Submarines in Random Battles

Captains!

In this article, we are going to tell you about the arrival of rental submarines in Random Battles; anti-submarine weapons of cruisers and battleships; and balance changes to submarines.

Submarines ● Anti-Submarine Weapons

[h2]
Submarines[/h2]
Submarines have been present in Ranked and Co-op Battles for almost 2 months now, and we are extremely grateful for the battles you have played, as well as your feedback. By participating and telling us your opinions, you helped us determine what the next steps in submarine development should be.

We have planned a number of further changes based on the data and feedback we collected. The first of these is the addition of anti-submarine weapons to all Tier V–X cruisers and battleships in Update 0.10.9, except for hybrids and Dutch cruisers.

We are aware that adding anti-submarine weapons on a large number of ships can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of submarines, so we have made a number of balance changes to the new ship type:

We have changed the characteristics of torpedoes, and submarines now have tube-by-tube torpedo-launching capabilities. Tube-by-tube torpedo launching will allow for more dynamic gameplay and better control over the number of torpedoes launched during an attack. To encourage submarine Captains to use sonar pings for better accuracy, the width of the torpedo launch sector has been increased.
German submarines were weaker compared to American submarines in terms of damage they were able to deal. To make them even in terms of this parameter, we've increased the maximum damage and the chances of causing flooding of torpedoes launched by German submarines.
The torpedo tubes of German submarines are mostly located in their fore ends, which is great for attacking from longer distances. To shift German submarine gameplay toward long-range combat, we increased the range of their torpedoes.
American submarines, in their turn, can be quite effective in short- and medium-range battles, because their torpedo tubes are located in both their bows and sterns. To encourage American submarine Captains to embrace this style of combat, the range of American submarines' torpedoes has been reduced.

Reduced dive capacity depletion if the submarine is detected. The increase of dive capacity depletion in Update 0.10.8 significantly affected how comfortable it was to play submarines, and it also impacted their effectiveness. To make the detection of submarines impact their gameplay less, we've reduced the dive capacity depletion rates when submarines are detected.

[h3][h3]Summary of Changes[/h3][/h3]

Dive capacity depletion of a detected submarine reduced from 4 to 3 units/second.
Torpedoes are now launched tube-by-tube. If a submarine had several torpedo launchers in her bow or stern, they are now displayed as a single torpedo launcher in her bow or stern, respectively. The torpedo launcher reloading concept remains unchanged.
Width of the torpedo launch sector increased by a factor of 2.5.
Changed the parameters of torpedoes and sonar pings.

[h3]U-69[/h3]

Maximum damage of torpedoes increased from 7,067 to 7,533.
Chances of causing flooding with torpedoes increased from 37 to 41%.
Range of torpedoes and sonar pings increased from 9 to 11.5 km.

[h3]U-190[/h3]

Maximum damage of torpedoes increased from 7,467 to 8,633.
Chances of causing flooding with torpedoes increased from 40 to 47%.
Range of torpedoes and sonar pings increased from 10 to 12.5 km.

[h3]U-2501[/h3]

Reload time of torpedo tubes reduced from 85 to 77 seconds.
Maximum damage of torpedoes increased from 7,700 to 8,633.
Chances of causing flooding with torpedoes increased from 41 to 47%.
Range of torpedoes and sonar pings increased from 11 to 14 km.

[h3]Cachalot[/h3]

Range of torpedoes and sonar pings reduced from 11.5 to 10 km.

[h3]Salmon[/h3]

Range of torpedoes and sonar pings reduced from 12.5 to 11 km.

[h3]Balao[/h3]

Range of torpedoes and sonar pings reduced from 14 to 12 km.

We have also changed the settings for AI-controlled submarines in Co-op and Training Battles. AI-controlled submarines will now be more active in battle. This will help prevent situations where the battle takes too long because players have to find and destroy the last enemy submarine.

The next step in testing submarines is to add them to Random Battles. This will allow us to accurately evaluate their state and gather feedback from a larger number of players. Another important element of testing is to check submarine gameplay in the 12 vs. 12 format, because it has a considerably different battle tempo and density compared to Ranked Battles.

Moreover, adding rental submarines to Random Battles will allow a larger audience to try out the new ship type, get used to playing them, or come up with some tactics to oppose them. When submarines are added to the game on a permanent basis, this will help prevent battle queues being filled with submarines, since they will be mostly selected by players who are interested in the new ship type.

You can get submarines to rent for 7 days by completing sequential combat missions that are updated every 2 weeks.

Offering submarines in this way will help us keep an eye on how many of them are out on our seas and prevent extended queue times. Apart from this, we are going to closely follow submarines in Random Battles, and we will be able to quickly take measures if their presence in Random Battles has an adverse impact on gameplay.

[h2]
Anti-Submarine Weapons[/h2]
The Depth Charge Airstrike consumable has been added to all Tier V–X cruisers and battleships that don't have anti-submarine weapons, except for hybrids and Dutch cruisers. At the same time, the range of Depth Charge Airstrike has been changed for all battleships that already had this consumable.

The Depth Charge Airstrike Modification 1 upgrade has been added to the 4th slot of all Tier VI–X cruisers and battleships that already had the Depth Charge Airstrike consumable.

Prepare to dive, and good luck!