Ships: Doubloons Aren't the Only Way to Get Them

The game offers plenty of ships that can be exchanged for Coal, Free XP, or Steel. You can get them absolutely free, simply by playing World of Warships.

The following ships arrive in Update 0.8.7:

• U.S. destroyer X Somers, exchangeable for Steel in the Armory
  
• Soviet cruiser X Smolensk, exchangeable for Coal in the Armory
  
• European destroyer IX Friesland, exchangeable for Free XP in the Tech Tree. This ship will be available in the game soon. Stay tuned for more news…
  

In this article we’ll give you a more detailed account of the newcomers, as well as point out to the quickest way to earn the required resources.


Some ships in the Tech Tree are only available in exchange for Free XP. This can also be spent on progressing through researchable branches of ships in the Tech Tree. You can earn Free XP simply by playing the game: an amount that’s equivalent to 5% of the XP you earn in each battle.

• Mount camouflage patterns that provide a Free XP bonus.
  
• Use the following economic and special signals: Papa Papa, Ouroboros, Hydra, and Leviathan.
  
• You can get bonus-providing camouflage patterns and signals in the course of progressing through Campaigns, when taking part in Ranked and Clan Battles, and from completing some combat missions, as well as from Daily containers.
  
• Join a Clan: the Design Bureau will provide a 25% bonus to the Free XP you earn.
  
• Open Daily containers and complete certain combat missions.

Since the amount of Free XP you get depends on the total XP you earn in a battle, it’s a good strategy to increase the amount of Ship XP you receive. Signals and camouflages will come in handy for that, as well as a daily XP bonus for the first win on each ship in the form of Stars of Victory.

IX Friesland: 1,000,000 Free XP

IX Friesland is the lead ship in the second post-war series of destroyers of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In 1956, the ship made a formal visit to Leningrad, and in 1962, she took part in the West New Guinea dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia. In World of Warships, this destroyer represents Europe and is placed at Tier IX.

• Four main battery guns with a very high rate of fire (their reload time is 1.8 seconds without upgrades mounted or Commander skills mastered), very good shell ballistics, comfortable aiming angles, and a fast main turret traverse speed.
  
• The AA defenses are additionally reinforced with the Defensive AA Fire consumable in a separate slot.
  
• The Smoke Generator consumable with features characteristic of American destroyers: her smoke screens will last longer than 2 minutes. The Hydroacoustic Search consumable, which comes in a separate slot, will allow you to assuredly detect enemy ships at a distance of 5 km, and enemy torpedoes—at 3.5 km.

In contrast to other destroyers, Friesland doesn’t carry any torpedo armament. However, this is completely compensated for by her rapid-firing artillery, decent AA defenses, and a good choice of consumables that’s envied even by cruisers.

Besides IX Friesland, the following ships can be obtained with Free XP in the Tech Tree: IX Azuma, IX Alaska, and VII Nelson.


Coal is the most easily accessible resource for the Armory. You can earn it by completing daily combat missions, by opening Daily containers, and by taking part in Ranked Sprints. Coal can also be obtained during temporary game events.

• Fully complete both chains of Daily Missions: the final reward is 400 Coal.
  
• Select the More Resources Daily container—it contains the largest amount of Coal.
  
• Don't miss Ranked Sprints: the reward for reaching Rank 1 is 10,000 Coal.
  
• Join Clans: the fully expanded Coal Port will provide a 10% bonus to the amount of Coal you earn.
  
• Use a coupon that provides a 25% discount against the ship's cost.

You can get Coal simply by playing World of Warships. To receive Daily containers and complete combat missions, you just need to earn XP by participating in battles.

By playing several battles per day, you can receive at least 800 Coal for opening one container and completing the first chain of Daily Missions.

If you’re ready to complete both chains of Daily Missions and open all three Daily containers, then you'll earn 2,000 Coal per day on average.

X Smolensk: 244,000 Coal

X Smolensk is a post-war project of a Soviet small light cruiser (MLK-16 × 130). Her main feature is her very powerful main battery for a ship of her displacement, comprising 16 all-new 130 mm dual purpose guns. In World of Warships, this project hits the seas as a Tier X cruiser.

• Sixteen main battery guns with comfortable ballistics and a good rate of fire, but rather a short standard range. Smolensk can attack enemy ships with HE and AP shells alike from various combat distances, with her AP shells being quite good for guns of her caliber.
  
• Torpedo armament that’s quite good for a Soviet cruiser: one quintuple-tube launcher on either side of the ship. Torpedo range—8 km.
  
• A good speed of 35 knots and nice handling make it possible to promptly respond to ever-changing combat situations.
  
• The Repair Party and Smoke Generator consumables onboard, as well as concealment that’s quite good for a ship of her type and tier, compensate for the ship's poor armor protection and tiny HP pool.
  
• The option to choose between the Defensive AA Fire and Hydroacoustic Search consumables to counter carriers or destroyers, respectively.

Though Smolensk was never completed in reality, she's ready to hit the waves in World of Warships and demonstrate the full power of her rapid-firing artillery.

The following ships can be exchanged for Coal in the Armory: X Yoshino, X Salem, IX Georgia, IX Jean Bart, V Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya, VI Aigle, IV Yūbari, III Campbeltown, and III Charleston.


In comparison to other resources, Steel is the most difficult one to earn. It’s mostly only available in Ranked and Clan Battles.

• Take part in Ranked Battle seasons. You can earn up to a total of 5,500 Steel in the Thirteenth Season of Ranked Battles.
  
• Fight in Clan Battles. In Clan Battle Season 6 you can earn up to a total of 8,750 Steel.
  
• Join Clans: the Steel Port will provide a 10% bonus to the amount of Steel you earn.
  
• Use a coupon that provides a 25% discount against the ship's cost.

Try to participate in the competitive modes—Steel can be obtained even at quite low Ranks and Leagues.

For example, you'll get 1,000 Steel by reaching Rank 12. To get as far as that, you'll need to fight in about 10 battles.

In Clan Battles, you can get 750 Steel as a reward for just 15 victories in the Squall League.

Not interested in "Steel-earner" ships? You can exchange Steel for Coal at a rate of 1:10 in the Armory.

X Somers: 25,000 Steel

X Somers is a U.S. Navy destroyer flotilla leader. She was the lead ship of the Somers-class of destroyer leaders. The ship was used to hunt down German transports, took part in the escort of Atlantic convoys, and provided fire support for landings in the south of France. The destroyer's crew were the last in the US Navy to get a prize for captured material—German dry-cargo freighter Odenwald. In World of Warships, destroyer Somers is placed at Tier X. Her primary advantages come in the form of her three quadruple-tube torpedo launchers, nice concealment, and reasonably good speed.

• As many as eight 127 mm main battery guns.
  
• Good torpedo armament: 12 torpedoes; range—16.5 km.
  
• The ship's decent speed of 38.6 knots can be increased by using the Engine Boost consumable.
  
• Good concealment for her tier: her detectability range by sea can even be reduced to 5.8 km. Apart from that, Somers is equipped with the trademark American Smoke Generator. It takes more than two minutes for her smoke screens to dissipate—this compensates for the ship's pool of HP, which is smaller than that of other Tier X destroyers.

Somers will make a very decent asset for any devotee of American destroyers. She perfectly suits the purpose of performing reconnaissance duties and delivering surprise torpedo attacks.

The following ships can be exchanged for Steel in the Armory: VII Flint, IX Neustrashimy, IX Black, X Stalingrad, and X Bourgogne.

Play World of Warships, earn resources, and get new ships for absolutely free.