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Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/developer-diary-shadow-protocol-changes

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0280-now-available Not mentioned in patch notes, but the Seahawks Battle Path has been extended to 1st April Today's update also fixes last week's login bonus issue Many tier 7-10 single shot gun TDs now have quick ammo switch, but those with ready racks or clip remain unchanged. Palmaria's collision fix occurred last month, but is mentioned here again.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/shadow-protocol-battle-path-prize-highlights Many of the "exclusive" skins seem to be China server content now becoming available to the global server. The three Type 96B Biathlon skins have been around for several years. The Rosomak's Wing Hussar skin is teased on the official Twitter account in January. SS initially claimed that we're not getting that particular skin as it's "definitely copyrighted". The in-game skin still looks somewhat similar, but not quite the same.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0275-now-available The special offer is a gold subscription service, where you pay for a certain amount of money to claim 300 gold a day over 30 days + 1000 gold upon purchase. Claiming daily gold is done from the game itself, but players have to click on the button to get it. If you miss a day then the 300 gold for that day is lost. The weekend special event is a "ladder-like event' according to SS. Opening web shop interface via the game will show the old account transfer message from 2024, and login bonus interface may not appear. The server person Anihillator states "the main 'solution' was to just open the game and wait for like 3-4 minutes before opening the shop window, so you'd get logged in".

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0271-now-available The ArmoredLabs was down for about 10 days as Haswell had to ask the forum's server host to renew the domain. The previous week's patch(es) accidentally re-introduced "mission stacking" to contract missions, where it is possible to complete daily and weekly missions back to back with no cooldown in between. It has now been reverted so there's a fixed cooldown after you finish a contract mission, regardless of how much time you take to complete it. However, SS says the devs do want to re-introduce this feature in a proper way:

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/upcoming-contract-bmp-1am-basurmanin Comments from SS in official Discord server: New contract and vehicle ETA mid-March The turret is re-used (from BTR-82A), but hull is new, because old BMP-1 model is "ancient, unusable" When asked if old models will get updated, his response is "perhaps in the future"

A new patch is released 2 days later to address the missing contract issue. Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-02705-now-available

Since the Repair Zone is closely related to the Borsuk, I decide to put its content here instead of making another thread for it. Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/developer-diary-repair-zone In short: Repair Zone has an object (boxes + piles of parts) with 1000 HP but cannot be instantly destroyed via ramming Vehicles need to stay still inside the circle for repair to work Aside from restoring HP, other aspects such as repair speed or module repair are still TBD Repair Zone has no spotting range (i.e. cannot spot), but it has own camouflage value

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/shadow-protocol-battle-path-info-and-preorder Additional notes from SS on official Discord server: BP is set for 4 months long Mercenary Loot Crate will only try to drop items that players don't have The devs may publish a full list of possible drops in the future

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0270-now-available Some players have lost access to Seasonal Contract missions. SS said on official Discord server that the devs are now working on a fix, and the contract will be extended accordingly. The Typhoon-VDV now appears in the global vehicle directory and players can test drive it. Unknown if it's first introduced in this patch, but some vehicles now have air burst HE rounds. Examples include AGDS, Derivatsiya, EBRC Jaguar, Draco, Gepard, Lynx Prototype (both 30mm and 35mm), Otomatic, Puma, and T249.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/development-knifv-nlos-lps There are concerns that this vehicle will powercreep the AFT-10 (which just got a buff last month), SS states that the KNIFV's launchers stay pointing up for both firing modes, and only lower down during reload, hence players have to be more strategic than when playing with the AFT-10.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/development-t-64bv-mod2022

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/development-borsuk Comments from SS: The repair zone can also repair the parent vehicle (i.e. the Borsuk that deploys the structure itself) as well as other teammate vehicles, but it won't be usable by enemies As an entity it will behave similarly to VN20's turret, and it can be spotted by anyone It will disappear upon destruction or when the parent vehicle respawns

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0260-now-available This update also shortens the currencies' displayed numbers by showing K, M, and B for thousands, millions, and billions. On the other hand, there are reports that seasonal contract missions do not work properly: contract mission UI may not show missions as completed after and on cooldown after completion, but it may just be a UI problem, as they are still being counted towards contract vehicles' upgrade unlock progression. T-64BV 2017's gun elevation and depression stats are now narrowed down to -2 and 10 degrees respectievly in this update.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/development-typhoon-vdv This vehicle will debut as a loot crate vehicle, but it may also be available via BP shop and contests later in the future. As for the passive ability, SS says they may take a look at it, implying the details are not final.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0250-now-available The TOS-1M changes were originally supposed to take place last November, but for some reasons they didn't actually happen back then. Both AFT-10 and BM Oplot buffs seem to be in response to requests on last month's stream, where SS also commented that both vehicles weren't doing well. IT-1, Object 287, and K21 XC-8 received their coaxial machine guns as part of undocumented changes in 0.235, but are mentioned now. As for other vehicles with machine guns mentioned in the patch notes, it looks like that they were the ones that got left out from previous machine gun elevation fixes in 0.155, and finally got theirs fixed this week. There is a new unknown consumable slot to the right of PvE-exclusive Field Repair Kit slot in match, where the shortcut key is shown to be "loc_".

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0247-now-available The new Progress Boost feature has caused vehicles to reverse in progression. This is due to the way the system now counts overprogression modules as part of the vehicles' progress to renown status (i.e. 100%), which is not intended and defeats the point of said overprogression upgrades. There are multiple reports of players getting stuck on mission loading screen with progress at 52%, most commonly on Heroics spec ops chapter 3. Some people also mention CPU going 100% when it happens.

CSB has been updated today to include skill changes on Fyodor Sokolov, Joshua Seagrove, and Kathryn Grey first seen in 0.240. Link: http://csb-hype.5v.pl/ A few things to note: Some skills have changed names and no longer use the I, II and III rank system, but Tenam (the one who coded the latest versions of CSB) is rather busy and says it's not something that can be changed easily (at least not right away). Only English language is up to date for now. English, German, Traditional and Simplified Chinese versions are now up to date. Other languages may or may not get updated in the future (depending on volunteers available).

Source (SS enters voice chat around 00:20:34): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2317916918 Mirror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gXKmnfo0Bk ---- Battle Path: SS will try to include SPGs in the next Battle Path's missions The high requirements for current BP's missions are intended That said, SS will overhaul the missions again for the next BP Battle Coin boosts are not available in ranks, but only via mission chains for this BP, and this is also intended. There are no plans to add garage vehicle filters for BP-specific missions, e.g. sort by Bulwark, Maulers, Remnants, or Seahawks vehicles for Seahawks BP Mechanics: The devs are looking into possible AI improvement, especially as part of (but not limited to) the post-season 0 Shockwave Mode overhaul. They don't want to make the bots too smart and cause players to accuse the bots of cheating, but rather make them more predictable (akin to dungeon mobs in an RPG) as the game's development is shifting more towards PvE in direction. They are aware of bots ignoring player vehicles' smokescreens and soft kill APS as it was mentioned last July. On the other hand, AI is one of the most complex things in the game aside from matchmaking and connections. PanzerMarmelade asks if SPGs can have selectable modules to allow indirect fire for PvE only and while making it direct fire only for PvP, SS replies he and the devs don't want vehicles to have different behaviours in different modes. When asked if the devs can add a live "assist damage" stats table in battle, SS thinks it's hard to answer as it may or may not be very complicated to do. Drones will still come this year (this month), but there will be changes to its mechanics. Drone launches will be limited in numbers, and will use consumable mechanic. Light tanks will get attack drones, whereas scouts like CRAB and SPHINX will get recon drones. The changes are still being finalised, but there will be a new article explaining them. Spec Ops: SS thinks that they way how player vehicles get spotted over a long distance since the helicopter stage of Lone Star and getting bombarded by wide AoE artillery are intended - mostly as an improvisation for them to work. There were a lot of problems regarding their behaviour during that mission's development. SS also thinks that the helicopter not being able to locked on with autoaim is probably intended. (Helicopters in older spec ops can be locked on and even be shot down by self-guided ATGMs though) As for the artillery's wide AoE, SS doesn't think it's a problem; it wasn't brought up frequently in the survey. The level designers are currently working on the second iteration of Shockwave Mode, but Black Company chapter 3 aka Tiger Shark will probably still come in the first half of 2025 (subject to changes). The devs are aware that vehicle achievements for the latest Spec Ops are tedious due to long mission lengths. SS will look into writing new achievements for Tiger Shark. Implementing Apocalypse + Exile spec ops series into weekend War Games is harder than it seems. A lot of things, ranging from UI to the missions themselves, were broken, and the task was delayed by other factors as mentioned in July stream. They plan to get it done in 2025, but no idea how soon or late it will be. The devs are looking into allowing players to choose which spec ops mission to play, but no ETA on that. There are two groups of supertesters: one for EU, and one for RU. The RU group has its own rules for selection and testing things. As for the EU group, SS handpicks the candidates based on how much he trusts them and values their opinions, and the whole process is much easier in comparison. Vehicles: There are plans to add new light tanks, as well as to overhaul the class as a whole. European vehicles will get balance changes in the future. SPG overhaul is considered a success, because it helps increase the play rate. However, the SPGs will be reviewed again in 2025, as they are not yet in a satisfactory state. Autocannon Wiesel is in limbo as it's not at a high priority. The devs don't want to turn it into a contract vehicle though. It may still return as a premium vehicle, or be merged with the progression vehicle (Wiesel TOW), whichever is easier to do. As mentioned in July stream, Object 292 is having problems, even though it's not as bad as T-80BVM's. No ETA available though. Leopard 2A8 will come after Object 292. Modelling has already started. AFT-10 will get a buff because it needs one; its performance is bad in pretty much every mode. This was also asked and confirmed in April's stream. The TOS-1M Buratino was supposed to get a new weak spot below the turret, as well as convergence for the 122mm rockets in late November. The changes did not go live last week, but are still coming in the future. No plans to nerf Boxer RIWP's armour unless it's doing too well statistically. No plans to sell the T-55M1. As for why the Object 640 Black Eagle returns as an obtainable skin in the current BP despite the promise not to sell it again, SS said "well I believe we said that we wouldn't sell it". No plans for more anime style vehicle skins. SS may look into adding an MG to Cheonma-2's stock configuration in order to deal with infantry or other targets CATTB is still doing statistically well according to SS. "Not great, not the best tank in the game, but it's doing OK". (For reference, he reported 48.9% win rate and average damage per match last June on official Discord server) XM1A3's 120mm didn't get any changes in the recent US vehicles buffs, and it's intended by the game designers themselves. SS didn't have much involvement in this, but he acknowledges that the 120mm doesn't seem as viable overall, yet the double-tap burst may compensate for it. He will look into the stats and see if it needs buffs in the future nonetheless. No plans to buff XM1A3's 140mm ammo capacity for now. PanzerMarmelade brings up the issue of SPHINX's and Jaguar's low autocannon ammo capacity again (also brought up in July's stream). SS says he will check the vehicles' damage per match and determine if they need buffs or not. More low tier vehicles planned for 2025, though not as many as higher tier ones. BM Oplot buff is possible, as it's not doing so well. However, the Russian vehicles' ERA took a long time to fix (the models had to be converted to a different format), so SS thinks they may go for a different direction for the Oplot. Buffing HP, however, is feasible, as it has less HP than many other tier 9 MBTs. Regarding top attack ATGMs, SS thinks it's better for something to be less useful than having it OP. There was a time when such missiles were doing a lot of damages, and the solution was to buff vehicle roof armour. As for vehicles like Shadow and K-153C, SS says he can look into buffing them, such as reducing lock-on time. XM2001 Crusader will be a loot crate tank. SS thinks it'd be really fun, and he's fairly confident that players will like it. Others: Regarding DXVK getting removed from game folder, SS says the launcher now deletes any files that it considers inconsistent with the game files. He also states that this move improves the game's stability, as the number of crash reports have dropped by 30%, even though they're not all caused by mods. He re-emphasised that 3rd party adjustments / mods are not officially supported, yet at the same time they are aware that players are so used to them by now that this is an awkward move, so he encourages people who are facing DXVK problems to contact him on how it's installed etc. and he will try to bring this up with the tech guys. Regarding patch notes coming after updates and not before, SS says it's not possible to communicate way in advance, because sometimes the changes are only confirmed at the last minute. The winter marathon event will feature things that players requested, such as Yugoslavia flag, googly eyes decal seen on Abrams tanks, and cheese camo to go with Object 490. There is a suggestion from the audience asking for repair points to refill APS charges, and PanzerMarmelade suggests doing so via consumable. SS says he will look into either options. New gun sounds may come in February or March 2025. The T-72 gun sounds were supposed to come in the Shockwave Update, but it turns out they weren't ready. The devs are aware that AMD Radeon cards are not doing well with this game (known issue with CryEngine). There will be a boost event (income increase?) around Christmas. No plans for new battalion content at the moment. There were plans for a new Battalion vehicle, but there isn't enough resource available and to allocate for such a task. SS would rather not touch this topic until there is a clearer plan on what to do. Rental vehicles are helpful for new players, and is a positive contribution for the Shockwave Update, but they also present a problem, because they have become "gold factories" for older players, which is not intended. Shockwave Mode has heavily impacted the player count in Global Operations. There is a general plan to make changes to Shockwave Mode so that gameplay takes place across the whole map, rather than forcing players to fight around the centre in close combat. Examples include activating turrets. Switching game engines was something considered before, but it was deemed super expensive. They did do a tech demo to review such a possibility before though. The devs have been looking for a dedicated community manager for the English community, but until then SS will still be fronting the public communications (even though he said he doesn't want to); those who can speak English well are either high in the leadership, or are too shy to do the public stuff. Still no plans to remove or change Ophelia's shield, particularly because of her premium nature. SS doesn't defend the 250 EUR price for tier 10 tanks sold in the web shop, as it's not his own decision. His only advice is buy if you think it's worth it, and vice versa. Regarding a comment about how 10 vs 10 GLOPs is mostly playing just playing on the same 3 maps over and over again, SS says it's possible to add more maps to the skirmish pool, but this requires adjustments for individual maps. About 70% of the matches occur on the same 3 maps. The newest PvP map Carson City only saw about 1.5 to 3%, and it's something that devs need to address eventually. When asked if there will be new missions for Heroic mode, SS agrees that there should be more Heroic PvE, but not just for clan content and in a different format ("so stay tuned, I guess"). Shockwave Mode doesn't count as Heroic; the "Heroic" part on mission selection screen is just placeholder text, and the two modes require different mindsets and skillsets. No plans for new retrofits, even though some rather toxic ones were planned at one point. Same for consumables.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/future-shockwave-mode

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0246-now-available This update originally contained notes regarding TOS-1M Buratino's changes, including a new weak spot, limiting hard kill APS to frontal arc only, and adding convergence back to 122mm rockets. However, it appears that the changes did not actually go live, and so the said notes have now been removed from the page.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/development-xm2001-crusader This will be the first tier 10 premium SPG, and the first premium SPG since Msta-S from Echoes of War BP in late 2020. It will be a direct fire vehicle as with most other SPGs. SS: "The existing artillery gameplay as big boom TDs is staying" There are plans to include SPGs in BP repeatable missions in the future

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/update-0240-now-available VN20's deployable turret has no positive gun elevation Unlike previous commander changes in the past, the devs decide not to give out free resets to affected commanders. SS's argument: Thorpe is said to get his overhaul later, though his skill field already has undergone some unannounced changes. M1 Abrams's new M833 gets the wrong calibre (120mm instead of 105mm) A lot of autocannon HE shells now have much improved splash penetration stats

Seahawks Battle Path is now live. https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/seahawks-battle-path-now-available https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/battle-path-info-and-preorder Related thread: BP is planned to last for approx. 122 days. Each rank now costs 4500 Battle Coins to progress If you already have the following commander, skin, or vehicle upon reaching the required rank to obtain them, you'll get 2000 coins each as compensation (without in-game notifications): Joshua Seagrove Kathryn Grey Fyodor Sokolov Zhalo-S Black Eagle skin Merkava 2D Black Eagle skin T-72 Victory (T-72 Ural reskin premium vehicle) BMD-2 Black Eagle skin Stingray 2 Black Eagle (reskin premium vehicle) Object 640 Black Eagle skin Sabre If you already have the AGDS before claiming another as a mission chain reward, you will get 19,000 gold instead. The current BP UI does not allow players to go back on previous diary entries, but you can view them on the website and change numbers to see different pages: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/diary1 M1A3 Aces skin only unlocks and allows the use of Trophy APS, but not the Trophy NG APS. Upgrades for this BP's vehicles do not cost credits, which can cause confusions when you try to unlock them after using XP to unlock them. You have to click on the said nodes again in order to actually equip them.

Source: https://armoredwarfare.com/en/news/general/developer-diary-battle-path-commander-changes Thorpe's overhaul is supposed to come at the same time as the other three commanders, as mentioned in a previous article. However, SS states preparing for this upcoming BP and Shockwave mode at the same time was too much, but his changes should come "soon". Seagrove's main skill is intended to have a 25% HP cost instead of 20%, i.e. article text's statement stands true over what's stated in screenshot Some other skill changes are not mentioned, such as Kathryn Grey's Camo Net II skill being replaced by some kind of repair speed improvement skill.