New Ships Part 2 - Closed Test 13.1

[New_Jersey_prpr]

https://blog.worldofwarships.com/blog/506

We are introducing two additional ships that will get into testing in Update 13.1.

 

Japanese cruiser Chikuma II, Tier IX

A heavy cruiser of the Tone class—a series of ships distinguished by their unique layout and presence of their own air group on board. The warship played an active role in the Pacific War, with encounters ranging from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where she ultimately sank. She bears the name of a river on Honshu island that had previously been assigned to a light cruiser that served in the Japanese Navy from 1912 through 1931.

Joining her sister ship Tone, Chikuma II will be an excellent fit for captains who enjoy stealthy Japanese heavy cruisers and hybrid gameplay.

Her main battery is represented by eight 203mm guns in four twin turrets with slow traverse speed and limited firing angles, resulting in rather low damage per minute. In comparison to her sister ship, Chikuma II's torpedo bombers will reload more quickly, have more damage potential, and can be stored as up to two charges. Additionally, her ship-mounted torpedoes will have long range, high damage, and improved launch angles due to the torpedoes' ability to turn after hitting the water. Excellent concealment and access to the Smoke Generator consumable will be valuable tools, but her small HP pool and weak AA means captains should take care when detected. Chikuma II also has access to Hydroacoustic Search and Defensive AA Fire in the same slot.

Chikuma II heavily relies on her squadrons and will be most effectively played by using her stealth to take advantageous fights. Enemy targets may be softened up by using her torpedo bombers and high-damage torpedoes, then followed up with main battery salvos from the cover of smoke. In direct confrontations, Chikuma II will fare poorly against her peers, so captains will want to avoid engagements in open water against enemy cruisers and battleships.

The permanent camouflage for Chikuma II is still a work in progress.

 

Ship stats

 

Japanese cruiser Chikuma II, Tier IX

Hit points – 38900. Plating - 25 mm. Fires duration: 30 s.
Torpedo protection - 13 %.
Main battery - 4x2 203 mm. Firing range - 15.7 km.
Maximum HE shell damage – 3300. HE shell armor penetration - 34 mm. Chance to cause fire – 17%. HE initial velocity - 840 m/s.
Maximum AP shell damage - 4700. AP initial velocity - 840 m/s.
Reload time - 16.0 s. 180-degree turn time - 30.0 s. Maximum dispersion - 133 m. Sigma – 2.05.
Airstrike (DC):
Reload time - 30.0 s. Available flights - 2. Number of Aircraft in Attacking Flight - 1. Maximum range - 7.0 km. Number of Bombs in Payload - 2. Maximum bomb damage - 4200.0.
Torpedo tubes - 4x3 610 mm.
Maximum damage - 23767. Range - 15.0 km. Speed - 60 kt. Reload time - 105 s. Launcher 180-degree turn time – 7.2 s. Torpedo detectability - 1.7 km.
Secondary Armament:
4x2 127.0 mm, range  - 7.0 km.
Maximum HE shell damage – 2100. Chance to cause fire – 8%. HE initial velocity - 725 m/s
AA defense: 8x3 25.0 mm., 4x2 25.0 mm., 23x1 25.0 mm., 4x2 127.0 mm.
AA defense short-range: continuous damage per second - 196, hit probability - 85 %, action zone - 2.5 km;
AA defense long-range: continuous damage per second - 60, hit probability - 90 %, action zone - 5.8 km;
Number of explosions in a salvo - 3, damage within an explosion - 1540, action zone 3.5 - 5.8 km.
Maximum speed - 35.5 kt. Turning circle radius - 780 m. Rudder shift time – 10.0 s. Surface detectability – 10.8 km. Air detectability – 7.2 km. Detectability after firing main guns in smoke  – 6.2 km.
Available consumables:
1 slot - Damage Control Party (Duration time 5 s; Reload time 60 s; Equipment is unlimited)
2 slot - Hydroacoustic Search (Duration time 100 s; Torpedo detection range 3.0 km; Ship detection range 4.0 km; Reload time 120 s; Charges 3)
2 slot - Defensive AA Fire (Duration time 40 s; Average AA damage +50%; Damage within the explosion radius of shells fired from medium- and long-range AA defenses 300%; Reload time 80 s; Charges 3)
3 slot - Smoke Generator (Duration time 20 s; Duration time 93 s; Radius 450.0 m; Reload time 160 s; Charges 3)
4 slot - Repair Party (Duration time 28 s; HP per second 194.5; Reload time 80 s; Charges 4)
Aircraft:
Torpedo bombers
Hit points - 1950, cruising speed - 135.0 knots, maximum speed - 155.0 knots, size of attacking flight - 2, aircraft per squadron - 2, aircraft restoration time - 120 s, detectability range - 7.5 km, number of aircraft on deck - 4.
Torpedoes in payload - 1, maximum torpedo damage - 9333, torpedo speed - 50.0 knots, torpedo range - 6.0 km, torpedo arming distance 671 m.
All stats are listed without crew and upgrade modifiers. The stats are subject to change during the testing.

 

American battleship Wisconsin, Tier X

The fourth Iowa-class battleship, designated BB-64, Wisconsin entered service in April 1944. Named after the 30th U.S. state, this warship participated in the Philippines campaign and the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa during World War II. She was later involved in the Korean War and Gulf War operations. Since 2001, Wisconsin has served as a museum ship berthed in Norfolk, Virginia.

Joining her sister ships Iowa and Missouri, Wisconsin is sure to be enjoyed by fans of traditional American battleships. Her good accuracy, low detectability, high speed, and access to improved Repair Party will make her a comfort to play. While her HP pool, armor, and main battery are relatively weak compared to her Tier X peers, unique Combat Instructions that improve her main battery and consumable reload time will give her the punch needed to compete.

As for her consumables, you can choose between Fighter or Spotter Plane, as well as have Defensive AA Fire in a separate slot.

In terms of gameplay, Wisconsin will play similarly to her sister ships. Her concealment and speed may be used to take good positions and her high accuracy will ensure that enemy mistakes are punished. However, she may struggle against well-angled targets and she will fare poorly in direct fights against opposing battleships, so captains will need to make use of her Combat Instructions to compensate for her relatively poor survivability. By vastly shortening the cooldown of the ship's consumables and increasing the fire rate of her main battery, the Combat Instructions will allow Wisconsin to secure an edge in intense engagements, and allow her to survive longer to execute a tactical retreat when required.

 

Ship stats

 

American battleship Wisconsin, Tier X
Hit points – 81100. Plating - 32 mm.
Torpedo protection - 25 %.
Main battery - 3x3 406 mm. Firing range - 23.4 km.
Maximum HE shell damage – 5700. HE shell armor penetration - 68 mm. Chance to cause fire – 36%. HE initial velocity - 820 m/s.
Maximum AP shell damage - 13500. AP initial velocity - 762 m/s.
Reload time - 30.0 s. 180-degree turn time - 45.0 s. Maximum dispersion - 244 m. Sigma – 2.00.
Combat Instructions:

Direct hits with main battery guns required to reach 100% progress - 17. 

Time of inactivity before progress loss - 50.0 s. 

Progress loss per second of inactivity - 5.0 %.

Activation effect: Main battery reload time -50.0%; Consumable reload time -80.0%; Duration 20.0 s
Airstrike (DC):
Reload time - 30.0 s. Available flights - 2. Number of Aircraft in Attacking Flight - 1. Maximum range - 11.0 km. Number of Bombs in Payload - 2. Maximum bomb damage - 4900.0.
Secondary Armament:
10x2 127.0 mm, range  - 7.3 km.
Maximum HE shell damage – 1800. Chance to cause fire – 5%. HE initial velocity - 792 m/s
AA defense: 10x2 127.0 mm., 20x4 40.0 mm., 49x1 20.0 mm.
AA defense short-range: continuous damage per second - 340, hit probability - 70 %, action zone - 2.0 km;
AA defense mid-range: continuous damage per second - 511, hit probability - 75 %, action zone - 3.5 km;
AA defense long-range: continuous damage per second - 168, hit probability - 75 %, action zone - 5.8 km;
Number of explosions in a salvo - 8, damage within an explosion - 1680, action zone 3.5 - 5.8 km.
Maximum speed - 32.5 kt. Turning circle radius - 920 m. Rudder shift time – 17.2 s. Surface detectability – 15.9 km. Air detectability – 11.4 km. Detectability after firing main guns in smoke  – 15.8 km.
Available consumables:
1 slot - Damage Control Party (Duration time 20 s; Reload time 80 s; Equipment is unlimited)
2 slot - Repair Party (Duration time 28 s; HP per second 535.26; Reload time 80 s; Charges 4)
3 slot - Fighter (Duration time 60 s; Fighters 4; Action radius 3 km; Reload time 90 s; Charges 3)
3 slot - Spotting Aircraft (Duration time 70 s; Main battery firing range +20.0%; Reload time 100 s; Charges 4)
4 slot - Defensive AA Fire (Duration time 40 s; Average AA damage +50%; Damage within the explosion radius of shells fired from medium- and long-range AA defenses 300%; Reload time 80 s; Charges 4)
All stats are listed without crew and upgrade modifiers. The stats are subject to change during the testing.

[Vader_Sama]

https://blog.worldofwarships.com/blog/506

 

 

sudden new dev blog

 

[New_Jersey_prpr]

Note: Wisconsin has battlecruiser dispersion (8.4R+48)

Also she is the second T10 BB that was (is?) built in steel, joining Yamato after 8 years.

Edited January 8 by New_Jersey_prpr

[BlueNautilus]

Chikuma!!  If they also release the corresponding AL captain, I could be tempted...

 

[Nevermore135]

Overall good stuff.

My only real criticism would be Wisconsin’s combat instructions. I’ve never been particularly fond of the mechanic, and Wisconsin’s doesn’t seem to offer much that couldn’t be provided in other, simpler ways that don’t require players to jump through hoops. IMO the devs should just give her a faster recharging heal and a faster base reload and/or MBRB instead. 

I’m glad to see Chikuma coming at tier IX, and the idea of Tone with better aircraft is solid considering that Tone’s aircraft are pretty bad for her tier.

Edited January 8 by Nevermore135

[Schnitchelkid01_]

So far this looks pretty good, maybe they are listening??? Who knows...

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

Neither ships are interesting to me from a gameplay perspective...

...at least both existed in real life.

[HogHammer]

Not a collector of ships, but the Wisconsin I will most certainly pick up. 👍

[WildWind84]

Hm... Wisconsin seems like something that would interesting  me 🙂

[Jakob Knight]

I note they are still dancing around U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-62).  We even have Illinois (BB-65) in the game.  Makes me wonder if they will throw in Kentucky (BB-66) to avoid putting the NJ into the game as long as they can, though it mystifies me why they seem so gunshy about BB-62.

 

 

Edited January 8 by Jakob Knight

[Sailor_Moon]

13 hours ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

Combat Instructions:

Direct hits with main battery guns required to reach 100% progress - 17. 

Time of inactivity before progress loss - 50.0 s. 

Progress loss per second of inactivity - 5.0 %.

Activation effect: Main battery reload time -50.0%; Consumable reload time -80.0%; Duration 20.0 s

Literally "Temper, Temper" 🤣

I love it

[UnrepentantSinner]

Wisconsin, another ship only available through overpriced loot boxes (Rhode Island), or by finishing another grindy on top of being expensive event, count me out, i'm done with this.

[Wolfswetpaws]

35 minutes ago, UnrepentantSinner said:

Wisconsin, another ship only available through overpriced loot boxes (Rhode Island), or by finishing another grindy on top of being expensive event, count me out, i'm done with this.

Hmm.  Thanks for sharing that tidbit.
Because otherwise, I'm interested in both premium ships, the Chikuma-II and the Wisconsin.
I've got more Commanders than I have ships, and I'm in the Collector's Club (which has been reproduced here as the topic Warships Collectors Club).

[Wolfswetpaws]

48 minutes ago, UnrepentantSinner said:

Wisconsin, another ship only available through overpriced loot boxes (Rhode Island), or by finishing another grindy on top of being expensive event, count me out, i'm done with this.

 

10 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Hmm.  Thanks for sharing that tidbit.
Because otherwise, I'm interested in both premium ships, the Chikuma-II and the Wisconsin.
I've got more Commanders than I have ships, and I'm in the Collector's Club (which has been reproduced here as the topic Warships Collectors Club).

There is a bit of "fine print" hope for the future, though.
 

Quote

The option to purchase the new battleship will become available in a future updates.

https://worldofwarships.com/en/news/game-updates/update-130-new-american-aircraft-carriers/

 

[UnderTheRadarAgain]

Chikuma gets just 2 planes per "squadron" each carrying just 1 torp. Like really? Those won't last long enough to get through the flak at tier. Just another useless gimmick. Just like Tone planes - useless until the last 5 minutes of the game if you can manage to survive that long. At least the ship torps will be useful due to the turn at launch mechanism. The 99k HE dpm is a worry as it's identical to Tone.

[_KlRlTO_]

28 minutes ago, UnderTheRadarAgain said:

Chikuma gets just 2 planes per "squadron" each carrying just 1 torp. Like really? Those won't last long enough to get through the flak at tier. Just another useless gimmick. Just like Tone planes - useless until the last 5 minutes of the game if you can manage to survive that long. At least the ship torps will be useful due to the turn at launch mechanism. The 99k HE dpm is a worry as it's identical to Tone.

Chikuma has better air attack. Tone may drop 8 torpedoes in an attack, but the reticle doesn't narrow enough to hit all of them. That said, it should be possible to hit Chikuma's torpedoes, as it seems the reticle will behave simlarly to the CV torpedo bombers, and Chikuma's torps will hit 3x harder per torpedo than Tone's, as well as moving 15 kts faster. As far as flack, good pilots avoid the flack, and as far as the DPS AA, Chikuma's planes have more HP, although only 300 more HP, so I am not sure how effective that will be, but I often make Tone strikes without losing a plane, so it should be fine.

[tfcas119]

Wisconsin, Halsey, AR, Arms Race. When you think you can make Iowa 16in guns have DM level reloads, WG goes all in.

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 hour ago, _KlRlTO_ said:

Chikuma has better air attack. Tone may drop 8 torpedoes in an attack, but the reticle doesn't narrow enough to hit all of them. That said, it should be possible to hit Chikuma's torpedoes, as it seems the reticle will behave simlarly to the CV torpedo bombers, and Chikuma's torps will hit 3x harder per torpedo than Tone's, as well as moving 15 kts faster. As far as flack, good pilots avoid the flack, and as far as the DPS AA, Chikuma's planes have more HP, although only 300 more HP, so I am not sure how effective that will be, but I often make Tone strikes without losing a plane, so it should be fine.

Adding to what you wrote, the Hybrid ships use planes similar to a consumable, instead of using the CV methodology.
So, the Hybrid planes can be shot-down, yes.  But they can only perform one attack per sortie anyway, unlike a full squadron of CV planes which splits-off portions of the squadron for each attack performed until the planes use their ordnance or are shot-down or recalled.

Veteran CV players should have no problems using Hybrid ship's planes, I feel.  At least, as of this writing.
Changes are coming soon which may nerf CV plane's game performance.  🤔

[invicta2012]

6 hours ago, tfcas119 said:

Wisconsin, Halsey, AR, Arms Race. When you think you can make Iowa 16in guns have DM level reloads, WG goes all in.

In my experience this mechanic does the same thing as an MBRB but requires more effort to trigger and more skill to use well. It's not an "I Win" button, for sure. 

Otherwise an interesting pair of ships - would definitely like to pick these up.

[New_Jersey_prpr]

21 hours ago, Nevermore135 said:

My only real criticism would be Wisconsin’s combat instructions. I’ve never been particularly fond of the mechanic, and Wisconsin’s doesn’t seem to offer much that couldn’t be provided in other, simpler ways that don’t require players to jump through hoops. IMO the devs should just give her a faster recharging heal and a faster base reload and/or MBRB instead. 

Same opinion here. I prefer shorten her reload directly instead of putting bet on gimmicks.

Also I wonder if the accuracy makes up her lack of firepower at this tier, even with that occasional "reload booster" gimmick.

I thought Rhode Island would be a steel ship so I preserved the steel I accumulated in 2023 to wait for it and see how it performs to decide if I should get her or go for something else, now WG put Rhode Island in (expensive as always) lootbox without mentioning how it can be obtained in the future, and introduced Wisconsin at the same time, that immediately kills off my interest on Rhode Island and lets me begin waiting for Wisconsin...

[Nevermore135]

7 hours ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

Also I wonder if the accuracy makes up her lack of firepower at this tier, even with that occasional "reload booster" gimmick.

I’m pretty sure her base reload is going to need to be adjusted. When comparing her firepower to other tier X BBs (not CCs) with CC/CB dispersion, the two that come to mind are Thunderer (which WG seems to be happy with given the single balancing pass they made quite some time ago) and Mecklenburg. Just a surface level comparison without delving into the details of their individual shells:

Wisconsin: 3x3 (9) 406mm, 30s reload

Thunderer: 4x2 (8) 457mm, 26s reload

Mecklenburg: 4x4 (16) 305mm, 26s reload

Wisconsin doesn’t come out looking too great even with her gimmick. There’s also the fact that the latter two can run both dispersion (ASM1) and reload modules, while Wisconsin will have to choose between (the admittedly superior) APRM2 for dispersion or MBM3 for reload in slot 6.

The other easy comparison to make is Slava (which has 33.5s reload and cruiser plating). Both ships have nine 16” guns, but Wisconsin lacks the Soviet ship’s gimmicky sniper dispersion curve and AP shells blessed by Stalin with amazing ballistics and penetration.

Edited January 9 by Nevermore135

[AdmiralMcintosh]

Finally its about time we see the Wisconsin in the game, i hope its made available for coal.

[Guest]

Most players "We want USS New Jersey"

WG "Here's Wisconsin"

[New_Jersey_prpr]

12 hours ago, Nevermore135 said:

I’m pretty sure her base reload is going to need to be adjusted. When comparing her firepower to other tier X BBs (not CCs) with CC/CB dispersion, the two that come to mind are Thunderer (which WG seems to be happy with given the single balancing pass they made quite some time ago) and Mecklenburg. Just a surface level comparison without delving into the details of their individual shells:

Wisconsin: 3x3 (9) 406mm, 30s reload

Thunderer: 4x2 (8) 457mm, 26s reload

Mecklenburg: 4x4 (16) 305mm, 26s reload

Wisconsin doesn’t come out looking too great even with her gimmick. There’s also the fact that the latter two can run both dispersion (ASM1) and reload modules, while Wisconsin will have to choose between (the admittedly superior) APRM2 for dispersion or MBM3 for reload in slot 6.

The other easy comparison to make is Slava (which has 33.5s reload and cruiser plating). Both ships have nine 16” guns, but Wisconsin lacks the Soviet ship’s gimmicky sniper dispersion curve and AP shells blessed by Stalin with amazing ballistics and penetration.

WG tends to be conservative on initial stats these days, Defense and Rhode Island all got buffed considerably after being tested.

I'll speculate that Wisconsin's  firepower needs buff in terms of dpm.

[Crokodone]

Wisconsin should have Radar At least; she's the newest Iowa class BB and technically served the longest she has to be modern. This isn't 2016 anymore and WG is placing her at a tier populated by an excessive number of super powered paper ships. Give Wisconsin Radar and Spotter Plane in a separate slot and throw in WV 44s improved secondaries. As is, Wisconsin is a nerfed Missouri thrown into T10 because she has a couple more AA Guns. There's a reason why we have Montana and Georgia...

Not yo mention, both the 2nd Pan-EU DD and Pan-American CL line has radar! As Is, just because she's getting what appears to be a complete AA suite, Wisconsin is being thrown in under armed and technically naked with nothing but 1944 war paint to intimidate paper does! Even the German BBs get the full Monty hydro!

Give Wisconsin 10km DM Radar and Spotter Plane in separate slot, with a catapult fighter in its own slot to show WG that history is better than paper...

As is she's a 2015 Ship in 2024. World of Warships isn't the same game...

Edited January 10 by Crokodone