Modern Warships Beginner Guide August 2026

Modern Warships hit the scene on June 4, 2026, coming from Artstorm FZE and Gaijin Network. It’s a free-to-play naval brawler that sits in that sweet spot between arcade action and surprisingly sweaty tactics. It’s a third-person shooter at its core, focusing on team-based PvP with a massive roster – we’re talking over 200 ships and planes, from carriers and subs to stealth fighters and drones.

The basic loop is simple: pick a boat, join a match, blow stuff up. But the real hook is that you can swap vehicles mid-fight. If your ship launches a heli, you can jump in and pilot it. If your carrier sends out a squadron, you’re the one flying the sortie. Everything is connected, and figuring out how to juggle these roles is what separates the pros from the casuals.

Steam reviews are currently “Mixed” (62% positive), but don’t let that scare you off. Most of the salt comes from players who didn’t grasp the progression system early on. Once you get how things work, the grind actually feels rewarding. Just a heads-up: Artstorm mentioned they used some AI-assisted tools for visual assets early in dev, but everything was manually polished and reworked by actual artists before launch. It doesn’t look like “raw” AI at all. You’ll need an Artstorm/Gaijin account to play, but you can link it to Steam. If you’re a controller player, it supports Xbox, DualShock, and DualSense (via USB) right out of the box.

Languages and System Specs

Supported Languages

Full voice acting is available in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Russian. The UI itself is translated into 24 different languages.

System Requirements

The game isn’t a resource hog. If your PC can handle most modern games on medium, you’re golden. Even a GTX 1060 – which is pretty old school now – will run this thing smoothly at 1080p.

Picking Your First Ship

Here’s the biggest rookie mistake: blowing your gold on a “cool” ship before you even know how you like to play. Gold is hard to come by early on, and wasting it on a ship that doesn’t fit your style is a massive setback. The general rule is: don’t buy or upgrade anything until you’ve played enough matches to find your groove. Do you want to be a tanky brawler? A sneaky flanker? Or do you want to manage a whole air wing?

Pro tip: Use the Battlepass. If you finish the levels for the month, you usually get a free ship. It’s the smartest way to get a solid vessel without touching your gold stash while you’re still learning the ropes. For total beginners, stick to cruisers or battleships. Here’s why.

Ship Classes: What’s the Deal?

Destroyers – Fast, fragile, and all about torpedoes. These have a high skill ceiling because if you mess up your positioning, you’re dead in seconds. Verdict: Skip these until you know the maps. The speed is fun, but the low health is frustrating for new players.

Cruisers – The “Goldilocks” zone. Good health, decent guns, and missiles. They’re the best way to learn the fundamentals without getting deleted for one small mistake. Verdict: Start here. It’s the best way to learn how to aim and position.

Battleships – Massive armor and huge guns. They move like bricks, but they can take a beating. Verdict: Great if you hate dying. The slow pace gives you more time to actually think about what you’re doing.

Carriers – You’re basically playing a mini-RTS. You have to park your ship safely while micro-managing planes. Verdict: Not for beginners. Get comfortable with basic combat first.

Submarines – Stealthy and torpedo-heavy. It’s a completely different game under the water. Verdict: Advanced stuff. Leave these for later.

How to Actually Upgrade

A stock ship is basically a paper weight. You need Upgrade Points to boost health, speed, damage, and range.

But there’s a catch: the first three upgrades for any stat are 100% guaranteed. After level 3, the success rate drops and the cost goes through the roof. If you try to max out one stat (like speed) while leaving everything else at zero, you’re going to have a bad time.

The smart way to upgrade:

1. Get every stat to Level 3 first.
2. Then move everything to Level 4.
3. Then Level 5, and so on.

A balanced Level 3 ship will wreck a ship that has one Level 10 stat and nothing else. Keep it even.

Using Consumables (Don’t Waste Them)

Countermeasures (Flares)

These distract incoming missiles. But they have a long cooldown and limited charges.

• Don’t panic flare. Your ship’s auto-defenses (CIWS) can usually handle one or two missiles on their own.
• Wait for the big one. Only pop flares when you see a massive swarm of red icons coming at you.

Repair Kits

Heals a chunk of your HP.

• The 80% Rule: Don’t use a kit if you’re at 95% health. You can’t go over 100%, so you’re just wasting the heal. Wait until you’re around 80%.
• But don’t hoard them. You want to get as many heals as possible in a match, so use them as soon as they’re efficient.

Ammo Reserves

Matches can go long, and running out of missiles is a death sentence. Keep these stocked so you aren’t a sitting duck in the final minutes of a game.

Combat 101: Weapons

• Missiles: Your main source of DPS. You have to hold your aim on a target to get a lock. Pro move: Wait for the enemy to use their flares on a small attack, then launch your full barrage.
• Cannons: These don’t care about flares or air defenses. If you aim well, they hit. Use these while your missiles are on cooldown. You’ll need to “lead” your shots (aim where they’re going, not where they are).
• Torpedoes: These go under the water, so air defenses can’t touch them. They’re great for flushing out subs or hitting big, slow targets.
• Grenade Launchers: These are actually your best defense against torpedoes. You can also use them to hit subs that are trying to hide underwater.
• Autocannons: These are AI-controlled. You don’t do anything; they just pepper nearby enemies automatically. On high-tier ships, the constant chip damage actually adds up.

Scouting and Map Awareness

If you don’t scout, you lose. It’s that simple. If the enemy sees you first, they’ll rain missiles on you from across the map before you even know where they are.

• Use your Heli: If you don’t have a carrier on your team, launch your helicopter and fly it toward the enemy. Once they show up as red dots on the map, swap back to your ship and start firing.
• Don’t bunch up: If four of you are hugging the same rock, you’re begging to be flanked. Spread out a bit.

The “Offline Mode” Secret

Leveling up gets slow after Level 10. If you want to rank up fast, play Offline Mode against bots.

Bots are easy targets. You can rack up way more kills and damage in offline matches, which means more XP and cash. Use the bots to grind for the gear you want, then take that gear into PvP once you’re actually geared up.

Quick Tips for Success

• Damage > Kills: You get more XP for the total damage you do than for just getting the final hit. Focus on being consistent.
• Watch the Ads: Yeah, it’s a bit annoying, but watching ads gets you free Artcoin and Gold. It’s the easiest way to stay “free-to-play.”
• Test Drive: You can test any ship before you buy it. Use this. See how the missiles arc and how the ship handles before you drop your hard-earned currency.
• Flare Baiting: Fire a single missile to trick the enemy into using their flares. Once their defense is on cooldown, let the rest of your missiles fly. Works every time.

Modern Warships is a bit of a climb at first, but once you stop making these rookie mistakes, it’s one of the best naval shooters out there. Stick to the grind, upgrade balanced, and stop wasting your flares.