[UPDATE] Update 1.21 Common Test: New Events and Improvements

UPDATED

We have updated the description of the specifics of calculating the WTR rating on the Common Test. The block below should be read as follows:

During the Common Test, you won't see your current WTR rating from the live server. This is due to the fact that the Common Test WTR is based on your overall previous Common Test performance. Therefore, it may differ noticeably from your WTR rating on the live server. Your battles on the Common Test server do not affect your current WTR rating.

Greetings, Commanders!

We're launching the first Common Test of Update 1.21, featuring a new interpretation of the Steel Hunter mode with friendlier and simpler rules. You can also explore a new Frontline desert map and experience other improvements to this epic mode. Additionally, we’ve redesigned the Service Record page in the Garage for a better visualization of your performance statistics and combat achievements. Let’s roll out!

Feature Availability During the Common Test

Feature Availability Period
Frontline 2023 From May 11, 2023, through May 13, 2023
Steel Hunter: Reborn From May 14, 2023, through May 17, 2023
Onslaught: Season of the Crimson Griffin From May 16, 2023, through May 17, 2023

 
 

Steel Hunter: Reborn

Our exciting battle royale mode returns with a revamped format and big gameplay changes, making it more enjoyable than ever!

Steel Hunter: Reborn is a new variation on the classic Steel Hunter but with friendlier rules. It features respawns, reworked vehicle balancing, and even situational AI-driven opponents. It is still competitive and even more dynamic, but it's easier to get involved and play—especially for newcomers. As for Steel Hunter veterans, they will surely notice fresh game mechanics and experience the standard rules from a different perspective. Let's dig deeper into the details.

Respawn Mechanics

Now you will have a second chance to take revenge on your opponents at an early stage of battle! When playing solo, you’ll be able to automatically respawn in a safe location after your vehicle’s destruction—but only during the first five minutes of the battle.

Platoon players will have two respawns per Platoon. You will be able to respawn next to your Platoonmate within the first eight minutes, but to do so, your ally must remain out of battle for 10 seconds.

When you respawn, the following happens:

  • You retain your vehicle tier.
  • You return to the game with the default set of shells and abilities, as at the start of the battle.
  • If you use up your respawn(s), you can get more when collecting Airdrop loot.

Marauders (AI-Driven Opponents)

Steel Hunter: Reborn features AI-driven enemy models called Marauders, which are weaker opponents than real players. They spawn at certain points on the map—destroy them to get additional Combat XP and loot, thereby boosting your progress in battle.

There will be three different types of Marauders that demonstrate individual behaviors and react differently to your presence, as follows:

  • Hares are small and dynamic vehicles that try to run away from you after being spotted.
  • Wolves are aggressive, versatile opponents that will attack you from a distance.
  • Bears are the most powerful enemies guarding the loot. They will engage you in close combat but will stop fighting when you move away from them.

Matchmaking Changes

In Steel Hunter, your experience and individual mastery have always been your main advantages. But in the battle royale format—where only the best wins—it may be challenging for new players to compete with more experienced Hunters.

To make the gameplay more enjoyable for both newcomers and veterans, we’ll implement new matchmaking rules that will take your performance in the mode into account and try to automatically find opponents close to your battle results.

Progression System

Steel Hunter: Reborn will have its own progression system with enjoyable in-game rewards. To get them all, you need to complete easy daily missions in the mode.

All rewards during the Common Test are not final and may not correspond to those that will be available when Steel Hunter: Reborn is released.

Vision System

The vision system that uses Vision Cones will be retired. Instead, Steel Hunter: Reborn will have a standard all-round vision system that works in Random Battles and other modes. It will help you better spot enemies and collect loot.

Other Gameplay and Balance Changes

  • We also reduced the gap in power between vehicle tiers. If you are playing in, for example, a Tier V vehicle and you are opposed by a Tier VII tank, you have a better chance of defeating it.
  • Now it's easier to cause damage in Steel Hunter. All special vehicles in the mode have less armor and fewer spaced screens, so you’ll have a better chance at penetrating your opponents. We’ve also increased shell velocity and implemented the lock-on (auto-aim) feature—which wheeled vehicles have—on all the mode’s special vehicles to make it easier to cause damage on the move.
  • Collecting loot is now faster. It will take you three seconds to collect standard loot and five seconds to grab Airdrops.
  • We decreased the cooldown time of the healing ability called Recovery. Now you can use it more frequently. Also, this ability will always be contained in every Consumables loot marked with green smoke.
  • The number of players in solo battles will decrease from 20 to 15. You can also enter battles as a two-player Platoon. There can be a maximum of 10 Platoons per battle.
  • We reduced reload time by 50% when upgrading your vehicle's gun, including autoloading ones.
  • Finally, all special vehicles will be available from the start, and there will not be any vehicles for rent.

Frontline 2023

In the first launch of Frontline 2023, you’ll be able to experience same-tier 30v30 battles on a brand-new desert map called Fata Morgana. This huge 3×3 km location will take you to the heated sands of Northern Africa.

Fata Morgana has a wide variety of landscapes: Here you will find a rocky canyon, the ruins of an ancient castle, shady caves, and lush oases. But the most spectacular parts of this sandy locale are a huge oil refinery and a coastal town with traditional architecture. Check it out!

Balance Improvements

In the upcoming Episode of Frontline, all players will get an additional 1.5% bonus to their crew major qualifications for each General they have in their team. The maximum number of Generals on a team for which you can get a bonus is limited to 10.

Combat Reserves now get new levels all together and simultaneously. You will upgrade them to Level II upon reaching the Captain rank and to Level III upon reaching the Major rank.

Field Repairs will restore all damaged modules upon activation.

Minefield will now have a three-second activation timer after being deployed. During this time, mines will not be active and won't cause damage to enemy vehicles.

We appreciate your participation in the Common Test. To thank you for your time and engagement, we'll credit the following useful rewards to your main account:

  • For 3 battles fought in Frontline: 100 
  • For 5 battles fought in Frontline: 100 + 1 Personal Reserve: +50% to credits for 1 hour
  • For 7 battles fought in Frontline: 100 + 3 Personal Reserves: +50% to credits for 1 hour + 3 days of WoT Premium Account

You can only receive all the above rewards once per account for all the Common Tests you participate in. Only battles in which you have reached the rank of Sergeant or above are counted. Rewards will be credited within seven days after the end of the final Common Test of Update 1.21.

Service Record Page Update

UPDATED

We have updated the description of the specifics of calculating the WTR rating on the Common Test. The block below should be read as follows:

During the Common Test, you won't see your current WTR rating from the live server. This is due to the fact that the Common Test WTR is based on your overall previous Common Test performance. Therefore, it may differ noticeably from your WTR rating on the live server. Your battles on the Common Test server do not affect your current WTR rating.

The Service Record page in the Garage in its current form has not changed for a long time. To update it and make it more informative and useful, we’ve redesigned its interfaces, added WTR, and implemented the ability to customize your combat achievements.

In addition to the familiar parameters, such as the total number of battles fought and average damage, now your main statistics page will display several new ones: maximum blocked damage, assistance and damage records, as well as the total number of vehicles destroyed. Take a look!

We’ve also replaced Personal Rating with WTR as a more representative system of the player’s actual performance and reworked its visuals. It will be divided into the following five groups:

Bronze
Silver
Gold
Ace
Legend

Each group consists of three mastery levels, meaning there will be 15 levels in total, each with its own unique visual style. A certain number of WTR points is required to achieve each level. Now you can also get a better idea of how many WTR points you need to earn to reach a new level.

Your current WTR rating visualization will directly depend on your results: The more effectively you perform in a battle, the higher your mastery level.

About the WTR Rating System

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WTR is a rating system that calculates an individual rating for each vehicle and then uses the particular vehicle's score to determine the player's general efficiency level. This rating responds flexibly to changes of combat strategy as it evaluates your stats against average indicators across the server.

When calculating the rating of a specific vehicle, the following key indicators may be considered:

  • Damage caused + assist damage
  • Damage blocked
  • Number of destroyed enemy vehicles
  • Survival rate
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The reworked Service Record page provides a better visualization of the WTR rating system and displays your performance progress in the game in a more understandable way. This will also make it easier for you to compare your own rating to other players’ ratings.

The dynamic WTR rating system changes according to your combat performance. That means that you can progress, but you can also lose points and roll back down.

You’ll also have the ability to customize your combat achievements on the main statistics page in a few clicks. Show off your favorite medals and other rare achievements that you are most proud of—and spark envy in other Commanders!

Battle Pass 2023: Season XI

Battle Pass and the Collection feature are available for preliminary testing. Rewards listed in the game client are not final and may not correspond to those in the final version of Battle Pass Season XI.

A new Season of Battle Pass will enter the live server soon, but before we roll it out for everyone, we're putting the next iteration to the test.

In Season XI, all Battle Pass core mechanics remain unchanged, but we’ve updated both Reward Tracks: Base Rewards will include pieces of Experimental Equipment, while Improved Rewards will contain gold.

As always, you’ll be able to earn Tokens, a special reward currency exclusive to Battle Pass. They accumulate over the course of the year from all the Seasons of Battle Pass you take part in throughout 2023. In Season XI, you can already earn enough Tokens to redeem rare Tier IX vehicles, including  IX BZ-58-2   and  IX KPz 3 Projekt 07 HK .

Join the Common Test and give your feedback, Commanders!

  • HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMON TEST
  • NEW TO TESTING?
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMON TEST

To take part, you'll need the Wargaming.net Game Center (WGC), the latest Common Test game client, and a Wargaming.net account created prior to the cut-off date (see below).

Eligibility

All Wargaming.net accounts created before May 4, 23:59 CEST can participate in the test.

Download and Install the Test Client

TEST CLIENT INSTALLER

  • Run the test client installer.
  • Choose a different installation folder from where your regular World of Tanks game files are.
  • Select the freshly installed test client from the dropdown menu at the top of the WGC.
  • Roll out—and remember to pass on your feedback!

You can find more details about the WGC in the dedicated Wargaming.net Game Center guide.

NEW TO TESTING?

Check out our handy public test guide with all the details about Common Tests, Sandbox Tests, and Supertests.

TEST GUIDE

Patch notes

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Main Changes

Frontline

The new Fata Morgana map has been added.

The General Rank Bonus mechanic has been added.

The upgrade system for Combat Reserves has been reworked.

Experimental Equipment has been added to the progression rewards.

The reduced cooldown time for Combat Reserves has been removed.

Some balance changes have been made to the Kraftwerk map to increase the victory rate of the attacking team.

Balance changes have been made to the Field Repairs and Minefield Combat Reserves.

The vehicle panel on the respawn screen has received a filter for rental and Premium vehicles.

A new access point to the mode has been added (banner in the Garage).

Some changes to the interface have been made, and system messages have been improved.

The performance of the mode has been improved.

Steel Hunter: Reborn

The Reborn mechanic has been added.

The Marauders (AI-controlled vehicles) have been added.

The number of players in the Solo mode has been changed from 20 to 15.

All vehicles in the mode become available from the start and without restrictions.

The matchmaker creates teams based on the skill of the players in the mode.

The visibility system has been changed from a cone to a circle.

A significant rebalance of the vehicles and Combat Abilities has been performed.

The loot composition has been changed and the loot collection time has been reduced. Consumables are now guaranteed to contain shells and a charge for Recovery, and also restore durability. Supplies contain a charge for a Repair Kit or one of the Combat Abilities.

The mode progression has been added. The rewards featured in the Common Test are subject to change after their release on the live servers.

The visual component (maps, Garage, vehicles, music) has been changed.

Service Record

The Service Record tab has been visually and functionally updated: the interface has been reworked and the functionality to edit the Valuable Awards panel has been added.

New indicators have been added to the main page of the tab: maximum damage blocked by armor, assistance damage, and total number of enemy vehicles destroyed, as well as average and record indicators. 

Personal Ratings have been replaced by the WTR system, which is divided into five groups: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Master, and Legend. Each group is made up of 3 skill-based levels (15 levels in total). Each level has its own unique visual style and requires a certain number of WTR points to be achieved.

Interface

Some elements of the game interface will be temporarily hidden for new players. These elements will gradually be added as new players progress in the game.

The functionality to visit the in-game Store has been added to the exterior menu.

Battle Pass, Summer Season 11

Added:

New customization and crew members

New rewards (gold, Experimental Equipment)

New Collection

The progressive styles featured in the Common Test for the last Season will be replaced when the Update is released on the live servers.

The progression is not available for last Season’s Collection due to the technical characteristics of the Common Test.

Vehicles

Germany

The following vehicle has been added for testing by Supertest players: Kampfpanzer 07 P(E)

U.K.

The following vehicle has been added for testing by Supertest players: GSOR 1010 FB

Fixed Issues and Improvements

The loading screen of the game client has been updated.

Fixed the issue of the view range circle being incorrectly displayed on the minimap. Now its radius corresponds to the current view range of the vehicle. 

Known Issues

Clan chat is disabled in CT1

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