CLOSED TEST 25.7 - SUBMARINE REWORK

Version 25.7 will change the gameplay of submarines - find out more!

In March, a special temporary battle type Underwater Frontier was added to the game, in which we tested the updated mechanics of submarines. As a result, we received a large amount of feedback. In addition, we analyzed the statistics of the temporary battle type and came to the conclusion that the concept of changes is successful.

As such, we’re planning to apply the concept to the “main” game in version 25.7. Of course, with a number of refinements and improvements, as well as new mechanics that were not present in the temporary battle type.

The main changes compared to “Underwater Frontier”:

Updated submarine dive capacity settings.
Anti-submarine weapons will become less effective at destroying torpedoes.
Added the ability to destroy mines with anti-submarine weapons.
Updated some Commander skills and modernizations for submarines.
Some of the submarines will receive a new type of weapon for the class - minefields.
Some of the submarines will be able to use smoke shells, as well as thermal torpedoes, which were tested on the branch of French submarines.

We’d like to note separately that players will be able to sell Tier VIII premium submarines for their full price in Doubloons, as well as receive a full Doubloon refund for Archerfish and Surcouf. In addition, it will be possible to get back the Steel and Research Points spent on Gato and U-4501, respectively.

We will also automatically reset all Commanders the submarine skills they have learned and temporarily waive the fee for demounting modernizations.

Let’s move on to the description of the changes.

REASONS AND PURPOSE OF SUBMARINE REWORK

Submarines have been in the game for more than two years and have long been an integral part of it. We already have 4 researchable submarine branches (and the fifth, the French one, is being tested and prepared for Early Access) and a number of premium and special submarines. This class also has a loyal following.

However, their gameplay is often quite “one-sided”. The submarine either makes successful attacks at close range and deals significant damage, or it is detected at least once and becomes the target of focused fire from a large number of ships. In this case, the submarine can often be destroyed without even causing damage at all. The effectiveness of submarines lacks “average indicators”, most battles end in one of the extremes described above.

At the same time, when a submarine manages to fire its torpedoes at point-blank range and cause significant damage to the ship, this leaves the player who is faced with this with a lot of negative emotions. And in this case, it does not matter that this tactic is extremely dangerous for the submarine and does not even guarantee the destruction of the ship.

We want to improve the submarine gameplay to make it more comfortable to interact with them, while not degrading the game on the submarines themselves. On the contrary, we want to add more “depth” (after all, we are talking about submarines) and variety of gameplay.

Let’s take a closer look at the new submarine gameplay.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE NEW CONCEPT

The gameplay of submarines will be updated: they will not be able to deal a large amount of damage “in the moment”, but at the same time their survivability will increase. Thus, the total damage dealt by submarines will remain the same, but it will be applied more gradually over the course of a battle.

The updated torpedoes will offer a choice of two types of tactics - a riskier one through the use of acoustic torpedoes, which allows you to inflict more damage, or a safer, but less “damage” if you use conventional or thermal torpedoes.

In addition, thanks to new types of weapons, the tactical role of submarines in battle and their ability to support allies will be strengthened. The presence of smoke shells will allow you to cover your ships with a smoke screen, and the ability to deploy a minefield will allow you to block the direction or, for example, stop or force the attacking opponents to turn.

The submarine position system will also become clearer - each position will have distinct advantages and disadvantages, making it best suited for specific situations. To use submarines effectively, players will need to alternate between positions and adapt their tactics based on the battle situation.

Below you will find detailed information about all the changes.

Please note: this rework is very large-scale, and its implementation will affect not only the submarines themselves, but also all ships that can encounter submarines in battles. In this regard, we will inevitably need statistics and feedback from real battles on the main server in order to finally complete the balancing of all changes. At the moment, we do not plan to make any more significant changes after the release of the revised concept, but with a high degree of probability, in the next few versions after 25.7, fine-tuning of the submarines and related parameters will be carried out.

TORPEDO ARMAMENTS CHANGES

First of all, we will update the torpedo armament of submarines. The changes will affect both acoustically guided torpedoes and conventional ones. In addition, a third type of torpedoes will appear - thermal torpedos.

Sonar and acoustic torpedoes

In the new concept, acoustically guided torpedoes are combined with sonar.

Now, in order to fire an acoustic torpedo, you must first hit the enemy ship with sonar. At the same time, one hit with an impulse will allow you to fire only one torpedo. To launch the next one, you need to hit again. Meanwhile, acoustic torpedo damage is increased.

The principle of sonar operation has also been changed. Now all hits:

are single - you do not need to hit the same sector twice to extend its action and improve torpedo guidance
are not tied to the sectors of the ship - you just need to hit any point of the ship with an impulse, and the torpedo will be aimed at that point
do not have an expiration time.

The sector will remain active until the ship removes it via Damage Control, or the acoustic torpedo is destroyed / travels its full range / deviates too far from the target. The sector will also disappear if an acoustic torpedo is not fired within a certain time after the target being hit by sonar, or when the submarine moves to the maximum depth. Targeting torpedoes within the designated sector will be roughly as effective as a double sonar hit in the current system.

The maximum simultaneous number of sector marks on the ship and torpedoes fired at it depends on the class and will be:

4 for battleships and aircraft carriers.
3 for cruisers.
1 for destroyers and submarines.

Another change affects the surface effect that appears when a submarine uses sonar. It will now always indicate the direction the submarine is moving, rather than the direction of the emitted pulse.

Conventional torpedoes

The main change to conventional torpedoes is a significant reduction in damage. The submarine will no longer be able to deal high damage in a short period of time at close range.

Thermal torpedoes

The new type of torpedoes was tested in the game on the French submarine branch and managed to show itself quite well. At their core, they are very similar to conventional submarine torpedoes in the new system - they are used without sonar on the surface or periscope depth and have low maximum damage. They are distinguished by their ability to cause a fire on an enemy ship.

New submarine tactics in battle

Thus, the submarine now has two strategies to choose from. The first is to use acoustic torpedoes, which can cause significant damage, but give away the position of the submarine, which is why it risks taking damage from opponents in return. The second strategy carries less risk, since it will be possible to use conventional or thermal torpedoes without being detected. However, in this case, the submarine will deal much less damage.

The change also makes the so-called “shotgun” extremely ineffective, since it is no longer possible to deal significant damage at a “dagger” distance in a short time.

NEW TYPES OF WEAPONS ON SUBMARINES

In addition to the thermal torpedoes already described above, the submarines will receive two more types of weapons after the rework. One of them, smoke shells, has already been tested on French submarines, while the other is partly new, but at the same time well known.

Smoke Shells

We have already announced this type of shell in the Development Blog, and the mechanism of its operation will not change in essence. Shells do not cause damage to ships, and a smoke screen appears at the point of their impact after a while.

However, in 25.7 we have improved the interface: now in the crosshair, if you select smoke shells, an area will be displayed that will be covered by a smoke screen. This will make it easier for players to understand where the smoke will appear, and the use of the new ammunition will be clearer.

Minefields

A new, yet familiar type of submarine armament will be minefields. This mechanic already exists for the second line of Japanese aircraft carriers and the cruiser Kuzuryū. However, since most submarines don’t have an aircraft hangar, their minefield deployment will function similarly to an airstrike, with one key difference — it will not have a targeting reticle.

This means that the mine-laying team will install a minefield at the point where the submarine is at the time of activation of this type of weapon.

Like other types of airstrikes, submarine minelayers will have a certain number of units that will be loaded in series. They can be used in any position except for the maximum depth. The laying of mines itself takes place in the same way as that of Japanese aircraft carriers and Kuzuryū. At the same time, the maximum radius of the minefield for the submarine will be much lower (at the moment about 300-600 m, against 2 km for Taihō), but the density of mine-laying will be higher.

Please note: at the moment, the minefield is only a concept planned for testing on the Supertest. Its announcement does not mean that the mechanics in their current form will get to the main server on a permanent basis immediately in 25.7. The decision will be made based on the results of testing.

CHANGES IN SUBMARINE POSITIONS

The positions of the submarines will also be reworked - there will be four of them, and their features will change. Each position will have its own clear and fixed pros and cons.

At the beginning, we will describe the characteristics of all the provisions in the table, and then we will talk about each of them in more detail.

	Surface	Periscope Depth	Operating Depth	Maximum Depth
Available Armament	All available armament	Torpedoes and mines	Only acoustic torpedoes and mines	All armament unavailable
Submarine Speed	Maximum	1/3 of maximum	Maximum	1/3 of maximum
Dive Capacity	Recharged	Frozen (not recharged or depleted)	Depleted	Depleted
Detection Range*	Standard	5 km	2 km	2 km
Who the Sub Can See	Allies and enemies	Allies and enemies	Only allies	Only allies
Noise Generator	Disabled	Active	Active	Disabled
Damage from ASW	1/10 of maximum	Maximum	Maximum	1/10 of maximum

* This is the radius in which the submarine can see ships detected by allies in the game world.

Surface

This provision has not changed much. Its function is still mainly to recharge dive capacity and carry out attacks. At the same time, the submarine on the surface of the water is the most visible and vulnerable to enemy fire, but will receive only 10% damage from anti-submarine weapons.

Periscope Depth

The main purpose of this position is to secretly carry out attacks. At the same time, moving around the map at periscope depth is now disadvantageous: the speed of the submarine is reduced by 2/3.

At this depth, the Hydrophone also begins to work. It is no longer a consumable and is active at periscope and working depths at all times. At the same time, ships that fall within its range will receive a notification about this.

At this and subsequent depths, the submarine cannot be detected by aircraft.

Working Depth

At this depth, the submarine can move freely across the map while remaining undetected. However, this comes at the cost of reduced detection range and the inability to see spotted enemy ships. Nevertheless, the ability to launch an attack remains. At this depth, the hydrophone is active, and the submarine can fire acoustic torpedoes if it manages to ping the silhouette of an enemy ship shown by the hydrophone. Mines also remain available.

Maximum Depth

This is the safest depth for a submarine, which is used if you are attacked by many enemies at the same time. Its main advantage is the significantly reduced damage of anti-submarine weapons. However, the submarine pays literally everything for this: it cannot use any weapons (and all sectors marked with sonar disappear when moving to this depth), the speed is reduced by 2/3, and the visibility of ships is significantly limited.

CHANGES IN ANTI-SUBMARINE WEAPONS (ASW)

Now depth charges are a very highly specialized weapon. They work only against submarines, and if there are no submarines in the battle or they are on the other flank, then the ASW is not used at all. At the same time, they are extremely effective against the submarines themselves: they cause significant damage and have a large radius of destruction, often cause oil spills (this mechanic remains after the class is reworked), unmasking the submarine.

We want to rework their mechanics, expanding the ability to use depth charges and airstrikes. Now, if the bombs do not hit the submarine immediately after being dropped, they do not explode instantly, but remain in place for some time, “waiting” for the target. This will make it easier to hit the submarine, even if you take too much lead.

Depth charges will also be able to deal damage to all ships (surface ships will only take 10% damage, but with a certain chance of flooding), as well as destroy passing torpedoes and mines. For this, new ribbons are provided.

At the same time, the reload time of the airstrike (DC) will increase. In addition, now the approach time of the airstrike aircraft is fixed and does not depend on the drop distance. Thanks to this, its use will become more understandable and predictable.

It is important to note that we will reduce the activation radius of anti-submarine weapons against torpedoes in order to prevent ASW from being overly effective against ships with torpedo-based gameplay.

We’re further revising the range of the Airstrike for Tier VIII–X Battleships and Super Battleships to balance out the new features:

For Tier VIII–IX battleships, it was reduced from 10 to 9 km.
For Tier X battleships and super battleships, it has been reduced from 11 to 10 km.

Thus, anti-submarine weapons will have full potential for use in all battles, and players will have more ways to counter the torpedo threat and mines.

OTHER SUBMARINE CHANGES

Two more changes will affect the detectability of submarines.

First of all, the “Submarine Surveillance” consumable has been removed in the new concept. We have redesigned the submarine’s positioning system, clearly highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The presence of this consumable would bring an imbalance, “breaking” the logic of positions, which, according to our idea, is fixed and gradually memorized by the player to the level of intuitiveness.

The principle of interaction between the “Hydroacoustic Search” and submarines will also change. Now he will be able to “see” the submarine at periscope and working depths throughout its entire radius of action. At the same time, it will be displayed in the form of a silhouette updated every few seconds, similar to how the submarine itself sees enemy ships using a hydrophone.

It will be impossible to see the submarine at the maximum depth even with the help of Hydroacoustic Search, and on the surface, the detection of submarines with the help of this consumable will function the same way as it does for any other ship.

In addition, the dive capacity settings of submarines will be updated.

First of all, the speed of dive capacity recharge for all submarines will be 0.1 unit per second, while its depletion will not change. At the same time, the maximum dive capacity has been revised: for most submarines, it will be reduced. These changes are based on statistics regarding dive capacity usage in battles and are not intended as a nerf. Our goal is simply to avoid situations where submarines still have a large amount of battery power left at the end of a battle, allowing them to hide from enemies for too long and unnecessarily prolong the fight.

It’s also worth noting that after these changes, some submarines will receive the “Reserve Battery Unit” consumable, and dive capacity will no longer be consumed while at periscope depth.

NEW ROLES FOR SUBMARINE IN BATTLE

Speaking of submarines in general, it’s worth noting that under the new concept - taking all the changes into account - their role and gameplay will shift somewhat.

First and foremost, submarines will become more survivable. It will now be much harder to quickly destroy or deal significant damage to a submarine that’s been spotted, even for a short time. As a result, playing submarines will become a bit easier, and this class will be more forgiving of player mistakes.

At the same time, submarines will “pay” for this increased survivability through changes to their torpedo armament: it will no longer be possible to deal heavy damage in a short period of time simply by sneaking up on an unsuspecting target. A submarine will either have to give away its position by hitting the enemy with a sonar ping or settle for significantly reduced damage per salvo from conventional or thermal torpedoes, which can be launched without revealing the submarine itself.

Submarines will also gain access to two powerful tactical tools: minefields and smoke shells. The former can be used to block enemy movement through certain areas or to set up defenses on key capture points, while the latter can help cover themselves or allies to survive concentrated enemy fire.

As a result, their role will shift more toward supporting allies. Submarines will also take on a greater reconnaissance role for the team.

NEW SUBMARINE CONCEPTS

Researchable submarine branches

Due to the magnitude of the changes to the class and its mechanics, we will inevitably update the concepts of existing branches. For example, all conventional torpedoes of researchable submarines will be replaced with thermal ones. In addition, according to the current idea, the French and British branches will be able to use smoke shells, and minefields will be on the Soviet and British branches.

Premium & Special submarines

By reworking the settings of premium and special submarines, we try, where possible, to preserve their features and concepts. However, of course, they will experience the systemic changes to the class: the “Hydrophone” and “Submarine Surveillance” will be removed from the consumables, and the characteristics and mechanics of acoustic and conventional torpedoes will be brought to the new system.

Separately, we note that at the moment we plan to maintain the characteristics of the Surcouf. At the same time, some submarines, such as Gato, will change more due to the peculiarities of the gameplay.

Detailed information about the new concepts and characteristics of the submarines will be announced in a separate publication later.

Please note that after the release of Update 25.7, players will have the option to receive a full refund in Doubloons for Tier VIII premium submarines, as well as Surcouf and Archerfish. Additionally, Gato and U-4501 will be exchangeable for their full price in Steel and Research Points, respectively. Further details regarding the compensation will be announced later.

Since the rework affected many characteristics at the conceptual level, some of the commander skills and modernizations would have been ineffective. To avoid this, we will update them.

Skill / Modernization	Current Condition and Bonus	New Condition and Bonus
Commander Skills
Helmsman (1 pt)	Reduces rudder and diving plane shift time within 15 s after activating the Hydrophone consumable.	Reduces rudder and diving plane shift time by 10% while the ship is detected by an enemy.
Incoming Fire Alert (1 pt)	Alert for a salvo fired by a ship from more than 4.5 km.	Reduces main battery reload time by 20% for 30 s upon receiving the “Covered” ribbon. Receiving the ribbon again does not extend the skill duration.
Improved Battery Capacity (2 pts)	Increases battery capacity by 10%. Reduces battery recharge rate by 20%.	Increases battery capacity by 5%.
Sonarman (3 pts)	Affects duration of the marked sector when hitting with one or two sonar pings.	Increases dive speed at periscope and maximum depths by 10%.
Torpedo Aiming Master (4 pts)	Increases torpedo damage to ships hit twice in the marked sector by 15%.	Increases torpedo damage by 10%.
Sonarman Expert (4 pts)	Increases sonar sector duration if marked within 30 s after activating the Hydrophone consumable.	Reduces received damage from depth charges at maximum depth by 10%.
Enlarged Propeller Shaft (4 pts)	Increases speed on the surface and at periscope depth by 18%, if the submarine has less than 50% of maximum dive capacity.	Increases speed on the surface and at periscope depth by 18%, if the sub has less than 10% of maximum dive capacity.
Improved Battery Efficiency (4 pts)	Increases dive capacity recharge rate on the surface by 25% if the submarine has less than 50% of maximum dive capacity.	Increases dive capacity recharge rate on the surface by 100% if the sub has less than 10% of maximum dive capacity.
Modernizations
Dive Capacity Modification 1 (Slot 3)	Increases dive capacity recharge rate by 10%.	Increases dive capacity recharge rate by 50%.
Sonar Modification 1 (Slot 3)	Increases sonar ping speed by 10%.	Reduces sonar reload time by 5%.

Please note that all information in the development blog is preliminary. Announced adjustments and features may change multiple times during testing. The final information will be published on our game’s website.