4
Mines
Overview:
This map is a small map and most of the fighting occurs near the cap circle or entry point onto the mine (commonly referred to as the “hill”). There are only 3 main avenues of attack on Mines being the lighthouse, the hill, and the town.
From the Southern spawn point (labeled by the green triangle), Team 1 has a slight advantage at defending attacks from the lighthouse while also having an easier time attacking from the town. But both teams have an equal opportunity when it comes to the hill.
Lighthouse
Attacking from the lighthouse side of Mines, takes a more mobile heavy tank that should have decent frontal armor on at least just its turret. (My personal recommendation: American Heavies are perfect for this type of attack). Very few players seem to go here, so you will meet little resistance taking the lighthouse, but on occasion there are enemy tank destroyers that like to take the lighthouse and snipe from there, so if the enemy team have 3+tds be sure to take a friendly with for assistance. One thing to keep in mind, is as you are moving through the lighthouse island, you are vulnerable from attack from the hill and the enemy base (if you are spotted). This island provides multiple areas of cover, such as rocks and bushes to snipe from. From this area (shown by the red arrows), you may be able to snipe the enemy climbing up the hill and also the afkers in base camp (if you have the view range to spot them or friendlies that spot them). Then you can flank xD (oh and be wary of the enemy tds that might be camping the hill behind the enemy spawn)
Hill
Attacking the hill at the start of the match can either end in a quick defeat or an early head start to victory. I highly recommend ALL medium tanks on Team 1 immediately try to take the hill. (They should hopefully later receive help from the slower heavies, so the enemy won’t trap our friendly lights, and mediums and destroy them and as a result also take the hill.) Most fast tanks can make it up the hill without taking damage, unless the enemy team also has quick tanks that can make it to the hill around the same time as you (which would spot you and allow enemy tanks that haven't gotten to the hill yet to take a couple of pot shots at you) SO DO NOT STOP EVER!!!! (even to take some shots and spotted enemies). If the enemy lights and mediums follow you onto the hill, good luck and play smart as it will in most cases be a dogfight. Slower tanks should still secure the hill, no matter what the outcome is on the hill since following up behind and setting up at the entrance locations will stop any additional enemies. The dark blue lines show where the slower tanks should be positioned (behind rocks, only peaking out to take shots). Having good gun depression (such as on the Americans and Brits) and good turret armor is perfect for dominating the map from the hill. If you gain the hill, you want to spot the enemy tanks and take smart shots off the hill. If the enemy pushes you can easily flank them and if they defend you can slowly chip away. On the other hand, if your team loses the hill retreat to the locations marked by a purple circle to force the enemy to push into a well defended area (if their mentality is “kill all, no mercy”). Continuing to fight for the hill if your team has suffered losses to begin with just ends up making things worse.
Town
While you are not at a disadvantage in the town when compared to team 2 you do run into issues since team two usually has “campers” that can damage you in town. Setting up in zones shown by the dark green circles will give your team a formidable defense against any advancing enemies. If you decide to push (as shown by the light green lines) then you either can hug the base of the hill(vulnerable to shots from "campers") or swing around the outside of the map(vulnerable to hill shots) to attack through the town area.
I hope this guide helped, and good luck out on the battlefield!
(Map Guide: Mines Part 2 (North Spawn) will be posted soon)
(if you liked this guide, don't be shy and give me a +1!)
