Developers posts on forum

Ectar:   PzIIJ and BTSV were never pre order tanks. They were part of a retail promotion package exclusive for the RU region. It's why when they are available now in EU or NA they can't be sold cheaper than the original package price. Both tanks were never part of pre-order bundles for the EU regions so they don't have that restriction.

Ectar:   I'm pretty sure the people who do the seasonal garages are not the people who design the maps, but then I'm sure you know that too so I don't know why I'm really replying to this.   

Ectar:   But maps were replaced, and for whatever reason those maps also were removed or haven't quite worked out for whatever reason.  

Ectar:   Well the majority of maps have 3 lanes of approach. I used Steppes as an example as it has a very large middle area that no one crosses normally because it's a killing field with no cover.  Much like the open field on Malinovka.   What I was trying to show was that despite all the free terrain void of buildings like say Himmelsdorf or Kharkov, no one really uses that area as they skirt round the sides. Live Oaks is kind of the same but due to the lake in the middle tank only have 3 engagement areas really.    "Corridors" are pretty much impossible to avoid as you're always going to have certain avenues of approach that become deadlocked with teams facing off against each other.   

Ectar:   Because it's a terribly static map with no variant to game play or tactics? In the global polls it was one of the least favourite maps. You only fight in 2 areas and if the west spawn team push the north area they win pretty much every time as it's then easy to defend/sweep round into the enemy team as they only have 1 way to come back and defend.

Ectar:   When I was a youngster, you opened a door on an advent calendar and it was a new picture every day. The excitement each day was guessing what the picture would b and who got to open the door first between me and my brother, I guess people just expect different things sometimes.

Ectar:   To get a Alpha reward tank, you had to be in the Alpha To get a Beta reward tank, you had to be in the Beta To get a Pre-order tank, you had to have pre-ordered the game when available.   I really can't present it a different way that is more understandable. They were vehicles on offer for a limited time period and that time has now passed.  If you missed out that was unfortunate but those tanks were created for a specific reason/event which has been and gone.  I understand you want something rare that other players may have, but you're not eligible for that content, which is why it's not available to you.   

Ectar:   The Clan sections will get a rework, some sections will stay and other low traffic/barely used sections will be removed or merged.  We'll keep a clan general discussion section, a campaign section likely to be   Clan General Discussion  - same as before Clan Recruitment - same as before Looking for Clan - same as before Clan Wars - For campaign discussions, strongholds and new global map   neutral ground, featured clans,clan discussion and clan wars officers lounge and training clan sections will be removed (some of these are already hidden)   Basically there is a lot of redundant section on the forums which spread the discussion, we're keen to avoid that in order to help threads stay active and keep the discussions going.      

Ectar:   If you're taking a small sample size, then yes I agree with you 100%.   When you look at someone over a much larger sample size however, it does have relevance.  Even if you perhaps messed about at lower tiers and then put more effort in at later tiers, you'd see the rise of the win ratio. If you're stuck on the same level for a long time the only constant thing there is you.  My win ratio dropped very noticeably but it's starting to come back up, the main reasons were I stopped playing in platoons and was playing tanks I wasn't familiar with. Also due to not playing regularly my map knowledge wasn't the same.   Win ratio for 35 battles over the last 7 days is 65.7%,  Win ratio for the last 1000 battles is 53.1% Win ration for account life (6553 battles) is 55.9%   Each of those samples sizes paint a different picture. I feel the one for the total battles played is more realistic as that's the largest sample size.   

Ectar: I'm all for players discussing things on the forums, but please try to make a little effort into making your topic title relevant to the topic and don't fill the topic with unnecessary swearing. Otherwise all that happens is the topic is closed as it's viewed as non-constructive and spam.

Ectar:   We're actually having a review of all the maps currently in-game and will be using information gained from major polls that were carried out in each region. This will help us determine the popular/unpopular maps, the reason players like dislike them etc.  That data will then be considered when designing future maps.  We'd like maps to be interesting and offer different strategies, I can appreciate that some players feel some maps are "corridors" but when you consider the speed of the gameplay, it's not 100% twitch based like Overwatch, CS:GO or something where a lot of the action happens in one small area.   An example of a corridor map could be considered as Abbey or Karelia. An opposite and open map could be considered as Steppes or Arctic Region.  The game play for Steppes or Arctic region however still has vehicles gravitating to the outside routes. The middle area is a killing ground as vehicles are easily spotted and don't have a lot of cover to advance through.  - When you add cover to the middle of maps, tanks that like to sit back (and to a lesser extent arty) then can have a hard time lining up shots (Himmelsdorf, Ruinberg as 2 example there).  In essence almost all maps to an extent are "corridor" maps as the combat always happen in the same area with tanks facing off against each other. It's not like FPS shooters where combat happens all over the place from behind lines, above and below at different levels in the same location etc etc.  We do appreciate however that some maps are unpopular and there is an active ongoing project happening globally to see what can be done to improve this aspect of the gameplay.

Ectar: Commanders,In order to ensure our forum navigation and usability is optimum, on Monday December 7th we will be updating the World of Tanks forums with a new forum structure.We have been regularly reviewing forum usage and navigation – both in regards to player needs and those of our staff. The changes we are implementing are focused on usability and usefulness, whilst generally making the structure and navigation notably more simple.Here is a sample of the new structure:Announcement Newcomers’ Forum Game Discussion: Gameplay Current Update Public Test Archive Community Area Contests Mods Videos & Streams Other Game Guides Maps In-game Vehicles Tech Corner Clan Zone Clan Recruitment Looking for a Clan Off-TopicThough we are likely to proceed with this structure change "as is" for now, should you have any feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to let us know. To pre-empt some questions:The "Gameplay" section under Game Discussion will still function more or less as General Discussion however moderation will be a bit more strict on non game related topics.  It's the busiest part of the forums and we want to keep it focused on the game as much as possible. The off topic section is also a busy section so don't feel bad if your topic is moved there.Suggestions can be posted under the "Current Update" section. This is to keep topics/ideas relevant to the current game version. - We always check the suggestions section when we're compiling reports on things like patch feedback.We will try to move as many topics as possible to the relevant areas, if you feel any specific useful topic is missing, please send a PM to myself and include Brynd, MrConway and Ph3lan

Ectar:   If you already own Rudy and buy this package again, you get the gold value of the tank, you'd get a garage slot and the crew would go to barracks, if there is no space then additional temporary slots would be created.  So yes, you get the 100% BIA crew.

Ectar:   Whilst I can't give any details about all the tanks involved, I can confirm tanks that will 100% not feature in the advent calendar. Any pre-order, alpha reward or beta rewards tanks will not be available. Neither will the Type 59.  To get the pre-order tanks you needed to have pre-ordered the game when the option was available. To get the alpha or beta reward tanks you had to have participated in the alpha or beta.   With regards to the Type 59, our stance now is as it has been the past 3+ years. We have no plans to return it to the gift shop, it's only available as contest prizes or as rare giveaways at major events such as PAX, Gamescom, Igromir etc.

Ectar: Update already available folks,   The issue has been fixed and all people who have bought the bundle will have their 1650 gold within the next few hours. Anyone who purchases the bundle today from now onwards will have the gold included as intended.  Apologies once again for the issue.

Ectar: Can we please try to keep discussions like this to existing advent calendar threads, no need for a thread like this each day.

Ectar: Hi there,   Please can you keep topics like this to our e-sports dedicated section where it's much more likely to be seen by the people you're trying to reach     Regards

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Ectar:   Hi guys,   We're getting this checked out.  Apologies for any trouble caused and we'll get back to you all asap with an update once we have it.

Ectar: For December there is no Top of the Tree as it will clash with other events planned in December. 

Ectar:   Or it could be that the EU and NA offers were never the same to start with?  Obviously players with lots of battles like yourself won't need low tier tanks (or may not want them), but then this offer isn't aimed at the players with lots of battles. You feel it's crap because you don't need it, but if you take a little time to read the forums many others disagree.  Thanks for the feedback regardless and perhaps some of the other future offers will be more to your liking.

Ectar: Top tiers =  Waffle E100.  Smacking them with HE shells is fun once they're spotted. Mid tiers = M7 and the Pz.Sfl. IVc - The M7 because it's a tank I struggled with, so I enjoy shooting it.  The Pz.Sfl. IVc because side on it's a beautiful big target Low tiers = T28 and PzIIJ   The T28 because they always seem to be driven by people who think the side armour is the best armour, so give you a good large profile to hit. The PzIIJ because I like hunting them with my FCM 36 Pak 40  

Ectar:   Your HP doesn't affect your chance to be ammo racked. It's more likely that because when you're ammo racked it's much more obvious (scrolling damage, turret flying off) it's more noticeable and you remember those events.

Ectar: Jonas is this really you?

Ectar: Told you it would be a hard one to guess 

Ectar:   Irn Bru, not Special Brew.  Special Brew is a mix of weedkiller, paint stripper and battery acid. 

Ectar:   Then I'd suggest you enter the other contest

Ectar: Some interesting predictions,  I'll be honest I don't think anyone will be near what tomorrow's offer is. Cool idea though tumppi776 will be interesting to see who you select as a winner 

Ectar:   They're a deterrent, and they work if no one is trying to cross them and is instead going round them.   Before physics got their first upgrade, it was possible for most of the taller tanks to cross them with no trouble. After physics they worked as designed. I will never forget my favorite test server feedback: "My tank gets stuck on the tanks traps on Seigfried line"

Ectar:   Pz IC  -  the rule of the Pz IC is that you set throttle to full speed and never slow down.  When you get into a tier V game looks to scout and scoot and when there is a break in the line, go terrorise the arty if there is any. This tanks is always a joy to play with it's crazy gun, awesome speed and amazing agility. KV-2 as others have said, the derp is a way of life. Rhm.-Borsig Waffenträger - 2 guns offering slightly different play styles. One is more of an ambusher looking for the high alpha and the other is more steady support.     As for tier X, lots of players actually enjoy tier IX tanks. The reason being is that you can comfortably deal with lower tiers, can deal with your equal tier, and can also happily deal with tier X in most cases.  Because of how the battletiers work you'll also get less tier X games that a tier X will, so it's a very enjoyable tier filled with lots of strong tanks (E75, Conqueror, VK 4502 P Ausf.B, M103, T-54, M46 Patton, Centurion 7/1, E50, T30 to name but a few).    

Ectar:   That's not what I said, but take from it what you will.

Ectar: To touch on a few things and to help avoid any false expectations, I'm able to share a few things:   Type 59 is still unavailable via the premium shop and will not feature in any upcoming promotions The Pre-order tanks are still unavailable via the premium shop and will not feature in any upcoming promotions There are no advent calendar offers with a Warplane or Warship included. They are all specific and unique to World of Tanks There is a wide variety of vehicles which will be available, with a wide variety of prices.   As for what specific tanks are going to be included. You'll just have to wait and see, the first offer starts tomorrow!

Ectar: To touch on a few things and to help avoid any false expectations, I'm able to share a few things:   Type 59 is still unavailable via the premium shop and will not feature in any upcoming promotions The Pre-order tanks are still unavailable via the premium shop and will not feature in any upcoming promotions There are no advent calendar offers with a Warplane or Warship included. They are all specific and unique to World of Tanks There is a wide variety of vehicles which will be available, with a wide variety of prices.   As for what specific tanks are going to be included. You'll just have to wait and see, the first offer starts tomorrow!  

Ectar: Closing the thread now as the question has been answered and whilst I'm sure messages of good will are appreciated, I'd advise sending him a PM where it's more personal.  I don't want this thread going off topic nor do I wish to see certain people who crave attention trying to shift the topic or make stuff up.   - Ectar

Ectar:   In November he became a father for the first time, so he's had some time off. He'll be back soon.

Ectar: Thread necromancy is bad mmmmkay.  This topic is over 6 months old.  Please don't stir up old dead topics to make wild claims with zero evidence. - Ectar

Ectar:   It's not unlimited, it's 500 a day which also get used for anything else that requires gold such as premium time, hanger slots, crew training etc etc. To dismiss my help is to also dismiss all the Clan Wars players who sit on rather large amounts of gold.  For a lot of the tanks I've not used free exp (like the E75 grind) and regardless of using free exp, it's still exp that needed to be earned. There is no quick way to exp like there is a quick way to credits.

Ectar: Kharkov is one of my favourite maps as it allows multiple ways to flank and approach. Whilst the initial fights are at known areas there is still multiple places to allow tanks to move through buildings and attack from behind etc.  Compared to something "open" like Steppes or Abbey where it's just 2 lines shooting each other head to head.  I prefer a map that lets me do more than the one expected standard thing for the map. 

Ectar:   You've played about 1000 more battles than me,  I've got 6 tier 10.      I'd recommend that you focus on just one or 2 techtrees rather than spread yourself over what seems to be all 7 nations.  That's what I did and focused on the British Mediums first, then the German Mediums. On 3 other branches I'm at the tier 9 (Type 61, T54E1, M46 Patton). Just find a branch or two that you really like and stick with it.  Getting other tier 10's after that is pretty easy.  I'd also recommend when working on your first tier 10 you go for a branch where you know the tier 9 is enjoyable.  The E75 to E100 for example didn't feel like a grind, neither did the E50 to E50m or the Centurion 7/1 to the Fv4202 (Now the Action X).   A lot of the complaints you have about things being out of reach could be negated by not spreading yourself so thin across so many techtrees and vehicles. By focusing on less tanks you could have brought trained crews from vehicle to vehicle rather than having multiple crews with little experience.

Ectar: Stop digging yourself a hole here.   /thread closed till a moderator is free   - Ectar

Ectar:     Hello,   Whilst I can appreciate your frustration, voicing concerns about something which is NA server specific on the EU forums won't get that issues raised sadly.  I would recommend having this discussion on the NA servers where the players and staff there can both join in the discussion and also note the feedback.   I'm now going to close this thread as it's not relevant to the EU servers. By all means if players in EU feel they need to discuss this, they're welcome to, but the opening post of this thread is to highlight an NA server specific situation and the EU forums are not the place to discuss that.   - Ectar

Ectar:   No, the fate of the tank still hasn't been decide for EU, NA, RU and Asia. I don't know how you come to that conclusion.  On the Chinese server it's not WG that run the game, all games in China are ran by Chinese companies and they don't follow the same business models as other regions for various reasons. The game industry there is heavily influenced by the government etc and what happens with regards to content can't really be attributed to other servers.

Ectar:   Well you're in luck tonight!

Ectar: I lurk in a lot of different channels, usually I'm not logged in when doing so or on my non work related account.  Fosc0, Sir_Foch or Circonflexes are who I normally watch. Orzanel too