Commanders!
We are happy to announce another upcoming 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 as well as 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.
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.
The full list of changes will be available closer to the update’s release.
We hope that you will like Update 0.21 – see you on the battlefield!
