Thursday, 31 March 2016

Patch 0.14

 Introduction

Is this a patch which will change something ? Probably not, since the changes are minor or do not show a complete picture of high tier changes, which will come probably in every future patch. Personally I think they are splitting their personal on too many different areas, while everything is half done or finished, but nothing is complete.



Update 0.14 does bring several major features that include:


  • A new PvP Map Highwall
(terrain design approach seems okay, overall gameplay/size/design is nothing for me to look forward to. I don't like to play on this map)
  • New PvE Missions (Albatross, Cerberus)
(Looks promising)
  • Light Tank and Tank Destroyer Penetration Overhaul
 (not impressed by this move at all, since it doesn't, change the issue completely)
  • High Tier Gameplay Changes
 (those are just steps, not a lot of changes in general, or at least nothing which would trigger me to play high tier again)
  • Replay System
 (very basic at the moment)
  • Field Rebuild Kit
 (expensive, never used it, as i don't care a lot if I die in PvE)

List of 0.14.1972 Changes



Gameplay Mechanisms


  • Falling damage is no longer based on absolute height differences. As a result, grazing collisions with terrain should no longer deal damage
Is a good change actually.
  • The SPG class bonus to Reputation and Credits has been increased from 20% to 40% in PvE. This has no effect on rewards earned in PvP
I finished most of the grind, so i don't even play it in PvE anymore, since 50% of the maps are bad for SPGs anyway.
  • Implemented some optimizations geared towards improving performance on AMD systems 
Can't tell if it is working out, since I have a Intel CPU.


Vehicles

Armor Changes



Wheels no longer grant bonus armor due to striking them at a high angle; they can also no longer ricochet shells. Passing through a wheel will always grant a passive 15mm for non-MBT/25mm for MBT level of effective protection. This should greatly reduce strange behavior firing at the sides of vehicles, especially at lower tiers of play.



I guess it is for wheel shooting without damage ? Otherwise I can't see a point on where this is going


The underbelly armor of all vehicles has been redone, reducing its effectiveness to no longer auto-ricochet shots. Firing at the occasional underbelly of a vehicle going over a rise - protected in the past by the extreme angle this tends to generate- will now result in the shot penetrating and damaging the vehicle.


My question would be in future, regarding the 2A7(+), will that belly be a non penetration, since it has increased belly armor as of the beginning with the 2A6M, who has increased mine protection. Not that I think shooting the belly is a great mechanic, since it was not the same for every vehicle, which is stupid in first place.


We have begun instituting changes to the armor behavior of vehicle hatches. In this introductory pass, Tier 7 through Tier 9 MBT driver hatches should no longer ricochet shots from non-autocannon fire in the majority of cases. There are still some flat portions of certain cupolas that autocannons will be able to deal some damage to. This will be expanded to all MBTs in 0.15, and also further improve cupola performance on the turret as well, resulting in cupola hits being more reliable regardless of angle. We are still testing this system, so please provide feedback on how you feel this affects higher tier gameplay, and any issues you encounter!


Since they introduced "high penetration boosted autocannons", I see this change critical, since they can't set the minimum penetration to high, due the tierspread, but also not to low, since we have stupidly high penetration values for autocannons.


Previously, shooting cupolas that were not part of an MBT's turret did an additional 10% damage. This critical damage has been removed from all vehicles; shooting a cupola will instead do normal penetration damage in these cases. Additionally, Light Tanks have been adjusted, and now gain the same damage reduction to turret cupolas as MBTs.


Seems a good move, therefore you don't shoot cupolas a lot on the tier where i play, so I can't tell if it is a good gameplay change


Vehicle cannons will no longer ricochet enemy shots. Previously, due to their rounded shape, some vehicle cannons were deflecting shots or providing unwanted protection defensively. The armor thickness of all cannons has been reduced to remove this behavior and allow even autocannons to damage them from any angle.


Already can say, that this will be annoying



Light Tank and Tank Destroyer Overhaul



As one of the steps toward improving our Tier 6+ gameplay, we're improving the penetration values of some Tier 6+ Light Tanks and Tank Destroyers that are currently below average. In some select cases, we'll also be improving penetration for Tank Destroyers that are already in average ranges, but might need some extra punch to fit the Tank Destroyer role.


So they are saying TD role and not class. Does this mean that they will change the class into a subrole for AFVs, like I suggested on my blog? It will be a solid move, but i doubt on the other hand, that they have the guts to do it. 
However Iam not convinced that buffing the penetration values is needed when you correct your vehicle models within the same patch to give them a better gunhandling in general.
Most of them had enough penetration in first place, since they still need to get shots on the side or rear to deal damage. More penetration here, seems more a nerf, since overmatch and maybe in future overpenetration kicks in , which results in less damage.



In 0.14, we've also begun the process of updating the underlining system controlling the depression values on our vehicles. As a result, we've been able to give many of our vehicles a much-needed increase in cannon depression not only from the front and rear, but also on the sides. While we plan on updating the values for all of our vehicles where needed, we have started with Tank Destroyers.


This was really needed and people demanded it for some vehicles already 1 year ago. Definitely one of the best changes and balancing buffs for most vehicles. If they would be patient they would have not buffed the penetration within the same patch, as a better gunhandling increases already the playability of the vehicle, by a lot.



AMX-10 PAC 90


  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -10 / -10 / -10 degrees 
I think it is a good change, but I would say, that it is still to good now

B1 Centauro

  • Stock AP penetration increased from 303 to 333
  • Upgraded AP penetration increased from 318 to 357
  • HEAT penetration increased from 278 to 292
  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -8 / -9 / -6 
While I don't agree with the penetration buff, the gunhandling buff is one of the best things for this vehicle. If they would lower either the aimtime or accuracy a bit, the vehicle wouldn't need a penetration "buff".

Centauro 120

  • No penetration changes; this vehicle already has sufficient penetration for its tier and is performing above average
  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -8 / -9 / -8 degrees 
Changing the gunhandling like with the T6 Centauro is really good and improves the options for this vehicle.


Dragoon 300 90

  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -7 / -7 / -5 
Before this change the T3 TD was really good compared to the T4 TD, though like all gundepression changes, I like them a lot. I guess people will have a lot of fun with this one, like I even had before this buff.

ERC 90 F4

  • Increased cannon depression on the Sides/Rear to -10 / -10 degrees
  • Decreased cannon depression on the Front to -10 
So this is technically a nerf, since it had -12° before. Might not sound like a lot, but could lower the performance a bit.

LAV-300

  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -7 / -9 / -8 
Personally this vehicle became really good after more than 1 year pain with no gundepression. I would consider this the 2nd best TD for its tier, behind the OP Zhalo.

LAV-600


  • Stock AP penetration increased from 363 to 381
  • First AP upgrade penetration increased from 381 to 400
  • Second AP upgrade penetration increased from 390 to 410
  • Third AP upgrade penetration increased from 408 to 429
  • Stock HEAT penetration increased from 334 to 351
  • First HEAT upgrade penetration increased from 341 to 358
  • Second HEAT upgrade penetration increased from 356 to 365
  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -4.5 / -12 / -6 degrees 
Most people will cheer up, because the penetration buff, but I think they should have waited for the statistics after the buff for its gundepression. Therefore other areas to change would be better in my opinion, like a change of the retrofit slots, less camopenalty from shooting, more direct handling when steering, higher base camo value, higher shellvelocity, accuracy and so on.
I played just 4 games with it in PVP, and managed to win them all, while taking advantage of its DPM compared to the lower Alpha on the Cent.120 . Sure it is no sample size, but the depression helps a lot now.

M1 Abrams

  • The M1 Abrams has received a new model 
Seems like it is still not 100% correct, but on a good way towards being identical. I would wish, that they put in more time to give us 100% correct models with their first attempts and not after x tries.
 
M1128 Stryker
The Stryker already has excellent penetration values, and thus it is not receiving a penetration boost in this pass. We are looking at some of its other capabilities, however. We plan on adding more elevation to the Stryker in order to match its real life performance, but this requires some art changes to be completed first.

  • Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to - 6 / -13 / -10 degrees
  • Increased cannon elevation to 12 degrees 
Good move, though I still would put it a tier lower according to my attempt of a tech tree :)

Stingray 1

  • Stock AP penetration increased from 278 to 311
  • First AP upgrade penetration increased from 292 to 327
  • Second AP upgrade penetration increased from 299 to 334
  • Third AP upgrade penetration increased from 320 to 350
  • Stock HEAT round penetration increased from 262 to 280
  • Upgraded HEAT round penetration increased from 274 to 299 
SR1 is still trash.....
Sorry but these changes, won't change the issue with the SR1. It is still big, has mediocre mobility, no gundepression, sluggish gunhandling overall and no armor against anything.

Stingray 2

  • Stock AP penetration increased from 334 to 365
  • First AP upgrade penetration increased from 350 to 384
  • Second AP upgrade penetration increased from 359 to 393
  • Third AP upgrade penetration increased from 375 to 411
  • Stock HEAT penetration increased from 296 to 324
  • First HEAT upgrade penetration increased from 310 to 339
  • Second HEAT upgrade penetration increased from 317 to 346
  • Third HEAT upgrade penetration increased from 330 to 361 
Can't tell if something will change for this one, despite the increased overmatch now 

T-80

We increased the minimum armor thickness of the vehicle to be on par with the preceding T-72A. Due to its already improved armor composition, this change will make the T-80's weak points on the turret - including the flat portions in front of the commander's cupola - to appear on average as yellow to Tier 7 penetration values instead of green like before.

I hope you are aware of the changes when you introduce a armorupgrade for it with the T-80B/U

Warrior

We increased its base armor thickness to bring it up to 14.5mm of all-around protection, accurate to the real world equivalent. The applique armor upgrade package should now also provide complete protection against autocannons as well, making it a viable alternative to the vehicle's ERA upgrade package.

And when does this vehicle gets downtiered ? It would represent the IFVs on tier 6 best, since it shows the difference between western and eastern IFV designs and the different approach to protection.

 Zhalo-S

  • Increased cannon depression on the Front and Sides to -8/-8 
Best camo for its tier for all classes, really good gunhandling, and now you buff the gundepression to make it the most broken vehicle on its tier and the best TD on T4 ? I didn't understand your buff for the camo in first place ( a while back ) and now you buff this vehicle even more ?
You know that this is pay2win, right ?

 

Conclusion 

While I appreciate the changes or finally the solution to give each vehicle its real life gundepression ( I hope you used those ), you should have waited for the change in statistics for it, before buffing the penetration values.
Overpenetration needs to be added again, which will add a lot of survivability for low armored vehicles overall, without even buffing every other aspect beforehand.

The replay system is a step forward, while it is really basic right now. I personally think that the new map is nothing for me, as it is too much corridor based, but I do like that they realize that the terrain itself can be enough to add cover and vision plays.

Besides this they released T7 premiums, which I don't like, since those are probably all Löwe drivers from WoT, regarding their skill and what they are doing. Next to that they picked probably the strongest vehicles on its tier to be premium........

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