Public Test of Update 0.11.1: Round 1 + Developer Bulletin for Update 0.11.1

Captains!

We would like to remind you that it's now easier than ever to participate in the Public Test—you can log in using your main account details. To do that, select "Public Test" in the Game Instance menu of the Wargaming Game Center. You'll receive Community Tokens as a reward for participating in the Public Test. These can be exchanged for containers, permanent and expendable camouflages, and other desirable items!

Update 0.11.1 will bring a new temporary battle type—Dirigible Derby—as well as super carriers, Personal Challenges, and other new features. Take a look at the Developer Bulletin, and welcome to the Test! See you on the Public Test Server!


[h2]Round 1 Schedule[/h2] Starts: Thu. 27 Jan. 17:30 CET (UTC+1) Ends: Tue. 01 Feb. 06:30 CET (UTC+1)

[h2]Combat Missions and Rewards[/h2]

• The rewards for activities on the Public Test Server may differ from those on the Live Server.
  
• The rewards will automatically be credited to your account within a few days of the release of the new version.
  
• You can obtain super carriers on the Public Test Server by completing a special combat mission playing Tier X ships. More details are available in the game client.
  
• The second round of the Public Test test will feature Ranked Battles in the following format:
  
  • Bronze League: 7 vs 7 on Tier VI–VII ships
    
  • Silver League: 6 vs 6 on Tier VIII–IX ships
    
  • Gold League: 5 vs 5 on Tier X ships

You can earn Community Tokens for completing combat missions on the Public Test Server.

Each Wargaming container drops 1 day of Warships Premium Account, 3x Papa Papa signals, and 3x Juliet Charlie signals.

[h2]Starting Bonuses[/h2]

• The research prices for ships and ship modules will be substantially discounted.
  
• You will be able to reset Commander skills free of charge.

If you're joining the Public Test for the first time since Update 0.11.0, you'll be awarded the following additional bonuses:

• At the start of the Public Test, every participant will have all researchable Tier VI and VIII ships, helmed by Commanders with 19 skill points, credited to their PT accounts.
  
• 500,000,000 Credits; 30,000 Doubloons; 250,000 Coal; and 90 days of Warships Premium Account.
  
• 50 signals of all types (except for special signals) will also be added to your PT account.

If you fought at least one battle on the Public Test Server during the 0.11.0 Public Test, your account will be copied from the Live Server to the Public Test Server.

[h2]How to Participate[/h2]
https://steamcommunity.com/games/552990/announcements/detail/2716184589232191867

IMPORTANT! Because the update is still being tested, the information in this bulletin is tentative and reflects the state of game development at the time of its publication. Some changes and new features may be removed entirely or implemented differently by the time the update goes live. Screenshots, specific values of certain characteristics, and details of in-game mechanics will not necessarily be relevant after the update is released.

Please note: The rewards for activities on the Public Test Server may differ from those on the Live Server.

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[h2]

Dirigible Derby[/h2]
Update 0.11.1 kicks off a new temporary battle type codenamed "Dirigible Derby."

Historically, these airships carried intelligence agents with important messages and diplomats traveling to conduct secret negotiations in neutral territories. The new battle type tasks you with a mission to delay the hostile airship while also making sure that your allied airship is the first to reach the destination point.

[h2]Rules[/h2]

Battles will be held in a 12 vs. 12 format playing Tier X ships.

Each team will have an invulnerable airship that moves along a fixed route. Your team's mission is to outrun the opposing team in escorting their airship to the end of the route or destroy all enemy ships.

The teams can affect the speed of both allied and hostile airships. Each airship has an interactive zone with a 3 km radius displayed around it. The airship will move faster if only allied ships are within that zone and will slow down if at least one enemy ship sneaks inside it.

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[h2]

Super Aircraft Carriers[/h2]
Update 0.11.1 sees the launch of two new superships in the game:

• British aircraft carrier Eagle was initially laid down as one of the Audacious-class warships. The carrier was completed to a substantially altered project, and she was later given an extensive modernization that allowed her to carry and operate the most advanced deck-based aircraft of the 1950s, including jet aircraft.

• American aircraft carrier United States was intended to be the lead ship of a new design of super carriers that was laid down in 1949 but was never completed. Our developers have recreated her in the game as a fleet strike carrier with necessary alterations to the ship's layout design and equipment.

The ships carry two types of squadrons: standard and tactical. While standard squadrons are a carrier's striking power that players are already familiar with, tactical squadrons constitute a new weapon.

Tactical squadrons on board the new carriers are composed of very fast jet-propelled aircraft. This feature allows them to quickly cover substantial distances and carry out lightning-fast attacks against enemy ships. The jet aircraft of Eagle and United States cannot slow down below their cruising speed, and their engine boost won't cool down when the aircraft are airborne.


We would like to note that the tactical squadrons carried by Eagle and United States are best used as auxiliary weapons, which is why they consist of one attacking flight only. This means their efficiency will be substantially impaired with each aircraft they lose, and for this reason, they can't expose themselves to enemy AA fire for long.

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[h2]

Personal Challenges[/h2]
Update 0.11.1 brings back Personal Challenges. Your goal during the event is to earn as much Base XP as possible while demonstrating your skills in battle playing ships of different types and nations. More details will follow in a dedicated article.

We have updated rewards, and the table of records will be reset 2 weeks after the update goes live. This way, rewards will again be available to players who have already reached the limit.

Rewards: A new temporary resource called Mediterranean Tokens, plus Coal. Navigate to a special tab in the Armory to exchange your Mediterranean Tokens for bundles with VI Dido and VI Canarias in their Atlantic camouflage, as well as other rewards.

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[h2]

Changes to the In-Game Economy[/h2]
[h2]Damage to Aircraft[/h2]
The economic reward for destroying aircraft will now be distributed in the same way as the reward for damaging and destroying ships. Part of Credits and XP will be issued not only for shooting aircraft down but also for dealing damage to them.

On average, the amount of resources earned won't change, but the reward will be easier to obtain.

[h2]Ammunition Resupply[/h2]
The costs of resupplying carrier ammunition and the Airstrike armament will now be calculated by reference to the amount of ammunition used rather than the number of aircraft lost.

Credits will also be spent on resupplying depth charges used by destroyers and cruisers.

With these steps, we're bringing the costs of resupplying aircraft carriers' ammunition, the Airstrike armament, and depth charges in line with the other types of ammunition.

[h2]Aircraft Carrier XP[/h2]
We've reworked the way XP is earned by Tier VIII and X carriers. They will now earn more for sinking enemies and less for damaging them.

Previously, good battle performance playing Tier VIII and X carriers yielded a smaller reward compared with the other ship types. Even sinking numerous enemy ships hardly ever placed carriers among the top XP earners on the team. Now, effective performance in battle will result in a bigger reward.
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[h2]

Other Improvements[/h2]
[h2]Changes to Bots[/h2]
We've entirely reworked the AI system behind in-game bots. The new system makes setting up bots for various battle types and in-game scenarios simpler and faster.

We've simplified the behavior algorithm of bots for all difficulty levels in the Training Rooms. We don't expect any considerable changes to bot behavior in Operations, Co-op Battles, and various temporary battle types. However, since the sheer scale of this update of the entire AI system is so massive, it's difficult to provide an assessment of the effect of these changes at this point. We'll be keeping a close eye on bot behavior and make further tweaks if necessary.

[h2]Tech Tree Changes[/h2]
With the release of Update 0.11.1, X Grosser Kurfürst and X Khabarovsk will be replaced in their Tech Tree branches by X Preussen and X Delny, respectively.

More details about the Tech Tree changes are available in a special article.

[h2]Technical Updates[/h2]

• We've updated the way in which the conditions of missions and rewards, as well as other UI elements, are displayed in the Combat Missions tab.
  
• The behavior of the ships carousel has been fixed and updated for cases where various actions are made in the Port.