Online game "World of Warships"

World of Warships is a free maritime combat simulator of the first half of the 20th century. Here you can control battleships, cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers, and even - in a test mode, though - submarines. The game has a lot in common with the famous "Tanks", only, in contrast to them, each board is not equipped with a single gun, and the entire arsenal, from conventional guns and air defense systems to torpedoes and depth bombs. Let's find out what takes your heart out of this online action game.

The main entertainment here is the battle of two teams of 12 players each. Participants choose a ship and fight for control points on the map, where the sea surface towers over only a few islands. Victory goes to the squadron that sinks all the enemies or collects enough points while the timer is ticking. All the models are based on real specimens: you can find the American cruiser St. Louis, the Japanese destroyer Shimakaze, and the Russian Sevastopol from World War I. But with museum-like attention to the fleets of different countries, the authors of the project detached the game from historical events. So the same team can easily include ships made by the USSR, Britain and Germany - whichever one you like.

Naval combat, in contrast to the land war, dictates its own terms: there is almost no shelter, must shoot from afar, overhang and at preemptive range, and the maneuvers greatly affected by the inertia of multi-tonnage vessels. You can not make a sharp turn and break away at full speed, as well as instantly slow down. The ship is not a tank, so it stops quickly only if it bumps into something. Luckily, no one is in danger of the Titanic's fate during the match, the rocks do not leave holes in the sides. Shells with torpedoes are another matter.

The vulnerability of ships is a separate story - it is a real pain in the ass to penetrate important points such as the citadel, ammunition, rudder or gun turrets. In addition, World of Warships, not unlike land-based simulators, treats single-player heroes harshly. Throwing a group here to catch individual opponents is extremely dangerous. But you can do a lot of good by interacting with the team. Scouting, covering the advancing flagships, hunting for scavengers, breaking through the defense, shooting at a common target, deceptive retreat in a smoke screen - there is a place for different scenarios and work for every type of equipment during the match.

Players pause between battles in Porto, which is essentially the main screen where they can patch up holes, equip or improve existing ships and unlock new ones, as well as research technology and prepare for the next battle. At first there are very few ships in the collection - the American gunboat "Erie", the Japanese cruiser "Hashidate", and the Soviet "Eagle". They help you understand the rules and figure out what ships are worth unlocking in the future. With time you can get commanders, characters that give you advantages in combat. Because of the lack of separate settings for the crews these captains are extremely important, it is worth talking about them in more detail.

They each have four branches of improvement: "Fortitude", "Attack", "Support", and "Cunning" - the skills you open here help you stay afloat longer during matches, and at the same time act more effectively in dangerous situations. For example, there is a skill that shows how many opponents simultaneously hold you at gunpoint. And one of the "Fortitude" abilities decreases the probability of breaking the cannon turrets. Each type of ship benefits from different bonuses, so there is no universal way to upgrade the captain, equally good for a small destroyer and a big battleship.

You can also customize the ships in the port in different ways: decorate the hulls with the most exotic camouflage, hang large flags and smaller flags - signals. The latter serve not only for decoration, but also provide some bonuses. Some increase the speed of the ship, others allow you to get more experience in battle, and so on, up to eight of them can be taken. The game in general has a lot of similar nuances, but the main principles become clear after the training, and familiarity with individual aspects occurs gradually.

World of Warships' addictiveness is fueled by the varied tactics associated with different vehicle options. Although the giants with a lot of guns and look more solid than the minnows, stinging enemies with a small caliber, there is no obviously weak options here. Success depends on what kind of ship the player feels at ease with. And to the credit of the developers, there is plenty to choose from. The game features the naval forces of the USSR (and the Russian Empire), the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Japan. And each "national" branch has dozens of models that become available as you pump.

The most powerful ships - battleships. They're well protected, but their speed and maneuverability leave a lot to be desired, and they're also easier to spot from a distance. Therefore battleships usually take the first salvos of enemy guns, and become prime targets for more resourceful opponents. The destroyers are especially dangerous in this case - fast and small, they can remain stealthy for long periods of time, spraying smoke screens and quickly escaping from the fire. Although the guns on the destroyers are not very good, a well-aimed torpedo often changes the balance of power on the battlefield. Cruisers are something in between - they are a versatile class for those who want to perform a wide range of tasks on the map.

Against the backdrop of these three aircraft carriers look quite defenseless - it really is no big deal to get close to them and sink them at close range. Except that the strength of this type of ship is not in the armor or the caliber of the cannons, but in the aircraft. Ironbirds make aircraft carriers great for scouting, support and air damage without dashing into the line of fire. Standing apart in World of Warships are the submarines, a newcomer to the virtual fleet that has only recently been added. You can try them out either as a beta tester or in special modes like Underwater Battle. With them everything is as in reality: it is difficult to find a submarine that has gone into a maximum submersion and not so easy to get, but if the enemy finds it and pins it with a depth bomb, not much will happen.

It should be noted that the levels of match participants are balanced automatically, so the beginner with the initial transport does not fall at the mercy of experienced sea wolves. No one sets unattainable goals here. The main thing is to complete the mission, using the advantages of your own ship and the disadvantages of the enemy's.

The first type of battles the game introduces is training in a match against bots controlled by artificial intelligence. This option is only available at first, but later on no one stops you from running a "Training Room" with the exact same enemy dummies to, for example, try out a new ship or hone your shooting skills on moving targets. There's also "Cooperative Combat" which allows you to join a group of 8 players and attack the computer fleet until it is completely destroyed. And if you want something special, you can try "Operations" - in these teams perform tasks such as the protection of the convoy or base. In all these modes, people confront the AI, i.e. they belong to the PvE format, but the highlight of the local program they still can't be called.

The game is more about naval battles against live opponents. Most of the time you fight in "Random Combat", where you gather teams of 12 people and have to capture points - we already mentioned this mode above. But there are also matches with certain plots: in "Scenarios" you must both fight and perform a number of tasks - basic and additional, and in "Arms Race" you must use special zones that give bonuses to win. It's reminiscent of the "battle royale" genre, where players are weak at first, but become more and more of a threat to each other as they gather weapons and supplies.

For the full picture, let's mention seasonal, ranked, and clan battles. Battles of the first type are added by developers for short periods, rank battles take place between teams of 7 participants running ships of a certain type and level. Clans - associations of players - also go out 7 on 7 and on identical level ships, only requirements to types of ships are less strict here. This is, as it is easy to guess, entertainment for experienced users. However, World of Warships is designed in such a way that at any level you will have something to do.

Modes and ships in World of Warships are opened gradually: for example, to get the first commander you must reach level seven, and "Random battles" are available only from level three. The same applies to the development of different countries shipbuilders - to move forward in all at once will not work, so usually players choose one of the main and one more auxiliary. For example, opening Japanese equipment, and at the same time swinging the USSR production models. To grow in levels, you must participate in the battles - extracted from the waves of experience invested in pumping, and the prize currency bought special modules, giving advantages in combat. They, in turn, can also be improved.

In general, pumping - a slow and thoughtful: until you open the ship, to which you move on the branch of the selected country, until you equip it with the latest technology, can pass a fair amount of time. Yes, and put the dodgers at random is more expensive, because their removal have to spend doubloons - a rare game currency that can be bought with real money. The developers offer to simplify the task and buy elite models with full upgrades for doubloons. But it's an option for those who want to get the boat they want quickly, because it is more interesting to develop and build ships on your own.

World of Warships seems a bit friendlier to newcomers than Tanks from the same developers. There is no need for cunning maneuvers behind cover, and there are no situations where your equipment is destroyed by a single hit. At the same time the game offers a variety of tactics, a rich selection of ships and options for their equipment, so you can "stick" in it for a long time.

Zarium, September 2020