The Update 1.20.1 Common Test Has Begun!

Recon Mission: Random Events and Dynamic Cover

We've already given you a sneak preview of the brand-new random events and dynamic cover mechanics in February’s Roadmap Highlights. They have sparked a keen interest in the community and will be part of the Recon Mission mode. We're now ready to introduce them to the Common Test, so join it to be among the first Commanders to experience battles with these mechanics!

You can access the Recon Mission mode featuring random events and dynamic cover via the mode selector.

You can test four maps: Safe Haven, Himmelsdorf, Ruinberg, and Prokhorovka. The feature consists of two parts—random events and dynamic cover—each of which has its own unique mechanics and will allow you to enjoy a new gameplay experience.

Random Events

This is a new type of activity during which various events take place on the battlefield. They occur at a specific time and in a specific area allocated for this.

Depending on the map, such events may be, for example, the crashing of a ship or zeppelin or the arrival of a train. There may be one or several random events in one battle.

Each random event changes the environment around the players, as well as the combat situation on the battlefield. For example, if a plane crashes into a building, debris can block a passage; on the other hand, it might provide additional cover for your vehicle. This may allow you to unexpectedly break into the rear of the enemy team or more successfully deter the attacks of your opponents.

Check out the random events that take place on each of the four maps below.

Safe Haven
Ruinberg
Prokhorovka
Himmelsdorf

Safe Haven

Ruinberg

Prokhorovka

Himmelsdorf

Safe Haven

Ruinberg

Prokhorovka

Himmelsdorf

Safe Haven

1 / 4

Ruinberg

1 / 4

Prokhorovka

1 / 4

Himmelsdorf

1 / 4

Recon Missions with random events and dynamic cover will take place in May, so don't miss your opportunity to experience this mode! During the Common Test period, we’re also trying a new questionnaire system to collect feedback. This is an initial technical test, which means answers will not be processed. There is no need to complete the questionnaire, but you can leave your feedback and impressions on all official World of Tanks platforms, including the forum, Discord, and social networks.

Random events and dynamic cover are brand-new features with unique mechanics and complex settings. During the Common Test, they will undergo preliminary technical stability testing in Recon Mission.

Please note that random events may affect the performance of your devices as they include stunning visual effects. Players with low-spec CPUs and graphics cards may experience some stability and performance issues (including FPS drops) when random events occur.

On low-spec devices, random events may be reproduced with loss of visual quality. They will be played in their entirety in terms of gameplay, but their individual visual effects may not be displayed in full quality.

Some settings and various characteristics (e.g., random event timings, areas, etc.) that are relevant for the Common Test may change after the Common Test.

We’re still working on night battles and dynamic water behavior, so these features will be available for testing at a later date.

Random events and dynamic cover are exciting and spectacular features that bring a fresh twist to familiar gameplay. They open up new tactical opportunities that can shift the tide of any battle. Join the Common Test and help us improve these promising mechanics!

Reworked Crew Perk System

We are continuing to work on a comprehensive rework of crews in World of Tanks. In Update 1.18.1, the Sixth Sense perk became a special Commander feature, which was the first step in implementing changes to the crew concept. Since then, we've been gradually moving forward, selecting and improving some of the ideas shown on the Sandbox server in 2021 that received positive feedback from you. And now, we're ready to share with you the next big change: the reworked crew perk system.

In the new system, all perks become available immediately once you start training them. At first, their effect will be less noticeable, but the more you train the perk, the more its mastery increases. Additionally, the major qualification level now affects almost all perks (excluding Brothers in Arms)—the higher it is, the stronger the perk effect.

We’ve also updated many of the existing perks. Some of them have been improved; others have received new features that will make them more effective. We’ve also added nine new perks. For example, Quick Aiming improves aiming time by 2.5% when fully trained, and Close Combat accelerates gun loading time by 2.5% at distances of 50 meters or less from the enemy when fully trained.

There will be 33 perks in total, and each crew member will have six perks available, regardless of their major qualification. Check it out!

Interactive image. Click through the tabs to view the crew perks available in-game. The effectiveness values are given for perks trained to 100%.
New perk. Reworked perk.

COMMANDER

DRIVER

GUNNER

LOADER

RADIO OPERATOR

commander

Recon

Increases view range by 2%. If the observation devices are damaged, the effect will increase up to 20%.

Mentor

Increases the XP earned by all crew members by 15%.

Eagle Eye

Perk with a situational effect

Increases the chance of damaging enemy modules or injuring enemy crew members by 5% for all shell types. Allows the crew to identify critically damaged modules on targeted vehicles with a 0.5 s delay.

Jack of All Trades

Reduces the chance of a Commander injury by 30%. Enables the Commander to replace knocked-out members with 50% effectiveness.

Sound Detection

Perk with a situational effect

Issues an alert about enemy SPG fire with a 0.1 s delay and determines the direction of the shot. Decreases the negative stun effect by 5%.

Practicality

Decreases consumable cooldown time by 15%.

driver

Clutch Braking

Increases hull traverse speed by 5%.

Off-Road Driving

Reduces speed loss by 10% when driving on soft terrain and by 2.5% when driving on moderately soft terrain.

Smooth Ride

Improves accuracy when firing on the move by 4%.

Controlled Impact

Increases ramming damage to enemy vehicles by 15%, and decreases ramming damage to your vehicle by 15%. Decreases ramming damage to your suspension by 15%.

Preventative Maintenance

Reduces the chance of critical damage to fuel tanks by 15% and the chance of engine fire by 30%.

Engineer

Increases engine power by 5%, adding 1 km/h of maximum speed to both top forward and reverse speeds.

gunner

Armorer

Decreases potential damage and penetration dispersion to ±20% and reduces the penalty to the accuracy of a damaged gun by 50%

Deadeye

Increases the chance of critically damaging enemy vehicle modules and injuring enemy crew members by 10%. Effective with all shell types.

Snap Shot

Reduces the dispersion on turret traverse by 15%.

Designated Target

Increases the time before the enemy vehicle is no longer visible outside the gunner's viewing by 2 s.

Concentration

Perk with a situational effect

Reduces the dispersion of a stationary vehicle by 2.5%.

Quick Aiming

Improves aiming time by 2.5%.

loader

Safe Stowage

Increases ammo rack durability by 25%.

Intuition

Increases the speed of changing shell types in a loaded gun by 60%.

Adrenaline Rush

Perk with a situational effect

Accelerates gun loading by 10% if the vehicle has under 10% of its hit points left.

Guerrilla

Decreases the penalty to vehicle concealment after a shot by 10%, and increases its concealment behind vegetation by 2%.

Close Combat

Perk with a situational effect

Accelerates gun loading by 2.5% at distances of 50 meters or less from the enemy.

Shell Tuning

Increases the minimum damage and armor penetration values by 2%.

radio operator

Situational Awareness

Increases the view range by 3%.

Comms Expert

Perk with a situational effect

Improves the major qualifications of all crew members by 2.5% if the amount of assisted damage exceeds the standard durability of your vehicle. Increases radio signal range by 20%.

Teamwork

Perk with a situational effect

Increases the signal range of allied vehicles within the range of your radio by 10% . If the distance to an ally is 50 meters or less, the major qualifications of all your crew members increase by 5%.

Call for Vengeance

Perk with a situational effect

Reduces the chance of Radio Operator injury by 30%, and reports enemy positions for another 4 s after your vehicle has been destroyed.

Jamming

Reduces the time your vehicle is visible to the enemy by 1 s.

Firefighting

Accelerates firefighting by 80%.

GROUP PERKS

Brothers in Arms

Improves the major qualifications of the entire crew by 5%.

Concealment

Increases vehicle concealment by 80%.

Repairs

Increases the repair speed of damaged modules by 80%.

By combining the updated perks with the new ones, you can experiment more freely with your crews, adjusting them to suit your playstyle for each vehicle. To make it easier for you to navigate the whole variety of perks, they will be conditionally divided into the following three categories:

Group perks that several crew members can have
Individual perks that are available only to a crew member of a specific major qualification
Perks with situational effects, which are triggered when certain conditions are met on the battlefield—special notifications will be displayed in the game interface when these perks take effect during battle, which you can enable/disable in the game settings

Interface and Other Improvements

We’ve also redesigned crew interfaces by making them clearer and more informative. For example, the effects of all perks will now be displayed in the vehicle characteristics widget in the Garage. On top of that, we've added helpful new tooltips and perk descriptions.

Last but not least, upon logging in to the game, you will instantly receive 12 Retraining Orders, allowing you to reset perks for free.

In the future, other improvements to the crew concept will follow. Join the Common Test, experiment with different perk combinations, and build dream crews for your favorite vehicles!

Japanese Tank Destroyers Are About to Join the Game!

The new sub-branch consists of six researchable TDs from Tier V through Tier X. Research for these new Japanese vehicles starts from the Tier IV Type 1 Chi-He.

All Japanese tank destroyers have medium frontal armor and high-caliber navy guns that have great penetration values with their standard AP shells. The damage per shot is also impressive. Despite their large dimensions, these TDs are very maneuverable and can turn quickly on the spot. However, formidable firepower and solid frontal armor are counterbalanced by their medium speed, poor concealment values, and mediocre gun depression angles.

Due to the low concealment, you won't be able to fire without being spotted. But your enemies should be hiding from you, not the other way round! In most combat situations, these vehicles will play the role of powerful support vehicles, assisting heavy tanks on the front line or from the second line of fire.

Branch Composition

The sub-branch kicks off with the Ho-Ni III at Tier V and continues with the Type 95 Ji-Ro at Tier VI. Both vehicles have the hallmarks of the new lineup and feature strong frontal armor and menacing guns.

Ho-Ni III

1 / 13

Type 95 Ji-Ro

1 / 13

Chi-To SP

1 / 15

Ho-Ri 2

1 / 16

Ho-Ri 1

1 / 16

Ho-Ri 3

1 / 15

We'll share more details about the Japanese tank destroyers and their gameplay in an upcoming dedicated article. In the meantime, join the Common Test and take these slow but sturdy vehicles for a spin!

Onslaught Returns!

Onslaught, our competitive mode, returns to the game with the newest Season of the Crimson Griffin! It features a series of improvements based on your feedback from the debut Season and offers up a bunch of exclusive customization items that we’ve added to the reward pool.

We want to add more variety in vehicle choices in Onslaught. To achieve this goal, we're reworking vehicle Role Skills in the mode. Check it out below:

All vehicle Role Skills are now easier to charge.
Skill cooldown time has been greatly reduced.
Some Role Skills are now available from the very start of the battle.
Some Role Skills have changed how they work in principle (e.g., Inspire affects all allied vehicles on the battlefield).

Given the increased effectiveness of vehicle Role Skills in battle, we want to test special combat modifiers that will be added to Onslaught during the Common Test period. They will allow us to keep up the pace of battles and make them even more thrilling.

These are the new combat modifiers:

Increase HP pools of all vehicles eligible for Onslaught by 25%.
Reduce the cooldown of consumables from 90 seconds to 45 seconds.

Combat modifiers that will be tested during the Common Test, together with reworked vehicle Role Skills, will add variety and excitement to the Onslaught gameplay. They will allow you to try out more different tactics and maneuvers.

Additionally, the Season of the Crimson Griffin features the following:

A reworked progression system that, instead of a progression for a certain number of victories, will now be a system with a set of consecutive weekly combat missions with useful in-game rewards
Two new maps available in the Onslaught mode: Glacier and Airfield
Cool progressive 2D style and other brand-new customization items in stunning crimson tones

If you enjoy these changes and find combat modifiers useful, they will be included in the next Season of Onslaught. Join the Common Test and share your feedback on these additions!

WoT Plus

In Update 1.20.1, we’ll introduce a special monthly subscription: WoT Plus. It will provide you with new opportunities and unique bonuses that will make your gameplay experience more comfortable.

After activating WoT Plus, you will get instant access to the following benefits for a whole month:

Gold Reserve. All players with active WoT Plus subscriptions can earn up to 500 per week. It will be accumulated in a special vault that will open once per week.
Extra excluded map. All WoT Plus subscribers will have one more slot for map exclusion. If you play with WoT Premium Account, you’ll be able to exclude a total of three maps. Play on the maps you enjoy the most!
Free equipment demounting. You can demount equipment of any type for free (including improved equipment but excluding Experimental Equipment at Upgrade Levels II and III).
Intensive Crew Regimen. You can select a vehicle whose crew members will each passively receive additional Crew XP, regardless of whether you are offline, in battle, or just in the Garage. No cooldown is applied when changing the vehicle whose crew receives the bonus.
Exclusive rental vehicle. After activating WoT Plus, you’ll instantly find in your Garage the unique TS-54, a Premium American heavy tank featuring a double-barrel gun! This powerful vehicle will remain on your account as long as WoT Plus is active. Another cool feature of the TS-54 is that the tank can accommodate any American crew members, no matter which vehicle type they come from, so long as their major qualifications match.

We plan to further develop the subscription based on your feedback and needs. Join the Common Test to test-drive the brand-new TS-54 and try out other WoT Plus bonuses!

Battle Pass Collection

The Battle Pass Collection brings together certain Base and Improved Rewards (e.g., crew members, progressive and 2D styles, and decals) that you get as you advance through the Season’s Progression. To assemble the Collection, complete Battle Pass in the usual manner—you will get all the elements automatically.

Assembling the current Season’s Collection will earn you extra Battle Pass Tokens (up to three per Season). You will also be able to unlock the backstories of the Season's heroes.

If you don't manage to complete the Collection in the current Season, you will be able to do so in the following Seasons by purchasing the missing elements with Battle Pass Points. However, you will only receive Tokens for the current active Season.

Slots in the Garage for Credits

Good news for those who want to save up some gold and spend it on other in-game items! Starting with Update 1.20.1, you’ll be able to purchase new slots in the Garage with credits. Instead of 300, you will need to spend 250,000 to purchase a slot. Once purchased, Garage slots cannot be sold.

Join the Common Test and share 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 March 13, 22:59 CET 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?

Patch Notes

Expand

Main Changes

New Branch of Japanese Tank Destroyers

Six new tank destroyers (from Tier V to Tier X) have been added:

Tier V — Type 3 Ho-Ni III
Tier VI — Type 95 Ji-Ro
Tier VII — Chi-To SP
Tier VIII — Ho-Ri 2
Tier IX — Ho-Ri 1
Tier Х — Ho-Ri 3

Skills and Perks

New perks have been added:

The effects of existing perks have been updated and enhanced.

The number of perks available for each major qualification is the same.

All skills are now called perks.

All perks come into effect from the start of training (at 1%). The effect increases with perk level.

Major qualification levels now affect all perks (excluding Brothers in Arms)—the higher the level, the stronger the perk effect.

If two crew members have the same perk, the one with the higher level will take effect.

Perks lose effect when the corresponding crew member is injured.

Perks are conditionally divided into the following three categories: group perks, individual perks, and perks with situational effects.

The Brothers in Arms perk no longer requires all crew members to have it fully trained.

Firefighting is no longer a group perk. If this perk has been trained by any crew member other than the Radio Operator, the player will be given the option to select a different perk.

There will no longer be an XP penalty when a player finishes a battle with injured crew members.

Garage:

All players will receive 12 Retraining Orders, allowing them to reset and redistribute perks for free.
Tooltips for perks have been made clearer and more informative. The tooltips displayed upon pressing Alt have been redesigned.
The effects of all perks will now be displayed in the vehicle characteristics widget in the Garage.
We have updated the design and information in the tooltips displayed when hovering over the vehicle parameters.
The formula used to calculate average damage and average damage per minute has been changed to account for the potential impact of the new perks. The current values of these characteristics have not changed.
The exact values of the bonus to perks from crew directives are now displayed.

Battle:

The situational perk panel has been added the battle interface. Notifications can be enabled/disabled in the game settings.
The notifications for situational skills work both in the Spectator Mode and when watching replays.

Warm-Up

The special Warm-Up mode has been added for testing by Supertester player.

Back in Action

The alternative Back in Action progression has been introduced for all Common Test participants. It replaces the daily mission progression. During the tests, the progression speed will be several times faster than in the release version.

Recon Mission

The mode format has been updated. New mechanics have been added to the maps:

Random events: A new type of activity through which various events take place on the battlefield.
Dynamic cover: Interactive environment objects that can be moved, flipped, or used in battle to attack or defend.

Onslaught

The Season of the Crimson Griffin has been added.

The progression of 160 victories has been removed.

A system with a set of consecutive weekly combat missions has been added.

The following rental vehicles have been added: WZ-111 5A 7х7, E 50 Ausf. M 7х7, T110E4 7х7.

The Battle-Hardened combat modifier has been added, which increases the HP pools of vehicles and decreases the cooldown time of the consumables in the mode.

New content:

The progressive "Wing and Claw (Crimson)" style with a new set of decals, emblems, inscriptions, and camouflage patterns has been added.
The style can now be applied to any vehicle in your Garage.
The "Victories of the Crimson Griffin" Engravings for Dog Tags have been added.
The following Dog Tag Backgrounds have been added: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Champion, and Legend.
“The Last of the Griffins” stripe has been added.
The "Through the Thorns" and "To the Stars" badges have been added.
The Soaring Wings medal has been added.

Role Skills:

Vehicle Role Skills in the mode have been reworked.
The operation logic of some Role Skills has changed.
Some Role Skills are now available from the very start of the battle.

Other changes:

The Glacier and Airfield maps have been added.
The locations of the bases and Points of Interest on some maps have been changed.
We have removed the limits on the difference between the highest and lowest Rating Points value when creating Super Platoons.
Now Super Platoons will not be matched against Platoons and solo players.
We are removing the limits on the number of pings on the minimap for players in Super Platoons.
Solo and Platoon players will also receive an increased number of pings on the minimap.
The voice chat now preserves its state from the previous battle.

WoT Plus subscription

WoT Plus subscriptions are available to players for a limited time.

During the Common Test, the subscription can be purchased with gold. Later, the WoT Plus subscription will require a recurring payment using real money.

Subscribers have access to: the exclusive TS-54 vehicle, Gold Reserve, Intensive Crew Regimen, an additional excluded map, and free equipment demounting.

Collections

Battle Pass Collections: This is a new system of storing customization elements and crew members from the same theme.

The first Collection is devoted to Battle Pass Season X.

The Collections will be available the day after the start of the Common Test.

Changes have been made to the technical characteristics of the following vehicles:

U.S.S.R.

The damage models have been improved for the following vehicles: SU-5, Т-80

Germany

The damage models have been improved for the following vehicles: M48A2 Räumpanzer, Durchbruchswagen 2

The following vehicle has been added for testing by Supertest players: LKpz.70 K

U.S.A.

The damage models have been improved for the following vehicles: T6 Medium

The following vehicle has been added for testing by Supertest players: TS-60

U.K.

The damage models have been improved for the following vehicles: Centurion Mk. 5/1 RAAC

Poland

The following vehicle has been added for testing by Supertest players: 56TP

Fixed Issues and Improvements

Some UI changes have been made.

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