Forest Witch

Forest Witch

The **Forest Witch** is a tier VII Hybrid Nation Collector heavy tank. It features an 85 mm autoreloading gun barrel with a Reserve Shell and has Emergency Tracks. It also features 4 tracks, something that only the AE Phase I shares. It was available in the Witch's Curse event.

## Strategy

### Pros

* Strong armor for its tier
* The hull turns quickly
* Emergency track system is able to pull the tank out of any bad situation
* Autoreloader, so the vehicle can choose to dump all of its shells into one enemy whenever it feels like doing so
* Decent alpha compared to other heavy tanks in its tier
* Has one of the highest hitpools in its tier

### Cons

* Slow turret turn rate
* Has a reserve shell
* Only 6º of gun depression
* Slightly awkward gun placement, can't use certain positions as easily as others

### Strategy

#### As the Forest Witch

Note that your gun is placed to favor the left side, so try to poke out with your left side (e.g. on Himmelsdorf take the side on the heavy flank that makes it easier for you to poke out). For your tier you do possess strong armor and a sharply angled upper plate. Before starting a battle you can pick Improved Ventilation to help a little on your reload times for your shells or pick Calibrated Shells to be able to trade shells more effectively with tier VIII's. You also may want to consider increasing your turret traverse by using Improved Fuel and Extra Combat Rations. Vertical Stabilizer will be able to help deal with on-movement-dispersion and after shot dispersion.

In battle, despite your 6º of gun depression, you can turn your tank's hull such that it appears like the image below to create what is called "artificial gun depression." This will help you on certain maps such as Mines when you don't have enough gun depression to use on ridge lines. You can also use this on the heavy or valley side of Dead Rail and Naval Frontier.

When firing, try not to fire off your Reserve Shell unless if you're sure that you can be safe or is for picking up a kill when your allies are either unwilling to do so due to the risk factor or aren't fully reloaded yet. Additionally, you can fire off the Reserve Shell when you're about to get destroyed, pumping out one more shell's worth of damage, or to potentially save yourself. Try to aim in your shells, as your burst damage may be higher than some tier VIII's (the Forest Witch has higher burst damage than the AMX 50 100, EMIL 1951, Lorraine 40 t, Somua SM, and T77).

In a face-hug or side-hug make sure to gun-block as much as possible, since enemies can still hit your hatch or turret roof. In a face-hug, gun-block and make seemingly random movements and wiggle your hull since the Forest Witch's hull is rounded, which means that the slightest angle can change which sides become weaker and stronger. In a side-hug, use your large turret and almost dual guns to try to hide your hatch. This will ensure that the enemy will meet a swift demise or at least becomes crippled in terms of hitpool and possibly shells.

Ramming is an option, but make sure that you're able to either coordinate a major push or pull back into safety. The Forest Witch's Emergency Track special mechanic will be able to pull you back into safety even if your tracks are destroyed. You also possess somewhat flat armor that gets stronger when angled on your turret, which can help if the enemy doesn't have enough gun depression to hit your hull. Ensure that the enemy is alone and you are safe before building up speed (Engine Power Boost helps with accelerating) and ramming the opponent while laying shells into their armor. This tactic is less effective when facing tier VIII vehicles.

#### Against the Forest Witch

While the Forest Witch may seem intimidating, it isn't as you might think. If you are a relatively small or fast vehicle, you can either exploit its somewhat poor gun depression or use the Circle of Death to exploit its slow turret traverse rate. Alternatively, if you're in a tier VIII vehicle, taking down the vehicle through traditional methods will also work.

Perhaps the most obvious tactic is to simply bait out all 4 shells from the Forest Witch and aim carefully to shoot as many shells into the Forest Witch as possible. Since the Forest Witch will be unable to fire back while its reloading its Reserve Shell, depending on your situation and how many tank destroyers aren't spotted or looking at you, you can choose to rush the vehicle. Arguably the hardest part about destroying the Forest Witch is its hitpool, which is one of the highest in tier VII, able to compete with some tier VIII's.

## Specifications

The following specifications represent those achieved by the tank without enhancements from consumables, provisions, or equipment.

### Modules

#### Turret

 **Turret Armor** | Front: 193 mmSides: 80 mmRear: 76 mm
 **Max AmmoRack Size** | 60 shells

#### Suspension

 **Terrain CrossingCapacity** | Road: 104% Ground: 70%Water: 52%

## History

The Forest Witch was once a human witch who was able to find a mysterious book called the Hunter's Moon Folio. She desired its secrets to become the most powerful witch to have ever existed. Unbeknownst to the witch, the Hunter's Moon Folio has its own will and a singular purpose: to create new weaponry made from its own will. After encountering Kara and Finn, the Forest Witch was once in sights, but Finn blinks and it disappears. The last thing they see before the video blacks out for a moment is the Forest Witch appearing and shooting their vehicle, a 53TP Markowskiego in the Swale legendary camouflage. It's unknown what happened next.

## Trivia

* This vehicle once again continues the line of Halloween tanks. The tank that preceded it was the Pharaoh.

## External Links

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pnQX3\_\_SAg