The first 12 months of anything, whether it’s a game, business, even a child, are usually some of the most exciting and demanding. You get used to your environment, figure out what works best, maybe whack your head on a table—it’s a learning process. And World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition had a lot of fun bringing thrilling tank combat to Xbox players across the world, introducing some cool features, tweaks and exclusive content.
Let’s look through our rose-tinted periscopes and see where we’ve been.
Sending in Reinforcements
Over the year there’s been some cool updates for World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition—12 since launch, with a total of 23 maps and 184 tanks. We’ve seen the introduction of Crew systems, maps like Abbey, Redshire, Siegfried Line (plus loads more), Platoons, Operations, and Ribbons.
There were three new nations added. The UK saw Artillery and Tank Destroyers; French tanks like the FCM 50 t and the Bat.-Châtillon 25 t joined the fray; and Soviet Artillery and Heavy tanks rolled out for commanders to take full advantage of.
Through these updates, we’ve helped refine gameplay and tailor players’ experiences by listening to the community. Creating a steady stream of great content has a lot of advantages for players; it allows you to get used to tanks, new maps and their tweaks, and figure out what fits your play style. A gauntleted approach to content also helps the player base as a whole to get the best out of what’s on offer and polish tanks thanks to seeing how people utilize their favorites.
Storm’s on the Horizon
The crunch of tank tracks over freshly driven snow; the constant pelt of rain against your turret; the glint of an enemy tank’s hull alerting you to their position—it’s a dynamic we sometimes don’t get the full benefit of until we’re right there playing the game.
With the introduction of the weather variant system, players had the chance to tailor their warfare fix on every map, whether they wanted to roll out in the rain, snow, or at night. The update back in May mixed up play, meaning that adapting to your environment was key. You need the right camo, have to keep your eyes sharp at night, and be wary of treacherous ground. And then there’s the enemy to worry about.
Tanks Are People Too
Each tank is like a person, except that it’s several dozen tons, made of metal, and has a crew of around five bundled inside—tanks have personalities is what we’re trying to say. This means that each nationality needs its own feel and play style, as well as an evolutionally line where you can feel the progression.
Take the French tank line for instance. When you start off, the vehicles are quite slow and lumbering. Then when you reach tier 5 or 6 they are a lot quicker, have auto-loaders, and can reign a lot of hurt on your opponent while losing out on armor.
The collaboration with FURY was another great highlight. To make the tank as close to reality required a lot of work because of the sheer amount of stuff on the vehicle, from accessories to swiveling turrets. While a regular tank may have 4–5 animated parts, the FURY tank boasted more than 10.
Marks of Excellence
Sometimes, when you accomplish a great act of skill, it’s nice to have a visual reminder, an online trophy case that you can reminisce about the time you turned an enemy into scrap after some snappy exchanges over voice chat. This is where Ribbons come in.
Ribbons allowed players to track their battlefield mastery in real time, right as the fray rages and you’re furiously trying to reload. They’re a symbol of merit that earned you XP when you performed actions in battle. With this, players are able to track what they do well, what it earns them, and how they can keep racking up that battle XP.
You could gain accolades from spotting enemy vehicles, inflicting critical damage, scoring base capture points, and loads more.
Exclusive Cache
There’s nothing like being in an exclusive club and grabbing some loot, and World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition was no different.
The T26E4 Freedom: Pure America distilled in tank form. Its fuel is patriotism. You could get your hands on the tank in the Star Spangled-Banner Package, which came with 30 Days of Premium and the Bald Eagle endorsed Brothers in Arms perk. This tank was only available for a limited time only to celebrate American Independence Day, July 4.
To intimidate your enemy, we introduced the M4A2E4 Ripper; this tank ran on nightmare fuel, ate turrets for a mid-morning snack, and had the Deadeye perk—The Chieftain even had something to say about the ripper.
If Frankenstein’s monster was a tank, it’d be the Soviet T34-88. A medium tank with a German gun that’s able to add both German and Soviet crews! Also, you don’t have to worry about an angry mob hounding you down the street shouting hurtful things because you’re a tank, and tanks don’t have feelings.
Players who fancied a getaway to a serene and relaxing locale were not in luck when the “Pacific Island” map washed up on the shore. The map, a deadly slice of Pacific beauty, offered commanders a vast range of gameplay choices and opportunities for strategic chaos. The only type of shells you’d find on this level were artillery shells.
It’s been a great ride over these 12 months and we’re looking forward to bring players more content and surprises over the coming year, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled!
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