The vehicle fleet in World of Tanks never stops growing.
In the near future, several American vehicles with brand-new mechanics
will be sent to the Supertest.
Their name? Yoh tanks.
In the 1950s, the American H.L. Yoh Company
introduced tank concepts with non-standard configurations.
Each project had rather unusual shapes.
One of the main features of the vehicles was a reserve track
that could be used if the main one was destroyed.
They were never produced,
but each tank was quite feasible, at least as a prototype.
It was only a matter of time
until such extraordinary vehicles appeared in World of Tanks.
And they will be sent for testing very soon.
The transition to new vehicles will start from the T1 Heavy Tank.
Overall, the developers plan to add five researchable vehicles
and one Tier VIII Premium tank.
The first among the newcomers is the Pawlack Tank.
This is a transitional Tier VI vehicle with no unique mechanics.
However, the tank boasts a unique appearance.
And it already gives you a taste of the whole branch.
It's sort of a mix between a classic heavy tank and a medium tank.
It also packs a fast-firing 90-mm gun
with good elevation and depression angles.
The M-II-Y awaits you at Tier VII.
The first tank in the branch with the new reserve tracks mechanic.
It's similar to the M48 in appearance,
but it incorporates many original design ideas.
An unusual crew placement meant the front of the turret could be narrowed,
thus improving its protection.
The following tanks develop this idea.
Tier VIII. The M-III-Y.
Here, the experimental engineering is even more obvious.
The frontal projection of the turret is small thanks to its elongated shape.
The front hull design resembles the T110E5.
The armor is solid.
It's enough to withstand hits from vehicles of the same tier or lower.
Its 10 degrees of gun depression will be very useful
when taking advantage of terrain irregularities.
The Tier IX tank, the M-VI-Y,
iterates on the ideas of its predecessors.
Your attention is immediately drawn
to the elongated shape of the oscillating turret.
It has additional features in the form of two cupolas
that will definitely attract enemy shells.
On the other hand, its turret and hull armoring is more than adequate.
In terms of appearance and gameplay,
the M-VI-Y is almost a top-tier vehicle…
…but we all understand what this is all about.
Tier X. The M-V-Y.
A living example of what can happen when you ask too many "what ifs."
The narrow, elongated turret conceals many surprises.
Its armor is adequate but not particularly impressive.
But here's what's important: The shape of the frontal projection
is designed to deflect shells like ping-pong balls.
And it's quite hard to hit such a narrow turret, even from medium range.
The M-V-Y also has something with which to respond.
Its 120-mm gun with great elevation/depression angles
means it can hold its own against many opponents one on one.
The top-tier Yoh that crests over a hill looks a bit like…
who knows what? Seems like that's its character.
And we haven't even talked about the reserve tracks yet!
But that's for later.
First, the Tier VIII Premium tank.
Considering the appearance of its researchable brethren,
the M-IV-Y actually looks a bit too normal.
But this first impression is misleading.
The Premium is just as non- conformist as the other Yoh tanks.
Its hull resembles that of the T110E5,
with good armor and a distinctive "skirt."
But the turret is something else.
First, it's cylindrical, which is not uncharacteristic of American vehicles.
Because of that, the turret is protected equally in the frontal projection,
even if you rotate it a little to the side.
Secondly, it's framed by a rather thick shield.
And, despite what you may think, it's not a screen.
The shield and the turret are one and the same.
That means if you hit the shield and penetrate the armor,
you will cause damage.
There is no way a shell penetrates the shield without causing any damage.
The weak point of the structure is the commander's cupola, which sits on top.
It's rather large, but it's not easy to hit from a distance.
Another questionable area is the turret's rear
that sticks out from under the shield.
There is less armor there than in places protected by the shield, of course.
Since the turret oscillates independently from the shield,
there is a notch under the gun.
This is a potential weak point,
as there is less armor here than on the main part of the turret.
But this small drawback is easily outweighed by the vehicle's advantages.
The gun has great elevation/depression angles,
allowing it to take advantage of terrain irregularities.
In this position, the weak point is almost invisible,
and the M-IV-Y itself is very capable.
And, most importantly, like most vehicles in the branch,
this Premium has a unique mechanic.
Reserve tracks are a completely fresh take on familiar game mechanics.
In battle, it often happens that your track gets destroyed,
you repair it, but you then become immobilized right away.
As a result, you lose a lot of hit points or even get destroyed.
The Yoh tanks are not immune to such an outcome,
but they have an ace up their sleeve.
Or rather—in their suspension.
The new American tanks have a pair of smaller tracks
in addition to the main ones.
If you look closely at the tank, you can see them on the rear rollers.
Those are the reserve tracks.
If the front roller gets hit and the main track is destroyed,
the vehicle doesn't stop. It can still continue moving.
However, its movement speed is reduced a little—
the initial Supertest settings decrease it by 30%.
The destroyed track remains on the ground
and returns to its place when repaired.
It's a game formality.
Just like the ability to instantly repair a track on any other vehicle.
If you lose another track on a Yoh tank, you lose another 30% of speed.
But it can still turn and move forward or backward.
To immobilize the vehicle completely,
you have to destroy at least one reserve track in addition to the main one.
In this case, the tank will come to a stop and wait for repair.
Repairing them also has nuances.
The reserve track is repaired first.
The repair time is not final on the Supertest
and will probably be less than the repair time of the main track.
As soon as the reserve track is repaired,
the repair of the main track begins.
The vehicle can drive at this point,
but a penalty is added to the repair time.
If the tank remains stationary, there will be no penalty,
and the main track will continue to be repaired at the standard speed.
Also, a Repair Kit will repair all tracks at once.
After all of the above,
one might think that immobilizing a Yoh tank is an event on its own.
But actually, it can be achieved with a single shell
if it hits the reserve track.
The easiest way to do it is to shoot at the drive wheel from the side,
on which both tracks are mounted.
The shell must cause enough damage
to destroy both the main track and the reserve one.
A similar result can be achieved
with a precise shot at the idler of the main track
with a subsequent hit to the reserve track.
Also, don't forget that splash damage from an artillery HE shell
can destroy both tracks without hitting the tank directly.
Players should take this into account and try to hide the weak point.
Reserve tracks will potentially save you
if the enemy decides to focus fire on your suspension.
The ability to roll back behind a rock or a corner of a building
when your track is destroyed gives you an extra chance to save yourself.
At this point, some viewers might be thinking
they can leave the Repair Kit in the Garage!
And that's not such a crazy thought.
With a reserve track, you always have room for error.
Yes, you can lose a track—even two!
What's the difference if you have two more?!
However,
you shouldn't rush to conclusions about the Repair Kit.
At the very least, it repairs other important vehicle modules.
A useful thing.
Crew skills, equipment, consumables, and directives
that affect repair time of other modules
also improve the repair time of both tracks.
And to make it easier to follow,
all vehicles now have a new characteristic: Suspension Repair Time.
The Yoh tanks will have two values—
one for the reserve track and one for the main one.
When hovering the cursor, you will see what affects this parameter and how.
We talked about the principles behind the reserve tracks.
But there are still many questions regarding balance.
Which track should be repaired faster, the reserve or the main one?
What should be the speed penalty? Is 30% too much or too little?
How much should the main track repair be slowed down upon movement?
Only the Supertest will give us the answers.
We will test different ways to implement the mechanics.
And we will start with the Premium vehicle.
Then the settings will affect the Tier X vehicle
and, after that, the remainder of the branch.
The Yoh tanks are completely unique vehicles
that will become a full-fledged part of World of Tanks in the future.
Make sure you follow the news!
After the Supertest, there will be more information about the American heavies
that we can't wait to share with you!
Good luck on the battlefield!