[Special Review] Patch #449 Balance Changes

[stanzhang 3,291]

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Howdy Tankers, it is a busy bonanza month in Tanki. Many adjustments were made to the  the Micro-Upgrades system. In my last article on the Patch Update #445, we discussed changes brought to M0s. In this article, @Savage and I, will dissect all the new changes on Micro-Upgrades for M1, Alterations, and other balance changes!

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Changes on Turrets and Hulls

 

In Tanki, each month brings various changes to game balance to keep the game more diverse and entertaining. This update brought changes for every hull and turret, but more specifically for M0s enriching great experiences for new players.

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A set of modifications for M0

 

Since the launch of the game in 2009, all types of M0 equipment were unlocked progressively within different ranks. Recruits had a limited amount of choices on the equipment you could play with. Players usually spent all their crystals before unlocking the other M0s.

 

From now on, it is possible to buy every turret and hull M0 from the Recruit rank; this will expand the choices of what to buy and use from the start, but it will make low-rank gameplay less monotonous as it will bring more heterogeneity to battles.

 

 

Along with those changes, the prices of the M0 equipment were reduced, to accompany the capabilities of players at the Recruit rank. For that category of tanks, their parameters were modified as well. Developers diminished values of every M0 device, besides damage and protection, making them more suitable for low rank battles.  

 

Balance adjustment for every modification excluding M3+

 

"We wanted to counter the pay2win effect" said one of the developers in the V-LOG 127. The angle taken to do so was reducing the gap between M3+ equipment and all other modifications; so for M0, M1, M2 and M3, damage and protection values have been increased. On average, we had an increase ranging between 200 and 500 hitpoints for hulls, but on the other hand, the overall damage from turrets was extended by approximately 100 points. I guess M4 players won't be subjugated as before; a new era has begun where M3s do have a chance of winning, which before was quite impossible due to the overpowering characteristic of M4 weapons.

 

 

Modification on Micro-Upgrades for M1

 

This part of Patch Note #449 is identical to what was done in #445; it is the reduction of micro-upgrade steps, but this time applied to M1 equipment. You can find a fully detailed article from the previous patch that I wrote in this Special Article.

 

Steps

 

In that update, each Micro-Upgrade steps for M1 items, on turrets and hulls were brought down from 50 to 10. This will definitely bring a better gameplay experience for players since every single step is more noticeable, we can feel the difference and will envy tankers to upgrade the turret even more. I personally think that a progress based on 10 levels is way more encouraging for tankers to finish all those upgrades than a 50 levels one.

 

 

Price

 

The aforementioned change enabled the price to be reduced. Exactly like the M0s, they divided the cost for M1s by two, so now without Speed-Ups, it equals the same amount of crystals that you need to pay for the next M2 modification. This is a nice change for middle-ranks tankers who are struggling to earn crystals, as they can now properly afford Micro-Upgrades and profit from long term upgrades. Although this was a good change, the downside about this trade is that prices for Speed-Ups had been increased, now they cost twice as much for each step on M1 equipments.

 

Alterations and Other Changes

 

In this section, we will take a look at the opposite ends of the popularity spectrum for this update. On the one hand, we've seen Alterations finally become available to "Try and Buy" so to speak, meaning anyone has access to testing them, rather than just buyers. However, there have been other changes that are being viewed by many Tankers as very negative. These were the removal of kit supplies gifts and the price reduction benefits of buying in bulk.

 

Enough said, let's now analyze each of these changes and examine the possible explanations for each modification.

 

Alteration Rental

 

Alterations have been around since the 21st of September 2016, when they were originally released with the ability to buy the Alteration not only permanently, but also to temporarily own it for real money. Each Alteration was available to rent for 1 EURO/ 1$, and it would remain in the player's garage for a week before being removed.

 

This renting option does not appear to have been overly popular in the game, probably because players do not like to purchase items temporarily, as they see it as a waste of money. Therefore, due to popular demand, it was removed from the game in this recent update and was exchanged for the ability to loan an Alteration using crystals. It is now possible to temporarily own any Alteration for one day (24 hours) for the small price of 5 000 crystals.

 

 

It is now finally possible to "test-drive" the alterations that may have been previously way above your budget.

 

Personally, I think this is a really nice addition to the game, and clearly shows that Tanki Online isn't heading towards utter "Pay2Play". It's made players much more likely to buy Alterations, as they know they can experience each one's effectiveness for a very small price before actually committing to buying it. I know many players who are very unsure of spending 100 000 crystals on an Alteration which might not even suit their playing style.

 

Changes to Product Kits

 

Now we move onto the loathed recent changes, starting with modifications to the contents and functioning of Product Kits.

 

Everyone loves Product Kits, as they provide players with much better equipment at low ranks, at a massively reduced price. The have been around in Tanki for a long time, in various shapes and sizes. As far back as I can remember, the purchaser always received a gift of a varying amount of supplies, which always depended on the kit itself. This was a very welcome addition and gave the user a little kick-start, allowing him to use his kit to the best of its ability right from the beginning. Sadly, this update removed the supplies gift from every single Product Kit.

 

According to the recent Tanki Vlog, this change was necessary due to the game's economy, and I believe it's all part of the larger plan to make supplies less widespread.

 

 

 

 

Say goodbye to these...

 

The second change to Product Kits was the fact that they would no longer be affected by Personal Discounts (special limited-time sales on specific items) or actual Garage Sales, meaning their prices would be constant and never change. This comes largely as a disappointment to most tankers, as Product Kits are largely very expensive and not many regular players can afford them at their unlock rank.

 

This may be necessary for the game's economy, but it certainly doesn't do anything to help Free-Play users. With the massive unchanging price tag attached to kits, only buyers and hard savers will be able to afford them in the future.

 

Modifications to Item Price Reductions

 

Bulk-buy discounts on Hulls and Turrets have always been a very good incentive to purchase more equipment. It made items much cheaper in some cases, and paired very well with Personal Discounts if you were lucky enough to get a decent one (not one on Isida M2 at General rank for example).

 

These permanent bulk discounts gave you either 10%, 20% or 30% off Hulls or Turrets, depending on the current number of the items mentioned before. They fitted in with Product Kits well, providing useful increased discounts.

 

 

They will be missed, and I believe more players will focus on building up one or two combinations, rather than buying a whole garage of M1s or M2s. This is beneficial in some ways, as new players won't be so easily become disheartened by their weakness after being enticed into buying a full garage of a solitary modification level.

 

Conclusion

 

So there you have it; Patch #449 has been completely covered in this article and we have finally reached the end. It has not been a well-received update for sure, though there have been positives elements within it. Tanki Online is changing dramatically at the present, with plenty of new updates being introduced and more scheduled for release. We can thus speculate if any of those Micro-Upgrade changes will occur on the other modifications as well, what it will be like in several months time remains to be seen. For now, take care and happy tanking!

 

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Did you find any of the changes in this update positive? Is Tanki heading in the right direction?

 We want to hear your opinions!

 

& ✯ @Savage ✯

[Crip 4,735]

Aye, apologies for the late release. Have a read!

[Truthteller 4,204]

Good read.

[kaisdf 3,320]

Good read, but unless I am mistaken there is a small error. The ability to buy M0s from Recruit to Sergeant has only been the case since the dreaded Rebalance of December 2012. Before that, the last M0 one unlocked was shaft at WO4, not since the game's launch.

:D

Edited March 23, 2017 by stanzhang
Thanks for this info, toipc edited

[r_sg971 163]

Micro upgrades for m2 and m3 similar to m1 would be nice.

10 steps at half price, speed ups twice as expensive.

[Guest]

Great as always.

[Gambit 94]

Great! No need for me to spend money any more to upgrade to M4 because now there isn't much a of a difference between M3 and M3+ when I get to that level! Now I could spend my money on other things instead of Tanki! Thanks, guys!

[Crip 4,735]

Great! No need for me to spend money any more to upgrade to M4 because now there isn't much a of a difference between M3 and M3+ when I get to that level! Now I could spend my money on other things instead of Tanki! Thanks, guys!

Nope, M3+ is better than M3. Just the difference between them is not as great as before.

[Truthteller 4,204]

The difference was likr another modfication now its just a slight benefit for 1 million crystals, not worth it.

[Gambit 94]

Nope, M3+ is better than M3. Just the difference between them is not as great as before.

And probably not worth the upgrade if a base M3 is competitive as is. 

[Crip 4,735]

The difference was likr another modfication now its just a slight benefit for 1 million crystals, not worth it.

Oh it's definitely worth it as the increases in damage,range,reload time etc are still viable, but just Microupgrade over a longer period of time.

 

Microupgrading a Medium M3 hull will save your life from a standard M3 Shaft (which can now 1 shot Medium hulls that are at the same Modification Level).

[KILL_BILL_CHAUHAN 2,505]

removing kits from discount is very sad and  in my opinion no one should buy kit why should we waste crystals for useless paint that come with kit and some time module players just have to wait for sale and buy any turret, hull and module of there choice

 

one question - this update has any effect on 100 supply kit I mean this kit price will be constant even in supply sale ?

[the_enemy 22]

 

 

 I believe more players will focus on building up one or two combinations, rather than buying a whole garage of M1s or M2s. 

 

Until Tanki decide on yet ANOTHER "rebalance" and nerf the hull or turret you had been enjoying playing with, and been doing well with.

 

This game is no longer fun. You plan what you want to upgrade, and Tanki just keep changing things under your feet. I have a garage full of mostly useless hulls and turrets now.  :angry: