The Assembly Shop is returning to World of Tanks, Commanders!

From February 2 through February 9, you’ll be able to craft the Lion, a brand-new Tier X Italian medium tank. Only 65,000 of these limited-edition vehicles will be available for assembly, and the first ~22,000 tanks will receive the amazing Marked One 3D style with an individual style number. Get ready to become number one and add the sharp-shooting king of steel beasts to your collection!

The Assembly Shop: How it Works

• Invest various game resources—including blueprint fragments, Free XP, credits, gold, and bonds—to craft the brand-new Lion. It’s up to you to decide how much of each resource to invest.
• There will only be 65,000 tanks available for assembly. The first ~22,000 players will receive not only the vehicle itself, but also the spectacular Marked One 3D style for it, which includes an individual style number. These individual numbers will be assigned to vehicles sequentially, from smallest to largest. With its 3D style applied, the Lion appears to be visually upgraded to the legendary OF-40.

• Once all ~22,000 of the numbered styles and accompanying vehicles have been purchased, another 43,000 tanks will still be available for delivery. They will come in their standard configuration—without the 3D style and individual style number—and will be available for assembly until the end of the event, or until they run out.

Combine and Spend Resources in Different Ratios!

To catch the Lion, you need to spend any of the following five game resources:

Free XP

Gold

National and universal blueprint fragments*

Bonds

Credits

Combine and spend them in different ratios throughout the event. Remember that you don’t need to wait and can spend everything at once. There are plenty of combinations to fill the progression bar up to 100%—you just need to understand which option suits you best. Everything depends on the resources you have.

How to Spend Your Resources Wisely

To make the most of your available resources, we recommend adding them in the following order:

Free XP is one of the most efficient resources, so consider using it first and for the bulk of your progression. It can be converted from Combat XP using gold or simply earned in battles.

Gold is the most convenient resource. If you don’t want to spend too much time assembling the Lion, you can use gold to quickly fill up the progression bar.

Blueprint fragments. Got a big stash of these lying around? In total, you can fill up to 36% of the progression bar with these (14% with universal, 22% with national blueprint fragments).

Bonds are a valuable resource for assembling your vehicle, so you can use them to fill up a significant part of the progression bar as well.

Credits. Compared to the other resources, credits are the least convenient currency. It only makes sense to use them in two cases: if you have A LOT of credits, or if you have already spent all of your other resources.

Resources are deducted as soon as you add them to the Assembly Shop, but you can reclaim or redistribute them at any time by clicking the Return Resources button. You can track your progress on a special bar in the game event section of the Store. Once its progress reaches 100%, the vehicle will be credited to your account.

The Lion: When 4 Actually Means 3

This brand-new special Tier X Italian medium tank is a historical vehicle. Its prototype was built in the late 1970s, when Italian engineers were trying to create their own version of the German Leopard.

In terms of gameplay, the Lion has a similar playstyle to the Leopard 1, but with an Italian auto-reloader gun. It also resembles its researchable counterpart, the Progetto M40 mod. 65. The Lion features a 105 mm gun with a modified 4-shell autoreloading system, which is unusual for Italian autoreloading tanks. The shell reload times are 20.1/7.7/9.6/12.5 s, and the reload time between shots is 4.5 s.

Due to the unusual reload times, the recommended strategy is to fire the first three shells, but hold off on firing the fourth shell until the magazine reloads. That way, you can get the maximum DPM of 3,285 HP/min.

The penetration is 258 mm for the main AP shell. Accuracy is 0.33 and aiming time is 2.7 s, which makes the Lion a menacing long-range sniper. It sacrifices armor and survivability for greater dynamics and is perfect for supporting allies from the flanks or the second line of fire. With a top speed of 60 km/h, decent acceleration, and good concealment values, it can quickly change directions and turn up where it is least expected.

How to Play the Lion

The Lion offers several options for firing:

1. Magazine-based gameplay, for dealing 420 HP of damage every 4.5 seconds. It is best to play with three shells in the magazine and save the fourth in case of emergency combat situations. And never forget that you can always make the most of its unusual autoreloading system!
2. Autoreloading-based gameplay, which depends on the game situation and when you can deal damage. Keep in mind that you’ll deal the maximum DPM when playing up to the second-to-last shell. This option will be a win-win in the case of a positional duel during the battle.
3. Combined gameplay. You can start by dealing 420 HP of damage, and then begin using the DPM of the third shell to deal an additional 420 HP of damage every 8 seconds.

The Lion is not limited to a single playstyle. Instead, it can be used in different ways, depending on the combat situation—this is its superpower. But most importantly, try not to fire all four shells at once!

A few more tips to help you be more effective in battles:

• Use the fourth shell when planning tactical actions, such as when you want to reset a base capture or finish off an opponent that is low on HP. Make sure you're safe or in cover, because after the fourth shot, you'll be vulnerable for 20 seconds.
• Its mobility is good for patrolling the battlefield. You can always either take a position to support your allies with fire from afar, or be an active flanker. Just remember that its reverse speed is only 15 km/h, so choose your positions carefully and make sure you don't over-expose yourself to enemy fire.
• Despite its high accuracy, the vehicle’s gun stabilization is mediocre, so try improving this parameter using equipment or the Field Modification feature.

The Lion is a vulnerable, yet incredibly versatile, support tank that you probably already know well. On the one hand, it's the mighty Progetto juggling shells in the autoreloading magazine. On the other, it’s a cold-blooded Leopard that hits the enemy with powerful shots for 420 HP of damage. But all in all, the Lion is a combination of these gameplay styles. It adapts to the situation when hunting and makes optimal decisions based on its combat potential, which is truly impressive.

Get a limited-edition Tier X tank with a unique individual number, Commanders!

Watch the Brand-New Lion Hunt Prey Live

Don't miss out on the hype, Commanders!

Join TragicLoss, Keyhand, and Iksta on the official World of Tanks Twitch channels on Thursday, February 2; and Friday, February 3. See the Lion prowl around the battlefield and hunt unsuspecting prey, and pick up handy gameplay tips and tricks. See you there!

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