Let’s talk about the main new features of the first update of 2023.
Pan-Asian Unique Commander and Lunar New Year Celebration
In Update 12.0, the celebration of the Lunar New Year will begin. As part of this event, a new collection, “The Age of Sa Zhenbing,” will appear in the game, recounting the biography of this famous admiral as well as the naval history of China in the era of armor and steam.
The collection consists of 5 sections with 4 elements each. Completing sections will bring one day of Warships premium account, and the reward for collecting the entire collection will be the unique Pan Asian commander Sa Zhenbing himself and an achievement.
The commander has improved skills:
- For aircraft carriers:
- “Improved Engine Boost” – Squadron engine boost duration +7.5% instead of the standard +5%;
- For battleships:
- “Vigilance” – Torpedo acquisition range +35% instead of the standard 25%.
- For cruisers and destroyers:
- “Consumables specialist” – Consumable cooldown time -12.5% instead of the standard -10%.
- “Consumables Enhancements” – Consumable action time +12.5% instead of the standard +10%.
Sa Zhenbing also has unique talents :
- “Increased Combat Readiness” – Triggered once per battle upon obtaining the “Combat Scout” achievement and reduces squadron preparation time and main battery reload time by 20%.
- “Torpedo Master” – Triggers once per battle when scoring 6 torpedo hits and increases the speed of torpedoes by 5%, reduces the cooldown of the “Torpedo Reload Acceleration” consumable by 25%, and adds 1 charge to this consumable.
- “Standby stocks” – Triggers upon receipt of every 1,500,000 units of potential damage and reduces consumable reload time by 6.5%.
Collection items can be obtained from standard Age of Sa Zhenbing containers, which will be rewarded for completing a special chain of combat missions, completing Battle Pass levels, and from Premium Age of Sa Zhenbing containers, which will be available in the Armory and Premium Shop.
Also, a number of interface improvements have been made to the “Collections” section in the port, in particular, the ability to go to the Armory directly from the collection screen to purchase the corresponding containers has been added.
Airship Escort
In Update 12.0, the Dirigible Derby temporary battle type will return with the new title – Airship Escort!
The rules are similar to the event that took place in Update 0.11.1: each team has an invulnerable airship moving along a fixed route. The task of each team is to be the first to escort their airship to the end of the route or to destroy all enemy ships.
Airship escorts are in for a number of improvements:
- Tier VIII-X ships of all types will be able to participate in Airship Escort in a 12×12 format
- Battles will take place on a larger pool of maps, and airship routes will be updated on a number of old ones.
- Now, if your team speeds up an allied airship and slows down the enemy one at the same time, the allied airship will receive an additional acceleration. This change will make it so the battle not drag on when one of the teams was able to gain a serious advantage over the enemy.
- At the same time, interesting battles in which the forces of the opponents are equal will last a little longer due to the reduction in the base speed of the airships.
- Escorting an allied airship, as well as slowing down the enemy, will bring additional experience and credits.
- Updated and improved combat interface.
You can get special achievements for this type of battle, and earn Community tokens for completing daily and weekly combat missions.
ASW armament for Dutch cruisers
Added Depth Charge weapons for researchable Dutch cruisers.
| Tier | Max Damage | Number of charges | Number of bombs in charge | Recharge time |
| V | 2,000 | 2 | 4 | 40 s |
| VI | 2,000 | 2 | 4 | 40 s |
| VII | 2,000 | 2 | 6 | 40 s |
| VIII | 2,000 | 2 | 8 | 40 s |
| IX | 5,000 | 2 | 4 | 40 s |
| X | 5,000 | 2 | 4 | 40 s |
Ranked battles
Patch 12.0 will kick off Ranked Season 10, which will run until the end of Update 12.1.
Battles will be held in the 6 vs 6 format on ships of the following Tiers:
- Bronze League – Tier VI.
- Silver League – Tier VIII.
- Gold League – Tiers IX – X.
All ship types except submarines will be able to participate in battles.
In the Gold League and Bronze League, the retention of one star in the losing team by the player who earned the most experience has returned, and the number of stars required to pass these leagues will also change accordingly.
Details on the upcoming Ranked Season will be released at a later date.
Brawl
In 12.0, 2 Brawls will be held in the following formats:
First Brawl:
- January 30 – February 5.
- 6 vs 6 on Tier VIII ships
- Restrictions :
- No more than 1 aircraft carrier.
- No more than 3 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 3 destroyers.
- No more than 1 submarine.
- Divisions are not allowed.
Second Brawl:
- 6 – 12 February.
- 6v6 on Tier X ships
- Restrictions :
- No more than 1 aircraft carrier.
- No more than 3 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 3 destroyers.
- No more than 1 submarine.
- Divisions are not allowed.
Adding and editing content
Update 12.0 will begin early access to researchable American hybrid battleships.
In honor of the event, the Stormy Sky permanent camouflages for Nebraska, Delaware and Louisiana, and the American Battleships commemorative flag have been added to the game. The port of New York has also been updated.
The “Mid-Autumn Festival” permanent camouflages for Dunkerque, Prinz Eugen, Kaga, and Warspite have been updated.
The Update numbering will change—the first update of the year will be numbered 12.0.
The animation of all flags in the game has been updated – their movement has become more realistic. Their lighting has also been improved, making them look like real fabric.
Added the following to the game:
- “Double-Flavor Hot Pot”, “Braised Shrimps” and “Braised Fish in Brown Sauce” patches.
- “Dumpling” expendable camouflage.
- Commemorative flags “Colossus”, “Illinois” and “Daisen.”
- Achievement and commemorative flag “EAT PLAY TALK 2023.”
- Achievements “Salamander” and “Hurricane. Salamander”
Please note that all information in the development blog is preliminary. Announced adjustments and features may change multiple times during testing.
