The Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) is the first Premium wheeled vehicle in the game.
It represents the most intriguing, discussed,
interesting, and fun vehicle type.
To understand how to play the Panhard, we need to look into its soul:
into the core of its abilities and potential.
And, well…
We also need to accept that it's weird.
By the way…
this here is its rear.
Guide Park
Let's begin.
Yes, we all want to see what this is and how it behaves in battle.
I mean, the wheels!
Eight of them!
Everyone instantly wants to just step on it as hard as they can.
Imagine: Enemies are confused, allies are ecstatic, the audience is cheering…
And the mechanics in the Garage are crying.
The risk of it all ending like this…
Or like this…
Or, perish the thought, even like this—is very high.
To prevent it from happening (or to reduce the chances),
we need to learn the basics.
And helping us through it, our external expert.
Wheels are not tracks!
Umm… I'm sorry, I think my Captain- Obvious-o-meter is off the charts.
Again, wheeled vehicles are very much unlike tracked ones.
So much so, that wheeled vehicles players will have to learn to drive again.
One of the most obvious reasons why
is the inability of the wheeled vehicles to turn around in one spot.
We drive up to the position, back up, go forward,
turn the wheels the other way, repeat the maneuver, and…
Gosh! I can feel myself getting older!
Yes, these wheelers can't turn around in one spot.
But it never had to! These are wheels after all!
You want to drive into a bush and fire from there, you drive up to it properly.
And if you want to flee, you don't have to turn at all!
The Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) can reverse at the same speed as going forward.
Now it's clear why it has an identical front and rear.
Or… No, not really, actually.
There, that's better. A decal!
Not only pretty but also useful now. Sort of sponsored content.
While you recover from shock after seeing decals
being used for a practical purpose, let's discuss the 8-wheeler's features.
This French vehicle has two movement modes: Cruise and Rapid.
You can switch between them with the X key
but you can rebind it in the settings menu to anyone you like.
Cruise mode doesn't boast the fastest speeds but the maneuverability is great.
And Rapid mode is called Rapid for a reason.
The 8-wheeler can hit up to 80 km/h with it.
It helps reach those important positions faster.
But it will be harder to avoid collisions.
To drive in this mode, you will have to be… careful.
Yeah, yeah… We’ll surely all be 'careful'.
But there is a small note. A tiiiny little aspect.
Rapid mode is not just a flashy word.
It’s about actual real speed!
Let's go back to this term: 'careful'.
It’s possible to maneuver the Panhard when in Rapid mode.
Hard but still possible.
You’ll just have to get the hang of the vehicle, so to say.
If you let go of the 'forward' key at full speed
while still pressing 'right' or 'left', the wheels will turn further,
which will help your turning radius decrease.
Release your inner racer
and let it help you find the perfect angle of getting into a corner.
Something like this.
Also, maneuvering on a bumpy ground can be tricky.
Some wheels can lose traction and the vehicle will start drifting.
Enough with the hair- splitting, let's talk business.
Along with the researchable vehicle, this is the fastest Tier VIII light tank…
With the worst view range!
Sounds like the worst combo ever
but this is the key feature of this vehicle type.
As well as the inability to improve your range with the Binocular Telescope.
You just can't install it.
The conclusion speaks for itself—you gotta scout actively!
Enter Rapid mode and get to the front line.
However, such audacity will not work on every map. But…
You can rush the embankment on Lakeville
and hide in the nearest driveway if things get spicy.
On Malinovka, you can try to pull off the lap of honor.
Redshire allows using terrain for spotting.
On Prokhorovka, try to spot the players who are moving to the hill.
And on Sand River, you can use the sand dunes to help you scout.
Tons of options!
However, always remember the words of Uncle Ben:
with great speed comes great risk!
He didn't say that.
Oh… With small distance comes great risk!
Not even close.
Why do we fall?
That's from Batman…
Whatever.
The point is: In any of these cases the risk is very high!
The Panhard's armor can MAYBE deflect some shells.
And only the ELC EVEN 90 has less HP out of all Tier VIII light tanks.
Any shot can wipe out half your hit points. Or all of them.
You have to constantly move with the Panhard.
And not just drive in a circle but drive unpredictably.
To make it harder for the enemy to lead their shots.
Left, left, right, left: this fatality has to be unique every time.
While enemies miss, the wheeler lives. Just what we need!
By the way, the wheeler's survivability
not only depends on enemy missing their shots.
The vehicle's wheels were developed with efficient pursuit escaping in mind.
Simply put, they are damaged in a different way than tracks.
With one wheel damaged, your vehicle will not stop.
You might not even notice it if you are driving forward at a considerable speed.
However, the more wheels that are damaged,
the worse the vehicle turns and accelerates.
The wheels repair automatically.
Fully, by the way, not just to the 'yellow' state.
The Repair Kit repairs all wheels at once.
It's important to remember: as soon as the enemies have reached their positions
and are ready to open fire, you have to stop being an active spotter.
A good scout is an alive scout.
The Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) is a tank.
And if the wheels and the speed don't fit the concept of a tank,
it's time to reveal, drumroll, please…
The Panhard has a gun!
Now you’ve gone and broke my Captain-Obvious-o-meter completely.
The gun won't amaze anyone with its penetration or damage per minute.
But it can surprise you in other ways.
Surprise number one: good gun depression angles.
Can't use them in every situation. But it's good to have them nonetheless.
Number two: the magazine loading system with two shells.
Magazine reloads in 9.5 seconds. Time between shots is 1.5 seconds.
The average damage per shot is 175. The gun is unusual and interesting.
Number three: HE shells!
All wheeled vehicles have their HE round penetration equal to their caliber.
In this case it's 75 mm.
At Tier VIII, it's quite enough to consistently penetrate the frontal armor
of most light tanks and some medium tanks and tank destroyers.
The trick is to overcome your psychological block.
You need to accept the phrase "I'm loading an HE magazine" is normal.
And number four for dessert: stabilization.
You don't even need numbers!
Just look at the aiming circle at maximum speed.
Aiming time is 1.2 seconds. Accuracy is good.
It means only one thing.
No vehicle of the same tier can shoot as accurately on the move!
And you will have to do that a lot!
A wheeled vehicle will struggle to win a positional fight with an opponent.
The hull configuration and handling specifics
make it harder to use terrain as cover.
It's almost impossible to penetrate the front of a well-armored heavy.
Even fighting the same-tier vehicles is not recommended to our 8-wheeler.
Most of the time, the opponents have a higher DPM and more hit points.
In such situations, you need to run away, dodge shells, and shoot on the move.
And to make doing this all simultaneously possible,
the 8-wheeler has a lock-on feature.
Some quality of life is appreciated at such speeds.
All the more, you have to always look where you're going in a wheeler…
The main challenge of the wheeled vehicles
is the same as with any other light tank: survival.
The vehicles are fast, poorly armored, and action-provoking,
which makes it harder to survive until the end of the battle.
However, wheeled vehicles have some features to help that.
One of them is concealment.
The Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) has one of the best at this tier.
The M48 Patton with the standard view range increasing kit
can see the French 8-wheeler in an empty field from 325 meters.
Nice result.
Vegetation will help improve it.
The Patton will only spot the wheeler at 95 meters, when it's in a bush.
The vehicle's suspension is its other survival assistant.
You can fall from a greater height than tracked vehicles
before your wheels start taking any fall damage.
This lets the Panhard perform jumps that others can't do.
Again, it's about how careful you are:
if the vehicle's hull touches the ground after the fall, you will receive damage.
The general idea of the Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) is simple.
Avoid direct confrontations, follow the battle situation
and always go where you're needed most.
You are very good at remaining unpunished.
On open maps, you can use your concealment and flank the enemy.
You can catch someone changing position or an enemy dueling with your ally.
You can simply switch flanks and spot for your team.
This is risky and you need to survive it.
It's very easy to destroy your wheeler in the first minute of the battle.
But the Panhard really shines in the second half of the battle.
You can outmaneuver any single enemy and make them an easy target.
Any proper flanking action REALLY destabilizes the enemy.
No distance is a problem.
And of course! The thing we waited for!
When there are few vehicles left on the map
and breaches in enemy defenses have appeared,
you can find your way to enemy SPGs!
And it's better to load HE shells beforehand:
the standard shells might not be enough.
And you can ram them as well!
Umm… No, you can't.
Yes, you can. Ramming is a combination of several factors:
speed, mass, and armor thickness in the collision point during ramming.
See for yourself!
I wouldn't call this a successful ramming…
Whatever, it’s an ability anyway.
The Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10) is not a classic scout.
It can't spot as well,
or deal damage while staying in one position for the entire battle.
However, it can manage to do a lot more things.
Shoot here, spot there, destroy an enemy, help an ally,
spot again, rinse and repeat!
This vehicle requires some cunning, knowledge, and certain skill.
You can have fun with it, but it's much more interesting to learn how to play it.
Because playing the Panhard efficiently
means to always be where you're needed.
Always annoy the enemy. And always be relevant.