This year in World of Tanks,
brave adventurers embark on an Expedition to search for rare vehicles.
The reward they may gain along the way inspires awe and respect.
The Object 777 Version II,
the Char Futur 4,
and the AE Phase I.
Such treasured steel is worth a trip to hell and back.
Eight Expedition Stages await.
Four will take place in Frontline, and the other four in Steel Hunter.
And you'll be able to venture to Dreamland in August.
Frontline will be available as early as March 9.
From March through June, four Stages await, each one week long.
Frontline will be unavailable in-between these Stages.
The rules are well-known to many of you.
Battles take place in Tier VIII vehicles in 30 vs 30
on the Normandie and Kraftwerk maps.
One team attacks. The other team defends their territory.
Both maps are divided into three fronts.
At the battle's start, 10 vehicles from both teams are deployed to each front.
The goal of the attackers
is to capture the bases in zones to reach the high-caliber gun turrets.
The attackers win if they destroy three of the five turrets.
The defenders must prevent them from doing so.
The attackers have 12 minutes to breach the defenses and eliminate their targets.
Capturing bases adds extra time.
To occupy a control point in the second line,
the attackers must control the base in the first line of the same front.
The more points the attackers control in the first line,
the faster they can capture points in the second line.
The rules are the same as those in Random Battles,
but with a couple nuances.
Hitting a vehicle inside the capture circle
does not reset the capture process.
Rather, it halts the process for a few seconds.
To completely stop the capture,
all enemy vehicles inside the capture circle must be eliminated.
Once a point has been captured by the attackers,
the defenders must withdraw or else be destroyed by a massive airstrike.
The attackers must capture at least two points of any one of the fronts
before they can attack the high-caliber gun turrets.
The turrets' frontal armor withstand all hits from any gun.
To damage them, they should be attacked from the flanks or the rear
where the armor is much thinner.
In Frontline, the battle doesn't end when your vehicle's destroyed.
You're sent to the respawn screen.
Normally, from here you can select another vehicle and front.
But now, for the first time ever, you can pick one of the deploy areas.
They change depending on the battle's status.
The attackers may have up to four such points.
The defenders can have up to six, including those in the rear
in case the team needs to gather in one place
and repel an attack on a specific turret.
If a deploy area poses a risk of encountering the enemy,
it will be indicated with a special mark.
This new feature allows greater flexibility
when choosing the deploy area so that you can consider
your vehicle's parameters, the battle situation, and tactics.
Up to 12 vehicles can operate in the same front.
At the battle's start, each player has a single vehicle in reserve.
Another vehicle is added every five minutes.
You can save up to two respawns.
Special Resupply Circles are placed in certain areas of the map.
While inside such a circle, your vehicle's hit points are restored,
modules repaired, ammunition refilled, and crew healed from any injuries.
Whether you are attacking or defending,
you will find Combat Reserves equally useful.
In total, six types of such reserves are available,
but only some of them can be taken into battle,
depending on the type of your vehicle.
Artillery strike deals damage inside an area.
Engineering helps capture a point faster or defend one more effectively.
Inspire grants a bonus to the major qualification of a player's crew
and any allied crews inside the area of effect.
Recon Flight helps reveal enemy activity.
Smoke Screen, by contrast, conceals allied movements.
Airstrike delivers a bomb drop, but this reserve has been slightly adjusted.
It's less effective against heavy tanks,
but now it can cause significant damage to lightly armored targets.
The square area of effect as well as a shorter bomber arrival time
will help catch even the most agile targets.
Both maps for Frontline underwent balancing tweaks.
On Normandie,
the defending team in Zone B can repel attackers more effectively.
At the same time, point C will receive some extra cover that attackers can use.
On Kraftwerk, more structures were added,
while the landscape changed a bit.
This will give the attackers more opportunities for successful assaults.
If you have no Tier VIII vehicles for Frontline
or if you have too few for a reliable respawn rotation,
you can rent a vehicle.
As before, the T-44 FL will be available for credits.
It is now accompanied by the T32 FL.
Both vehicles now accept crews from vehicles of the same type and nation
without the need to retrain or suffer penalties.
10 more premium tanks can be rented for gold.
All vehicles are available from the first day of Frontline.
Tanks are rented for a single Stage with the option to extend the rental period.
The gold spent on rentals goes into a special fund
that can be used as a discount
when purchasing the original version of these vehicles.
In Frontline battles, you can earn ranks from private to general.
They determine the amount of Frontline Experience
required to increase a level during an Expedition Stage.
There are 15 levels in total,
and you will get a reward for reaching each of them.
Combat Reserve Points, credits, Directives, Personal Reserves, and Bonds.
After level 15, you will gain access to special daily missions
that, if completed, reward you with Personal Reserves and Bonds.
The faster you reach level 15,
the more missions you will be able to complete within a Stage.
Increasing the reward you will get.
You start every Stage of both Frontline and Steel Hunter at level one.
There is no way of returning to the previously achieved level.
At levels five, ten, and fifteen of every Expedition Stage,
you get a special Token.
You will be able to earn 12 such Tokens in Frontline,
and just as many in Steel Hunter.
These can be exchanged for the main reward of Expedition.
The Object 777 Version II, a new Soviet heavy tank.
The Char Futur 4, a unique French medium tank.
Or the AE Phase I, a four-tracked American beast.
In eight Stages of the Expedition,
a total of twenty four Tokens can be earned.
This is enough for two of the three vehicles, so choose your reward wisely.
Advance to the Frontline, earn Expedition Tokens,
and don't miss this opportunity to get a unique tank after the fourth Stage.
The Expedition has just begun!