Through Open Beta to Game Release

Pilots!

We’re approaching the start of the Open Beta test phase, which will be followed by the official release of the game. In this article we would like to show you how this important step in the development of the project will be handled, and what surprises await you, the players, in the near future.

What is a token?

With the beginning of the Open Beta Test, we plan to perform a so-called "hard wipe" – a full reset of the gains achieved by players during all of the previous stages of testing. This applies to all warplanes, experience, credits and 'test gold'.

Moreover during the Open Beta Test, each tester will receive a certain amount of temporary gold; units which will be called "tokens". Tokens will therefore replace the previously available test gold. The initial number of tokens will depend on the total amount of experience each tester had prior to the wipe and, after this, further tokens can be earned in battle.

Open Beta: Stage One

During the first stage of the Open Beta Test, everything that was previously available for test gold will be purchasable using tokens, with the exception of Premium account status (which will be automatically given to all players).

Open Beta: Stage Two

The second stage of the Open Beta Test will commence with a wipe of the remaining 'test Premium account days' and tokens. 

At this point, players can now spend their earned tokens to purchase a Unified Premium Account, granting you premium access to both World of Warplanes and World of Tanks. You can also spend your tokens on purchasing premium aircraft and hangar slots, converting experience and training your crews as well as converting them into credits.

Please note – when the server is wiped at the end of Stage 1, all tokens still possessed by players will be converted into credits (at a twice the normal in-game rate) to take into Stage 2. Players can then earn new tokens in Stage 2 by playing the game as normal.

World of Warplanes: Game Release

The full release of World of Warplanes will be preceded by a further full reset of the gains achieved by testers during all of the previous stages of testing. Thus, all players will be placed in an equal starting position, regardless of whether or not they were previously also test pilots.

Our main aim during the Open Beta Test is to ensure that we have determined the best and most balanced economic model for the game. We do not want it to be possible for someone from the Open Beta test period to take advantage of any remaining issues or balancing work, and thereby receive an unfair advantage over other players.

"Real" gold will appear in the final release version of World of Warplanes, and will be available for purchase for real money. Free experience will then be implemented as well. In the short term, gold and free experience will be the same for (shared between) the two projects: World of Warplanes and World of Tanks.  

Awards for Testers 

The game release will be an exciting moment – one which is eagerly awaited by fans of the World of Warplanes project, and one which our Developers continue to work towards. Those of you that have been actively helping us in our work on the project, as test pilots, will be suitably rewarded. Testers will receive special badges and emblems, depending on the stage at which they joined the project, as well as special Premium planes. The level of the awards will be directly related to the level of activity of each player, measured by the number of battles in which they participated.

All testers will be divided into two groups: pilots with at least 100 battles overall and pilots with more than 700 battles across the entire testing period (from the Alpha Test up until the game's release.) The first group will be awarded with an exclusive emblem and medal in the game, while the latter will have access to up to three unique tester aircraft (the specifics of which will continue to remain a secret for now!). Suffice to say that these planes herald from the Soviet, German and American branches of aviation development, and two of them are fighters and one a ground attack aircraft. All three planes are highly worthy gifts that should easily please their owners, but which aircraft (and how many) a tester receives will depend on the stage at which each individual began their participation: during the Alpha, Global Alpha, or Closed or Open Beta.

Testing of the game is not yet complete, but it is steadily approaching its end, and very soon we will face large-scale air battles, epic victories and heroic achievements. In the meantime, take part in the fighting, test out the new plane models and save up on precious combat experience (the one thing that is sure to come in handy later on!).

Good luck in the air!