WoWS Q&A – 7th February 2017

Source: Babykim, EU Forums

Some information from a transcript of the stream with JamesWhite of January 30

Note: I skip all the information concerning the membership in the Collectors Club and fan meetings, since these are irrelevant to the EU community.

Q: Public Test of 0.6.1. The new rank season, many smaller balancing changes, several new upgrades, and the much anticipated depot.
A: Unlike the previous versions, the feedback from the RU community on 0.6.1 has been very positive. Most of the new upgrades boost the effect of consumables or their duration, or modify them slightly.

The ranked battles will be on tier 7 using the rules of the previous season. The Epicenter mode will be added to the ranked battles.

Q: The depot.
A: The much anticipated depot will contain all accumulated modules, mounted as well as dismounted, camouflages, signals and consumables, all of which can now be sold for credits. You will not be able to buy anything in the depot *, but give us feedback if the buying option is desired.

*) which means you cannot stock on discounts.

Q: Do you connect the decrease in the server population with the introduction of new commander skills?
A: We have been hearing about the decrease since two years, yet the number of players online does not fall. At the moment there are 27.000 players online, which is a good number for a winter Monday. We expect more people once the ranked season starts (about 35 percent of players participate in ranked battles). The participation intensifies during a season, people playing more battles of a shorter duration. The online numbers fluctuate seasonally, with a small trough from the beginning of February till the end of April, then again in June and July. Starting from the August the online increases, reaching a peak during the holiday season at end of the year, and decrease thereafter. This is true with most online games.

Q: When will the US cruisers be buffed?
A: Read the developers bulletin. Then reiterates the published buffs…

Q: Will all ranked battles be tier 7, or will the tiers increase with ranks?
A: All tier 7.

Q: Concerning premium ships for free experience, do you plan something for tier 9, or also for lower tiers? Will the release of such premium ships be necessarily accompanied by a promotion, such as Steven Seagal?
A: We have not mentioned any plans. We said that we would like to offer premium ships for free experience at lower tiers and cost. We still do, but it is premature to announce any plans. We recently have introduced commander training as an alternative use of free experience.

Q: When will you move USN Cleveland to tier 8?
A: We have considered doing so, but this is up the people responsible for game balance. I do not thing this would happen any soon, but I am not responsible for game balance.

Q: Would it not make sense to have events that award camouflages of tier X ships, similar to that for the Tirpitz, or discounts on them?
A: We have many ideas, but this is not the place to announce discounts, because people stop buying following the announcement. Anything can happen, and the plans may change.

Q: Do not you think that releasing three destroyer lines in a row (Japanese split, German branch and now Russian split) is a bit exaggerated, as there are other classes too?
A: We do not see an oversaturation. The destroyers do not dominate higher tiers, while games with 6 battleships aside still occur.

Q: Will I be able to obtain Steven Seagal in a future event?
A: The APG contract has expired 2016. I cannot say anything about Steven Seagal before I checked the contract. We have no such plans in the near future, but I might be able to provide more details later on the forum.