Update 0.26 Black Sea Incursion Part II

New dealer and vehicles
In Update 0.26, we are introducing a new player friendly dealer called Solomon Schreiber.

Solomon Schreiber is one of the most efficient agents of the Israeli Defense Forces procurement agency, he deals in both the export of IDF vehicles and the import of modern military technologies from all over the world – from cutting edge military laboratories to defunded old bases hiding technical marvels of the old world, nothing is beyond the reach of Sol’s agents.

He’s coming with a full branch of Israeli progression Main Battle Tanks, including:


 * M50 Super Sherman Tier 1 MBT
 * Sho’t Kal Dalet Tier 2 MBT
 * Tiran 6 Tier 3 MBT
 * Magach 5 Tier 4 MBT
 * Magach 6B Tier 5 MBT
 * Merkava Mk.1 Tier 5 MBT
 * Merkava Mk.2B Tier 6 MBT
 * Magach 7C Tier 6 MBT
 * Merkava Mk.3D Barak Zoher Tier 8 MBT
 * Merkava Mk.4 Tier 9 MBT
 * Merkava Mk.4M Windbreaker Tier 10 MBT

Two Israeli Premium vehicles (available within the game for Gold) are also included:
 * M51 Super Sherman Tier 2 Premium MBT
 * Magach 7A Tier 6 Premium MBT

Apart from the vehicles themselves, Solomon Schreiber will have its own set of special rules as well as its dedicated camouflages, base colors, decals and much more.

And last but not least, the PT-76 Tier 1 Light Tank will be replaced by a more powerful vehicle, the PT-85. Players who owned the PT-76 before this update will get to keep it.

Four new commanders
Two new progression commanders will also be available via the new vehicles that will be introduced in Update 0.26 – Rachel Kramer and Gia Tsiklauri. Rachel will be a newbie-friendly MBT commander while Gia will be suitable for advanced players.

Additionally, we are introducing two Premium commanders. These Premium commanders start with Rank 10 and have a pre-determined set of skills for those players who prefer to not delve into the commander skill system.

Armor viewer
Armor Viewer is a special Garage option that allows players to inspect the armor of each playable vehicle in the game, including its thickness and composition. Additionally, it allows players to determine whether that vehicle can be penetrated by a shell of their choosing and from what angle.

PVP map Salzburg
We are introducing a new PvP map that is based on the design of the Austrian city of Salzburg, famous for its castle and the medieval salt trade that took place on the river the castle overlooks. The map offers a number of tactical choices and consists of both rolling hill countryside and of the city’s narrow streets.

Whether you choose to advance through the open fields to the south of the map or through the urban area, be aware of your surroundings and make the river run salty with the tears of your opponents!

New special operations mission
The conclusion of the Black Sea Incursion story arc awaits you as the architect of Magnus Holter’s downfall is finally unveiled – or is he?

Join Magnus Holter in his quest for vengeance and discover the truth about the events that transpired during the Caribbean Crisis arc.

Overhauled standerd PVE missions
In Update 0.26, we have overhauled four older PvE missions and are returning them to the game with new mechanics and without the bugs that prevented them from running correctly. These missions are: We hope that you will enjoy them in their new form!
 * Operation Harbinger
 * Operation Stormy Winter
 * Operation Starry Night
 * Operation Ghost Hunter

Major game optimization
We’ve performed a major optimization of the client. Medium and High settings should see a performance increase of up to 20 percent. The average performance increase for these settings is 10 percent. Additionally, we reduced the game UI’s memory requirements by approximately a half.

Game mechanics improvements
Update 0.26 is also bringing a large number of vehicle rebalances as well as mechanics improvements. The largest overhaul concerns the APS mechanics.

Other mechanics changes include:
 * Low-tier Vehicle Overhaul
 * Smoke system changes
 * High-Explosive shell improvements
 * Crew skill changes
 * Ammo Rack changes

Gameplay Mechanisms
Armor Inspector

In this update, we are introducing a feature called Armor Inspector that allows you to see the armor layout of each vehicle in detail. Armor can be viewed by right-clicking a vehicle in each dealer's vehicle tree and selecting the Preview option.

Game Optimization

We've performed a major optimization of the client. Medium and High settings should see a performance increase of up to 20 percent. The average performance increase for these settings is 10 percent. Additionally, we reduced the game UI's memory requirements by approximately a half. We've significantly improved the performance (rendering speed) of mass particle effects such as smoke, dust and explosion on medium and high settings. And last but not least:
 * The Garage vehicle selection panel (carousel) now works much faster
 * The process of HDD reading in battle was optimized

APS Overhaul

We've overhauled the way the Armored Warfare APS mechanism works. There are two systems available in Update 0.26: As a part of these changes, the Retrofit that was previously detecting incoming ATGMs (this function is now performed by an APS system) was overhauled to instead provide a major bonus to ATGM agility and stability, making them easier to control even when the enemy uses soft-kill APS. Players who have the old detection Retrofit installed will have it removed and will receive a full refund.
 * Passive hard-kill APS, destroying incoming ATGMs outright
 * Passive soft-kill APS, informing you of incoming ATGMs and making them harder to control
 * Active hard-kill APS, creating a shield that destroys not only ATGMs but also cannon shells

Crew Changes We boosted several crew skills and added a few new ones. It will also be possible to train crews to Level 3 for Credits and to Level 5 for Gold. You can read more about the changes here.

Ammo Rack Changes We've updated the way basic ammo racks (those without special containers or blow-out panels) work. Earlier, they could explode with each fire damage tick (15 percent probability) the way it was described here and it was impossible to survive the explosion.

Now, the chance per tick starts at 5 percent and gradually increases per tick to roughly 25 percent. The explosion also deals damage to all vehicles within 20 meters around it with the damage value being roughly 60 percent of the exploding vehicle's hitpoints. This damage decreases with distance from the explosion and armor does mitigate it as well – as such, it is only dangerous to lightly armored vehicles.

These changes make it easier (but also more important) to equip and use a fire extinguisher.

New Premium Commanders We added two new Premium commanders with fixed skills and ranks that are available in the game for Gold in order to make the game more comfortable for new players or those who do not want to bother with carefully choosing skills. You can read more about them here.

Gasoline Engine Sounds All gasoline engines received new sound effects, making them sound more realistically.

High-Explosive Shell Splash We changed the HE splash bonuses in order for it to do more damage. Earlier, indirect (splash) damage was based on shell damage reduced by 50 to 80 percent depending on the distance of the impact. We reduced this penalty to 33 to 66 percent.

Purchasable Insignia Tokens Platinum Insignia Tokens can now be purchased directly for Gold. To purchase a Platinum Insignia Token, click on its icon in the Insignia Inventory.

Changes to Special Medals Special Medals are receiving several changes. We are introducing the following new Special Medal for PvP (Random Battles):


 * Steel Eagle, awarded for assisting (dealing damage to but not killing) in the most kills (no fewer than 12)

The Steel Wings, Order of Valor and Order of Courage medals now cannot be obtained if there are fewer than 10 players in each PvP team. Additionally, it will be possible to obtain several Special Medals in Global Operations (with adjusted conditions to the realities of a different game mode):


 * Steel Sword - medal awarded to a player who has destroyed from 15 to 19 enemy venhicles in one match. AI vehicles do not count
 * Bronze Sword - medal awarded to a player who has destroyed at least 20 enemy vehicles in one match. AI vehicles do not count
 * Steel Wings - medal awarded to all players in a team if they have won without losing any more than 100 points. It can only be earned if the enemy team had at least 10 players
 * Big Star - medal awarded to a player who has destroyed an enemy vehicle with the help of a wildcard and earned victory for their team. AI vehicles do not count
 * Infiltrator - medal awarded to a player who has taken at least 50% of points from the enemy by capturing a base. The capture must be victorious
 * Scout's Crest - medal awarded to a player whose scouting led to damage comprising at least 20% of the total HP of all enemies. Targets only count if they were spotted by just one player

General Changes
 * If a smoke screen is deployed between a missile and the target, the missile will lose its tracking of the target (it will act as if the launcher was aiming at a "wall" that is the smoke screen). This ability will work on fire and forget missiles as well – once encountering a smoke screen, they will lose their automatic guidance ability. Even if the smoke dissipates in mid-flight, the automatic guidance will not be restored
 * All commander skills that provide an Experience income bonus had that bonus doubled
 * The Field Rebuild Kit consumable now also repairs damaged modules and heals wounded crewmembers when used
 * Platoon members will now spawn next to each other more often
 * Loader's Rate of Fire level bonus now also improves ATGM magazine reload time
 * Added the option to look at commander skills when the commander in question is in queue
 * Fixed an issue where crew and commander bonuses didn't work correctly on the Alabino Proving Grounds map
 * Added new crew surname options from the following countries: Romania, Sweden, Finland, Belarus, Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Argentina
 * It is now possible to use Reputation to advance a commander instead of Commander Experience
 * Improved water visuals
 * Improved the Garage lighting in the Simplified Garage

Vehicles
New Dealer We added a new dealer to the game – Solomon Schreiber with a full branch of Israeli MBTs.

General Changes
 * We replaced the Tier 1 PT-76 Light Tank with a different vehicle, the PT-85 Light Tank
 * Corrected the armor of all AFVs and some LTs and TDs with the goal of reducing the number of cases where these vehicles ricochet large caliber gun APFSDS rounds
 * All Light Tanks have a reduced camouflage penalty for firing (the lower the gun caliber, the lower the penalty)
 * Tier 1 and Tier 2 immediate post-war era vehicle guns were overhauled – the damage per minute value stays the same but the guns fire faster at the expense of damage per shot, making their gameplay more dynamic. The same goes for Soviet 115mm smoothbores (T-64, T-62)
 * Reloading to a different shell type during the pre-battle countdown on vehicles equipped with Ready Racks will now reload the magazine fully
 * It is now much more difficult to control an ATGM in flight if your gunner (or missile operator in general) is wounded
 * Incoming ATGM warning will now not appear if your APS module is destroyed
 * Improved the firing sounds of large caliber (140mm and 152mm) guns
 * Improved the smaller lighting effects in the game to make vehicles look better
 * Added a large number of smaller visual fixes and improvements (missing decals, smaller texture updates etc.)
 * Optimized the exhaust smoke effect for all vehicles
 * Improved glass and optics textures on all vehicles
 * The AFV active ability (marking a target) now works on the Alabino map
 * It is now possible to use Reputation to install upgraded modules to your vehicle in case you lack enough Experience
 * It is now possible to use Gold to buy a vehicle in case you lack Credits

Abrams AGDS
 * Improved the ATGM acceleration
 * Fixed the launcher animation
 * Fixed an issue where its missiles didn't launch from the correct launcher locations
 * Fixed an issue where the gun shells flew straight forward regardless of the gun facing
 * Added smaller visual improvements and fixes for low-end model

ASCOD LT-105
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

Begleitpanzer 57
 * Fixed the collision model of the turret

BMD-2 (incl. Black Eagle and Wolf)
 * Fixed an issue where the smoke grenade launcher incorrectly work as a smoke-laying device instead of actually launching smoke grenades

BMPT Prototype We've rebalanced the autocannons of this vehicle for much higher performance (including penetration and rate of fire) in order to make them more viable. The switch between its weapon systems does, however, take longer.
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time
 * Fixed the UI hull traverse value in the Garage

BMPT Ramka-99 We've rebalanced the autocannons of this vehicle for much higher performance (including penetration and rate of fire) in order to make them more viable. The switch between its weapon systems does, however, take longer.
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

BMPT-72 Terminator 2 We've rebalanced the autocannons of this vehicle for much higher performance (including penetration and rate of fire) in order to make them more viable. The switch between its weapon systems does, however, take longer.
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time
 * Improved the armor around its turret ring and turret drive
 * Fixed the UI hull traverse value in the Garage
 * Instead of the 2UOF21 autocannon shells, players can now unlock improved AP shells with higher damage and penetration while the 3UOF21 shells become stock

BVP Šakal
 * Spike-LR ATGM velocity reduced to the real life value, 150 m/s
 * Spike ATGMs are no long excessively agile upon launch

Centauro 155
 * Changed the vehicle's armor for it to correspond to the real life vehicle better

Challenger 2
 * Fixed the issue where its gun could not be damaged

Chieftain 900
 * Fixed the armor by removing the bugged spots that could not be penetrated with any shell

Chieftain Mk.2
 * Fixed the armor by removing the bugged spots that could not be penetrated with any shell

Chieftain Mk.10
 * Fixed the armor by removing the bugged spots that could not be penetrated with any shell

Chieftain Mk.6 Leader
 * Engine renamed from Leyland L60 Mk.7A to Perkins Condor V12-900
 * Fixed the armor by removing the bugged spots that could not be penetrated with any shell

Dragoon 300
 * Improved the armor around troop firing ports

Expeditionary Tank
 * Fixed the incorrect UI characteristics values in the Garage by replacing them with the correct ones (the vehicle itself did not change at all)

K21 XC-8
 * The shell type for DM12A1 was fixed, it now corresponds to the real shell

Leopard 2AV
 * The vehicle now has an alternative gun, a 120mm L/44 smoothbore

Leopard 2AX
 * Added a number of armor changes, including to the ESPACE applique armor kit

M1A1
 * Its stock configuration now includes a soft-kill APS

M1A2 SEP V3
 * Improved the model of the TUSK ERA

M2A3 Bradley
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

M60, M60A1, M60A2 Starship, M60A3
 * Fixed the excessively thick mudguard area armor

Merkava Mk.2D
 * Added a number of armor changes and adjusted the UI armor values to make them more correspond to the actual vehicle better (the effective armor protection did not change)
 * Improved its upper frontal plate

Object 187
 * Fixed the vehicle's position in the Garage
 * Fixed the exhaust smoke position

Object 279
 * Fixed an issue where the bonuses for switchning its suspension modes did not work correctly

OT-64 COBRA
 * Improved the missile agility immediately after launch
 * Improved its autocannon accuracy on the move
 * Launched ATGMs are now easier to control

PL-01
 * Fixed an issue where the improved APFSDS shell ignored ERA

PTZ-89
 * Improved its accuracy from 0.083 to 0.072
 * Rate of fire increased from 7 to 8.3 rounds per minute
 * Aiming time reduced from 2.3s to 1.5s
 * Ammunition carried increased to 45 rounds

Rosomak M1
 * Adjusted the player ability to control its guided missiles

Sabre
 * L14A3 shell penetration increased
 * Swingfire ATGMs improved – the new Swingfire SWIV missiles have 700mm of penetration
 * Improved initial ATGM acceleration

Stingray 2
 * Fixed the position of its gun

Swingfire
 * Improved initial ATGM acceleration

T-15 We've rebalanced the autocannons of this vehicle for much higher performance (including penetration and rate of fire) in order to make them more viable. The switch between its weapon systems does, however, take longer.

T-72B3
 * Fixed the mantlet armor

T-80B
 * Fixed the armor around the driver's hatch

T-90
 * Fixed the HEAT shell and ATGM damage bonus tooltip
 * The vehicle received improved textures

Taifun II
 * Improved the crew hatch armor as well as the armor on the vehicle's sides
 * Fixed the smoke deployment sound

Type 85-IIM
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

Type 90-II
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

Type 96
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

Type 96A
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time

Type 96B
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time
 * Its armor was updated to match the real life vehicle better

Type 99
 * Fixed the Refleks ATGM flight velocity to match the one of Type 99A

VBL
 * Improved the autocannons accuracy and its corresponding values such as recoil and movement accuracy penalties
 * Significantly reduced the camouflage penalty for firing its autocannon
 * Improved the autocannon's elevation and depression
 * Drowning time changed from 20s to 10s

VBL INGWE
 * Changed the module unlocking order in its Upgrade window

VBR
 * Reduced the camouflage penalty for firing an autocannon
 * Improved the autocannon's accuracy on the move

VT-4
 * The left track now behaves correctly when turning

VT-5
 * Having a wounded gunner does not affect the vehicle's weapon reload time
 * Improved the gun depression when the gun is facing to the side of the vehicle from -6 to -8 degrees

Warrior MILAN
 * Fixed an issue where switching weapons systems under some circumstances didn't trigger a reload timer and the aiming reticle didn't switch
 * Fixed an issue where installing the TES(H) armor kit lowered the UI armor values

WPB Anders
 * Fixed an issue where the hull collision model was missing
 * Fixed the APS layout

WWO Wilk
 * Reduced the camouflage penalty for firing its gun
 * Aiming time reduced
 * Reload time reduced from 6.6s to 5s

XM1 Fox
 * Added several armor changes

XM1A3
 * Fixed an issue where the gun firing visual effect was missing
 * Improved the model of the TUSK ERA
 * Improved the frontal turret armor against HEAT rounds

ZBD-86 Neon
 * Headlights now display properly on the vehicle

Player versus Player

 * Added a new map – Salzburg
 * Chemical Plant: optimized the lighting for better performance
 * Ghost Field: changed the location of the bases
 * Ghost Field: improved the map's performance around the airstrip area
 * Lost Island: fixed an issue where several rocks missed a collision model
 * Narrows: viewrange is now reduced when it rains
 * Narrows: fixed the location of bases (the actual location now corresponds the visual one)
 * Pleternica: optimized the lighting for better performance
 * Port Storm: fixed the location of bases (the actual location now corresponds the visual one)

Player versus Environment

 * AI vehicles now cannot damage each other (their friendly fire is disabled)
 * AI vehicles now do reduced damage to modules (reduction by 60 percent, 40 percent for Hardcore)
 * Operations Harbinger, Stormy Winter, Starry Night and Ghost Hunter return in an updated form

Global Operations

 * Narrows: fixed the location of bases (the actual location now corresponds the visual one)
 * Fixed an issue where, upon death, the musical score would change
 * Fixed an issue where the reload timer worked incorrectly in this mode
 * AC-130 hit point and damage values now depend on player Tier
 * AC-130 viewrange reduced to 500m

Special Operations

 * Added the last, fourth, mission to the Black Sea Incursion Special Operation where Magnus Holter finally meets his nemesis – Sebastian Grimm – in Gori (this map has three new achievements)
 * Black Sea Incursion: improved the respawn points
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 1: transparent mesh fences no longer act as spotting obstacles
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 1: changed the loading screen
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 2: the city destruction cutscene now displays correctly
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 3: fixed the airplane model
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 3: the velocity and damage of ATGMs fired by enemy helicopters now depends on player team's Tier
 * Black Sea Incursion Chapter 3: the Peacemaker achievement can still be obtained even if you destroy up to 3 enemy vehicles

User Interface

 * Added the Armor Inspector feature
 * Overhauled the vehicle purchase notification that will now show an additional presentation screen with vehicle characteristics
 * Overhauled the battle results screen to make the transition to the Garage smoother
 * Garage vehicle characteristic indicators now adjust upon the installation of module upgrades
 * Base Colors that you don't own yet can now be viewed in the Customization window
 * In the full-screen mode, you can now select any of the resolutions supported by your screen without having the image distorted (stretched or compressed). Reducing screen resolution positively affects game performance in case of FPS trouble
 * Implemented a large number of smaller UI fixes and corrections
 * Issues and Corrections
 * Fixed an issue where the game would crash when loading
 * Fixed an issue where the game would crash or freeze upon exiting a battle
 * Fixed an issue where player vehicles would sometimes spawn below the map
 * Fixed an issue that would make the game's lighting appear incorrectly on high visual settings
 * Fixed an issue where, upon respawn in PvE or GLOPS, ATGMs started to reload from scratch instead of the vehicle respawning with its launcher loaded like it should have
 * Fixed an issue where the battle UI at the start of a game showed an incorrect number of shells
 * Fixed an issue where the Silencer commander skill did not work correctly (provided no bonuses)
 * Fixed an issue where enabling the profanity filter sometimes removed player nicknames from the Global Chat
 * Fixed an issue where reconnecting to a GLOPS game could make the team point bars appear incorrectly
 * Fixed an issue where some Black Sea Incursion dialogue portraits appeared incorrectly
 * Fixed several Tutorial cutscenes
 * Fixed an issue that caused problems with assigning a different key than the default "E" to vehicle active abilities
 * Fixed an issue where, in some cases, the sound of hitting an enemy would not play properly
 * Fixed an issue where some rear lights would not work
 * Fixed the sounds of optional Leopard 2AV, XM1A3 and Object 187 engines
 * Fixed an issue where wounding one of the two vehicle's loaders made the second loader's skills stop working if the second loader had the same skills as the first one
 * Fixed an issue where some commander skills remained active even when the commander was wounded
 * Fixed an issue where the game sometimes did not appear correctly on several resolutions (the image was scaled incorrectly)
 * Fixed an issue where the HQ interface was unresponsive with the vehicle filters open
 * Fixed an issue where Ready Rack reload was not working correctly – from now on, the rack loading process does not start until the gun itself is loaded
 * Fixed an issue where AI vehicles would sometimes drift sideways in mission cutscenes, tofu delivery style