Found this out the hard way, although some of you are already aware of this, those that are not (need developer intervention) take heed...
When WOT Blitz gives you the option to move into another adjacent Tech Tree line, it increases the amount of grinding experience needed to allow you to purchase that tank, and does not show that there is a cheaper/quicker way. The Tech Tree shows you "the shortest path with minimum experience" quoted from WOT Blitz support services, which it actually isn't the case always, and very costly if you do decide to.
Developers need to add in more communication/information when you do decide to do this right in the Tech Tree or process of moving to an adjacent tank line/tank, that there is a extra cost, and that the same tank in it's own line will probably be half the amount of grinding experience.
Below shows the Ferdinand requiring 150k (high!) of experience to buy.
This is clearly misleading and not full disclosure! Whether this is intended or not, it needs to be fixed!
Still shown here in the mini Tech Tree off of the Tiger (P):
In my case, I had been grinding in the German heavy line, the Tiger (P) for the VK 100.01 (P), and then also the VK45.02 A. I had previously finished grinding in the German TD line: the Nashorn and the Jg Pz. 4 which leads to the JPanther, but did not purchase as I had enough tanks to grind at the time. Because I did not purchase the JPanther, I did not see the mini Tech Tree price for the Ferdinand. After I had finished grinding the two heavies the VK 100.01 (P), and the VK45.02 A, I looked at the Ferdinand confused as to why the experience requirement was so high as seen from the Tiger (P) mini Tech Tree and the main Tech Tree. Apparently the main tech tree is programed to show you experience costs/requirements based on "the shortest path with minimum experience"... in this case for the Ferdinand 150k. I thought that was expensive, almost double what I grinded for each of the heavies - the VK 100.01 (P), and the VK45.02 A. Eventually, after looking into how great the tank was in the field, decided it must be because it is a really good tank... so I started grinding it. Got up to about 130k grinding experience at the time, and had grinded out a few other tanks decided to purchase and start grinding the JPanther… to my astonishment, seen the Ferdinand experience required only 77.5k - half the experience that was required from the Tiger (P) line (because all I seen prior to this was the 150k in the Tech Tree mini and main up until then).
Thought it was a mistake, then realized WOT Blitz must be penalizing/charging extra ginding experience, if you go from one Tech Tree line to the other, and I just wasted grinding efforts and time to grind the Tiger (P) to 150k... not happy as I could have had two tanks for the same grinding effort and to add fuel to the fire so-to-speak, I had grinded up to the JPanther already before I even started to grind for the Ferdinand with the Tiger (P)… all I had to do was buy the JPanther and grind it to get the Ferdinand for 77.5k.
Only after buying the JPanther (too late already grinded 130k of the 150k with Tiger (P), did I realize another less experience requirment was available, to get the Ferdinand:
For this reason I am suggesting to developers one or all three suggestions to implement:
#1 Make the cost 160k so that the system will show the 77.5k on the tree based on the system rule "the shortest path with minimum experience" and then if a player does try to switch lines, next menu explains: because you are switching tech tree lines, an additional experience amount is required for that extra benefit.
#2 Create some kind of warning, maybe a tap-pop-up, or colour change on the experience number.... something to let players know that there are two different prices for experience required to get that tank depending on if you are in that line or switching from another.
#3 On the Tech Tree, put a XP++, a symbol, or something similar between the two tech tree lines/tanks, so that players know, crossing over to another line to get that tank, it will require extra grinding experience in addition to the normal experience required in the same tech tree line.
The system showing "the shortest path that requires a minimum amount of experience", taking into account switching tech tree lines, is misleading the player in my case, and is not providing all the information because of the extra experience needed to cross tech tree lines, in-turn ending up grinding more than is needed to advance to that tank.
I do feel there are other relatively new players like me (and I have casually played several years already not aware of this extra cost for switching lines, although now makes sense), that are not aware of this extra cost to switch lines and will go through the same thing I did and find out the hard way, which is unfair, especially if you can easily just provide more communication/information as suggested above, with my three suggestions.
Edited by Q_Prof, 31 October 2019 - 04:46 AM.