Tests of Modified Cruiser Plating and Updated "IFHE Shells" Skill World of Warships

Tests of Modified Cruiser Plating and Updated "IFHE Shells" Skill

WG continue to test the modified cruiser plating and the updated "Inertia Fuse for HE Shells" skill.

Please note: these mechanics are built as a prototype and this is a concept check, so some parameters may change and/or may not apply to the game at all.

This test will help us gather the required data to estimate extreme cases and determine steps for improvement.

The main goals that WG want to achieve with these changes are:

• Normalize the interaction between cruisers of the same tier: HE cruiser shells with a calibre of 152 - 155 mm should penetrate classmates without additional conditions. This will increase the comfort of playing on such cruisers and make the "Inertia Fuse for HE Shells" skill optional;
• Provide more cruisers with a similar protection as tier X ones: on the distance and at the right angle, cruiser plating will be able to cause ricochet of the battleship shells, while now they penetrate cruisers without a ricochet check;
• Use differences in armor to maintain the uniqueness of cruisers with a caliber of 190 mm or more compared to those with a caliber of 139 to 189 mm: the first group of ships will have a central "box" of increased armor plating and the second one will have only an improved deck;
• Balance the "Inertia Fuse for HE Shells" skill so that the combination of positive and negative features of this skill affects the choice of the player, making this skill not so obligatory and giving variability in the build of cruiser commanders.

At the moment, testing is being conducted only for ships on Tiers VIII-X. The impact of the changes on other Tiers, classes, and specific ships will be assessed later and may require additional changes. The decision will be made based on the test results.

The change in plating affects three different groups of cruisers:

1. with a gun caliber of 190 mm or more;
2. with a gun caliber from 139 to 189 mm;
3. with a gun caliber of up to 139 mm and British cruisers with a caliber of 152 mm.

Basic rules:

1, Plating of the central part of the cruisers with a caliber of 190 mm and more:

• for Tier X: increased to 30 mm (AP shells up to 429 mm may ricochet). This change will only affect Des Moines and Salem, with the rest of the cruisers already having 30 mm of plating or more;
• for Tiers VIII-IX: increased to 27 mm (AP shells up to 386 mm may ricochet);
• the bow and stern plating parameters remain unchanged.

2, Plating of the central part of the deck of cruisers with a caliber from 139 to 189 mm:

• for Tier X: increased to 30 mm (AP shells up to 429 mm may ricochet). Worcester already has this plating, and this rule will apply to new cruisers that will be added to the game in the future;
• for Tiers VIII-IX: increased to 27 mm (AP shells up to 386 mm may ricochet);
• The bow and stern plating parameters, as well as the central part of the sides, remain unchanged.
• The armor of the superstructures has been modified from 16 mm to 13 mm, which will mean shells of 186 mm and above will no longer ricochet.

Changes in the plating will increase the survivability of the cruisers: at the right angle they will become more resistant to battleship fire. Cruisers at tier X already have this reward for proper positioning: they can withstand fire from ships with a caliber up to 429 mm at acute angles (AP shells ricochet against the plating).

If the cruiser's armor was thicker, this would not change.

3. Plating of the central part of Tier VIII-X cruisers with a caliber of up to 139 and British cruisers with a caliber of 152 mm is brought to 16 mm (shells with a caliber of up to 229 mm may ricochet. If the armor of the British cruiser was thicker, it would not change);

• The changes will affect the ships Smolensk and Colbert - the armor of this plating will be reduced to 16 mm, which will reduce the number of AP shell ricochets. If these changes have a significant impact on the efficiency of these cruisers, additional changes may be applied to them. This rule will apply to new cruisers that will be added to the game in the future.

The rule for calculating the armor penetration of an HE shell has been changed for all HE shells: currently, an HE shell will only penetrate armor thicknesses which are lower than the shell's penetration value. With the change, an HE shell will not only be able to penetrate armor thicknesses that are lower than its penetration value, but also those that are equal to it. In this way, 152-155 mm shells will be able to penetrate 25 mm plating, whereas currently, the penetration is 24 mm and less. Due to this change, plating of Tier VI-VII battleships is changed to 26 mm.

For Tier VIII-X ships with 152-155 mm guns, the 1/5-caliber rule is now applied. The change will allow penetration of tier VIII- IX cruiser plating and the 30 mm plating of tier X cruisers.

These changes will make the skill of "Inertia fuse for HE shells" less obligatory. In the current system, penetration with 152-155 mm cruiser shells without this skill is impossible, which greatly limits the commander's skill choice and subsequent effectiveness in combat.

The "Inertia fuse for HE shells" skill is planned to be changed as follows:

• armor penetration capacity of HE shells increased by 25% for Tier I-VII ships,
• armor penetration capacity of HE shells increased by 30% for Tier VIII-X ships
• chance of causing a fire reduced by 50%.

At present, the skill gave a sizable boost without a correspondingly significant penalty, which made it almost mandatory. The new variant will bring the efficiency of the skill back to normal. Further on, and after additional testing, more balancing options and changes are possible for this skill.

In the course of testing, some ships may be subjected to additional balance corrections to maintain their efficiency.

The concept for other tiers will be tested separately and may require further changes.

Please note that the information in the Development Blog is preliminary and subject to change.