World at War 85 version 2.2 rulebook released

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World at War 85 version 2.2 rulebook released

Version 2.2 of the World at Wr 85 rulebook is now available for download from the Lock ‘n Load Publishing online library.

There are several new changes in this version of the rules. WaW85 developer Keith Tracton sent along these notes.

Well, the World At War 85 series was  launched a little over two years ago, with the first game, Storming the Gap, and its expansions, Defense of Frankfurt, Storm and Steel and the campaign game Drive on Giessen. Thousands of games later, thanks to our amazing community, we have been able to provide needed clarifications and to correct some mistakes. We have also made some small adjustments that we think will improve gameplay and incorporated these into the latest version of the rules, Version 2.2:

  • Defensive Bonuses for Terrain and visibility set at 5: this idea came from a contributor online at BoardGameGeek.com. Having bonus defensive dice always save on a 5 is more logical since terrain and poor visibility work just the same, regardless of whether the target is a mighty Leopard-2 or a thin-skinned M-113 or BTR-60 or BTR-70. This, we think, will increase realism at a very moderate cost in complexity (just need to take dice in two colors for save rolls if the save numbers are different). It will also make lightly armored vehicles or older tanks (T-55/T-62, Leopard-1’s, etc.) a bit more survivable, provided, of course, they make full use of terrain and concealment. Suppressing a concealed M-901 or BRDM-AT with long range tank fire has just become harder – as it should be.
  • Use of Direct Fire HE by On-Board Artillery (i.e.,in line of sight of their intended target): again, a discussion on the Facebook group and our personal experiences using On-Board artillery triggered a redraft of that section of the rules. The key idea here is that modern On-Board artillery can fire over open sights – but is not meant to, for a variety of reasons (inadequate sights, lack of training, and potential crew panic at being in the other side’s LOS), and allowing them to use direct fire without any adjustments to their (very long) range could have made them unrealistically powerful. We have decided to give players an option because this makes for interesting tactical decisions: do I use standard direct fire over open sights (with the possibility to use opportunity fire but very poor range, and no chance of affecting heavy armor) or do I try to plan a fire mission (with a chance to fail my spotting roll, no Opportunity Fire, but, if it succeeds, a full salvo)? Note that this does not affect those very few units (like the 2S1) who carry AP rounds – but these are mediocre at best.
  • Alternative AP firepower and High Rate of Fire HE:we are somewhat obsessive about internal consistency. Since we already had both the Marder 1 (with missiles) and Marder 1A1, with only a 20mm cannon, we have decided to rationalize the system and give all vehicles armed with autocannons (typically 20mm to 35mm during that era) or low-pressure guns (typically 70mm or thereabouts, firing HEAT) an alternative (but weak) AP firepower they can use if they cannot, or do not want to, use missiles against heavy armor targets. High Rate of Fire HE is now limited to those vehicles that used very effective special ammo (the M-2/M-3 Bradley with its 25mm APDU ammo) or to helicopters (which carried a variety of cannons and rockets and were able to target the thinner top armor) but it can now fire at long range.
  • Artillery for Design-Your-Own Scenarios: it has come our attention that some players were purchasing inordinate amounts of On-board and Offboard artillery for their DYO scenarios, pulverizing the other side, with no consideration for basic realism (i.e., that artillery is never deployed alone). We addressed the proportion of On-board artillery units we feel would keep things balanced on average in the rule notes and Designer Notes (to provide intent) already present in version 2.1. But we had not addressed Off-board artillery strikes in quite the same way, and that seemed to remain an issue. Consequently, we decided to formally and explicitly limit the number of Off-board artillery strikes that can be purchased for a DYO scenario, based on the number of formations, and to increase the cost of said strikes. Typically, we would balance any scenario’s Artillery selection in testing, but since in a DYO you are at your favorite hobby shop with limited time, we hope this brings an element of play balance back to Off-board artillery usage for these DYO games. And remember when it comes to playing the game, less artillery is more play for other units. Or so  we hope!