Ministry of Balance: Old Gold

Greetings Legends, and welcome to the May edition of Ministry of Balance. This update brings a short series of buffs and nerfs to some of the older ships in the game, plus some updates to a few maps like the last update. 

Ship Changes

Montana

Montana is in the unfortunate position of being the lowest performing Legendary Tier battleship. To combat this and update her to more recent Legendary Tier standards, we're improving both her survivability and firepower. This should make Montana a well-rounded battleship with decent weaponry and high survivability.

• Main battery shell grouping increased by 2.5% (from 1.85 to 1.9)
• Main battery AP shell damage increased from 13,100 to 13,500
• Ship HP increased from 86,600 to 96,300
  • Bow HP reduced from 12,500 to 5,000
  • Casemate HP reduced from 33,000 to 13,000
  • Stern HP reduced from 16,750 to 6,600
  • Superstructure HP reduced from 10,000 to 3,900

Groβer Kurfürst

The classic German Legendary Tier battleship isn't the best performer and frequently makes appearances in our feedback channels. Her primary failing is durability, which we feel should be a defining feature of the ship. As a result, we're increasing her HP and making her upper superstructure saturate sooner, reducing the amount of damage she takes.

• Ship HP increased from 95,220 to 105,800
  • Bow HP reduced from 12,000 to 4,800
  • Casemate HP reduced from 43,500 to 17,200
  • Stern HP reduced from 7,250 to 2,900
  • Superstructure HP reduced from 6,700 to 6,600

Dallas

Dallas is a sleeping monster at Tier V, so we're reducing her damage output. We're also taking this opportunity to make the ship's progression simpler, with direct upgrades for artillery.

• Stock main battery reload speed increased from 8.5 to 9.5 seconds
• Upgraded main battery reload speed increased from 7.5 to 8.5 seconds
• Removed "side-grade" change of shells from the artillery upgrade
  • Upgraded main battery AP shell damage increased from 3,000 to 3,200
  • Upgraded main battery HE shell damage increased from 2,100 to 2,200

Helena

Helena's incredible firepower is understood immediately by those who experience the 15-shell salvo-induced significant emotional events she is known for. This change should slightly reduce the regularity of that experience! We're also taking this opportunity to make the ship's progression simpler, with direct upgrades for artillery.

• Stock main battery reload speed increased from 8.5 to 10 seconds
• Upgraded main battery reload speed reduced from 9.5 to 9 seconds
• Removed "side-grade" change of shells from the artillery upgrade
  • Upgraded main battery AP shell damage reduced from 3,400 to 3,200
  • Upgraded main battery HE shell damage reduced from 2,300 to 2,200

Marco Polo

• AP/HE main battery reload time reduced from 32 to 29 seconds
• SAP/AP main battery reload time reduced from 36 to 33 seconds

Resistance

Resistance's hull plating leaves much to be desired at Tier VI, so we're increasing it to match the standards of the tier.

• Bow and stern plating increased from 16 to 26 mm

Königsberg

• Bow and stern plating increased from 10 to 13 mm
• Torpedo bulkhead thickness increased from 15 to 16 mm
• Updated model in armor viewer

Minor Armor Updates

• Mainz, Mainz CE, and Königsberg are getting minor armor updates for their barbettes; this update won't impact gameplay.

Commander Skill Changes

Master Mechanic

This skill, typically found on Brawler Commanders, is currently the best-performing common skill for any battleship Commander. Seeing this, we're reducing it's impact.

• Removed the skill's faster consumable cooldown

Properly Meticulous

• Increased survivability of secondary battery by 5/10/15/20%
• Reduced secondary battery dispersion by -3/-6/-9/-12%
• Enhanced secondary targeting duration has been increased from +10/+20/+25/+35% to +10/+20/+30/+40%

Map Changes

Four maps are receiving spawn updates, increasing the time before spotting at the start of battle.

North

• Spawn points have been shifted to increase the time before being spotted.

Islands of Ice

• Spawn points have been shifted to increase the time before being spotted.
• Domination scenario shifted up in tiers and will no longer appear in Tier VI battles.

Crash Zone Alpha

• High-tier spawn points have been shifted to increase the time before being spotted.

Land of Fire

• High-tier spawn points have been shifted to increase the time before being spotted.