World of Warships News

The matchmaker is a system for distributing players between teams that ensures the teams are balanced in terms of ship types and tiers.

The main parameter considered when distributing ships is the battle tier—the highest tier of ships in an individual battle. For example, a battle that involves Tier V–VII ships is a Tier VII battle. The maximum battle tier in which ships can participate is set for each ship.

[h3]The matchmaker follows a specific set of rules when creating Random Battles[/h3]

• The teams have an equal number of players. An ideal battle is played in a 12 vs. 12 format, but the required number of players can be reduced in cases where the waiting time spent by the first player in the queue exceeds 3 minutes.
  
• There is a maximum difference of one tier between ship tiers in battles involving Tier II–IV ships.
  
• The maximum ship-tier difference in a single battle is two tiers for Tier VII battles and above.

Please note: this article explains how the matchmaker works in Random Battles. The rules it follows in other battle types can differ due to the specifics of each battle type. This information is relevant to Update 0.9.3.1.

[h2]Features of the Matchmaker[/h2]
The matchmaker is integral to World of Warships, and we are constantly making efforts to improve its algorithms. It's designed to assemble the most effective and balanced team lineups while having as little adverse impact on the battle queue waiting times as possible.

[h2]Types and Tiers[/h2]
In addition to the ship's tier, the matchmaker also takes each ship's type into account. The following rules are applied for these two parameters:

• The matchmaker initially tries to assemble exactly mirrored team lineups in terms of ship tiers and types. If the matchmaker isn't able to assemble a battle in this way, it then proceeds to match ships of lower tiers while ignoring the ship-type parameter. For example, in a Tier VIII battle, it's possible for a Tier VI battleship to be matched to a Tier VI cruiser, or even a Tier VI destroyer. This rule doesn't apply to aircraft carriers.
  
• The matchmaker limits the numbers of ships of specific types in a battle. While teams consisting of only battleships would probably be able to fight in a very efficient manner, such a battle would hardly be interesting or diverse. For example: the number of destroyers and battleships in a team won't exceed four and five ships, respectively, provided that the matchmaker's queue has a normal number of players waiting. The number of aircraft carriers won't exceed two ships in a team for any battle tier.
  
• There are certain tier restrictions in place: in Update 0.9.3 we added a soft restriction on the minimum number of ships allowed that are two tiers lower than the battle tier, and also on the maximum number of ships of the highest tier in the battle. For example: even in a Tier X battle in which you're playing a Tier VIII ship, you'll meet several enemies of the same tier as yours. For Tier X battles, a team should include at least three ships of Tier VIII, if such ships are waiting in the queue, and a maximum of five ships of Tier X, if the matchmaker's queue has a normal number of waiting players.
  
• If possible, ships of different nations are distributed between teams on an even basis.

The rules described above constitute the soft restrictions. For each battle tier, several sets of settings are used that replace each other, depending on the waiting time in the queue—the longer the battle waiting time, the softer the restrictions.

The matchmaker doesn't take into account such parameters as the upgrades and modules mounted on a ship, the number of skills and talents a Commander has, or a player's combat statistics.

[h2]Battle History[/h2]
When matching teams, the algorithm also takes your battle history into account, i.e. the number of battles you've played with ships of the same tier as yours and lower, with ships one or two tiers higher, and where all ships were of the same tier. We also collect separate statistics for each battle type and ship tier you play. After a short calibration period, the matchmaker will ensure that the percentage of battles with ships of the specified tier doesn't exceed the set limits, so as to prevent long series of battles fighting against ships of higher tiers. When a player joins the queue for their next battle, the algorithm takes the player's previous 20 battles into account when assembling their team, thus ensuring that the set limitations are met.

Example: for Tier VIII ships, there's a maximum limit of 40% of battles with ships two tiers higher. If you played Tier VIII ships in your 20 most recent battles, a maximum of eight battles would have included Tier X ships.

[h2]Playing in a Division[/h2]
The following rules apply when you play in a Division:

• The difference between ship tiers within a Division must not exceed one tier. This means that when playing Tier VII ship, you can only enter battle with Division mates playing ships of Tiers VI–VIII.
  
• A Division can have only one aircraft carrier.
  
• The matchmaker rules ensure that a player cannot encounter ships that are outside of the player's tier range in Random Battles. However, when a player is a member of a Division, the matchmaker ignores this rule for ships of lower tiers. For example, when you're playing a Tier VII ship in a Division and your Division mate is playing a Tier VIII ship, you might find yourself in a battle involving Tier X ships.
  
• There is a maximum difference of one Division between opposing teams within a single battle.

[h2]The Matchmaker for Newcomers[/h2]
World of Warships has a special queue for novice players entering battle—a so-called Sandbox.

• When playing ships of Tier I–IV, newcomers are put into a special queue that excludes players who have fought more than 70 battles.
  
• If a player's waiting time in the queue exceeds 60 seconds, and the matchmaker has at least one enemy of a suitable ship type and tier, a battle will be assembled. If necessary, the teams can be complemented with bot ships.
  
• If the matchmaker fails to assemble a battle after the player has spent more than 60 seconds waiting in the queue, the player is placed in the general queue without leaving the sandbox queue.
  
• Players from the same Division can be placed in the queue for newcomers only if all the players meet the requirements specified above.

Captains!

New combat missions are available! Find out what bonuses and rewards await you in the coming week.

[h2]Time to Celebrate![/h2] Starts: 2020/04/29 @ 05:00 (UTC+8) Ends: 2020/05/08 @ 05:00 (UTC+8)

The combat missions of the chain can be completed only in the specified sequence: you can start the next part only after all missions of the previous parts have been completed.

You can complete these combat missions playing Tier V–X ships in Operations, Random, Ranked, and Co-op Battles.


In battles, earn 50 ribbons of any kind.

Reward: 1x Wargaming container

[h3]A Wargaming container drops the following rewards:[/h3]

• 1 day of Premium Account
  
• 3x Papa Papa signals
  
• 3x Juliet Charlie signals

In battles, sink 15 enemy ships.

Reward: 2x Type 59 camouflages

In battles, deal 1,000,000 damage to enemy ships.

Reward: 2x Spring Sky camouflages

Final reward: 2x Asian Lantern camouflages

[h2]Discounts and bonuses[/h2] Starts: 2020/05/01 @ 05:00 (UTC+8) Ends: 2020/05/11 @ 05:00 (UTC+8)

The first victory of the day playing each ship will bring you an additional 200% XP.
Starts: 2020/04/29 @ 05:00 (UTC+8) Ends: 2020/05/08 @ 05:00 (UTC+8)

• −50% to the cost of researchable Japanese and Pan-Asian Tier II–V ships
  
• −30% to the cost of researchable Japanese and Pan-Asian Tier VI–VII ships
  
• −15% to the cost of researchable Japanese and Pan-Asian Tier VIII–X ships
  
• −50% to the cost of economic signals in doubloons under the Exterior tab
  
• −50% to the cost of Port slots in doubloons
  
• Exchange 1 500 2,000 credits for 1 doubloon

[h2]Rules[/h2] Starts: Wed. 29 Apr. 11:00 CEST (UTC+2) Ends: Mon. 11 May 10:30 CEST (UTC+2)

Format: 12 vs. 12, playing Tier IX–X ships

Mode: Arms Race

Rewards: 10,000 Coal; 500,000 credits; and loads of other valuable in-game items

Maps: Mountain Range, Islands of Ice, Warrior's Path, Trident, and Sleeping Giant

• Players who reach Rank 1 won't be able to participate in any further battles of the current Season.
  
• Ranked Sprint achievements aren't inherited from previous Ranked seasons, and won’t transfer to those that follow.
  
• Divisions consisting of two players are allowed in the Ranked Sprint. A Division can enter battle only if the opposing team also has a Division.
  
• A maximum of four Divisions is allowed per team.

[h2]Rewards[/h2] See you on the high seas, Captains!

Please note that the servers will be temporarily unavailable due to the release of an update. The schedule is available below.
Maintenance times are tentative and subject to change. Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences.

The new update will go live some time after it's been downloaded because the client and server sides are updated separately. While the client begins to update immediately, it takes time for the servers to be updated across all regions.

If there are problems with downloading or launching the update—please perform files integrity check.

🛠

Subtitles can be enabled in the video player separately.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
The Update is bringing our new X Hayate to the game, and she’ll be available for 2,000,000 Free XP.
[h2]History[/h2]
Hayate is a variant of a Japanese destroyer project developed during World War II. The ship is imagined with a main battery consisting of the modern 127 mm Type 1 dual-purpose guns in twin-turret mounts. In reality, Japanese designers only managed to produce one such gun before the end of the war, which was found by the Americans among the debris of the gun mount workshop at the Kure Naval Arsenal in December 1945.

In World of Warships, we’ve recreated this mount in 3D and designed a ship based on a Shimakaze-class destroyer to carry it.



[h2]Modeling the Ship[/h2]


Dual-purpose guns: six 127 mm/50 Type 1 dual-purpose guns in three twin mounts.



Torpedoes: two 610 mm quintuple-tube torpedo launchers.



Anti-aircraft armament: five twin 40 mm/60 Type 5 (Model 1945) AA guns and eight 25 mm/60 type 96 mod.1 guns.



[h2]Commanding Hayate[/h2]
One of Hayate’s standout features is that she can be customized to suit two different playstyles. Both are quite effective—the choice of which path to go down is yours.


[h3]Commander with 10 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Basic Firing Training
  
• Concealment Expert

[h3]Commander with 19 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Basic Firing Training
  
• Concealment Expert
  
• Survivability Expert
  
• Superintendent
  
• Adrenaline Rush
  
• Preventive Maintenance

[h3]Upgrades[/h3]

• Main Armaments Modification 1
  
• Engine Room Protection
  
• Aiming Systems Modification 1
  
• Propulsion Modification 1
  
• Concealment System Modification 1
  
• Main Battery Modification 3

[h3]Commander with 10 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Torpedo Armament Expertise
  
• Concealment Expert

[h3]Commander with 19 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Torpedo Armament Expertise
  
• Concealment Expert
  
• Survivability Expert
  
• Superintendent
  
• Adrenaline Rush
  
• Preventive Maintenance

[h3]Upgrades[/h3]

• Main Armaments Modification 1
  
• Engine Room Protection
  
• Torpedo Tubes Modification 1
  
• Propulsion Modification 1
  
• Concealment System Modification 1
  
• Torpedo Tubes Modification 2

[h2]Key features[/h2]
X Hayate is a Japanese destroyer project with 127 mm dual-purpose Type 1 guns. The ship has great tactical flexibility—through configuring her upgrades and Commander’s skills, she can be specialized either for torpedo attacks or artillery duels.

[h3]Key features:[/h3]

• Six 127 mm guns in three mounts. With HE shells, her guns can deal considerable damage for their caliber and have a good rate of fire and aiming speed. The ship enjoys flat-trajectory ballistics.
  
• Two quintuple-tube torpedo launchers. Torpedo range—12 km. Like other Japanese destroyers, Hayate can deal heavy damage to the enemy with her torpedoes. The Torpedo Reload Booster consumable allows players to launch torpedo salvos with a minimal interval, but players will have to discard Smoke Generator in order to mount this consumable.
  
• The ship's concealment is slightly worse than that of researchable X Shimakaze.
  
• She enjoys a reduced post-battle service cost compared to researchable Tier X ships; +100% XP per battle; +20% credits per battle; and her permanent camouflage reduces the cost of the ship's post-battle service by 50%.

X Hayate can be obtained in the game for 2,000,000 Free XP.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]History[/h2]
In November 1939, a naval agreement was concluded between the Polish government-in-exile and the British government. One of its clauses stated that the Polish Navy, which was participating in the war as part of the Royal Navy, would have the opportunity to strengthen itself with British ships that would be provided on a rental basis. After the end of the war, they were to be returned. The Polish Navy received a total of ten ships, among which ORP Orkan was the last destroyer and penultimate large ship.

The ship's construction was carried out at Fairfield, the famous Scottish shipyard in Glasgow. It was started in 1939 and finished in 1942. Initially, the vessel was named HMS Myrmidon, after the mythical ancient Greek nation of Myrmidons. Upon her transfer to the Polish Navy on December 5, 1942, the destroyer received a traditional name, that of a weather phenomenon—Orkan (Polish for "storm"). Her crew was composed of Polish volunteers, half of whom had never served on a warship before.

The destroyer debuted in combat in winter, 1943, when she participated in escorting Arctic convoys JW-52 and JW-53 from Iceland to Murmansk, and subsequently—returning convoys RA-52 and RA-53. Orkan fended off 17 German submarine attacks and 12 German aircraft raids. The ship received no damage, but many of her crew members suffered due to the Arctic Ocean’s severe winter storms.

In September 1943, Orkan, together with various British destroyers, started escorting convoys to Canada and back. In the morning of October 8, the Polish ship spotted German submarine U-378 while escorting convoy SC 143. The enemy was the first to attack. The acoustic torpedo hit Orkan and caused the destroyer's fuel tanks to explode. The ship became engulfed in flames, which led to her ammunition detonating. Orkan quickly sank. Just 1 hour later, Musketeer—a destroyer of the same class—managed to pick up 43 out of more than 240 people that had been aboard.



[h2]Modeling the Ship[/h2]


Dual-purpose artillery: three 120 mm/50 QF Mk XI twin artillery mounts and one 102 mm/45 Mk V AA gun.



Torpedo armament: one quadruple-tube 533 mm QR Mk IV torpedo launcher.



Anti-aircraft armament: four 40 mm/39 QF Mk VII automatic AA guns and six 20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV automatic AA guns.



[h2]Commanding Orkan[/h2]
[h3]Commander with 10 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Superintendent
  
• Concealment Expert

[h3]Commander with 19 skill points[/h3]

• Priority Target
  
• Last Stand
  
• Superintendent
  
• Concealment Expert
  
• Survivability Expert
  
• Basic Firing Training
  
• Adrenaline Rush
  
• Preventive Maintenance

[h3]Upgrades[/h3]

• Main Armaments Modification 1
  
• Engine Room Protection
  
• Aiming Systems Modification 1
  
• Propulsion Modification 1
  
• Concealment System Modification 1

[h2]Orkan in Combat[/h2]
Destroyer VIII Orkan was built in Britain, but fought under the Polish flag during World War II. She escorted polar convoys and was eventually sunk by submarine U-378 in the North Atlantic. In World of Warships, the ship represents Europe. Orkan is efficient at hunting down enemy destroyers. Her main advantages are provided by her rapid-firing artillery, fast torpedoes, and the Surveillance Radar consumable she carries—a rare feature for destroyers.

[h3]Key features[/h3]

• Six 120 mm guns placed in three turrets. Reload time—4.5 seconds. Her HE shells have good chances of causing fire on targets for their caliber — 9%.
  
• Orkan is one of just a few destroyers that have secondary armament. With her 102 mm gun, you can surprise everyone by earning the Close Quarters Expert achievement while playing the destroyer.
  
• One quadruple-tube torpedo launcher. Her torpedoes have a high speed of 76 knots and fast reload time of 70 seconds.
  
• The Repair Party consumable she carries compensates for her 15,700 HP, which is mediocre for the ship's tier.
  
• Her Surveillance Radar consumable provides ample opportunities to confront enemy destroyers.
  
• She earns more credits per battle, and her permanent camouflage adds a 50% XP bonus per battle and reduces the cost of the ship's post-battle service by 10%.

Look for a new European Tier VIII destroyer in the Armory!
Bundles will be available until: Fri. 08 May 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

VIII Orkan bundles are available in exchange for doubloons in the Armory. The ship will be available in the Premium Shop later.

Armory