Thank you all for your active participation in testing the revised HE shells, Commanders!
The number of players who played on the Sandbox server during the recent HE shells test surpassed all our expectations. Your engagement in the game process helped us collect lots of valuable statistics and feedback, and the number of tankers who filled out the survey show that this topic is very important to you; in fact, it sparked a discussion among many players on a variety of sites.
Preliminary Results
Based on the preliminary survey results, we can state that players liked the key aspects of the revised mechanics—more than 70% of the reviews were positive. In particular, tankers liked the following aspects:
- A significant reduction in damage from reworked HE shells when they hit the frontal armor of heavily armored vehicles
- Improved UI for notifications about hits and penetrations
- The ability to inflict minimal damage with HE shells upon contact with armor
Based on these preliminary statistics and your feedback, we can also say that the redesigned mechanics accomplish our goals and don't cause serious technical or design errors.
Current Discussion Topics
After reviewing your feedback, we've identified the main points of your discussions:
- The ability of HE shells to penetrate side skirts and tracks
- The impact of the new mechanics on vehicles that use HE shells as their primary ammo, like the KV-2 and FV 4005 Stage II (standard vehicles), and KV-2 (R) (Premium vehicles)
- The impact of reworked HE shells on lightly armored vehicles
- The number of critical hits caused by HE shells
- The performance of highly mobile vehicles that carry high-pen HE shells (in particular, wheeled vehicles)
All these points will be carefully analyzed and addressed based on the collected data.
What's Next?
The next stage of testing reworked HE shells in the Sandbox will begin in late March or early April. Currently, we're analyzing the collected data and taking your feedback into account; we'll focus on examining the concerns mentioned above from a statistical standpoint. Look out for more details about the next Sandbox iteration!
You tankers have done a great job—your feedback and questions have proven extremely useful. We thank you for your dedication and will be waiting for you during the next Sandbox iteration.
Roll out!