invicta2012

You certainly can do so. This is a good place to start: https://www.redcross.org.au But appealing via people's interests is often a good idea, too, as it means you can get global support and make it easier for people who might not be clear on where the right place to donate might be. My wife (who likes to run) is taking part in this today: https://reliefrun.com.au - and has just disappeared out of the door into a freezing cold Kent morning to do her 5k. So by the same token, if WG wanted to do something for this cause, I'd be happy to support it.

Welcome, your holiness!

They may have felt that Norfolk would be too close to Surrey - there are various sources which name them as being part of the same sub-class (although the design was actually quite different). Personally I'm still waiting for Australia, but I think the Commonwealth line may not be WG's priority at the moment.

It looks like Vanguard with a tower-block brutalist bridge. That is quite British, but I agree it looks way too tall for its beam. There are few annoyances with the high Tier cruisers (and the event) - Goliath is too tall, Albemarle has the wrong secondary turrets (should be the ones on Lightning or Jutland, which Drake has). And to be really finicky - the poster behind the container opening screen says that the Royal Navy is made in England (about half of it being made in Scotland) and - worst of all - on the RN Directive screen there is a cup of tea without milk. I don't know who that officer is supposed to be, but I suspect he is a spy for the Boche..... It's not, but clearly the ships look the way they do because of real-world considerations. It's why the KGV class had nearly double the designed range of a Bismarck... they had to keep slogging out to Ceylon, Singapore and Australia.

I've been playing Italian Cruisers for the last month, I'm used to it. But I also got Albemarle from the first Imperial package and it's a strong ship, and based on that I think Cheshire will fit in nicely. I know WG has been criticised recently but I think whoever is designing their cruisers is doing a good job - both recent lines feel like you want Heavy Cruisers to be.... they hit harder than Light Cruisers, or they can take more damage than Light Cruisers. Cheshire looks as if she does both quite well. And I'd love a Town-Class CL at Tier VII with that heal... Sheffield would be just the thing.

Yes. The Cheshire. Coming very soon (in 0.9.0)? She's basically Albemarle with 3 x 2 9.2 inch guns, rather than the 3 x 3 8 inch guns on Albemarle. Here's an intro:

Make sure you upgrade the hull and range finder (no cost). The funny thing about these early access ships is that they are flagged as Premium but that they have Tech Tree development, so they're stock when they drop. Albemarle is a much more comfortable player when upgraded.

The game does give you a pretty gentle intro to Hydro. Every German, British, French Cruiser has it from about Tier V upwards (Russian ones too, I think), as well as British and German destroyers. It's not like it was when Hydro was the magic button for a Konigsberg driver, surprising DDs left right and centre....

Is like child birth, comrade. It hurts a lot when you are doing it, but look what you get at the end! --- It turned out that people will pay £100 for a unique Tier X ship, especially when you give them the chance to pay in instalments (doubloons for boosters in December, doubloons for completion in January) and the means to earn further discounts along the way. What WG need to look at it is the utter pig's ear they made of explaining the event, the way the CCs were allowed to promote the idea as being substantially cheaper than it was, the statements of community managers when it all got a bit *angry*. There are lot of lessons for them to learn, and a lot of goodwill to restore. As you say, that's just as important as the £££ the event generated. I also think it's inevitable that we will get more events like this. If you read the Santa thread drop rates thread, it seems there are players who have every ship it is possible to get. Unless WG pumps out dozens of premium ships this year, those players are going to take that £50, 100, 200 they might have otherwise dropped on Santa crates and spend it on another game. So WG needs to do something to keep them spending. Looks as if this was it.

Tsk. Of course they're relevant, as the RU and MN lines demonstrate how older designs can be modernised to suit the game's needs and still be effective... if the Gangut design can be a Tier IV and V then any of the ships we were discussing could also be tweaked to suit several different Tiers. I have always wanted WG to move away from Tier progression and make the Jutland era ships part of an unlockable WW1 game mode - no carriers, no treaty cruisers or jiggery pokery of that kind, bigger maps.... it would extend the game's longevity no end.

I have also seen people doing it and not doing so well. As Hanse's guide said, it does rely on the rest of the team covering certain parts of the operation, especially with the last phase and the battleships. If the Baltimore appears, someone has to attract the Fuso's attention, otherwise it will get dragged to the right of the map, behind about five allied ships and completely out of DD range. Also, one more thing.... if you're playing a CV, take advantage of the fact that none of the convoying ships seem to have any AA. Fill yer boots time.

Although Col. Pete is ignoring the axial layout of all the Russian BBs up to the Sinop, and that the French BBs have no issue with axial layouts and midship turrets and 340mm guns until Tier VIII. In some respects this is a boon for relatively lightly armoured ships...the Lions, Princess Royal and Tiger have a Q, rather than X turret and it's something which would aid the ships' survivability as they would need to give much less broadside to get the majority of their armament on target (play Normandie to see how that works). As for the KM BCs... they're Tier IV on gun calibre. On tankability, they could easily be V, and if you own a Konig Albert you'll know what that armour and gun layout can do to "normal" Tier III and IV BBs. It's not pretty... :)

It's in the main WOWS folder...

Happens by default, old chap. Do you know where to find the files?

How Nelsonian is that?

It's a bit made up, but in the line of probabilities. The actual HMS Resistance was designed as a Revenge Class Battleship but cancelled along with Repulse and Renown - unlike them, she was not redesigned as a Battlecruiser. But the lineage is there. After WW1 the Royal Navy reconsidered BC design and came up with the G3 - an enormous vessel planned to carry a significant number of 16 inch guns... it was never built, but the gun design was re-used in Nelson and Rodney. So a hybrid of the WW1 BC hulls and G3 post-war guns does work is a possible RN BC build and would fit nicely into the Tier VII slot and be original, rather than trying to tweak the Hood design into something new, DOY style.

Sort of. It's more of a Dreadnought armour scheme, too, rather than All or Nothing, which would be different. Powerful and Splendid....

Given that WG seems to be into fast battleships with big guns it seems an RN BC line is inevitable. Go up through Invincible/Lion/Tiger/Repulse and then to Resistance (3x2 Nelson guns on Renown Hull) and then up though the I3/J3/G3/H3 designs, which are very much in the style of Georgia et al.

It needs two red stripes on the funnels for the full English Breakfast effect. It's of use to me, though. I will keep the ship (and play it) so the permacamo is a decent deal. I was lucky it came up first, though... wouldn't spend more than 2k doubloons if I wasn't guaranteed to get the value back in goods.

That's what I got. Nice to have the ship early and with a 2k discount off the permacamo. Even if it is the colour of a Fried Egg.

Useable. Some good results against DD HE spam and CLs with 6 inch guns (without IFHE), will bounce BB shells but not really made for bow tanking. Can't decide if the 8 inch guns feel anaemic or powerful... 9.2 inch ones on Cheshire might be something to behold against Tier VII and VIII Cruisers.

1k doubloons for Albemarle. That did the trick.

Well, Albemarle dropped out of the first bundle, and for 1k doubloons it was rude not to. I can report that the heal works nicely (got hit for 38K damage in one salvo from an Alsace - I thought French BBs couldn't hit anything? - and reprinted myself 16k health immediately afterwards).

Quite. Zoom and boom. Much more fun than an American light cruiser which has to parked behind an island for fear of exploding. They are awful. Their huge damage potential is balanced by their extreme squishiness (quite right too, because without that you get Smolensk), which is quite boring. Many people want that faster playstyle in a more durable ship, which is why we have lots of super DDs and BCs and few CLs in development. Indeed... But (as we've said) solo spotting is increasingly hazardous and not well rewarded by the game or measures of stats. So people get frustrated and do daft solo YOLO stuff, which doesn't work. Being aggressive in concert can fail badly but is preferable to diving into a cap alone.

Ditto. But that's OK. The ships will be free shortly, and the wallet remains closed until February (or whenever London is released).