WoT: Matchmaker for Low-Tier Battles

It’s not always easy for new players to get used to the game, learn the battle mechanics, and show decent performance, especially if they find themselves in matches with experienced commanders. The Random Battle matchmaker and the introduction of AI players at lower tiers helps novices play in more comfortable battles and hone their skills faster.

Read on below to find out more, and don’t miss the frequently asked questions!

Helping Novices Hone Their Skills

Novices in low-tier Random Battles (Tier I–V) will find themselves matched against fellow novices to ensure they play in more comfortable battles.

A player is considered to be a novice if they have not played a single battle in a researchable Tier VII or higher vehicle in any game mode. If they show good performance in battles with novices, they will be assigned the status of a regular player.

If they purchase a Tier VII–VIII Premium vehicle, but continue to fight in low-tier (Tier I–V) battles, they will still be considered a novice.

If a novice enters a battle using low-tier (Tier I–V) vehicles, the matchmaker will try to assemble the battle in a separate queue involving only novices on both teams. But if there are not enough novices to create two full teams, the matchmaker will try to add regular players to these specific novice battles. If they enter a battle using a Tier VI vehicle as a novice player, they will instantly be placed in a standard Random Battles queue with regular players.

There are five maps for Tier I–III battles: Mines, Himmelsdorf, Abbey, Ensk, and Steppes, which will be randomized regardless of the opponents a player will face in battle (novices, regulars, or AI players). All other maps are available for battles involving Tier IV and higher vehicles.

AI Players at Lower Tiers

Our priority is to make sure that novices play against fellow novices so they can adapt to the game more easily.

But, depending on the server, time of day, and the current state of the queue, the matchmaker may not have enough players to form equal and competitive teams in Tier I–V matches. Adding AI-controlled tankers helps us quickly get players into battle and allows the matchmaker to assemble battles faster. On highly populated servers, players will be less likely to encounter AI players, but it may still happen from time to time.

We want the presence of AI-controlled vehicles in battle to be completely transparent. Therefore, AI players are distinguishable from regular players by an ellipsis (…) in the player list interface. Here are other points to note about battles with AI players:

  1. Dealing damage to, and destroying AI enemies will award players with the same amount of XP as they would receive for damaging and destroying regular opponents.
  2. Just like in regular battles, players can earn achievements and rewards, and make progress in Personal Missions.
AI players will only be present in those rare novice battles involving Tier I–V vehicles when the matchmaker lacks sufficient novice and/or regular players to form full, equal, and competitive teams. Such matches involving AI players should be relatively infrequent, depending on the region, time of day, and the number of players online. It is not possible to view AI players’ statistics after the battle.

FAQ

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General

What is the matchmaker for novices?

The matchmaker is an in-game feature designed to improve the experience of novices in low-tier Random Battles (Tiers I–V) and not pit them against more experienced players.

Will experienced players play with this matchmaker?

The matchmaker will aim to create battles with only novices. The only exceptions are if there aren’t enough novice players, in which case the matchmaker will select some seasoned players.

Where will the new AI players be available?

AI players will be added to a separate queue created by matchmakers for novices. AI players will not be present outside of this queue.

Who is considered to be a novice?

A player is considered to be a novice if they have not played a single battle in a researchable Tier VII or higher vehicle in any game mode. If they show good performance in battles with novices, they will be assigned the status of a regular player.

What if a player buys a Tier VIII Premium vehicle, but is classed as a novice?

If a player purchases a Tier VII–VIII or higher Premium vehicle, but continues to fight in low-tier (Tier I–V) battles, they will still be considered a novice. However, if they enter a Tier VIII battle with a Premium vehicle, they will join the regular queue with other regular players.

Can someone become a novice if they play poorly?

Players who were deemed more experienced by the system and have left the novice queue will not be part of it again, regardless of their future play. This does not exclude the occasional inclusion if the matchmaker requires regular players.

AI Players

Why is World of Tanks adding AI players to the game?

Depending on the time of the day and the queue state, the matchmaker may not have enough novice players to form two full teams. In this scenario, the matchmaker will add several AI-controlled vehicles in order to help assemble teams quickly and get players into battle.

How can AI players be distinguished from other players?

The AI players can be identified by the “…” symbol at the start of their username.

Will AI players be available at any time of the day?

AI players will only be used during low population when the matchmaker cannot find enough novice players in the queue.

Will AI players be available in lower tiers in the regular queue?

No, only in the queue for novices.

What tier vehicles will AI players use?

AI players will be present in matches involving vehicles between Tiers I–V.

How will AI players be distributed in a match between teams and players?

AI players cannot occupy more than 7 spots on a team or 14 spots in a match.

Can I check the profile of an AI player?

You will not be able to view the statistics of AI players after the battle.

Gameplay

What skill level do AI players have relative to novices?

You can expect AI players to play at a similar level of skill to players who have progressed to the same point in the game in which they are available (i.e. Tiers I–V). They will respond to the situation at hand, but will also occasionally make mistakes, much like a player of a similar experience level.

Which vehicles will AI players command?

AI players will only control light, medium and heavy tanks within the tiers they are active. They cannot operate tank destroyers or SPGs.

Do AI players have the same information as players to process, or are they aware of enemy positions?

AI players have no more information than a player would in the same position.

Will AI players react to chat commands?

No.

Other

How are a player’s statistics impacted by damaging or destroying AI players?

All stats, medals, and match results will be unaffected and will operate as normal. Destroying AI enemies will award you with the same amount of XP as you would receive for destroying regular opponents. Just like in regular battles, you will be able to earn achievements and rewards and make progress in Personal Missions.

Does the matchmaker only work with newly created accounts?

The matchmaker works with both new and existing accounts that have no battles played on any researchable Tier VII vehicle or higher.

Improving the Battle Experience

These matchmaker changes are a win-win for both novices and regular players. They will help us maintain the fair and competitive spirit of the game and:

  • reduce the difficulty curve to make it easier for novices to grasp the basics of World of Tanks and motivate them to play and win.
  • match more experienced commanders with skilled opponents, so they can continue to challenge and improve their abilities.
  • decrease the queue time for all players, especially on low-population servers.

Source: EU Portal

17 thoughts on “WoT: Matchmaker for Low-Tier Battles

  1. Getting achievements for destroying AI opponents? If this Ai is not challenging enough, I can already see people with 300 battles and 7 Pool’s medals.

  2. aren’t Pools, Radley etc. not only awarded from tier 6 on?

    but in general: I see this as a good idea. no one is helped, if newbies are sealclubbed in tier 3 already and leave the game, before they even have a chanche to get a grip on the game. sure, they will see a steep increase of difficulty once they leave the “Kindergarten”, but the should be able to get a basic idea about the important game mechanics until then and even get a usable crew by then.

    and to add to it: I would rather prefer to fill up the hightier matches mit AI-bots than some of the “Ei pley phor phun”-players, that suicided their way to tier 10 and have a 40% WR …
    there is not much worse than playing a tier 8 and seeing your hightier tier 10 HT snipe from redline …

    1. I killed 10 in a game with my T28E and it only gave me a top gun and high caliber.

    2. Radley Walters and Poole medals are only awarded at tier 5 and above, although the Reseaine (?) Hero’s medal for 14/15 kills is at any tier. (which is not easy to get on ANZ satellite server because of low player numbers – outside of few hours a day many tier 1 -3 battles are only 10v10 with only 3 actual players each side).
      Needless to say, players on ANZ won’t notice much change in MM.

    1. That’s true.I find tier 9&10 disgusting today of the low quality of players at this tiers no matter number of games.

  3. This is a good. At least more new players will survive. In na or asia, there is no match for new players. They start the wot, and wait for low tier battle, but there is only 5 mins que and still cant find any match. This is serious problem so i happy to see what wg trying.

    1. so years of asking for this meant noting……now that their wallet is taking a hit they finally do something about the problem? too little too late

      1. Exactly. It took them how many years to finally implement something like this? 10? This should have been done at least 5 years ago, when the newbie numbers were still high enough. The issue is that getting to tier X is super easy and once the get to tier VI they will have a reality check. At this point, bots will only make them play them a couple of hours longer.

  4. They just need to stop players with 38 to 89k battles against 0 to 1k players.
    No wonder new player are non existent 🖕🏼

    1. A good idea, but almost impossible to implement on servers with small player numbers. On ANZ server (satellite to Hong Kong primary in ASIA region), nearly every battle in tier 1-2 is 10v10 with the maximum 7 bots on each team. And this is before this week’s patch.
      If they need to drop the number of human players to a total of 6 for a battle, there certainly aren’t enough players to support effective skill/experience based matchmaking.
      Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good idea, but something that had to be done several years go (before Wargaming became preoccupied with printing money by releasing a series of everly more powerful premium tanks. And forgot that they needed players to sell them to).

      1. Maybe I come to join this anz server then and I can get a 70% win rate account within hours

  5. It may just be RNG but it I played a few dozen games at tier 8 after the latest patch and my teams were a lot better on average which made for a WR over 60% for the session. If this MM change also helps with the melting n00b team problem that’d be great.

  6. To be honest this game lack of a true training for novice players, and it has a lot of mechanics, like cammo, repair, modules, HP of the modules, etc etc that are not there in other FPS, they should do a better training for new people:
    other way people will get to tier 6 faster (not to said a tier 10) than ever now and will die badly

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