Winter Warrior, Leopard 2AV ICE

The final video in my Winter Warrior series for Armored Warfare is a showcase for the tier VI Leopard 2AV ICE.

If I were the dedicated collector type, I would be having a fit due to not possessing the tier V M60A3 ICE to round things out. Perhaps, I might get it by "free" means someday (the 1,500 Gold, full price value isn't bad for this machine, just not in the mood to spend it).

Until then, I will make do with what has been shown so far, ending with this vehicle and a preview of something new....

Dishin' The Heat

The plan was simple enough, play higher tiered machines and close out this portion of the mission in Armored Warfare.

I wasn't too overly surprised about the performance numbers from my tier X Leopard 2AX, the HEAT rounds were reliable in both the penetration and damage departments.

The tier X Altay was a bit of a struggle at first, but delivered from the middle to the end.

The tier IX Leopard 2A6 showed lackluster totals, mostly because the HEAT ammunition hasn't been upgraded from stock. 

Nevertheless, it secured this result for me.

I stepped down further to the tier VIII Abrams M1A2, since I am trying to progress through that machine and figured I would pull "double duty" for this occasion.

I honestly thought the tier VIII Type 96B Red Dragon would have cleaned up this adventure....

....alas, the tier VII Abrams M1A1 Storm would get that honor.

For some reason, I had this thought it was going to take longer than it did to get through this mission, but I guess I thought wrong.

I don't think this is even worth trying....

....time to fast-track to the finish.

A Boost In Numbers

Now that I am home for the Holidays, I figured I would try a serious crack at collecting on some mission progress and Battle Coins in Armored Warfare. Before I get started on that, here's a link for specials that are going on. Also, an important news update can be found here.

Here was my opening balance of Battle Coins, the vehicle I was going to use (for the first part) and the means to speed things up a bit.

If previous experience has taught me anything, campaigns are a good way to collect the most out of the game and American Dream was not going to be any exception. So, I loaded HEAT round into my tier VIII Abrams M1A2 and picked up where I left off.

I knew collecting the Gold Crate was only a matter of playing out the battle, but moving on to the next phase of the Fort Knox bonus was a bit unexpected.

Completing the Heat King requirement was a pleasant surprise. However, with two teammates disconnected in the final phase of the battle and my Abrams pushed beyond it's limits at resisting the incoming damage, I had this feeling I was going to pull this achievement off.

Number 4 down....

....and off to Number 5.

A disappointing team helped me collect these results.

This level offered so much to shoot at, with the only limitations being time and ammunition.

There were a few other battles along the way, but with bathroom breaks, I ended this short marathon here.

Over the course of two hours, I netted in close to 5,000 Battle Coins. Factoring in I need a total of 70,000 to park the tier VIII Griffin 120mm Light Tank in my garage, I still have a long ways to go.

Road To RDF/LT

I see a few folks have collected the tier VI premium RDF/LT, complete with the Prime skin in Armored Warfare.

I am taking my time, since there is no real hurry with just shy of three months to go.

This one could be tricky, I could get it in the very next battle or many sorties before hitting paydirt.

Winter Warrior, T-72AV ICE

A quick look back has shown I have owned this vehicle a lot longer that I first thought.

Nevertheless, I will repeat words to this effect in the following video, the tier V T-72AV (ICE or the version I couldn't remember while making the showcase movie, ACE. There is also a blue painted variant for Steam players) is probably one of the best low to mid tier premium machines I think I own.

A what better way to show it off, but on a winter themed map....

Winter Warrior, Object 430 ICE

My next adventure in Armored Warfare was to follow on the treadpath of the tier IV OF-40 ICE, with the next logical choice was the same tiered Object 430 ICE.

However, there was one thing against me before I even got started, namely the fact this Soviet machine used to reside at tier III when I acquired it, now it sits at tier IV and I haven't used it much since the change.

Also, I didn't play on the map I was hoping to (I always get Rolling Thunder, the map used for this and the OF-40 battle and Dire Wolf, sharing a lot of the same elements, but with touches of snow and different objectives) and once I realized this, I changed up my playstyle and strategies from the previous battle from the day before.

Nevertheless, a very disappointing sortie....

Winter Warrior, OF-40 ICE

I highly doubt there will be a gift vehicle from this year's Winter Calendar in Armored Warfare.

The reasoning behind this thought appears to be pretty obvious to me, the ongoing Battle Path to earn American themed machines. However, with fourteen more days to go (at the time of this posting) left in this year's Winter Calendar, there still could be a wheeled or tracked surprise (a permanent one, not another rental).

And if that happens, I will say I was wrong.

In the meantime, I have gone ahead with a half retrospective, half showcase of the collectables from the 2018 Winter Calendar, starting with the tier IV OF-40. For the looking back part, have a peek at what I wrote when I first got this particular vehicle, then see how it stands up now....