Maintenance Start: 07/07/2016 @ 06:00 UTC+8
Maintenance End: 07/07/2016 @ 08:00 UTC+8
Please view the patch notes below for further information.
Patch Notes
Bastion Mode
To bring additional diversity to high-Tier battles, we’re introducing a new experimental mode called ‘Bastion’ in version 0.5.8. Currently, it is only available on the map “The Atlantic”. The main feature of this mode is its onshore installations, designed to give fire and reconnaissance support to the team that captured them. There are two types of such installations in the game:
- Forts, which are fortifications armed with an array of large-calibre main guns and an air defence battery. It’s a powerful force, even with minimal support from allied ships
- Surveillance stations, which are fortifications that provide their team and forts with additional ways of detecting enemy ships
On-shore installations can be captured or temporarily neutralised by main battery gunfire or bombs dropped by aircraft. These actions reduce the real effectiveness of the enemy team and earn advantage points similar to the Domination mode that players are already familiar with. To win, a team must be the first to earn 1,000 points by suppressing and capturing enemy fortifications and destroying their ships.
Here is some additional information that will provide deeper understanding of Bastion mode game mechanics.
- The mode is available for Level X battles (Tier VIII, IX and X ships).
- There are certain capture sectors for onshore installations on a map. While these sectors are neutral, the installations do not participate in a battle. Once captured, they start to provide fire support and intelligence service to the team who controls them.
- ‘The Atlantic’ – the only map where Bastion mode is currently available – provides two possible settings for capture sectors: sectors 3 and 4. They are chosen randomly.
- Forts and Surveillance stations lose health points when they are hit with main guns, secondary guns and bombs. Dealing damage to Forts and Surveillance stations causes the loss of capture status of sectors they belong to and brings additional domination score to the team.
- When a Fort or Surveillance station runs out of health points, it is considered conquered.
- Conquered objects will temporarily be unable to participate in battle and will gradually recover their health points. Once they have recovered, they will function as normal.
- If Fort or Surveillance stations located in enemy territory are conquered, the sector becomes neutral.
- Forts and Surveillance stations have simplified damage models without armour and fire. Any hit affects the object as a whole.
- Forts attack enemy ships at the shortest distance to them.
- Forts equipped with 406 mm artillery guns and 80 mm AA-guns. The type of shells (AP or HE) is chosen randomly.
- Forts have limited field of view, which is why they perform best when working in tandem with a Surveillance station. Surveillance stations are able to locate enemy ships and aircraft, but not torpedoes.
- Forts have certain sectors of fire and dead zones where they cannot shoot enemy’s ships.
Forts characteristics
- Hit Points: 300 000
- Fire Range (main gun): 13 km
- Loading Time (main gun): 3-5 sec
- Fire range (AA-guns): 5 km
- Average damage per second (AA-guns): 77
- Detection Range: 10 km
- View Range: 5 km (individual), 15 km (with allies)
- Full Regeneration: 2.5 min
Surveillance stations characteristics
- Hit Points: 9000
- Detection Range: 15 km
- View Range: 15 km
- Full Regeneration: 3 min
Improved Matchmaker
In version 0.5.8, we will launch a new and improved matchmaker for the Random Battles mode. The purpose of this change is to exclude situations where players can immediately guess the outcome of a battle based on the composition of the teams, and to make confrontations more honest. The features of the new matchmaker are as follows:
- Situations where opposing teams appear to have different numbers of players are completely excluded
- Aircraft carriers in opposing teams will continue to belong to the same Tier
- In every battle, we have “Battle Tiers”, i.e. the maximum tier of a ship for a given battle. Ships of Tiers corresponding to the Tier of the battle are called “tops” or “top ships”. The following rules will apply to them:
- Maximum difference in the number of divisions between the teams is limited and now equals 1
- Maximum difference in the number of destroyers between the teams is limited and now equals 1
- Maximum difference in the number of battleships between the teams is limited and now equals 1
- Maximum difference in the number of cruisers between the teams is limited and now equals 2
- For each type, the number of top ships will be strictly symmetrical. For example, if in a Tier VIII battle one team has two Tier VIII battleships, two Tier IX cruisers and one Tier VIII destroyer, the other team will also have two Tier VIII battleships, two Tier IX cruisers and one Tier VIII destroyer
- The above rule also applies to battleships belonging to a Tier that is one step lower than the Tier of the battle. For example, if in a Tier VIII battle one team has one Tier VII battleship, the other team will also have one Tier VII battleship
After the launch of these first matchmaker improvements, we plan to solve three more high-priority issues within the next few versions:
- We intend to apply the new matchmaking rules to other types of battles (co-op and ranked battles) to ensure better team balance
- According to some technical issues, the logic of the new matchmaker does not take into account nations and their distribution within teams. It means that theoretically there can appear a situation when three Japanese destroyers are against three American destroyers. We treat this rule as a necessary one and will work on putting it back.
- Since we added divisions in the game, players were allowed to gather ships with great disparity in terms of Tiers (low-tier ships could join divisions with high-tier ships). Despite the fact that this option sometimes helps players who know each other to play together, most part of our audience do not find this to be beneficial to gameplay in general. For this reason, why this option is likely to be reconsidered.
We are still assessing the usefulness and appropriateness of the following allowances:
- If it takes too long to assemble teams for a battle for whatever reason, battles may be fought between teams with an incomplete lineup (11х11, 10х10 etc.)
- Balancing low-Tier ships outside of their type is allowed. For example, a Tier VIII battle could involve a Tier VI destroyer against a Tier VI battleship, and Tier VII cruiser against Tier VII destroyer.
- Balancing two same-type ships with enemy ships of adjacent Tiers is allowed if they are not in the top of the team and if they are not battleships. For example, in a Tier VIII battle, a Tier VI cruiser could find herself against a Tier VII cruiser on the opposing team.
Meanwhile, the World of Warships developers would like to express their gratitude to all commanders who sent in their ideas and comments regarding the matchmaker. We will continue to collect your feedback on update 0.5.8 to make the process of selecting ships for a battle fair and enjoyable for all players.
New Maps
In Update 0.5.8, we added two new maps for Tier VII-X ships:
Sea of Fortune
A map depicting a location somewhere between France and Great Britain. The map provides interesting gameplay situations in all directions. The right flank is ideal for aggressive battles involving cruisers and battleships. The left flank is suitable for long-range firefights because of the relatively low height of the islands. The centre of the map is interesting due to an important strait passing through it and a small picturesque island with a castle on it.
Loop
This map depicts a fictional location somewhere within the crossing of sea lanes. It contains two groups of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Large islands provide opportunities for defence and unexpected breakthroughs. Due to the dense arrangement of the islands, it is necessary to plan your route in advance in order to be able to assist your allies in time.
Audio Changes
- Enhanced sound configuration capabilities
- Added an option to select voiceover language
- Added an option to select audio modification
- Added an option to completely turn off music playback in the Port and/or during a battle
- Added new music tracks
- Refined the sounds of hits to the ship and to the landscape
- Reworked the sound of the stun effect
- Levelled the overall volume of the sound profile for a wide and narrow dynamic range
- “National” voiceovers for Commanders
- Added an option for choosing to use the ARPEGGIO voiceovers throughout the entire game
Players who own ARP commanders with special voiceovers will now be able to select these special voiceovers.
Updated Interface
Ribbons and Damage
Players wishing to get more detailed information on their actions in a battle may use the “Detailed Ribbons and Damage Indicator” option. Once enabled, the “Target hits” ribbon for the main battery is divided into 4 sub-types:
- For AP and HE shells: “Penetration”
- For AP and HE shells: “Non-penetration”
- For AP shells: “Over-penetration”
- For AP shells: “Ricochet”
In the same advanced mode, a damage counter appears near the obtained ribbons, updated throughout the entire battle. Please note that this counter doesn’t include damage dealt to onshore objects in the calculations.
Standard layout of the components was reworked as well. The “Hits to citadel” ribbon now appears in black while the “Critical Hit” one comes in yellow to better distinguish between them. Moreover, we have added two new ribbons: “Suppressed onshore object” and “Secondary battery gun hits”.
Other Interface Changes
- When the VSync option is switched off, the Triple Buffering option can be disabled as well.
- We’ve enabled an option to save all Port chat history during battle.
- Added a friendly fire notification for team members. The notification is displayed at an interval of at least 10 seconds.
- Fixed the Minimap bug that allowed players to set a way point on the landscape when playing an aircraft carrier.
- Added an option to display a survey in the Port, if a player leaves a battle before it ends.
- Added automatic Secondary guns/AA turn on in settings if manual priority is set.
Ship Balancing
Cruisers’ Armour Protection
As part of our improvements to the game, we have revised all armour models. Our aim is to bring the armour models created at different stages of project development to the same level of detail. To be precise, in version 0.5.8, we redefined armour models for cruisers. In some cases, this resulted in around 5% of HP being redistributed between the ship’s parts. The improved level of detail of the inclined protective deck and ship’s lines increased the chances for a ricochet of armour-piercing shells in some scenarios, particularly when hitting the ship on the bows or stern. Armour interaction with high-explosive shells and bombs is not affected.
It is noteworthy that almost all Soviet and some of the German cruiser hulls were originally created at a new level of detail, so changes will primarily affect Japanese and U.S. ships. To better understand the changes we have introduced, let’s take a look at an example of hull armour:
Move the mouse over the image to see the previous armour model.
The full list of upgraded armour models
General changes:
- All armoured artillery guns, main guns, AA guns and secondary guns of all ships.
Exception: main guns of battleships. Those models will be upgraded in one of the following versions.
Germany (except hulls that were initially added in 0.5.6 with a new level of detalisation)
Dresden, Emden, Hermelin, Hindenburg, Admiral Hipper, Karlsruhe, Kolberg, Konigsberg, Nurnberg, Roon, Tirpitz, Yorck
Japan
Aoba, Atago, Chikuma, Furutaka, Hashidate, Ibuki, Iwaki Alpha, Kuma, Mogami, Myoko, Tenryu, Yubari, Zao
USSR / Russia
Aurora, Diana, Mikhail Kutuzov, Murmansk, Orlan
USA
Albany, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chester, Cleveland, Des Moines, Erie, Indianapolis, Marblehead, New Orleans, Omaha, Pensacola, Phoenix, St. Louis
Rotating Turrets and Main Battery Mounts
In update 0.5.8, we added a special feature to enable full 360-degree rotation of certain turrets and turret mounts. This change will make the gameplay more comfortable on certain ships and allow their commanders to manoeuvre more aggressively, reducing losses in firepower when shifting fire from side to side.
The full list of ships and the number of turrets affected by this change can be found below:
Königsberg* (2,3), Hashidate (1), Tachibana (1,4,5), Umikaze (3), Minekaze (1,2,3), Mutsuki A (1,2), Mutsuki B (1,2), Mutsuki C (1), Kamikaze (1,2), Wakatake (1), Aurora (1), Diana (1), Novik A (6), Novik B (8), Storozhevoi (1), Derzki (3), Chester (1), Sampson (1), Clemson (1), Wickes (1), Campbeltown (1)
* horizontal aiming angles have also been extended
Other changes to ships
- Tirpitz: we reconsidered horizontal firing arcs for her main guns. As a result, firing arcs of the second, third, and fourth main battery turrets were extended by 8, 10 and 6 degrees respectively. The changes came about as a result of increased accuracy her main guns’ motion trajectories, and will make this ship more comfortable to use without influencing how the vessel balances against others in the game.
- Yubari: health points increased on 400 points (from 18300 to 18700). This change will slightly increase the ship’s combat effectiveness.
- Warspite: 2 Oerlikon Mk4 AA guns were added in accordance with her historical configuration. As a result, the average damage of AA guns within 2 km range was raised by 3 points (from 44 to 47).
- Shchors: horizontal firing arcs of main guns were narrowed in order to fix a bug with her settings that had led to assymetry in her firing angles.
- (A) and (B): horizontal firing arcs of the third main gun turret were narrowed by 3 degrees.
- (B): horizontal firing arc of the first main gun turret was narrowed by 3 degrees.
Other Changes and Fixes
Tracers
- For better visual distinction between AP and HE shells, and also between a player’s and other players’ shells, the tracer colour scheme has been adjusted.
Situational Awareness
- Improved the logic behind how the “Situational Awareness” skill operates. From now on, the detection indicator is displayed in all cases when the ship is visible to the enemy team, including the short interval (approximately 3 seconds long) between the time of the last detection and the moment when the ship disappears from the location it was spotted.
Client
- Optimised method for storing Python-based scripts, which are now placed in a separate packet. This should reduce the risk of problems with game updates, especially when several versions are released at once.
- Content compression in PKG-archives has been introduced. This change will allow us to save harddrive space for players.
- Improved the system for connecting user interface modifications to the game client. This will have a positive effect on the protection of the game client and allow developers to work more closely with the creators of modifications
Personal Offers in Port
- We have enhanced our Personal Offers mechanism. The changes will allow for more diverse and interesting offers to players.
New Tech Testing
- The following ships are now available in the game client for testing by developers and supertesters: Krasny Krym, Scharnhorst, Koenig Albert, Kaiser, Flint, and Black. These ships are not available for purchase and research, but players may encounter them in battle.
Minor Changes and Improvements
- Fixed a mistake that blocked a screen of joining a battle in cases: of incomplete division; for a team of a player who refused to join a division.
- Fixed a mistake that caused an indication of Random battle icon in Co-op battles.
- Fixed a bug that caused some of the nicknames of players to be blocked by the obscenities filter in combat chat.
- Fixed a bug that caused a squadron that had just taken off the deck of a destroyed carrier to hang over the water.
- Fixed a bug that caused an instantaneous catapult launch of fighters after the death of the previous one.
- Fixed a bug that stopped players who haven’t played since the last Rank battles season from entering the game.
- Fixed the tooltip description for the checkpoint in the standby screen for “Standard battle” mode.
- Fixed a bug related to the invoicing of an extra star from the previous Rank battles season. Current progress of players is not affected.
- Svetlana: Fixed a bug that in some cases led to a miscalculation of a deck armour.
- Kirov: refined appearance of main gun turrets.
- Ranger: AA guns Modification 1 is replaced with Secondary Battery Modification 1
