"I am proud of the hard work of the huge international development team that worked on this extensive update. We have adjusted the performance of many vehicles, improved a large number of positions on the maps for random battles and made important matchmaking changes for light vehicles and self-propelled guns," said Uriy Kuryavyi, World of Tanks PC Publishing Director about Update 1.18.

Matchmaker changes

Commanders will notice important changes to matchmaking. New rules will be introduced for balancing light and wheeled tanks, as well as for the number of self-propelled guns per team. The matchmaker will now always try to match light tanks so that both teams have the same number of vehicles, with no more than one vehicle per platoon starting at level VII.

New map - co-determined by the players

A new map is also making its debut in Random Battles: Outpost. This is a picturesque summer map that combines open green spaces, city ruins and trenches, and an impressive fortress with its own outpost. All of these elements add variety to the setting, both visually and in terms of gameplay.

Italian fighter tanks on the march

The new addition of Italian fighter tanks consists of six explorable vehicles, from Tier V to Tier X. All tanks feature strong frontal armor, excellent tilting angles of the guns and, from Tier VII onwards, a classic autoloader with an unusual feature as a unique gameplay feature.

This line includes the Semovente M41; Semovente M43 Bassoto; the Semovente Controcarro mod. 1956 (with this vehicle come the special main features); the Controcarro mod. 67 (it embodies the best features of Italian tank destroyers); the Controcarro 1 Mk (an incredibly dangerous opponent in close and medium range); and the Controcarro 3 Minotauro (the pièce de résistance of the new line).

"Almost all of these new vehicles existed only as incomplete blueprints, and few of them were actually made of metal. But thanks to collected blueprints and archival materials, we've taken these forgotten concepts to the next level and recreated machines in the game as if they existed in real life" says Uriy.

With the 1.18 update, players will enjoy new visual changes that scale with PC performance. For example, vehicle tracks now look even more realistic. Additionally, in-game vehicle tracks unwind correctly when hit, fly away and stay on the ground when the vehicle is hit while moving at high speed.