Following a series of public Sandbox tests in February & March, mechanical changes affecting High Explosive (HE) shells and Self-Propelled Guns (SPG's) have moved to closed Supertesting. From here, the developers will tinker with the variables and compare the outcomes against live server data to assess the impact the changes have on vehicle performance. Once a satisfactory set of parameters has been achieved, these mechanical changes will be fully integrated into World of Tanks in v.1.13 at a target release date of June 2021. This article discusses the effects on gameplay we can expect from changes to the High Explosive and SPG mechanic.
High Explosive (HE) Changes - Overview
We covered the details of the existing and proposed mechanics of HE Shells in a previous article on the Sandbox testing. You can review this article here: https://pr154wot.wixsite.com/pr154/post/sandbox-combining-reworked-he-spg-s
In simplest terms, the changes to HE shells are intended to achieve the following: - Reduce the damage potential of HE rounds on heavily armoured targets
- Reduce the impact of spaced armour and intervening terrain on HE rounds
- Improve the utility of HE rounds in small-medium calibre guns
In doing so, the mechanical change introduces the following effects: - Skill and teamwork rather than HE caliber decides outcomes of heavy tank fights - Higher susceptibility to HE damage by lightly-armoured vehicles
- More opportunities to use HE shells, particularly on maps with destructible terrain
A number of vehicles which rely on HE shells as their primary munition will enter Supertesting with modified characteristics in order mitigate the effects of the revised mechanics on their overall performance: - T49 & Sheridan: -5% base dispersion
- Type 4 & Type 5 Heavy: +5% AP Penetration, -5% base dispersion - KV-2 & KV-2(R): Improved mobility, -5% Aim Time, -7% movement/traverse dispersion
Improvements to dispersion are generally intended to improve shot accuracy, where striking weak points is more important in the Supertest mechanic.
Wheeled vehicles, specifically Lynx 6x6, EBR 90 and EBR 105 also enter the Supertest with modified characteristics, but more on that later...
HE Changes - Correcting Situational Imbalances
In the v1.12 HE mechanic, many fights are decided based purely on the calibre of HE shells involved rather than the individual skill of players and their knowledge of battlefield tactics, weakpoints and correct positioning.
Consider the following scenario of an encounter between two Tier VIII tech tree Heavy Tanks in the mechanic today. A hull-down Caernarvon meets an IS-M with a 25-degree right-hand sidescrape. With each tank is playing to their strongest position, the chance of penetrating with standard AP rounds is negligible, and the switch to APCR still struggles to achieve a >40% chance of penetration. Due to the superior HE shells of its 122mm gun, this is where the Russian has the distinct advantage. The rate of fire of the Brit is made irrelevant by the IS-M's use of hard cover, and for each <40% chance of inflicting a 280HP ACPR hit, the IS-M has a 100% chance of causing at least 200HP in HE damage in return.
Despite having experienced players in either tank playing to their positional strengths, the outcome of a shot-for-shot trade is a foregone conclusion in the current HE mechanic simply because one has a large-calibre Russian gun. With the proposed changes, damage to the Caernarvon will be calculated based on spalling at the turret facing at the point of impact rather than penetration of hull deck caught within the burst radius of the large-calibre shell. By taking less damage per shot, the survivability of the British tank will significantly improve as it is availed of more opportunities to land a penetrating hit with APCR or at the very least more time for backup to arrive.
The situational imbalances arising from HE shells as they exist today are even more profound at higher tiers thanks to the 152mm main gun of the 60TP and the monstrous 950HP alpha and 3.66m burst radius of its HE shells. In a hull-down vs hull-down engagement, even the most experienced player firing AP or APCR from a Super Conqueror or T95/FV4201 Chieftain will be relying on lucky shots to a small moving cupola in order to inflict damage. The 60TP on the other hand retains the capacity to load HE rounds, right-click, left-click, repeat and confidently inflict a >300HP dent in their opponent in return. In the Supertest HE mechanic, the 60TP will still retain the ability to cause damage in such an encounter however the outcome will not be a foregone conclusion in favour of the large-caliber HE shells and will lie more firmly with the individual skill level of the players involved in the fight.
HE Changes - Nerf to Wheeled Vehicles
Perhaps one of the more welcome but understated outcomes for many players is the nerf to wheeled vehicles as a result of these mechanics. The nerf comes in two forms:
- Penetration of HE shells is reduced from 105mm/90mm to 75mm
- Spaced armour protection of wheels is less effective
Compared to Light Tanks and "Lediums", the Tier VIII+ French wheeled vehicles are better able to use their mobility and gun handling to attack well-armoured opponents from vulnerable angles. The reduced shell penetration value will limit their effectiveness and advantage over other classes of highly-mobile vehicles, and limit the angles from which full-penetration HE damage might be caused to enemy vehicles
One of the things that confound many players is the sheer durability of wheeled vehicles in the face of large-calibre abuse. One of the main reasons for this is that wheels count as spaced armour and cause the HE shell to burst on contact. Having failed to burst directly on penetrable hull armour, the v1.12 HE shell will instantly lose half of its damage potential less further negative factors (mostly the distance from the point of shell contact to the hull vs. the shell burst radius).
In the Supertest HE mechanic, spaced armour and intervening destructable terrain will erode the penetrating capacity of the shell but will no longer cause detonation. This means maps such as Cliff with its abundance of low rock walls or Malinovka with its generous spread of woodpile fences will not cause HE rounds to detonate short of their target. Importantly for wheeled vehicles, while the combined 10-20mm of spaced armour in the wheels will reduce the penetrating capacity of incoming shells, the residual of 16mm hull armour on the EBR 105 is unlikely to stop the shell from landing with its full penetrating effect.
As a result of these Supertest changes to the HE mechanic, high-tier French wheeled vehicles will become less potent damage-dealers with HE shells and experience much greater risk of catastrophic damage from incoming HE rounds should they manouver more closely to find a penetrating angle of attack.
SPG Changes - Overview
We covered most of the proposed changes to SPG's in this article in detail at the time of the first SPG Sandbox test:
In short, the Supertest changes to SPG's compared to v1.12 are as follows:
- More obvious artillery shell tracers to improve effectiveness of SPG counter-fire
- Adding shell impact points to the minimap to help deduce enemy SPG positions
- Added Commander Perk "Sound Detection"*
- Increased variety of SPG shell types while eliminating SPG premium ammunition
In doing so, I expect this mechanical change introduces the following effects: - Increased focus on SPG vs SPG combat in the early-mid game
- Other classes experience less SPG attack due to counter-battery actions
- Greater shell diversity increases damage potential for superior SPG players
- Other classes experience less SPG stun due to greater shell diversity - Improved cost-effectiveness of playing SPG's in absence of premium ammunition
- Introduces an otherwise absent Risk vs. Reward element for SPG players
*Note: A reworked "Inuition" perk allowing players to rapidly change shell type also formed part of Sandbox testing, but despite a highly positive response it is unclear if this will enter Supertesting
SPG Changes - Supertest vs. Sandbox
Part of the revised shell selection introduced to the Sandbox test server included AP / HEAT shells, which traded trajectory and burst/stun capability for muzzle velocity and raw penetration and alpha damage. These shells represented 10-15% of the total SPG shells fired during Sandbox testing (consistent with developer intentions) but were observed to be somewhat ineffective for the less accurate and slower-firing SPGs such as GW E100, T92 HMC and Conqueror Gun Carriage.
While there are no major departures from the parameters of Sandbox testing to Supertesting, Supertesting will increase the shell damage for AP rounds by a further 12-16%, thus a connecting hit by a GW E100, T92 HMC and Conqueror GC will set their target back 640HP, 750HP and 720HP respectively. The intention is to increase uptake and efficiency of the AP/HEAT shells in live server conditions.
SPG Changes - Sound Detection
In Sandbox testing, the Sound Detection Commander perk was a sort of "6th Sense Sense for Arty" and represented one of the more concerning changes among SPG fans where targets with the perk stood a greater change of evading the incoming shot. By contrast, players of other classes welcomed this tool as a means of countering risk of damage from the otherwise uncounterable.
While all players on the Sandbox received the Sound Detection perk as standard, I do not expect its prevalence within a live server deployment will be so broad. Tank Commanders already have a number of skill priorities according to the role of their tank, and are often required to cross over duties as a Loader and/or Radio Operator. As far as skill priority is concerned, I would generally anticipate the following class-by-class:
- LT - 6th Sense > BiA > Conceal > Sit. Awareness > Recon > Sound Det.
- TD - 6th Sense > BiA > Recon > Conceal > Sound Det,
- MT - 6th Sense > BiA > Recon > Sound Det.
- HT - 6th Sense > BiA > Sound Det.
- SPG - Sound Det. > BiA > 6th Sense
With Sound Detection likely to present as a 3rd-5th skill priority for most players, I expect it to be unlikely that this perk will present game-breaking frustration for SPG players.
SPG Changes - Risk vs. Reward
One of the large areas of appeal for the SPG class is the more relaxed playstyle, and the ability to create a mass casualty event from a place of relative comfort. Granted this comfort may be disrupted by an EBR incursion, a keen-eyed Counter Battery enthusiast or a collapsing flank but the play is predominantly characterised by 30-40 second periods of calm interjected by a brief moment of extreme violence. Most other classes carry an inherent risk vs. reward element.
- If I push up to the next bush, will I get outspotted and die or will I be the outspotter?- If I cross this field for better angle, am I going to get wrecked by every enemy gun?
- If I press this flank, will my team-mates join me in force or let me die a loner?
Gaining ground has risks, but carries with it the potential for the rewards of spotting enemy vehicles, obtaining a position of flanking fire or generally seizing the initiative and subsequent map control
Increased ability to localise enemy SPGs introduces a Risk vs. Reward element that has not really existed to date, and Supertest SPG drivers will need to consider: - If I take a second shot from the same position, will I get counter-batteried? - Did I move far enough away so that the enemy SPG won't find me? - If I focus on the heavies, will I miss opportunities to counter-strike their arty? - Will we have a better chance of winning if I focus on the arty or the HT's/MT's? Only time and experience will answer these questions, but after each shot I can say without question that this casual SPG player will be more focussed on evading counter-battery going forward, and less focussed on taking another sip of Shiraz!
HE & SPG Changes - The New Meta
Taken all together, these changes paint a picture of a new meta where:
- Vehicles other than SPG's cause minimal damage with non-penetrating HE shells
- Spaced armour offers less protection from HE rounds
- Self-Propelled Guns can be located more easily
- Self-Propelled Gun attacks can be avoided more easily
- Self-Propelled Guns can hit you harder if their aim is true
Effective use of AP/APCR/HEAT still depends on finding a relative weakpoint to penetrate. If an enemy tank is positioning to maximise their armour profile or moving too erratically to get a clear shot then you may be unable to cause any appreciable damage under the Supertest HE mechanic. In that case you should consider your options:
- Can you and/or your team safely use superior HP and/or DPM to rush it?
- Can you angle your own armour and hide weakspots until help arrives?
In the latter case, the most efficient form of help arriving comes from the barrel of friendly SPG's. The new Alternative and Tactical shells are designed to counter heavy armour, and provide the damage-dealing capability that other vehicles lost with the mechanical change. Despite an SPG's Standard HE shells doing ~10% less damage in the Supertest, they are otherwise unaffected by the principles of the mechanical change and still cause significant damage with a non-penetration. Self-Propelled Guns and their new shells will therefore be critical in a meta where heavy armour will laugh off the HE rounds from other classes.
Countering enemy SPG's becomes more important for your teams prospects of success, and more tools to locate them and launch counter-battery actions are available. But the fact that HE shells no longer detonate on contact with spaced armour means using the lightly armoured vehicles traditionally tasked with finding them beyond the enemy defensive screen is a much riskier prospect. SPG players may rationalise that their teams prospects of success are better met by watching for tracers and knocking out enemy SPG's instead, allowing them and their team to subsequently dominate the battlefield from a position of relative comfort.
With the emergence of a previously non-existent Risk-Reward profile and a more tactically nuanced way to play SPG's, the Supertest HE & SPG's represent a new dawn for SPG Players. They are uniquely placed to kill the unkillable and worthy of your thanks and respect when they turn the fight in your favour.
'Infantry win firefights. Tanks win battles. Artillery win wars.'
-Old saying amongst Imperial Guard artillery officers
For more information on vehicle changes in closed Supertesting, please visit: https://worldoftanks.asia/en/news/general-news/supertest-he-shells-spg-changes/
For detailed review of comparative data obtained during Sandbox rebalancing:
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