World of Warships News

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Subtitles can be enabled in the video player separately.
https://youtu.be/nagcWQsAfGU
The beginning of the French cycle of updates, the new Crash Zone Alpha map, and the thirteenth season of Ranked Battles!


The upcoming updates are dedicated to France. The French arc presents a branch of French destroyers, a new game event, the updated Port of Marseille, and other innovations.

• The specific distribution of their Hit Points allows them to survive longer under intense enemy fire. After significant damage has been caused to the central part of the hull, it receives only 1/6 damage instead of the typical 1/3.
  
• Lack of the Smoke Generator consumable that’s usually present on destroyers is compensated for by their high speeds and enhanced Engine Boost consumable.
  
• Starting at Tier VI, these ships are equipped with the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable.
  
• Starting at Tier VIII, the destroyers of the French branch can boast comfortable ballistics and AP shells with good armor penetration for this ship type. This enables players to inflict considerable damage to enemy cruisers’ citadels from medium ranges.

Many ships in the carousel will be marked with the Symbol of France. These symbols function in a similar way to "stars," offering a bonus for the first victory of each day. In 0.8.6, a victory in any battle mode, except for Clan or Training Battles, on ships marked with the Symbol of France will reward you with valuable resources:

• For Tier VI or lower ships—Coal
  
• For Tier VII to X ships—Republic Tokens, a new temporary resource

Please note: you can get a bonus for each ship only once during Update 0.8.6.


You can exchange Republic Tokens for thematic bundles in a special tab in the Armory. Once you've acquired the final bundle, special random bundles will become available in exchange for doubloons. These are the new award-receiving mechanics, and they function in a similar way to containers. However, unlike the latter, you can always see the contents and number of bundles available.



The legendary white facade of the cliffs of Dover has looked over the final resting place of many a ship in the annals of history. In Update 0.8.6, a new map called Crash Zone Alpha is set to appear in the game for Tier VIII–X battles in Domination mode. The map has two versions: with three and four key areas, respectively. The map will also be interesting for aficionados of Clan Battles: the “home” key areas of the teams are located quite close to each other, which will force the teams to reconsider their usual combat tactics.


The Greece map has undergone further improvements: at the request of players, sunny weather has been added. Besides this, the islands located rear of the teams have been updated and will now act as more reliable cover.



Update 0.8.6 features a new season of Ranked Battles! Battles will involve only Tier IX ships and will be held in a "6 vs. 6" format. A considerable reward of 5,500 Steel is at stake, and if you reach Rank 1, you'll be awarded the Jolly Roger achievement.


AA defense guns now deal permanent damage several times per second. Previously, the frequency of damage depended on the type of weapon. Taking your requests into consideration and to make the operation of AA defenses more stable, we've standardized damage infliction. The damage value will also be recalculated, in consideration of the increased frequency. This is a merely technical change aimed at preventing some inconsistencies, with the total damage per second remaining nearly the same.

X Henri IV is one of the most powerful Tier X cruisers in the game. This fast-moving ship is capable of inflicting considerable damage with her HE shells, and the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable only makes her more formidable. To balance the strength of the cruiser, the reload speed of her main battery guns has been increased from 12.3 to 13 seconds.

German cruisers IX Roon and X Hindenburg used to be inferior to other ships of the same type in terms of their overall battle efficiency, but now their guns have a faster reload time of 10.5 seconds instead of 11.

German battleships stand out for their secondary armament, but the style of gameplay utilizing this weaponry often cedes to a more survival-oriented way of playing. To make the use of secondary armament more appealing to players, the armor-penetration capability of the 105 mm guns mounted on VIII Bismarck, VIII Tirpitz, VIII Graf Zeppelin, and Tier VIII–X German cruisers has been increased from 17 to 25 mm. This change will enable shells fired by these guns to penetrate the plating of destroyers, cruisers, and Tier VI–VII battleships.

X Yueyang's torpedo armament has been enhanced: the reload time of her torpedo tubes has been reduced from 156 to 146 seconds.

A handsome set of consumables and powerful guns allow X Grozovoi to be one of the most effective destroyers at Tier X. But in order to better balance her, the main battery reload time has been increased from 4 to 4.2 seconds.

The reload time of X Gearing's researchable torpedo tubes has been reduced from 136 to 122 seconds. This will increase the overall damage that she can cause, and draw more players' attention to the potential of her torpedo tubes.

Balancing changes have also affected V Emerald, VIII Z-23, IX Jutland, VIII Kii, and IX Chung Mu. Please see more details in the full article.


Exposing their broadsides to an enemy’s salvo is the worst mistake most ships can make. However, due to their low-lying citadels and long-distance combat tactics, the consequences of such an error for Royal Navy battleships were much less tangible. In the new version, the citadel of battleships VII King George V, IX Lion, VII Duke of York, VIII Monarch, and X Conqueror has been enlarged, and now occupies part of the ships' casemates. On the other hand:

• The amount of damage caused to any part of a ship (except for the citadel) that can be restored by the Repair Party consumable will increase from 60% to 75%.
  
• Duke of York will have an additional Repair Party charge.
  
• Repair Party will recover 0.6% of the maximum HP pool per second instead of 0.5%, for King George V, Duke of York, and Monarch.
  
• Repair Party will reload within 90 seconds instead of 120 for King George V, Monarch, and Duke of York. The consumable will recharge within 120 seconds instead of 180 for Lion and Conqueror.

These changes will enable enemy ships to teach British battleships a good lesson about the results of carelessly exposing their broadsides by causing them some considerable damage. However, if players manage to avoid such mistakes and skillfully use the improved Repair Party consumable, the survivability of these Steel Monsters will only be strengthened.


The water visual processing system has been improved: the annoying ripples at the horizon will no longer distract the attention of Captains. Moreover, the in-game lighting model has been updated. This is an important change that opens the doors for a graphics update for the game in the future.

The automatic collision alert system will divert ships from islands more reliably, with manual control always being a priority.

Aircraft carrier bots have returned to Co-op Battles. Now, a player on an aircraft carrier will face not a battleship, but an aircraft carrier.

The updated Raptor Rescue operation is back: AI opponents have had all their skills, upgrades, and enhanced consumables reset, and the composition of enemy groups has changed.

Learn more about these new features and balance changes on our official website or in the in-game browser!
https://worldofwarships.eu/news/game-updates/update-086-french-destroyers/

• VIII Vladivostok scores a hat trick!
  
• Demonstrations of true strength from IX Iowa and X Conqueror!
  
• Witness the power of X Yamato and X Großer Kurfürst in action!

Would you like to discover what’s behind these stories? Then watch the new WoWS Show episode!
https://youtu.be/HeG1yhyFyVA

Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe to our channel to stay informed about the next instalments!

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You need to log in to the website https://replayswows.com using your Wargaming account credentials. Then click the "Upload Replay" button and share your in-game stories! Don't forget to write the names of the show and your ship in the "Title" section, to ensure that we don't miss your replay. Example: #WOWSHOW (Tirpitz).


To be approved for our show, a replay should correspond to the following criteria:

• Duration of an episode or a pack of mini episodes shouldn't exceed one minute.
  
• Episodes should be funny, interesting, or just plain epic. The more entertaining; the better!

Any player can send us an unlimited number of replays. Players will receive a reward for every replay chosen for the show!

Captains!

Update 0.8.6 opens up the French arc, which is set to span two updates. Players will enjoy a new game event, gain early access to the French destroyer branch, explore the new Crash Zone Alpha map, and experience many other features.

But how did we select the ships for the new branch and what are its peculiarities? How did we create the new map? How did the last Clan season go?

Watch the fresh episode of Developer Diaries to find answers to these and many other questions!
https://youtu.be/PGhukxeXlaU

Did you like the video? Subscribe to our channel to stay tuned for new episodes!

Subscribe to the Channel

Captains!

A new arc centered around French destroyers is starting very soon. For the occasion, let's refresh ourselves on the combat history of French destroyer Maillé-Brézé, which was unique due to the technical equipment she carried.
https://youtu.be/47Ez71-qVIE


https://youtu.be/UoVJllDh6rg

Did you like the video? Subscribe to our channel to stay tuned for new episodes!

Subscribe to the Channel

Benham has sixteen torpedoes and she’s not afraid to use them.

At less than 2,000 tons, U.S.S. Benham embodies the pre-war American concept of a small Treaty destroyer, loosely based on the overall concept of the Mahan-class, but with one big difference: Benham carries the deadliest torpedo arsenal ever placed on a U.S. destroyer.
https://youtu.be/8FiMPTBXlbw

U.S.S. Benham was the lead ship of her class of 10 destroyers, built between 1936 and 1939. She was laid down in Kearny, New Jersey, and completed in early 1939. After a few patrols off the U.S. East coast, she was ordered to make for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in the buildup to the Pacific War in 1940.

When the Japanese mobile carrier force struck Pearl Harbor’s naval base on December 7, 1941, Benham was luckily only about a day’s sail away on escort duties for the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise. Following this first battle of the war, Benham continued serving as an escort for carrier task forces throughout the first half of 1942. This landed her a front-row seat at important events such as the start of the Doolittle raid in April and the decisive battle of Midway in June, during which Benham participated in rescue efforts for survivors of the sinking U.S.S. Yorktown.


In August 1942, the ship would shore up the ranks of the naval force assembled to take part in the first major U.S. offensive of the Pacific war: the Guadalcanal Campaign. This brutal, months-long battle was an exemplary instance of combined arms fighting, with fierce infantry skirmishes taking place just a few kilometers away from some of the most intensely fought naval battles of the war. On the night of November 14–15, Benham would be called on to step away from the relative safety of carrier escort missions to take on a far deadlier task.

The second naval battle of Guadalcanal unfolded in the narrow strait between the islands of Guadalcanal and Savo. The American fleet, consisting of two battleships and four destroyers, advanced under the cover of darkness to intercept Japan’s last hope of keeping a hold over the island. The Japanese fleet—made up of the Kongo-class battleship Kirishima, four cruisers, and nine destroyers—was making one last effort to retake the vital airfield in the North of Guadalcanal.

Benham and the other destroyers led the formation of battleships South Dakota and Washington, when the latter two opened fire on distant radar contacts. The destroyers first fired illuminating shells, and then began firing off 5-inch shells at a forward group of Fubuki-class destroyers. However, before the Americans could prepare their torpedoes, a hail of enemy shellfire and torpedoes overwhelmed the destroyers, sinking two immediately and mortally wounding Benham. A single Long Lance torpedo struck her in the bow, completely destroying everything forward of the bridge and causing severe flooding. Throughout the rest of the night and most of the next day, she would carefully attempt to make her way back to land, but after nearly 16 hours Benham’s condition worsened and the order was given to abandon ship.



In World of Warships, Benham appears as she would have in 1942, just prior to the second naval battle of Guadalcanal.

Main Battery: four 127mm/38 Mk12 dual purpose guns, with the forward two in enclosed turrets, and the rear two without any shielding.

Torpedo launchers: sixteen individual launchers in a quartet of quadruple 533 mm mounts.

Anti-aircraft armament: four single 12.7 mm Browning M2 mod. 2 heavy machine guns.

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

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

The destroyer has access to Damage Control Party and Smoke Generator in the first two slots; and in the third you have a choice between Engine Boost, if you favor rapid deployment and maneuverability, or Defensive AA Fire, if you’re more concerned with fending off the attacks of enemy bombers.

• Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
  
• Slot 2: Propulsion Modification 1 or Steering Gears Modification 1
  
• Slot 3: AA Guns Modification 1
  
• Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 2
  
• Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1
  
• Slot 6: Torpedo Tubes Modification 3

IX Benham is the lead ship in a series of ten destroyers. This destroyer is proudly placed at Tier IX in the U.S. Tech Tree. Destroyers of this nation are known for their versatility, but Benham has a clear-cut specialization: her torpedoes. In terms of artillery power, the ship is inferior to many of her peers, and her HP is one of the lowest among her counterparts, but she is packed with sixteen dangerous torpedoes and equipped with trademark American smokes. There's nothing more you might need to become a daunting and stealthy fighter!

• Four 127 mm guns. Firing range: 12.6 km; reload time: 3.3 seconds; 180-degree gun traverse time: 6 seconds. These characteristics are quite decent, but the small number of guns doesn't make the ship's artillery her best asset.
  
• Sixteen torpedoes with a range of 10.5 km, speed of 65 knots, and damage of 15,200 HP, with a fast reload time of just 85 seconds. Her broadside torpedo tube mounts are a noteworthy, but rather unusual feature for high-tier destroyers.
  
• Low detectability range by sea (5.9 km, with upgrade, skills, and camo used) and the American Smoke Generator. It takes more than two minutes for her smoke screens to disperse.
  
• The Engine Boost or Defensive AA Fire consumables are available in slot 3.
  
• Extra credits per battle and 100% more XP provided by the camouflage.