As someone who's been playing this game since 2014, I can confidently say it's dead. It's dead because the six-figure sums pouring into its accounts obscure the obvious problems. These are problems that have existed in the game all this time, problems that could have been solved, problems that were being solved, but something went wrong, perhaps in 2018 or when wheeled vehicles were added (I have no complaints about them; they're well-balanced, and you need to know how to play them). It's not that World of Tanks was ever incredibly diverse, balanced, or fair to the player—there were attempts to fix the situation (now I think the developers didn't fix anything back then; the scale of the accumulated problems simply wasn't that great).
And what about the problems?
I've spoken to a lot of people who have been playing this game for quite a while (10 years or more).
1. Lack of playability for some vehicle classes on some maps.
1.1 Well, I think you understand, playing a heavy tank in open space when there are three SPGs in the battle feels abnormal, especially when you're trying to show initiative and do something.
1.2 Or the opposite situation – light tanks on urban maps. I don't know how this is supposed to work in theory. The game assumes that light tanks are used as medium tanks, despite the fact that light tanks usually have the weakest firepower. And the question is, what should a tank do on such a map, whose main task is to spot the enemy? If my firepower is only enough to fire into the enemy's rear.
1.3 I won't write much about this situation with SPGs, because anyone who decides to go down this slippery slope is bound to suffer.
2. The huge amount of vegetation on the maps and firing positions.
2.1 The developers, realizing that battles in the game end in 4-5 minutes with a score of 15-0 or 0-15, instead of increasing the health of all tanks by the same percentage or decreasing damage per minute by the same percentage, decided to simply provide numerous firing positions for less active players. Of course, this will force everyone to hide in the bushes; there's no other way. Now it turns out that even the slightest ingenuity is severely punished by health loss and your ass. Adding such firing positions to team spawn points was a big step. Have you ever had a Tier 10 heavy tank just standing in the base, firing from the bushes instead of doing what it's supposed to? And a minute later, you discover there's nothing left of it because the enemy team just happened to have guys with at least some, but not zero, gray matter in their heads?
Yes, I'm specifically addressing you, the IS-7 player on Murovanka, who decided to hide in the bushes when he could have been more useful than a damage-absorbing sponge.
3. Community.
3.1 The previous point flows smoothly into this one. You see, perhaps we would have a different game, also not perfect, but still different. But it turns out that the main target audience of this project turns a blind eye to all the problems. I don't know why, but they're happy with everything. They're willing to sacrifice half their salary, and not just their own, to buy a tank. So that later, that tank gets nerfed, and then they'll buy another one.
3.2 It often happens that your team faces guys like that IS-7 I mentioned above, and not just one or two, but usually five to nine. You seem to be doing everything right, effectively eliminating opponents and taking key positions on maps from which to engage and win, while several other players are doing the same. However, this game works differently than others. What do I mean by that?
4. Game Mechanics
4.1 In most online games I've played, you can win even if your allies is outnumbered or even if you're alone. In such cases, accuracy, understanding the gameplay, mechanics, and taking advantage of your weapons and character's strengths are key. In World of Tanks, it's different. It's still crucial to know the map and its features, vehicle characteristics, and understand the core gameplay mechanics (the 15-meter bush distance, the three-caliber rule, and the 50-meter range aren't even included in the basic tutorial, as far as I remember; I learned this from third-party content creators). But this is where shot spread comes into play; you can add +-25% to damage and penetration. That's it. Nothing more. I remember countless battles I could have won, and in some, even earned the Kolobanov Medal, BUT I was just unlucky. The shell missed its target, and it didn't penetrate. That's all.
Someone will inevitably say, "You're a bad player," and so on. Maybe you, my little tank enthusiast, are right, but do I need to prove anything to you, or vice versa? I guess i'm just tired of World of Tanks. But it was fun. I still remember those races on Chaffee and the game mode where everyone drove armored Rolls-Royces, T-18s in his best time and even tank soccer.
Well, this is the end and perhaps it's for the best. peace to all.
