EviL GrannY: I played 10 battles and were on top tier maybe two times. How can I balance that out?
Pankov: The answer is very obvious – fighting on top, middle, bottom, and so forth. Giving such restrictions increases the queue times. Not many people will be satisfied after waiting 4-5 minutes, and that’s the RU server. On NA or EU it would take even more time.
Beletsky: The main question should be about how the queue looks at different times and on different servers. We add various restrictions in each new patch. The MM change in 9.18 enabled us to build a modular system, which can be easily, but carefully, fine-tuned.
EviL GrannY: There are many questions about replacing X tiers, and all kinds of shuffles on lower tiers. You replace a tank, and then a player who was grinding the replaced one is furious.
Pankov: In 9.22 we introduced the most of the necessary changes.
EviL GrannY: Why do you remove tanks and remodel the branches then?
Pankov: We want to sort out the branches. We want to keep heredity. With that in mind, the FV 215b (183) branch was redone to separate it from rear turret tanks and such. We want to make transparent branches to experiment with them further
Beletsky: After 9.22 we’ll calm down and make a long break. We did about 85% of the job, now we understand we caused enough turbulence, and we need that to clam down. Now we monitor how the changes will play out before changing anything else.
Vspishka: A lot of work was done this year regarding X tiers, but the tiers leading to them are untouched and kind of weak. Is it because nobody plays lower tiers? Everyone just wants their dreamed X? From experience I know that there are no VIII tier tanks played, and in 3-5-7 you always play against X tiers.
Beletsky: In different clusters everything behaves differently, both queues and tiers. We have to wait until everything calms down.
Vspishka: Well, some branches are completely bogus. For example the Leopard or IS-4 lines. If one were to trust the statistics, the top three tiers of those have the lowest win rates.
Pankov: We’ll balance the middle tiers, so we’re going from top to bottom. Also we have some other plans. We’re prototyping solutions for tiers I to V for the Sandbox so the bottom tiers have a fighting chance. That’s tied to the new tutorial, by the way.
Jove: What about the IS-4 <> ST-1 problem?
Pankov: We’ll announce it in 6 months.
Jove: I understand that’s a distant future thing?
Pankov: Yes
EviL GrannY: Right now we have two tank types – imbas and the weaker ones. Rebalancing tanks is always a long process. Are we stuck in this endless loop?
Pankov: Come on. The “imba” term is subjective. A 48%er and a purple will handle a tank differently.
Beletsky: The Object 268 V4 is standing out, we’ll have to look at it closer.
Jove: We know this tank has weak sides, but it’s OP. If you compare it to the Foch B or the T110E3, it’s still better
Vspishka: If you ask which tank to pick for ranked, everyone will answet that it’s the Obj 268 V4
Pankov: The situation will change in the next season.
Jove: Constant arms race?
Pankov: There’s no balance in a vacuum.
Beletsky: As long as we add new tanks, the situation will be unstable.
Jove: So you think this is normal?
Pankov: Name a game in which there’s a constant, uninterrupted balance.
Amway921: It’s about the armor of the new tanks, they’re just too hard, not like their predecessors.
Pankov: Maybe a bit: We monitor the problematic tanks. But in most games, the new toy looks the best. Skilled players gladly use new opportunities.
Beletsky: That’s why we wait. An average player doesn’t have time to look into all nooks and crannies of a new tanks. It’s hard to separate the characteristics of a machine from skill.
Vspishka: It seems that the problem lies in the Supertest then.
Beletsky: We’re working on a bot that will play like a 48% player to test new tanks.
