World Of Tanks Launches Strongholds Mode

Get ready to roll, tread heads, because Wargaming has officially announced that World of Tanks Update 9.2 has gone live in North America, Europe, Asia and Korea, bringing along a new map and a new mode, Strongholds, for players to enjoy.

When free-to-play games enter the conversation, World of Tanks is typically not too far from the tip of everyone’s tongues. Update 9.2 is a good example of why that is, as Wargaming continues to support its title with fresh content on a regular basis. This time around, players will be able to guide their rolling death machines onto a brand new field of battle, Fire Arc, as well as dip into the game’s latest Strongholds mode, which focuses specifically on Clan Wars. As an added bonus, four reworked HD vehicle models have been thrown in for good measure, along with improvements to eight of the games pre-existing maps.

Wargaming has put together a handy video outlining the key changes from Update 9.2, for those of you who prefer voiceovers and images of tanks, explosions and all that jazz.

“We are very excited to introduce the first iteration of Strongholds to World of Tanks,” said Wargaming Executive Publishing Producer, Anton Pankov. “It is an extremely engaging game mode that combines tactics, strategy and action elements, bringing more depth to the World of Tanks metagame. Strongholds will evolve over time based on feedback from the World of Tanks community.”

In Strongholds, Clan Commanders are able to create virtual representations of their clan’s bases, allowing them to participate in Skirmishes, earn Industrial Resources and develop their Strongholds through four levels, currently. Upgrading your structures rewards a Commander with Orders, which your tank drivers can then utilize to call in temporary in-game bonuses across all combat modes. The stronger your Stronghold, the more regularly you’ll be able to call in these bonuses, and the better they’ll be. It sounds like a pretty cool concept, one that sort of unites Clanmates no matter when they are playing and in what mode.

Alongside the Strongholds mode, players will also enjoy the new Fire Arc map in Update 9.2. There are also those visual and effect upgrades for several other maps mentioned later, as well as upgraded models for the Soviet IS and SU-1oo, as well as the German StuG III and British Churchill I.

Now, what we’d really like to hear from our readers and World of Tanks players, is how this Strongholds mode works in practice. Try it out and let us know what you think in the comments section below. Also, how is that Twitch streaming functionality holding up?