An honest review

SamMarquez · January 2013

I just got done testing the game fairly extensively (as far as is possible in just over 1,000 battles) and have come away with mixed feelings on this title. I managed to grind four tank lines to tier 5, which seems to be the first "non-newbie" tier.

It has a lot of good things going for it.

What's good:

Free to play
Lots of tanks that (as much as is reasonable) are historically accurate
Lots of room for progression
Solid graphics
Beautiful maps
Engaging gameplay
Interesting tactical and strategic elements

So let's go over the good things first. Being free to play is always good IMO, as that puts the option of when, where, and how to spend money in the hands of the customer. With plenty of tanks to choose from, you shouldn't get bored easily. There are currently five different nations' tanks represented: USA, UK, Germany, USSR, and France. Chinese tanks are coming soon, probably in a patch this year. Besides the UK, all nations currently have medium tanks, heavy tanks, light tanks, tank destroyers, and SPGs (Self Propelled Guns, aka. artillery). Most tanks are different enough from each other to warrant distinctly unique play styles. The tanks are arranged in tech trees, arranged in tiers 1-10, starting with weak tanks of course and progressing to newer stronger tanks. The graphics, while not the best in the business perhaps, are still excellent. The maps are different enough to keep gameplay from getting too stale. And for the gameplay itself, it offers lots of room for tactics and strategy to have a significant impact.

There's more that could be elaborated on here, and has been in many other reviews. For the sake of keeping it brief I'll move on.

Unfortunately, next we get to

What's bad:

The new player experience
The matchmaker
It's pay2win
Artillery
Not enough individual impact

Many of these things tie into each other, and you can't explain one without explaining the rest. Before explaining how and why the new player experience is bad, I must explain how the matchmaker is bad, and how the game is pay2win.

Let's start with the matchmaker. As I stated above, tanks are split into tiers 1-10. Now, you would think the purpose for splitting tanks into tiers is so players can play against other players at their own level of advancement. Unfortuantely that turns out not to be the case, as the matchmaker pits tanks up to two tiers apart against each other. Tanks are generally balanced against other tanks of their own tier, and there is a significant power gap even from one tier to another. Jumping two tiers is a huge power gap. To give you an idea, think of tiers as a PvP bracket in WoW: tier 1 would be level 10-19, tier two 20-29, etc. So you get the equivalent of getting thrown into a 30-39 PvP mach as a level 10. You can do a little, but not much. I'm told the power gap between tiers diminishes at higher tiers, but at tier 5 my tanks were still vastly outclassed by tier 7 tanks. This is the main reason why the new player experience is bad. Not only are you facing players with vastly more experience and resources, you are also facing tanks that simply outclass yours to the point that as a new player, you will be nearly 100% ineffective against them. At tier 1, most of your matches will be only other tier 1 tanks, some with a few tier 2 tanks. At tier two it's about half and half. At tier 3 and above, most of your matches will have higher tier tanks.

So, how is the game pay2win? Glad you asked. It's all about armor and penetration. To put it simply, to do damage to a tank, your shots fired must penetrate its armor. All tanks have varying amounts of armor on front, sides, and rear, with separate values for the turret and hull. (American tanks generally have more turret armor and less hull armor.) All guns have varying penetration values, which can be altered by using different types of ammunition. Most guns can use three types of ammunition, some can only use two. The default type on most guns is the basic AP (Armor-Piercing) round. Most guns can also use HE (High-Explosive) rounds that have less penetration but deal more damage. ALL guns can use premium rounds. There are a couple different types of premium rounds that I won't go into detail on, because they all do the same thing: they greatly increase penetration, while doing roughly the same damage (sometimes slightly more, sometimes slightly less). The game was balanced around the standard AP rounds. With these rounds, most guns will easily penetrate the armor on most light tanks, tank destroyers, and artillery of their own tier. They will be somewhat less successful against medium tanks, and to penetrate heavy tanks you have to aim at one of several weak spots on your target tank's armor. If you're a good player, you can avoid some potentially penetrating shots by positioning your tank in such a way that the armor is angled so your opponent's shots bounce off and have no chance of penetrating. Then we get to the premium ammunition. These shells, as I stated previously, all have vastly better penetration (usually anywhere from 25%-100% better penetration than standard AP rounds). These are an absolute must-have if you want to have any real chance of consistently penetrating a heavy tank two tiers above you. They are also extremely useful against heavy tanks of the same tier. And they are extremely useful for any tank on which you have as yet been unable to upgrade the gun. If everyone were using only standard AP rounds, it would be a non-issue as everyone would be playing the game as it was originally designed. However, no one of even above-average skill using standard AP rounds can consistently defeat players using premium rounds. Most of your AP rounds will deal little or no damage, while the premium rounds (given merely average player skill) will deal damage on virtually every shot. Originally, these shells could only be purchased with cash-shop currency. Recently they changed it so you can now also purchase them with in-game currency. "But wait," you say "doesn't that make it not pay2win?" Nope. Why not? Because they cost far too much in-game currency for the average player to afford, certainly at least until you've got thousands of battles (hundreds of hours) under your belt, and have a good high-tier money-making tank. And even then, it will keep your bank account drained. Unless, of course, you buy a high-tier premium tank with cash-shop currency. These tanks generate enough in-game currency to fund the use of premium shells. All this is doubly bad for new players who are faced with the largest power gap between tiers, the largest player-skill differential, and no resources (other than perhaps real money) to do anything about it.

So next we get to artillery. Most of the top players in the game (spend a few hours perusing the forums to see) take issue with the artillery. It's so bad that most of the top players will not use tier 10 tanks in random battles due to the artillery. To understand why it's so bad, you need to understand how the artillery works. Most tanks have a sniper mode (hold left shift by default) that zooms in a bit, making it easier to aim. Artillery gets a birds-eye view instead, allowing the player to see any of the map in top-down view. Any tanks that are currently visible from being spotted by teammates can easily be fired upon from safe distance, provided they are not directly behind some tall cover blocking artillery shots. Some maps have virtually no such cover at all. This is a far cry from realistic artillery, which was entirely dependent on communication from the front lines to find targets, direct fire, and confirm hits or misses. For being able to shoot great distances while being safely hidden, artillery does far too much damage with too much accuracy. This, in turn, removes lots of tactical and strategic options as tanks must constantly fear artillery shots.

So what do I mean by "not enough individual impact". The game is team-dependent. TOO team-dependent. Even the most of the best players have only enough impact to win 60% of their games or less. Less than 1% have enough impact to win up to 65% of their games. And less than .1% have enough impat to win more than 65%. This would not be such an issue if the game used an ELO system, or if players could form larger groups. As it stands, free players can only team up with one other player, and premium players with two others. As teams have 15 players, that leaves the outcome of most matches largely up to the luck of the random matchmaker, even for good players.

I wish I had more good to say about the game. Sadly, out of the 1,000+ battles I participated in, very few were actually enjoyable, due to poor matchmaking and from players using cashshop equipment.

MMOGamer71 · January 2013

Pretty good read OP. I have some minor diagreements but otherwise well done.

SamMarquez · January 2013

Originally posted by MMOGamer71
Pretty good read OP. I have some minor diagreements but otherwise well done.

Thanks. I wanted to like the game. I really did. But in the end, I just couldn't quite. If they improved the matchmaker and did away with premium shells, it would be so much better.

Oh yeah, love your sig.

MMOGamer71 · January 2013

Originally posted by SamMarquez
Originally posted by MMOGamer71
Pretty good read OP. I have some minor diagreements but otherwise well done.

Thanks. I wanted to like the game. I really did. But in the end, I just couldn't quite. If they improved the matchmaker and did away with premium shells, it would be so much better.

Oh yeah, love your sig.

Going along with your orginal post, did you see this?

http://worldoftanks.com/en/treads/treads-threads-campaign

They have to bribe players to play "end game" tanks.

Scarfe · January 2013

Yup, good read and agree with much of it. Strangely I find the most fun I have in game is in the Tier 1 and 2 battles, which fortunately is a cheap way to play.

SamMarquez · January 2013

Originally posted by Scarfe
Yup, good read and agree with much of it. Strangely I find the most fun I have in game is in the Tier 1 and 2 battles, which fortunately is a cheap way to play.

Actually I would have to agree with that as well. I kept pushing hard through the tank tiers hoping it would get more fun at higher tiers (also I get bored just playing the same stuff over and over) but it never did. If anything it just got less and less fun. I think tier 3 and 4 were worst though, but by tier 5 I just simply had enough and had to call it quits.

ReesRacer · January 2013

@SamMarquez...

i always appreciate well-reasoned , thoughtful posts...especially in a game where i spend a lot of time. i don't want to write a dissertation refuting many of your negative observations, because your feelings about any game experience (or anything in life) are completely valid. i'll just touch on a couple of things in your bullet points:

What's bad:

The new player experience - has been improved dramatically in over the last 2+ years. the tutorial is actually better than many games that toss you to the wolves without explanation. the tier 1-2 battles (as you observed) are mostly populated by new players.
The matchmaker - again, matchmaking spread used to be 3 tiers, but was changed to 2 several months ago. the reason for this is to both insure the queues for battle do not take minutes, and lends itself to indirectly teaching better strategy for the players at the bottom of matches. remember that teams ARE balanced (e.g. never all teir 10's against tier 8's). there will always be a tank of nearly equal capability on the other team. and remember, too...the next match you are just as likely to be at the top!
It's pay2win - i refuse to get into a semantics discussion over P2W, except to say that any free player can play normal tier 5 tanks (the credit grinders) and afford to put a few rounds of premium ammo in every tank. even so, this ammo is still rarely used in public matches, and once you learn where the weak spots are on even the best tanks in the game, is almost completely unecessary. these rounds are still mostly used in Clan Wars (tournament play.
Artillery - a very recent patch reduced to number of artillery pieces per match. also, learning to play artillery is very helpful in knowing how to avoid it. also, your assertion that some maps have no cover is incorrect. EVERY map has a place to hide...if that's the style of play you'd prefer. regardless, artillery balances the game, despite the fact that many players don't like it. i am a very agressive player and rarely die from artillery shells.
Not enough individual impact - i've earned dozens of "Top Gun" medals, which means i killed at least 6 of 15 enemy tanks in a match (i am just slightly "above average"). this is not the only way to contribute however, as scouting, defence, and capping the base (among other tactics) earns experience for your tank/crew. this is a TEAM game, after all. this seems to be an agument of taste rather than one of mechanics. if you want individual accolades, play CoD, or Skyrim, or another game. there are many ways to measure your success in WoT other than win %.

the developers are constantly pushing out patches both for content and balance, and many of the issues you address continue to improve. like most F2P games, there will come a time when you will hit a progression wall (of sorts), and while never impossible to get the best tanks in the game whilst never spending a penny, premium account players (~$10/month) will find it a much smoother ride, so to speak. an additional one-time expenditure on a tier 8 premium tank doesn't hurt either. if you like the game enough, spending money on it does not seem unreasonable.

again, i appreciate your "honest review", but several of your complaints are purely personal in nature, and are entirely too subjective. i am sorry you did not enjoy the game as much as millions (yes millions) worldwide do, and i wish you well in your next adventure

SamMarquez · January 2013

Originally posted by 9reesracer9
@SamMarquez...

i always appreciate well-reasoned , thoughtful posts...especially in a game where i spend a lot of time. i don't want to write a dissertation refuting many of your negative observations, because your feelings about any game experience (or anything in life) are completely valid. i'll just touch on a couple of things in your bullet points:

What's bad:

The new player experience - has been improved dramatically in over the last 2+ years. the tutorial is actually better than many games that toss you to the wolves without explanation. the tier 1-2 battles (as you observed) are mostly populated by new players.

The matchmaker - again, matchmaking spread used to be 3 tiers, but was changed to 2 several months ago. the reason for this is to both insure the queues for battle do not take minutes, and lends itself to indirectly teaching better strategy for the players at the bottom of matches. remember that teams ARE balanced (e.g. never all teir 10's against tier 8's). there will always be a tank of nearly equal capability on the other team. and remember, too...the next match you are just as likely to be at the top!

It's pay2win - i refuse to get into a semantics discussion over P2W, except to say that any free player can play normal tier 5 tanks (the credit grinders) and afford to put a few rounds of premium ammo in every tank. even so, this ammo is still rarely used in public matches, and once you learn where the weak spots are on even the best tanks in the game, is almost completely unecessary. these rounds are still mostly used in Clan Wars (tournament play.

Artillery - a very recent patch reduced to number of artillery pieces per match. also, learning to play artillery is very helpful in knowing how to avoid it. also, your assertion that some maps have no cover is incorrect. EVERY map has a place to hide...if that's the style of play you'd prefer. regardless, artillery balances the game, despite the fact that many players don't like it. i am a very agressive player and rarely die from artillery shells.

Not enough individual impact - i've earned dozens of "Top Gun" medals, which means i killed at least 6 of 15 enemy tanks in a match (i am just slightly "above average"). this is not the only way to contribute however, as scouting, defence, and capping the base (among other tactics) earns experience for your tank/crew. this is a TEAM game, after all. this seems to be an agument of taste rather than one of mechanics. if you want individual accolades, play CoD, or Skyrim, or another game. there are many ways to measure your success in WoT other than win %.

the developers are constantly pushing out patches both for content and balance, and many of the issues you address continue to improve. like most F2P games, there will come a time when you will hit a progression wall (of sorts), and while never impossible to get the best tanks in the game whilst never spending a penny, premium account players (~$10/month) will find it a much smoother ride, so to speak. an additional one-time expenditure on a tier 8 premium tank doesn't hurt either. if you like the game enough, spending money on it does not seem unreasonable.

again, i appreciate your "honest review", but several of your complaints are purely personal in nature, and are entirely too subjective. i am sorry you did not enjoy the game as much as millions (yes millions) worldwide do, and i wish you well in your next adventure

I'm not going to argue anything here. I am well aware of the current state of the game - I only quit playing about a week ago. I'm not surprised you would consider my complaints subjective, as you are still playing the game. Suffice it to say, my viewpoint here is about as unbiased as any you'll find. I have nothing vested in wanting the game to succeed, nor in wanting the game to fail. I went into the game expecting to enjoy it. Unfortunately it disappointed. Step back for a minute, gain some perspective and compare it with other games and you will see what I mean, if you allow yourself to.

MMOGamer71 · January 2013

Originally posted by 9reesracer9
@SamMarquez...

i always appreciate well-reasoned , thoughtful posts...especially in a game where i spend a lot of time. i don't want to write a dissertation refuting many of your negative observations, because your feelings about any game experience (or anything in life) are completely valid. i'll just touch on a couple of things in your bullet points:

What's bad:

The new player experience - has been improved dramatically in over the last 2+ years. the tutorial is actually better than many games that toss you to the wolves without explanation. the tier 1-2 battles (as you observed) are mostly populated by new players.

The matchmaker - again, matchmaking spread used to be 3 tiers, but was changed to 2 several months ago. the reason for this is to both insure the queues for battle do not take minutes, and lends itself to indirectly teaching better strategy for the players at the bottom of matches. remember that teams ARE balanced (e.g. never all teir 10's against tier 8's). there will always be a tank of nearly equal capability on the other team. and remember, too...the next match you are just as likely to be at the top!

It's pay2win - i refuse to get into a semantics discussion over P2W, except to say that any free player can play normal tier 5 tanks (the credit grinders) and afford to put a few rounds of premium ammo in every tank. even so, this ammo is still rarely used in public matches, and once you learn where the weak spots are on even the best tanks in the game, is almost completely unecessary. these rounds are still mostly used in Clan Wars (tournament play.

Artillery - a very recent patch reduced to number of artillery pieces per match. also, learning to play artillery is very helpful in knowing how to avoid it. also, your assertion that some maps have no cover is incorrect. EVERY map has a place to hide...if that's the style of play you'd prefer. regardless, artillery balances the game, despite the fact that many players don't like it. i am a very agressive player and rarely die from artillery shells.

Not enough individual impact - i've earned dozens of "Top Gun" medals, which means i killed at least 6 of 15 enemy tanks in a match (i am just slightly "above average"). this is not the only way to contribute however, as scouting, defence, and capping the base (among other tactics) earns experience for your tank/crew. this is a TEAM game, after all. this seems to be an agument of taste rather than one of mechanics. if you want individual accolades, play CoD, or Skyrim, or another game. there are many ways to measure your success in WoT other than win %.

the developers are constantly pushing out patches both for content and balance, and many of the issues you address continue to improve. like most F2P games, there will come a time when you will hit a progression wall (of sorts), and while never impossible to get the best tanks in the game whilst never spending a penny, premium account players (~$10/month) will find it a much smoother ride, so to speak. an additional one-time expenditure on a tier 8 premium tank doesn't hurt either. if you like the game enough, spending money on it does not seem unreasonable.

again, i appreciate your "honest review", but several of your complaints are purely personal in nature, and are entirely too subjective. i am sorry you did not enjoy the game as much as millions (yes millions) worldwide do, and i wish you well in your next adventure

What are you talking about?

1. The tutorial was removed many moons ago because it did not teach players anything. It was a gateway to a 100% crew and a free tank.

2 Tiers 1 and 2 are played because WG.net's free premium holiday tanks for the last 2 years have been Tier 2 and those Tiers are "fair" across the board (see Tier 5 Gold Derp with more DPM than Tier 8's) and are fun. Also players create ALT accounts to pad win rates, which is a violation that the developers do not enforce. See here where user Kilduda talks about his ALT on the Official forums getting an invite to run those lower tier battles:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/105079-platooning-lights-tier-2-or-tier-5-for-wins/page__pid__1991884#entry1991884

http://greedygoblin.blogspot.com/2012/04/secret-of-world-of-tanks.html

3. Matchmaker was changed due to the player outrage on the official forums not because WG.net wanted to and it is still broken. See both the NA server and EU server for MatchMaker issues.

4. P2W agreed.

5. Artillery is OP and unrealistic in gameplay mechanics. How this got past the design board is stunning. It's so bad that one of the NA server posters and top players GARBAD, starts his thread topics with "REMOVE_ARTY_FROM_THE_GAME"

6. Developers do not care about AFK and/or BOT players. See here where I track an AFK player through 8 battles without him doing 1 damage in his Tier 5 premium Churchill 3. I've reported the user twice. Also notice the topic was locked.

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/195566-wgnet-refuses-to-address-afkers/page__p__3421300#entry3421300

7. Playerbase? User and highly valued Official Forum contributor Snib collects "unofficial" monthly data snap shots that he posts:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/91764-unofficial-na-server-statistics/page__hl__ snib#top

All data below is only for the NA server.
Played accounts: 1 298 559 accounts have played at least one game, 26 870 more than last snapshot. That means nearly 58% of all accounts that were created have never been played.
Getting hooked: Of those that played at least one game, 38.01% never even played as many as ten games.

ReesRacer · January 2013

Originally posted by MMOGamer71
Originally posted by 9reesracer9
@SamMarquez...

i always appreciate well-reasoned , thoughtful posts...especially in a game where i spend a lot of time. i don't want to write a dissertation refuting many of your negative observations, because your feelings about any game experience (or anything in life) are completely valid. i'll just touch on a couple of things in your bullet points:

What's bad:

The new player experience - has been improved dramatically in over the last 2+ years. the tutorial is actually better than many games that toss you to the wolves without explanation. the tier 1-2 battles (as you observed) are mostly populated by new players.

The matchmaker - again, matchmaking spread used to be 3 tiers, but was changed to 2 several months ago. the reason for this is to both insure the queues for battle do not take minutes, and lends itself to indirectly teaching better strategy for the players at the bottom of matches. remember that teams ARE balanced (e.g. never all teir 10's against tier 8's). there will always be a tank of nearly equal capability on the other team. and remember, too...the next match you are just as likely to be at the top!

It's pay2win - i refuse to get into a semantics discussion over P2W, except to say that any free player can play normal tier 5 tanks (the credit grinders) and afford to put a few rounds of premium ammo in every tank. even so, this ammo is still rarely used in public matches, and once you learn where the weak spots are on even the best tanks in the game, is almost completely unecessary. these rounds are still mostly used in Clan Wars (tournament play.

Artillery - a very recent patch reduced to number of artillery pieces per match. also, learning to play artillery is very helpful in knowing how to avoid it. also, your assertion that some maps have no cover is incorrect. EVERY map has a place to hide...if that's the style of play you'd prefer. regardless, artillery balances the game, despite the fact that many players don't like it. i am a very agressive player and rarely die from artillery shells.

Not enough individual impact - i've earned dozens of "Top Gun" medals, which means i killed at least 6 of 15 enemy tanks in a match (i am just slightly "above average"). this is not the only way to contribute however, as scouting, defence, and capping the base (among other tactics) earns experience for your tank/crew. this is a TEAM game, after all. this seems to be an agument of taste rather than one of mechanics. if you want individual accolades, play CoD, or Skyrim, or another game. there are many ways to measure your success in WoT other than win %.

the developers are constantly pushing out patches both for content and balance, and many of the issues you address continue to improve. like most F2P games, there will come a time when you will hit a progression wall (of sorts), and while never impossible to get the best tanks in the game whilst never spending a penny, premium account players (~$10/month) will find it a much smoother ride, so to speak. an additional one-time expenditure on a tier 8 premium tank doesn't hurt either. if you like the game enough, spending money on it does not seem unreasonable.

again, i appreciate your "honest review", but several of your complaints are purely personal in nature, and are entirely too subjective. i am sorry you did not enjoy the game as much as millions (yes millions) worldwide do, and i wish you well in your next adventure

What are you talking about?

1. The tutorial was removed many moons ago because it did not teach players anything. It was a gateway to a 100% crew and a free tank. apologies for the error. i completed my tutorial ages ago, and it it still active on the SEA server, btw...there are, however, plenty of tutorials on YouTube, etc...

2 Tiers 1 and 2 are played because WG.net's free premium holiday tanks for the last 2 years have been Tier 2 and those Tiers are "fair" across the board (see Tier 5 Gold Derp with more DPM than Tier 8's) and are fun. Also players create ALT accounts to pad win rates, which is a violation that the developers do not enforce. See here where user Kilduda talks about his ALT on the Official forums getting an invite to run those lower tier battles: there is a forum post for every complaint in every game ever developed...most tier 1-2 matches are not filled with veterans...shame on you for claiming otherwise...

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/105079-platooning-lights-tier-2-or-tier-5-for-wins/page__pid__1991884#entry1991884

http://greedygoblin.blogspot.com/2012/04/secret-of-world-of-tanks.html

3. Matchmaker was changed due to the player outrage on the official forums not because WG.net wanted to and it is still broken. See both the NA server and EU server for MatchMaker issues. MM has issues, as always (i grant you), but balance is something EVERY game has, no matter how old, of new...it's improving all the time was the point...

4. P2W agreed. --again...not going to argue what or what is not P2W...that discussion belongs elsewhere...

5. Artillery is OP and unrealistic in gameplay mechanics. How this got past the design board is stunning. It's so bad that one of the NA server posters and top players GARBAD, starts his thread topics with "REMOVE_ARTY_FROM_THE_GAME" quoting the most famous attention-seeking narcissist on the NA server? no one LIKES arty (although essential for balance), but the game is not meant to be a realistic "sim"...seriously?...if you don't like the game mechanincs, don't play the game...

6. Developers do not care about AFK and/or BOT players. See here where I track an AFK player through 8 battles without him doing 1 damage in his Tier 5 premium Churchill 3. I've reported the user twice. Also notice the topic was locked. the incidents of AFK/botting are so low in the game that the fact you mention it means more about your desire to denigrate than be constructive...again, quote the forums all you like, because mast savvy players know better than to believe them.

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/195566-wgnet-refuses-to-address-afkers/page__p__3421300#entry3421300

<span lighter="" blend_links"="">

7. Playerbase? User and highly valued Official Forum contributor Snib collects "unofficial" monthly data snap shots that he posts:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/91764-unofficial-na-server-statistics/page__hl__ snib#top

All data below is only for the NA server.

Played accounts: 1 298 559 accounts have played at least one game, 26 870 more than last snapshot. That means nearly 58% of all accounts that were created have never been played.

Getting hooked: Of those that played at least one game, 38.01% never even played as many as ten games.

the NA server represents less than 5% of the WoT playerbase. find better statistics (for all your arguments, please) even so, the NA server usually has more than 20k players during prime-time, and 30k on weekends (just less than EVE Online's concurrent numbers worldwide). tossing out links to a lot of fan/hater forum posts and statistics taken out of context are not always as compelling as they seem. although, in keeping with a good spirit (i hope), i find your analysis and discussion worthwhile and i appreciate the time and effort taken to compile your post. cheers, mate!

MMOGamer71 · January 2013

Originally posted by 9reesracer9
Originally posted by MMOGamer71
Originally posted by 9reesracer9
@SamMarquez...

i always appreciate well-reasoned , thoughtful posts...especially in a game where i spend a lot of time. i don't want to write a dissertation refuting many of your negative observations, because your feelings about any game experience (or anything in life) are completely valid. i'll just touch on a couple of things in your bullet points:

What's bad:

The new player experience - has been improved dramatically in over the last 2+ years. the tutorial is actually better than many games that toss you to the wolves without explanation. the tier 1-2 battles (as you observed) are mostly populated by new players.

The matchmaker - again, matchmaking spread used to be 3 tiers, but was changed to 2 several months ago. the reason for this is to both insure the queues for battle do not take minutes, and lends itself to indirectly teaching better strategy for the players at the bottom of matches. remember that teams ARE balanced (e.g. never all teir 10's against tier 8's). there will always be a tank of nearly equal capability on the other team. and remember, too...the next match you are just as likely to be at the top!

It's pay2win - i refuse to get into a semantics discussion over P2W, except to say that any free player can play normal tier 5 tanks (the credit grinders) and afford to put a few rounds of premium ammo in every tank. even so, this ammo is still rarely used in public matches, and once you learn where the weak spots are on even the best tanks in the game, is almost completely unecessary. these rounds are still mostly used in Clan Wars (tournament play.

Artillery - a very recent patch reduced to number of artillery pieces per match. also, learning to play artillery is very helpful in knowing how to avoid it. also, your assertion that some maps have no cover is incorrect. EVERY map has a place to hide...if that's the style of play you'd prefer. regardless, artillery balances the game, despite the fact that many players don't like it. i am a very agressive player and rarely die from artillery shells.

Not enough individual impact - i've earned dozens of "Top Gun" medals, which means i killed at least 6 of 15 enemy tanks in a match (i am just slightly "above average"). this is not the only way to contribute however, as scouting, defence, and capping the base (among other tactics) earns experience for your tank/crew. this is a TEAM game, after all. this seems to be an agument of taste rather than one of mechanics. if you want individual accolades, play CoD, or Skyrim, or another game. there are many ways to measure your success in WoT other than win %.

the developers are constantly pushing out patches both for content and balance, and many of the issues you address continue to improve. like most F2P games, there will come a time when you will hit a progression wall (of sorts), and while never impossible to get the best tanks in the game whilst never spending a penny, premium account players (~$10/month) will find it a much smoother ride, so to speak. an additional one-time expenditure on a tier 8 premium tank doesn't hurt either. if you like the game enough, spending money on it does not seem unreasonable.

again, i appreciate your "honest review", but several of your complaints are purely personal in nature, and are entirely too subjective. i am sorry you did not enjoy the game as much as millions (yes millions) worldwide do, and i wish you well in your next adventure

What are you talking about?

1. The tutorial was removed many moons ago because it did not teach players anything. It was a gateway to a 100% crew and a free tank. apologies for the error. i completed my tutorial ages ago, and it it still active on the SEA server, btw...there are, however, plenty of tutorials on YouTube, etc...

2 Tiers 1 and 2 are played because WG.net's free premium holiday tanks for the last 2 years have been Tier 2 and those Tiers are "fair" across the board (see Tier 5 Gold Derp with more DPM than Tier 8's) and are fun. Also players create ALT accounts to pad win rates, which is a violation that the developers do not enforce. See here where user Kilduda talks about his ALT on the Official forums getting an invite to run those lower tier battles: there is a forum post for every complaint in every game ever developed...most tier 1-2 matches are not filled with veterans...shame on you for claiming otherwise...

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/105079-platooning-lights-tier-2-or-tier-5-for-wins/page__pid__1991884#entry1991884

http://greedygoblin.blogspot.com/2012/04/secret-of-world-of-tanks.html

3. Matchmaker was changed due to the player outrage on the official forums not because WG.net wanted to and it is still broken. See both the NA server and EU server for MatchMaker issues. MM has issues, as always (i grant you), but balance is something EVERY game has, no matter how old, of new...it's improving all the time was the point...

4. P2W agreed. --again...not going to argue what or what is not P2W...that discussion belongs elsewhere...

5. Artillery is OP and unrealistic in gameplay mechanics. How this got past the design board is stunning. It's so bad that one of the NA server posters and top players GARBAD, starts his thread topics with "REMOVE_ARTY_FROM_THE_GAME" quoting the most famous attention-seeking narcissist on the NA server? no one LIKES arty (although essential for balance), but the game is not meant to be a realistic "sim"...seriously?...if you don't like the game mechanincs, don't play the game...

6. Developers do not care about AFK and/or BOT players. See here where I track an AFK player through 8 battles without him doing 1 damage in his Tier 5 premium Churchill 3. I've reported the user twice. Also notice the topic was locked. the incidents of AFK/botting are so low in the game that the fact you mention it means more about your desire to denigrate than be constructive...again, quote the forums all you like, because mast savvy players know better than to believe them.

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/195566-wgnet-refuses-to-address-afkers/page__p__3421300#entry3421300

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7. Playerbase? User and highly valued Official Forum contributor Snib collects "unofficial" monthly data snap shots that he posts:

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/91764-unofficial-na-server-statistics/page__hl__ snib#top

All data below is only for the NA server.

Played accounts: 1 298 559 accounts have played at least one game, 26 870 more than last snapshot. That means nearly 58% of all accounts that were created have never been played.

Getting hooked: Of those that played at least one game, 38.01% never even played as many as ten games.

the NA server represents less than 5% of the WoT playerbase. find better statistics (for all your arguments, please) even so, the NA server usually has more than 20k players during prime-time, and 30k on weekends (just less than EVE Online's concurrent numbers worldwide). tossing out links to a lot of fan/hater forum posts and statistics taken out of context are not always as compelling as they seem. although, in keeping with a good spirit (i hope), i find your analysis and discussion worthwhile and i appreciate the time and effort taken to compile your post. cheers, mate!

So you dismiss evidence then to support your claims you present nothing but opinion?

NA is less than 5% of playerbase yes - yet the EU server with 150K on during peek times, which i play on also has an "official" Matchmaker thread which is no different than the NA server.

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/138691-official-matchmaking-feedback-thread/

Also SNIB who I referenced above with the NA stats is a EU player and received a battle exception from the developers to post on the NA server maintains stats on EU also.

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/65256-unofficial-eu-server-statistics/page__hl__ snib#top

Total accounts:

The EU server has 5.89 million accounts, 195k more than last snapshot.
The NA server has 3.07 million accounts, 60k more than last snapshot.

All data below is only for the EU server.
Played accounts: 3 084 681 accounts have played at least one game, 173 418 more than last snapshot. The ratio of unplayed accounts rises further to 47.66%.
Getting hooked: Of those that played at least one game, 29.8% never even played as many as ten games.

Combined the EU and NA roughly = the RU server.

Once again you add nothing to support your claims (opinion) and ignore the facts slaping you in the face while crying I'm throwing out links.

No need to respond as your are dishonest and incapable of any contructive thought with the evidence I presented all the while hiding behind "that's not a fact" and presenting ZERO anything to support your position.

ReesRacer · January 2013

@MMOGamer71

So you dismiss evidence then to support your claims you present nothing but opinion?

NA is less than 5% of playerbase yes - yet the EU server with 150K on during peek times, which i play on also has an "official" Matchmaker thread which is no different than the NA server.

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/138691-official-matchmaking-feedback-thread/

Also SNIB who I referenced above with the NA stats is a EU player and received a battle exception from the developers to post on the NA server maintains stats on EU also.

http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/65256-unofficial-eu-server-statistics/page__hl__ snib#top

Total accounts:

The EU server has 5.89 million accounts, 195k more than last snapshot.
The NA server has 3.07 million accounts, 60k more than last snapshot.

All data below is only for the EU server.
Played accounts: 3 084 681 accounts have played at least one game, 173 418 more than last snapshot. The ratio of unplayed accounts rises further to 47.66%.
Getting hooked: Of those that played at least one game, 29.8% never even played as many as ten games.

Combined the EU and NA roughly = the RU server.

Once again you add nothing to support your claims (opinion) and ignore the facts slaping you in the face while crying I'm throwing out links.

No need to respond as your are dishonest and incapable of any contructive thought with the evidence I presented all the while hiding behind "that's not a fact" and presenting ZERO anything to support your position.

i pulled the concurrent use numbers from here:

http://wiki.worldoftanks.com/Servers

i then did a little quick math with the calculator provided on every copy of Windows. i wanted merely to provide a counter-point to claims that might be taken out of context by readers perusing the WoT forums here for constructive and differing views of the game. i appreciate your use of opinion and quotes from others who have opinions. most are very subjective. there are ALWAYS two sides to every argument/discussion.

i often forget character assassination is the rule-of-thumb on MMORPG. why you felt you needed to resort to this is counter to the spirit of why i play games in the first place. i do hope you let the sunshine in and have a wonderful day!

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