Why stats don't matter
I am sure I will get some flack for this post and people then even going to my stats in WOTLabs to claim my stats are no good so that is why I post this. The truth is, then they didn't read what I wrote. I am going to explain why all of the stats in WOT are nearly useless, but it is still a tool that is used (and should be).
Rerolls
Yep, we all see them and know they exist. They have created a new account to have better stats because they wanted... Well better stats. No harm no foul right?
Well here is the thing. Even if you are not a re-roll the mere fact that they exist (and they do in high numbers) shunts your stats. WN8, PR, EFF all of them are stats based out of the pool of players, including their new re-roll (deceiving) account and yours. Lets break it down simply.
Say we have 100 players and an even distribution of skill sets according to stats. In other words, all their stats are dead even showing they are all average players and they all are exactly that, average.
Lets take ten of them and re-roll them.
Now we have 110 players with 10 playing good (as they have been all along, but no longer have past battles accounted for). These ten players will push down 10 of the average players even though those average players did not get worse (or better). All players are still exactly average. Now we have 10 yellow players, 10 green players, and 80 orange of which only 70 are actually active (the ten ditched their old accounts, remember)
Rinse and repeat and you have an extremely skewed system that shows average players as tomatoes and average players as blue or purples. What does this mean?
Even if you didn't re-roll your stats have been adjusted due to re-rolls.
Player Preference
Not all tanks are created equal and we all know this. Some tanks are just simply over powered, and we do love it. With that however, the stat you are showing is not accounting for tank skew. If a player is grinding one of the hardest tracks out there, then their stats are likely to drop. If a player only plays OP tanks they will "Stat Pad", even if not intentional.
The funny thing is, most of the players I run into that try to criticize others for stats are doing exactly this (maybe unknowingly). I get it, people like to win. So why not play the tank you win in?
Well, not everyone prefers to do that. Some want to experience all the grinds. Some just bounce around based on missions. There are many variables with in what tanks people play, and if someone views your service record and your top 3 or 4 tanks played are all Tier 6 OP tanks, you are a stat padder so you should not talk about being good because your not. You are good at the best tanks in the game, and when a player looks deeper rarely are you that good at that tank even.
Using WOTLabs a person can show that some tanks actually have high win rate averages. That's just how it is. Yep, so if you want to stat pad look at those tanks and play mostly them. If that's what you call fun by all means, but please don't criticize players for not falling into the stat padding trap. Some want to play other tracks.
Battle Count
This is an important variable to consider to balance stat comparisons, however it only balances it when compared correctly. If a player with 30K battles has a great Wn8, it is expected, however a person with only 10K battles is not likely to have a strong Wn8. In other words, don't claim superiority over someone because you have a better win rate when you battle count is triple theirs. It just makes no mathematical sense and makes you sound like an idiot.
Battle Type
Here is the final rub, of why stats actually do not matter. Not all battles are accounted for. In particular Clan battles do NOT count. Yes, you read that correctly. When you are looking at someones Wn8, it has nothing to do with the skirmishes they have run in. What does this mean?
Well, let's say a clan recruits and average player. Then said player learns tactics as they usually do by joining a clan. Above and beyond that they begin to become a great clan asset earning resources and making great battle calls.
None of this is accounted for. Not one single battle. They may do majority of their battles as clan battles meaning their stats will not budge, yet they could have grown to be the best player in the game and still be viewed as a "Tomato". That is just how it is.
Why use stats?
We use them because it is a tool. A clan or team can not take any player and stats offer a way to filter the players. With that, I have seen people with ridiculously high Wn8 and terrible PR and vice versa. I have seen players with high stats across the board, yet when they join my team are the first dead and simply put I would never let them join again (they suck at following orders).
Pub matches build the stats for other matches to filter. If you use them for anything else you are deceiving yourself and perhaps not eliminating one of the best players in the game, as stats do not work uniformly due to the points stated above.
So the next time someone gives you crap about your stats send them here. I will be happy to educate them, if not with math I can form a team of "Tomatoes" and they can have their purple people eaters. It will be a good match none the less. When you hit the battle field, it comes down to communication and the skills you have now, not what you did in the past.
