Captains! Due to the installation of the Update, the server will be unavailable:

From: Thu. 30 May 07:00 CEST (UTC+2) 

Until: Thu. 30 May 10:00 CEST (UTC+2) 

Update size: 790 MB

Soviet battleships are coming into service! Update 0.8.4 ushers in the second round of the "Victory" competition; a new unique historical Commander, Nikolay Kuznetsov; Ranked Battles Season 12; a new map called "Greece", and much more!

THE "VICTORY" COMPETITION

The Soviet battleships emerge from early access to take up their rightful place in the Tech Tree, together with the friendly competition that’s currently in full swing! Choose to join one of the two teams each day you enter the game, then score points and earn Provision Tokens. Exchange these in the Armory for various in-game goods and rewards, including:

• Premium cruiser V Murmansk;
• "In the service of the Motherland" containers that have a chance to drop V Okhotnik, VI Molotov, VII Leningrad and VIII Lenin;
• and the new unique historical Commander, Nikolay Kuznetsov.

Choose your team and lead your fleet to victory!

End date and time: Tue. 25 Jun. 04:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Details of the competition will be available in a dedicated article set for release on May 30.

SOVIET BATTLESHIPS

Ships of the new branch are effective at close to medium ranges. Compared with same-type rivals, the new battleships are notable for:

• Good firing accuracy at medium range (at long range, however, the shell dispersion ellipse will be noticeably larger compared with other ships of the same type).
• Reliable armor, especially efficient against high-explosive shells, allows these ships to approach the enemy at a convenient combat range and lose less HP in the process.
• Distinctive settings for the Damage Control Party consumable: the ships have limited charges, but their cooldown time is remarkably shorter compared to battleships of other nations. 
• Strong armor at the ships' ends makes it possible to take less damage when closing in on a hostile ship at an acute angle.

More details on the ships’ histories are available in our historical article. The in-game specifics of the entire branch in general, as well as each ship in particular, are covered in a publication titled ”Soviet Battleship Branch Review”.

Ranked Battles: the Twelfth Season

It's time for a new season of Ranked Battles, and this one’s going to be played on Tier X ships!

Aircraft carriers return to the competitive mode, along with a number of rental ships which will allow you to join the fight even if you don't have any Tier X ships in your Port yet. The rewards for this season include camouflage patterns, signals, and doubloons, as well as Steel, which can be exchanged for unique ships in the Armory.

Key Rules of the Season

Dates

Starts: Thu. 30 May 08:00 CEST (UTC+2) 

Ends: Tue. 25 Jun. 07:30 CEST (UTC+2) 

• All players who have access to Ranked Battles in their Service Record can participate in the new season. Newcomers to World of Warships will need to play 200 battles in any game mode to unlock this possibility.
• Only Tier X ships are allowed.
• Battles are held in a 7 vs. 7 format, and team line-ups will be completely equivalent in terms of ship types.
• The new season has 18 ranks. For simplicity, they have been combined into Leagues: Second, First, and Premier.
• Those who are new to Ranked Battles will start the season from Rank 18. Participants of the eleventh Ranked Season will receive bonus stars: one for each rank reached.
• By winning battles, players earn the stars needed to climb the ranking ladder. At the majority of ranks, a defeat means a lost star.
• Ranks 18-15, and 12, are irrevocable. You cannot lose a star for a defeat at Ranks 18-17. Be the first on your team in terms of XP earned, and you get to keep your hard-earned star even for a lost game.
• A bonus star is granted for reaching a new rank at Ranks 18-11.
• Only stars obtained for the first time are counted towards progress for the Ranked Battles emblem.
• Flags given for reaching Leagues will be removed from players' accounts once the season ends.
• From now on, you’ll receive a commemorative achievement for reaching the first rank in the twelfth season and the seasons that follow. Additionally, this achievement will be credited to all players who earned the first rank in the eleventh season.
• All of those who reached Rank 15 will receive a commemorative flag which will remain in your collection.

Aircraft Carriers

In consideration of the many game balance changes, aircraft carriers are now ready to make their return to Ranked Battles. It's an important event, both for the updated ship type and the competitive game mode. In Update 0.8.4, interaction between aircraft carriers and other ship types has been improved:

• The altitude of bomb release has been increased for dive bombers carrying high-explosive payloads, and the reticule's ellipse has become narrower and longer. Bombs will now fall near the ellipse's edge more often than in its center. Active maneuvering will make it harder to hit a small target and destroyers will have more possibilities to oppose this aircraft type.
• Reticule aiming settings of bomber planes carrying high-explosive bombs have been changed in order to preserve the interaction between these aircraft and other ship types. Aiming will begin during the preparation stage for an attack and will happen quicker, while flight maneuvering will have less of an effect on it.

A group of ships presents the most difficult target for aircraft carriers, but a solitary ship is always desirable prey. Maps and game modes for the new season are selected with that peculiarity in mind, so that ships are able to provide support to each other while repelling air raids. Key areas are located in a way that makes it easier for both teams to control them without spreading out.
In the new season, each team has a hard limit of one aircraft carrier.

Game Maps and Modes

Battles will be held on the following maps: North, Sea of Fortune, Tears of the Desert, Shards, Riposte, and the new Greece map. There are two game modes:

• 
  
• Domination: several variants of key areas in the layout are provided, partially borrowed from Clan Battles.
• Epicenter: the center and rings are captured independently. The capture of outer rings will not be blocked if any of the inner rings are being captured by the enemy.

Ranked Rental Ships

Do you want to test your skills in the competitive mode, but don't have a Tier X ship? In the twelfth season you’ll be able to use rental ships in Ranked Battles.
Play a Random or Co-op battle on a Tier VIII ship or higher and receive a Ranked rental ship of the same type. You can also obtain Ranked rental ships by playing a Ranked Battle on a Tier X ship you already own.

List of rental ships for Ranked Battles:

• Destroyers  X [Shimakaze],  X [Gearing], and  X [Grozovoi]
• Cruisers  X [Moskva],  X [Zao], and  X [Hindenburg]
• Battleships  X [Montana],  X [Conqueror],  X [Yamato], and  X [Großer Kurfürst]

Rules for Ranked rental ships

• Ranked rental ships are given for temporary use and will be removed from accounts with the release of Update 0.8.5.
• The ships will be available for Ranked Battles only.
• A special timer near the ship’s image in the Port will indicate the expiration of the rental period.
• You can't install camouflage on these ships.
• You’ll be able to reassign Commanders to Ranked rental ships without any penalty.
• Ranked rental ships will deliver the same rewards as researchable ships.
• When these ships are removed, their Commanders will automatically be sent to the Reserve. Their upgrades, consumables, and signals will be moved to the Inventory.
• Alternative modules (i.e. torpedoes on Gearing) can be mounted for free.
• If a Commander is recruited for a Ranked rental ship separately, their specialization will be changed for the starting ship of the corresponding nation.
• If a Commander was recruited for a Ranked rental ship and then reassigned to another ship, their specialization will remain the same after the former is removed from the account.
• Ships are credited together with a Port slot, which will be written off with the ship once the rental period is over.

Bonus Stars for the Previous Season

According to established tradition, all of your achievements from the previous season will be accounted for, so you won't have to start from the scratch. Depending on the Rank at which you finished the previous season, you’ll be granted a certain number of bonus stars. The maximum possible number is 17 stars. If you earned the maximum number of stars in the previous season, you’ll start the new season at Rank 10. Rewards issued for the preceding ranks will be added to your account automatically.

CV'S Changes!!!

ST.

In order to estimate the impact of aircraft carriers' spotting and scouting capabilities in battles, we will hold a closed test session with special weather settings on the map "North".

Overall, four weather scenarios will be tested:

1. Aircraft can't detect ships with AA turned off. If AA is turned on, aircraft can detect ships as long as they are within firing range of their anti aircraft guns.

2. Aircraft can't detect ships with AA turned off during the first 10 minutes of the battle. If AA is turned on, aircraft can detect ships as long as they are within firing range of their anti aircraft guns.

3. Aircraft can't detect ships with AA turned off at the beginning of the battle. After that, over the course of 20 minutes, the air detectability range of ships gradually increases to the current basic value. If AA is turned on, aircraft can detect ships as long as they are within firing range of their anti aircraft guns.

4. Aircraft can't detect ships with AA turned off at the beginning of the battle. After that, over the course of 10 minutes, air detectability range of ships gradually increases to the current basic value. If AA is turned on, aircraft can detect ships as long as they are within firing range of their anti aircraft guns.

These test sessions will help us gather the required data to estimate extreme cases and determine steps for improvement.

Please note that these mechanics are built as a rough prototype and will only be used to collect stats.

Source: World of Warships Development Blog

World of Warships 0.8.4 PT – Dive bomber dispersion changes list

Differences between 0.8.3Live and 0.8.4PT.

Notes:

So, 75% of the bombs (except for GZ) will land between outer ellipse and inner ellipse.
No changes were made to RN bombers. yet they still give you enough time to dOdGe.
What was the reason for tweaking of GZ’s dispersion?
Maybe, because, theoretically it can deal ‘full-pen’ damage due to its caliber (276mm), which ignores AP limit threshold?
However, Enterprise with 254mm bomb is more doable and reliable. I don’t really understand why GZ draw their attention.