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We’re pleased to see a trio of new World War II premium vehicles to War Thunder, all coming as part of one pack. Two premium Tiger I tanks and a premium Ostwind II SPAA.
The Bundle
A concept that Gaijin has been considering for some time is the idea of collection bundles, in this case a premium bundle that includes multiple vehicles along with other goodies. The advantage of such a package is that it comes as a set that is more useful overall than a single vehicle, giving those who take it more options in battle and the potential to gain more research points through multiple spawns. Plus, it’s a good option if you haven’t played Germany yet.
Beasts of the East and West
The two premium Tiger H1 models represent the battlefields of the eastern and western fronts and include aesthetic elements inspired by both. The Eastern Tiger clearly saw a lot of action and is much more rugged and rustic, with some of that extra belt armor on the front of the hull and bundles of sticks attached to the sides.
However, these are more for improvised camouflage than protection, and don’t offer much more survivability than regular ammo. However, the additional belt armour may prove effective when tilted, and will make this Eastern Tiger more effective for close-range engagements. However, the Western Tiger is much more comfortable among the green fields and hedgerows of the western front. It features an extensive camouflage net that nicely masks its silhouette at longer ranges, especially against aircraft! This tiger (while versatile in its own right) is better suited for waiting in ambush and sniping from long distances, where its extra stealth really comes into play.
Importantly, as these two Tigers depict modified, battle-hardened vehicles, both have been given another makeover – the anti-personnel mortars on the top of the hull have been removed, which often interfered with the gun. This does not give them any extra possible gun reduction over the base variant, but instead means that these two new versions can achieve maximum gun reduction over the hull corners.
Canopy Protection
These big “cats” are accompanied by the premium Ostwind II, complete with its own special camouflage netting along with wider Ostketten tracks (as a module) to improve its maneuverability.
Gaijin considered a more classic variant in War Thunder, such as the regular Ostwind I or Wirbelwind, but ultimately stuck with the Ostwind II, even though it was a prototype, it would better match the Battlen Rating of the other two Tigers and make the overall build more functional – plus it could be used more effectively in higher level builds this way.