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Haswell

In Development: T-72M1

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https://aw.my.games/en/news/general/development-t-72m1

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In Armored Warfare, the T-72M1 will be a Tier 5 Premium Main Battle Tank.

The model we are working on is based on an East German vehicle from the late 1980s. Gameplay-wise, the tank will be similar to the T-72A progression MBT, only without the Kontakt-1 ERA upgrade. There isn’t much that can be said about its performance otherwise – it will perform adequately, but it won’t outperform other vehicles on the same Tier.

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There will be some visual differences between the T-72A and T-72M1 models. Most obviously, the T-72M1 is missing the radiation lining on top of the turret, there’s the 16mm steel plate on the hull and the stowage box layout is different.

But let us finally get to the point of this vehicle’s introduction.

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Since the beginning, we considered different ways how to enhance the future Desert Storm Raid experience even further. It will be our first Raid based on a real-life event and it will feature several appropriate visual customization options such as the Mk.3 ODS skin for the Challenger 1 MBT.

We thought it would be appropriate to include a separate Premium vehicle and from there, we started considering various candidates. We wanted the Iraqi side represented as well and the T-72M1 did fight during the Desert Storm operation in Iraqi hands.

But the real reason we chose it runs a bit deeper.

Armored Warfare has tens of thousands of players, many of whom come from the countries that used or use the T-72 series MBTs. By introducing this vehicle as a separate platform, we’ll also be able to produce various skins for it. This tank served all around the world and we’re sure that many of you would like to see your specific configuration represented in the game.

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Without having a separate T-72M1 model, this would be difficult to do. The reason for that is that none of these countries historically used the Kontakt-1 ERA, which is an integral part of the T-72A model and cannot be excluded from skins in general. We’ll also be potentially able to use this model in the future as a baseline for various highly requested vehicles that wouldn’t otherwise work as simple skins.

Regarding the T-72M1 itself, it will be available at the start of the Desert Storm Raid event. To enter the Raid, you’ll either have the option to purchase it for Gold, or to enter the event for free by completing 10 Contract Missions as usual.

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And, finally, as for the future, there’s one more Russian (or, rather, Soviet) vehicle that awaits you in the foreseeable future (yes, it will be obtainable for free) and then we’ll start taking a look at more western designs. We’ll also tell you more about the other Desert Storm Raid skins soon. Stay tuned and, as always:

I don't care much for the history, but one of these two things will happen:

  • it will suck, because it will be just a reskin, or;
  • it will be broken because of 0.33 armor, if it gets released with such before the low tier rebalancing.

Also, I can't wait to hear the cries of "muh 72M1" getting destroyed by missile bots.


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I mean, at least it is a normal production vehicle, and not some weird prototype with a gimmick. It would be nice to have it in PvE AI pool as a target for Desert Storm event.

 

Also hell yeah for GDR tanks, East Germany had the best military music ever.

 

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7 hours ago, Haswell said:

Also, I can't wait to hear the cries of "muh 72M1" getting destroyed by missile bots.

Ugh... missile performance at T5-6 is so unpredictable.  I had a BP daily to get 150 kills in a T3-6 MBT, but wanted to continue working on the Challenges (HEAT dmg, 120+ dmg, ATGM kills) so I took an MBT-70 and loaded it up with Shillelaghs.

Mother of god... 450 pen from a Tier 6 152mm ATGM?  WTAF?  There are T6 ATGMs with 800 pen!

Bouncing one off of a fragile Pindad, Wiesel, or rocket jeep is just extra special.

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Given that this will be a variation of the upcoming remodelled T-72A, then it'd quite likely be quite strong for low tier standards just as T-72B is in post-0.33 armour layout.

Also, it sounds like that this T-72M1 will be readily available in the future, even after the Desert Storm raid, because the wordings imply the devs plan to add various skins for it, perhaps for other events or even as a "welcome gift/offer" for new players further down the road.

On the other hand, I'd imagine some people complaining that we'd have too many T-72s in the game.


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I'd argue that we will have one too many T-72s at tier 5 (2 progression and 1 premium) once the T-72M1 gets added. it certainly doesn't help that the first of the progression T-72s (T-72 Ural) used to be tier 4 before it was moved to tier 5, and that the other progression T-72 (T-72A) is a straight upgrade from it despite being the same tier.

If they're going to add the T-72M1, I really hope they're planning on merging the T-72 Ural and T-72A into a single vehicle to improve low-tier balance (since when was having 2 nearly identical vehicles at the same tier, with one being a complete upgrade (rather than a notional side-grade) a good idea?) and make things easier for new players trying to progress down that vehicle branch.

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Aye, the Ural performance is an issue that we'll be dealing with separately (we know it sucks), but I have no definitive answers as to how. The T-72M1 will come out in "pre-rebalance" standard (so will really just match the current T-72A). And yes, the whole vehicle being a platform for future skins that players from specific nations will enjoy is definitely one of its main raisons d'etre. Might even become a foundation of new separate vehicles. We'll see.

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Hmm, but why produce a whole new vehicle just for a base model for skins? Skins could already alter the model geometries greatly (all the recent BP and Raid skins), a new vehicle seem unnecessary. Unless... skins don't sell well alone enough?

Another possible reason is that the M1 variant has to NOT have the ERA blocks while maintaining similar performance to the 72A. This means a skin for it will have to NOT include the module, introducing the dilemma of skins affecting actual gameplay performance as well as being objectively worse than the base vehicle.

I'm not overly fond of the tons of reskinniums we have already, but I do see the merits in them. Better to have reskinniums than drawing up entirely new vehicles with possible balance issues. The problem is how to make them appealing to players so they can temporarily forget about the "just a reskin" part.


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11 hours ago, Haswell said:

Hmm, but why produce a whole new vehicle just for a base model for skins? Skins could already alter the model geometries greatly (all the recent BP and Raid skins), a new vehicle seem unnecessary. Unless... skins don't sell well alone enough?

Another possible reason is that the M1 variant has to NOT have the ERA blocks while maintaining similar performance to the 72A. This means a skin for it will have to NOT include the module, introducing the dilemma of skins affecting actual gameplay performance as well as being objectively worse than the base vehicle.

I'm not overly fond of the tons of reskinniums we have already, but I do see the merits in them. Better to have reskinniums than drawing up entirely new vehicles with possible balance issues. The problem is how to make them appealing to players so they can temporarily forget about the "just a reskin" part.

Skins can alter just visual model geometry, but not performance. So, adding a giant spike or a dragon mouth to the gun is okay, but you can't add ERA elements as a part of a skin. Or remove them. You also cannot skin-lock certain configurations (this is a bit non-intuitive and I am not entirely sure why because it was possible in the past). So, for example, you cannot make a T-72M1 skin for the T-72A because then you'd end up with T-72M1 with ERA, which is technically a nonsense (it isn't, but let's say it is). Skins also cannot alter the base armor perception. For example, for one skin (the Warhammer), I wanted the devs to remove the rearmost side panel so that the drive sprocket was completely uncovered. I argued that this would have almost no effect on the gameplay and that it was possible to leave that armor there "virtually" (changing the visual model but not the collision one). This was rejected.

The T-72M1 is my personal idea - I have long argued that we need a "skin carrier" basic Leopard 2A4, basic Abrams and basic T-72M1. The skins can then not only propell the vehicle sale itself, but can act as standalones. While this may sound strange, it can be justified when you look at some internal considerations, but that's obviously not something I can share.

We'll see how it goes.

 

 

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So the 72M1 will be available for gold purchase (I think) for unlocking the Raid. Not sure if people who grind out the contract missions will also get it, but my gut says no right now.


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On 3/9/2021 at 5:28 AM, Silentstalker said:

The T-72M1 will come out in "pre-rebalance" standard (so will really just match the current T-72A).

This statement did not age well at all. Behold, the "current" 72A:

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The "current" 72A received the 0.33 armor treatment as part of the remodel in 0.35. Give up all ye hope for the 72M1 to have 0.32 balancing.


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SS has an update on the T-72M1's obtention in relation to upcoming Desert Storm Raid:

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The entry price for the Raid will be like before, 499 gold or 10 contract missions. Anyone who enters the raid will get the T-72M1 for free

Source on official Discord server

 


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