The second part of the Arabian Nights season is now available

Gameplay Mechanisms

New Dealer

Francine De Laroche is bringing an entire line of French and Italian vehicles to Armored Warfare with the following new vehicles being available:

• AMX-50 Tier 3 MBT
• AMX-30B2 and AMX-30B2 Brenus Tier 4 MBTs
• AMX-40 Tier 5 MBT
• AMX-13 DCA Tier 5 AFV
• C-13 TUA Tier 6 TD

You can learn more in our dedicated article.

Ranked Battles and New Contract Missions

A new mode called Ranked Battles is available for Armored Warfare Battalions. In this mode, Battalions can increase their ranking by fighting other Battalions in order to receive better Battalion contract missions with more valuable rewards. You can read more about this mode in our dedicated article.

The introduction of the Ranked Battles mode is closely tied to the Battalion Contract system. The mode itself does not offer any special rewards – instead, your Battalion ranking influences what kind of rewards you will receive for completing the Battalion Contracts. There will be four groups of Battalion Contract ranks with their own reward bonuses. The lowest Contract rank will be the equivalent of the current rewards. As your Battalion progresses through the ranks, the Contracts:

• Become shorter
• Receive a reward multiplier (2x, 3x and 4x)
• Receive longer rental periods of the T-14 Armata Hades tank (new Contract reward)

The T-14 Armata Hades is a Tier 10 Premium MBT, which, apart from its unique Hades camouflage, will have the choice between the 125mm gun and the 152mm gun.

We are also introducing special Battalion Contract Missions that can be completed by playing the Ranked Battles mode. In order to complete it, you will have to win 10 times in the mode while keeping your personal rating above the value of 3. This mission resets once per 7 days. Please note that this mission can also be completed in exchange for Gold.

Additionally, a special personal Ranked Battles-related mission will be available to the players with personal rating of 25 (which is the highest value possible). This mission only requires one Ranked Battles victory in exchange for a reward based on the abovementioned Contract rank with the top prize being 500 Gold. It will be available once per 7 days.

Enhanced Visual Effects

In order to increase player immersion, we've added a camera shake effect to the game whenever a gun is fired as well as upon enemy shell impact on your vehicle. This feature can, however, be disabled in the game Settings in the Gameplay tab.

Another effect that we are adding is the one of improved tracers. Yours and enemy fire is now much easier to spot.

Loot Crate Temporary Vehicle Changes

Based on player feedback, we are changing the way temporary vehicle drops from Loot Crates (such as the recent AFT-10 one) work. Instead of each dropped temporary vehicle just activating immediately, these vehicles will move to the Goods section of player Inventory, where they will wait for their manual activation by a player. In case the player owns the permanent version of such a vehicle already, he or she will receive 125 Gold instead.

Results Tab Overhaul

We've significantly overhauled the way battle rewards are displayed. Team screens now display Experience without the Tier multiplier – in other words, they only show player performance and his or her contribution to victory, making the result tables represent the actual results and contributions better. This change will not affect final battle rewards, but will affect medals and missions that require players to end up on top in Experience gained.

We have also added the Experience statistics to the vehicle statistics window, allowing players not only to evaluate how effective they are with a specific vehicle, but also see their average net Experience per battle

General Changes

• Fixed the issue that sometimes caused all players in the battle (including your own team) to appear red (as hostiles)
• Changed the interaction between ATGMs and smoke – if a cloud of smoke is located between the launching vehicle and the missile, the missile receives a penalty to controllability and obtains more missile noise (this effect stacks with soft-kill APS but does not apply if the smoke is 50 meters or closer to the launching vehicle)
• Changed the way HESH shells work in general – armor angle now affects the shell's penetration more
• Fixed a large number of issues causing many MBTs and some LTs to be impenetrable when firing at their hull bottom
• Fixed a number of roof armor issues that caused unintended ricochets
• Bonuses affecting shell type switching speed now only work if a clip or a Ready Rack is fully loaded with the actual value of the bonus increasing with clip or Ready Rack size
• We are changing the way the HEAT shell "jet" penetration loss works – earlier, the penetration of this jet dropped by 80 percent at most per two meters of distance passed, now it drops by 50 percent at most per one meter of distance from the initial point of impact
• AP shells of 105mm or below are now capable of ricocheting off a target properly instead of getting destroyed
• HE splash can now damage even the player who fired the HE shell
• The last battle is now always recorded as a replay even with the Replay feature disabled
• Reverse steering inversion can now be switched on independently for tracked and wheeled vehicles in the game's settings
• Heroic PvP Battalion Contract Missions can now be re-rolled for Gold
• Heroic GLOPS Battalion Contract Mission that required your platoon members to not die even once now allows for up to three deaths per platoon, but also requires you to kill at least 15 enemies instead of 10
• Improved the reward bonuses for Hardcore and Heroic Special Operations
• Improved the models of various types of glass surfaces and lights (headlights etc.) for many vehicles
• If players obtained a skin after the launch of Update 0.27 that automatically unlocked certain modules for the skinned vehicle and had those modules purchased at that point, they will receive their price back as a compensation

Vehicles

ATGM Vehicle Rebalance

This large set of changes concerns vehicles, whose gameplay is based on ATGMs launched from dedicated launchers (gun-launched ATGMs are excluded). With the APS buffs of the recent updates, these vehicles such as the VBL INGWE or the Wiesel TOW have lost their traditional role and began to underperform. For more details, please visit our dedicated article.

We are also updating the interaction between ATGMs and smoke as well as other mechanics. You can read more in another developer diary.

Tier 9 and 10 Armor Rebalance

In order to prepare the Tier 9 and Tier 10 vehicles for the competitive environment of Battalion Ranked Battles, we've changed the way spaced armor works on these vehicles with the intent making the armor on these Tiers more predictable and consistent. The armor thickness of most external modules was improved but, on the other hand, their effective armor value does not increase with decreasing impact angle and shells cannot ricochet from them. Additionally, we've made the Tier 10 vehicles slightly more vulnerable to HEAT shells and ATGMs.

Abrams Armor Rebalance

We've rebalanced the armor of the entire Tier 7 to Tier 10 M1 Abrams vehicle series. Until now, the armor was not improving correctly over the course of Tiers, leading to excessively poor protection, especially for the high-Tier variants. We've improved the armor progression so that the tanks become sufficiently competitive.

AFT-10

• ATGM penetration increased from 1280mm to 1400mm
• ATGM controllability improved

AMX-10P PAC 90

• This vehicle was moved to Francine De Laroche's vehicle pool

AMX 10 RCR

• This vehicle was moved to Francine De Laroche's vehicle pool

B1 Draco

We are standardizing the 76mm shells damage to one value (for this vehicle, 250 points of damage per shot). In order to keep the vehicle's firepower the same regarding the change above, we are introducing the following changes:

• Rate of fire increased to 100 rounds per minute
• Clip reload time reduced to 16 seconds
• Turret traverse rate increased to 50 deg/s
• This vehicle has a unique twin feed automatic loading system that allows for rapid shell type switches. In order to translate that fact into the game, switching to a different shell type while having a fully loaded autoloader clip now takes less time

Furthermore:

• Fixed an issue that caused the Draco HE shells to not deal extra damage to enemy modules
• Rebalanced the vehicle's gun accuracy and stabilization values in order to make it fit better its Tank Destroyer class – the Draco is now more accurate but bleeds more accuracy when moving

BM Oplot

• Improved this vehicle's ERA layout for better protection

BMP and BMD Series

• Fixed an issue concerning several vehicles of the series where guided missiles would fly over the vehicles instead of into them when using automatic aiming due to their vehicle center point being set too high

BMP-3M Dragun 125

• Reload time reduced from 7.5 to 5.5 seconds

Challenger 1 FALCON

• This vehicle has a unique twin feed automatic loading system that allows for rapid shell type switches. In order to translate that fact into the game, switching to a different shell type while having a fully loaded autoloader clip now only takes 4 to 4.5 seconds
• Due to the fact that this vehicle's ammo rack is located in an unmanned turret, ammunition fire now deals reduced damage

Challenger 2

• Fixed the incorrect (excessively thick) armor on several spots, including the driver's hatch, in the vehicle's upgraded armor configuration

Challenger 2 ATDU

• PISH shell's penetration now drops less upon penetrating spaced armor

C1 Ariete

• Significantly improved the vehicle's visual model
• Improved the vehicle model's animations
• Improved the vehicle's armor
• Reduced the thickness of this vehicle's side screens

CRAB

• Made the vehicle easier to control at high speeds

ERC-90 F4

• Made the vehicle easier to control at low speeds

Expeditionary Tank

• Added a new "Thermal Imager" module, improving the vehicle's spotting abilities against targets hidden behind bushes

FV107 Scimitar

• Magazine reload time unified to 1.7s regardless of shell type
• HE shell damage increased from 16 to 30

FV438 Swingfire

• Reduced the camouflage penalty from firing ATGMs

FV721 Fox

• Reduced the camouflage penalty from firing ATGMs
• Significantly improved the vehicle's visual model
• Fixed the vehicle's destroyed model

IT-1

• Replaced the Silent Running active ability with Engine Overdrive

K1A1

• Fixed the engine parameters in order to correspond to its real life engine type
• Fixed an issue that caused its skin to become impossible to remove

K21 XC-8

• Reload time reduced from 5 to 4.2 seconds
• Fixed an issue where its DM12A2 HEAT shell did not deal the intended bonus damage to enemy modules

Kampfpanzer-70

This vehicle received an advanced adjustable suspension, allowing it to tilt its hull in order to provide better gun elevation and depression as well as to switch to a lowered mode. Activating the suspension as an active ability switches to the lowered mode and changes the properties of the tank as such:

• Camouflage factor improved by 5 percent
• Aiming time improved by 20 percent
• View range reduced by 10 meters
• Acceleration reduced by 20 percent

Furthermore:

• Added an "Improved Ready Racks" module that reduces reload times in order to match its reload time to that of the M551 Sheridan

Kornet-EM

• Its 9M133-1 1200mm penetration ATGM was replaced by a 1300mm penetration ATGM called 9M133-2
• The vehicle can now launch two missiles at the same time ("double tap" feature) as long as the mode with both launchers opened is active – please note, however, that this triggers a lengthy reload before another such double launch can be performed (the delay between these double ATGM launches is 2s)
• Fixed an issue where the 9M133-2 ATGM did not have a tandem warhead
• Made the vehicle easier to control at high speeds

LAV-150

• Rate of fire unified to 400 regardless of shell type
• HE shell damage reduced from 30 to 25

LAV-300

• Made the vehicle easier to control at low speeds

LAV-600

• Made the vehicle easier to control at low speeds

Leopard 1

• Reload time reduced by 12 percent

Leopard 1A5

• Reload time reduced by 12 percent

Leopard 2AV

We've rebalanced this vehicle's 105mm and 120mm gun to fit other guns of its Tier and class. Therefore:

• 105mm damage reduced to 425
• 105mm reload time reduced to 8.9 seconds
• 120mm damage reduced to 508
• 120mm reload time reduced to 11.3 seconds

We fixed an issue where various types of shells had different aiming time values.

Leopard 2 Series (Leopard 2, 2A5, 2A6, 2AX)

• We fixed an issue where various types of shells had different aiming time values.

M1 Abrams

• Stock shell damage reduced to 420
• Reload time reduced from 9.9 to 8.2 seconds

M1A1 AIM

• Removed the HESH trait from this vehicle's Garage description

M1134

• Changed the name of the top-attack TOW missiles to BGM-71F-6 TOW-2B Aero in order to make them more recognizable from the standard TOW missiles

M551 Sheridan

• Replaced the accuracy-increasing module with one that improves its gun stabilization (accuracy on the move)

M60A2 Starship

• Added an "Improved Ready Racks" module that reduces reload times in order to match its reload time to that of the M551 Sheridan

M60A3 Patton

• Reload time reduced from 9 to 8 seconds

M8 Buford

• Optimized this vehicle's armor in order to remove strange situations where shells fired against seemingly vulnerable flanks of these vehicle would just ricochet off
• Reload time reduced from 5.5 to 4.5 seconds

M8 Thunderbolt II

• Optimized this vehicle's armor in order to remove strange situations where shells fired against seemingly vulnerable flanks of these vehicle would just ricochet off
• Reload time reduced from 5.5 to 4.5 seconds

MBT-70

This vehicle received an advanced adjustable suspension, allowing it to tilt its hull in order to provide better gun elevation and depression as well as to switch to a lowered mode. Activating the suspension as an active ability switches to the lowered mode and changes the properties of the tank as such:

• Camouflage factor improved by 5 percent
• Aiming time improved by 20 percent
• View range reduced by 10 meters
• Acceleration reduced by 20 percent

Furthermore:

• Added an "Improved Ready Racks" module that reduces reload times in order to match its reload time to that of the M551 Sheridan

NM142

• Changed the name of the top-attack TOW missiles to BGM-71F-6 TOW-2B Aero in order to make them more recognizable from the standard TOW missiles
• Fixed an issue where the missiles would not launch from the launcher, but from an incorrect spot

Object 430

• The model in the game was incorrectly sized (too small), its size was therefore corrected

Object 640 "Black Eagle"

• Improved the tank's hull traverse rate to 41 deg/s
• Improved the tank's turret traverse rate from 38 to 45 deg/s
• Fixed a tiny issue with this tank's side armor, allowing it to be penetrated where it was not intended

OF-40

• This vehicle was moved to Francine De Laroche's vehicle pool
• Reload time reduced by 12 percent
• The damage of all its shells increased by 20
• Significantly improved this vehicle's visual model
• Corrected a number of issues with this vehicle's armor

OT-64 Cobra

• Increased the amount of 30mm rounds carried to 900
• Increased the amount of ATMGs carried to 50

PL-01

• This vehicle has a unique twin feed automatic loading system that allows for rapid shell type switches. In order to translate that fact into the game, switching to a different shell type while having a fully loaded autoloader clip now only takes 4 to 4.5 seconds
• Rate of fire within one clip increased from 22 to 28 rounds per minute
• Due to the fact that this vehicle's ammo rack is located in an unmanned turret, ammunition fire now deals reduced damage
• The collision model of this vehicle now corresponds to the visual one

PTL-02

• Reload time reduced from 6.2 to 4.75 seconds

PTZ-89

• Reload time reduced from 7.2 to 5.6 seconds

RDF/LT

• Added a new "Improved Autoloader" module, reducing the reload time to 3.87 seconds
• Added a new "Thermal Imager" module, improving the vehicle's spotting abilities against targets hidden behind bushes
• Improved the view range from 415 to 430 meters
• Standardized the 76mm shells to one value (for this vehicle, 230 damage per shot)
• In order to keep the vehicle's firepower the same regarding the change above, we are changing the reload time to 3.05 seconds
• Improved the overall accuracy as well as the accuracy on the move of this vehicle (the basic accuracy value is now 0.124)
• Improved the amount of shells carried from 54 to 108

Rooikat

• Standardized the 76mm shells to one value (for this vehicle, 230 damage per shot)
• In order to keep the vehicle's firepower the same regarding the change above, we are changing the reload time to 3.24 seconds

Rosomak M1

• Fixed a visual issue where the ATGM launcher would appear as loaded even though the missiles were fired already

Sabre

• Reduced the camouflage penalty from firing ATGMs

Scorpion Kastet

• Fixed an issue that caused its turret to be treated as an unmanned one

Sphinx

• HE shell penetration reduced from 60mm to 13mm
• Reduced the module damage value for its AP shells, increased the module damage value for its HE shells

Sprut-SD

• Reload time reduced from 7 to 5.4 seconds

ST1

• Stock shell damage reduced from 510 to 500
• Replaced the "Thermal Imager" module, improving the vehicle's spotting abilities against targets hidden behind bushes, with another module that improves the aiming speed of the gun
• Reload time reduced from 6.2 to 4.5 seconds

Stingray 1

• Optimized this vehicle's armor in order to remove strange situations where shells fired against seemingly vulnerable flanks of these vehicle would just ricochet off

Stingray 2

• Optimized this vehicle's armor in order to remove strange situations where shells fired against seemingly vulnerable flanks of these vehicle would just ricochet off

T-14 Armata

With the balance changes introduced to the APS mechanics in previous updates, this vehicle became overpowered. We are therefore introducing the following changes:

• Upper frontal plate reduced from 330mm to 300mm
• Upper side of the lower frontal plate reduced from 650mm to 375mm
• Rear armor reduced to 15mm

On the other hand:

• This vehicle now has an "Armored Crew Capsule" module, reducing the initial pre-adjustment damage taken by crew by 50 percent

T-14 Armata 152

With the balance changes introduced to the APS mechanics in previous updates, this vehicle became overpowered. We are therefore introducing the following changes:

• Upper frontal plate reduced from 330mm to 300mm
• Upper side of the lower frontal plate reduced from 650mm to 375mm
• Rear armor reduced to 15mm

Furthermore, to address the matter of its excessive performance, we are introducing the following changes:

• Reduced the tank's turret traverse rate from 39 to 35 deg/s
• Reduced this vehicle's overall accuracy
• Reduced this vehicle's accuracy on the move (gun stabilization)
• Reduced its HE shell penetration from 70 to 51mm

On the other hand:

• This vehicle now has an "Armored Crew Capsule" module, reducing the initial pre-adjustment damage taken by crew by 50 percent

T-15

• This vehicle now has an "Armored Crew Capsule" module, reducing the initial pre-adjustment damage taken by crew by 50 percent
• The vehicle can now launch two missiles at the same time ("double tap" feature) – please note, however, that this triggers a lengthy reload before another such double launch can be performed (the delay between these double launches is 5 seconds)
• Rear armor reduced to 15mm

T-64A Mod. 1976

• Reload time increased from 9.64s to 10s
• Stock AP shell damage increased from 495 to 500
• Improved AP shell damage increased from 510 to 520
• HEAT shell damage increased from 520 to 530

T-72 Ural

• Reload time increased from 9.67s to 9.75s
• Stock AP shell damage increased from 480 to 520
• Improved AP shell damage increased from 495 to 540
• HE shell damage increased from 500 to 540
• HEAT shell damage increased from 500 to 550

T-72A

• Reload time reduced from 9.9s to 9.8s
• Stock AP shell damage increased from 520 to 540
• Improved AP shell damage decreased from 530 to 560
• HEAT shell damage increased from 540 to 570
• HE shell damage increased from 540 to 560

T-72B3

• Reduced the thickness of this vehicle's frontal side armor plates to 75mm

Taifun II

• Added an "Improved Ready Racks" module that reduces reload time to 6.4 seconds

Type 99A2

• Reduced this tank's hull traverse rate with an improved engine to 41 deg/s

Type 99A2-140

• Reduced the tank's turret traverse rate from 46 to 40 deg/s

VBL

• Made the vehicle easier to control at high speeds

Vickers VFM Mk.5

• Added a new "Thermal Imager" module, improving the vehicle's spotting abilities against targets hidden behind bushes
• Added an "Improved Ready Racks" module that reduces reload time to 6.39 seconds

VT-5

• Accuracy improved from 0.1084 to 0.084
• Improved the vehicle's accuracy on the move (gun stabilization)
• BTA2 shell penetration increased from 620mm to 660mm and its muzzle velocity increased from 1428 m/s to 1540 m/s
• Reload time reduced from 4.65 to 3.85 seconds

WPB Anders

• This vehicle has a unique twin feed automatic loading system that allows for rapid shell type switches. In order to translate that fact into the game, switching to a different shell type while having a fully loaded autoloader clip now only takes 4 to 4.5 seconds
• Rate of fire within one clip increased from 22 to 28 rounds per minute
• Due to the fact that this vehicle's ammo rack is located in an unmanned turret, ammunition fire now deals reduced damage
• Significantly reduced the chance for engine damage to cause a fire

WWO Wilk

• Reload time reduced from 5 to 4.2 seconds

Wilk XC-8

• Reload time reduced from 5 to 4.2 seconds
• Stock PELE round damage reduced from 690 to 650

Player versus Player

• Roughneck – fixed an issue where the collision models of storage tanks were larger than the visual ones
• Salzburg – removed the stones in sector F9 that were possible to drive through

Global Operations

• Added a whole set of new Achievements to the mode (please check the Dossier for a full list)
• Fixed an issue where killing a single player multiple times did not reflect properly in the detailed post-battle debriefing window
• Desert Crossing – jumping from the aircraft carrier into the dock water will now always destroy your vehicle instead of making it stuck
• Fixed an issue where allied bunkers sometimes lacked a health bar or did not appear on your mini-map correctly

Player versus Environment

New Special Operations

We are introducing two new Special Operations missions to Armored Warfare – the third and the fourth part of the Arabian Nights story arc. In the third part of the Special Operation, your task will be to transport a valuable prisoner to a ship with the support of an allied fleet. The following achievements will be available in this mission:

• Saracen 3
• Retrospect
• Not a Scratch

In the fourth part of the Special Operation, you will be fighting the main antagonist of the story arc and storming his base with the support of allied vehicles and aircraft. The following achievements will be available in this mission:

• Saracen 4
• End of Story
• Diplomat
• Top of the Heap
• Quick and Quiet

And, finally, for completing all the seasonal achievements, you can obtain the ultimate Arabian Triumph achievement.

Other changes:

• All players in a platoon now see the actual PvE map in rotation correctly
• Fixed an issue where some AI opponents were not firing at your team at all
• Arabian Nights Special Operation 1 – fixed an issue that allowed players to drive through a fallen tower in sector D6
• Arabian Nights Special Operation 1 – fixed an issue where vehicle wheels and tires were hanging in the air
• Arabian Nights Special Operation 2 – fixed an issue that prevented some objects from appearing on low graphics settings
• Arabian Nights Special Operation 2 – fixed an issue where some objects in the C7 sector lacked collision models
• Black Sea Incursion Special Operation 4 – fixed an issue where the AI opponents would do nothing during this battle

User Interface

• We've overhauled the Battalion User Interface and added more information to it, including the rank of a Battalion
• We've changed the way mode selection works on the HQ screen
• Overhauled the platoon window appearance
• Overhauled the whisper (private chat) window – it's now possible to write to multiple separate people in one window at once
• Reduced the Inventory screen loading time
• Improved the game's performance in Dealer windows
• Tier 1-2 and Tier 3-10 waiting times now appear correctly in the queue window
• Added the information to the Field Rebuild Kit and Field Maintenance Kit descriptions regarding the fact that these kits also repair modules and heal crew
• Added the information about the work of smoke dischargers and thermal imagers to their description

Issues and Corrections

• Fixed an issue that caused the screen to go black after the conclusion of a battle
• Fixed a PvE issue where some enemy vehicles marked green by the penetration indicator could not be penetrated at all
• Fixed an issue that sometimes made your team appear as enemies in battle
• Fixed an issue where firing an APFSDS shell at enemy roadwheels under steep angles, the penetration marker would appear as red
• Fixed an issue where Alisa's Mysterious Stranger ability was capable of damaging Alisa's own tank as well as allies instead of just enemies
• Fixed an issue where the Shark series of vehicles had an incorrect color
• Fixed the description of the Counter Attack Commander skill
• Fixed the armor of APS modules on a large number of in-game vehicles
• Alabino Proving Grounds – flags no longer stop shells
• Fixed several smaller UI issues