Teams all over Wargaming are keeping steady hands on the steering wheel for the release of Update 9.16. There’s a lot of cool stuff on the way, and we can't wait for you to all check it all out.
First, the technical stuff:
When work on 9.16 started, we combed forum threads and social media to see what feedback could be prioritized for our to-do list. During update testing, you shared with us an incredible amount of feedback, helping us fine-tune each and every new item on the list. As always, your efforts help make World of Tanks a better experience for everyone, and we’re extremely excited to share the result with you.
Here's one last rundown on the key features of the update.
We’ve been pretty preoccupied with fine-tuning the core of the game and fixing issues you were most vocal about, so the World of Tanks roster hasn't expanded much lately. But now it’s time to pile 'em in! This update brings the first Swedish tank, the Strv m/42-57 Alt A2. It’s also the game's first tier VI Premium medium tank with an autoloader.
The second big content addition is the "Paris" map. You enjoyed it in Rampage mode and wanted it for Random battles, so here it is, newly adjusted based on feedback.
We continue to enhance the UI by implementing the best features of popular mods, such as the two-level carousel allowing you to display more vehicles, and a battle UI that's more informative. In the latter, new indicators provide a fuller picture of what’s happening in battle: you can see how much damage you deal to enemy tanks with every shell fired, as well as how much damage you block and receive, and where it’s coming from. Damage indicators are also great for tracking your Personal Mission progress during a match. What’s great is that you can choose the features most relevant to you and switch off the ones that aren’t, right from the Settings panel.
No longer will you have to contact the Customer Service Center to reclaim previously sold Premium or rare tanks. You can get them (and Crewmembers) back with just a few clicks from the Garage.
Server code performance has been optimized considerably, reducing the time it takes to display spotted vehicles.
You've done it on the Web, and now you can pick up to 20 vehicles at a time and examine them within the game client. Compare different configurations, including the Crew training levels. And it's not just for tanks you own -- compare the details of any vehicle, any nation, of any type or tier.
At its core, World of Tanks is a game of skill and teamwork. However, this isn't always reflected when salty messages start showing up in Battle Chat. Many of you reported that negative chat is still a major issue, even with the ban system in place. Based on that, we made a few changes to Battle Chat designed to prevent toxic behavior, abusive language, and cheating. Cross-team chat in all battle types (except Team Training) is disabled, and you can instantly mute irritating players in your team chat.
Update 9.16 has 30 more redrawn minimaps: Cliff, El Halluf, Ensk, Erlenberg, Fisherman's Bay, Kharkov, Lakeville, Malinovka, Arctic Region, Murovanka, Prokhorovka, Swamp, Paris, Widepark, and Westfield.
We made it easier to check the progress of missions, including Personal Missions. Not only can full mission info be brought up in the Garage, but you can also get notified about completing them, or one of their conditions, within battle. Also, navigation options were expanded so that you can browse the list of missions for a selected vehicle, arranged by type -- you can pick a tank and get a full breakdown of ongoing and completed missions. Related to all this is another requested feature: a separate carousel for your awards.
Notifications are now arranged in three groups: general notifications, invitations, and specials, making it easier to keep track of and browse the latest announcements.
Along with working on 9.16, we've been keeping an eye on your feedback for new features and improvements you’d like to see. Rest assured we're always gunning to bring more of them to you in future updates.
The World of Tanks Team