Armored Warfare News

Commanders!

As you may already know, Armored Warfare is moving to another season this month, one which we call Apocalypse.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Apocalypse season will be all about survival – the missions will pit you against other stragglers following the cataclysm at the end of the last Spirithaven Special Operation. Much like Spirithaven, the Apocalypse season will run for most of the year with Update 0.34 being only the initial part of it.

Here’s what you can look forward to:


[h2]Special Operation “Plague”[/h2]


This release version contains a number of interesting features with the biggest one being the first of four planned Special Operations.



In 2044, a series of supervolcano eruptions nearly resulted in the extinction of man. Only shattered remnants of once proud civilizations now remain with most of the old world buried under the cold blanket of ash and cinder, as the survivors fight over the few scraps left. In the aftermath of the apocalypse, Ivo Rinaldi and a retired Russian officer by the name of Igor Kopylov, both having weathered the storm in one of Enigma's secret shelters, started a settlement. The tiny outpost is anything but safe though; raiders roam the land in search for their prey. Commandeering a salvaged Enigma warship, both men set out on a mission to capture vital resources in the Georgian city of Gori, recently devastated by an earthquake.



More Special Operations missions await you this year. We will be releasing then a few months apart in order to give you time to master each one and to complete even the most difficult achievement objectives, which there will be plenty of. You can read more about the mission in our dedicated article.


[h2]Optimizations[/h2]


In this update, we are rolling out another set of performance improvements. While each of them is a small change on its own, together, they should help to make the game run smoother and look prettier. These include:

• Improved particle effect rendering on minimal graphics settings
• Improved the tank rendering speed on all graphics settings
• Improved UI caching
• Minimum settings effect optimization
• Reviewed level of detail settings for various objects (object appearance now differs more depending on your graphics settings)
• Improved rendering of grass and small stones
• Optimized minimap refreshing
• Improved shadow rendering distance for all graphics settings except for the minimum one

[h2]Further Season Plans[/h2]


All of the above is, however, only just a portion of what the Apocalypse season will offer. A steady stream of content will be available throughout the season. Here’s a sample of what you can look forward to in the near future.

December:

• Echoes of War Battle Path with exciting Russian vehicles, including the Shilka, Kurganets, Msta-S and the long-awaited Object 195
• Breath of Winter countdown to Christmas with some amazing prizes
• Artillery will return to Global Operations
• Christmas and New Year celebrations with gifts, bonuses, prizes (Christmas garage and the special mode will return as always)

January and February:

• Wheeled AI vehicles in PvE
• New AI improvements
• Plenty of events, contests and other celebrations

And that’s just us getting started. The Apocalypse season will simply be... earthshattering.

You can read more about the contents of Update 0.34 below:


List of Update 0.34 Changes:


Gameplay Mechanisms


Optimizations

In this update, we are rolling out another set of performance improvements. While each of them is a small change on its own, together, they should help to make the game run smoother and look prettier. These include:

• Improved particle effect rendering on minimal graphics settings
• Improved the tank rendering speed on all graphics settings
• Improved UI caching
• Minimum settings effect optimization
• Reviewed level of detail settings for various objects (object appearance now differs more depending on your graphics settings)
• Improved rendering of grass and small stones
• Optimized minimap refreshing
• Improved shadow rendering distance for all graphics settings except for the minimum one

General Changes

• Improved the metallic surface render algorithm for all graphics settings
• Mechanized infantry now makes sound when running
• Somewhat improved the rock and cliff rendering on a number of maps
• Slightly reduced the density of the visual building and ground hit effects
• Explosions can now fell trees

Vehicles


Designate Target Overhaul

The Designate Target active ability, available to many AFVs and LTs, is getting changed as such:

• Reduced the Designate Target duration from 20s to 10s
• Reduced the Designate Target cooldown from 30s to 15s
• Reduced the target lock time from 2.5s to 2s
• A lock interruption no longer resets the whole lock process – instead, it will take roughly 0.25s to take effect, followed by a progression decrease (roughly twice as fast as the locking progress itself)
• Firing no longer resets the target lock (it's possible to fire and lock a target at the same time)

Additional Abrams Model Fixes

Following player feedback, we have added some more corrections to the Abrams visual and collision models. Apart from that:

• Fixed the issue where the gun firing animation was getting stuck
• M1A1 AIM had its collision model fixed
• The Abrams series now has its mantlet top correctly animated
• Fixed the appearance of the destroyed suspension

General Changes

• Vehicles armed with autocannons no longer have machineguns
• MBT stock smoke grenades now reload faster and have more charges
• MBT improved smoke grenades no longer have two-charge magazines (except for the CATTB and the Leclercs)
• Fixed a large number of shell value issues
• Smoke grenade launchers now look full again when reloaded
• Temporary interruption of a shell reload process (for example due to ammo rack damage) does no longer reset the entire reload
• Fixed an issue where the real maximum speed of some vehicles was higher than the declared one by as much as 10 percent
• The Pulat APS launchers used by the Wilk XC-8 and WPB Anders are now extended in combat
• Fixed the gun firing sound for Marder 2 and Begleitpanzer 57
• Fixed a large number of small visual issues on multiple models (small texture adjustments etc.)

Altay

• Improved the appearance of this vehicle's visual model

BMP-3 and BMP-3M

• Updated the armor of these vehicles (their frontal armor is now able to withstand the fire of 30mm autocannons at certain distance)

BMP-3M Dragun

• Fixed this vehicle's hard-kill APS armor model

CATTB

• This vehicle now has a new engine fire visual effect

K21 XC-8

• Fixed this vehicle's HE damage (the shell will now deal 900 damage when penetrating thin armor and 600 damage upon partial penetration)

Leclerc T4

• Updated this vehicle's armor tooltip values to correspond to the real ones

Leopard 2 Evolution

• The turret of this vehicle now flies off upon the destruction of this tank by an ammo explosion

Leopard 2A5

• Changed the location of the second decal from the rear to the side of the vehicle

M109

• Fixed this vehicle's armor layout

M109A6 Paladin

• This vehicle's machinegun now deals the intended damage

M48 GAU-8

• This vehicle now has a new engine fire visual effect

M60A2 Starship

• Fixed this vehicle's frontal collision model

Magach 5

• The coaxial machinegun no longer fires through ERA elements, there's a hole for it now

OA-82

• The machinegun movement is now correctly tied to the elevation of the main guns

PL-01

• Fixed the muzzle blast effect when firing

Rooikat 76

• Fixed the muzzle blast effect when firing

RST-V Shadow

• Corrected this vehicle's size (it was too large)

Sphinx

• Increased the ammo carried from 390 to 600

ST-1

• HEAT shell damage improved from 510 to 550

T-90MS Hades

• This vehicle has a gun model again

Type 89

• This vehicle's smoke grenades now reload faster but have fewer charges

Vickers Mk.7/2

• Improved the appearance of this vehicle's barrel shroud

WPB Anders

• Improved this vehicle's upper frontal plate thickness

ZTQ-15

• Fixed a large number of armor issues
• Fixed this vehicle's frontal collision model
• Fixed this vehicle's engine fire visual effect
• The tank is now slightly more dirty in the Garage

Player versus Environment


New Special Operation

In this Update, we are rolling out a new Special Operation called Plague, along with several achievements, including:

• Plague
• Seismic Insanity
• This... Is... Gori! (yes, you get to shove enemies into a pit)
• Protector
• Class-specific achievements as usual

You can read more about this Special Operation in our dedicated article.

General Changes

• Fixed some AI vehicle settings in order to make them not turn away from player vehicles as much
• Spirithaven, Chapter 4: Fixed an issue where the lasers indicating the players being targeted by a turret would not appear correctly during the first turret salvo
• Spirithaven, Chapter 4: Fixed several instances of tanks bouncing while driving on the lower platforms of the base
• Zero Hour: Fixed an issue that caused players getting stuck when driving on the dam

Player versus Player

• PvP map loading screens now show starting locations
• Al Dabbah: Fixed an issue where some stones would fly or would turn transparent

User Interface

• Redesigned the Premium Time purchase window to match the rest of the Garage
• Fixed the Assist Commendation tooltip description
• Sound volume is no longer listed on a scale of 0 to 1, but 0 to 100
• Fixed the server bonus localization issues
• Fixed a number of smaller UI issues

Issues and Corrections

• Fixed an UI issue where some 12.7mm machineguns would show 7.62mm damage values in the Garage UI
• Fixed an UI issue that could cause the time remaining until objective or base capture to appear incorrectly
• Fixed an issue where some ATGM launcher vehicles would show an incorrect amount of ATGMs loaded on their visual models
• Fixed an issue where, while spectating a match or watching a replay, hit decals could appear incorrectly
• Fixed a Global Operations issue where the enemy vehicles would appear for a short time upon respawn to your team at random locations
• Fixed an issue where the Javelin target lock sound wouldn't stop playing even after the destruction of your target
• Fixed an issues where some broken vehicle modules would, upon triggering a repair, visually appear fixed sooner than they actually were
• Fixed an issue where, when driving, the wheels would turn but the tracks wouldn't
• Fixed an issue where if you reconnect to a battle, Mechanized Infantry won't appear on your minimap
• Fixed an issue that caused the aiming reticle to not appear correctly when spectating other players
• Fixed an issue where, if you ran two screens on one PC and launched the game in the full-screen mode while using the lower resolution screen, the game would partially overlap to your second screen
• Fixed an issue where tanks would appear darker than they should have on minimal graphics settings
• Fixed several issues that could cause the game to crash

See you on the battlefield!

On the 24th of November 2020, starting from 8:00 CET (23rd of November, 11 PM PST), the server will not be available for 5 hours due to the application of Update 0.34.



Please note that the content of this major update will be disclosed in a separate post.

Commanders!

The final vehicle of the upcoming Battle Path will be the Soviet Msta-S Self-Propelled Gun.



The Msta-S SPG was developed as a replacement to the older 2S3 Akatsiya. The goal was to match (or surpass) the newly developed NATO artillery pieces with long 155mm guns that were designed to offer enough range to keep Soviet infantry from actually reaching the front. The Soviets needed the same type of weapon in their arsenal.

Adapting a long 152mm gun for vehicle use turned out to be a long process. The general development started as early as in 1976 with several projects running parallel, but the actual MSTA-S project was opened in 1980 and it would take almost a decade for the vehicle to see service. The MSTA-S SPG is based on a heavily modified T-72 chassis and is armed with a long 152mm gun, allowing it to fire at extreme distances (especially when using modern ammunition). The production began in 1988 and is currently ongoing with a modernized variant rolling out for the Russian military.

More than 500 Msta-S SPGs are still in Russian service and dozens were exported to several other countries. It has seen some combat during the Second Chechen War and the War in Donbass. Even though the exact production numbers aren’t available, it is estimated that around 1000 Msta-S howitzers have been built to this day.



In Armored Warfare, the Msta-S will be a Tier 9 Premium SPG. Indeed – it will be the first vehicle of this class to be introduced in years. We’ve decided to add a new vehicle of this class partially because some of you have been asking for one, but also because we are planning to finally return SPGs to the Global Operations mode, making them useful in PvP as well as in PvE.

This change will happen at some point in the near future (not necessarily with the launch of Update 0.34 though) and will be permanent.

As for the Msta-S, it will be about what you’d expect. As is customary with SPGs, it will have poor mobility and practically no armor whatsoever with only a 7.62mm machinegun being available for close combat.



What it will have, however, is a long 152mm gun (no magazine, 8 seconds reload time) capable of firing two types of HE shells (apart from the usual White Phosphorus and Smoke ones, of course):

• Standard shell (300 m/s) with high trajectory that will make it easier to fire at targets behind cover
• Fast shell (600 m/s) with low trajectory that will make it easier to fire at moving targets (but not over obstacles), available via additional Battle Path progression

Otherwise, they both will have the same properties similar to other high-caliber and high-Tier HE shells:

• 50mm penetration
• 1200 points of damage per shot

The faster shell will also come with a special ability of nearly instant switch, so you’ll always have the option to immediately choose, which shell suits your purposes the best.



We hope that you will enjoy this Self-Propelled Gun as well as the entire Battle Path and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

One of the main features of Update 0.34 will be the new Echoes of War apocalypse-themed Battle Path and today we’d like to tell you more about it.



Mechanics-wise, the Echoes of War Battle Path will be similar to Enigma’s Legacy with the principles being roughly the same. Once you acquire access to the campaign (the price remains the same), you’ll be earning Battle Coins and spending them on Battle Path progress. Battle Coins will be earned either by just playing or by completing missions. Four mission sets along with repeatable daily Battle Coin Missions and Challenges will be available like the last time.

Completing all three mission sets will unlock the fourth, ultimate mission set. Once again, the campaign will feature several Premium vehicles available as a part of the campaign’s basic level progress. However, this is where things started to differ from the previous Battle Paths.

The prize vehicles obtainable via Battle Path levels will be:

• ZSU-23-4 Shilka Tier 4 Premium AFV for unlocking Level 10
• An exciting, yet unannounced Premium vehicle
• 9P157-2 Khrizantema-S Tier 8 Premium TD for unlocking Level 40
• Object 195 Tier 10 Premium MBT for unlocking Level 50

As you can see, the initial vehicle will no longer be obtainable merely for unlocking the Battle Path, but on the bright side, the vehicles featured in this Battle Path are mostly high-Tier Premium ones, significantly increasing the total value of the prizes obtainable. To reflect that, the progression cost per level above Level 10 will increase slightly from 4.000 to 4.500 Battle Coins.

Another change compared to the previous one is that while each of these Battle Path vehicles do comes with a special apocalypse-themed skin called Vagabond, these will now be obtainable via standard level progression alongside the tanks instead of being locked behind various Missions. That way, they will become easily obtainable.



Let’s talk about the Mission Chains because those underwent a lot of changes as well. For one, like we mentioned above, Missions will no longer award skins. Instead, the top prize for each chain will be a special Battle Path camouflage called Biohazard (one environment per chain). As for the missions themselves:

• We have removed the unpopular support-based and kill-based missions, leaving damage only
• Missions no longer require Battle Path vehicles to participate in them
• Each chain was reduced to 6 missions
• Chains are now class-based (one requires Tier 3-10 MBTs, one requires Tier 3-10 AFVs or LTs and one requires Tier 3-10 TDs or SPGs)
• The final, Elite chain consists of 5 missions, each dropping blueprints of the Kurganets-25 Tier 9 Premium TD

This vehicle brings us to the final and the most radical innovation of the Battle Path. In the earlier Battle Path iterations, we always had one vehicle reserved for Battle Path Loot Crates. Players had to buy these Loot Crates for Battle Coins and gradually assemble the vehicle.



This Battle Path, we are removing these Loot Crates altogether. Instead, we’ll have a brand new Battle Path section called Shop.



The Shop is pretty much exactly what it sounds like – a page where you can choose one of five items available and purchase them directly for Battle Coins. The items on offer are periodically renewed so every single offer set is available for a limited time only. Additionally, a manual re-roll will be available for 300 Battle Coins.



On the other hand, they do give you the opportunity to obtain items as:

• Kurganets-25 parts
• Credits
• Boosters
• Premium Time
• Premium vehicles (including Tier 10 ones and those from the previous Battle Paths)
• Commanders (including Ophelia Kitescu and Alisa Korhonen)

As well as bonus Battle Coins (which can then be used for rerolls). The Kurganets-25 TD can be assembled using the parts you purchase in the Shop.



The Workshop will also be making a comeback, allowing you to further improve your prize vehicles by completing Battle Path missions or Challenges. You can also use the Workshop to upgrade the older Last Patriot and Enigma's Legacy Battle Path vehicles.

Other than that, the mechanics will remain the same, as will the entry price. Apart from the abovementioned Premium vehicles, the Battle Path levels will contain other rewards such as Battle Coin boosters, decals, Gold, boosters and much more. Of particular note is the avatar that you can get early on, but it gradually changes its appearance based on your progression. The existing mechanics will be described in detail in the FAQ section upon the Battle Path’s launch.

We hope that you will enjoy this Battle Path that is due to launch at the beginning of December and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

• Object 640 Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
• BMPT Mod.2000 Tier 8 Premium Tank Destroyer
• Iron Crate (this time with Type 89)

Between November 19 and 26, 2020, the following items will be available:

[h2]Object 640[/h2]

The Object 640 is one of the last Soviet era “super tank” monsters, designed to surpass anything the west could field on the battlefield. It featured extremely advanced armor, making it highly resistant to hits while keeping its weight low. The design was truly revolutionary for the late 1980s, but, like with many other Soviet projects of the era, it was discontinued due to the lack of funding. You can learn more about it in a dedicated article.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Armored Warfare, the Object 640 “Black Eagle” is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank. It is a fast, agile and well-protected vehicle that plays in a typical Russian-style MBT fashion – ideal for players who want to take things up close and personal. This version of the tank does not feature any camouflage and is ready to be customized as you see fit.

The Object 640 Tier 10 Premium MBT is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.



[h2]BMPT Mod.2000[/h2]

The BMPT Mod.2000 is, as its name suggests, one of the earliest models of the famous Russian BMPT series, also known under the name “Terminator.” The word BMPT stands for “tank support combat vehicle,” which is exactly what the machine was designed for – to accompany tanks to battle and support them (predominantly in urban environments) against enemy infantry. It consists of a MBT-class hull (a modified T-90 one) and an unmanned turret, armed with a single 30mm automatic cannon and a single four-tube launcher for Kornet-E ATGMs. This particular model was shown to general public in 2000, but didn’t get much attention. It was overhauled almost immediately to the iconic twin-autocannon configuration that’s being used to this day.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Armored Warfare, the BMPT Mod.2000 is a Tier 8 Premium Tank Destroyer. It’s a heavy duty vehicle with its hull offering excellent protection for its class. The turret, albeit lightly armored, only takes reduced damage. Even though this vehicle only features a single 30mm autocannon (unlike all the other BMPT series vehicles in the game), this is compensated by the presence of powerful ATGMs that make the BMPT Mod.2000 an extremely potent tank killer.

This vehicle is now available on MY.GAMES Market directly in three different variants:

• BMPT Mod.2000 without any camouflage
• BMPT Mod.2000 Reaper with a scary black grim-reaper-themed camouflage
• BMPT Mod.2000 Sapphire with its hull covered in blue flames

Please note that the latter two camouflages are permanent and cannot be removed from the vehicle if you purchase them.



[h2]Iron Crate[/h2]

We’ve prepared for you an additional offer this week. Between November 19 and November 26, 2020, the Iron Crate will be available on MY.GAMES Market with 50% discount!



The mechanics are very simple. This crate allows you to win one of the vehicles listed in its description (or its value in Gold if you have it already). The crate contains some very rare vehicles (with some new ones!), including the Type 89 AFV.

For a full list, please visit the MY.GAMES Market Iron Crate page.



We hope that you will enjoy the offer and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!