out the stock Mk. 4 in just about every way that isn't armor, so it's probably going to be a bit uncomfortable to play at first.

So unfortunately, if you're having trouble with it but did fine in the 3, chances are it's just the result of good old Stock Syndrome...
My best tip, aside from just powering through until you get some upgrades, would be to be cautious. It's a bit faster than the Mk. 3, but the Mk. 3 is much more of an in-your-face assault tank, while the 4 is more the type that operates best if you get get it at medium range, preferably hull-down, where the enemy has nothing to shoot at that isn't your front, but still are paying attention to you instead of your more fragile teammates.

[Aldeveron]

Thanks for the great input, RenegadeReefWaveLength. I only wish they could have given the Merk4 a little bit more top speed and a slightly better firepower. But hopefully the other advantages will be worth the costs of acquiring it. If I understand it correctly, the Merk4 also has an extra universal retrofit slot option.

PS - What do you consider to be the best crew+commander for the Merk3+4?

[RenegadeReefWaveLength]

Yes, it does. All Tier-9 and Tier-10 tanks can unlock a fourth retrofit slot, which just brings their 'ceiling' that much higher.

Personally, I think that Douglas being specced out for maximum "area-lockdown" defensive strats would be best... but given that acquiring him involves getting a Tier-10 vehicle and then unlocking him for several hundred thousand XP, I'd say that Giya is the next-best, since he can be specced to give you boosts to things like reload and aim time (which are some of the Merkava series' best points) every time you either bounce a shot or get close to enemies.
As for crew... I'd say Spin to Win on the driver so you can be a bit better at keeping your front towards the enemy, followed by Off-Road Driving later on so that its better acceleration is more pronounced; Smooth Ride isn't all that important because in my experience Merkavas don't fire on the move as much as, say, Leopards. For the gunner, Quick Draw to make its amazing aim time even faster (just point and click without the wait), then Do the Twist so you can hit people who get to close range more easily, make it harder for them to flank you. Loader, start with Secured Ammunition so that you don't spend the rest of the entire match being crippled in ROF if someone gets a lucky shot in, then Rapid Fire so that you can crank out the pain, further compounding on the already-fast firing of the vehicle.

[Aldeveron]

Excellent! Thank you...

[Valrynn the Dragoness]

Crew skills:

-Driver takes off road driving and spin to win. No contest. Merkavas aren't super slow but they're not that fast either. These help mitigate that.

-Gunner takes sharpshooter for gun accuracy and quick draw for aim time. Again, best choices.

-Loader takes rapid fire and either module damage boost or preparation if you switch ammo a lot. I don't so I take module damage boost.



Commander:

-Philip Holzklau is always a good choice for MBTs. Faster repairs, and his skills are always on. Has a minor reload boost and has either crew skill benefits or traverse benefits.

-Juan Carlos Miramon is good if you like to play away from teammates. Having massive passive view range boosts means you're less reliant on others to scout for you. He also has some close-range reload buffs in case you need to get real close to enemies.

-Viktor I've heard can be good due to his core skill (reload faster when you take damage) but I don't use him. Rachel Kramer too but I find her too situational as the only thing she has going for her is a reload boost at close range. Giya Tsiklauri is also not a bad choice but I think Philip and Juan are better.

-Douglas O'Reilly has good buffs across the board at the cost of mobility.

-Vincent isn't a bad choice either but I don't use him.

-Ophelia, Alisa, and Cortez are also good choices for obvious reasons. If you don't own them my personal votes are for Juan or Philip.



Consumables: Repair Kit/Medical Kit/Energy Drink. You don't need an extinguisher as much even with a frontal engine and the passives from the energy drink are too good to pass up. If you're saving on credits, go with an extinguisher anyways as it never hurts to have one. Engine oil is good if you really, really want more mobility but shouldn't be necessary.


Retrofits: Breech for reload speed is a must on every vehicle in the game. After that, the Merkava has many good options. I like to use MRS for accuracy since I fire exclusively HEAT to improve my damage output, and Optics for more view range to be more independent (plus spotting gives you more exp and credits). The final option is up to you, but I like to get filters since it gives you engine health and acceleration. Another option is spall liner to reduce damage to anything inside the tank. You can also go with a firepower retrofit like aim time or accuracy if you really feel like it's needed.


Remember a Merkava is tough but nothing in this game is invincible. Try to go hulldown when you can, so you can hide the weaker lower plate and by extension your engine. Always be wary of your sides since they can be penetrated relatively easily due to lack of ERA. If you're like me and very good at aiming for HEAT weakpoints, load lots of HEAT and some AP so you can maximize damage output. Don't be afraid to go up front if you can hide your lower plate and make sure you won't get shot in the sides, because you're very hard to kill in that case.

The gun on the Merkava 4 handles great so you shouldn't have issues aiming for weakspots. Make use of the burst damage to quickly kill weaker tanks, or put big dents in larger ones.

Always be on the lookout for tanks with high penetration guns like the Leopard 2AX and Leclerc T4, as they have fast reloads and can easily penetrate the lower plate.

All in all it's a good tank.

[SAJ1573]

yeah i love my merk4