tl;dr:
- Buff to Baltimre/DM armour
- Buff to USN dd guns and torp range
- Atago gets repair party consumable
- Buff to both IJN and USN dive bomber precision
- IJN CVs get converging torp spread
- Touching map border gives -75% engine power penalty
plus other minor changes and a couple new maps
Full patchnotes:
We’re here to give you the rundown on Update 0.5.1! Along with some new features, this update brings new maps, a new game mode, commonly-requested improvements and a new tutorial for beginning players!
Note: This update is still under development. The information here is not final at publication time. Some changes or features may be absent or implemented differently at final release. Full changes will be revealed with the final release update notes.
Maps
In addition to three new maps, some familiar maps will be receiving improvements in Update 0.5.1.
Fiery Land will be available to tiers VII–X and takes inspiration from islands off the coast of South America.
Trap, available to tiers VIII–X, is set in the Pacific and features a large atoll surrounded by numerous islands.
Northern Lights is a variation of the “North” map, but it’s been reworked with new improvements and is now set under a starry sky, making it World of Warships’ first night map!
Island of Ice, Two Brothers and Hotspot have been tweaked based on player feedback, such as Hotspot’s criss-cross spawn pattern being removed. Big Race has been made more spacious by rearranging islands on the map, player spawn has been improved on Strait, and Solomon Islands has been restricted to tiers III-VI only.
Zone Capture Mode
Similar to Encounter Battle, Zone Capture will have two teams battling over a single large base in the middle of the map. Players will be unable to capture the base for the first two minutes of the battle, but after that, capture time is extremely fast—only one minute! The number of ships present within the zone or damage doesn’t affect capture time, though the opposing team can reduce the amount of capture points by moving their own ships into the zone. This means you can expect the fighting to be up close and intense! Look for Zone Capture on the Ocean, Big Race, Trap and Islands of Ice maps.
Other Changes
Balance Improvements
Look for increased armor thickness on U.S. cruisers Baltimore and Des Moines . Meanwhile, U.S. destroyers Benson and Fletcher receive improved artillery. All U.S. destroyers will receive a range boost to their torpedoes. The Japanese Premium cruiser Atago will receive both improved maneuverability and the “Repair Party” consumable.
U.S. dive bombers will be more stable while taking anti-aircraft fire, with a decreased bomb spread, while their Japanese counterparts will have increased precision for manual release. Japanese torpedo bombers will now inflict less damage at lower tiers, but their torpedo spread has been reworked: torpedoes now converge rather than separate. This will result in a narrower target area that will reward skillful aircraft carrier captains.
Map Edge
Player feedback has suggested that our earlier tweaks to ship performance at the edge of the map weren’t enough, as players will still able to take advantage of the difficulty of accurately targeting ships due to erratic movement. To remedy this, ships that contact the edge of the map will now be punished with a 75% decrease in engine power. This should make ships at the edge of the map an easier target and encourage players to move away from the map’s boundaries.
Division Positioning
For those who often play with friends, we’re pleased to announce that our updated system for team positioning will now take Divisions into account. This means that players from the same Division will be spawned as close to each other as possible, and you’ll no longer have to spend the first few minutes of battle maneuvering to meet up with your friends!
Domination Mode Improvements
We’ve changed the system for distributing team points for destroying ships in Domination, and they should now more precisely reflect the contribution of all ship types in the game. As of Update 0.5.1, the point breakdown looks like this:
Type |
Fine for Destruction |
Reward for Destruction |
Destroyer |
45 (60) |
30 (40) |
Cruiser |
50 (60) |
35 (40) |
Battleship |
60 (60) |
40 (40) |
Aircraft Carrier |
65 (90) |
45 (60) |
Previous values listed in parentheses.
Ranked Battles
When we introduced Ranked Battles we knew that it would be a work in progress and would have to make adjustments based on both player feedback and analysis of gameplay stats. To that end, most of these changes are aimed at making the next season more exciting and entertaining!
Ocean, Strait and Fiery Land maps will be added to Ranked Battles, and we’ve reduced capture zones on all maps from three to two to provide a more intense experience and support aggressive play. Points required for victory will be raised from 800 to 1,000, although fines and rewards for ship destruction will remain unchanged. Base capture points of a team will be increased as well, to 300.
Update 0.5.1 will also introduce a new type of exterior customization: flags! These differ from signal flags in that they’re purely cosmetic; there’s no change to your ship’s performance from equipping them. Flags will come in two categories: temporary and permanent. Temporary flags are applied during a season and reflect a player’s rank, while permanent flags will be used to reward players for certain achievements.
You can expect ranks to undergo some changes next season, after we’ve analyzed the results of this current “test” season. Potential changes may come in the form of range, conditions for awards, revocability and number of stars awarded. Furthermore, team rank balance will be improved and we’ll be taking measures to better balance the matchmaking in regards to evenly distributing ship types and ranks.
Sounds
Engine sounds and audio effects have been improved in Update 0.5.1. Sounds have been reworked for increased performance for those players using the “Low” setting for sound quality, while audio effects have been optimized across the board and several new compositions added to the music rotation.
In Domination mode you’ll also notice some improvements in regards to how information is conveyed to you, including notifications for the following events:
- The enemy team has twice as many ships as your team
- Your team has twice as many points as the enemy team
- Either team only needs to destroy two ships to win
- Battle ending in 5 minutes
New Players
An introductory tutorial mission will now be offered to players just starting off, while the tech tree has been moved to Level 2 to avoid overloading new players with information and options. Furthermore, researchable modules on tier I ships are now limited to just the Hull and Main Battery. In the future we’re planning on adding a more thorough tutorial to help new players develop basic skills and understand the game.
Economics
This primarily concerns Domination mode, but we’ll be introducing a reward for players that capture zones on the map. Now, not only will capturing an area benefit your team but it will also benefit you, as well. This is something that’s been suggested numerous times by players, particularly those that prefer destroyers.
Missions
For the first time since Update 0.2.2, we’ll be improving missions and increasing their value to players. You’ll be able to find a new menu in the Port containing four types of activities: events, challenges, missions and daily missions.
Events will allow players to view ongoing events, including the relevant games bonuses or discounts.
Challenges will only be active for a short time, but they can be repeated.
Missions can only be completed once, and may be offered in multiple stages. Rewards can be offered for accomplishing the whole mission or just its individual stages.
Daily Missions should be familiar to players, as they’ve already existed in World of Warships for quite some time. We’ll be allowing players to replace one of their daily missions once a day with a new random one.
Interface
With Update 0.5.1, the Port screen will be sporting improvements to the ship carousel. It now allows you to filter playable ships by tier, type, nation, Premium or Elite status, and their ability to take place in various events or Ranked Battles. Furthermore, the carousel can now be condensed, allowing two ships to occupy the space of one, maximizing the screen real estate and decreasing the amount of scrolling required for players with large fleets.
