Update 1.13 has arrived for World of Tanks and is one of the biggest updates of recent history. This update sees the arrival of a brand new mode, the Season 5 Battle Pass and a major rework of core mechanics such as HE shells and self propelled gun (SPG) countermeasures. A new trailer can be seen below, plus a video going into more details with regards to the changes to HE shells and SPGs.
The biggest change with this update is the new capabilities that tankers have to aid them against vehicles that rain shells from the sky. There are now 3 tactical features available to players, these include Sound Detection – a Commander only perk that brings up an indicator to tanks in the impact zone, brighter shell tracers to enable players to better gauge where an SPG was fired from and a field of fire marker (lasts 10 seconds on minimap) which lets players know where an SPG recently fired.
Artillery now has three shell types available to them and each comes with their own trajectory, velocity and purpose. These additional shell types provide more tactical opportunities to artillery players though 2 of these will not stun enemies. The SPG interface also sees a rework of the Intuition Perk allowing for quicker changes of shell types for all vehicles.
High-Explosive shell mechanics have also been reworked on the main server. These shells will now deal damage at the point of impact, this means damage is calculated at the point of contact with the armour rather than based on a shell-burst sphere. This is good news for heavily armoured vehicles as the shell will inflict less damage on frontal armour though they will now be able to penetrate screens, tracks and the wheels of wheeled vehicles.
Update 1.13 brings Recon Mission, a new game mode that will allow players to test maps that are in the later stages of development. Other changes include, rebalancing to a number of Premium vehicles and Clan Wars reward tanks, a selection of interface improvements have been made and Season 5 Battle Pass is ready to challenge commanders.