World of Warships News

The sailors of different navies have different line-crossing ceremonies. Together with the U.S. Naval Institute, we've prepared a selection of photos depicting crew rituals that have taken place when crossing the zero-degree latitude.



The line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite in various navies that commemorates a sailor's first crossing of the Equator. The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands and become a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale. Sailors who have already crossed the Equator are nicknamed Shellbacks, Trusty Shellbacks, Honorable Shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune. Those who have not crossed are nicknamed Pollywogs, or Slimy Pollywogs.


World cruise of the US Navy, 1907–09. Crossing the Equator. Sailors wading in water aboard a ship.


The "Royal Court" passes judgement during Shellback initiation as USS Rochester (CA-124) crossed the Equator.


Neptune party aboard destroyer tender USS Black Hawk (AD-9) when crossing the Equator en route to the Dutch East Indies.


A Marine Corps officer undergoes the electric treatment during "Shellback" initiation ceremonies for "Pollywogs" as a transport bearing Marines to the South Pacific crosses the Equator.


Murray Wiener, Asst. Physician, crosses the Equator, but not before submitting to having the "Southern Cross" clipped across his chest, a ducking and other "tortures"; Ship's baker, Jack Gambole, washes the victim's mouth under Dr. Alfred B. Geyer's guidance.


Crew members of USS Libra (AKA-12) perform a line-crossing ceremony.

All photos are courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive. Looking for more thrilling shots related to naval history? Check the photo archive online here.

Commanders!
As you may already know, today is one of the main holidays of the Lunar calendar—the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's the middle of the autumn season, crop harvesting is over, and the Moon is full and at its most beautiful. Congratulations to our players from the Asian region!
In honor of this occasion, we're holding a special giveaway!

1. Post a comment under this news post.
   
2. If your comment stays as being the last one for a period of 20 minutes—you win!

• Any comments that break the discussion rules may be deleted or excluded.
  
• Please do not post several comments in a row—it will not help you win. If a user makes several successive comments, only the timestamp of the earliest one will be counted.

• Tier VII cruiser Southern Dragon

We wish you good luck and following seas!

• 开海【摩西的奇迹】

Reward already awaits you in the game.

Thank you to everyone who took part, we really appreciate your support!

Captains!

In celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, two combat mission chains with different difficulty levels, as well as autumn bundles with VIII Kaga and VIII Prinz Eugen, are waiting for you.


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Full Moon[/h2] Starts: Tue. 21 Sep. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2) Ends: Mon. 11 Oct. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

To complete the combat mission chain, you need to win battles, destroy enemy ships, deal damage, and earn XP. In total, you can earn up to 4x Lunar Warrior camouflages, as well as 1x Spring Sky camouflage and 1x Asian Lantern camouflage. As the final reward, you'll receive the Moon Rabbit commemorative flag and Mooncake patch.

You can complete the chain of combat missions playing Tier V–X ships in Random, Ranked, and Co-op Battles, as well as in Convoy and Operations.

[h3][h3]Bonuses provided by the camouflages[/h3][/h3]
[h3]Lunar Warrior[/h3]

• −3% to your ship's detectability range by sea
  
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies at your ship
  
• +75% Commander XP per battle
  
• +100% XP per battle
  
• +50% Free XP per battle

[h3]Spring Sky[/h3]

• −3% to your ship's detectability range by sea
  
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies at your ship
  
• +200% XP per battle
  
• +777% Free XP per battle

[h3]Asian Lantern[/h3]

• −3% to your ship's detectability range by sea
  
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies at your ship
  
• +555% Commander XP per battle
  
• +200% XP per battle

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Dragon Boat[/h2] Starts: Tue. 21 Sep. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2) Ends: Mon. 11 Oct. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Click "Receive" to get the combat mission chain for expendable camouflages.



To complete the chain, you'll need to earn Credits and XP. Completing the chain will reward you with 2x camouflages of each of the following types: Dragon Boat, Trophy, and Lunar Warrior.

You can complete the chain of combat missions playing Tier V–X ships in Random, Ranked, and Co-op Battles, as well as in Convoy and Operations.

[h3][h3]Bonuses provided by the camouflages[/h3][/h3]
[h3]Trophy[/h3]

• −3% to your ship's detectability range by sea
  
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies at your ship
  
• +30% Credits per battle
  
• +50% Commander XP per battle
  
• +50% XP per battle

[h3]Dragon Boat[/h3]

• −3% to your ship's detectability range by sea
  
• +4% to the dispersion of shells fired by enemies at your ship
  
• +20% Credits per battle
  
• +100% XP per battle

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Autumn Bundles[/h2]
The Armory is offering special bundles that include VIII Kaga and VIII Prinz Eugen with Mid-Autumn Festival permanent camouflages, Commanders with 10 skill points, commemorative flags, and other items.
The bundles will be available for purchase until: Fri. 08 Oct. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

VIII Kaga is one of the largest aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Initially designed as a battleship, she was later rebuilt to fulfill her destiny as an aircraft carrier. Kaga's aircraft carry HE bombs, which are easier to use than AP bombs and are atypical for Japanese aircraft carriers. The large number of aircraft on her deck and in her squadrons allows frequent and effective air strikes to be executed, even when under intensive fire from enemy AA guns.

VIII Prinz Eugen is one of Germany's most famous heavy cruisers. The ship is armed with eight long-range, rapid-firing 203 mm guns that fire AP shells capable of dealing high damage. She has an advantage in close-quarters combat due to her Hydroacoustic Search consumable with an extended radius and action time, as well as her torpedo armament. The ship can launch six torpedoes from each side. The cruiser also has quite efficient AA defenses.

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Captains!

Defending or destroying maritime shipping routes has always been one of the most important tasks of any navy, because large quantities of military equipment, fuel, and other strategically important cargo are often transported across the seas. Intercepting merchant and cargo ships was the primary objective of numerous raiders, and warring parties had to maintain considerable naval forces to protect their trade routes.

Update 0.10.8 invites you to participate in a new temporary battle type inspired by this historical practice—Convoy—in which you'll need to either defend or destroy cargo ships.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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Rules[/h2] Starts: Thu. 23 Sep. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2) Ends: Thu. 07 Oct. 07:00 CEST (UTC+2)

[h3]Format[/h3]
7 vs. 7, playing Tier VIII ships.

[h3]Restrictions[/h3]
No more than one aircraft carrier and three battleships per team.

[h3]Maps[/h3]
The Atlantic, Islands of Ice, Warrior's Path, Loop, and Labyrinth.

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Two teams participate in each battle—one is tasked with escorting cargo ships, and the other is tasked with attacking them. Players are randomly distributed among the two teams. You can enter each battle either alone or as part of a Division.

The defending team needs to escort a convoy of four AI-controlled cargo ships as they sail along a defined route. The defending team wins if at least one of the convoy ships reaches the destination point or the entire enemy team is destroyed. The mission of the attacking team is to completely destroy either the convoy or its defenders.

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On average, it takes the convoy between 10 and 12 minutes to complete the route. The convoy's route is visible to both teams on the Minimap. Moreover, at the beginning of each battle, the escorting team will see the position of the attacking ships on the Minimap, while the attacking team will only see the position of the transport ships themselves.

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The convoy consists of four Liberty-class transport ships. They have little HP and weak armor, but they can deploy smoke screens, as well as change speed and maneuver to dodge enemy torpedoes.



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Achievements[/h2]
Your successes in Convoy will be rewarded with special themed achievements:

Due to the specifics of the battle type, you can only earn these achievements in Convoy.

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Combat Missions[/h2]
You will also have access to combat missions that can be completed only in Convoy. Win and earn Base XP to obtain Community Tokens. During the first week, you'll also have access to a special mission chain that can be completed in Convoy playing cruisers; in the second week, you'll get another mission chain that can be completed playing destroyers. These chains will earn you Credits and More Resources containers.

Detailed information about the mission completion criteria can be found in the game client.

Greetings, Captains!
This September marks the sixth anniversary of World of Warships! In honor of this event,
we’re holding a special and easy-to-enter giveaway with guaranteed prizes!

1. Use one of our World of Warships backgrounds (here or here) and avatar (here) to customize your Steam profile.
   
2. Drop a comment to help us identify you as an event participant.

• All participants are guaranteed to get a prize—1x "6 years of World of Warships" container

• Your profile must be public so we can check whether you have met the event requirements.
  
• The avatar and background must stay on your profile for at least a week.
  
• Any comments that break the discussion rules may be deleted or excluded.
  
• The comment thread will be locked on September 24. Prizes will be awarded on October 1.

We wish you good luck and following seas!