Warden Vehicle Mission Ratings

The Warden Vehicle Mission Ratings Chart will help to answer the question you may ask yourself: "What vehicle should I use for my mission?"

Best Anti-Infantry: Machine Gun Half-Track

 

The MGHT is the king of antipersonnel needs. It is impervious to small arms fire and its machine gun mows down enemy infantry in any direction the vehicle is facing. The King Spire is a close second, especially with its 360 crew protection and map intel coverage, but in a hard-pitched infantry battle, the half track offers several advantages over the MG scout tank, even despite being 20 rmats cheaper.

The half track's MG is mounted rather than turretted, which means tracking targets is instant within its firing angle. As long as the driver is situationally aware and makes sure the vehicle is facing the general direction of the enemy, there is no dodging its bullets . This makes the MGHT especially ideal for pushing narrow alleys. The extra passenger and inventory slot allows for the addition of a field engineer to ride in the vehicle, who can provide dedicated repair services or building of watchtowers without jepordizing the rest of the crew. Finally, it's less likely to be tracked than a scout tank because its treads are in the back, and has more health than a scout tank which allows the HT to survive a hit by a mine, while the ST does not. In most circumstances however, the King Spire is just as good, and when the frontline is chaotic rather than clear cut, it may even be the better alternative due to the advantages stated.

Armored cars are dedicated anti-infantry vehicles, and do a decent job at it. Their main problem is bad fuel efficiency, no extra inventory slots to carry fuel or bmats, no spotter slot, lack of complete immunity to small arms fire, death to 2 sticky grenades, and the 7.92mm LMG rather than the 12.7mm HMG. (HMG can kill tier 1 structures) On the plus side, they're much cheaper (especially the 110v O'brien, which recently received a cost reduction from 45 to 35), and when mass produced, it may even be a good idea to keep plenty around in public stockpiles for extra infantry support for new players to use as "starter" armor vehicles.

Where the 110v O'brien armored car does excel over the MGHT and King Spire is close quarters urban combat. The turret on the AC turns very quickly 360 degrees, which means it can get the enemy infantry hiding in corners, and the vehicle is quite speedy as long as it stays on the road. Instead of thinking of armored cars as "armored vehicles", think of them as "infantry with breastplates". Then you will get very good use out of them. When it's snowing (or even raining), then the armored car become much more important on the battlefield, since half-track gunners can freeze, and armored cars enjoy both protection from the cold as well as lower threat from the slower, and more vulnerable enemy infantry carrying anti-tank gear.

The Spitfire does have an LMG mounted, and can quickly get to where extra firepower is needed, but it is too squishy for an open confrontation, being disabled quickly by a few sprays from a smg or storm rifle. These traits make it a more effective QRF or partisan vehicle.

Best Anti-Tank: High Velocity Field Cannon

 

The Balfour Rampart 40mm field cannon deals more than twice the damage of a standard 40mm gun found on tanks. Although its alpha damage isn't as high as the colonial Smelter FAT or the Noble Widow (who deal twice the damage as a regular 68mm gun), its DPS is actually higher due to its quick reload, and for all intents and purposes the Rampart FC is the best vehicular AT solution on the warden side. Although the Noble Widow packs on the armor, the HVFC has higher health, more range, and turns faster, allowing it to respond to new threats with more ease. Its main weakness is being unable to reload on the move and being flanked by infantry, as well as the possibility of being decrewed by enemy tank gunners who aim properly or constant bombardment by mortar and artillery.

The Noble Widow comes at a respectable second. While it is protected from all sides by very strong armor, it is very slow to turn and fuel-hungry. In addition, its 40m range coupled with its lack of speed means, given enough space, a colonial LTD with an experienced crew can hit and run using its superior mobility and range. However, there is nothing more reliable than the Noble Widow in blocking off a narrow stretch of land from hordes of enemy tanks. If you treat the Widow as a "FAT with an engine" rather than a "Tank with a killer gun and armor", then you'll have more success in serving the role as a heavy tank deterrent at any front. Be too aggressive, and it can easily get tracked and disabled by enemy sticky infantry. The psychological factor of seeing a Widow defending a town cannot be underestimated either. Enemy tanks will be afraid to push against a tank that could reliably bounce shots and deal enough damage to disable tanks in two hits.

The Silverhand is arguably the most well rounded "tank hunter". It requires an extra crew to man the second gun and it requires two types of ammo, 40mm and 68mm. If you can get around these hassles, then it is guaranteed to win any 1v1 tank engagement as long as the driver keeps the vehicle faced in the right direction. Having 2 guns means, if you each disable each others' guns, the silverhand has one extra gun to keep dealing damage. Plus, no other tank has more DPS than a fully crewed Silverhand. This does not make the Silverhand OP, like many would assume. The fact that it needs an extra crew for maximum firepower means, manpower-wise, it may be more efficient to crew 3 normal tanks/tank destroyers than 2 Silverhands. 1 Silverhand can take on a Spatha, but 6 colonials in 3 Spatha will win against 6 wardens in 2 Silverhands unless the Silverhands have the element of surprise and flanking. The 68mm cannon is also a shorter range at 35mm, so the Silverhand must fully commit to a fight to get the most out of its two guns. Being slow to turn means bad positioning can really screw up its performance.

The Devett Mk IV Ironhide has excellent armor, making it a solid tank to oppose singular enemy tanks. Its cousin, the Devett Mk III light tank sacrifices armor for more speed and reduced cost. By themselves, the light tank series will probably not turn the tide of the battlefield. Multiple light tanks in a wolf pack can swarm and overpower enemy tanks that are caught out of position, however. When looking for a versatility in more types of roles than just anti-tank, such as helping kill structures or infantry, go with light tanks. When focusing on killing enemy tanks, go with the Silverhand.

The Blinder AT Half-Track is a very cheap "tank destroyer". It has bad health, armor, and mobility, yet packs a 45m range 68mm cannon for the humble cost of 85 rmats, almost half the cost of a regular tank. One ATHT will not hold back an onslaught of enemy armor in the same way that the previous alterantives do. On the field of battle, enemy tanks can rush and kill an ATHT with ease, due to its inability to reverse quickly or survive even just a few volleys of 40mm rounds. However, the ATHT excels at a support role providing extra firepower and poking ability for other friendly tanks. The ATHT can keep up the pressure against enemy armor groups with superior range, while its tankier friends hold the line when the enemy goes for the push. The ATHT can also serve as a motorized FAT in an urban defensive environment, under the protection of friendly AI-activated AT defenses. Less obvious advantages of the ATHT are, the fact that being a half track makes it turn faster than regular tanks, which helps it track enemy sticky infantry and save friendly tanks on the flanks. Plus, it can carry an extra passenger, who can ride along the armored convoy as engineer who clears mines and repairs, or even jump out to throw surprise stickies at the enemy armor during a tank battle.

 

The APC is a hidden champion when it comes to killing tanks. In theory, 5-6 AT Rifle gunners in the back of an APC (4 prone, 2 kneeling) could unload onto an enemy tank and disable it in seconds. All that would cost is 20 rmats and purely bmat weapons.  However this is a very manpower-intensive strategy, and not often used in the late game because the amount of organization needed to pull it off. If you have more manpower than rmats however, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing expensive tanks die to musket volleys from an ATR APC.

Best PVE: Chieftain Seige Tank

The Silverhand Chieftain Seige Tank is a dedicated PVE monster. The 250mm cannon is the most powerful anti-structure ordnance next to satchels. It can 1 hit AT turrets and tier 1 town halls, and 2 hit low tier bb's. The 12.7mm cannon allows it to kill watchtowers and foxholes without wasting the 250mm rounds, which it can only carry 6 of. The limited ammo capacity means that it's wise to bring the Chieftain to a front that already has 250mm stocked, or else bring your own crates of 250mm with you to a front to drop into a nearby FOB to operate out of. Running the Chieftain in groups gives it true bunker-busting capability for even the most well designed concrete bunker networks. Fire a volley of 250mm, then pull back to repair. Do this several times and the strongest defenses will crumble. The 250mm field mortar has a similar effect on structures, though with less crew protection and mobility.

The Rampart HVFC comes at a close second, with its almost equally OP damage vs structures. AT turrets go down to 2 shots from the HVFC, and it can sustain a fight against bunker pieces with AT garrisons if the driver hops out to repair while the gunner continues to pour fire. It's high ammo capacity (up to 100 shells) and relative availability of the 40mm means it's also an efficient structure killer. Since it packs excellent AT and PVE performance in one package, even just one or two HVFC can push a front with pure infantry support. It's main downside in PVE is the lack of immunity to howitizer garrisons, which will return fire upon taking damage and most likely kill the crew. In this one aspect, the Chieftain holds a major advantage.

All vehicles with the normal 40mm gun do decent PVE work. 40mm 1-shots watch towers and foxholes, and 4-shots AT turrets. This means, to clear out AT turrets as pure tanks, you want to line 4 guns at one target and fire at the same time if you don't want to take damage. The Freeman HAC is an underperforming vehicle comapred to its cost. Even with a 40mm cannon, its lack of tank armor and low hp and mobility means it can easily get disabled by enemy infantry, sustained rifle fire, or emplacement MG guns. The 30mm King Gallant Scout tank is more decent in this regard. Even with a weaker 30mm cannon (which 1-shots foxholes and 2-shots watchtowers), it is nimble and compact, while having bulletproof armor, allowing it to get in good angles to kill enemy bunker structures without taking damage itself.

Any vehicle that shoots 12.7mm rounds can kill tier 1 structures such as foxholes, watchtowers, tier 1 bunker tiles and garrisons, encampments, and tier 1 town halls (called garrison camps). They excel for those targets, but anything more sturdy will need explosive damage.

The 68mm round has poor structure damage, but it can theoretically kill any structure like the 40mm. A grand total of 3 rounds are needed to kill a watchtower, and considering the higher cost of the 68mm, it can be considered a waste. When it comes to watchtowers though, denying the enemy vision can be the difference between a dead friendly tank and a dead enemy tank, so spare no rounds to knock those out if no other alternative is available. The Noble Widow is an oddball when it comes to PVE. The 68mm does reduced damage against structures, BUT the 68mm on the Widow deals twice as more damage overall than a normal one. So while less than a 40mm, the Noble Widow's 68mm round still does an adequate amount of damage against structures, which is good to keep in mind in the event that 68mm is readily available and no other PVE alternatives are in the area, and you are wondering if your Widow should fill that role for the time being.

The APC is classified as an adequate PVE vehicle because it allows the infantry to throw HE grenades from cover, which is a very powerful strategy early game when few AT weapons can counter this. In addition, mortar and RPG gunners and can fire from cover when the ramp is down, and with good coordination it can be devastating. This requires training and experience however, so in practice good use of the APC in this regard is less common. Compared to this, the mortar light tank is a horribly inefficient . Theoretically, 1 APC with a well trained crew can do the same thing that multiple mortar light tanks can, at a fraction of the cost.

Best Partisan: King Spire Scout Tank

The King Spire is nearly tied with the Spitfire when it comes to sneaking in behind enemy lines and destroying the enemy's logistics operations. When you are looking for best value in comparison to the damage caused, the Spitfire takes the cake. With just 15 rmats you deal 80% impact that a King Spire can cause to the enemy backline, and sometimes more depending on the circumstances. The Spitfire is also teched much earlier than the King Spire, so it is definitely the best choice for early stages of the war. But as soon as the King Spire is teched, it can become a beast that wreaks havoc to the enemy logi and anti-partisan infrastructure. The 12.7mm ammunition can destroy foxholes and watchtowers that protect enemy logi roads, and force them to rebuild it after you've passed, while keeping the QRF teams guessing where you might be, since any area you passed will have been cleared of wt. The tank armor on the KS allows it to safely pass through areas protected only by rifle garrisons or foxholes. Plus, the map intel it provides will detect QRF teams ahead of time even at night, and reveal hidden structures in the radius. Finally, the integrated commander and gunner seats allow the crew to look through binos and spot enemy defenses and weak spots that can be exploited.

In practice, the Spitfire ends up being the most used partisan vehicle. Not only is it the most readily available in terms of tech level and cost, it is actually fast enough to chase down enemy logi trucks on the road, while an unattentive King Spire crew may lose its prey before its own eyes. Plus, a third passenger (or driver) on the spitfire carrying a cutler launcher or HMG can fill the need to take down watchtowers when needed. Being very quick, the Spitfire can effectively stay alive longer even with a heavy QRF, as long as you don't stay in the same place for too long, and make it nearly impossible for the enemy to keep up and predict your next moves.The Spitfire can cross the Corcoid Footpath in Deadlands due to its small size, and sneak into The Heartlands much more easily, while the King Spire may have trouble bypassing the Colonial active AI defenses when the frontlines are clear-cut and heavily contested. The choice between the Spitfire and King Spire will be highly situational, and both will make top tier partisan vehicles when used properly.

Less known for its guerilla capabilities are the King Gallant 30mm scout tank. You can think of it as a King Spire that can destroy a lot more than just watchtowers and foxholes. Used like a King Spire, the King Gallant can sneak into enemy backlines and blow up tier 2 bunkers, mines/oil wells, FOB's, one-shot QRF infantry and reliably deter QRF LUV's. To cover for the lack of map intel and extra inventory slots for bmats, the 100A LUV is recommended to support the operations.

The Landing APC is an excellent water-partisan vehicle. While slow on land, it is quick on the water, and in regions with lots of islands and beaches you can sneak up through, the APC with an experienced crew can deal lot of damage to logi routes, especially bridges. The best feature of the partisan APC is its ability to hop into the water to escape any heavy QRF, and finding another beach to sneak up on and terrorize the next logi route. In addition, the APC has 6 inventory slots which can carry extra fuel, bmats, or heavy ordinance like satchels or RPGs to pack an extra punch, as well as enough space for a total of 8 people who can be geared for a variety of roles such as medic, PVE, AT, engineering, etc.

Best Anti-Partisan: Spitfire LUV

When countering partisans, speed is the most important, because smart partisans will use hit and run tactics to cause maximum disruption to the backline, while fleeing from heavy qrf. The Spitfire is incredibly fast on the road, so it can arrive in time before enemy partisans cause significant damage. When the partisan group is very large, a single Spitfire QRF team will have to focus on pinning them down until reinforcements arrive rather than try to take them all single handedly, since it can get disabled by concentrated small arms fire. An armored car would deal with the situation better in this regard, but the Spitfire will make the ideal first responder purely due to its speed. In addition, being able to carry 100 bmats and a spare can of fuel allows a Spitfire team to rebuild watchtowers as well as repair and refuel dissabled friendly vehicles for a "clean up" operation.

The armored car (regular) is adequately quick on the road to make a 5-star anti-partisan vehicle. In fact, it's what the AC is best at. As long as the enemy doesn't have stickies/rpgs and you don't run over a mine, the arrival of an AC puts an end to a partisan blockade no matter how large the force, due to its ability to withstand a large amount of small arms fire. Its bad fuel efficiency and slowness off-road makes it a sub-par "chaser" however, and it relies on map intel from outside sources, unlike the spitfire and the King Spire.

The King Spire is a heavy perfomer in the anti-partisan role, being able to destroy any foxholes or watchtowers the enemy may have built, as well as the ability to chase and hunt enemies off road. But it's slower on the road compared to the Spitfire or the armored car. Counter partisan tactics rely on using roads to get to the target destination as soon as possible before the partisan deal much damage. The KS is an excellent counter-partisan vehicle if the enemy is entrenched rather than on the move.

In this regard, the MGHT is another good alternative 12.7mm counter partisan vehicle, since it is quicker on the road, albeit with a vulnerable crew that may get shot out of the gunner's seat if allowed to be flanked by smart partisans.

Best Invasion QRF: Silverhand Assault Tank

Once properly loaded and crewed, even one well placed silverhand can counter a major surprise invasion. The SH serves as a "main battle tank" for the Wardens. When it's a race to respond to a heavy threat, the silverhand forms the backbone of the response force that will gather on the scene. It's very quick, on and off road, though not the best in travese speed. It's a heavy hitter, as long as the target is in the front, thanks to its forward facing 68mm cannon, which also means getting flanked puts it at a bigger disadvantage.

When QRFing, the main disadvantages of the Silverhand are negated. You have the drop on the enemy, since you will know the location of the threat and basic intel. Hence, you can do the flanking, rather than worrying about being flanked. You can hold bridges and narrow spaces very efficiently because you can fit two guns in the same space that usually takes one. Thus, it can guard an important gateway and prevent enemies from spilling over into vulnerable regions. One on one, the Silverhand will beat any single Colonial tank, given the same skill level. Of course, manpower wise, you're using 3 crew to defeat 2, so that is to be expected. The extra gun also allows the SH to be decent at countering infantry, albeit with expensive ammunition, since you can cover a wider angle of fire.

The main downside to the Silverhand when QRF'ing is the amount of time it takes to load 2 types of shells and get a third crew member. A hotfix to that would be to keep loaded silverhands at a clan base parking lot, and use the tanks when the need arrives. Starting the QRF party with 2 crew members is also not a bad idea, since you can expect to encounter friendly infantry fast responders en route, and enlist their help in being the 68mm gunner.

While the Silverhand is the most powerful of the tanks, the standard Mk III and Ironhide light tanks serve almost as effectively as an armored response force. The most important feature for an invasion QRF vehicle is its multipurpose role. You should be able to destroy the infantry, any armored support, and even the structures that are supporting the invasion, such as foxholes, watchtowers, FOBs, BBs, White Whales, or border bases. When it comes to this, tanks are best equipped to handle a multitude of threats in a single package.

The 30mm King Gallant scout tank can also serve this role, if only the enemy does not have tanks that outclass the King Gallant. 12.7mm firing vehicles do a decent job as long as there is no enemy armor support. Armored cars can be a good response if it's a pure infantry problem, with no need to destroy any kind of structures. Spitfires are under-equipped to deal with a force larger than a small partisan group, and while it will arrive before anyone else, unless you are very careful and only focus on scaring the enemy infantry to buy time, it will probably end up becoming disabled and captured rather than hurting the enemy in any significant way.

If the enemy invasion has a heavy tank presence, the ATHT can provide decent anti-tank support for the infantry QRF in the field. The Noble Widow HTD will generally stop the enemy tanks in their tracks if it can get there in time, but as they are slow and rely on a clear-cut frontline to be effective, they can be considered part of the second wave of a counter-invasion response force.

Best Cost Efficiency: Spitfire LUV

 

This criteria is especially useful for logi players when deciding what, how much, and for whom to produce. The Spitfire is the most versatile and robust vehicle for its small cost of 15 rmats. It's generally recommended to mass produce them throughout the war and make sure some are always available for partisan, QRF, or armor support missions. 

In fact, all vehicles with 5 stars in Cost Efficiency rating can be mass produced for public consumption without worrying about waste. Being so cheap and vesatile, it's very difficult not to get the full value out of the vehicles even without too much experience. (And experience with these vehicles can quickly be gained precisely because the vehicles are widely accessible) The APC is a moving fortress that only costs 20 rmats and is able to single handedly turn back a large scale infantry invasion when used properly. The HVFC is a very well rounded "jack of all trades" field cannon costing only 40 rmats that can effective counter multiple enemy tanks single-handedly, and also delete any defensive structures that aren't concrete.

Vehicles with 4 stars are also highly recommended to mass produce and keep a constant supply available for all types of cases. The MGHT and ATHT may be too costly to give out liberally, and the regular armored car can be prone to being wasted by newbs who don't know yet that friendly mines can hurt you, but the field AT gun (FAT) is definitely an essential vehicle to be available for public near frontline depots, or even just parked next to a secure base to serve as quick AT defense, should a front face heavy enemy tank presence.

The 40mm Wolfhound FC loses its value as soon as tanks are unlocked, since they no longer have anything they're specifically good at that a tank or FAT can't do better. But in between the time that sledgehammers are unlocked, and tank's are still not teched, they're very useful to have available for random groups to try making pushes with. It's a similar story with the FMG and FM. They do a great job in their intended function when unlocked, but lose their purpose in the late game when everything is motorized. Being cheap while also obsolete however, it is not wasteful at all if it turns out that people elect to actually transport, load, and use them in the front even in the late war. The rule of thumb for wheelchair-type vehicles is, "In the Age of Tanks, if it doesn't do OP anti-tank damage, no one wants to waste time pushing them around". By converse, if there are people that indeed want to lug around a FC, FM, or Swallowtail rather than the Light Tank, Chieftain, or Half-Track even in the late game, then kudos to them.

All 3 star vehicles can be considered commodities when your faction is swimming in components, such as late war when most of the component fields are under your team's control. In this situation, it is common to see such vehicles as scout tanks (in addition to 4/5 star vehicles) purposefully brought to frontline depots and released to public. When rmats are in short supply, it's generally a good idea to be more conservative with their usage, since after all, they're tanks, and they should be reserved for people who know how to use them. Being much cheaper than normal tanks and being quicker to respond against pesky enemy sticky rushers however, the 30mm King Gallant scout tank is an excellent "training tank" for first time tankers.

The 2 star vehicles are almost always kept in private stockpiles because they cost so much, and in the hands of inexperienced crew, can end in disaster. Even though they score "poor" in the cost-efficiency rating, by all means, mass produce them if you have the rmats and also a solid group of players that will use them effectively. Cost efficiency is the value that answers the question "Can you perform the same role you're trying to fill with something else that costs less?", and most "tank-type" vehicles score very low in this regard precisely because they're meant to be a "jack of all trades, master of none". A tank destroyer or FAT kills tanks, a half track or armored car kills infantry, and a field cannon or field mortar destroys buildings more efficiently than a standard tank would. But a tank can perform all these tasks decently, and in practice, strategic efficiency can determine the outcome of a battle, and in the long run be equally or more efficient logistically by the virtue of winning more battles and keeping more of the assets alive.

That said, there are vehicles that you absolutely should not produce when there are other alternatives available, and those are given the 1 star rating. The HAC is a terrible vehicle that shouldn't be built unless there's no other vehicle unlocked yet that can deal anti-structure or anti-armor damage. It's simply very slow, soft, and underwhelming, while not even being very cheap. The 60 rmats could better go into half tracks which actually deter small arms fire, and just 30 rmats more could turn it into the King Gallant, which is everything the HAC is supposed to be and more. The Mortar Light Tank is a ridiculously overpriced vehicle that in practice does the exact same thing (in fact, even less than what) an APC and a mortar tube does, at a fraction of the cost. In some wars however (i.e. War 81), the tech maids may choose not to tech the mortar tube, and in this situation, the MLT is the only way to shoot mortar rounds, so the travesty may be overlooked.