There will be a lot of new changes in Update 1.18.
Players can expect a brand-new map
and a number of improvements to well-known locations,
as well as important adjustments to familiar tanks
and a completely new branch of vehicles.
And you can try it all out on the Common Test.
Learn more about it in this quick video.
After a short break, we've gotten back to work on vehicle balance.
Remember, these test parameters may change.
At the moment, the Kranvagn and Emil II are performing too well in battle.
So, we've decided to make them a little less intimidating,
while still keeping their schtick: their sturdy turret and magazine.
The Kranvagn will be slower.
We've decreased its top forward and reverse speed
to make it more of a trench vehicle.
Gun handling is now less comfortable, and the magazine takes longer to reload.
This will make the tank less forgiving of mistakes.
The Emil II has undergone similar changes. Like its Tier X counterpart,
the tank has now lost some of its dynamics and gun stats.
The performance of the French heavy tanks with cyclic guns
has lagged slightly behind the competition.
Now, with the upcoming changes,
it will be easier for them to survive on the battlefield.
This applies to all tiers, except Tier IX.
The AMX M4 mle. 51 has been competitive from the start,
so only small changes have been made to its characteristics.
However, the Tier X tank has undergone dramatic changes.
The vehicle's sides are now thicker and its HP is higher.
The stabilization and penetration of both guns have been improved.
The standard shells for the 120 mm gun and the special shells
for the 130 mm now offer better penetration.
At the same time, the hull traverse speed has been slightly decreased.
For the Tier VIII AMX 65 t, gun dispersion, durability,
and crossing capacity have all increased.
It will also be easier for the Tier VII vehicle to play on the frontline,
thanks to its improved frontal turret armor and increased hit points.
Moreover, the stats of the entire main branch
of American heavy tanks have changed.
The only exception is the T110E5,
which has shown decent performance since the last rebalance.
The M103 is now slightly less maneuverable,
but its hit points and gun stabilization have improved.
The T32 will hit and penetrate easier.
Also, the M3 Stuart, T6 Medium, T1 Heavy, and M6
have all been given a boost.
On the other hand, the T29 now takes longer to aim, load, and traverse.
The M44, an American Tier VI SPG, will cause less damage.
Now, the differences between the Tier VI tank
and its Tier VII counterpart will be much more evident.
A number of other mid-tier vehicles have also been rebalanced.
The characteristics of the KV-1S, M4A3E8 Sherman, Type 58, TVP VTU,
and two French tank destroyers will improve.
Many of these vehicles are already popular among newcomers,
which will help make their game journey smoother.
At the same time, several mid-tier vehicles have lost some of their performance.
And for the sake of consistency,
we’ve made a few changes to other vehicles as well.
You can read more about these changes in the article on the game portal.
The winning map from Recon Mission Season 1
is ready to enter Random Battles. Meet the Outpost.
On this map, you'll be forced to fight nose-to-nose in the town,
while tanking to your heart's content.
Or you can choose to fight for the fortress on the hill.
It's a risky ascent, but if successful, you'll have control
over a significant part of the map.
Further on in the swamps, you'll be able to easily
set up ambushes and fight in fast vehicles.
The old battlefields have also received some attention.
Update 1.18 features a number of changes to existing maps.
On Murovanka, the left flank has significantly improved.
Small hills and buildings now provide much more cover.
This part of the map has become more welcoming
for slow, heavily armored vehicles.
In the Encounter Battle mode, the location of the base has also been changed.
This will balance both teams' ability to control the area.
In Berlin, changes to the urban area aim to
strengthen the position of the right team.
The “balcony” in square C6 has been reworked.
This has been done to match the balcony on the opposite side.
In addition, the map has been removed from Encounter Battles.
The changes in Redshire aim to balance the sides in favor of the upper team.
The passage to the airship is now better protected
against fire from other directions.
It's now much safer for scouts to depart from D6.
The Assault mode has been updated in favor of defense.
The base and spawn points of both teams have shifted.
Pearl River has also become more balanced.
When playing from the lower spawn point,
players can now get to the central passage faster,
and the passage itself has become wider.
There's also a new well-defended position here.
The terrain on Siegfried Line has been changed slightly.
Now, the hill in square A7 is flatter.
Moreover, the Assault mode base and spawn points have moved a bit.
On Lakeville, one of the most popular positions
for light tanks has been improved.
Now, you can spot enemies in the center from one side of the house,
and in the city from the other.
The central hill in the canyon has become easily accessible
from both spawn points.
On Karelia, selective improvements have been made to the shapes
and positions of several boulders.
This will secure flanking from the upper base.
Ghost Town.
Players in heavy vehicles will feel the most significant improvements here.
The major clash area is now covered against long-range fire.
Tank destroyers that used to camp far from the center of events
should look for new positions.
Note that this change will affect players on both sides.
The Paris map now features a new terrace in the corner of a house in square H7.
This will make it harder for enemies in E3
to hit vehicles crossing this street.
On Glacier, the path to the aircraft carrier has become much safer,
and there is now more cover in both spawn areas.
Artillery from the lower base is now able to assist allies on serpentine roads.
This has been updated to match the conditions on the other side.
On the Abbey map, there's no longer the option to “hoist up” in square E5.
On El Halluf, changes have been made to square A1.
Previously, only the upper team could comfortably play hull-down here.
Now, thanks to the new boulder, the position benefits both sides equally.
The updates to Serene Coast are minor, but still positive.
In the past, if you fell into the water, it was impossible to get out.
This has now changed.
And finally, Himmelsdorf.
The castle and surrounding terrain are now more symmetrical.
This way, the upper team will be as comfortable here as the lower team.
Moreover, it's now easier to move and play hull-down in squares D9-E9.
The new Italian tank destroyers will also feel comfortable tanking here.
But more on that later. For now, let's talk about the matchmaker.
To improve your battle experience, we’re introducing
some new rules for balancing light tanks and artillery.
First of all, there are new restrictions to balance the number
of light tracked and wheeled vehicles.
The matchmaker will now be stricter when balancing light tanks between teams
and will always aim to put the same number of these vehicles on each team.
This means that there will be far fewer battles
between teams with uneven numbers of light tanks.
Wheeled vehicles will now be more strictly balanced as well,
and there will be a limit of one wheeled tank per team.
To support these changes and avoid a significant increase in waiting time
for light tanks in a Platoon, we are also introducing a limit
of no more than one light tank in a Platoon from Tier VII onward.
We’re still experimenting with these restrictions, so our developers
will be keeping a close eye on the matchmaker's stability,
queue fluctuations, and waiting times,
then make any necessary adjustments.
The second important change concerns the number of SPGs per team.
The majority of battles will now have 0–2 SPGs per team.
Starting with Update 1.18, the matchmaker will aim to keep the
number of battles with 3 SPGs per team to an absolute minimum.
The number of battles with 3 SPGs will greatly depend
on the time of day and day of the week, as well as the number
of artillery players waiting in the queue, among other things.
Nevertheless, the matchmaker will always try to limit the number of SPGs
on a team to one or two —or none at all.
If you're having trouble finding your way around the maps,
try the updated scenarios in Topography.
The vehicle routes and target positions are now even more consistent
with the realities of Random Battles. Learn to play smart with Topography!
If you're a total newbie, be sure to try out Tank Academy
right after completing the initial tutorial.
This series of missions will gradually introduce you
to the various features of the Random Battles gameplay.
And best of all, you'll get useful rewards!
We've made some visual changes that will bring together
the overall tone of the improvements in a number of ways.
Now, destroying the tracks on any tank in the game
will look as impressive as it does on the Yoh tanks.
The tracks work as a separate physical model.
They react to objects around them and behave like they would in real life.
This configuration significantly affects performance.
It should only be enabled if your PC supports a good frame rate in the game,
and it will only be enabled by default with the High and Ultra settings.
Last but not least, the Italian tank destroyers.
Get ready for a unique branch of TDs featuring armor,
turrets, and very interesting guns.
Their characteristics are still being tested and may change,
but it's already clear that these vehicles have real character.
The Tier V and VI vehicles are classic tank destroyers
that hark back to the German roots of the Italian tank industry.
Tier VII is where the special treats of the line truly start to emerge.
These vehicles have turrets with limited traverse angles,
and excellent gun elevation and depression angles
Their impressive armor allows them to really show off their full potential.
The tanks also have a very unusual magazine.
With long reloading times for each shell
but speedy reloading for the whole magazine,
you're faced with a hybrid of a magazine and cyclical firing.
However, further down the line, the vehicles' boosted armor
transforms them into full-fledged assault TDs.
In addition to its impressive armor,
the Tier VIII vehicle has a sloped turret ring
that allows it to keep a low-profile and lower its gun just as well
when traversing the turret.
At Tier IX, this feature is even more striking.
Here, the turret occupies the majority of the frontal projection,
which will come in handy when utilizing gun elevation and depression angles.
The 127 mm gun continues the "magazine tradition."
The Controcarro 1 Mk. 2 will both prepare you for Tier X
and quickly become one of the top vehicles in your Garage.
And at the end of the labyrinth, the Minotaur awaits.
A large and sturdy turret. Well-sloped armor.
10 degrees of gun depression
and an arc of fire covering 90 degrees!
Even a 5-shell magazine dealing 530 HP of damage each.
The entire magazine may reload very quickly...
But the individual shells take a long time.
Think of it as a regular gun with an incredibly quick reloading time,
but a tolerable penalty of 24 seconds every 5 shots.
And to spice it all up: great penetration.
The Controcarro 3 Minotauro can provide impressive fire support...
Or it can lead the attack and break through
enemy defenses with its strong head.
The bull lowers its horns, stomps the ground with its hoof...
And the enemy better step aside.
You can test this vehicle, and all the other changes, during the Common Test.
Subscribe to stay up-to-date on all World of Tanks news,
and good luck on the test battlefield!