U.S.A. 250: History-Inspired Event & New Alternative Destroyers

This summer, the United States is marking a major milestone: 250 years of independence. Of course, we're also celebrating it! We've prepared a dedicated set of activities inspired by three major eras of U.S. Navy history, with some of the rewards directly referencing those eras:

• Age of Expansion (1790s–1810s), when the young republic expanded its naval reach from the Barbary Wars to the War of 1812, earning respect on the world stage through bold frigate actions, daring commanders, and the Navy’s proven resilience.
• The Great White Fleet era (1890s–1910s), when the U.S. asserted its place as a world power through steel fleets and a global tour, with the Great White Fleet embodying technological might, ceremonial prestige, and the confidence of a new century.
• The World Wars era (1910s–1940s), when the U.S. Navy became a decisive force of the 20th century, from World War I experimentation with dazzle camouflage to World War II's hard-fought dominance across the Atlantic and Pacific.

Participating in various activities from June 29 to August 3 will earn you Independium to exchange for desirable items. As part of the celebration, we've also added special decorations to the New York Port, which will serve as the default Port throughout the update.

What's more, a new Tech Tree line of U.S. alternative destroyers is arriving in Early Access—we think the U.S.A. 250 celebration is the perfect time to introduce them!

Read on for all the details on this big event!

Independium: Sources and Rewards

Independium is a special currency for this event, which you can earn by participating in various activities throughout the update. Here's the full list of sources:

• Pacific Hammer Campaign: 2,000 Independium without the Admiralty Backing and an additional 3,000 Independium with the Admiralty Backing.
• Big Chief Calendar: 3,000 Independium.
• Steel Eagles random bundle in the Store: up to 50,000 Independium (any drop comes with 500 Independium).

And here's what you can exchange Independium for:

• "The Righteous Fury" chained bundle, featuring skins for the U.S. alternative destroyers and with Legendary Tier destroyer Burrows available in the final bundle, also equipped with a special skin.
• Ship skins inspired by three historical eras:
  • "For the Constitution" skin for U.S. cruiser Cambridge, inspired by frigate USS Constitution—a ship that sailed during the Age of Expansion. Cambridge is a new ship you can obtain from the Steel Eagles random bundle (more details about the ship at the end of this article).
  • "White and Gold" skin for Indiana, inspired by the Great White Fleet. Indiana is a new ship you can obtain by completing the Pacific Hammer campaign.
  • Dazzle skin for Worcester, inspired by the experimental dazzle camouflage from World War I.
• Golden Eagle skins for Kansas and Florida, plus Star-Spangled Freedom skins for Baltimore and Cleveland.

Big Chief Calendar

Mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence with a new 3-week Calendar, available from June 29. Complete it to add Commander Ernest E. Evans to your roster, a leader with a skillset honed toward the new U.S. alternative destroyers.

• Base trait: "The Chief," increasing destroyer maximum HP by up to 8%.
• Unique skill: "In Harm's Way," reducing destroyer main battery reload time by up to 4% while detected by an enemy ship, increasing Radar duration by up to 15%, and increasing Advanced Radar passive sweep rotation speed by up to 4°/s.
• New skills that will be given to other new Commanders for destroyers in the future:
  • Beacon, increasing destroyer HE shells fire-setting chance by up to 3%, increasing torpedo reload speed by up to 4%, and increasing incoming fire dispersion by up to 4%. It also shows a warning indicator for the number of enemy ships currently targeting your ship with their main batteries.
  • Punching Up, improving destroyer AP shell penetration by up to 15% and increasing the maximum change to destroyer main battery shell damage against saturated hit locations by up to 10%.
  • Picket Station, increasing the number of all consumable charges by 1; increasing destroyer damage to enemy ship's superstructure, bow, and stern by up to 5%.
  • Tin Can Sailor, increasing torpedo damage by up to 5% and torpedo speed by up to 8 knots at the cost of reducing torpedo range by up to 8%.
  • Final Stand (Legendary skill), increasing destroyer main battery AP, HE, and SAP shell damage by up to 12% depending on the difference between your maximum HP and the enemy ship’s maximum HP (HP difference required to reach the maximum damage bonus is 200%). Also increases your destroyer shell damage by 10% when your HP is below 35/40/45/50%.

You'll also receive three Commander guises inspired by prominent U.S. Navy figures from different eras:

Stephen Decatur was a celebrated U.S. Navy officer from the late Age of Expansion era. He's known for his daring actions against Barbary Pirates and his victories during the War of 1812.

• Nations: U.S.A.
• Special effects: Gray shell tracers, red-white-blue signal flares for horn sounding, red-white-blue fireworks for activating Legendary skills
• Daily bonus: +20% Global XP earnings when you hit enemy ships 50 times with your secondary battery guns in a single battle (can be applied once per day)

Robley D. Evans was a U.S. Navy officer who participated in the American Civil War and who led the Great White Fleet's historic world voyage from 1907 to 1908.

• Nations: U.S.A.
• Special effects: Red shell tracers, red-white-blue signal flares for horn sounding, red-white-blue fireworks for activating Legendary skills
• Daily bonus: +50% credit earnings when you hit enemy ships 50 times with your main battery guns in a single battle (can be applied once per day)

Frank Fletcher was a U.S. Navy admiral from the World Wars era whose command helped change the course of the Pacific War at Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomons.

• Nations: U.S.A.
• Special effects: Blue shell tracers, red-white-blue signal flares for horn sounding, red-white-blue fireworks for activating Legendary skills
• Daily bonus: +20% Ship XP earnings when you deal 3,000 fire damage to enemy ships in a single battle (can be applied once per day)

Other Calendar rewards include 3,000 Independium; 1,000 Ship Parts for the Thunderer Marathon, 6x U.S. Alt. Destroyer crates, Commander Progression Items, camouflages, Rare Boosters, and more. You can unlock 3 missed days for free.

Three Eras of Freedom Collection

Starting June 29, you can complete the new card collection dedicated to three eras of U.S. maritime history: the Age of Sail, the Great White Fleet era, and the World Wars era. You'll find the cards in Three Eras Collection crates, available via the campaign and a dedicated mission.

Here is what you'll receive once you complete each of the three collection sets:

• Artifacts: 1x Commendation
• Postcards: 2x U.S. Alt. Destroyer crates
• World Wars: 1x Insignia
• All 12 cards: U.S. Tier III Premium destroyer Tracy

Tracy is a U.S. Tier III Premium destroyer with an excellent gun caliber and a large number of guns. Armed with SAP shells, she can inflict massive damage to other destroyers.

U.S. Alternative Destroyers in Early Access

Starting June 29, the new U.S. alternative destroyer line enters Early Access! Each ship comes equipped with Advanced Radar, featuring a unique passive effect that reveals enemy positions on your Minimap within its range, even if they have not yet been spotted.

You can find Tier V–VIII Early Access ships in U.S. Alt. Destroyer crates, available via the campaign, Calendar, collection, and Ranked Battles. You'll also find the new ships in the Steel Eagles random bundle in the Store. All Early Access ships come with a personal mission that rewards doubloons and Commander Progression Items.

At the top of the line awaits another new ship: the Legendary Tier destroyer Burrows, which you can obtain from "The Righteous Fury" chained bundle, along with special skins for every ship in the line. This bundle is available exclusively for Independium.

Tier V Kane

Kane is a U.S. Clemson-class destroyer based on the Tracy hull but featuring special main battery armament: 127 mm guns with unusually long barrels. She delivers some of the highest HE shell alpha damage at her tier and some of the best AP shell alpha damage for this caliber. Combined with improved AP penetration angles, this results in a particularly hard-hitting main battery. Her firing range is quite good, allowing her to target enemies at greater distances than most destroyers of her tier. However, note that her split gun layout prevents all four guns from being brought to bear on one target at once. Kane is also armed with slow but stealthy torpedoes that deal good damage, as well as Smoke Generator and Advanced Radar, which is unique to the line.

Tier VI Hughes

Compared to Kane, Hughes features a more practical main battery layout, allowing all four guns to be brought to bear on a single target. She has some of the highest HE and AP shell alpha damage for her caliber, along with competitive main battery range, allowing her to engage targets at greater distances than most of her peers. She also benefits from improved AP penetration angles and is equipped with slow-moving, stealthy, hard-hitting torpedoes that deal increased damage to enemy modules. Hughes is equipped with Smoke Generator and signature Advanced Radar with two charges.

Tier VII Osborne

Osborne's most notable improvement over her predecessor, Hughes, is the increase in main battery caliber from 127 mm to 137 mm, which is an unusual feature for a U.S. destroyer. She's armed with four single-barrel turrets—two positioned forward and two aft. She boasts some of the highest HE and AP shell alpha damage among destroyers of her tier and caliber, along with competitive main battery range, a solid HP pool, and improved AP penetration angles. Osborne also features a single quadruple-tube torpedo launcher, and her torpedoes deal increased damage to enemy modules. Her consumables include Smoke Generator and Advanced Radar, which has an additional charge, increased active duration, and increased range compared to Hughes.

Tier VIII Christopher

Christopher boasts an impressive 137 mm main battery—six barrels across three mounts—an atypical configuration for a standard U.S. destroyer. With two twin-barrel mounts positioned forward and one aft, this layout marks a significant improvement over her predecessor, Osborne. The ship can angle bow-in to reduce her target profile while still retaining most of her firepower. Christopher provides some of the highest HE and AP shell alpha damage among destroyers of her tier and caliber, along with competitive main battery range, a solid HP pool, and improved AP penetration angles. Similar to other ships in the line, she also has slow-moving, hard-hitting torpedoes that deal increased damage to enemy modules, and she's equipped with Smoke Generator. Her Advanced Radar is improved even further, with an unlimited number of charges.

Legendary Tier Burrows

Burrows is the top ship of the alternative U.S. destroyer line. Her main battery comprises three 137 mm twin-gun turrets—two mounted forward and one aft. This layout allows the ship to angle effectively while still maintaining most of her offensive capability. Her main battery offers solid firing range. Burrows also carries a single quintuple-tube torpedo launcher positioned toward the stern. The torpedoes are slow-moving, are hard to detect, inflict heavy damage, and also deal increased damage to enemy modules. Similar to her predecessors, she's equipped with Smoke Generator and Advanced Radar, which has unlimited charges and increased range.

Steel Eagles Random Bundle and New Cruiser Cambridge

The Steel Eagles random bundle offers you a chance to receive a U.S. ship: one of the alternative destroyers in Early Access or new Tier VIII Premium cruiser Cambridge. You can also receive special skins for various U.S. ships, Commander Progression Items, and more. Any drop from this bundle comes with 500 Independium.

Cambridge is based on an Oregon City-class cruiser hull, but her guns have been upgraded to 305 mm. They are mounted in three twin-gun turrets and offer cruiser-grade accuracy, along with an exceptionally fast reload for guns of this size—just 12.5 seconds! This ship is all about her consistent, rapid-firing main battery guns. She also features a powerful British cruiser-style Repair Party and Sonar.

Celebrate 250 years of U.S. independence with us and turn the tide!