Very important clarifications from the developers!
What will change on the Public Test?
Devs will increase the drop in armor penetration of a high-explosive projectile after breaking through a screen or external module.
* In the previous version, the armor penetration was reduced exactly by the thickness of the armor of the screen and then the projectile, subject to the penetration of the screen, tried to penetrate the main armor of the hull. In the new mechanics, the decrease in armor penetration will be greater than the thickness of the screen.
Where it leads?
The probability of penetrating the main armor for high-explosive shells after breaking through the screen will greatly decrease, especially for tanks with weak side armor. And since there is no penetration, there will be no full damage.
** Devs want to balance the amount of armor penetration and the amount of damage done to vulnerable zones, which are usually covered by screens and external modules, for example, tracks. The new figures for the amount of damage done to well-protected frontal projections are now acceptable – the “light” high-explosive damage has become significantly less.
Perhaps, during the general test, devs will need additional adjustments to the reduction factor in order to find its optimal value.
It is worth mentioning separately that additional time will be required to reconfigure the work of the “traffic light” of armor penetration for new conditions – in the case of a breakdown of screens and external modules on the general test, it may work incorrectly.
General comments on changes to artillery and HE shells.
Changes to artillery and HE shells affect most of the game mechanics and other components of World of Tanks. You study and evaluate the improvements intently, from different angles – you find in them both advantages for yourself and moments that cause questions, and somewhere alarming.
As a rule, ambiguous points are most actively discussed, which is not surprising – everyone believes that it is his worries and fears that are most real and require immediate action. However, there was no consensus in the discussion.
Devs tried to combine such reviews into groups and found the only thing in common in the mass of different reviews – the vast majority of them concerned concerns about changing the game in the future, after the release:
• How will the changes in artillery and HE shells affect the gameplay of various vehicles and types of equipment?
• What changes need to be made now, during the general tests, in order to avoid possible negative consequences?
Devs see and share your concerns. For each group of vehicles, devs have formed statistical criteria (changes in damage, efficiency, tanking, etc.). If they change, then devs will make edits for the whole group or for certain machines. Since most of these questions relate to the future of various functionalities on the main server, the answers should be sought in dynamics, studying the statistics of the released version.
The process will consist of three large stages:
• Collecting statistics in the release version of the game.
• Determination of groups of equipment and specific machines for which edits are required. At this stage, using statistics, we will check the need for edits and what machines they are needed for.
• Formation and testing of specific edits.
To determine the specific values of the edits, you will need statistics after the release: this is the only way to get real and reliable data for a correct understanding of the changes.
The statistics from the general test were studied, there were no obvious changes in efficiency, and the mechanics worked within the established requirements.
HE shells changes: what the focus is on.
Not too much statistics have been obtained on vehicles with high-explosive gameplay at low and medium levels – within the Sandbox server, the general test, and even the current framework.
At the moment, the amount of data for making a decision on the need to change the performance characteristics of these machines is not enough. Current plan of action: carefully monitoring the situation with the effectiveness of such a technique after release and working out changes if necessary.
Changes in the performance characteristics of high-explosive vehicles. Judging by the current data from the general test, the edits had a positive effect on the efficiency of these machines. We will keep the changes in the release version, but we will also carefully monitor the performance indicators after the release on each machine individually.
Heavily armored vehicles, in particular the Object 279 and the T95 / FV4201 Chieftain. Changes in the action of high-explosive shells will hardly affect their combat effectiveness, because the main damage to such tanks is inflicted by other ammunition.
It will also become more difficult to inflict frontal damage on well-protected tanks with high-explosive shells. But from a design point of view, this is the correct behavior.
Artillery: Most Discussed Consequences.
1. The value of armor penetration for alternative landmines. During the tests on the Sandbox server, devs adjusted the indicators and now all ACS do not exhibit significant deviations from our expected values.
There was no increase in efficiency compared to the main server – the smaller radius of dispersion of the fragments and the more complex trajectory limit the effectiveness of such shells.
At the same time, it is important that the alternative projectile remains operational, it is necessary to maintain parity in the use of both high-explosive projectiles, without making one of them more effective.
Of course, such significant changes in performance characteristics will require additional monitoring and control of the effectiveness of individual SPG, which will be carried out both during the general test and after release.
2. Sound reconnaissance and other mechanics. Currently, two of the three anti-artillery mechanics are available to players by default – these are bright tracers and shot marks on the minimap. The third mechanic, sonic intelligence, is available for research.
From the point of view of game logic, devs considered the possibility of placing a skill with a commander or radio operator. At the same time, in most cases, the skill would still be studied by the commander, since the radio operator is not present in the crews of all equipment.
Devs understand that the commander is currently the busiest member of the crew and this will force players to choose between other useful skills and abilities.
This is one of the reasons why devs are now actively working on improving Crew 2.0 – it is necessary to eliminate the congestion of individual crew members.
4. The American branch of the SPG. The collection of performance data under the new conditions is ongoing for this branch. Now we can already say that the edits will be required for the M44, they will be made before the release of version 1.13.
