Remember the Golden Age of WoT?

[Ruukudesu_]

What happened to this game man? I used to be a sucker for this, but now every love I had is gone. It has become too grindy, too convoluted, too dificult to get into again. I really want to be helpful to bring back the tankgame I used to love but I feel like I can't. So this is an open letter, my last try, but it doesn't really matter.

What really kills it for me is that you can't play without a premium account, you will lose credits without it - can't afford to progress and at some point you can't even pay the repairs, unless you buy a lot of ingame currency with real money. I assure you I wasted good 1500€ on this game over the years because of these mechanics.

I can not accept putting in any more money into this game unless the game is fun again. It used to be so much fun, I used to play it with my friends, it was easy and simple and the premium tanks were interesting and the premium account just made the grind a little bit faster, thats why I accepted putting money into it.

There is so much more grind now, with all the lootbox events, bond equipment, experimental equipment on top of the already existing grind of the tech tree which expanded and crew training which now has even more skills to learn.

The game feels like ADHD now, when I open the game I am overwhelmed by all the stuff going on when it used to be just Random Battle and none of this extra Frontline/Onslaught stuff LIMITED TIME ONLY and next month something else again.

I just don't care anymore. Make it simpler. Make it really accessible on Steam, because whenever I open the Game Center it is 30min update time first and when I start WoT I already lost interest only to be bombarded by new stuff popups (you don't need new stuff, I don't need new stuff). If you really want us old players back, make it appealing and start with really using Steam, most of us play a lot of other games here on Steam and if I had WoT in my Steam Library it would always be up to date and ready to play and I would get your updates on my newsfeed, it is the best interaction you could get - I downloaded Warthunder on Steam and I am honestly tempted to play Warthunder because of this, I am only held back because the grind there is almost as bad as it is in WoT.

Make the grind easier please, people will buy premium stuff no matter what as long as there is a playerbase, you don't have to force us to pay for ingame currency to run repairs and progress normally because at some point you will kill this game and then no one will buy anything anymore. Well maybe you don't care, but I kinda want my tankgame back and the feeling I had playing it 10 years ago.

[DiceWrangler]

Something changed when Wargaming (WG) changed its philosophy on premium tanks, ammo and, possibly, accounts (primarily in regards to the matchmaker but that may be just be a conspiracy theory).

Originally, premium tanks were intended as just an average tank for a given tier and an elited tech-tree tank (with the same crew and loadout) was always better. Premium tanks were originally intended to be used for training crews and making credits but not, necessarily, for winning matches. These days, however, premium tanks have the highest win ratios across the board -- in addition to their in-game benefits. In other words, players that pay $$$ (or gold) for a tank have a better chance at winning; aka Pay-To-Win (P2W). This should not be a huge surprise, however, as WG is a business and the primary function of a (for-profit) business is to make money -- not to provide free entertainment for all players.

As a "freeloader" (non-paying player) I recognize that my role in all of this is to provide competition (and teammates) for paying players. As long as I am having fun I do not care if the game is "fair."

That said, I avoid tier X (10) because the amount of gold flying around (which I refuse to rely upon), over-powered premium tanks, enhanced (bond?) equipment and amazingly skilled players (I'm just a 52% WR player) makes it feel like a brutal beating and waste of my time (and credits). Tier 9 is fun but it seems like I am never top-tier.

[◯ | mkv]

Hello Ruukudesu_!

Contrary to how it might seem, there are plenty of ways to make credits without resorting to using real-life currency or obtaining a premium account. In fact, as long as you limit your use of premium ammunition to "only when absolutely necessary" on Tier 1-8 tanks, you should be able to end every battle with a profit in credits. Selling unused modules or consumables would also help, but another very effective method of earning credits is using credit Boosters, which will increase the amount of credits you earn by 50%, each for an hour.

Additionally, the Frontline mode of which you speak rather derisively is an excellent place to earn credits, especially if you use premium tanks (However, you don't have to). Combining a credit booster with a premium tank, even be it a rental one, should net you a profit of around 200k credits every match, without having a premium account. Frontline also offers a refreshing new gamemode to accompany your credit earnings, which some find appealing.

Of course, Frontline is a limited gamemode, but as I mentioned above, you should have no issues with earning credits as long as you take measures to cut down on unnecessary spendings and avoid the more expensive tiers. (Tier 9 and Tier 10)

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

[8_Hussars]

Originally posted by Ruukudesu_:

What happened to this game man? I used to be a sucker for this, but now every love I had is gone. It has become too grindy, too convoluted, too dificult to get into again.

Interesting take.

Grinding has been significantly reduced with the introduction of blueprints, personal reserves, WoT Plus, etc. That creates its own problem as players quickly advance past their skill and comfort levels.

Tech trees have been simplified. A bunch of historical tanks have been hidden in the "collectors" area.

The mechanics are mostly the same. Free sixth sense for everyone. New crew skills (worse than before) and then the gimmicks. Such as auto-reloaders, reverse auto-reloaders, hydro pneumatic suspension, double barrels, gun cooling, etc.

Decent games up to Tier 8 make credits. T9 and T10 have always been credit sinks forcing many to play T8 premium tanks. There are a plethora available just for playing the game.

The ADHD comment is kind of true. There is a variety of promotions ongoing at any given time. These seem like overload if you are completionist or collector.

Check out Project CW. It may hit the simple arcade game you are looking for.

[Rod]

Too grindy? Its an mmo what do you want all tier x right away? So you can quit a few months later because "you got everything" yea good arguement.

[DiceWrangler]

The game was even "grindier" before when crews would start at 50%, 75% or 100% (depending on how much silver or gold you spent) skill -- just for their primary roles (Commander, Driver, etc.) -- and Sixth Sense was a "must-have" Perk (requiring 100% before it became active). These days, all crews start @ 100% and Sixth Sense is free.