Update 0.5.11

Armor Viewer

We've added an option to view the "stock" armor layout of any ship on the tech tree whether you own it or not. Use detailed information about ship armor and construction to learn what to protect, and where to strike the enemy. Top configurations will only show if you have mounted the appropriate hull module on a ship you own. To enable the Armor Viewer, click the button over the ship's performance characteristics.

Because ships have complex construction, we also added an option to enable or disable the display of armor types:

• Superstructures
• Casemate
• Auxiliary rooms
• Plating
• Vital ship parts (citadel or [for destroyers] central hull)
• Main turrets

To make armor layouts easier to understand, we added an armor thickness color key.

For some ships, selected armor types may include additional internal armor. While it won't display in this update for technical reasons, rest assured it is there in the armor model:

• Internal citadel armor. Example: magazine armor for Kawachi and Wyoming.
• Internal ends armor. Example: Iowa steering engine armor, internal decks; bulkheads on Tirpitz, Bismarck, Iowa, North Carolina.
• Internal decks of casemates, hangars (for aircraft carriers) and auxiliary locations like part of the armored deck on Amagi.

We plan to display these separate details in future updates.

Tech Tree Refresher

• Added the following ships for purchase in-game: Smith, Saipan, Sims, and König Albert.
• Removed the following ships from purchase in-game: Blyskawica, Murmansk, and Diana.

Learn more here!

New Armor Models

In our ongoing attempts to improve the game, we are revising all armor models. Our aim is to bring these models, created at different stages of the game's development, up to the same standard of detail. In Update 0.5.11, we updated the armor for all aircraft carriers and Japanese battleships.

In some cases, this resulted in around 5% of a ship's HP redistributed to different parts of the ship. The improved level of detail of the inclined protective deck and ship's lines has also increased the chances of a ricochet for armor-piercing shells in some scenarios, particularly when hitting the ship on the bow or stern.

Armor interaction with high-explosive shells and bombs is not affected.

Epicenter

• We've added a new "Epicenter" mode to Random Battles to encourage more aggressive gameplay with close range encounters! Epicenter is a modified version of Domination. In this mode, three key areas are represented by concentric circles.

• Players who capture the largest key area are only capturing a single area at a time.
• Players who capture the middle key area are in fact capturing both this area and the largest key area.
• Players who capture the smallest key area are in fact capturing all three key areas at the same time.

• Notes:

• With this arrangement, the best tactic is to hold the smallest key area.
• You'll earn three points for the captured circle every four seconds for holding key areas (increased in comparison with "Domination" mode).
• This mode is available for battle on "Big Race" (Battle Tier 5), "Strait", "Trident" (Battle Tiers 6-8), and "Tears of the Desert" (Battle Tiers 9-10) maps.
• You're just as likely to enter a battle in this mode when playing on ships of the above battle tiers as you are to encounter other modes on these maps.
• This game mode will replace the prior "Zone" experimental game mode, which was only available on "Big Race".

Additional Cyclone Notifications and Information

One of the most frequent requests was to increase the predictability of the Cyclone. To ensure a clear indication of weather changes, we added the following indicators to the battle HUD:

• Look for a dynamic icon labeled "Cyclone" with a warning that the spotting range decreased.
• A warning and countdown timer will display five minutes before the Cyclone starts, and two minutes before it ends.

Maps

• Added a new map: "Archipelago." The location of this map is somewhere in the Far East islands in the northern part of the Pacific. This tranquil region was a safe harbor for scientific research, but now it has also become an arena of vicious naval battles. This map will be available in Domination and Standard Battle modes.
• "Land of Fire" map changed. Research showed this map is tricky for many players to navigate because of several islands. These changes are in the interests of making gameplay better for various ship types while keeping the map's "character:"

• Islands located in the left part of the map were moved to allow more (but not too much) cover for the center and the left flank.
• Islands located at the spawn positions of both teams were reworked and moved to make it easier for ships to proceed in any direction from their spawn points.
• Slightly increased distances between islands located on the right flank to make gameplay with destroyers more enjoyable, and to create a better experience for cruisers.
• The island in the central-right part of the map (located in the "upper" team’s part of the map) was rotated 180 degrees. This makes the gameplay balance fairer when both teams are fighting for control of key areas B and C (in Ranked Battles).
• Furthermore, some small islands were moved to make it easier for ships to maneuver.

• "Shatter" map changed. Results showed it's one of the hardest maps in the game. Many elements of this map require strong skills, good planning and knowing when to risk your ship. Again, this is about improving the map's gameplay while keeping what makes it unique:

• Enlarged the islands in the left part of the map to make them more useful as cover.
• Made the passages leading to the center of the map less "straightforward" to provide more headroom for maneuvering. The fairway was expanded to let players prepare for a retreat, but retains the element of risk near the map's center.
• More space added to the central key area to increase its popularity and encourage combat between destroyers for control of this area.
• Two giant islands in the center of the map were made smaller. It's easier to make a detour around them from the rear.
• Removed numerous islands in the right part of the map because their usefulness was questionable. We also kept the open water in this part of the map for the sake of battleship players.
• In Standard battle mode, bases are now placed diagonally across the map to decrease the probability of a destroyer capturing a base while safe from the opposing team's fire, due to taking cover behind a large island.
• Added two large islands with a passage between them to the right side of the map, in order to provide cover. With this addition, players now can use a risky but enticing opportunity to reach their opponents’ positions in the middle of battle.

• Fixed incorrect player spawn points on "Strait".
• Fixed various minor defects on: Ocean, Strait, Islands, Mountain Range, Okinawa, Solomon Islands, The Atlantic, Two Brothers, Neighbors, Loop, Estuary, Big Race, New Dawn, Tears of the Desert, Polar, Trident.

Other Changes

Balance Changes

• Reduced reload time of the Surveillance Radar consumable to make cruisers more effective against destroyers -- instead of 360 seconds (standard options) and 240 seconds (for premium), they're now 180 and 120 seconds, respectively.
• Increased American fighter ammo by 33%. This change makes their configurations stronger and shifts the carriers' struggle towards protecting their team.

Interface

• Optimized switching between the "Port," "Modules," "Tech Tree," and "Profile" tabs.
• New British ships added for testing by developers and supertesters: Royal Navy cruisers Black Swan, Weymouth, Caledon, Danae, Emerald, Leander, Fiji, Edinburgh, Neptune, Minotaur, and Belfast; as well as special warships ARP Takao and Leningrad. These ships are not available for purchase and research, but players may encounter them in battle. Note that the Smoke Screen consumable is available on Royal Navy cruisers as well as the ability to launch torpedoes individually.
• Improved UI items related to bases/key areas and their circles:

• Circle boundaries are now displayed on the minimap in the "battle loading" screen.
• For "Epicenter" mode only:

• Base capture progress indicated inside base/key area circles in the minimap.
• Circle boundaries, previously marked with beacon buoys, are now solid colors. For key areas, the color of the boundaries will depend on whether the area is neutral, controlled by your team, or controlled by the enemy.

Camouflage Changes

• The following ships get permanent camouflage with standard economic and battle performance bonuses: Taiho, Ibuki, Kagero, Essex, Baltimore, Udaloi, Friedrich der Große, Tashkent (alternative visuals), Prinz Eugen (event camouflage, alternative visuals).
• Removed the Gamescom 2016 camouflage from purchase.

Training

• Added new training screens: Upgrades, Commander, Signals, Camouflage, and Flags.
• In the "Modules" tab, a button was added that launches a training video.
• Added an option to the player account menu that redirects to the "Invite a Friend" page.

Audio

• Added an option for custom music. Enabled via the "Audio" tab of the Settings screen. Add MP3 files to the /res/userMusic folder in your World of Warships installation folder. To enable their playback, the game client should be restarted after adding them.
• New music track in battles.
• Added music tracks (cues) for transitions between various battle states, like the transition from the "looking for opponents" state to the "active encounter" state.
• Improved ambient sounds.
• Just for fun, we added a "Pirate" voice option. Yarrr!

Client

• Implemented mod support for the API (Application Programming Interface).
• Implemented log rotation for the python.log file. This helps keep any essential data that may be required when players contact Customer Service.

Minor Changes and Improvements

• Fixed bug where the in-game browser's cache was disabled.
• Tirpitz: armored deck thickness increased by 30mm to correct a historical inaccuracy.
• Königsberg, Furutaka, Kirov: Secondary Battery Modification 2 is now available in Upgrade Slot 2.
• Hashidate: corrected "visibility range from aircraft" parameter to ensure correct increase of characteristics between tiers.
• Admiral Hipper: fixed camera and ship geometry crossing.
• Mutsuki: 360 degrees of pivot for her forward guns has been added to all hulls.
• Kongo: Hull (А) removed due to low game play comfort. The new Hull (A) is equal to the old Hull (B) except for survivability and rudder deflection time. The overall cost of the ship development decreased by the price of the old Hull (B) research and compensation to affected players credited automatically.
• Scharnhorst: Added forward anchor model -- this change may conflict with historical accuracy, but it has been added by multiple requests of her owners.
• Gneisenau: For Hull (A), added two 20mm Flakvierling 30 AA guns. As a result, the average AA damage on 2km distance has increased by 12 points from 89 to 101.
• Corrected fire effects on US, Soviet, German, and Polish ships to remove their negative impact on aiming when the torpedo armament is selected
• Fixed battleship icon displayed incorrectly for allied battleships during the Introductory Mission.
• Fixed cursor incorrectly positioned when the game was run windowed.
• Fixed GUI focus lost in the login window after unlocking the computer.
• Fixed an incorrect hint displayed when the maximum allowable number of signals was mounted on a ship.
• Fixed a pop-up hint for the damage counter that was incorrectly positioned.
• Fixed ship-to-aircraft spotting distance that was miscalculated for an enemy aircraft detected by an allied unit (weather conditions were *incorrectly taken into account).
• Fixed issue that caused lower survivability of some of the secondary guns on German battleships.
• Fixed issue that caused lower armor penetration for 420mm HE shells on German battleships.
• Added dark background to the menu in the chat screen, before this it used to be transparent.
• Added "New" markers for upgrades and commanders.