Captains! Due to the installation of the Update, the server will be unavailable:

From: Thu. 29 Oct. 06:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Thu. 29 Oct. 05:00

Until: Thu. 29 Oct. 09:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Thu. 29 Oct. 08:00

Update size: 4.7 GB

The possibility to make this exchange will be available until: Thu. 03 Dec. 06:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Thu. 03 Dec. 05:00

Rewards for completing the missions and groups: signal flags, camouflages, Coal, Free XP, Elite Commander XP, and Always Courageous containers.

Always Courageous containers

How to get the containers

• Up to 27 containers—by completing combat mission groups.
• Up to 4 containers—from Daily Shipments.
• Up to 10 containers—by completing special combat missions from the official World of Warships streams.

Each Always Courageous container includes:

• An element of the Always Courageous collection.
• 1x special signal (Dragon, Wyvern, Red Dragon, Ouroboros, Hydra, Basilisk, Scylla, or Leviathan), or 1x Stars ‘n’ Stripes camouflage.
• One of the following: 600 Coal; 500 Free XP; 1,500 Elite Commander XP; 3x signals of the same type (Zulu, Papa Papa, Equal Speed Charlie London, India Bravo Terrathree, Zulu Hotel); or 50,000 credits.

You can purchase Always Courageous Premium containers, which offer more rewards, in the Premium Shop, or obtain them in exchange for doubloons in the Armory. The rewards are as follows:

• An element of the Always Courageous collection.
• 15x special signals of the same type (Dragon, Wyvern, Red Dragon, Ouroboros, Hydra, Basilisk, Scylla, or Leviathan), or 12x Stars ‘n’ Stripes camouflages.
• 3,400 Coal; or 8,500 Free XP; or 3x Type 59 camouflages.

The “Always Courageous” collection

The newly added “Always Courageous” collection comprises four sections, with four elements in each. It will educate you about the main batteries of battleships, admirals, and medals for service in both World Wars, as well as the main uniform types of enlisted men of the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Reward for completing the sections: 5x Stars ‘n’ Stripes expendable camouflages; Wings, Stars, and Stars ‘n’ Stripes patches.

Reward for completing the collection: V Oklahoma in the Military permanent camouflage, and a Commander with 6 skill points.

V Oklahoma is a Nevada-class battleship, the unique feature of which is her ten 356 mm main caliber guns placed in two twin turrets and two triple turrets. The guns are accurate, have a decent firing range, and cause significant damage per salvo, but take rather a long time to reload. In close quarters, the battleship can make use of her accurate secondary battery guns.

The exchange rate for duplicates is 4:1. To exchange duplicates, you need to select a vacant slot in a collection section, then confirm that you want to exchange your duplicates for the missing item in the window that appears.

Elements of the collection can only be obtained from event-related containers. In Update 0.10.5, we’re planning to add Always Courageous containers to the Armory. They will be available in exchange for Coal. Thus, you’ll still be able to complete the collection and obtain V Oklahoma if you haven’t managed to do so in Update 0.9.10. The exact cost of the containers will be announced later.

Daily Shipments

During Update 0.9.10, enter the game in the period between October 29 and November 12, inclusive, to start getting valuable rewards via the Daily Shipments section.

You can get a total of 10 rewards, while the shipments are available for 14 days. Thus, you can skip 4 days out of 2 weeks and still claim all the valuable rewards.

When Update 0.9.11 goes live, VIII Kansas, IX Minnesota, and X Vermont will leave Early Access and become available for all players to research.

Key Battle

A new temporary battle type—Key Battle—has been added in Update 0.9.10. Demonstrate your skills in a futuristic competition by assuming command over a ship representing one of three corporations!

• The new battle type pits 16 players against each other and AI-controlled monsters on the gigantic Polygon map.
• You start out alone, but you can gather a team of up to three ships directly in battle.
• For destroying monsters and other players, you’ll get a temporary resource—Battle Points. Having accumulated a certain number of Battle Points, you can also reinforce your ship directly in battle.
• The Battle Points you receive aren’t lost or spent in battle. You can exchange them for rewards in the Armory.
• You’ll find a monster with a key closer to the center of the map. If you destroy it, the monster will drop a key that will allow you to escape via the Portal.
• Once all the keys have been used or the Portal is closed, the remaining ships will be transported to a special area—the Octagon. The final battle takes place in a gradually shrinking combat zone. The last surviving ship will leave the Polygon successfully.
• Successfully escaping the Polygon will bring you additional Battle Points.
• Each of the three available ships offers a wide variety of modules that can have a significant impact on the gameplay.

The new themed Port inspired by the Polygon will ensure that you soak in the event’s atmosphere before you enter battle.

More details on the Key Battle rules, as well as the available rewards in the Armory, will come in a dedicated article.

Clan Missions

Some missions related to Clan development have been added to the Clans section of the menu. Oil is the main reward given for completing these missions, but two of them will deliver Coal to the Clan Treasury. In total, you can earn up to 32,100 Oil and 11,000 Coal. You can also earn the “Formidable Fleet” achievement.

The missions reward Clans for growing in size, participating in the Naval Battle, active playing of the Clan members, and fighting in Clan Battles. More details about the missions are available in the game client.

Aircraft Carrier Interface

We’ve made some changes that will ensure you receive useful information about the status of your ship while controlling a squadron in the air.

• A new marker pointing at your aircraft carrier has been added. It changes to indicate your ship’s status: risk of collision, ship detected by the enemy, approaching torpedoes, etc.

• Sound notifications have been updated. The least informative ones have been removed in order to make space for new notifications that relate to the aircraft carrier’s status.
• We’ve added the possibility to skip the attack animation and proceed directly to operating a squadron. The aircraft invulnerability period will be reduced by the duration of the skipped part of the animation.

Armory

The new Samurai permanent camouflage for X Shikishima has been added and made available in exchange for three Ranked Tokens.

The opportunity to exchange 12,500 Research Points for 250,000 Free XP in the Research Bureau didn’t prove to be popular, so it will be removed.

The possibility to make this exchange will be available until: Sat. 14 Nov. 06:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Sat. 14 Nov. 05:00

Update 0.9.10 delivers a new temporary battle type—Key Battles—to the game. Demonstrate your skills in a futuristic competition by assuming command over a ship that represents one of three corporations!

The event’s atmosphere can be felt even before entering the battle in the new themed Port.

Major Things You Should Know

• The new battle type pits 16 players against each other and AI-controlled monsters on the gigantic Polygon map.
• You start out alone, but you can gather a team of up to three ships directly in battle.
• For destroying monsters and other players, you’ll get a temporary resource—Battle Points. Having accumulated a certain number of Battle Points in one battle, you’ll unlock the ability to reinforce your ship directly in that battle. However, upgrading your ship in battle will not actually spend Points—all earned Points will appear in your Port regardless of any upgrades made in battle.
• The Battle Points you accrue can be exchanged for various rewards in the Armory.
• As you get closer to the center of the map, you’ll find a specially marked monster with a key. After destroying the monster, you’ll receive its key. This will allow you to exit the map via the Portal.
• When all the keys have been used or the Portal is closed, the remaining ships will be transported to a special area—the Octagon. The final battle takes place in a gradually shrinking combat zone. The last surviving ship will also leave the Polygon successfully.
• Successfully escaping the Polygon will bring you additional Battle Points.
• Each of the three ships offers a wide variety of modules that can have a significant impact on gameplay.

Tips

• Try different combinations of modules and armaments—you can assemble a ship that’s to your liking. Don’t be afraid to experiment—you need to act unpredictably on the Polygon.
• Destroy the first monsters you encounter and upgrade your ship as quickly as possible. This will give you an advantage in encounters with other players.
• It’s not necessary to immediately attack players—the reward you would receive for attacking them at the beginning of the battle is minimal.
• As you get closer to the center of the map, the monsters will become more dangerous, but you’ll also receive more Battle Points for destroying them.
• If you don’t have enough keys for the entire Division, be prepared for the fact that your new comrades are highly likely to become enemies as you try to head for the Portal.
• Divisions are also active in the final battle in the Octagon. But the winner will be the last ship afloat.

Rewards

The Battle Points you earn in battle can be exchanged for various rewards in the Armory.

In addition, new Commanders with 10 skill points and bundles with Commanders from the Halloween events of previous years can be obtained in in the Armory in exchange for doubloons.

Please note: Battle Points can be exchanged for rewards in the Armory only until the end of the Key Battle event. After the end of the event, they will be exchanged for credits at the rate of 1 Battle Point : 75 credits.

Key Battle Rules

Starts: Thu. 29 Oct. 06:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Thu. 29 Oct. 05:00

Ends: Thu. 03 Dec. 06:00 CET (UTC+1) / your local time: Thu. 03 Dec. 05:00

To access Key Battles, you must have fought at least 21 battles in the available battle types.

Instead of the usual rectangular Minimap, the new battle type features a round one with the player’s ship at its center. It displays everything within the spotting range of your ship.

For destroying monsters and other players’ ships, you earn a temporary resource—Battle Points. Having accumulated a certain number of Battle Points, you can reinforce your ship directly in battle. To select one of the two improvements, use Ctrl+1 or Ctrl+2. You don’t need to spend any Battle Points to make your selection, and because improving your ship won’t cost any Points, don’t delay installing an upgrade—do it as soon as you can. After the end of the battle, Battle Points can be exchanged for rewards in the Armory.

You can earn additional Battle Points by exiting through the Portal in the center of the map. To do that, you need to destroy one of the special monsters and get a key. The number of available keys is limited. The Portal opens some time after the start of a battle, remains open for a few minutes, and then closes.

After the last key has been used or the Portal has closed, the remaining ships will be transported to a special arena—the Octagon. The final battle takes place in a gradually shrinking combat zone. Ships constantly receive damage when situated outside the boundaries of this zone. The last surviving ship will successfully leave the Polygon and receive additional Points.

Players are not allowed to enter Key Battles in Divisions, but you can assemble a team of up to three ships directly in battle. To invite a player to your team, aim at them and press F. When you receive an invitation, the top of the screen displays who sent the invitation and how to accept or decline it. While you are on the same team, you cannot deal damage to each other, and all Points earned are divided equally.

However, only one player can use one key, which is why you’ll face a choice—go all the way with your allies, or turn your guns against them and escape as a lone wolf via the Portal. When you decide to leave the Division of allies, hold Tab and open the Team Members tab. Under this tab, you can view the weapons and consumables of your temporary allies, as well as choose to leave the Division.

If your ship gets destroyed or you escape through the Portal, you don’t need to wait for the end of the battle to enter a new one—your ship will be immediately ready for the next battle.

Ships and Armaments

Three ships in total are available for Key Battles in Update 0.9.10. Each of them offers a wide variety of modules that can have a significant impact on the gameplay and ships’ exteriors.

The first ship, Valkyrie, is available immediately with the start of Key Battles.

In addition to the new ships, completing combat missions will also unlock new hull modules, primary and auxiliary armaments, and a special module that changes the ship’s consumables. More details are available in the game client.

Please note: Commander skills, camouflages, and signals are disabled in Key Battles.

Valkyrie

The first available ship is well-suited to trying out the new battle type. Her main armament doesn’t differ much from the usual guns, and her stock hull increases the effectiveness of ramming with the ship’s bow. For experienced Key Battle players, Valkyrie can offer mortars that deal damage with HE shells, even when landing in the water near the target, as well as a special consumable that provides temporary invulnerability.

Gale

To obtain Gale, you need to complete a special combat mission playing Valkyrie. The mission will become available with the start of the event.

Instead of consumables, Gale uses energy distribution mechanics that improve the ship’s parameters. Select the desired bonuses and then reroute energy to them using the appropriate keys. If you activate two or three bonuses at the same time, an equal amount of energy will be supplied to each of them.

The ship’s main armament is torpedoes. The stock torpedoes don’t offer any surprises. However, among the weapons that are unlocked by completing combat missions, there are special torpedoes that can temporarily disable enemy weaponry, as well as plasma torpedoes. Plasma ammunition heats up the target’s armor and temporarily increases the damage dealt by subsequent hits of plasma shells and torpedoes to the same area.

Gale’s auxiliary armament is an effective secondary battery with a small firing sector.

Heracles

To get Heracles, you must complete a special combat mission playing Valkyrie or Gale. The mission will be available from November 13.

The ship’s main battery utilizes wavecasters or lasers. The larger the area of the ship that’s hit by the wave is, the more damage that’s dealt. Waves can also destroy torpedoes and neutralize other waves. Lasers fire with a delay—taking the necessary lead on the target might take some getting used to for newcomers to Key Battles. They hit the target instantly and with perfect accuracy, inflicting heavy damage.

Heracles’s consumables enable you to select, for example, auras with bonuses for allies; an immediate 180-degree turn (U-turn); or emitting a circular wave, similar to that of wavecasters.

Cheshire is a variant of a British heavy cruiser with a main battery comprised of 234 mm guns. In real life, this cruiser existed only on paper; in the game, she was modeled on the basis of cruiser Albemarle. When designing Cheshire, the World of Warships developers were guided by theorizing the logic of a possible evolution of the Albemarle class in the 1940s. The outbreak of World War II rendered all existing naval armament restrictions invalid, which untied the British engineers’ hands and would have allowed them to build a larger and more powerful heavy cruiser. Cheshire carries Mark XII guns with a caliber of 234 mm, which had demonstrated good performance on British monitors during World War I.

Today, we’re focusing on Soviet Tier X Special cruiser Stalingrad—one of the few heavy-artillery ship projects developed after the end of World War II. The technology used to build the ship was more sophisticated than that of her predecessors, with the Soviet Union’s shipbuilding experience and modern techniques from around the world being funneled into her design. The main propulsion plant envisioned for the cruiser was designed to be one of the most powerful in the world. Colossal design and production resources were used to build the ship—with dozens of plants working on her components until she was canceled in 1953, shortly before her hull was to be launched.