World of Warships Review - Fun, Fast-Paced, And Free

Fanghawk

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World of Warships Review - Fun, Fast-Paced, And Free

World of Warships is the free-to-play MMO that can make a wargamer out of anyone.

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infohippie

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It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
 

Karadalis

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infohippie said:
It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
Actually there is a coop mode to get you into the game where you are matched up against an AI team mirroring your own.

Also you have to realize that the company behind this title is the same that made world of tanks... this is literally their bread and butter genre wich makes them tons of money.

Wich is good because they are also making the new master of orion, wich seems to be an improved version of the all time classic master of orion 2
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

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infohippie said:
It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
I usually take this view but sometimes gameplay experiences without throughline stories are immensely satisfying when serving as breaks from life. Wargaming has got me hooked on World of Tanks and World of Warships for this.

If Star Citizen ended up dropping single player on the other hand, my anger would see no limits.
 

TK MadCat

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I really like WoWS, but I think they need to overhaul their matchmaking. Seems like I'm always low tier in a high game. Like if I bring in a T4, I often see T6 ships. Only real reason I wanna grind out to final tier ships, just so I can have a balanced game.

This just me or, anyone else have this matchmaking issue?
 

Wiggum Esquilax

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"When you first log in to World of Warships, you'll have access to a starting fleet of Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, and even Aircraft carriers."

No, when you first log on you'll have access to cruisers. The other ships have to be unlocked. New classes are made available at successive tiers, to slowly ease new players into the game without swamping them with game mechanics. The very earliest you can get a carrier is as your sixth ship.

"recall planes for repair and refueling."

You mean repairing, rearming, and replenishing depleted squadrons. Aircraft in WoWS don't run out of gas.

Other than that, good review.

A word of warning to new players though, balance is still somewhat iffy across the tiers. Low-tier battleships in particular are basically defenseless against carriers, with neither the anti-aircraft guns to shoot planes down, nor the agility to dodge torpedoes, nor an effective cruiser screen to intercept bombers. Tier 4 battleships are definitely a trial by fire, though they start to come into their own by tier 5.
 

Wiggum Esquilax

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TK MadCat said:
I really like WoWS, but I think they need to overhaul their matchmaking. Seems like I'm always low tier in a high game. Like if I bring in a T4, I often see T6 ships. Only real reason I wanna grind out to final tier ships, just so I can have a balanced game.

This just me or, anyone else have this matchmaking issue?
Did you just start? A few exceptional ships notwithstanding, experienced players don't usually play as many craft below tier 5. The game just went public; you may have singled yourself out at tier 4 by racing ahead of the new player pack.

Lower tier vessels are less profitable, and suffer from practically non-existent anti-aircraft capability. Again, you may be in the minority by running a tier 4.

Another possible answer is the time of day. In World of Tanks at least, kids tend to play more after school, and tend to run in lower tiers. It's all adults after the kids have gone to bed, and lower tier tanks suffer by being drug artificially high.
 

TK MadCat

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Wiggum Esquilax said:
TK MadCat said:
I really like WoWS, but I think they need to overhaul their matchmaking. Seems like I'm always low tier in a high game. Like if I bring in a T4, I often see T6 ships. Only real reason I wanna grind out to final tier ships, just so I can have a balanced game.

This just me or, anyone else have this matchmaking issue?
Did you just start? A few exceptional ships notwithstanding, experienced players don't usually play as many craft below tier 5. The game just went public; you may have singled yourself out at tier 4 by racing ahead of the new player pack.

Lower tier vessels are less profitable, and suffer from practically non-existent anti-aircraft capability. Again, you may be in the minority by running a tier 4.

Another possible answer is the time of day. In World of Tanks at least, kids tend to play more after school, and tend to run in lower tiers. It's all adults after the kids have gone to bed, and lower tier tanks suffer by being drug artificially high.
Eh true about play-times, and no not exactly beginning. Been playing since the beta opened. Kinda passively tho on-n-off, more focused in War Thunder, Star Conflict and Warframe. I hop on WoWS when I crave some sea-combat so once or twice a week or every other week. But I tend to get frustrated after a few matches by being so outgunned.

So basically I just need to get to mid/high-tiers and that issue will resolve?
 

Wiggum Esquilax

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TK MadCat said:
Wiggum Esquilax said:
TK MadCat said:
-snip-
Eh true about play-times, and no not exactly beginning. Been playing since the beta opened. Kinda passively tho on-n-off, more focused in War Thunder, Star Conflict and Warframe. I hop on WoWS when I crave some sea-combat so once or twice a week or every other week. But I tend to get frustrated after a few matches by being so outgunned.

So basically I just need to get to mid/high-tiers and that issue will resolve?
Pretty much. A tier 5 getting into a tier 7 match isn't as common as a tier 4 being drug up to 6. Even when uptiered, post WW1 construction and modifications mean that you actually sometimes do have the agility to evade harm, even if outgunned.

It also means that carrier superiority just isn't as severe, not against modern AAA, not unless you're the one in the carrier. A lower tier CV's planes are almost helpless against more powerful enemy fighters.
 

TK MadCat

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Wiggum Esquilax said:
TK MadCat said:
Wiggum Esquilax said:
TK MadCat said:
-snip-
Eh true about play-times, and no not exactly beginning. Been playing since the beta opened. Kinda passively tho on-n-off, more focused in War Thunder, Star Conflict and Warframe. I hop on WoWS when I crave some sea-combat so once or twice a week or every other week. But I tend to get frustrated after a few matches by being so outgunned.

So basically I just need to get to mid/high-tiers and that issue will resolve?
Pretty much. A tier 5 getting into a tier 7 match isn't as common as a tier 4 being drug up to 6. Even when uptiered, post WW1 construction and modifications mean that you actually sometimes do have the agility to evade harm, even if outgunned.

It also means that carrier superiority just isn't as severe, not against modern AAA, not unless you're the one in the carrier. A lower tier CV's planes are almost helpless against more powerful enemy fighters.
Nice, thanks for the info/advice. I'll farm up then with some renewed vigor. I had all but shelved the game thinking it was gonna continue till maxed out. Which would have been disappointing, cause I like the naval combat.

War Thunder was supposed to have naval combat by now, but no word as to when it will release.
 

Thyunda

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Well I would be playing it but downloading it collapsed my Internet and neither of Wargaming's other two games work with my laptop's graphics card, for some obscure reason, so I've no reason to believe this one will. It's such a stupid goddamn issue and I really want to play it!
 

shintakie10

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I got turned off of it by the PVE mode being totally pointless. Even at low tiers the payout is horrendously low. Get even to mid tier and you can actively lose money on them, which is highly frustrating.

I used to think this model was okay, but after playing a ton of Heroes and really enjoying the leisurely pace of the PVE content (also the complete lack of toxicity, which is wonderful) I just couldn't get back into a game that forced me into the cess pits that are PVP content.

The amount of times I've seen the word fag, jew, and niggers thrown out in even T3/4 games is repulsive.
 

Fanghawk

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Wiggum Esquilax said:
"When you first log in to World of Warships, you'll have access to a starting fleet of Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, and even Aircraft carriers."

No, when you first log on you'll have access to cruisers. The other ships have to be unlocked. New classes are made available at successive tiers, to slowly ease new players into the game without swamping them with game mechanics. The very earliest you can get a carrier is as your sixth ship.

"recall planes for repair and refueling."

You mean repairing, rearming, and replenishing depleted squadrons. Aircraft in WoWS don't run out of gas.

Other than that, good review.

A word of warning to new players though, balance is still somewhat iffy across the tiers. Low-tier battleships in particular are basically defenseless against carriers, with neither the anti-aircraft guns to shoot planes down, nor the agility to dodge torpedoes, nor an effective cruiser screen to intercept bombers. Tier 4 battleships are definitely a trial by fire, though they start to come into their own by tier 5.
Correct - I was reviewing from a press account and didn't realize starting ships were down that low.

And it looks like World of Warships did use a fuel system in earlier versions but dropped it - which was confusing because of older support posts on the subject.
 

infohippie

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Karadalis said:
infohippie said:
It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
Actually there is a coop mode to get you into the game where you are matched up against an AI team mirroring your own.

Also you have to realize that the company behind this title is the same that made world of tanks... this is literally their bread and butter genre wich makes them tons of money.

Wich is good because they are also making the new master of orion, wich seems to be an improved version of the all time classic master of orion 2
Fighting bots really isn't the same thing as an actual single player mode, especially when I am never going to move on to PvP. It might hold my interest for two games, even three, and then it would be uninstall time. And World of Tanks is in fact another game which I like the look of and would love to play, but the absence of a single player campaign means I will never touch it. Same With Mechwarrior Online.

Redlin5 said:
infohippie said:
It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
I usually take this view but sometimes gameplay experiences without throughline stories are immensely satisfying when serving as breaks from life. Wargaming has got me hooked on World of Tanks and World of Warships for this.

If Star Citizen ended up dropping single player on the other hand, my anger would see no limits.
Star Citizen is a bit different in that even the full massively multiplayer universe is still full of single-player stories and missions and is planned to be mostly a PvE experience with some PvP. It's not all-PvP all the time.
 

jklinders

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infohippie said:
It looks gorgeous, and I would really love to play it, but... multiplayer PvP only? Nope, not for me. Now if they bothered to make a single-player campaign of a good length with a decent storyline I'd happily pay cash money for it but sadly it's far easier and cheaper to just make the mechanics and let other players be your content. It is unfortunate that so many companies go this path.
I generally feel that way a well.

World of Warships is fantastic though. There is a Co-op mode that lets you fight bots but i find it more satisfying to go up against humans. The AI is decent, but it will stop challenging you pretty quick and you will want something more.

It allows for pretty quick matches to grab before work, or to blow off a bit of steam once home. The 4 ship types play differently enough that you can find your playstyle.
 

Ironman126

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Apr 7, 2010
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Wiggum Esquilax said:
A tier 5 getting into a tier 7 match isn't as common as a tier 4 being drug up to 6. Even when uptiered, post WW1 construction and modifications mean that you actually sometimes do have the agility to evade harm, even if outgunned.
From my own experience, which is about 300 games since joining in August, I can safely say that Match Making is totally broken. I have Tier 4 and Tier 5 cruisers and Tier 4 battleships and the games they get into is wildly different. The issue is less about the tier of the ship and more about the type of ship.

The cruisers almost never see games more than one tier higher than they are. My Tier 5 Omaha-class cruiser rarely sees Tier 7 ships. My Tier 4 Wyoming-class battleship sees Tier 6 & 7 games almost every time. I am bottom tier in my battleships more than any other type of ship. The fact is battleships get absolutely brutal match making.

I did a little experiment, and I know it's only one data point, but I teamed up with a buddy who drives Tier 5-8 battleships. We did a few games with him in the Tier 5 New York and the Tier 6 Warspite. In every match, we were pulled up two tiers, minimum. In no fewer than three battles with the New York, we were placed in Tier 8 games. These were not the odd Tier 8 in the match, either. All three times there were at least two Tier 8 enemy battleships and cruisers. But what was strange was that the Tier 6 ship got pulled into basically the same matches as the Tier 5. And as I stated before, even my Tier 4 battleship gets pulled into Tier 7 games regularly.
 

syaoran728

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Just out of curiosity is, are the servers still full of Kancolle fans going "Poi" all the time?
 

bificommander

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"carriers are the mobile bases from which you can launch acts as a mobile base from which you can launch fighters and bombers"
So to be clear, are carriers mobile bases? (I know I make mistakes like this all the time when I cut and paste in posts, but still.)

I played closed and open beta and I don't recall being placed in consistently bad tiers, even in battleships (where I only made it to the Kongo). Maybe it's thanks to the European servers/timezones? My main problem with the matchmaking is that sometimes provides bafflingly uneven teams. Like seeing 2 tier 6 BBs on one team and only a Tier 5 and Tier 4 on the other, with no reason (like a cruiser tier advantage for the other team, or the BBs being in platoons) why they couldn't divide the tier 6's fairly. Or giving one team a carrier advantage and slotting the good AA cruisers in that team. The ships all have a numerical AA rating, it should be easy to have the matchmaker take that into account, but no.

Also, tier 4 BBs are playable, but tier 3 is a nightmare. The Japanese battleship's guns just barely outrange Japanese torpedos at that tier, for crying out loud.
 

Cowabungaa

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At first I was afraid I couldn't really get into this because of a lack of time. I usually can't put a lot of hours into multiplayer games to really become good at them so I just end up hating my time with them. But damn if the review isn't on-point with saying it is indeed super intuitive and easy to play.

And after playing it for a bit, I made some observations:

- Sometimes it's really fun, even if you're in higher tiers already, to just play 100% tier 1 Cruiser games. It feels so...pure.

- Dodging torpedoes gives me life.

- It gets more fun if you shout like a pirate.

- The St. Louis makes me feel like a super villain, with its metric fuckton of guns.
 

Frankster

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Mar 13, 2009
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TK MadCat said:
This just me or, anyone else have this matchmaking issue?
It depends on the ship type, BBs get the worst of this for example whereas as DD it honestly doesn't matter xD

Which brings me to why I love this game: dds!
Turns out I'm a natural destroyer captain, eagerly scouting and infiltrating behind enemy lines, sneaking in from behind and unleasing a salvo of torps on higher tier ships before vanishing again...So much fun! Planes ruin my day if they spot me, but other then that I fear nothing else expect other dds (since they are as stealthy as me and if I run into them and my cover gets blown, death is soon to follow).

By contrast, BBs look cool but are most boring class to play imo, you hang back and shoot at extreme ranges..And if you miss, enjoy that 30 secs reload time!
If you wanna go shooty, cruisers are more fun, just keep firing those guns! Pew pew!

No comment on carriers, I play japanese and it's a sad fact jap carriers are underpowered compared to usa ones who for some inexplicable reason have larger squads (in theory japanese planes meant to be individually stronger but it doesnt work like that in game) and so are guaranteed to win the air war on numbers alone unless the usa player really really REALLY sucks or the jap carriers outnumber the usa ones roughly 1.75-2 to 1.
Or maybe they patched it? Will have to ask my friend about this.