May 1, 2018

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

This month in our Branch of the Month series is dedicated to the only Light Tank branch, available in Marat Shishkin’s vehicle pool. The branch starts with two British Light Tanks (Scorpion and its upgrade, Scorpion 90) and continues with a series of American vehicles – with two exceptions, that is.

The story of Light Tanks starts even before the Second World War, although many tanks that are today classified as “light” were not named as such back then. But some were – in fact, the first tank with the modern layout that is used until this day, the Renault FT, was, classified as a Light Tank. The most common tank designation, however, was by their battlefield roles – after all, pretty much all the mass-produced tanks of the interwar period were light, regardless of what purpose were they built for. In their most basic form, there were:

Cavalry Tanks
Infantry Tanks

Cavalry tanks were typically very lightly armored – their main role was to accompany cavalry formations that were still common in many advanced armies even after the horrendous slaughter of the Great War, providing additional firepower and shock effect. In order to fulfill that role, they had to be fast and, most importantly, had to be able to cross even relatively difficult terrain. That required low weight and relatively powerful engines – relatively being the key word of course: today, a tank engine that is considered powerful can produce 1500hp, but back then, the tanks weighed in many cases under 10 tons and anything over 150hp was quite a lot. The weight had to be therefore kept in check and the cavalry tanks were, as a result, typically very poorly protected.

Infantry tanks were better protected than the cavalry tanks, but also significantly slower. That wasn’t seen as a drawback, however, as the role of such tank was to accompany the infantry – at walking pace. Protection was seen as more important and some of the pre-war infantry tanks, like the British Matilda, were amongst the toughest opponents the Germans could face by 1940.

And then there were, of course, the tankettes – less than tanks and often armed with light machineguns only, their biggest and only advantage was that they were cheap. The Polish used them in 1939 with moderate level of success and they were also somewhat useful when fighting colonial wars against spear-wielding tribesmen, but that was the peak of their performance. They suffered extremely high losses during the early days of the Second World War and they practically disappeared from the battlefields by 1940. The appearance of tankettes was an example of a victory of costs and marketing over performance and it is a proof that even back then, like now, the fates of thousands of soldiers were decided not in staff planning rooms or on the battlefield, but on the pages of sales brochures and in backroom deals.

During the Second World War, the tank roles somewhat shifted. The traditional split of World War Two tanks into light, medium and heavy is inaccurate to a degree, but the limited scope of this article calls for simplifications that will hopefully be forgiven by the more knowledgeable of readers.

Where the Heavy Tanks were typically intended for breakthrough and the Medium Tanks were universal, the Light Tanks were used for scouting – at least in the second half of the war. Of all the three, they were, as their name suggests, the lightest and typically the fastest, but also the least protected and carried the least amount of firepower. At the end of the war, some Light Tanks like the M24 Chaffee carried enough firepower to rival that of Medium Tanks, but where the Medium Tanks usually carried 50mm or 75mm guns, Light Tanks typically only carried 37mm guns, making them useful only against soft targets, obsolete enemy equipment, armored cars or other Light Tanks. Against enemies typically lacking in anti-tank firepower (for example the Japanese troops), even the Light Tanks were deadly, but they also suffered relatively high losses, putting the entire Light Tank as a scout concept in question by the end of the war.

After the war ended, the role of the Light Tanks was becoming less and less certain. The surplus ones were sold to third world countries all over the world – against equally poorly armed opponents, they were more than sufficient. However, in the 1950s, an excellent modern French Light Tank called AMX-13 appeared.

The AMX-13 was, in many ways, revolutionary. Its oscillating turret carried a powerful, automatically loaded 75mm gun and while the vehicle couldn’t boast much armor, it was very light for its firepower. It became a success, was widely exported and used by many countries. It was later upgunned with a 90mm and even a 105mm gun, a testament to the durability of its chassis.

On the American side, things were not going so well. The wartime M24 Chaffee Light Tank was seriously outclassed against the Russian T-34s during the Korean War and its replacement, the M41 Walker Bulldog, didn’t fare much better. It took quite a long time to replace the Walker Bulldog in full, but it was the replacement process itself that formed the future of the entire class. Where the Heavy Tanks were discontinued, the American Light Tanks became basically airborne vehicles with size and weight limits to fit into transport planes and helicopters.

Unlike the American Main Battle Tanks, the post-war Light Tanks were never a real success. The last mass-produced American Light Tank, the M551 Sheridan, could be described as mediocre with technical issues plaguing its long career from the Vietnam War until the Gulf War. It carried a massive amount of firepower in the form of its 152mm gun-launcher, but it was also extremely fragile and vulnerable to pretty much any threat. It remained in service simply because there was nothing better to replace it with – and boy did the Americans try. Numerous prototypes were tested, including some of the vehicles currently available in Armored Warfare such as the RDF/LT or the Expeditionary Tank. These were, however, never accepted in service and the American attempts to produce a new, modern Light Tanks essentially ceased with the XM8 program.

On the Soviet side, things weren’t much better with the Light Tank category all but disappearing. The most interesting and important Soviet post-war Light Tank was the PT-76. Where the Americans aimed for air mobility, the Soviets wanted their tanks to swim – and so they did. The PT-76 and its later variants were designed around that ability because the Soviets based their doctrine on the experience learned from the Second World War. In reality, the ability to swim was never really all that useful, but it shaped the Soviet vehicles for decades. Like the Americans, the Soviets produced a number of interesting Light Tank concepts and prototypes, but few ever made it past the drawing board, let alone in service. The original role of the Light Tank was, later on, assumed by modified IFVs.

This development on the American and Soviet side didn’t, however, mean that the Light Tanks passed into obscurity. On the contrary – the 1970s and 1980s saw a limited resurgence of Light Tanks with a decade-long break in the 1990s due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent flooding of the markets with surplus Soviet equipment. There were two main reasons for this resurgence:

First was the need to arm third world countries and export Light Tanks were in general simply much more affordable than any Main Battle Tanks (especially the western ones). It wasn’t just the question of initial price – Main Battle Tanks in general always had huge upkeep costs. Numerous commercial Light Tanks were designed to offer firepower of a MBT with the price tag of a Light Tank. Typical example would be the Stingray Light Tank and the VFM5 project by Vickers. These “affordable MBTs” subsequently saw some limited success with the Stingray used by Thailand, for example and another big user of Light Tanks in general being South America with some countries there still armed with upgraded World War Two equipment (for example the Brazilian X1).

The second reason was generally specific to countries with extremely poor terrain. Simply put, a Light Tank can go where a MBT cannot. This was a lesson learned by China – in the southern parts of the country and in South-East Asia in general, Light Tanks were very useful, leading to the development of a whole range of Chinese Light Tank projects, the chief amongst them being the Type 62, resembling a smaller Type 59. This tank was designed in the 1960s to fight in the harsh terrain of South China (or North Vietnam) and participated in the Vietnam War (more or less successfully). It was only recently retired and can be considered quite successful.

After the abovementioned 1990s pause, the Light Tanks are recently starting to re-appear in the offers of the production companies. There are a number of reasons for that:

The appearance of modern technologies such as various active protection systems significantly increases the tank protection levels, thus ensuring that even Light Tanks have a chance against such threats as ATGMs
Some say that the MBTs have reached their weight limit and alternative ways of protection are being sought. This includes the appearance of Light Tanks using the same general logic the German Leopard 1 was built around – with the threats so advanced no amount of armor can protect a vehicle anyway, why not invest into additional mobility and reduced costs instead?
Light Tanks – especially the export ones – are designed to be affordable. At the same time, they generally offer enough firepower and accuracy to defeat even a modern MBT, making them an interesting alternative for potential customers. The appearance of such technologies as the 120mm Compact Tank Gun by RUAG makes a vehicle carrying it more than a match for pretty much anything it can encounter on the battlefield
Tracks still have better off-road capabilities than wheels

Modern Light Tanks are essentially the tracked counterparts of the Fire Support Vehicles such as the Stryker.

No longer relegated to scouting, a modern Light Tank can perform a wide variety of roles on the battlefield while offering superior off-road capabilities to a wheeled vehicle. They of course do have multiple drawbacks – tracked vehicle maintenance is far more difficult than the one of any wheeled vehicle, but under certain circumstances, it’s simply worth it.

From May 1 to May 31, 2018, the following Light Tanks will be available for lower price than usual:

Scorpion Tier 3 LT – One of the most popular post-war Light Tanks of the 20th century, the Scorpion was an excellent British tracked vehicle that served for almost thirty years from the late 1960s to 1994. It was exported in considerable numbers and participated in several conflicts, including the Gulf War. Its light armor and a powerful 76mm gun make it an ideal introduction to Light Tank gameplay. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 35%

Scorpion 90 Tier 4 LT – In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Scorpion was still in service of several countries that included Malaysia, Venezuela and Nigeria, but by this time it was growing increasingly obsolete. Instead of just phasing it out, these countries opted to have it upgraded with a 90mm CMI gun in a modified turret along with a complete refit of the original vehicle. This way, the Scorpion continues to serve in the 21st century. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 35%

M551 Sheridan Tier 5 LT – The story of the American Sheridan Light Tank dates back to the late 1950s when a replacement was sought for the M41 Walker Bulldog. The result was the Sheridan – a rather unique vehicle that was armed incredibly heavily for its class. Its short 152mm gun-launcher was not only capable of firing devastating HE shells, but also of launching Shillelagh guided missiles, making it as deadly against tanks as it was against soft targets. At least that was the theory. In reality, the Sheridan was an unreliable and fragile vehicle that suffered heavy losses in the Vietnam War due to its thin aluminum armor. It was not well-liked by the U.S. Army but stayed in service until the early 1990s because there was simply nothing better available. You can read more about it in our three-part series called “The Sheridan Story” – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Discount: 35%

Begleitpanzer 57 Tier 5 LT – The Begleitpanzer 57 project started with the goal of creating a viable and practical armored infantry fire support vehicle using the components already produced for the Marder IFV. It was a purely commercial private project – there was no request made by Bundeswehr (or any military) to actually build such a vehicle. The designers believed that the relatively cheap yet powerful vehicle would find its niche on the armor market, especially in South America. A prototype was built in 1977. The most interesting part on it was its 57mm Bofors cannon and a TOW launcher, giving its considerable firepower against all targets. Unfortunately for it, no buyers showed any interest and vehicle thus remained in prototype stage only. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 35%

Stingray Tier 6 LT – This was another export vehicle but, unlike the Begleitpanzer, the American Cadillac-Gage Stingray actually found its customers. Armed with a powerful 105mm cannon, it was an affordable solution for countries unwilling or unable to maintain a large fleet of MBTs. Thailand purchased 106 of them in 1987 and they continue to serve to this day. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 35%

Stingray 2 Tier 7 LT – The Stingray 2 Light Tank was developed by Cadillac Gage as an upgraded variant of the original Stingray. The philosophy behind both Stingrays was to install powerful, MBT-class 105 mm rifled cannon on a light, mobile and – most importantly – affordable chassis. Despite its qualities, the vehicle was never a commercial success because the market became flooded with Cold War surplus.

Discount: 25%

M8 Buford Tier 8 LT – The Buford (originally known as the XM8 Armored Gun System) was a 1980s project to design a replacement for the aging Sheridan, which would replace it in service in the 1990s. It was supposed to be an air-transportable light gun platform that would serve with the 82nd Airborne. The vehicle was generally well-designed, but military budget cuts of the 1990s proved to be its undoing. The vehicle contract was initially assigned to FMC, and six prototypes were built and tested. All of them reportedly still exist in various states of disrepair. In September of 1993, FMC presented the vehicle to the military, and there were plans to produce 297 vehicles from 1997 onwards, but the project was ultimately canceled in 1996. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 25%

M8 Thunderbolt Tier 9 LT – The XM8 that was cancelled in the 1990s as a result of the end of the Cold War was revived in 2000s, first following the shift towards light mobile warfare during the War on Terror and then, recently, as a participant of the competition for America’s next light air-mobile tracked gun platform. The biggest difference between the Buford and the Thunderbolt is its 120mm gun that is capable of firing full-sized NATO ammunition despite being mounted on a light chassis. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 20%

PL-01 Tier 10 LT – The PL-01 Light Tank concept was unveiled in Poland in 2013 as a potential replacement to all the Polish MBTs that were in service at that time. It immediately captivated the world with its futuristic stealth looks and its high-end electronics. The concept was built on a CV90 chassis. However, following its introduction, the Polish military opinion shifted towards MBTs once again and Poland decided to buy German Leopard 2 tanks instead. The PL-01 project (also known as Gepard at that point) was therefore shelved. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

Discount: 15%

In Armored Warfare, the Light Tanks are perhaps the least diverse of all classes in the sense that they all share the following traits:

They are all fast, tracked vehicles (more mobile than MBTs but not as mobile as AFVs)
They all are better protected than AFVs, but have less armor than a MBT of equal tier
They generally have MBT-class cannon
They do not generally have guided missiles

As usual, there are exceptions – for example, the German Begleitpanzer 57 Tier 5 Light Tank has a 57mm automatic cannon and a missile launcher, but on average, the Light Tanks are not as diverse. That doesn’t make them inferior to other classes, of course – in fact, it is their strength.

The Light Tanks are the ultimate flankers of Armored Warfare. They can’t take Main Battle Tanks head-on due to their lower protection levels, but they have the speed and the agility to go around the toughest of targets instead and aim for their weak flanks and rears. Few vehicles in the game can keep up with Light Tanks off-road and while their maximum speed is not as high as that of the wheeled AFVs or even wheeled Tank Destroyers, on softer surfaces the Light Tanks can dance around every opponent, blowing big holes in the most vulnerable armor parts.

Firepower-wise, Light Tanks are perhaps the most accurate vehicles on the move in the game. The Tank Destroyer class vehicles can fire more accurately when standing, but lose a lot of accuracy when attempting to move, making them generally useless for fast flanking maneuvers. Furthermore, many Light Tanks focus on burst damage.

This is due to the fact that the amount of time they can spend in MBT crosshairs is limited – the MBTs will eventually beat them down one on one by turning their strongest armor towards them, making unloading as much damage as possible in a very short amount of time essential. That is why the Light Tanks are often equipped with either automatic loader clips or ready racks (increasing the rate of fire for several rounds when the ready rack is loaded). The Light Tanks are also decent scouts – they are not as great as dedicated AFVs, nor are they very stealthy, but their mobility more than makes up for it. When it comes to protection, however, the Light Tanks are quite fragile despite various ERA and applique armor upgrades available to high Tier vehicles.

These characteristics define the way the Light Tanks should be played – aggressively. Much like in the case of AFVs, a slow or standing Light Tank is a dead Light Tank, so instead of staying behind their armored comrades, the Light Tank players have to actively flank the enemy to be successful. This, however, requires careful and accurate reading of the battlefield, making Light Tanks suitable for experienced players.

These fragile vehicles do not forgive mistakes – running headlong into an enemy pack will result in your immediate destruction, as will being ambushed by the enemy while trying to execute a flanking maneuver. To successfully operate a Light Tank, its commander must predict where the enemy forces are located, which requires knowledge and experience.

This effort is, however, rewarded with the vehicle’s high-end performance. An experienced Light Tank player is all but unstoppable and elite Light Tanks players are the deadliest opponents of Armored Warfare.

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

Apr 27, 2018

New vehicles now available as Steam DLC!

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

New vehicles now available as Steam DLC!

Commanders!

We are happy to announce the addition od 13 new vehicles to the Armored Warfare Steam DLC section!

Over the course of the next week, we’ll be rolling out one vehicle per day:

ZBD-86 Neon (April 26)
M60-2000 Neon (April 27)
RDF/LT Neon (April 27)
T-72M2 Wilk (April 27)
WWO Wilk (April 29)
Type 96B (April 30)
Sabra Mk.2 (May 1)
Marder 2 (May 2)
Vickers Mk.7/2 Vanquisher (May 3)
BMD-2 Black Eagle (May 4)
Merkava IID Black Eagle (May 4)
Stingray 2 Black Eagle (May 4)
Zhalo-S Black Eagle(May 7)

ZBD-86 Neon

The ZBD-86 (also known as WZ-501 or Type 86 IFV) is a Chinese unlicensed copy of the Soviet BMP-1, acquired from Egypt in the 1980s. The vehicle is practically identical to its Soviet counterpart with even its engine being a copy of the original UTD-20, but the Malyutka ATGM launcher was replaced with the HJ-73 Red Arrow missile launcher. By the time it entered service in 1992, it was already obsolete.

In Armored Warfare, the ZBD-86 is a Tier 3 Armored Fighting Vehicle. Gameplay-wise, it’s roughly on par with its Soviet BMP-1 counterpart, but its Read Arrow missile packs more of a punch.

M60-2000 Neon

The M60-2000 was a prototype upgrade for the M60 Patton series of Main Battle Tanks from the late 1990s. The idea behind it was to replace the old M60 turret with one from the Abrams MBT in order to provide a cost-effective solution for the owners of the Patton series. It was offered to several countries with Turkey showing the most interest, but lost the competition for Turkish M60 upgrades to the Israeli Sabra.

In Armored Warfare, the M60-2000 is a Tier 7 Main Battle Tank. Its main advantages include well-protected turret and a 120mm M256 gun on Tier 7, making this tank a deadly opponent, especially if fighting defensively with the hull hidden behind cover. However, its hull is quite fragile for its tier, making this tank more suitable as a second-line support vehicle, firing at its enemies from distance.

RDF/LT Neon

The RDF/LT designation stands for Rapid Deployment Force Light Tank. Several prototypes were built for the U.S. armed forces evaluations with various guns. It was, however, never mass-produced and the project was terminated in 1985.

In Armored Warfare, the RDF/LT is a Tier 6 Light Tank. It was originally offered as a part of the Collector’s Edition, but it also exists as a part of the Claw vehicle edition, featuring unique camouflage. The variant modeled in the game is the vehicle armed with the 76mm M32 gun as it was the closest the RDF/LT came to mass production. Its gun is quite accurate, fires fast and has a lot of penetration, but these advantages are compensated by the low damage per shot value. It is also quite fast and accelerates well but isn’t perhaps as nimble as other Light Tanks of its Tier.

T-72M2 Wilk

The T-72M2 Wilk (Polish for “Wolf”) is one of the results of the Polish attempts from the late 1980s to upgrade its aging fleet of T-72M1 tanks in order to provide an effective counterpart to the western Leopard 2 and Abrams MBTs. The Polish development program resulted in several prototypes built between 1987 and 1990, featuring a more powerful engine, better Fire Control System and a Polish ERAWA explosive reactive armor kit. The Wilk program was concluded in 1990 but the lessons learned from it were used in the construction of the Polish PT-91 Main Battle Tank.

In Armored Warfare, the T-72M2 Wilk is a Tier 6 Main Battle Tank. It’s based on the T-72M1, which is an export version of the T-72A. That, along with improved mobility and the ERAWA ERA kit, puts it one tier above its predecessor. Performance-wise, it’s comparable to the T-72B Main Battle Tank with its experimental Polish DRAWA FCS and the improved autoloader increasing its performance.

WWO Wilk

The WWO Wilk is the second Polish vehicle of Armored Warfare named after the ferocious pack animal. It is a fire support variant of the Rosomak, replacing the original IFV turret with the Cockerill CT-CV one, armed with a 105mm gun. A prototype of this vehicle was built and tested in 2012. After passing the tests, it was offered to the Polish Armed Forces but failed to catch its attention despite the excellent trial results.

In Armored Warfare, the WWO Wilk is a Tier 8 Tank Destroyer. A lower tier counterpart to the existing progression vehicle Wilk XC8, its mobility is comparable to other vehicles using the Rosomak platform, while its 105mm gun firepower allows it to compete with such vehicles as the American Stryker.

Type 96B

The Type 96B MBT, as its name suggests, is an evolution of the Type 96A, featuring such elements as an upgraded fire control system and a much more powerful engine, resulting in considerably better mobility and speed. Unlike the Type 96A, however, the Type 96B is a prototype, designed for the Chinese military team to use during the annual Tank Biathlon event in Russia. In 2017, the Chinese team won the second place, being defeated only by Russia.

In Armored Warfare, the Type 96B is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank. Gameplay-wise, it’s very agile and fast for its class and uses advanced ammunition, making it highly suitable for players who prefer mobility over armor protection, even though it can take a lot of punishment as well. It comes with a special camouflage, used by the Chinese team during the Tank Biathlon event.

Sabra Mk.2

The Israeli Sabra Mk.2 was developed as an upgrade kit for the aging Turkish M60A1 and M60A3 series Patton tanks in the early 21st century. Its main features include a new 120mm IMI M253 smoothbore gun replacing the old M68, and a brand new set of additional NERA armor, significantly improving the tank’s protection.

In Armored Warfare, the Sabra Mk.2 is a Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank with powerful armament, thick armor and special black camouflage.

Marder 2

The Marder 2 was an experimental German IFV, developed in the late 1980s to replace the aging Marder IFV. It featured more armor, a new turret and a brand-new Rheinmetall dual-caliber autocannon that could fire both 35mm and 50mm rounds. Despite its qualities, the vehicle was never accepted in service due to its high cost and because it was no longer needed because of the fall of the Soviet Union. A single surviving prototype can be found today in the Koblenz military collection.

In Armored Warfare, the Marder 2 is a Tier 8 Armored Fighting Vehicle. With its 44 tons, it’s one of the heaviest and toughest AFVs around. Unlike many other AFVs of its Tier, it is not armed with guided missiles, relying instead on its extremely powerful 50mm autocannon. It also features special black camouflage.

Vickers Mk.7/2 “Vanquisher”

The Vickers Mk.7/2 was one of the last members of the famous Vickers MBT British tank export series. It was built around the advanced Vickers turret (with a wide range of guns offered as options), combined with a modified Leopard 2 hull. A single prototype was built in 1985, but failed to attract any customers. The tank was never mass-produced but the lessons learned by Vickers from its development were used when designing the Challenger 2 MBT

In Armored Warfare, the Vickers Mk.7/2 is a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank with a special “Vanquisher” British-themed camouflage, well-armored in the best Albion tradition.

BMD-2 Black Eagle

Developed for the Soviet Airborne infantry in the early 1980s, the BMD-2 is light air-transportable armored fighting vehicle, armed with a 30mm cannon as well as a guided missile launcher. Fast, small and nimble, it’s one of the most effective scouts of its Tier.

In Armored Warfare, the BMD-2 is a Tier 5 AFV. While not as durable as the BMP-2, it is agile and nimble. Its missiles provide it with enough of a punch to make it an effective killer, but where this vehicle truly shines is scouting thanks to its small size and high mobility.

Merkava IID Black Eagle

The Merkava IID (also known as Mk.2D) is an advanced version of the standard Mk.2 Merkava, upgraded with a modular “Dor-Dalet” composite armor kit. It’s a tough and unyielding vehicle, featuring a number of battle-proven components such as its 105mm rifled cannon. The first version of the Merkava Mk.2 entered service in 1983 and the last vehicles were phased out in 2016 after thirty long years.

In Armored Warfare, the Merkava IID is a very tough vehicle. It is not equipped with an explosive reactive armor kit, but is, nevertheless, a very tough customer due to the introduction of the additional armor, allowing it to take a lot of damage. Additionally, the tank is equipped with a Ready Rack mechanism, significantly increasing the rate of fire for the first four shots.

Stingray 2 Black Eagle

The Stingray 2 Light Tank was developed by Cadillac Gage as an upgraded variant of the original Stingray. The philosophy behind both Stingrays was to install powerful, MBT-class 105 mm rifled cannon on a light, mobile and – most importantly – affordable chassis. Despite its qualities, the vehicle was never a commercial success because the market became flooded with Cold War surplus.

In Armored Warfare, the Stingray 2 Black Eagle is a Premium version of the Tier 7 Light Tank, featuring unique camouflage and Level 5 crews. It’s one of the most powerful vehicles of its Tier. While its armor is not nearly as strong as that of an MBT of equal Tier, its agility and firepower more than make up for that. The Stingray 2 Black Eagle is a true hunter on the battlefield, running circles around its enemies and firing its powerful 105mm cannon at their vulnerable sides. In skilled hands, it’s absolutely devastating.

Zhalo-S Black Eagle

The 2S14 Zhalo-S is an experimental light, highly mobile, Soviet self-propelled gun from the 1980s. It is armed with an 85mm cannon on a BTR-70 wheeled chassis. Despite its unusually low caliber, the gun was very capable of defeating older vehicles, but it lacked the penetration of 125mm guns, a fact that ultimately doomed the project. The surviving prototype is currently located in the Kubinka Tank Museum.

In Armored Warfare, it’s one of the deadliest Tier 4 vehicles when driven by an experienced commander. Its gun has a rather low caliber for its Tier, but it more than makes up for it with its rate of fire and penetration power. The Zhalo-S can stay hidden for extended periods of time thanks to its excellent camouflage factor and, with a bit of luck, is capable of taking out entire squads of enemies on its own.

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

Apr 26, 2018

Legendary Reinforcements: VT-5

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Today marks the return of the Legendary Reinforcements event and we are happy to introduce the third vehicle of the series – the VT-5!

The VT-5 is a modern Chinese Light Tank that was developed specifically with export in mind. There are many reasons why a country without its own tank development should opt to purchase a Light Tank instead of a full-scale Main Battle Tank. It’s equally as fast if not faster with equal firepower but, what is most important, it is affordable. The VT-5 excels in all these categories. While its armor cannot match that of an MBT, it can protect its crew against most infantry threats thanks to its ERA and cage armor sets. It also has a powerful 105mm gun capable of firing guided missiles, it is packed with advanced electronics and is supremely agile thanks to its 1000hp diesel engine. Simply put, wraps cutting edge technologies up into an affordable bundle. You can learn more about it in a dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the VT-5 is a very powerful Tier 9 Premium Light Tank. Fast and agile, it features solid levels of protection (the configuration in the game is the one featuring the ERA kit as well as the turret cage armor) and a good rate of fire. Additionally, its gun is capable of firing guided missiles. It’s an ideal machine for players who value speed and agility, as it offers plenty of both. The VT-5 is capable of dancing around its opponents on the battlefield, outperforming even some AFVs in mobility.

How can I obtain the VT-5?

Starting today, Thursday, April 26, we are introducing a special VT-5 Reinforcement Loot Crate which will be available until April 30, 2018.

This Loot Crate has a chance of dropping the VT-5 along with a lot of other goodies and is available:

For completing the VT-5 Legendary Reinforcements Missions
By purchasing them in our Web Shop
By winning our contests on social media, future tournaments and more

Don’t miss the opportunity – this Loot Crate will not be available anymore for the near future and the vehicle will not be available by any other means either!

Legendary Reinforcements Missions

To celebrate the return of the Legendary Reinforcements, we’ve prepared two major bonuses for you to enjoy. For the duration of this offer, the following bonuses will be active:

50% bonus to Reputation income
50% bonus to Credit income

Furthermore, we’ve prepared three free VT-5 Loot Crates along with other mission for you:

Deal 10.000 damage in any mode to receive the first VT-5 Loot Crate
Deal 25.000 damage in any mode to receive 5 Surplus Parts Crate Consumables
Deal 50.000 damage in any mode to receive 5 Platinum Reputation Insignia Tokens
Deal 75.000 damage in PvP, Global Operations or Special Operations to receive the second VT-5 Loot Crate
Deal 100.000 damage in PvP, Global Operations or Special Operations to receive 2 Platinum Battlefield Glory 12-hour Boost tokens
Deal 150.000 damage in PvP, Global Operations or Special Operations to receive the third VT-5 Loot Crate

VT-5 Loot Crate Offer

In the Web Shop, the VT-5 Loot Crate is available for 1 EUR per piece in the following bundles:

2 Loot Crates
5 Loot Crates
11 Loot Crates (10% discount)
23 Loot Crates (15% discount)
50 Loot Crates (21% discount)
100 Loot Crates (31% discount)

What else does the VT-5 Loot Crate contain?

Apart from a chance to receive the ultimate rare drop – the VT-5 Tier 9 Premium Light Tank, each Loot Crate contains a number of goodies. In fact, you are guaranteed to receive items of at least the value of the Loot Crate!

For a mere 1 EUR, the VT-5 Loot Crate offers you the chance to win one or more of the following items:

Unique Premium Vehicle

VT-5 Tier 9 Premium Light Tank

Rare Premium Vehicles

Sabre Tier 6 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
T-72 Victory Tier 4 Premium Main Battle Tank

Premium Vehicles

Vickers Mk.7/2 “Vanquisher” Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank
Stingray 2 Black Eagle Tier 7 Premium Light Tank
T-72M2 Wilk Tier 6 Premium Main Battle Tank
ERC 90 Shark Tier 5 Premium Tank Destroyer
AMX-10P PAC 90 Fox Tier 4 Premium Tank Destroyer

Rare Commanders

Aleksandr Cortez (universal commander, suitable especially for PvE)
Kathryn Grey (MBT specialist commander, suitable especially for the front lines)
Joshua Seagrove (TD specialist commander, suitable for sniping)

Gold

Gold is an Armored Warfare premium currency and can be spent to accelerate progress or to purchase Premium Vehicles within the game or in the Web Shop.

10.000 Gold
7.500 Gold
5.000 Gold
3.500 Gold
2.000 Gold
1.500 Gold
1.000 Gold
750 Gold
500 Gold
350 Gold
200 Gold
100 Gold

Premium Time

Premium Time accelerates the Armored Warfare progression by improving the Credit and Reputation income rates.

3650 days (yes, 10 years!)
365 days
180 days
90 days
30 days
7 days
3 days
1 day

Boosters

Boosters (or Boost Tokens) accelerate general progression for 12 hours each.

5 Platinum Armored Warfare 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Platinum Battlefield Glory 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Gold Armored Warfare 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Gold Battlefield Glory 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Gold Drill Master 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Gold Global Legend 12-hour Boost Tokens
5 Gold Intel 12-hour Boost Tokens

Insignia Tokens

Insignia Tokens are progression boosters that improve specific types of income for one battle.

10 Platinum Crew Insignia tokens
10 Platinum Commander Insignia tokens
10 Platinum Reputation Insignia tokens
10 Platinum Credits Insignia tokens
10 Platinum Global Reputation Insignia tokens
10 Gold Crew Insignia tokens
10 Gold Commander Insignia tokens
10 Gold Reputation Insignia tokens
10 Gold Credits Insignia tokens
10 Gold Global Reputation Insignia tokens

Global Reputation

Global Reputation is a special type of Reputation that can be used on every vehicle, not just the one it was obtained on.

1.000.000 Global Reputation Points
750.000 Global Reputation Points
500.000 Global Reputation Points
250.000 Global Reputation Points
100.000 Global Reputation Points
50.000 Global Reputation Points
25.000 Global Reputation Points
15.000 Global Reputation Points
10.000 Global Reputation Points
7.500 Global Reputation Points

Please note:

This offer starts on April 26 at 16:00 CEST (7 AM PDT)
This offer ends on April 30 at 16:00 CEST (7 AM PDT)
This offer is not available to players located in the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium
Players who own a Premium vehicle or a Commander and win it by opening a Loot Crate will instead receive its Compensation Value in Gold (The Commander value is 1.000 Gold)
Every bundle is delivered either to the EU server or to the NA server, based on your server selection

Regarding the previous Legendary Reinforcements Loot Crates, we are hard at work delivering you the duplicate drop Gold and Commander Experience you are owed. The existing Loot Crates were, however, thoroughly tested and are working as intended.

Enjoy the event and see you on the battlefield!

Apr 25, 2018

In Development: Strela S-8

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

The developers of Armored Warfare are currently hard at work bringing you two full lines of progression vehicles – the Israeli and the French lines – with the first one coming this Season. These lines, while offering some quite interesting features, will, however, be rather conventional, consisting of well-proven tank models. In the meanwhile, we’d like to offer you something a bit more unique.

We’re happy to show you the first preview of the Strela S-8 Tier 6 Armored Fighting Vehicle and let us tell you, it doesn’t get much more unique than that. The bottom half of the vehicle is a standard tracked chassis – relatively nimble, but nothing to call home about.

But don’t worry; things start to get very exciting from the roof up. This vehicle is armed with two rocket pods (taken from a helicopter) that can be fired salvo-style. Both pods contain 40 unguided missiles in total and can be emptied in less than 30 seconds – that’s right, the rate of fire of this vehicle is some 100 rockets per minute, meaning you can fire a big rocket almost every half a second. And that is some serious firepower. Can it get even better? Of course it can.

You see, the rockets have HEAT-MP warheads with 420mm of penetration. What that means is that not only do they do damage even if they don’t penetrate, but when they do, it’s going to hurt a lot, especially against thin-skinned target where this type of shells receives up to 40% of bonus damage. Even without this bonus, the vehicle will be capable of potentially dealing 12.000 damage points per minute, so imagine what it will do to that pesky paper-thin BMD that’s been harassing you.

Of course, these are unguided helicopters rockets we are talking about so you won’t be doing any sniping with them as they are quite inaccurate. The Strela is more about pressing the firing button and seeing half of the battlefield explode. The rockets are also naturally slower than tank shells so evading them at long distances will not be all that difficult, which means that the vehicle is more suitable for mid-to-short range combat.

For its firepower, the vehicle will be surprisingly stealthy and maneuverable but also slow when compared to other AFVs with its maximum speed being somewhere around 60 km/h. The whole stealth thing also naturally ends when you start hurling rockets all over the place, which is not exactly a subtle behavior. At least you’ll have the opportunity to get in position unseen before you let fly – don’t waste it!

Like most vehicles in Armored Warfare, the Strela S-8 is modeled after an already built machine. Even though such “feats of engineering” usually only appear in the Middle East in the hands of various unsavory groups more familiar with a machete than a welding torch, this particular vehicle was actually officially built in Kharkov to be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Civil War. It consists of two main components:

Strela-10 hull (a modified MTLB)
B-8 aircraft rocket pod firing 80mm S-8 rockets

Let’s take a look at the chassis first. The Strela-10 is probably more familiar under its NATO designation SA-13 Gopher. It’s a surface-to-air missile system built on the MT-LB universal armored carrier chassis. The idea behind it was to provide the Soviet forces with a highly mobile non-all-weather (and thus more affordable) anti-air capability but the results weren’t as good as the Soviets had hoped and the Strela didn’t see service until 1976. All in all, it saw some use in several conflicts that involved air forces, most notably Operation Desert Storm.

For a tracked platform, it’s a very light vehicle, weighing just over 12 tons. It’s powered by the same engine as the MT-LB carrier – the 240hp YaMZ-238V 8-cylinder diesel. Its maximum speed is, like we mentioned in the in-game part, some 60 km/h. As its low weight suggests, its armor is very thin – roughly 14mm of steel at most.

The B-8 unguided missile pod was developed roughly around the same time as the Strela system – for helicopters and ground attack aircraft. There are a number of S-8 rocket types including HE, tandem HEAT, HEAT with additional FRAG effect (that’s the one in the game), anti-bunker and even thermobaric. The pods were widely produced and used all over the Soviet Union. After it broke up, they stayed in service in a number of post-Soviet countries. There’s nothing terribly fancy about them – they are just your run-of-the-mill unguided rockets. The fun begins when you attempt to fire them on the ground because they weren’t built for that – their tail fins are designed to work when fired in the air and since the additional air counter-flow isn’t available on the ground, they lose a lot of their stabilization and fly all over the place.

That’s not really that big of a problem in this case, however, as the Ukrainians intended this combination as a makeshift artillery rocket launcher, targeting entire areas instead of specific tanks or objects. The efficiency of such a combination is up for a debate, but the use of both elements is in fact quite rational. For one, the Ukrainian Civil War separatists don’t have an air force, which means that old missile SAM systems that cannot (unlike the gun-armed Shilkas) be used for ground support are of no use to the Ukrainian army. What the separatists DO have, however, is a number of SAMs and other AA measures of their own. These SAMs badly mauled the Ukrainian Air Force in the early days of the war, leaving lots of aircraft accessories unused – including the abovementioned missile pods.

The Strela S-8 vehicles appeared first probably around 2015 with a few photos and videos of it firing available on the internet. It’s not known how many were built (perhaps a dozen), but they are most certainly operational.

So get ready, commanders, because the Strela S-8 is coming soon to Armored Warfare!

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

Apr 25, 2018

Developer Diary: Camouflage Mechanics Changes

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

In our previous developer diary about vehicle balance, we mentioned player feedback as one of the important sources for game changes. Today, we’d like to demonstrate the principle on an issue that’s been brought up a number of times in the recent past by the Armored Warfare community – the problem of recon AFV gameplay and performance in PvP.

We’ve carefully monitored your feedback regarding the PvP gameplay issues of a number of recon AFVs with the Tier 7 VBL being the most common culprit. These issues are caused by two main factors:

The way the AFV camouflage factor interacts with environmental camouflage
The way the AFV camouflage and environmental camouflage interact with skills

Simply put, under certain circumstances (when using specific camouflage-boosting commanders like Erin O’Connell), these AFVs are too stealthy, making them almost impossible to detect, let alone eradicate. In skilled hands, such recon AFVs are able to completely dominate the flow of battle far beyond the level intended by our game designers.

To remedy these issues, we’ve prepared a number of corrections to the existing camouflage mechanics (the existing mechanics are described in a dedicated article.

In the current iteration, the distance at which a vehicle becomes spotted is directly reduced by the vehicle’s camouflage rating and the environmental bonus received from for example bushes or other foliage. This led to two problems:

It allowed players to gather enough camouflage bonuses for the vehicle to have enough camouflage to become possible to spot only at the minimal automatic spotting distance (50 meters)
After reaching a certain camouflage value threshold, it made no sense to further improve environmental camouflage bonuses from bushes (or for players to seek more advantageous positions) because the camouflage value was so big that the vehicle could only be spotted at the minimum distance

This is why we decided to overhaul the environmental camouflage equation as such. Using the new formula, the distance a vehicle is spotted at will still be reduced by the camouflage factor, but afterwards, this value will be divided by (1+environmental bonus for the bushes between you and the enemy). Please note that two bushes at most are counted for the purpose of this equation – you can’t receive a bonus from more than two bushes.

The current equation looks like this:

SpottingDistance = 50+((ViewRange-50)*(1-Camouflage))

The Camouflage value from (1-Camouflage) is currently defined as:

(VehicleCamouflage+EvironmentalCamouflage)

In other words, the whole equation looks as:

SpottingDistance = 50+((ViewRange-50)*(1- VehicleCamouflage-EvironmentalCamouflage))

After the changes, the formula will look as such:

SpottingDistance = 50+((ViewRange-50)*((1- VehicleCamouflage)/(1+EvironmentalCamouflage)))

Naturally, after such a change, we also have to overhaul the environmental bonus provided by in-game foliage. Previously, the maximum environmental bonus per bush was 0.3 (that could stack up to 0.5 for two bushes) – now, the bonus per bush will have a value of 1 and will stack up to the maximum value of 2.

So, let’s say a VBL with its standard camouflage value of 38% stands behind two bushes and you are driving a Warrior so you have a spotting distance of 410m. Currently, it will work as this:

SpottingDistance = 50+((410-50)*(1-0.38-0.5) = you see it at 93 meters

With the updated model, it will work as such:

SpottingDistance = 50+((410-50)*((1-0.38)/(1+2))) = you see it at 124 meters

To address the issue of hidden AFV behind bushes firing missiles without being spotted, we will be also changing the way environmental camouflage bonus loss when firing a weapon works.

In the current version, your environmental camouflage bonus can be reduced by firing your own weapon with the bush carrying the highest environmental camouflage bonus value within 15 meters of you losing 66 percent of their environmental camouflage bonus for 5 seconds.

In Season 1, we will be changing this mechanism – upon firing, 50 percent penalty will applied to the entire (final) camouflage bonus the vehicle receives instead. In other words, the penalty will not affect the “best” bush, but all the bushes and other environmental camouflage bonus sources providing a bonus to the vehicle in question.

As a result of these changes:

Vehicles with very low camouflage such as MBTs will get a bit more use out of the changes
Vehicles with mid-range camouflage such as large TDs will remain roughly the same
Extremely stealthy recon AFVs will become easier to spot
It will become harder to fire from bushes while staying hidden

We hope that you’ll like the changes and will see you on the battlefield!