Armored Warfare News

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

• Object 490 Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
  
• M-95 Degman Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
  
• ZUBR PSP Tier 7 Premium Tank Destroyer
  
• BWP-2000 Tier 7 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
  
• Tales from the Dark Loot Crate
  

Between October 10 and October 17 2024, the following items will be available:

[h3]Object 490[/h3]

The Object 490 Main Battle Tank was an advanced concept from the waning days of the Soviet Union. Designed in the 1980s, it represented a radical departure from the MBT paradigm. Its distinct wedge-like shape, along with the fact that the crew was located in the back, offered unparalleled levels of protection. But the most interesting part of the design was its double suspension paired with two engines, allowing the vehicle to stay mobile even after suffering significant damage. However, the conclusion of the Cold War put an end to this design, along with many other advanced Soviet projects. You can learn more about this vehicle in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the Object 490 Tier 10 Premium MBT is perhaps the best armored vehicle in the game. It’s a true behemoth that is almost impossible to slow down, let alone knock out, and concentrated effort is required to stop one of these things when encountering them on the battlefield. The combination of extremely thick armor and a powerful 152mm gun makes this tank incredibly deadly, even though these advantages are balanced by its mediocre agility and the fact that its gun is only forward facing. This MBT is ideal for you if you prefer slow, methodical advances while dealing massive amounts of damage with each shot. If you keep your flanks secure, you’ll be all but impossible to stop.

The Object 490 MBT is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop. It can be accessed it directly in the game by clicking the shopping cart button in the upper left corner of the Garage.



[h3]M-95 Degman[/h3]

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.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop. It can be accessed it directly in the game by clicking the shopping cart button in the upper left corner of the Garage.



[h3]ZUBR PSP[/h3]

The ZUBR was a Czech privately-funded project by PSP Bohemia from the 1990s to develop a successor platform to the aging Soviet-era BMP-series IFVs and various other obsolete specialized vehicles. Even though it was quite advanced for its time, it was ultimately unsuccessful due to the end of the Cold War and the subsequent cuts in European military budgets, including the Czech one. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the ZUBR PSP is a Tier 7 wheeled Premium Tank Destroyer. What makes it fairly unique is the fact that you can choose from two different weapon systems for this vehicle:

• Cockerill CT-CV turret with 105mm gun
  
• Four-barreled TOW ATGM launcher
  

Each of these weapons changes the gameplay style of the vehicle considerably and it is up to you, how you configure this powerful machine.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop. It can be accessed it directly in the game by clicking the shopping cart button in the upper left corner of the Garage.



[h3]BWP-2000[/h3]

The BWP-2000 IFV was a Polish attempt from the mid-1990s to develop a replacement for the license-produced BMP-1 in the Polish military, since it was getting obsolete by that point. Its protracted development led to its cancellation at the onset of War on Terror, leaving Poland without a modern tracked IFV to this day. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the BWP-2000 is a Tier 7 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle armed with 60mm cannon as well as a set of ATGM launchers. When it comes to AFV playstyle, the BWP-2000 is definitely more of an infantry carrier and fire support vehicle than a scout due to its large size and powerful armament as well as the ability to deploy Mechanized Infantry. It can take quite a bit of punishment and deal it in equal measure.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop. It can be accessed it directly in the game by clicking the shopping cart button in the upper left corner of the Garage.


[h3]Tales From the Dark Loot Crate[/h3]

The Tales from the Dark Loot Crate is now available. This Loot Crate contains Tales from the Dark Battle Coins and Boosters.

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• Battle Coins are the primary currency of the Tales from the Dark Battle Path campaign and are used to progress through it and to obtain its prizes.
  
• Battle Coin Boosters are usable only during an active Battle Path and increase your Battle Coin income by 900 percent for two hours.
  

Please note that you have to obtain the access to a Battle Path to use both items.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop. It can be accessed it directly in the game by clicking the shopping cart button in the upper left corner of the Garage.

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

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

We are happy to announce that the Update 0.230 is now available!



[h2]List of Update 0.230 Changes[/h2]

• 3VBK27 HEAT shell is now correctly listed as Tandem (it had the characteristic before but was listed as common HEAT)
  
• Boxer RIWP: Removed the Designate Target ability (this is due to the fact that in the last patch, the vehicle got an unintentional major buff to the Starstreak kinetic missiles that now deal considerably more damage against designated targets, creating a situation situation where the vehicle could designate its own targets and then deal very high damage to them)
  
• EMBT: Vehicle can no longer be frontally penetrated by autocannons when firing under the turret
  
• EMBT: Fixed the NLOS shell description
  
• Puma: Fixed a large number of smaller visual issues on the Panzergrenadier skin
  
• Puma: Fixed the troop compartment textures
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: Radiation liner now has the correct texture and color
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: Turret ERA now has the correct texture and color
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: Marks left by tracks are now correctly aligned
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: ERA now has a fixed collision model
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: Soot is now properly applied to the tank’s exhaust
  
• T-64BV Mod.2017: Large number of smaller visual fixes
  
• T-80BVM: Added a PvP multiplier to the unlock requirement (PvP damage counts five times as much as PvE)
  
• T-80BVM: Partially fixed the unlock requirement UI
  
• T-80BVM: Large number of smaller visual fixes
  
• T-80UM-1 Bars: Vehicle is now visible again in the in-game list of tanks
  
• T-80UM-1 Bars: Fixed the achievement appearance
  
• Added a number of assets for future events
  
• Fixed some minor localization issues
  

On the 10th of October 2024, starting from 8:00 CEST, the server will not be available for 5 hours due to a planned server maintenance.



Please note that the maintenance can be extended beyond the abovementioned timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Commanders!

We’ve discussed new sounds and the drones already but do you know what else is coming in this large autumn update? That’s right, it’s the Pipelines map overhaul.



Now, when it comes to Armored Warfare, one of the most complained about things is the visual quality. The game’s been around for almost a decade and, while its graphics are not completely outdated, there’s definitely some room for improvement. We have decided to start addressing these issues one by one but every (most certainly long) journey starts with a single step. And this step happens to be the overhaul of the Pipelines map.



Why Pipelines? For one, it happens to be one of the top three maps played in PvP because it appears especially often on low Tiers.



And, secondly, because it shares assets with some PvE missions and we’d like to address those too (although not during this initial overhaul). You can see some more screenshots below:









Please note that the map gameplay will not change, the overhaul is a visual one.

Like what you see? Let us know what you think on Discord and stay tuned for more news regarding the update as we will still have more to share.

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

Some of you have been guessing correctly, some of you have been suggesting at as well and we’re happy to adhere to your wishes. Without further ado, presenting the final prize of the upcoming Battle Path, the XK3 Main Battle Tank.



For starters, a little history and background as usual.

Our XK3 is based on a small scale model of the Next Generation Tank, unveiled by Hyundai during the ADEX 2023 expo in Seoul. The model was developed without any doubt to be more eye-catching than anything else, but also to highlight the technologies that are being developed to upgrade the K2 as well as its replacement.

The characteristics of the vehicle, as presented by Hyundai Rotem, are not known, but some can be discerned from taking a look at how the entire model is assembled. It’s clear already that the future doesn’t lie in weight increases so the tank would very likely be very light (we’re going with 35 tons). Pure passive protection is a thing of the past and the vehicle therefore features very advanced APS and jammers.

Several concepts of South Korean “next-gen MBT” were presented with a different one mentioning a 130mm smoothbore gun – so that’s what we went with. The launcher is for advanced Raybolt ATGMs. And last but not least, no next-gen MBT concept would be complete without a hybrid engine (also mentioned in potential K2 upgrades).



Unlike some other games, we’d like to be clear in saying that we made most of the vehicle’s characteristics up. How much “fake” it is when an actual small-scale model exists (along with a nicely rendered video by Hyundai Rotem) – that, our dear players, we leave for you to judge.

This tank has been in our sights ever since it appeared and it was suggested by you many times. We hope that you’ll forgive us the liberties we took in designing it. After all, it’s far more real than the infamous ZTZ-20. With that being said, let’s get to its performance.

In Armored Warfare, the XK3 will be a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank.

As you can guess from the text above, as MBTs go, the XK3 will be on the light side. The best word to describe it would be “cutting edge” – what it lacks in thick armor it more than makes up in mobility, weaponry and electronics. In other word, it’ll be what MBTs of the future will likely become as well – a hybrid of a battle tank, fire support vehicle and an electronic warfare platform.



Let’s talk specifics. You’ve already read about its weight – mere 35 tons. That’s due to the use of advanced composite armor. Here’s the thing about such composite armor. Even now, it is clear that tank duels are a thing of the past. They simply don’t happen even in widespread conflicts so having incredibly thick frontal armor to protect the tank against another tank (let alone something as obsolete as an anti-tank gun) is simply wasteful. Drones and ATGMs, on the other hand, represent a massive threat to the point of making classic, un-upgraded tanks obsolete. A single drone worth a few thousand dollars can effectively knock-out an Abrams (widely considered one of the best tanks in the world), let along even older machines.

As a result of this line of thought, the XK3 will be extremely well protected against HEAT threats but poorly against APFSDS rounds. The composites will also be complemented by ERA covering its sides (those are the hexagons on the hull). Along with that come two active protection systems – one of the best hard-kill APS in the entire game and a very effective soft-kill APS to boot. These launchers (along with smoke) are hidden in the turret – the hexagonal panels open and close depending on their status. The crew is also located in the hull and the turret is therefore unmanned (taking reduced damage).

But that’s just passive protection – what's more important is the firepower. The tank will have a 130mm smoothbore cannon roughly on par with the KF51 (APFSDS, HEAT-MP and HE shells) as well as a twin-tube Raybolt ATGM launcher in the turret. The missiles will have tandem warheads (1200mm penetration for now), excellent maneuverability and the top attack self-homing feature (think double tap Javelin/Raybolt, although single fire mode can be selected). You don’t have to worry about gun elevation and depression either – the vehicle will have active tilting suspension much like the K2 Black Panther.



It’s probably worth noting that the concept has a remote-controlled autocannon on its roof. We have decided not to introduce it because it doesn’t fit the vehicle’s intended gameplay which we will describe below. In other words, it’s a design choice.

And then there’s the mobility – a hybrid engine producing 1500hp at 35 tons, need we say more? The vehicle will not only be fast, but also agile and, even more importantly, stealthy. Because that is its real ace in the hole – its stealth. Aside from being generally stealthy (20% base camouflage], the vehicle will feature a brand-new active ability called Ambush Mode.

When the ability is activated, the tank redirects its power from the electric generator to camouflage and cooling systems. In game terms, what this means is that its active protection systems (both of them) become deactivated as long as the ability works. On the upside, the camouflage factor jumps to whopping 70%, making the vehicle very hard to detect.

When the ability is active, the gun/missiles gain an overheat meter. It doesn’t prevent you from firing but as long as the weapons don’t overheat, you can fire without a penalty to camouflage. This on one hand severely limits your damage output but it keeps the vehicle practically invisible for as long as the ability is active.

The ability will deactivate either when you disable it manually or when the vehicle gets spotted and the deactivation is followed by a long cooldown.



Now, you might be thinking, this thing’s going to compete for the same spot as the KF51 and EMBT, right? Yes and no. All three vehicles will have their niche. The XK3 puts more emphasis on pure stealth and mobility, the EMBT will offer the Jammer ability and as for the KF51 Panther? It’s getting its Hero 120 drones. How’s that for a pack of changes!

Either way, in capable hands, the XK3 is bound to be a powerhouse. But there’s one last thing. The name XK3 sounds boring, right? It needs a cool name. A strong name. So we’ll let you name it and vote on the best suggestion (with the owner of the winning suggestion receiving something cool). So start thinking about some good names and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!