artillery in world of tanks is a
tactical
unhurried and appealing vehicle type for
many players at the same time it's the
most controversial vehicle type in the
game
the third iteration of the sandbox
server is fully dedicated to spgs
we recently tested our hypotheses
regarding high explosive shells and a
brand new crew system
now we've come to another topic that is
on the minds of many players
and the sandbox is the best place to
test the new ideas
the sandbox server in world of tanks is
a test range of sorts
where we try the most complex and
nuanced mechanics under conditions that
are as close to real as possible
during testing we conduct surveys and
gather information about player behavior
test participants influence the future
of the game through both their words and
actions
they help clarify which mechanics need
improvement what should be removed
and what additions can be made
for your activity during all three
sandbox iterations
you can get rewards in the form of
in-game items on your main account
further details are available on the
website
artillery has always been an important
part of the game's ecosystem
it has a distinctive influence on
battles helps develop them
and represents one of the tactical
layers of armored combat in general
the statistics show that artillery is
popular among players
one way or another more than half of all
players join battles in
spgs from time to time
the reason for this is that artillery
allows for playing at a steady pace with
no rush
at the same time artillery is quite a
controversial vehicle type
despite many improvements it's still a
matter of a debate
one artillery shell that comes in from
somewhere beyond the horizon has several
simultaneous effects
it causes damage damages modules and
stuns
we know that the latter is very
frustrating for players
we want less stunt in the game it's also
hard for players in the heat of the
battle to evaluate when
and where the artillery will fire
tankers can't counter such an attack
because they learn what the invisible
enemy has planned only when they or
their allies are hit
this is unfair the goal of the upcoming
changes tested on the sandbox is to
provide the players with new tools and
more information to counter artillery
fire
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the artillery itself will have more
opportunities to adjust to the combat
situation
due to the new interface features and
revamped shell system
where only one of the three shells will
keep the stun mechanic
the spg players will use different types
of shells with different effects
and that will lead to a noticeable
decrease of stun in battles
at the moment tankers don't have clear
methods of countering artillery during
battle
largely they can only rely on their
experience
with experience there comes the
understanding of artillery lines of fire
on different maps
where the spgs can be located and what
you need to do to avoid their fire
but this wasn't supported by the game
mechanics before
the new test features help players
understand several things
they warn you that the artillery is
firing directly at you
they give hints as to the artillery's
approximate location
and if you're not the target they show
you where it's aiming
in battle it's not always clear where
the artillery is firing from
so you don't always know which positions
offer cover from its fire
that's why the tracer of the artillery
shells will be more noticeable during
the sandbox
testing a brighter and therefore a more
visible tracer not only looks
spectacular
but is also a useful tactical element it
can help you understand approximately
where the artillery is located
what cover it can fire over and where to
hide from it
this will help you take a safe position
where its next shot won't hit you
the reworked tracers are clearly
noticeable even from afar
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during the test commanders will get a
new perk to train
sound detection it's designed to reduce
the surprise effect from the artillery
shells falling down from the skies
at the moment when artillery fires the
players in the impact
area will see a special indicator it
signals that the vehicle is under fire
and you need to change position quickly
the indicator is displayed according to
certain rules
as you know the artillery shells have a
burst radius
for example it's 10 meters for the
object 261
the danger zone inside which the
indicator activates is a sphere around
the burst radius
increased by 30 percent in the case of
the object 261 the sphere's radius is 13
meters
every vehicle will have its own
imaginary sphere that depends on its
size
if these spheres come in contact sound
detection will activate for that vehicle
the minimum sphere radius is 3 meters
this is the value of armor-piercing
shells
sound detection will also activate when
the rd player aims and fires behind the
vehicle
for example if it's on a hill
players will be notified when the
vehicle sphere intersects with the
artillery shell trajectory
but only at a distance of up to 75
meters from the point of impact
sound detection won't activate in other
cases for example
if a fast tank rolled into the danger
zone while the shell was still traveling
if two or more spgs fire at once
notifications for each spg will appear
in cases when they fire from the same
direction only one indicator will
display
in order to not overload the interface
depending on the shell velocity and
distance to travel
sound detection will give you precious
seconds to react
and change position you probably won't
avoid damage completely
but there's definitely the chance to
reduce it significantly
sound detection and brighter tracers are
clearly displayed sources of information
that help in battle
they will be accompanied by a new
tactical feature on the minimap
after the enemy shell hits the ground a
vehicle or any other object
a special circle will appear in that
spot on the minimap
you can select the option to display it
in settings
the marker will disappear after 10
seconds but will give you a lot of
useful tactical information
the shell impact point will help you
figure out where the artillery is firing
from
as the number of convenient positions
for it on the map is limited
together with more noticeable tracers
this gives players an understanding of
two where and from where the artillery
is firing
additionally the appearance of the
marker means that the artillery is
reloading
so you'll have a window of tactical
opportunity
you can change position or attack with
confidence knowing there will be no
surprise from the skies
this will really help all the players
who analyze the battle and monitor its
development
the reworked mechanics will give players
more visual and tactical information
that they can use in battle
it will be clearer to where and from
where the artillery is firing
and whether it is firing at you
additionally the artillery itself will
undergo changes that will reduce the
amount of stun in the game
it's assumed that this will increase the
overall survivability of other vehicle
types in battles with artillery
tactical options provided for artillery
will help it better react in combat
situations
and stay as effective as possible for
its team
the main new feature in the test is
three different shell types for spgs
during the new balance testing on the
sandbox in 2020
we increased the number of artillery
shell types to three after
adding ap shells this system got mixed
feedback
free shell types didn't increase
adaptability because changing the shell
type still took
too much time armor-piercing shells in
their turn
proved to be not effective enough also
players weren't happy about the shell
cost
the players and other vehicle types
didn't get the desired changes as well
at the same time players liked the
concept of three different artillery
shell types and a reduction in the
amount of stun
that's why we didn't abandon this idea
and started improving it
as it is now artillery players don't
have much choice
let's take a look at the object 261 it
has a standard cheap
shell with acceptable burst radius
and there's a very expensive special
shell that has only one advantage
a slightly wider burst radius players
don't have a wider choice even by paying
more
on the sandbox test server we're
bringing more variety by adding a third
tactical shell and adjusting the
characteristics of high explosive shells
in the new system the first shell of the
object 261
as well as of other spgs is the standard
high
explosive shell it has a relatively high
burst radius
it will still cause damage and stun the
enemy but won't be able to cause
critical damage to internal modules and
crew
upon a non-penetration anymore its armor
penetration will remain the same
but the basic damage value will be lower
than the current one by 10 percent
second shell type is an alternative it's
also a high explosive shell
but it doesn't cause stun its burst
radius is two times
smaller than that of a standard shell
and its area of effect is four times
smaller
but its armor penetration is roughly 50
higher than its current value
and its damage is 10 higher also
unlike the standard shell it can cause
critical damage to internal modules and
crew
finally the third shell type is tactical
in the case of the object 261
it's an ap shell however some vehicles
will have
heat shells this is a useful but
situational shell that is significantly
different from the ones that artillery
used to have
unlike high explosive shells it doesn't
have a burst radius and stun effect
it can only hit one target but the
damage upon penetration
is much higher than that of a high
explosive shell upon a non-penetration
the tactical shell's armor penetration
is four to six times higher than that of
high
explosive shells players will likely not
use such shells as often as high
explosive ones
we expect that they will comprise up to
20 percent of all shots
as you may have noticed we aren't using
the special shell term in the case of
artillery
the spgs won't have them what's a
special shell
it's a shell that guarantees a certain
advantage for a higher cost in credits
usually it's higher armor penetration or
burst radius for spgs
apparently it's the best in terms of
combat efficiency
in the new system each artillery shell
is drastically different from the others
and is suited to different tactical
situations
that's why the cost of the standard
shell will remain about the same
the cost of the alternative shell will
be much lower compared to special shells
although a bit higher than that of the
standard shelves the cost of the
tactical shell will also be close to
that of the standard ship
despite the changes in pricing the
profitability of the vehicles won't
change much
thanks to the three types of shells the
object 261 will be able to appropriately
react to different situations
the standard shell is the simplest to
use you won't cause much damage but you
will hit
several targets at once while also
stunning them
the alternative shell is for situations
when you want to cause high
damage upon the direct hit finally the
armor-piercing shell is the best option
to fire at a heavily armored slower tank
especially if it's using a small liner
artillery players won't be able to play
effectively using only
one shell type the key to success is the
right combination of shells
appropriate to the combat situation
each of the three shell types has its
own velocity and trajectory
the standard high explosive shell
travels slower at a more
curved trajectory this shell is easier
to lob behind a hill or cover
the alternative standard shell travels
faster but at less of an arc
the trajectory of an ap shell is the
flattest but it reaches the enemy
quicker than other shells
and it's not only because of the
different shell velocities
they don't differ that much this is
about the trajectory itself
if it's curved the shell needs to travel
more distance
this causes the difference in the
general shell flight time
adding a new type of artillery shell
entails logical interface improvements
when aiming you can immediately see what
shell type is currently loaded
also thanks to the special indication
for each shell
you can evaluate if the shell can fly to
the targeted location
or if there are any obstacles in its way
if the indicator is green
you are able to hit that location if the
indicator is red
there is an obstacle in the way also a
more convenient way of changing aiming
modes was added
after reaching a certain zoom value you
can go from the top view mode to the
trajectory view mode when scrolling the
mouse
at the same time the g button on the
keyboard will keep its function
there's also another useful new feature
you can now see the shell travel time
next to the reticle
this will make the life of a regular
artillery player easier under the new
conditions
it will now be easier to assess when
exactly you need to fire when leading a
moving target
but these are not all of the new
interface features
more options and additional functions
are available in the game
clients settings
three different shell types offer new
opportunities for artillery
but the long reload traditional for this
vehicle type still remains
the combat situation can change quickly
so what can you do when the shell is
loaded but it doesn't suit the situation
this is where quick switching between
shell types comes in handy
the reworked intuition perk will be
responsible for that
in the new crew system this perk will
also be changed during sandbox testing
it will work for any vehicle not just
for artillery and will allow for
switching the shell much faster than
usual
a fully trained perk speeds up the
process by 60 percent
the commander's bonus adds six percent
more and with the bonuses from brothers
in
arms food consumables improved
ventilation including the one for bonds
and directives you can boost it even
more the chance to quickly switch the
already loaded shell
increases the diversity of delivering
fire it will be easier to adapt to
constantly changing combat conditions
under the new conditions both tankers
and artillery players will have more
tactical options
the characteristics of the artillery
itself won't change
but three different shell types have
been added which are suited to different
situations
a standard high explosive shell for the
groups of enemies
an alternative shell for cases in which
stunning the opponents won't give you an
advantage
and it's better to cause high explosive
damage and the armor-piercing shell for
cases in which there's a single
well-armored but slow target if the
combat situation
changes there's the option to adapt by
switching shell types quickly
remember to be careful when playing as
artillery new brighter tracers is a tool
in the hands of the enemy the initial
spot of tracer
appearance is selected randomly along
the trajectory
the tracer doesn't show the precise
position of an spg
but it helps enemies guess it an
artillery player from the opposing team
can potentially guess where you are
using this information
on the other hand you can do the same at
the same time
tankers have received their features for
actively countering artillery
they will help players better navigate
in battle and understand how enemy
artillery is playing
more visible tracers won't give away the
artillery's precise location but will
indicate where they are
and how to protect yourself against them
sound detection serves the same purpose
the markers on the mini-map will help
show where the enemy artillery is firing
and how long it will take for it to
reload
and since artillery players will use
three shell types
this will naturally decrease the amount
of stun in battles
the previous artillery test on the
sandbox showed that these numbers
reached up to 50 percent
with the help of the new mechanics that
will be tested in the upcoming sandbox
players will gain useful tactical
information they haven't had before
the usefulness of these new features
depends on how players use them in live
conditions
that's why we need tests to identify the
drawbacks of the ideas and expose rough
edges
so that all players receive useful game
tools regardless of their in-game
preferences and favorite vehicle types
take part in the testing challenge the
game share your feedback
and get rewards for your commitment good
luck on the battlefield
you