WoWS: Early access to U.S. Aircraft Carriers, Ship Parameters Display in Battle, Unique upgrades and more – Closed test 13.0

Greetings, Captains! We have exciting information to share about some additions that are entering Closed Testing for Update 13.0.

Early Access to U.S. Aircraft Carriers

Early Access for the upcoming U.S. Aircraft Carrier line will begin in Update 13.0. The three ships being added are Independence, Yorktown, and Essex. In addition to these 3 historical vessels, permanent camouflages for Yorktown and Essex as well as a commemorative flag will be added to the game in honor of the event.

These aircraft carriers feature distinctive gameplay, unique from the ones currently available in the game. They will only have access to one standard squadron (torpedo bombers) but are supplemented with two tactical squadrons consisting of attack and dive bomber aircraft. Captains may use these tactical squadrons, which are equipped with the new Smoke Curtain Generator consumable starting at Tier VIII, to quickly provide cover for teammates in need.

Permanent camouflages for Yorktown and Essex are still in development and will be available at a later date.

Ship Parameters Display in Battle

We have added a feature that enables players to see various ship parameters while in battle! Essentially, players will be able to click on enemy and allied ships in the Team window before or during a battle(press/hold the Tab key to access this window). Once selected, a tooltip will appear providing information on the selected ship, such as hitpoints, armament ranges, movement speed, and possible consumables, among other parameters. This feature also allows players to hover their mouse over attributes such as shells, torpedoes, and consumables in-battle and receive the data for those items, similar to how this functions in Port.

It’s important to note that this mechanic will show the best possible parameters achievable for enemy ships and allied ships that have not been spotted by your ship. For allied ships that your ship has spotted, actual parameters and chosen consumables will be displayed in the tooltip. As for enemy ships, the reason for showing only their best possible parameters is to not reveal their equipment, actual parameters, or overall strategy prematurely. As a result, enemy ships may have lower or different specifications in actuality than what is displayed in the tooltip.

Best possible parameters would include any possible bonuses from Commanders, Upgrades including Unique Upgrades, Signals, and Modules. This feature will not include factors such as Unique Commander Talents, weather conditions, dynamic effects, or triggerable skills such as Dazzle, Adrenaline Rush, or Fearless Brawler.

We decided to add this feature in order to provide our players with as much information as we can in a succinct, easy-to-access format without having to memorize values present in our plethora of in-game content.

Unique Upgrades

Two ships will receive new Unique Upgrades in Update 13.0! The German Destroyer Elbing, Tier X and the Dutch Cruiser Gouden Leeuw, Tier X will be given a Unique Upgrade that can be used in Slot 6.

• For Elbing, the Unique Upgrade is designed to give her more speed and a better ability to use her guns in open water in exchange for a longer reload time compared to the Main Battery Modification 3 option in the same slot.
• The Unique Upgrade for Gouden Leeuw will give her an expanded gameplay option that leans more heavily into her Airstrike armaments that are close-range and can potentially be used while undetected.

Content Additons and Changes

Update 13.0 will bring back the previously decorated Kure Port! We saw a lot of interest in this port during our Early Access event for the recently released Japanese Battleships, so we wanted to bring this incredible Port back with a few changes. The dragons present for the Early Access event (as well as other small details) will be removed. The stormy weather as well as the music and ambient sounds will remain. This port will be available for the next couple of Updates, and we will once again evaluate player feedback to decide how this Port will look beyond that.

Furthermore, The Eat Play Talk 2023 flag and the Wiki Team Patch will also be entering the game with the release of this update.

Finally, we will be introducing content to the game as a part of a collaboration with YouTuber and Twitch Streamer TheRussianBadger. Among the content introduced will be the CLAWSTROPHOBIC commemorative flag, a TheRussianBadger commander with a unique voiceover, and the USS LOBSTERMINATOR Permanent Camouflage for the American Battleship New Mexico, Tier VI. This content will be distributed for free in one of the upcoming Updates and additional information for this collaboration will be announced at a later date.

Please note that all information in the development blog is preliminary. Announced adjustments and features may change multiple times during testing.