World of Tanks 8.4 First Look: Fish and Chips by the British Seaside

Earlier today, Wargaming released some details about their next update for World of Tanks, which will see a selection of new tanks introduced, primarily to the British tech tree, but also some new German vehicles and a Soviet one too.

In a press release, World of Tanks Producer Mike Zhivets was apparently as enthusiastic as one can be without using exclamation marks, stating “Update 8.4 will mark the second British invasion in World of Tanks, strengthening the nation’s tank choices with formidably armed tank busters. This new line of ironclads will really showcase the ultimate evolution of the British tank destroyer design, from highly maneuverable gun carries to mammoth land cruisers.”

Highlights of the update include:

The Universal Carrier QF2 which, judging by historical photographs, appears to be an open cereal box on caterpillar tracks. It seems to have originally been designed as an open-topped pimp wagon allowing British soldiers to wave their shiny weaponry at passers-by. It probably wasn’t until somebody thought it would be a good idea to equip something that looked like a tank with the QF2 6-pound anti-tank gun – and more importantly, a roof – that it did anything more than get its occupants killed. Maybe. It still seems like a bad idea, but over 100,000 were manufactured from 1934 to 1960 and it saw wide service in World War II, so what do I know.

The A29 Tortoise was designed with three things in mind; armour, armour and armour. As such it weighed in at over 80 tons and was 10 feet high, making it a bit of a problem to get the only six ever built to the front lines – especially given that it had a top offroad speed of 4 mph (6km/h). On the plus side, the gun sounds pretty good; Wikipedia claims that the 32 pounder armour-piercing shot “was successful against a German Panther tank at nearly 1,000 yards.”

The complete list of new vehicles to feature are as follows:

British Vehicles

• Universal Carrier QF2
• Alecto
• Valentine AT
• AT2
• AT7
• Churchill Gun Carrier
• AT8
• AT15
• Tortoise
• FV215b 183

German Vehicles

• PzI
• PzI Ausf C
• PzII Ausf G

Soviet Vehicles

• SU100Y

Additionally, four maps have been given a make-over: Steppes, Ensk, Fisherman’s Bay and Live Oaks. Whether fish and chips will be available for British tank crews is unconfirmed at this time.