Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
I'll revise my statement a bit.

Do they want you to spend money on the game? Absolutely. But after actually thinking about it and paying attention, Tier 7 is the first Tier (out of 10) where if you die and don't inflict any damage to another vehicle, you'll lose silver. The amount gets more substantial the higher tiers you go and at Tier 6 and below (if not using gold rounds) you'll always make money.

That said, I believe the hook to spend money is more about upgrading your tanks, and purchasing silver (credits) instead of grinding silver to acquire tanks. You can buy both gold and silver, gold can be converted to silver, and silver can be earned in game.

I don't believe the primary motivator behind loosing silver in a battle is them trying to get you to spend more, but it is about demanding a higher standard, the equivalent of an end game. Subsequently the player needs to be more careful how they conducts themselves. I see people all the time run out and kamikaze themselves. This won't cut it at the higher levels unless you don't mind loosing the silver. In a recent game I lost 8900 silver playing a Tier 7 Tiger P tank. For perspective, after acquiring a new tank, I've got about 1.6M silver in my account. And to show you how easy it can be to earn silver, I earned 68k silver after 3 battles in premium vehicles (ones that are purchased with real $).

Current Favorite Tank: U.S. Tier 7 T29. I usually do well in it.

t29_preview.jpg

P.S.- The game is in English. This was just the best T29 pic I could find online.
 
Last edited:

garnerx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2012
623
382
Started playing this a couple of weeks ago - it's ridiculously addictive. I like the mechanic of not having to see out a battle if you start losing. If you're up against a better team and you get killed early, you don't have the standard deathmatch thing of respawning and getting your ass kicked over and over. You just go back to the garage, pick another tank, join another battle.

Gold versus grind is a bit annoying, though. When I realised how long it would take to train the crew of just one tank, I ended up buying some gold and spending actual money to do it. You're looking at something like 200,000 exp to get to 100%. Some battles I get 250 exp, but if I die early it's 30 exp.

Also, I wish it wouldn't match you against higher ranked tanks. It seems to do a good job putting the same amount of tier 3, 4, 5 tanks in each battle, but if I'm the one in the tier 3 and I come up against a tier 5, I'm just cannon fodder. I can barely even scratch them.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
Started playing this a couple of weeks ago - it's ridiculously addictive. I like the mechanic of not having to see out a battle if you start losing. If you're up against a better team and you get killed early, you don't have the standard deathmatch thing of respawning and getting your ass kicked over and over. You just go back to the garage, pick another tank, join another battle.

Gold versus grind is a bit annoying, though. When I realised how long it would take to train the crew of just one tank, I ended up buying some gold and spending actual money to do it. You're looking at something like 200,000 exp to get to 100%. Some battles I get 250 exp, but if I die early it's 30 exp.

Also, I wish it wouldn't match you against higher ranked tanks. It seems to do a good job putting the same amount of tier 3, 4, 5 tanks in each battle, but if I'm the one in the tier 3 and I come up against a tier 5, I'm just cannon fodder. I can barely even scratch them.

One of my critiques of the game is how it awards certs, primarily based on damage dealt. So you don't get any credit for shots placed on enemys without damage (you should), and you don't get any credit for slowing down a group of tanks, such as a mountain pass, where you are one side and they are on the other. In the flow of the game, this can make the difference between loosing and winning especially when it comes to capping. For those unfamiliar- capping is when you hold possession of the enemies base, or if there is a single base, holding that base for a specific amount of time.

There are cases where the enemy team has been decimated, but no one was left guarding your base and a single enemy tank takes possession, while your entire team is on the other side of the map and everyone is too slow to make it back to kick them off before they cap and win the game.

In situations like you describe, (I guess you know this all ready) it's best to look for opportunities to gang up on a single or lesser number of tanks, ideally lower tier, or stick with a group to add to your side's numbers in a localized skirmish. And if you are a light tank, a scout, look for an opportunity to get through enemy lines and hunt down their artillery.

If this game floats your boat, it's best to pay for the premium subscription for the 50% increase in cert accumulation. If you play once a week, pay for premium by the day ($1). I'm currently on a 6 month subscription.
 
Last edited:

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
I updated the WoT Guide with this:

Can You Really Play for Free?
Yes you can, but unless you are a good player, "free" probably won't get you to the top tier tanks. Allow me to explain. Silver is required to function within the game. It is used for tank repair, the purchase of ammo, consumables, and other equipment. You can't play without silver! However, at low to mid levels, WOT is forgiving and offers fast XP and Silver accumulation, or better said, items don't cost as much, so good progress can be made without a subscription.

But this depends upon your effectiveness in battle. Credits received are based on a combination of damage dealt to other tanks, victory or defeat, and other factors. Those credits are used for tank repair and purchasing ammo for the next battle. Hopefully there is a growing amount being saved for the next tank purchase.

Once I got hooked on the game, I paid for a Premium Subscription (See the WOT Premium Subscription Section) which gives a 50% increase in XP (experience) and credits (silver). With a Premium Subscription, you can roar out of the gate, die immediately, and still make a small amount of money or break even in a Tier 6 Tank. If not paying for Premium, I imagine this applies up to Tier 5. So you can always play for free, but Premium or not, you'll reach a point where you can start loosing silver if you don't play smart and your progress to higher level tanks can come to screeching halt. And this is before considering the use of Gold Rounds. See the Premium Rounds Are Expensive Section.
 
Last edited:

garnerx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2012
623
382
It's crazy how it draws you in. I saw somebody dominating with a tier 3 premium tank destroyer the other day - he just obliterated the other team, got 7 kills and made it look easy. So I went online to find out what he was using, read a lot of stuff about how good that tank was, and ended up buying it for actual money (plus extra to train the crew, and a bit more for camo).

I didn't think I was susceptible to that sort of microtransaction thing. If I end up actually paying a subscription to play this supposedly free game, I'm doomed! Some of the better tanks cost more than a normal full-priced game.

The tank I bought cost me 1875 gold, including all the extras. It's so slow - about 3 mph up hills - and I get killed all the time. I'm glad I didn't go for one of the 12,000+ gold tanks.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
It's crazy how it draws you in. I saw somebody dominating with a tier 3 premium tank destroyer the other day - he just obliterated the other team, got 7 kills and made it look easy. So I went online to find out what he was using, read a lot of stuff about how good that tank was, and ended up buying it for actual money (plus extra to train the crew, and a bit more for camo).

I didn't think I was susceptible to that sort of microtransaction thing. If I end up actually paying a subscription to play this supposedly free game, I'm doomed! Some of the better tanks cost more than a normal full-priced game.

The tank I bought cost me 1875 gold, including all the extras. It's so slow - about 3 mph up hills - and I get killed all the time. I'm glad I didn't go for one of the 12,000+ gold tanks.

Was that the French Tier 3 FCM36 PaK40? Under the right circumstances, where you have the element of surprise, or can't be flanked, or have support from other tanks, they are daunting opponents. Especially when targets offer themselves right up to you. ;) Several TDs are tough to kill head on with the same Tier tanks. ATs come to mind.

WoT Premium Tanks
 

garnerx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2012
623
382
That's the one. I can do some big damage with it, but if I don't kill my target immediately then I'm too slow to get away and I'm a sitting duck for everyone else.

I like that the crew are all called chefs, though.
 

BoxBrownie

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2013
23
0
Any ideas if this game will be available on Mac in the future? Are they at least considering it? I'd love to give it a go but my MacBook is the only computer I have.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
Any ideas if this game will be available on Mac in the future? Are they at least considering it? I'd love to give it a go but my MacBook is the only computer I have.

No idea, and no idea what version MacBook you have. Things may have changed since I last purchased a MacBook for my wife (2010), but usually the limitation are the integrated graphics, although they are getting better. And if you are on the edge, my guess is that even if a Mac port becomes available, you'd get better performance using bootcamp and windows.

This 3rd party page shows WoT system requirements and the author reports on different configurations he tried. For my MBP (see signature for specs), using Bootcamp, I'm getting in the range of 50-100 fps, so I would describe my MBP as very capable. Note, I have a 1GB video card in it.
 
Last edited:

BoxBrownie

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2013
23
0
Thanks for the help, I'll give it a go using Wineskins hopefully that will work. I have the 2012 MacBook 13" it's alright with games I run WoW on it no problem on medium graphics. Hopefully it works and I'll see you guys on there :)
 

ArthurWellsley

macrumors member
Feb 9, 2011
40
5
London
Current Favorite Tank: U.S. Tier 7 T29. I usually do well in it.

If you like the T29, then buy the premium T34, it plays in a similar style but just more so. The other day I made 105,000 silver credits in a single game in my T34 firing non-premium ammo.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
Current Favorite Tank: U.S. Tier 7 T29. I usually do well in it.

If you like the T29, then buy the premium T34, it plays in a similar style but just more so. The other day I made 105,000 silver credits in a single game in my T34 firing non-premium ammo.

I do have a T34. :D I recently earned enough credits in my T29 to research the T32. The T32 costs 2.6M (silver) and of last night I have about 1.6M in credits.

For those not familiar, the T34 can be purchased for $50 USD, but the T29 and T32 must be earned in-game. Whatever you do, don't walk into this game and buy a T34 up front. It's highly advised you work your way up to at least Tier 5s before considering this kind of a purchase. But there are less expensive Premium vehicles available for lower tiers. If purchasing $30 in gold (that amount) $1 USD= approx 216 gold, so a Tier 5 RAM II costs 1750 gold, about $8 USD.

When I finally get it outfitted, I believe the IS3, Tier 8 Russia will be a great tank, a tremendous top end gun and a sleek shell deflecting profile. :)

232px-Wot_IS-3_render.jpg

IS3

is3gc_3.jpg


I believe that owning 2-4 premium vehicles makes your WoT silver earning life a lot easier, especially when you get to the mid range tiers. However the shocker, I've spent about $150 in Premium Tanks- Lowe, T34, T14, and Super Pershing. I rationalize this by saying this is what I spent on WoW for 1 year through subscriptions. Now that I have both the Lowe and T34, they are both good tanks. The Lowe is a better sniper, the T34 is a better brawler, appears to be able to take more of a beating. In contrast to the IS3, that's what bugs me about the Lowe, a big bulbous, shell attracting profile.

lowe9.jpg

Lowe

In the spirit of maintaining a mostly free gaming environment, I also believe that if not impatient, at a slower rate, a player can support silver accumulation (future tank purchases) by owning a stable of about 20 (regular) tanks and earning the 2x first battle bonuses frequently. The sweet spot for earning silver is the Tier 5-7 range or any Premium vehicle at any Tier. This would require garage purchases, but a lot cheaper than Tier 8 Premium Tank purchases. Now that I have reached the Tier 7-8 level, I am no longer in a rush to move up higher. And I don't use Premium ammo, which makes a difference, but can't say if the tradeoff in silver expense is worth it.
 
Last edited:

garnerx

macrumors 6502a
Nov 9, 2012
623
382
Was that the French Tier 3 FCM36 PaK40? Under the right circumstances, where you have the element of surprise, or can't be flanked, or have support from other tanks, they are daunting opponents. Especially when targets offer themselves right up to you. ;) Several TDs are tough to kill head on with the same Tier tanks. ATs come to mind.

WoT Premium Tanks

That FCM36 I mentioned before - I love it! It completely transformed the game for me. Took a bit of getting used to (I went about 10 battles without a win) but now it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Bought the camo net and binoculars for it.

If the map is right (I still don't like the urban ones) I can get a good vantage point and wait for my team to light up the enemy. Then it's all like - Boom! You're done! Just got 8 kills in one match, which is my best ever.

If you like the sound of hiding in a bush and raining down stealthy oblivion with a giant cannon, this tank is money well spent.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
That FCM36 I mentioned before - I love it! It completely transformed the game for me. Took a bit of getting used to (I went about 10 battles without a win) but now it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Bought the camo net and binoculars for it.

If the map is right (I still don't like the urban ones) I can get a good vantage point and wait for my team to light up the enemy. Then it's all like - Boom! You're done! Just got 8 kills in one match, which is my best ever.

If you like the sound of hiding in a bush and raining down stealthy oblivion with a giant cannon, this tank is money well spent.

Glad to hear! :) I know players who excel in sniping with a tank destroyer, they know the right bush on every map and frequently kick butt. My experience with them has been hit and miss. Sometimes I have outstanding games in them, more times no, but the key is to find the right place for consistent ambushes or to operate with support.

You probably know this but you never want to be out in an open space by yourself. Once discovered it's too easy to be tracked, flanked, and killed, which is standard procedure if you are fighting one. I killed an AT15 the other day by exactly doing that. He came for me, I was willing to take one hit as I tracked him (disabled his track), then circled behind him, making a T so he could not back up after he repaired, and then shot him in the back of his turret until dead. The slow ones like the ATs are very vulnerable if caught like this.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
I believe the WoT 8.6 patch is dropping today. Both the web site and game servers are down.

I'm fearful that they have nerfed Heat shells as a means of motivating players to pay for Premium Rounds. Right now, when a regular armor piercing (AP) shell does no damage to an adversary, I switch to Heat which does have an effect. Maybe this fear is unfounded.

Tankers!
Today we're peeling back the curtain on some of the major changes coming in the 8.6 Update, shared to us by Michael Jivetc, Producer on World of Tanks. Read below for more information.

Changes to Gun Accuracy

In our opinion this is one of the most significant changes that we are bringing to the game since 0.8.0.
For those who might be interested, here's the statistical theory behind the mechanic. In game, we currently use the normal (Gauss) distribution to calculate the values for shot dispersion. However, a limit for shot distribution has to exist, so all extreme values are restricted to the edge of the aiming circle. In simple terms, the limits for the most inaccurate gun would still be the limits of the aiming circle.
Currently, in Version 8.5, we have a 1.3 sigma set as a limit. This means that approximately 19.4% of shots will land at the edge of the aiming circle. There were good reasons which this limit was chosen back in 2010, but the game has developed since then and we are ready to move on.
For the 8.6 Update, we have decided to change the distribution model used for accuracy calculations, by increasing the limit to 2-sigma. This means that now only 4.6% of shots will land at the edge of the aiming circle. That’s nearly 4 times less than under the old model!
We have also decided that the spike on the edge of distribution is no longer required, so the landing points for shells will be distributed equally from the center to the edge of the aiming circle. This means that overall there will be much fewer shots landing directly on the limit of the aiming circle. In other words, the shots will be more evenly distributed throughout the aiming circle.

How Will it Affect the Gameplay?

It means that the accuracy of all guns will greatly increase. Players will notice much fewer shells falling on the edge of aiming circle; in fact such shots will become incredibly rare. We are decreasing the influence of random factors in-game, which means a corresponding increase in the value of player skill.
These changes will apply to all tanks and tank destroyers in the game. We have decided not to apply these accuracy changes to SPGs as it could potentially damage gameplay too much. The change will be compensated for by a slight increase in shell dispersion. If you've already seen leaked information about the 0.8.6 Update SPG characteristics, please do not worry. It's not a nerf, just measures to avoid "over-buff." The overall accuracy of SPGs will be pretty much the same, just more predictable.

New Mechanics for HEAT Shells

Currently, the way the mechanics work means that the effect of HEAT shells is barely different to normal Armor-Piercing shells. To increase the difference between them, and also to decrease the influence of HEAT shells on gameplay, we have decided to change their mechanics in the 8.6 Update to make them more realistic:


HEAT shells will start to ricochet if the impact angle is greater than 80 degrees. Please note that every shell can have slightly different settings. The armor penetration after ricochet will remain the same.
After penetration, a HEAT shell cannot ricochet inside the tank as the shell is transformed into a continuous stream.
After penetration, the HEAT shell will lose 5% of armor penetration force for each 10cm of travelling distance
After penetration, the force with which the HEAT shell continues to travel through the armor will take into account the angle of impact between the armor and penetration spot.


Overall, these changes mean that HEAT shells will now have ricochets instead of penetrations with 0 damage and less armor penetration values when it meets spaced armor (Maus drivers will love this change). Also of note, the tracks of a vehicle will also count as spaced armor for HEAT shells.

New Mechanics for Camouflage

Currently, camouflage patterns and camouflage net values work as multipliers in the overall camouflage calculation formula. So if the base camouflage values for a particular tank are low, the provided advantage from the both devices will also be close to zero.
We have decided to change this. From now on, the values for vehicles and camo devices will be cumulative. This means that now the camouflage net and camouflage pattern will provide fixed bonuses which will only differ based on the class of the vehicle. For example, TD's will receive the highest bonus.
To avoid side-effects with having nearly invisible TD's, it was decided to decrease the overall camouflage bonuses provided by bushes and fallen trees.
Changes to Credits and Experience Received in Battles

Currently TDs and SPGs receive penalties on the amount of experience points they receive per battle. TDs currently receive 33% less XP, while SPGs receive 50% less than regular tanks.

In the 8.6 Update, we will remove these penalties. This means that TDs and SPGs will receive much more XP per battle.
We will also add an assistance bonus for keeping enemies tracked. If you track an enemy and your allies then damage it or even destroy it, you will receive a bonus in credits and XP. The mechanics will be similar to the way the bonus for spotting currently works.
 
Last edited:

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
So far I am unhappy with the 8.6 patch. What is bugging the hell out of me is the nerfing of the heat rounds. I am in silver accumulation mode, and when I'm in an IS3 (T8) with T10's running around, I'm just another pretty but ineffective face, where I used to have an effect. I don't feel like dropping 60k on bullets and I won't. This is a turn off for me as I feel that the move makes the game more difficult at higher levels. It also might be my imagination, but when playing my T8, that repair costs are higher. I thought this new economy was supposed to ease repair costs? Consequently, I feel myself pulling away from it. That could always change. ;)

What they really need is multiple servers, the hard server and the casual server for wimps like myself. :p
 

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,033
8,404
New Hampshire, USA
So far I am unhappy with the 8.6 patch. What is bugging the hell out of me is the nerfing of the heat rounds. I am in silver accumulation mode, and when I'm in an IS3 (T8) with T10's running around, I'm just another pretty but ineffective face, where I used to have an effect. I don't feel like dropping 60k on bullets and I won't. This is a turn off for me as I feel that the move makes the game more difficult at higher levels. It also might be my imagination, but when playing my T8, that repair costs are higher. I thought this new economy was supposed to ease repair costs? Consequently, I feel myself pulling away from it. That could always change. ;)

What they really need is multiple servers, the hard server and the casual server for wimps like myself. :p

Just stick with the low level tanks. The battles sound more enjoyable.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
To my amazement, this game plays great in Parallels 8 with my mac pro and gtx680.

I too would like to know what performance you are getting.

Has anyone else tried it on other Mac hardware using Parrallels Desktop 8? If so, please state the performance you are getting with it.
Thanks!
 

costabunny

macrumors 68020
May 15, 2008
2,466
71
Weymouth, UK
I will be putting Fuzion on the iMac later and shall post an update.

(its a top spec iMac tho - i7, 32GB and 2GB 680MX)

I've finally persuaded macman to let me 'soil' his mac with windows lol
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,483
26,600
The Misty Mountains
I will be putting Fuzion on the iMac later and shall post an update.

(its a top spec iMac tho - i7, 32GB and 2GB 680MX)

I've finally persuaded macman to let me 'soil' his mac with windows lol

Would appreciate it. :)

Just updated the World of Tanks guide with the following:
*29July- Added blurb about running the game on Parallels 8 under the Play It On Your Mac section. Added blurb about Tank Categories and Tiers under The Basics section. Added Buying Gold And Silver section and tweaked the entire Money In A Free Game section.

The 8.7 Update is now live with a bunch of new British Artillery and a new reportedly large map: Severogorsk.
 
Last edited:

sbarton

macrumors 6502
May 4, 2001
263
65
I'm getting 40+ FPS at 2550x1440 with all High settings. There are a couple of maps that are FPS killers that I'm waiting to get picked so I can see what they do to performance. I have a bootcamp drive (SSD) that I'm using with Parallels 8 that has Windows 8 64bit on it. It's pretty cool that I can use the bootcamp drive as the VM - no more installing software into 2 places.

MacPro 3.3 Hex Core, 16gb RAM, gtx680 mac edition (slightly over clocked).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.