Commanders!
We are happy to announce another addition to Armored Warfare – Update 0.21 "Eye of the Storm!
This update is bringing both new content – including the long-awaited new progression vehicles, a new PvP map and existing map overhauls – as well as a large number of changes and improvements of Balance 2.0 game mechanics and corrections of bugs. Here are some of the main features that await you:
- New Progression Vehicles
- Waterway PvP Map
- PvP Map Overhauls
- Ammunition Changes
- Economy Changes
- Garage UI Improvements
- Visual Enhancement Program
New Progression Vehicles
In Update 0.21, we are introducing a series of Czechoslovak and Polish vehicles. It consists of Tier 6 to Tier 10 vehicles of AFV, TD and LT classes that are bringing new mechanics currently unique to this branch, such as the Spike-LR fire-and-forget guided missile system. The branch consists of both tracked and wheeled vehicles, which all have excellent firepower (often with very high rate of fire) and mobility for their respective tiers.
BVP Šakal – Tier 6 Armored Fighting Vehicle
The Šakal (“Jackal”) is an experimental AFV produced by Excalibur Army, a Czech military vehicle and equipment producer to replace the BVP-2 in Czech service. A prototype was built and underwent trials but was ultimately not selected to become the next mass-produced Czech IFV. It is, however, currently offered to foreign customers for export. The Šakal is armed with the 30mm 2A42 cannon and a Spike missile launcher.
KTO Rosomak – Tier 7 Armored Fighting Vehicle
Originally a Finnish modular design by Patria, the Rosomak (“Wolverine”) is a standard wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle of the Polish Land Forces, replacing the old OT-64. Licensed production in Poland started in 2002 and the vehicle already participated in combat operations during the War in Afghanistan. Production is expected to continue until 2019. The Rosomak does not carry any missiles but is armed with an exceptionally powerful 30mm Bushmaster autocannon.
KTO Rosomak M1M – Tier 8 Armored Fighting Vehicle
An improved version of the Rosomak based on the combat experience from Afghanistan. The vehicle features significantly enhanced protection in form of a modular armor system as well as anti-RPG mesh screens by Qinetiq. The Rosomak is armed with an exceptionally powerful 30mm Bushmaster autocannon as well as with a Spike missile launcher.
WPB Anders – Tier 9 Light Tank
The Anders universal platform was developed as the means to provide the Polish army with an entire family of vehicles, ranging from an IFV to a powerful Light Tank that was to replace the actual Main Battle Tanks in the Polish army. This line of thought was, however, discontinued, as was the development of the Anders platform, although it recently appeared again under a different name. In Armored Warfare, the Anders is represented by a Light Tank variant with a powerful 120mm cannon.
Wilk XC-8 – Tier 10 Tank Destroyer
The Wilk (“Wolf”) is a prototype fire support vehicle based on the Rosomak chassis. It was developed as a fire support vehicle for the infantry formations carried by Rosomaks. Its initial 105mm cannon model failed to catch the Polish attention due to incompatible gun caliber, which led to an upgrade in the form of the XC-8 turret, carrying a 120mm gun. The Wilk XC-8 was unveiled to public in 2015 but it was not adopted by the Polish military either, despite its excellent performance.
Please note that more low-tier Polish and Czech vehicles of the branch will be introduced in the future. Additionally, we are adding a new Tier 8 Chinese Main Battle Tank to the end of the Zhang Feng Chinese MBT line. Further high-Tier vehicles will follow.
Type 99 – Tier 8 Main Battle Tank
The Type 99 is a Chinese Main Battle Tank, blending both western technologies and eastern influence. It is also the most advanced Main Battle Tank of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In Chinese service, approximately 700-800 Type 99s of several variants have been built since 2001 and its production seems to continue still.
Waterway PvP Map
No matter what shape the world is in, one thing will never change – the trade must flow. And few places on the planet are as important for world trade as the Panama Canal. Recently, several rogue corporations hired an unscrupulous band of mercenaries to take over the channel to pillage the ships passing through Panama’s massive waterway to drive the already exorbitant commodity prices even higher. Put an end to that, commander!
The Waterway is a brand new PvP map, coming to Armored Warfare in Update 0.21. With its 1300x1300 size, it offers all sorts of terrain for players to use to their advantage.
PvP Map Overhauls
For Update 0.21, we have overhauled two older maps for the needs of Balance 2.0 gameplay – Roughneck and Narrows! Open the gallery to view the screenshots.
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Update 0.20 Version
Update 0.21 Version
Additionally, both maps will be optimized for better performance and will receive their respective Global Operations versions.
Ammunition Changes
Over the last weeks, we have evaluated the results of the abovementioned changes and have identified several issues with the Balance 2.0 system. These include:
- In some cases, the shell damage is difficult to predict due to the complexity of the damage bonus system and its interaction with damage-enhancing and damage-reducing elements such as the Spall Liner for example
- In some cases, the penetration or non-penetration of shells is unpredictable as even vehicles with very thin armor can under certain circumstances withstand high-caliber fire that should be reasonably expected to penetrate and cause damage
- Low-tier HEAT shells are sometimes exceedingly powerful while high-tier HEAT shells are less useful than we’d like them to be with kinetic shells being superior in most situations
- The penetration indicator is in some cases unreliable – shells can sometimes bounce off armor that is marked as green for example
Some of these issues go directly against our vision for the shell type roles. To improve the shell situation and to bring it closer to the abovementioned intent, we will be introducing several changes in Update 0.21.
Read more about them in a dedicated article!
Economy Changes
One of the topics that are hotly debated amongst players and developers alike is the Armored Warfare game economy – specifically, the rewards and their relation to in-game prices and costs. In this article, we’d like to give you an overview of our plans for the future of Armored Warfare economy.
Update 0.19 and Update 0.20 both brought significant changes to many Armored Warfare mechanics, including those that had major impact on the game’s economy. Time to kill, hitpoint amount, shell damage and armor layout – they all influenced it to a degree. After the launch of Update 0.20, we took a long hard look at the game’s economy itself as well as the player feedback on it and decided to introduce a number of changes.
Our goal is not to slow down the game progression, but to introduce a system where both the player contribution to the battle and the personal performance are justly rewarded.
Read more about them in a dedicated article!
Additional Garage UI Improvements
Update 0.21 is bringing further improvements to the new Garage User Interface, introduced in Update 0.20. These improvements include:
- New Vehicle Customization Window
- New Dealer Window
- New Daily Challenge Window with rebalanced Challenges
- New Battle Result window with the added option to share your results on social media
- New Low-Requirement Garage for lower-end PCs
- A large number of smaller changes designed to improve the UI experience based on player feedback
Further improvements to the Garage UI will be added in the future.
Visual Enhancement Program
In Update 0.21, we are taking the first steps to improve the graphics of Armored Warfare, including the vehicle model look and feel. Significant graphics updates will come in future updates, but the improved lighting system represents the beginning of the Visual Enhancement Program. At the same time, we are introducing several optimizations that will improve the game’s performance on lower-end PCs.
List of 0.21 Changes - Basic Update
Minimal Settings Garage
We added a new, minimalistic garage for all players who play Armored Warfare on weaker PCs. This garage offers higher FPS than the standard one. It can be enabled in the Settings Window.
Economy Changes
We are introducing the economy changes, described in the earlier Developer Diary. These changes include:
- Correction of the loot crate drop rate in GLOPS in relation to the new reward system
- Spotting reward is now awarded even if the line of sight between the spotter and the target gets broken
- Target spotting rewards are now only applied the first time a target gets spotted
PvP reward changes include:
- Damage reward (before taking Tier bonus and multipliers into account) in PvP is increased by 50% (from 1 to 1.5 credits per damage unit)
- Players no longer receive Credits for kills and immobilization
- Base reward for spotting reduced to 108 Credits
- Base reward for winning is now 1728 Credits, the PvP victory Credit multiplier is removed
- Team damage penalty increased to 3 Credits per damage unit
- Target spotting rewards are now only applied the first time a target gets spotted
The idea behind these changes is to make the reward system simpler. Additionally, we have increased the base reputation income for killing an opponent to 56. PvP players will, however, no longer receive any rewards for the following actions:
- Killing enemy crewmembers
- Launching smoke grenades
- Destroying enemy vehicle modules
- Assistance
- Assist, kill or spotting streaks
Read more about the economy changes in our In Development article.
Ammunition Changes
We’ve also changed the way HESH ammunition works. Upon impact, when it comes to penetration calculation, the shell will no longer consider the impact angle if it is lower than 60 degrees. If it’s higher than 60 degrees, effective armor will be taken into account. Ricochet angle increased to 85 degrees.
Additionally, penetrating thick armor will reduce the damage significantly while penetrating thin armor will allow players to deal a lot of damage with this type of shell. The damage is also significantly reduced when the shell detonates at some distance from the armor. If the distance is higher than 25cm, the shell deals no damage. The fragmentation diameter upon penetration (inside the vehicle) was also increased – earlier it used to be a cone with 15 degrees angle from the shell axis, this angle was now increased to 45 degrees. As a result, this type of shell is really good for destroying modules and crews, but is also sensitive to impact angle.
Additional changes include:
- Changed the HE penetration values, now it scales with shell caliber (the higher the caliber, the higher the penetration)
- HEAT shell damage and penetration of all shells rebalanced to correspond to their new role (some tanks receive extremely powerful HEAT shells as a result)
- Changed the way the HEAT and HE shells interact with cage armor (meshes) – they will now detonate instead of being destroyed (this will lead to a greater chance of penetrating areas covered by cage armor with ATGMs and HEAT rounds)
- Fixed the HEAT shell type on various tanks – DM12, DM12A1 and M830 are now HEAT-MP rounds
- HEAT rounds now deal 20% more damage when penetrating armor (30% for tandem HEAT missiles and 35% for HEAT-MP rounds)
- Fuse Failed (ricochet) angle for Tier 9 and Tier 10 HESH and thermobaric missiles increased from 80 to 85 degrees
- Changed the way the HEAT and HE shells interact with cage armor (meshes) – they will now detonate instead of being destroyed (this will lead to a greater chance of penetrating areas covered by cage armor with ATGMs and HEAT rounds)
Read more about the ammunition changes in our In Development article.
General Changes
- Changed the format of engine names in the Garage, now they also show horsepower
- Smoke grenades now have real names (with the exception of the T-14 and T-15)
- Player statistics will no longer take bugged battles that ended immediately after their start with a “Draw” result, existing statistics will be re-calculated
- Artillery now sees spotted enemies regardless of distance towards them in the aiming mode (the “artillery render range” issue)
- Fixed the bugged challenge to immobilize enemies, now it’s being tracked correctly
- Reduced various delays in the spotting system to improve its performance
- ATGMs rebalanced – their damage and penetration now uses the same formulas as shells
- ATGM reload now starts immediately after the shot, not when the missile explodes
- The engine fire mechanism was overhauled. Damaging or destroying external fuel tanks no longer causes engine fires
- All boosters from silver Loot Crates will now be of silver quality
- Increased the penalty for team damage
We have added several new overhauled screens and windows to the Garage to finish the transition to the new garage. We have also improved the existing elements based on player feedback. Additional UI changes include:
- Fixed the right-side vehicle statistics display in the Garage (moved the buttons for better convenience)
- Vehicle progression bar is now displayed in all the windows that show player vehicle info
- Switched the Reputation icon to a new one
- The aim reticle now turns red when a shell is being reloaded
- Fixed some issues in the Garage tutorial
- Returned the option to return to battle when the player left the battle after his vehicle was destroyed. The “To Battle” button changes to “Return to Battle” for such vehicles
- The “To Battle” can now be also used to get out of a queue
- The Upgrade window now displays the full name of the tank
- Fixed some module icons in the Upgrade window
- Removed the multi-line entry field during the Custom Match room naming
- Fixed a number of consumable and armor entries
- Added the ERA effectiveness to the armor description window
- Fixed several smaller UI issues (incorrectly displayed icons and such)
- Fixed the bug that prevented the player list settings from saving
- Shell quality indicator returned
- Overhauled a number of buttons to the Garage
- Fixed the bug that caused portions of text to be replaced by smileys
- If a player switches vehicles as a part of a team, an unconfirmed changes warning will appear
- Added the “Garage”, “Preview” and “Proving Grounds” options to vehicle context menu
- Fixed the issue where the progress boost icon was available even if the player did not have enough Global Reputation
- Fixed the issue that caused the Gold Purchase window to load too long
- Fixed a number of shell icons
- Fixed the incorrect text in the Platoon window when joining a Platoon
- Fixed the incorrect arrow icons in the Dealer menu after purchasing a Tier 2 vehicle
- Fixed the bug that prevented players from buying or selling a vehicle if they had unused Tier 9 or Tier 10 tokens
- Reworked the window that appears after obtaining a Tier 9 or a Tier 10 Token
- Fixed the bug that allowed players to change modules, insignias, consumables or retrofits while in queue
- Fixed the bug that prevented the camera from rotating in the garage after previewing vehicles in Dealer trees
- Fixed the penetration indicator bug where HE shells could bounce off armor that was shown as green
- Reworked the ATGM aim reticle
- Fixed the bug that prevented decals from being moved from one slot to another
- Reworked the sale confirmation window
The following features were newly added:
- Added new Dealer and Customization windows
- Certain missiles that require aiming time will now show that fact by using the aim circle mechanism
- Improved camouflage value display
- Premium Time tooltip now displays the remaining Premium Time with accuracy in minutes
- Added “search by vehicle name” option to filters
- Damage numbers in battle changed – the more damage you do, the larger they will be and they are also sorted by damage type with different colors representing different types of damage
- Added tooltips to various interface elements in the Garage
- The Upgrade window now has two new tabs – with vehicle characteristics and with vehicle description
- Added the drag and drop system to the tank configuration window
- New Challenge interface (can be disabled in Settings)
- Currency conversion windows overhauled
New Vehicles
We added the following new progression vehicles:
- BVP Šakal Tier 6 AFV
- KTO Rosomak Tier 7 AFV
- KTO Rosomak M1M Tier 8 AFV
- WPB Anders Tier 9 LT
- Wilk XC8 Tier 10 TD
- Type 99 Tier 8 MBT
Camouflage Overhaul
We’ve made changes to the camouflage factors of many Armored Warfare vehicles to improve the spotting mechanics and to enhance the role of various classes. These changes include:
- Significant increase of camouflage of all Tank Destroyers
- Slight increase of camouflage of all Armored Fighting Vehicles
- Decrease of camouflage of all Light Tanks
- Decrease of camouflage of some Main Battle Tanks
We also fixed the camouflage of “edition” vehicles such as the Fox SHARK to make it correspond to their regular counterparts.
Camouflage Factor Reductions
- Type 62: 30% to 15%
- Expeditionary tank: 35% to 26,3%
- T92: 35% to 28,5%
- M551 Sheridan: 30% to 25,5%
- M41: 30% to 26%
- PT-76: 30% to 27,3%
- Т-14 Armata: 10% to 6,5%
- FV438 Swingfire: 35% to 31,5%
- Begleitpanzer 57: 30% to 26,5%
- T-15: 10% to 7%
- RDF-LT: 35% to 32%
- Stingray 1, Stingray 2: 30% to 27%
- M8 Buford, M8 Thunderbolt II: 30% to 27,3%
- Chieftain 900, Chieftain Mk.2, Chieftain Mk.10: 10% to 7,6%
- Challenger 1, Challenger 2: 10% to 8%.
Camouflage Factor Improvements
- ERC-90 F4: 25% to 34%
- AMX-10 RCR: 25% to 32%
- OT-65A: 27,5% to 34,5%
- M1128 Stryker, Dragoon 90, LAV-300: 25% to 31,2%
- FV510 Warrior: 25% to 31%
- B1 Centauro 105, B1 Centauro 120: 25% to 30,8%
- LAV-150: 27,5% to 33%
- M2A3 Bradley: 25% to 30%.
Please note that the Camouflage Factor value represents the share by which the enemy spotting distance is reduced. In the game values, 30% translates into 0.3 camouflage factor.
Accuracy Changes
We have changed the accuracy of many Main Battle Tanks to increase gameplay diversity. The accuracy changes are as follows. Generally speaking, the Leopard family now has the most accurate main gun of all MBTs on their respective Tiers.
- Challenger 1: 0,11 to 0,128
- Challenger 2: 0,1 to 0,11
- Leopard 2AV: 0,13 to 0,12
- Leopard 2A4: 0,114 to 0,11
- Leopard 2A4 Evolution: 0,11 to 0,105
- Leopard 2A5: 0,11 to 0,105
- Leopard 2A6: 0,1 to 0,09.
- M60A1: 0,132 to 0,152
- M1 Abrams: 0,13 to 0,124
- M1A1: 0,114 to 0,122
- M1A2: 0,11 to 0,117
- M1A2 SEP V2: 0,1 to 0,115
- Т-72A: 0,155 to 0,13
- Т-80B: 0,13 to 0,126
- Т-90: 0,125 to 0,12
- Т-90A: 0,12 to 0,11
- Т-90MS: 0,11 to 0,105
- Т-14 Armata: 0,1 to 0,09
- Type 98: 0,11 to 0,118
To compensate, the aim time of several Tier 10 large-caliber guns was increased (details are mentioned in the respective vehicle sections).
Leopard 2 Series
In Update 0.21, the Leopard 2 series of vehicles becomes extremely accurate. The Leopard line now has the most accurate MBT guns in the class.
To compensate, we increased the aiming times of the following guns:
- Leopard 2A6’s L/55 gun – aim time increased from 1,8 to 2,2 seconds
- Leopard 2AX’s 130mm gun – aim time increased from 1,8 to 2,4 seconds
We made some changes to the Leopard 2AX to make it more competitive:
- Shell damage increased to 725-750 to correspond to its 130mm caliber
- 130mm accuracy improved to 0,08
- Improved the mantlet thickness
- Fixed the engine area armor (shells do not strangely ricochet when firing at it anymore)
- Gunner sights armor significantly improved (it’s no longer a weakspot)
- Side plates armor significantly improved
- Improved armor kit – lower frontal plate thickness improved
- Improved armor kit – upper frontal plate thickness slightly reduced
- We significantly improved the protection against HEAT rounds and slightly against kinetic rounds
Overall, the frontal protection of the vehicle was significantly improved.
Additional Leopard 2 series changes:
- Fixed the bug where the same shells for Leopard 1A5, Leopard 2AV, Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A4 Evolution had different values
- Fixed the incorrect gunner’s sights weakspot on Leopard 2 and Leopard 2A6
- Leopard 2 armor materiel changed to composite, improving the resistance to HEAT rounds but decreasing the resistance to kinetic rounds
- Improved a small area above the Leopard 2A4 Evolution mantlet
- Reduced the Leopard 2A4 Evolution turret front and sides armor
- Leopard 2A5 APS changed to KOEP MUSS (including the model and its mechanics)
- Fixed the incorrect Garage armor values for the Leopard 2A6
- Improved the Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 mantlet thickness
- Fixed the Leopard 2 armor for all Leopard 2s so that it’s no longer possible to easily penetrate by firing at the frontal roadwheel
C1 Ariete
- Fixed several armor issues
- Improved the mantlet armor
- Improved the gunner’s sights armor
- Armor materiel changed to composite, improving the resistance to HEAT rounds but decreasing the resistance to kinetic rounds
PL-01
This vehicle was significantly overhauled. PL-01 now can into stronk combat! The biggest change is that the Improved Armor was replaced with the ADAPTIV Active Camouflage System that gives the vehicle 30% bonus to camouflage if the tank stands still for 3s.
The base camouflage factor value was reduced to 24% (0.24) but the ADAPTIV system allows PL-01 to have the same bonus as if it was hidden behind a bush even when there are no bushes around. Please note that bush camouflage bonus stacks with ADAPTIV to the maximum allowed ingame value of 45%.
Additionally, enemy Thermal Imager modules that reduce bush camouflage bonus do not work on ADAPTIV.
Additional changes:
- Armor resistance against HEAT shells was increased
- Armor resistance against kinetic shells was reduced
- Top APFSDS shell penetration increased to 780mm
- PL-01 now has an autoloader with 6 rounds, the time between shots is 2,7s with the whole clip reloading 16s
- Accuracy improved to 0,085
Stingray 1 and Stingray 2
- Both Stingrays now get a Ready Rack like the LAV-600, 4 rounds, 3 seconds between shots, 22s rack reload
- Reduced the incorrect additional armor kit lower frontal plate resistance to APFSDS shells on Stingray 2
- Commander hatches no longer take reduced damage
BMP-3, BMP-3M, BMD-4
The HE shells of these vehicles are now very powerful due to overhauled ammunition mechanics.
- 100mm rate of fire for BMP-3 and BMD-4 increased to 9 rounds per minute
- 100mm rate of fire for BMP-3M increased to 10 rounds per minute
- Switching between 100mm and 30mm guns now takes 0,25s
These changes allow these vehicles to surpass other vehicles in damage per minute value, but this is compensated by the weak 30mm cannon and poor camouflage value.
SPHINX
- Penetration of the improved sub-caliber rounds for the autocannon increased to 200mm
- Switching between the autocannon and the missiles now takes 0,25s
- Launch time between missiles decreased from 2s to 1,5s
- The vehicle can now fire a missile while another is still in the air, allowing this poorly-armored AFV to defeat enemies with APS better
Challenger 2 ATDU
- Increased the 140mm gun shell damage to 800 points
- Slightly increased the rate of fire
- Aim time increased to 2,3 seconds
- Increased the shell price to correspond to their increased damage
- Fixed the bugged upper frontal plate armor (removed the unintentional weakspots)
- Slightly increased the armor of the Challenger 2 ATDU turret “cheeks”, this armor area can now withstand hits from Tier 10 APFSDS shells
Challenger 1 and Challenger 1 WOLF
We somewhat reduced the turret armor. The front is still impervious to shells but the left turret side now has a weakness where the extra armor doesn’t cover it. We also fixed the bugged equipment (tool boxes and such) around the turret that gave 150mm of protection, reduced to realistic 10mm. This makes the whole sides equally vulnerable to hits.
Additional changes include:
- Bugged fuel tank armor reduced from 315mm to 15mm
- Stock frontal armor reduced, Improved frontal armor made thicker to improve the vehicle’s sense of progression
- Frontal part of the additional side plates reduced from 150mm to 30mm
- Fixed the exceedingly thick small panels on the upper front plate
- Significantly improved the mantlet armor
- Improved the turret roof armor (commander’s hatch area)
- Slightly increased the lower frontal plate applique armor
- Fixed the bugged upper frontal plate armor (removed the unintentional weakspots)
- Fixed the bug that caused the commander’s hatch to take full damage
We also rebalanced the tanks slightly. They will keep their extremely thick armor but will have weakspots as well.
M1, M1A1, M1A1 AIM, M1A2 and M1A2 SEPV3
We changed the side armor of the entire Abrams series as such:
- The hull sides are now vulnerable to autocannon fire
- Lower frontal plate armor was improved
- The incorrect UI armor values in the menu were fixed
Specific Abrams vehicle changes include:
- M1 – frontal turret protection from both APFSDS and HEAT shells reduced (for APFSDS significantly)
- M1 – side screens thickness slightly reduced
- M1A1 – frontal turret protection from both APFSDS and HEAT shells increased
- M1A1, M1A2 – fixed the bugged lower frontal plate armor that allowed for easy penetrations
- M1A1 AIM – armor significantly increased
- M1A1 AIM and M1A2 SEP V3 ERA effect description in the Garage improved
- M1A2 – fixed the TUSK V2 improved armor materiel and the incorrect Garage armor values
- M1A2 – introduced a large number of small armor fixes
- M1A2 SEP V3 – fixed the bug that caused it to receive too low damage when ramming
- M1A2 SEP V3 – armor significantly overhauled (including thicker upper frontal plate), resistance to the most modern ATGMs and APFSDS rounds reduced
XM1A3
The XM1A3 can now choose between two guns: automatically loaded 120mm (2 shots) or one-shot 140mm.
- 140mm: 800 Damage, 720mm Penetration, 11s reload time, 2,5s aim time (increased from 2,3s), 0,115 accuracy
- 120mm: 590 Damage, 800mm Penetration (new shell), 0,1 accuracy, 1,6s aim time, 2 shot autoloader FASTDRAW with 2s between both shots and 14s reload time
Additional changes:
- Turret traverse increased to 36 deg/s
- Armor significantly overhauled (including thicker upper frontal plate), resistance to the most modern ATGMs and APFSDS rounds reduced
- Small mantlet area thickness improved
Chieftain 900
- Aim time reduced from 2,6s to 2,3s
- Mantlet thickness improved
- Added armor to side screens (15mm thick steel plates), now they provide protection from HEAT and slightly also from APFSDS shells)
- Fixed the incorrect Garage armor values
- Bottom armor improved to 25mm
- Fixed the bug that allowed players to damage the tank’s loading mechanism without dealing damage to the tank itself
- Fixed the bug that made the penetration indicator turn white when targeting its tracks
BMP-3M-125 Dragun
- Improved APFSDS round damage increased to 640
- Rate of fire increased to 8 rounds per minute
- Aim time reduced from 1,9s to 1,33s
- Accuracy improved from 0,11 to 0,09
Russian MBTs
We significantly improved the T-90A, T-90MS and T-14 Armata rate of fire:
- T-90A and T-90MS reload time reduced from 10s to 8,5s, top APFSDS shell damage reduced from 680 to 660
- T-14 reload time reduced from 9,2s to 8s, top APFSDS shell damage from 720 to 700
Further T-14 Armata changes include fixing the bug where the armor of the upper part of the hull was too thin and the side armor was too thick. Now, the Armata behaves the way players expect it to: the side armor is now vulnerable to large caliber autocannon when firing at it directly while the hull roof is now significantly more resistant to HE shell impacts. We also made the following changes to the tank:
- Fixed the bug where the turret ring took reduced damage
- Fixed the bugged turret ring armor
- Frontal turret armor improved
- Upper and lower frontal plate center behind the ERA kit somewhat reduced
- Commander and driver hatches armor somewhat reduced
Additional Russian MBT changes include:
- T-72B3 reload time reduced from 9,9s to 8,5s
- T-72B3 aim time reduced to 2s
- T-72B3 lower frontal plate armor improved
- Improved APFSDS shell muzzle velocity for the T-72 tank series increased to 1750 m/s
- Fixed the muzzle velocities of Soviet shells to address the situation where the same shell has different muzzle velocities on different tanks
- ERA of Soviet tanks brought to realistic levels – we fixed the issues where some of the lower Tier ERAs such as the Kontakt-1 system of the T-72B tank had the values of its more modern counterparts.
- Fixed the T-72A and T-72B turret armor (sides, rear and roof thickness significantly reduced), the T-72A and T-72AV turret armor was made in more detail
- Fixed (improved) the T-72A mantlet
- Fixed the ERA issues for T-80U and T-80U SHARK
- T-90MS side spaced armor improved
- T-90A and T-90MS mantlet significantly improved
- Significantly improved the armor of the weld where the lower frontal plate and the upper frontal plate meet for the following vehicles: T-80U, T-80U SHARK, T-90, T-90A, T-90MS
- Kontakt-5 ERA efficiency against tandem warheads increased
M8 Buford and M8 Thunderbolt II
- M8 Buford and M8 Thunderbolt II reload time reduced to 5,5s (earlier 6,2s and 8s)
- M8 Buford, M8 Thunderbolt II commander hatches no longer take reduced damage
- M8 Buford lower turret part no longer takes reduced damage
- Fixed the bugged armor materiel, changed it to more realistic aluminum alloy – now they provide solid resistance against HEAT shells and autocannon rounds, while earlier the armor was made of steel and provided ridiculous 500mm of protection against APFSDS rounds
Other Vehicle Changes
- Type 98 renamed to 9910 for historical accuracy (9910 is the designation of pre-production Type 99 prototype)
- M1128 Stryker now has an alternative gun with an autoloader (9 rounds, 4,2s between shots, 14s reload)
- M60-2000 APFSDS round damage increased to 570
- Improved Warrior and Bradley autocannon accuracy loss when firing in bursts
- Warrior and Bradley can now fire a missile while another is still in the air
- T-15 launch time between missiles decreased to 1s
- Improved T-15 autocannon accuracy loss when firing APFSDS rounds in bursts
- Expeditionary Tank gun now has an autoloader with 9 rounds, but the time between shots was increased to 4,2s with the whole clip reloading 14s
- Increased the carried missile amount on the following vehicles that could only carry 20 missiles instead of 30 or 40: BMP-3M (40), Begleitpanzer 57 (40), SPHINX (30), CRAB (30), FV721 Fox (30), XM800T (30)
- M41 Walker Bulldog gun was rebalanced – the accuracy was significantly increased, “ready rack” mechanism changed to classic autoloader, magazine reload time reduced to 14s
- PT-76 HEAT and HE accuracy somewhat reduced
- 2S1 Gvozdika HE shell damage increased to 560
- LAHAT ATGM s are now capable of self-guidance, introduced in Update 0.21
- Object 187 repair costs increased to 26400 Credits
- Removed the unintentional preferential matchmaking value of the T-64AV
Armor and Protection Changes
- Fixed the Leopard 1 bugged armor screens – before, they did nothing, now the front is 40mm thick, frontal sides 20mm thick and rear sides 10mm thick
- Leopard 1 rubber side-armor increased to 15mm (it now protects against HEAT shells)
- All BMPT-series vehicles now receive reduced turret damage (unmanned turret)
- Reduced the side armor of the BMPT and the BMPT Prototype
- T-15 commander and driver hatches armor somewhat reduced
- Fixed the bugged Challenger 2 upper frontal plate armor (removed the unintentional weakspots)
- Slightly increased the armor of the Challenger 2 turret “cheeks”, this armor area can now withstand hits from Tier 10 APFSDS shells
- Fixed bugged armor on the following vehicles: LAV-600, Chieftain Mk.2, BMP-3M, Centauro 155, B1 DRACO, M1128 Stryker, Merkava Mk.2D
- AMX 10 RCR hull hatches no longer take reduced damage
- Panzerhaubitze 2000 mantlet reduced to 50mm
- Fixed the bug where the Panzerhaubitze 2000 hatches received full damage
- Fixed the bugged (exceedingly powerful) IS-7 mantlet
- Fixed the bug where engine grills of the Centauro series vehicles took reduced armor
- Improved the lower part of the Type 90-II upper frontal plate
Retrofits and Modules
- Changed Retrofit descriptions
- The majority of retrofits are now cheaper and all of them can be sold for 75 percent of their value (the difference between the old high price and the low new price will be compensated to players who purchased retrofits before 0.21)
- Starter and Generator module renamed to Thermal Exhaust Cover (the functionality remains the same)
- Changed the category of several retrofits
- Kevlar Spall Liner module now increases hitpoints instead of damage reduction (250 hitpoints for MBTs, 150 hitpoints for other classes)
- Improved Spall Liner retrofit was overhauled to Additional Protection – instead of reducing the overall incoming damage, it will now only reduce damage from ramming and ensures additional crew protection – ramming damage and damage to crew is reduced by 25% for Level 1 and 50% for Level 2
- BMP-3M can now install Kevlar Spall Liner
- Improved the module hitpoint bonus for Improved Ammo Rack and Improved Suspension retrofits (25% for Level 1 and 50% for Level 2 to Ammo Rack hitpoints for Ammo Rack and 20% for Level 1 and 40% for Level 2 to Suspension hitpoints for Suspension)
Vehicle Issues and Corrections
- M8 Buford had its UI for the M393A1 shell fixed
- PL-01 gun designation fixed
- Fixed the bug where MBT-70 and Type 90-II reload time displayed incorrectly when the ATGM round was assigned to the first ammo slot
- Fixed the bug where the DM12A1 HEAT-MP shell had different values for different tanks
- PL-01 and Centauro 120 shell designation fixed
- Fixed the incorrect Garage armor values for the M60A1, Leopard 1, Centauro 155
- Fixed the bug where the wooden log model on some models provided a significant armor bonus and was capable of deflecting APFSDS shells (the Magical Soviet Log bug)
- Fixed the bug where the T-80U wreck could be shot through
- Fixed the exhaust smoke visual effect for the following vehicles: BMD-1, BMD-1P, BMD-4, BMD-4 Joker, T-72B
- Fixed the T-80B smoke grenade effect
- Fixed the bug where temporary camouflage did sometimes not disappear after the deadline passed
- Fixed the bug where fully researched and unlocked vehicles could still obtain Reputation
- Fixed the bugged loading mechanism position for the BMPT Terminator, BMPT Terminator Prototype and T-15
- Fixed the bug where the T-72B3 could fire from a destroyed gun
- Fixed the bug where applying camouflage caused the PTL-02 commander’s hatch textures to disappear
- Fixed the bug that caused some textures on the M60A1 turret to go missing
- Fixed the bug that caused camouflage patterns to not appear on T-72B correctly
- Fixed the bug that caused the applied T-80B camouflage to disappear after installing the ERA kit
- OF-40 broken engine visual effect fixed
- Fixed the bug that caused a gap to appear between the gun and the mantlet of the M2A3 Bradley after firing an ATGM
- Roughneck and Narrows overhauled both visually and gameplay-wise
- Added a new map: the Waterway
- Highwall removed from map rotation
- Fixed the roads and textures on several maps
- Chemical Plant map gameplay improved
- Coastal Threat map – fixed a number of object visual model issues
- Ghost Field – fixed a number of model issues, made more objects destructible
- Pipelines map balance improved, southern starting point buffed
- Narrows – fixed the bug where the track trace texture fell through the ground near the bunkers
- Narrows – added spawn points in the Encounter mode
- Roughneck – fixed the bug with incorrect gray color of foliage branches
- Tropical Coast – fixed the fence collision model at D1 and E1
- Tropical Coast – fixed a number of visual issues
- Tropical Coast, Cold Strike – fixed spawn point minimap markers for the Encounter mode
- Tropical Coast – improved performance on low and medium settings
- Tropical Coast in Encounter mode – fixed the spawn points for the left team, now they are better positioned in the direction towards the island
- River Point – improved performance on low and medium settings
- River Point – fixed the plane explosion effect
- Reactor – improved performance on low and medium settings
- PvE AI enemies now have reduced spotting range (depending on difficulty level)
- Multiple maps were optimized for better performance
- Fixed the roads and textures on several maps
- Zero Hour – fixed the bug where rock textures at C3 were not displayed correctly
- Improved performance on low and medium settings for the following maps: Anvil, Harbinger, Raiding Party, Stormy Winter
We added two new Global Operations maps – Roughneck and Narrows. Narrows is introducing a new Wildcard – the AC-130U strike. When this Wildcard is used, an AC-130U (a C-130 Hercules equipped with a 40mm Bofors autocannon and a 105mm howitzer) flies over the map, firing at spotted enemies.
Additional changes include:
- Multiple maps were optimized for better performance
- Capture points for capturing an objective are not awarded if both teams capture one point at the same time
- Fixed the roads and textures on several maps
- Fixed the bug where the UAV could spot enemies that were hidden behind rocks on the Ghost Field map
- Killing a player on all maps is now rewarded with 25 points (instead of 20)
- Desert Crossing performance and balance improved
- Desert Crossing – repair points now repair 70% of hitpoints instead of 20%
- Ghost Field – the point pool increased to 2500 points, the battle now has three phases (added an additional objective for Phase 3)
- Ghost Field – center of the map overhauled
- Barren Divide performance and balance improved
- Fixed the incorrectly working aim reticle when switching between weapon systems
- Fixed the crashes after exiting the Proving Grounds map
- Fixed the Proving Grounds bug where vehicles at C4 and B4 did not show the correct vehicle class
- Fixed the bug that caused the client to crash after switching decals several times
- Fixed the text for situations when the tank is destroyed by a GLOPS bunker
- Fixed the bug that allowed players to enter the Proving Grounds while being in regular queue
- Fixed the bug that allowed players to always see even unspotted vehicles on the Proving Grounds map
- Fixed the bug where damage from falling or ramming was registering as enemy hits
- Fixed the bug that caused players to leave battles when pressing Alt-Tab
- Fixed the bug that, when switching from High to Low details and back to High again, caused the game to continue showing Low quality vehicle models
- Renamed the Render Mode settings in additional graphics settings (not displayed on Low graphics settings)
- Engine sounds changed to all have the same level of volume
- Changed the sounds of full throttle and idling engines
- Changed the engine sounds of high-rev turbodiesel and diesel engines
- Improved the sound 3D positioning
- Fixed the bug that caused the game to record replays from the Garage
- Fixed the bug that caused the game to crash after starting a Custom Match when in Observer mode
- Fixed the bug that caused the game to disconnect from server when opening a Loot Crate
The following updates are applied on top of each other:
- Update 1 applies on top of the Basic Update
- Update 2 applies on top of Basic Update + Update 1
- Update 3 applies on top of Basic Update + Update 1 + Update 2
List of 0.21 Changes - Update 1
Firepower
- PL-01: Improved APFSDS shell damage reduced from 630 to 530
- The following vehicles had their HEAT round damage significantly reduced: PL-01, WPB Anders, M1A2, M1A2 SEP v3, Leopard 2A5, Leopard 2A6, B1 Centauro 120, Challenger 1 Falcon and C1 Ariete
- Shell price for WPB Anders and Wilk XC-8 increased
- Significantly increased autocannon accuracy and reduced accuracy loss when firing for the following vehicles: FV107 Scimitar, FV721 Fox and FV510 Warrior
- Fixed the bug that caused the APHE shells for Scorpion and Abbot to work differently from other vehicles
- Accuracy of the C1 Ariete MBT decreased from 0.11 to 0.115
Tier 10 140mm damage improved:
- Improved 140mm APFSDS shell damage for XM1A3 increased from 825 to 950, reload time increased to 11.42s
- Improved 140mm APFSDS shell damage for Challenger 2 ATDU increased from 850 to 1000, reload time increased to 12.8s
Protection
- Overhauled the Challenger 1 and Challenger 2 side armor
- WPB Anders and Wilk XC-8 “Zaslon” APS changed: reload time increased from 4s to 10s and the distance at which the APS intercepts the projectile reduced from 20m to 10m
- Added the bonus description to the ERA system of the following vehicles: BMP-3M-125 Dragun, BMPT-72, T-14 Armata, T-15, T-72B3, T-80U, T-90A, Type 99, B1 Centauro WOLF
- Fixed the bug that caused the ARAT-2 ERA performance to be different on M1A2 SEP v3 and XM1A3
- Changed the WPB Anders APS minimum projectile distance for the APS to activate from 250m to 200m
- Fixed the armor model of the following vehicles: Т-72, Т-72А, Т-72B, Т-72Б3, Т-90, Т-90А, Т-90МS, T-14 Armata and BMPT-72 (the side armor was fixed and its bugged sections were removed, making it more predictable and invulnerable to penetrations at angles of 15 degrees or lower)
Maximum Speed Reduction
Reduced the maximum speed of the following vehicles:
- M1A1 to 66 km/h
- M1A2 to 63 km/h
- M1A2 SEP v3 to 60 km/h for the stock engine and 66 km/h for the improved one
- XM1A3 to 54 km/h for the stock engine and 60 km/h for the improved one
- Challenger 2 to 55.8 km/h for the stock engine and 59,4 km/h for the improved one
- Challenger 2 ATDU to 54 km/h
Other Vehicle Changes
- BVP Šakal now can’t equip the improved turret drive retrofit
- Removed the SPHINX shaking effect when firing the autocannon and the visual distortion effect when firing in sniper mode for the same gun
- Fixed the bug that caused the Improved Ammo Rack v2 retrofit to not work as described
- Fixed the bug that caused the textures of T-72A and T-72AV ICE turrets not to appear on low details
- Fixed the bug that caused the visual model of the destroyed T-72B tank to miss its turret
Player versus Player
- Cold Strike – fixed the issue with incorrect road texture display
- Narrows – fixed the issue that caused some trees in sectors I7 and J7 to be indestructible
- Roughneck – changed the landscape on the line 9 and in sectors J3 and J4
Global Operations
- Roughneck – fixed the incorrect voiceover upon capturing several points, changed several capture objectives, fixed the bug that caused the repair timer to not appear when using a repair point
- Narrows – changed several spawn points, changed several capture objectives
Player versus Environment
- Operation Life Jacket added to rotation, fixed its bug that caused enemy capture indicator to not appear correctly
- Fixed the bug that cause the client to crash when loading Operation Cerberus
Miscellaneous
- Fixed the bug that caused acceleration-improving modules and retrofits to not give any significant acceleration bonus
- Kinetic shells now lose less energy when passing through spaced armor
- Fixed the bug that caused the “time is running out” indicator to appear on the Alabino Proving Ground map
- Fixed the bug where the autocannon accuracy loss indicator was stuck in red status when changing shell types
- Fixed the name of Silver reputation boost insignia
- Several retrofit bonuses will now appear in the vehicle characteristics window correctly
- Fixed the bug that prevented the player from buying or selling vehicles in the Upgrade window if he had an unused Tier 9 or Tier 10 token
- Improved the simplified garage lighting
- Fixed the rare bug that caused, during base capture, the capturing team to win even when the capture was successfully disrupted by the defenders
- Fixed the bug that caused a silhouette to appear around vehicles in garage with the TSAA or MSAA anti-aliasing enabled
List of 0.21 Changes - Update 2
Camouflage
- Significantly reduced the camouflage penalty when firing autocannons and tank destroyer guns
- Significantly reduced the camouflage penalty when firing anything for SPHINX
Firepower
- SPHINX: missile agility improved
- T-80U Shark: HE shell damage improved to 580
- PL-01: Improved APFSDS shell damage reduced from 630 to 530
- Leopard 2AX: standard 130mm APFSDS damage improved from 725 to 750, improved 130mm APFSDS damage improved from 750 to 775
- 3VOF36 HE round damage reduced from 660 to 600
- T-15’s thermobaric missile price increased
- Corrected the price for PL-01, Challenger 2 ATDU, Leopard 2AX and XM1A3 shells to correspond to their new damage values
- Fixed the Šakal visual ATGM animation
- Fixed the bug where T-55 and Rosomak M1 shells displayed incorrect damage type in the “received damage” panel
- Fixed the bugged fourth ammunition type icon for Rosomak M1
- T-64AV Hunter: 3UOF36 shell replaced by 3UOF22, fixed the bug where this tank was aiming too fast
- Changed the APHE shell description
Tier 10 140mm damage improved:
- Standard 140mm APFSDS shell damage for XM1A3 increased from 800 to 850
- Improved 140mm APFSDS shell damage for XM1A3 decreased from 950 to 900, reload time increased to 11.15s
- Standard 140mm APFSDS shell damage for Challenger 2 ATDU increased from 800 to 850
- Improved 140mm APFSDS shell damage for Challenger 2 ATDU reduced from 1000 to 900, reload time decreased to 12.4s
Protection
- Fixed the bonus description to the ERA system of the following vehicles: BMPT-72, T-15, T-72B3, B1 Centauro 120, B1 Centauro 120 Wolf, M1A2 SEP v3, XM1A3
- Added side armor to Challenger 2 ATDU that can now withstand APFSDS rounds of its tier when fired under the angle of 30 degrees or lower and ATGMs when fired under the angle of 60 degrees or lower
- Challenger 1, Challenger 2 and Challenger 2 ATDU no longer have ERA, the blocks on the hull consist in real life of massive slabs of Chobham armor and the ingame armor was changed to represent that
- Fixed the bugged Challenger 1 armor that was too well protected at some place
- Rear side Challenger 1 armor overhauled
- Fixed the Leopard 2A6 hull and turret armor, added its new parameters to the tooltip
- Increased the Centauro 120 ERA protection against HEAT rounds
Other Vehicle Changes
- Fixed the bug that prevented you from researching a higher Tier vehicle when unlocking a Tier 9 or Tier 10 token
- Improved the reverse acceleration for the following vehicles: Type 90-II, 9910, Type 99
- The weight UI value (not ingame handling) of the following vehicles fixed: T-14 Armata, T-15, T-62, T-72B, T-72B3, T-80B, T-90MS, Wilk XC-8
- Wilk XC-8 actual weight (nor just UI value) increased to 26 tons
- Inverted left/right controls on tracked vehicles no longer kick in when decelerating (braking) while going forward
Player versus Player
- Ghost Field – fixed the layout, added more cover
Global Operations
- Ghost Field – fixed the layout, added more cover, changed the capture points to improve gameplay
- Roughneck – fixed the incorrect name for support aircraft shells
- Roughneck – fixed the line 9 and sector J3 and J4 layout
- Fixed the bug that caused the pillbox silhouette to not appear when targeting it
- Fixed the bug that allowed players to spawn in enemy base in the Global Operations mode
Miscellaneous
- Fixed the descriptions in the 0.21 Challenges interface
- Fixed the bug that caused a placeholder text to appear when pressing the I key in Control settings
- Fixed the bug that allowed smileys to be displayed in battle result notifications
- Fixed the premium icon positioning in the Dealer menu – a bug sometimes prevented premium vehicle icons to appear fully
- Retrofit panel now has a toggle that allows you to only see available retrofits
- Fixed a large number of issues that caused the client to crash excessively in 0.21
- Fixed the incorrect M113 ACAV lieutenant name in PvE missions
- Fixed the issue that allowed players to put insignia on vehicles in battle
- Fixed the issue that caused a custom match to become inaccessible if the room’s founder reloaded the game
List of 0.21 Changes - Update 3
Tutorial
Added two new Tutorial maps:
- Training Grounds where players learn to move and aim their vehicles
- Training Base where players learn to select the right shells and to look for vehicle weakspots
Social Networks
Now you can share your ingame feats with your friends using social networks! The features added include:
- Sharing screenshots on social networks
- Account can now be connected to your Facebook, Vkontakte, MojMir and Odnoklassniki networks (only one game account per one social network account is allowed, accounts can also be disconnected from your social network accounts)
Post-Match Debriefing Window Overhaul
We changed the match results window to the new graphics standard. The window now contains a button to share your result on social media and a button to view the match’s replay. It’s now also possible to view match results for other matches without having to leave the Post-Match Debriefing Window.
Spotting and Camouflage Fixes
These changes were described in our recent developer diary and include the following two changes:
We’ll increase the maximum environmental bonus a bit. In Update 0.20, multiple environmental camouflage bonuses (for multiple bushes that are between the spotter and the target) can stack up to the bonus value of 0.45 (45 percent). In Update 0.21, this limit will increase to 50 percent to tweak the environmental camouflage a bit.
Secondly, we’ll change the way the bushes (and the environmental camouflage they provide) interact when firing a gun in their vicinity. As of Update 0.20, all bushes within 15 meters of a player who fires a weapon lose 66 percent of their environmental camouflage bonus for 5 seconds. In Update 0.21, only the bush with the highest camouflage bonus will lose its environmental camouflage this way (it will lose 70 percent instead of 66 percent). This will improve the role of using heavy foliage to your advantage.
Vehicles – Firepower
- Fixed the bug where 140mm guns lost too much accuracy when the turret was traversing
Vehicles – Protection
- Fixed the bug where the 2S3 Akatsiya received reduced damage when its driver’s hatch was hit
- Fixed the Leopard 2AX side armor – it can now resist any kinetic shells when the angle of impact is 20 degrees or lower and any ATGMs when the angle of impact is 40 degrees or lower
- T-55 upper frontal plate and lower frontal plate reduced from 140mm to 100mm
- Upper part of the Russian T-series hulls made slightly thicker
- Fixed the bug where the Challenger 2 and the Challenger 2 ATDU mantlets acted as weakspots when fired at from certain angles
- Fixed some more issues with the Challenger 2 armor, removed several bugged parts that caused certain shell impacts to behave in an unpredictable fashion
Vehicles – Other Changes
- Fixed the bug that caused the reload time to behave incorrectly upon ammo rack damage
- Automatic fire extinguisher now works instantly, preventing any damage from fire
- Fixed the bug that caused the reload time to increase when the gunners were wounded on several vehicles (T-15, Rosomak, Rosomak M1, Wilk XC8, M8 Buford, M8 Thunderbolt II)
Maps
- Fixed the Waterway map spawn points
User Interface
- Fixed the bugged purchase confirmation window text
- Fixed the bug that sometimes caused the shell configuration window to work incorrectly
- Fixed the bug that caused several hints to not display when pressing the F1 button
- Fixed the bug that caused an icon to “stick” to the mouse cursor when moving shells or retrofits around
- Fixed the incorrect map name in the debriefing window for custom matches
Issues and Corrections
- Fixed a large number of bugs that caused the game to crash
- Fixed the bug where the simplified garage could turn to the standard one after the battle ended
- Control left/right inversion now only depends on forward/reverse movement determined by players (reverted from the previous 0.21 iteration)
- Fixed the bug that cause the Battle button to not work after a shell was moved to another shell slot when configuring a vehicle
- Fixed the bugged repair time of the Level 2 Improved Tools Retrofit
- Removed the option to rejoin battle in cases where players willingly left such a battle (desertion)