Update 9.18 is already available for testing and brings many groundbreaking changes such as new Tier X light tanks, SPG rebalancing, reusable consumables (both premium and standard) and matchmaking!
SPGs has always been a fear factor for most of the players due to their massive damage per shot, able to shoot from across the map hidden from enemy fire, devastating enemy tanks with a single shot. This is about to change though as artillery players will see their damage being greatly reduced and playing more of a support role for their team with the new in update 9.18 stun effect. Armor piercing and HEAT shells will also be removed from SPGs lowering the chance of one-shot kills close to zero. The alternative aim (previously available only by using SPG assistant mod) has also been implemented!
Playing a light tank effectively has not been easy even for more experienced players as they would have to face opponents who are up to three tiers higher, due to the current matchmaking, carrying bigger guns and having big enough view range to spot them and prevent them from spotting enemy tanks for their own team.This is about to change in Update 9.18 because Tier X light tanks have been introduced into the game!
These are the five brand new Tier X light tanks.
- The French AMX 13 105
- The American XM551 Sheridan
- The U.S.S.R. T-100 LT
- The German Rheinmetall Panzerwagen
- The Chinese WZ-132-1
Apart from new tanks and SPG rebalancing, the Matchmaker was changed as well allowing no more than three tanks in the top-tier, no more than five tanks in the middle Tier, more vehicles in the middle Tier than in the top Tier and finally more tanks in the bottom Tier than in the middle Tier. Here’s what the dev team had to say about the new matchmaker:
“We’ll look into the option of balancing by all vehicles types at a later point. As of now, our main priority is fine-tuning the improved matchmaker. It’s a complex task, and we’d rather take it one step at a time: ensure that the new algorithm runs smoothly, and then proceed with refining it further.”
These are only some of the changes that we expect in the Update 9.18 in World of Tanks!
See you all on the battlefield!
They nerfed arty hard, and now they are nerfing it hard again, making it useless. This is why I quit playing the game a long time ago.
Nerfing artillery is a BAD move.
SPGs are supposed to be the heaviest guns of the game and their high damage offsets their lack of maneuverability, armor and hp, their inaccuracy and extremely high reloading times. Matches that were to be lost have been won because of skilled, patient (and lucky) SPG players.