WoWS: Changes to air defense mechanics — Closed Testing

In the near future, a closed testing session will be held to trial a new mechanic prototype related to air defense.

In the upcoming sessions of the Public Test, we will continue testing the possible changes to air defense that we already spoke of earlier.

This time, a number of new mechanics will be added on top of the changes we mentioned previously:

The Depth Charge Airstrike armament will now have an alternative firing mode with distinct characteristics and aiming mechanics.

With this alternative mode active, the air strike aircraft fly to the indicated point and starts patrolling similarly to the Fighter consumable.

While being pursued by aircraft deployed through the alternative Airstrike mode, squadrons completely lose the ability to detect ships. They can, however, still see ships that are detected by allies.

Unlike fighters, these planes are capable of pursuing an enemy squadron for an extended period of time, though they do not cause significant damage to their HP. AA Effectiveness will be higher against squadrons that are being pursued by Airstrike planes.

*AA Effectiveness is a new parameter that sets the chance that continuous damage will be dealt to an aircraft from an attacking group of the squadron. Otherwise the damage will be dealt to the aircraft from the rest of the squadron.

At the same time, the Airstrike aircraft themselves are incapable of detecting enemy ships under any circumstances, and they are vulnerable to AA.

This new mechanic will allow surface ship Captains to more actively defend themselves and their allies against enemy aircraft by reducing their spotting potential, and it will also make the Airstrike armament more versatile.

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