Which lines have the best grind, how bad is the grind, and how much P2W is there?

[James1]

Hi,

 

Longtime WoT player considering getting into WoWS.

 

So, disappointed there's no UK branch, but anyway... I have a few questions about the game:

1. How much pay for advantage is there? I can see better fire extinguishers and avoiding stock grinds. Presumably crew skill upgrades. Anything else?

2. My biggest concern: How bad is the grind in terms of grinding out modules? Are many ships rubbish stock (as in WoT) or are they just slightly less powerful than a fully upgraded ship?

3. Are there any lines with a pleasant grind, or lines to avoid?

 

Thanks

[Azalgor]

This game has no pay to win, its either you have brains and skills to make some taktical decisions and accurate leading on target or not, oh, also if you know how to use WASD  hack, you are automatically better than pretty much half ot this games player base. Reading the map, and capturing objectives - puts you above some 70% of the player base.

IJN cruisers are in my opinion the most pleasant line to play if you get the gist of it, if you do, and get to the top, you will be rewarded with the easyest to handle tier X ship in game - Zao.

Only thing that paying does (premium acc and doublons to convert exp), is making the grind on silver and exp a bit faster, and past tier 8 some repairs and maintanance issues might occure, so its worth leaving a ship up to tier 6 for silver grinding as the reps are very low. Getting premium consumabels helps a bunch, but they arent that important if you can stay out of harms way while they are on CD, but having a lower cooldown is sertainly better, +1 extra charge.

[von_chom]

1) same like in wot, there is no P2W whatsoever (few premium ships/tanks are exceptions), better fire extinguisher is not P2W, since you can buy it for credits also. But WoWs has no gold ammo, which is awesome.

2) pretty much the same i would say, sometimes its manageable, sometimes not

3) depends on your gameplay preferences, all lines are good, all have like 1-2 ships which you will hate like in WoT, but there are few more or less flawless lines like US DD, IJN CA

 

UK CA comming this year 

[Anzio_Anzai]

 how much P2W is there?

 

Ranked games. Saipan.

 

This cv is already "not easy" to counter in random games and there you go - wg changed ranked games from tier 8 to tier 7 max.

 

99.

[EsaTuunanen]

1. How much pay for advantage is there? I can see better fire extinguishers and avoiding stock grinds. Presumably crew skill upgrades. Anything else?

Active crew skills work similarly in all ships and regardless do you have standard account or have premium account.

Difference from standard tech tree ships to premium ships is that in premium ships you don't need captain retraining for skills to be active.

 

If you can get decent credits to afford them paying 22k credits for at least some premium consumables can be very helpfull.

Like shorter repair/damage control cool down in battleships. (USN BBs are slow)

If you learn to survive enough in destroyer faster smoke machine battery swap and one extra smoke can also help lot to do more during the match.

Gunboat destroyers can use smoke offensively to fire at enemies detected by team mates without getting detected. (especially nice against citadel showing cruisers)

 

 

but there are few more or less flawless lines like US DD

While having fast turning machine guns and now stealth torping capability Tier 7 Mahan might be speed bump.

It has bad stealth and is slower than some cruisers so requires more planning ahead and situational awareness to survive.

[_Flyto_]

Hi,

 

Longtime WoT player considering getting into WoWS.

 

So, disappointed there's no UK branch, but anyway... I have a few questions about the game:

1. How much pay for advantage is there? I can see better fire extinguishers and avoiding stock grinds. Presumably crew skill upgrades. Anything else?

2. My biggest concern: How bad is the grind in terms of grinding out modules? Are many ships rubbish stock (as in WoT) or are they just slightly less powerful than a fully upgraded ship?

3. Are there any lines with a pleasant grind, or lines to avoid?

 

Thanks

 

I don't have the WoT perspective, but here's my take:

 

1. In theory there's very little PtW, but at high tiers you're certainly at a small disadvantage. As others have pointed out, the premium consumables can be bought for credits instead of gold, but premium consumables + camo can easily kill your profit margin at T8 or 9 if you're not a really good player. But unless you're an ultra-competetive player this probably isn't going to bother you; it's the kind of thing that might make a difference once in every 10 or 20 games. It is unavoidable, in practical terms, to avoid paying sometimes for quality-of-life stuff such as retraining or reskilling captains, buying port slots, etc - but this is not expensive, most of those things cost £1 or less and you don't do them often.

 

You can't play only T9/10 without premium time, unless you're a really exceptional player - losses cost too much money. But if you don't want to pay, you can play lower tiers as well to make the cash for the high tiers.

 

Premium ships: At Tier 8 many feel that the premium ships are the best ships available in that tier, but it's only a small difference, and it doesn't apply at other tiers (maybe the Saipan too, at T7). Most premiums are ships that play a little differently, with quirks, powerful in experienced hands but a slight disadvantage for an average player.

 

2. Some of the stock hulls are really rubbish. This is typically worst on the battleships, because historically many of them had long lives from the 1910s or 20s through to the end of WW2, meaning that the hull upgrades sometimes cover 30 years of refits and technology upgrades - and the ships are balanced for their tiers on their top configs. Up until about T6-7, the grind isn't too long or painful. You can use free XP to skip the worst ones. I've reached T8 without ever spending money on this, although one certainly could.

With the exception of a few battleships, being in a stock ship is not as much of a disadvantage as I've heard it is in WoT. (the same applies to being a lower tier, too)

 

3. If you're enjoying the play, it isn't (usually) a grind :-) I haven't noticed any lines being massively better or worse than others (although certain ships obviously are...), so the best advice is probably "see what you enjoy" :-) Everything's pretty quick up to T4-5 anyway, so try them out.

[_Flyto_]

there are few more or less flawless lines like US DD, IJN CA

 

 

Two words: Stock Mogami :-P

[James1]

Thanks for the help.

 

If the stock grinds are as bad as WoT then that is a big sticking point.

 

It sounds like it's best to just play the game for fun at the low tiers then and see if it sticks.

 

I have 26k gold in WoT. Would I be right in thinking I can't use it for anything except premium time in WoWS?

[von_chom]

I have 26k gold in WoT. Would I be right in thinking I can't use it for anything except premium time in WoWS?

 

Yes, the greediness of WG is strong in WoWs

[EsaTuunanen]

If the stock grinds are as bad as WoT then that is a big sticking point.

It sounds like it's best to just play the game for fun at the low tiers then and see if it sticks.

Up to something like Tier 6 or 7 you should be able to reasonably avoid worst stock ships by playing enough in your existing ships to get free XP for the most important ship upgrades.

After having researched new ship you can easily check what things hull upgrades add/change to decide if you want them.

For example St. Louis and Phoenix get lot more guns/firepower from hull upgrades.

Also by searching ship class forums you could find how important upgrades are for particular ship.

 

That way you also have more time to learn to be better before going against harder opposition making playing overal more enjoyable.

Though don't assume that players with highish tier ships automatically have higher IQ than their shoe size. (in inches)

[Meneleus]

Pay to win

There is not a lot of PTW in this game. Some premium ships are stronger than they should be in my humble opinion and one can purchase signal flags for very minor advantages, though these can also be earned in-game in sufficient quantities.

 

The grind

Really depends on the tier and the ship, yet I consider them generally acceptable. In my view, the grind is less an issue compared to WoT. In those cases where it is a pain in the behind you can always use saved up free exp you accumulate in-game.

 

The lines

Most lines have their potatoes, though player preference plays a large role. I like the Japanese battleship, cruiser and destroyer lines and would certainly recommend them. American battleships are fine too if you are not too bothered by their slow speed, which improves as late as T8. The Russian destroyer and German cruiser lines have a few problematic ships in their line such as the Ognavoi, Tashkent, Karlruhe and Yorck. Other lines are generally decent.

 

Cheers, M

[ollonborre]

For me the US destroyers are fairly painless grinds, the German cruisers are also not so bad, and as soon as you have bought the first hull on a battleship the pain also drops.

[Tr1umph]

US Destroyers painles grind?

 

Farragut and Mahan are [edited]awful...

[ollonborre]

US Destroyers painles grind?

 

Farragut and Mahan are [edited]awful...

 

With XP flags, a bit of ranked and mostly targeting DD's I was able to progress through the Mahan fairly quickly, and my rather average/poor stats in it is mainly because I am not a very good DD player.

[James1]

Thank you all.

 

A bit of a review:

I'm up to tier 4 dds and tier 3 other lines.

The game seems fun and I'm Mostly enjoying the dds although I've only just realised I don't get spotting damage which seems strange. I see they are 'looking into it' but I think it's fair to say if it's not in the game yet then it'll probably never exist. This does seem odd though since I thought the purpose of a fleet destroyer was to spot the enemy.

 

 

Overall the grind and P2W does seem somewhat less than WoT as there are no useless stock guns or premium ammo.

 

Having said that I do still find the whole F2P nonsense annoying. Not because I mind spending money on a game (I've spent £1-2k on WoT), but instead because

A. the prices are poor value relative to premium games, and

B. because of the additional complexity this brings to the UI - if this was a premium game you could remove 1/2 to 3/4 of the garage UI and mechanics.

 

And that leads me to the only really bad thing I've found so far... The severely restricted garage slots: I think I ran out of them by tier 2!

[SV_Kompresor]

(I've spent £1-2k on WoT)

 

£1-2k

£1-2k

£1-2k

[Bismarck_chan]

I find the grind in WoWs much more enjoyable than WoT. Seldom had the feeling of being completely useless in stock ships. Some battleships can be a bit frustrating without upgrades, but nowhere near WoT level. There is no Gold Ammo and the consumables only give you small boosts to the regular ones. You'll want to buy harbour slots though.

 

US Destroyers painles grind?

Farragut and Mahan are [edited]awful...

 

The Farragut, now fully upgraded is quickly becoming my second favourite destroyer. Can't speak for the Mahan though.

 

[James1]

 

£1-2k

£1-2k

£1-2k

 

 

Yep, I spent some money on WoT. Played for about 2,000 hours as well.

[RedStorm1]

American Battleships is the easiest line in my opinion.

 

P2W is important, you Need to have premium account all the time in order to get XP and Money to buy ships.

Normal ships hardly earn Money so you may Need to buy premium ships as well best Money makers: Tirpiz Battleship 8, Michael Kutuzov Cruiser 8, Blyskawitza Destroyer 7

 

Premium consumables are expensive ,they are consumed after EVERY battle.

 

 

[ollonborre]

American Battleships is the easiest line in my opinion.

 

P2W is important, you Need to have premium account all the time in order to get XP and Money to buy ships.

Normal ships hardly earn Money so you may Need to buy premium ships as well best Money makers: Tirpiz Battleship 8, Michael Kutuzov Cruiser 8, Blyskawitza Destroyer 7

 

 

Premium consumables are expensive ,they are consumed after EVERY battle.

 

 

 

 

 

-Premium account is not P2W. You can manage without premium up to tier 8 if you are an average player.

 

-Tier 5-6 are all great moneymakers and will rarely drain credits even without premium.

 

-22 500 credits per consumable is not a huge amount. I would advise to atleast try to use the premium Damage Control on tier 5+, shorter cooldown= less time spent on fire/being crippled= more time spent in battle= higher chance of getting more credits and XP.

[SV_Kompresor]

 

-Premium account is not P2W. You can manage without premium up to tier 8 if you are an average player.

 

-Tier 5-6 are all great moneymakers and will rarely drain credits even without premium.

 

-22 500 credits per consumable is not a huge amount. I would advise to atleast try to use the premium Damage Control on tier 5+, shorter cooldown= less time spent on fire/being crippled= more time spent in battle= higher chance of getting more credits and XP.

 

tier 5+? I don't even use them on my tier eights....and until this tier they aren't really necessary because repair costs are so low

[M_de_Ruyter]

DD line IJN t4 and 5 are moneymakers, special minikaze, if you want port slot get them on discount day's, if you have gold on wot, try a prem. for a week and see what happens. Mahan us dd is a good ship, simple: if  you want stealth IJN DD, rappit fire guns US DD.

[RedStorm1]

-22 500 credits per consumable is not a huge amount. I would advise to atleast try to use the premium Damage

 

First of all, grinding a line without premium account? Good luck! It will take you ages... and grinding does not mean stay to tier 5 ships.

In  order to grind lines you need premium account and maybe even +50%xp flag.

The difference between premium and non-premium is more significant in WoWs than in WOT.

 

Premium consumables not expensive?

You need one or two (for BBs) so 22k or 44k

Add premium camo (for camo and dispersion of shells) for another 22k

In summary, you are paying 44-64k per battle before repair and ammunition costs.

How do you make money under these circumstances in order to afford new ships?

 

 

Just in case you are not aware, the three premium ships I mentioned make 300-400k net profit per good game (Blyska a bit less as premuum t7).

 

 

[SV_Kompresor]

 

First of all, grinding a line without premium account? Good luck! It will take you ages... and grinding does not mean stay to tier 5 ships.

In  order to grind lines you need premium account and maybe even +50%xp flag.

I disagree....it doesn't take that long and really isn't necessarry

 

 Premium consumables not expensive?

You need one or two (for BBs) so 22k or 44k

Add premium camo (for camo and dispersion of shells) for another 22k

In summary, you are paying 44-64k per battle before repair and ammunition costs.

How do you make money under these circumstances in order to afford new ships?

 

I do agree about that though....except in my case I have a lot ov camoflages stockpiled so they're free anyway

[Gnirf]

Grind: No lines are difficult to grind up to T5/6 ( I don´t play Carriers and Ru DDs yet), even though playing style differs both between ships in a particular line and nations.

 

 

Its a little dependent on your time also. I have bought premium time (in bundles with premium ships) and think that is a reasonable way to get a captain faster and upgrade a ship. I collect ships (which need a captain each) so I appriciate the lesser time time there. But I dont use premium stuff (doubloons) but I use the 22500 camo for many of the ships. Premium damage Control etc I dont use though it will better my performance a little in higher tiers. I play seldom above T7 and creditwise one does not need premium account for that, especially as one plays on lower tiers often also which always produces credits.  

 

I will not consider it P2W but my Ishizuchi is both a good trainer, creditearner and good in the various kill missions which often starts at tier 4, cheap and if you play her correct a good ship.