May 28

In Development: Tales from the Dark Battle Path

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Today, we’d like to tell you more about the upcoming Tales from the Dark Battle Path campaign as a whole along with the changes and improvements we’ve prepared for you.

Tales from the Dark

As you might have guessed from the previously unveiled vehicles, this Battle Path’s theme revolves around Russia – but rather than its modern history, it’s about ancient Russian tales – dark forests, clear streams and heroes on their quest for glory. Legendary warriors, using guile and might both, defeating cruel enemies such as Zmey Gorynych, a fierce dragon of considerable power, cunning evil crone Baba Yaga and yes, even Koschei the Deathless, a vile immortal lich.

But what would be an epic quest without equally epic rewards? As usual, three vehicles await you:

BTR-82A Tier 8 Premium AFV for reaching Level 20
BMP-2M Berezhok Tier 9 Premium AFV for reaching Level 35
T-90M Proryv Tier 10 Premium MBT for reaching Level 50

But there’s another element we’ve added to the rewards – one of choice. Just as old bogatyrs had to choose their path to glory, you too will get to choose – or, in this case, customize – some of the prizes as some of the best rewards of this Battle Path will be camouflages changing their color based on your chosen base paint. Having a large collection will come in handy but if you don’t have that many – fear not, we’ll throw in a bunch as other rewards.

As for the lore element... you’ll be able to delve into the world of ancient Slavic folklore by reading the description of the items, for they will contain fragments of old tales and, who knows? Perhaps a secret or two.

Battle Coin Shop Update

We are also updating the Battle Path shop inventory with nearly 30 new vehicles (including Puma, Boxer CRV, AbramsX, KF41 Lynx Prototype and yes, even the legendary TOS-1M) as well as 45 new camouflages or base paints and 20 new skins, including the most requested ones such as the Obsidian Blade.

Mission Overhaul

The mechanics of this Battle Path are similar to those in the Europe’s Edge Battle Path but this time, we’ll be once again changing the chain missions. In Tales from the Dark, they’ll be divided into:

Soviet and Russian IFV missions (that can be completed using various BMP vehicles as well as the T-15)
Soviet and Russian Airborne missions (that can be completed using various VDV vehicles such as the BMD series or the Sprut)
Soviet and Russian MBT missions (where the name is fairly self-explanatory)

We’ve re-evaluated the mission requirements (no damage deflection on Light Tanks this time) but the basic concept is the same – complete the first three mission chains to unlock the fourth mission series called Elite.

Once again, there will be enhanced rewards for the missions, including two new Loot Crates. The basic chains will end with a new reward called Lesser Russian Loot Crate.

The Lesser Russian Loot Crates work just like the current Lesser European Loot Crates:

They contain a Tier 4 to Tier 8 Premium Russian or Soviet vehicle that you do not have yet or a “last ditch prize”
These loot crates do not contain alternate paintjob versions of the existing vehicles (“reskins”)
It is possible to receive “last ditch prize” even if you don’t own some of the vehicles that can drop from these crates (it’s, however, far likelier for you to receive a vehicle)

The “last ditch prize” drop can be one of the following items:

7 Battle Coin Boosters (increased from 5)
1000 Gold (increased from 800)

There will be three of them in the Battle Path (one for each chain), but the truly valuable prize is the Greater Russian Loot Crate awaiting you for completing the Elite mission set. Elite mission rewards work much like those of the Europe’s Edge Battle Path. To summarize:

The individual missions from the Elite mission set will reward you with 10 Armata 152 blueprints each (5 missions, 50 parts in total). The final mission will also reward you with the Greater Russian Loot Crate:

It only contains Russian or Soviet Tier 9 to 10 Premium vehicles that you don’t own (specifically Kurganets-25, Object 195, Object 490, Object 640, Kornet-D1, Msta-S or T-15 Kinzhal)
There is a “last ditch prize” that you can obtain but in this crate (even if you don’t have all the vehicles listed above) and it’s another 50 Armata 152 blueprints
Obtaining this last ditch prize will allow you to instantly receive the Armata 152 Tier 10 Premium MBT – the real trick here is, however, that if you have it already, you will receive its price in Gold

In other words, you are guaranteed to get a Tier 9-10 Premium vehicle from this crate but if you’re really lucky (or have everything), you can get a massive Gold compensation (19.000 Gold) that will set you up for future Battle Paths or you can always trade it for a large amount of Battle Coins in this one.

Now, you might be thinking it’s the same system as in the previous Battle Path but with older vehicles, which isn’t great, but there are two important caveats:

For one, we’re planning to introduce a Russian and Soviet vehicle buff along with the Battle Path or before it (wherever needed – Armata 152 and Kornet-D1 definitely do need one while BMD-1 surely does not) so you’ll be getting your hands on solid vehicles in any case
Since the older vehicles are more common, you are more likely to get the Gold, which you’ll then be able to spend for Battle Coins, future Battle Paths... you name it

Conclusion

The rest of the Battle Path remains mostly the same, including the prices, both the access itself and level unlocks (5.000 Battle Coins). The Battle Path is currently planned to launch in June but the specific date will be announced a bit later.

Preorder

The access to the upcoming Tales from the Dark Battle Path is now available with a discount:

Tales from the Dark access with the Koschei player avatar and the Bone White base paint
Tales from the Dark access with 50.000 Battle Coins, the Koschei player avatar and the Bone White base paint
Tales from the Dark access with 10 Battle Coin boosters, the Koschei player avatar and the Bone White base paint

Please note that there is no compensation for repeated purchases of the bundles when it comes to the player avatar and the base paint.

We hope you’ll enjoy this Battle Path as much as we enjoyed designing it and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

May 28

Update 0.150 Now Available

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

We are happy to announce that the Update 0.150 is now available!

List of Update 0.150 Changes

Ajax Updates

In this update, we are buffing the Ajax the way we have announced some time ago. The majority of the changes bring the firepower closer to the EBRC Jaguar that effectively uses the same weapon system. We are making the following changes:

Increased the rate of fire from 335 to 375
Decreased the APFSDS damage from 70 to 60
Increased the APFSDS penetration from 340mm to 460mm
Added new PELE shells (similar to those used by the EBRC, 100mm penetration and 72/48/8 damage)
Turret traverse rate increased to 55 deg/s
Increased the active ability range (automatic spotting) from 50m to 100m
Increased the passive ability range (gunfire camouflage penalty increase) from 200m to 300m

KF51 Panther Updates

We have made some changes to the KF51 Panther MBT that are a bit technical in nature but will lead to improved performance.

However, the real problem was that due to a rather complicated mechanical issue, it was possible to penetrate the Panther’s ERA very easily, leaving the vehicle practically unarmored despite the information in the Armor Calculator. We fixed the issue and the protection now behaves as intended. Furthermore:

StrikeShield is now correctly marked as ERA in the Armor Inspector window
We have added frontal-facing hard-kill APS that will intercept shells coming from the front (as a part of the StrikeShield system) which has 6 charges but 0.1s recharge time
This new APS basically only covers the frontal area of the hull and the lower turret hull, it does not protect the tank against top attack ATGMs

As you can probably also see from the module choices, we are also working on the Hero-120 drone addition to the vehicle, which should arrive in the foreseeable future (but is not ready yet).

K2 Black Panther and Altay Updates

In order to increase the Altay and K2 performance, we have added the following new shells.

K2 Black Panther:

Improved APFSDS with 880mm penetration and 630 damage
Improved HEAT-MP with 960mm penetration and 780 damage
KSTAM-II top-attack HEAT shell (new shell type) that targets enemy vehicle roofs

Altay:

Improved APFSDS with 870mm penetration and 630 damage
Improved HEAT-MP with 950mm penetration and 750 damage
Improved HE with 65mm penetration and 1000/280/70 damage
TANKOK top-attack HEAT shell (new shell type) that targets enemy vehicle roofs

Vehicle Fixes and Updates

With each patch we continue (and will continue) to update vehicles based on your feedback and fix them. In this update, we have the following changes for you:

Fixed an issue with the flying ERA of Russian MBTs buffed in the previous update, the side ERA panels on the affected vehicles now work normally
Fixed an issue present on a large amount of vehicles where they could have more than one ATGM in the air at the same time when they should not
AbramsX: Aiming reticle for the autocannon now works as intended (this is a bundle of multiple fixes that include reticle alignment, missing penetration indicator and “jumping” autocannon reticle – the vehicle should now be considerably more comfortable to play)
Akatsiya: Aiming reticle is now aligned with the vehicle’s gun
Akatsiya: Fixed an issue where the machinegun shells had an incorrect warning that players must unlock the machinegun first
BMD-1: Increased the ATGM reload time from 10.5s to 11s
BMP-1: Increased the hitpoints from 1200 to 1300
BMP-1: Reduced the ATGM reload time from 10.5s to 10s
BWP-2000: Increased the rate of fire 60 to 150 rounds per minute
BWP-2000: Reduced the magazine reload time from 6s to 4s
BWP-2000: Increased the magazine size from 16 to 30
BWP-2000: Increased the amount of ammo carried from 480 to 960
BWP-2000: Reduced the AP shell damage from 200 to 90
BWP-2000: Reduced the HE shell damage from 200 to 135
BWP-2000: Significantly reduced the camouflage loss from firing
Challenger 2 ATDU: Fixed several artifacts on the destroyed model of the Honey Badger skin
Challenger 2 Hades: HESH shell now deals the same 460 damage as on the progression variant
Derivatsiya: Camouflage on this vehicle is no longer distorted
ERC-90 F4: Added new APFSDS shell M669A1 with 580mm penetration and 360 damage
Gadyuka: Switching between ammo types now properly reloads a full magazine
Griffin 120mm: Removed the incorrect Modern Kinetic Rounds trait
Griffin 120mm: MRM-CE HEAT shells no longer ignore hard-kill APS
Gvozdika: Fixed an issue where the machinegun shells had an incorrect warning that players must unlock the machinegun first
Gvozdika: Removed the non-penetration damage of the HEAT shells
Gvozdika: HEAT shells now have the correct bonus module damage listed
Leclerc T4: Shells no longer fly through the destroyed APS model
Leopard Cockerill: Changed the Garage gun depression value from -12 to -10 (this is a UI change only, the actual depression did not change)
M8 MGM-166: Added the Kinetic ATGM trait
M48 GAU-8: Firing modes are no longer swapped
Otomatic: Ammo rack now burns and explodes as intended (previously, destroying ammo rack did not start a fire)
Palmaria: Removed the non-penetration damage of the HEAT shells
PLZ-89: Improved HESH penetration to 500mm (from 450mm)
PLZ-89: Turret traverse rate set to 40s
Puma: Fixed the broken textures
Puma: Fixed the dirt mapping (some parts appeared too dirty compared to others)
Puma: Fixed the issue where the gun fired through enemy targets at short distances
PzH 2000: Removed the Ready Rack mechanism, the vehicle now has a regular magazine
PzH 2000: Time between shots within magazine set to 5s
PzH 2000: Magazine reload time set to 20s
PzH 2000: Turret traverse rate set to 40s
Strv 2000: Dust no longer flies out of the tank through headlights (corrected the visual effect of driving on sand and snow)
T-90: Added extra ERA elements to the frontal turret that correspond to their real-life location
T-90A: Added extra ERA elements to the frontal turret that correspond to their real-life location
Type 90: Engine now uses diesel sound
TOS-1M: Shells no longer fly through the destroyed 30mm autocannon model

Modern British Contract Achievements

We have added the appropriate achievements for Modern British Contract that awards you with AS90. You can now earn decals and a British camouflage by completing the contracts.

ERA Fix

We have fixed a general error that caused the Kevlar Spall Liner module to add hitpoints to your ERA modules as well as your tank. This might sound like a good thing (and a nerf) but it is not due to the way ERA mechanics work.

The core problem with this issue was that the ERA mechanism was set so that if an ERA module had more hitpoints than the damage roll of an incoming shell, the game (very simply put) assumed the ERA did not work and only added the ERA’s armor thickness to the armor instead of the tile exploding.

This led to many cases of ERA not working. We fixed this problem and the ERA modules are now protecting your vehicles as intended.

General Changes

Fixed an issue that caused dirt flickering on a teammate vehicle if it’s the same vehicle you are driving
Fixed the American Bull avatar obtainable for the American Collector achievement
Fixed the artillery voiceover for firing your machinegun
Cerberus PvE mission: Fixed an issue where, if you destroyed enemy lieutenants at the same time, the counter showed only one destroyed (thus failing the mission)
Fixed a rare issue where players could see their teammates’ turrets moving during the mission countdown without the other players actually moving them
Fixed several localization issues
Added a number of future event assets

May 28

In Development: T-90M Proryv

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

The final prize of the upcoming Tales from the Dark Battle Path will be a Russian Main Battle Tank called T-90M Proryv.

The T-90M Proryv Main Battle Tank is the latest modernization of the older T-90 series of MBTs and the most modern Russian tank currently in service. The modernization started in the early 2010s as a part of the Proryv-3 program (Proryv-2 being the T-90MS) with the first prototypes being ready in 2016.

Compared to the older T-90 and T-90A MBT, the this tank has received a number of upgrades in terms of fire control systems and electronics, including new commander panoramic optics fitted with an advanced thermal imager, advanced gunner optics, an additional APU, a satellite navigation system and a new battlefield management system. Crew protection was improved by the inclusion of new Relikt ERA as well as internal changes. The frontal fuel tank was removed and the frontal ammo rack was moved to an isolated rear compartment. The vehicle was also fitted with a new spall liner.

Since its reveal, it has been a subject of speculation whether the tank is fitted with Armata’s 125mm 2A82 gun as well. While at least one prototype with this gun was likely built, the mass-produced version is equipped with the 125mm 2A46M-6 gun that cannot use the truly advanced ammunition such as Vakuum-2.

The tank underwent state trials in 2017 and its mass production began almost immediately with the first vehicles reaching the Russian army (the Tamanskaya division) in 2020. This was possible by re-using the components that were developed earlier for the T-90MS.

The T-90M has been used extensively and successfully in combat during the conflict in Ukraine. The experience from this conflict was used in its numerous upgrades and several patterns exist with various armor layouts, including the soft Relikt containers seen as early as in 2017 in Syria and with additional rear ERA plates to protect the engine compartment. Several vehicles were captured by the Ukrainian armed forces.

In Armored Warfare, the T-90M will be a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank.

The baseline vehicle is not unlike the other T-90s you already know from the game, especially the T-90MS. What this means is it’ll be a solid, fast Main Battle Tank with relatively high damage per minute value, which will come in handy especially in PvE. But having another T-90MS would be relatively boring so there will be upgrades.

For one, the vehicle will feature additional layers of extra Relikt ERA, which will make it very well protected anything HEAT-based, be it shells or missiles. Unlike on other Russian MBTs, there will also be ERA elements covering the rear of the vehicle, even the hull. And, for even more missile protection, the vehicle will also feature Arena hard-kill APS available right away as well as Shtora soft-kill APS.

Aside from the “standard” ERA layout, there will also be an additional ERA layer in form of soft “bag” ERA elements on its sides. This kit will be possible to unlock via the Workshop feature (by completing Battle Path missions and such). So, all in all, this MBT will be fairly well-protected.

The mobility will be slightly worse than that of the T-90MS – after all, the vehicle is heavier. We are looking at 1250hp engine for its 50 tons, which translates into:

5.83s to 32 km/h
30s to its maximum speed of 65 km/h
Hull traverse rate 39 deg/s

But the firepower will be excellent. The tank will start with the 125mm 2A82 gun used by the T-14 Armata MBT along with a set of the same rounds Armata has (Vakuum-2 APFSDS, 3VBK27 HEAT, Sokol-V ATGM and a HE round).

But that’s still not all.

The vehicle will feature a new ability called Recon Optics that will activate an extendable set of optics located on the back of the vehicle. This ability is partially similar to that of the AFT-10. It increases your vision range and the ability to spot enemies hiding behind foliage (bushes, canopies) at the cost of your own camouflage factor. In other words, activating this ability makes you easier to spot. The exact numbers are still being tuned but we are looking at roughly 345m with the ability enabled.

There’s more to it though. With this ability switched off, the gun-launched ATGMs behave as usual. But with it enabled, they gain the fire-and-forget function. In other words, you can just lock your target, fire, and they will home at it automatically.

The rest is of the values is normal for its Tier and class – 337m viewrange and 15% camouflage. It is the ability along with its versatile ammo set, good protection and solid damage output that make the vehicle interesting. In short, unlike some specialist machines out there, the T-90M doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses and will perform well under most circumstances, even in the hands of beginning players.

We hope that you’ll like it and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

May 27

In Development: BMP-2M Berezhok

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

The second prize of the upcoming Tales from the Dark Battle Path will be a Russian Armored Fighting Vehicle called BMP-2M Berezhok.

Now, you might be already familiar with the story of the BMP-2 and if you are not, we recommend reading the following articles as they form the foundation of this one:

In short, the BMP-1/2 platform has been around for a very long time and will likely continue to be a common sight on pretty much every active battlefield due to its ubiquity even though it is by now completely obsolete and offers almost no protection against current threats. The Russians themselves as the inheritors of the Soviet legacy have replaced it with the BMP-3 a long time ago and have even developed upgrades to its successor.

But despite this replacement, hundreds or even thousands of BMP-1/2s remain mothballed across Russia, awaiting their reactivation and restoration. For the BMP-1s, the upgrade is called BMP-1AM Basurmanin (replacing the original BMP-1 turret with the one from BTR-82A). But the BMP-2 upgrade is different. It too consists of a turret replacement but the B05Ya01 Berezhok combat module is very different. Thus upgraded, the vehicle is known as BMP-2M (or B-22).

This combat module was developed in Tula and features the classic 30mm 2A42 autocannon combined with two Kornet ATGM twin-tube launchers, 30mm AG-30M grenade launcher and, of course, modern optics (“Redut” fire control system, B09S02 gunner sight with a thermal imager and a commander panoramic sight with laser rangefinder). The vehicle weighs 16 tons or 17 tons with extra armor (675-sb3KDZ) that protects its sides against heavy machinegun fires and RPG-7 rockets.

The first version of the BMP-2M was unveiled in 2005 and immediately caught the attention of Algeria. A contract was signed to modernize 300 BMP-2s this way (it’s unclear how many were truly modernized but the estimates vary between 100 and 200). Russia ordered its own BMP-2Ms in 2020 in order to replace the losses of lighter BMD class vehicles in the Ukraine conflict.

The BMP-2M is currently in use by the Russian military (notably the VDV) and is still in production. Overall, it seems that around 200-300 were built in total (including the Algerian contract) so it is nowhere near as common as the BTR-82A. To makes things even more complicated, there are two other BMP-2Ms developed by Kurganmashzavod – these are called BMP-2M (sb4-2) and BMP-2M (sb4-3) and are intended for export only. They are offered with additional set of cage armor that has since made its way to the Russian BMP-2M configuration.

In Armored Warfare, the BMP-2M will be a Tier 9 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle.

In its most basic configuration, the vehicle is pretty much what you might expect – a fragile platform with a lot of firepower consisting of a single 30mm autocannon and two double Kornet launchers similar to those on the T-15.

There will be an additional armor upgrade that will noticeably increase its protection but the vehicle will still be quite fragile. In this sense, it’ll be a counterpart to the BTR-82A, just one Tier higher and with more focus on burst damage than sustained DPM. The mobility will of course be solid, but the highlight will of course be the amount of damage this vehicle will deal in battle. And it will be a lot thanks to its two potential (upgrade) configurations.

Once you unlock them using the Workshop mechanism, you’ll be able to choose between two weapon configurations in addition to the basic autocannon and ATGM combo:

Grenade launcher configuration
ATGM configuration

The grenade launcher configuration will add a third weapon (fourth, if you count the coaxial machinegun) to your arsenal – 30mm AG-30M grenade launcher. At first sight it sounds like something very weak but it’s anything but.

For one, the grenades use a very narrow arc of flight, which means they will be arriving from above. You still need to keep the enemy in your line of sight to use them but they will devastate anything with a thin roof that’s trying to hide behind a hill with only a tiny bit of the turret peeking out.

Additionally, this grenade launcher will be fitted with a silencer (yes, that’s a thing that was recently developed) so you don’t lose any camouflage firing it. On the downside, these grenades fly fairly slowly so hitting a moving target with them will not be easy. Two shell types will likely be available (HE and HEAT) with enough performance to ruin the day of anything that’s not a Main Battle Tank (and even then they’ll be useful, you just need to aim better).

The ATGM configuration will, on the other hand, replace the grenade launcher with an additional twin-tube Ataka ATGM launcher (that was also an experimental thing). And you know what that means – thermobaric warhead ATGMs and all the fun that comes with them.

With so many weapons at its disposal, the BMP-2M will be all about weapon management to make sure you squeeze every last drop of damage from the platform. It’ll take some getting used to but we’re sure experienced players will master it in no time.

We hope that you’ll enjoy this vehicle and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

May 23

Offer: Asian Week

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

Type 10 Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
Hunter Tier 9 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
Pindad SBS Tier 8 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
Type 89 Tier 7 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
K21 Tier 8 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle
Europe's Edge Loot Crate

Between May 23 and May 30, 2024, the following items will be available:

Type 10

The Type 10 MBT is the most modern Japanese Main Battle Tank in service and one of the most advanced war machines in the world. Using sophisticated electronics and crystalline steel armor, this tank is more than a match for any enemy that would threaten the islands of Japan. You can learn more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Type 10 is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank. What puts it apart from the other MBTs of its Tier is its special NERA armor. This highly-mobile MBT starts every battle well-armored, but the protection levels decrease with every shot taken. Additionally, this MBT features a special system that tells you the exact chance to penetrate your target. Overall, it’s one of the most powerful MBTs of its Tier and certainly a good choice for players, who prefer rapid action to slow advances.

The Type 10 Tier 10 Premium MBT is available in our Web Shop via Loot Crates. Collect 100 blueprint pieces from these crates to obtain the vehicle.

Hunter AFV

Another alternative name for this vehicle is NGAFV (or Next Gen AFV), since it belongs to a whole program to replace the obsolete M113 APC in Singaporean service and to operate alongside its predecessor, another indigenous Singaporean IFV called Bionix. Hunter is the name of the production model of this program. The Hunter AFV is the pinnacle of bleeding edge of technology. In this sense, it can be compared to the AS21 Redback and both vehicles share several characteristics, not the least of which being relatively large size. This bulky IFV offers considerable levels of protection and firepower. It is expected to serve in the Singaporean army in large numbers in the near future with its mass-production having recently begun. You can read more about its history in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Hunter AFV is a Tier 9 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle. As its description above suggests, it is a rather standard-sized IFV with good levels of protection and excellent firepower (consisting of a 30mm autocannon and a Spike ATGM launcher). It also features a recently introduced type of armor, NERA. Simply put, NERA is an ablative armor kit that deteriorates whenever it gets hit. In other words, the vehicle starts with excellent protection levels but it will lose some with damage taken as the battle progresses. Apart from that, the vehicle is adequately mobile and quite universal. It can, of course, also deploy Mechanized Infantry.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop.

Pindad SBS

The SBS platform is one of the first domestic armored vehicles developed by Pindad (the largest Indonesian armor producer) for Indonesia and is officially listed as a “light tank”. It was developed sometimes in the early 2010s with some prototypes in different configuration appearing in public in 2014 or so. The variant in the game is a long-range MLRS fire support vehicle with a 122mm multi-barreled rocket launcher. You can learn more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Pindad SBS is a Tier 8 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle. This AFV is fairly unique, since its main weapon is a multi-barreled rocket launcher capable of firing over obstacles. This makes the Pindad incredibly powerful in both offense and defense. Static enemy targets stand no chance! This vehicle is best used with Commander Ophelia Kitescu and in a platoon – the firepower of such a formation is truly without equal.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop.

Type 89

The Type 89 Infantry Fighting Vehicle is the current Japanese service IFV. It was built in very small numbers between 1989 and 2004. The low-production meant that, with the development costs sunk into it, each unit was incredibly expensive. In fact, to date, the Type 89 is the most expensive IFV in the world. Otherwise it’s generally unremarkable – last generation steel armor, a 35mm autocannon and massive guided missiles (that were also meant for landing ship destruction instead of just anti-tank combat) are generally being all phased out by now. The Type 89 is, however, still waiting for its replacement. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the Type 89 is a Tier 7 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle that is capable of not only deploying Mechanized Infantry, but also to destroy its targets at long distances using its powerful guided missiles. It is also fast and maneuverable, but does not feature thick armor.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop.

K21

The K21 is a modern Infantry Fighting Vehicle, designed to replace the K200 series in the Korean Army. It features good protection and a hi-tech weapon system with the "hunter-killer" capability. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.

In Armored Warfare, the K21 is a Tier 8 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle. In the game, it is an IFV with solid protection and firepower, but also excellent mobility. It carries Mechanized Infantry.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop.

Europe's Edge Loot Crate

The Europe's Edge Loot Crate is now available. This Loot Crate contains Europe's Edge Battle Coins and Boosters.

Battle Coins are the primary currency of the Europe's Edge Battle Path campaign and are used to progress through it and to obtain its prizes.
Battle Coin Boosters are usable only during an active Battle Path and increase your Battle Coin income by 900 percent for two hours.

Please note that you have to obtain the access to a Battle Path to use both items.

This bundle is available in our Web Shop.

We hope that you will enjoy the offer and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

May 23

In Development: BTR-82A

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

Yes, it’s that time already. Today we’d like to tell you more about the first prize of the upcoming Tales from the Dark Battle Path. The first machine obtainable will be the BTR-82A Armored Fighting Vehicle.

The BTR-82A is a modified version of the BTR-80, which itself is an evolution of BTR-70 so it makes sense to start in the past. In fact, let’s go all the way back to the 1950s. Back then, the Soviet Army was equipped with an armored six-wheeled variant of the ZIS-151 truck called BTR-152. BTR stands simply for “bronetransporter”, commonly translated as “armored personnel carrier” or simply “APC.” It had a lot of weaknesses, the chief amongst them being the inability to keep up with tanks and other tracked vehicles in difficult terrain, especially when crossing trenches and other obstacles. Despite this, it was a successful vehicle produced between 1950 well into the 1960s that was widely exported and license-built in China.

But the Soviet Army demanded more – a troop carrier of excellent off-road capabilities and none of the issues the BTR-152 had. And that’s how the BTR-60 was born. The BTR-60 model had sloped frontal armor for improved protection and excellent mobility thanks to its eight wheels. It wasn’t exactly well-protected on the sides (anti-bullet armor, steel only) but that wasn’t really a requirement. The important part was the fact it could finally keep up with armored formations and could, like the BMP-1, swim. It entered Soviet service in 1960 under the name BTR-60P (P stands for “plavayushiy” – “amphibious”) and would be produced in several modifications (the most successful being the BTR-60PB) for another nearly three decades until 1987 with over 10.000 built (but western sources claim as many as 25.000).

An upgrade of the BTR-60PB called BTR-70 was developed in 1969 with some differences that aren’t really all that obvious to an untrained eye – mostly a longer hull and more powerful engines (the BTR-60PB had two 90hp engines and the BTR-70 had two 120hp engines). It was accepted in service in 1971 and produced from 1976 well into the 1980s with, once again, several thousand vehicles built and exported.

Enter the 1980s and the Afghan War. The wartime experience gave birth to another upgrade in the lines of eight-wheeled BTRs, called BTR-80. The BTR-70 suffered from a number of issues, including reliability problems of its two carbureted engines, poor protection and the general layout of the design. The BTR-80 solved some of these with the engines being replaced by a single 260hp diesel. The exit door was also redesigned and was located on the side of the vehicle.

To accommodate that as well as other changes, the BTR-80 was longer, wider and heavier than its predecessor, but not by a lot (the weight increased by 2 tons to 13.5 tons). The drawback was that the protection was increased only slightly and still consisted of welded steel plates that could only stop small arms (the sloped front was 10mm thick, the sides were 7mm to 9mm thick).

Despite the weight increase and the engine change, the mobility remained roughly the same (the operational range actually increased). The vehicle was still pretty fast and could reach the speed of 80 km/h (40 km/h off-road). It could also swim (the maximum swimming speed was 9 km/h). The armament consisted of a machinegun in a small turret (like its predecessors) and that was about it.

This APC entered service in 1986 and remained in production well beyond the fall of the Soviet Union with roughly 4000 built. Former Soviet republics inherited their share of the BTR-80 and the vehicle was also exported to several dozen countries. Numerous upgrades were also developed and produced, including the BTR-80A APC from 1994 that was armed with 30mm autocannon in a new turret, significantly increasing its firepower. Even today, the BTR-80 remains quite a common sight despite the concept being somewhat obsolete.

The obsolescence stems from the fact that the world has simply moved on from large masses of cheaper APC vehicles to more expensive but less numerous infantry fighting vehicles – at least in frontline service. The reasons are simple – few countries have manpower to spare and as modern weapons require more and more specialized and better trained troops, the life of each individual soldier has become a precious commodity.

The BTR-80 production stopped in 2011 and especially Russia was left with hundreds (if not thousands) of these in its stocks as well as the tooling to produce even more. Additionally, there was the experience from the 1990s and 2000s wars to consider (mostly Chechnya).

To use all that potential and mould it into something new, a large upgrade of both the BTR-80 and BTR-80A variants was developed by AMZ (Arzamas Machine-Building Plant) between 2009 and 2011 with the first prototypes being ready in 2009 and tested extensively in 2010. These upgrades proved to be so comprehensive that each vehicle received a new designation:

The BTR-80 upgrade (machinegun version) received the designation BTR-82
The BTR-80A upgrade (version with 30mm autocannon) received the designation BTR-82A

The main goals of the upgrade were stated to be a general upgrade of most characteristics as well as reliability and, upon its reveal, it was stated that the upgraded vehicles had 2 times higher combat value than their earlier BTR-80 counterparts while retaining the crew of 2 men and the ability to carry 8 more in the back.

The biggest upgrade was the firepower. The BTR-82A was equipped with a new unmanned turret with a stabilized gun mount housing the 30mm 2A72 autocannon along with a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machinegun. The turret was designed so that it could carry other types of armament as well (like foreign alternatives to the main armament for export). During the development, the 14.5mm KPVT machinegun variant was dropped entirely.

The gunner had a new stabilized TKN-4GA sight at his disposal. It wasn’t all roses and sunshine as the initial accuracy when firing on the move was quite low (due to the inherent instability of the wheeled platform compared to a tracked one). These issues were, however, solved to the point where the BTR-82A was about as accurate on the move as a BMP-2.

While the armor remained fairly thin (basically anti-bullet only), the crew protection was increased by including a new aramid spall liner. The bottom was also redesigned and included spaced plates in order to increase the protection from mines. The vehicle retained the side hatches, making it faster for the troops to disembark and to use whichever hatch was more convenient (or at least that was the theory).

These changes of course increased the vehicle’s weight (to 16 tons), which was compensated by the installation of a more powerful engine (KamAZ-740.14-300 diesel producing 300hp) along with transmission and suspension improvements. The BTR-82A also remained amphibious. There were other improvements in electronics as well and an air conditioner was installed to increase the crew’s comfort.

The vehicle officially entered Russian service in December 2012 and was first shown to the public during the 2013 Victory Day military parade in Moscow. At that moment it was already two years in production (since 2011). It’s worth noting that these were all newly built vehicles – older BTR-80s were also converted to the BTR-82 standard (but these refitted vehicles became designated BTR-82AM). The conversions weren’t much cheaper though – due to the extent of the overhaul, the cost of such a vehicle was only roughly 15% lower than that of a new one.

The production of the BTR-82 is running to this day with the estimates varying between 1500 vehicles built to more than 2000 (how many of these are newly built or conversions is unclear). At the moment it is only covering the needs of the Russian Army, although in the past the vehicle seems to have been exported in some numbers, most notably to Kazakhstan. It was also seen in Syria during the Russian intervention (and some of these were allegedly transferred to Syrian hands).

Interestingly enough, sources vary wildly when it comes to foreign sales of the BTR:

Azerbaijan is supposed to have 100 to 200 according to some (from 2018-2023) and used them during the Nagorny Karabakh war in 2020 (which seems plausible as one of these was captured by the Armenians)
Belarus is supposed to have around 30
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are supposed to have anywhere between 20 and 110

The BTR-82A has seen several conflicts since its introduction. As was mentioned above, it was used in Syria in 2015, in 2020 during the Armenia-Azerbaijan war and, most notably, during the Ukraine conflict where a number of them were captured by the Ukrainians.

Several upgrades were developed for the vehicle over the years, including a spaced armor kit, a slat armor kit on top of that and two Kornet launchers added to the turret.

But even in its basic state, it’s a solid machine that’s performing well on the battlefield – or, rather, as well as can be expected with the changes the use of drones en masse has brought.

In Armored Warfare, the BTR-82A will be a Tier 8 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle.

What you’re looking at is a lot of firepower in a relatively fragile package. At first glance it’s obvious that the BTR-82A is not well-armored and even though an armor kit will be available as a Battle Path overprogression module, the armor will be nowhere near as thick as on other modern IFVs.

However, the vehicle’s other traits more than make up for this handicap. The BTR-82A will not only be highly mobile thanks to its low weight and powerful engine. We’re thinking:

3.8s to 32 km/h
21.41s to its maximum speed of 80 km/h
Hull traverse rate 47 deg/s

But, most importantly, the BTR-82A will essentially feature Tier 10 firepower as its autocannon is similar to that used by the T-15 with the same shells, accuracy and all that. We will naturally tune down the damage output so that it doesn’t dominate everything on its Tier but its firepower will still be very high. And that’s without the second overprogression update that will add two twin-tube Kornet launchers to the vehicle (again, similar to the T-15 Armata) – and yes, they will come with the double launch feature.

For the future, the vehicle will also receive a new ability called Drone Jamming that will, as its name suggest, counter drones (the visual model will have the Volnorez jammer on it).

In summation, the BTR-82A will be a glass cannon IFV with thin armor but a lot of firepower – a great tool for either risky PvP gameplay or overall great PvE performance.

We hope that you’ll like it and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

May 23

Developer Diary: Boxer RIWP Changes

Armored Warfare - Silentstalker

Commanders!

In today’s developer diary, we’ll discuss the changes we made to the Boxer RIWP Tier 10 Premium AFV.

This vehicle was available as the top prize of the Exile Battle Path and the changes we made included specifically:

Hydra turret no longer fires two rockets at once, adjusted the rate of fire to compensate
TOW turret no longer fires two missiles at once, the time between launches changed to 2s
Brimstone turret time between shots increased to 4s
Starstreak turret no longer fires two missiles at once, adjusted the rate of fire to compensate
Hybrid turret no longer fires two missiles at once, the time between launches changed to 2s

One of the more common complaints from long-time players was that the turrets were too similar to play and, indirectly, there were two superior configurations that overshadowed all the others (Hydra and Brimstone). This limited the choice players had to pretty much one. In the current iteration, however, the launchers serve the following function:

Hydra rocket pods are a much more reliable close-range fighting option as we made the rockets fire consistently instead of the previous double launches that were powerful but had a higher skill ceiling, making this configuration more comfortable to play
TOW ATGM configuration was buffed and now represents a basic, reliable option that works for most situations. Previously, this configuration was underpowered and therefore underused but now represents a viable choice for players who do not have a preferred gameplay style and like things that work
Brimstone ATGM configuration previously utterly overshadowed the TOW configuration. It’s still very powerful but instead of the more consistent damage output of the TWO configuration, you have longer reload times and therefore have to be a bit more careful how you aim (we kept the partial reload option in order not to nerf it to the ground)
Starstreak configuration is a damage-output-centric long-range option to the Brimstones now as it no longer deals so much damage per shot due to the removal of the double launch option and requires players to stay more in the open to perform well – a nerf, but a needed one

The Hybrid configuration is still a work in progress as we aren’t really that happy about its performance. While the single launch Brimstone launchers do work better, the Javelin locking time seems excessive and we’ll be looking to reduce that to make the turret more comfortable.

Right now, the Boxer RIWP performs within expected parameters and, given its popularity, we consider the change a success. Do you though? Let us know on Discord and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!