Waterline: Winter 2023

Greetings, Captains!

In our fresh Waterline episode, we take a look at the new features that have been released since the previous episode, cover the changes that have occurred in our team, and share our development plans for World of Warships in the first half of 2023.

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Please note that all information contained in this document is preliminary. Any changes and new features that we announce may change several times during tests. During each of those testing rounds, we'll carefully consider your feedback and opinions. Now, let's get down to the details! To reveal the information, click on the respective blocks.

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[h2]

What's Already Been Done[/h2]


[h2]Ships[/h2]
[h3]American and German Submarines in the Tech Tree[/h3]
After extensive testing, submarines arrived in Early Access in Update 0.11.9 and became available for everyone to research in Update 0.11.10. Three U.S. submarines— VI Cachalot, VIII Salmon, and X Balao—and three German submarines— VI U-69, VIII U-190, and X U-2501—were added to the game.

[h3]Japanese Light Cruisers[/h3]
New ships: V Agano, VI Gokase, VII Omono, VIII Shimanto, IX Takahashi, and X Yodo.

These ships have a decent firing range. The high-tier cruisers are armed with numerous main battery guns with long reload times. They enjoy good concealment and are armed with long-range torpedoes that inflict heavy damage. Tier VII and higher cruisers have torpedoes with turning mechanics.

[h3]Superships[/h3]
★ Patrie, ★ Edgar, ★ Clausewitz, and ★ Dalarna exited Early Access. ★ Sekiryu and ★ Admiral Ushakov arrived in Early Access; ★ Joshua Humphreys and ★ Kunming were released for closed testing.

[h2]Events[/h2]
[h3]Halloween[/h3]
Update 0.11.9 saw the return of themed Operations Saving Transylvania and Sunray in the Darkness. It also brought back Twilight Battle, where players had an opportunity to stand at the helms of Twilight Fleet ships and try out their consumables with unique characteristics.

[h3]Velos Adventure[/h3]
This themed adventure on our website provided players with an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of IX Velos, the first Greek ship in the game. Players earned Greek Tokens by completing combat missions. They could spend those Tokens on sequential bundles that held the destroyer herself and her Greek Trireme permanent camouflage.

[h3]Battle Pass[/h3]
The Battle Pass was introduced in Update 0.11.10. A new Battle Pass starts with the release of each update and offers updated rewards each time. The Battle Pass replaced daily, weekly, and monthly combat missions. The total value of the Free Battle Pass rewards is comparable to the value of the rewards that were obtainable from recurring combat missions prior to the release of Update 0.11.10. Even more useful in-game items can be obtained with the Premium Battle Pass.

[h3]Graphics Update[/h3]
In Update 0.11.10, another massive graphics update was implemented into the game. High-detail textures were added to the Mountain Range, North, Strait, Estuary, and Northern Lights maps. We also added a surf effect and dynamic reflections to all surfaces, improved vegetation models, and the effect of water being displaced sideways by moving ships.

[h3]New Year Celebrations[/h3]
Festive Update 0.11.11 delivered loads of activities! These included battle performance bonuses, a new Dockyard, the Carol Clash competitive event, and much more.

Battle performance bonuses were available for all Tier V and higher ships. Depending on the ship tier, they rewarded players with Coal, Steel, New Year Certificates, or Research Points. Just like during the celebration of the game's anniversary, players with many ships in their Ports were able to receive rewards from several ships per battle.

At the time of this article's publication, the construction of IX Admiral Schröder is still ongoing at the Dockyard. VII Renown '44 is among the available rewards for completing shipbuilding phases.

In the Carol Clash event, two teams competed to speedily deliver gifts. Players needed to choose which team they wanted to ally with and join the clash.
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[h2]

Winter 2023[/h2]


[h2]Ships[/h2]
[h3]U.S. Hybrid Battleships[/h3]
A branch of U.S. hybrid battleships is scheduled to arrive in Early Access in the first part of 2023. Three new ships— VIII Nebraska, IX Delaware, and X Louisiana—are inbound.

The main battery artillery of the new ships has a good firing range but not the highest damage per minute. A squadron of bombers that carry HE bombs acts as their aircraft armament. The bombers are not available at the beginning of battle and require considerable preparation time. The large number of aircraft in each flight will allow you to deal decent damage to enemy ships. The aircraft do not return to the deck after delivering an attack, and the entire squadron needs to recovered.

[h3]British Submarines[/h3]
The next branch to complement the Tech Tree in World of Warships will be the British submarine branch. Submarines VI Undine, VIII Sturdy, and X Thrasher are set to make their grand (but stealthy!) entrance.

Only one type of torpedoes is available to the new submarines—acoustic homing torpedoes. These torpedoes have a large count per salvo and reload quickly but deal low damage. VI Undine and VIII Sturdy are armed with a 76 mm secondary gun, and X Thrasher is armed with a 102 mm main gun that can be directly controlled. All submarine artillery guns fire SAP shells.

British submarines enjoy high dive capacity, but their maneuverability is low. They will be able to stay underwater for a long time; however, it will be difficult for them to quickly change direction or retreat if spotted. You should be especially careful when attacking enemy ships because the HP pools of the new submarines are small even compared to submarines of other nations.

[h2]Events[/h2]
[h3]Airship Escort[/h3]
Update 12.0 brings the Airship Escort (previously, "Dirigible Derby") temporary battle type back to the game. When it previously appeared in the game in Update 0.11.1, it was popular among players and received extremely positive feedback. Now, we're getting ready to present its improved version.

It's no secret that we regularly test new mechanics in temporary modes with an eye on introducing them into the game on a permanent basis, and this is also the case for Airship Escort. If the updated mode performs well this year, Airship Escort will most likely be a prime candidate to be introduced into Random Battles in the future.

[h3]Lunar New Year[/h3]
Every year just wouldn't be the same without the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations.

This time, we've prepared "The Age of Sa Zhenbing" themed collection. Sa Zhenbing, a new unique Commander for Pan-Asian ships, is the reward for completing the collection.

He has special personalization, talents, and improved skills for different ship types.

[h3]Introduction of New Unique Upgrades[/h3]
As we've already announced in the Development Blog, we're commencing testing of new unique upgrades for Tier X ships. Two upgrades for X Venezia and X Halland have already been released for closed testing.

[h3]New Aircraft Carrier Branches[/h3]
Former carriers from uneven tiers that were removed from the game during the rework of the carrier gameplay in Update 0.8.0 will be reintroduced later. We previously announced that we were going to elaborate their concept and planned to focus on their interaction with allies.

However, based on the testing results and feedback analysis, we've understood that new carrier branches should be able to deal some damage directly, even though it isn't their primary task in battle. We mean that they will still be the carriers you're already familiar with, but with new mechanics that are more focused, among other things, on closer cooperation within teams. We're currently working out the mechanics of minefields that can be deployed by aircraft for these carriers. Besides that, we still intend to provide the carriers' squadrons with Smoke Generator to give them the ability to conceal allied ships from the enemy.

[h3]Changes to the Domination Mode Settings[/h3]
The Development Blog has already announced that the reworked Domination mode for Random Battles will be tested this winter. We'll review the starting points at the beginning of battle, as well as the number of points credited to one team and withdrawn from the other one when a ship is destroyed.

These changes are aimed at eliminating extreme situations where battles are too long or too short. We're going to check them during the Super Test and Public Test of Update 12.1. If they demonstrate good results, the changes will be implemented on the Live Server with a low probability of being in place for battles so that we can make a decision on the final fate of the Domination mode.

[h3]Global Combat Missions[/h3]
We're working on a new activity—global combat missions.

Global combat missions are missions with special conditions that require the joint effort of the entire server to be completed. They will be completed like typical combat missions but will be common for all players on the server, and every participant will make their contribution to the overall progress. If players manage to complete a global combat mission in time, each player who was actively involved will receive a reward.

Global combat missions are going to be introduced into the game as soon as at the beginning of 2023!

[h3]In-game Sound Update[/h3]
A major overhaul of the sound component of the game is planned in 2023. Improvements will be implemented throughout the entire year. For now, we would like to share the plans for the first half of 2023.

• We're working on new interactive music for submarines that corresponds to the special gameplay of this ship type.
  
• Sounds of aircraft and flying shells will be updated—they'll be more detailed and of a higher quality.
  
• Sound effects for remote events will be improved. Shots and explosions that occur far from the player will sound more realistic.

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[h2]

Spring 2023[/h2]


[h2]Ships[/h2]
[h3]Pan-American Cruisers[/h3]
The testing of the Pan-American cruiser branch commences in Update 12.0!

Ten new ships will be added to the game: I Hércules, II Almirante Barroso, III Vicente Guerrero, IV Córdoba, V La Argentina, VI Almirante Cochrane, VII Coronel Bolognesi, VIII Ignacio Allende, IX Santander, and X San Martin.

From Tier VI, the new ships have access to Combat Instructions. For fire adjustment, Pan-American cruisers need to hit their target with their main guns a certain number of times. The activation of Combat Instructions significantly reduces the ships' consumable cooldown time.

[h3]European Destroyers[/h3]
A second branch of European destroyers was announced in the previous Waterline episode and Development Blog.

The ships of the new branch will represent such countries as Turkey, Norway, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Six ships will be added to the game: Muavenet, Stord, Grom, Split, Lambros Katsonis, and Gdańsk. Please note that the branch is still under development, and its concept may change during testing that's planned for the first half of 2023.

In their current concept, the new ships are artillery destroyers equipped with Smoke Generator. At Tiers VIII–X, they also have access to Surveillance Radar. Besides that, all ships of the branch have Engine Boost. Their main guns can inflict good damage per salvo and, starting from Tier VII, the ships enjoy flat-trajectory ballistics, enabling them to easily shoot accurately at long ranges.

The torpedoes of all ships of the branch are fast, but their number per salvo is small. Compared to the first branch of European destroyers, they inflict higher damage but have a shorter range. The modes for launching torpedoes are as standard: wide and narrow spreads.

Starting from Tier VII, the new ships are fast; and from Tier VIII, they enjoy large HP pools; however, their AA defenses are not the strongest, and their concealment is mediocre.

[h3]Spanish Cruisers[/h3]
This spring, Spanish cruiser branch will be released for closed testing. It will be the first full-fledged Spanish branch in the game! At the moment, it's still too early to speak about a specific concept or specific characteristics, but their primary feature will be their ability to fire a series of salvos, and the caliber of their guns will increase from 120 mm at low tiers to 254 mm at Tier X.

[h3]New Superships[/h3]
Two new superships, Novosibirsk and Devastation, will be put to the test in spring. They will continue the branches of X Petropavlovsk and X Conqueror.

[h3]A Hybrid Destroyer[/h3]
Halford, one of the Fletcher-class destroyers, will be released for closed testing. Her primary feature is the availability of an aircraft catapult. She will be the first hybrid destroyer in our game.

[h3]West Virginia '44[/h3]
In our message to the community published in September 2021, we promised to release West Virginia '44 in 2023. We're now ready to confirm that the ship will be released for closed testing this spring.

[h2]Events[/h2]
[h3]The New Dockyard[/h3]
Although the construction of IX Admiral Schröder is still in progress at the Hamburg Dockyard, we're already preparing the next ship, IX Daisen, to be laid down this spring.

IX Daisen is a fast battleship armed with powerful artillery and torpedoes. She inherited a number of archaic features from projects developed in the 1910s, including the placement of secondary battery guns in casemates.

The battleship is notable for her accurate main battery guns, but the number of those guns is small. Her armament also includes torpedo launchers with long-range torpedoes that inflict massive damage. The battleship is very fast but has a large turning circle radius.

[h3]Repeated Battle Entry With the Same Ship[/h3]
We're working on an improvement that will allow players to enter a new battle with a ship that was just destroyed without having to wait till the previous battle concludes. This way, you'll be able to fight more battles playing your favorite ship during a game session. This option should help speed up your game progress on your favorite ships.

[h3]April Fools' Day[/h3]
The first day of April will be highlighted with a special temporary battle type. We're not ready to share the details yet, but we can say that while preparing this activity, we drew on inspiration from one of the former temporary battle types that previously featured in the game.

[h3]Seychelles Map[/h3]
A new map, Seychelles, was released for closed testing in the summer of 2022While developing it, we were inspired by the real geographical area of the Seychelles region. We had to introduce some changes in the process of testing to ensure the map balance was optimal and to deliver a high-quality gaming experience, but a clear reference to the real Seychelles can still be seen. We plan to add the map to the Live Server this spring.

[h3]Improvement of the Equipment Window[/h3]
Our work on improving user interaction with the interface is ongoing. We plan to improve the Equipment window. Recommended upgrades will be added for all ships, much like how the Commander Skills window is currently displayed. We're also going to add a button for mounting a set of recommended upgrades, similar to the currently available button for mounting recommended signals.

[h3]Other Improvements[/h3]
In our previous Waterline episode, we announced changes to notifications and the settings window that were to be implemented by the end of 2022. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to move these plans to spring 2023. Let's recall what exactly will be improved:

• Notifications for players in the Port will be updated. A number of improvements will make notifications more structured and informative.
  
• The Settings menu will be updated. The interface design will become more convenient; settings will be stored on the server; and we'll be able to easily add new settings when necessary, thanks to "under-the-bonnet" improvements.