



V1.4 UPDATE



With this version we aim to normalize the behaviour of early harassment vehicles with respect to their containing armies. Given the overwhelmingly good feedback we have already been receiving from submitted replays, we will also be treating the playerbase to fixes/reworks of unused doctrinal vehicles that also fall within the scope.



Hopefully with the continued support of the community, we will be able to iron out the changes so as to make the live version of the game more diverse, and more enjoyable.



WBP v1.4 brings along the following types of changes:



Readjusting the late-game of early-game vehicles (e.g., SU M3A1) through veterancy, so that even those vehicles have some utility in the late-game; when vetted

Expanding the benefits of shared veterancy to normally combat-evading units (e.g., Kubelwagen), so that they can also scale into the late-game, if preserved

Removing layers of complexity and ironing-out UI issues introduced by previous version of the WBP



GENERAL CHANGES

Veterancy Rates from Infantry-Based Anti Tank



Anti-tank infantry squads were attaining veterancy disproportionately fast compared to anti-infantry squads. This was allowing blobs of infantry to scale versus armour too easily. This also allowed anti-tank-equipped squads to outpace dedicated anti-infantry squads and trade more efficiently than they should. With this change we aim to streamline the speed of veterancy gain or all squads.



Reduced the rate at which infantry-held anti-tank weapons would award veterancy:



Panzerschrecks/Bazookas/PIATs now award 3 times less experience when damaging a target.

PTRS/BOYS anti-tank rifles would award inconsistent amount of veterancy when damaging targets. This has been addressed; the experience gain for using those anti-tank rifles is now in line with other anti-tank weapons (3 times less XP than damage).

This change does not affect the British Sniper



SOVIETS

Penals



We are tidying up PTRS upgrade UI and make it more intuitive instead of having multiple tiered upgrades. Lowering the accuracy will make PTRS less effective vs light vehicles early on, but still just as effective. Lowering the accuracy means PTRS will sometimes miss vs light vehicles at long range but still at a satisfactory rate vs heavier targets.



AT (Sticky) Satchel Shanges:



Can be targeted either on enemy vehicles, or the ground

If an enemy vehicle is targeted the Penal squad will throw a satchel that will home-in on the target (if the enemy remains within proximity long enough)

If a non-vehicle target is chosen, the Penal squad will throw the satchel on the ground. If the satchelâs trajectory intersects with a vehicle, the satchel will âstickâ to the vehicle

Fixed an issue where the AT satchel would not cause engine damage criticals to vehicles



The new AT satchel ability is an amalgamation of the v1.2 WBP AT satchel and v1.3 WBP AT satchel. This change will allow AT Penal squads to also, occasionally, pose a threat to vehicles that utilise smoke.



PTRS Upgrade Changes:



3x PTRS package at 80 munition (from the word go)

Upgrade time increased from 30 seconds to 40 seconds

Penal PTRS accuracy reduced to 0.0385/0.06/0.10



The accuracy change of the PTRS makes it so that at Vet0, and at max range:



The Penal squad will never miss vs a King tiger

Has 15% chance to miss vs medium armour

Has 31% chance to miss vs light tanks



Nevertheless, this change makes it so that Penal squad veterancy perks more meaningful/necessary when performing an AT role. Thus we have:



The Penal squad requires Veterancy 2 to guarantee hits at all ranges vs medium armour

The Penal squad requires Veterancy 3 to guarantee hits at all ranges vs light tanks



M3A1 Scout Car



Although the M3A1 is a solid unit when rushed, the relevance of an M3A1 drops very quickly to the point of becoming a deadweight to the player that used the vehicle. Since all units should hold some relevance, we are improving M3A1âs scalability through some moderate veterancy bonuses.



To assist the M3 in achieving those bonuses, we are giving M3A1 the shared-veterancy perks we have introduced for other transport/reinforcement vehicles in WBP1.0. The M3A1 requires such kind of help since it is a highly fragile unit with fixed-arc MGs.



Gains 1.2 Acceleration and Deceleration per veterancy rank

Veterancy 3 also awards a 0.7 received accuracy modifier

Health from 200 to 240

Front armour from 5.4 to 4.5

Rear armour from 4.2 to 3.5

Gains Shared Veterancy



The armour-to-HP tradeoff will make M3A1 will make the vehicle more resilient to autocannon fire, and other kinds of high-penetration attacks that would quickly destroy the M3A1 without warning. The resilience of M3A1 to small arms fire will remain relatively unchanged due to lower armour, but the damage will be more consistent due to less reliance on chance-to-penetrate. As a result of this trade-off, M3A1âs damaged primarily through small-arms fire will take a bit longer to repair to full.



To ensure that a surviving M3A1 remains a useful scout, we are buffing its acceleration, progressively, so that it can match the acceleration of other light vehicles by vet3. Shared veterancy will ensure that M3A1 will be able to reach those levels in due time (so that it doesnât become obsolete).



Finally, the Veterancy 3 received accuracy bonus will allow a fully-vetted M3 to potentially survive in a hazardous late-game environment. With these changes, players that utilize their M3A1 aggressively to gain enough experience will not end up with a âdeadweightâ unit by the lategame

T-70



Given the generous squad formations that infantry models are benefiting from, we are finding T-70âs performance somewhat lackluster vs squads in the open. To compensate for this, we are improving the output and reliability of its coaxial machine gun.



One of the main reasons that T-70âs coaxial MG performance is so low is because it would often take pauses as long as 9 seconds between bursts. By addressing the reliability issues of the coaxial MG, we are allowing the T-70 to be able to deal consistent DPS across all ranges with the MG.



Coaxial MG cooldown decreased from 5 to 3

Coaxial MG cooldown multiplier changed from 0.5/1/1.5 to 0.75/1/1.25

Coaxial MG accuracy changed from 0.38/0.33/0.28 to 0.38/0.355/0.33

Coaxial MG reload frequency reduced from 4-6 seconds to 3 seconds

Fixed an issue where the Coaxial MG would not track targets properly



WEHRMACHT

222 Scout Car



We found the 222 to still be too fragile when compared to the target size of other, more durable vehicles. The changes to 222 veterancy will allow vetted 222s to scale into the lategame as frontline scouts.



Vet1 improves received accuracy to 0.889

Vet3 awards 20 extra HP



251 Flame Half-Track



Although the performance of the flame HT vs units in the open is satisfactory, we find the lethality of the Flame HT vs garrisons far too high. Even though the Flame HT should pose a serious threat to garrisons, it should still afford some reaction time to the defender to disengage. This is especially because the projectile of the Flame HT can traverse walls and other shotblockers, which would normally deny the reaction time needed.



Flamethrower(s) area of effect damage far multiplier from 1 to 0.5



To clarify. This change will only affect the performance of the 251 flame halftrack when engaging garrisoned units. This does NOT affect the performance of the flame HT vs non-garrisoned squads.



The change does NOT alter the anti-garrison performance of the damage-over-time (DoT) effects of the flames spawned by the flamethrower weapon.

Stug-E



To prevent players from spamming Stug-Eâs too quickly, we are doubling the recharge time for fielding multiple units. This should afford the opponent the opportunity to field a vehicle to counter Stug-Eâs before they reach a critical mass.



Recharge time between successive Stug-E call-ins increased from 30 seconds to 60 seconds



USF

81mm Mortar



We found this unit was still performing too well within this faction. To compensate for this weâve decided to reduce the distance of the near AoE, thus reducing the number of one-hit-kills the unit is likely to produce. With this change we also aim to keep the other indirect fire options of USF relatively competitive to the mortar.



AoE near distance reduced from 1 to 0.9 (both attack and barrage)



M20



We find that M20 is far too fragile to perform the role of a late-game scout unit that the USF needs to probe defenses. To reward players that have invested in an early M20 and played aggressively with it, we are increasing the durability of the M20 when it achieves max rank. The health boost will allow the M20 to survive an additional pak shot.



Maximum health increased by 20HP at Veterancy 3.



M15



Unlike other light vehicles, which bring some utility to the table (i.e. smoke), the M15 has little use in the late game. To address this, we are increasing M15âs survivability and lethality vs infantry as it vets up. The health bonus at Veterancy 3 will allow the M15 to survive exactly one extra shot from an anti-tank gun.



Maximum health increased by 40HP at Veterancy 3.

50 cal MG accuracy increased by 10%/15%/15% at vet levels 1-through-3 respectively



Stuart



To improve the Stuartâs performance without making it too strong as an early game shock unit we have increased its penetration, giving it more of an impact against medium tanks, though not enough to fight them head on.



Main gun penetration increased from 65/50/45 to 75/60/55



OKW

Panzerfausts



OKW are the only faction in the game to have snares which cost 35 munitions. This heavy Panzerfaust cost made them too vulnerable to vehicles, especially when compounded with their other inferior anti-tank options. The delay on OKW unlocking Panzerfausts compared to Wehrmacht made them helpless versus early light vehicles such as the M3 and M20. This, additionally made the prospect of going for a Mechanised HQ less viable.



Volks Grenadier Panzerfaust Munitions cost reduced from 35 to 25

Requires an sWS being summoned into the field (as opposed to truck being set-up)



Kubelwagen



The Kubelwagen has a fixed-arc MG and is, generally, not very well geared for frontline combat. Thus, it never really gains veterancy. To address this:



Kubelwagen now benefits from shared veterancy



At the same time, the Detection ability is too potent due to its lack of price and we fear that with a veterancy gain buff, it will become too available, thus making the 251 Infrared Searchlight Halftrack even less wante. Thus, to address this:



Detection renders the Kubelwagen immobile while the ability is active

There is a 2-second cooldown when activating/deactivating the ability



Thus, a well-preserved Kubelwagen that gets ignored long enough to achieve maximum rank can turn into a mobile suppression platform.

Sdkfz 251 Flak Halftrack



Given the potency of the reworked FlakHT, we want to ensure that FlakHTâs cannot be rushed early enough to âcloseâ a game before it has begun. In a previous version of the WBP we have tested the possibility of gating the arrival of a FlakHT behind an upgrade. In this version, we want to see whether a simple increase to the build time of the FlakHT would have been adequate instead.



Reverted Medic Upgrade requirement for building a FlakHT

Increased building time of FlakHT from 40 seconds to 60 seconds



QoL CHANGES

Ghost Wire/Sand Bags



âGhost Wire/Sandbagsâ is the name for a common exploit in competitive play which allows partially completed fortifications to block movement. While unfinished fortifications could be destroyed by small arms, they took several seconds of focus fire to destroy what could be placed instantly. To compound the issue, several infantry-borne weapons would take significantly longer to tear down unfinished obstructions.If players want to impede enemy movements with barbed wire and sandbags, they now have to fully complete constructing them.



Unfinished wire/sandbags/tank traps (aka ghostbags) will self-destruct automatically if there is no longer an infantry squad (owned by the same player) within 10 yards of the unfinished fortifications for 5 seconds.

Paratroopers can now rebuy dropped 30-cal LMGs



Vehicle minimap icon sizes have been scaled according to the vehicle type to help players better identify their forces on the battlefield.



Bug Fixes



Fixed an issue where several squads would cost more manpower to reinforce when crewing a teamweapon. This bug was also causing the affected squads to award more experience to the enemy when hit. This affects the following squads: Panzergrenadiers, Tommies, Fallschirmjaegers, Sturmpioneers and Obersoldaten



Fixed an issue where the default crew of the USF anti-tank gun were easier to hit than other default crews (target size removed from 1.25 to 1)

Fixed an issue where the Vet1 ability (Target Weak Point) on OKW Pak43 had no effect

Fixed an issue where the Sturmtiger would complete its reload instantly, if abandoned while reloading

Fixed an issue where Assault Grenadier grenade toss would not trigger the grenade throw cooldown, if interrupted too early. Reverted the workaround that the squad could not interrupt the grenade toss ability (this was causing other issues)

Changed the OST Medkit (vet1) ability. Both the casting squad and the receiving squad will interrupt the ability, if any of them moves, without incurring any penalty. (Previously neither squad could move/interrupt the ability, causing certain bugs).

Fixed an issue where, under certain circumstances, Obersoldaten could upgrade additional LMG34âs, even if they were already carrying one LMG34

Fixed an issue where the 250 halftrack could not upgrade spotting scopes, if spotting scopes were available from the doctrine.

Panzerfusilier G43 extra text should now state: G43s improve mid-short range effectiveness, moving accuracy and sight range.

Ranger Squad Extra Text now state: Effective versus infantry at medium range. Can be upgraded with Thompson SMGs.

Fixed an issue where OST Pioneers would announce âanti-personnelâ mines being built, when in fact building a Teller mine

Fixed an issue where Obersoldaten would not use their specific voice lines with the infrared-StGs

Fixed an issue where the MG34 did not use the correct lines for the Incendiary Armour Piercing rounds ability

Fixed description issues with the 222 when upgraded with the autocannon.

M5 UI text modified for better clarification.



WBP-specific Bug Fixes# (i.e., stuff we broke, and have now fixed)



Fixed an issue where Major Retreat Point wasnât working (broken in v1.3)



Fixed an issue where Conscripts merging into Flamer Penals would always get SVTs, thus increasing the DPS output of the squad. Now, Conscript models merging into flamethrower-equipped Penal squads will have a 50% chance of getting a PPSh instead.

Fixed an issue with AT Penal charges would, sometimes, not apply engine-damage critical to targets

Fixed an issue where the M20 vehicle crew would look like a British vehicle crew

Fixed an issue where USF Vehicles would contribute veterancy to nearby officers (and halftracks)





