Hayashio

Azuma – Irregular “Big” Cruiser For a few months now, contributors in World of Warships had access to the first Japanese super-sized cruiser: Azuma. She had different versions throughout her test lifetime, she was even tier 10 at one point! Most of them were quite similar though, little armour, accurate guns. How does she size up to the competition? History Azuma was never built as she is in game. In fact, she never went past the design stage. Understandable, considering Japan’s direction in the war. What we see in game here is something referred to as the Design B-65 cruiser, a brainchild of the "Decisive Battle" doctrine that the IJN were so keen on. Some tests were conducted starting 1939, but nothing came of it due to the need of war supplies to build aircraft carriers. There was, however, a protected cruiser built in the 19th century with the same name. She participated in the Russo-Japanese war, and was later instated as a training ship in 1912. In 1941 she was hulked. In-game rundown Azuma is a sizable cruiser. She is not blessed with a lot of HP or armour though. Azuma has all-round 25mm, with the superstructure being 16mm. Her guns are well protected and will take a lot more punishment than the standard IJN cruiser mounts. Her hitpoints clock in at 58350, which is the worst for any “big” cruiser. Her main armament consists of 3 triple 310mm guns. Their 180s turn time is at 36 seconds (worst). These have good AP penetration and amazing HE. Their accuracy is second to none for their size. This is one of the defining features of the Azuma. The AA is the usual, lots of 25mm AA mounts for short range (1.9km) and 5.8km long range 10cm DP mounts. These also serve as secondaries. DPS is at close 519 range, 255 at long range, she has 8 bursts base, dealing 1470 in the splash zone. Azuma is a fast cruiser, going 34kns out of the box. Her rudder shift is expectedly slow: 13,9s, putting her in the middle of all big cruisers at her tier. Base detectability is 14.7km, which can be brought down to 11.9km, which is the best in her class. Air detection in this configuration is 8.7km Consumable Choice Azuma has access to standard cruiser DCP, either Defensive AA or Hydroacoustic (5km ships, 3,5km torpedoes), a Spotting Aircraft, and the Repair Party consumable. Azuma’s Repair Party has a shorter cooldown – 60s as opposed to 80s standard - and she receives an extra charge. This is to boost her survivability in combat due to her lacking armour. Captain Spec I recommend a full survivability spec on Azuma: Skill tier Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 First Pick Expert Loader Last Stand Superintendent Fire Prevention Second Pick Priority Target Basics of Survivability Concealment Expert Third Pick Preventative Maintenance Due to Azuma’s size and lack of armour, I recommend trying to keep this ship alive at all costs. You could of course trade in Last Stand for Expert Marksman or Adrenaline Rush, both a very viable. Superintendent is a must due to her improved Repair Party. Azuma’s combat performance doesn’t really require her to have and specialist skills, therefore it is logical to me to be spending most of these points in a fashion to try to negate her shortcomings. Gameplay and Analysis During my testing I had mixed results in the Azuma. She excels at being top tier (and perhaps meeting ships that actually don’t overmatch her armour), but then again, which ship doesn’t? The problem with a super-sized cruiser is always the fact that you will be a massive target in the eyes of the enemy. And while Kronshtadt and Alaska both have strong armour to counter this, Azuma can only attempt to dodge and stay at distance. Luckily this works well with her improved accuracy. Sadly, when a player comes to the point of having to push, Azuma lacks. She is missing a lot of dynamic that the other two have. It is extremely difficult to disengage with Azuma once you commit and you will be punished quite often for your mistakes. Even more than in a Zao - she feels a lot like a Zao, just with Ibuki armour. AP eats you alive at most angles, and you’ll be surprised how much damage cruisers can do to you where in other ships they’d have bounced. I’ve had games where a CV would sit on me for a match, completely negate my ability to do anything, where I’d find myself wondering why I played this over a Kronshtadt or an Alaska. She works amazing support, but not so much to make game changing plays. Pros: • Guns are accurate and punchy, • HE is strong • Repair Party vastly superior to counterparts Cons: • 25mm makes her very squishy • Big target • Lacks flexibility Conclusion Azuma Proves to be very different from all the other “Freemium Large Cruisers”. She’s not as accessible and easy to get a hang of. If you like a high risk-reward type of gameplay, Azuma is a good pick. I cannot recommend her though, as she way too situational. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy playing challenging ships, but Azuma demands and demands and demands, and when the time of need comes, she doesn’t deliver. Not by much, but just enough to turn me away from her. So if you are considering what you should get, Alaska or Azuma, don’t get the latter as a first pick. If you already have an Alaska, and enjoy the playstyle of Japanese cruisers, then she might be worth a consideration. Have a nice start to the week and see you on the Seas!

Russian Battleships on Live: Initial Impressions, Tips! Good Day Everyone! Thursday began the test cycle of the Russian Battleships (or Bly*ttleships as I like to call them) on the live server. Those of you that were fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to seen them in battle will surely have noticed this already. Here I want to give a quick run-down of my initial impressions of the ships, and what you need to look out for when fighting these vessels - as I know this causes a lot of frustration, not knowing what the stats of a certain ship are. In addition, I want to give my quick 2 cents on the changes made to the Azuma [dev blog here]. Gameplay mechanics of Russian Battleships: Russian Battleships have strong belt armour, reinforced deck (32 at mid-tier, up to 50mm at top tier). The biggest difference between existing lines is, however, the fact that their dispersion changes drastically at the 15km mark. Russian Battleships have increased accuracy below 15km, and have an accuracy debuff above 15km. This change makes them more effective while pushing, and discourages camping and sniping (finally!). In practice, the dispersion differences are really noticeable, especially at long ranges, and very close proximity. Another thing to note about RUBBs is the lack of torpedo protection. This is combined with the fact that they start of decently large, and become even larger and higher tiers. While most of them can be quite nimble up to tier 8, they will suffer from big turn circles and significant speed loss while manoeuvring. Finally, Russian Battleships get a limited consumable DCP. The cooldown time is reduced over the standard unlimited use DCP, but you have the risk of running out. Captain Build: I run a survivability build, with concealment and superintendent. the latter being very important for the repair party, as well as the DCP, since you actually have the threat of running out. Expert Marksman helps buff the gun's turn rate even more, this becomes useful at close ranges, where these ship's guns excel. Finally, I have expert loader, though this can be switched out for priority target if needs be. Tier 5: Pyotr Velikiy The Pyotr Velikiy is a very well armoured ship at tier 5. The deck is mostly 38mm except for a part in the mid section, she boats a 75mm fore-end armour belt, which becomes 125mm towards the waterline, the aft also receives a 125mm armour belt with the very rear of the ship having a slither of 19mm plating. Pyotr's main belt is 250mm thick and she has a turtleback. Her citadel sits quite high in the waterline. She's armed with 356mm guns in 4x2 turrets. She's fast for her tier, 29.5kn top speed. Due to the RUBB mechanics, her accuracy is better than her equal tier competitors. Bow in, she can deal very well with enemy vessels. Broadside she'll be susceptible for full penetrations from battleships, cruisers should aim for the upper part of the ship (25mm) or the front upper armour belt (75mm). If you get her rear you can easily citadel her through the 19mm of plating at the aft. Tier 6: Izmail Izmail, for all intents and purposes, is a worse armoured Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya. She has 25mm standard armour, no armoured deck, she does however boast and improved armoured belt - 300mm in the mid-section. Her citadel is protected with a turtleback. Her guns are, unlike the Oktyabr's, 356mm, but do have a longer reload and turn time. Her maximum speed is a vast improvement to the Gangut-class, with a top speed of 28.5kn. Izmail is very prone to HE damage, as with her predecessor, she has the weak-spot at the aft of the ship, wherein a BB with a calibre of 358mm or higher will be able to overmatch and go right through to the citadel. Izmail is the weakest of all the Russian Battleships, only compensating for her shortcomings in sheer firepower. Tier 7: Sinop Sinop offers a few advantages over her competitors of other nations. She offers her captain 406mm main batteries in 3 sets of 3. She does this, however, without compromising speed and armour. Her maximum speed clocks in at 29kn. She has a strong belt, 300mm thick gradually decreasing to 125mm towards the aft and bow, with some upper sections of the ship being also 100-125mm. But just like all the other Battleships at her tier, she's suffering from the 25mm-standard syndrome, with only some sections of the deck - underneath battery A and C - having 35mm of armour. While she does seem to suggest a turtleback, the steep angle of the plates makes it negligible. Sinop's drawbacks are her massive size, and extremely flat broadside, the lack of deck clutter makes her susceptible to plunging HE fire. Tier 8: Vladivostok As we move up the tiers the ships become increasingly long. A prime example of this oversize mania is the Vladivostok. It does beg the question whether someone, for a laugh, at the soviet design bureau snuck in the photo of a stretch limo. We digress. Vladivostok is armed with 3x3 406mm guns, has a top speed of 29kn. Her guns turn fast, 30 seconds for 180 degrees. The noteworthy fore-section of the ship - which is almost as long as the rest of the ship behind it - is armoured with 32mm overall, and has a small section of 200mm belt. Luckily for Vladivostok, her citadel, which is protected by 200-370mm of plating and a turtleback, doesn't extend into the fore-section. The aft, similar to the bow, is protected by 32mm overall, and the 200mm belt that extends into it from the mid-section. The biggest drawback of Vladivostok is that massive snout. It's a perfect target, and will offer very little in term of protection against anything above a destroyer - unless the destroyer in question is using torpedoes - that will be willing to fire at it. Tier 9: Sovietskiy Soyuz If Vladivostok is massive, the Soyuz ate Vladivostok. The very first thing that is noticable about Sov. Soyuz is the very pronounced belt. It varies in thickness, 220mm at the ship's cheeks, to 390-420mm around the front guns, finally settling at 375mm for the citadel mid-section. Is quite proud of her belt, as she doesn't have a lowered citadel, or turtleback. Her front and aft are 32mm, both the deck as well as the plating. The deck of the mid-section is 40mm. She boasts 3x3 406mm guns, 2 at the front, 1 at the back these provide good angles and a quick turn rate of slightly above 30 seconds. She goes 28kn and clocks in at 88100 HP As with her tier 8 sister, her drawbacks are the massive size, flat broadside, long snout, in addition to the not lowered citadel. Tier 10: Kreml Kreml, just like Sov. Soyuz, doesn't like you being at her side. She, like the tier 9 ship, doesn't have a lowered citadel, or a turtleback. Her 430mm armoured belt stops above her torpedo bulges, underneath that is a juicy 70mm citadel torpedo bulkhead. This drawback in armour is compensated for by having 108300 hitpoints, sizable 457mm guns in 3 sets 3, and a top speed of 29.5kn. As long as your enemies are kept to the front of the ship, Kreml does fine. With a slight angle, Kreml has the ability to get her rear guns on target, as well as allowing you to bait enemies into firing at her belt. She, like many of her predecessors, has quick turning turrets, which allows her to fight in a closer proximity to enemy vessels. This combines well with her accuracy buff at lower ranges. Kreml rewards a player for getting stuck in, but punishes them even more for making mistakes. Her size doesn't allow a lot in terms of room for error, somewhat softened by her hitpoint pool. What of Azuma? In a recent update, Azuma lost her cruiser accuracy characteristics. Unfortunately I must report that this did the ship no good. She definitely feels a lot less accurate. HOWEVER, I can still confirm that she's a lot more accurate than the other Big Cruisers at her tier. The addition of hydro was good, as the arguments for the removal were somewhat suspect to begin with. After playing a few matches in Azuma, I still have to say that she's lacking. As she stands, with the initial changes to the armour layout, she feels like the weakest link. The buff to the heal was nice, but it doesn't replace good armour. I cannot recommend her over something like Alaska, or Kronshtadt. The latter which you cannot acquire anymore. If she receives her original 30mm of armour, I believe that this could somewhat be alleviated. As with the other Freemiums, Azuma should reward a player when played well, and punish a player when played wrong. I don't see how she could "over-perform", especially with the likes of Musashi, Missouri, or Kronshtadt. So if you want a Japanese Big cruiser, hold on to your Free XP for now, if Azuma continues to head into this direction, I'd say just collect coal and hope that Yoshino turns out to be better. If you have any questions about the RUBBs or Azuma I'd be happy to answer them if I can. Have a nice start to the week and I'll see you guys on the seas!

I feel that this wouldn't be a problem if her combat ability would make up for it. Nerfs to both armour and accuracy are clear indications of the opposite.

Yes! She's in testing, but I'd like to have her be final before I review her.

UPDATE: I completely forgot to mention: All RUBBs from T8 onward have access to a Radar that only detects carriers and battleships. The range on it is 15km, and the action times start from 40 seconds going up in 10 second increments per tier (50 at t9, 60 at t10). The fact I forgot should be a clear indication of how useful it has been so far. On another note, ships to keep an eye on if you are considering keeping some of the vessels after the grind are definitely Pyotr Velikiy and Sinop, both proved to be suprisingly fun to play thusfar!

This is very true, I've tested some other builds too, namely a seconday build. Vigilance could definitely be an alternative. Most of the time, even if you see the torpedoes, you're not necessarily in a position to dodge them. That's also something to keep in mind. I run concealment for comfort (and because of habit), it's useful for early positioning, though that also depends on team composition, how aggressive enemy DDs are, etc.

Very good to hear!

Hey guys! Patch Day hit, the carrier rework hit, many players are out testing the flat-tops. Some are more happy about that than others, which is completely understandable. While the CVs are probably the most prominent part of today's patch, I'd like to address a different group of (WiP) ships. After a pretty long day of testing, I'd like to throw in some first impressions of some of the new (and not so new) premiums/freemiums that have just landed in our ports. Azuma I think the probably biggest change here is the accuracy. Azuma hits her targets a lot more, and a lot more in the places you want the shells to go. She's unique in that way. While her penetration doesn't feel as good as other super-cruisers, she definitely convinces with her amazing hit rate. The hitpoints and armour nerfs seem a little more concerning than they are in practice. In reality, only the middle portion of the ship was 30mm. So while she won't pull of Zao-like ricochets anymore, she's still completely fine in terms of survivability. The removal of the Hydro is disappointing, especially when you hear the reasoning behind it, but it doesn't make or break the ship. Still, I'd like for it to return, as it's just one of those quality of life things. Overall combat performance verdict after one day: I've consistently been doing over 150 000 damage in this ship, which I have not managed to do in any other ship so far. Very reliable guns, survivability on point. Fun to play but not overpowered. Exeter First test iteration I played. She's a tier 5 that is suffering from the RN Premium Cruiser Syndrome - she's a bit over-tuned at the moment. Exeter has a repair party, a smoke screen and hydro. Combine that with some pretty damn accurate guns and solid 8km torpedoes that would look good even at tier 8, she really isn't pulling any punches at her tier. While one may make the point that I shouldn't jump the gun after 2 matches, I feel that this ship needs to go through some major changes. Drop some consumables, perhaps? Overall combat performance verdict after one day: I've played 2 matches, one being 80 000 after an unlucky torpedo hit from a carrier in smoke - albeit after fighting off 2 tier 6 ships, sinking a full health battleship and crippling a cruiser - and the other one being a 120 000 round while being top tier. The only noticeable weakness seems to be the 13mm armour, which is only a detriment if you are being shot at by 15cm guns, or angled against BB shells. Definitely over-tuned and needs to be changed! Neustrashimyy Neustra got a bit of a buff in terms of torpedo reload, as well as damage output. It's a nice buff, but not really what the ship needed in my opinion. Doesn't really put a bigger emphasis on the torpedoes, but definitely makes them more usable. Overall combat performance verdict after one day: I don't really have much to say about Neustrashimmy, which is surprising considering it's a destroyer. I think if she was a little faster, she'd be a bit more interesting. She''s fairly balanced, just not something I would go out of my way to invest in. Yahagi Yahagi is one of those ships that every so often end up in testing, where it is pretty much clear which direction the "buff" department is heading, but we're just slowly moving towards it in increments. First of all, the torpedo changes leave me completely baffled, we lose on 7kns of speed and 4k damage for some 2km range. Yahagi now not only has trouble torpedoing from stealth, hostile vessels now have all the time in the world to dodge torpedoes, and in the event that they do get hit, it barely does anything. A shame really. The improved manoeuvrability is nice, but it doesn't negate the problem of the terrible torpedo angles that she has. She's slow to accelerate and quite inflexible still. Overall combat performance verdict after one day: Poor. Very poor. She still doesn't do what she's supposed to. The range increase is marginal, and the torpedo nerfs just make them less viable as a means of doing damage. In my opinion Yahagi needs one of the following: Significant increase to range of the torpedoes (13.5-15km range) and proper concealment (8-9km) Significant improvement to the reload (~5s) and gun handling, return to the 67kn for the torpedoes with proper damage output, as well as improved torpedo angles. A smoke screen and alteration to torpedo speed and damage. I see the concept WG is going for, but the way the ship is right now, she's simply not competitive. I see that this ship has a bumpy road ahead of her, and I really hope we won't go down the DWT route (again). So that's my first impression on these 4 surface vessels that I've been clocking some hours in! What do you guys think?

This would be a fair point if all other large cruisers DIDN'T have the radar consumable. Now it sounds a bit contradictory.

Welcome! Welcome! [concluded!] Today I bring to you an opportunity to have some fun and win something! I'd like to invite you forum people to join me in a 1-2 week tourney of V-25 Jousting! We'll be playing elimination rounds of 1v1 every Friday (starting with the 11/01/2019) from 7pm to 11pm CET. Line-up updates will be posted here, so make sure you check in! The whole thing will be streamed by me if you'd like to watch. You can find my twitch here. Line-ups: Sign-ups open until Friday 11th of January First place: OttoZander T8 Massachusetts Second Place: hawken2014 T6 Prinz Eitel Friedrich Third Place: Macrobam T6 T-61 How to enter: click here and enter your name in this google form. There are a maximum of 60 slots open. [out of 43 left] (optional) join the Discord for updates. that's it! you're signed up! Game rules: Each player will have to play to 2 points. one win is a point. Both players can pick a map from the map pool. If both players earn 1 point a third match will be held on Ocean. Fights will be held in the B-cap. Leaving the B cap will count as forfeiting the battle and thus yield the other player a point. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE is Two Brothers, wherein the match will be held in the channel. Leaving the channel is punished with a loss. Ship rules: V-25 only, any skill points and any consumables. You may not use your guns. You may not use the side launchers. You may only use your front launchers. Smoke screens and engine boost are allowed. Maps: Each player may BAN of the below maps for each of their round. After the bans have been announced, players may CHOOSE one of the below maps (except the banned ones, of course). These are to be announced in the chat before the matches. Ocean (reserved for Final round) ... Solomon Islands not a lot of movement space for north spawn, enter points for south. Archipelago 2 entry points from both sides, more open than Ring. Ring Tight and claustrophobic. Original jousting map. Strait Big and open, a bit like Ocean. New Dawn Island in the middle, cat and mouse. Two Brothers Barely enough space to turn, clumsy map with perhaps a lot of potential. That's about it, for questions, join the discord above your ask below! Good luck and have fun! Announcement Box sign-ups close at 16:00! Matches will begin at 19:00pm CET. Line-ups will be announced at 17:00 CET! please tune into the stream or join the discord for coordination!

UPDATES: So as things stand right now, we'll be conducting the final rounds today starting at 7:30:00 CET. I do apologize for the lack of communication, but last week's session was disrupted by the server outage, and the forums were down too. As things stand at the moment, we have 3 potential finalists. We still have a not concluded one game from last Friday. We'll be hopefully getting things along the way today. As always it will be broadcast on twitch.tv/strefs_eu. Due to coordination issues with the forum, I urge the participants in the future to either watch the stream or join the discord. First match: hawken2014 vs erikglas (round 2) Second match: 3 way free-for-all, first to 3 points wins. Notice for all that have entered and didn't show up: I understand that the event was a bit last notice, but I feel that a lot of contestants didn't fully read the rules, times and line-ups. Thus, for the time being, we proceeded to play with the players that did show up. As they say "the ball must keep rolling". Next time around we'll do longer deadlines. So far the reception has been positive, but this being a pretty "pilot"-y event, I have not yet scheduled when to hold the next one. It's pretty safe to say that there will be another one, though, so keep an eye on the competition section in the forums on occasion for updates!

I don't feel too comfortable with these changes either. How is a player going to learn if you baby him along the way? Everyone knows that a flood is dangerous at this stage. This is why people need to be careful with their damacon. While this change is allegedly supposed to cater to the new players, that need to get grips with the mechanics, all it does is mitigate the learning curve. I agree that floods could work similarly to fires, have them be stackable, if this means they do less damage, that's fine by me. But I really don't like the changes to the duration. If you have absolutely no discipline when it comes to using consumables, then naturally you should be punished for it.

Damn, these guys work fast with their naming, but I still got the jump on Bly*ttleships! Honestly though, I like the idea that cruisers can get a break for once!

Agreed. Interesting approach, though not completely new. Deep Water torpedoes work on the same principle. Now we have selective consumables as well. I can however see it being extremely frustrating to play against - as rare the usage will be - especially with the added range and the long active time.

All flags allowed and ideally port, yes. That being said, we've played the first set of rounds last Friday. I tried to contact players in-game, as well as on twitch, the discord and here.

ROSTER CHANGED

Line-up, First match starting at 7pm today antean __Pils__ Poi_Yuudachi_Yuu_Chan Aerroon SMS_Kyffhaeuser ussfreedom_TST OttoZander INVADE0R cherry2blost Trule_98 Macrobam Khelost7297 TRShrum hawken2014 Trutzy Adisor27 Cave_dweller AdmiralBFG Timon_n_Pumbaa wojtek4p4 Gozoe Gootchio_PL erikglas tdace mehrdad_iron Fogas21 Comodoro_Allande CMDR_Edward

you are in luck, I can allow one more player in!

sign-ups close at 16:00! Matches will begin at 19:00pm CET. Line-ups will be announced at 17:00 CET!

I have entered you now, but everyone else keep in mind that you just have to leave your username over here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyKRhJaVF2mbU6gmknt1wwRdjp988oc7hzsmkUdJK-Lq_oXA/viewform

Below I've written up all tasks and rewards for the Steel Monsters Campaign. I've also done some calculations/estimations, looking at whether the campaign is worth the price tag. Now obviously 50 euros is quite an amount to "fork over" for a set of missions, so what do you get, and is it worth it? Set 1 Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 Final Mission Earn 3000 free XP Earn 15000 XP (modifiers) Destroy 3 enemy battleships Cause 40000 damage to destroyers Cause 200000 damage to ships Earn 1 million credits Reward 5x New Year 2017 5x Type 3 New Year 5x Frosty Fir Tree 10x Sierra Mike 3x Mosaic 500 Steel, Big Santa Box Highest items worth: 600d for Mosaic 2,70€ for Big Santa Box Set 2 Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 Final Mission receive 1 million of potential damage Incapacitate or destroy 50 modules Destroy 4 cruisers Cause 250000 damage Hit citadels 10 times Earn 20000 XP (plus modifiers) Reward 5x New Year 2017 5x New Year Streamer 3x Asian Lantern 10x India Delta 7 Days of premium 500 Steel, Big Santa Box Highest items worth: 300-600d for 3x Asian Lantern (do not own any at the time of writing) 1250d for 7 Days of Premium 2,70€ for Big Santa Box Set 3 Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 Final Mission Earn 250 ribbons Earn 30k commander XP Earn 20 flooding or fire ribbons Hit citadels 15 times Cause 100000 damage to BBs Earn 1,5 million credits Reward 5x Type 3 New Year 10x November Foxtrot 5x New Year Streamer 7 Days of Premium 10x Victor Lima 750 Steel, Big Santa Box Highest items worth: 1250d for 7 Days of Premium 2,70€ for Big Santa Box Set 4 Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 Final Mission Earn 300 ribbons Earn 10 Capture or Defense ribbons Earn 50k Commander XP Cause 80000 damage to cruisers Cause 300000 damage Earn 30000 XP (plus modifiers) Reward 5x Frosty Fir tree 5x New Year Streamer 10x India Yankee 10x Mike Yankee Soxisix 7 Days of Premium 1000 Steel, Big Santa Box Highest items worth: 1250d for 7 Days of Premium 2,70€ for Big Santa Box Set 5 Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 Final Mission Earn 10 spotted ribbons Destroy or incapacitate 70 modules Earn 30 torpedo, flood and fire ribbons Destroy 4 destroyers Earn 15000 free XP Play 1 battle Reward 5x New Year Streamer 10x Juliet Charlie 7 Days of Premium 10x November Echo Setteseven 3 Spring Sky 1250 Steel, Big Santa Box Highest items worth: 325d for Spring Sky 1250d for 7 Days of Premium 4,50€ for Big Santa Box Summary: 4000 steel 28 days of premium in sets of 7, equating to 5000 dubloons here. In the premium shop, you can however buy 30 days for 2500, so we'll use that instead: 9,95€ 4x Big Santa boxes, 2,70€ each: 10,80€ 1x Big santa box: 4,50€ 2019d, closest is 2500 for another 9,95€ 80x Flags of different types, 50x medium tier grind camouflage roughly 16~€ at store prices. Lunar New Year camouflages, again, roughly: 1250-1500d~: 7,25€ Total: 58,45€ if we're generous. Several items cannot be purchased in the store however, so for these there can only be rough estimation. In addition, buying some of these items give you extra doubloons (481d), and premium time (2 days). So all in all, you are getting at least 49,99 out of this mission set. HOWEVER, as a long time player, our main interest will not be in these smaller items, like the medium stage grind camouflage, or the non-economy flags. Indeed the interesting items are the 3x3 Lunar Camouflages, which - come on WG, 3? - and the steel. 4000 of it. Now don't get me wrong, you are getting your money's worth out of it, but worth doesn't necessarily mean it is worth it for you. Again, this would be more of a complaint if you wouldn't get all of the above PLUS the steel. I'm sure the steel alone is worth quite a bit, but that still doesn't make it feel less like a lot of the mission items are filler material. As for the missions and task themselves, they seem pretty easy, and not too... frustrating. So is it worth it? Probably, but that depends on how you value the items above.

Jean Bart – a Tier 9 in the Premium Shop? Shop link: https://eu.wargaming.net/shop/wows/filter/?cd=3751753552 Already ongoing Discussion thread: I have had a lot of things to take care of as of lately, so I wasn’t able to do a lot of World of Warships content. As I’m finally able to come back to writing, I feel that I cannot leave this subject unaddressed. Now, to address the actual topic at hand today: Jean Bart’s Appearance in the Premium Shop. As a long time player of the game, I’ve been thinking, for some time, about how to deal with the current situation, what to think of this move. Firstly, I have to think back to things that have been said in the past. I do believe it was mentioned by someone that World of Warships would not have tier 8+ premium ships being sold on grounds of a prior patch-note regarding USS Missouri: [Maintenance] Version 0.5.15.1 Unlike other Premium ships, the Missouri cannot be purchased through the Premium Shop and may only be acquired by using Free EXP. Why you ask? USS Missouri is a Tier IX warship. Which means her owners will be facing one of the toughest battles in the game along with other battle-hardened veterans. Using this method, we can mitigate the risk of inexperienced players being easy prey for other players. [Clarification: This was entirely in regards to USS Missouri, which leads it's use to be questionable to begin with, as it is a completely different ship.] However I feel that this is more of a problem with the fact that we people have something like this statement presented to us, and now we’re being told the opposite. Suddenly it’s fine to have a Tier 9 premium in the shop, it’s okay to spend money to get into Tier 9. So really, is it the fact that we cannot take anything WG says as face value? It's important to keep in mind that we're talking isolated cases here, and we must not rush to see them as "company policy". The fact that Missouri was not released in the premium shop was a decision made for that particular ship, despite the fact that statements like "her owners will be facing one of the toughest battles in the game along with other battle-hardened veterans" and "mitigate the risk of inexperienced players being easy prey for other players" can be translated to other ships, like the Jean Bart. Leading me on to my second point. Secondly, We have the problem of player quality. Anyone can just go to the premium shop, drop 50-90 euros on a Premium ship and enter the game with not experience what-so-ever. Well, yes and no. Firstly, new player will not be able to join Random matches until he reaches at LEAST level 3. And even then, will he know how to access random battles? It’s been 3 years, but I still remember the first time I played world of warships, it took me a little time before realizing that I was playing against bots. Obviously you cannot trivialize the matter like that, not every new player is going to be as ignorant as I was, some will read the tips, some will familiarize themselves with the UI, and know exactly what to do when the time comes for them to be let loose on other players. But still. If we’re addressing player quality, we can exclude an amount of players that will not care, or not know how to enter the “real” World of Warships. As for the rest, well, you’ve seen it yourselves. This game has been out for 3 years, and while it’s nice to imagine that the T10 bracket is only comprised of high skill players, that’s both unrealistic, and probably not something most people would want. It is a fact that you don’t need to learn the basics to progress in this game. It makes grinding a whole lot easier, but there’s nothing that forces a player to learn the game unless he wants to. eventually, even the least skilled player can work his way up to tier 10, even if he is completely resistant to any attempts at teaching him how to play better. So no, the addition of a T9 premium will not be the nail in the coffin for World of Warships in that sense. Perhaps an eyesore to see on your team, not knowing whether the owner knows what he’s doing or not, but there are plentiful ships we already have that with. To summarize, the two major problems I see at the moment: The fact that WG has sent out contradictory statements. There is no defense for this, as this holds true however way you look at it (not ignoring the fact that this isn’t the only time, for better or for worse). So if it's an issue of trust - well in that case I can't do anything about that. I understand that players might be upset by the fact that WG changes their opinion on things they once seemed to feel so strongly about. And the second thing is, of course, the problematics of having a tier 9 premium ship to be let loose on the masses, to which I have hopefully given a little insight to why I don't consider it as big of a problem, realistically speaking. A lot has happened this year in my favourite boat game, many things I didn’t feel to happy about, but also a lot of welcomed changes. Jean Bart is an experiment, whether it’s a good or a bad experiment, only time will tell. I do not ask of you guys to not blow it out of proportions. That’s a silly request, because for one it demeans how strongly you feel about this subject, but also because I think all forms of feedback are important. WG will know if what they’ve put out was a mistake, or not, and what you guys will have to say has a huge impact on that, as you know. So go ahead, talk, talk, talk! Whether it’s reddit, in the comment section on YouTube videos, talking to people on streams, or here in the forums. Strefs out.

Definitely not a grind, plus you have a lot time to do it. These are the kind of missions that you can do passively while playing the game, there's a tier requirement, that's about it.