Update 9.20: 3rd Common Test

Update 9.20 is about ready to embark on its 3rd Common Test. If you’ve had your sights set on the new 30 vs 30 mode, Chinese TDs or rebalanced vehicles, jump in and give them a test drive. After a few tours, you can head to the 9.20 forum thread and let us know what you think.

In case you missed the detailed update preview or want a second look, here’s a refresher:

Ranked Battles

Ranked Battles just recently finished its Beta Season, raising mixed feelings across the global World of Tanks community. We’ve dug into all your feedback and would like to touch upon changes that we hope will improve your experience.

Fine-Tuning the Essentials

One of the main issues discussed on the forums was the mode’s simplicity. The core gameplay of battling against top-notch tankers of a similar skill set works, but the ladder to Rank 5 did not provide a real challenge to experienced players.

We tried to fix that by changing the mechanics behind earning chevrons and ranks. Our main goal was to raise their value and, thus, make for more challenging yet rewarding gameplay.

This is how it will look during the 9.20 Common Test. While the number of ranks will remain unchanged, the amount of chevrons you need to progress to the next rank will alter. It will be distributed among ranks as 1-3-5-7-9, which means you only need one chevron to progress to Rank 1, but it’s nothing compared to nine chevrons to go from Rank 4 to Rank 5. It may sound easy on paper, but in reality, you have to be an experienced tanker to make it up to the top.

More to it, the mechanics for vehicle ranks will be updated, too. In Beta Season 2, no matter which rank your machine has at the moment, you’ll need exactly 5 chevrons to get to the next one.

The way you earn chevrons has also changed. If your team wins a battle and you make it to the top 10 in experience points, congratulations: you leave the battle with a chevron. You keep the same number of chevrons if you rank in the bottom 5 of a winning team or if you reach the top 5 of a losing team. If you’re out of the top 5 of a losing team—you lose one chevron.

The main purpose of these changes is to promote better teamwork, because, while Ranked Battles is all about personal ratings, it’s the team that wins a particular battle.

This is the same reason we’ve expanded the list of those who keep their chevrons if their team loses. It means that even if the odds are against you and opponents push you on every flank, don’t give up the fight, help your teammates—and your efforts will be rewarded.

Uplifting the Balance

There were several crucial points regarding combat balance that you mentioned during the first season, and this is how we’ve addressed them:

The matchmaker became smarter and will now try to gather an equal number of medium and heavy tanks for each team
The number of SPGs will be limited to 2 units per team
More maps will be available, as their rotation will be drastically improved, meaning that the chances of seeing the same map will decrease.

Revamped Rewarding

Last but not least, is that the way you receive awards will be revised. Starting from Season 2, you won’t have to wait until the end of the season to receive the major part of your Bond reward. More to it, the value of rewards will rise, as well.

Testing Stages

We’re planning to hold a brief test of the Second Beta during the 9.20 Common Test. By the time the test begins, Ranked Battles will have passed through stages 1 and 2, so you’re very welcome to join in for the 3rd stage, taking place August 2–9.

As always, we appreciate your feedback on the changes we bring into the game. Feel free to share your opinion on the game forums and in social networks, and let us know where you see Ranked Battles heading.

For more information on Grand Battles, changes to Tech Trees, and other improvements we’ve got tied into 9.20, make sure you check out the full preview here:

UPDATE 9.20 PREVIEW

Discover how you can join the Common Test:

How the CT works

New to testing? Check out our handy guide to public tests.

Eligibility: All players registered prior to 04:59 UTC+8 (08:00 UTC) on 24 July can participate in the test.

Feedback: please post your general feedback about the test version and bug reports in the special thread on our forum.
Test client
- Download the test client installer (4,9 MB).
- Make sure you pick a save location that is different to your regular World of Tanks game files.
- Save and run the installer.
- Run the new copy of the game. The launcher will download all the additional data.
- Log in and start playing.
Server restarts
The test server will be restarted regularly, according to the following schedule:
- First Periphery: 04:00 UTC every day. Average duration will be around 25 minutes.
- Second Periphery: 05:00 UTC every day. Average duration will be around 25 minutes.
- Central Database: 09:00 UTC every day. Average duration will be around 2 minutes.
The test server may be subject to unscheduled restarts and maintenance.

feedback

We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback on the update. Stay tuned for more news on 9.20!

Common Test Notes

9.20 Common Test #1

New Random Battle type: Grand Battle

Rules:

Two teams, 30 players each
Only Tier X vehicles are available
Battle duration is 15 minutes
Victory conditions:
- Capture the enemy base
- Destroy all enemy vehicles

Matchmaker

The Grand Battles are created from the common queue of the Random Battle mode.
Only Tier X vehicles can participate in the Grand Battles.
Players enter the Grand Battles randomly, by analogy with other battle types: Assault and Encounter Battle.
By default, the Grand Battles are enabled for all players.
The Grand Battles can be enabled/disabled in the game settings: Settings > General > Random Battle Types > Grand Battle.
Each team is conventionally divided into three sub-groups, 10 players each.
Players cannot change sub-groups; belonging to a sub-group is determined by the matchmaker.
Team composition in the Grand Battles is regulated by the general rules of Matchmaker 2.0.
The matchmaker assembles corresponding sub-groups of vehicles by types.
The number of SPGs in the Grand Battles is limited to four vehicles.
The difference in the number of Platoon players (according to the rules of the matchmaker) should not exceed 2.
If at least one of the Platoon members has the Grand Battle option enabled, the entire Platoon is considered participating in this type of battles.

Map

In the current update, the Grand Battles will be played only on one map (Nebelberg)
The map size is 1.4x1.4 km
Players' spawning point depends on their sub-groups
Each team is divided into three sub-groups
Each sub-group has its own spawn point
Each team has its own base

Interface

The loading screen, the statistics screen (displayed upon pressing TAB), the battle results window and the team panels are designed to display all 60 players.
Both teams are divided into sub-groups
Composition of each sub-group can be viewed in details by clicking on the corresponding group
Changed the upper progress bar of the user interface. In addition to the total number of destroyed enemy vehicles, the progress bar also displays the percentage of the total durability (HP) of each team.

Awards, Achievements, Statistics

Players in the Grand Battles and in Random Battles (level 12 battles only) can receive Bonds as the reward. Only players who earn over 400 base experience in the battle will receive bonds.
The amount of the received Bonds directly depends on the amount of the earned experience
Players can complete Personal Missions in the Grand Battles, as well as earn any awards that are available in the Random Battles
In Grand Battles, players will earn Mastery Badges and Marks of Excellence, they way they do in the Random Battles.
The Grand Battles are not counted in the Summary of the player's Service Record and do not affect the statistics of the Random Battles
The statistics on the Grand Battles will be displayed in Service Record > Statistics > Battle type: Grand Battle
Statistics on particular vehicles in the Grand Battles will be displayed in Service Record > Vehicles > Battle type: Grand Battle

Improvements to the Ranked Battles

Client-related improvements:

Added the functionality of earning the Marks of Excellence and Mastery Badges in the Ranked battles.
Added the visual influence of the Directives upon the technical characteristics of vehicles in the infotips and simplified technical characteristics.
Added the functionality of equipping Directives in the vehicle comparison interface so that their influence can be considered.
Added the option that enables auto-resupply of Directives in the purchase interface.
Improved equipment can be dismounted for bonds only.
Added the functionality that displays the vehicle ranks in the vehicle panel when the Ranked Battles mode is selected.
Improved the interface of displaying the reward received for the previous stage. The information about the received reward is also displayed in the pop-up hint when hovering over the rank.
Reworked the calendar interface in the mode. Information about the Prime Times on each server for the selected day is now displayed in the calendar window (not in the pop-up hint, as it was before).
Changed the list of maps that are available in the mode. Now battles will be played on the following maps:

Mines
Prokhorovka
Abbey
El Halluf
Airfield
Malinovka
Himmelsdorf
Murovanka
Paris
Karelia
Lakeville
Siegfried Line
Sand River
Erlenberg
Arctic Region
Tundra
Ensk
Swamp
Westfield
Fisherman's Bay
Highway
Serene Coast
Windstorm
Fjords
Pilsen

Improvements to the matchmaker:

The number of SPGs will be limited to 2 vehicles per team.
Improved the matchmaking by vehicle types (the matchmaker will try to assemble similar teams)
Improved the system of assembling teams by ranks.

Reworked the interface when entering the mode: added information about available servers; reworked the display of information about the Prime Times.
Added special hints that explain the basic mechanics and main features of the mode to the loading screen in the Ranked Battles. Implemented a separate option that allows configuring the loading screen in the Ranked Battles mode and suggests three variants of the loading screen (by analogy with the options for the Random Battles):

Text only
Illustrated tips
Minimap

Improvements to the display of the Season Leaders:

Added the event archive—statistics of players for previous seasons can be viewed.
Added the filters: clan-mates and friends. Players will be able to view the positions of their clan-mates and friends on the Leaderboard.

Hall of Fame

The new version of Hall of Fame is now available in the game client.
The new version of Hall of Fame has been added to the Service Record tab.
Players will be able to view their achievements in the Random Battles not only for the account in general, but also for each particular vehicle; they can also view the best tankmen.
Players will be able to compare their achievements with those of friends, clan mates, and other players in several time periods.
Moreover, players will be able to monitore their battle performance using the new World of Tanks rating (WTR) that displays the player's performance on particular vehicles as compared to all players on the server.
The Hall of Fame and new WTR are at the stage of open beta-testing. These development of these functionalities is still in progress, and we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Improvements to the stun mechanics

Added the total time of caused stun to the Battle Results
Improved the mechanics of causing damage and stun through obstacles. Now SPGs will not cause damage through obstacles that are 2 or more meters thick and the vehicle is fully covered. At the same time, explosion wave can somewhat go around corners of obstacles on condition the distance between the point of hit and the obstacle edge is less than 2 meters. However, in this case, the damage from the explosion will be decreased.

Made terrain-related changes for difficult-to-access areas on the following maps:

Karelia
Steppes
Lakeville
Abbey
Mines
Sacred Valley
Mountain Pass
El Halluf
Arctic Region

Reworked the following vehicles to HD-quality

Vehicles:

SU-5
SU-14-1
Bat.-Châtillon 25 t
M12
M5A1 Stuart
Pz.Kpfw. 38H 735 (f)
Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. D
VK 30.01 (D)
T69
Matilda Black Prince
Churchill III
T-44-85