Monster Machine Sphinx

The Halloween event for Armored Warfare is now in full swing and of course, there are some tricks and treats to go with the occasion.

First, the tricks.

Have a look at what you can collect over the next few days, if you meet the requirements. If you have the tier VIII VCAC Mephisto, the Wizard Skin (called Enchanted ingame) doesn't look all that bad for it.

Then, there are the treats.

I was anticipating the return of the "Monster Machines" and came to the conclusion I was going to get the "top of the line" model, the tier X Panhard Sphinx Armored Fighting Vehicle. Although I turned my nose up at it last year, I wasn't going to pass up on it this year, if the right buying conditions were met.

Pictured above you can see what looks like a real deal on the Crates (left), but one has to remember these are the older style mechanics, meaning there are no blueprints to collect. So, for that price, one has to hope and pray the Sphinx drops or you could wind up being sorely disappointed.

The second set is a flat out purchase of the vehicle, more to my liking. As always, I forget the exchange rate from USD to CDN isn't in my favor and the package I was interested in came to over $134.00 CDN. Well, I told myself, "With all the extra stuff at that price, no Christmas shopping on Armored Warfare this year...."

A Pre-Halloween Special

The title just hides an excuse to make an Armored Warfare video, showcasing the tier VIII Terminator Reaper and the greenish effects of the Starry Night map....

To The Extreme, Chapter 3

Another Extreme adventure in Armored Warfare, American Dream, this time with Chapter 3.

It would appear I did thing right thing, in the end....

Anniversary Machines, Object 287

After some delivery issues on the Armored Warfare end of things, the tier IV Object 287 finally landed in player's garages around the midpoint of this last week.

Over the course of about a four day time period (a quick refresher of how it was supposed to all go down), I received these seven items in association with the Fourth Anniversary event and decided to wait until the novelty of using the machine had worn off with the player base. For me, trying to review a new vehicle while everyone else is driving the same thing strikes me as....awkward.

This would appear to be as good as time as any to finally break out the new toy....

A Serious Lack Of Aliens

The Armored Warfare team has wasted no time and released the final chapter in the American Dream Campaign.

Let's get this show on the road....

Anniversary Machines, IT-1

For Year 3, Armored Warfare gave us (okay, you had to earn it) the tier V IT-1, a missile only armed version of the tier III T-62.

This vehicle's greatest strength comes from the immense damage potential, if those missiles hit their mark. The trade off? The same tier III armor values on a tier V machine that could face tier VI opponents (tier VII opponents if platooned with tier VII friend).

A bit of a crippling blow was dealt to the IT-1 over the last year, very noticeable speed reduction on the missile speed. Now, they seem to fly through the air about half as fast from before.

Despite this, let's see if the lack of zoom still has any boom....

Armata Agenda

As a rule of thumb for myself, I don't normally play nor showcase rental vehicles from Armored Warfare. One of the reasons is the available vehicle doesn't quite fit into my "plans." With mixed results, I try not to buy too many of the same type of premium for the same tiers (like for example, having three or more tier VIII Tank Destroyers?). Gift and reward machine are a different story, but if I feel I don't really need it, I won't get it (case in point, the recent Age of Rage campaign, where I made the firm decision to not get the tier X Object 490). 

The second reason is to avoid the temptation to buy whatever I was trying out (because the top tiered ones are not cheap to buy into). Although the "hmmm" thought crosses my mind more so on a "flat out" purchase, just dropping money down and getting the machine, with no strings attached (the price point on the recent pre-sale tier IX QN-506 Chinese Terminator made it an easypass).

Loot Boxes are another easily avoidable purchase, up until now. During these Fourth Anniversary events, I collect a instantly activated seven rental of the premium tier X T-14 152 Russian Main Battle Tank. Although I go into much deeper detail in the following video, I did find my resolve on those particular Loot Boxes starting to sway (coming in around $69.00 CDN, not a bad price for gambling).

With a couple of days left before the rental expired, I decided to rescind my rental rule and see first hand if the price I would have paid equaled any value for me and future plans....

For No Particular Reason, Part 9

The Crates came back? Let's open them up!

Anniversary Machines, T-62M

It's a good thing I decided to start a blog about Armored Warfare, I forget about certain things, like why I didn't get particular vehicles. The tier IV T-62M is one of them.

Have a look at this write up from last year to see why I didn't get the machine the first time it was offered, but later picked up by....other means (I also cover a few other items of interest at the time).

For the sake of nostalgia, check out this video of the first time I rolled out in the T-62M....

Now, fast-forward to almost a full year later (too bad the same map didn't come up in today's rotation)....

Anniversary Machines, IS-7

Well, it would seem that Armored Warfare will have a Year 4 Anniversary after all, just a little later than expected. Read those details here. As for me, I am looking forward to all the goodies....

....and trying out the tier VI Object 287 Premium Tank Destroyer (after I get it).

In the meantime, I will have a look at the Year 1 Anniversary machine, the legendary Soviet Heavy Tank, IS-7. I had scaled back my playing for a few months (only collecting the login bonuses and any ingame giveaways) and thus, was on a bit of a hiatus from this blog during those first year festivities. However, when I returned to a more "normal schedule," I wrote about the IS-7 from both Armored Warfare and World of Tanks perspectives.

In brief, when it was first introduced to Armored Warfare, the IS-7 was a nostalgic tier III premium main battle tank, nearly invincible against everything the AI opponents could throw at it. Having been bumped up to tier IV in the interim and facing more powerful foes in the PvE arena, the IS-7 wasn't nearly as tough as it was years ago.

Let's see if more recent updates have been kind to this old and familiar favorite....

Anniversary Machines, T-62 Veteran

As I sit here and write this, it has been one whole week since the start of a Fourth Anniversary for Armored Warfare, except it never came to pass? Despite this oversight (or outright omission of events), I have decided to have a look back at the vehicles during previous anniversaries.

While not officially an Anniversary Machine, the tier III T-62 Veteran was the first vehicle I (and many, many others) collected when I started with Armored Warfare in what could be called "Year Zero." In this link, I talk about how and why I got originally involved with Armored Warfare and more about the vehicle pictured at the top of this post.

One thing I can say for certain, four years later, very little about it has changed, unlike the game around it....

Urban Predator

As it goes for tier IX premium vehicles in Armored Warfare, I have passed on a few that came available recently. One such machine is pictured above, the Chinese QN-506 that was a preorder just a short while ago and now have appeared in the garages of those who purchased them. I found the $109.00 USD price tag to be a little too high for my wallet.

Right now, but ending very soon, is the Abrams AGDS, part of a two tier IX vehicles deal (along with a couple of commanders, a tier VI machine and other goodies) for only $99.00 USD. For me, it was the after conversion price of almost $137.00 CDN that turned my interest off (despite the fact I would have put 14,000 Gold in the coffers).

That 14k Gold would have been the reimbursement for the vehicle pictured above, the Centauro 120 Wolf, which I have owned and used for a very long time now.

As it stands, I will continue working on my progress for the next tier IX machine to grace my garage, the Stryker ADATS (unless something that's a little more reasonably priced pops up) and take this old favorite out as a preview of sorts for the aforementioned other.

The ADATS Agenda, Part 2

For a limited time, Armored Warfare is offering up a nearly irresistible deal on a few premium vehicles, rare commanders and other goodies, check those out here.To be perfectly honest, I was close to clicking the "Buy" button....

For $99.00 USD, I would have received all of the described items, except for one. See, I already own the tier IX Centauro 120 Wolf and instead of another one (which wouldn't have happened and rather pointless too), 14,000 Gold would have been placed in my reserves. That alone is worth about $72.00 (a rough estimate)!

Short of breaking out a pencil and paper, the $99.00 deal looked very good, then it was converted to CAD when I was at PayPal. $137.00 (rounded up)! Yeah....a reluctant pass....

Instead, I settled for the free stuff.

It took a few battles, but I finished the Support Fire Medals portion, along with the daily task, this one was called Binoculars. Tireless Support continues....

The Next Dam Chapter

The next chapter in Armored Warfare's American Dream story line is here!

Enough of me babbling, here's my first run using the tier VIII BMPT Terminator Reaper. ....

The ADATS Agenda

The top prize for the American Dream Update for Armored Warfare is the tier IX Stryker ADATS and I want it.

Here is a screenshot of my progress when I started my short session for the day, since I am not at home and have a very limited time to play after work.

I am not ashamed to admit that some requirements will be bought with Gold, I have stated this in previous posts. I can afford this option, especially for missions that take place in gamemodes I have no interest in playing, which usually occupy the bottom two on this list. 

One of four down.

The top of the list mission I can complete within the first or second battle, in this case, my tier VI WZ-1224 Chinese MBT makes short work of this task. 

Two of four down.

The next battle, this time with my recently acquired tier VIII M1A2 Abrams deals a double blow to the progress list....

....with starting the ball rolling on the remaining two tasks. For me, Tireless Support is accomplished by disabling enemy vehicles by shooting at their tracks and letting my teammates deal the damage. Fire Support Medals require dealing out around 51% damage to the enemy and letting teammates to finish them off.

With 1/3 the progress already completed, I don't see any major issues (except for time available to play them out) holding me back from attaining this machine for my garage. Wish me luck?

The Darkest Of Nights

Since the launch of American Dream Update in Armored Warfare, I have only bought one machine that fits the theme, the tier VIII Griffin 50mm Armored Fighting Vehicle. Today, went about changing that.

Having played up the Abrams line a very long time ago, I already had the tier VIII M1A2 version unlocked, just never bothered to park one in my garage, opting for the side choice, the tier VIII Leopard 2A4 Evolution.

One of the reasons I wasn't too quick to get my hands on the next Abrams was all the horror stories I had heard about this vehicle, such as the poor damage output and negligible armor. I have used other assets  that "earned" a similar reputation and never really experienced the same downfalls and shortcomings that were "advertised." Granted, there were a few frustrating machines, but I either pushed through them or learned to use their....failings to whatever advantage I could get out of them.

I think the vehicle I have that comes the closest to what others had described the M1A2 to be like is my premium tier VI MBT-70 MERC. A slow rolling off-the-line, glacial reloading, thin skinned frustration on tracks. I love it, despite not playing it much these days.

So, how bad could this new Abrams be?

I don't think I could fairly judge the machine itself on it's first outing, since the factors of "questionable" actions from it's operator (that would be me), the choice of map and one teammate spoiled any initial unbiased experience....

Am Tag danach....

I decided to wait until after the Day of German Unity (Tag der deutschen Einheit) had passed before chiming in on the weight of the historical significance concerning this milestone.

It has been only 29 years since the Communist German Democratic Republic ceased to exist and was folded into the Democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Many authors have written countless articles on this subject, but to summarize all of those works, it marked the end of a long era in German history, starting from the later 19th Century with Kaiser Wilhelm II and his grandiose vision for a Great German Empire, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Third Reich, through a divided nation, with NATO in the West, the Warsaw Pact in the East and an Iron Curtain through the middle.

I found it a bit hard to believe that it has been just over a generation since Germany once again became a united country, towns and cities were made whole and some families could finally reconnect after the long separation.

There are many lessons to be remembered and mistakes to be never repeated.

In Armored Warfare, the Day of German Unity celebration comes with sales and of course, free stuff. Check those out here. I, on the other hand, decided to dust off my tier IX Leopard 2A6 for some desert action....

For No Particular Reason, Part 8

53 Crates in my Armored Warfare inventory and enough time to open them all!

Body Of A Lion, Wings Of An Eagle

If you have been playing since Update 0.30 went Live (or checked out the last Public Test Server) on Armored Warfare, then this particular tier VIII machine isn't so new anymore and has quickly become a mainstay in upper tier gameplay.

Nevertheless, here's my take on the Griffin 50mm with commentary, before I had enough morning coffee to function properly....