Welcome to the newest issue of the Developer Digest series. Here you can find out more about game development directly from the developers – this time from an interview with one of the lead Armored Warfare developers, Felix "Nakoomba" Kupis, given by Cristina, an esteemed streamer!

What will happen to Stingray in Balance 2.0?

It will be a beast!

What about recoil in Balance 2.0?

Balance 2.0 vehicles will generally have more recoil.

Will camouflage factor play an important role in Balance 2.0?

It will, yes, now that we have fixed its code.

Gun mantlets on the T-series tanks seem to be too weak?

They are weak in real life as well. But we'll buff them a bit.

Balance 2.0 HEAT feels really strong!

So it was in real life – HEAT is deadly up until Tier 4 or so. It doesn't do well against sloped armor, however, and aiming it is more difficult.

Anything in store for British vehicles?

We'll probably be improving HESH even further compared to the early Balance 2.0 tests – its penetration is still too low. HESH will also be a separate ammo type, not a HE sub-type.

And some tuning for the Americans?

Abrams Multi-Purpose HEAT is really strong at high tiers.

Will the penetration indicator change in Balance 2.0?

Yes. Green will mean a 50 percent or higher chance of penetration, not 100 percent.

What's the status of the Chieftain series armor layout in Balance 2.0?

The composition and thickness is based on reality, which means that the hull is not so great. Hull-down gameplay is required.

Speaking of the Chieftain, isn't the model still oversized?

No, we checked. Some other vehicles are undersized, however, like the Challenger. After Update 0.19, we will do a size check for all vehicles.

Is it possible to give the now-direct-fire Paladins the Copperhead guided round? It could have Missile Noise like ATGMs?

That's a good idea, we'll test that.

The direct-fire SPG turret traverse rate seems too slow.

We'll improve it soon.

Will Update 0.19 still come in January?

There's a lot of ground to cover. It will probably be February.

Did the sniping change in Balance 2.0?

Yes. We improved the zoom factor of Tank Destroyers to 20x. The MBTs on the other hand only have 12x zoom factor. Other classes will have 15x.

And what about Zhalo-S in Balance 2.0?

Its spotting ability will be brought on par with other vehicles, but it will still retain its good camouflage factor.

When will you finally advertise the game more?

Marketing will start sometime after 0.20. The operators will advertise when Balance 2.0 is in good shape.

Are there any former service members working for Obsidian Entertainment?

Sure, our lead UI developer for example is a former Abrams crew member.

What's up with AI opponents doing snapshots? It looks as if they don't aim at all.

They do have aim times in fact. This effect you see is caused by client-server lag.

Current PvE is too easy!

It should be much tougher in Balance 2.0.

Were there any changes made to the APS mechanism since the Balance 2.0 articles came out?

No, but we might increase the APS reload time since it takes no skill to use. In any case, there will be no APS below Tier 6.

Any plans for improved vehicle customization?

Yes, we are working on a new skin system. When it's implemented, it will also fix a lot of current color issues. We started base-coloring tanks more realistically too – for example the famous desert sand color for the Abrams.

Will Merkava IID get an upgrade?

It will have the 105mm LAHAT ATGMs and its applique armor.

An idea about artillery – how about leaving damaging shells direct-fire only and having indirect fire mode for illumination and smoke shells?

Indirect fire mode won't be coming back.

Are there plans for a statistics reset option?

There is a possibility of introducing a one-time only statistics reset along with the introduction of Balance 2.0, but we do not currently have specific details to share.

That's it for today. See you in the next issue!