Let's check out some of the main new features of the coming update.
Early Access to Spanish cruisers
In Update 12.6, early access to Spanish cruisers will begin. In honor of the event, thematic permanent camouflages for the new Tier VIII-X ships, a commemorative flag, and four thematic emblems of the Spanish nation have been added to the game. The Ocean port has also been decorated for this occasion.
Concealed Maneuvers
The new "Concealed Maneuvers" temporary Battle type will start in Update 12.6. The main idea behind this battle type is to test the new mechanics intended to be used aboard upcoming aircraft carriers.
Battles will be held in 9 vs. 9 format utilizing Tier VII and VIII cruisers, destroyers, battleships, and aircraft carriers. Both regular aircraft carriers and new ones will be able to participate in the battle type and it sometimes may occur that a battle is fought without the presence of any of the new aircraft carriers. Even in battles without aircraft carriers, players will be able to complete special combat missions and earn rewards.
The new aircraft carriers will be represented by Kikaku and Concord Bridge—clones of Shōkaku and Lexington but with the new mechanics and changed parameters. These ships will be distributed as rentals for the duration of the event and they can be only used in the Concealed Maneuvers battle type.
The main difference between the new ships and their branch sisterships will be the presence of two new squadron consumables: Smoke Curtain Generator and Air-dropped Minefield.
Kikaku will be able to deploy a smoke screen with her attack aircraft.
"Smoke Curtain Generator" works the same as with regular ships. The regular attack aircraft will be replaced by tactical ones which will help Kikaku to use Smoke Curtain Generator more effectively. Tactical attack aircraft are equipped with boosters and consist of only one attack flight and they do not return to the aircraft carrier.
Kikaku will have base Shōkaku torpedo bombers, and more of researchable AP Bombers will be available on the deck. Torpedo Bombers are Shokaku's strongest source of damage. For Kikaku, we decided to shift the focus away from them by weakening the Torpedo Bombers and reinforcing the other squadrons of the ship.
Concord Bridge Bombers will be able to call a special airstrike that will drop the mines.
By activating the "Air-dropped Minefield" consumable, a circular area is created in the current coordinates of the squadron that is then filled with mines. Minefields consist of a large number of separate mines that can't deal damage immediately – they need some time to become activated. They explode on collision and have a high chance to cause flooding. They remain active for several minutes and are mainly used as a zoning tool. Mines can be destroyed with Depth Charges and Depth Charge Air Strike – when a player destroys a set amount of mines, the whole minefield will disappear.
Concord Bridge will have base Lexington torpedo bombers. Her attack aircraft will armed only with Tiny Tim rockets and they will have increased damage, also they will have increased HP, reduced aircraft preparation time and reduced the penalty for aiming while attacking.
If the new event shows good results, we plan to use new mechanics to bring back the carriers that were removed from the game in Update 0.8.0.
Sea Battles
In Update 12.6, an Armory mini-game will see its return! Sea Battles are inspired by the Battleship puzzle, a guessing game which is played in 1 vs. 1 format with the main goal to sink the entire fleet of the opponent. In this mini-game you will play against an AI. We changed the reward system in Sea Battles – now winning a battle can bring one of the random rewards, including valuable rewards such as doubloons or a ship. So, to participate, players will now need a special resource — Entry tickets. Entry tickets will now be purchased in the armory. Players can obtain only a limited number of tickets for in-game resources and can purchase tickets unlimitedly for Doubloons — 250 each.
Rewards distribution will be changed as well:
Sea Battles will be available in both the in-game and web Armory.
Economic changes
Due to the specifics of how Operations function, some combat missions are easier to complete by playing Operations. Therefore, in order to preserve Operations in the majority of combat missions and not affect their difficulty in other battle types, we are introducing a special reduction factor.
Progress toward completing Combat Missions, Campaigns, and Personal Challenges by playing Operations will be reduced by half for some metrics. For example, if a mission requires a player to earn 2 ‘Destroyed’ ribbons, then the player has to earn 4 ‘Destroyed’ ribbons in Operations.
Combat missions and conditions with a reduction factor will have a special indication in the game client.
Settings improvements
The settings window will be completely redesigned with significant interface changes.
All available options are divided into 8 tabs: Display, Graphics, Sound, Combat UI, Mouse, Camera, Keyboard, and Other.
Some of the settings will be removed while some settings will be merged with others.
The new interface will make it easier and more convenient to configure the game the way you like it and we'll be able to make technical improvements and add new settings more easily in the future, thanks to some under-the-hood improvements.
Reсruit based combat missions
Update 12.6 will bring new combat mission conditions. In order to complete them, players will need to play in a division and each division member must have the Recruiting Station's Veteran or Shipmate status. These combat missions will improve the experience of using the Recruiting Station for our players by giving them new challenges and rewards.
Content addition and changes
Battle of the Somme
A new "Battle of the Somme" historical puzzle collection will be added to the game. The collection will consist of one image that is divided into 60 elements. The reward for completing the collection will be British destroyer Somme, with similar parameters to Jutland but with a unique appearance and a 10 skill points commander.
Additionally, a Somme commemorative flag and Battle of the Somme container will be added to the game.
In Update 12.6 players will be able to complete the collection for free. More details will be revealed at a later date.
Additional content added to the game
- Commanders José Prudencio Padilla, Fyodor Apraksin with unique voice over and Pavel Nakhimov.
- Commander Murat Serezli with unique voiceover.
- Flag of Colombia and Striped Undershirt Commemorative flags.
- 200th Anniversary of Colombian Navy and US Coast Guard Patches.
- Four Pan American Emblems.
- Camouflage for Dmitry Pozharsky.
- Added a unique voiceover to commander Minakami Shiori.
Please note that all information in the development blog is preliminary. Announced adjustments and features may change multiple times during testing. The final information will be published on our game's website.