Pitched Battle Mode
I'm still quite novice at this game at little over 5k battles, and many may detest me as I have done over half of them as Artillery. However, I do feel that most of the maps feel rather small and not quite as epic in scale. Certainly it isn't stagnant with the constant tinkering of the map selection. (though I do get tired of the Himmelsdor/Winter Himmelsdorf being back to back... to back even in my tanks... but that's besides the point). But I have observed several things from my god's eye in the sky as well as with a look at the forums.
I. Light Tanks: have issues performing their scouting duties at ranges away from their team mates that their teammates themselves could not spot a target they are engaged with. I was once dumbfounded whilst playing the few scouts I actually own to get a scout run in, light up half a dozen enemy tanks, see several of them ****** while I'm still up and about before ducking back into cover and watch all enemy tanks vanish shortly thereafter, then see after the match that I only assisted my team in a few hundred points of damage "Upon spotting". I've later surmised that this was the result of enemy tanks losing sufficient camo rating upon shooting at me and/or adjusting their hull (Thus switching to "On the Move" camo and dropping camo nets) that my team mates could spot the tanks themselves, particularly with binoculars deployed. They also have very little in the way of viable targets for them to seek out and destroy in the event that they do penetrate the enemy front lines and are able to rampage in the back line.
II. Mediums: particularly those with insufficient pen to frontally engage Tier+2 targets from the front only get a role in the battle during the mid game. Mediums with strong hull down characteristics tend to fare better than most mediums, but the more "Mobile Flanker" style tanks typically suffer from having little room to move to play the way they are balanced to play only after most enemy tanks are removed from the playing field.
III. Campy Gameplay: Many people like to blame it on artillery, others like to blame it on TDs, and still others like to blame it on newbie players. I feel it is most likely due to the very funnel-ish style most maps are designed around where there are generally 3 or 4 approach vectors for up to 15 vehicles on each side to try to funnel their way through. The result is trying to advance generally means you are popping out in front of a battery of 4-6 guns... you can go first... I feel this is also an issue that severely affects Lights and Mediums. Another thing that helps lead to campy gameplay is that if you get knocked out... Then you are out for the rest of the match, no questions asked.
IV. Slow vehicles: They can't dodge artillery and have issues getting to the front lines in time to meaningfully contribute to it. In some cases, a TOG, Maus or T95 will never have the option to even aim their gun at an enemy if their own team performs well enough.
V. Real Life Objectives: Railroads, Bridges and Major Roads... yeah, these are to be avoided at all costs on most WoT maps as it generally means you are in the middle of a very long line of fire that you can be focused through... seems a lit
VI. Artillery: I'm a decent artillery player. I achieve a 55% win rate by being very active in my role, moving up with my team to get good angles and all that jazz... but I see many players with a 50% winrate who sometimes barely moves away from their spawn point... IE the reason that many players loathe artillery. Many an artillerist loathes that artillery are virtually immune to aggression unless the enemy team is VERY poorly dispersed, or if the battle has already been pretty much decided. On behalf of the artillery, we are generally very disgruntled if our own team leaves a huge gap in defenses and allows us to be ****** in the first minute of the battle, in some cases, before we have even loaded our very first shell.
VII. Low Ammunition Counts: Some vehicles are notorious for their low Ammo:RoF ratio. When you run out of ammo, you are usually left as little more than a glorified scout.
VIII. Gold Ammo Spam: Gold ammo itself is a nice option to have. But when some players load their tank out with nothing but gold ammo, it becomes quite frustrating for the drivers of many a heavily armored vehicle. Yes, there are some vehicles that are severely impaired unless they fire nothing but gold, but these are in the minority. I feel that one must "Choose" between gold or standard ammo based on the situation rather than have the option to simply spam the superior ammo, in the case of APCR which is strictly superior to AP in virtually every way.
IX. Painful Grinds: Some vehicles, the stock grind is quite painful. Some vehicles are so awful that the entire grind, including their elited arrangement, is equivocal to pulling one's own teeth out (I have actually done this)
x. Winning the Center: Often means very little on many maps as trying to poke out for a shot can, on many maps, result in little more than you being focused down by literally every gun the enemy team still has active on the side routes because you are within draw distance from virtually every angle. Karelia and Komarin... I'm especially looking at you.
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It was with these things in mind that I have thought long and hard about an alternate game mode that can address many of these issues. I have incorporated ideas that have been previously suggested by others... exhaustively (Because hey, they really are good ideas), in addition to some ideas that WG themselves has hinted at to be working on.
I. Larger Map: First off, many of the issues with lights and mediums could be very easily addressed by an increase in map size. This would also make "Scouting" feel more strategically meaningful as being able to determine the enemy's dispersion of vehicles across the map could allow for more meaningful and rewarding decision making on the part of the players on both sides. It gives mediums the possibility, if the scouting information allows for it, to seek out weak spots in enemy arrangement of vehicles to get in a flanking maneuver earlier in the match. A light/medium tank that has penetrated the enemy lines also has a reasonable chance to locate the enemy artillery and destroy it and manage to survive as they will have more options for maneuvering around to come at an arty from an unexpected angle rather than being forced to drive at an arty who has pre-aimed at the corner of the rock they are hiding behind because it also happens to be the only piece of meaningful cover for the intruding tank to take cover behind from the tanks that are still alive on all three fronts of the battle. It also enlarges the scope of the battle and gives it a real "epic" feel. Additionally, on sufficiently large maps, lazy artillerists can have their effectiveness severely punished in lack of shot opportunities when firing from the back of the base, and even when advancing behind one front, even a good artillerist may be unable to have the range to reach across to the opposite flank... not to mention the costs that taking shots from extreme ranges have on accuracy. 2500m height/width should do this. This will also require a longer match length... more on that after everything else is suggested though as there are various other suggestions that can inflate the expected match length.
II. Larger Teams: Increase the team size to 30 players per side or so. A larger map naturally requires larger teams, but the team size should stay within a certain range so as not to completely remove the potential benefits a larger map can have on the match, but at the same time it should leave the option to get vision on likely infiltration routes... you just won't have 6 or so guns pointing at every conceivable approach vector.
III. Multiple Capturable Objectives: Certain real life objectives have major strategic values... but in this game, they are, as mentioned earlier, to be avoided at all costs. There should be some value to taking these objectives. Capturing a station along a railroad track for example, could grant an additional respawn point (More on that later). A large square in the middle of town could be used to set up various facilities that provide additional benefits (More on that later), or allow you to secure a road through checkpoints and repair it for your vehicles to more rapidly advance along it by reducing the resistance of the route and boosting top speed for vehicles traveling along repaired routes... allowing a forward tank to aid even the T95 to move forward towards battle. However, once again, these give something else for an infiltrating Light or Medium tank to go after, to disrupt the flow of reinforcing tanks in regards to the train stations and the roads.
IV. Multiple Respawns: A lot of people play campy more because once they are knocked out, they are out for the duration of the match... thus inflating the perceived danger of artillery, and increasing the frustration of a lucky arty hit that OHK's them before they've even aimed their gun at anything. End result... well, just look at the arty hate. This also increases the frustration of popping out for your first shot and the RNG either gran
