World of Tanks 9.22 – Rebalance of USSR Tech Tree

Source: WoT RU Portal

Today we are talking about the rebalance of Soviet vehicles.

In update 9.22 we will bring to life the most unpopular tanks of the nation, adding new equipment and changing the tech tree of the USSR. Why is this necessary? “Object 263” and its “younger comrades” rarely participated in battles, like the Soviet tier X “Object 430”, which is not surprising. It was not easy to play with them. In addition, vehicles of different tiers differed too much in gameplay.

We plan to rework these vehicle branches in order to breathe life into these machines and make the game consistent and understandable for them. In addition, in patch 9.22 you are waiting for a new style of gameplay with new tier VIII-X heavy tanks with the rear location of the turret.

And now let us dwell in more detail on the changes and causes that led to them.

Medium tanks

 

The A-43 branch does not give an idea of what machine will be played in tier X. After getting to know all the advantages and disadvantages of mediums with the rear location of the turret at the tiers VII-IX, it was logical to expect a similar gameplay and on the top of the branch vehicle. However, instead you got a classic close quarters mediums tank and were disappointed. Naturally, the popularity of the branch fell.

What makes you give this branch a second chance? Perhaps, what it has lacked: the sequence of the gameplay. Cause of this, we concentrated in update 9.22 to reposition the “Object 430” to tier IX. There he will form a mini-branch of well-armored assault mediums with high single shot alpha damage, beginning from the T-44. And in tier X there will be an absolutely new machine: the “Object 430U”:

The newcomer boasts a compact size, decent mobility and good armament. It can easily get to the flank of an enemy, destroy enemy tanks due to high single damage and get out of the fire unscathed.

In order to check the effective armor values, visit the WoT RU portal.

A new branch of Soviet heavy tanks:

Until recently, Great Britain and Germany were the only nations where the heavy tanks at tier X had a rear turrer layouts. Some of you liked these tanks, while others preferred a more traditional option. However, few would undertake to assert that FV 215b, Pz.Kpfw. VII and VK 72.01 (K) (which was issued for playing on the Global map) were uninteresting. In update 9.22, this group will be joined by the Soviet vehicles: you will find a new gaming experience from the classic Soviet “heavies” on the VIII-X levels (researched from the IS branch). Classic, but with a rear-facing turret.

Excellently armored, the IS-M, “Object 705” and “Object 705A” will receive higher single shot damage than usual for Soviet heavy tanks. This value is compensated by the aiming parameters: these machines are not adapted for long range firefights. Their preferred element is battles at medium or short distances. However, this is not the main thing – the rear position of the turret is important. In combination with the strong armor, good mobility (for this type of vehicle) and a powerful armament, it will make it possible to easily outplay the enemy.

IS-M:

Take advantage of your tank and be able to effectively support the attack or send enemy tanks to their garage. The gameplay of these heavy tanks is a cross between the gameplay on the Pz.Kpfw. VII and IS-7, but it remains unchanged as the branch progresses. What can be said about the firepower: from the 122mm gun at the tier VIII vehicle to the powerful 152mm gun on the “Object 705A”.

Object 705A:

Players love the mobile assault T-10, which quickly shifts the accent of an attack, knocking everything in its path. However, no matter how good it may be, it did not fit into the IS-3 and IS-7 group, so we replaced it with “Object 257”. Do not worry, the T-10 will not quit the game. Over the years, It repeatedly proved its effectiveness, so it will get a mini-branch, where at tier X will be a machine with a similar gameplay. We continue to work on this newcomer, so let’s talk about it later.

Object 257:

Alternative branch of Soviet tank destroyers:

We have planned to bring this branch of tank destroyers in the game for a long time. Simply changing the vehicle parameters in update 9.20 did not produce the expected result. We are well aware of the problem, and we found a new solution for it: rebalance of the branch into assault tank destroyers for medium to close quarters combat.

Concept:

• High forward / backward speed combined with moderate maneuverability will allow these machines to quickly reach key positions and occupy them, as well as escape from the fire.
• Good frontal armor is ideal for blocking enemy shells, but the armor of the sides and the lower frontal part is rather thin.
• The average single shot damage and prolonged reload will compensate for mobility and survivability.
• Accuracy and aim time are calculated for effective combat in close to medium range firefights and are not suitable for conducting fire from a long distance.
• Not the most comfortable angles of gun depression caused by design features.

The branch rebalance in accordance with the given concept required some structural changes. We started with the transfer of Object 263 to a tier below, where hit will be able to prove itself due to its damage per minute and reload time (in fact, it remained the same as tier X!). The next step is to select the appropriate machine for tier X, and “Object 268 version 4” came up for this role. It received good speed, armor and an extremely effective gun with a caliber of 152mm and an average single shot damage of 650 units.

“Object 263” and “Object 268 version 4” showed excellent results in internal tests. The vehicles tanked damage well and showed to adequate in the role of assault assault tank destroyers – fast, armored, with moderate alpha damage and not too high for a tank destroyer damage per minute.

You were against moving Object 263 to IX level, and we could not ignore it. So we left both machines for another iteration of closed internal testing. “Object 263” has not changed, but we reduced the single shot damage of “Object 268 version 4” from 750 to 650 units, retaining the previous damage per minute, in order to smooth the sudden change in single damage and the speed of reload between the machines of tiers VIII and X.

The last (and probably the most difficult) task was the adjustment of machines at medium levels for the role of assault tank destroyers for close and medium range combat. SU-122-54 did not fit into this concept because of the traditional location of the casemate. Here we were faced with a difficult choice: the vehicle was clearly not suitable for the branch in terms of gameplay, but it was important from a historical point of view. We moved it one tier lower to see how it would perform there. Unfortunately, the vehicle showed low efficiency in blocking damage even at tier VIII and still did not fit into the concept of an assault tank destroyer. Therefore, we decided to withdraw the SU-122-54 from the game and make a branch entirely from the machines with the rear location of the turret.

The second iteration of the supertest strengthened our belief that the concept we chose for the branch will give these tank destroyers what they lacked. These should be well armored, fast vehicles with a good single shot alpha damage, the purpose of which is to lead a breakthrough and provide interesting gameplay. The last assumption is based on the supertest data. We want you to test this hypothesis yourself, determine if you need any other changes, and together we will make the best decision. Let’s wait for the start of the general test of update 9.22 and find out how much machines of this branch are ready for battle!

During the general test of the version 9.22, which is coming soon, we will follow your feedback and statistics. We want to be sure that the changed vehicles provide the game that we expect from them.