Misago

We get a preemptive warning that the new game mode is going to mess with the matchmaker. That bodes well. So submarines died too much, so WG had to introduce a mechanic to soak up depth charges. At this point, submarines really are just there as a nuisance to players. Tax both DCP and DC. Also, that reward system for the battleship minigame has to be an insult, right? You pay for the privilege of playing a game. IF you win, you have a CHANCE to get something impressive like... a t3 premium ship. Art team brings us the only positive news, it seems.

Well, Airship Escort, we had a good run. But now it seems WG is going to take you out behind the barn and put both barrels through your head. With convoy as unbalanced as it is, that probably means that there is no special game mode to look forward to anymore...

Would you just put the damn ships on sale for dubloons, please? This constant random bundle crap is just scummy. Only a technicality keeps this legal, I think. Making certain goods available for different prices to different people and all that.

Can add to this. I've had Narai bugged one time. Also four times Newport, every single time AI behaviour was bugged. Parts of the attacking waves stayed back etc. It's no longer just occasionally.

Wow, Wargaming quick as usual to fix massive gameplay issues, kudos. Better late than never, I suppose, but this is making things even more complicated. No one wants more RNG in the game mechanics. As others pointed out, this seems like it will have the least impact on some of the worst-to-deal-with carriers in the game, like all the russian ones, FDR, Supership tactical squadrons, when it should affect them the most.

Just end this already, WG. Give all the subs VLS and Harpoon missiles. Just let them sit on the map border, just click on ships somewhere on the map and destroy them. Except for carriers who have AA that can shoot the missiles down. This is just getting dumber and dumber.

Malta turned out to be one of those strokes of genius in regards to fun gameplay elements, eh?

Sweet home alabama playing in the background. That cross-region matchmaker thing seems somewhat suspicious... WoWs is not one of those games where there is no difference between having a ~50 ping and a ~250 ping. Has the player count gone down that much?

Well, during the stream they acknowledged that a lot of people hate subs, and said something along the lines of "what do you want us to do about it?" So maybe they haven't realized that they actually have the ability to remove stuff from their game if it doesn't work.

So for the whole patch 0.11.9 solo players can't play operations unless we play subs, which are pointless and boring, so effectively no operations for a whole patch?

Hm, maybe it's just from the phrasing that I misunderstood. The dev blog for 0.11.8 said And it sounded to me like from this update on, it would be random, rather than just in this update. Mind you, I wouldnt complain about knowing which weeks have Newport so I could avoid that...

I thought 0.11.8 would do away with operations of the week? Does this mean the operations changes on 0.11.8 test server are not going through and there will be no random operations for t6-8?

Yeah, agreed. Had I not gotten lucky with the first bundle, I would not have gotten the ship. It seems pretty mediocre, and it is neither good-looking nor historical.

Whelp, I guess I can't complain about a british t8 premium for 3.5 mil credits. Even if a british cruiser with 203mm guns, AP only and no heal feels kinda like a bad joke. That said, why can't we have Vivian as a captain, just that random dude? It would take no effort at all, and there is no downside to it. Is this just being jerks for fun? Allergy to any small amount of goodwill?

Surprised to see a buff for Marlborough, which is sorely needed. That said, no matter how "small tweaks" you want to go, a sigma buff of 0.05 won't really make much of a difference for the poor girl. Also, I hope the super carrier nerf is a joke. All of these things need much larger nerfs to be within reasonable levels, and you can take the bloody nakhimov and the rest of the russian CVs on that list too.

Fixed this for you. Seriously, when I saw the news post, I thought this was about what if the Dogger Bank Incident had come to blows. My disappointment is immeasurable.

Also the CVs please, thanks. This feels like one of these out-of-season april fool's jokes. CVs are already basically immune to fires and flooding, are the only class with working AA and the class that can rack up massive damage while sitting idle behind an island with no risks. How idiot-proof do you want to make these things? Will the next patch just make them automatically hide behind an island ? Patch after that, CVs removed from the playing area, they now just send squadrons from beyond the map border. Patch after THAT, CV player just clicks on ships on the minimap and they automatically get damage. At what point is someone at WG with just a hint, just a tiny, tiny dust mote of common sense finally in a position to say "okay, how about we remove CVs and sub from regular game modes, because clearly if they need so many special rules they don't fit the game we made"?

Fighting a losing battle there, mate.

Operations being playable on more tiers is a good idea, but you need to either remove or rework Newport. Or save yourself the trouble and just extend operation of the week. You can even keep your beloved waiting period/order pay system, because I am sure the whole "adjustment of rewards" is once more used to subtlely nerf rewards for the operations.

These sub changes... I really hope this is not serious. Why do Subs receive a "get out of fuckup free" card, pray tell?

"What compensates for the french cruiser's long reload times" Hah, very funny joke, WG

I really hope this is a troll post or a heavy amount of sarcasm.

That is a ridiculous explanation. Hydro is barely useful against subs at the best of times (great game design there btw). Please tell me what your team will say when you park a cruiser right over a submarine while the enemy team lights you up from all angles. In a regular game situation, this basically means dutch cruisers have no way to do anything about subs unless the sub has somehow managed to meander obliviously right into the midst of their team. As for "not every ship is meant to be a best counter for a certain class of ships", what IS their counter? Their historical counter (destroyers) doesn't work against them (subs are too fast to be caught easily, so closing in for depth charge drops just makes you a nice an easy target for the sub and all his friends), and all the other classes have to try and deal with them while already engaged with enemy surface ships. With enemy destroyers, you can determine possible positions where they could approach you, where a good player would minimise risk from detection and have an escape route to an island ready. You can plan for that. With the subs, they could basically show up anywhere, blast you in the face with a load of torps and just run off again. While trying to watch enemy lines of fire, destroyer positions/possible torpedoes, you have to stop what you are doing, pull up the ASW planes (if you even have them), watch for that tiny crest of water that tells you where the sub is approximately, try to guess where it is moving and then hope you guessed right when your depth charges land an eternity later. And because of the stupid homing mechanic, maneuvring like you do when you suspect a destroyer about is also completely pointless. At this point I am convinced they are just there to hassle players (and make WG more money of course).

So if they are dealing with a sub at depth, they should just suck it up? Just let the sub spam them with homing torps?

Curious to see what the way forward is with the Kansas branch. Idk of moving them towards closer ranges will work with the huge reload. At long range, you can compensate for that, and you have time to pick your targets. The closer you get, the higher the chance you need to react to something NOW and not in 40 seconds. That said, buffing their defensive capabilities as befitting their slow speed is a step in the right direction, though they could stand some more compared to the wargaming-typical russian magic weightless armor plating.