Online game "Armored Warfare"

Even people far from games have heard about "World of Tanks" (or World of Tanks). But not everyone knows that in addition to them there are other cool tank simulators, which are made in the same manner, but have a number of distinctive features. First of all, we are talking about Armored Warfare. Correcting this injustice, we tell you more about this interesting game.

Armored Warfare was announced in 2014, and it was made by Obsidian Entertainment studio, which is well known for its role-playing games, but had no experience in action games at that time, especially tank and online. A year later the game entered the open beta testing stage, and in 2 more years the development was taken over by Mail.ru Group - it was due to unsatisfactory financial performance and lack of experience, as we have already said, the guys from Obsidian - they were again engaged in their favorite role-playing games. Since then Armored Warfare has been working for 7 years and has not closed, and there are always enough people willing to fight online on tanks. It means that the financial indicators have been brought back to normal.

What is interesting and how does this game differ from the same World of Tanks? Well, first of all, it catches the eye that the action takes place in the not too distant future, namely in the 2040s, when only Russia, China and the U.S. remained from the major powers, and the world was divided into three conditional zones on economic grounds. By this time, the corporate wars, in which private military companies and mercenaries actively participated, have already died down - now they have signed a treaty prohibiting offensive military operations. The Department of International Security - the UN's equivalent of the United Nations, only with its own army - was given the exclusive right to do so.

Each player in Armored Warfare - the head of one of the PMCs, which cooperates with the department and fights against various threats in the face of drug cartels, terrorists, illegal armed groups, anti-government movements and nationalist organizations. Accordingly, here, unlike in "World of Tanks", there is no division of equipment, weapons and other content by country - performing missions around the world, we earn money and spend it with suppliers, who in turn work not for different states, but for the Department of International Security.

The plot of the game expands with special operations and thematic seasons, and it involves not only the local UN, but also different PMCs and their leaders. Thus, in the special operation "Caribbean Crisis" we were part of a group of mercenaries working for the Department, trying to deal with terrorists who attacked one of the chemical plants of the corporation Clayburn Industries and stole chlorine for use as a chemical weapon. The terrorists were led by Magnus Holter, who opposed the power of PMCs and corporations and wanted to return to the old world order.

In the first season called "Caucasian Conflict" the scene was moved to Georgia, and Marcus Holter became the main character - so the developers decided to reveal the character and explain why he became what he is. Other PMCs and their charismatic leaders, corporations, mercenary units, as well as nationalists, anarchists and even religious sects operate in the world of the game.

All these special operations, seasons and other story events take place within PvE modes, where players in a team of five tankers together fight against AI-controlled enemies and perform different tasks - as a rule, you need to capture something, hold and repel enemy attacks or capture/protect VIPs. And, for example, in Operation Hydra we need to eliminate chemical munitions and missiles, which are stored in the Cartel's warehouse.

In PvE there are different difficulty modes and different enemies - from training and non-threatening tanks to experienced officers. But in general, of course, it's more of a tutorial mode, designed to help the newcomer navigate the rules and earn the first funds and experience. And the main rewards and the toughest challenges await, of course, in PvP-clashes between players. They are divided into two types - each involves two teams (conditionally "red" and "blue" with 15 cars in each), but in one mode you can't revive, and in the other you can. Here you need to either destroy your opponents or capture their base.

Other modes were also added to Armored Warfare in different years - for example, "Territorial Wars" and "King of the Mountain", but now only the above-described modes are available. In addition, the so-called "Holiday Mode", which is a variation of "Capture the Flag", appears during the New Year holidays.

15 people on each side fight each other in PvP or 5 players join together to capture and hold control points and objects. Sounds simple, but it is much more difficult to play and win - especially in PvP. First of all, you need to know and clearly understand what tank you are playing on, what are its features, pros and cons and what role it should fulfill on the battlefield.

In total, there are 5 classes of vehicles in the game. The main battle tank is the main strike force. And at the same time it is quite a universal force - all thanks to high firepower, strong armor and modern means of protection. It is such vehicles are in the epicenter of the battle. Light tanks also have powerful armament, but they have less strong armor at high speed - so they are more maneuverable and mobile, designed mainly for reconnaissance, covering the flanks and destroying lightly armored targets. The main tactic for such a tank is to move quickly and constantly fire at the enemy.

The Armored Fighting Vehicle is an even more maneuverable, yet small, fast-accelerating vehicle with a high range of vision. Being often almost invisible to enemies, the Armored Fighting Vehicle is even better for reconnaissance - especially since it can be used to mark targets for allies and capture bases and other control points faster than anyone else. But you need to be very smart and cunning, because this vehicle has almost no armor.

Tank Fighters do the most damage and are extremely dangerous for any vehicle, besides it is a fast machine, and when firing from a place it gets a bonus to stealth. But it has light armor and low range of vision, so you need to choose your position wisely and change it quickly. Finally, in PvE-modes you can use SAU - self-propelled artillery units. These vehicles can view the entire map from above, so they are designed to hit the cluster of enemy vehicles at a long distance. But they are poorly protected and are detected by enemy SAU after each shot, so they require escort and support.

In addition to the presence of counter-battery combat, Armored Warfare is characterized by the ability to use smoke screens, anti-tank guided missiles, as well as active defense systems that resist ATGMs. In addition, the game features different types of ammunition for tanks and for UAS. Armor-piercing shaped charge (APC), fragmentation projectile (FPS) and armor-piercing munition (APM) cause different damage and have different penetrating power, and FPS are mainly designed for area firing - so they must be used competently in appropriate situations. SAU's have flares and smoke shells.

Just like in World of Tanks, all vehicles need to be unlocked and improved. By performing tasks for vendors (take part in so many PvE or PvP-matches, destroy so many vehicles and so on), we open a new type of tanks and its development branch. And then you need to consistently pump each machine in this branch to open the most powerful in it. But opening is not enough - then you need to buy this tank for credits earned in battles. To improve the same go earned experience points and general reputation. At the same time we are free to modify different parts of the tank, which are divided into 4 categories - "defense", "firepower", "mobility" and "equipment".

Along with the vehicle, its crew is upgraded, led by commanders - the latter are unique individuals with their own development branches, which, if assigned to a particular vehicle, give it various bonuses - for example, increase the speed of movement or aiming. Commanders can be assigned to different tanks at will, and their skills are fixed. But the crew is tied to a specific vehicle, and we choose them those or other skills - it is important to choose them so that the tank became more effective in battle, and not vice versa.

Armored Warfare has nice and quite modern graphics, the tanks are convenient and comfortable to control (there is a certain balance between simulator and arcade), the equipment, buildings and trees are effectively destroyed, the sound is very authentic and realistic - it's a pleasure to play. Another thing is that there is no time to admire the spectacular graphics. You need to take positions competently, maneuver and change positions in time, take shelters, keep an eye on the map, put instructions for your comrades on it, mark targets and don't miss what the crew members say - it depends on them (and on how you have pumped everything) how timely they detect enemies or the fact that the enemy, on the contrary, has detected you.

And you also need to know the peculiarities of the equipment and its vulnerabilities. In general, surviving and winning in Armored Warfare is a whole science. Of course, you can always invest live money, buy a new season, premium status or battle pass (here it's called "battle path") to get certain advantages. But it doesn't mean that the game is completely focused on hard donation - here it is quite realistic to earn credits for new equipment and in-game methods.

Armored Warfare has managed to compete with World of Tanks. Yes, the game does not have the same popularity, but it has its own audience, and the project itself is still alive, regularly updated and supplemented - and there is always plenty of people willing to fight shoulder-to-shoulder or against each other.

Zarium. February 2024