World of Tanks: AMX 13 90 Guide

I'm having a great time scouting in Strongholds and Platoons for IRF Clan. I've got about 400 matches in AMX 13 90 now, so I thought I'd write a short guide to scouting with this excellent tank. I'll mostly be focusing on Random matches, since in Strongholds a lot depends on the overall team strategy, For example, the AMX 13 90 may be playing wolf pack with AMX 50 100s or fast mediums, in which case you should ignore a lot of the advice below.

AMX 13 90

Prepare your tank

Time to spend some of that hard earned cash.

Paint

First off, paint your tank. Every extra bit of extra camouflage helps.

Consumables

Use the Automatic Fire Extinguisher - it's great. You will rarely be put on fire twice if you have this. I have it in on every high tier tank.

You rarely take enough module damage to need Large kits, but if it's an important team fight then it might still be a good idea.

Ammunition

I usually go with 24 AP, 6 APCR, and 6 HE ammo. The 24 normal rounds are enough for the entire match. The APCR is a backup if I get caught in a position where I just need some extra penetration - like I have to take out a damaged T10 heavy where even side or rear shots can bounce. This hardly ever seems to happen though. The HE is for emergency decapping, since it does almost guaranteed module damage.

Train Your Crew

Skills are pretty easy, Lights want better camo, spotting, driving, and dueling.

First skill: Camo

This is easy, Camouflage for everyone. Remember that camo still works when you are moving in a light tank.

Second skill: Sixth Sense, Off Road Driving, Snap Shot

Swap Camouflage for Sixth Sense on the Commander. Sixth Sense is great for checking if a place is safe to passive scout from (poke, pull back, wait 3 seconds - if it doesn't light up, you cannot be spotted). Also, in case an enemy scout (or TD) sees you, you will know - which is invaluable information to the team in Strongholds. When you gain some experience you will get a good idea about where the scout might is hidden, even if you cannot see him.

For the other skills, I chose Off Road Driving and Snap Shot since you will be driving all over the place, and you might be firing on the move when dueling other lights.

Third skill

I'm not there yet, but it will probably be Call for Vengeance, Dead Eye, and Clutch Braking. Fourth might be Brothers in Arms.

Useless skills

Repair and Fire Fighting are wasted on a scout. If you get tracked twice in a position where you can still be shot at, you are dead. The chance of being lit on fire twice - before taking 1150 damage - is near zero (it has never happened to me so far).

Equipment

Vents and Optics together give you almost exactly the max view range (449 m), so there is no other choice for an active scout.

For the last slot I recommend either Enhanced Gun Laying Drive (for fewer misses in duels) or Enhanced Torsion Bars (to increase your chances of getting away if caught in the open). For Strongholds I'd go with the Torsion Bars, since being alive is much more important then getting a hit. For publish matches I switch to EGLD for that extra damage potential.

Strategy 

This is strategy for pub matches.

The basic strategy is "don't die". The AMX 13 90 has a fantastic late game, and being the only side with a living scout is a great advantage. If you are uncertain of whether you will live if you do something, it's probably better to wait and see.

If you take some damage early, which active scouts tend to do at times, be careful and play defensively until you reach the late game.

Early game

The AMX 13 90 is a good active scout. Make half circles across the field to try to spot enemy tanks, then dodge into safety if spotted. Use a mod to show your spot circle, so that you can keep enemy tanks near the edge of your spot range.

On some maps there are fantastic passive scout positions, in this case do some passive scouting in the beginning.

Note that since it will take 40 seconds before your clip loads, you cannot go duel scouts in places (like the center hill in Mines) which are less than 40 seconds away.

Mid game

The mid game starts when most enemy positions are known, except maybe some sniping TDs, passive scouts, and artillery.

If you cannot active scout safely, try to passive scout areas where friendlies will get clean shots, Keep enemy scouts or flanking mediums from getting to the arty by making sure there is nowhere to crawl though.

Look in the mini map for places where there is safe flanking, or for players in need of help. Drive behind them or from the side, unload the clip, run like a chicken.

Late game

I consider the late game to start when there are so few tanks left that you have fairly free range of movement.

This is where the AMX 13 90 really shines. Make sure you have a full clip, Fly through the openings in the lines, find the artillery, and destroy it. Go behind the enemy in any small skirmishes that are left, and clean up. You can force the enemy to turn around or lose by capping, and then run away before they get back.

Tactics

These are some basic tactics to keep in mind,

Reloading

Whenever a fight is over, and you don't know that there is a new target available right away, reload. Nothing is more sad than being one bullet short when trying to finish off the third enemy arty. It's usually better to wait a bit while reloading, go back into the fight only when you are ready.

Accuracy

Your gun is not very accurate. If you are in a position where no-one but your target can shoot you, it might be better to just stop and unload your clip, instead of driving towards them and risk having shots go wild.

Camouflage

Your camo values are amazing, both when still and when driving. This means that you can quite often spot the enemy while he cannot spot you. Remember that if you keep a bush between yourself and the target, and the bush is further than 15m away from you, it will still hide you when you fire.

Duels

Try to duel enemy scouts in places where you are safe from other enemy tanks, or (even better) run into places where other friendly tanks can support you.

Don't duel enemy scouts if you cannot kill your target (if every shot hits) before he kills you (if every shot hits). This can happen easily if you take a hit or two doing early scouting.

Hold Your Fire

Don't shoot if it will reveal you to heavier enemies while you don't have a safe spot to get to.

AMX 13 90. Scouter. Spotter. Murderer.

I hope this was useful. Good luck!