World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition's Update 1.1 is here, and it's a game changer. Or at least a game deepener. Deepening maker. (I give up.) But I like the introduction of this crew system to Wargaming.net's competitive, online, free-to-play tank smasher.
Originally, you could buy upgrade packages for your tank. These packages improved certain aspects of your tank, like engine power, tank treads, or guns. But now, with the crew system, the non-player characters that run your tank, like the commander, driver, and gunner, can be assigned dozens of skills that further improve your overall tank. For example, you can assign your crew to train a camoflauge skill. Through battle experience, the camoflauge training bar goes up, and then, once fully trained, that specific crew—in that specific tank—gets better at camoflauging their tank on the battlefield.
Um, maybe you had to be there. But, trust me, it makes me regret selling back all my old tanks. I could've kept training on them, improving my crew's skills. Lesson learned, however. I'm at least very close to 100 percent on my Chaffee (a tier V American light tank). Once that crew reaches 100 percent, they can start training individual skills. Yes, in World of Tanks there's always another bar to fill up, apparently. Finish one progress bar and there's another one right behind it. But, hey, that's the nature of online games with role-playing components. It's the beautiful grind.
Now that I've bored you with too many crew details, the other aspects of Update 1.1 (which are also cool) introduce a lineup of five new medium tanks to the still-sparse U.K. family tree. And Update 1.1 reveals a new map, Himmelsdorf, with a massive castle on a hill to one side, and a maze-like run of urban European buildings over the rest of the map. Artillery and heavy tanks should be quite miserable there as the architecture will mess with artillery's trajectory, and medium and light tanks will seriously outmaneuver the slow-moving, slow-maneuvering heavies.
This video explains it better than I can.
Take Command in World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition Update 1.1
Battle arena intensifies with the arrival of crew system and five new British tanks
April 14, 2014 — Wargaming is pleased to share that Update 1.1 for World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition is now live in North America, Russia, and Europe. The free download is available when players log into their Xbox Live accounts.
The first content update for the free-to-play action game brings about the highly anticipated Crew System, new Himmelsdorf map, and five additional British medium tanks.
Crews are essential to success in tank warfare. Represented by the primary Tank Commander, a partially or fully trained crew is necessary to operate every tank in battle. By earning Crew experience points (XP), players can level up their Tank Commander and crew, and gain additional abilities and perks that increase their performance in combat.
The labyrinth of streets and squares in the new battle arena, Himmelsdorf, creates an ideal scenario for players to try each of the British medium tanks: Cromwell, Comet, Centurion I, Centurion 7/1, FV4202.
Patch notes for Update 1.1 are available at: http://worldoftanksxbox360edition.com/en/news/update-notes/update-1-1/
For more information on World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition and to join the global online multiplayer phenomenon of tank warfare, please visit: www.worldoftanks.com/xbox
