Armored Warfare News

Commanders!

This week, we’ve prepared another set of attractive items for you:

• Altay Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
• CATTB Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
• Armata 152 Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
• BM Oplot Tier 9 Premium Main Battle Tank
• T-72B3 Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
• Challenger 1 Falcon Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
• Object 187 Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank
• Pile of Gold Loot Crate

Between March 25 and April 1, 2021, the following items will be available:


[h2]Altay[/h2]


The Altay is the result of a Turkish program to build a true indigenous MBT. After a decade of development with hundreds of millions of dollars spent, Turkey finally achieved its goal and built a tank that is roughly on par in performance with decades-old Leopard 2 variants while it still uses many foreign components, including some of its most critical systems. Nevertheless, future Altay variants are expected to feature some cutting edge components.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Armored Warfare, the Altay is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank based on the current prototypes, but also upgraded by various hypothetical aftermarket components of the future to surpass its current capabilities and to match its assigned Tier in power. The basic tank is – gameplay-wise – a mobile sniper, much like the Leopard 2 series, relying on its mobility and the penetration of its shells rather than on its armor. There are two key features to this tank: Adjustable Suspension (tilting forward and to the side) and Hybrid Engine with its distinctive electric sound, giving the vehicle excellent mobility and agility.

The Altay 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]CATTB[/h2]


The CATTB Main Battle Tank was an experimental platform, developed as one of the early steps in the creation of a next generation Abrams Main Battle Tank, also referred to as the Block III Abrams, or M1A3. It was created in the 1980s as a response to the perceived threat of future Soviet super tanks and featured some truly advanced components, such as the XM291 dual caliber cannon that could switch between 120mm and 140mm calibers. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of this tank became unnecessary and the program was canceled in the 1990s. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the CATTB is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank and one of the most powerful and versatile MBTs around, devastating its opponents with its signature double-tap feature, allowing it to fire its cannon twice in short order. This allows it to drive around a corner, deal very high amounts of damage and then retreat back into cover, leaving the enemy reeling from the massive blow.

This vehicle is available via Loot Crates, which drop CATTB parts. Collect 100 CATTB parts from these Loot Crates to assemble the whole vehicle.






[h2]Armata 152[/h2]


The Armata 152 is a version of the T-14 Armata, armed with larger cannon. One of the upgrades considered for the T-14 Armata was the increase of its caliber to 152mm in order to absolutely, positively destroy anything with the first shot. The 2A83 smoothbore is a behemoth of a gun, designed in the last days of the Soviet empire for the next generation of super-tanks. It’s massive, heavy and quite costly to produce, but, most importantly, it was never truly needed to deal with the western MBTs since the standard 125mm guns were (and still are) up to the task. That is why it never found its way on any Soviet MBT with even the standard T-14 Armata being armed with an improved 125mm cannon. You can, however, experience its awesome firepower in Armored Warfare! Learn more about it in a dedicated article.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Armored Warfare, the T-14 Armata 152 is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank. While not firing as fast as its 125mm counterpart, the 152mm rounds do enormous damage, often eliminating weaker opponents with a single shot. And then there’s the platform itself – the Armata, the most modern Main Battle Tank in the world. Earn it and use it to dominate!

The Armata 152 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]BM Oplot[/h2]


The Oplot is a heavily upgraded T-84 Ukrainian Main Battle Tank, which is based on an older design called T-80UD. It is currently the best tank the Ukrainian military industry can offer. You can read more about its history in our dedicated article.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Armored Warfare, the BM Oplot is a Tier 9 Premium Main Battle Tank with a playstyle similar to the T-80U. Power-wise, it’s roughly on par with the T-90MS of the same Tier, but it has a very unique ability. Its advanced Duplet armor consists of several ERA layers, making it able to negate more than one HEAT shell impact. It takes several precise hits aimed at the same location to break through it, making it a very resistant vehicle on the battlefield.






[h2]T-72B3[/h2]


The T-72B3 is the most modern Russian T-72 variant currently in service. It is a heavily upgraded version of the T-72B, featuring Kontakt-5 ERA kit and an improved Fire Control System. Together, these modifications allow the aging T-72 to serve well into the 21st century. You can learn more about its history in our dedicated article!



In Armored Warfare, the T-72B3 is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank. It continues the tradition of other Russian tanks. Its low silhouette, good mobility, powerful 125mm gun and its advanced ERA kit make it a formidable opponent. This version of the T-72B3 is offered without any camouflage.






[h2]Challenger 1 Falcon[/h2]


The Falcon is an experimental turret developed in the early 2000s in Jordan as an upgrade to the Jordanian Al-Hussein (Challenger 1) Main Battle Tanks. It's a low profile turret, armed with an automatically loaded Swiss 120mm L/50 RUAG smoothbore gun, capable of firing standard NATO ammunition. The operator controls the turret from inside the vehicle's hull, significantly improving crew protection. A prototype was built and tested, but the design was never mass-produced.



In Armored Warfare, the Challenger 1 Falcon is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank. The best word to characterize this lumbering behemoth in the game is “tough” – its excellent hull armor shrugs off most shells while the damage its low profile turret takes when it is reduced by 90% thanks to the fact the crew is not located directly in it. Despite being generally very slow and sluggish, the Challenger 1 Falcon can take tremendous punishment and is ideal for the players who prefer the British Main Battle Tank play style.






[h2]Object 187[/h2]


The Object 187 was a Soviet era program, developed to improve upon the excellent but ageing T-72 Main Battle Tank. Several prototypes were built, featuring a number of advanced elements compared to the older Soviet tanks, such as the new long 125mm smoothbore gun with a typical muzzle brake. The result was an excellent MBT that was, however, never mass-produced due to the 1990s Russian military budget cuts – the Russian army chose a less advanced but cheaper T-90 instead. You can learn more about it in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the Object 187 is a typical Russian style Main Battle Tank – it’s suitable for an aggressive play style and is a good choice for the players who prefer to take on their opponents at close ranges.






[h2]Pile of Gold[/h2]


This Loot Crate contains copious amounts of Gold for you to win, now available with 20% discount!



This Loot Crate includes:

• 250.000 Gold
• 100.000 Gold
• 50.000 Gold
• 10.000 Gold
• 5.000 Gold
• 1.000 Gold
• 500 Gold
• 100 Gold

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

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

With the first iteration of Update 0.35 already here, it’s finally time to take a look at the fourth and last skin that awaits you in the upcoming Desert Storm Raid event – Asad Babil, also known under the name “Lion of Babylon”.



Anyone familiar with the name probably already figured out what we needed to introduce the T-72M1 for. The Lion of Babylon (which is the direct translation of its Arabic Asad Babil name) is an Iraqi locally modified T-72M or T-72M1 MBT (we’ll get to the details below) and possibly one of the worst MBTs of all times, although, to be fair, it perhaps does not deserve this reputation based on what it actually is. Let’s take a look at it a little closer.

In the 1980s, Iraq waged an incredibly devastating war against its neighbor, Iran. Hundreds, if not thousands of tanks were lost and both sides were pretty much buying up anything on the market that could move, had a cannon and some armor. Both countries were sometimes supplied by the same unscrupulous entities and these arms deals kept the conflict going for more than half a decade.

An interesting side-effect of this was that by that Iraq found itself in possession of an incredibly wide array of armor by the time the war was over. There were Soviet MBTs (T-62s), MBTs produced by other Warsaw Pact countries (Czechoslovak T-55s, Polish T-72s), Chinese MBTs and APCs (Type 59 versions) Czechoslovak APCs (OT-64), French AMX-10P IFVs, Hungarian light armored cars and even hundreds of machines from Brazil. Things were equally bad when it came to the other branches of the Iraqi military and this mess was something Iraq never got rid of to this day. But that’s neither here nor there.



Today, we’ll focus on one particular acquisition that took place between 1982 and 1990. Roughly 500 T-72 MBTs were sold to Iraq during this period of time. The origin of these tanks is quite interesting as well.

Many western sources typically claim that these tanks were Polish, but that’s not the case – or at least, not entirely. Local Warsaw Pact reputable sources claim that not only was the origin of most of these tanks the Soviet Union directly, but a healthy dose of them came from Czechoslovakia. Between 1986 and 1987, Czechoslovakia exported 90 brand-new T-72M1 MBTs to Iraq. As for the Soviet MBTs, it’s quite possible the Soviet Union was simply covering the trade and the rest of the tanks were Polish.



Steven Zaloga, on the other hand, claims that between 1979 and 1990, Iraq bought 1038 T-72s of all types (including an early T-72 Ural export variant directly from the Soviet Union), of which 250 Polish T-72Ms arrived in 1982 and an undisclosed amount of Polish T-72M1s arriving later on, possibly in the 1980s.

It is generally estimated that by the onset of the Gulf War, Iraq had approximately 300 T-72M tanks and 200 T-72M1s at its disposal. The matter is further complicated by the fact that Iraq apparently managed to import a number of T-72M and T-72M1 part kits from Poland and locally assemble some tanks at a factory in Taji with the help of Polish advisors. These tanks were generally referred to as “Asad Babil” (Lion of Babylon).

Here’s where the real confusion starts. Nobody truly knows whether any tanks were truly assembled in Iraq and if so, how many and of which type. At least one Asad Babil prototype existed (the skin we are presenting today is based on it) and another T-72M tank, unveiled during an expo in 1988, was claimed to have been assembled in Iraq. Some sources claim the Asad Babil tanks were downgraded even further compared to the standard T-72M/M1 models, but these seem to be just speculations. The truth will likely never be discovered as the Taji plant was thoroughly destroyed during the Gulf War.

In time, multiple sources would start referring to all Iraqi T-72M1s (or even T-72Ms) as “Asad Babil”, regardless of how incorrect that was at the time. Today, the name is used rather commonly for all captured Gulf War era T-72M1s.

The export T-72M1 wasn’t a great tank to fight in a desert. It was a tank designed more or less with the Warsaw Pact requirements in mind and lacked such essential elements as proper air conditioning. There have been some modifications to it made by the Iraqis, but few actually increased its combat value.



One of the most notable additions was a Chinese IR dazzler, located on a steel tray on the left side of the turret. This dazzler was intended to confuse IR-guided missiles. Unfortunately for the Iraqis, it would prove utterly ineffective and worthless, either by design or because, according to Zaloga, the U.S. forces had modified the TOW guidance to take this threat into account.

Another problem was the ammunition. The Iraqi forces used obsolete, second-rate cheap ammunition, often with hardened steel penetrators. These old rounds had been designed with fighting the M60 tank series in mind, for which they were quite sufficient, but couldn’t hold a candle to the top of the line 125mm ammo of the early 1990s.

Legend has it that the Polish also managed to sell Iraq a large batch of training ammunition with soft steel penetrators and pass it off as live ammo. Regardless whether it’s true or not, none of the ammunition available to Iraq was capable of penetrating the M1A1 frontally. In short, by the early 1980s, the T-72M had been a good tank but, by the 1990s, it was already obsolete with the T-72B and later the T-90 taking its place in Soviet service.

The rest, as they say, is history. Despite being one of the most powerful armies in the Middle East at the beginning of the conflict, the army of Iraq got absolutely steamrolled by a combination of superior training, combined arms tactics and modern equipment of the Coalition forces.



The training was perhaps the truly decisive factor. While large, the Iraqi army was, with the exception of some elite units, poorly trained and motivated. The overall military personnel education level, in particular, was abysmal, as the military expanded very quickly after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, leaving little time for quality preparation. There was also a significant class divide within the ranks, as was typical for the Middle Eastern armies. The officers, recruited from “better” families, despised their troops and had nothing but contempt for the “peasantry” they had to command. And, vice versa, the common troops (often partially illiterate) despised and feared their commanders.

Add to it the paranoia and the lack of initiative typical for oppressive military regimes, and you’ll receive the picture of a large but relatively ineffective fighting force that was adequate for fighting another equally built army (Iran was no better in this regard), but woefully inadequate against the NATO or the Warsaw Pact armies, much to the despair of the Soviet, Polish or Czechoslovak advisors, who had been helping the Iraqis prior to the war.

The T-72M1s were typically given to the most elite units of Iraq, the Republican Guard. These troops were not better trained than the rest, but were more loyal and received better pay, food and equipment in general. These were the Hammurabi, Medina, Tawakalna and Saladin Armored Divisions.



Our Asad Babil skin is based on a vehicle that belonged to the 2nd Regiment of the 12th Tank Brigade, 3rd Armored Division “Saladin”. This division saw heavy fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur War against Israel (losing more than 150 tanks in the process), the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War. The unit would serve on until its 2014 deployment against ISIL during the ill-fated Northern Iraq Offensive, during which it would effectively be annihilated and subsequently disbanded for good.



The vehicle is painted in sand color. The most distinctive identification element is the Arabic script on each of its side, saying “Asad Babil” (Lion of Babylon).



The gun barrel extractor is painted yellow with a white stripe in the middle, a marking of the Saladin Armored Division.



The specific unit can be identified by the three black rectangles painted on one of the turret stowage boxes, which indicate the 2nd Regiment.



This vehicle bears the tactical number 23, written in Arabic on both its turret sides.



Another number (704) is present in the front on black background.



The skin features additional fuel tanks that are present in the rear. Fuel was important during desert combat and these would sometimes stay installed even in battle.



We have added a 12.7mm machinegun to the top of the turret. However, please note that due to the specific way this machinegun was used (it was facing backward), it is a visual model only and cannot fire in the game.



And last but not least, there’s the IR jammer on the left side of the turret. As this is a skin, we can’t really give it additional abilities compared to the standard T-72M1, but considering the jammer didn’t work in real life anyway, we consider it acceptable to include its model without its functionality.



These are the main prizes of the upcoming Desert Storm Raid – four skins with the T-72M1 Tier 5 Premium MBT serving as the paid entry option for the event. But it wouldn’t be a Raid without a special camouflage prize for getting your hands on all four of these skins.



This time, the camouflage is based on a real-life Iraqi pattern that was used during the war, as we mostly have the Coalition patterns in the game already. The pattern consists of sand-colored background and wide green stripes that are perfect for anything that fought on the Iraqi side during the war, for example the T-55 and T-62 models as well as the BMPs.



That’s it for this Raid’s rewards, commanders. You now have several weeks to rest and prepare, as the event will begin no earlier than mid-April.

But in case this Raid isn’t up your alley, we are already working on more free events that will take place alongside it and after it, which we’ll tell you about when the time is right. For now, stay safe out there and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

The Apocalypse season continues with a second major content pack in the form of Update 0.35!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Here’s what you can look forward to right now:


[h2]Special Operation “War”[/h2]


The second mission of the Apocalypse Special Operation awaits you in this update.



A month after the Gori operation, Ivo Rinaldi and Igor Kopylov embark upon a new mission. With their settlement slowly but surely running out of fuel, they search far and wide to find one of the few sources left in the world. Their quest takes them to the other side of the globe, Panama, where a precious item has been discovered intact – one of the last tankers in existence, full of precious cargo. Little do they know that a meeting with an old acquaintance of theirs awaits them...



This mission is available the same way previous Special Operation missions were – in order to access it, you need to play the first Special Operation mission of the series, “Plague”. It comes with its own set of achievements and rewards, including a new camouflage and a player avatar. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.


[h2]New Contract with T-90A Burlak[/h2]


A new Contract Mission campaign awaits you in Update 0.35 with similar mechanics to those used during the last one – first, you earn the reward vehicle directly and then a seasonal Loot Crate with goodies.



This time, you'll be able to unlock the Russian T-90A Burlak Tier 8 Premium MBT, a combination of a T-90A hull and an experimental turret called Burlak. Aside from generally being durable and well-rounded performance-wise, the vehicle features a twin-feed Ready Rack where firing your gun does not interrupt its loading process. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



Please note that this contract will stay available at least until September, so there’s plenty of time to get this vehicle in case you are interested.


[h2]New T-72A Model[/h2]


Once again, we have overhauled a vehicle model and all the vehicles that use it as a basis. This time, it was the T-72A Tier 5 Main Battle Tank and its premium variants, most notably the T-72AV.



Much like the T-72B before it, the new model was made in high quality and from scratch. To learn more about it, please read our dedicated article.


[h2]Tier 7-10 HE and HEAT-MP Shell Changes[/h2]


We have introduced a number of changes to high-Tier HE and HEAT-MP shells, including a different way of calculating non-penetration and partial penetration damage results, changes to splash mechanics and HEAT-MP non-penetration damage reductions in order to make high-Tier gameplay more inviting and fun. You can read more about the details in our dedicated article.


[h2]Further Season Plans[/h2]


Update 0.35 will be available at least until May and a steady stream of content will be available throughout its course. Here’s a sample of what you can look forward to in the near future:

• Brand new Operation Desert Storm-themed Raid event
• An epic event to celebrate the end of the Second World War
• An interesting surprise for April 1
• Several new vehicles
• UI improvements and overhauls
• Various smaller features, rebalances and fixes

And much more. You can read more about the contents of Update 0.35 below:


[h2]List of Update 0.35 Changes[/h2]



Gameplay Mechanisms


New Contract Campaign

A new Contract Mission campaign awaits you in Update 0.35 with similar mechanics to those used during the last one. This time, you'll be able to unlock the T-90A Burlak Tier 8 Premium MBT. You can read more about the Burlak in our dedicated article.

Updated Match Launch

We have optimized the way battles are loaded in order to shorten the loading time. We have also updated the battle start timer mechanism – the 30 second countdown to start now begins as soon as 80 percent of all players are present. As soon as 100 percent of all players are present, the timer switches to a 3 second countdown, after which the match begins.

Sniper Updates

We've adjusted the way the Sniper type Mechanized Infantry operates. Previously, the Sniper wouldn't often fire at its targets correctly. As of now:

• The Sniper now targets enemy Mechanized Infantry at reasonable distances
• The Sniper will fire at an enemy vehicle if it gets spotted and if it has no other target

General Changes

• Improved the Mechanized Infantry animations and fixed some issues with infantry models
• The War Games mode (weekend Special Operations and Labyrinth) Loot Crate now drops Battle Coins for the next Battle Path
• Updated the Garage to fit the feel of the new Special Operation – there's a storm brewing on the horizon
• Mastery Flag symbols in the Battle Hero window are now visible to all players, not just you
• The ATGMs intercepted by your APS now appear in the Incoming Damage table as repelled
• The Armor Inspector now displays HESH penetration zones correctly
• Fixed some small visual issues of the Garage
• The Light Gray base paint became darker in order to make it a bit more different from other light base paints
• HE and PELE round UI damage per minute values are now based on full penetrations instead of non-penetrations
• Fixed an issue where the fire damage caused by Mechanized Infantry wouldn't count towards the match results
• Tweaked the music volume levels
• Optimized several client processes
• Fixed an issue that could lead to a game crash when deploying smoke
• Fixed an issue that could lead to you being kicked from a battle for no reason

Vehicles


General Changes

• The autocannon shell count for the whole BMPT series increased from 900 to 1200
• Fixed an issue where a number of vehicles with the intended gun elevation above 60 degrees had it limited to 60 degrees (ZSU-23-4 Shilka, BMD-2, BMD-2M, BMD-4, BMP-2, Šakal and the Hunter AFV)
• Illumination and smoke SPG rounds now use a different, sharper trajectory
• The vehicles that previously had empty smoke grenade launchers on their visual models now have them full
• Fixed the muzzle appearance on multiple vehicles
• Drowned tank model no longer appears as if it burned out
• Fixed a large number of small visual and collision issues on multiple models (small texture adjustments etc.)

Akatsiya

• This vehicle's roof-mounted machinegun now also moves vertically when aiming

Al Hussein

• Improved this vehicle's textures

B1 Draco

• This vehicle now has an active ability called Radar, allowing it to trade 4 percent camouflage rating for extra 50 meters of viewrange and the ability to better spot enemy vehicles hiding behind foliage
• The radar is now animated
• Reduced the base viewrange of this vehicle from 430m to 420m

BMP-3

• All 30mm shells now have the same reload time of 0.24 seconds

BMPT-72

• Fixed an issue where, when firing at this vehicle's destroyed ERA elements, it appeared as if the shells were flying right through it

BWP-2000

• Fixed the appearance of this vehicle's second decal slot

Challenger 1

• Improved this vehicle's textures
• Fixed this vehicle's gun textures
• Fixed the second slot decal appearance

Challenger 1 Falcon

• Improved this vehicle's textures

ERC-90 F4 Sagaie

• Improved the quality of this vehicle's visual model
• Fixed the first slot decal appearance for the République and Shark skins

Griffin 50mm

• Fixed this vehicle's gun recoil animation

Kornet-EM

• Changed the frontal mudguard armor from 10mm to 5mm to correspond to the rest of the vehicle

Kurganets-25

• This vehicle's ERA name now appears correctly in the Armor Inspector window

Leopard 2

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm

Leopard 2A5

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm

Leopard 2A6

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm

Leopard 2AX

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm
• Improved the upper frontal plate armor by 50mm
• Fixed this vehicle's ammo switch speed (instead of being instant, it now takes 1 second as on other vehicles of its class)

Leopard Evolution

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm
• Fixed the "double mudguard" visual error

Leopard Revolution

• Improved the turret side armor by 100mm
• Fixed the "double mudguard" visual error

M60A1

• Improved the visual quality of this vehicle's model
• Machinegun barrel now has a collision model

M60A3

• Improved the visual quality of this vehicle's model

M60-2000

• Improved the visual quality of this vehicle's model
• Fixed this vehicle UI armor values (no actual armor change took place)

M8

• Gunner optics cover on this vehicles is now open

M8 MGM-166

• Fixed an issue where its missiles could land to the left or right from the aim reticle

Merkava Mk.3D BAZ

• Fixed the black textures on this vehicle

Object 195

• This vehicle's ERA name now appears correctly in the Armor Inspector window

Palmaria

• Fixed this vehicle's previously inconsistent armor

Panzer 87-140

• Added the Auxiliary Ballistic Processor to this vehicle's trait

RDF/LT

• Improved the quality of this vehicle's visual model

Rooikat 76

• Fixed an issue where the wheels would sometimes appear as if flying in the air

RST-V Shadow

• Fixed this vehicle's suspension model to match its previous size adjustment

T-72A and T-72AV

• Improved the visual model of all these vehicles
• Upgraded the turret, frontal hull and side armor

T-72B

• Fixed the camouflage and base paint appearance on this vehicle's model

T-90

• Fixed the turret ERA appearance

T249 Vigilante

• Fixed an issue where killing the gunner would lead to an increased reload time of the vehicle

Type 90

• Fixed this vehicle's gun armor in the Armor Inspector window

Type 99A2-140

• Fuel tanks no longer clip into the hull on the Golden Dragon skin

Wilk XC-8

• This vehicle's PELE round now also deals damage upon non-penetration or partial penetration and better penetrates
• Added a 360 degree smoke launcher to this vehicle

WPB Anders

• Hard-kill APS now only appears on the model when you have it actually installed

WWO Wilk

• Added a 360 degree smoke launcher to this vehicle

XM8

• Gunner optics cover on this vehicles is now open

ZTQ-15

• Fixed this vehicle's destroyed ERA models

Player versus Environment


New Special Operation

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

• War
• Vehicles in the Storm
• No Time for Ceremony
• Don't Touch Anything!
• Class-specific achievements as usual

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

General Changes

• VCAC Mephisto removed from the AI vehicle pool
• Doubled the PvE rotation pool size
• Increased the PvE map rotation time from 3 to 6 minutes
• AS21 and K21 AI vehicles are now firing correctly (although they are currently disabled)
• Plague: Changed the castle base explosion cutscene so that it now takes less time and is less obtrusive
• Plague: The base explosion cutscene now kills any Mechanized Infantry deployed in the base area
• Harbinger: Changed the way the cutscene plays out in the beginning
• Some older PvE missions in French, German and Polish now have an English voiceover with French, German and Polish subtitles (previously, these missions had no voiceover whatsoever in localized clients)

Player versus Player

• Removed the following Global Operations maps from the rotation: Ghost Field, Grindelwald
• Fixed a Global Operations issue where your own bunkers would sometimes fire at you
• Al Dabbah: This map is now marked as being located in Eastern Africa
• Barren Divide: Fixed several environmental objects that appeared too bright
• Coastal Threat: Fixed several environmental objects that appeared too bright
• Moscow: Fixed several environmental objects that appeared too bright
• Narrows: Fixed the cloud appearance on this map
• Narrows: The grass now renders correctly on this map
• Reactor: Fixed an issue when, upon loading, player positions would not appear correctly
• Roughneck: Fixed the collision model of some environmental objects (heavy machinery near a ditch) so that it's no longer possible to fire or drive through them

User Interface

• When searching for specific visual customization elements such as decals, empty categories are no longer displayed
• The Battalion list refresh button now has a tooltip
• Optimized the module unlocking process
• Fixed several smaller UI issues

Issues and Corrections

• Fixed an issue where, when firing at longer distances, ATMGs would fly away from the point you're aiming at for no reasons
• Fixed an issue where a just spotted vehicle would not appear on a correct place (you see it as standing somewhere but in reality, the server knows it's somewhere else, leading to some strange cases of ghost shells)
• Fixed an issue where a smoke cloud from unspotted vehicles could be invisible to the enemy team
• Fixed an issue where it was impossible to use the full gun elevation under certain circumstances
• Fixed the strange camera clipping and movement that happens when you drive near another vehicle
• Fixed an issue where, on some ATGM-based vehicles, the ATGMs wouldn't fly correctly upon respawn
• Fixed an issue where the "Low on Ammo" warning would appear in the Garage even if a sufficient amount of ammo was loaded
• Fixed an issue where HE shells would sometimes disappear when fired directly into the muzzle of an enemy vehicle
• Fixed an issue where the ammo rack fire visual effect would appear even if the enemy vehicle wasn't spotted (also known as the "flying flames" issue)
• Fixed an issue where the actual improved smoke grenade area of effect wouldn't match the visual model for the following vehicles: AMX-30B2, AMX-30B2 Brenus, AMX-40 and VCAC Mephisto
• Fixed an issue where the Kurganets-25 TD was referred to as an AFV in its blueprint description
• Fixed a UI issue where disabling the ERA in your Armor Inspector would affect the colors of the penetration indicator in the game
• Fixed an issue where players could sometimes see the damage done to unspotted objects (bunkers and such) by the flying number indicator and, vice versa, sometimes this damage would not appear to objects that were spotted
• Fixed an issue where the gun handling bar in the Garage UI wouldn't appear correctly after the installation of an Improved FCS module
• Fixed an issue where, upon death, switching to another player's POV as a spectator would not work correctly
• Fixed an issue where the ATGM launchers on some visual models would appear full even though the vehicle wasn't carrying enough missiles to fill them
• Fixed an issue where the turret rotating sound would play when attempting to rotate a turret immobilized by the destruction of its turret ring
• Fixed an issue where the ATGM launch sound could be heard upon your vehicle's destruction
• Fixed several localization issues

See you on the battlefield!

On the 23rd of March 2021, starting from 8:00 CET (22nd of March, 11 PM PST), the server will not be available for 5 hours due to the application of Update 0.35.



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

Commanders!

On March 25, Greece celebrates its 200th independence anniversary! In its honor, Panzermarmelade will be participating in a major stream six-hour event where he will be playing the vehicles that served in the Greek military and giving out awesome Greek-themed prizes!



Tune in to his stream on March 25 at 16:00 CET on his Twitch channel to find out more!

See you on the battlefield!