WoT Update 2.0 Garage Overhaul and Game Changes

For years, the Garage felt like a cluttered depot—panels scattered, stats buried, and routine tasks spread across multiple screens. Newcomers got lost; veterans burned time chasing menus and third-party tools. That friction bled value: grinds slowed, events were missed, and weak-spot learning lived outside the client. Even small actions—crew swaps, module checks, mission tracking—meant extra clicks and cognitive load. Released on September 3, 2025, Update 2.0 rebuilds the front door and the plumbing: a redesigned Garage, a unified “About Vehicle” hub, role-aware matchmaking with class caps, the largest vehicle rebalance to date, Tier XI with Upgrades, Random Events on classic maps, and a one-time Commander’s Gift that unlocks full tech branches.

TL;DR: what actually changes (and why it matters)

• Garage & UX: New left-rail menu, full-screen My Vehicles, Playlists, unified About Vehicle, and a native Armor Inspector cut “panel-hopping.”
• Matchmaker 2.0: Role balance plus caps—≤3 LTs, ≤1 wheeled LT, ≤3 SPGs, TD soft cap 5 (rarely 6)—and more ±1 spreads reduce skewed lobbies.
• Rebalance 2.0: Hundreds of vehicles tuned; stock grinds eased; lights get fatter HP pools to stay relevant.
• Tier XI + Upgrades: 15+ new machines, unique mechanics, up to 25 upgrade nodes, and cosmetic Elite Rewards at mastery.
• Commander’s Gift: One (returning) or two (new) full branches, fully researched/purchased, available through mid-October 2025.

The Garage overhaul: fewer clicks, more signal

Left-rail navigation, predictable corners. The main Garage menu shifts from a horizontal ribbon to a vertical rail on the left. The Game Menu (Settings/Combat Intelligence) and server quality indicator relocate to the bottom-right; social actions and Create Platoon live bottom-left. The aim is ruthless predictability: fighting, social, and settings occupy fixed corners, so your cursor travel drops.

Universal Back, cleaner icons, and smarter tooltips

• Universal Back: A top-left Back button jumps you to the previous screen or straight to the Garage. Event-guide/tutorial buttons tuck into navigation instead of floating in odd corners.
• Visual refresh: Updated vehicle type icons, shell/currency symbols, vehicle-panel widgets, and UI iconography improve scan speed.
• Online Players counter: Yanked from the Garage canvas; it now lives inside the Game Menu to cut visual noise.

“About Vehicle” unifies specs, modules, upgrades, and armor IQ

Open it from the Garage, Tech Tree, or a right-click context menu. It’s the one-stop bay for learning and fitting:

• Characteristics: Every technical parameter on a single screen, including special mechanics where relevant.
• Overview: A tight summary with the unique mechanic, background blurb, core stats, and an embedded video (when provided). If the tank sits in your Garage, the interactive 3D model mirrors its current build.
• Modules: Research, buy, and mount—live 3D updates show exactly what changed. Field Modification for Tier VI+ is folded in here for legacy tiers.
• Upgrades (new for top tiers): Field Mods get replaced at the end tier. You pour Combat/Free XP into nodes that buff base characteristics and the tank’s unique mechanic. Clearing the tree unlocks Elite Rewards:
  • Stat Tracker: Destroyed Vehicles — a 3D trinket that counts your kills on the hull.
  • Volumetric style — a 2D style with a depth effect.
  • Gun Sleeve — a distinctive 3D accessory on the barrel.
• Armor Inspector: Built-in nominal/effective thickness by angle, so weak-spot study finally lives in-client.

Loadout strip, five-column gear screens, and hover info that actually helps

• Unified loadout strip: Crew/equipment/consumables sit together beneath the tank. Perk tooltips explain effects; perk-available alerts nudge training at the right time.
• Training toggles: Accelerated Crew Training and Intensive Crew Regimen move to the lower edge where your eyes already rest.
• Gear/directives grid: Columns jump from 3→5. Category icons (Firepower, Survivability, Mobility, Concealment, Spotting) and updated progress bars replace noisy numeric totals.
• Vehicle hover tooltip: Ditches raw specs for decision fuel: key feature, economy potential, Elite Level progress, and achievements.

My Vehicles and Playlists supercharge big garages

Expand the carousel to a full-screen My Vehicles view (button by the filter or just hit Space). Switch Playlists from a top-left dropdown, or create/edit/import them. In practice, you spin up “mission decks”: a credit-farm list, a Battle Pass list, and an event list—swap in a click.

Industrial workshop style, people, and motion

• New setting: The forest garage bows out; an industrial workshop takes over to match the heavy-industry theme.
• Residential zone: Tankers, engineers, and workers populate the space so the Garage feels lived-in, not sterile.
• Visual overhaul: Rebuilt environment objects, modern animations, more diverse characters, and a global graphics lift give the canvas contemporary weight.

Post-battle results as a celebration (and a dashboard)

• Full-screen results: Your styled 3D tank is framed up; the performance table sits in a bottom overlay that opens on click or Space.

Missions and goals: surfacing what matters without banner spam

Daily Missions widget: shifts to the right rail and shows up to three missions. Clear one and the next pops in automatically. Regular, Premium, bonus, weekly, and campaign tasks now co-exist in the same widget.

• Reward transparency: Completed missions spell out what you earned and why.
• Completion notice: When you finish every daily/weekly available, a persistent confirmation hangs around until reset.
• Event Cards: Banners are replaced by card tiles with countdowns for anything close to expiring.
• Battle Pass card: Pinned to the top with Stage/Chapter progress, so your grind doesn’t drift.
• Regular Missions screen: A clean page for daily/weekly/campaign details replaces the old, cluttered interface.

Personal Missions: Sector 3 raises the ceiling

• Structure: Three Operations; each Operation has 45 missions split into three series of 15, targeted at specific roles/types.
• Progression logic: Every mission grants Campaign Points. Campaign Points also come from daily and weekly missions.
• Assembly: Earn the required Campaign Points to build the Operation’s reward vehicle.
• Honors: Complete all three series in an Operation with honors for extra loot; finish all three Operations with honors to clear Sector 3 in style.

Weekly Missions join the loop

• Three fresh missions each week: Multi-battle tasks with varied conditions; some restrict nation/type/role for roster depth.
• Rewards: Currency and Campaign Points feed the broader progression economy.

Matchmaker 2.0: role parity, sensible caps, and flexible queues

Role balance: At Tiers VIII–XI (queue permitting), each team’s composition mirrors battlefield roles rather than only tank classes. Breakthroughs meet breakthroughs; burst autoloaders meet burst autoloaders. You get fairer lanes without neutering variety.

• Class caps (Tier V+): LTs ≤3; wheeled LTs ≤1; TDs ≤5 (6 rarely); SPGs ≤3.
• Wheeled LT distribution: Evenly spread at Tier VI+; rule relaxes if the queue is thin.
• Tier spread tweaks: More ±1 for Tier IV–VII to reduce pain points.
• Tier XI rules: Treated like Tier X; fights Tiers IX–X only.
• Queue elasticity: Constraints loosen gracefully during low population to keep wait times rational.
• Mode cleanup: Encounter and Assault retire; “Maps With Random Events” replaces the old “Under Development” slot.

2.0 Commander’s Gift: compressing months into minutes

• Returning players: Claim one entire Tech Tree branch (Tier VI–X) fully researched and purchased—straight into the Garage.
• New accounts: Claim two full branches plus a bundle of Premium and rental Premium vehicles.
• Collectors: If you already own everything, you receive a unique medal, badge, and stripe (the medal is 2.0-exclusive).
• Window: All gifts must be claimed before the next major patch in mid-October.

Armor Flashlight and in-client learning

Armor Flashlight: An expanded pen-chance cue that briefly colors a small area around the reticle. It’s experimental, off by default, and toggled in Reticle Settings. There’s a performance note attached—older rigs should test and decide.

Audio overhaul: weight, clarity, and competitive read

• Heavier mix: Engines, treads, tracers, and impacts sit higher in the mix for clearer “what just happened” feedback.
• Authentic engines: Recordings taken from operational museum vehicles—start, idle, and throttle feel punchier.
• Distinct tread voices: Light vs. heavy tracks sound different across terrain.
• Collision layering: Vehicle-object, vehicle-vehicle, environmental, and water impacts each have tailored audio.
• Priority rules: Player/enemy vehicles and combat cues bubble up so crucial info isn’t buried.
• UI soundset: New interface clicks/rollovers/post-battle cues make navigation crisp.
• Ambisonic Garage: Spatial ambiance captured in real repair bays pushes immersion without gimmicks.

New map and Random Events: familiar fronts, new timing windows

• Nordskar: A fresh Random Battles map that doubles as the playground for Stories Mode.

Random Events on four classics:

• Paris: A V-1 strike drops the heavy-route bridge (K5–K6), reshaping cover and forcing detours.
• Ensk Region: A train periodically cuts through, creating temporary cover and blocking flanks.
• Fjords: Heavy zone rebuild with a naval-gun bunker (J4–J5); Royal Navy fire collapses a bunker entrance and opens a new line.
• Redshire: A zeppelin crashes between hills and castle (E2–E3, F2–F3), rewriting ridge fights; the zeppelin model itself gets a fidelity pass.

Tier XI: roster, mechanics, and Upgrades

New Tier XI tech-tree vehicles (selection):

• Object 432U (USSR, MT) — Thermo-Ballistic Overcharge (predecessor: Object 430U)
• CS-67 Szakal (Poland, MT) — Tactical Power Pack (predecessor: CS-63)
• T803 (USA, HT) — Semi-Automatic Ammo Rack (predecessor: T110E5)
• FV4025 Contriver (UK, HT) — Salvo Fire Mode (predecessor: FV230 Canopener)
• KR-1 (USSR, HT) — Ramming Configuration (predecessor: IS-7)
• Hirschkäfer (Germany, TD) — Propellant Thermal Control System (predecessor: Grille 15)
• XM69 Hacker (USA, MT) — Pneumatic Gyro-Stabilizer (predecessor: M48A5 Patton)
• Strv 107-12 (Sweden, TD) — Pillbox Mode (predecessor: Strv 103B)
• BZ-79 (China, HT) — Liquid Fuel Boosters (predecessor: BZ-75)
• leKpz Borkenkäfer (Germany, LT) — Laser Target Designator (predecessor: Rhm. Panzerwagen)
• AS-XX 40 t (France, MT) — External Ammunition Supply Module (predecessor: Bat-Châtillon 25 t)
• AT-FV230 Breaker (UK, TD) — Direct Drive (predecessor: FV217 Badger)
• AMX 67 Imbattable (France, HT) — Cassette Loading System (predecessor: AMX 50 B)
• Black Rock (USA, MT) — Burst Mode (reward)
• Taschenratte (Germany, HT) — Auxiliary Weapons (predecessor: Maus)
• Leopard 120 Verbessert (Germany, MT) — Analog Ballistic Computing Device (predecessor: Leopard 1)

New additions by nation: Vz. 60S Dravec (Czechoslovakia) and Windhund (Germany) headline notable tree entries.

Stories Mode — Operation Boiling Point: a single-player PvE mission with AI in Tier XI on Nordskar rounds out the “new era” package.

Onslaught, Onslaught Light, and seasonal content hooks

• Onslaught (Year of the Dragon): New Season of the Azure Dragon with rewards: progressive Rex Draconis (Azure) style, decal/emblem/inscription packs, Dog Tag backgrounds (Iron→Legend), Eternal Blizzard stripe, badges (Winter’s Curse, Frozen Horizon), and the Break the Ice medal.
• New map: Ruinberg; Tundra updated; Airfield returns. Rental 7×7 vehicles rotate in (Object 705A, Jagdpanzer E 100, Concept No. 5).
• Onslaught Light returns: 2D style See the Light plus decals BASED and Impossible Decision.
• Battle Pass: Resources injected for the final season of the annual cycle.
• Events queued: Last Stand: Proving Ground and Waffenträger: Paradox resources staged.

Economy and Premiums: prices down, credits up, targeted buffs

• Premium pricing: Gold prices for Tier VIII–IX premiums drop; Tier IX premium credit earnings increase.
• Premium improvements: Targeted buffs hit a long list, including WZ-111 line (standard, Alpine Tiger, Qilin), WZ-114, FCM 50 t, Panzer 58 family (Schwarzpanzer 58, Mutz), CS-52 C, T54 Heavy Tank, Object 590, and more.

Rebalance 2.0: philosophy, concrete trims, and gun-angle QoL

Intent: The biggest balance pass in WoT history clears away outdated modules, simplifies radio/suspension tiers, makes every branch playable from vehicle #1, buffs light-tank survivability, begins modernization of older premiums, and spends extra time on Tier X touchpoints. Combined with MM 2.0, the flow through the tree becomes less jagged and match quality steadier.

Gun-angle comfort changes across nations

Examples (not exhaustive):

• USA: M10 Wolverine (rear depression), T29 (rear depression), T57 Heavy (rear elevation), M48A5 Patton (rear depression), T54E1 (side/rear depression), and more.
• Germany: WT auf Pz. IV (elevation all around), VK 100.01 (P) (depression all around), Tiger II (front/rear depression), E 75 (rear depression), E 50 Ausf. M (rear depression), etc.
• USSR: ST-II, IS-3-II, IS-2-II, Object 430 (rear depression tweaks).
• UK: Conqueror/Caernarvon (rear depression), Black Prince/Churchill I (all-around depression), Centurion Action X (rear depression), Manticore/LHMTV (side/rear elevation), and more.
• France: AMX 50 B (rear depression/front elevation), AMX 50 120 (elevation all around), Bat-Chat line (rear elevation), AMX 13 line (rear/side elevation), plus lower-tier classics like AMX 40 (rear elevation).
• Czechoslovakia: Škoda line rear-depression cleanups from ST vz. 39 through Škoda T 50.
• Japan: Type 5/Type 4/O-series (front/rear depression trims), STA-1 (rear depression), etc.
• China: BZ-68, T-34-2, Type 2597 Chi-Ha (front/rear depression updates).
• Poland: CS line (rear depression), 53TP/45TP (rear depression), Hurricane (rear depression).
• Sweden: Kranvagn/Emil I/II (rear depression adjustments).
• Italy: Rinoceronte, Progetto C50/CC55, Carro d’assalto P.88, P.43 bis/ter, Progetto M40 mod. 65 (rear depression), Fiat 3000 (rear depression).

Two-stage improvements scheduled

Micropatch (September 9): Stinger, Pz. IV H Ankou, M4A3(76)W Sherman, Char de transition, Churchill Crocodile, Charioteer Nomad, Churchill St. Gloriana, KV-2 (R), Ashbringer.

Next major update: Bretagne Panther, Centurion Mk. 5/1 RAAC, Chaffee Camouflaged, Cromwell B, EMIL 1951, IS-2 variants (Berlin/shielded/M), ISU-152K, KV-1 shielded, KV-1SA, Loza’s M4-A2, M10 RBFM, M103M, M24 Chaffee No. 594, M41D, M4A3E8 Fury, Panther/M10, Primo Victoria, Pudel, Pz. IV F2, Rambo, Strv 81, T-28E with F-30, T32M, T-34 shielded, T-34-85 Rudy, T-44-100 (+ Igrovoy), T-34-85M, T832.

Fixed issues and known quirks (read this before tilt-queuing)

Examples of fixes already in

• Marks of Excellence reappearing/disappearing when graphics presets changed.
• Post-battle load screens lingering or reappearing, and long Garage loads after battle.
• Incorrect in-battle Personal Missions progress and some style-tooltip bonuses.
• Rare SPG HE edge cases against very thick armor.
• Directive application failures on certain vehicles.
• Fixed-gun vehicles nudging on their own; asymmetric reverse-traverse speeds; TL-7 hull rotation lag under motion.
• Terrain/object tweaks across Steppes, Fjords, Ruinberg, Paris, Airfield, Berlin to prevent stuck states.

Known issues you can plan around

• Marks of Excellence sometimes misaligned or invisible.
• Post-battle background elements overlapping the tank model.
• Blurred 3D attachments on some vehicles while moving; oscillating-turret decal distortions.
• Crew occasionally shown as “In the Barracks” despite being assigned.
• WoT Plus manageable XP multiplier icon overflow on post-battle screen with too much adjacent text.
• AMD-GPU quirk switching windowed/fullscreen (client minimizes until reverted).
• Parameter deltas sometimes look wrong if the stat was already over half (UI only).
• Vehicle comparison list slow at max entries; longer Garage transitions on HDDs (defrag advised).
• Tech Tree return button missing after previewing a Tier XI Elite Reward style.
• Strv 107-12 travel-mode icon late to appear until you flip Siege on/off; some guns over-elevate when toggling Siege.
• AS-XX 40 t External Ammunition Module invisible in Postmortem to the viewer (still blocks shots); Postmortem damage log stops scrolling after four events; pen-value display quirks.
• Consumable cooldown bonuses occasionally not applied; VK 30.02 (M) shows a technical name; research achievements sometimes missing.
• Hall of Fame omissions for a subset of vehicles.

WoT Plus and quality-of-life gainz

• WoT Plus boosts: A 15% battle bonus to Combat/Free XP, Crew XP, and credits; manageable multipliers (3 daily, up to 8 with Premium) that triple XP for winning battles.
• Game Menu: Adds a Report Content button for faster moderation pings.

Insider-style tips players are already using

• Build three Playlists: Credit farm, BP progression, and “event deck.” Swap from My Vehicles before queue and stop wasting brain cycles re-selecting tanks.
• Armor first, equipment second: Use Armor Inspector to map your effective plates and shot traps; then pick equipment that stretches those strengths (e.g., stabilization mediums chaining two snapshots instead of one).
• Gift with a plan: If returning, choose a branch that multiplies roster utility (heavies for Onslaught-style formats; a light line to exploit healthier scout uptime).
• Know the caps: With ≤3 LTs/≤3 SPGs and role mirroring, opening routes and arty-safe lanes at spawn shift—adjust your first 30 seconds.

Conclusion

Update 2.0 isn’t a coat of paint; it’s a systems rewrite with day-to-day impact. The Garage finally behaves like a modern command bay: a left-rail menu anchors navigation, the full-screen My Vehicles view and Playlists cut selection busywork, and the unified About Vehicle hub folds specs, modules, upgrades, and the Armor Inspector into one fluent workflow. Role-aware matchmaking and hard class caps curb lopsided lobbies, while Rebalance 2.0 trims dead weight from stock grinds and lets light tanks stay relevant long enough to matter. Tier XI adds a fresh ceiling with unique mechanics and a purposeful Upgrades spine that rewards mastery instead of raw grind.

Random Events and Nordskar inject timing puzzles into familiar maps, and Stories Mode gives PvE-leaning players a structured way in. The Commander’s Gift compresses months into minutes, pulling returners straight into modern content. The trade-off is small—some stats now live one click deeper—but the payoff is coherence, speed, and clarity. Net-net: the foundation is tougher, the loop is faster, and the ceiling is higher. If the team keeps tuning Armor Flashlight, class limits, and upgrade nodes with live telemetry, 2.0 won’t just feel new—it’ll stay sharp.

Sources

• World of Tanks — Release Notes 2.0 (EU)
• World of Tanks — Update 2.0 Articles Hub (NA)
• Wargaming Wiki — Update 2.0
• World of Tanks — News & Feature Spotlights (EU)