Why Are We Doing This Rebalance? A Retrospective View
In April 2017, we adjusted the artillery settings as part of Update 0.9.18. Since then, World of Tanks has changed significantly but SPGs as a class have remained largely untouched. We've added new branches of vehicles and new nations, and reworked elements of the matchmaker. Now we’re finally ready to take the next step and make some adjustments to this unique class. But first, let's look at how artillery has evolved in recent years.
One-shots, Platoons and Giant Damage
Those of you who played World of Tanks before Update 0.9.18 will remember the significant damage that artillery could cause, thanks to their high alpha. Shells struck you suddenly, and you didn’t have the opportunity to avoid them. This situation concerned the overwhelming majority of vehicles, no matter the armour thickness.
As a result, many players — especially those in heavies and vehicles with low speed — preferred not to take risks. Instead, they remained in locations guaranteed to be safe from artillery fire, which affected the battle dynamics. The probability of receiving high alpha damage didn’t encourage you to take active and useful actions. Plus, at that time arty had some other "charms" that seemed to add fuel to the fire. For example:
- Firing HEAT and AP shells resulted in huge damage, much more significant than the average damage of high explosive shells in the case of non-penetration
- No limit on the number of SPGs in one team. In some battles, more than half a team was made up of artillery
- The possibility of playing in Platoons consisting of two or three SPGs. Thanks to their coordinated work, such a Platoon could control the entire map, having too much influence over the outcome of local battles in different directions.
But also for those who played on SPGs, it was no picnic. The long reloading time (much longer than other tanks), low accuracy and high dispersion served as a kind of retribution for their excessively high combat effectiveness.
Update 0.9.18 and Its Solutions
Update 0.9.18 marked truly global changes for SPGs. In April 2017, we:
- Removed all shells other than HE from standard SPGs
- Significantly reduced the armor penetration and alpha damage of HE shells
- Imposed a limit of up to 3 SPGs per team and one SPG per Platoon
- Increased SPG accuracy and reduced their dispersion and aiming time.
In addition, in order to turn SPGs into effective team players, rather than individual machines, we introduced an entirely new stun mechanic. Now, tanks caught in the arty burst radius had their characteristics temporarily weakened. As a result, an arty’s successful actions on the allied team could bring invaluable benefits and turn the tide of battle.
Changes we made have had different effects on all SPGs, but in general the number of penetrations decreased significantly. During the rebalancing process we significantly reduced the nominal damage of HE shells and decreased the average damage caused by arty, both during the battle and with a single shot.
NOTE: As a result of all the changes, the full-damage penetration rate of all SPGs significantly decreased. For example, the Object 261’s full-damage penetration rate decreased sevenfold. In addition, Tier X SPGs began to cause 6% less damage per battle on average.
New Challenges
After Update 0.9.18, gameplay for SPGs changed and artillery became a more command-oriented class. The focus when playing SPGs changed from dealing high damage to a specific target to causing damage to a wider number of vehicles. The artillery began to pay more attention to the map sectors, where there were a lot of enemy tanks and where the allies most needed help.
However, the new stun mechanics brought up some new questions. As a result, you have given us feedback regarding the following points:
- Long stun time when under fire from several SPGs. Currently every new stun works independently from the previous one. As a result, players who find themselves under fire from several SPGs can get a massive extension of the stun effect, which is not limited in any way. Such a situation is especially inconvenient for heavies and other slow machines: due to the constant stuns, they are forced to stand still with reduced characteristics and remain inactive. As a result, these machines become an easy target for adversaries.
- The mechanics of getting a long stun even without taking damage. In situations where the SPG shell falls far from a tank and causes minimal damage, there comes a stun time, which in any case reduces the performance characteristics, regardless of the amount of the inflicted damage.
We want to change this situation. The most significant changes for the upcoming rebalance of artillery affect stun mechanics. Our main goal is to reduce the total stun time, especially after being hit by several SPGs in a row.
