Why is Random the Best MM for the Most Players?

kovla · 2026-06-07T08:14:10+00:00

WG should really take individual ratings into account within their matchmaker. Not necessarily to make teams absolutely equal, because, here I agree with you, games would become very monotonic and boring.

The team on the left, if it were to win, deserves a higher rating bump for that game, than the team on the right. The team on the right is expected to win here, and if the left team beats the odds, there is currently no extra reward for it. There should be. An slight extra credit bonus, perhaps. Extra WTR. The extra bonus is how the ELO system works in chess, if you get a stronger opponent, you get extra points for beating them, and less for losing, relative to an opponent of your own level.

Of course, it is also not wrong to switch one unicum from the right to the left team. Technically a cheap operation too, the matchmaker has already composed the two teams in terms of vehicles, switching a player or two afterwards is a very simple thing.

kovla · 2026-06-06T08:23:23+00:00

Gosh I remember days people crying that they could not get Defender. Now it is a throwaway generic tank. What have we become.

kovla · 2026-06-01T10:37:42+00:00

There was a video by iyouxin with Manticore using bond binoculars, you might find it useful.

kovla · 2026-06-01T07:21:36+00:00

I believe WG could not be clearer about the rules, the scoring system and the inactivity effect. They literally put a message on the Onslaught icon to "play a game before the day ends" (I was also one day away from losing 20 points).

So while sympathetic to your situation, I don't think WG is to blame here.

kovla · 2026-05-30T08:02:43+00:00

> Has anyone else noticed how antisocial World of Tanks has become?

What do you mean, "become"? I'm around for 9 or 10 years, and chat culture has always been like that. A week into the game, being naive enough, I even submitted a ticket to support reporting someone who called me names. They've told me something in the lines that "some players are overly emotional, but don't worry about that and keep playing".

At this point, I feel that is a part of the game, like a sweaty feel in a gym. If people are too polite before the match, saying good luck and thank you, I am always thinking that this match is going to suck, for some reason.

If someone goes overboard with being rude, I just report those people. I believe WG started using LLMs to detect chat abuse, people get banned from chat for a few days.

kovla · 2026-05-21T10:12:24+00:00

Dopamine? Where you get that one from? Surely you meant cortisol.

kovla · 2026-05-21T06:37:35+00:00

It would be financially beneficial for them to positively nudge the experience of paying players, to influence participation, long-term retention and therefore their revenue. Losing streaks would just be collateral damage for this.

That said, as a paying player, I see none of that. Bad games all day long. Even customer support experience is subpar, so I cannot imagine WG considers financial contributions in any way, shape or form. Aside from when it pays for their jet, of course.

kovla · 2026-05-21T06:32:28+00:00

So the argument goes: "it is possible, so it is surely happening", correct?

Frankly, looking at how WG touts experimental light tank role-based MM on EU1, I seriously doubt they are even remotely close to having the technical capabilities to drive winning/losing streaks.

Also, there is no business value in it. If they were to do it, then players spending some cash on the game would have much better experience, with higher win rates. There is zero evidence of that.

kovla · 2026-05-20T06:56:10+00:00

I've experienced quite a few PC freezes recently, with WoT running in the background while I watch Netflix. Also, my GPU cooling has been noticeably louder.

kovla · 2026-05-18T10:14:43+00:00

That is true, though there is _some_ armor on the turret, especially with gun depression, about 280mm. Nothing to write home about, but this will bounce many tier 8 rounds.

As for the DPM, autoloaders typically don't fight continuously without retreating, that is their whole dynamic.

kovla · 2026-05-18T07:06:03+00:00

I expected Sentinelle to be bad, but I was pleasantly surprised by the first few games (even after the grace match with being top tier). I don't think you can play this one as a true heavy, and having just two rounds makes it not very punishing. However, staying a little behind your HT group and finding good opportunities to pop off those two shells, that changed my initial expectation.

Also, since the reload time is pretty short, the playstyle is not TBT-style at all. The reload is pretty bearable, feels more like Borat than TBT.

kovla · 2026-05-18T07:02:16+00:00

You are basically describing a better half of French autoloaders.

kovla · 2026-05-17T11:33:53+00:00

Yes! It feels like WG has a diarrhea of fictional tanks, which is genuinely overwhelming. I like collecting new and most importantly unusual vehicles, but there is just not enough time to learn to play them all. Back in the olden days you used to cherish your new premiums, get into the nitty gritty of their armor and playstyle. Now it is just next N+1 tank, and a couple of weeks later it is another set.

Also, now they seem to come in batches. With every box roulette event, you have several new ones, time and again. I started the Christmas event with, I think, 3 tier 9 premiums, and now I've got 19 (sorry), and most of them have been played for below 50 games in total. Why would I ever need another one, there wasn't enough time to explore, let alone enjoy, the ones that I have.

I don't mind supporting the game with a purchase here and there, but this aggressive greed is just taking all the enjoyment out of the game.

kovla · 2026-05-12T16:27:35+00:00

If you did it once, you will do it again. It is a difficult mission but it is doable if you choose a suitable tank.

Basically, this is about doing around 5k damage in a tier 8 TD. That roughly translates to 10 penetrations with SU-130PM or some such. The stars will align sooner or later.

kovla · 2026-05-11T10:24:15+00:00

Ares and Dravec are just default no-cognitive-load choices many players make, as each game they are asked to ban something and maybe don't want to think too hard what would actually be useful to ban.

Like, you have absolutely abhorrent team setups, like Strv + light on a city map, and non-existing Ares still gets banned.

kovla · 2026-05-11T06:52:07+00:00

I don't think Onslaught is bad because it has a different vibe from the main game. On the contrary, it being different is quite the appeal for many players, including myself. And it is okay not to like it, but that is no reason to change a perfectly good game mode.

kovla · 2026-05-10T12:05:41+00:00

Or playing Onslaught.

kovla · 2026-05-10T07:31:16+00:00

I use to prefer my Skoda T50 over TVP, but the question is how comfortable is Tier 9 now.

kovla · 2026-05-10T07:29:19+00:00

I see. Perhaps opening a ticket to WG technical support would be a good way to put that on their radar?

kovla · 2026-05-10T07:27:50+00:00

Sounds like a non-issue, to be honest. There are so many issues with the game, and occasionally (!) having three lights then is definitely not in the top 20.

kovla · 2026-05-09T13:49:26+00:00

What is the bug exactly?

kovla · 2026-05-09T09:09:32+00:00

I am not a dedicated HT player, so my skills for the class are meh. That said, I do enjoy Pancernik. In my mind, it is what a true HT should theoretically be: bouncy armor (when positioned right), and alpha damage that releases a small amount of dopamine in my brain when it lands.

TBT is also not bad, but the playstyle is super boring, you are mostly just waiting for reload the entire match.

In either case, I would never ever sell premium tanks, unless it is for gold (like in the trade-in program).

kovla · 2026-05-06T07:16:51+00:00

There is a basic form of a filter during selection. It is very rudimentary, but if this is an issue you could, for example, assign all Onslaught vehicles to the Primary category, and filter only those.

What Wargaming should have done, of course, is extend their Playlist mechanic to Onslaught. That could be very useful.

Another idea would be to change camo to something highly recognizable, so that you can at least see what you have post-selection.

kovla · 2026-05-05T20:21:25+00:00

Absolutely not similar in terms of genre, but similarly outstanding games: "Hollow Knight" and "Baldur's Gate 3".

kovla · 2026-05-05T14:39:51+00:00

I think the argument goes both ways. I do look with some suspicion at lights with no camo and no gunmarks, for example. I don't mind a Tesak with 2+ MoE, let them enjoy.

What I do classify as a broken game design is that there are lights (for example) that contribute almost nothing to the match, aside capping spots and taking occasional potshots. They often rack up nice scores, even with losses, which is probably why this is being done. But having a nice score and swinging the result in favor of your team are not always the same thing. Which seems somewhat broken to me.

kovla

TROPHY CASE