The Problem of Premium Tanks and How I would Solve it.
13Disciple | 8-Jul-19
Big thanks to Skorpion_G for the background! You can follow his Twitter for all the very awesome renders he puts together.
Armor models and statistics provided by tanks.gg and wotinspector.com
Armor models and statistics provided by tanks.gg and wotinspector.com
The Problem
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Before we can talk about the solution, we first need to clarify why premium tanks are a problem.
There are two types of tanks in the game, those that are researchable and available in the tech tree, and those that are premium tanks that are only available through real money purchase (or indirectly for gold). This is a problem for game balance as not all players have the same content available to them. That means that some players can gain an advantage (perceived or otherwise) simply because they have the monetary means to do so. |
.I’ll demonstrate this by reframing this in terms of other games. If you take some of the most popular competitive player versus player games such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Counterstrike or Fortnight, and apply the same monetization strategy it would look like this:
League of Legends - certain champions would be available that are exclusively behind a real money pay wall. Giving more opportunities and options to those players that can afford it.
Overwatch - certain champions would be available that are exclusively behind a real money pay wall. Giving more opportunities and options to those players that can afford it.
Counterstrike - certain weapons (not skins) are only available behind a paywall. Imagine being able to purchase the AWP every match, first turn, for real money, and not being able to buy it with in game currency.
Fortnight - certain weapons (not skins) are only available behind a paywall.
These pay to win (P2W) and pay for advantage (P4A) mechanics would ruin the competitive nature of these games by creating more strategic options for those players that can afford it which in turn makes the games not viable for any kind of e-sports landscape.
(An observation - all of these games are monetized with pay to play and/or with cosmetics)
Bringing this back to WoT, what we have is essentially vehicles that are locked behind paywalls. Whether they are overpowered or not, still provides more options to players that can afford them.
World of Tanks is a for profit company, and I’m not bashing on them for trying to turn a profit. However every time the developers wish to sell more premium tanks, they are challenged with creating a vehicle that is interesting enough to warrant a purchase however not so broken that it ruins game balance. Despite even the best of efforts, every new premium tank I see generally ends up in 1 of 3 categories. Either it's too powerful compared to its tech tree counterparts, Too similar so as not to be differentiated between its tech tree counterparts, or so bad that it's not worth buying when compared to its tech tree counterpart.
Regardless of how a premium tank is tuned, every time Wargaming goes to sell a new premium tank they risk game balance and lock content behind real money paywalls.
League of Legends - certain champions would be available that are exclusively behind a real money pay wall. Giving more opportunities and options to those players that can afford it.
Overwatch - certain champions would be available that are exclusively behind a real money pay wall. Giving more opportunities and options to those players that can afford it.
Counterstrike - certain weapons (not skins) are only available behind a paywall. Imagine being able to purchase the AWP every match, first turn, for real money, and not being able to buy it with in game currency.
Fortnight - certain weapons (not skins) are only available behind a paywall.
These pay to win (P2W) and pay for advantage (P4A) mechanics would ruin the competitive nature of these games by creating more strategic options for those players that can afford it which in turn makes the games not viable for any kind of e-sports landscape.
(An observation - all of these games are monetized with pay to play and/or with cosmetics)
Bringing this back to WoT, what we have is essentially vehicles that are locked behind paywalls. Whether they are overpowered or not, still provides more options to players that can afford them.
World of Tanks is a for profit company, and I’m not bashing on them for trying to turn a profit. However every time the developers wish to sell more premium tanks, they are challenged with creating a vehicle that is interesting enough to warrant a purchase however not so broken that it ruins game balance. Despite even the best of efforts, every new premium tank I see generally ends up in 1 of 3 categories. Either it's too powerful compared to its tech tree counterparts, Too similar so as not to be differentiated between its tech tree counterparts, or so bad that it's not worth buying when compared to its tech tree counterpart.
Regardless of how a premium tank is tuned, every time Wargaming goes to sell a new premium tank they risk game balance and lock content behind real money paywalls.
My Solution for Premium Tanks
My solution aims to address one main issue.
My suggestions will also provide an avenue for Wargaming to enable these two things as well:
- Game content (and balance) is locked behind a real money paywall
My suggestions will also provide an avenue for Wargaming to enable these two things as well:
- Changing the characteristics of premium vehicles to enable game balance
- Allowing players to try out any premium vehicle prior to purchasing it
Add All Premium Tanks to the Tech Tree
First I would start by adding every single premium tank to the tech tree as a non-premium vehicle. This will enable all players, free to play (F2P) or otherwise the opportunity to obtain any premium vehicle as a normal tech tree vehicle. Doing this will solve the first problem, and enable all players to try any vehicle before purchasing it.
How this is actually implemented is up for discussion. I’ll outline some of my suggestions here, but truthfully, it doesn’t really matter how its done, as long as all content is available for all players.
This suggestion requires the least amount of change, and the least amount of modification to make it work.
Create an area below the tech tree that houses each tank that is not directly in the tech tree. This area will have every tank that was previously a premium tank available for purchase with credits or gold (no research requirement in this version).
How this is actually implemented is up for discussion. I’ll outline some of my suggestions here, but truthfully, it doesn’t really matter how its done, as long as all content is available for all players.
This suggestion requires the least amount of change, and the least amount of modification to make it work.
Create an area below the tech tree that houses each tank that is not directly in the tech tree. This area will have every tank that was previously a premium tank available for purchase with credits or gold (no research requirement in this version).
Armor Change
The current sandbox server is adjusting the HP of every single tank in the game. I think it indicates that WG is willing to make some sweeping changes to make special ammunition viable.
First I would categorize armor by its vulnerability with in its own tier which by happenstance also corresponds to the required same tier ammunition! Here is my suggested grouping of armor, and it's corresponding protection level.
First I would categorize armor by its vulnerability with in its own tier which by happenstance also corresponds to the required same tier ammunition! Here is my suggested grouping of armor, and it's corresponding protection level.
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Paper Armor - Armor that is so thin it has above a 90% chance of HE penetration
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Light Armor - Armor that will block 90% of HE penetrations but above an 80% chance of HESH/HEP penetration
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Standard Armor - Armor that will block 90% of HE/HESH rounds, but standard rounds will penetrate more than 90% of the time
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Moderate Armor - Armor that will block 30-70% of standard ammo, but will be penetrated by over 90% of high pen ammo
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Good Armor - Armor that will block over 90% of standard ammo. But will be penetrated by 30-70% of high penetration rounds
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Strong Armor - Armor that will block over 90% of high pen rounds
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Impenetrable Armor - Armor that cannot be penned by same tier high pen rounds
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Every tank model in the game should be viewed from a level point, perpendicular to the front, side, and rear, and when observed you’ll see it is composed of different levels of armored defense.
Then when we look at the armor from the perspective of a gun that is two tiers higher, then each armor group should be shifted around 1 armor group down. This should also work vice versa. If we view this same model from the position of a gun that is two tiers lower, then each armor group should be shifted around 1 armor group up. When looking at 1 tier split, then the armor model will be somewhere between the two.
An example will help demonstrate what I’m talking about. Let's take a look at the Caernarvon (Tier 8 British Heavy) and convert its armor profile to my system.
Then when we look at the armor from the perspective of a gun that is two tiers higher, then each armor group should be shifted around 1 armor group down. This should also work vice versa. If we view this same model from the position of a gun that is two tiers lower, then each armor group should be shifted around 1 armor group up. When looking at 1 tier split, then the armor model will be somewhere between the two.
An example will help demonstrate what I’m talking about. Let's take a look at the Caernarvon (Tier 8 British Heavy) and convert its armor profile to my system.
Same Tier Gun against Same Tier Armor
If we look at this tank from the perspective of a typical tier 10 gun the armor profile should change to something like this. Each armor group should move about an entire tier down. This leaves your tier 9 gun and armor profile some where between the image above and the image below.
2 Tier Higher Gun Against Same Tier Armor
If we look at this tank from the perspective of a typical tier 6 gun the armor profile should change to something like this. Each armor group should move about an entire tier up. This leaves your tier 7 gun and armor profile some where between the first image above and the image below.
2 Tier Lower Gun Against Same Tier Armor
Of course a skilled player will make their armor work for them. This means most of these armor groups should allow a player some opportunity to angle their tank in such a way that it shifts the armor groups up, even partially.
Same Tier Gun Against Same Tier Armor - Angled
The hope is that WG will look at every armor model starting at tier 10 and work their way down. Adjusting the armor to a profile that makes sense. Allowing weak spots in the armor in my mind is also a very good idea. Let's look at the Type 5. Its overall armor is various forms of Strong Armor, with a driver hatch of moderate armor.
Same Tier Gun Against Same Tier Armor
If we drop that drivers hatch to same tier standard armor group - it won’t get penned by HE rounds, but will be easily penned by same tier standard rounds. That means if I’m fighting a Type 5 frontally and I'm in a tier 10, I now have a choice to make. If I think I can hit that weak spot, I can do a little bit higher damage per shot. But this will cost me aim time, and I’m gambling my accuracy. If I’m trying to hit a weak spot and miss the Type 5 gets more blocked damage and survives that much longer. However if I chose to do less damage I can sling a high pen round with a 15-25% alpha (DPM) penalty in order to go through his hull’s Good Armor. This creates a more interesting engagement for me, and him. He can make an attempt at hiding or making his weak spot hard to hit by moving, or the Type 5 gets the HP and a DPM advantage if I chose to ignore his weak spot. This also rewards a player with strong armor knowledge, but gives players without that knowledge a chance at reduced damage.
The second impact of reducing that driver hatch is now a tier 8 has a decent chance to penetrate the weak spot with high penetration ammo, but cannot really penetrate the hull at all. As a tier 8 I like at least some opportunity to damage a super heavy head-on. The super heavy has the advantage in that it's a small target, and I’m doing 15-25% reduced damage on an already lower alpha/dpm tier 8 gun. The tier 8 is happy that they can contribute by plinking off a few hit points here and there, and the tier 10 heavy is happy in that this bottom tier tank is having a hard time even hitting the weak spot, and when they do its at a reduced damage. Also in this case the tier 8 player with strong armor knowledge gets rewarded by getting to plink hit points off, where as someone without the knowledge would likely be unable to damage the Type 5.
The second impact of reducing that driver hatch is now a tier 8 has a decent chance to penetrate the weak spot with high penetration ammo, but cannot really penetrate the hull at all. As a tier 8 I like at least some opportunity to damage a super heavy head-on. The super heavy has the advantage in that it's a small target, and I’m doing 15-25% reduced damage on an already lower alpha/dpm tier 8 gun. The tier 8 is happy that they can contribute by plinking off a few hit points here and there, and the tier 10 heavy is happy in that this bottom tier tank is having a hard time even hitting the weak spot, and when they do its at a reduced damage. Also in this case the tier 8 player with strong armor knowledge gets rewarded by getting to plink hit points off, where as someone without the knowledge would likely be unable to damage the Type 5.
Suggested Driver Hatch Armor - Perspective Tier 10 Gun
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Suggested Driver Hatch Armor - Perspective of Tier 8 Gun
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The point I’m making is that weak spots would make the game far more interesting! Tankers would need to choose between higher damage weak spot or lower damage with an easier to hit larger target.
The bottom line is this system would give players more options in ammunition choice, and reward those with deep knowledge of armor layouts. It also sets up a general template for armor values. Of course an armor plate can be different shades with in its own armor group. The penetration values also fall on a scale, but pretty much this scale simply changes my original percent chance of penetration while maintaining the armor groups.
The bottom line is this system would give players more options in ammunition choice, and reward those with deep knowledge of armor layouts. It also sets up a general template for armor values. Of course an armor plate can be different shades with in its own armor group. The penetration values also fall on a scale, but pretty much this scale simply changes my original percent chance of penetration while maintaining the armor groups.
Putting it Together
The beauty of my solution means you can implement the ammunition changes, and then go through and rework armor models as needed.
WG has been reviewing and re-balancing tank lines since the beginning of 2019. My suggestion is that they continue on this path, but instead of looking at tank lines in a whole group, they look at a tier in a whole group and balance it against itself. The key is to start your balance of the game at tier 10. Each tank should be reviewed for it's gun, and armor profile against all same tier guns. Then look at tier 9 and balance this tier against it's tier 10 counterparts, and it's same tier tanks. The game should be balanced from tier 10 down.
WG has been reviewing and re-balancing tank lines since the beginning of 2019. My suggestion is that they continue on this path, but instead of looking at tank lines in a whole group, they look at a tier in a whole group and balance it against itself. The key is to start your balance of the game at tier 10. Each tank should be reviewed for it's gun, and armor profile against all same tier guns. Then look at tier 9 and balance this tier against it's tier 10 counterparts, and it's same tier tanks. The game should be balanced from tier 10 down.
The idea is that vehicles are balanced based on their same tier armor profile and same tier gun. You can always put a tier 7 gun on a tier 5 tank. Or put a tier 7 armor profile on a tier 9 tank. Every tank should be balanced on this standard average same tier armor and penetration profile, with the exception of some deviation from the average. Deviations from the averages of it's own tier are of course balanced against other parameters such as mobility, concealment, view range, DPM and accuracy.
What about tanks that combine high HP pools, and Strong Armor?
OK - when I said you can implement the ammunition change as is, I was wrong. You will need to address at minimum tanks that combine high HP and strong Armor.
Changing the game in this fashion solves the problem with special ammunition being balanced by its cost. However the reduction in alpha for high penetration ammunition is an indirect buff to tanks that boast high armor and high health profiles. To bring these tank’s “time to kill” back into balance in the new system, they will likely need to either adjust the armor profile, or reduce the hitpoints, I see this being the case with tanks such as the Maus. However tanks such as the Kranvagn likely wouldn't need changing. Most armor when it was angled appropriately was impenetrable to both standard and special ammunition. The armor that was penetrable was able to be penetrated by both standard and special ammo. Thus reducing the special ammunition alpha bears very little impact on the survivability of the tank in general.
Changing the game in this fashion solves the problem with special ammunition being balanced by its cost. However the reduction in alpha for high penetration ammunition is an indirect buff to tanks that boast high armor and high health profiles. To bring these tank’s “time to kill” back into balance in the new system, they will likely need to either adjust the armor profile, or reduce the hitpoints, I see this being the case with tanks such as the Maus. However tanks such as the Kranvagn likely wouldn't need changing. Most armor when it was angled appropriately was impenetrable to both standard and special ammunition. The armor that was penetrable was able to be penetrated by both standard and special ammo. Thus reducing the special ammunition alpha bears very little impact on the survivability of the tank in general.
Beyond the Armor and Penetration - How to make Ammunition Selection Meaningful
Lets review the attributes that differentiate between our 4 ammunition choices.
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AP (Armor Piercing) Velocity: ★★★★ | Penetration: ★★★ | Damage: ★★★
Low penetration loss over distance Normalization: 5° Auto Ricochet: 70° and higher Penetrates fences, cars, and spaced armor 2 and 3 Calibers rules apply |
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APCR (Armor Piercing Composite Ridged) Velocity: ★★★★★ | Penetration: ★★★★ | Damage: ★★★
High penetration loss over distance Normalization: 2° Auto Ricochet: 70° and higher Penetrates fences, cars, and spaced armor 2 and 3 Calibers rules apply |
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HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) Velocity: ★★★ | Penetration: ★★★★ | Damage: ★★★
No penetration loss over distance Normalization: 0 Auto Ricochet: 85° and higher Cannot Penetrate fences, cars, and spaced armor, as it detonates on impact. These shells have no normalization, but will maintain their penetration at up to 85° before they will auto ricochet. |
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HE/HESH/HEP (High Explosive/High Explosive Squash Head/High Explosive Plastic) Velocity: ★★ | Penetration: ★ | Damage: ★★★★★
No penetration loss over distance Normalization: 0 Auto Ricochet: None Cannot Penetrate fences, cars, and spaced armor, as it detonates on impact. These shells have no normalization, and no auto ricochet. Will do damage on penetration or based on a splash radius upon detonation. |
I believe we can make ammunition choice even more meaningful by accentuating the differences between AP/APCR/HEAT.
AP - a solid moving slug with reasonable speed that punches through defences up to Moderate Armor. Good velocity, reasonable penetration, good normalization, and good alpha damage. To accentuate AP’s role, I would improve its normalization to around 7 degrees. This would help it penetrate armor that is more steeply angled and make it far more reliable at penetrating lower glacis plates or cupola weak spots. I would also consider bumping up its auto ricochet angle to 75 degrees. This will help it catch a few more pens on lightly armored vehicles with steep angles.
APCR - an exceptionally hard shell that moves at incredible speed. It sacrifices Normalization and Auto Ricochet to obtain such speed. Since the AP round we looked at earlier bumped the normalization and Auto Ricochet angle I see no need to change the characteristics of APCR. This round when compared to AP is more likely to ricochet and requires higher penetration to make up for the low normalization and higher penetration drop off.
HEAT - a round that moves noticeably slower than AP shells and uses a chemical munition to damage its target. I wouldn’t change any of the standard characteristics of HEAT rounds. I think there are many that move a bit too fast. I would like to see this ammunition be noticeably slower than AP rounds. A shell velocity somewhere between HE and AP would be appropriate. I would like to see tankers have to make a choice between higher penetration round with no loss to penetration over distance, versus a higher velocity round when shooting targets that are on the move and at range.
AP - a solid moving slug with reasonable speed that punches through defences up to Moderate Armor. Good velocity, reasonable penetration, good normalization, and good alpha damage. To accentuate AP’s role, I would improve its normalization to around 7 degrees. This would help it penetrate armor that is more steeply angled and make it far more reliable at penetrating lower glacis plates or cupola weak spots. I would also consider bumping up its auto ricochet angle to 75 degrees. This will help it catch a few more pens on lightly armored vehicles with steep angles.
APCR - an exceptionally hard shell that moves at incredible speed. It sacrifices Normalization and Auto Ricochet to obtain such speed. Since the AP round we looked at earlier bumped the normalization and Auto Ricochet angle I see no need to change the characteristics of APCR. This round when compared to AP is more likely to ricochet and requires higher penetration to make up for the low normalization and higher penetration drop off.
HEAT - a round that moves noticeably slower than AP shells and uses a chemical munition to damage its target. I wouldn’t change any of the standard characteristics of HEAT rounds. I think there are many that move a bit too fast. I would like to see this ammunition be noticeably slower than AP rounds. A shell velocity somewhere between HE and AP would be appropriate. I would like to see tankers have to make a choice between higher penetration round with no loss to penetration over distance, versus a higher velocity round when shooting targets that are on the move and at range.
A Word on RNG (Random Number Generator)
Players dislike how wide RNG is because it makes their play feel inconsistent. A reliable hit and pen in one instance will bounce or miss in another even when the circumstances are the same. I like the RNG factor in the game as it generates those crazy moments of impossible pens or impossible bounces. It also somewhat simulates the variation in munitions in that era. My suggestion isn’t to get rid of it, but alter the values to make things feel a touch more reliable, and create a wider difference between ammunition choices.
The current RNG is so wide that it produces overlap in both penetration and alpha damage. If we reduce the RNG of penetration and damage to something like 20% or 15% we tighten up the bell curve for each shell type and we’ll see less overlap which will also effectively accentuate the differences in the shells. The below graphs show 3 bell curves that represent each ammunition type.
The current RNG is so wide that it produces overlap in both penetration and alpha damage. If we reduce the RNG of penetration and damage to something like 20% or 15% we tighten up the bell curve for each shell type and we’ll see less overlap which will also effectively accentuate the differences in the shells. The below graphs show 3 bell curves that represent each ammunition type.
Normal RNG
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Reduced RNG
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Alternatively you could change the deviation RNG has as well. When it comes to penetration, alpha damage, and accuracy the RNG distribution is described by a 2 sigma (σ) bell curve. You could modify this bell curve to a 1.5 or 1.0 sigma for distribution causing more of your RNG rolls to be concentrated around the average. The result is graphed below, but it would translate to a penetration alpha, and accuracy that feels far more consistent - with out sacrificing the width of +25% and -25% RNG.
Normal RNG
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1.5 or 1.0 Standard Deviation RNG
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You could also change the RNG based on shell type. Keeping the RNG the same for high pen rounds, however for standard ammunition you could both change the percent of RNG or the sigma of the RNG. The point is you don't have to do a sweeping change across all, you can select by ammunition types the RNG they are subject to! Imagine not only alpha, but RNG differences you have to consider when selecting shells. The opportunities are really endless when it comes to making ammunition selection more meaningful.
Normal RNG
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Changes to both RNG size and Deviation
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Final Thoughts
The point of this article was to fully explain the problem of special ammunition, why some of the suggested changes don’t address the problem, and provides some of the ideas that could push the game toward a more viable and fun to play solution.
I hope some of the dev’s manage to get my article (translated to Russian) so that maybe they can consider some of my ideas in future sandbox iterations. I want them to realize from this, that there are many knobs and sliders they can use and adjust to fine tune the ammunition and armor system. I also hope they will understand why special ammunition is a problem and that if we don't address it's cost all of these changes are pointless.
This is still an open discussion and I’m willing to hear out your well considered suggestions for resolving the problem of premium ammunition (would prefer you leave your vitriol at the door).
Wargaming has a massive change in mind for WoT and I do not envy the task that is in front of them.
I hope some of the dev’s manage to get my article (translated to Russian) so that maybe they can consider some of my ideas in future sandbox iterations. I want them to realize from this, that there are many knobs and sliders they can use and adjust to fine tune the ammunition and armor system. I also hope they will understand why special ammunition is a problem and that if we don't address it's cost all of these changes are pointless.
This is still an open discussion and I’m willing to hear out your well considered suggestions for resolving the problem of premium ammunition (would prefer you leave your vitriol at the door).
Wargaming has a massive change in mind for WoT and I do not envy the task that is in front of them.
