Author: Sebastianul

WoWS Submarines: How to Play

~ Sebastianul ~ 2 Comments

Source: Portal

Everyone can join the testing of submarines on the Public Test 0.9.4 server!

But, before doing so, be sure to carefully read this article. It will inform you about the basics of submarine controls, the new mechanics created especially for this ship type, and of course—the methods of countering the “silent hunters,” that will prevent you from being caught off guard.

Note: all information provided in this article is preliminary and subject to change during testing.

Following the Public Test, submarines will be added to the game client as a separate battle type (as we had for Arms Race, Savage Battles, or Space Battles). This will enable us to make final touches and adjust the balance of the new ship type on the live server. Only when we’re done with all these steps will we be able to decide on the final fate of submarines.

Summary

Submarines offer unique gameplay that sets them apart from the other ship types.

They are fragile but stealthy hunters, capable of traveling not only horizontally, but also diving into the depths. The exact depth to which a submarine dives affects her detectability, viewing range, and interaction with other ship types and submarines. Master their maneuverability skills, choose the most suitable depth, escape from your enemies, and surprise them with stealth attacks from the flanks.

Keep in mind that submarines have a small HP pool, so stick to the flanks and attack your enemy from a distance or while submerged.

Continue reading “WoWS Submarines: How to Play” →

Supertest: K-91-2 Initial Stats

~ Sebastianul ~ 7 Comments


Very soon-ish, a new Soviet Tier IX medium called the K-91-2 will enter the closed Supertest.

Straightaway this vehicle’s protection stands out, with the frontal armor up to 230 mm thick on the turret and up to 175 mm thick on the hull. The HP pool of the K-91-2 is 1,750 points.
The gun deals an average of 360 damage per shot and takes 8.6 seconds to reload. The accuracy amounts to 0.35 and the aiming time is 2.3 seconds. The basic APCR round can pierce 252 mm of armor, and the special HEAT round can do 310 mm. The basic view range of the K-91-2 is 390 m. The tank has excellent dynamics due to a specific power of 21.1 hp per ton, with its top speed reaching 55 km/h.
Despite its name, the K-91-2 is very different from the K-91. Its turret can turn all the way round (a full 360 degrees), and its protection is akin to that of the T-54 and the Object 140. The K-91-2 was born to run in a wolf pack of medium tanks engaging in dynamic and maneuverable combat.

More pictures:

Continue reading “Supertest: K-91-2 Initial Stats” →

WoWS ST, soviet cruisers branch split

~ Sebastianul ~ 3 Comments

Commanders, in Update 0.9.5 there will be a soviet cruiser branch split. Due to the entirety of the current branch except Moskva consisting of light cruisers, Moskva will be replaced in the branch by the light cruiser Alexander Nevsky and will herself become a special ship for Coal. Apart from that, cruiser Kirov will be replaced in the branch by Kotovsky and become a premium ship.

Details of the upcoming changes:

  • Cruiser Moskva will get the “special” status. It means that base cost of the ship’s post-battle service will be reduced from 180 000 to 90 000 credits and you will be able to assign commanders from other ships of the same nation without penalty or retraining.
  • Players who ever had Moskva researched but not yet bought or have her sold will get Moskva.
  • If the soviet cruiser branch was reset, a bonus to Research points will be applied to cruiser Alexander Nevsky.
  • The Unique Upgrade or the mission for it, as well as all purchased permanent camouflages, will remain on Moskva. In case the Type 20 permanent camouflage wasn’t purchased, players will get it.
  • The commander of Moskva will retain his specialization.
  • Cruiser Alexander Nevsky will be available only when researched and purchased in the tech tree.
  • The same rules are applied to cruisers Kirov and Kotovsky.

Source: WoWS Devblog

Towed or Self-Propelled: U.S. Army Tank Destroyers on the Eve of Normandy

~ Sebastianul

By Squire – major thanks!

As the United States Army contemplated shifting operations to western Europe in the waning months of 1943, confusion settled in about how to employ tank destroyers. The deserts of North Africa, it seems, steered thinking in a bizarre direction. Haunted by the poor performance of the half-track M3 while impressed by the British employment of dug-in anti-tank guns, the U.S. Army, under the influence of Lieutenant General Lesley McNair, began to value the towed tank destroyer over its self-propelled brethren.

According to a report of the General Board convened in 1945 to study the effectiveness of U.S. forces in the European Theater, “those officers who had been through the African Campaign, who had become indoctrinated with the British defense against armor, and who had seen the impossibility of concealing the self-propelled gun in open terrain, requested towed tank destroyer battalions.” Indeed, as late as December 1943, the U.S. Army issued an order converting twenty self-propelled battalions to towed to achieve a more balanced force. It also changed trans-Atlantic shipping priorities to increase the number of towed battalions in England in advance of the Normandy invasion. This change reflected a remarkable shift in emphasis just months before the Overlord campaign.

The decision, however, failed both to appreciate the latest developments in tank destroyer technology and anticipate the impact of terrain on tactical employment. By mid-July 1943, the M10 tank destroyer, equipped with a 3-inch gun, largely replaced the M3 halftrack Gun Motor Carriage, equipped with a 75-mm cannon. The M10 offered a protection and mobility with which neither the halftrack nor its towed counterpart could compete. Boasting the same 3-inch firepower, towed anti-tank battalions lacked protection and required considerable time to emplace and displace. Nevertheless, placed along predictable avenues of approach in the open desert, the towed guns could prove remarkably effective.

Perhaps predictably, the Louisiana maneuvers in 1943 and training in England in early 1944 exposed the flaws in this approach to tank destroyer employment. Requiring additional time to unload and enter action, the towed guns, along with their prime movers—the trucks responsible for transporting them—appeared excessively vulnerable to enemy fire. Reacting to these observations, planners reversed course and subsequently reduced the role of towed anti-tank units in the initial invasion force to just one battalion.

Combat in the hedgerow country quickly reaffirmed the value of the self-propelled tank destroyer, or at least the inutility of towed systems. The towed guns struggled to shoot direct fire engagements over the hedgerows and lacked the armor required to push forward aggressively where the vegetation and terrain allowed for fields of fire. Additionally, infantry commanders disliked the towed guns’ comparative lack of mobility once in position and their general lack of firepower.

Within a month of landing at Normandy, even the self-propelled M10 failed to meet commanders’ demands for firepower. Just two months prior, the U.S. Army in Europe had rejected offers to replace M10s with the newer M36 sporting a 90mm gun. By July 6, 1944, however, it requested that all M10 battalions be converted to M36s and asked that any future tank destroyer organizations be equipped with either the M18 or M36.

Two images are intended to show the difference in terrain:

German Panzers IIs in North Africa
German Panzers IIs in North Africa

Continue reading “Towed or Self-Propelled: U.S. Army Tank Destroyers on the Eve of Normandy” →

RU12 Server Removed

~ Sebastianul ~ 13 Comments

Sad news for the CIS region:

The RU12 WOT server (Moscow) will be disabled.

On Monday, April 13 at 11:00 (Moscow time), the RU12 server will be disconnected (forever?). In the in-game server selection menu, it will be displayed as inaccessible.

Supertest: 🇩🇪 VK 36.01 (H), Tiger I and Tiger II – Changed Stats

~ Sebastianul ~ 30 Comments

VK 36.01 (H):

Increased reverse speed from 12 to 14 km / h;
Changed the HP for the mounted VK 36.01 (H) turret from 850 to 1,100;
The HP was changed with the Pz.Kpfw. VI H Ausf. H2 turret mounted from 950 to 1,200;
Increased the number of rounds in ammunition storage for the 7,5/5,5 cm Waffe 0725 gun by 13 rounds (from 72 to 85));
The number of rounds in the ammunition storage for the 7,5 cm Kw.K. 42 L/70 gun was increased by 10 pieces (from 55 to 65);
The number of rounds in the ammunition storage for the 10,5 cm Kw.K. L/28 gun was increased by 8 pieces (from 42 to 50);
The aim spread of the 8,8 cm Kw.K. 36 L/56 gun was decreased with Pz.Kpfw. VI H Ausf. H2 turret mounted from 0,36 m to 0,35 m;
The aim spread of the 8,8 cm Kw.K. 36 L/56 gun was decreased with Pz.Kpfw. VI H Ausf. H2 turret mounted from 0,16 to 0,12 m;
The aim spread of the 8,8 cm Kw.K. 36 L/56 gun was reduced during rotation of the Pz.Kpfw. VI H Ausf. H2 turret mounted at maximum speed from 4.01 to 3.00 m.

Tiger I:

The number of rounds in the ammunition storage for the 7,5 cm Kw.K. 42 L/70 gun was increased by 20 pieces (from 110 to 130);
The number of rounds in the ammunition storage for the 10,5 cm Kw.K. L/28 gun was increased by 10 pieces (from 60 to 70);
The number of rounds in the ammunition storage for the 8,8 cm Kw.K. 43 L/71 gun was increased with the 8,8 cm Kw.K. 43 L/71 turret mounted by 10 pieces (from 60 to 70);
Reduced gun aiming time from 2.59 to 2.40 s;
Reload time increased from 6.42 to 7.48 s;
Rate of fire changed from 9.34 to 8.02 rounds/minute.
The standard and premium shell damage was changed from 240 to 280;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,242 to 2,246;
HE shell damage was changed from 295 to 370;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,755 to 2,969.

Tiger II:

The frontal hull armor was increased from 150 to 160 mm.;
The front armor of the Tiger II Serienturm turret was increased from 185 to 245 mm;

8,8 cm Kw.K. 43 L/71 gun (for both turrets):

Changed the damage of AP and APCR rounds from 240 to 280;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,242 to 2,615;
HE round damage was changed from 295 to 370;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,755 to 3,456.

10,5 cm Kw.K. L/52 gun (for stock turret):

Changed the damage of AP and APCR rounds from 320 to 360;
Changed the average damage per minute from 1,837 to 2,067;
HE round damage was changed from 420 to 440;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,411 to 2,526.

10,5 cm Kw.K. L/52 gun (for top turret):

Changed the damage of AP and APCR rounds from 320 to 360;
Changed the average damage per minute from 1,926 to 2,166;
HE round damage was changed from 420 to 440;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,527 to 2,648.

10,5 cm Kw.K. L/68 gun (for stock turret):

Changed the damage of AP and APCR rounds from 320 to 360;
Changed the average damage per minute from 1,837 to 2,067;
HE shell damage was changed from 420 to 440.
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,411 to 2,526.

10,5 cm Kw.K. L/68 gun (for top turret):

Changed the damage to AP and APCR rounds from 320 to 360;
Changed the average damage per minute from 1,926 to 2,166;
HE round damage was changed from 420 to 440;
Changed the average damage per minute from 2,527 to 2,648.

1.9: 🇸🇪 Strv K Changes

~ Sebastianul ~ 5 Comments

HP: 1 750   1 850
Engine: 665 hp   670 hp
Power-to-weight: 16,25 hp / t   16,37 hp / t
Max speed / Min speed: 55 /-15 km / h   40 / -18 km / h
Hull turning speed: 31,29 °/s   45,0 °/s
Turret turning speed: 37,55 °/s   41,7 °/s
View range: 410 m   400 m
Rate of fire: 5,689   5,903 rounds/minute
Damage per minute: 2 219   2 302,20
Reload time: 10,547 s   10,164 s
Accuracy at 100 m: 0,32   0,316
Aiming time: 1,918 s   1,73 s

Crew – 5 members: Commander, Driver, Gunner, Loader, Radio Operator (was a 4 man crew before)