Armored Warfare News

Commanders!

This week, we’ve prepared three attractive items for you – two Premium vehicles and a brand new set of Spirithaven skins that we call Mistwalker.



Between March 5 and March 12, 2020, the following items will be available:


[h2]Mistwalker Skins[/h2]


Take a trip amongst the fallen heroes of old, inhabiting the Land of the Rising Sun. Their spirits will guide you through the mists and bless your lonesome journey towards doom – yours, or that of your enemies.



Four demon-inspired Mistwalker skins await you, featuring a Tiger-Shark-inspired camouflage pattern as well as leering demonic and dragon faces, guaranteed to ward off any evil specters you may encounter on your journeys. These skins are available for the following vehicles:

• Kornet-EM Tier 10 AFV
• WPB Anders Tier 9 LT
• VT-4 Tier 8 MBT
• Griffin 50mm Tier 8 AFV

They are available either alone or in a discounted Mistwalker bundle. Please note that these bundles include the skins only, not the vehicles themselves, which need to be obtained separately.






[h2]M-95 Degman[/h2]


The M-95 Degman is an advanced Croatian prototype MBT, developed during the 1990s and 2000s. It is based on the previous Yugoslavian project, the Vihor MBT, which in turn has its roots in the improved T-72M series produced in former Yugoslavia. You can read more about its history in a dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the tank is relatively fast and fairly agile while carrying some potent firepower for its Tier. In fact, its owners can choose from two powerful guns:

• 125mm 2A46 Russian-style smoothbore gun, known from many Russian MBTs
• 120mm CTG NATO-style smoothbore gun that you know from the Challenger 1 Falcon MBT

It’s worth noting that the 120mm shells have higher penetration values and the gun can also fire Falarick ATGMs while the 125mm gun has higher damage per shot. Both guns will feature good handling as well as overall performance to offset the vehicle’s weakness, which is its mediocre armor. The Degman must rely on its mobility and firepower to survive, making it an ideal vehicle for aggressive, daring players.






[h2]Type 99A2-140[/h2]


The Type 99A2-140 is an experimental version of the most advanced Chinese Main Battle Tank in existence – the Type 99A. Unlike its production counterpart, however, it is not armed with a 125mm smoothbore, but massive 140mm smoothbore cannon. This is a theoretical upgrade to the vehicle – while the People’s Republic of China was considering upgrading the firepower of its Main Battle Tanks to face latest western and Russian MBT models, a 140mm gun was never installed on this chassis and was only mentioned in passing by certain Chinese sources. Now, however, your enemies will have the opportunity to experience what such a vehicle with you in command would be like to face in battle!



In Armored Warfare, the Type 99A2-140 is a rather unique Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank. It is essentially a version of the progression Type 99A2 Tier 10 MBT with one difference – the 140mm gun, trading its rate of fire for penetration and single shell damage. It is very fast and mobile (with its maximum speed being well over 90 km/h), protected by ERA and APS both and capable of using an acceleration-boosting active ability that pushes its engine far beyond the limits of common Main Battle Tanks. If used right, the vehicle is extremely deadly and one of the best Tier 10 MBTs on the battlefields of Armored Warfare.

The Type 99A2-140 MBT is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.





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

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

We would like to remind you that, much like during the previous Battle Path campaigns, the Battle Coins acquired during the Last Patriot Battle Path will not carry over.



Please make sure you spend your remaining Battle Coins before the end of the Last Patriot Battle Path (March 12, 2020, 8 AM CET)!

We hope that you enjoyed this Battle Path campaign and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

On the 5th of March 2020, starting from 8:00 CET (4th of March, 11 PM PST), the server will not be available for 5 hours due to the application of Update 0.31.5990



[h2]List of Update 0.31.5990 Changes[/h2]

AT Squad Rebalance

Due to this type of Mechanized Infantry performing better than intended, we are introducing several corrections to it:

• Slightly reduced the viewrange and camouflage
• Increased the camouflage penalty from firing
• The AT Squad can no longer fire at distances longer than their viewrange
• The accuracy of Tier 3-5 AT Squad somewhat reduced

Griffin 120mm Rebalance

We are introducing the following changes to the Griffin 120mm Premium Light Tank:

• XM1111 MRM-KE shell base penetration reduced from 670mm to 640mm
• XM1111 MRM-KE shell penetration increase with distance improved from 10 to 15 percent
• XM1111 MRM-KE shell damage increase with distance improved from 10 to 15
• XM1111 MRM-KE distance for maximum penetration and damage bonus increased from 200m to 250m

These changes stemmed from the fact that this shell was not only performing extremely well at long distances, but was better in practically any situation than the standard APFSDS ammunition, even when it wasn’t really intended. The abovementioned changes make it a bit better at long distances (the way it was intended) but somewhat worse at close ones.

Additionally:

• XM1111 MRM-CE shell no longer gets intercepted by hard-kill APS (like other HEAT shells)
• Gun depression improved to -11 degrees since the vehicle geometry allows it
• The amount of ammo carried improved to 48 rounds
• Made small improvements to movement physics of this vehicle, resulting in more realistic behavior in some cases

New Battle UI Improvements and Fixes

We are introducing a number of improvements and fixes to the new Battle UI:

• Improved the appearance of your vehicle’s health bar
• Improved the appearance of the “You are spotted” indicator and added a sound effect to it
• Added a setting, allowing you to display or hide the ammunition of your vehicle (hide altogether, show only for the active weapon, show for all weapons)
• Added a setting, allowing you to display or hide the health of your target (hide altogether, show only in the Sniper mode, show always)
• Fixed an issue that cause outgoing and incoming damage to appear incorrectly in battle in their respective tabs
• Fixed an issue where APS and smoke icons could overlap with consumable icons after a respawn
• Cruise control icon is now hidden in the Replay mode and the Spectator mode
• Fixed the APS icon in the new Battle UI
• Fixed the QN-506 Battle UI (some elements of it overlapping)
• Implemented a number of smaller tweaks and fixes to reticle color settings
• Fixed an issue where the locked target indicator did not change its color based on the state of your weapon

General Changes

• The item transfer mechanism now works as described in the initial Update 0.31 patchnotes (please note that only newly acquired items can be traded this way)
• Merkava Mk.4M’s Trophy Next Gen and Armata’s Afganit hard-kill APS no longer intercept kinetic shells when in passive mode
• Fixed an issue where the point of impact in Sniper mode and in Third Person mode could differ when switching between the two modes
• Fixed an issue where it was possible to spot an enemy despite him being hidden behind an obstacle even at distances of over 50 meters
• Fixed am issue where changing the rendering resolution would make various objects disappear
• Improved the visual quality of MBT-class vehicles across the board
• Fixed an issue where the MBT class did not lose as much camouflage when moving as intended
• Abrams AGDS: This vehicle now has 8 smoke grenade charges (two in a magazine with 6 seconds between them the way other TDs do)
• CATTB: Fixed an issue where it was impossible to fire shells that were assigned to the first slot after a respawn
• Challenger 2 ATDU: Fixed an issue where it was possible to “climb” over another vehicle when ramming it
• Harimau: Improved the appearance of its Pulat APS
• K21: Fixed the trajectory and flight characteristics of the Raybolt ATGM
• K21: Added a choice between two firepower upgrades – 20% bonus to its rate of fire, or 30% bonus to its rate of fire but also 50% less accuracy
• M48 GAU-8: Fixed an issue where other players would see your vehicle’s tracers even if you weren’t firing at that moment
• Merkava Mk.1: Fixed the protection of its internal modules
• Type 89: Increased the ATGM flight speed from 200 to 250 m/s
• Type 89: Improved the minimum distance, at which the ATGM will hit the target, from roughly 40m to roughly 20m
• The Battalion member tab now also has the date of the last change to Battalion ranking
• Spirithaven Special Operation, Chapter 2: Fixed the issue that allowed the Five Ways achievement to be obtainable by a platoon that wasn’t not full
• Spirithaven Special Operation, Chapter 2: Fixed an issue where the elevator sound would disappear if the camera rotated
• If you change your render type from Normal to Simplified and some of your graphics settings are not supported by the Simplified render, a new warning will now appear to tell you so
• Fixed an issue where the hard-kill APS effect was missing on the Alabino Proving Grounds map
• Fixed an issue where the window type setting (borderless, fullscreen) would not save correctly
• Reduced the volume of radar “ping” sounds during the activation of the Radar Active Ability
• Fixed the Mouse settings in the new Settings window
• Fixed an issue that caused the Sniper mode Chromatic Aberration setting to not save correctly
• Fixed several smaller loading screen visual issues

Commanders!

The Last Patriot Battle Path is nearing its end with a little less than a week left to the event. However, you still have the chance to obtain its prizes, now with a massive discount!



From now on, the access to it is available with whopping 90 percent discount!

And not only that – for the remainder of the event, you’ll also earn twice as many Battle Coins per battle!

Now, you might be asking yourselves – why would we want to join this late? The answer’s simple – all the Battle Coins that you would have accumulated by just playing since the launch of the event are still there, waiting for you. All you need to do to unlock them – and get your hands on those sweet, sweet prizes – is to obtain the access:



Please note:

• This bundle comes without any compensation, players who are already participating in the Battle Path are strongly discouraged from purchasing it (doing so will award you with nothing)

So what are you waiting for? Time to earn some loot!

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

At long last, we are getting to the top vehicle of the Spirithaven Asian branch – the long-awaited K2 Black Panther South-Korean Main Battle Tank.



The K2 Black Panther is currently possibly the most advanced mass-produced Main Battle Tank in the world. Unlike most other MBTs in the world that have their roots in the 1970s, the Black Panther was mostly designed in the 21st century and makes use of cutting edge technologies. Around two hundred were built for the South Korean military with more being offered for export all around the world. More about the history of this tank will be unveiled in an upcoming article.

In Armored Warfare, the K2 Black Panther will be a Tier 10 progression Main Battle Tank, unlockable either from the AS21 Redback or the K-153C Tier 9 AFV.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Gameplay-wise, the Black Panther will resemble the Altay Tier 10 Premium MBT as a highly-mobile MBT that will feature a number of high-tech solutions, compensated by only mediocre armor. Let’s take a look at its characteristics in detail but please do keep in mind that they are preliminary only and are subject to change.

Let’s start, as usual, with the protection levels. The armor on this tank will be quite thin, roughly on par with the Leopard 2AX or Altay. However, the tank will feature ERA, the KAPS hard-kill APS as well as special smoke grenades with better properties than usual. Additionally, the tank uses an advanced ammo rack with significantly reduced damage from ammo explosions.

But where things do get really interesting is its mobility and firepower.



For starters, the vehicle will have hydraulic suspension, allowing it to tilt to all sides as well as to lower itself to the ground. Thanks to its 1500hp stock diesel engine, it will also feature good mobility (70 km/h maximum speed, acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h in 4 seconds). But all that is just the beginning. The tank will feature an upgraded 1650hp diesel that will make it accelerate even faster (acceleration improved to 3.7 seconds) as well as yet another upgrade that will make it accelerate and turn even better. All in all, it will be one of the most mobile MBTs in the game, second only to the Altay and the CATTB.



Firepower-wise, the Black Panther will be armed with a 120mm L/55 gun, but don’t let that fool you because those are some really sharp claws indeed. Its strength will not lie in a vast amount of available shells though – in fact, the tank will only have one main type of ammunition (APFSDS shells with 850mm of penetration). The real trick is pretty much everything else that there is to this weapon system because you’ll be able to choose from two variants of this gun:

• Ready Rack (3 rounds, 4 seconds between shots, increasing to 9.5 seconds once the rack is depleted)
• Magazine Autoloader (2 rounds, 4 seconds between shots, followed by 13 seconds of magazine reload)

This basic choice does not look all that important with the base values listed above but the difference between both options will become more apparent with the other optional upgrades. For example, after choosing your weapon type, you’ll be able to unlock the next tier of upgrades, where you will choose one of the following three improvements:

• Upgrade to overall reload time (10 percent)
• Upgrade to Ready Rack/Magazine rate of fire (50 percent)
• Increased capacity of Ready Rack or Magazine (by 1)

The next tier of upgrades will feature yet another set of similar modules, so you’ll be able to for example combine two capacity upgrades, or two reload time upgrades, or one from each – all up to you. It’s also worth noting that the gun will have truly excellent depression and elevation values (-11/+20 degrees without suspension, -16/+23 degrees with it).



The Black Panther will also be able to use the Designate Target ability, making enemy vehicles take increased damage.

Three Additional Progression modules will be available to this vehicle:

• Hybrid engine that reduces this vehicle’s maximum speed to 55 km/h but significantly increases its acceleration (0 to 32 km/h in 2 seconds), agility and, as a bonus, it’s impossible to set on fire
• Improved Targeting System that increases the spotting range and the duration of the Designate Target ability
• Enhanced Maintenance Kit that makes module repairs 30 percent faster and provides additional module protection

And last but not least, Commander Kwon Han will also be possible to unlock from the K2 Black Panther.



All in all, the K2 Black Panther will be, as we mentioned above, a highly mobile MBT, suitable for aggressive gameplay. While its armor won’t be great, its module protection (especially with the Enhanced Maintenance Kit unlocked) will be second to none and its KAPS hard-kill APS will keep it safe from an occasional stray missile.

In skilled hands, this tank will be a deadly tool in PvP, but will also be capable of delivering sustained fire in PvE, albeit in a more supportive role since its active defenses would get overwhelmed quickly when facing a large number of opponents. Its active suspension will allow for extremely comfortable gameplay and with all Additional Progression modules unlocked, few other vehicles will be able to go toe to toe with it in a duel.



We hope that you will enjoy this vehicle and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!