World of Tanks – The Assembly Shop Returns: Catch the Lion!

The Assembly Shop is making its return to World of Tanks this February!

From 2-9 February 2023, you’ll be able to craft the X 🇮🇹Lion, a brand-new Tier X Italian medium tank. A limited number of this vehicle will be available for assembly, and the first players to assemble their tanks will receive the unique “Marked One” 3D style with an individual production number!

The Assembly Shop will be available at the following times per-game region:

🇪🇺 EU:

From February 2, 2023, at 18:00 CET
through February 9, 2023, at 23:59 CET (UTC+1)*

🇺🇸 NA:

From February 2, 2023, at 17:00 PT | 19:00 CT | 20:00 ET
through February 9, 2023, at 21:00 PT | 23:00 CT | 23:59 ET*

🌏 ASIA:

From February 2, 2023, at 20:00 (UTC+8)
through February 10, 2023, at 00:00 (UTC+8)*

*Please note that the event may finish early if all vehicles are assembled before the end of the event.

How it Works

Invest various game resources—including blueprint fragments, Free XP, credits, gold, and bonds—to craft the brand-new Lion. It’s up to you to decide how much of each resource to invest.
There will be a limited number of tanks available for assembly. The first set of players will receive not only the vehicle itself, but also the spectacular Marked One 3D style for it, which includes an individual style number. These individual numbers will be assigned to vehicles sequentially, from smallest to largest. With its 3D style applied, the Lion appears to be visually upgraded to the legendary OF-40.
Once all of the numbered styles and accompanying vehicles have been purchased, a larger number of vehicles will still be available for delivery. They will come in their standard configuration—without the 3D style and individual style number—and will be available for assembly until the end of the event, or until they run out.

Combine and Spend Resources in Different Ratios

To catch the Lion, you need to spend any of the following five game resources:

While the event remains familiar to before, something which has changed compared to the previous Assembly Shop is the effectiveness of each resource towards assembling the final vehicle (nerfed across the board). The rates for this new vehicle are as follows:

Free XP: 10,000 = 1%
National blueprint fragments: 32 = 1%*
Universal blueprint fragments: 20 = 1%*
Credits: 1.25 million = 1%
Gold: 550 = 1%**
Bonds: 500 = 1%

*NOTE regarding blueprints: only 36% of the vehicle’s total research cost can be received with blueprint fragments — 22% with national and 14% with universal fragments.

**IMPORTANT NOTE regarding gold: As with last time, if you have free XP available to convert, it is significantly more efficient to spend your gold on converting free XP rather than spending it directly on the vehicle! 10,000 free XP translates to 400 gold, which saves 150 gold (approximately 27%!) for each 1% towards the vehicle. (And if you thought ahead + converted free XP during the recent 1:35 or 1:40 conversion discounts, you’ll be saving a whopping 48% or 54%, respectively!)

Resource Calculator

A tool to calculate out exactly what you want to invest into building your Lion can be found in the official article. It is highly suggested to use this to plan in advance of the event start (times listed above). https://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/general-news/assembly-shop-2023/

Anecdotal Resource Guide (from the author):

The most efficient resources are still Free XP, national/ universal fragments, and bonds.
Credits are by far the least efficient, and should only really be used if you either have far too many to burn, or if you need to finish off the final few percent.
Meanwhile,gold is better put towards converting Free XP (~27% less gold required if you convert to free XP at the normal rate, or as much as ~55% less if the XP was purchased during the recent 1:40 conversion discounts) if you are able to do so.
If you plan to spend national/universal blueprint fragments, it is suggested to commit these first, as they can only contribute up to a certain percentage (36%) of the total vehicle (22% national, 14% universal).
Mix-and-match resources — only using one type of resource is significantly less efficient than combining multiple!

Risk-Free Resource Returns

As with before — if you’re unable to collect the required amount of resources by the end of the event, there are no risks for the spent resources. They will automatically return to your account in full if you do not complete the assembly by the end of the event. Furthermore, if you commit some resources but then change your mind, these can be refunded at any time by clicking the “Return Resources” button in the event window.

Vehicle Availability

The X 🇮🇹Lion will be available in the following quantities per-region:

🇪🇺 EU:

First 22,000 with numbered “Marked One” 3D style
65,000 in total (last 43,000 without 3D style)

🇺🇸 NA:

First 5,000 with numbered “Marked One” 3D style
15,000 in total (last 10,000 without 3D style)

🌏 ASIA:

First 3,000 with numbered “Marked One” 3D style
10,000 in total (last 7,000 without 3D style)

🇷🇺 RU:

First 50,000 with numbered “Marked One” 3D style
150,000 in total (last 100,000 without 3D style)

How to Play the Lion (WG Guide)

The Lion offers several options for firing:

Magazine-based gameplay, for dealing 420 HP of damage every 4.5 seconds. It is best to play with three shells in the magazine and save the fourth in case of emergency combat situations. And never forget that you can always make the most of its unusual autoreloading system!
Autoreloading-based gameplay, which depends on the game situation and when you can deal damage. Keep in mind that you’ll deal the maximum DPM when playing up to the second-to-last shell. This option will be a win-win in the case of a positional duel during the battle.
Combined gameplay. You can start by dealing 420 HP of damage, and then begin using the DPM of the third shell to deal an additional 420 HP of damage every 8 seconds.

The Lion is not limited to a single playstyle. Instead, it can be used in different ways, depending on the combat situation—this is its superpower. But most importantly, try not to fire all four shells at once!

A few more tips to help you be more effective in battles:

Use the fourth shell when planning tactical actions, such as when you want to reset a base capture or finish off an opponent that is low on HP. Make sure you’re safe or in cover, because after the fourth shot, you’ll be vulnerable for 20 seconds.
Its mobility is good for patrolling the battlefield. You can always either take a position to support your allies with fire from afar, or be an active flanker. Just remember that its reverse speed is only 15 km/h, so choose your positions carefully and make sure you don’t over-expose yourself to enemy fire.
Despite its high accuracy, the vehicle’s gun stabilization is mediocre, so try improving this parameter using equipment or the Field Modification feature.

The Lion is a vulnerable, yet incredibly versatile, support tank that you probably already know well. On the one hand, it’s the mighty Progetto juggling shells in the autoreloading magazine. On the other, it’s a cold-blooded Leopard that hits the enemy with powerful shots for 420 HP of damage. But all in all, the Lion is a combination of these gameplay styles. It adapts to the situation when hunting and makes optimal decisions based on its combat potential, which is truly impressive.

Image Previews

The standard model for the vehicle (without the 3D style) is based on the real world version of this vehicle, which itself was a prototype for an Italian-produced Leopard:

In case you’re interested, a historical read on this vehicle can be had on Tanks Encyclopedia. To summarize:

Originally known as the Leopardino (“Little Leopard”) and then as the Leone (“Lion”), this vehicle was essentially intended to be a more cost-effective version of the German Leopard intended for export. The hull, engine, transmission, and running gear were to be made in Germany, while the Italians would produce the turret, armament, and electrical equipment.

(Credit for historical images: Pignato)

Meanwhile, the Lion appears to be visually upgraded to the legendary OF-40 with its unique “Marked One” 3D Style applied.

The style comes with a unique production number, displayed on both the gun barrel (painted) and the turret rear (on an illuminated identifier box). Furthermore, there are three separate camouflage patterns for Summer, Winter, and Desert maps:

Winter