Q: Why don’t we allow Artillery to platoon at all?
A: Players in Common Test were vocal about mismatched scenarios, when a Platoon of three SPGs was placed at the top of the list and the team ended up with three long-range support fire vehicles as their main strength. The other frustrating issue from Common Test was the frequent case of arty giving its all to support fellow Platoon-members and totally neglecting the rest of the team. To eliminate both problems, we decided to stop SPGs from forming and joining Dynamic and regular Platoons. Removing the option for SPGs to play in Platoons also facilitated team cooperation and aided the matchmaker in creating balanced teams. Individual Battle Missions were updated accordingly. We removed Platoons from their conditions.
However – following the release of 9.18 we have received a lot of critical feedback around this change and we recognize the player concerns. At the moment we are collecting the information on this feature and are investigating potential changes to address your concerns while still avoiding the problems that led us to make that decision in the first place.
Q: Why was Light Tank view range reduced? How are Light Tanks different from Mediums? What role should they play that Medium tanks don’t do better?
A: LTs remain “the eyes of the team,” provide serious support to the allies with intel on enemy positions, and can bite back if they need to. In the current settings, not only due to good vision range but also thanks to good camo values they outdo medium tanks when it comes to scouting. Especially if you gear up your LT for this role by installing additional equipment and training skills and perks that improve view range and camo ratings. At the same time, they are behind MTs in terms of firepower and HP pool, which forces them to avoid head-on duels with same-tier opponents. So, it makes more sense to play to your strengths and turn your light tank from just decent scout into a truly fierce one by improving on view range and camo, rather than upgrade it to increase firepower.(Shady: So go scout those max 300m engagement corridors, fool!)
Q: Why doesn’t Matchmaker balance all the classes for each team?
A: The matchmaker currently tries to balance 3 classes: LT, TD and SPG in both teams, and allow the matchmaker to avoid balancing HT and MT specifically. This is done to avoid making matchmaking timing slow down, and also to allow of more variety in battles.
However, we have heard your feedback around issues of class distribution at the top tier in battles, and we are currently planning to make some improvements to how the matchmaker treats the top tier tanks. We expect to launch this improvement as soon as possible.
Q: What do I do when I’m targeted by multiple artillery as a slow tank?
A: Before 9.18 and the introduction of stun, the answer to this question was very clear – getting under the fire of multiple artillery was usually deadly. Now the players have more chances to survive with such a “focus” and have time to move to shelter. But focus fire from multiple arty is never good – you still need to pick your path carefully and use cover wisely.
