What Is XVM for World of Tanks? Your Go-To Mod for Enhanced Gameplay!

If you’re a World of Tanks player, you’ve probably heard of XVM. It’s the most popular mod for the game, and for good reason! It’s like a Swiss Army knife for WoT, giving you a bunch of extra tools to improve your gameplay. And the best part? It’s 100% legal. Wargaming and Lesta, the game’s developers, give it the thumbs up. It doesn’t have any sneaky, forbidden features, so you can use it without worry. XVM even won an award from Wargaming as the best mod for the game, so you know it’s legit!

Where to find everything about XVM:

  • ModXVM.com/en/: This is the official XVM website. It’s your one-stop shop for news, downloads, guides, and even checking out player and clan WoT stats. Want to see how you stack up against the competition? This is the place to go.
  • KoreanRandom.com: Need help with XVM? This forum is where you’ll find it. The official XVM support is spread across different categories, making it easy to find what you need. But that’s not all! Koreanrandom.com is also a treasure trove of info for anyone interested in game modding and coding, not just XVM. Here are some useful sections and topics you may want to check out:
  • GitLab (gitlab.com/xvm/): This is where the magic happens. All the code for XVM is here. If you’re a coder and have cool ideas to make XVM even better, this is your playground. Discuss your ideas on the koreanrandom.com forum, code it up, and then submit it to XVM’s GitLab.
  • GitHub (github.com/modxvm): Think of this as a backup for some of XVM’s most important code. It’s mirrored from GitLab, so everything stays up-to-date automatically. While all new code and improvements are added to GitLab, they are also synced to GitHub in real-time to make sure that even if GitLab will be down, the most crucial code will still be available.

Want to Make XVM Even Better?

XVM is always evolving, and you can be a part of it! If you have ideas to improve the mod, head over to the KoreanRandom.com: forums to discuss them. Then, if you’re tech-savvy, you can implement your ideas in the code and submit a merge request to the XVM GitLab repositories. It’s a great way to contribute to the community and make your mark on one of the best World of Tanks mods out there!

TL;DR

XVM, short for eXtended Visualization Mod, stands as the most popular and feature-rich modification for the popular online game World of Tanks. With millions of players worldwide, XVM offers a wealth of in-depth statistics, user interface (UI) customisation options, and advanced features designed to improve your gameplay. Notably, XVM is a completely free and open-source project, developed by a dedicated team of enthusiasts who invest their time and resources to provide regular updates and keep the mod accessible to everyone. The development team also welcomes contributions from the community, encouraging those with programming skills to submit fixes and improvements.

Key Features of XVM

XVM boasts a comprehensive suite of features that significantly alter and enhance the standard World of Tanks interface. Some of the most prominent features include:

  • Incredible Customisation: Players can extensively tailor their game’s appearance with XVM. This includes customising vehicle markers (information displayed above tanks), player panels, the minimap, damage logs, and even the hangar interface. The use of HTML, CSS, and macros allows for highly personalised styles and layouts.
  • Detailed Player Statistics: XVM provides the ability to view in-depth player statistics directly within the battle interface, including crucial metrics such as win rate and the widely recognised WN8 rating. These statistics are also visible on the loading screen before battles and in player panels during the fight.
  • Enhanced Minimap: XVM transforms the minimap into a more strategic tool by adding features like view range indicators, last known positions of enemy tanks, and at-a-glance tank details.
  • Sixth Sense Customisation: Players can personalise the visual and auditory alerts for the “Sixth Sense” perk, making it more noticeable or simply adding a touch of personal preference.
  • Clan and Player Icons: XVM supports the display of clan and player icons next to player names, aiding in quick identification of allies and opponents. By default, XVM shows clan icons for the top 50 clans by Global Map (wGM) rating and Stronghold (wSH) rating, as well as official game developer clan icons. Players can also configure the display to include up to the top 1000 clans in their personal account.
  • Advanced Communication: XVM enhances in-battle communication with features such as vehicle status signals (e.g., indicating an overturned ally), minimap arrow drawings for tactical coordination, and precise location marks. This advanced communication relies on XVM Network Services.
  • Hangar Customisations: Add useful elements to your hangar, including a clock, detailed tank statistics, and an improved multi-row vehicle carousel.
  • Multilingual Support: XVM caters to a global player base with support for a wide range of languages.
  • Colorblind-Friendly Options: The interface colours can be adjusted to suit individual preferences, improving visibility for players with colourblindness.

Downloading and Installing XVM

To acquire XVM, it is strongly recommended to download it only from the official mod website: modxvm.com. Downloading from third-party sources or as part of mod packs from unknown origins poses a risk to your PC’s security and personal data, and may result in a corrupted or misconfigured mod.

On the official download page, you can find the latest versions of XVM available immediately after release. You can choose between an automatic installer or a zip archive for manual installation.

  • Automatic Installer: If you opt for the installer, simply run the executable file and follow the on-screen instructions.
  • Manual Installation (Zip Archive): If you download the zip archive, you will need to extract the files to your World of Tanks game folder. Ensure you extract the contents of the folder corresponding to your game client’s region: ‘wg’ for NA, EU, and ASIA regions, and ‘lesta’ for the RU (Russia) region. The default game path is typically C:\Games\World_of_Tanks\.

Once the files are extracted, XVM is installed and will work with its default settings.

Enabling Network Services: Statistics and More

Many of XVM’s advanced features, particularly those related to player statistics and advanced communication, rely on XVM Network Services. To utilise these services, you need to activate them through your personal account on the official XVM website (ModXVM.com).

  1. Click the “Login” button in the top right corner of the screen and complete the secure authentication process using your Wargaming.net ID (the same account you use for World of Tanks).
  2. After logging in, click the “Activate Services” button in the settings section.
  3. You will then see the expiration date of your network services access, which can be renewed for free at any time.
  4. To finalise the activation, log into the World of Tanks game with the same account for which you activated the services.

The currently available network services include:

  • Player Statistics: Displayed in the battle interface, on the loading screen, and within the Service Record.
  • Advanced Communication with Allies (XMQP): Enables interactive features like drawing on the minimap, seeing the status of overturned allies, and receiving notifications about triggered “Sixth Sense” perks.
  • Contact Comments and Renaming: Allows you to add custom notes to players, categorise contacts into groups, and change displayed nicknames in your contact list.
  • Top Clan Icons: Displays icons for top-ranking clans.
  • Player Flags: Shows national flags next to player names.

Understanding Player Statistics: WN8 Rating

One of the most prominent features of XVM is its display of player statistics, with WN8 being a widely used metric. WN8 is a complex formula designed to measure a player’s observable contribution to matches across their account, aiming to infer information about their skill level. It is important to note that WN8 is not the sole indicator of skill and should be considered alongside win rate, battle count, and average tier. It also cannot capture elements like timing, target priority, teamwork, or decision-making abilities.

The calculation of WN8 involves several steps:

  1. Calculating weighted ratios (rSTATS): This involves dividing a player’s average in-game statistics (damage dealt, spots, frags, defence points, win rate) by the expected values for the tanks they have played. The expected values are per-tank averages based on a large database of player statistics.
  2. Normalising the ratios (rSTATSc): These weighted ratios are then normalised using specific formulas with constants to set a baseline and account for the fact that some base level of performance might not significantly influence win rate.
  3. Applying the WN8 formula: The normalised ratios are then combined using a specific formula with coefficients to produce the final WN8 rating: WN8 = 980*rDAMAGEc + 210*rDAMAGEc*rFRAGc + 155*rFRAGc*rSPOTc + 75*rDEFc*rFRAGc + 145*MIN(1.8,rWINc)

The WN8 rating scale differs from older rating systems like WN7, with a scale that aims to be more discriminatory between player abilities. A key advancement with WN8 is that it is considered a pseudo-ratio scale, meaning that a player with a WN8 of 2400 is generally considered to contribute twice as much to their team’s win as a player with a WN8 of 1200.

XVM uses macros to display the WN8 rating in-game, such as {{wn8}} for the numerical rating and {{c:wn8}} to display the rating with colour-coding based on established WN8 colour scales.

Trustworthiness and Legality of XVM

XVM is absolutely allowed to use, and Wargaming.net does not ban players for utilising it. In fact, Wargaming.net has a positive relationship with the XVM developers, providing APIs that the mod uses to access game data. XVM has also received recognition from Wargaming.net, winning their Wargaming Developers Contest. Many innovative features first introduced by XVM have even inspired the official game developers and been incorporated into World of Tanks over time. This strong collaborative dynamic underscore the trustworthiness and legitimacy of the XVM mod.

Configuring XVM to Your Preferences

While XVM works with built-in settings upon installation, you can extensively customise it to your liking. The main configuration files are located in the /res_mods/configs/xvm/ folder. The primary configuration file is xvm.xc, which initially might be named xvm.xc.sample. You need to rename xvm.xc.sample to xvm.xc to enable custom configuration.

Inside xvm.xc, you will find the path to the active settings file, which by default points to default/@xvm.xc. This file, in turn, references other configuration files. To prevent your custom settings from being overwritten with XVM updates, it is recommended to rename the default folder to a name of your choosing (e.g., MyConfig) and then update the path in the xvm.xc file accordingly. You can then edit the configuration files within your new folder. The configuration files contain comments explaining the available options. You can use any text editor, such as Visual Studio Code or Notepad++, to modify these files.

For users who prefer not to configure XVM from scratch, the community also shares ready-to-use XVM configurations on the official support forum. You can browse these configurations and choose one that suits your preferences.

In conclusion, XVM is a powerful and trusted mod that significantly enhances the World of Tanks experience through its detailed statistics, extensive customisation options, and advanced features. By downloading it from the official website and activating the network services, you can gain valuable insights into your performance and the performance of others, as well as tailor the game’s interface to your individual needs.