The Road to Unicum – Taugrim’s Guide Series

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Hello everyone,

okay, here’s an interesting thing. As you probably know, I do generally not revel in or promote anything, that involves the word “unicum”, because it usually is not useful for all the viewers and this blog is for everybody, not just top 0,1 percent of players. However, this is an exception.

Player Taugrim created an interesting series of videos, called “Road to Unicum”. He is a skilled player, but that’s not the most important thing here. What is important is that in them, as he plays, he explains what exactly is he doing and why with his calm voice.

It’s not a guide for TOTAL newbies, you are expected to understand at least the basics, but I still find it pleasant to watch and generally easy to understand. The series is ongoing and it already has 11 parts – this is the first one:

 

 

If you like it, the rest of the series can be found under the following on the following playlist – when you have time, check them out as well. If the feedback is good (so far, the video rating shows very positive feedback), I will keep on adding more parts in the future.

106 thoughts on “The Road to Unicum – Taugrim’s Guide Series”

    • I liked his video, and I will watch his other ones once I have the time. He explains his decisions clearly and concisely. The advice he gives will translate easily to other tanks. And he manages to do so without giving me the feeling that the reason he makes videos is to show off how cool he is, like so many other youtubers.

      • Its a decent vid, but my god, hes BORING and he has ZERO personality.

        Also, he would be better off having a dedicated channel to WOTs like QuickyBaby or SirFoch or basically Jingles who also does WT but hes still 90% WOTs until recently.

          • maybe he is not as entertaining as Jingles, but he still has my respect for being able to get unicum stats without using single prem. ammo or playing statpading tanks… such a shame he is from US server, so i cannot meet him in battle and learn something, as unicum stats w/out prem. ammo is my goal as well…

            • Are you blind Ray? ;) “not playing statpading tanks”? 6th most played is KV85 (former KV1S, statpadding^100), Cromwell in Top 10, >350 battles in Tier 4 M8A1 and Matilda. Pure statpadding deluxe.

              • yep, 450 battles with KV-85 and 1800 average wn8 in it… it sure is statpading :-D i think he used it to lower his stats :-D

                • That isn’t what i said…it is about using statpadding tanks (your statement), not if he is successful with it ;)

    • Here’s some context to provide clarity on this video series, in terms of what I’m doing and why.

      In this “Road to Unicum” video series I share what I’ve learned as I progress 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 other players improve their gameplay.

      I’m not Unicum yet (the title implies the journey to get there not already being there), but if I continue playing I should reach account Unicum (2450 WN8) prior to 13k battles on my original WoT account.

      For full disclosure, I do spend money on the game, and that most definitely helps with stats.

      ———— REGARDING SILVER AMMO ONLY ————
      I only use silver ammo. I’m not judging people who use gold ammo – it’s a built-in game mechanic and it’s a powerful tool – but I’d rather not use it given the balance problems it creates.

      For educational videos, I believe it’s more helpful to show gameplay with silver ammo, since silver ammo often requires weakspot targeting and flanking to boost the likelihood of penetration.

      ———— REGARDING CHOICE OF REPLAYS ————
      Let me clearly state that I don’t just upload any random or normal replay.

      I intentionally choose replays where there is educational value, in terms of good illustrative gameplay and mistakes that I make. For the most part, the videos are of replays where there is meaningful challenge, since there isn’t much to learn from a faceroll victory unless you are the one enabling it to happen.

      ———— REGARDING NO MODS ————
      I’ve never used any mods in WoT.

      I opted not to use mods for several reasons:
      * The stock UI is pretty functional, relative to other games
      * Some mods give information (such as XVM player stats) which I think would be depressing or distracting to see. I react to game flow based on what my eyes tell me. I do keep a mental note of good players and good clans (e.g. the top 10 listed on WoTLabs).
      * It’s a hassle when mods break, especially due to game patches, and I don’t want to become overly dependent on them
      * It’s not completely clear to me what mods are legal and what are not. If I’m ever accused of hacking or using cheating mods, it’s much easier to simply respond that I’ve never used any mods
      * Some people in my cross-gaming guild kept insisting that mods were essential, same with gold ammo, and I often like to buck the trend to prove a point. Mods can definitely help, but I believe they’re aren’t needed to play at a Unicum level
      * Some (formal) formats don’t allow mods. I’ll probably never do tournaments and stuff, but you never know…

      That said, there was one mod in particular I believed which would be helpful, and that was the minimap mod with tank names and last-spotted locations, but as of 9.5 those things are now built-in to the game :)

      I do use mods in other games, e.g. WoW, WildStar. For the reasons above, I don’t in WoT.

      ———— REGARDING WIN RATE / PLATOONING ————
      As of today, my recent (last 1k battles) WR is 59%.

      WR is easily padded via platooning with skilled players, since WR is a reflection of team performance. WN8 is more of a reflection of individual performance.

      I’ve probably solopub’d ~90% of my battles. Even after joining a clan (WANTD/WNTED), I’m still soloing 80+% of the time. It’s not that I don’t like platooning with people – I do – but some nights I hop around various tanks or play tiers other people don’t want or people are playing pref MM.

      Unicum WR is 60-64%, Super Uni is 65+%. Those are very difficult WRs to sustain mostly solopubbing, especially with silver ammo only.

      ———— FEEDBACK / INPUT ————
      Constructive feedback is welcome!

      Even though my WN8 has been Super Uni over the past several thousand battles, I make mistakes and still have a lot to learn. Viewers can learn a lot from your comments.

      I post a poll with each video so you can help select which tank replays I cover in the future.

      Cheers,
      Taugrim

      • Taugrin,

        thank you very much for this nice video and the time to took you to make and explain everything. I watched only this video of you so i have no idea how eductional the others are.
        For sure you give some important hints, explain a lot of things and in this game you made a very good game as well, no doubt.
        But, what i personally miss here is the team play. Sure, you won the game, but somehow i have a feeling that it could had been easier while supporting allied tanks so they survive eventually as well. It is all about the Point of View and i do not say i’am 100% right with what a write and notice, but i have just the feeling that you are a very good solo player with the lack of team play.
        Maybe it is because you are not in a very good clan? Maybe because it is just the way you think to play.
        Players with your rating which indicates that you have at very least very good skills on the tanks should have a win rate of 62%+ from my experience. Mabe these points of winrate you are missing are due the lack of better teamplay including ative supporting allied tanks and not just perfect solo play.
        Just my 2 cents. However, good advices and a lot of things (here too) well explained. Just wanted to share my personal impression as well.
        Good luck!

    • I enjoyed seeing a good game and some of the comments. Wish there were more explainations concerning actions. He does this – he does that … How about why?

      Thanks.

      • welp, having more than 60% WR is not that hard solopubbing (i platoon once or twice per week for like lets say… 20 or 30 battles?) personally i have a very agressive playstyle, i rely more on my HP rather than my armor, the problem with this is that you tend to die fast as well, sometimes and you end up dealing less damage, so less WN8.

        anywayz i really like these reviews, before watching things like this i had very low stats (i believe it was arround 47%WR + 600 wn7), watching things like this improved somehow my gameply.
        good luck with your road to unicum mate.

  2. Though I was amused from the ”low penetration” remark and ”pretty good accuracy” the video to me- a jack average it seemed like it was completely legit. Showing what the E50 is good at, though due to the map the ”workable” (-8) gundepression was sadly not used.

    • the pen is actually lower than many (most?) T8 heavies have, 220 vs. 225 on tiger 2 for example. However I feel like I get better penetration results in E-50 than in Tiger 2. Maybe thanks to the increased mobility I can get a better angle in many situations, hard to tell. Don’t forget the E-50 only has -8 depression to the sides, to the front it is only -6 and the difference is quite massive.

      The most important thing about the E-50 is that it does not have any major weaknesses. It has a damn good gun, reasonably good mobility and speed, decent armor and gun depression. The armor works especially well at very long range. I would, however, not suggest sidescraping in E-50, 80mm armor is not good for reliable sidescraping.

      I’ve been thinking about starting a WOT youtube channel for some time now. Might do it one day…if anyone is interested in some good E-50 action, I have some replays here http://wotreplays.eu/uploader/Mko/id/277884

      • Of course compared to the ridiculous penetration on heavy tanks it’s not worth much, but the E-50 is a (heavy) medium tank however and for mediums it’s certainly not the worst it only pales in comparision to the tier 10 gun mounting WZ120, Centurion 7/1 and Leopard PTA but has much better dpm than those.

  4. From my point of view he does not really say much about “how to become a unicum”. Yeah the E-50 is a very good tank (damn I’m having fantastic games in it, I am afraid of moving up to the E-50M as it might be weaker tier to tier).

    First of all, you don’t become a unicum just like that. Knowing the game mechanics, tanks and maps is very important but it is not all. A major part is your brain and that is…quite difficult to “upgrade”.

    • Personally i think its very well possible to teach how to become a unicum.
      Even to somewhat learn-resistant people, though, it surely is not possible to teach it everyone. The more intellect, the easier, i would say in general.

      For most it wouldnt be enough to watch some youtube vids, they need 1 on 1 education and guidance, but for those dark green and blue players that are not able to go ahead a few more pro tips would maybe be enough to make the jump.

      • that depends on what the person lacks. If the person lacks game knowledge, it can be taught, just requires effort. If he/she does not think when playing or has bad decision making, is unable to analyze situations quickly, etc., it is much harder to teach. You can tell them several times, it takes conscious effort to put it into practice (a little like developing habits).

        Dark green+ players should have the potential to reach unicum and perhaps they only need to get rid of some bad habits or learn some extra facts they may have missed etc. They might also have hit their ceiling, though. Moreover, if you define unicum as a percentage of the population, people trying to become unicums will usually be pushed out by people who already are unicums.

        • i went from red to high green but im just not a good clicker, i have a slow right hand, so ill never be purple. Im prob close to purple with hvy tanks where angling is important and u have longer to aim, but not good at all with meds where u need the faster reflexes.

          Its funny how Unicums act like their special because they r a good clicker!, LOL. I recently had a thug idiot crowing about how good he was and i was just laughing at him.

          • In my opinion, WOT is relatively slow paced, so reflexes are secondary. They certainly help but not as much as in shooter games like CS, COD. In some tanks the pace can increase quite drastically, so you have to think much faster and also react faster. You can also train reflexes a little.

    • The behavioral part of the brain is completely re-wirable. The capabilities not so much, but Wot is still simpler than most jobs that people that can afford time playing computer games work on.

      What I think holds most people is controlling your temper/anxiety (that is where I fail) and learning that you are NOT alone, you should always be aware that are people around you that you can interfere with and that can interfere with you.

      • I think WOT is quite complicated. It is one of those games that are very easy to start playing but once you go deeper, it gets a lot more complicated. WOT has pretty rich game mechanics – with a lot of elements. That is what makes me stick with WOT (with breaks) even after 4+ years of playing since near the beginning of closed beta. That is why seeing World of Warships did not get me interested much – I feel like that game is going to lack that rich game mechanics WOT has. So there is this “technical” aspect to the game. Then there is also the “psychological” aspect of outthinking your opponents, which is present in most online games and makes them so interesting and rewarding.

        Controlling yourself is important, especially in situations when things go bad or you are 1 vs X. Many people make basic mistakes and throw away their tank because they mis-judge the situation or they hurry when there is no reason to hurry. Or they get pushed and stop thinking and do something stupid. Some patience is very important for WOT.

    • You just outed yourself as someone ONLY watching NA streams. And prolly of those Sela (goldspam+auoaim skilled play also so enjoyable to watch) and Zeven.

      Do yourself a favor and watch some VERY good streamers from EU (EJ, orza, Foch and others) and even RU, just tune out the sound or whatever and WATCH. Straik, lucique, a lot of others who have exceptional awareness to a point where it gets unreal.

      • I’ll have a look but if they dont explain why they do something, then their videos wont provide that much to me:
        Having someone explaining what they are thinking is a complete different level/experience, it provides a much better understanding of the game and its mechanics. Of the ones you mentioned, I watch Foch, he is good but Zeven goes further in his videos, he discusses the best map locations and how to play a map/situation depending the tank type.

  7. He just picks some good replays and explain, what he does.
    I miss bad replays in which he explains what went wrong and what could be done better.
    In my opinion it’s the key to good stats to play consistent and with much effort, especially when there is no chance to win the round. I often find myself annoyed in these situations, which leads to a risky and stupid gameplay. Game mechanic problems (RNG) and stupid teammates do their best to make it even worse.

    • This is a pretty good point. Instead of explaining what to do it’s more important to explain what other options you are not taking at that time or what you could have done better in case of a really bad decision and why.

    • Haha I knew there would be a some player with better stats basically calling this guy noob and its nobody else than Xensation aka the worst homophobic guy!
      Do you guys remember him throwing slurs at Tyraforce for creating arty guide?
      http://bit.ly/17hg1Jr
      “Oh look my numbers are purple Im master race and you all noobs and fags”
      This Taugrim guy makes a videos for people to learn from and you do what?
      Insulting, insulting and insulting, nothing else. GG WP
      Now watch as he tries to convince us hes not the same Xen as the guy on that TS screenshot just like on IDEAL noobmeter page. Sure bro we believe you lol!
      http://www.noobmeter.com/clan/eu/IDEAL
      And please dont forget to call me “fag*ot” I love when you call me that :*

    • Well its true. He also seem to have trouble with carrying games. He seems to be stuck at 56% WR for quite a while. Also he is on NA: “Road to be good player” would be much better name for this series.

    • The absolute majority of the unicuns is too self centered and arrogant to be able to really teach anyone anything. You can learn much more from a good player that has the correct attitude than from a GOD that is arrogant and self centered.

      • Agreed. But then, that’s why I almost never take feedback from certain people seriously.

        There are unicums out there though that are really smart, kind people and good teachers. Unfortunately, most don’t stream or make videos.

          • Nobody read Xensational guides on the forums? ._.

            “There are unicums out there though that are really smart, kind people and good teachers. Unfortunately, most don’t stream or make videos.”

            Plenty of them stream (QB, Circ, Foch -> then the next level unitato gameplay without too much gold -> embryonicswede, morgotz (although he RQ because of arty i think but it was always nice to hear classic music combined with German swearing), veitinoob , the only thing one needs to do is look for a player that matches your style or adapt and watch and learn. =O Although i must say there is only a tiny handfull with sexy taste in music so i wont have to mute the entire thing.

  10. The road to unicum is called “git gud”.
    To get better you play the game and watch other good players play, that’s all of the magic. Also, requires brain, something not many people are endowed with.

  11. Road to unicum is simple, play only the stronkest, high tiered and/or high eff/wn8 yielding tanks, always fully platooned w equal or better players than you, farm noobs also in tank companies and cw… It gets really boring after a while, and you can still get easily over 2k wn8 by playing unicum unfriendly tanks for fun.

    • You’re a true expert! Farming noobs in tank companies (who plays that shit anymore anyway?) and clan wars (two battles per evening?) to increase the WN8 rating. That’s totally going to work, bro…

      • any rating can be farmed. WN8 does not have to be farmed. If you are good and play well, you will get high WN8 whether you platoon or not. Platoons can have both + and – effect on WN8. Your platoon mates take damage and kills that you might get if you played solo. On the other hand they keep you alive longer so you can deal more damage. It’s complicated and farming numbers is pretty dumb.

        • unica are all the same 2500, 3000 ,3500 with only minor differences in what they can do, some are better then others, but at this point you either
          go 4 W/R
          go 4 WN8

          W/R are focused mainly on wins- and they get maybe 70%+ with something respectable like 2500-3500 WN8
          WN8 farmers mainly go for damage, but what people think is that the are liabilitys and cause losses- its not true
          WN8 padders play around 60-70% except they get more WN8 instead like 4000, 5000
          There is nothing wrong with it, they still win a lot more then server average but they just have a high WN8 aswell
          Platooning fits in as a form of W/R padding as your essentially fighting 3vs27 instead, basically tripling your odds, but its mostly poor for WN8 padding

          • I beg to differ abit… The difference between 2500 and 3500 is very significant tbh. The difference gets lower in the area of 3500-4000 coz that is the obvious stat padding area.

    • Such a cool story! Do you have it in printed form so I can wipe my ass with it?

      (Note: Please use soft paper)

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  15. Ahhh well ALTEAST its better then the WhiteIvy promotion… -_-

    I kinda threw my eyebrows up at the start of the vid already when he shot the T34 in trough the window… I used to badly hurt anything showing its turret there with my TDs. Got lucky the enemy Obj704 wasnt trying his luck penetrating his turret :). Shoulda tleast mention it tbh.

    Anyway… His tips, voice and vids are relatively decent.

        • Um, what you wrote about my crew skills does not reflect what is actually in the video.

          My E50 crew, as seen in the first 15 seconds of the video, has the crew skills and in the order you believe they should be.

          It’s good to know you aren’t actually watching the videos, that’s a good reference point for me in considering your feedback.

          • Quick update – so we were both right and wrong.

            The garage sequence shows the recent (and recommended) crew skills, which align with what you think they should be.

            The crew skills at the end of the video do not match that. I was waiting to unlock the 4th crew skill, to re-skill to BIA, as shown in the garage.

  18. To become unicum these days, the difference will be bigger between a player using gold ammo and playing strong tanks and a player using standard ammo and playing mediocre tanks even if they have the same skill. Gold ammo is a huge wn8 booster and hence affect the “color” and rating.

  19. Ur kidding? What does being a “unicum” (in therms of wot) to do with good playing?

    If i seen ppl with 4000 of 10000 battles on a fucking T18 (before nerv)… yesus

  20. just a common battle for me!? Are these “tips” new for anyone?? You don’t need to know the basics to view these videos, these videos show the basics :D

  21. I normally go D4, G4 on himmel, to do some early shots on tanks on 3 line or middle, maybe even shoot tanks on hill, where I nearly never go to since its either a death trap or you don’t have that much to do (meanwhile your team might get raped on bottom).