Armor
The armor scheme of a warship is a complex “cake” of many layers of armor, spaced and angled to absorb, deflect, and ultimately defeat incoming projectiles. Different areas of the ship have different thicknesses of armor depending on how critical the area is and how likely it is to be hit. For example, the conning tower and barbettes are usually heavily armored, while the bow and stern typically have much thinner armor.
The armor protection of a ship is divided into several sections:
- Main belt: The thickest armor on the ship, covering the citadel.
- Deck armor: Protects against plunging fire and bombs.
- Torpedo bulkhead: An internal armor wall designed to absorb torpedo hits.
- Turret armor: Protects the main guns and their mechanisms.
- Conning tower: Heavily armored command center.
Understanding the armor layout of your ship and your opponents’ ships is crucial for effective angling and aiming.
Citadel
The citadel is the most vital and heavily armored part of a warship. It contains the ship’s machinery, magazines, and other critical components. A successful hit to the citadel (a “citadel hit”) often results in massive damage, potentially knocking out the ship’s engines, detonating magazines, or causing severe flooding.
Armor Schematics
Damage Saturation
Damage Saturation is a mechanic that reduces the amount of damage a ship takes in specific areas once those areas have absorbed a certain amount of damage. This prevents a single area from being endlessly farmed for full damage.
Ships are divided into five main sections for damage saturation purposes:
- Bow
- Stern
- Mid-section (citadel)
- Casemate (superstructure)
- Superstructure
Once a section has taken enough damage, subsequent hits to that section will deal reduced damage. This encourages players to aim for different, less saturated parts of the enemy ship or to switch targets.
Tips and Tactics
Fire
Fires are a significant source of damage over time. They can be started by HE shells, bombs, and rockets. A ship can have multiple fires burning simultaneously in different sections.
Flooding
Flooding is another damage-over-time effect, primarily caused by torpedo hits. Flooding also reduces the ship’s speed and maneuverability.
Detectability Range
Detectability Range is the distance at which your ship can be spotted by enemies. This value is affected by your ship’s base detectability, camouflage, commander skills, and upgrades.
Viewing Range
Viewing Range is the maximum distance at which your ship can spot enemy ships. This is influenced by your ship’s mast height, commander skills, and upgrades.
Smoke
Smoke screens are consumable abilities that allow ships to temporarily conceal themselves from enemy view. While inside a smoke screen, a ship’s detectability range is significantly reduced, making it much harder for enemies to spot and target.
However, ships can still be detected within smoke by:
- Hydroacoustic Search: This consumable allows cruisers and destroyers to detect ships and torpedoes through smoke and islands at a limited range.
- Surveillance Radar: This consumable, found on some cruisers and battleships, detects ships through smoke and islands at a much longer range than Hydroacoustic Search.
- Proximity Spotting: If an enemy ship gets too close to a ship in smoke (usually within 2 km), it will be spotted regardless of the smoke screen.
Closed test 14.9 / New Ships Devblog
We’re excited to share the latest updates from our closed testing environment for version 14.9. This round introduces several new ships across various nations and tiers, bringing fresh tactical opportunities and challenges to the game. Please remember that all information shared here is preliminary and subject to change before the official release.
Pan-Asian cruiser Lanzhou
The Tier X Pan-Asian cruiser Lanzhou is a formidable vessel designed for aggressive play. It features a high rate of fire and excellent torpedo armament, making it a dangerous opponent in close-quarters engagements. Its unique consumable set allows for flexible tactical approaches, emphasizing either stealth or direct engagement.
German cruiser Nürnberg ’44
The Tier VII German cruiser Nürnberg ’44 is a versatile ship with a strong emphasis on artillery. This variant features improved anti-aircraft defenses and a slightly different torpedo armament compared to its historical counterpart. It excels at supporting flanks and engaging enemy destroyers and cruisers.
French battleship Roussillon
The Tier IX French battleship Roussillon brings a unique blend of speed and firepower to the battlefield. Equipped with powerful main battery guns and a respectable secondary armament, it can both push flanks and hold key positions. Its engine boost consumable provides tactical flexibility, allowing for quick repositioning.
German cruiser Bremen
The Tier VIII German cruiser Bremen is a light cruiser focused on rapid-fire artillery and torpedo attacks. It boasts a large number of guns with a high rate of fire, making it a threat to destroyers and lightly armored cruisers. Its torpedoes offer a strong deterrent against aggressive pushes.
Japanese battleship Aki
The Tier VIII Japanese battleship Aki is a well-rounded battleship with a focus on long-range engagements. It features accurate main battery guns and robust armor protection, allowing it to withstand sustained fire. Its anti-aircraft suite is also quite capable, providing decent protection against air attacks.
American cruiser Hawaii
The Tier VIII American cruiser Hawaii is a heavy cruiser with a strong emphasis on anti-aircraft capabilities and radar. It carries powerful main guns and a comprehensive AA suite, making it an excellent escort ship. Its Surveillance Radar consumable provides crucial intelligence to the team.
French submarine Surcouf
The Tier VIII French submarine Surcouf is a unique vessel combining submarine stealth with cruiser-like main battery guns. It can engage targets from stealth with torpedoes or surface to use its powerful guns against unsuspecting enemies. This hybrid playstyle offers a new dimension to submarine gameplay.
We are also ready to show the image of the previously announced Comandante Aguirre:
