INTRODUCING UPDATE 0.15

Obsidian Entertainment and My.com are proud to introduce the newest addition to Armored Warfare -Update 0.15, bringing some of the long-awaited and exciting features!

Update 0.15 does bring several major features that include:

• Tier 10 Vehicles
• Two new PvE Missions (Prometheus, Meltdown)
• Merkava 2B Premium Main Battle Tank
• Garage UI Update
• APS and Anti-Tank Guided Missile Changes
• Global Vehicle Mobility Adjustment
• Light Tank Adjustments

Apart from the new features, a very large number of game corrections including but not limited to vehicle performance adjustments, balance and critical issue fixes were implemented as well.

NEW FEATURES

Tier 10 Vehicles

Update 0.15 introduces the first six Tier 10 vehicles:

• T-14 Armata (Main Battle Tank)
• PL-01 (Light Tank)
• Leopard 2A7-140 (Main Battle Tank)
• SPHINX (Armored Fighting Vehicle)
• XM1A3 (Main Battle Tank)
• Challenger 2 ATDU (Main Battle Tank)

Tier 10 will be unlockable through a token system similar to the one used to unlock Tier 9 vehicles. Read more about Tier 10 vehicles in our preview.

Two new PvE Missions
Operation: Prometheus - when a cargo ship carrying a shipment of warheads was forced to run aground on the sandy beaches of this little island, it immediately attracted the attention of those who wanted to seize and use the weapons to their own malevolent ends. You'll take to a small archipelago in Operation: Prometheus to retrieve and guard these abandoned missiles, and keep your enemies from capturing the dangerous cargo - or destroying it

Operation: Meltdown - a little city on the edge of a larger province has flourished despite the troubled times, due in no small part to the source of power in the area, which is supplied by a state of the art nuclear reactor. Enemy forces have been attracted to the reactor, intent on destroying the facility as well as the adjacent dam and sending the nearby city into a state of chaos. In Operation: Meltdown, you must defend the reactor from enemy invasion in order to save the people of the region from devastation

Merkava 2B Premium Main Battle Tank

This brand new Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank will be available to players in Update 0.15. Read more about the Merkava 2B history in our preview.

Garage UI Update
The garage UI has received a visual upgrade and now features an improved Ammo Loadout, Consumable and Retrofit windows designed to make it easier to outfit your vehicles. Based on player feedback, we’ve also expanded our vehicle filter criteria to enable players to more efficiently filter which vehicles are shown in the vehicle carousel.

Light Tank Adjustments

We are continuing the process of updating the underlining system controlling the depression values on our vehicles. Update 0.15 includes front, side and rear cannon depression changes to our Light Tanks and a few Main Battle Tanks. Additionally, the Light Tank active ability was improved as well.

APS and Anti-Tank Guided Missile Changes

Update 0.15 brings new changes to Active Protection Systems (APS) and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. Cannon-launched missiles will now on average reload faster, while APS systems have had their cooldowns increased and their number of charges decreased. The overall goal of these changes is to reduce the currently excessively high effectiveness of APS, while still keeping the system useful in deterring the occasional ATGM.

Global Vehicle Mobility Adjustment

The combined hull and turret traverse mobility MBTs benefited from, especially at high tiers, made it incredibly difficult for even the fastest of the fast vehicles (namely AFVs and LTs) to flank them. We've therefore decided to make the following changes to reduce the global effectiveness of stationary defense, while also more effectively rewarding flanking tactics:

• Lowered the maximum MBT hull traverse speeds while remaining stationary
• A few vehicles, which had extraordinarily high values were hit harder, while most had minor changes.
• Reduced the loss of hull traverse for MBTs and TDs while in motion
• Increased hull traverse for AFVs and LTs while in motion
• Lowered the maximum MBT turret traverse speeds

As with the change to MBT hull traverse, a handful of vehicles with exceptionally high hull traverse were hit the hardest, but most saw very little change. This balance pass represents a first step in addressing some of the issues related to flanking opponents and we will continue to make changes as necessary.

LIST OF 0.15.2081 CHANGES

Gameplay Mechanisms

APS Overhaul

Soft-Kill APS:

• Reduced the number of charges on limited-charge APS systems from 4 to 3
• Increased the cooldown on Soft-Kill APS systems from 25 seconds to 30

Hard-Kill APS:

• Removed the unlimited charges and reduced them to 6
• Increased the cooldown on Hard-Kill APS systems from 45 seconds to 60
• Increased the APS reload time from +20% to +50% when damaged

Reload Speed Changes

In previous versions of Armored Warfare, many of our upgrades improved "reload speed". The overwhelming majority of these have been changed to "rate of fire" increases. There are three main reasons for this:

• Reload speed upgrades stacked in such a way that adding more of them provided continuously higher efficiency
• For example, a 50% reload time improvement pre-patch actually translated into a +100% DPM increase. Post-patch, a 50% rate of fire increase translates into a 50% DPM increase
• Reload speed benefits were unintuitive. It was hard for players to understand the exact benefit they were getting out of an individual reload speed upgrade, since it was variable based on how many reload speed upgrades you already had

The new "rate of fire" bonuses are both better balanced and easier to understand. Essentially, whatever the % of the rate of fire improvement is, it directly translates to that amount of DPM a vehicle gains. This also holds true for autocannons as it is directly increasing the rate at which you fire projectiles, rather than reducing the salvo reload time.

More information about the background of this change will be published in near future.

Other Changes

• Cannon-fired ATGMs will now reload faster while APS systems have had their cooldowns increased and their number of charges decreased. The overall goal of these changes is to reduce the high effectiveness of APS, while still keeping the system useful in deterring the occasional ATGM. In the future, we will make additional changes to the APS systems in order to better differentiate them.
• The skill-based portion of the Matchmaker has been disabled. The matchmaker will still enforce equal distribution by tier and class, but teams will no longer be further balanced by individual player win-rates.

Garage and User Interface

Updated Garage UI

The garage UI has received a visual upgrade and now features an improved Ammo Loadout, Consumable and Retrofit windows designed to make it easier to outfit your vehicles. Based on player feedback, we’ve also expanded our vehicle filter criteria to enable players to more efficiently filter which vehicles are shown in the vehicle carousel.

Players can now choose to show only vehicles from specific dealers, First Win of the Day bonus, Battle-Hardened, Proven status and more. With an ever expanding roster of vehicles for players to acquire, we’ve also added a new Reserve status, which lets players clear unused vehicles from their garage carousel without having to sell them. Players can show or hide these reserved vehicles at any time using the Filter system.

Miscellaneous

• Added a tactile button to the map selection list in Custom Matches to indicate that it can be scrolled through
• Observers in Custom Matches now have an 'all-seeing-eye' icon that appears on the mini-map to indicate where the observer is
• Added a new button to allow custom teams to quickly swap sides
• Added new slots in Custom Matches for 'Team Spectators' who can observe the match, but can only see what their respective team sees
• Added a visual effect to indicate one-time use consumables are active in a match
• The tooltips for camouflage now say "Rental" instead of "Not Owned" if the camouflage has been temporarily purchased for 7 days
• The Rebuild Kit count down timer is now displayed in blue which feels much more appropriate than the previous red
• Ammo is no longer purchased during vehicle setup. Instead, players will now be charged for the ammo they used after a match has completed

Vehicles

Light Tank Ability Changes

The Light Tank ability 'ECU Override' has had its cooldown reduced from 60 seconds to 45. We also increased the duration of ECU Override from 5 seconds to 8 and the Light Tanks no longer lose speed when turning while the ability is active.

High-Tier AFV Health Increase

At higher tiers (e.g. 7-10), AFVs have been having a harder time surviving due to the increasing alpha damage, accuracy, and mobility available to MBTs. We're making some minor Hitpoints changes right now to get things moving in the right direction, and we'll be taking larger steps to address this problem - as well as the overall jumps in power at this tier range - in the future.

Abbot Overhaul

We've removed the tier 3 Abbot and replaced it with another variant at tier 4 in order to ensure it can more consistently enter a PvP match against other artillery. Players who already own the tier 3 variant will retain the vehicle and be given the tier 4 variant as well.

BMD-4

• Hitpoints increased from 1330 to 1515

BMP-3M

• Hitpoints increased from 1560 to 1730

BMPT-72 Terminator II

• Hitpoints increased from 2000 to 2265

Challenger 1

• Increased cannon elevation on the Rear to 3 degrees

Challenger 2

The nominal thickness of the Challenger 2 has been increased from 320 to 420. This is to accommodate the higher penetration values of Tier 10. This will not result in any difference in play at lower tiers.

• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides to -10/-10 degrees
• Reduced the rear cannon elevation from 1.5 to 1 degree

Chieftain Mk.5

• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides to -12/-12 degrees

CRAB

• Hitpoints increased from 1530 to 1720

DRACO

• Hitpoints increased from 1935 to 2065

Expeditionary Tank

• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -12/-12/-12 degrees

Leopard 1

• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides to -10/-9.35 degrees

Leopard 1A5

• Increased cannon depression on the Front to -10 degrees
• Reduced the rear cannon elevation from 2 to 1 degree

Leopard 2

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 14.29 to 10.284 seconds
• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -10/-10/-1 degrees

Leopard 2AV

• Increased cannon depression on the Front/Sides/Rear to -10/-10/-2 degrees

Leopard 2A5

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 12.5 to 10.284 seconds
• Increased cannon depression on the Front to -10 degrees
• Added a new weak point to the lower left area of the turret

Leopard 2A6

• Increased cannon depression on the Front to -10 degrees
• Added a new weak point to the lower left area of the turret

M1134

• Ammo capacity increased from 30 to 50. This should help prevent problems with it running out of ammo easily in PvE

M41

• Increased cannon depression on the Rear to -9.7 degrees

M60A2 Starship

• Increased ATGM reload time from 14.29 to 15.24 seconds

MBT-70

• Increased ATGM reload time from 13.33 to 15.24 seconds

Ramka-99

This vehicle received a larger than normal hitpoint increase due to its poor overall performance relative to other vehicles of the same tier.

• Hitpoints increased from 1495 to 1935

RDF/LT

• Increased cannon depression on the Sides to -8 degrees

T-72A

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 13.33 to 10.91 seconds

Type 90-II

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 12.12 to 10.08 seconds

Type 98

• Decreased HE ATGM reload time from 16.39 to 11.48 seconds
• Increased SC ATGM reload time from 11.11 to 11.48 seconds

Leopard 2A6

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 10.53 to 10.284 seconds

T-90MS

• Decreased ATGM reload time from 11.11 seconds to 10.5 seconds

Warrior

• Hitpoints increased from 1980 to 2155

XM8

• Increased cannon depression on the Sides to -10 degrees

Player versus Player

Designers have done a pass on the following PvP maps to fix minor terrain, camera, and map asset issues:

• Coastal Threat
• Narrows
• Reactor
• Roughneck
• River Point
• Ghost Field
• Pipelines
• Port Storm

Coastal Threat

• The bridge railings found in the southern part of the map are now destructible

Highwall

• Fixed an issue where the white truck at A5 caused players to get stuck

Lost Island

• Fixed an issue where players were able to shoot through the ship at D9

River Point

• Fixed an issue where artillery vehicles could not shoot at targets situated near the map border along the A line
• Fixed an issue where hills in the distance at B2 would disappear when viewed at a distance

Ghost Field

• Fixed an issue where vehicles were unable to access part of the area near C3 due to an invisible wall

Pipelines

• Fixed an issue where pipe textures throughout the map were not rendering properly

Player versus Environment

Designers have done a pass on the following PvE maps to fix minor terrain, camera, and map asset issues:

• Rolling Thunder
• Phalanx
• Scorpio
• Life Jacket
• Cerberus

We also fixed an issue where the capture base timer was not functioning properly if an AI vehicle spawned on the capture point before appearing on the map.

Albatross

• Fixed an issue where artillery were able to one-shot the Command Center

Banshee

• Fixed an issue where the music cutout during the 'Victory' and 'Defeat' cutscenes
• Fixed an issue where the secondary objective would sometimes spawn missing collision
• Fixed an issue where several water tank models were missing collision around the map
• Fixed an issue where the map boarder and the collision box for the border were not properly aligned

Cerberus

• Designers have performed an optimization pass on Cerberus
• Fixed an issue where the Secondary Objective mine shipments did not appear
• Fixed an issue where truck props on the map were missing destroyed states
• Fixed an issue where the map border would disappear when driving next to it
• Fixed an issue where AI artillery vehicles could spawn on top of other destroyed AI vehicles

Dire Wolf

• Fixed an issue where missile and building props were missing destroyed states

Frostbite

• Fixed an issue where the initial subtitles for the mission did not match the voiceover
• Fixed an issue where certain building structure collision did not line up with the model
• Fixed an issue where vehicle impact decals would flicker

Ghost Hunter

• Fixed an issue where players were able to get stuck under the secondary objective in cell D1

Harbinger

• Fixed an issue where the minimap did not accurately reflect the map boundaries

Rolling Thunder

• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck at location D6 between a building and map debris
• Fixed an issue where the large green supply trucks throughout the map were missing collision
• Fixed an issue where destroyed bus props were missing collision
• Fixed an issue where the secondary objective VO was overlapping
• Fixed an issue where players were able to access certain parts of the map not intended

Sapphire

• Fixed an issue where artillery vehicles could complete secondary objectives without them first being spotted
• Fixed and issue where secondary objectives were never mentioned in the mission briefing

Snake Bite

• Fixed an issue where the minimap was not corresponding with the map borders
• Fixed an issue where 'Victory' music played twice before returning to the garage

Spearhead

• Fixed an issue where temp textures were being applied to map props in cells G2 and C3
• Fixed an issue where pipes at C6 were missing collision

Stormy Night

• Fixed an issue where audio would cut out during the 'Victory' screen

Tsunami

• Fixed an issue where primary objectives were not being displayed during the mission countdown

Wildfire

• Fixed an issue where secondary objective helicopters were spawning in invisible

Frostbite

• Fixed an issue where the mission would display 'Defeat' even when players had achieved a victory

Issues and Corrections

General

• Fixed an issue where a vehicle destroyed by a critical hit when not spotted would still appear with its turret attached to the hull
• Fixed an issue where a vehicle's turret appeared to shake while the vehicle was moving
• Fixed an issue where after getting kicked by the Anti-AFK system, the kicked player could then rejoin the match
• Fixed an issue where Achievement "Vehicle Destroyer" was not working properly
• Fixed an issue where the maximum gun depression for certain vehicles varied between first and third-person camera views

User Interface and Garage

• Fixed an issue where hit details and commendations were not disappearing during the match-end banner
• Fixed an issue in the Settings menu where players were unable to change their resolution during a replay
• Fixed an issue in the crew menu where percentages for the Leadership Skill were displayed with one extra decimal
• Fixed an issue where equipping the Upgraded Transmission retrofit was not reflected in the vehicle stats panel
• Fixed an issue in Replays where renaming the replay with more than fifteen characters resulted in the name being cut-off
• Fixed an issue where tooltips were missing for certain context menu options in the Vehicle Selection bar
• Fixed an issue where the new font increase displaced the max character limits for credits and experience
• Fixed an issue where crew and commander retrain costs were missing a graphic to indicate an ongoing sale
• Fixed an issue where Russian localization for ammo titles was missing from incoming damage
• Fixed an issue in Achievements where the credit reward amount for Dealer Access did not fit inside its tab
• Fixed an issue in Custom Matches where observers were not listed anywhere on the HUD when spectating a custom game
• Fixed an issue where the Ammo Tab was not functioning properly
• Fixed an issue in Custom Matches where resizing the window and expanding it afterward would result in parts of the window being cut-off
• Fixed an issue where confirmation prompts in the UI were not in all cap letters
• Fixed an issue where the first win of the day was displayed as temp text on the vehicle image
• Fixed an issue where consumable items would sometimes stick to the cursor after double-clicking on them
• Fixed an issue where vehicle thumbnails would disappear from the vehicle selection bar after equipping smoke grenades on Feng vehicles
• Fixed an issue in Custom Matches where the chat window restore button was not working properly
• Fixed an issue in Settings where overwriting the 'Cycle Team List' hotkey was displaying debug text
• Fixed an issue where ammo types for vehicles would sometimes appear to look cut-off in the frame if there were more than nine ammo types available
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to create a new Battalion after accepting the invitation of a disbanded Battalion
• Fixed an issue where sorting the player name and tank columns in the post-match screen was not working correctly
• Fixed an issue where decal categories were not being listed in alphabetical order
• Fixed an issue where when selling a vehicle, the text "Total Refund" was listed twice
• Fixed an issue where PvE reward strings would not fit within the screen when set to 1280x768 resolution
• Fixed an issue with Replays where clicking 'Open containing folder' resulted in nothing happening
• Fixed an issue where base paint achievements were not properly being tracked, resulting in players not being able to unlock certain base paints
• Fixed an issue where some flag decals appeared differently in a match then in the garage
• The idle camera will no longer start if the selected vehicle is still in a match
• Fixed an issue in the post-match screen where the displayed crew level was not indicative of the actual crew level

Vehicles

• AMX-10P- Fixed an issue where camo was being applied to the vehicle's engine vents
• BMP-1P - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's shot trajectory was not properly lining up with the aiming reticle
• BMPT Prototype - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's right track could be seen clipping through the side-skirt after being destroyed
• BMPT Prototype - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's collision model was larger than the visible texture for the vehicle
• C1 Ariete - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's tracks could be shot through after being destroyed
• Challenger 1 - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's ammo loadout disappeared from the Maintenance screen under certain conditions
• Challenger 1 - Fixed an issue where the tip of the cannon armor mesh was causing the vehicle outline to not render properly
• Centauro 120 Wolf - Fixed an issue where placing a decal in the first decal slot caused the decal to cover the wolf's head
• CRAB - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's suspension
• CRAB - Fixed an issue where the upgraded ATGM launcher was not exhibiting the correct armor surface type
• ERC-90 F4 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's suspension
• LAV-150 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's suspension
• LAV-150 90 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was not being applied to the cannon mantlet
• Leopard 2AV - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the wheels
• Leopard 2A6 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's suspension and underbelly
• M1A1 Abrams - Fixed an issue where the modern camouflage pattern was not applying to specific areas of the vehicle once the vehicle had been upgraded
• M1A1 Abrams - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's suspension
• M113 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the vehicle's canvas mantlet cover
• M1134 - Fixed an issue where the vehicle could not depress its ATGM launcher while looking over the rear of the vehicle in sniper mode
• M1134 - Fixed an issue where applying camouflage to the vehicle caused ATGMs inside their launchers to disappear
• M2 Bradley - Fixed an issue where ERA covered the vehicle's headlights
• MBT-70 - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's turret could be shot through after being destroyed
• OF-40 - Fixed an issue where the texture inside the vehicle's cannon was too light
• Object 155 - Fixed an issue where part of the vehicle's cannon was missing collision
• PT-76 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the hooks at the ends of the cables on the side of the vehicle
• PT-76 - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the gaff on the side of the tank
• PzH 2000 - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's cannon was not exhibiting the correct armor surface type
• Ramka-99 - Fixed an issue where the vehicle could be shot through after being destroyed
• Sheridan - Fixed an issue where the top portion of the cannon armor mesh was causing the vehicle outline to not render properly
• Swingfire - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's stats were displaying turret traverse speed despite not having a rotatable turret on the vehicle
• Swingfire - Fixed an issue where canister belts remained hanging on the vehicle after the canisters had been destroyed
• Type 69-II - Fixed an issue where ERA blocks were not visible on low graphic settings
• Type 90-II - Fixed an issue causing a wheel to appear floating after the vehicle had been destroyed
• Type 90-II - Fixed an issue where camouflage was being applied to the underbelly of the vehicle
• XM1 - Fixed an issue where the area around the cannon base could be penned unintentionally
• XM800T - Fixed an issue where shots at this vehicle could go through the cannon without damaging it
• Wiesel - Fixed an issue where the vehicle's upgraded cannon was not exhibiting the correct armor surface type

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where a 'buzzing' noise could be heard occasionally when two vehicle drove next to each other
• Fixed an issue where the audio for "Won" and "Lost" in PvE matches was not playing
• Fixed an issue where terrain textures in the player's base would flicker around the Academy
• Fixed an issue where the UI was being sped up while watching a match replay