WoT: Some Hard Facts: Back to the Future – Part 1

Howdy folks! This time, I am not using this for facts about how much certain tanks have been used on which server. This time, I am using this space to take a look back into the past of World of Tanks, especially for those of you who haven’t been around since near the beginning, or right close to it.

As for my history with the game? I’ve made no bones about it in the past. I first played the game in 6.7 on my dad’s account while he was off work for a long time, recovering from cancer. The game gave him something to do to alleviate boredom – he even still occasionally plays it, though not as often as he used to. While helping take care of dad, he offered to let me play his account some, and it got me the urge to play the game. I finally got my own account when patch 7.0 came out (the day of, in fact), and started grinding Soviet Tanks while waiting on the upcoming French Tree (patch 7.1, in January of 2012).

So, what does my reminiscing have to do with World of Tanks? GET OFF MAH LAWN, YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS!!!!!! But seriously, this game has come a long, long, LONG way from its early days. Let us go over 2012.

Patch 7.1 Welcome to the game, France! The forums back then were chock full of people screaming about how OP the autoloaders were, and how they ruined the game and that WG was killing/destroying the game. Not long after that, the BatChat 25t ended up becoming not only a Clan Wars staple, it has stayed as one throughout the years. It is probably the most enduring tank in CW that has resisted all challengers to the Meta and its position in it.

Side note – The Type 59 was taken off the store not long after this patch. Anyone you see driving them in the game has either had them for 5+ years, or has won them in contests (I’ve been in the game long enough, but won my in a contest last year).

Patch 7.2 Get skillz, fam. This patch took us from having only 3 skills in the game – Firefighting, Camo, and Repairs – to having the wonderful amount of skills we have now. I can still remember people discussing the uselessness of 6th sense (how can it be any good, letting you know you are spotted several seconds after the fact?), and debating about whether it was worth the time to take BiA or not, especially since nobody knew at the time if a crew member ‘death’ knocked out your ability to use BiA or not.

This patch also saw the first major shuffling of tanks with the T30 being removed as the Tier 10 American Heavy and instead being changed into the Tier 9 TD, to be replaced by the T110E5 (which people at the time talked about how horrible it was and how weak it was and would never be good enough for Clan Wars).

Patch 7.3

This patch brought us a HUGE tank shuffling. I personally benefitted by earning my first tier 10 by having the IS-4 get moved to Tier 10. I also ended up earning an extra 3 garage slots from owning certain heavies. This was the death of the original tier 5 KV that was so monstrously powerful, and the birth of the Legendary King of Derp, the KV-2.

This one also brought one of my fave maps to the game (that was later removed because of Memory Leak Issues, and then brought back, and then removed again for balance issues) – DragonRidge.

Patch 7.4

French Tech Tree has TD’s and Arty added. No longer just Heavies/Mediums/Lights. This patch also added in Assault and Encounter game modes.

Patch 7.5

The introduction of Tier 10 Mediums and TD’s. This was a massive shakeup not only in pub-matches, but for CW as well. The IS-7 and T110E5 and Bat Chat 25t dominated CW, while tanks like the E-100 and the 50B fell out of favor for not being good enough.

Patch 8.0

PHYSICS! This was the first introduction to physics in the game. No longer would a 150+ ton Maus be stopped and held in place by a tier 1 sacrifice tank. No longer could people hang almost upside down off a ledge and shoot at tanks below them. No more were the rivers barred to arty, and no more were tanks stuck on small rocks and defeated by the smallest ledges from passing by.

All new tanks and other such things aside – this one single patch is easily in the top 3 for the most influential patches of all time on this game, only behind the initial Sigma Buff (to make tanks a lot more accurate) and the Premium Ammo/Items for Silver patch (so ANYONE could use them, not just people playing clanwars).

Patch 8.1

British Tanks (mediums and heavies) were added this patch. People hated the grind then, just as much as they do now. The FV215b was not well liked. People generally disliked the entire tree aside from the Cromwell and Centurion 7.1.

Some things haven’t changed with time, though since this patch, the FV215b got some nice buffs, the Conqueror got some really big buffs, and the 4202 got replaced by the Action X, which people seem to generally like.

Patch 8.2

Chinese Tanks (that were not the Hype 59) added. The Initial WZ-111 5A replaced by the 113 on Test Server to much hatred of the community. 113 spends the next several years being universally hated by all and people only research it to unlock the top gun on the WZ-120 “for free”. People recommended the WZ 121 for a tier 10 if you wanted a tier 10 Chinese tank, because it was in all respects superior to the 113 (and was for several years until the 113 got buffed, recently).

I know there are people here that love numbers (and you got them with Patch Numbers, this time), but I believe there is some good room for information about the game in the past – especially from someone who has played it since near the beginning.

Any stories about the patches, how they changed the game for you, or other similar comments are more than welcome. I love hearing stories from others about how patches changed how they viewed the game, played the game, etc.