Update 0.6.8

Dunkirk Event

Play our new Dunkirk game event! The Dunkirk Event has two separate parts: The Operation Dynamo Scenario, our first historical Operation, and the Dunkirk Collection featuring 16 collectible items.

All details are available in a separate topic on the portal dedicated to this game event. The key features are:

• New game mechanics:
  • Minefields.
  • Evacuation zones and embarkation/disembarkation.
• Dunkirk Content:
  • New map for the Operation.
  • New ships for a limited time only -- command Tier V British destroyer HMS Anthony or Tier V French destroyer Cyclone!
  • New Port during event.
  • Various markers and indicators used in the Operation.
  • Secret Operation achievement.
  • 16 historical collectible items.
• Two types of Containers with special Signal Flags and elements of the collection:
  • • For purchase in the Premium Shop.
    • Earned for completing a chain of SSE missions.
    • This Container also offers a small chance to receive Premium British tier VI destroyer HMS Gallant.
  • Unique British Commander “Jack Dunkirk” -- you'll also get a Reserve Slot if no other Slots are available.
  • Commemorative Dunkirk flag for completing the collection.
  • Reward for completing the collection.
  • Special permanent camo for French battleship Dunkerque made in a similar way to the Bismarck camouflage added in Update 0.6.5.
  • New picture added to rotation in game-loading window.
  • "Dunkirk" logo displayed on the post-battle statistics screen.

Destroyers HMS Anthony, Cyclone and their Commanders are added to your account at the start of the Dunkirk event, and are removed when it ends. You can only use them in Operation Dynamo, and you'll need Account Level 8 or higher to participate.

User Interface

Quick Commands

Speed up your conversation with Quick Commands! Bring your allies' attention to enemy aircraft, request fire support or even a smoke cover -- it's done through a new radial panel featuring an extended list of commands.

Use the "B" key to issue a command, move your cursor over the appropriate text in the radial panel and release the key. Your command is then broadcast in battle chat and on the minimap. Exit the panel by moving the cursor to the center of QC panel and release the hotkey. Remember, you can still use F1 and other F number keys to send commands.

1. A fullscreen panel is available in the ship and binocular (main gun/torpedo tube camera) views.
2. A mini panel is available when making control operations with the cursor as well as in the Tactical Map and carrier views.

See the full list of Commands and the targets they apply to:

• F2 — Negative!
• F3 — Designating Target (Allied and enemy ships; Your own, allied, and enemy squadrons; Allied, enemy, and neutral bases/areas/shore installations)
• F4 — Affirmative!
• F5 — Requesting Support (Allied and enemy ships; Your own, allied, and enemy squadrons)
• F6 — Provide AA fire support!
• F7 — I need intelligence data!
• F8 — Set a smoke screen!
• F9 — Retreat now (Allied ship or without a target)
• F10 — Good luck everyone!
• F11 — That was a great battle (Allied ship or without a target)
• F12 — Thank you (Allied ship or without a target)
• Shift+F12 — %@#%!

Battle commands are located in the center, with the other, "Emotional" ones positioned along the edge of the panel. Some commands in the panel may change depending on the addressee/target.

The other option is based on the use of a mini panel containing battle commands only. To activate it, press "B." The sequence of actions needed to give a command is similar to described in the first scenario. To close the panel without issuing a command, move the cursor to its center (as shown in the first image) or outside the panel border (the panel contains battle commands only). After that, simply release the "B" key.

Relevance Zones for Quick Commands

Each battle command has a zone of relevance -- if the distance between you and the player giving a command is less than 20km, the command is considered relevant. You'll hear the command clearly, see it in-game, on the minimap and in chat. If the distance exceeds 20km, the command is given in a quieter voice and won't appear.

Anti-Spam and the QC Panel

This system prevents the abuse of Quick Commands in the chat.

If you give three or more commands within a five-second period, Quick Commands are blocked for the following durations:

• 5 seconds if it happens for the first time in one minute.
• 15 seconds if it happens twice in a minute.
• 30 seconds if it happens more than twice a minute.

If you attempt to give a Quick Commands when after you're blocked, you will see the message "You're using Quick Commands too often."

Supercontainers

Feedback led us to reduce the chances of getting special upgrades in Supercontainers and completely removed the five and 10-million Credit rewards, since Credits didn't turn out to be as valuable as rewards, and the "More Credits" Containers were better used.

At the same time, we added new ships, camo and flags (special and regular) to Supercontainers.

New Additions:

• Premium Ships:
  • De Grasse, Duca d'Aosta, Mutsu, Alabama
• 50x sets of the following camouflage:
  • Gamescom, WoWS Birthday, Restless Fire, Halloween 2016, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day (Lá Fhéile Pádraig)
• 25x, 50x and 100x sets of other Signal Flags:
  • Wyvern, Red Dragon, Ouroboros, Hydra
• Added 100x sets of economic and combat Signal Flags:
  • Zulu
  • Equal Speed Charlie London
  • Zulu Hotel
  • India Delta
  • India Yankee
  • Juliet Charlie
  • November Foxtrot
  • Sierra Mike
  • November Echo Setteseven
  • Victor Lima
  • India X-Ray

Special Upgrades

In response to numerous requests of our players, we made a number of changes to special upgrades to increase the flexibility of your play style. Previously, these upgrades were in slots which made them compete with more popular standard upgrades. Now, almost all special upgrades will appear in a different slot, and the "Smoke Generator Modification 1" upgrade will now have a smaller reduction in smoke uptime. The list of ships this upgrade is available on hasn't changed. As of Update 0.6.8, all special upgrades with changed slots are demounted and moved to your Inventory.

• "Surveillance Radar Modification 1" moved to Upgrade Slot 4.
• "Hydroacoustic Search Modification 1" moved to Upgrade Slot 4.
• "Defensive Fire Modification 1 was moved to Upgrade Slot 4.
• "Damage Control Party Modification 1" moved to Upgrade Slot 1.
• "Spotting Aircraft Modification 1" moved to Upgrade Slot 1.
• "Smoke Generator Modification 1": smoke uptime penalty reduced from -12% to -5%.

Balance Adjustments

Japanese Destroyers

• The Torpedo Reload Booster consumable is a unique and efficient instrument. To encourage aggressive gameplay and to improve the competitiveness of the consumable against the Smoke Generator, Kagero and Yūgumo’s reload times of torpedo tubes when this consumable is active were reduced from 30 to 8 seconds.
• Akizuki and Shiratsuyu: Reloading time of torpedo tubes when consumable activated remains 5 seconds, but we reduced the consumable's reload time:
  • Torpedo Reload Booster I: from 360 seconds to 240 seconds.
  • Torpedo Reload Booster II: from 240 seconds to 160 seconds.
• Shiratsuyu had an excellent mix of smoke, good concealment and the ability to launch 16 torpedoes in a short stretch of time, which made the ship excessively strong at Tier VII. We moved the Torpedo Reload Booster to the same slot as the Smoke Generator to address this. If you have the Reload Booster II consumable mounted when the Update arrives, it is placed in your Inventory.
• Shimakaze: Rate of fire modified to equal Yūgumo -- reloading time of the main guns reduced from 6 to 5.7s

Soviet Destroyers

• Ognevoi, Tashkent and Grozovoi weren't as efficient as other same-tier ships, so we improved the following:
  • Ognevoi: reduced the torpedo reloading time from 115 to 92s for Hull B, and reduced the torpedo reloading time from 69 to 55s for Hull A.
  • Tashkent: HP for Hull B from 19,600 to 21,800.
  • Grozovoi: Reduced standard sea detectability range from 8.3 to 7.6km, reloading time of the main guns from 4.2 seconds to 4 seconds.
• Khabarovsk was the strongest Tier X destroyer, and had no firepower weaknesses. In order to even her up with same-tier ships, she'll only carry only the ET-56 torpedoes with reduced concealment. With the Update, 53-39 Mod.3 torpedoes are no longer available for mounting and we're downgrading the ET-46 torpedoes to their stock condition -- they'll be the only torpedoes available on this ship, and their detectability range reduces from 1.1 to 0.6km. If by you have the ship by Update 0.6.8, and have researched but not yet purchased (or have already sold) the ET-46 torpedoes, you'll get 30,000 Free XP. If you've researched and purchased them, you'll get 30,000 Free XP and 2,200,000 Credits.

Other Ships

• Reduced thickness of plating in the bow and stern areas of Tier VIII-X carriers (except Enterprise) to increase effectiveness of destroyer gunfire against carriers.
• To make the gameplay more enjoyable and rewarding, we improved the performance of:
  • Indianapolis: the operation distance of the Surveillance Radar was increased from 8.5 to 9.9km, standard sea detectability range reduced from 13.9 to 12.7km.
  • Orlan: the main guns reloading time reduced from 5.0 to 4.5 seconds.
  • Bougainville: the main guns reloading time reduced from 6.0 to 4.8 seconds.
  • Z-46: Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 is now available in Upgrade Slot 3.

Secondary Batteries

• We noticed incorrect data was used for German 88 and 105mm secondary guns. In particular, before Update 0.6.8 they had a higher chance of setting a target on fire compared to the 128mm secondary guns. This update we readjusted the amount of explosive agent in shells:
  • For German 105mm shells, the probability of setting fires was changed from 9% to 5% while the damage dealt was reduced from 1,300 to 1,200.
  • For German 88mm shells, the probability of setting fire was changed from 7% to 4% while the damage dealt was reduced from 1,100 to 1,000.
• We increased secondary battery range on tier VII+ ships heavily reliant on those guns to compensate after fixing this issue.
  • Scharnhorst: from 5 to 5.3km.
  • Gneisenau: from 5 to 5.3km.
  • Tirpitz: from 7 to 7.5km.
  • Bismarck: from 7 to 7.5km.
  • Friedrich der Große: from 7 to 7.6km.
  • Großer Kurfürst: from 7 to 7.7km.
  • Großer Kurfürst, Gneisenau (Hull В): Reloading time of the 128mm secondary battery guns reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds.
• In addition, we readjusted the firing range of secondary battery guns for certain Tier VIII and Tier X cruisers to equalize the firing range of same-caliber secondary guns mounted on different types of ships. We increased the secondary battery firing range for:
  • Henri IV: from 4.5 to 6km.
  • Hindenburg: from 4.5 to 6km.
  • Zao: from 4.5 to 6km.
  • Des Moines: from 5 to 6km.
  • Admiral Hipper: from 4.5 to 5km.
  • Prinz Eugen: from 4.5 to 5km.
  • New Orleans: from 4.5 to 5km.
  • Chapayev: from 4.5 to 5km.
• Fiji had an excessively long secondary range for her tier, so we reduced the range of her secondary guns from 5 to 4.5 km.

Maps and Locations

• Enhanced the textures, added more natural objects, and reconfigured the lighting on the "Solomon Islands" and "Big Race" maps. These changes won’t affect gameplay.
• Action area on "The Atlantic" map reduced from 48x48 to 42x42km. After analyzing player movement patterns and combat tactics, we concluded the space around the edges of certain maps wasn't used effectively, and could sometimes extend battles unnecessarily. We decided to reduce the size of these maps by removing equal strips of space along their edges. "The Atlantic" was the first map we adjusted -- We'll keep an eye on how this change affects gameplay, and decide whether to reduce other maps in size.

Ship Appearance Changes

Improved appearance of Tier VII ships with better rendering of thin elements like rigging. This correction won't affect performance: Ranger, Hiryu, Leberecht Maass, Minsk, Mahan, Shiratsuyu, Akatsuki, Fiji, Shchors, Yorck, Pensacola, Myoko, Gneisenau, Colorado, Nagato.

Changes to Ongoing Operations

• According to players’ feedback and analysis of the first operations, we removed some logical inaccuracies, increased the survivability of allied ships controlled by artificial intelligence and made the gameplay in Operations more comfortable.
• Operation Killer Whale:
  • Improved orientation and simplified completion of secondary tasks:
    • The first and second waves of backup forces now designated with markers.
    • Retreat zones were reduced in size.
    • Left retreat zone was moved lower.
  • Fixed logical inconsistencies:
    • Reinforcement ships were moved closer to the corner to prevent their spawning in the way of players' retreat.
    • Retreat markers were taken to a place with better visibility.
    • Once spawned, reinforcements will proceed at full speed.
• Defense of Naval Station Newport
  • To enhance the survivability of allied ships:
    • The time for the appearance of the final reinforcement was increased by two and a half minutes.
    • After completing repair of the Potter batteries, repair ships will proceed to locations behind the islands where those batteries are located.
    • Repair ships will now restore 100 points per minute instead of the previous 50.
    • The tier of battleships and certain cruisers in the third and main enemy attacks was lowered.
    • Certain enemy battleships and cruisers were downgraded from top to stock configurations.
    • Some insignificant chat messages were removed from the game.
    • The flank spawn points for battleships were moved closer to the center.
  • Rather than heading for the port, the allied aircraft carrier Romeo (to be defended) will now proceed to the island with a ***Potter battery nearest to the carrier's spawn point. It will stop behind the island close to the repair ship.
    • If a repair ship close to the carrier is damaged, the carrier will proceed to the second island with a repair ship if that ship is still "alive".
    • The aircraft carrier Romeo will spawn at the flank where the third or second enemy attacks occurred and will proceed with an initial speed of 20 knots.
    • During the second attack, enemy battleships spawn with an initial speed of 20 knots.
    • Sometimes, when allied reinforcements appeared, battles would often turn into a dogfight involving AI-controlled ships with little need for the players to get involved. We shifted the time the reinforcements appear, and slightly lowered the complexity of the operation.
    • The final allied reinforcement (all ships) will spawn with an initial speed of 20 knots.
    • Removed the last two low-tier enemy cruisers which appear at the end of a battle.
    • Enemy aircraft carrier Koku-Bokan will now try to attack the base in scenarios when only two ships remain operational during the main attack (previously, it would remain deep in the enemy's rear area for the entire duration of the battle).
  • Fixed logical inconsistencies:
    • Battleships will now spawn a bit closer to the center.
    • During the second attack, enemy battleships spawn with an initial speed of 20 knots.
    • The final allied reinforcement (all ships) spawn with an initial speed of 20 knots.
    • Some insignificant chat messages were removed from the game.

Other Improvements and Fixes

• Reworked ambient lighting for effects to make them better match lighting conditions on the map.
• Colorado: Added permanent camo providing Tier VII bonuses.
• High School Fleet ships: Added extra bonuses to their permanent camo: -5% to the cost of the ship's post-battle service; +100% to Free XP.
• Ernst Gaede: increased the number of hit points for Hull B from 15,700 to 16,500.
• Fixed bug causing occasional game crashes.
• Fixed failure of some Operations and voice chat messages.
• Fixed explosion sound for certain onshore installations in Operations.
• Enhanced mechanism for replay of pilot voice messages: Now, selected squadron won't voice its number while unselected squadrons will
• Added icon to indicate destruction by a mine.
• Added icon indicating enemy ship blocking key area displayed on base and key area capture progress bar.
• For surveys open in the in-game browser, "Esc" launches a pop-up window requesting confirmation to close the survey window.
• Correct data now be displayed for permanent camo when Auto-Resupply feature enabled.
• Added support for a language bar in text fields of in-game browser.
• Added ability to view website news from within the game -- Look for a "News" button on the account menu with a counter of unread news items.
• Corrected display of third gun on Des Moines silhouette .
• Myogi: fixed the bug whereby the maximum firing range exceeded the ship's spotting range by reducing the standard firing range for Hulls A and B to 15km while increasing the spotting range for Hull B to 19.87km.
• When you reach a new Rank, the word 'Issued' remain on the reward.
• Updated the contour of Albany’s silhouette above the dynamic icon.
• Added translations to system messages notifying players assigned TK status.
• Added text in Control Settings for extra mouse buttons.
• Fixed display of four-digit values summary statistics just above chart showing the number of battles per tier.
• Corrected display of consumable amount available shown in a hint when hovering over the "Superintendent" Skill.
• Fixed ability to set squadron waypoint outside the map boundaries when switching to the squadron camera view (Default "Z" ).
• Fixed Operations bug making "Radio Location" Skill point straight the North in cases when no enemy ship was present -- now, the indicator won't display if no enemies are present.
• Removed bug with the word "Null" displayed in a pop-up tip when retraining Commanders.
• Occasional bug left players who exited Co-op or Random Battles unable to access the Operation of the Week, before forcing them back previously selected mode despite their selection of the Operation of the Week.
• Port music now plays correctly on Clan tab.
• Now players with no Arpeggio ships can select Arpeggio voiceovers.
• Fixed frozen camera bug occurring while playing in a Division, where the camera froze when directed to the ship's exterior with the right mouse button pressed.

New Content

• Developers, supertesters and other special contributors get to test the premium German Tier VIII carrier Graf Zeppelin.

Camouflage

Stars and Stripes permanent camouflage for USS Texas now available for in-game purchase!

• Standard battle performance bonuses. 30% to XP earned in battle.

Commemorative Flags

• "Dunkirk Event"
• Graf Zeppelin
• Crest of Gallantry
• US Coast Guard
• Battle of Vella Gulf