The official WoT promotional trailer for 2019.

Over 500 historical vehicles!

Source: Portal

Great specials await you this month, with World of Tanks celebrating yet another anniversary, classic events coming back, and specific vehicles under the spotlight. Take a sneak peek at the April specials here:

Top of the Tree:

From the portal

Apparently you’re supposed to play 3 battles on the Classic server.

The style and emblems should be awarded after the event.

Note: take this info with a grain of salt, since WG did not mention anywhere anything about how you can earn them. I’ve asked my WG contacts and they confirmed it.

Source

Your interest in the WoT Classic mode exceeded all of our expectations. The influx of players to Classic server was way bigger than we could have handled at the moment! To avoid the waiting time, we suggest you to check out the main server.

 We have activated a x5 XP bonus for the first victory of the day from March 30, 1:00 PM (CET), April 1, 8:00 AM (CEST).

This compact tier III light is quite agile, with good camouflage, a maximum speed of 60 km / h and a view range of 320 m. However, there is no armor, so taking shots is not recommended. For this tank, “run and live another day” is an exceptionally true statement.

Likely a gift tank.

T-116. Parameters:

Tier: LT-3, USSR, premium / gift
HP: 230
Engine: 335 hp
Mass: 10,50 t
Maximum load: 13,00 t
Power-to-weight: 31,90 hp / t
Max speed/Min speed: 60 / -20 km / h
Hull turning speed: 48 °/s
Turret turning speed: 40 °/s
Terrain resistance values: 1,151 / 1,247 / 2,205
View range: 320 m
Radio range: 300 m

Hull armor: 15 / 13 / 13 mm
Turret armor: 15 / 13 / 13 mm

Gun: 45 mm 20K

Alpha Damage: 47 / 47 / 62
Penetration: 51 / 84 / 23 mm
Rate of fire: 27,205 rounds/minute
Damage per minute: 1 278,6
Reload time: 2,205 s
Accuracy at 100 m: 0,42
Aiming time: 1,9 s
Depression/Elevation: -5 ° / +30 °

Crew – 3 members: Commander, Driver, Loader.

Gun/Ammo:

Aim spread:

after firing: 3.50;
during the rotation of the turret: 0.14;
while the vehicle is moving: 0.22;
during vehicle rotation: 0.22;
during turret rotation at the maximum speed of 5.6;
at the maximum vehicle speed: 13.2;
at the maximum vehicle rotation speed: 10.56.

Camouflage values:

camouflage of a still tank: 32.1%;
tank camouflage when in motion: 24%;
camouflage of an immobile tank when shooting: 9.31%;
camouflage of a tank shooting during motion: 6.96%.

More pictures:

Commanders! Due to the installation of the Update, the server will be unavailable

Update size: 1,6 GB

Let’s welcome in Update 0.8.2! It brings with it Space Battles, the branch of British aircraft carriers, an updated Arsenal with Premium ships, and Season 5 of Clan Battles.

Attention! From April 1 until April 8, you’ll have the opportunity to retrain your Commanders and reset their skills, as well as demount upgrades, for free.

With the release of Update 0.8.2, the option in the Inventory section to exchange researchable aircraft carriers for XP and credits, or Premium aircraft carriers for doubloons, will cease to be available.

Space Warships Intergalactic Games

Our spaceships are being prepared for battle! April Fool’s Day in nearly here, which means that the time is almost upon us to travel to space once again to fight among the stars.

You can test your strength against other players in 4 new battle modes:

• Rings of Saturn (reworked Epicenter mode): now the zones are captured independently from each another. Available between April 1–7.
• Binary Star: the key points of the teams, initially covering a wide territory, are located on the enemy team’s side and shrink gradually. Available between April 1–7.
• Space Assault: the objective of the attacking team is to destroy the defending team’s station in a limited period of time. Both sides have their own advantages: ships of the attacking team respawn, while ships of the defending team gradually recover their HP. Available between April 8–14.
• Torpedo Beat: dynamic torpedo battles with destroyers travelling at high speeds. Available between April 15–24.

Battles will be held on 4 maps purposed for space engagements. Players can participate in Space Battles behind the helms of 12 special spaceships.

In addition to the new battle modes and maps, you’ll also find:

• Ironium—a new temporary resource.
• 11x permanent space camouflage patterns for Tier X ships: 9 of which will already be familiar to you from last year’s event, plus 2 new ones for X Hindenburg and X Shimakaze.
• Bionic permanent space camouflage patterns for researchable U.S. and French Tier VI–X cruisers, obtainable for doubloons. Camouflage patterns for Tier VI–IX ships can also be earned as rewards for completing Directives.
• Unusual achievements, bestowed for the demonstration of a variety of combat skills in the new battle modes.

The “Fly! Strike! Win!” Event

With Update 0.8.2, the final part of the “Fly! Strike! Win!” event begins. Its rules are similar to those of the previous parts, except for the difference that this time there is only one Stage consisting of four Directives, each comprising 10 missions. The event’s Directives will be unlocked on a weekly basis, and must be completed in a sequential order. Various in-game items, permanent space camouflage patterns for researchable U.S. and French Tier VI–IX heavy cruisers, and Naval Aviation containers are the rewards for completing its missions and Directives.

Premium aircraft carriers will also be available in the premium shop soon. Further details will be announced on our portal.

You can find one of the following rewards in each Naval Aviation container:

• A chance to get one of the following Premium aircraft carriers: VIII Graf Zeppelin, VIII Enterprise, VIII Saipan, and VIII Kaga. Each comes with a Port slot and Commander with 10 skill points.
• 2,000 Coal.
• 2x special signal flags of the same type (Dragon, Wyvern, Red Dragon, Ouroboros, Hydra, Basilisk, Scylla, or Leviathan).
• 3x Sci-Fi Space expendable camouflage patterns.

The Premium Shop will offer Naval Aviation Premium containers. You can find one of the following rewards in each of these:

• A chance to get one of the following Premium aircraft carriers: VIII Graf Zeppelin, VIII Enterprise, VIII Saipan, and VIII Kaga. Each comes with a Port slot and Commander with 10 skill points.
• 12,500 Coal.
• 20× special signal flags of the same type (Dragon, Wyvern, Red Dragon, Ouroboros, Hydra, Basilisk, Scylla, Leviathan).
• 20× Sci-Fi Space expendable camouflage patterns.

If you already have the aircraft carrier you find in the container in your Port, you’ll receive the full cost of the ship in doubloons as compensation.

Duration

After the release of Update 0.8.2, all Crowns received in 0.8.1 will be converted into Florins at the exchange rate of 1:8. Florins can be exchanged for credits, signal flags, Warships Premium Account, and Union Jack expendable camouflages in the temporary category of the “Fly! Strike! Win!” event. Please note that British aircraft carriers will no longer be available in this category.

If you regularly log in to the game during the period from April 12 through April 26, you can claim the following rewards in the Daily Shipments section: credits, Sci-Fi Space camouflage, Warships Premium Account, doubloons, and Naval Aviation containers. You can get a total of 10 rewards, while the shipments are available for 14 days. Thus, you can skip 4 days out of two weeks and still claim all of the available rewards!

Aircraft Carriers

Early access to the carriers is finally coming to an end, and British aircraft carriers are taking their official place in the Tech Tree. Those ships already familiar to players from the previous update will be supplemented with researchable Tier X aircraft carrier X Audacious. She can boast of her aircraft’s combat efficiency being the most impressive in the game. Her attack aircraft and bombers carry a large number of rockets and bombs, and the converging torpedo cone of her torpedo bombers enable them to accurately attack the enemy’s bow or stern when fully aimed, in addition to their broadsides.

More details about X Audacious and other British aircraft carriers are available in a dedicated article.

Our work on enhancing the aircraft carrier interface continues:

• The main interface mode displays flight number indicators, current maximum number of aircraft in a squadron, and their status. A filled green indicator denotes a fully equipped flight. This mode allows players to quickly and easily assess whether a complete squadron can be launched, how many flights it includes, and how many attacks can be carried out.
• The alternative mode shows the current and maximum number of aircraft of each type, as well as the time left until a new aircraft appears on deck. This mode enables the assessment of the total number of aircraft of various types, without dividing them into squadrons and flights.

The Alt key is used for displaying the alternative interface mode by default.

The displayed aircraft HP indicators are now divided by flights. This enables players to better assess the number of attacks a particular squadron might be capable of carrying out.

When used on aircraft, the Radio Location Commander skill made it easy to find and follow destroyers, thereby depriving them of their main advantage—concealment. In order to reduce the excessive influence of aircraft carriers on the detectability of destroyers, the effects of the Radio Location skill will no longer affect squadrons. With the changes in detectability range by air that were introduced in Update 0.8.0.3, the spotting destroyers has become even harder not only for ships, but for aircraft as well. If you have an aircraft carrier-specialized Commander who has mastered the Radio Location skill, it will be reset with the Update’s release and the Commander will receive 4 skill points. This will enable you to reallocate these points.

Any attempt to direct a squadron through the common AA defense ranges of several ships is a sure way to lose aircraft in vain. To solve this problem, we’ve implemented a method of non-linear addition of the continuous damage caused by AA guns. In Update 0.8.2, damage dealt to a squadron in the AA defense range of a single ship remains unchanged. In cases when the number of ships sharing a field of AA fire increases, the continuous damage caused to the squadron will be lower than the total sum, but still much higher than the damage from any one of them. This new feature makes it possible to attack a group of several ships, without devaluing the benefits of ships cooperating in defense against air strikes.

A bug has been fixed which affected the detectability range of ships by air in the Local Weather. This bug decreased the “Detectability Range by Air” parameter by 90% with AA defenses disabled, which made the detection of such ships almost impossible. Now, the Local Weather will not affect detectability range by air.

Please note: with the release of Update 0.8.2, the option in the Inventory section to exchange researchable aircraft carriers for XP and credits, or Premium aircraft carriers for doubloons, will cease to be available.

Improved Port Interface and Service Record

Our work on the Port interface continues, and in Update 0.8.2. we’ve reworked the banners on the left-hand side. They are now more compact and unified.

A Service Record banner displaying your progress and the soonest-arriving new game features has been added. After playing your first 35 battles on the account, this banner will be minimized. If your progress is blocked for unsporting conduct, the banner will display the relevant message in regard to this.

To free up some space for information relevant to players, we’ve also updated the panel in the upper-left part of the Port. The server name and number of players have been moved to the main menu, which is opened with the ESC key. These have been replaced with the Port selection button and insignia transfered from the Service Record section of the profile.

Some of the menu items displayed upon clicking the nickname have been removed as they were duplicated in other parts of the interface. Now only the “Purchase Premium”, “Invite a Friend”, “Inventory”, and “News” items remain.

The following changes have been introduced in the Service Record section of the profile, helping players track progress made and rewards earned:

• Changed the display of progress for unlocking new in-game features and rewards.
• You can select an in-game feature and check out its detailed description and associated video.
• The progress bar demonstrates the available rewards for various in-game achievements, as well as the player’s progress on the journey to acquiring them. Tips display the number of battles to be played to open a particular reward.

All of the interface changes mentioned above improve the visual perception of the Port, making it easier for players to navigate the various in-game features available to them.

Prior to Update 0.8.2, access to in-game features and rewards was determined by Service Record level, which in turn depended on the number of battles played. With the release of 0.8.2, the Service Record level gets removed, and the number of battles played will be counted directly to determine which in-game features are available to a particular player. At the same time, the number of battles required to gain access to each of the various in-game features remains the same. If any of them have already been unlocked, you won’t have to do so again.

Port Tips System for Newcomers

A chain of tips leading players to research and obtain a Tier II ship has been added for the convenience of new players.

These tips appear after you have played one battle, and on condition that you have enough experience and credits to research and obtain a ship. Upon the purchase of a Tier II ship or above, the tips disappear. A tip can be closed during the game session, and will reopen when visiting the Port again (including when entering from battle) or when restarting the game.

The tips are not shown if a player already has a Tier II ship or above in their Port.

Clan Battles: Cross-Server Matchmaker

Take part in Season 5 of Clan Battles!

Gaming sessions are available on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Please note that on the release days of any updates, no Clan Battles will be held.

Prime time in different regions:

• ASIA 12:00 – 15:30 UTC
• CIS 16:00 – 20:00 UTC
• EU 17:00 – 21:00 UTC
• NA 23:30 – 03:30 UTC

The rules of the “Land of Fire” season remained unchanged:

• Players will use Tier X ships.
• Teams of 7 ships, with a maximum of one battleship and no aircraft carriers allowed.
• There are 5 Leagues in the Rating system: Squall League, Gale League, Storm League, Typhoon League, and Hurricane League.

The Ratings of all Clans will be reset to standard values, but for the first battle played in each League (except for the Squall League) during the “North” Season, Clans will get 50 bonus points (up to a maximum of 200 points).

The main changes in the new Season focus on improvements of the matchmaking and map selection algorithm, as well as the introduction of the cross-server matchmaker.

The total number of rewards that players can earn remains almost the same, and the amount of Steel hasn’t changed—you’ll still have a chance to earn up to 11,000 of this valuable resource!

More details about Season 5 of Clan Battles are available in a dedicated article.

Arsenal Update

Due to significantly extended stock and increased functionality, the Arsenal is getting a new name—Armory.

The updated section will be stocked with 50 bundles containing Premium ships that can be obtained in exchange for doubloons. Some of these ships have been removed from the Tech Tree in order to put greater focus on researchable ships. In future, we are planning to increase the number of Premium ships available for doubloons in the Armory to provide you with a wider range of choice. All ships presented in this section come with a Port slot (included in the indicated price), and a Commander with 3 skill points.

We’ve equipped the Armory with filters for type, nation, tier, and required resources to simplify searching for the desired ships.

Starting from 0.8.2, new permanent camouflages that can be obtained for Copper or Molybdenum will be regularly added to the Armory. The resources required to obtain these will alternate with every update. In Update 0.8.2, destroyer IX Black will receive her new Marlin camouflage.

The camouflage bonuses:

• −3% to the ship’s detectability range by sea
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies attacking your ship
• +150% XP earned per battle
• +150% Free XP per battle
• +150% Commander XP per battle
• −20% to the cost of the ship’s post-battle service

Game Balance Changes

To make gameplay more convenient, the cruising speed of aircraft for all Tier IV aircraft carriers has been increased by 10%.

British Tier VI aircraft carrier Furious

• Changes to stock bombers:
  • The number of bombers in a flight has been increased from 1 to 2.
  • Aircraft restoration time has been reduced from 142 to 96 seconds.
  • The size of the crosshair ellipse at the moment of attack has been increased by 22%.
• Changes to researchable bombers:
  • The number of bombers in a flight has been increased from 1 to 2.
  • The size of the crosshair ellipse at the moment of attack has been increased by 30%.
• The torpedoes of researchable torpedo bombers have been replaced with the torpedoes of stock torpedo bombers:
  • Damage has been reduced from 5,930 to 5,200.
  • The chance of causing flooding has been reduced from 51% to 45%.

Your bombers can now carry out only 2 attacks instead of 4, but to balance this, each approach to your target will be more effective, and squadrons will spend a shorter amount of time under AA fire. The crosshair size has been increased in order to take into account the addition of a second aircraft to the flight, and an increase in the number of bombs dropped.

The torpedoes of researchable torpedo bombers have been replaced, as they previously demonstrated much better performance in comparison with other same-type ships. Besides that factor, this change compensates for the increased bomber damage.

Content Additions and Changes

Added the new Stream Dream camouflage, which can be received during official World of Warships streams.

The camouflage provides the following bonuses:

• −3% to the ship’s detectability range by sea
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by the enemy attacking your ship
• +100% Free XP per battle
• +20% credits earned per battle

Added a commemorative flag for aircraft carrier VIII Saipan, and the CV Armada flag that comes with purchasing a bundle containing all Premium aircraft carriers.

Added a patch granted for visiting official meetings of players held by the World of Warships team.

Added a patch for participants of the King of the Sea tournament, which will be granted for special achievements.

Japanese cruiser IX Azuma has been added to the Tech Tree, and is now available for 1,000,000 Free XP. Azuma carries 310 mm caliber guns, and stands out due to her weighty salvoes, enjoyable ballistics, and powerful Japanese HE shells. Everything aforementioned is supplemented with an impressive pool of hit points for a cruiser, as well as an additional charge and short reload time for the Repair Party consumable.

Performance Improvements

We’ve considered your feedback regarding the reported worsening of performance in battle, and conducted some research in this area. The obtained results enabled us to make the following improvements:

• We fixed an interface issue connected with processing a large number of elements. This was the root cause of single instances of extensive hanging, as well as a series of FPS drops.
• We fixed the icon update logic for instances of fire and flooding, as well as for damaged module icons. In some cases, the update logic of these had a significant negative impact on performance.

We also had to disable texture loading, the so-called texture streaming, in battle. This was due to its connection to identified streaming issues that were causing a sharp decline in performance. This change will have no effect on client stability. Streaming will certainly be brought back in the nearest updates so that we can continue to improve the quality of content.

All of the feedback we received from players has been carefully processed. For example, we checked the players’ theory of FPS drops being connected to the visual effects of AA defenses. Our investigations found the root cause to be different to what players suspected. The AA defense effects don’t have any considerable negative impact on performance, and the underlying reason for the problems experienced has been described above.

We would like to thank you all for your many summaries and bug reports, which helped us a great deal in identifying and solving these various issues.

Other Changes and Improvements

• Minor improvements to the geometry and textures of the following ships: IV Hermes, VIII Kagero, VIII Lightning, V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya, X Bourgogne, and VII Minsk.
• Adjusted the aircraft position on the decks of the following aircraft carriers: VIII Indomitable, VIII Graf Zeppelin, and VIII Enterprise.
• Added cities on the islands of the Ring and Shards maps.
• Removed researchable modules from Tier I ships. Bonuses provided by them are included in the ships’ parameters. 600 XP will be added to the relevant ships for each researched module, and 6,000 credits will be added for each purchased module.
• Increased the chance that a random researchable ship of the same tier and type can appear opposite a player’s ship in Co-op Battles in place of a similar ship.

Fixed Bugs

• Fixed an issue when the game client froze at the authorization stage if the Internet connection was lost in the process of logging in.
• Fixed a bug with displaying the cost of consumable auto-resupply.
• Added an alternative permanent camouflage color scheme for cruiser VI Leander.
• Fixed a bug when the icon didn’t change after selecting another battle type in the Summary section of the profile.
• Fixed a bug causing fighters to disappear if the flight they followed delivered an attack.
• Fixed an issue with the incorrect display of the deepwater torpedo icon in the interface in battle.
• Fixed an issue with the incorrect description of the Defensive Fire consumable: removed irrelevant information about the reduction of bombers’ and torpedo bombers’ accuracy of attack.
• Fixed an issue with the incorrect names of aircraft on aircraft carriers VIII Enterprise and VIII Shokaku.
• The section with damage caused by aircraft on the battle results screen is now displayed only for aircraft carriers.
• Fixed an issue when 113 mm caliber guns weren’t taken into account in the long action range of aircraft carrier VIII Indomitable’s AA defenses.
• Now squadrons correctly spot all enemy structures in the Killer Whale operation.
• Output of the voice chat sound is directed to the device by default.
• Fixed a bug when application of the last charge of the Fighter consumable didn’t work.
• Fixed a bug causing falling bombs to miss the crosshair when dropped during turns made by flights.
• Fixed a bug when the rudder position change wasn’t updated on the rudder indicator while the automatic collision avoidance system was operating.
• Fixed an issue with the incorrect description of destroyer X Daring in the Tech Tree: indicated the correct caliber of her main battery guns (113 mm).
• Fixed a bug when the aircraft Boost could work longer in cases where the W/S keys were pressed frequently.
• Now, all achievements are displayed in full screen when all of them are received.
• Fixed an issue with the incorrect display of aircraft crosshairs in situations where skills and upgrades influence an aircraft’s speed.
• The New icon is no longer displayed if the player doesn’t have access to the features within.
• Fixed a bug causing fire and smoke effects on ships to disappear.

Greetings Tankers! 

We recently had a stream featuring a developer QnA here. Please find below the English translated transcript with all the info brought up and enjoy the read!: 

Key Notes from Big Stream with Devs & Bloggers

WoT Classic:

We wanted to give players a taste of this “classic” game for quite a while.

The client is beyond old (~9 years), it’s not optimized and doesn’t support modern technology. Not surprisingly, it went down some 30 minutes after we launched an event. The team spent an entire day reanimating it. We added extra server capacity and it should be all good now. Everyone should be able to enjoy the “classic” tanks: being one shot from arty, burning tanks, etc.

We’re excited to hear your thoughts on Classic. We didn’t launch it purely as a fun April Fool’s Day prank. It’s an experiment and a testing ground for us to check several ideas (e.g., limiting the amount of Gold) and we want to hear what you like and don’t like to decide on our next steps here.

What’s next for artillery? During the previous stream, you told that should changes prove inefficient you would reverse arty to its previous stage. It’s believed to fail in fulfilling the role you designed for it and became even more toxic and damaging because of stun mechanics.

We aren’t going to remove stun mechanics altogether. It would lower its damage per battle, while also increasing damage per shot. Having it with stun in-game keeps players from grouping into packs and being inactive. It forces them to spread, change positions. Essentially, it makes the overall experience livelier due to its psychologically discouraging effect, stun and damage. That’s how it fulfils its design purpose. It needs to be toxic, the question is “how toxic is too toxic.” That’s what we’re working on atm.

Instead of removing stun, we’re working on improving it. The 3-step stun revision plan has been revealed already and will soon get tested: https://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/general-news/SPG-rebalance/ . 

The first step is lowering the effect of stun on vehicles that are already stunned: any further stun for them is going to be reduced by ½. Simultaneously, we plan to change minimum stun duration and the distribution of damage from the splash depending on the distance from the tank to the centre of the explosion.  Should this first step work, we’ll proceed to the second one and then there’s the third and most drastic step that involves returning AP shells. The latter, however, will work differently than regular AP. The plan is to give players choice between damage that’s lower, covers a larger area and has splash effect enabling damaging several targets or an AP damage that is likely to send an enemy back in the Garage but also has higher risks of missing the target.

Timeline for revision: Step 1 is coming to an end atm. If all goes well, we’ll delay steps 2 and 3 until further changes are necessary for the balance of artillery.

The only issue that’s particularly toxic about stun is the ability to continuously stun an opponent and thus make them useless for their team for an entire battle. That’s what we plan to fix with the upcoming revision.

When we introduced stun, we lowered the single-shell damage for arty. The thing is that now stun stops a vehicle thus increasing a chance to get another stun, which in turn leads to artillery inflicting the same amount of damage per battle as before the introduction of stun. The difference is the inability to one shot a vehicle. This total damage per battle needs to be lowered for arty. The inability to keep an opponent continuously stunned should help with this.

Will you revise personal battle missions simultaneously with arty rebalance?

It’s impossible to do those two things simultaneously. First, we need to collect stats on rebalanced artillery for at least four weeks of stats and a further week of analysis and then some additional time to change mission conditions (not much here). So, the overall turnaround is one update in the positive scenario and two in negative.

Will you reduce the number of artillery per battle?

No, we won’t reduce the number of SPGs per battle. Statistically, 10% of battles are played without arty at all, around 30% have one SPG, another 30% with two SPGs, and another 30%– with three SPGs. Let’s say we limit SPGs to two per battle, then there will be zero battles with no arty, around 10% with one artillery and the rest with two artillery. It would be worse than what we have right now: an average of less than 2 artillery per battle.

We’re also looking closely at Ranked Battles and there is usually two artillery per battle there. The mode is slower and more fit for arty, so we’re fine with it. However, it led to changes in hit maps and battle “choreography.” If you look at how a Random and a Ranked battle unfolds on the very same maps, the difference is drastic.

Are plans to tackle team damage issues, both involving arty and in general?

We tried it disabling team damage in Frontline and now plan larger testing. If it works out, chances are high that team damage will be disabled for good in the 2^nd half of 2019.

Gold shell and ammo prices. You promised to change a year ago, yet nothing happened.

Within around two months, we’ll test Gold shell rebalances in Sandbox. We’ll start with their technical parameters and then revise its pricing. If core gameplay with revised parameters satisfies players and us (i.e., +/-2 battles are comfortable), we’ll continue with pricing.

The ammo rebalance will lead to battle setup changes. How will you regulate it?

First, we need to see how they’ll change. That’s what we’ll do in Sandbox. The testing, as we see it now, will feature either across all tiers or IV-X. We liked the results from Supertest, which is why we’re proceeding with a bigger testing phase now.

However, from experience, Supertest results aren’t always representative. Testers don’t have time to digest changes. The very same people playing in very same conditions for a longer period of time often have different, sometimes completely opposite judgements on changes. So, let’s wait for bigger testing and get back to this topic after it.

What will you do with tanks who become insufficient when played without Gold shells?

When rebalance occurs, it’s likely to involve all shells, not just Gold ones, as well as armour, ammo group, and economics. It’s going to be a set of comprehensive changes. We’ll offer players a setup we have in mind on Sandbox or during an event, like Classic, and listen to the reaction to the change.

Maps Blacklist and returning old maps.

Blacklist is in the finishing development stage atm. With blacklisting, you’ll be able to choose one map that you don’t want to play on. This way you won’t get it. If you’re playing in Platoon and your Commander blacklisted a map, you won’t get it as well.

We see how positive players are about Frontline. It needs more new maps. That’s why we’re focused on adding new rather than reworking old. The only exception is Kharkov.

Bug fixing:

• We’re reworking map collision models to fix the bug when a player can damage an enemy tank by literally shooting in the air.
• “Jumpy aim” bug – when targeting a hill that has nothing behind it, your aim would go upwards or remain where it should be, yet a shell would go upwards. There is work towards fixing this.

Matchmaker

Map blacklist can’t happen with the current mm setup. So first we need to revise matchmaking, which is already happening (tests in EU and Asia). The global mm revision is scheduled for April 3rd. It’s going to be a seamless switch, no patches or extra downloads for players.

The revised matchmaker should improve the experience for Premium tanks with preferential matchmaking and mid-tiers (VI and VII), provide for more even team setups, and more.

Mods & Anonymizer

The mod that allows players to see your nickname and stats – We have a concept for fixing it. One variant here is similar to the Fog of War on the Global Map. However, we need to study the aftermath of the case when all players choose to anonymize their name and stats. We’ll be working on it and release a certain version of the solution this year. We can’t confirm that it’s going to be final.

We aren’t planning to block XVM.

Commander’s Camera, collision model, force multiplier factor and deflection shift for sniper aim – are all in backlog. Small improvements require just as much time and effort as big ones, especially in terms of QA. Every improvement has several interdependencies and can have a domino effect. So, we need to make sure we aren’t breaking something bigger with a small fix to something else.

Prohibited mods: Ban waves will continue. Yes, we view them as an efficient method to reduce the number of cheaters. We’re also considering a comprehensive program solution to make using mods technically impossible. For example, signing for mods, inability to install mods without an approval, closing battle interface. We’ll be testing these, whether publicly or in silent mode.

The current client architecture doesn’t allow to fully close it.

Voice chat in-game

We didn’t work on it in the last few years, because of two things: 1. A lot of third-party solutions came to be so there’s a choice. 2, we have fully outsourced this service to a provider: Vivox.

eSports

The old eSports format simply didn’t work. World of Tanks gameplay isn’t fit for eSports, and it can only exist through huge investments that don’t pay off. We limited competitive to regional 3×3 and 7×7 tournaments and Clan Skirmishes. If we see that this regional tournament ecosystem is booming and creating the necessary foundation to re-establish a pro league, we’ll work on it.

When we started working on eSports, we chose to do it ourselves: organize events, manage contacts, etc. We simply didn’t know how to work with big eSports companies. Eventually, we started working with the likes of ESL and StarLadder. We watched the performance for quite some time and realized that it’s not growing natively and would only exist through investment, providing niche entertainment.

We accepted that we chose the wrong way initially and made a difficult decision to close eSports division, re-channelling recourses and money into improving core gameplay.

We are looking into an option of solo eSports within player personal achievements. Here we worked with Rostelekom, launched Tank Aces, Blogger Battle. We see potential in such an approach and will continue working in this direction.

eSports broadcasts that don’t have paid traffic and marketing can’t compete with Random Battles streams from key streamers.

Tournament functionality remains and is being worked on together with key steamers. We received feedback in August. The technical task was prepared and handed over to developers. Currently in backlog, we haven’t started on it yet because there are higher priority improvements.

Wheeled vehicles in Random Battles & Frontline

We’re working to adjust Frontline to wheeled vehicles and swift Light Tanks. Changes will be rolled out to a separate cluster for testing. Should they work out, we’ll introduce them for all other clusters.

For Random Battles, there are not enough stats for top-tier wheeled tanks yet. We’ll continue gathering them and watch closely how the battle duration and wheeled vehicles ratio in battles change. The SPG rebalances in 9.18 taught us to accurately measure the response of different audience segments (in-game behaviour and stats) and approach each change iteratively. Now we have a sound monitoring system that allows us to track how wheeled vehicles perform in-game and how they affect gameplay overall. Should there be an imbalance, we’ll step in to fix it.

Wheeled vehicles won’t get nerfed until we gather enough stats to prove it’s necessary. The charge mechanics will not be brought back.

Rebalances of Type 4 Heavy, the Type 5 Heavy, and the FV4005

Both Japanese heavies will have the stats of their top guns (14-cm and 15-cm) tweaked:

• Rounds will increase in armour penetration (from 249 mm to 252 mm for the standard shell and from 282 mm to 290 mm for the special shell).
• The damage of the 15-cm cannon basic HE round will decrease from 1,100 to 900 points, and the special round will change from HE to HESH
• Armour penetration will increase to 192 mm and damage will decrease from 1,400 to 750 points.
• The top Japanese heavy will become more mobile, gaining 4 km/h in the top forward speed, 3 km/h in top reverse speed, and 3 degrees in hull traverse rate.
• Its specific power will grow, and gun dispersion on the move and while turning will decrease.

These stat adjustments are to lessen the HE damage share in the overall output of the top Japanese heavies, without revising these vehicles’ basic concept. The changes will make the 15-cm gun less efficient, especially against high-tier adversaries. At the same time, the alternate gun will fare better, in part because of the general changes to the parameters of the Tier X tank, and players will have a more substantial choice between the two playstyles

FV 4005:

• The top forward speed will decrease (from 35 km/h to 32 km/h), and the top reverse will drop from 12 km/h to 8 km/h.
• The same will happen to the engine power (down to 850 hp from 950 hp) and the hull traverse rate (down to 26 degrees from 30 degrees).
• The gun itself will have less accuracy (with dispersion upped from 0.38 to 0.42) and will take longer to aim (3.7 seconds vs 3 seconds).

With these adjustments implemented, the FV 4005 will retain its key feature—HESH shells with high armour penetration allowing for colossal alpha—with the overall effectiveness of the vehicle decreasing only slightly. The FV 4005 will continue to be a mighty combatant able to take out an enemy with a single strike, yet it will need more time to prepare that shot.

Perks Rebalance

• Rebalance of perks that grew outdated and/or never were really popular will involve either replacing them with other perks or changing how a perk works.
• Granting six sense to all tank commanders by default
• Ability to store and pass over Crew experience
• Redesign of Crew UI
• Most likely, removal of Barracks, if it proves possible

We’re leaning towards leaving just one Commander for a tank who’ll represent an entire crew. However, it’s just a concept as of now. Right now, we don’t have an answer on how to rework and reimburse players who poured money and time into training Crew members.

Crew re-training

This was designed to avoid storing all data on player’s crews and tanks, which is pricy and won’t be in high demand.

High-level content. What to do when you finished the game? (researched and unlocked and upgraded every tank to top modifications)

Within two years, we’ll present something that would satisfy those who’ve “finished” the game.

At the same time, we’re working on evolving Clan Wars metagame (added Alliances). We have a “Game of Thrones”-ish idea for it that is in the works, too.

The reworked Ranked Battles will become a regular event mode:

• A new system of ranks
• Experience will be calculated differently (and if this new system for experience works it’ll make its way to Random Battles)
• New rewards for most efficient players
• More opportunities to spend bonds

Bonds

Following the next backend Shop update, players will be able to buy tanks with Bonds. There will be no sales for Bonds consumables. There are plans for alternative ways to earn Bonds.

What tanks are going to get nerfed? What buffed?

We need to test ammo rebalances first. All vehicle changes depend on this test.

Historical Battles; will their return?

Soon we’ll launch a historical event built around WWII. It’ll feature PvE.

“Challenges” – Chain mission events.

Current missions within “Challenge” events offer near perfect balance:

• Highly skilled players succeed in missions and get a new premium tank for free
• Average players make certain progress in missions and buy a premium at a lower price
• Those who want to buy it, buy it right away at full price

Rapid-Fire Q&A

• “Mastery meter” – There’ll be a visual “mastery meter” that a player could have on their vehicle. Not in 2019
• Training Room for one person – No, as it adds just as much load on the server as a regular battle.
• Testing a Premium tank before purchasing it – no such plans
• Server replays – not in the nearest future, they’re in development but the progress is non-existent. Server-side issue: Every server update efficiently wipes all replays, and we need to figure out what to do with it. Client-side issue: To replay a past battle, vehicles and map geometry should be exactly the same as they were when the battle occurred, otherwise they’ll be odd bugs.
• Mechanic to restore vehicles that get stuck or turn over – Not a massive issue; will return to it after resolving the issue with friendly fire. We’ll consider making an indicator to inform teammates in the team list.
• No voice chat in Random Battles
• Why fun modes aren’t fun? – We were learning to make PvE. The two Halloween modes helped us with it. We didn’t intend to make it grindy, we are just making steps towards making solid PvE.
• We’re working on Battle Royale mode.
• 3D customization – It’s pricy and time-consuming, but we’ll continue to add new sets.
• Rebalances for Tiers VI–VIII – Ammo rebalances first, then we proceed with these. The revised mm should improve the experience for Tiers VI-VIII: they won’t be matched to the bottom of the list so often.
• Battle of Bloggers – It’ll return again but in a slightly different format
• No changes to chat and friend lists in 2019
• Will +/-25% get removed? – No.

Greetings Tankers! 

The World of Tanks servers will be unavailable on 03.04.2019 from 06:00 – 06:45 CEST due to a micro-patch.

Please also keep in mind, that due to the actualisation:

Clan Portal will be unavailable from 06:00 CEST 28.03.2019 till 06:45 CEST 03.04.2019

Thank you for your patience and understanding, 

eek. 

Commanders!

After a huge number of tests, both open and closed, and an especially successful open test in the European region, we are ready to launch the new matchmaker globally. On 3 April 2019, you’ll be able to fully appreciate how the updated matchmaker changes battles quality for the better and makes World of Tanks more enjoyable than ever!     

New Matchmaking: What’ll Be Different?

Let us briefly recall how the improved matchmaker will now assemble battles. Our main goals are:

• To reduce the number of battles with machines two-tiers higher (especially for Tier VI and VIII vehicles) and redistribute them into battles with tanks of the same tier and one-tier lower
• To make battles more enjoyable for Premium Vehicles with preferential matchmaking. Now those of you who have these machines in your Garage will be less frequently getting matched with vehicles one-tier higher and more often with adversaries of the same tier and one-tier lower  

We’ll achieve these goals by adding dynamic templates that can quickly adapt to the queue evolution, for both two-tier and three-tier battles. Here is a preliminary list of dynamic templates, which we’re introducing:

• 7-8, 6-9, and 4-11 for two-tier battles
• 4-5-6 and 4-4-7 for three-tier battles

The 3-5-7 and the 5-10 systems are also possible, but you’ll face them less frequently – for example, if the queue structure is non-standard. This can happen if there are too many vehicles of the same class or specific machines in the queue. For example, if there are some battle missions specifically for TDs, and TDs make up 50%+ of all vehicles in the queue.

What Will Happen to The Waiting Time?

Just like we outlined previously, the waiting time for solo players may slightly increase and will depend on the current situation in the queue. The waiting time for Platoons may increase a bit more, but the enjoyment in each battle should also increase. Most likely, you won’t notice a significant difference in the queuing time compared with the previous version of the matchmaker.

We’re confident that new dynamic templates will make battles more enjoyable for all of you. Roll into battle and share your feedback, it’s crucial for the further improvement of the matchmaker!

Commanders!

With April, comes a new Top of the Tree. This month, the French AMX 50 B shines under the spotlight. But where does this tank come from? Let’s dive into its fascinating backstory right now.

The Hope of a Generation

After World War II, the French army had no modern tanks in its arsenal. But France had great ambitions and wanted to take back its seat in the political game of chess. In that regard, the nation wanted to reinforce its military industry, and thus put its hopes into the development of a medium tank. As such, France was one of the first nations to abandon the concept of heavy tanks.

The vehicle in December 1945 with the name of ‘AMX M4’

Companies like Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM), Lorraine, Somua, Renault and of course, Ateliers de Construction d’Issy-Les-Moulineaux (AMX) pitched their plans, and the latter won the competition. At the time, they didn’t know they were embarking on a journey almost a decade and a half long.

A Difficult Childhood 

The story started in 1945 with a tank named Char AMX 45, also known as Projet 141 or NOM 141. Its first draft is dated from August, with 120 mm of frontal armour (lower frontal armour = 50 mm) and 50 to 60 mm on the sides. The turret was 110 mm thick, the sides 30 mm. By the end of that month, however, it was already redone. From 1946 to 1948, the vehicle drastically changed from one version to another. At some point, it looked like a distant cousin of the Tiger II. It often went above the 50-ton limit as well, depending on its armour thickness and armament. 

The vehicle by the beginning of 1949

In March 1949, a major breakthrough was achieved. An oscillating turret designed by the FAMH company was introduced to the AMX tank development. By the end of that year, the tank was finally done. Unfortunately, it was already too late. The army wasn’t satisfied with its default 90 mm gun.

Early Buzz

As a result, in 1950, the prototype received a stronger cannon, of 100 mm. It was strong enough to impress the French army. Two new vehicles were built, with reworked oscillating turrets. They weighed 55 tons, and one of them was actually presented to a French regiment stationed in Germany. Things started to look good for the AMX 50.

The two AMX 50 prototypes in 1951, during the French National Day parade

Even better, on 14 July 1951, the two prototypes paraded through the street of Paris to celebrate the French National Day, where they caught the eye of the Swedish military, as they were working on the Emil project. But another country was also interested in the AMX 50: the United States of America. They were so curious about it that France agreed to provide their first prototype for testing from December 1951 to March 1953.

First Deceptions 

Unfortunately, American tests highlighted the problems of the AMX. This vehicle was an engineering gem, but its unusual turret was too vulnerable – one lucky shot and it would be jammed. The excitement stopped there, and the French company was back to the drawing board stage. A new gallery of variants was pitched. It featured a 70-ton version and prototypes with lighter turrets or bigger guns, like a 120 mm cannon. 

AMX 50 with a 120 mm gun, in 1950

Putting such a boomstick on the AMX 50 turned out to be a complicated move. The tank was almost 60 tons heavy now, and about 3.50 m high, which is actually taller than the Maus! So in 1953, AMX decided to work on a flatter version of the vehicle, called ‘Surbaissé’.

From Medium to Heavy?

But, in a surprising twist, this variant was put aside to work on a heavily armoured one called ‘Surblindé‘. And yes, you’re still learning about the story of a medium tank! Ignoring previous signs, the AMX company worked on this version until the combat mass of the vehicle reached almost 58 tons. And as you can imagine, bigger guns and stronger armour didn’t save the AMX 50 from its problems. The bigger it got, the less reliable it was.

AMX 50 Surbaissé on trial in 1958

AMX took another 5 years before going back to the lowered version. By then, it was already too late for the tank. Its last documents are dated from January 1959. Back then, the Soviet heavy tanks were supposed to be its main rivals, but they would have eaten it for breakfast. Now, the latest model of the AMX 50 is parked in the tank museum of Saumur, where you can admire it in its full tallish glory.          

Commanders!

Soon, we will have an exclusive offer for you, and an unusual one at that. For once, you will be rewarded for spending your shiny coins. From 3 April at 07:00 to 4 April at 07:00 CEST (UTC+2), log into the game, spend Credits, and receive free Premium Account time on top of your purchases.

• Spend at least 1,000,000 and get 1 day of Premium Account
• Spend at least 2,000,000 and get 2 days of Premium Account
• Spend at least 3,000,000 and get 3 days of Premium Account
• Spend at least 5,000,000 and get 7 days of Premium Account

Every Credit will count*, from ammunition and new tanks to repair costs. And, of course, with crews to train, vehicles and modules to unlock, cosmetics to stock and consumables and equipment to mount, we’re pretty sure you’ll find something worthy of your Credits.Once you’ve spent your Credits within the timeframe above, your reward will be credited to your account on 5 April and you will receive your Premium Account time simply by logging in. 

If you don’t claim your bonus before 10 April, it will be applied automatically.

You can receive a maximum of 7 days of Premium Account time – the rewards cannot be accumulated.

*Careful: credits used to restore a previously sold Premium Tank won’t be taken into account.

Roll out and happy shopping, commanders!

3 New flags were added to the game client this patch, as well as one was replaced.

CV Armada – This flag is included in a bundle for all premium CV’s in one package.

Saipan – Commemorative Flag for players who purchase the large bundle for US Premium carrier Saipan

Carnival – A flag that is rewarded to players who participated in the Maskarado event that was held last March.

Atlanta – Commemorative flag for the premium ship Atlanta originally added in 0.8.1.0 has been updated.

~IGN: Shipmaster_Crook [NA]