Preparing for a possibility

After running around the internet, more specifically, visiting Polish gaming sites, in hopes of trying to collect a code for the tier IV, BWP-1M Puma, I came across a reoccurring theme. 03.03.2016.

What does it mean?

I am going to act on a hunch here, I have this strong feeling, but unconfirmed possibility that the Russian server mission for the Puma https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Faw.mail.ru%2Fnews%2F3102.html might come to the NA/EU server....

....then again, it could be just wishful thinking and nothing more.

However, feeling or not, it is something I just can't ignore the possibility of. So, I went on a spending spree and picked up two vehicles to start a small grind in. Through the course of just playing the game, I have both of them unlocked and waiting to be purchased. First up, the tier III Dragoon 90, a wheeled tank destroyer.

The last time I had driven anything with wheels in the game was the tier II LAV-150, although that was designated as an armored fighting vehicle, not a tank destroyer.

I was rather impressed with the main gun, surprising damage for low tiered vehicle.

Although the armor piercing rounds were okay....

....switching to HEAT changed everything!

Sadly, I got bogged down with slugging it out with those artificial foes and noticed too late that nobody was going for the last secondary objective.

Ugh, I strongly dislike red numbers, especially if it has to do with income (real world or the virtual one).

The last vehicle added to the garage was the old Soviet BMP-1, a tier III armored fighting vehicle that will give me a small taste of what the Polish Puma could be like.

It felt good to be back in a tracked vehicle, I found the tires of the Dragoon 90 to be a very bouncy change to what I am used to.

I found the stock main gun for the BMP-1 to be up to the task, but I am still looking forward to those upgrades.

Pretty darn fast too, on flat, level ground.

I wasn't taking any chances this time, I took care of four out of five secondary objectives myself.

Despite not having any real favorable gun depression, the BMP-1 was dishing out the damage and picking up a few kills.

Near the end, I was fighting the cap battle, alone. Obviously, I wasn't going to last long under those conditions.

Yeah, help finally saunters onto the scene, too late for me though.

Considering it was my first game in both vehicles, I could have done a whole lot worse, but I will take these wins and the lessons I learned from them them, going forward.

The newness feels worn off already

Opening numbers for Mercenary Showdown for Armored Warfare.

Here is another string of numbers I will be posting periodically, my progress to unlocking the new Chinese tanks, since I didn't break down and by the new premium tier V, WZ-1224, to speed the process up.

With the release of update 0.13, something I have coined as Puma-mania has swept through the EU/NA playerbase. Once again, an exclusive premium vehicle is making the rounds through third part websites, Youtube and Facebook contests and so on.

When this vehicle first appeared on the RU server, it was the reward for an ingame mission, completing certain tasks put this Polish vehicle in a player's garage. I was looking forward to this way of an attempt to get one.

However, that isn't the case, thus far. Instead, if player from the EU/NA servers want this vehicle, they have to spend hours refreshing their internet browsers and running Google Translate (unless, they happen to speak Polish) and make their attempt to collect one that way. Or, have a friend nice enough to give them a spare code, from whatever way they collected theirs.

Just like the Chieftain Mk VI from just a short while ago (and technically, still ongoing), what should be a great prize for the playerbase, has turned into a source of embitterment and discontent for some, mostly because how it has been distributed and how others have claimed them.

I popped in the last few minutes of the Armored Warfare Twitch stream as well. I wasn't hunting for codes, I am going to walk away from that fruitless venture, but to check out the new map, Coastal Threat and the Chinese tanks.  If you look very closely, I even asked a question that I captured in the screenshot.

But, I didn't want to spend too much time watching other people playing a game that I should be. Queuing up my tier V T-72A, it was time to get back in action, I have goals to reach and they are not going to do that on their own. 

Out of a series of five battles, this was the one that produced the worst of results. I even paid a new penalty brought in with 0.13, despite giving it my all. 

The best of the series, which coming from me, isn't saying much.

Having the T-72A is still a relatively new experience for me, combined with breaking through the playstyle I have developed from using my Challenger 1 recently.

Fun and learning, that's what it's all about, right?

A little more from the first day of the new update

With the adjustments to PvE earnings in Armored Warfare, a part of update 0.13, I figured I would break out my tier VI premium, MBT-70 to see if there were any real noticeable improvements.

I queued up for a medium mission....

....and got to see a few more of the new tier V Chinese premium, WZ-1224.

Little did I know at the time, those flashy popups every time I shot at, spotted, and destroyed enemy vehicles would be switched off, starting with the battle immediately after this one.

Despite not being activated for that long, I kinda missed them as the day progressed, an indicator that what I was doing, mattered.

Not a bad return from this adventure, however, those WZ-1224's are a force to be reckoned with.

Juan Carlos Miramon achieved level 5 standing in skills, another goal I attained in a very short period of time.

I dusted off, just to dust up my tier VI T-72A....

....to come back to the garage and noticed the Advance Progress arrow. Perhaps, since I was running premiums before, the arrow showed up when I switched to a dealer tank.

Even my starter tank, T-62 Veteran was given a piece of today's action....

....with some very decent results.