What I learned: From World of Tanks
I’ll be the first one to admit that I am not a military person, or at all interested or obsessed with big guns or vehicles. So it’s easy to understand that I was never too thrilled to jump into World of Tanks, which is a free cooperative and competitive game that you can play. The game premise is pretty simple, it’s a third person shooter game but in tanks and with other various mechanics that tend to piss people off.
I honestly didn’t think it would be a game I would enjoy in the first place. But as I tried it finally, I realized not only had I been wrong, but I could actually learn a number of things from playing a game like this. Learn things beyond how pissed I can get at the computer or the game when something that invokes RNGesus totally screws me over.
The Art of War
Sadly, the Art of War is not one of those books that is at the top of my list, in fact most books written before 1700s is not high on my list. But the advantage with a game like this is that it attracts a lot of people who are in the military or were in the military and that means with any amount of experience playing the game you actually find out strategies and are taught strategies from people who you can take advantage of, not just in the game but if you ever actually find yourself in a war zone. I’ve learned a number of fighting tactics and strategies that can also carry over to things outside of tanks; they are just basic strategies like flanking or using cover.
Monkey See
Probably one of the harder lessons for me to ever learn, even before this game was that if you can’t see the enemy that doesn’t mean the enemy can’t see you. This is even more apparent in World of Tanks as you have a number of people who have vision ranges that reach far beyond anything you have and that means you can be sniped out instantly before you even realize you are a target. This is very similar to the same problems war zones face. It’s the reason you stick to cover, and you can moving when you are able to. If your placement is always changing the enemy may not always know where you are going or where you are.
Be One with the Team
You can tell pretty quickly when your team of 7-16 people are just going to all die horribly just from the first movements that are made by people. If everyone runs up the middle and leaves the sides of the map we are on wide open, we are all going to die horribly because enemy tanks are going to take those sides and sneak up behind us and kill us all. Even just a few people trying to keep the enemy tanks at bay can completely save a team. So instead of complaining your team isn’t working together, just do what you can to shore up areas where your team is lacking. You may become the weakest link because of it, but at least there is a weakest link on the team and the enemy has to get through that first to dismantle the rest.
Patience
Some people will tell you I’m an incredibly patient person. And I am in real life, most of the time. But when it comes to most games, I like to keep moving constantly, and I actually prefer that in life too. I need to always be doing something. People just find me patient because I might be taking a nap while waiting for them, or doing something else I consider productive. This game however has truly taught me that sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. If you just wait and out patience the other team you’ll find they come straight to you like whales to the plankton.
Be Observant
The final lesson from World of Tanks was actually something I’ve practiced all through my life, but selectively. This game has helped reinforce that if I truly want to succeed I need to be paying attention to the people and the world around me. I may not have a convenient map on the right side of my vision in real life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be just as observant of my surroundings. Because of this I’ve become even more observant of what’s going on around me than I used to.
Of course there is still more lessons I will find as I continue to play this game, but overall it has provided some insight into the way I think and the way I do things that allows me to evaluate and readjust how I want to. I may not be battle-hardened and a strategic thinker but I am certainly more capable than I thought I was before.
