WoWS: Sub_Octavian Q&A

Translated by LilJumpaEU:

Sub posted this on the russian forums: Link

rough translation [notations by me]:

MM changes WiP for randoms

  • Improve the class balance with more stringent rules for mirroring the classes.
    [atm we have a hardcap for CVs and a +/-1 rule for the other classes]
  • Improving the balance of nations and classes in order to significantly reduce situations like 2x Khaba vs 2x Shima
  • Improving the balance of clan players in teams ( anti abuse, to prevent one side having many players of one clan) [yes, that’s for you guys counting into battles]
  • other improvements are also planned but those will be implemented after the points above since these are the most important
  • +/- 2 matchmaking is currently not being revised. This principle provides a sufficient variety of battles and allows to emphasize the advantage of higher tiers (?). We studied this issue very seriously, including the distribution of different tier battles for each tier, the impact of the distribution on stats and players activity and feedback. The decision not to change +/- 2 was made consciously.

Visibility mechanics and rendering

  • We, of course, recognize the delay in the drawing of ships as a defect. To fix this in the current state of the game, you need to re-write some of the server-side code of the visibility system – fast “patches” will not help. To solve the problem, a separate programmer is selected, we will try to roll out the update as quickly as possible.
  • The mechanics of visibility points, in which the line of sight is drawn from one point (the tip), in fact, in a number of cases, leads to strange situations (when playing behind islands e.g.). However, it is very advantageous in terms of optimization. We monitor the situation, but there is no certainty yet that additional check points for the line of sight (for example, nose and feed) need to be entered. The question is open.

AP vs DD
[In the original thread, the guy giving the feedback said that the planned change/fix on the AP vs DD situation was a huge nerf to BBs and a buff to DDs making it too easy to just rush a BB and kill it with torps. Sub responded to this.]

The planned changes in ballistics are not “biased (?)”; prerequisites and detailed explanation I cited last week, if you, after reading this, continue to count, then I can only apologize: World of Warships is really not a game for battleships alone, and we are really against that this class does not bother switching at all shells depending on the target class, tearing off a quarter or a third of the hp from the destroyer with one successfully fired shell.

CV rework

Carriers are really a bad spot in terms of game balance. We are working on a full restart of this class, and we intend to solve the following problems:
* excessive influence on the fight,
* a huge skill gap and complexity of training,
* a huge gap in air defense and protection from AB (all or nothing),
* the possibility of total roflstomp (?)(especially at high tiers).

We want the aircraft carriers to play more interestingly and cheerfully, so that they fit more organically into the game, so that their popularity grows, not harming the balance and not causing a negative reaction from the players (now, with all these problems, they are also not very popular, which is bad for the confined in air defense ships). This is really a huge and very difficult task, and right now we are not ready to talk about the work in more detail, and to give promises at this stage is premature. But this is one of the key priorities for the year, so we will try, and you – wait for news, but later.

additional points regarding the feedback

Responding to the title of the topic “can Lesta be in balance” – yes, she can. In no game with such a variety of units and characteristics there is no perfect balance, because not the robots, but the people, and people always bring the chaos factor, the unsystematicity and look for new ways of playing, all this is multiplied by the complexity of the game, the mechanic (just for the sake of interest, try to count all the balance characteristics of one ship, and even with customization) – and that’s fine. Also, the balance will never be able to “freeze”, it will always change, certain classes, ships and tactics of the game will be “in fashion”, something will always require attention. However, with the exception of the problems you raised, and a couple of problems that you have not mentioned (but we will also solve them), the game is in good health. I fully understand that, that you can argue, look for cons – and the more the player fights, the more he understands, the more detailed personal preferences he will have, and the more attention he will pay to the shortcomings. But ultimately, World of Warships is a good game, because she brought us together here and gives us a lot of unforgettable moments (even if with a smoke from time to time), so let’s take care of her and make her better – including the well-argued ones reviews.