9.7

[Skywalkre]

Some buffs but mostly top tier TD and Med nerfs incoming:

 

http://ritastatusreport.blogspot.nl/2015/03/097-test-changes.html

 

 

-Most arties got a major view range nerf between of 30 and 50 meters;
-Foch 155 aim time buffed from 3 to 2,8s, penetration nerfed from 293 to 272mm;
-Batchat got a stabilization buff (accuracy on the move improved by 12 percent), penetration nerfed from 259 to 249mm;
-Leopard Prototyp A and Leopard 1 penetration nerfed from 268mm to 257mm;
-Leopard Prototyp A got a stabilization buff (accuracy on the move improved by 9-10 percent), and reload time got buffed from 11,1s to 10,9s;
-Leopard 1 got stabilization buff (22 percent);
-E50M penetration got nerfed from 270 to 259mm;
-Jpz E-100 penetration got nerfed from 299 to 278mm;
-Type 61 top gun and STB-1 gun penetration got nerfed from 258mm to 248mm;
-STB-1 got stabilization buff (12 percent) and the gun aimtime was buffed from 2,3 to 2,2s;
-Charioteer, FV4202 and Centurion 7 top gun penetration nerfed from 268mm to 257mm;
-FV4005 and FV215b (183) AP shell penetration got nerfed from 310mm to 288mm;
-Firefly viewrange increased from 360 to 370m;
-M48A1, M60 gun penetration got nerfed from 268mm to 257mm;
-M48A1 Patton got accuracy loss from moving turret buff (you now lose 33 percent less accuracy);
-T110E3 and T110E4 penetration got nerfed from 295mm to 276mm;
-T110E4 got accuracy loss from moving turret buff (you now lose 17 percent less accuracy), aim time was buffed from 2,9s to 2,8s;
-T-62A, Object 430, Object 907 and Object 140 penetration got nerfed from 264 to 253mm;
-Object 263 penetration got nerfed from 290mm to 270mm, stabilization got buffed by 12 percent and reload time got buffed from 10,7s to 10,5s;
-Object 268 penetration got nerfed from 303mm to 282mm;
-Object 704 and ISU-152 (top gun) penetration got nerfed from 286mm to 266mm;
-Chinese 121 tank penetration got nerfed from 258mm to 249mm, reload got buffed from 9,6 to 9,4s and there's also accuracy loss from moving turret buff (you now lose 14 percent less accuracy).

Test server was supposed to be up today but apparently there were some issues. Should be up Mon I believe.

[bojan]

Pen on meds is still good enough that it is not an issue. When it comes to it I rather prefer that Patton and Leo buff to accuracy on move then 10mm more pen.

 

On TDs we will see, but I think it will still work OK.

[Skywalkre]

Yeah, if you're playing your med right you shouldn't notice the difference. If you're firing an E 100 from the front you weren't using APCR to begin with.

[FlyingCanOpener]

It's OK, the FV4005 didn't need that 310 pen anyway.

[Skywalkre]

It's... interesting to see what they're doing with high tier TDs. The tier 10s, as a whole, aren't good if you know how to play (they're almost never taken in competitive gameplay... too low of hps and dpm). Most purples I know don't even bother playing TDs as is. I already moved my good 268 crew to a different vehicle and have an untrained one in it now (which I'll likely never spend gold to retrain). I think I've played it less than 10 times in the last year in a pub game. While I think the 263 and E3 are decent I still see them taken so rarely in CW and SHs that my desire to grind the 9s is minimal.

 

However, given the average player in WoT is bad (or rather, afraid and lacking knowledge of game mechanics) they appear good in pub play so we continue to see these nerfs.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Skywalkre

[TonyE]

A couple of new maps would be nice for more variety, granted i do not know how much work making one takes.

[Skywalkre]

Test server is up. With WoWs going there doesn't seem to be much talk (then again, it could be that it's up 2 days earlier than they originally said).

 

Going to jump in and test the AMX 30B. Already know that its dpm is lower than the Leo 1. Curious to see where mobility and camo sit and then get an idea of soft stats.

[Skywalkre]

Ran my tests and compared the 30 B to the Leo 1.

 

Mobility - Across the board it's worse (from 6-15% slower on all those trials I do) than a Leo. Drives very similarly, though, in that it doesn't bleed a lot of speed when turning. The problem is it just doesn't get up to the speeds and as quickly as the Leo 1. The thing must also have horrible soft terrain resistance because it ran my Karelia circuit slower than a 140.

 

Firepower - Less dpm than the Leo 1. Same Acc but slower aim time. Visually comparing the blooms when moving forward, rotating hull, and rotating turret showed the Leo being barely-ever-so-slightly better in forward and suspension while the 30 B was better when rotating the turret.

 

Camo - It has better camo than a Leo. If you look at wotinfo and throw in the Bat first with the Leo 1 second the 30 B is a few meters better than the Leo in every area. This also puts it over the threshold where it will outspot a Bat (the Bat barely outspots a Leo right now due to the camo advantage despite having 10m less vision).

 

So... initial impression is it's more on the side of dud than keeper.

 

Someone on wotlabs mentioned the real keeper of this new branch is the tier 9, not the 10. In-game stats show it has the second best visible gun stats for the 105 and the highest dpm, by far (about 1 shot per minute more than the PT A). If it has great camo it could actually be a good vehicle for tournaments. Not too concerned with checking that atm, though. WoWs awaits.

[zaarin7]

I've had one game on the new Overlord map and it does resemble the Omaha beach area I remember from my visit.

[Skywalkre]

So apparently the patch notes are out for the latest iteration of the test server and...

 

http://ritastatusreport.blogspot.nl/2015/03/97-test-2-patchnote.html

 

no buff for the 30 B? That thing is so subpar right now the only reason to push for it is for aesthetic reasons.

[Skywalkre]

Test server also has two new premiums to try out: the US M56 Scorpion and the T-54 first prototype. The former is tier 7 (and has a nice 212 pen gun) and the latter is tier 8. Didn't really enjoy the first game in the 54 but rather enjoyed the M56.

[Colin]

I imagine the aiming circle on the M56 gets pretty darn big after firing.

[Skywalkre]

It's not bad. The gun stats 'felt' pretty good, actually.

 

It has no armor and I didn't have a camo crew on it so I was moving, firing, and then moving back to cover. It handled said movement and acquired good targets relatively quickly. The only drawback for it in WoT that immediately sticks out is no armor and the small frontal firing arc (it has a turret, but it only fires on the front 45 degrees).

Edited March 19, 2015 by Skywalkre

[zaarin7]

I've not been in the past two days. Cannot connect. Removed the program ans reinstalled and still can't connect. Anybody having the same issue?

[bojan]

Try multiple times, sometimes it takes 5-6 tries.

[zaarin7]

After a big update today I got back in.

[jwduquette1]

Did the little AMX 57 thingy bite the dust?

[Skywalkre]

Haven't seen it or heard about it.

[jwduquette1]

sorry -- guess it was officially called AMX 13/57. Possible French light premium with a 57mm main gun. There was some snippets about it on FTR a couple months back and the possibility of it seeing the light of day in 9.7. Looked interesting. I Guess it must have bit the proverbial WG dust.

[zaarin7]

I've paired down my test account to just one heavy per country and am shooting nothing but gold rounds.

[Edmund]

How is this coming along? I read it was delayed. Next week maybe?

[Edmund]

I read somewhere that maybe today or tomorrow. Is it happening today?

[Harold Jones]

Goes live on the NA servers tomorrow morning.

[TonyE]

YEAH!

[Skywalkre]

I love how every other patch from WoT freezes up my machine and I have to do a hard reboot just to start the process all over again. That hasn't happened with other games in years.

 

Edit: Still doesn't work. I get to reinstall the game completely... again. With all the cash WG is rolling in you'd think they could hire some real programmers or maybe a QA dept.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Skywalkre