Kiting with Armor
Kiting is a term used in many games and is often described as “killing in transit.” The transit part, or movement, relates to the constant relocation of your forces away from the enemy. Ideally as you move away, you should also be able to attack the enemy- creating a one-sided battle. Every Armor unit in World in Conflict can out-range any infantry unit. This makes armor the best classes for kiting, particularly given the reduced range of Air units.
If you don’t know how to identify ranges using Alt, review On Interpreting Basic Unit Attack, Visual, and Movement Capabilities.
The best units for kiting in terms of range are the tanks. The Heavy Tank has the greatest range, followed by the Medium, etcetera. These can be used to constantly enemy infantry who never get the chance to fire back. Whatever you do, don’t just rush in. You’ll get roughly the same results as if you just stayed back and picked the enemy off. If enemy armor starts to engage you from a distance, prioritize your targets. Pull back, if need be, and make sure you use smoke to get an angle on the enemy armor. Getting an angle is important since side armor shots inflict more damage than full frontal shots and so on. If you’re going to get into a ranged slugfest with tanks, this is important to keep in mind.
The transport vehicles (Amphibious Transports and Armored Transports) have a much smaller range. You need to be very careful with these units when you’re kiting AT infantry. The Amphibious can use a grenade launcher (American), which has a large damage radius, or incendiary ammunition (USSR, NATO), which increases the blast damage and can light things on fire (good vs forests). Whatever you’re using, keep them out of range of enemy infantry. A mistake I see often is people turning on the offensive ability and suicidally charging their units straight into the enemy. Don’t do this. If enemy tanks attempt to engage, pop smoke before retreating. Armored Transports are similar to their Amphibious counterparts in that they have basically the same rapid-fire cannon and vehicle build. It’s geared more for anti-vehicle purposes, but it’s just as good for kiting infantry.
Patience is key when kiting. It may not look like you’re getting immediate results, but you’re also not giving the enemy any TA from inflicted damage and you’re keeping your units alive. For faster results, hitting the enemy from multiple angles helps increase damage and make your main force harder to engage. The main factor for success is the ability to identify and deal with threats. Keep the edge by predicting the end result of your actions.
