Deductions, part 1.

There has been a great aura of mystery surrounding just what the Closed Beta tester reward ship could be. Some know, but aren't saying anything. Others don't know, but are towing players along with cryptic non-answers.

Here is what I know, it will be an American Battleship, either tier IV or V.  How do I know this? Read for yourself....

Source: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://forum.worldofwarships.ru/index.php%3F/topic/18021-%25D0%25BA-%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B7%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B1%25D0%25BE%25D1%2582%25D1%2587%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BC/page__pid__775883&usg=ALkJrhhw1ujr7ludSvGGc-DjrPPGdhUgBw#entry775883

....pretty straight forward to me. This not only comes from a developer directly, it is also comfimed by another....

Source: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://forum.worldofwarships.ru/index.php%3F/topic/18021-%25D0%25BA-%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B7%25D1%2580%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B1%25D0%25BE%25D1%2582%25D1%2587%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0%25D0%25BC/page__pid__775935&usg=ALkJrhjtrc0KgCiewbmJuTGgMBRRS1IycQ#entry775935


So, using the latest news I could find, here is the upcoming American Battleship line for 3.1....

Battleship Evolution
The Tree of US Navy battleships begins at Tier III.

III Michigan

USS Michigan and her sister ship USS South Carolina were the first dreadnoughts of the US fleet. Eight 12in (305mm) artillery guns on Michigan were divided between four turrets: two fore and two aft. The turrets were placed in a superfiring arrangement where one turret was mounted slightly behind and above the other—quite an innovation for those times.

Unlike her Japanese counterpart Kawachi, she could use all her guns to fire a full broadside. As to her maximal speed, it left much to be desired: she would not go faster than 18 knots.

IV Arkansas
USS Arkansas carries guns of the same calibre as her predecessor, but her firepower is significantly increased. The ship has twelve guns installed in six turrets. The layout of the turrets is quite unique: two of them are mounted forward, two aft, and two amidships. As a result, bow guns and after guns can fire straight and sideways, while central turrets can only fire sideways.
The ship has the same level of armour as her predecessor Michigan, however her speed is increased to 21 knots.

V New York
The first super-dreadnought of the US Navy. She carried new more powerful and long-range guns with a calibre of 14in (356mm). Engineers had to give up one of the gun mounts to not exceed the designed displacement. The ship is armed with ten guns installed in five turrets.
Other than that, New York is very similar to her Tech Tree predecessor; even the speed remained the same—21 knots.

VI New Mexico
The first “standard” battleship of the Tech Tree armoured according to the “all or nothing” concept. The ship’s citadel is covered with a 13.5in (343mm) armour belt that can withstand large-calibre hits. Antiaircraft armaments also moved to a new level—USS New Mexico carries powerful 5in (127mm) antiaircraft cannons.
Unfortunately, all these improvements come at a price of very low manoeuvrability. The same speed of 21 knots also leaves much to be desired.

VII Colorado
A new battleship and a new stage of US naval artillery development. USS Colorado boasts eight super powerful 16in (406mm) guns. The battleship inherited most of her predecessor’s advantages and improved upon them. She has equally powerful armour able to withstand large-calibre hits.
A battery of 5in (127mm) antiaircraft cannons makes Colorado a formidable adversary to aircraft carriers.

VIII North Carolina
This battleship has a little less armour compared to Colorado, but she gained manoeuvrability instead. The increased speed of 27 knots allows USS North Carolina to act in a tactical formation with aircraft carriers and cruisers, and be more fast and agile in a battle.

Powerful auxiliary armament is one of this ship’s strengths. She carries a battery of 5in (127mm) dual-purpose guns that are perfect to fight off light ships and enemy aviation.

IX Iowa
Engineering solutions used in USS North Carolina were further elaborated in USS Iowa. Iowa is a powerful and high-speed battleship capable of fighting in mobile task forces together with aircraft carriers and cruisers. The ship managed to maintain the same excellent speed and increase her defence and armour.

X Montana
This battleship could have matched the legendary Yamato, if the project hadn’t remained on paper. The relatively low speed of 27 knots is compensated by increased armouring and excellent armament. While her predecessor Iowa has only three turrets, Montana carries twelve 16in (406mm) guns in four triple turrets.
Former dual-purpose artillery guns were replaced with more powerful and elaborate guns.

Source: http://blog.worldofwarships.eu/tech-trees-american-battleships/

Now, let's compare that to a fan made tech tree, based on news/rumors/speculation/etc....

Source: http://forum.worldofwarships.eu/index.php?/topic/437-what-we-know-about-ships-updated-23042015/ and http://forum.worldofwarships.com/index.php?/topic/1697-what-we-know-about-ships-updated-23042015/

So, which one could it be? Well, it was said to be tier IV to V. Looking at the release material, the Arkansas and New York are displayed as tech tree ships. On the fan made tree, the Florida and Delaware are "listed" as tier III premiums, with the Florida switched out with the Wyoming at tier IV, but sharing the New York at tier V.

Interesting. This is the evidence that I have gathered up and now exhibiting. Next time, I will try to unravel the mystery of which of these ships it could very well be.

Warspite woes and drive a tank for gold.

Ever since the HMS Warspite appeared in the game (like what, a day ago now?), many in the Community were curious to know if there were any conditions attached to it. Some speculated that this premium British Battleship would carry forward into Open Beta and even beyond. Others believed that this would be a limited time use vehicle, so enjoy it while it lasts.

With the announcement from the World of Warships Community Manager, Gunlion, it's official purpose and fate are confirmed. Some are nodding their heads in acceptance, others are not too happy about this at all. All I have to say is this; sail it if you got one.

Mission for Gold in May

Win battles and place high on your team and you can get a Gold bonus! Just fulfill the mission requirement below, and you'll be rewarded with an easy 10. Considering that the mission is available up to three times per day —and runs all month— you'll have plenty of chances to earn lots of Gold!

Start Time: Friday, May 1, 04:20 PDT (7:20 EDT)
End Time: Monday, June 1, 04:20 PDT (7:20 EDT)

Mission / Objective	Reward
Win a Random Battle, tier V and above. Be in the top 10 players by base experience earned (first victory, Premium account, etc. bonuses will not be counted) Available three (3) times per day	10

Source: http://worldoftanks.com/en/news/pc-browser/22/may-mission/

Wait now, why am I bringing up a World of Tanks event on a Ships blog? Simple, you want the opportunity to earn yourself a potential grand total of 930 Gold (up to 30 Gold per day, over 31 days, equals....).

Although Ships is still in Closed Beta and Unified Accounts (the ability to use shared free experience and Gold across certain WarGaming titles) won't be coming for quite a while yet, no harm in adding a little more to the coffers, for when Tanks/Planes/Ships Gold will all be linked.

Despite the hard-drive space required to host all three titles, the event opportunities from the already released games could come in handy if you wanted to switch to the other games, or continue your career in Ships. Every little bit helps.

Don't already play World of Tanks? Well click here (North America client) 

 and give it a try. Login information will be the same as used for Ships/Planes.

Rule Britannia!

With my Closed Beta client now updated to 0.3.0.93081, I can finally lay my eyes on one of the most anticipated ships rumored to be coming to World of Warships, HMS Warspite. Although I lack the tokens (priced at 7500 for this tier VI premium British Battleship) to purchase one myself, to try it out during this phase of the game, I am sure I will be seeing much more of them in the future.

However, from what I have seen today, with the few floating around, I am not overly impressed. By the very nature of WarGaming's policies, Premium ingame vehicles, from tanks to planes and now ships, have been middle of the road performers. Designed to be somewhat better than stock counterparts of their same tier, but not as good as fully upgraded ones, either. Some could easily find examples which could be perceived as exceptions to this general rule, but they are far and few compared to the rest of those being offered.

So, by the numbers, let's have a quick look at what the Warspite brings to a battle....

....obviously, there are some strengths to be found and used, along with weaknesses to be compensated for. The few battles I was in today, none of the Warspites on my team survived to the end of the engagement. And the few I encountered on the enemy team, while using my Gremyashchiy....

....couldn't take a sustained pounding from my guns. However, things could get changed with the characteristics surrounding this ship, it's still only a Beta, after all.

With the arrival of the Warspite, the door is now open for future inclusions of other ships from the Royal Navy. At this point, it must be kinda obvious what class of ships I will be waiting for....

Progression, before the purchase.

One of my early goals coming back to World of Warships was to buy at least one premium ship, that would carry forward to when the game launched. Now, I didn't have to acquire one to get access to the Closed Beta phase of testing....

....since, I was here once already. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't an Alpha tester and my time during my Weekend Beta testing didn't count towards this little gem....

....the tier IV Iwaki Alpha Japanese Cruiser. Oh well, but WarGaming has shown a history of rewarding players during other phases of testing other titles, if they meet certain requirements. Not to mention, the possibility of "special event" ships that could be available between now and when the game is a officially ready.

Anyways, back to my original train of thought, a premium ship. I downloaded the Beta client just two days after the pre-order packages were announced, so for the sake of clarity....

....here was my ship selection during that first day, not one premium amongst them. My goal was to achieve at least tier IV in Japanese Cruisers before I would look at buying one of the offered packages, the tier IV Yubari Japanese Cruiser. As you can see from the screenshot, I was progressing along pretty quickly too. No free experience to speed things along the lines (okay, free experience was used in attaining the Kawachi, the tier III Japanese Battleship and the Langley, the tier IV American Aircraft Carrier, but those were side projects, having never reached/played them my first time around) I was going to play every consecutive ship along the way.

Sadly, I forget to take timely screenshots as I moved up the Japanese Cruiser line, because at the tier II Chikuma, I switched gears. Nope, I wanted to stick with my Destroyer plan and while the Yubari package was the cheapest of the three on offer, it didn't quite fit with the playstlye I wanted to pursue post-testing. The Gremyashchiy, the Soviet tier V Destroyer was the next ship up in terms of price, but it seemed to hold more value to what I was looking. So, off to the American line I went and played it out to tier V....

....every ship would have elite staus before progressing onto the next in the line....

....playing the ships, to the very best of my abilities and growing skillset....

....until not only did I cross that finally threshold....

....it only seemed to be the right thing to do and actually play the tier. If my purchase was going to mean anything to me, I had to be somewhat familiar with not only the environment I was going to be playing in, but also the tactics, strengths and weaknesses of my opponents there.

So, after less than a week playing/testing the game out, reaching my secondary goal (since I, for all intents and purposes, abandoned the Japanese Cruiser line, early on) and feeling pretty confident I have a rudimentary grasp of the Destroyer playstyle, I added the Gremyashchiy to my Beta fleet.

For me, I believe I made the right choice. So far, the fun factor has already paid back some of the real world value I was looking for. Secondly, I opted out from buying the tier VII USS Simms American Destroyer, not because of the price, but I wasn't ready for it. Grinding my way up to justify the pick of a higher tiered premium, for when the game just goes to launch? I think I will find enough satisfying action in the mid-tiers and the Gremy will deliver nicely.

In fact, it already has, so far.

Why Destroyers, you may ask.

With the other WarGaming titles, World of Tanks and World of Warplanes, I experimented with playing just about every class of ingame equipment that was available. In Tanks, I started of with Light Tanks, then went down the Heavy lines, picked up a few Artillery pieces and discovered Tank Destroyers. Part of the reason for doing this was to see, first hand, if I could find out what the game had to offer that might have suited me the best.

The other purpose of doing this, was to also see the strengths and weaknesses, building some kind of knowledge base for when I would face them as opponents. For those who look at the statistical results, I was below average in just about everything I played there, I couldn't remember to adapt when changing between the different classes.

Then, with World of Warplanes, the cycle repeated, sorta. Once again, I experimented with Fighters, Heavy Fighters, Carrier Based Fighters (some were later renamed to Multi-Role Fighters) and Ground Attack aircraft. It was early on that I discovered I enjoyed the GA playstyle, a leisurely exercise of lying low, dropping bombs and being chased around the map by faster and more maneuverable opponents.

Not only was I having fun with Soviet GA's, but was doing quite well. Although I played the other lines the game had to offer, statistically, Ground Attack aircraft were my strongest suit. Once again, despite practicing my very best, I failed to perform successfully and with positive consistency with other types of aircraft.

It's not that I didn't understand how to use them more properly, it's that I couldn't turn that same understanding into the timely ingame action I desired.

Now, I come to World of Warships, with a much different focus. I have set my eyes on one class and one class only; Destroyers. Here is the history behind this decision....

My first taste of using an online, player controlled ship is thanks to Battlefield 1942. Some maps, usually containing a fair amount of water, had ships as an optional spawnpoint and even allowed for these to be manned and controlled by players.When I first started playing, I was like most everyone else, running around on the land, shooting my guns off or running people over with ground based vehicles. I won't discuss my poor attempts at flying the aircraft offered, back then....

What opened my eyes to those grey floaty things in the water, was being shelled from offshore, by naval batteries. Soon, I discovered I could enter the game, on a ship and return that same frustration upon others. Depending on the map, I would try out all of the ships classes that were available.

Aircraft Carriers were slowly and lacked the armament to put that smile on my face. Battleships were just as slow, but the guns wrecked havoc wherever I landed a shell, no direct hits were required. The submarines were too tricky for my liking, I don't remember if I ever figured those out. The landing craft were nothing more than a disposable taxi, just to get me around.

However, when I discovered the Hatsuzuki, a poorly rendered Japanese Akizuki Class Destroyer, along with it's American counterpart, the USS Fletcher, things got very interesting. Soon, I was zipping around at shooting at enemy players in their ships, supporting landing operations, sneaking in very close to shore and dropping surprises on unsuspecting opponents. Pure fun.

Back then, I knew which maps held these ships, so when I would login and look for a hosted server, I would seek out those particular map names, with hopes "my" ships would be there. Sometimes, they would be waiting for me to Captain them around, other times, I had to resort to team-killing just to get them. It was with the latter, I realized that insanity was setting in and stopped playing altogether.

Really now, just for a bunch of pixels?

Sometime later, I went through a submarine gaming phase and what better game to play during that time then Silent Hunter III. Despite it's learning curve and required attention for micromanagement, it was a lot of fun for me. Diving and moving just below the surface of the oceans, quietly and patiently hunting convoys and their escorts, attempting to complete the single player missions. A few real life friends invited me to try the online experience, of which I jumped at the chance to. We would meet up on a third party voice program and login to servers as a three man Wolfpack. Torpedoes and deck guns would wreak havoc on the enemy players as they attempted to do the same to us.

Everything changed when we found and downloaded the Grey Wolves expansion. This player created mod allowed me to go from a submarine to the ability to select and use surface ships, some already in the game and others, created specifically by this mod. Can you guess what was my choice, more often then not? Part of the thrill for me, when using a U-Boat, was trying to avoid the game controlled Destroyers. Listening for the propellers to gauge their location, performing evasive maneuvers when splashes were heard, since that heralded incoming depth charges.

Now, the tables were turned. By finding other servers that were hosting the game with this mod, I could pick a Destroyer of my own and hunt down player opponents as they attempted to complete their mission goals. The game of cat and mouse would last for hours, but it was time well spent with my friends and pitting my skills against other real players was the challenge I craved. As time went on, the servers were getting harder to find and my friends drifted off to play other games. I too, stopped answering the call to Action Stations.

So, that brings me to here, to World of Warships. Although I have, once again, dabbled with the other classes the game has to offer, I do believe my first calling will be with Destroyers. Aircraft Carriers are just too slow and vulnerable and I don't particularly care for the complicated overhead view that one of the modes offers. Battleships, like Carriers, are slow too, but can at least take a real pounding and have those big guns, which require patience to get into a good firing solution.

Cruisers, on the other hand, have a good balance between Battleships and Destroyers. Pretty good speed, maneuverability and the ones I have played so far, torpedoes. I may come back to these at a latter date. But yeah, Destroyers. At the time of this posting, I have progressed to tier V in the American tree, currently at the Nicholas. My Japanese line is still in progress, only tier III with the Wakatake.

I couldn't have come at a better time to the game either. During this Beta phase, I could experiment with all my heart"s desire, but I will remain focused in improving my skillset and reporting any bug and issues I may find. With the announcement of player's progress to be reset when this Closed Beta rolling into the Open Beta phase, I will have this one shot before the "do over".

Also, I have heard rumors of both a Closed and Open Beta reward ship, depending if players meet certain requirements to receive them. As much as I have my fingers cross for premium Destroyers, very handy for credit generation and crew training, it's up in the air on what they will actually be. I will try and keep an open mind, if I get any of those.

Plus, I already have my ace in the hole for when this game is finally launched, with the purchase of this, one of two only premium Destroyers in the game, so far....

The first one hundred battles.

Well now, I wasn't expecting that at all. Although I am not known to keep a very close eye on my own personal ingame statistics, seeing this did make my heart sink a little. While some might point out the fact that one hundred games isn't anything to worry about, it does bring a little cause for concern surrounding my learning curve with this game. Others, might also remind me that these statistics will be wiped going forward into Open Beta.

To me, having these number vanish as the game evolves to the next stage doesn't hide the fact I want do a whole lot better than I have to this point. Despite that fact I am having a good time playing during this Closed Beta phase, I also want my fun to be more productive.

So, what am I doing wrong? Funny thing, I figured it out and have those four answers;

1. Learning to lead my shots better.

Unlike World of Warplanes, which I have been playing for a while now, World of Ships doesn't share a similar style "automatic lead compensator". Zooming in to take a shot with the main armament produces the image above. By using the graticules, I can range in on my target in the vertical fairly easily, it's the directional leading the target on the horizontal I am struggling with.

While I have taken into account how slowly naval shells travel as the make the journey from my guns to where I aimed them at, sometimes my timing is off. And sometimes, I forget that ships fire their shots in arcing fashion, not the straight line shooting from smaller caliber weapons found on planes and tanks. Perhaps, practice will make perfect as I progress along.

Although I am having better luck with torpedoes, I still make errors in judgement leading those shots too. Slower then the mains guns and with limited range, it's trying to make use of their spread pattern that will be my ongoing lesson. However, I do produce results like this, on occasion....

2. Using a ship's strengths to my advantage.

In case you haven't noticed, I have chosen to use Destroyers, for reasons I will cover here and talk about much later. This ship class is known historically for it speed and deadliness with torpedoes. In World of Warships, the ability to lay down a smokescreen, either to cover my own approach to a given area, or provide a visual masking for my teammates against the peering eyes of the enemy, can be a very effective tool. If I only used it more often.

Another big problem I have, I get goaded into a slugfest with enemy ships. I get lured into the fight and either fail to disengage at the right time and flee, or develop tunnel vision, allowing another enemy to maneuver into a firing position and  remove me from the battle. Working on be more aware of what is going on around me will pay dividends in the long run.

3. Learning the maps.

I believe, no matter how well a map is claimed to be balanced, there is a secret to unlocking a more successful pattern to wining. Although it has been on of my longest standing theories when it comes to games, I think World of Warships contains this formula too.

Using the screenshot above, would it make sense to capture the A Point at H8 first? Then move through the islands and collect the B Point at the center of the map? Then off to the C Point at C3, still using the islands to mask the approach?

Well, I have tried this a few times, with mixed results. Perhaps, there is another, much better way to do it.

4. Finding what works and sticking with it.

Despite the learning curve of the game and my disappointing results early on, I do believe I can make the Destroyer playstyle work for me. I am having fun with them and have the desire to improve on my growing skillbase, not only learning from my victories, but those hard lessons that only defeats can offer. To me, speeding around the map, launching torpedoes, popping some smoke and contributing with an honest effort will be part of that "feel good" package I really want.

I know, if I can grasp this and make it work for me on a more consistent basis, results like from these screenshots will only get better....

That ship set sail, long ago now.

When World of Tanks received the 7.0 update, back in December, 2011, a map called Fjords was part of that package. Some have identified this ship, found in the harbor of that map, to be a Type 1934A Class Destroyer from Germany. None in the real world have survived to this day.

Although this ingame object can't be damaged or destroyed by players, it does make for an interesting background filler. I knew then, it was a sign of something coming. I just didn't know when that was going to be.

Fast forward a few years to the release of World of Warplanes. Although some of the ships on certain maps have either been changed or flat out removed, I was still able to find a Destroyer on the Pacific Ocean map, in version 1.7.  By reading the hull number, I was able to find out exactly which ship this was depicting, the USS The Sullivans DD 537, a Fletcher Class Destroyer currently preserved in Buffalo, New York.

Over the last two years, I couldn't even began to count how many times I have destroyed this ship, her sisters and all of the other virtual naval representatives in that game. Let's just say it's been more than a few.

Now, with finally taking the plunge and downloading the Closed Beta client for World of Warships, I am in the Commander's chair of a Destroyer of my very own. I spent a few (okay, more than that) real world dollars and picked up a tier V Soviet Gnevny Class Destroyer named Gremyashchy. The real one was used as a target for a Soviet nuclear weapons test in 1957, off the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

I was fortunate enough to receive an invite code from my friend, MagusGerhardt, for the Rock, Paper, Scissors test for World of Warships, back in December, 2014. I had a small window of 72 hours to get a taste of this new game, under development, to see if I would like it or not.

In mid-March, I received an email stating I had been accepted to Ships, but I ignored it, for the most part. Things were still looking pretty good concerning World of Warplanes, so why bother with adding another game to my collection? Then, I took a little vacation.  But, shortly after me and my family returned, something clicked. I can't explain it, I had this odd and sudden urge to download it.

So, I did. Not only have I progressed down a few tech tree lines, I am developing a much better understanding of the game. I spent some real money and picked up my first premium ship, setting a few playing goals in progress.

That's the story of how I got to this point. Come back again and I will tell you more of where I am at and planning on going.