War Thunder News

Hey everyone! In our previous Roadmap news we mentioned that two features, the in-game wishlist functionality and the Steam friends list integration were being delayed.

Thanks for your patience on this. We’re pleased to say that both have been implemented into the game today, and in this article we’ll be taking a quick look at both.

We’ve also updated the Roadmap infographic, which can be seen at the end of this article. Let’s take a look!

[h2]In-Game Wishlist Functionality and Gifting through it![/h2]
You can now create your personal wishlist by adding any vehicle to it! To do this, hover over a vehicle and press the “Add to Wishlist” button. You’ll be presented with a pop-up window where you can write a comment of your choice.



To get to your wishlist, you can hover over the vehicle again once it’s been added and click “Go to Wishlist”, or access it through Shop > Wishlist in the hangar.



Within your wishlist, you’re able to see information about the vehicle, your comment, plus the price and the date that you added it. You can filter several different options such as vehicle type, nation, rank, what is available for purchase and if there’s a discount available.



If you’re no longer interested in a vehicle, you can remove it — the wishlist has a maximum of 100 vehicles that can be added, so this will give you free space. Purchasing a vehicle that’s on your wishlist will automatically remove it.

To view a friend’s wishlist, find and click on them in your friends list and then click “Go to Wishlist”. You’ll only be able to see their wishlisted vehicles that can be gifted through the Gaijin Store.

Only vehicles that are in the Gaijin Store can be gifted. Please note that gifting through the wishlist is only available to PC players who don’t play the game through Steam. It’s not possible to receive gifts if you play the game on an account created via Steam and have no email linked to it.

For further details on gifting through the in-game wishlist please refer to this support article.

When gifting a friend through their wishlist, the Gaijin Store will open and you’ll be able to gift as normal.

If you’d like to add vehicles to your wishlist just for yourself, you can turn off the ability for friends to view your wishlist under the Options > Main parameters > Privacy and Confidentiality setting.

[h2]Steam Friends List Integration [/h2]
Your Steam friends list is now shown in-game! You can find it by going to your in-game Contacts list, where there’s now a new “Steam friends” section. This section displays your friends and their Steam avatars, nicknames and presence status: Online on War Thunder and Online or Offline on Steam. Friends who have War Thunder can be interacted with the same way regular contacts can.



You can also add them to your regular War Thunder friends list, where their Steam account information (avatars for example) is displayed instead of their in-game War Thunder avatar.

[h2]Updated Roadmap infographic [/h2]
Be sure to share it with your friends!


Note that the “Additional effects on crews when armor is penetrated. For example, fire in the fighting compartment, concussion of weapon operators when armor is penetrated” feature was replaced with “Introduction of new additional modules for ground vehicles” as a result of user polling.

Until next time,
The War Thunder Team

Last week we showed you proposed changes and additions in the mechanics of armored vehicles - and invited you to vote for each of them separately. A total of 52,325 players took part in the survey - thank you very much for your interest! After studying the voting results, we made a number of decisions about the further development of War Thunder, and now we will tell you about them.

The overwhelming majority of those surveyed were in favor of introducing new modules and mechanics for healing crews in ground vehicles. Based on this, we will begin implementing these changes. Please note that the crew healing logic is planned to be introduced in the second major update of this year or even earlier, if possible. Adding new modules will be impossible for all vehicles in the game at once and will happen gradually. With each major update, some vehicles will be improved and receive new modules, starting with the most ‘empty’ models. Any new vehicle models will already be added to the game with the additional modules.



As for the introduction of the stun mechanic, more were against introducing this mechanic than were in favor, so we will postpone its development for now. Perhaps we will discuss this further in the future after implementation of the announced changes. It is possible that the implementation of new modules and their effects will make the problem of ineffective hits unimportant.

When voting on new fire sources, both those for and against the introduction of this mechanic were almost equally divided: the difference was about 2%. Based on this, we decided not to add this mechanic in the proposed form, when any penetration in the fighting compartment leads to one fire or another that leaves the ignition source tied to various types of vehicle modules. However, some of the modules planned for addition to equipment can be (and are in reality) real sources of fire - for example, a battery or a hydraulic drive system - so they can cause a fire when hit as currently happens when the engine or fuel tanks are damaged.

We hope you'll enjoy these changes in future updates to the game. And we will continue to move further along the Roadmap, adding new mechanics and, if necessary, conducting similar surveys. See you in War Thunder!

The King Tiger is coming to Sweden! One of the best tanks of the Second World War that went to the northern country as a testing tank obtained after the war is the main prize of the brand-new 15th Battle Pass season: Northern King.

To receive Battle Pass rewards, you’ll need to regularly log into the game and complete tasks and challenges. Each level of the Battle Pass will earn you a prize, be it a player icon, loading screen, title, decals, decorations, or 3 brand-new premium vehicles!



[h3]

When: From April 24th until July 24th.

[/h3]

[h2]This Season’s Rewards[/h2]

We’ve got a new set of decals, decorations, a profile icon and vehicles lined up for you this season! See the full list in the Battle Pass tab in the hangar, or check them out on our Wiki. Here’s some key rewards for Season 15:

[h2]USS Flagstaff[/h2]
A Premium US Motor Gun Boat at Rank III

This is an incredibly speedy and maneuverable boat with a interchangeable main gun — the 152 mm cannon with excellent high-explosives or a 40 mm Bofors cannon. The choice ultimately yours!



[h2]P-51C-11-NT Mustang (China)[/h2]
A Premium Fighter for China at Rank III

Thanks to the high-altitude Packard V-1650-7 Merlin engine, this Mustang is one of the fastest aircraft at its rank. Ideal for boom n’ zooming!



[h2]Kungstiger[/h2]
A Premium Heavy Tank for Sweden at Rank IV

The King Tiger is a fantastic heavy tank with good frontal hull armor, one of the best guns at its rank and very effective shells. With Sweden, it’s a true Northern King!




[h2]Decals[/h2]

4 decals!







[h2]Decorations[/h2]

3 decorations!



[h2]Profile Icon[/h2]

Valkyrie


[h2]

All Rewards and Challenges for Season 15

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[h3]About the Battle Pass[/h3]

[h3]

If you’ve got two Coupon Upgrades from stages in the previous season, then you can claim the new Battle Pass for free! Exchange them in the purchase menu of the Northern King season.

[/h3]

The Battle Pass is a seasonal event where players can earn many rewards, from Silver Lions and boosters to exclusive season prizes: decorations, profile icons and premium vehicles. The rules are simple: you earn progress points and use them to unlock new stages, earning valuable prizes in the process.

You can unlock new stages and receive awards at any time during the season.


You can access the “Battle Pass” window through the promo block on the right side of the hangar screen.

[h3]How to participate[/h3]
Play

• You get progress points every day for entering the game.
  
• From 1 to 5 points.
  

Complete Battle Tasks

• You can check your Battle Tasks in the game. Complete them and receive progress points.
  
• From 2 to 5 points.
  

Complete Season Challenges

• One Challenge is available at the start of the season. Every week you get a new one, while three more can become available by unlocking stages.
  
• 30 points.
  

Learn more about the Battle Pass

The April fools event only happens once a year! Your captures from the event were great. What was your favorite part of the event? The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 116th edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen116. You have time until the 26th of April to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

[h3]Terms:[/h3]

Your screenshot must include a player vehicle and a boat or ship.
You must add the #WTscreen116 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
Artists may only win by popular vote once per four screenshot competitions.
• Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.
  
• You need to be the author of the screenshot.
  
• Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.
  
• We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).
  
• You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.
  
• You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.
  
• Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 14 working days.
  

[h2]And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 115th edition – Mad Thunder![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221092185
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3223406095
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221567569

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3225015724
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3222709557
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3221899002

Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!

Today we’re showing you the main reward for the new season of the upcoming Battle Pass, which we’ve suitably named Northern King! Meet the famous King Tiger that was obtained by Sweden: an amazing tank with an amazing fate!

[h2]Kungstiger: A Premium Heavy Tank for Sweden at Rank IV[/h2]

Features:

• Excellent upper plate front armor!
  
• Long-barreled 88 mm gun.
  
• Decent mobility.
  

Vehicle History
[expand]
After the end of World War II, a special delegation in the Swedish Armed Forces dealt with the delivery of surviving German tanks from liberated France to the country. They were particularly interested in the delivery of the Tiger II tank to study and test at Swedish testing grounds, but attempts to find a relatively intact one were unsuccessful, as most of the hulls were heavily damaged by explosions and fire. This was until August 1947, when the French reported that they had found a suitable vehicle in Gien, south of Paris.

At the end of November, the found tank arrived by sea to Stockholm, where it was placed in the yard of a repair facility which was entrusted with restoring the vehicle. Finally in 1948, a year after a long layover, work on the tank begun. The first thing that mechanics saw when they opened the engine-transmission compartment lid was a cocked hand grenade in the engine compartment. Apparently the crew intended to destroy the King Tiger’s engine before abandoning it. After the grenade was dispatched of, the tank was prepared for testing.

Due to the large mass of the tank and the unprepared Swedish road infrastructure for driving a 69 ton tank on, the delivery of the Tiger II between the test sites in Skövde and Karlsborg became a real test, in which railway, automobile equipment and even a Sherman tank took part in. The last stage was fire tests, where the tank was fired at by different types of artillery shells and hand-held anti-tank weapons. Finally in 1951, the tank’s hull was scrapped, and the turret was used for some time as a target for the new Strv 81 (Centurion) tank.
[/expand]

[h2]Meet the Kungstiger![/h2]

The Kungstiger is a German Tiger II heavy tank that will be part of the Swedish ground research tree! This beast is the main reward for the upcoming Northern King Battle Pass season, starting on 24th April. Let’s take a closer look!



All-in-all, the Tiger II can be rightfully considered one of the best heavy tanks at its rank, with this reward also coming with the added benefits of having premium bonuses too. First off, let’s take a look at its armor. The upper front hull provides good enough protection against several types of shells, where the only ones that have a chance to penetrate are APDS or HEAT rounds. In terms of turret armor, the mantlet is that of the earlier production models, meaning it’s not as good as the later Tiger II variant. The most vulnerable areas are considered to be the weakly protected lower front full, where hits here usually lead to internal damage, the turret cheeks that can lead to a ricochet into the hull, as well as the rear part of the turret. Shells stored in this area are susceptible to being easily hit, leading to the entire tank exploding!



A gun that many of you are familiar with is the formidable 88 mm KwK43 cannon, which can be considered one of the best at its rank. Huge shell casings and a long barrel ensure shells have a higher velocity, making it relatively easy to hit targets at longer distances. Traditionally, the most effective shell to use with this gun is the PzGr 39/43 APCBC round as it has excellent armor penetration and good post-pen explosive effects. Also available is a HE shell, good for use against light vehicles wherever needed.



When it arrives to the game, the Kungstiger will be the first rank IV premium ground vehicle in the Swedish tree, where it’ll also help to add some diversity to vehicle lineups at this rank. Plus, it’ll also be a great vehicle to start researching this tree in general.



That’s it for today, be sure to keep an eye out for the general Battle Pass news article with the rest of the details that we’re planning to publish on April 22nd. See you soon!