What mods should I be using?

[Pan_De_Muerte]

Hey there, I'm using the completely vanilla install of World of Warships and the Static 2 reticle. I know there are mods available for the game, so what would you recommend to help me improve my aim for example? Any must-have mods that improve the general feel and would contribute to being a better-performing captain?

[MidnightPhoenix07]

A lot of the mod options are purely cosmetic, and many of the combat/battle/port ones are quality of life improvements or down to personal choice and wanting to see information a different way. Most of the info they display you can get other ways, but they might condense it into one or two places to look rather than half a dozen plus.

However, if there's one mod I'd say everyone should have (and should have been in the game for years at least, but that's an entirely different conversation), it's Score Timer. It takes the current team and cap status, calculates how long each team would take to reach 1000 points, and which team is currently winning on points (either the team that will reach 1000 points first, or the one that will be ahead when time runs out). You could do the math yourself or guess based on time left and points income, but being able to see at a glance whether you need to push or are better off kiting and surviving is huge. 

There are a couple of other really important mods to have, but none provide nearly the same level of tactical and strategic information as Score Timer.

 

Some of the other mods I recommend (most of which I use, some I personally don't like): (long list, not in any particular order)

Consumables Monitor: This shows all active consumables above allied ships with time remaining, and when you hold ALT it shows all consumables on allied ships with the remaining charges. Some of the information (like radar/hydro time remaining) you could get from players in a division through voice chat, but it lets you see that information for all ships on your team not just the one or two in the division with you. 

Intuitions: The game tells you if you're being located by an enemy ship, but this mod shows you how many ships are locating you. Combined with map awareness, enemy ship knowledge, and some player skill, this can help pinpoint the possible locations of enemy ships. It can be especially useful in coordinated comp modes (like clan battles or tournaments) as an early indication of where enemy ships might be. 

I'd personally include a crosshair mod (one of the dynamic ones, I use Nomogram Classic, a lot of people use Nomogram Modern), but this is more your choice. The in-game static crosshairs are calibrated for seconds of lead time, but IIRC only at a specific range and for a target going 30 knots, and they don't scale based on your aim distance or zoom. The in-game dynamic does scale by zoom, but has some accuracy/lead issues. If you're used to aiming with one crosshair that's the one you should use, but if you're open to trying something new I recommend either of the dynamic crosshairs I mentioned above. Nomogram Classic has lead markers for a ship going 30 knots (above) and 20 knots (below), and each tick mark is a second of shell flight time. Nomogram Modern has lead markers only by target speed and does the lead time calculations automatically -- each tick mark is an extra 10 knots of speed, so as long as you know how fast the target is going you put that tick on the target and you have the right lead.

The Numerical Capture Time/Travel Time to Cap mod pair: This pair shows the time remaining to complete a cap in the world rather than only displaying for ships in the cap circle. When holding ALT, it also lets you see how long it would take your ship at the current speed to reach the cap circle you're looking at. Like the score timer, knowing exactly how long is left on cap progress or how long it will take you to reach a cap are pretty important when a game outcome could come down to a few seconds.

If you use training rooms a lot, then I'd definitely recommend Customize Ship in Training Room. That lets you change commanders/modules/signals/upgrades on them. Without it, you'd have to exit the training room to change any of those on your selected ship. All Ships in Training Room can be helpful too, since it lets you select any ship from the bot list rather than just tech tree ships. If you want to add a premium or test ship to either team without that mod, you have to have the ship in your fleet and select it then mirror it onto the enemy team (and it will mirror as an active ship rather than being able to set its AI level and whether it's moving or armed). 

If you have a large fleet, Carousel Fast Scroll is absolutely a quality of life improvement. Rather than having to scroll with the scroll wheel or click to move one column at a time in your port carousel, you can click a single button to go to the front or end of your fleet list. 

One of the "All ships in tech tree mods" (your choice which one of the options you want): This allows you to see every ship in the game in your tech tree (rather than just tech tree ships and a handful of premiums). Armor thickness, gun caliber, and certain key armor thresholds are important information to know when fighting an enemy ship -- can you overmatch it, can it overmatch you, etc? But most premium ships you either can't see the armor model at all in-game or it becomes a long multi-step process by going into the armory (and possibly into a crate) and then viewing a ship. With the mod, you can select the ship directly from the tech tree and view it in port (for the armor model) or see the gun stats.

Battle Expert (a couple different variations to choose from): This shows the exact angle between your ship and the enemy ship you're targeting. This is one of the mods I'd say is pushing the line into an unfair advantage, but WG has approved it so they consider it acceptable. If you look at the minimap you can see your ship's heading line (and the heading line for the targeted enemy) as well as where you're aiming, but you can't tell the exact angle between any of them. Once you know and understand things like which ships have improved penetration angles and where those shells start to autobounce, knowing the exact angle between you and an enemy can be the difference between dealing damage vs bouncing everything. 

Ship info panel (especially one of the enemy ones): This shows some info about the enemy ship you're targeting, like minimum concealment range, gun/torp range and reload, ship speed, etc. Eventually you'll learn approximations for a lot of those stats for most ships, but some of those can be helpful to know until you get to that point. The max ship speed is also helpful if you choose the Nomogram Modern crosshair, since that does tick marks by ship speed rather than lead time. 

Spotted Indicator: This mod shows which of your team's ships are currently spotted, as well as if they've been spotted in the past (or have never been spotted in that game). Another semi tactical quality of life mod, that expands your knowledge of current ship status beyond just your division. 

I also like using the Fog Remover, Anti-glare, and Clear Underwater View (if you play subs) mods. They remove some of the ambience/visual immersion, but it also makes it easier to see targets in some situations. And underwater terrain and ship hulls, when playing a sub. Minimalistic Water Splashes is also nice to have, since the default water splash animation can easily block your view of an enemy ship if multiple people are shooting it. 

 

All of the above mods are available in Aslain's modpack (https://aslain.com/index.php?/topic/2020-download-★-world-of-warships-★-modpack/), which is the one I'd recommend if you're getting into game mods. It has a much larger selection of mods (both cosmetic and combat/UI related), and over the last year or so has also been much faster to update than WG's official Modstation. Modstation is curated directly by WG so you have the additional guarantee anything included is considered acceptable, and IMO it's a tiny bit easier to update the installer and your installed mods (or at least it was when I last used it a few years ago). But at this point I'd always recommend Aslains purely for the faster update times and larger selection. Once you install the launcher, make sure to enable the preview window at the bottom of the selection screen so you can see what the mod looks like. 

[Nevermore135]

7 hours ago, MidnightPhoenix07 said:

Modstation is curated directly by WG so you have the additional guarantee anything included is considered acceptable, and IMO it's a tiny bit easier to update the installer and your installed mods (or at least it was when I last used it a few years ago).

ModStation is pretty much dead now. Between the closing of the forum and the server split, quite a few of the mods have ceased being updated (like the all ships in tree mod). Haven’t noticed any new additions in quite some time either, and the time-to-update with each patch for some mods seems to be getting longer and longer.

[HogHammer]

24 minutes ago, Nevermore135 said:

ModStation is pretty much dead now. Between the closing of the forum and the server split, quite a few of the mods have ceased being updated (like the all ships in tree mod). Haven’t noticed any new additions in quite some time either, and the time-to-update with each patch for some mods seems to be getting longer and longer.

^^^THIS^^^ 100 percent spot on!

[Admiral_Karasu]

32 minutes ago, Nevermore135 said:

ModStation is pretty much dead now. Between the closing of the forum and the server split, quite a few of the mods have ceased being updated (like the all ships in tree mod). Haven’t noticed any new additions in quite some time either, and the time-to-update with each patch for some mods seems to be getting longer and longer.

The Modstation cosmetic mods are probably still alright, but I'd be cautious with any UI mods.

[Nevermore135]

3 minutes ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

The Modstation cosmetic mods are probably still alright, but I'd be cautious with any UI mods.

Yes. Anything that requires adaption to changing code is hit or miss.

[Kruzenstern]

9 hours ago, MidnightPhoenix07 said:

Comprehensive list

That was a very good list, pretty much exactly what I use. The only things I would add are:

- Shot timer: Tells you how long until you go dark again after being spotted from firing main guns.

- Ship info panel: Also use the self info, I find it very useful to be able to tell things like sec range & status, spotting distanc etc. at a glance, especially since I use very many different ships and almost never one more than one time in a session so don't really memorize that much.

Edited November 18 by Kruzenstern

[Wolfswetpaws]

12 hours ago, Pan_De_Muerte said:

Hey there, I'm using the completely vanilla install of World of Warships and the Static 2 reticle. I know there are mods available for the game, so what would you recommend to help me improve my aim for example? Any must-have mods that improve the general feel and would contribute to being a better-performing captain?

You've gotten good advice from people who use mods.

I'm offering a different perspective, just as food for thought.

Mods are like any other tool or equipment system. They can be beneficial. 
Mods can also be something that a person becomes dependent upon.  Possibly becoming a "crutch" to the point of being detrimental?
And mods can "break".

It is the "break" part which can be most annoying and concerning, I feel. 
The Aslain's mods are pretty good about being updated, from what I have read. 
(They have their own topic, on this forum.) https://www.devstrike.net/forum/11-mods-settings/  
And you've read how "Modstation" is pretty-much "dead", via @Nevermore135.
But, there remains a chance for mods to become "broken" every time that World of Warships performs a new update.
And it takes a number of days for the mod creator to find the problem and implement a solution.
If you can live with that, and you enjoy the experience of mods, then I imagine you'll be a happy player.

Personally, I prefer to continue to play the game without mods.
My visual experience and audio cues to in-game action remains consistent.
My "tools" remain "basic", but functional.
And mods aren't going to provide more information than I would get or figure-out via the "vanilla" game software. 
They re-package the information, and perhaps make it more pretty or more convenient (or perhaps provide a sensory overload?). 
But, they don't change the information.

Does World of Warships have a lot going on simultaneously and can it sometimes be difficult for a person to process?
Sure.  🙂 
Possibly one or more "mods" can ease the prioritization and processing of the action for a human brain. 
And, possibly a human brain can eventually become adept at handling all the action and they will no longer need or want the extra "fluff". 
The decision belongs to each player, of course.  🙂 

I sincerely hope you have enjoyable gaming experiences.  🙂 

[Nevermore135]

23 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

And you've read how "Modstation" is pretty-much "dead", via @Nevermore135.
But, there remains a chance for mods to become "broken" every time that World of Warships performs a new update.
And it takes a number of days for the mod creator to find the problem and implement a solution.
If you can live with that, and you enjoy the experience of mods, then I imagine you'll be a happy player.

Modstation is pretty much dead because the level of community engagement has dropped off a cliff after WG nuked the old forum (including the section for submitting and approving mods). It looks like a lot of creators took that as a giant middle finger and never migrated to the Discord. Combine that with the fact that some mods were produced by Russian authors (such as the aforementioned “all ships in tree” mod) who no longer play WoWs for hopefully obvious reasons, and a lot of mods have languished in an unusable state for years as the game updates. There doesn’t really seem to be any effort to curate new content into the ModStation either, so what you can see is mods slowly dropping off one by one with little new content.

I still use it because my overall mod list is pretty shallow (a crosshair mod, the secondary/AA status display mod, score timer, a chat mod that displays ship names as well as player names, and a few others) and I haven’t been too badly affected (I do miss the tech tree mod, though). I also don’t trust WG to properly distinguish between approved mods and cheats, so the ModStation gives an extra level of legitimacy in case there are issues. With the loss of the short line of communication with the CMs, who would often intervene on players’ behalf on the old forum, I am leery to migrate to a 3rd party like Aslain’s, even if WG claims they approve of all of said mods. That would probably change if things get too much worse, though.

Edited November 18 by Nevermore135

[Kruzenstern]

2 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

And mods aren't going to provide more information than I would get or figure-out via the "vanilla" game software. 

Actually some do. Like the often mentioned tech tree mod. That is actually the only one I have really come to rely on and would sorely miss if it ever was discontinued. I don't understand why we need a mod to view all ships in the tech tree anyway, that should be in the base game. And while nowadays I look up a lot of things in the shiptool, I still spend a lot of time in the expanded tech tree just browsing ships.

[MidnightPhoenix07]

36 minutes ago, Kruzenstern said:

Actually some do. Like the often mentioned tech tree mod. That is actually the only one I have really come to rely on and would sorely miss if it ever was discontinued. I don't understand why we need a mod to view all ships in the tech tree anyway, that should be in the base game. And while nowadays I look up a lot of things in the shiptool, I still spend a lot of time in the expanded tech tree just browsing ships.

If I remember correctly, one of the times that was brought up many years ago on the old forums, someone mentioned that it could be confusing to list everything in the tree by default. Both because of the number of ships listed, and because only some of the listed premiums would have been purchasable in the tree (even though many of them listed doubloon prices in the info at the time, even though they weren’t purchasable outside the shop and/or armory).

I disagree (both then and now) with the argument that too many ships would be too confusing, and now that the ships don’t show doubloon prices (at least on the one I use) that wouldn’t be an issue either. But since it’s really the only way to see ship stats and armor models in the game (or the only “convenient” way that doesn’t involve a multi step process through the armory), it should be a thing. Especially since the only external source I know of to see armor models is semi paywalled (gm3d) and not every ship is currently included in an available crate in the armory. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 hour ago, Kruzenstern said:

Actually some do. Like the often mentioned tech tree mod. That is actually the only one I have really come to rely on and would sorely miss if it ever was discontinued. I don't understand why we need a mod to view all ships in the tech tree anyway, that should be in the base game. And while nowadays I look up a lot of things in the shiptool, I still spend a lot of time in the expanded tech tree just browsing ships.

With the recent implementation of the "TAB" key feature, used during a battle, one can quickly glance at the highlights of opposing ship's capabilities.

Prior to that TAB key feature, players had the option of memorizing ship's like some enthusiasts memorize the details & career statistics of players in collections of "Baseball Cards".
Essentially, either memorize every ship's details, *or* familiarize one's self with the roughly similar capabilities of types of ships and possibly spend some time learning the details of only a small number of particularly tricky ships to fight against.

Nowadays, there's less need to memorize.  Because we only need to know where to find the source/reference information.

As @MidnightPhoenix07 pointed-out, the armor-schemes might not be easily referenced (if we don't have the ship in our port).

[MidnightPhoenix07]

3 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

And mods aren't going to provide more information than I would get or figure-out via the "vanilla" game software. 
They re-package the information, and perhaps make it more pretty or more convenient (or perhaps provide a sensory overload?). 

A lot of mods only repackage info or combine info from multiple sources, but there are some things that you can only get from mods.

The all ships in tree mods are one example, although for most ships now it’s just a way to ease access rather than being completely unavailable. If a ship is currently available as a drop in a crate, you can go to that crate, view the ship in port, and then see all of the in-game info. But it’s a longer process without the mod, especially if you then want to look at a different ship, and some ships just aren’t available in any crate right now. There are external tools like ship tool or ship builder that will show ship stats, but you shouldn’t need to use a third party site to see them. And the only other way to see ship armor models on those fully “unavailable” ships is behind a semi paywall (gm3d). 

The intuitions mod that I included in my list is the only one that comes to mind where the info it provides cannot be gotten from somewhere else or guessed by the player any other way. All the game will tell you is that you’re located. The only way to see how many ships are locating you is through the mod. 

The numerical capture time mod is the only way to see exact capture time remaining if you’re not in the cap, and the travel time to cap mod is the only way to see how long it will take to reach that cap. You can estimate both without the mods, but the exact info isn’t available without them (outside of a division with one player in that cap, since a random player likely isn’t going to report on the time remaining).

The spotted indicator mod is also the only way to know for sure if an allied ship is detected (outside player communication via text or voice chat, or the two Star ship camos that change visuals when detected). If it’s being shot at, obviously it’s detected. But if it’s not being shot at and the player doesn’t say they’re spotted, how do you tell for sure they’re detected? 

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 minute ago, MidnightPhoenix07 said:

A lot of mods only repackage info or combine info from multiple sources, but there are some things that you can only get from mods.

The all ships in tree mods are one example, although for most ships now it’s just a way to ease access rather than being completely unavailable. If a ship is currently available as a drop in a crate, you can go to that crate, view the ship in port, and then see all of the in-game info. But it’s a longer process without the mod, especially if you then want to look at a different ship, and some ships just aren’t available in any crate right now. There are external tools like ship tool or ship builder that will show ship stats, but you shouldn’t need to use a third party site to see them. And the only other way to see ship armor models on those fully “unavailable” ships is behind a semi paywall (gm3d). 

The intuitions mod that I included in my list is the only one that comes to mind where the info it provides cannot be gotten from somewhere else or guessed by the player any other way. All the game will tell you is that you’re located. The only way to see how many ships are locating you is through the mod. 

The numerical capture time mod is the only way to see exact capture time remaining if you’re not in the cap, and the travel time to cap mod is the only way to see how long it will take to reach that cap. You can estimate both without the mods, but the exact info isn’t available without them (outside of a division with one player in that cap, since a random player likely isn’t going to report on the time remaining).

The spotted indicator mod is also the only way to know for sure if an allied ship is detected (outside player communication via text or voice chat, or the two Star ship camos that change visuals when detected). If it’s being shot at, obviously it’s detected. But if it’s not being shot at and the player doesn’t say they’re spotted, how do you tell for sure they’re detected? 

We seem to be writing, and quoting each other in this topic, in real-time.

While I agree "it would be nice" if all the data, including armor-schemes, was readily available out of game and in-game (for all ships, including ships we don't have in our ports), I am also aware that WG/WOWs is using volunteers for their Wiki pages and (I am guessing) maybe is being frugal with "programming labour hours" on the game itself.
Such thrift may be pleasing to the stock-holders and owners of the game company.
It may be sufficient to satisfy most of the player-base.
It isn't "good enough" for a small portion of the player-base.
But, the dissatisfied people in the player-base also aren't funding the improved features and the ongoing upkeep of those improvements (I'm guessing)?

Personally, I just try to do my best to muddle through the information that is readily available when I'm doing research or evaluating the pros & cons of a ship that I'm considering as a possible acquisition to my fleet.

Not ideal?  Sure.  I can agree it's not ideal.  It's merely "what we have".  And I'm trying to make the best of it with what I have.

[Andrewbassg]

18 hours ago, MidnightPhoenix07 said:

There are a couple of other really important mods to hav

A most excellent list.

I would add some which I use  in Aslain's installers order, with the important ones in bold

 

Adjustable markers. As the name suggests, the markers over the ships both allied and foe become editable, most importantly their size, among other things.

 

Team mini panel by Autospy v1. ( in the up center of the screen). Provides a list of the remaining  and sunk ships of the team with their names, health and tier, without being obtrusive.

 

Minimap by Autospy. That's a huge one, insanely customizable, even the zooming steps, not to mention ship name/icon sizes colours,their heading, renders the RPF cone, etc, very useful (I blew it up for the screen, thats not how I use it 🙂 )

 

Advanced attention marker. Renders the clicking  on the map in plain view.

 

3D Radio Position Finding. Renders the RPF cone in plain view.

 

Detection icons. Offers alternative  (and more visible) icons There are all sort of variations i use the "Chain" that is its name . Btw what U see is the "detected" icon.

 

Target Lock Marker. Obviously I use the red one 🙂

 

Ribbons appearing. That is a mod made by Aslain, at my "request" 🙂. There are three versions, Ribbons completely hidden, Ribbons transparent (as u can see the spotting ribbon), subribbons ( i.e those detailing overpen/ricochet/penetration) hidden and then both Ribbons and subribbons transparent.

Classic camera. Cant play (much) without it.

Ship management. While not an essential one, it is a good one. Basically, one can access everything ( upgrades, modules, camo's flags, signals, ec bonuses) without leaving the basic port screen.

 

I use a gazillion more mods, but these are the most noteworthy.

[Wolfswetpaws]

 

Quote

👍 @Andrewbassg

[Frostbow]

On 11/18/2024 at 10:00 AM, Pan_De_Muerte said:

Any must-have mods that improve the general feel and would contribute to being a better-performing captain?

Start with the Mini Map mod from Autospy. You can customize the mini map in a lot of ways, even to the point of putting a health indicator on the ship icons you see on the mini map. 

[Unlooky]

Throwing in two I haven't seen yet:

 

1) Submarine pingers on minimap. Does what the title says, and plays a sound queue. Extremely useful especially for pings you otherwise never would have seen. Pretty much mandatory for ASW.

2) Movement Indicator. It generates a circle above the locked enemy ship based off their current speed. Very useful for immediately knowing when ships are slowing down/speeding up. 

 

Both are Aslain's only as far as I know.

[Nevermore135]

5 hours ago, Unlooky said:

1) Submarine pingers on minimap. Does what the title says, and plays a sound queue. Extremely useful especially for pings you otherwise never would have seen. Pretty much mandatory for ASW.

5 hours ago, Unlooky said:

Both are Aslain's only as far as I know.

This is one of the mods I use from the ModStation. Extremely useful and a top contender for the mod that most needs to be added to the vanilla client.

[BOBTHEBALL]

On 11/18/2024 at 3:00 PM, Pan_De_Muerte said:

Hey there, I'm using the completely vanilla install of World of Warships and the Static 2 reticle. I know there are mods available for the game, so what would you recommend to help me improve my aim for example? Any must-have mods that improve the general feel and would contribute to being a better-performing captain?

So going off just the top of my head. You want score timer, which shows how long till either team wins. You want submarine ping indicator. You want ship spotted indicator, you can have a crosshair mod, I would recommend nonogram modern. I'm trying to think of anything else but can't think of anymore at the moment.

[clammboy]

On 11/18/2024 at 9:28 AM, Wolfswetpaws said:

Mods are like any other tool or equipment system. They can be beneficial. 
Mods can also be something that a person becomes dependent upon.  Possibly becoming a "crutch" to the point of being detrimental?
And mods can "break".

I am not so sure there are any mods that help so much that they would become a crutch or detrimental . I use the WG mod station it has everything I need which is mostly cosmetic changes. But to be honest if it's allowed and legal I think it would be foolish not use anything that could help you win or make you more comfortable in battle.

[Wolfswetpaws]

21 minutes ago, clammboy said:

I am not so sure there are any mods that help so much that they would become a crutch or detrimental . I use the WG mod station it has everything I need which is mostly cosmetic changes. But to be honest if it's allowed and legal I think it would be foolish not use anything that could help you win or make you more comfortable in battle.

I understand that many feel this way.