World of Tanks Interview

There are a lot of free-to-play MMO’s out there, but just like paid MMO’s there are the great ones and the rest and World of Tanks is definitely one of the great ones. A number of us here at Obsolete Gamer began playing World of Tanks right after E3 2011 and are still playing to this day.

World of Tanks is massive multiple team based tank fighting game where you choose from a number of World War one and two era tanks from Russia, Germany and the U.S. You start out with older smaller tanks and as you level up you upgrade the tanks and unlock new ones. You level up by playing in team based matches where the objective is to destroy all the rival tanks or capture their base.

That is a very general description to a game that while easy to play has a level of complexity to it any gamer would enjoy. Not only do you need to understand each tank, not only the ones you own, but the ones you are going up against, but you need to understand the map layouts and work with your team because victory brings more points than defeat.

The game is free to play however you can purchase gold in the game that allows you to buy game time giving you a boost in experience points and a different garage to hold your tanks. You can also purchase special ammo, tanks and more garage slots using gold, but you can play and enjoy the game without spending a dime.

[youtube width=”600″ height=”480″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr0rMAjX5g0[/youtube]

Obsolete Gamer had a chance to talk with Jeremy Monroe, general manager for Wargaming America about World of Tanks and the upcoming patch for the game.

World of Tanks is becoming wildly popular. What do you think has made the game so popular with gamers?

Tanks! Who doesn’t love Tanks? The game’s a great deal of fun to play and the community is fantastic. I believe we really hit a sweet spot in the market. We’re part shooter, action, strategy and mmo coupled with a respect for the historical authenticity of the era. World of Tanks is compelling for gamers at any level. It’s fun and it’s free.

Do you find the free-to-play model works best for games such as yours?

Free to Play is a great model for most, if not all games. It really puts gamers in a position to have quality choices and the industry in a position to showcase fantastic titles, unique gameplay and innovative features. The evolution of the industry has been tremendous with the widespread adoption of the free-to-play model.  Given the quality of the game, its design and the merging of so many popular genres, we knew the model was perfect for World of Tanks and gamers.

 There have been questions about balance where lower tier tanks keep getting in matches with higher tier tanks. Can you tell us a bit about that and any changes you are working on?

We’re constantly adjusting the match making system to provide challenging but evenly matched battles at every level. With that said, consideration must be given to the number of players and the tiers of the tanks being queued. It’s a difficult balance to strike. On one hand, you want fair and evenly-matched battles and on the other, you want short queues for the players. It’s a key priority for us to strike that balance and we’re constantly growing, evolving and getting better over time.

Third party add-ons like skins for tanks and the crosshairs are becoming popular. Do you have plans to add your own skins and add-ons?

Yes; in our 7.0 update we’ll be introducing a number of cool features like that including camouflage; the camo will be true to the era so no pink bunnies or rainbows.

What can we expect in the next update and content patches in the near future?

We try to update every month with fixes and upgrades but it’s also critical we listen to our community and continue to evolve World of Tanks with significant changes that include new compelling features, maps and of course more bad ass TANKS!

Our newest update will include  –

• A new Fishing Bay map
• New tier 4-5 light tanks: Т-50, Т-50-2, VK2801, M24 Chaffee
• Tier 6 American tanks M4A3E2

You can always find the newest information here – http://game.worldoftanks.com/in_development

With the recent announcement of World of Warplanes and World of Battleships, are there future plans to integrate both games with World of Tanks? And will there be universal Clan War maps where tanks, planes, and ships will partake?

Right now the 3 games will not be integrated into one world…but as this is a constantly evolving game with innovative designers behind it there is never a definite “No”. As for clan wars, we are looking at being able to bring the 3 games together into that world. We’ll update you as soon as we get more information.

People are reporting on forums that World of Tanks will be released in a retail box form. Any information as to when it will be released and what it contains? Any plans for a collector’s edition?

Yes, we are releasing a box in North America; it will be in stores Sept 1^st at the top retailers. The box will be $19.99 and includes $30 worth of in-game items. We are looking at a collector’s edition but we want to make sure it is truly compelling for our players. We’ll certainly keep you posted as we finalize our plans.

Besides the three current armies (USSR, Germany, USA) represented in World of Tanks; are there any more that will be added in the future?

Yes, definitely. French Tanks will be introduced very soon (here is a peek – Wot Facebook) and as you can see with the new additions to the German tank lines: Pz.VI Tiger (P), VK 4502 (P) Ausf. A, E-50, Е-75, Е-100 and two new premium tanks T-15, T-25, we are always expanding the current roster of tanks.

Right now the Clan Wars map takes place in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Are there future plans to add more map locations, like the Pacific region? 

Yes, currently Clan Wars is still in beta but we will be expanding. Eventually clans can compete for global domination.

Are there any plans to add special tanks or tanks skins that are purchasable if your clan holds certain objectives or territories?

We’re definitely looking into these options and many other ways to reward and recognize the top clans for playing well. Unfortunately, I can’t go into further details at this time but we hope to be able to present it to our players very soon.

You can download and play World of Tanks for free at – http://www.worldoftanks.com/

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