November update: Fury on the wings of wisdom

November 4, 2021

Maintenance times:

Xbox: 2:00 – 4:00 AM Central / 7:00 – 10:00 AM UTC, November 8th
PlayStation: 2:00 – 4:00 AM Central / 7:00 – 10:00 AM UTC, November 8th

Update size:

Xbox One (S,X) ~2500 MB
Xbox Series S/X ~2500 MB
PS4 ~2500 MB
PS5 ~2500 MB

A lot of fresh content is landing, let's see what we have this time! Please note: this Update lasts for three weeks. But first, let us briefly introduce a new important feature.

Important Change to Containers

Legends! We're preparing to upgrade the container system in the upcoming Update, and it's going to change quite a few things, as well as introduce a new mechanic that we want to test.
Let's start from the beginning: currently, the content of containers is determined at the point you receive it on your account, which, for example, may lead to you getting unwanted duplicate ships. Starting with the next Update, the content is going to be determined upon opening, so the duplicate protection (if it's turned on) for particular items will become essentially airtight. However, for us to implement the new system, we will have to open any containers that you have on your accounts when the Update hits.
Additionally, some drop rates for containers that we've already released may change slightly, but it will not affect the crates opened with the Update, as their content has already been determined.
Finally, we're going to test-drive a new system for containers that will guarantee you a rare reward. If you open 39 containers without obtaining a ship, then you are guaranteed to receive one of the four ships in the 40th container. Any time you receive a ship, the counter towards 40 containers is reset. The described system will only work for Black Friday containers in the coming Update. Depending on the reaction, we'll probably start using the system for newer containers too. In the guaranteed-ship crate, drop rates are given to each ship based on their item weight. For all four ships, this is 40% for Exeter B, 40% for Graf Spee B, 16.7% for Le Terrible B, and 3.3% for Massachusetts B. The drop rates for the remaining ships increase if you have one of the ships already.

Disclaimer: we only plan to use it for one container in the upcoming update and we are yet to determine whether the system is going to be used for other containers later.

Origin of Wisdom Campaign

The all-new Origin of Wisdom campaign brings a lot of in-game items, along with two ships, Siroco and Mainz, over 120 milestones and 6 weeks. Let's find out the details!

Siroco, a Premium Tier IV French destroyer, awaits you at the milestone 40 of the campaign. With big 5.1-inch (130 mm) guns and decent torpedoes, along with the Main Battery Reload Booster consumable, she's as flexible as it gets!
However, this is not the same as the Element of Choice campaign, with a choice between two warships at the peak. The Origin of Wisdom is split between two separate Updates (six weeks total), and that's precisely why you have the opportunity to get two ships from it. Apart from this change and double the number of top prizes to gain, the campaign follows the normal rules.

Mainz is a Premium Tier VII German cruiser, docked at milestone 120. With fast-firing guns, improved Sonar, armor as good as a heavy cruiser's one, and 4x4 torpedo launchers, she's capable of punching way above her weight!
Here's the full list of items you can get:

Rewards you can get without the Admiralty Backing:

70x common boosters
21x Type 1 camouflages
21x Type 2 camouflages
21x Type 3 camouflages
270,000 Commander XP
200,000 credits
2,000 Global XP
16x Promotion Orders
1x Insignia
1x Commendation
7 days of Premium Account
2x Fall Big crate
1x French Commander crate
1x German Commander crate
1x Patch background
1x Patch Symbol

Value of the rewards without the Admiralty Backing: 18,278 doubloons
Additional rewards you can get with the Admiralty Backing (2500 doubloons):

60x rare boosters
45x epic boosters
35x Type 1 camouflages
35x Type 2 camouflages
35x Type 3 camouflages
170,000 Commander XP
1,300,000 credits
13,000 Global XP
24x Promotion Orders
4x Insignia
3x Commendation
750 doubloons
6x Fall Big crate
Tier IV French destroyer Siroco
Tier VII German cruiser Mainz

Total value of the rewards including the Admiralty Backing: 80,165 doubloons

The Royal Navy Grows Wings

One of the most impactful forces of WWII arrives to Legends: welcome the UK aircraft carriers! They are available right from the start of the Update, so don't hesitate to learn to fly, and go research them. The tech tree branch follows the recent blueprint, laid out by carriers of other nations: three ships at Tiers III, V, and VII, as well as, of course, a dedicated Commander, available through a chain of mission and for 900,000 Commander XP in the Store.

The main feature of British aircraft carriers is their carpet-bombing ability. Their torpedoes meanwhile offer a narrowing trajectory, changing the playstyle compared to other nations. The immediate damage output for Brits might seem lower than for their rivals, but the fire chance of their bombs is such that they are great at keeping things aflame and often win the war of attrition.

Tier III Hermes

Tier V Furious

Tier VII Implacable

UK commander Denis Boyd enters the game to guide your British carriers to victory!

His base trait and Legendary skill look like this:
Base Trait: Under the Radar

Reduce air detectability for all ship types by up to 10%.
For those of you who can detect everything, we have a code N09W5VM7SY. Redeem it to get 12x Shadow camos!

Legendary Skill: The Vault

Passive effect: Increase your dive and torpedo bombers' HP by up to 4%.
Special effect: Reduce incoming damage to your aircraft carrier, as long as you're in proximity of an ally (3.5 km at Legendary level 4), by up to 20%.

Soviet Cruisers Leave Early Access

Ships of the new line sport higher-caliber guns and will give you a very familiar feeling if you're used to the original line. Flat ballistics, Sonar, and respectable torpedoes make for good all-rounders at every tier. Kotovsky, which will give you a taste of the new line, was named after a Russian Civil War Red commander. Gorky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for exceptional actions while defending Leningrad as a part of the Baltic fleet. Tallinn was acquired from Germany before the outbreak of the Second World War and, in the late 1940s, was due for a refit in line with project 83K, significantly enhancing her batteries. Finally, available as soon as the Update lands, Riga headlines the range, boasting 8.7-inch (220 mm) guns, which makes sense since she's one of the early designs of project 82 (which turned out to become the well-known Stalingrad). Give the new cruisers a shot and hit us with some feedback!

Black Friday 2021

This year Black Friday is as good as ever: Massachusetts, Exeter, Graf Spee, and Le Terrible all make an appearance in black style, with a ton of in-game items available with hefty discounts alongside them.

Warhammer 40,000: the Eternal Crusade Meets Waaagh!

The second part of our collaboration with Warhammer 40k is here! Adeptus Astartes of the Black Templars chapter clash with Orks in fierce battle on the high seas. Led by Sword Brother Augustin Riegerwald, the Black Templars ride to battle aboard the Cross of Dorn with gameplay centered around effective AP shells. The Orks, with Grotmaz Smart at the helm (he's real smart, believe us), prepare for battle on the Ship Smasha. Burn and ram, that's the spirit, and, of course, she's red, cause da Red goez fasta! Along with these Commanders and ships, you can get themed camos; look for them in the dedicated Eternal War crates. Themed flags and patches can be obtained through collaboration bundles.

Warhammer 40,000 © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2021. GW, Games Workshop, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, 40,000, the 'Aquila' Double-headed Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likeness thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world, and used under license. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

Ranked Returns for Three Seasons

Three new seasons with ship Tiers V–VII, no aircraft carriers, and a limit for destroyers: sounds like a good reason to test your skills.
Getting to Rank 1 makes you ineligible to play in the season: you're too good for that at such point! Please note: In these seasons, while getting a new rank, you don't get another star, so losing the next game results in going back one rank, except for the irrevocable ones. You keep the star if you were the best player (XP-wise) on the team that lost. A draw counts as a loss for both teams.
Now for the best thing—the prizes! You can see the distribution for each season in the infographics: the better you do, the more prizes you'll get. However, to get the full picture and exact numbers, make sure to log in to the game once the seasons begin!
The complete ruleset is as follows:
Season 17

November 11–15 (7:00 UTC/2:00 CDT start and finish)

Ship tier: V
Ship types: no aircraft carriers, a maximum of one destroyer per team
Seven ranks, no leagues
Team size: 5
Irrevocable ranks: 7, 6, 3, 1
Divisions of up to two players are allowed
Maps: Archipelago, Ring, Strait

Season 18

November 18–22 (7:00 UTC/2:00 CDT start and finish)

Ship tier: VI
Ship types: no aircraft carriers, a maximum of one destroyer per team
Seven ranks, no leagues
Team size: 5
Irrevocable ranks: 7, 6, 3, 1
Divisions of up to two players are allowed
Maps: New Dawn, Trident, Neighbors

Season 19

November 25–29 (7:00 UTC/2:00 CDT start and finish)

Ship tier: VII
Ship types: no aircraft carriers, a maximum of one destroyer per team
Seven ranks, no leagues
Team size: 5
Irrevocable ranks: 7, 6, 3, 1
Divisions of up to two players are allowed
Maps: Trident, Neighbors, Haven

Balance Changes

Tier V New Mexico

Main battery shell grouping was improved by 7%
Main battery reload time was decreased from 34.2 to 32.5 s.

John Jellicoe

Base Commander John Jellicoe skills "On Second Thought..." and "Smoke on the Water" were replaced by "Hidden Threat" and "Burn, Baby, Burn!", respectively, in the previous Update.
This was done to make his skill tree more useful in aircraft carrier builds.

★ Kléber

The maximum torpedo range for Legendary Tier Kléber was decreased from 8 to 6 km.

Evasive Maneuver

The Evasive Maneuver (Tier VII aircraft carriers) consumable was changed. Instead of granting invulnerability, it now decreases incoming damage to planes by 50%.
HUD now has "yellow" state to indicate reduced incoming damage while the Evasive Maneuver consumable is active.

Miscellaneous

Added Epicenter scenarios for Tears of the Desert (Tier VII and Legendary battles) and Trident (Tiers IV and V).
Reworked spawn points for Haven.
The middle spawn points for both the northern and the southern teams were adjusted for the Shards map.
North is no longer available as a map for Tier IV. It was too large for these smaller ships.

Check out the variety of content, and Turn the Tide!