Miss me?

It's been 21 days since I last posted something here, so here are a couple of things to set the scene during that absence. First, my job in the real world has picked up with activity, requiring me to be away from the computer a lot more. Secondly, I was just feeling burnt out from playing Armored Warfare and switched to another genre of games for rest and relaxation.

I have been involved with online combat games for quite a number of years now, starting with Battlefield 1942 and a few mods that were designed for it, way back in the day.

Then of course, there is World of Tanks....

....WarThunder (both Tanks and Planes, including the most recent and short lived Ships component)....

 ....World of Warplanes....

....and World of Warships. This list also includes other games I haven't even talked about, like America's Army, a few of the ARMA titles, Medal of Honor and so on.

Frankly, I have gotten a bit tired of shooting at people and stuff. While some games have offered that quick jump-in-shoot-and/or-blow-something-up action, others, most of (if not all) what I have listed above, are long, drawn out, grindfests.

So, I updated my Armored Warfare client and took a look around. For the most part, everything is the same as I last remembered it, even then, some changes I didn't fully explore during the last major update. However, on the surface, it seems to be business as usual.

I did notice the inclusion of decals from the last event, Panzer Showdown, just this last April.

So, after nearly a month of not playing, just how rusty would I have gotten? Well, I picked my premium tier VII Challenger 1 WOLF and rolled into a hard mission on Dire Wolf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOVONGQ2VPw

Just to let you know....

Update 0.15 brought the Chinese vehicles into the rotation for use by those pesky bots in PvE battles.

However, I think most people have already seen this for themselves now.

A Weekend bonus to share

Between Thursday, May 5th and Monday, May 9th, Armored Warfare is giving a 4X reputation bonus on the first victory for every vehicle you have. Read about it here https://aw.my.com/en/forum/showthread.php?73537-Victory-Weekend

New map, with surprising first time results

When it comes to playing games, there are two things that are the usual draw for me, what I can get to use and where I will use them. For Armored Warfare, draw one is the vehicles. From Main Battle Tanks to Armored Fighting Vehicles, I have tried the classes across the board, not necessarily up the tiers.

The original intent on purchasing the premium tier V WZ-1224 was to have a vehicle that fit my take-a-hit-and-keep-on-ticking playstyle in PvP. While that hasn't quite taken place as of yet, that is still my plan at some point.

Until then, I will use the PvE environment to train up the crew and become more familiar with how the WZ could work the best.

Which brings me to this, a new map called Meltdown with me, using a vehicle with less than a half dozen battles under my belt with. I knew that very first battle on it was a great game, but had no idea just how....see for yourself here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz2LteCn3nM

More from the new 0.15 update

With update 0.15 running actively on the Armored Warfare NA server, it was time to get some battles in and to take in some of the subtle to obvious changes that have taken place.

One of the things I noticed was the graphics during gameplay. From my perspective and comparing a few select screenshots to ones captured during 0.14, I do believe there have been some changes. I will put this into the "I like it" category.

The end battle report hasn't been drastically altered. All of the necessary information that I would be looking for is still there.

The little icons that denote the first battle bonuses have been replaced by a flag. However, hovering a mouse cursor over the vehicle of interest reveals they are still there, just on a new level.

A not so great battle in my tier VII T-80, however, I lived and my team won, so I will take it for what I got. Despite my less-than-stellar performance, I was able to collect on one of the new challenges....

....something I checked out before the first of this series of sorties. Not a new feature, I have seen this before in other games, but let's give it time to work out, or not, here.

However, it was the most epic game in my tier V premium WZ-1224, on the new map called Meltdown....Na, just wait for tomorrow for that one.

I will not be Frostbitten on Patchday

Well, the update is now live for Armored Warfare on the NA server and not without it's controversies. Read more about that and the notes here https://aw.my.com/en/forum/showthread.php?73068-Introducing-Update-0-15

Already, I noticed some of the changes that have been made, take the user interface in the garage, as an example. Is the new layout any better? Hard to say, time will show if it was well thought out and make sense, or not. Is it different? Yes, but not too radically so.

As I poke around some more, over the next couple of days, I will post my findings and feelings of the changes.

However, I did knockout my first battle of the new patch and was given I have never tasted victory on. I have played on Operation: Frostbite perhaps three times and every time, it has been a defeat. This time around, I was determined to make it work, no matter what team I got or how the enemy vehicles tried to stop me.

This is how it all turned out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxuKB4T4ahc

Finally, an upgrade and update!

It has been very slow going in my C1 Ariete from Armored Warfare. The tier VIII grind is long is both numbers and time, but I finally reached a major milestone.

Time to armor-up with some Applique!

Yes, come on, like there was any doubt this is the choice I want to make.

Seriously, let's go!

Well, it's on, however, it looks so....incomplete.

The grind continues....

....after the update.

Patton

It was the tapping on his right shoulder by his subordinate mechanic that alerted him to the new presence. Shawn McCaughey was so engrossed with getting a final torque on the loader side drive wheel, that she could have walked right in and stuck him with a knife and he never would have known what happened. As his eyes adjusted from the fine and detailed vision of close-up work, to the focus of seeing somebody from a slight distance, he made the quick and obvious mental note it was a woman.

As he pulled the oversized ratchet and socket, he handed it off to the very person who brought his attention to her, feeling confident the last of the ten nuts was within specs. He turned right on his heel and walked towards the African-American woman standing within the half open overhead door.

Shawn approached, extending his right hand, "Washington?" She accepted it, shook back firmly and picked up on the faded Scottish accent "I am," she quickly searched for the name, "McCaughey?" He nodded with a slight smile in return. Okay, they both knew who was supposed to be here and when. He spun on his right heel in a crisp move and was now standing shoulder to shoulder off her left side, both facing and taking in the view of the vehicle.

He asked, "Are you familiar with the Patton A3?" She replied with a nod, then said, "Tell me about this one." He cleared his throat, "This one was use in U.S. service until the mid 90's, sold to our friends in Egypt, where it endured many years of hard living in less than ideal and pristine conditions." He paused, watching her look the vehicle over, like she was window shopping for a nice dress, or something. He then continued, "My crew has spent the last week putting everything back into English and chasing out all the sand that was left in her."

Sabrina pulled a snap left turn and faced him, "What are your and your crew's qualifications?" He turned to his right just as smartly and said, "All of us are at least 63S level 3 minimum, Harris" he pointed to a red headed guy climbing out of the commander's hatch, "is our 45N." He gave her a second to take this in and began again, "You have a dedicated 44B, in Weber," waving his hand towards the metal fabrication noises coming from the back of the shop.

She nodded and stopped him, "Okay, I get the picture," she smiled, "Not your first rodeo." She was impressed with McCaughey, since he answered her using military occupational specialty codes that fit the vehicle's era, something she would get the immediate meaning from. He nodded back to her and with a slight southern drawl, "No ma'am." They exchanged smiles. He broke the good mood by saying, "Everything is nearly ready to go, a few final adjustments and checks and you will be good to roll," he paused, noticing an arched eyebrow, "Just top off the tank and slam the doors."

Sabrina had to ask, "Any chance of digging up technical specifications and other distributed materials for myself and my crew, " she watched his face, a smile of approval appeared. "Already on your seat, but have them back in two weeks," he added, "The library fines can be quite steep." They shared a laugh. She liked him, he was real and down to earth.

Just then, the sound of six marching feet on concrete intruded into the moment. Sabrina glanced to her left and saw her crew had arrived. Shawn picked up on the entrance and yelled out, "Wrap it up lads, move out." He took one step back, his right arm twitched from the programmed salute that wouldn't come, snapped a left turn and marched towards the vehicle that occupied the garage. 

Dominika walked up to Sabrina's left shoulder, Isabella covered off her right and Min-ji stood beside Izzy. Sabrina looked to her left and then to her right, saying something she heard from an old movie, "My friends, we've come home."

One of those last second things....

The habit I have gotten into, when deciding to make a video, is to select the vehicle I want to use, queue up and just when the screen switches over to the connecting part, I start to record. Except, when I use a replay, but that is a different story.

This time, something prompted me to begin recording, during the countdown screen. As you will see from the video, it was a dynamite battle, where everything seemed to click just right for me, F50ACE and our C1 Arietes. No VOIP or other third party communications program was used, either.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqJQg404N7s

My Top 3 List for Good Premiums

Before I go any further, I don't want this to be interpreted as an Armored Warfare buyer's guide of any kind, nor am I making any suggestions to purchase the following. This short list is based on my own experiences with these vehicles and could be chalked full of bias, since they either mesh well with my playstyle, or not.

#3 Tier V WZ-1224.

Despite the very short period of time owning this, coupled with a bad first battle to start things off with, I believe this could be my mid tier gem.

I resisted buying this vehicle for the longest time, for a few reasons. First, I collected a same tier Chieftain Mk VI, so I didn't think I would be needing another premium Main Battle Tank for tier V. However, as I mentioned elsewhere, the Chieftain doesn't do so well in my hands in the PvP environment, prompting me to find an alternative.

Secondly, when it was originally introduced, the enticement to purchase it then was to unlock Zhang Feng and his vehicle offerings. I choose the other approach and just ground out the necessary reputation to accomplish this, thanks to a secondary means.

It was a recent battle that I wrote about, coupled with a discount, that finally put one into my garage. Unlike my other premiums, this is a regularly available version, with a crew that starts from nothing, no bonuses in skills or anything else. So, all the pains of using a Chinese vehicle have to be worked out, like the slow traversing turret among other things. Once the crew gets trained up, this and the other annoyances should be taken care of.

The main selling point was that thick frontal armor, which fits into my playstyle of playing nearly invincible vehicles. I want to stress the word nearly here. More experienced players who have faced 1224's as opponents have learned where to shoot at, something I will have to be mindful of in the future.

It is currently available through the ingame Zhang Feng dealer for 1500 Gold (full price).

#2 Tier VI MBT-70 MERC.

The very first premium vehicle I purchased just barley made this list, a tough choice between it and the same tier Leopard 2AV ICE. The tipping point for the MBT-70 was....the armor. Despite what you might have read on the forums or heard from others, the armor on this machine still works very well.

While the Leopard ICE wins out with a faster reload and more accurate cannon, the MBT-70 is surprisingly nimble and when the gun is ready to fire, can deliver a knockout blow of epic visual proportions. The major frustration of this vehicle is the glacial reload, I have lost count on how many kills that got away while I was waiting.

I won't lie here, there were times where I doubted myself for purchasing this vehicle and even went a long stretch of time not even playing it. However, I came back to the MBT-70 and worked through it's shortcomings and adjusted my use of it, delivering some very satisfying results.

Although the MERC edition isn't currently available (it may come back in the future, either for purchase or part of a promotion of some kind), the MBT-70 can be picked up through the Sophie Wölfli dealer for 3250 Gold (full price).

#1 Tier VII Challenger 1 WOLF.

Anybody who has been reading my stuff for any length of time shouldn't be too surprised to see this vehicle here.

Honestly, I was back and forth on purchasing this for a long time. First, I would talk myself into it, thanks in part to the introduction of the same tier M1134 premium ATGM Tank Destroyer and reading the reviews/watching the videos on it. Then, I would talk myself out of it, since I found the package price a bit....steep.

The pre-release information on the same tier Merkava IIb had me really reconsidering my choice of picking one of those up. Then, thanks in a huge part to a recent ingame event, I was able to acquire the Chally WOLF at a very substantial discount. A choice I have zero regrets over.

In a nutshell, the WOLF edition is all the good, rolling bunker times I had in my regular Challenger 1 with the additional credit and reputation earning, far above what just battle hardening the tech tree version would deliver. Plus, I like the paint scheme.

Like the MERC/ICE editions, this vehicle isn't currently available (keep an eye on the main Armored Warfare portal, you never know). However the tech tree Challenger 1 is free, if you put in the time and effort to get one.