Armored Warfare

18 de Setembro

Update 0.33 is now available!

21 Gosto

1

Commanders!

The final major update of the Spirithaven season is here and, with it, a number of long-awaited changes and improvements.

The launch version of this update focuses on overall game improvements, including the Tier 7-10 rebalance. At this point, we’d like to thank everyone who participated in the testing of Update 0.33 on PTS and submitted feedback. It wouldn’t have been possible without you and we are grateful for your help.

Without further ado, here’s what’s new:

Tier 7-10 Rebalance

The previously announced Tier 7-10 rebalance is here. We’ve significantly changed the parameters of all vehicles on these Tiers in order to reduce power creep and significantly improve high-Tier gameplay.

As this is a very complex topic with pretty much everything changing, we will not be posting every single update to vehicle characteristics. Instead, you can read about the rationale behind these changes in our four-part series of articles:

In general, this includes:

General rebalance of armor values for all MBTs on these Tiers along with numerous bug fixes
General rebalance of shell penetration values for all vehicles on these Tiers
Significantly reduced the Smoke Grenade and Smokescreen cooldowns
MBTs now have more smoke charges than the other classes
Mobility improvement

For more details, please refer to the patchnotes below and to the abovelinked articles.

General Mechanics Changes

In connection with the rebalance, we have prepared a number of other changes that affect most, if not all vehicles in the game. These changes include:

Mobility overhaul
Explosive Reactive Armor mechanics overhaul
Ammunition mechanics overhaul

For more details, please refer to the patchnotes below.

New Contract Mission Campaign

A new Contract Mission campaign awaits you in Update 0.33 with similar mechanics to those used during the last one.

This time, you'll be able to unlock the 2T Stalker Tier 8 Premium AFV with its excellent mobility and firepower. You can read more about the Stalker in our dedicated article, although please note that for the release version, we’ve decided to go with the single launcher version.

Model Updates

The T-72B Tier 6 Main Battle Tank has a brand-new model in order to address the serious inaccuracies of the previous one. The new model was made in high quality and from scratch. To learn more about it, please read our dedicated article.

Apart from the abovementioned T-72B MBT, we are changing and correcting a large number of issues of older models in order to improve their visual quality and to make them correspond to real life. You can read about those in another dedicated article.

Set of Optimizations

In this update, we are rolling out a set of many minor performance improvements. While each of them is a small change on its own, together, they should help to make the game run smoother. These include additional pre-loading of resources in order to reduce the amount of in-game freezes and stuttering and improved shader cache stability and performance.

This set of changes should improve your overall gameplay experience. For more details, please refer to the patchnotes below.

Correct Historical Descriptions

After an extensive research and overhaul, each vehicle in the game now has the correct historical data in its description.

If you feel like learning about the history of the vehicle you are currently driving, you can access it in the Garage using the Info tab.

Fog of War in Ranked Battles

If you’re familiar with any competitive games, you probably already have a good idea what is this about. Simply put, in a Battalion Ranked Battle, neither team will know the player or vehicle composition of the enemy team until each vehicle is spotted and, even then, the names of enemy players will remain hidden (replaced by an alias) with only the vehicles being displayed to your team. The full list of player and vehicle names will only be available in the debriefing window upon the battle’s conclusion. You can read more about the reasoning in our dedicated article

Other Changes and Improvements

Update 0.33 is bringing other features and improvements as well, including:

ZTQ-15 Tier 9 Chinese Premium Light Tank (read more)
Large number of UI options and improvements
Improved gun smoke effects
Changes to reloading animations
Several overhauled sounds
Improvements to AI ATGM aiming
Large number of bug fixes

Further Update 0.33 Plans

Everything mentioned above or below is, however, only the initial version of Update 0.33.

Over the coming months, we’ll be introducing the rest of Update 0.33 content, which includes:

New large PvP desert map Al Dabbah
AI vehicle mobility improvements, including the introduction of wheeled vehicles to the AI pool
Overhauled models for the Abrams vehicle line
New Raid event, this time with truly epic skins
Player target selection for Mechanized Infantry
Cool new camouflages, skins and other event content

And more. Autumn with Armored Warfare will be truly epic – and we wouldn’t have it any other way. But for now, you can read more about the launch content of Update 0.33 below.

List of Update 0.33 Changes

Gameplay Mechanisms

Tier 7-10 Rebalance

The previously announced Tier 7-10 rebalance is here. We've significantly changed the parameters of all vehicles on these Tiers in order to reduce power creep and significantly improve high-Tier gameplay. As this is a very complex topic with pretty much everything changing, we will not be posting every single update to vehicle characteristics. Instead, you can read about the rationale behind these changes in our four-part series of articles:

In general, this includes:

General rebalance of armor values for all MBTs on these Tiers along with numerous bug fixes
General rebalance of shell penetration values for all vehicles on these Tiers
Significantly reduced the Smoke Grenade and Smokescreen cooldowns
MBTs now have more smoke charges than the other classes
Mobility improvements (described below)

Shell Changes

In connection with the abovementioned Tier 7-10 rebalance, we are also changing some shell mechanics to better fit the new system:

HEAT shells lose their thin armor penetration damage bonus, their basic damage value is increased to compensate for this change (the bonus did not work correctly and led so some incorrect damage values)
HEAT and HEAT-MP shells of the same caliber now deal different damage (HEAT-MP shells do slightly less to compensate for the fact they retain their HE component)
Kinetic shells now lose more penetration with distance (HEAT shells do not lose any whatsoever) – this change was made in order to make penetration loss a thing since the effect it had on gameplay was negligible and to implement the intended MBT gameplay, described in our dedicated article
ATGMs in general now deal damage even upon non-penetration – after all, an ATGM is typically a huge flying explosive warhead that does tons of damage even upon non-penetration and given how many obstacles it has to overcome (low flight velocity, APS, ERA, composite armor), there has to be at least some reward for the trouble
ATGMs in general now accelerate and maneuver better right after launch
We also reviewed a number of flight characteristics of all ATGMs because, in some cases, they were incapable of flying at their maximum speed due to incorrect settings
HESH shells now have significantly higher penetration but also lower damage
HE shell mechanic was changed

Explosive Reactive Armor Rebalance

We are adjusting the way the Explosive Reactive Armor mechanics work. In short, ERA will reduce the penetration of incoming shells instead of "eating them up" outright and will be made more durable and resistant to machinegun fire. Additionally, ERA kits are now split into four generations, each with different performance. You can read more about this change in our dedicated article.

Mobility Changes

We are changing a number of vehicle motion principles and parameters in order to make the machines of Armored Warfare easier to control. This includes:

Changed the characteristics of vehicle collision models
Changed the way suspensions work in order to bring them closer to their real life counterparts (this influences how the vehicle interacts with smaller obstacles or its steering and braking behavior)
Changed the way steering works in order to make it more controllable and predictable
Reviewed the behavior of each class in motion (the MBTs now lose less speed in moderately sharp turns)
Maximum speed is now a more usable parameter since the vehicles can reach it more often

Overall, this is a boost to the mobility of all classes. The turning radius now corresponds more to what you'd expect and depends on how much you "step on the gas."

New Contract Campaign

A new Contract Mission campaign awaits you in Update 0.33 with similar mechanics to those used during the last one. This time, you'll be able to unlock the 2T Stalker Tier 8 Premium AFV with its excellent mobility and firepower. You can read more about the Stalker in our dedicated article, although please note that for the release version, we've decided to go with the single launcher version.

Optimizations

In this update, we are rolling out a set of many minor performance improvements. While each of them is a small change on its own, together, they should help to make the game run smoother. These include:

Additional pre-loading of resources in order to reduce the amount of in-game freezes and stuttering
Improved shader cache stability and performance
Improved performance of static map object rendering
Improved performance of glowing map object rendering
Improved performance of long-distance vehicle rendering on maximum settings
Improved performance of lighting for street lamps, headlights, lanterns, fires and other similar objects
Improved performance of various visual and sound special effects of shell impacts
Improved CPU resource management
Object clipping fixes
Long distance object lighting optimization on high settings
Reviewed the user texture settings
Optimized chromatic aberration effect

Furthermore, we fixed an issue that caused some freezes and stuttering in battles. This fix is listed in the Issues and Corrections section.

Camouflage Settings

In Update 0.33, you will have the option to disable your own camouflage for your client in the game's Settings tab. To you, your tank will appear without a skin or camouflage. To the other players, it will appear as if it has a skin or camouflage unlocked. Please note, however, that old vehicles with fixed camouflage (commonly referred to as "reskins") will not be affected by this setting.

General Changes

All commanders with skills made obsolete or less useful by the Update 0.33 changes will receive a free skill reset. This free reset has to be manually activated in the commander UI the same way as a regular paid one
Overhauled the sounds of armor-piercing shells
Overhauled the sounds of shells flying into the ground
Added a new sound to when you switch to a secondary weapon system
The Steel Wings epic medal (requiring you to win a Random Battle without losses or win a Global Operations match losing 300 points or less) is no longer awarded if the battle fails to launch due to server error
Changed the countdown sound at the beginning of each battle
Changed the ammunition switching sound
Reduced the volume of the machinegun firing sound
Added new country flags and decals to the game: Brazil and New Zealand
We have significantly improved the way the game works when switching from full screen to windowed mode

Vehicles

T-72B New Model

The T-72B Tier 6 Main Battle Tank has a brand-new model in order to address the serious inaccuracies of the previous one. The new model was made in high quality and from scratch. To learn more about it, please read our dedicated article.

Model Updates

Apart from the abovementioned T-72B MBT, will are changing and correcting a large number of issues of older models in order to improve their visual quality and to make them correspond to real life. These changes include:

Leopard improvements (including the suspension offset, higher texture resolutions, details and the correct 130mm L/51 model for Leopard 2AX)
Challenger 2 improvements (overhauled the TES kit appearance)
Vickers Mk.7/2 now has a correct gun model
Bradley Fighting Vehicle now has a correct gun model (and a new name, it's no longer M2A3 Bradley)
M48A3 was renamed to M48 in order to correspond to its visual model

Along with a number of other improvements. You can read more about these updates in our dedicated article. Please note that the long-awaited Abrams overhaul will come at a later date during the course of Update 0.33.

More Vehicle MGs

We are adding machineguns to the following vehicles:

2S14 Zhalo-S
2S1 Gvozdika
2S3 Akatsiya
CATTB
EE-18 Sucuri II
FV433 Abbot VE
FV433 Abbot
Leopard 2AX
M108
M109
MBT-70
OA-82 Jarmila II
Palmaria
PLZ-05
PLZ-89
Panzerhaubitze 2000
Sho't Kal Dalet
Taifun II
WWO Wilk
Wilk XC-8
WZ-1224
ZBD-86

We are aware that on some of these vehicles (OA-82), the machineguns (while present) do not serve as actual machineguns, but as ranging guns. Their conversion to normal MG status is a necessary gamification on our part for the sake of game balance.

Ammo Switch Changes

In order to allow you to choose your proper ammo type as best as you can (an important ability for an MBT in Update 0.33), we are introducing the following changes to ammo switching:

We have reduced the time required to switch between shell types for most MBTs and LTs (mostly to 1 second)
For the Leclerc MBTs, the time required to switch between shell types was reduced to 0.5s and we have also added a module allowing you to make it instant
For MBTs and LTs with a Ready Rack or a magazine, the time required to switch ammo types is equal to at least the time between shots within the Ready Rack or magazine

General Changes

Three Tier 6 MBTs had their armor rebalanced along with the Tier 7-10s (Merkava Mk.2B, T-72B and XM1)
As a part of the rebalance process, we have changed the upgrade tree for the following vehicles: Leclerc Prototype, Leclerc, M1A1 Abrams and M1A2 Abrams. The owners will receive a Credit and XP compensation for the progression branches
Overhauled the reloading mechanism animations for the vehicles that have them. For you, not much should change visually but the system now works smoother, is more stable and the animation time now corresponds to the intended reload time listed in the UI
BMPT Mod.2000, M8 MGM-166 and Bradley FV now have ATGM reloading animations
Improved the muzzle flash visual effect
Removed the fuel tank module from all vehicles due to them generally being pointless in the game. Yes, they can burn, but there are two additional fire sources in each tank, engine and ammunition and having three of them, especially on more fragile vehicles, is too much
Multiple vehicles had their UI hull traverse rate values recalculated to the correct ones
Fixed the appearance of multiple skins such as T-80U Shark, Centauro 120 Wolf
Removed the visual effect where the turret actually flies off or burns from below from the vehicles that either don't have a turret or don't have ammunition stored below it
Various grilles and meshes (such as those on engine decks) no longer get covered by camouflage
Fixed a large number of small visual issues on multiple models (small texture adjustments etc.)

Begleitpanzer 57

Fixed the visual muzzle flame effect

BMPT Mod.2000

Fixed the armor description of this vehicle

Kornet-EM

The vehicle's status panel now correctly displays the ammunition count when firing with a single launcher
Destroying the launcher will stop this vehicle's reloading period and will prevent new missiles from being loaded
Fixed the reloading animation sound
Fixed an issue where this vehicle's launchers could move up and down even when destroyer

Leopard 2 Evolution

Fixed this vehicle's frontal collision model

Leopard 2 Revolution

Fixed this vehicle's frontal collision model

M48 GAU-8

Fixed an issue where this vehicle's firing sound was too quiet if you encountered it as an enemy

Object 490

Added extra track marks on the ground for the frontal half of the suspension

SBS Pindad

Fixed this vehicle's destruction effect

Stryker ADATS

The flagpoles are now correctly placed on this vehicle
Fixed an issue where this vehicle incorrectly had ERA mentioned in its armor description

Wiesel HOT

Fixed an issue where the ATGM would not launch from the vehicle's launcher model

Player versus Player

Fixed an issue where bodies of water would disappear on some maps (notably Ghost Field and Waterway)
Chemical Plant: Fixed the train model appearance
Lost Island: Fixed a number of visual issues
Lost Island: Improved the general look of this map’s surfaces
Lost Island: Grass and other plants now move in the wind
Lost Island: Fixed a number of gameplay issues (stones you can shoot through, spots outside of the playable area where players could get using exploits)
Port Storm: Fixed this map's lighting so that the reflections on tank surfaces appear correctly
Fixed a number of smaller map issues

Global Operations

Bunkers can now target enemy infantry

Player versus Environment

AI ATGM Aiming Changes

We changed the way the AI opponents (bots) launch ATGMs at player vehicles. Earlier, AI vehicles could launch ATGMs in 180 degrees range from the axis of their turrets, leading to some strange cases where even players who are standing almost next to the AI vehicles would get hit. In Update 0.33, AI vehicles only launch ATGMs in 30 degrees range from the axis of their turrets and therefore have to actually take aim properly before firing.

General Changes

AI MBTs no longer use gun-launched ATGMs
Black Sea Incursion, Chapter 3: Fixed the Radar hitpoint bar and icon overlap
Arabian Nights, Chapter 3: Removed the Dune Worm Easter egg
American Dream, Chapter 2: Fixed an issue that caused some enemy targets during the train escape phase to become inaccessible
Moscow Calling, Chapter 1: Fixed an issue that caused Magnus' tank to get stuck in a tunnel
Spirithaven, Chapter 3: Fixed an issue where players could bypass the closed gate in the F4 sector
Spirithaven, Chapter 4: Fixed an issue where the AI opponents would drive to inaccessible areas and then fire at players through walls
Spirithaven, Chapter 4: Fixed an issue where Magnus' vehicle could fall down from the platform
Spirithaven, Chapter 4: Fixed this map's lighting on low details
Frostbite: Fixed various objects flying in the air
Spearhead: Fixed various objects flying in the air
Watchdog: Fixed the collision model of the destroyed bridge that caused some players to get stuck on it
Fixed a number of smaller map issues

User Interface

Player Avatar Improvements

Player avatars and titles are now more prominent, appearing for example in your Friend list or, more importantly, on loading screens. This will become noticeable especially in PvE where you'll be able to show your vintage event avatar to everyone who's getting in battle with you. Additionally, your avatar and title will also appear in the Battalion member list. Now you can brag about your rare title or avatar to the rest of your Battalion.

Battle UI Improvements

In this update, we have optimized and overhauled the appearance of the following elements:

Your and enemy team tables
Battle launch countdown timer
In-game chat

General Changes

On the Armor Inspector screen, you can now move your camera further below in order to better inspect the bottom of each tank
When selling items in your Inventory, you can now choose how many to sell
Your Friend List button now shows the amount of your friends currently online
PvP map loading screens now show the positions of bases
Improved the appearance of Outgoing Damage numbers and added the option to change their appearance point, added new colors based on the identity of the damage dealer
Added the option to disable Blocked Damage in the Outgoing Damage and Incoming Damage tabs
The game UI now features the status of your Mechanized Infantry (how many the vehicle carries, how many are deployed and how many are dead)
Updated the AP shell tooltip to show its penetration loss over distance better
In order to make the UI more comprehensible, shell tooltips no longer display the damage range. Instead, they show the average shell damage with a new characteristics, randomization, showed below
Updated the armor tooltip to better show the new armor parameters and ERA generations better
Vehicle Encyclopedia in the game now has an "Additional Progression" filter option
The main results panel for the Global Operations mode now shows the amount of objective capture points instead of the amount of spotted enemies
Improved the appearance of vehicle markers
When right-clicking a player in your Garage, the Dossier button is now on top of the menu
The maximum speed value is now rounded to whole numbers
Fixed the Upgrade UI (the positioning of some modules) for multiple vehicles
In connection with the future introduction of Ranked Battles Fog of War, the additional information available by pressing the Tab button in Ranked Battles was removed
Introduced multiple User Interface optimizations

Issues and Corrections

Fixed an issue that caused various freezes and stuttering when executing some visual effects (vehicle explosions and such)
Fixed an issue that caused tanks driving around with broken track models
Fixed an issue with the spotting system that caused some vehicles to become spotted incorrectly
Fixed an issue where the switch between Third Person Mode and First Person Mode (Sniper) via the scrolling wheel was inverted
Fixed an issue where it was possible to deploy infantry under water
Fixed an issue where AMX-13 DCA's radar model wouldn't fold properly when deactivated
Fixed an issue that caused the "no damage" message to appear when firing HE shells
Fixed an issue with wheeled vehicle steering
Fixed an issue with Mechanized Infantry walking animation
Fixed some issues with Retrofit number rounding (for example, instead of showing 13 percent increase, the rate of fire Retrofit now shows 12.5 percent since that has always been the actual value, only the UI number was incorrectly rounded up)
Fixed an issue where activating Supercharged Soft-Kill APS would not affect incoming Javelin ATGMs
Fixed an issue where enemy AI vehicles would not appear on the minimap after starting to capture an objective
Fixed an issue where your Effective Combat Time value in your Dossier would always be listed as 0
Fixed an issue where, in a Custom Match, the Observer would not see vehicle markers correctly
Fixed an issue where, upon installing a skin, the name and icon of your vehicle would not change immediately
Fixed an issue with the rotary cannon fire that appearing on the Alabino map
The "Eyes" decal now mirrors properly
Fixed a number of issues that could cause the game to crash

See you on the battlefield!

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