Hello and welcome to my first guide! I plan on doing more of these.....had a hard time finding a tank that hadn't been reviewed recently so I chose this one. I will try not to be unnecessarily long and keep your interest up.
The Valentine II as seen in the Kubinka Tank Museum
Valentine mark II Soviet LIGHT tank tier four premium
Premium Matchmaking: Yes tier four and below.
History: The year is 1941 Britain in coalition with US and Canadian forces attempts several times at building a maneuverable and heavily armed tank to deal with the Nazi threat. The result is the Valentine tank initiative. There were a total of 11 different models used/developed during this period in time but the focus of our guide today will be the Valentine mark 2. This tank was produced 700 times with many sent to the Russians under the lend-lease act. It had a diesel engine with an external gas tank built onto the side.
Maneuverability: 5/10 This vehicle utilizes the AES-190 (tier three engine)There are definitely slower vehicles, but this tank isn't going anywhere fast, especially with it's wimpy 140 hp engine and 32 km/h speed limit. It has a 40 degree hull traverse speed. (and 35 degrees of turret traverse) In tier four matches you will normally be one of the last ones to the party. This speed limit will only really be a large bother on the largest of the blitz maps. The smaller map size has really helped this vehicle to shine.
Firepower: 3/10 Ugh..... Where to start. This tank has the remarkably wimpy 40mm 20KL. If every shell hits and does the standard 55 average damage you have 798.6 damage per minute before consumables and equipment. This sounds good, and only is good if your opponent is out in the open where your 14.52 rpm can hit repeatedly. If he plays peek-a-boom he will out dps you for sure. Also you have to penetrate to do damage and this tank has TROUBLE penning the more heavily armored tanks with its 51 penetration with AP...... Which is why i carry twenty-five APCR rounds which have 84 pen. You WILL need to use this on tanks like: Pz. B2, Matilda, and......Valentine mark II among others. This is "balanced" the way it is cause of what is next.
Armor: 8/10 (for tier) The armor is THE redeeming factor when combined with the lousy gun and only ok maneuverability. It has a very good 60 armor all around on all sides INCLUDING the rear, and an even better 65 armor for all sides of the turret. Don't get me wrong, APCR from most tanks will likely go through the armor, unless they hit the upper plate which is sloped. Most tier fours with standard AP will bounce (unless they hit small crew slit in center front.....or the very top of the engine on back) and they can absolutely forget HE ammo. Yes, Prammo makes this tank cringe, though armor angling due to same armor all around will help negate part of this effect. . The 570 HP of this tank is good for its tier.
Now enough with stats, on to gameplay!
When highest tier (always because of premium MM): Whenever a tanks gun is doubtful, be supportive! You are a target that is hard to kill. You can't lead the charge because of your slowness but keep moving once your allies stop and be a damage sponge; don't get me wrong, don't be completely un-afraid of the enemy, play smart and keep their attention. If there is heavy fire, take cover in such a way that you can keep your gun in action while hiding parts of your tank. Just make sure their eyes are on you. Support is the name of the game here. Move in on single enemies and face hug them, if you see a group of enemies make sure you have support before engaging.
Equipment:
Spall liner: I always carry this on a tank with heavy armor, because most noobs don't carry APCR but HE for when they can't normally penetrate. You wouldn't believe how many opponents have tried HE on me.....
Gun Laying Drive: For faster aiming times.
Ammo Rammer: for faster reload (duh)
Consumables
1. Multi-repair kit (don't waste on something un-important)
2. Extra Combat rations (Get that crew working hard! Forgot to mention earlier there are four members in this tank.)
3. Adrenaline (Make a good reload time even faster!) Use appropriately.
If you think I forgot anything important, or if I was wrong in my data feel free to comment in section below and I will fix this accordingly. Thank you for reading! Alexbuildit out. Blitz on!