I figure we could need a thread to talk about this game here too O.o
www.worldoftanks.com
It's entirely free to play and the people who do pay do not get much of a boost.
they only advance slightly faster, but are still pitted only against similarly leveled non paying players.

Paying players get TONS more than non-paying players.

Dont get me wrong, I play the game and I like it, but paying gets you A LOT more in that game.

Not quite:
http://wiki.worldoftanks.eu/Gold_Economy

Converting experience alone is a big one.

The premium ammo hits A LOT harder than the standard issue.

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The RAM TANK is a promotional tank???

*shrugs*

It's a Canuck thing. The Ram Tank was the only Canadian-Designed and made tank in history (It's considered a cousin of the Sherman Tank.).

It was never used in combat, but was the basis for a really good SPG, and as the second basis for the modern APC.

I'm having flashbacks/nightmares of WWII Online launch, where you'd spawn a tank and then night would come and you'd have to park it on the side of the road and hope some infantry didn't sneak up and plant a satchel charge for the 30 minutes it took for in-game night to break to dawn.

It' actually more a game of strategically standing still in nice and comfy spots . . (hint: bring a tent) and snipering enemies who dare to move enough to be seen . .

Ehhh....I'd argue luck has A LOT more to do with it.

In a Tank Destroyer, I've shot newbie tanks dead on balls center sideways and the round has bounced off. In the same Tank Destroyer, which allegedly has the best frontal armor in the game, I've been one-shotted many times by much weaker tanks from the front.

The general rule seems to be; your rounds are about as half as effective as you think they are, the enemy is always facing the wrong way, and their shells are twice as effective as you think they are.

Dont get me wrong, it's a great game and I have a lot of fun with it. But there are issues with it and a knowledge of WWII tank design and tactics will not serve you as well in this game as you might think.

You need to look at the center of the crosshair.
If it's red, it's not gonna penetrate. If it's orange, it's gonna bounce.
If it's green, you are going to do good damage on target usually.
And even if you have a thick hide/front-armor, you have weak spots in there.
View-Ports for example. if you hover over an enemy tank, move your crosshair a bit.
you will notice some green spots in between all the red . .

Also, differences between free and paid ammo:
http://wiki.worldoftanks.eu/Ammo