Controls

Revision as of 09:15, 28 May 2020

Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

General

• O (letter) or ~: activate Priority AA sector (in battle)
• P: disable/enable secondary and AA guns (in battle)
• Print Screen: save a screenshot (as a JPG file) into the folder "screenshot" in your World of Warships folder
• N: ship horn (in battle or in port)
• press and hold F1: show help (in battle)
• press and hold Tab: show players, ships, kills, mission, divisions, quick command keys (in battle)
• press and hold Alt: alternative interface mode (in battle)
• press and hold Ctrl: show mouse cursor (in battle)
• press and hold H (or put cursor on ship symbol above compass): show ship/aircraft status (in battle while alive)
• press and hold B: show quick commands panel (in battle while alive, also on tactical map (smaller version)). Here:
  • put cursor on command and release B: send quick command and leave quick commands panel
  • put cursor on center and release B: leave quick commands panel
• +/-: make minimap bigger/smaller (in battle)
• M: open/close tactical map (in battle)
  • Esc or Turn mouse wheel up: close tactical map
  • Click on tactical map: enable autopilot and set first waypoint
  • Shift+Click on tactical map: add waypoint. There can be up to 5 waypoints.
  • Drag and drop waypoint on tactical map: move waypoint
  • A/D/Q/E: disable autopilot + usual effect
• Ctrl+Double click on square of minimap or tactical map: mark this square for allies (in battle while you are alive). In team chat it is written (with your name) "Attention to Square E7" (when E7 is the marked square). The marked square blinks 4 times on the minimap and on the tactical map. (When the tactical map is open, you do not have to press Ctrl because the mouse cursor is already shown.)
• Ctrl+Click on enemy ship: set priority target for secondary armament (in battle)
• Esc: open a menu (in battle or at port tab in port)
• Esc: go to port tab in port (when you are in port but not at the port tab)
• Esc: leave battle queue
• Alt+F4: open "Exit game?" dialog (in battle or in port)
• Esc: open "Exit game?" dialog (at the login screen)
• Ctrl+J: hide/show user interface (in battle)
• Alt+Enter: toggle between full screen and windowed mode

Battleship, Cruiser, and Destroyer Controls

• press number of shell type twice: immediately load that shell type on all guns (when another shell type is selected)
• Ctrl+X: Armament: locked on bearing. The armament (main guns or torpedo launchers) is locked onto a point relative to the ship.
• Shift+X: Armament: locked on sector. The armament (main guns or torpedo launchers) is locked onto a point on the map.
• X: unlock armament
• X: lock armament onto the enemy ship nearest to the screen center
• F: load all torpedo launchers that are not fully loaded (if your ship can launch torpedoes individually and torpedoes are selected)

Aircraft Carrier Controls

Keys of controlling Aircraft are the same as a ship. A and D controls the direction of Aircraft (i.e. left or right) The W key is used for boost. However, the engine will slowly become overheated, then you will have to wait until it cools down. The S Key allows you to slow your aircraft down, this will also heat up your engine.

• R key (Tiers VI+): Restores full energy of Boost.
• T Key (Tiers VI+): Calls fighters to the area.
• Y Key (Tiers VIII+ torpedo bombers): Repairs plane health.
• F Key: flies the squadron back to their ship.
• 1,2 and 3 keys: Double click to launch your squadrons.(1: Attack aircraft; 2: Torpedo bombers; 3: Dive bombers)

• Press the left mouse button to initiate attack mode.
  • Then press the left mouse button again to launch attack against the target.

Camera Controls

In Battle

• Shift: binocular view on/off (zoomed-in camera)
• turn mouse wheel: zoom in/out
• press and hold right mouse button (and move mouse): enable free look camera (and move camera)
• while your shells or torpedoes are underway:
  • Z: follow the most recently fired shell/torpedo
• while you are following a shell/torpedo:
  • C: follow next shell/torpedo
  • Z, Esc or Shift: bring camera back to ship
• Space: move camera to allied ship or aircraft squadron that is nearest to the screen center (when your ship has been destroyed)

In Port

• when the cursor is on the main part of the port screen:
  • press and hold left or middle mouse button and move mouse: move camera
  • press and hold right mouse button (and move mouse): hide user interface (and move camera)
  • turn mouse wheel: zoom in/out

Battle Chat

• Enter: go to chat. Here:
  • Tab: change chat channel (Team/All/Division)
  • Enter: send typed message to selected chat channel (if no message was typed: just leave chat)
  • Esc: leave chat without sending message
  • put mouse cursor on chat history and turn mouse wheel: scroll chat history
  • turn mouse wheel: usual effect (zooming), no effect on chat
  • Any mouse click works like usual (shooting etc.) but you also leave the chat without sending a message.
  • (Shift +) Left/Right: move text cursor to the left/right (and select text)
  • (Shift +) Up, Home or PageUp: move text cursor to the beginning of the line (and select text)
  • (Shift +) Down, End or PageDown: move text cursor to the end of the line (and select text)
  • Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+A, Del, Backspace: like in a text editor
  • Ins: toggle overwrite mode
  • Function keys for quick commands do not work here.

Quick Commands (Quick Messages)

They only work as long as you are alive in the battle. The message is written in the chat with your name. There is also a spoken message if Settings → Audio → Quick messages voiceover is enabled. To activate a quick command, you can also press and hold B to show the quick commands panel, then put the cursor on a command and release B. When you press and hold Tab, you see a list of the quick commands.

Target:

• Thing at screen center (reticle) in game world
  • When you want to target an area/base/zone, target its surface, its symbol above the surface, or a point below the symbol.
• Or, thing at mouse cursor on tactical map

Used chat channel:

• Team: The message is always sent to the team chat channel.
• Team / All: If the current chat channel is "Team" or "Division", the message is sent to the team chat channel. If it is "All", the message is sent to the "All" chat channel.

Replay Controls

The recording of battle replays is enabled by default. The last 30 are saved in the folder replays in your World of Warships folder. You can turn this off or change the settings with the ModStation or with the WoWs Replays Tool. You can up- and download replays at replayswows.com.

• Insert: faster
• Delete: slower
• Home: normal speed
• End: pause
• Click: toggle camera mode
• Tab, Esc, F1, +, -, Print Screen, turn mouse wheel, Ctrl+J, Alt, Alt+Enter, Alt+F4: like in battle
• Ctrl+Click on H symbol: like pressing H in battle
• You can change the minimap settings like in battle.
• An error occurs when you press Esc while the replay is paused. You will have to terminate the replay with Windows Task Manager.

A brief guide on the NA forum.

In-game Settings

The following describe the various settings available from within the game client to configure and customize the game. Access the Settings page by clicking the gears symbol in the upper left corner of the Port screen, or by hitting <Esc> from a battle screen. Click the Settings button. A notebook with the following three pages appears:

Video

Audio

Sounds in the game are generally grouped into Sound Effects (SFX), Ambient sounds (such as waves lapping), Voice communications, Engine noises, Gunfire, Music, etc. The following is a description of the controls for game sounds.^[1]

Volume Sliders

The main volume sliders are located on the left side of the Audio settings window:

• General volume level - manages all sound in the game;
• SFX volume - manages all sounds except music and voice messages. There are sounds that seem to be affected by this slider but not by any slider on the right side. Among them are:
  • ship horn
  • shell/torpedo/rocket/bomb hits (hitting a ship, land or the sea)
  • ship destruction
  • fire
  • flooding
  • collisions with ships or land
  • ship noises
  • aircraft is under AA fire
  • AA explosions
  • aircraft flies through black AA cloud
  • aircraft hit point indicator becomes yellow or red
  • aircraft is shot down and crashes

There are several sliders on the right side of the Audio settings window for "fine-tuning" the sound.

• Gunfire volume - in the range from 100% to 50% adjusts the volume of your ship's shots, and in the range from 50% to 0% adjusts the volume of all shots in the game. Among the sounds affected by this setting are:
  • Gunfire (including AA guns and secondary guns), torpedo launch/drop, rocket launch, bomb drop
  • Turret traverse, torpedo launcher traverse
  • Reloading of turret or torpedo launcher is finished
  • Following a shell/torpedo with the camera (Z or middle click)

• Engine sounds - in the range of 100% to 80% regulates the volume of "low-frequency knocking" in the engine sound. In the range of 80% to 0% adjusts the overall volume of the engines. Among the sounds affected by this setting are:
  • ship engines
  • aircraft engines
• Interface volume. Among the sounds affected by this setting are:
  • ship speed changes (W/S)
  • rudder changes with Q/E
  • switching shell type or armament (1/2/3)
  • zooming (shift, mouse wheel)
  • consumables
  • getting ribbons
  • area captured
  • attention to square
  • torpedo warning
  • land collision warning
  • when the ship is at the map border
  • P, M, +/-
  • typing in chat
  • music when battle is over
  • most clicks that have an effect
  • getting notifications in port
• Voice message volume. Among the sounds affected by this setting are:
  • quick messages/commands (activated with function keys or B)
  • automatic voice messages
• Ambient sound volume. Among the sounds affected by this setting are:
  • the sea
  • weather
  • sounds of the selected port

In order to adjust the sound perfectly, you should start with the General volume and SFX volume, and then adjust it in detail with the other sliders.

Please note: if the volume level is reduced to a minimum, it is possible that a category of sound will be muted because very quiet sounds are not a priority for the game sound system.

Wide dynamic range

We also advise you to pay attention to the parameter Wide dynamic range. This option is enabled for all players by default. Turning it off will minimize the difference in volume between the loudest and the quietest sounds in the game.

We recommend you disable this setting in the following:

• If you are using a laptop or other device with built-in speakers;
• If you don't think the sound in the game is balanced enough, even after "fine-tuning" the volume.

When disabling this option, be sure to set the sliders on the right side of the settings menu to maximum volume.

Sound Quality

The High or Ultra options provide better quality sound, but higher sound resolutions require a surprising amount of processing power. On older systems, especially if your video is lagging, try turning the quality to Low. Unless you're using good headphones, you may not notice the difference in sound.

Other controls

Quick messages voiceover: If enabled, quick messages/commands (activated with function keys or B) are spoken by a voice.

Loudness compensation basically boosts the bass and treble. It is most useful on devices with built-in speakers. Choose the option that sounds best to you.

Enable ship horns - With this option enabled, you can blow your ship's horn both in port and in battle by pressing the 'n' key. When disabled, you will not be able to hear others' horns, either.

Voiceover

Voice Chat

The section controls an in-game mechanism for player-to-player voice communication. Voice communication adds a whole new dimension to the game and is highly recommended. However, most players use 3rd party applications such as Discord or Teamspeak.

Controls

Mini-Map

The minimap in World of Warships is a tool that enables the player to quickly assess the situation around them, helps them to orientate themselves on the map and serves as a constant aid on which capture zones belong to which team at the moment. There are a variety of ways a player can change the way the minimap displays itself and what kind of information it should display. To access the settings for the minimap one has to simply click on the small gear icon above the map, highlighted on the picture to the right.

Clicking this icon will open a small window with all the minimap settings that can be changed. The settings that can be changed are:

• Detectability Range by Sea: This setting will add a ring around the player's ship on the minimap, which will reflect the circle a hostile ship has to be in in order to spot the ship. Note that it automatically updates throughout the match when the player fires the main guns, is set on fire or hiding within smoke.
• Detectability Range by Air: Similar to the previous setting, this will create a circle around the player's ship showcasing the area an enemy plane has to be in in order to spot the player. Note that this circle will also update itself automatically throughout the match.
• Secondary Battery Firing Range: Turning this setting on will generate a circle around the ship displaying the maximum firing range of the Secondary Batteries.
• AA Guns Maximum Firing Range: Like the previous setting, a circle will appear around the ship visualizing the maximum range of the player's AA Armament. Note that this circle will only reflect the maximum firing range, so the firing ranges of medium and short range AA weaponry will not be visible.
• Hydroacoustic Search Action Range: If the ship is capable of equipping the Hydroacoustic Search , a dotted circle will appear around the player's ship that will visualize the range within a hostile ship will be detected.
• Surveillance Radar Action Range: If the ship is capable of equipping the Surveillance Radar , a dotted circle will appear around the player's ship that will visualize the range within a hostile ship will be detected.
• Main Battery Firing Range: While displayed, this setting can not be turned off. The minimap will always show the maximum firing range of the main battery.
• Transparency of Circles: Sets the Transparency of all the circles on the minimap that can be turned on and off using the settings described above.
• Water Transparency: This setting allows the player to adjust how transparent the water on the minimap is.
• Range Numerical Values: Clicking this setting will add the ranges in km to the respective circles on the minimap.
• Ship Names: Ships whose icons are displayed on the minimap will have their respective name written beneath them
• Rotate Minimap: This setting will rotate the minimap prior to the start of the match so that the player's team will always be at the bottom side.

Notes

1. ↑ Taken from Update 0.8.8.1.