T-50-2 Review/Guide, Avoiding Fights You Can't Win

I review the T-50-2, a tier 6 Russian award light tank in World of Tanks (WoT), with replays of tier 8 Minsk and Mines battles.
The T-50-2 is a fast light tank with a relatively weak 57mm gun, so the drivers need to choose engagements wisely.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Excellent mobility
Good gun handling
Good gun depression (-7)
For incoming frontal fire, the mantlet offers some protection and the turret's outer edges are auto-bounce
Low alpha (85)
Low silver AP penetration (118)
Tall profile
Fishtails and is relatively easy to tip over
Recommended Equipment
1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. Vents
This tank does not have the option of mounting VStab. With the relatively good gun handling, GLD is unnecessary.
This video is part of my "Road to Unicum" series in which I share what I learned as I progressed towards account Unicum rating (top 1%) with silver ammo only. I talk through how I'm reading the battle as it unfolds and discuss key decisions and mistakes. My hope is that these videos meaningfully help players improve their gameplay.
"Road to Unicum" full guide and FAQs:
taugrim.com/201...
If you want to support my WoT habit (thanks that's generous of you), you can support me on Patreon, send me gold in-game, donate via PayPal, or simply shop on Amazon:
taugrim.com/201...
Cheers,
Taugrim
Patreon: / taugrim
KZbin: / taugrim
Twitter: / taugrim
Blog: taugrim.com

[@prevengeix8551]

I know of no other player that can unicum using only AP ammo. Watching you play is amazing. I assume you buy/free xp all tank upgrades before you play them though?

[@taugrim]

taugrim.com/2015/02/19/road-to-unicum-guide-videos-for-world-of-tanks/#stock-or-fully-researched *Do you play stock tanks or only fully-researched tanks?* The answer is in-between those two. I typically use enough Free XP to research the first gun with functional penetration (doesn’t have to be the top gun), then grind the remaining gun(s), engine(s), and other upgraded modules. A lot of players research engines on mediums tanks before I typically do, but if your gun isn’t functional, mobility doesn’t meaningfully matter, because you’ll just get to a place faster and start bouncing shells. In most cases, upgraded tracks are required to mount upgraded gun(s). Depending how much Free XP I have, what I’ll sometimes do is mount suspension equipment, then forgo one piece of equipment (although I almost always use VStab for upper-tier tanks because of aim time reduction), then grind out the upgraded tracks and swap out the suspension equipment.

[@Demothones]

That is probably the chief mistake I am making with my Leo. The 76MM is just awful and it makes not want to play it, which makes the grind slower. I just need to stop hoarding free xp.

[@taugrim]

I played with the high-caliber gun on the Leo and surprisingly really enjoyed it.

[@OneWhoKnowsThings6009]

Im a unicum and i avoid P2W gold spam. I even try with my pz2j

[@boudicawasnotreallyallthat1020]

Sir Foch. Yes him. He's a level above Taugrim.

[@traniel123456789]

So funny thing. I just logged into WOT to check if I had an account, and this tank is the highest tier tank I have now.

[@Foerarn1234]

Lots of good insights that i will take in mind while playing my T-50-2, very great and informative series overall... Keep up the good work!

[@lostinfens]

You're bang on about the lower tier "poor me syndrome" I admit to suffering from it occasionally if it seems I'm endlessly being bottom tier.

[@anthonybaguinat2684]

Great work. Elite analysis and systematic approach. Thanks again.

[@CptSpears007]

lol "keep track of what alpha damage your friendlies are taking" .....I cant even keep track of who is shooting me.

[@taugrim]

I know but my point is that you can learn from what you see going on around you, particularly if you aren't shooting or driving.

[@richarddyson4380]

Great video as always mate, thank you!

[@peterrichards7387]

Great tutorial on a tank I missed out on by just 1 month. As you would expect there are quite a few T-150-2 tanks in games the last few days and I find it quite an easy tank to kill.

[@prevengeix8551]

It is still a light tank. It wasn't earned by players skill just time since account created. So the general -48% wr player base, with half these tier4 or below players will be most of the people with this tank. Most players do not normally play light tanks to begin with. So for the next couple weeks it will be a turkey shoot tank. Glhfkillkill!

[@taugrim]

@@prevengeix8551 > Most players do not normally play light tanks to begin with While this is true, the initial WN8 expected values for the T-50-2 are higher than the other tier 6 lights. I suspect that the higher values are due to veterans not brand new players who got this tank. People who've played for 4+ years are likely to be more experienced with the game, have better crews, etc. That said, because the T-50-2 is fast and has a gun that requires sustained exposure to deal damage, we're going to see - and I have been seeing - a lot of drivers yolo with it.

[@legendofdolphin7716]

Yo great vid as always and thanks to your videos i got 5k dmg in my stock t49 :)

[@longbellycaster]

Great video I love Tippy-50-2 One of my favorite tanks.

[@taugrim]

Haha, fitting nickname. Thing is so tall it's kinda awkward.

[@ogmechsftw]

@@taugrim and so narrow it loves to flip just like the good old days....

[@xavierchamberlain1964]

Just like the RHM PZW :( :( :( That thing flips like its a toy :( :( :(

[@cainau]

Thanks. I'm now going to call my LTTB 'L-Tippy-Tippy-B'. I have rolled that tank so many times. Fortunately it always seems to end up on its tracks still though.

[@finndamage]

Hey mate. I love your content and have learned a lot from them. One improvement idea though: could you please make the videos in 60 fps? They run so much more fluently and look better. Other than that, your video quality is great.

[@taugrim]

My current gaming laptop is nearly 4 years old. On Maximum graphics, I get about ~40 FPS (ranges from ~35-50) consistently. I plan on buying a new machine next year.

[@finndamage]

Make a wish to Santa. :)

[@adamshupe-605woodgallery2]

Continuing to take bit sized nuggets of unicum wisdom as I watch the playlist some videos more then once now, the Leopard 1 I think is a really worthy tank for a review lot of people says its a terrible tank which I think is just because it requires a very high skill cap to maximize its potential. Keep em coming easily the best "how to not suck" and "How to not spam gold like a scrub " video series for world of tanks

[@HRHtheDude]

Only had a couple of games with this thing so far, but I gotta say, I'm quite liking it. Cheers to WG!

[@IdahoMthman]

Good morning man. Just got back from a trip. Logging in to see my presents. How is the T 50 2? Oh and do you have a review of the Chinese medium T 32 2?

[@Thomas_Meelker]

Awesome video... as usual! GJ Taugrim!

[@volters9561]

It's not premium tank. It's only gift tank. There is no extra income here.

[@taugrim]

Yes, this is a good distinction. I wasn't aware that the T-50-2 didn't have a credit bonus until you and others pointed that out. From the in-game Research view, this is an "award vehicle" not a "premium vehicle". Mechanically, the only difference is that award vehicles do not have a credit bonus. But both are good tanks for crew training / XP.

[@Magavynhigara]

The studder lag makes this tank so hard to play and im so sad. I used to have this tank a long time ago and loved it. Now that i have it again i can only look at its majestic steel badassery.

[@Lo-tf6qt]

2013 World of Tanks players remember the T-50-2

[@Reggae-Gandalf]

Rushed this one and then it got removed. Haven't played again ever since, maybe i should get back

[@ChrisSmith-ec6qp]

When it could drive 70kph and flipping was impossible...

[@unsaltedlife5998]

one thing is for sure if you see this tank it means that player has been around for a while. he could be a good light tank player or he could be a heavy tank guy that just rushes in and dies

[@Demothones]

Great video as usual. I thought that I was going to get one of these but I guess I joined in ‘15 not ‘14. Still hoping to see some TD games that aren’t Swedish. 🙂

[@taugrim]

I'll probably post a review of the T28 at some point.

[@What_Other_Hobbies]

If you think people have 4 years or more with this game, after receiving T-50-2, know how to play this game, you would be wrong. I have seen so many of them rush into enemies, die, and complain. After watch your reivews of the tanks I do not even have or plan to have, I learn how to play this game from you, and my ratings are getting higher and higher, slowly, but steadily. My overall rating is not high, but that is mostly due to the first 20k battles during which I rushed into enemies, died, and complained.

[@taugrim]

Well, I think players with 4+ years of experience certainly have a leg up on new players, but it doesn't mean that the veteran players are skilled. Glad to hear that my videos have helped and that your ratings are on the rise.

[@traniel123456789]

I have 5 years and managed an average damage of 120 in this tank yesterday. This is also the highest tier tank I own. Account age != skill

[@Nebulachadlazzar]

Hey taugrim I know you posted this a long time ago but what equipment would you take after equipment 2.0?

[@namegoeshereorhere5020]

I think half the kills I've got in the last couple days have been T-50's. Not sure if the reward was for those that got the tank or those who get all the free damage on them. Literally every game I just think, where's a yoloing tomato most likely going to drive right out in the open in the first minute and almost every time I'm right.

[@Mr.P.Griffith]

Another great video. Thank you.

[@sharky8303]

Could you possibly make a tutorial on when you should shoot if you are passive scouting? (or link me if you already made one)

[@taugrim]

I talk about that in many of my videos. If you won't get counter-spotted, you shoot. If they aren't looking at you and you have nearby hard cover, you shoot.

[@danuke1489]

I met you in my first battle yesterday I was afraid u were recording while I was playing my thunderbolt so I didn’t want to yolo rush you :) cause I was on the Enemy team

[@MikeSheasheaDtree]

Do you use Coated optics, over binos for you lights?

[@taugrim]

For any light tank from tier 6-10, you want Optics. Binocs only makes sense for the ELC AMX light tank. Binocs is for stationary tanks, i.e. TDs, whereas Optics is for tanks that are mobile (lights, meds).

[@MikeSheasheaDtree]

@@taugrim Thanks! BTW I just found your video, I find you very articulate, which helps me reevaluate my skills and strategies. Aja_Do_It_Again.

[@artypreventscamping1645]

I'm great at recognizing fights that I can't win thing is it seems though I'm always put into situations I cant win every day I think "well I cant go over there because there are 4 TDs in the back that'll wreck me and I can't go to the other flank because theres a bunch of heavies I cant pen even with gold" or " we're going to lose this game because we lost both flanks and I cant successfully fight the enemy tanks that are on either side"

[@taugrim]

That's why you have to keep evaluating the map every 30 seconds and figure out where you should go to be most effective.

[@artypreventscamping1645]

@@taugrimTrust me my brother I spend just as much time if not more time looking at the minimap than looking at my own tank

[@taugrim]

I hear you. There are some battles where one doesn't have any good options available, especially if the team is bad.

[@cmnndr987]

in my experience, every time you face such a situation, when you feel theres no option left, going for base def pays off best. of course it depends on the tank but if you manage to stall as long as possible enemies will be ran down, depleteed of hp and youll have your best chance possible.

[@InfernalDalek]

Bottom tier in this tank reminds me of classic LT mm. I'm on the road, so I actually had to have my mom log in so I could have this tank, lol.

[@kisshereful]

you can take your time , the tank will be there for a long time :D

[@traniel123456789]

Yeah, you can get the tank for the entire next year

[@bgm1911]

Compare the T-50 vs T-50-2. I believe the T-50 is a better LT.

[@DarthVader_SithLord]

My t-50-2 is lucky cuz I'm not fond of selling tanks since I already have 3 tier 8 premium tanks to maintain my credits for playing high tiers cuz by just the looks of it makes it boring to see. I'd rather play my cromwell B as scout.

[@stupidtomatos]

what mod is that at the start of the video? The one that shows his stats

[@taugrim]

It's an image overlay from my video editing software (PowerDirector)

[@stupidtomatos]

@@taugrim oh so it's just a picture of your stats. I thought that was a mod or something you could see in game.

[@mikeevans2055]

Wish you had said something about recommended equipment for this tank.

[@taugrim]

Read the video description or watch the first 10 seconds of the video.

[@mikeevans2055]

Oh yeah, missed that. @@taugrim

[@SparkleFunHorse]

Camo mechanics are so messed up: a tank that you can clearly see - well within your view range - and suddenly it disappears. It's not like some dude in a ghillie suit hiding in a bush... it's a *55 ton piece of machinery*, sort of sitting in a bush that barely covers the entirety of the vehicle! What bollocks.

[@taugrim]

It's weird but it's how it was implemented. It would be cool if you could see tanks faintly depending on bushes and distance, but that would be harder to implement and might create disparities based on video card quality. The system as-is works for everyone.

[@Werner4voss]

love this 56% win rate

[@xxenorr8413]

Its a reward tank not a premium . So no extra credits

[@lorcan8767]

I would love to play this tank because you could experiment with loading alot of he and moving to heavy tank positions on maps with limited spotting positions and use its rate of fire hold heavy and or any tanks in position which could be viable if enough time is given to get your 2nd shot in before they move into cover after repairing

[@traniel123456789]

With this tiny caliber and low rate of fire you can't even reliably track with HE. Its basically useless in that kind of a position.

[@taugrim]

Daniel is correct. Moreover if you want to track all you need to do with AP is aim at a drive wheel.

[@frankb389]

This tank is called Tippy

[@ogmechsftw]

9:05 fatalistic bottom tier attitude? hahaha. Honestly, that's such a WOT "first world problems" thing. During its original run, the T-50-2 tended to match up against tier 9s and 10s, not tier 8s. In a way the poor MM pays homage to the T-50-2's real roots.

[@taugrim]

I'm sure MM was much worse in the early days of WoT, when tier 5s could see tier 10s. That said, I did play back when light tanks has special MM, and a tier 6 light tank would get tier 7-9 MM, which was brutal at times. I vastly prefer the system since 0.9.18 where lights are balanced and get the same MM as every other class.

[@ogmechsftw]

@@taugrim the new system is definitely better, I agree.

[@tonyclarke9491]

@@taugrim in my first clan game ever for my clan in that old matchmaking, I didn't have any high tier tanks bit I did have my old T-50-2. The guys were kind and just said to bring that. I was either lucky or played a blinder and had a great game. Been with that clan ever since...

[@traniel123456789]

@@tonyclarke9491 I remember clan games having a tier cap, so you usually ran tier 1 or 2 scouts. It was great fun even though I didn't fire a single shot.

[@mikealpha2611]

t69 was probably reloading or scared of arty

[@OneWhoKnowsThings6009]

I wish at least the T-50-2 has its 72kms top speed still..

[@typeviic1]

there must be some really bad players driving it, as I am up to 62% MOE after only 29 games

[@taugrim]

There may be a lot of veteran players driving it who do not normally play light tanks much.

[@ZZstaff]

I can hear the WG whiner boards now. The tank is OP, the other team won the game. Nerf it!!

[@boudicawasnotreallyallthat1020]

Would have been a good series if you weren't so late to the party. Dying game, published by a terrible company. I still play the odd game, but it seems more pointless all the while.

[@taugrim]

This series started almost exactly 4 years ago. I still enjoy WoT, but if WG wants the game to retain the F2P population, WG needs to stop releasing OP premiums and balance premium ammo so that it has downsides (e.g. lower alpha).

[@airhertz6969]

Any 4 yo in this game that doesnt know how to play its lame...

[@normholman7035]

WOTs is a joke for a game so rigged that only new cheating players can enjoy it or old cheating players enjoy it, Other then that most of what Iv seen on here is just showing that the intelligence of player's have gone down so far that I don't think they are away from Mom and Dad yet, if one player can kill 6 or more of one team by themselves its not that they are that good its the other players need to find a game that's more suited for them like candy crush or a one click game, Not impressed with anything iv seen on here, More sad that players are just to stupid to be on unsupervised.

[@traniel123456789]

What are you talking about, pros getting 4 and 5 kills in CS:GO tournaments (which is 5v5 btw) is a thing even though the opponents clearly aren't crap. Its really not surprising at all that you get 6 kills in a 15v15 every now and then.

[@normholman7035]

Not impressed with anything iv seen on here, More sad that players are just to stupid to be unsupervised.

[@normholman7035]

Bull it shows that intelligence is lacking with its players, In any form players are nowhere close to being able to tie shoes much less play a game you have to move and think and shot all at one time.

[@normholman7035]

Maybe where you see bad players I see morons trying to play a game they have no reason to be on. I mean how can you really think the top players are really good coming from a company that does not even ban cheating players they know are cheating and when caught by players the company says they ( the player ) didn't know it was a cheat/ illegal mod. And most of the time its a player from one of the top bought pro player clans Havok, Yolo, Sims to name a few. So think all you want that this game is all good, But you know deep down its a game of chance and no skill needed, It has a rigged number generator to start with then add the rigged match maker and what do you have every game made by wargaming.