Perhaps one of the most confusing things new players face, beyond the greater understanding of their vehicles, is just what the win rate means. How it's figured, what plays into it, and whether or not it really means anything. Depending on their experiences, a person may either grasp it right off the bat, or feel alienated by hearing terms like "potato", "baddie", or "unicum." In an effort to better acquaint the new player with the idea of a win rate, I opted to create this FAQ, with questions pulled from numerous new player posts, and simple easy to understand answers. These may not be the answers you would give, but they are answers that I hope at least solves some of the common questions and confusions. I will add more as I come to the questions, but for now this should be fine.

1.) I see people talking about Win Rate, but I don't really understand. What is a "win rate?"

Win rate is a percentage. More specifically, it is the percentage of battles you as a player have won versus the numbers that you have lost. The higher the percentage is, the more battles you have won.

2.) Is Win Rate the same as skill?

Not exactly. Some would argue that the overall win rate is, but it is possible to have a higher win rate in a particular vehicle, while having a lower overall win rate. So, it's entirely possible for you to be highly skilled in one type of vehicle, while less so in others. However since the system figures on an overall average, the higher rate in one type, is offset by the lower rate in others. Generally speaking though, it's just an average number of wins, and doesn't directly reflect your personal skill as a player.

3.) Is Win Rate important?

Not really. Honestly while others may judge you based on it, once again it's just an average. It really does not affect game play in of itself, but instead shows your past battle experience or number of wins. However, some Clans do place an emphasis on higher win rates, so if you're seeking entry into those, you might want to consider it important. Otherwise, you shouldn't worry about it that much.

4.) What if I want to play for fun?

Then do it. Once again, you shouldn't worry about it that much. If you want to jump into a pub battle and just enjoy yourself, there's no rule or law that says you can't do that.

5.) I saw a player say that the battle had a low percent chance to win and then he suicided. What happened?

The player is using a program called XVM. XVM compiles data based on the win rates of every player in a particular battle, and then returns a percentage chance of win. It's not always accurate though, but there are times where it gets the percentage right. The player suicided because he wanted to avoid the battle. However it will still affect his statistics, since the game will count him in the battle even if it wins or loses.

6.) So why did the player *******?

Honestly? To be an ***.

7.) What is XVM, and should I install it?

XVM is a program, or modification rather, that works with World of Tanks. It compiles data and displays the average win rate of players in a simple to understand user interface. If you are seeking the higher win rates, then it can help some, but overall it will not help your gameplay. If anything, it will tell you (more so as a new player) whether you are facing a seal clubber, or who is more experienced in certain vehicles. If you want to install it, there's no reason why you shouldn't. However keep in mind that in some cases it may cause lag. This isn't always the case, but it does happen from time to time.

8.) What is "seal clubbing?"

There are two definitions to this, both right, and both wrong. Generally speaking though, seal clubbing refers to players who have several higher tier vehicles, who instead play at lower tiers. Typically tier 1-3. Alternatively, it may be a player seeking to "stat pad."

9.) I've heard the term "stat padding" what does that mean?

Stat Padding refers to a higher tier player spending more time in low tier matches where their higher experience in tanking allows them to better ensure a win. Since every win adds points to the over all win rate of a player, it is not uncommon to find persons using the lower tiers to make their stats look better than they are.

10.) If WR really doesn't mean anything, why do players do it?

As I said. WR really is nothing more than an overall average of wins. On the grand scheme of things, it doesn't affect gameplay any more than downloading unique skins for your vehicle does. However, some players equate the higher average with overall skill, and will seek to do anything they can to reach it. Most players agree that stat padding is a dirty trick, since it can inflate a person's average higher than they might have otherwise. What's more, it makes the game difficult on new players such as yourself, and presents a sometimes hostile environment in which to play. It's largely frowned upon, but again it's not against the rules to do it.

11.) I was told I was a "baddie," what does that mean?

When XVM displays a win rate of a player, it does so not only with percentage but colors. Red is the lowest, gold being average, blue higher, and purple the highest. It is generally assumed by players that anyone with a red (IE 40% or lower) win rate, is "bad" at playing the game. There are however exceptions to this equation, but sadly players often forget that.

12.) What do you mean by exceptions?

The exceptions are simple really. The fact is that players with less than 7000 battles present too small a sample for XVM to really consider. So, prior to that it's not uncommon to see players having red or yellow scores. Generally it's understood that players with low battle numbers are either a.) new players or b.) casual players. In both cases the overall win rate tends to be low, and thus presents false positives in the "bad" area. Experienced WR and XVM users ignore the lower rates for players with only a few battles, since the player hasn't experienced all tiers of the gameplay and thus hasn't really made a large enough sample for the program to use. It is not uncommon in low tier battles, for XVM to return most every player being blue or purple, even though those players may have only played the game two or three battles so far.

13.) If I want to improve my WR, what can I do?

Two things. On one hand you can head to lower tier battles and use that to pad your statistics. As I said, it's generally looked down upon and may come back to haunt you. Alternatively you could spend time watching replays and learning how to better play the vehicles, while concentrating on what you play best. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to end up with a low Win Rate is to spread your experience out through multiple tank lines. While this is doable at higher battle numbers, at a lower number the learning curve (Ie battles with stock tanks) will adversely affect your overall score.

14.) How could stat padding come back to haunt me?

If for example, you were to pad your statistics up to a blue (51% or higher), and then gain access to a clan that requires this, your overall gameplay and lack of understanding of the higher vehicles would mean that you wouldn't be able to perform as well as your clan mates. You would, most likely, end up kicked from the clan.

15.) You said that WR doesn't mean anything, but you just said that my overall gameplay would be affected if I padded my stats to get a better Win Rate. Didn't you just contradict yourself?

No. While the average itself does not equate overall skill, the fact is that if you do not play the higher tier vehicles, you won't learn them. So, if for example you unlocked the Royal Tiger (Tiger II) tank at 40% WR, and then went back to pad your statistic to 50%, you still wouldn't know the nuances of the Royal Tiger. So you would have the higher win rate, but none of the in game play experience that such a vehicle requires. In this situation, you have the average, but none of the skill with the vehicle.

16.) So when should I worry about my Win Rate?

If you want to just play for the fun of the game? You shouldn't. However if it's something you care about, then you should consider it from the start. Many things affect your average, but if it's something you're paying attention to from the start, you will find that your average is affected directly. Meaning that if you're honestly trying to keep the score higher, or at least raise it several percentages, starting from day one is better than anything else. This isn't to say that you can't wait till you better understand the vehicles you play and work on it there, just that it's easier if it was something you always kept in mind.

17.) I've seen people saying that luc

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