Update 0.11.9

Developer Bulletin Public Test News article
Waterline Update 8 Sep 2022 for Fall.

Update 0.11.9: Submarines

Captains! While the new update is being rolled out, the server will be down
from: Wed. Oct. 05 3:00 AM PT / Wed. Oct. 05 5:00 AM Central
until: Wed. Oct. 05 6:00 AM PT / Wed. Oct. 05 8:00 AM Central

Update 0.11.9 brings the following new features:

German and U.S. Submarines in Early Access ● Operation Wolfpack ● Hallowe'en ● Dockyard ● Ranked Battles ● Brawls ● The Adventure: Velos ● Interface Changes ● Cross-server matchmaker ● Armory ● Game Balance Changes ● Content additions and changes ● Other Changes

German and US Submarines in Early Access

Since the very moment we announced submarines and they went into testing, we've tried out various concepts in our pursuit of unique game play for this ship type. Again and again, we've tweaked their mechanics and the ways in which they interact with other ship types.

An important step for the development of submarines and the game in general was the introduction of submarines into Random Battles when subs hit the final stages of development. We focused our efforts on polishing the mechanics, fixing issues, and fine-tuning submarines based on stats and player feedback to bring them to their final state.

We're pleased to introduce submarines as a fully fledged new ship type in Update 0.11.9! The first researchable submarine branches include the U.S. and German U-boats you may already know well.

Early Access

German and U.S. Tier VI and VIII submarines will arrive in Early Access. They can be obtained from sequential bundles in the Armory in exchange for Submarine Tokens.

Two types of sequential bundles will be available. The first drops U.S. submarines, while the second drops German U-boats. Submarines can also be obtained from the new Submarines containers.

To earn Submarine Tokens, complete the Personal Challenges that await you in Update 0.11.9. You can also obtain them in exchange for Community Tokens and from random bundles for Doubloons.

Aside from Submarine Tokens, the random bundles will also be stocked with the Japanese and Soviet Premium submarines VIII I-56 and VIII S-189, as well as the Newfoundland and Johnston Atoll permanent camouflage patterns for VIII U-190 and VIII Salmon, respectively.

In Update 0.11.9, VIII I-56 and VIII S-189 will only be available in random bundles. These subs will appear in the Armory on a permanent basis when one of the first updates of 2023 lands.

During the first 2 weeks after Update 0.11.9 hits the Live Servers, you'll be able to reset Commander skills and demount upgrades free of charge.

For several updates after the release of Update 0.11.9, we don't plan to make any significant changes to the game play of submarines, their settings, and the ways in which they interact with other ship types, unless there is a critical need to do so. This will allow novice players to get acquainted with them in the game and give all players an opportunity to get to grips with the new ship type. In the meantime, we'll be able to collect the most up-to-date and accurate statistics. At the same time, small balance changes may still be made when necessary.

Got a large collection of Commanders and want to reset their skills all at once? After the release of Update 0.11.9 in your region, we'll release an article with details of how to get the subs in Early Access, as well as tips and tricks for playing and countering them. The article will also let you activate the option to reset skills of all your Commanders for free. Stay tuned for more news!

Personal Challenges

Personal Challenges will be available throughout Update 0.11.9. We've updated the interface and made the mission completion criteria more diverse.

This iteration of Personal Challenges will allow you to helm German and U.S. submarines into battle as well. You can expect other Early Access ships to be allowed in Personal Challenges in future iterations.

Rules

Each completed Personal Challenge mission will bring you 25 Submarine Tokens and 50 Coal.

The event is split into two rounds, each running for 2 weeks. The first and second rounds will task you with earning ribbons and Base XP, respectively.

Over the course of 2 weeks, you can earn a maximum of 1,250 Submarine Tokens—or 2,500 Submarine Tokens for the entire event.
After reaching the limit, each completed task will bring only 50 Coal.
The table resets with the start of each new round, and players can earn Tokens again.

Technical Updates

The release of submarines in Early Access will entail a number of technical changes.

For allied ships, we've returned the display of movement effects for sonar pings emitted by enemy submarines. This was previously disabled in Update 0.11.4. The effect was good at drawing the attention of both the targeted player and their allies to the attacking submarine. However, it wasn't useful enough as it was still hard to determine the origination point of an attack. Combined with the ping launch effect that appears on the water's surface right above the submarine, the sonar movement effect will now allow you to locate a submarine more accurately for an effective counterattack. Ping movement effects will not be visible for your allies.

A special indicator has been added to notify players when there is little diving capacity remaining.

A number of issues have been fixed, and the battle interface has been updated for submarines.
New ribbons for depth charges have been added. They indicate the effectiveness of dropping charges when countering a sub:

The "Direct hit" ribbon is awarded when a submarine takes full damage from a depth charge. The "Splash damage" ribbon is awarded when a submarine takes partial damage from a depth charge.

Submarines have received an updated set of sound effects for torpedo launching.
VI Cachalot has received visual effects for smoke coming from diesel engines when she is moving.

Adding Automatic ASW for Aircraft Carriers

All aircraft carriers of Tier VI and above will receive a variant of Depth Charge Airstrike that activates automatically. It will not serve as a tool for hunting submarines; it will only give aircraft carriers a means of defense against submarines that deploys even when the ship's Captain is busy controlling squadrons.

This variant of Depth Charge Airstrike will activate if a submarine or signs of her presence, such as oil stains on the water or the effect of using sonar, are detected within the armament's range. An airstrike will be carried out taking any necessary aiming lead into account. At the same time, the submarine will have an opportunity to evade if she effectively maneuvers in time.

Operation Wolfpack

Players can look forward to Operation Wolfpack, which is dedicated to the release of submarines. It will give you a chance to get to grips with the new ship type and its game play. The Operation is inspired by real World War II events that saw submarines hunting down convoys.

Players fight at the helms of Tier VI and VIII submarines in teams of seven.

The objective is to break through the lines of escorting warship groups and destroy the enemy convoy, which is carrying strategically important cargo, before it reaches its destination point and meets with reinforcements. During the Operation, the submarine squadron will be provided with air support.

Operation Wolfpack will be available as an Operation of the Week 2 weeks after the release of Update 0.11.9. For those playing as part of a Division, the Operation will be available throughout the entire update. We'll share all the details about the new Operation a bit later.

Hallowe'en Celebrations

This year, our Halloween celebrations involve Operations Saving Transylvania and Sunray in the Darkness, as well as the Twilight Battle temporary battle type with minor visual improvements.

Operations Saving Transylvania and Sunray in the Darkness will be available as Operations of the Week for 1 week each—in the first and second weeks of the update, respectively. Players in Divisions will be able to complete the Operations throughout the entirety of Update 0.11.9. Both Operations will be available at the Normal difficulty level.

During Update 0.11.9, standard Operations will only be selectable for players in Divisions. With the release of Update 0.11.10, Operations of the Week will be replaced with Random Operations. The full details about all Halloween activities will be revealed later.

Saving Transylvania

The main task is to escort a ship called Transylvania on her winding route to a safe place while protecting her from the attacks of catapults and Zikasa ships possessed by the Darkness along the way. At the end of the route, players will face the final boss—the menacing and extremely dangerous battleship Rasputin.

Sunray in the Darkness

This Operation is a "sequel" to Saving Transylvania. Your objective here is to fend off the Forces of Darkness breaking through the Portal and protect the security towers trying to seal this Portal. Remember that it's not only monsters that are infiltrating through the Portal. The Filth—a dense, sinister fog—is also leaking through. The Filth inflicts damage to any ships that find themselves within it and also decreases their viewing range and detectability. For some enemy ships, it restores their hit points and reduces the amount of damage they take.

Twilight Battle

In each Twilight Battle, two teams of seven players each clash against one another playing special ships on the map from Operation Sunray in the Darkness. The key objective is to destroy all enemy ships. At the same time, the map is gradually being taken over by the Filth, and the safe zone for ships is continuously shrinking. Ships outside the safe zone take varying amounts of damage, depending on the ship type.

The Twilight Battle will become available 2 weeks after Update 0.11.9 goes live.

Construction at the Dockyard Entering the Final Straight

Update 0.11.9 marks the end of the construction of American cruiser X [[Puerto Rico[[. Hurry to complete her and claim your rewards, which include VII Huron for completing the 25th shipbuilding phase!

Dockyard combat missions will be available for completion during the first 3 weeks of Update 0.11.9, while the Dockyard will remain available until the start of Update 0.11.10.

Ranked Battles

Update 0.11.9 sees the launch of Ranked Battles Season 9.

Starts: Wed. Oct. 05 10:00 AM PT / your local time: Wed. Oct. 05 12:00 PM Ends: Wed. Jan. 18 1:00 AM PT / your local time: Wed. Jan. 18 2:00 AM

Battles utilize a 6 vs. 6 format with ships of the following tiers:

Bronze League—Tier V
Silver League—Tiers VI–VII
Gold League—Tier X and superships

Submarines are excluded from this season.

You'll find detailed information about the new Ranked Battles season in a dedicated article.

Brawls

Update 0.11.9 features three Brawls with Tier VI ships. Round 1 utilizes a 1 vs. 1 format. Round 1

Starts: Mon. Oct. 10 9:00 AM PT / your local time: Mon. Oct. 10 11:00 AM Ends: Mon. Oct. 17 2:00 AM PT / your local time: Mon. Oct. 17 4:00 AM

Round 2 utilizes a 4 vs. 4 format. In addition to other ship types, you'll be able to plunge into the heat of battles at the helms of submarines. The third Brawl utilizes a 3 vs. 3 format.

You'll find detailed descriptions of the new Brawls in a [ dedicated article]. Stay tuned for more news!

The Adventure: Velos

A special themed event — Adventure — begins 2 weeks after Update 0.11.9 goes live. You'll be able to follow the duty tour of IX Velos, the first Greek ship in World of Warships. The reward will be a temporary resource — Greek Tokens. You can spend these Tokens in the Armory to purchase special sequential bundles. IX Velos is the most valuable prize, as well as her Greek Trireme themed permanent camouflage.

IX Velos is a ship of the prolific Fletcher destroyer class, and she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1959. She's armed with rapid-firing main battery guns and is capable of dealing significant damage per minute. However, her damage per salvo is rather low. The destroyer is also equipped with a quintuple-tube torpedo launcher that has a speedy reload. The ship has good concealment and, unlike her researchable European counterparts, has access to an enhanced Smoke Generator with a long smoke screen dispersion time. In addition to the Smoke Generator, the ship has access to the Engine Boost and Defensive AA Fire consumables in different slots.

Additional Greek Tokens can be purchased in the Armory for  Doubloons and  Community Tokens, as well as in the Premium Shop in exchange for special coupons for a period of 3 days after the Adventure starts.

While the event is active, IX Velos will be available from sequential bundles. You'll also be able to purchase her in the Armory and Premium Shop after you complete the Adventure. Early next year, the ship will become permanently available in the Armory in exchange for Doubloons.

Full details of the Adventure will be revealed in a dedicated article.

Interface Changes

We've reworked the interface of the Commander window, skill section, carousel, and ship parameters screen that is opened by pressing H.

It will be possible to view the available Commanders of all nations in the Reserve, regardless of whether you have ships of those nations or not.

The Combat Missions tab interface has been updated. If a mission offers you a choice between completion rewards, it will be possible to choose your preferred reward right on the post-battle statistics screen when completing the mission.

Testing the Cross-Server Matchmaker

We're commencing large-scale testing of the cross-server matchmaking technology that enables players from different regions to fight together in one battle. Implementing complex technology comes with a number of difficulties and risks. For this reason, we initially plan to deploy it for a period of only 2 weeks in the matchmaker for new players, having combined all new players from the NA, EU, and APAC servers.

The specific characteristics of the matchmaker for newcomers will allow us to quickly and efficiently test the new feature and resolve any potential technical issues. If the experiment is a success, we'll consider the possibility of implementing this technology into other tiers, modes, and battle types.

Armory

IX Vallejo will become available in the Armory when Update 0.11.9 goes live. The ship is a variant of the project that preceded the Worcester-class cruisers. Her main armament comprises ten rapid-firing 152 mm dual-purpose guns housed in five turrets. The guns have improved ballistics compared to researchable U.S. cruisers. The ship's shells have slower deceleration, which makes it easier to take a lead when firing over long ranges.

The ship has a good firing range for her caliber and is equipped with the Rapid Takeoff Spotter consumable. It differs from the regular Spotting Aircraft consumable by having a much shorter cooldown, but it also has a shorter action time.

IX Vallejo has good AA defenses and concealment, but weak armor. Her consumables are represented by Defensive AA Fire and Repair Party in different slots, as well as a choice between Rapid Takeoff Spotter and Fighter in one slot. At the same time, unlike other high-tier U.S. cruisers, she lacks access to Hydroacoustic Search and Surveillance Radar.

You can get IX Vallejo in exchange for  22,000 Steel.

Changes to the Naval Community Tab

The limit on the number of King of the Sea containers has been updated. You will now be able to purchase up to three containers again, even if you previously hit the limit.

Added the Bane of the Seas permanent camouflage for VIII North Carolina. It's available for  10,000 Community Tokens.

The "If deemed necessary, balance changes may be applied to the ship" footnote in the ship and bundle descriptions in the Armory and Premium Shop has been replaced with a link to a special page. On that page, you'll find a list of Premium and special ships to which balance changes can be applied. With the release of Update 0.12.0, the link will only be displayed at the bottom of the Armory and Premium Shop pages.

Game Balance Changes

A number of unique Commander talents, skills, and upgrades have been updated to make them more balanced and increase their versatility.

Commander Talents

Commander Changes

Nikolay Kuznetsov

Will for Victory:

Bonus action time after talent activation reduced from 30 to 15 s
HP percentage that’s restored per second increased from 0.25 to 0.35%

Emergency Reserve:

Bonus applied to number of consumable charges now also applies to squadron consumables

Yamamoto Isoroku

Emergency Reserve:

Bonus applied to number of consumable charges now also applies to squadron consumables

Andrew Cunningham

Lightning Fast:

Number of flooding instances required for this talent to activate increased from 2 to 4

Philippe Auboyneau

Rampant:

Added bonus that reduces squadron cooldown time by 5%

Fire and Fury:

Renamed to "Elemental Fury"
Added bonus that increases the chances of causing flooding by 10%

Skills

Ship Type Skill Changes

BB CR Focus Fire Training Added bonus that reduces squadron cooldown time by 5%

CR DD Swift Fish Added 5% bonus to the speed of airborne torpedoes

BB CR AA Defense and ASW Expert Added new activated effect.

While AA defenses are operating, ship consumables will reload faster:

+15% for battleships

+20% for cruisers

CV : Secondary Armament Expert Bonus added: +10% depth charge damage
SS Enlarged Propeller Shaft The skill will now increase the speed of a submarine while she is at periscope depth or on the surface.
SS Consumables Specialist

• Cost increased from 1 to 3 skill points
• Bonus applied to preparation and reload time of consumables increased from –5% to –15%

SS Helmsman

• Cost reduced from 2 skill points to 1 skill point

SS Consumables Enhancements

• Cost reduced from 3 to 2 skill points
• Bonus applied to consumable action time reduced from +10% to +5%

Upgrades

Added the new Air Groups Modification 3 upgrade. It can be mounted in slot 4 on VI Ise, VIII Tone, and IX Kearsarge.

Bonuses of the Air Groups Modification 3 upgrade

−5% to squadron preparation time

+5% to squadron speed

+15% to aircraft HP

Content Additions and Changes

The update brings the following items to the game:

The Orca permanent camouflage for VII Huron. This is the winning camouflage from a special contest held among our players. Thanks again to everyone who got involved in the contest.

• Celebration permanent camouflage for X Conqueror.

• "King of the Sea XIV — Gladiator" permanent camouflage for VIII Admiral Hipper.

• Bicol Express, Tom Yum, Satay, Pho, and "The Year We Roar Together" patches.

• "The Blessing HE Is Here" flag.

Details on how to obtain these in-game items will be announced later.

New Ships

★ Patrie and ★ Edgar are steaming towards their respective national ship branches! Both ships were previously on offer at the Lighthouse auction that took place in Update 0.11.6, but now you can obtain them by following the same rules as applied to other superships in the Tech Tree. Only players who own or have researched at least three Tier X ships will have access to Patrie and Edgar. To purchase a particular supership, you must also research the Tier X ship of the corresponding branch.

★ Patrie and ★ Edgar will be available for 57 000 000 and 47 500 000 Credits, respectively.

The following ships have been added for testing by developers, supertesters, and community contributors: VI Undine, VIII Sturdy, X Thrasher, X Monmouth, VII Renown '44, and VI Leipzig.

Other Changes and Improvements

• X Gibraltar and IV Langley's armor has been updated to utilize the new technology that we discussed in detail in the article about Update 0.10.9.
• Disabled the option to select Epicenter from all maps in the Training Room.
• Fixed incorrect display of the F1–F12 hot keys in the Equipment tab, as well as in battle in the list of quick commands when pressing the Tab key and on the quick command panel when pressing the B key.
• Fixed the geometry and textures of the following ships: X Worcester, II Sampson, VI Farragut, X Thunderer, VI Mutsu, IX Adriatico, VIII Atlântico, III Wickes, X Malta, VIII Kaga, VIII Kaga B, V Kongō, VII Myōkō', VIII Asashio, VIII Asashio B, VII Poltava, V Murmansk, II Storozhevoi', IV Izyaslav', V Iron Duke, II Weymouth, VII Belfast, VIII Belfast '43, V Marblehead, V Marblehead Lima, and V Omaha; as well as the geometry and textures of the F8F Bearcat aircraft.
• Fixed the geometry and textures of the following permanent camouflages: Eagles and Sharks for X Worcester, Crush ’n’ Destroy for X Khabarovsk and IX Tashkent, Lord of the Seekers for X Manfred von Richthofen and VIII August von Parseval, and King of Primitives for X République and VIII Richelieu.
• Changed the in-game browser navigation. Multiple browser windows will no longer open on top of each other.
• Fixed the names of the 150 mm secondary battery guns for battleships VI Bayern, VI Mackensen, and VIII Anhalt.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused ship characteristics in the Port not to change when mounting signals.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the game client to work incorrectly when mounting, selling, or demounting upgrades and changing modules.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused a post-battle reward to be displayed for a player who had received a warning for unsporting conduct in that battle.
• Fixed an issue that prevented flagship Ruan from stopping for repairs in Operation Hermes.
• Fixed an issue that caused messages about destroying ships in battle not to display ship tiers.
• Fixed an issue that caused the player’s carrier to appear behind the edge of the map in Operation "The Ultimate Frontier."
• Fixed an issue that caused Operation "The Ultimate Frontier" to be prematurely completed successfully and prevented players from having time to complete the fifth additional task.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the ESC button from being displayed when opening the Armory.
• Fixed an issue that caused the integral characteristics of ships to not be displayed on team screens while loading a battle when comparing two identical ships.
• Fixed an issue that caused the reload time of the Depth Charge Airstrike armament on board certain ships to be outside the standard 30-second range for all ships.
• Fixed an issue that caused Günther Lütjens’s Aerial Equipment Expert talent to activate on ships that do not carry air squadrons.
• Fixed an issue which caused only 10% of citadel damage taken by ★ Clausewitz to be restored (instead of 33%).
  

For a complete list, please refer to Player Support.

• Fixed an issue that caused the game's icon on the taskbar to turn red.
• Fixed issues that caused the client to crash when in the battle queue and when opening the in-game browser.
• Fixed an issue that caused bundles in the Armory to load incorrectly.
• Fixed the textures of the German Squadron and Premium German Squadron containers.
• Fixed an issue that caused the display of Halloween camouflages in Port and in battle to be incorrectly hidden when the relevant option was ticked.
• Fixed the incorrect sorting of Commanders in reserve.
• Fixed an issue that caused transport ships in Operation Narai to stop in the same area at the end of the route.
• Fixed an issue that caused the reticle to shift after switching to and from the main battery camera.
• Fixed an issue that caused torpedo launching sound effects to be played at an incorrect volume.
• Fixed the inconsistent volume of voice messages in battle.
• Fixed an issue which muted certain sounds on Crash Zone Alpha and Northern Waters maps.
• Fixed an issue that caused a reconnaissance air squadron in Operation Hermes to not reach the ships at the very beginning of the battle.

[transmission ends]