https://www.cybersport.ru/games/articles/chego-my-ne-zamechaem-v-world-of-tanks-kak-igra-perevernula-moyo-geimerskoe-soznanie

A long time ago in a far, distant hangar …

My gaming addictions cannot be called specific, most of the titles from my personal top 10 are known all over the world and have a wide community. The selection also does not smell fresh, because when your favorite genre is MMORPG, you will hardly be able to keep up with the times in terms of gaming. And even outside the folders with World of Warcraft and Lineage 2, my PC cannot boast of unusual trends: Civilization, Minecraft, Path of Exile, League of Legends … To summarize: a common feature of all my favorite games is the social component. In each of the titles, other people are an integral part of the gameplay, shape it, decorate it with their uniqueness.

World of Tanks ideally meets this criterion, so at one time I did not bypass this game. It was 2013, I was a little over 18 years old, and my skill left much to be desired. Fortunately, the younger the game itself, the more people crumple at low ranks, so in WoT I was “mine” – the win rate rarely rose above 40%, and the presence of artillery made it possible not to feel useless, because occasionally I still shot the enemy and really proud of herself. Do not judge me, now I am really ashamed of such nubism!

I remember now: every cool volley against enemy vehicles was met with positive comments in the chat, and failures were accompanied by a red word from a particularly tilting teammate. There was no prejudice towards my personality in WoT, since by the nickname Alady_Lam it is impossible to say unambiguously that I am a woman, and no one walked around like a peacock. For teammates, I was just a nubas, nothing more, but for myself – a gallant tanker!

Having exchanged a thousand battles, I set off to conquer new horizons – I demolished World of Tanks many years ago and would not have remembered it if it had not been for my work at Cybersport.ru. In 2023, it has become simply impossible to ignore the fact that the game has gained a huge community. In addition to reports from Wargaming, I read researches of third-party analytical companies, see statistics of views and communicate with different gamers – all WoT indicators from various sources shout that the game is at the peak of popularity in the CIS.

“What attracts people to World of Tanks in 2K21?” – I thought. Earlier it seemed that you get tired of this game even more than of MOBA. Monotonous battles, locations, strategies … “The eye gets blurry, and the head starts to ache,” I thought, but still dared to return and take a look. It turned out that this is how I have never been wrong!

Return to World of Tanks five and a half years later

From the first minute, the World of Tanks client bombarded me with new information and gifts. Firstly, they congratulated me for seven years in the ranks – it became a little embarrassing that this was not entirely true. Secondly, they gave me a premium for ten days, which was very nice. By the way, I never donated in WoT: I was a hungry student at the moment I got acquainted with the game, there could be no talk of in-game gold due to the total lack of real coins.

From the very first seconds I appreciated how much more elaborate the soundtrack in World of Tanks has become. Birds in the hangar, the sounds of gears, cicadas and the murmur of water – everything is incredibly cool. Still, tanks are a field story, and I was delighted that the lobby has changed precisely in the direction of immersion in simulation.

The resting crew, which appeared on the screen, also made me happy. I knew for a long time that now the commanders and fighters in WoT are controlled by real “names” of military operations and order bearers of related professions, for example, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, but I was not impressed by this innovation until I decided to assemble a squad on my own.

All my tanks turned out to be with incomplete ammunition, and I wandered through the settings for a long time, despite the pop-up automatic prompts. It turned out that you just needed to buy more shells. At first glance, the interface seems terribly loaded, but once you understand what each menu is responsible for, it becomes easier. However, should I, an MMORPG fan, complain about the interface …

The customization of the tank has also undergone changes. Previously, I only added camouflage and an emblem to the body, now there are much more settings. And although most of it was blocked due to inactivity, over the decoration of his beloved Lorr combat vehicle. 155 50 I spent a good half hour. Now you can even paint it, however, donate currency is required.

I can see the whole map while my favorite ketchup is flowing reloads self-propelled guns

Frenchwoman Lorr. 155 50 I stood in line for a fight for a good five minutes – it seems that the WoT community does not share my love for games at four in the morning Moscow time. Having barely remembered the key combinations for viewing the map on the SPG, I ended the battle with a disgraceful 215 points of damage. However, for the first battle in several years – it will pull, at least deafening enemies.

It’s no secret that an SPG takes a very long time to reload: my Lorr. 155 50 can only fire twice a minute. But it has excellent mobility, thanks to which you can quickly move around the map in your free time. And although in the first battle I was afraid to use my favorite strategy with constant wandering around the map, by the next matches I grew bolder and began to explore unfamiliar (and vaguely familiar) places.

In the next match I ended up on the Mannerheim Line. During my active play, this card was not there. And although such a sparse forest and such flat spaces surrounded by too large rocks, I, as a resident of the north-west of Russia and a constant participant in campaigns with historical implications, were upset, the overall impression of the map was positive. In addition, I understand why the rock and the forest increased and lost their majesty, respectively: in reality everything was exactly the opposite, which made it difficult for even a tank to pass through the complex of fortifications between the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga.

Despite the rare forest, I was imbued with this map. The authors have worked out a lot of details: firstly, everything outside the playing area burns from artillery shells, and they themselves fly so that you want to cover your head with your hands (this is unlikely to somehow help, only instinctively). Secondly, the Finnish concrete bunkers are quite similar to those that were in reality, except that (again for obvious reasons) too clean. Third, the music. Here, without further ado, you need to listen to it – just under the footage from the “Mannerheim Line”.