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The 8.9 update brought a new branch of German tank destroyers, a new map, and most importantly—a new game mode.
A new game mode—Team Battle—was added into the game in the 8.9 update.
In Team battles, teams are matched depending on players’ rating.
Team Battle mode is based on the e-sports7/42 format.
Teams consist of 7 players, who drive vehicles up to tier 8, with a maximum total of 42 tier points.
This means that a tier 1 vehicle costs 1 point, a tier 2 vehicle—2 points, and so on.
Any player with suitable vehicles can take part in Team battles.
There are three ways of joining Team battles.
The simplest one is Autosearch.
Just click the button, and you’ll be teamed with other players automatically.
The second way is to do the search yourself.
In this case, you can have a look at the statistics of team leader and other players on each team.
The most interesting way is to form your own team.
You can meticulously select the best players and the exact vehicles you want, or just invite your friends.
There is an important feature to Team battles: teams are closely matched depending on players’ battle efficiency rating.
So the opposing teams are equal in strength.
The new update also introduced a new branch of German tank destroyers.
The new tier 4 to tier 7 vehicles stand out due to their highly accurate guns with good armor penetration.
Rolling out these tank destroyers is going to be a great experience.
Poor armor is the only weakness of the tier 8 Rheinmetall-Borsig Waffenträger.
Yet, it excels in everything else!
This TD has a good mobility, a low profile, and an excellent gun.
Its average damage is comparable to that delivered by the legendary BL-10 gun of the ISU-152 and Object 704 tank destroyers.
But there’s even more to it!
Rhm.-Borsig Waffenträger has a rotating turret.
So, this German tank destroyer is likely to prove quite popular.
Tier 9 is occupied by the Waffenträger auf Pz.IV.
Built on a modified Pz. IV chassis, this vehicle is relatively maneuverable.
It, too, has a turret with full 360-degree rotation.
Depending on your playing style, you can choose from two guns.
The first is a highly accurate 128 mm cannon that resembles the one on the JagdTiger.
The second gun—a 150 mm cannon—has lower accuracy and poor armor-piercing capability, but it is able to deliver high one-shot damage.
At the top of the new branch is the Waffenträger auf E 100.
Its hull is well-protected, but the turret is not.
Even High Explosive shells can easily penetrate the paper-thin armor of the turret.
This means that high-tier artillery is able to destroy this TD in one shot.
However, this drawback is compensated for by advantages: among them a rotating turret.
Like its tier 9 predecessor, this TD also offers the choice of two guns—128 mm and 152 mm cannons.
In damage, they are similar to the corresponding guns on the Waffenträger auf Pz.IV,
but more accurate and equipped with autoloaders.
This makes the Waffenträger auf E 100 a deadly adversary.
The 128 mm gun has a 6-round drum, with a reload time between shots of only 2 seconds.
The 150 mm has a 4-round drum, with a reload time between shots of 3 seconds.
Potential damage of the 150 mm cannon drum is lower, but it takes much less time to reload a new drum.
All new tank destroyers have the excellent accuracy that is a hallmark of German vehicles.
However, their poor armor will push you to find new map positions and develop new tactics in order to get the most from these glass cannons.
The Chinese premium tanks T-34-3 and 112 are now available in Premium Shop.
Now they can be purchased with gold.
A new Chinese premium tank—the Type 64—has been added to the game
It’s a tier 6 light tank with amazing speed and maneuverability.
It has an open-topped turret and a good, quick-firing gun with excellent elevation.
And there’s more!
Meet the first Japanese vehicle in World of Tanks!
It’s a 5 tier premium medium tank, the Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai.
Now players can train their crews before the main Japanese branch is released.
8.9 also brought a new map: Northwest.
It puts players on a new section of the North American landscape.
The mountainous terrain provides numerous covered positions.
A mining complex is located at the center of the map, while the lower part is occupied by a mountain lake.
Battles will be fought mainly at close range.
There are also some good positions for tank destroyers to control the likely avenues of advance.
However, you can use alternative routes to bypass such ambushes and strike from behind.
Northwest is a large map, and the gameplay promises to be really fascinating.
In addition to the new map, Encounter Battle mode was added to the Erlenberg map.
These and other changes await you in the 8.9 update.
A detailed list can be found in the 8.9 update changelog on the official website.
Good luck on the battlefield!