Changes to Armour Values for HD Models in Update 9.13

In the 9.13 update in World of Tanks you’ll be able to find 23 new HD models of vehicles. Many of these tanks are a common sight in battles, so make sure to get acquainted with the changes that their transition into glorious HD has brought in terms of armour protection.

Why does armour change when we rework tanks in HD?

Reworking existing vehicles in HD brings the game closer to real-life and adds to the atmosphere of smoke, fire and steel that armoured vehicles convey in World of Tanks. In addition to the external, aesthetic changes, reworking existing vehicles to HD also allows us to revisit and change a vehicle's armour values. This decision was taken for a number of reasons:

• We have now obtained more accurate historical data (e.g. updated information on schematic drawings or existing vehicles etc.).
• Changes in the geometric accuracy of individual hull/turret elements after re-modelling will naturally create new angles and alter where a tank can be penetrated.

Vehicle models in World of Tanks come in two forms: visual and collision.

Basically, the visual model is what we see on the screen during the battle or in the Garage, i.e., a graphical image of the hull, suspension, and turret with the gun. The collision model is used for server calculations, it contains full information about vehicle armour, the arrangement of modules (internal and external) and the positions of crew members within the tank.

Reworking a vehicle to HD not only changes the visual model but demands a revision of the collision model so that it is consistent with the new geometry of the tank as well.

Out of 23 combat vehicles remade to HD quality in version 9.13, the most noticeable changes occurred for the following 3 tanks:

KV-3: Turret armour has been improved.

KV-5: The most notable changes include improving the turret armour and the commander’s cupola. In addition, the rear plate armour has been modified as well.

WZ-111: The armour on the tank’s sides has been improved.

Your favourite tanks are far more than a pretty face, tankers.