Hello!
There's this beefy post on the website today about upcoming changes, but for some reason I don't see anyone talking about it.
I can't get the direct link to the article to work somehow, so instead I copy-pasted it here.
I haven't seen it on reddit, but I don't have an account. I'm sure they'd love to discuss all of this, if any of you has an account here... 😉
All I can say is: is WG drunk? This is jack-full of awesome changes to a point where it's completely uncharacteristic of them.
I'm stoked!
Greetings, Captains!
Spring is here, and so is it time for a great cleaning!
After more than 8 years since release, we have accumulated quite some dust in the corners.
So let's just open wide the doors and windows, have that primrose-scented breeze in, get all that dust and thrash out, and take the opportunity to move around some furnitures!
Spring is here, and so will soon be a new World of Warships!
We will cover many planned changes for this year, including interactions with and within the community, game economy, cosmetic additions, matchmaking, aircraft carrier and submarine changes, complete tech tree line overhauls, and a new thrilling collaboration.
But be warned, this won't be everything, as more announcements are coming at later dates!
Official Forum
Proper communication is part of the fundations of any healthy human interaction, and the reason why we set up our official Discord server after shutting down the forum.
The idea was to allow players from all servers to exchange ideas, communicate directly with us via our moderators, and improve our feedback system.
We set up this server after several years of running our official forums, expecting more player engagement in this new and exciting place.
After more than a year of runing on Discord, and despite a very warm welcome to the change, we have to unfortunately face the reality that this method of interaction is not optimal.
Indeed, Discord shows many flaws compared to traditional forums, notably when it comes to establishing proper communication between users.
The place is ill-suited for long-form articles as well, which so many of you were constantly creating and updating. Maybe the main attraction of the old forum.
And so player engagement never got to the same point as it was before.
So this is with delight that we are, right now, reopening the forums!
Just follow the link at the bottom of the article and, if you posted even once on the old forums, claim your gift for registering!
In this improved version, you can now exchange with players from all servers in the worldwide community section.
Do you want to keep up with, and talk about, server specific updates? Or maybe just find people to play with?
Fret not, for the server specific sections are here!
The best part is that we managed to recover all posts from the old forums, which you will be able to read in the archives!
For the occasion, we hired many new moderators too.
In recognition for their dedication, and increasingly difficult work, we reworked their agreements with us, in their favour.
A round of applause for them, they deserve it!
Content Creators
In this age of information, content creators can sometimes single-handedly make or break a videogame, and so it is of utmost importance for any worthwhile company to pay close attention to them.
Since the game's release, we have had so many occasions to interact with incredible and passionate players who contributed to great length to World of Warships.
From in-depth tutorials and ship reviews, modding, endless stream and youtube videos and even to collaborations on the creation of in-game content!
The Community Contributors program has been the spear-head of our interactions with content creators since its creation, with staggering success.
We intend today to improve the program to allow more place to our Community Contributors inside the development process of World of Warships.
Indeed we will from now on allow them to take part in more involved talks about the game's development. Being dedicated players in direct dialogue with the playerbase, we value at great length their feedback on game balance, what is fun and fair, and what is not.
Creativity and the ability to speak one's mind is of utmost importance for progress, and we feel that allowing more room for expression would benefit everyone.
As a result, we will update the guidelines to allow more leniency to our Contributors.
In accordance to our new approach to relationship with content creators, we wish to rectify what would now be considered wrongs we did to some of you.
So we would like to extend our hands to some of our ex-Community Contributors and allow them to rejoin the program, if they wish so.
Of course, we are at this very moment entering in contact with some beloved and notable players who did so much for everyone, but in retrospective got so little back.
Container Contents
Over the years, the number of different containers and ways to obtain them piled up and up, to a point where it was possible for the most enthusiast of you to get so many ressources that it was difficult to spend them all.
That is why we decided last year to slightly tweak with super container contents, to allow our oldest veterans to rediscover the thrill of opening them, while still offering great opportunities to newer players.
After careful analysis of the contents obtained from these containers, both by casual and hardcore players, we have found fair to increase the contents of containers across the board.
The most notable changes will be an overall net increase in the obtention of doubloons, premium time and premium ships from super containers.
Now, when a player rolls for a premium ship, but already owns all of the ship from the container's list, not only will he always receive doubloons, but the quantity of doubloons has also been increased to be closer to the ship's worth in the armory.
Superships in the Matchmaking
Almost 2 years ago, we added superships to the tech tree for anyone reaching tier X to enjoy.
The uniqueness of the gameplay they offer, the wonder of so many "What if?" answered, and the ultimate feeling of power made Superships a very popular pick, as well as a staple of high-tier gameplay.
Superships have now reached a level of popularity we deem comfortable enough for us to make two changes to their matchmaking:
-The matchmaking system will try to create teams composed entirely of superships.
Duke it out with the greatest and most powerful ships there is, from an equal footing!
Show off your skills and power to the greatest in battle!
-Tier IX ships will no longer be matched against superships.
Most tier IX ships were designed prior the creation of superships, and thus not balanced to take them into account.
Now reaching tier X, and superships, will be a slightly smoother experience.
We will closely monitor the average incomes that will result from the matchmaking changes, and apply adjustments to supership economy if necessary.
Historical Cosmetics
You have often made the compliment, and we always have received it with great satisfaction: you simply love how the game looks!
From the sky to the bottom of the sea, the cars and boats in port to the trees and dolphins, no minutia escaped your attention.
But mostly, your eyes deligthed at the wonder of the ship models and paint jobs.
This got comfirmed further by your keen interest in camouflages after our recent rework of the system.
We at Wargaming indeed give maximum importance to historical accuracy when it comes to designing new ships.
The shape of the hull, the precise dimensions of each and every gun, the presence of paravanes, depth charges, AA guns and other purely cosmetic details.
We simply strive to put our all when it comes to making our ships look as real as possible!
To expand this approach further, and to its logical end, we decided to put the same energy to the ships' paint.
You indeed love your apocalyptic crocodiles, steam-punk water wheels, mechanical scorpions and occasional palm trees on your ships, but many of you prefer the more plain and realistic look of grey paint and white markings.
We will very soon uncover to you a first batch of historical camouflages for a few dozen of tech tree and premium ships of all tiers, with the end goal of giving one to each and every ship!
The best part? All of them will be free!
Furthermore, we will apply the same concept to ships' national flags, so that each individual ship may sail under its appropriate and historical battle ensign.
We plan to work in cooperation with the modding community, several of you having already created fantastic designs.
Note that for the moment, we will refrain from giving German ships their full historical markings, and will keep this position unless we receive overwhelming positive feedback from both the community and our legal team.
Changes to Aircraft Carriers
Aircraft carriers are a fascinating and important part of naval battles of the 20th century.
It was only natural for us to envision them as part of World of Warships, right from the game's inception.
However, their implementation and successive balance changes have been, and are still, subject to many controversies and conflicts inside of the community.
We are commited to create not only a fun and enjoyable experience for the players, but cultivate a community bathed in friendliness rather than animosity.
Despite long and careful deliberations, as well as many attempts at balancing the class in a way that would satisfy as many players as possible, we never have found the right sweet spot that would bring everyone together.
Indeed, aircraft carriers are the second best at doing damage (very closely behind battleships), the best at spotting, the best at defending objectives, have the highest survival rate, best anti-air defenses, have the ability to pick nearly any target they want anywhere on the map, and finally have the possibility to send attacks even when at an extremely close distance of a very steep and high cliff.
Engaging with planes has the uniqueness of being quite assymetrical, in that in a game centered about moving and shooting, the target of planes can only move to counter the attack, not shoot back. The target's anti-air defenses' strength vary widely, with some ships having little to none.
Finally, more specifically for tier X and super carriers, their armored decks can make them impassive to high calliber shells that would otherwise deal massive damage to any other target.
Their weakness on the other hand can be simplified to being very vulnerable to focus and substained attacks, and contributing little to none to the capture of objective points.
That is quite a lot, and we fully understand the frustration and concerns that a few players have voiced about planes and their carriers these past few years.
So this is with great pleasure and anticipation that we unravel new balance changes that we think would bring unity inside the playerbase:
Spotting
As of right now, planes can spot any ship as it enters their AA detection range, making them visible to every single teamate, and prone to retaliation.
While in itself this does not pose noticeable problems, therin lie mutliple issues:
-Planes generally expose themselves to very little risk while spotting, contrary to what can often happen for surface ships.
-The planes' speed and agility make it extremely hard to avoid detection. In some circumstances, a ship can get spotted entirely by chance.
-Often a ship will have to chose between exposing itself to suffering a squadron's full strike, or the enemy guns' wrath. This is especially aggravating in a situation where the ship is spotted solely by air. Often what would have been proper positioning is thus punished by what can feel like an imprevisible and impossible to counter game mechanic.
And so we have decided to radically change how plane spotting works: now, when a plane enters a ship's air detection range, a red outline of the ship appears on the minimap in a similar fashion to how ships appear in a cyclone. The spotted ship will render, and be able to be locked-in, only to the players currently spotting it with their planes.
These changes will apply to all planes in the game: spotting planes, fighters and attack aircrafts from both surface ships and aircraft carriers.
With this change, we expect making plane spotting less punishing for surface ship, while still keeping its utility for any and all smart captains who know how to best use their minimap. We expect encouraging more agressive playstyle and flanking maneuvre, making for a more dynamic and engaging game.
Strike Mechanism
Gunnery in World of Warships relies on a central point: the lock-in system. When guns are locked-in on an opponent, they gain in accuracy and the ability to follow it without having to finely and constantly re-adjust aim.
Experienced commanders will learn how to successfully shoot at unspotted targets, either via roundabount ways, or by simply accepting a sharp decrease in their guns' accuracy.
Thanks to the skills "Priority Target" and "Incoming Fire Alert" , it is possible for a player to know that someone is aiming at him and shots are coming his way.
Currently, planes are exempt from this treatment, and can always benefit from maximum accuracy, even against undetected targets. Ships selected as target by planes and under attack can only know so from visual and audio clues, which can be difficult to keep track of due to the sometimes hectic nature of the battle, or because of some sensory impairment.
We have thus decided to implement a lock-in mechanism to all player-controller attack planes. Now, for a plane strike to reach maximum accuracy, they need to be locked-in for a certain time. By locking-in, the target can be informed of its targeting by "Priority Target" and incoming attack by "Incoming Fire Alert" thanks to new specific icons.
Planes can still drop their payload anywhere and anytime they want, but without benefiting from full accuracy.
Losing lock-in from a target will decrease the plane accuracy back to its maximum free aimed accuracy.
To lock-in a target, planes must be within a certain distance of it.
When locked-in, only accuracy is impacted. The aiming process itself stays the same as it now is.
This would not only ensure a better parity between surface ships and planes, but give more feedback to a planes' target, thus creating a bigger feeling of fairness.
Plane Range
Currently planes can attack any point of a map from anywhere, even cross back and forth the whole play area, without any penalty.
This can sometimes create a feeling of helplessness, as players are relentlessly attacked by a target that is always completely out of range of any surface ship's armaments.
Additionally, aircraft carrier captains regularly chose to sail towards the most protected and out-of-the-way spot of the map to secure their survival. This contributes to a more passive and stagnant gameplay while both lowering the planes' effectiveness and teaching very little about positioning and map awareness.
Thus we propose putting a range limit to planes: a plane squadron will be able to fly anywhere as they currently do, but once past a certain distance travelled, planes will be forced to fall back to their aircraft carrier, in a similar fashion to how they currently do when manually called back.
Only squadrons performing an attack would be immune to this new mechanic, and would be recalled once the attack phase ends.
The exact reach of planes are still currently in the works, but we plan to give them an effective reach equivalent to what most battleships have at their respective tiers.
This would reduce the number of cases where a surface ship is totally powerless against an aircraft carrier, but also make aircraft carriers an integral part of the fleet, and in particular teach captains about the importance of proper positioning and map awareness.
Additionally, by being closer to the action, and thus lowering the flight time between strikes, this would contribute to correcting the potential loss of damage from the other changes covered in this article.
Anti-Air Suite
A final aspect we want to change is the AA suite.
To make the interaction between surface ships and aircraft more dynamic and less assymetrical we are applying the following modifications:
-Defensive AA fire:
-When flying inside the anti-air bubble of a ship who has defensive AA fire activated, the maximum accuracy of the planes is reduced againt all their targets
-Most ships that can chose the consumable will receive one or two additional charges
-A few ships will receive an infinite number of charges
-Several ships that can make the choice between defensive AA fire and another consumable in the same slot, will receive the consumable in a separate slot
The last two points will mostly affect ships with low to average AA performances
-Catapult fighters:
-Consumable duration increased to 90 seconds
-Time before attack decreased by 50%
-Patrol radius increased to 3.5km
-Flight speed increased by 35%
-Damage done to planes increased
-Planes under attack by catapult fighters now see their maximum accuracy reduced. The effect does not stack with the one from defensive AA fire.
Currently, planes too often take little damage from catapult fighters, if not completly bypass them. With these changes, we expect making the interaction feel more fair from the point of view of the ship attacked, and more engaging for the aircraft carrier captain.
-AA guns:
-AA guns and secondary armament cannot break anymore
-Commander skills
-+25% damage from catapult fighters added to "AA Defense and ASW Expert"
-Upgrades:
-"Auxiliary Armaments Modification 1" is removed from upgrades available in slot 1, and is now instead a slot 3 upgrades with different characteristics
-"Secondary Battery Modification 1" and "AA Guns Modification 1" are combined into one consumable for slot 3: "Auxiliary Armaments Modification 1"
-+15% damage from catapult fighters added to "Auxiliary Armaments Modifications 2"
These changes have the goal of making aircraft carriers captains take more considerations to their targets status: what consumables are they currently using, what is their possible build.
The other goal is to put more value to consumables, commander skills and upgrades currently under-utilized, by allowing their users feel more in control of the engagement when facing aircrafts.
With this massive rework of plane and anti-air mechanics, we hope to bring overall aircraft carrier performances closer to the ones of cruisers.
And, of course, we sincerely hope to finally have created a place for aircraft carriers to fit snuggly in, alongside all other aspects of the game we all love and enjoy.
Changes to Submarines
After a long and difficult implementation process, we are excited to announce three major incoming updates for submarines!
New Operations
Operation Wolfpack is currently the only scenario accessible to submarines and, because of technical limitations, requires players to form a division to play it.
After many requests, we are happy to tell all submarines captains that not only will they be able to play this scenario in a solo queue, but very soon FIVE new ones as well!
From convoy raids, to base infiltrations and even capital ship hunts, prepare yourselves for brand new and exciting missions aboard the submarine of your choice.
Based on real-life events, experience some of the most thrilling battles of WWII.
Changes to PvP
The development of submarines has been going through rough seas, and continues to do so.
After many tweaks and changes of mechanics, some minor and some major, we are forced to come to one realisation.
Without completely overlapping them with torpedo-focused destroyers, submarines are fundamentally incompatible with surface ship interactions.
This is with great regret and all our apologies that we are forced to announce the definitive end of the presence of all submarines in the current PvP game modes, starting with update 13.5.
At the launch of 13.5, every submarine-related upgrades will be unmounted from surface ships and credited back to your account, and you will have the possibility to reset all of your commanders' skills for free.
Submarine surveillance and anti-submarine weapons will also be removed from all surface ships, including the Commonwealth cruisers currently in early access.
Read further down below for details about the exciting changes this last tech tree line will receive!
Please note that it will still be possible to rejoin coop battles in submarines, and we plan on letting them join other temporary PvE game modes.
But do not weep, as an end is also a new beginning!
Coming in update 13.5 will be a new temporary game mode, which we plan in the future to make permanent, that will allow submarines to fight each other over control of the deep seas!
Dodge and weave through torpedoes in underwater dogfights with your friends and foes, and claim the waters as yours!
Furthermore, freed of the burden of balancing surface ship to submarine interactions, this would allow us to readjust submarines to a state much more enjoyable to a greater proportion of players!
We sincerly wish for all players to enjoy themselves in World of Warships, and plan on making these changes satsifying for the immense majority of you.
Japanese Hybrid Submarines
It would be impossible to wrap-up the submarine tech tree lines without Japan!
Sailing all over the Asian and Oceania seas, going as far as striking Hawaii, the Japanese submarines will make their entrance in World of Warships!
Boasting a high health pool and extremely powerful torpedo armament, become a real dreadnought of the depths.
Additionally, impose yourself in the air! Thanks to a small hangar on the deck, launch a small squad of bombers from the surface, before disappearing under the waves and striking from above!
All of this has a cost however: the line suffers from a huge size, bad surface concealment and low maneuvrability, and an absence of homing torpedoes.
Captains familiar with the Japanese hybrid ships and I-56 will feel right at home in this new line.
Keep an eye on the news page as we soon unravel more details on the new Japanese hybrid submarines!
I hope you are all as thrilled as we are for these upcoming changes, and wish to meet you all... under the sea!
Tech Tree Line Overhauls
With 51 tech tree lines in the game, and many more to come, we have acquired immense experience in understanding what makes a ship line fun and interesting, despite the increasing difficulty of keeping things constantly fresh and stimulating.
And that's exactly what we have been doing for the past few years, with the very regular release of new ship lines. So far we have been keeping up with a good schedule, and planned to do so for quite some time still.
But sometimes one needs to take a break, look back on their past, and reajust their course before pressing on.
Thematically with the arival of spring, that is exactly what we have decided to do: bring the spring cleaning to the tech tree lines.
Commonwealth Cruisers
Due to the removal of submarines from PvP game modes, the very first nation that will need rebalance will be the Commonwealth, due to the removal of submarines they are supposed to counter from PvP.
The changes are as follow:
-Removal of submarine surveillance
-Hydroacoustic search and defensive AA fire will be in different slots
-Defensive AA fire gains improved strength, identical to the one American destroyers have access to
-Anti-submarine airstrike is replaced by a new weapon type, tactical patrol fighters, with the following characteristics:
-Upon chosing it, the camera will take a bird's eye view, similar to how air strike currently works
-When deployed, a fighter squadron will start patrolling an area centered on the point selected by the player, similar to how an aircraft carrier's patrol fighters work
-The fighters' characteristics will be standard for cruisers of the respective tier
-The weapon is on a 2 minute base reload, starts the battle empty, and can have up to three charges at the ready
-Their range starts at 6km at tier V, up to 10km at tier X
-Anti-aircraft guns will be notably strengthened accross the board
This line of ship will thus conserve their role as support ships, but will shift their aim from submarines to aircraft carriers.
Furthermore, owning to the versatility of fighters, from providing anti-aricraft support to spotting, as well as to the ability to have two charges at the ready, this change should provide to the line a much more diverse and dynamic gameplay, as well as many opportunities for team work.
Japanese Lines
The second nation to receive changes will be Japan.
Being the first nation to be included in the game, alongside the USA, and still one of the most popular, it was only natural for it to end up in need of an update.
While the exact details will be unveiled in an ulterior post, we can already tell you:
-The alternate cruiser line, ending with Yodo, will receive a complete overhaul, with some ships being replaced by new ones.
-The battleship lines will be reworked, similarly to how the Japanese destroyers got reworked upon addition of their alternate line.
Notably, the alternate line will be extended down to tier V, and we plan to bring a more consistant feel to each line.
Furthermore, we have decided to rename Bungo to Tsushima, both for aesthetic and historical reasons.
-And many more!
We do not want to foraske players' enthusiasm for a specific nation or even ship, so it is only natural for us to keep each ship's luster across the years!
Kantai Collection Collaboration
We are happy to announce that World of Warships is partnering up with the mobile game Kantai Collection in a brand new collaboration!
After many years, fans of the original shipgirls game rejoice, as new Kantai Collection-themed content will make its way to World of Warships.
We have prepared new commanders, ships and adventure, as well as a new themed port.
Kantai Collection character commanders
As the first iteration of this special collaboration, 15 popular characters from Kantai Collection will be available as unique commanders, each with their own unique voice packs!
Join Kaga, Kongou, Yamato, Warspite, Iowa, Mogami, Atago, De Ruyter, Atlanta, Kuma, Fubuki, Akatsuki, Shimakaze, Leberecht Maass and Tashkent in naval battles in World of Warships!
Kantai Collection Port
A new themed port will be available to unlock for all captains taking part in the event!
This port is very simple and homely, but changes appearance dynamically depending on the season and even time of the day!
If a Kantai Collection commander is assigned to the ship currently displayed in port, you even get a unique notification from her every hour!
Either on the waves or on land, never stay alone in World of Warships.
Ships
Two special ships with distinctive themed camouflage patterns will be added to the game!
Discover American cruiser KC Atlanta and Japanese destroyer KC Akatsuki!
"Kantai Collection - Ironbottom Sound" Adventure
You can participate in a themed adventure dedicated to welcoming Kantai Collection in World of Warships.
Spin the compass! At each step, complete combat missions to progress through the map, until the final battle.
Fight your way through the waters of Guadalcanal, and earn a Kantai Collection permanent camouflage, flag and either commander Akatsuki or Atlanta with 10 skill points!
More information coming soon!
There you go, that's "all" there is to this post!
What do you guys think? Has WG lost their mind finally?
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this obvious april fools and high-effort shitpost!
If you didn't, that's alright. I had fun putting this together anyway!
I tried to give that classic "we did nothing wrong" WG style to my writing, and I'm not unhappy with the results.
There are a few things here and there I kind of pulled out of thin air, some I put thoughts into, some I didn't.
Overall please don't take things too seriously.
Anyway, enough of my insane ramblings, you've been there long enough.
(Damn, this thing is twice the size of the last waterline...)
Cheers!
