World of Tanks Blitz is an under-rated treat

An experience like none other, World of Tanks Blitz creates an environment and space completely unique to the realm of mobile gaming, with a touch of realism, while still keeping an old school shooter feel to it. It’s truly something you don’t want to miss out on.

World of Tanks is one of the biggest grossing games in Russia and all over the East. It’s so popular, that Burger King in Russia created an advertisement for the game. Today, I’ll inform you on how the game works, why it’s almost non existent in the West.

World of Tanks Blitz, developed by Wargaming, is a free Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game on both mobile and PC platforms. The game is centred around WWII-era and early Cold War vehicles from the 1930s-1960s from 7 different nations, each having their own play style and strengths. In the game, you progress by earning “Experience” or “XP”, and credits or “Silver” to unlock the next tank in the “Line” or tech tree. Tanks are split up into battle tiers, the higher the tier the more time you need to spend to unlock the next tank. There is another in game currency that is purchasable with real money called gold, which can buy “Premium Vehicles” or converted into credits.

Tanks are separated into their specific nations, such as France, Germany and the USSR; their “type,” such as heavy tanks and light tanks; and their “tier” or level. The in-game match maker automatically pairs you with 6 other teammates and 7 enemies, making an even field of play. Depending on your vehicle type and nation, your play style might be drastically different, and each tank has their own pros, cons and specialities.

World of Tanks Blitz has a very large following in Russia, in part, no doubt, because the game developers themselves are Russian. The game has an average of 70,000 players each day in Russia, while the North American players barely breaks 15,000. This doesn’t mean the game lacks players; rather, the community is more compact and it’s easier to reach out to people in the game.

The game offers a lot for a free-to-play on mobile, and you don’t need to spend money to advance far. Everything in the game is unlockable whether you spend $100, or $0. Spending money just helps you advance faster.

The forums are very informative for new players who want to improve, and it can be a lifeline for those who need it, as the gameplay is very immersive, especially for a mobile game. The game is extremely complex, and something that may be blatantly obvious to one person may not be to another. This is why the forums are a great place to ask for help. Players can go into the forums and reach a plethora of other players who are willing to discuss gameplay with them.

Players are allowed to play with each other in real battles. This is called “Platooning”. A Platoon can have a maximum amount of 2 players in the same team. Platoons also have their own private chat in game. Platooning is fairly effective since you can easily communicate with your partner and can even change the outcome of the battle. It is also fun as you get to play with your friends.

Progression in the game is fairly immense. You have freedom to pursue whichever tank line and nation you choose. Even though it’s a mobile game, that doesn’t mean that it’s watered down. Unlike some other annoying freemium games, there aren’t any “energy” bars that you must wait to refill, and no timers–you can play when you want however much you want.

Battles are, as you expect from a mobile game, short. Maximum time is 7 minutes per battle, but with the amount of action and how fast paced each game is, it will rarely ever last that long. This allows a lot of flexibility with your schedule, so you can play a few battles during a break and then get back to your routine.

The game doesn’t overcomplicate anything, though it has some elements of realism as well. It isn’t a typical arcade-style game; instead, it uses real life physics and tank modules. You can damage a tank’s engine, set one on fire, kill the tank commander, or even blow one up with a single shot by critically damaging the ammunition storage.

All in all, the game is very well balanced and the amount of work the developers put into it is immense for a mobile game. You can choose to spend money or not, you have a lot of freedom in what you decide to do within the game, and it doesn’t pressure you to be very dedicated, though if you do decide to dedicate yourself to the game enough it will be very rewarding.

Are you a World of Tanks player who wants to see more content about this game? Let us know in the comment section!