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Delve Beneath the Surface of World of Warships 2nd Beta Weekend

Artur Plociennik, EU Publishing Producer of World of Warships, answers questions and offers tips about the 2nd Beta Weekend.

World of Warships 2nd Beta Weekend has left port. We thought it would be a great opportunity to speak to one the people working hard in the engine room to dredge some information for those testing their skills this weekend.

What are your thoughts on the 1st World of Warships test weekend? We saw some impressive stats.

We knew that the game was highly anticipated after the previews we did at industry shows over the past year. However, we were still surprised by the sheer volume of people and the speed they were applying after we announced the event. We’re also quite happy that most of them played quite a few battles and didn’t just look at the game once and go away.

Based on this success, we decided to launch a second round of the “Weekend” test, letting yet more players to try out the game in this stage of late Alpha test.

In World of Warships 1st Beta Weekend, we saw some great stats represented in an infographic. Globally, over 47,000 people participated in the weekend, playing in over 96,000 battles.

What can you tell us about aircraft carriers that will be used in the game? Why were they included?

That’s a question that has many different answers. Carriers are the class that wrested dominance of the seas away from Battleships in the period covered by our game. Carriers add a significant variety to gameplay by introducing aerial assets. Carriers are huge capital ships that are just epic!

One of the logical reasons for their inclusion is that they formed the backbone of fleets ever since they proved their worth during WWII. In-game, they also provide a second category of heavy units, to counter the battleships and to both support and require team play.

What was an aircraft carrier’s traditional role in naval combat? Was there a certain aircraft carrier or battle that served as design/gameplay inspiration?

The role of carriers in combat was changing during the period covered by our game—early carriers evolved from primarily fleet scouts with a secondary strike role (or “Aviation cruisers”) to the main strike force of the fleet in 1944. In-game, however, players are already spared the “experience gathering” period and can tap into almost 100 years of naval aviation progression to find the best role for them.

We did extensive research and many if not all of the most famous carrier engagements serve as inspirations for design—and obviously, we had to take into account a vast variety of carrier operators and their history. It is hard to pinpoint any single ship or battle as every major seagoing nation had a distinctly different design and its tradeoffs. Obviously, we strive to provide carrier gameplay that would not clearly favor one of these concepts over others, so that it is fun to play with any nation’s carriers.

It is clear that the biggest source of inspiration for carrier gameplay comes from the Pacific, though, as it contained the most carrier action of WWII.

How do aircraft carriers fit into the gameplay dynamic? What strategy should players use when playing aircraft carriers? What advantages/disadvantages do they have?

Carriers are outside the normal rock-paper-scissors concept we’re applying, but that doesn’t mean they don’t fit—they’re just different from everyone else. The elephant in the room, if you will. They utilize aircraft as their primary mode of attacking other players, so their striking range is significantly greater than other ship’s artillery range. They can also be very effective at scouting for their allies and engaging multiple enemies, since they can control their aircraft squadrons individually and can have all of them in the air at the same time. On the interface side, carriers also bring a different UI and gameplay style to the table, being rather typically RTS-focused.

On the other hand they are not omnipotent. In close combat they can die rather quickly as they are a huge, inviting target and their squadrons take considerable time to get into action. Moreover, the planes are vulnerable to ships with powerful AA armaments, and a well-placed cruiser or destroyer may disrupt their attack. The same can be achieved also by skillfully handling the fighter squadrons of an allied carrier, focusing more on CAP of the fleet rather than on strike.

What else do you think players should know about World of Warships upcoming developments?

This test weekend will be huge for players, since carriers are not the only major update from the previous event. We’ve added a reimagined crew system, different to what players will know from World of Tanks—including various useful skills—as well as Modernizations—modules that you can use to improve your ship. These new options allow you to mold your favorite ship to fit your play style.

Another important addition improves the team play options in game: players will be able to play together with their friends by creating Divisions and entering the match-making queue as one unit and thus easily cooperate in battle.

To stay up to date with all things World of Warships and the 2nd Beta Weekend, Wings Over the Water, check out the site.