Verblonde

I'm not certain that it is over-priced; yeah, there is no chance I'd pay that much for the thing, but if you hypothesise that a player has no IJN BBs, and wants Yamato, it'll cost them about the same as the ARP Yamato to convert enough free xp to get the silver version (and you get the +200% mission with the ARP one, plus it has the halved repair costs). That assumes the usual 1:25 conversion rate.

I may be wrong, but I don't think that the root cause of the bulk of objections to ARP Yamato are that it's (essentially) a premium, but rather that it enables people to - in theory - go from zero experience to T10 by waving a credit card. I'm sure there are a few Richard-heads out there who are motivated by jealousy, but spheres to them - buy whatever you want to, provided it doesn't harm anyone else. Whilst I would never abuse anyone in game (and don't view some gentle mickey-taking as out of order), I might be quietly sniffy about someone with a few hundred games buying an ARP Yamato and playing it in PvP; however, people who know what they're doing are doing us all a service by buying the thing - one ARP Yamato makes a similar contribution to keeping the game running as two or three Tirpitzes do.

Very little justifies torrents of abuse, *but* people should be mindful that a multiplayer game like WOWS is not solely about any individual person; everyone has a responsibility to their team-mates to be a productive member of the collective. If a person is unable to accept that it's not only about them and their personal gratification, they should play a different (single player) game. Whilst not everyone can be a unicum, deliberate actions that make one significantly more of a liability to your team than you would be otherwise are largely indefensible, and I understand why many would become irate in the face of such actions. Buying a high tier premium (and playing it in PvP) when you entirely lack the skill-set to use it properly is just such an action. In my experience, the WOWS community isn't all that toxic; apart from the occasional idiot, you have to do something pretty egregious to get abused - I'm not a good player (48% WR overall), and I get very little abuse. I'm also not excessively thick skinned either, so it's not like I'm just ignoring things that might make the more delicate get upset...

People tend to assume the worst (a pessimist is never disappointed, after all) i.e. every ten game wazzock will rush out and buy an ARP Yamato; there is after all a well-documented tendency for new players to assume that they'll do better in a higher tier ship (it's more powerful, innit?). Presumably, what's happening in reality is that the majority of people buying the new ship are already highly committed to the game (it is a hundred quid-ish after all), so many of them have played enough to have a basic understanding of what playstyle/tactics the ship calls for. FWIW I haven't played a huge number of games since release, but my subjective impression is that the competent outweigh the hopeless at least two-to-one, based on the ARP Yamatos I've seen so far. Whilst I still think the thing should be gated behind having at least one silver T10, time will tell how wise (or otherwise) this thing turns out to be.

The key to any sneaky DD is a combination of understanding the way the vision system works, and the highest level of situational awareness you can manage (big mini-map is essential, and show as many range circles as you can process); if/when you break stealth, who can see you, from which angles, and for how long.

This is another reason to save your smoke; when a DD spots you unexpectedly, run away and put smoke (or hard cover, if available) between you and him; it can sometimes be wise not to fire guns at all - recall that if any opponents are within your gun range and won't be blocked by your smoke, you'll be visible until your gun bloom effect resets. BTW Feltcher has five guns (Kidd too); although the difference isn't enormous, it does illustrate that you might benefit from a bit more study of commonly encountered ships (Feltcher is popular; even though she's quite old in the game, she's still excellent).

As a general rule, the guns of the IJN torp line have good alpha, but flaky rof and traverse; this, combined with the fact that you're all about concealment, means that you should pick your spots before opening fire. That said, on Kagero, slightly more than a quarter of my kills are with guns (it's half with Yugumo!), so they absolutely should be used. The trick is to ideally do so only when you won't be seen by lots of opponents (firing breaks stealth) and when what you're firing at will be finished off by only a few rounds; you also need an exit strategy, to prevent anyone getting eyes on you before your stealth has reset and/or if your target survives (use smoke/terrain to break los). With regard to torps, there is often a temptation to fire from extreme range (particularly if there is radar around); with the IJN torp line, their excellent concealment allows you to fire from much closer too. This is why it's worth being cautious until radars and DDs are killed/identified/in the wrong place - if a Kagero, say, can launch on a BB from 6 km away, even though her torps are spotted from the moon, most BBs will struggle to get out of the way in time. Early in the game, long-range torp launches are often called for (although bear in mind, they telegraph which direction you are, in relation to the opposition) - you may even get some hits - but it's mid-later game when you can get closer where you do your real damage. Do recall though, that a lot of the IJN torps hit like the proverbial dump truck, so it can be the case that a single hit may well do the damage of two torps from a lesser torp nation. Aki and Kita are excellent, but they are a lot harder to do cataclysmic damage with, plus their reliance on guns makes them harder to play well (beyond the 'camp in smoke' approach); on the up-side, used properly, their AA makes them less vulnerable to typical CV players. Be cautious of camping in smoke though: besides making you blind (so giving up vision control, which may or may not matter, depending on circumstances), you're very vulnerable if you face an enemy that knows what they're doing e.g. lately, I've been having a lovely time specifically hunting smoke campers in Orkan/Smaland, but there are several hydro DDs that are very good at it too.

I absolutely don't have a good rating, but here's some input from a position of mediocrity: There are no absolute yes/no answers to this sort of question because so much depends on the specifics of ship types, remaining hp etc. In general though, my view is that if one side has a significant numerical advantage, they should push, but do so intelligently (this is a lot easier in division or coordinated clan play); as pointed out previously, a good defending player in the right ship can make the attackers' lives fairly unpleasant (and every attacker who hides behind an island because they got nervous makes the defenders' job easier). Just stopping is rarely a good idea; if you aren't doing something active, you basically surrender the initiative to the opposition, giving them a much better chance of being able to do to you whatever they want to.

With the IJN torp DDs, assuming you built them right, you have class-leading concealment (5.4 km to 5.6 km, T8-10); make use of this, and stay alive at almost all costs. The longer you stay alive, all things being equal, the greater your influence becomes; for example, in a Kagero (or premium sister), nothing out-spots you, so if you can last longer than the opposing radars you can wreak absolute havoc on the opposing fatties (which goes double if your side cleared away the opposition DDs too). The point being that there is nothing wrong with not trying to cap too early (the moment you start to cap, the enemy knows roughly where you are), and running away when the situation calls for it.

Nah; played correctly, DDs can be ludicrously influential. Having glanced at your profile you have a couple of issues, namely lack of experience (or 'low cunning' if you prefer) and this: If you'll permit a few suggestions: Play the other classes and nations more; it'll give you a practical understanding of what they can/can't do, what they're trying to do, and how best to deploy your own ship to take advantage of your allies' capabilities. Try and flatten your tier curve a bit, maybe via some other DD lines (as well as the other classes); whilst anything that faces T4 CVs has a rough ride (T-22 can give the buggers a nasty surprise though), the mid tiers can provide a useful learning experience where you aren't top tier (top tier is expected to pull their weight more). Keep a very close eye on your allies, and - if in doubt - assume they're idiots who won't shoot the right things (radars especially, but also opposing DDs and non-radar cruisers); I still mess up periodically due to over-estimating the competence of my team-mates in randoms. Learn what all the ships in your tier-spread can do, particularly with regards to countering you; who has radar, who can have radar but may or may not, particularly troublesome hydro and so on (this is another reason to not rush up the tiers, as going at a more sedate pace allows you to learn who gets what at an easier rate). Play with (reliable) division-mates, ideally on voice comms; life gets easier if you have at least one other player you can at least semi rely on for support. Try and ignore people being Richards in chat - unless you've done something especially silly, they usually won't have the first idea what they're talking about.

Whilst I wouldn't condone anything more unpleasant than some gentle ribbing/friendly advice, I can understand *some* of the ill humour that the ARP Yamato has generated (thinking mainly about Randoms; do whatever you want in Coop): WOWS is a team game and every player has, to a greater or lesser extent, a responsibility to their team-mates to be as effective as they can be. There is nothing wrong with an existing T10 player buying an ARP Yamato; they're already familiar with T10 play and what is required, so are likely to be similarly effective in the new ship as they would be in a regular one. They'll just have a better economic result at the end of the game (halved repair costs). Where the problem arises is with people who have jumped straight to ARP Yamato from a much lower tier; such people are harming others, by making their team weaker by up to one T10 BB, and that - IMO - is exceptionally poor form. I have no idea how many people fall into each category (besides which, there are shades of grey between the two: a T8 player who buys an ARP Yamato is probably much less of a problem than someone who hasn't reached the +2 MM bracket yet), but the possibility of the latter category is inevitably going to annoy people - antisocial selfishness (which is what it basically is) is rather likely to trigger less temperate behaviour in what is supposed to be a cooperative team environment.

Japan and US; these are the original two lines introduced to the game, so they are the most gimmick-free lines and are ideal for learning the basics of how to cruiser. I would also strongly suggest playing the other classes too as they open up to you too; besides adding variety, you'll tend to do better if you have a practical understanding of what the other classes can/can't do, and what their aims are.

Gameplay stats-wise, they're the same, I believe; the ARP one is also subject to the same potential nerfs as the silver version too, so they should track each other in future.

I always assumed that a lot of the T9s were - to me - frankly pants because that's the tier where WG make the most money if players want to free xp to the next tier; it makes financial sense to 'encourage' people to open their wallets to clear a problem ship. I prefer your explanation - there is less cynicism involved (it also accounts for the decent T9s that are running around out there)...

I'm not sure that this is the case: now, anyone - regardless of whether they are unburdened by competency or not - can play at any tier; that sounds a lot like consistency to me. I'm not wailing and gnashing my teeth, in a 'the sky is falling' sort of way, because you could already outright buy your way to T9 anyway, so the same to T10 doesn't change *that* much (it's not like incompetents at T10 is a new thing - I play T10s for a start - but rather a change in magnitude)...

Thread from NA: https://forum.worldofwarships.com/topic/130205-the-master-list-of-shipboard-easter-eggs/

I only realised when someone pointed it out on a thread on here a year or two ago; similarly, there's a salad on GC too: This one is between the B turret and the bridge. There are probably some others dotted around, but I don't know about them yet.

It's the standard permaflage on Perth - it's the rearward mast. Edit: the koala is still there with other cammo installed too.

You're probably fine with purple koalas:

It wouldn't surprise me if the numbers go a lot higher: for the 'more money than time' crowd, for less than a hundred UK pounds, you can save several weeks (for most) of grinding and instantly get one of the all-time naval icons. For me, it's not remotely worth the money, but for plenty of others it will be, I suspect...

Several of the questions don't really accurately reflect my views; for example: I'm not remotely shocked that WG did this, but I am disappointed. I do think the price is justified (it's similar to what free-xping the silver Yamato would cost at the normal conversion rate; slightly cheaper), but it is still ridiculous. I haven't bought it, but that's not to say I *never* will - who knows; I might feel the urge if it comes back again on some future occasion. My biggest problem with ARP Yamato is that there is no 'gate' to stop people buying her who have no business (yet) in T10 ships; whilst it's true that you can whale your way to a silver T10 if you wish, you still need to have played enough to accumulate the xp to convert in the first place i.e. someone with ten games, say, can't do it. The danger with ARP Yamato - IMO - is that it sets a precedent that, if WG repeat it, risks badly devaluing top tier games. I know there's no shortage of the more tuberous already, but I suggest there is much less motivation to grind to high tiers if (once you get there) you find it's full of the idiots that you hoped you'd left behind somewhere around entering +2 MM... I would be all in favour of ARP Yamato (how many meals for the server hamsters can each sale generate?), and her - probably inevitable - successors *if* you could only buy them if you'd already unlocked at least one silver T10 (better yet, one silver T10 BB, but that would probably reduce sales too much for WG's taste).

Was that the Pz IV/V?

Yup, although I wasn't around for the original sale, I was around for the furore when they put the Mutant on sale the first time - it wasn't 'Rubicon' levels of outrage, but close. I suspect some of the reaction was partly due to the fact that - until that point - WG had mostly kept to most of their assurances. These days, we're more "ho-hum, what's today's broken promise, I wonder...?".

Dev Blog (test ship tweaks): https://blog.worldofwarships.com/blog/96

As a matter of interest, do the stats give any indication of what proportion of these things get played, versus the more normal premiums? For example, Atago must be one of the most owned premiums in the game, so you would expect she'd have a higher battle count than the alternative versions; I'm curious if the 'weirdos' are more or less prevalent than their owned numbers might suggest. Personally, I tend to play vanilla Atago more because I'm an airhead and forget I have the weeb version too...