0.11.4 Brings Arms Race into Random and Co-op Battles
Update 0.11.4 brings Arms Race—a mode that allows you to improve the characteristics of your ship right in battle—into Random and Co-op Battles.
With the addition of Arms Race to Random and Co-op Battles, WG have disabled Epicenter.
Rules
Arms Race will be available only in battles where the highest ship tier is IX or X, as well as in battles with superships. You can enter a battle in a Division of no more than three players. The number of players and matchmaking restrictions are the same as those applied in Random and Co-op Battles.
Maps
Arms Race will be available only on these eight maps: Northern Waters, Sleeping Giant, Loop, Warrior’s Path, Mountain Range, Land of Fire, Islands of Ice, and Hotspot.
Features of Arms Race
Once a battle starts, areas with buffs spawn on the map. If you can make it to a special area and pick up the buffs before your opponents do, your entire team will get a bonus to their combat abilities till the end of that battle.
Eight minutes after a battle starts, a Key Area appears in the center of the map. The diameter of this area then shrinks over time. The team that captures it will be able to quickly gain an advantage in points and greatly increase their chances of winning. The capture time is 120 seconds. Holding an area brings 10 points every 2 seconds.
To win a battle, a team will need to meet one of the following conditions:
- Sink all enemy ships
- Be the first to score 1,000 superiority points
- Reduce the opposing team's points to zero
- Prevail over the opposing team by the number of points at the time the battle ends
Battles in the Arms Race mode will bring players the standard sums of XP and Credits they would get in Random or Co-op Battles (depending on which type of battle they are in). Activating buff areas will also be rewarded.
How Buff Areas Work
Each buff area becomes available to capture 2 minutes after spawning. The player whose ship first enters the area after its activation gets a buff for their ship and all allies.
If both allied and enemy ships are in a buff area at the moment of its activation, the team with the most ships in the area gets the buff. If the ship numbers are equal, the balance of power inside the area must shift one way or another for a team to receive the buff.
In addition to the buffs, each captured area grants 20 points to your team and deducts 20 points from the enemy team. Players who capture a buff area receive an economic reward of XP and Credits. New buff areas appear on the map every 2 minutes until the 14th minute of each battle. Buff areas spawn randomly on maps, so every battle is unique!
Buff Types
Permanent HP recovery for ships and carrier aircraft:
- Restores +0.04% HP per second for destroyers and submarines
- Restores +0.03% HP per second for cruisers
- Restores +0.02% HP per second for battleships
- Restores +0.125% HP per second for carrier aircraft
Faster reload time for all ship armaments; faster squadron preparation time for aircraft carriers:
- −10% to the reload time of all armaments and sonar
- −10% to squadron restoration time
Boosted armament damage for ships and carrier squadrons:
- +10% to maximum ship armament damage
- +10% to maximum armament damage of carrier and hybrid ship squadrons
Increased current and maximum HP values for ships and carrier squadrons:
- +10% to current and maximum HP of destroyers and submarines
- +7.5% to current and maximum HP of cruisers
- +5% to current and maximum HP of battleships
- +17% to current and maximum HP of carrier squadrons
Each buff has three levels. The bonuses stack up if you capture the same buffs multiple times. All four buff types can be applied to a ship simultaneously.
Picking up a buff that you have already maxed out will have no effect. Capturing a buff area will bring 20 superiority points to your team and deduct 20 points from the enemy team. Buff areas disappear after being captured.
