WoWS Q&A – 29th January 2017

Thanks to Babykim, EU

Q&A from RU dated January 27


Q: When will same keys activate same consumables on every ship?
A: This year will plan adding the option of mapping keys individually.

Q: It is unfair to nerf catapult fighters on battleships (90 seconds), but not on cruisers (360 seconds).
A: This is not an issue of fairness. This change in 0.6.0 was intended to balance ship classes. We needed to weaken the plane on battleships, but not on cruisers.

Q: Will you increase the skill point cap for commanders (currently 19)?
A: Not in the near future. The cap precludes well-rounded, universal commander builds, retaining a degree of variation.

Q: Do developers realize that players do not like high tier battles? Maps too large, distances too large, planes too fast, guns too powerful, etc. Do you plan changes to high tier gameplay?
A: The server statistics shows a steady increase in the number of high tier battles. Wether it is the long-awaited Yamato, or the tension of high tier matches, or the realization of a unique potential in each ship, we cannot say that high tiers are unpopular in general.

We understand that the game meta changes as the player climbs the tiers, and we do not see anything wrong with some players enjoying tiers V-VII more than tiers VIII-X. It is a personal preference.

Finally, the economy of high tiers is becoming more enjoyable not only due to changes in earnings and repair bills, but also due to containers and other sources of earnings that help adapting to high tiers by confering various bonuses.

Q: Do you plan changing the animations of sinking ships? All ships sink slowly till they explode, which looks a bit cheap for an otherwise great looking game. When will ships heel in battle (without affecting gameplay)? These changes would improve the show.
A: This year we plan to release a version in which all game effects will be reworked, not only the sinking animations. The heel is already in the game, but we do not see how to further increase it without affecting ship performance.

Q: Would it be possible to spend the elite ship experience on the commander, as in World of Tanks?
A: No, but since version 0.6.0 you can spend the elite commander experience on any commander of any nation.

Q: The permanent camouflage of tier X ships confers a 100 percent experience bonus that is quite useless. Change the bonus to free experience or commander experience would make this expensive upgrade (5k doubloons) more useful.
A: The experience is not entirely useless on tier X, as it is the basis for computing the free experience or commander experience. Moreover, the bonus allows obtaining containers and finishing tasks that require experience faster.

Q: What new types of weapons do you plan to add?
A: We cannot make such announcements here.

Q: When do you plan adding new game modes? The random battles are getting a bit boring; most players wait for ranked battles. Even online poker has seven game modes, yet ships have essentially only one, not counting the co-op.
A: We have two directions: the PvE and the PvP. Therein we have the co-op, random, ranked and team battles. Each of these for types has several game modes, such as Standard Battle, Domination, Epicenter, etc. On top of this we have unique game modes in special events, such as Bathtub and Halloween.

We are currently developing the PvE component by trying to maximize the variety of plays by offering different game modes. Additionally, we plan further developing the PvP component, and would be happy to share our plans with you in due time.

Q: Can you make the catapult fighter on battleships more aggressive to offset the shorted duration of 90 seconds?
A: The catapult fighter is working as intended, and we do not plan changing this in the near future.

Q: When will you get rid of the need to grind identical modules for different ships, for example top torpedoes on the IJN Ibuki and Kagero, requiring an additional 20k of experience.
A: Most of the modules in the game are unique to a ship, but sometimes the same type is used on several ships. The game economy already accounts for this. If the top torpedoes were available at the onset, then we would need to increase the cost of the hull accordingly.

Q: Can you change the team killer pink to any other color? I am colorblind and have difficulties telling the color.
A: You can use the Color Blindness Filter in the game graphics options. If you are still having difficulties telling team killers and enemies apart, note that allies direction is always shown left to right, whereas the enemy icons are oriented right to left.

Q: Do you plan compensating the top players on the losing team? I suggest giving the top two players of the losing team the bonus for winning, whereas the bottom two of the losing team should not be awarder the bonus for winning.
A: This is more of a suggestion than a question, but thank you nonetheless. We do not plan such changes in the near future. The player already receives the same amount of credits no matter if his team wins or loses. To get more experience you need to carry the game. There are battles in which a player carries hard, earns many achievements, but the game turns a loss. Because of that we plan additional awards for individual achievements.

Q: Will you add a timer for smoke?
A: The smoke timer is planned for this year.

Q: Tell us about the development of Russian battleships? Please do not tells us “not this year”. This is a much anticipated branch, and players would like to have a more systematic information on its development.
A: The Q&A are not intended for announcements of new ship branches.