October Digest #5

World of Warships

I expect this will be the last post for the month. Nothing special thus far. Same old same old. 

Becoming more accustomed and comfortable with the three PvE battle modes and switching from one to the other. Ran a variety of ships today trying to complete a couple of Incapacitation missions for the Liberty Harbour event. The pace earning those ribbons started low at first but picked up eventually.

Today I ran Kitakaze, Salem, Defence, Libertad, San Martin, and A. Nevsky. The last performs well in Operations while all fared good to excellent in Asymmetric. Pointless playing Co-Op as it's always crowded at Tier X level and you don't always get the results you're after because it's always first-in, first-kill. 

What surprises me though is the lack of the popular destroyers in Asymmetric, the Marceaus and the Klebers. Or even the Shimakazes. The ease with which you get a game in Asymmetric and Operations in a cruiser and destroyer would be a golden opportunity you'd think. But no, it seems battleships are the preferred flavour rather than having fun in a "fragile" cruiser/destroyer. 

Battleships in Asymmetric however remains the most popular choice which is understandable. Of the most popular choices, you'll see regularly C. Colombo, Schlieffen, Libertad, Pommern, G. Kurfurst. 

Schlieffen makes perfect sense and is ideal for Asymmetric: it has great secondaries, torpedoes, and can be quite tanky. G. Kurfurst is on the same level (minus the torpedoes). Its firepower can easily one-shot cruisers and even some mid- to low-health battleships; it does well however when not yolo-ing. Pommern is like the younger feisty cousin to Schlieffen; it's also one of my best go-to brawlers back in day when I played her a lot. But you need to be careful playing her.

One needs to understand that the key moment happens early on. The first contact is the peak point when the situation is the most vulnerable for you. Once weathered however it then becomes a question of being able to pace yourself while dealing to the surviving threat for which a Tier X battleships (top of the tier tree) makes perfect sense. 

Like I've said previously several times over, getting into Asymmetric in a cruiser or destroyer is so much easier than queuing with a battleship. It's almost instant entry. 

The number of times I've played with Napolis, Michelangelos or Salems is a fairly common situation. And there is a simple reason why: the listed ships can handle multiple threats very well. But seeing a San Martin, Aleksandr Nevsky, or even a Defence is uncommon however, and usually down to personal choice. 

Oddly enough, I've not used Ohio at all in the current iteration of Asymmetric. Previously it was my favourite go-to battleship for this mode. But as my priority this time around is commander upskilling I've not had the need to take her out. Maybe once done with the Liberty Harbour event, and time willing, I might take her for old times sake?

I am describing the situation at Tier X level of course. Lower levels will be quite different and sometimes more challenging.

Your opponent still hits hard however at those lower tiers. And they are still quite accurate, especially if you don't vary your speed and/or choose to sail in a straight line. Becomes quite evident when you become the target for focus fire, especially out in the open. Even an intervening island might not always work to your favour if you aren't literally hugging that cover.

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Today's grind was all over the place, as per usual. Focused mainly on upskilling A. Nevsky commander. Also played Ark Royal and Kitakaze for the rocket/bombs/torpedoes mission requirement. Only played the one game in Asymmetric with Kitakaze but it did well. Paired with a North Carolina on a flank and we were able to clear our zone before moving to the middle and finishing off the game. 

Play style with the Kitakaze in Asymmetric is simple: initially use its quick-firing gunfire long enough for the torpedo load up. Then pick your target - usually a single battleship. Loose off your first set then immediately hit the torp reload booster to activate the second set. This is then loosed off at a second target - again another battleship. Most times it is quite effective...I say most times because you have to time it right (usually before the enemy turn away en masse). 

Upgraded to a new level in Liberty Harbour and received John Barry, a 6-pt special commander. Plonked him on my Tier X destroyer Burrows. Because the new skipper is now on a tech tree line ship, one has to either spend XP or doubloons to complete assigned training. Or else play him under the free retraining scheme. In Barry's case, and opting for the free retraining, he has to earn at least three thousand five hundred commander XP before he can fully take apply his commander skill points. Gives me the opportunity to learn about vessel's capabilities. 

Researched the Liberty Harbour collection and discovered that the collection tiles associated with the harbour build will NOT complete the collection on their own merits. D'Oh! The shortfall will be made up of excess accumulated Naval Base Supplies tokens. But how many tokens per tile is not disclosed. Typical. So, I was wrong in my previous post. At least by upgrading early, you can then just play and accumulate as much Naval Base Supplies tokens as possible to cover the shortfall. EDIT: 7,500 naval base supplies = 1 collection tile. 

I've forgotten about the Blast From the Past battle mode. Meant to join in but got sidetracked with other modes. Not that it matters anyway because I hear it's not doing so well. 

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Another commander upskilled to 21 points, the one on Nevsky. Focus for the rest of the grind today was working on upskilling the commander of Salem. 

And then there's the completing of the Liberty Harbour missions (managed to Upgrade the Fuel Terminal allowing more Expeditions (free NBS tokens). As a result, ended up running Ark Royal and Libertad. More missions. Upgrade the Fuel Terminal to Level 3 to get bonus boosts. More missions mean more Naval Base Supplies tokens. 

Burrows free retraining took only a couple of games. Different playstyle. Slow load up of torps and reload. Decent enough damage nonetheless but nowhere as good as Kitakaze. Its gimmick is the long-running smoke that can be switched on and off. Makes for interesting melees (best hope you have supporting team mates close by; you don't want to be fighting isolated). 

Co-Op, as usual, was crowded at Tier X level so resorted to jumping into Operations or Asymmetric. The latter battle mode proved challenging because playing Salem requires focus all the time. In Operations, it's much the same although not as demanding as Asymmetric. It really does depend on the scenario. Playing a cruiser meant getting into games was quicker than trying with a battleship.

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Thursday grind was a long one. Started around ten am and finished one am. Played through to finish the Dockyard Event and earned Lushun B. Which then unlocked a (surprise) bonus mission - earn 4000 BASE XP in either Lushun or Lushun B to receive 2500 doubloons AND 2500 steel. Mission unlocked is available for 14 days. 

Cannot emphasie enough: play cruisers or destroyers in Asymmetric. You are guaranteed quick entry. In my last game tonight, I saw seventy-odd battleships queuing up. I was playing Salem and got in almost immediately. Earlier in the day I was in the queue with Libertad for over a minute before I got in. 

One more thing: playing cruisers teaches you timing and cooperation. Your survival depends on good positioning play and skill in playing but most importantly on the cooperation and support of your teammates. If you can understand that, then you will make a great impact with your team mates who will appreciate it.

In all my Asymmetric game today, I only saw a Marceau once. Laffey was frequent and very useful at times. Even had a Tromp.

Of the cruisers, Jinan was a very popular choice along with the ubiquitous and powerful Napoli. Even Utrecht popped up a fair few times in his 'usual' spot of holding the middle. Got that spot myself a few times. Most times I would reposition to one of the flanks hugging an island while offering fire support to my flank mates. Only once did I stay in the middle retreating all the way before pushing forward as both flanks pressed and collapse the enemy's offense. 

Knowing when to push is a very important skill. If the enemy turn to retire, and your teammates are pressing hard from the flanks, push. But don't be in a rush; go slow. Always keep bow-in, and watch for crossfiring. Maneouvre to cover should that happen. Don't be afraid to switch from HP to AP and vice versa; situation will demand what shell type you use anyway.

In the Salem I found that citadel hits are most likely to happen against enemy cruisers presenting broadside by aiming at the enemy ships bow tip at the waterline level. Or just below the forward turrets - up to whatever impact is caused. Sometimes midships to target propulsion. Against battleships I always aim for the superstructure. Both AP and HP. 

Battleships - the usual suspects are quite common: Pommern, Schlieffen, G. Kurfurst, Libertad. You get appearances from the likes of Los Andes, Niord, Montana, Yamato, C Colombo, Thunderer. Even ships like Navarin, Kearsarge, Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia pop in from time to time. But no Ohio sighted yet. Which is odd. 

Thing is choose battleships with great secondaries and which hit hard with either HP/AP and which has a decent to fast reload. And a degree of manoeuvrability, if at all possible. 

Played the premium carriers Ark Royal and Bearn quite a bit today for both the Liberty Harbour and Dockyard Event missions. Bearn because one of Dockyard missions required scoring ribbon hits through bombing or skip bombing; Ark Royal for two roles: torp hits, and bombing or rocket hits. 

Focus all day and night was on completing the Dockyard missions. As per usual the 400 Base XP mission task took longest. Eventually was able to complete, and end the long session, because I kept playing Asymmetric which boosts Base XP earnings. Not as much as Randoms, Ranked or Brawls though but definitely more than Co-Op.

In Co-Op was playing Kalmar on the Haven map for the DD torp mission (Dockyard). Paired with a Farragut who suddenly began targeting me with his gunfire. And he kept it up as we moved off, and then began impeding me as we entered the combat zone by blocking or crossing my path. Don't know why. My reaction was quick however; I blocked and reported him for everything possible. No point in reacting in chat. Then left the area to him. Obviously wanted the glory for himself. Got two ship kills despite his best efforts to sabotage my play. If that's happening in Co-Op, then how much worse in Randoms where cooperation is the name of the game but only in one's dreams? 

Also completed a few Battle of Trafalgar mission tasks along the way. Will focus on them more tomorrow now that I have Lushun B.

Expect to obtain Bridgeport either tomorrow or over the weekend. The rest of the time will be spending accumulating enough Naval Base Supplies to swap over for the outstanding collection tiles and finally collect David Farragut.

Black Friday mission began today as well. It's the name for the bonus Lushun/Lushun B mission. 

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Quickly scanned the latest Devblog. Big sigh. New ships. Stupidly dressed in garish camo (as if dressed up fancy camouflage is going to improve your ship's performance or your skill level anyway!). 

More interested in the upcoming Christmas snowflake event. No change so I hear which is good. Why change something which happens to be quite popular with the majority.

Completed the Black Friday task using both Lushuns and got the steel and doubloons. 

Completed the Liberty Harbour build by spending doubloons and thus got Bridgeport. Learned that each collection tile costs 7,500 Naval Base Supplies tokens. For me, I'm needing nineteen more tiles to complete and grab Farragut for Bridgeport. Already earned four tiles through today's grind. 

Now I can finish off the Trafalgar mission tasks.

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Saturday's grind was a bit all over the place because completing some of the Liberty Harbour missions took far longer than planned. And I was limited by the ships selected for the task. 

Ran Salem, Utrecht, Gambia then Brisbane, Libertad, Bridgeport, and Castilla. The last worked best for the Incapacitation missions. 

Bridgeport is meh. It's gimmick is the main battery reload button. Only for one minute twenty seconds. Like the second branch of the US destroyers (Hughes to Burrows) smoke timer. You can switch on and off. Cuts down reload from around 13 seconds to 6.5 seconds. Prefer Atlanta and Salem because both have quicker reloads. 

Forgot Castilla had torps when first playing. Was concentrating more on its F button's burst fire function and did not notice until I was in a melee and and about to die.  

Four more collection tiles obtained through the naval base supplies token exchange. Thirteen left to go. 

Playing the Defence of Naval Station Newport mission in Operations is straightforward once you understand the simple requirement. Which is patience. Don't go chasing the threats if you're a cruiser. Just stay in or around your spawn location and use your guns. Let them come to you. The forts do much the same so why aren't you? You last longer by doing this. Let the others go chasing their tails if they're inclined. And when the big battleships (Satsuma, Yamato, Preussen) come in the main attack, get under cover or move back or forth (don't remain stationary). Followed this tactic whenever I played this mission and managed to survive through to the end. Wins were more common too.

Did better in the Aegis mission this grind round. Still playing cruisers, kept back relying on gunfire and evasion. Choice of teammates means it's pot luck to be honest. Surviving and eliminating the enemy vanguard and then getting beyond the gap is when the problems amplify because of the next two main threats - the captured convoy escorts and a small intercepting force. Things is to deal to both quickly so you can recapture the convoy and escort them to the exit point. Dithering or taking your sweet time shortens the time between the arrival of the big battleships and a second intercepting force (closer to your exit point) puts pressure on your team. And you're outnumbered too so you need to turn the odds in your favour. 

Other missions like Cherry Blossom, Raptor Rescue, and Hermes can be straightforward. Survival is the main task. Enjoying a high success rate thanks to everyone understanding what's required. 

Been playing The Ultimate Frontier mission in a cruiser so always spawn on the bottom end of the map and have to rendezvous with the others at the base to the north of the map. Taking out the destroyers and small force of battleships and cruisers is the first task. Knocking off the enemy cruisers entering from the right is the second. Heal up if needed. Then survive the several attacks from all over before facing off against the big battleships (usually Maine) and escorts (including a swarm of destroyers).  

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Sunday grind. Thankfully short several hours grind. Played Ark Royal, Salem, Castilla, San Martin.

Castilla is an interesting and strong enough ship, strong enough to charge in or hold a flank/middle. Played her in Asymmetric and she did well enough. San Martin is not as strong but useful in her own manner; play carefully however. 

Gets frustrating playing carriers which I admit I don't enjoy. However it's necessary in order to complete the Liberty Harbour mission demanding any quantities of bombs/rockets ribbons. Eight collection tiles left to acquire. 

Last Battle of Trafalgar event mission to go. 

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Finally got the monkey off my back regarding the Aegis mission in Operations. Played the Libertad and was stationed on the extreme left. Instead of playing it passively, decided to go on the aggressive by ignoring the vanguard and sailing towards the intercept force to the north. Had some help from a sub and cruiser. Further backed up by another battleship. Meanwhile the rest of our team took care of the vanguard while our small force dealt to the intercept force. Surprising, our force commander (in the Shchors) was still alive. Then our small force sailed for the map edge to await the enemy battleships (both Yamatos). While the cruiser (Napoli) dealt to one Yamato on its own, myself and the others dealt to the other and the third (G. Kurfurst). 

Our offensive strategy paid dividends as we were able to recover the convoy and escort it to safety. Just in time as a large third force showed up. And, surprise surprise, our force commander was still alive. Playing aggressive only works if you get cooperative teammates who understand the mission brief. Noticed that playing aggressively or taking out the intercept and vanguard early helps immensely. And remember a few times seeing a lone teammate in a battleship or sub heading north to tackle the intercept force. So being proactive does work provided the rest of the team is on board or cooperative. 

Four more collection tiles left to go. So, probably one or two more days? 

Played Salem, Kitakaze, Kalmar, K. Schonberg, Castilla, Brisbane, Atlanta, Libertad to fulfil the various Liberty Harbour missions. That meant playing all three battle modes - Co-Op, Operations, and Asymmetrics. 

Kalmar is strong at Tier V. Has no smoke but is a strong gunboat. Decent enough torps but she does not have enough of them.

K. Schonberg is okay. I am running my Hindenburg skipper on her for a while. Once he reaches 19-points I will switch him back to Hindenburg and grind from there.  

Loving the Kitakaze. Quick firing guns and potent torps. Just a long loadup and reload. But you have a torp reload booster. Looking forward to playing Harugumo, the Tier X upgrade. Not played Harugumo because she already has a 21-point Yamamoto skippering her. Kitakaze's skipper, once fully upskilled, will be my third or fourth Japanese 21-point captain.

In case you haven't figured it out, I've been running all my upskilling captains on available premiums because it costs nothing to transfer them in and train them. Unlike tech tree line ships. Initially figured to start at lower tiers mainly because running costs are cheap in Co-Op. But lately I've decided to return the captains to their assigned ships primarily to facilitate learning and becoming familiar with the designated ships. 

So, for instance, I've been running my assigned skipper for Salem (one of the Doe brothers) for a long time on both Marblehead and Marblehead Lima before returning him to Salem and continuing his upskilling. Lucky I did because I've become so attuned to Salem and know it well now. And it's a reliable go-to for both Operations and Asymmetrics. 

Currently upskilling another Pan-American captain for the San Martin. Started him first on the premium destroyer Jurua before returning him back to his assigned ship. Still coming to terms with the capabilities of this ship. Same can be said for my assigned captain on the Spanish Tier X cruiser Castilla. 

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October Digest #4

World of Warships

Rough mixed day at the office...Ran Salem, San Martin, Goliath, Castilla, and Kitakaze to fulfil Liberty Harbour, Dockyard and Battle of Trafalgar missions.

First time in a long long since I've taken Kitakaze out of port. Got reload down to 2.something seconds so that it was almost Groningen-level rate of fire. Slow torp reload however meant I had to use its guns early on to deal to the opposing destroyer (usually) first up. Once loaded up though that's when the fun began because I could loose off one set at one target and then use to the torp reload to loose off another set almost immediately at a secondary target. Double kills, especially against opposing battleships, is always satisfying. Once I've upskilled this skipper to 21-pt will plonk him on Shimakaze. 

Castilla has burst fire with longer reload (28.5 seconds). Useful at times. Trick I use is to use burst fire, then turn it off to bring reload back to 13 seconds before reactivating burst fire. 

Nothing special about Goliath. Nowadays it's been overtaken by other and newer cruisers. Kept it at a distance and relied on its excellent HP to farm opponents. Am considering swapping the commander over to Defence because it's a stronger vessel by comparison. 

Noticed today Tier X games in Co-Op was filled out with players. Weird or maybe I don't play Co-Op at Tier X level often enough to believe that this might be the norm? Loads of Marceau and Kleber too which seemed funny to me. A trend perhaps?

Trafalgar event means I also get the opportunity to take out both Marseille and Minotaur. Keen to see what the fuss is about a radar Minotaur while I've not really played the Marseille much if at all.

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Today's grind involved A. Nevsky, Defence, Kitakaze, Marseille, and Ark Royal in Co-Op, Operations, and Asymmetrics battle modes. Finish this week's Dockyard missions and managed to upgrade more Intermediate levels with the harbour build. 

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Just the two ships in today's extended and for the most part enjoyable commander skill upgrade - A. Nevsky and Salem. Played all three modes - Co-Op, Operations, and Asymmetric battle modes. Added the carrier Ark Royal to play out one of the Liberty Harbour missions. 

The Aegis mission in Operations at Tier X level can be tough. Especially today when the enemy vanguard consisted of the Yoshino and Harugumo. Just getting past them proved fatal as I quickly found out when I died very fast because I foolishly got too close to their withering focus fire. Expected some help because one of the early aims is ensuring the task force commander's ship survives past dealing to the enemy vanguard. But my teammates were hanging back as if...

In a later repeat, survived toward the end but our task force commander died before he even made the gap. What the...?!? What made it worse was some tool of a teammate (in a Libertad too) calling us all dogs in chat for not keeping task force leader alive. He himself didn't make it much further once we finally dealt to the vanguard. It made me all that aware that such toxic player behaviour is part of the reason why I don't participate in Ranked or Randoms. Often lapse back to my team sports playing days where teamwork was the whole point of team sports. But this is a pixel online game. Totally different arena. Totally different expectations. 

Thing troubling me was that the level of powerful battleships that we had could have easily knocked off the vanguard sooner rather than much later. Funny part, in that game where our task force commander died early, was that towards game's end there was just me in my cruiser, our carrier and our sub doing his valiant best to infiltrate and cause damage left. Our potent battleships - all four of them - died early and did not make it past halfway point (bar one but he was probably our best battleship player).

Did not know Ark Royal had guns. On the Two Brothers map advanced to help a teammate deal to an enemy battleship but drew too close to effectively launch my attack planes so figured to somehow play gladiator instead once I noticed the defensive guns kicking in the closer I got. Played the carrier like some lumbering Bob Semple tank against a 'modern' battleship. Hilarious to se and really expected to die quick but I survived. And we got the enemy ship...well, my teammate did. 

Reached Level 3 on Liberty Harbour. Wasn't prepared to accumulate the sixty thousand naval base supply tokens needed for the final upgrade so spent doubloons instead. Realised then that I don't want to continue playing the Liberty Harbour event any longer simply because effort is far greater than the value of the reward. Realised then that you can skip the grind altogether by just spending doubloons to reach all three levels. Then you will have completed the harbour, gotten Bridgeport, and collected David Farrgut. And sail on your merry way to the next event over the horizon. 

Finished the first week of the Trafalgar event yesterday. Nice change from the usual skipper grind because it allowed me to sail out other ships not usually deployed. Have yet to take out the Minoatur and test its known configuration - standard smoke or unusal radar. I see it so much on other YT streamers feeds that I already know it capabilities. But seeing and experiencing by association to actually driving are two totally different things, as we all know.

Marseille is an interesting ship. Did not fare well the times I took her out as it was really the first real time testing her. Familiarisation usually requires a week or so of devotion. Hope next week's missions will showcase her strengths, and I can improve. 

No new ships so far. In fact, no new ships this month. Not bothered however as I'm seriously done with this game. Just going through the motions albeit with some briefly high moments and mostly monotonous mind-numbing lows. The end of this year can't come soon enough at the moment. 

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October Digest #3

World of Warships

Upgraded my way toward Level 3 in the Liberty Harbour event today just before logging out. Initially baulked spending all that accumulated Naval Base Supplies tokens (old hoarding habit) but then realised I'm quitting this game at the end of the year. Pointless therefore to conserve so exchanged some Voyage tokens for dubs to upgrade my way to one intermediate level shy of Level 3. Once upgraded, I will upgrade the other sections at my leisure. Ample time due to playing daily.

Felt much more comfortable today playing A. Nevsky with my 19-pt commander. Expect to upskill him to 20-pt by the end of the week and then I can switch to my other 19-pt commander who is Seasoned (one of the Doe brothers) on Salem. If time free, I will then run Zao whose skipper is just 16-pt; but I do so love this ship. Priority though will be my 19-pt commanders of which there are three in total: the other one is on the Pan-American cruiser San Martin.

Flitted between Operations, Asymmetric and Co-Op without too much bother which felt good. Even keen to hook into it after taking a break to do some grocery shopping. 

Always a degree of trepidation whenever I step out of my comfort zone or realise that I will be earning my grinding stripes proper. But once immersed, that unease mellows pretty quick.

Nevsky shone in the Raptor (CV) mission. Led the way to the carrier then hung back close to the Engineer boat to facilitate healing up. Radar is very useful for pinpointing precise locations. 

Taking out the enemy cruisers is crucial in Asymmetrics. They pose more of a threat initially. Deal to them first up and the rest of the fight will become much more easier. 

Always keep one eye out for the rest of your team as you may suddenly find yourself all alone. Help out where you can; you never know when that assistance may be repaid in kind down the track. It costs you nothing to be a teammate but time and effort. 

Having played the Libertad and Karl XIV Johan in enough Asymmetric game, it is interesting to watch how others fare in her in the same battle mode. On the Shatter map, my Nevsky spawned to the north on the left flank with a K. Johan. Sailed south to the large island to my front and paused there using my radar to spot the enemy who seemed to congregate on the opposite side. I think they were expecting me to YOLO around in a blaze of glory. The K. Johan however sailed around the other (right) side and straight into heavy enemy fire. Half expected my teammate to brake and then pull back using his good guns and torps to do some damage as I would have done if my cruiser teammate had just revealed the enemy's location. But no, he blithely ignored my help and promptly died to the enemy's concentrated fire and torps. Left me to deal with the enemy on my own who chose at that point to push around my side en masse. I figured no point in hanging around and sailed happily to my death. My last view was of my remaining teammates on the far right sailing to the middle after taking care of their flank. 

Generally those who play the Libertad in Asymmetric understand the assignment and fare well. Those that die do so gloriously while those who survive and score high do so playing to Libertad's strengths. I'm glad I chose the secondary build upgrade instead of the recommended one for that slot. As stated in a previous post, scoring several hundred secondary hits at 12 km range is insane. 

Why not grind in Randoms or Ranked? Good question. Simple answer: not good enough and certainly not into being targetted by teammates trolling or trash talking you while you're trying to deal to a live opponent. Distractions I can do without even though I do get easily distracted. 

Asymmetrics is easily my favourite battle mode at the moment. I know exactly what I'm up against. No illusions. No expectations either. You can rely on teammates only so far; the rest of the way is on you. To contribute. To participate. Playing passively is not the way to go. Playing smart however is your only goal. Know when to push. Know when to back off or stay hid under cover. Where possible engage with your secondaries; their contributions can never be underestimated. 

Operations offer variety of scenario missions that test your ship's capabilities as much as showcase your own skill level. Sometimes you lose. Other times you win. Contribution is up to you and your decisions. Knowing the objectives can never be overlooked. 

Even in Co-Op, I always play the objective(s) unless it's blatantly obvious which is more important. Prioritise. 

Wow, six years of playing this game has taught me much...and yet so little. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned is that it is just a game after all. That's always been my attitude towards games whether on the sporting field or currently with online and tabletop gaming. Play to enjoy. Always. So the propaganda tells me. 

Yada yada...knowledge already known to many who play WOWS regularly. Guess that's why I'm quitting end of the year. Nothing new here, folks. Cheers...

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Waking up unexpectedly and playing pissed off is never a good thing. But circumstances being what they are, it's all there is until things settle down. 

Resumed grinding my 19-pt commander on A. Nevsky in Asymmetric. Started off badly (still pissed off) and it showed in my poor performance so switched over to San Martin. Stronger cruiser somehow. Luck changed. Improved. Finished off the daily grind on the Libertad to again complete another 350 secondary mission task. Finding this Pan-American battleship to be OP as heck some times. 

In the last game for the grind, just myself and a Yamagiri left to face off against the six enemies. While the Japanese supership kept her distance and provided useful crossfire with both guns and torpedoes, I sailed boldly toward the enemy from my flank which I had cleaned up with another Libertad. My flank comrade died fairly quickly leaving me to finish off the remaining enemies - a North Carolina and a Richelieu - and a cruiser (name forgotten).   

Anyway, sailed toward the remaining enemy who had capped the middle and far cap circles. Lucky for me they came at me one at a time. Not that it really mattered as I was fairly confident this game was over. 

It's a cocky attitude to have I know but that's how much faith I have in this ship in this battle mode. 

Stayed bow-in all the way as I closed the fight. Took damage as sailed to close but it was not as severe as if I had opened up my angling exposing my vulnerable broadside. Used my secondaries effectively which easily whittled down the enemy HP. Scored a couple of battleships off my secondaries pounding away mercilessly. 

Needless to say, we won despite the odds. Yamagiri capped off the win by finishing off the last enemy - Le Fantasque with her guns. Well played sir.

Note: At a certain point, the enemy will veer away after initially "charging" at you. It's in the makeup of this game setup. If you can weather that rush, and score kills (ie take out the cruiser/destroyer threat), that veering away will turn into a retreat. But if they get you first, then they will turn about and press on to your now-vacated post. 

Liberty Harbour. Fifty days left to run on the event. Be mindful of that time frame in case you ever feel the need to "sprint" your way to the finish. Over one and a half month's worth. Ample if you play daily and suffer no time playing restrictions. Even if constrained by time or life obligations (work, family) all you need to complete are the daily missions which should suffice for progressing your way to the end.  

You need to complete all the upgrades - Operation Command, Naval Command, Fuel Terminal, Military Port - to successfully finish the build. Each sector consists of three major upgrades and ten intermediate ones. Advancing requires spending Naval Base Supply (NBS) tokens. You need a fair amount for each harbour sector. You can fast-track (as with every WOWS event) by spending doubloons if you have them to spare. 

The harbour build upgrades offer Collection tokens. You need sixty to complete the collection. Reward is a historical American naval figure, David Farragut. Name I'm familiar with through my American Civil War gaming. 

Completing all twelve sector upgrades earn Memory Notes. Collecting Memory Notes count towards obtaining the ship reward Bridgeport.

Note: you can compete in either one or both Commands. Up to your personal inclination or preference. I am concentrating solely on Operational Command daily missions.

Operational Command is for all PvE missions. At present I am one intermediate phase shy off the Level 3. Needing sixty thousand NBS tokens before that happens however. Figure to upgrade all the others before accumulating the necessary final amount. That's the way it's got to be sometimes.  

Naval Command is for all PvP missions. Halfway between Level 1 and 2. Needing fifty five thousand NBS tokens in total to reach Level 2.

Fuel Terminal provides boosters that unlock extra missions for either Operational, Naval or Military. Two intermediate levels shy off Level Two.

Military Port is like Festival token bonuses - you get something for nothing; you just have to have enough ships to contribute to the expeditions being offered. One day missions are preferable if wanting the reward the next day. Same progress status as the Fuel Terminal.  

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Becoming more and more comfortable flitting between Operations and Asymmetric modes for variety and a change of pace. 

Today I was able to upskill my San Martin commander to 19-pt and the A. Nevsky commander to 20-pt. 

Finally took out my Salem commander, primarily to get a 100 incapacitation ribbons mission - one of sixty, the other of forty - after initially running both Libertad and Utrecht and not getting them quick enough. But Salem knocked them off fairly quick. 

Liking the Salem so far and looking forward to grinding her in Asymmetric where I believe she will do well. Her guns do damage for sure and looking to exploit that. In Co-Op she's a beast but that's Co-Op.  

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Stardew Valley

Marching toward Perfection with my third character is taking a lot longer than anticipated; just need to buy the ten million gold clock. At five million plus so far. Need to grow more money crops or something. Even with the farm on Ginger Island growing pineapples, it's taking a long while (both in-game and time spent playing). 

Everything else however is all done. Whoop-de-doo!

Current character is farming on the standard farm setup with the mineral quarry onsite. So there is little free land available for farming. Crops are sparse and has to compete with the row upon row lightning catchers. Fortunately the past spring and summer have been wet ones with lots of storms so useful. 

The cellar has one hundred casks for wine and cheese aging. Think I can increase the number but not going to mess with the current configuration. I could boost the quantity of Fairy Dust so as to fast track the cask yield but need lots of Mystic Tree sap for that. Fortunately there's available land at the Railway Station/Spa area. Will see how I go tomorrow night.

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Did not progress far tonight (Monday). Couldn't get the enthusiasm up to make any inroads towards planning. Same old same old mood overwhelmed me. Maybe tomorrow?

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You get odd requests sometimes so it pays to have at least one of each item that is foragable. Even trash has its uses. Like tonight, from my racoon neighbours - three topaz and one rusty spoon please! Certainly. I'll just pluck it out of my a*se. Learned that lesson from way back when I got a similar request for some trash and one other item which both took several in-game days (turns) to fulfil. Raced back to the farm, collected the items requested instantly, returned, exchanged for my reward - some more Fairy Dust. Needing one hundred so I can fast track Starfruit Wine aging in casks. And thus hasten the gold earned. 

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Online PC Games

Going to grab the Into the Dead zombie game soon. Saw Jingles video and while hooked I will pause jumping in impulsively. Not a fan of zombie themed games for some reason. 

Re-examining some historical-themed online games in my Steam library. There are a few games that should provide decent alternative options to WOW. Operative word is "should". None will have the same personal impact as WOW has. Nor longevity. But that's expected. And it will be hard. And none will have the same naval appeal as WOW.

These include Scourge of War - Remastered, Napoleonic themed; Scourge of War - Gettysburg, refighting the famous American Civil War battle; Field of Glory II Medieval, covers the whole Medieval period. And finally Command Modern Operations which covers the modern era from late twentieth century onward.

Not really into skirmish games although I do enjoy playing it on the tabletop. Tabletop wargames such as Blue Max/Canvas Eagles, Rapid Fire/Rapid Fire II, Charlie Don't Surf/any TFL games - to name a few - fulfil that niche very well thank you. Online games like Holdfast Nations and Counterstrike are online equivalents. 

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Tabletop gaming modelling

Really dragging the chain on these ECW figurines. Never enthusiastic about the period in the first place. My lifelong favourites have always been Napoleonic, American Civil War, and World War Two.  Always bypassed the period despite the colourful spectacle that it was. By inclination, I have always been a Royalist (loads of Sunday matinees probably had some influence); believed Cromwell to be a grand usurper. Unfortunately that favouritism is NOT helping me finish off this list that I've had for over a year now.

The Borodino Project was a one-off that evolved from a simple original desire to paint some Westphalians. Yet it snowballed into the massive venture that it became. And I am never going to ever repeat that endeavour again. Ever. And that begs the question: what else is there if you've already done something on this grand scale? For when I look at my unfinished work bench, I fear seeing Borodino Project resurrect itself and repeat.

Not having a live opponent to wage a very English civil war does not help for sure. I was wrong to commit when I did long ago. I regret that. But then there is that part that nudges me and say, "get on with it. It is what it is..." Trouble is, I wish I could shoot that internal voice sometimes. Silence is golden. 

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Tabletop Naval Wargaming

The problem with the tabletop naval wargame rulesets I possess is they're too long, wordy, and involved. The complexity might appeal to me on a certain level but I prefer simplicity and ease when actually playing. Which is why WOWS holds such a great appeal.

But the immediate problem with simplicity is it's very difficult to express in real life because of its inherent complexity. It's the trap that grabs every single ruleset of any complex design. Expressing that lengthy wordy involved rules into something coherent yet simple enough to be played easily can be a tricky wire balancing act. And it might never be truly resolved because of the simple contradiction.

That contradiction are the two core words: simple and easy. 

But adapting oneself to understanding and then implementing such involved rulesets may seem to approach the intent and meaning of those two words. Familiarity and continued usage (experience) aid that process. But is it really simple? Or easy? 

To an outsider, at first it may look a mess, a jumble of meaningless words. An obstacle. To those on the inside however it evolves into something familiar and therefore usable. 

It's a continual struggle I wrestle with whenever I pick up my favourite tabletop naval wargame rules. I don't play often enough so the familiarity and ease of play is forced and unnatural. Which leads to frustration and confusion. Bitching about the rules helps in some way - releases the tension generated. 

Yet, and it remains the forever appeal, I love the look of naval miniatures, whatever the period. I love the game. And it's why I continue, and will continue, to remain steadfastly loyal to it. Even as I approach my seventies. 

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Off-Topic - Cooking

Discovered a cheap lunchtime meal several weeks ago. Combine 2 minute noodle (I use chicken flavoured) with dried Laksa soup in a saucepan of water. Bring to the boil, stirring often. I sometimes add diced or shredded pieces of cooked chicken. Don't let the mix overboil. Once the noodles are fully absorbed by the steaming hot water, remove from heat. Always let it sit for a minute or two to allow the whole blend to fully settle. Then pour into a sturdy bowl. Sprink some chopped parsley or chives. Voila. A warming lunchtime meal in under five minutes. Hot, spicy, tasty. 

I sometimes substitute with Dutch Curry soup flavour. With the beef noodles, I combine them with Mushroom Soup. Dark, earthy, warming. I even throw in real sliced mushrooms to enhance that earthy tone. Mind you, don't add deathcap mushrooms as they can cause an upset tummy. 

And who can go past that old Kiwi favourite for snacking - onion soup dip. Aldi are currently running a Kiwi-themed section. Grabbed Nestle Reduced Cream and Maggi Onion Soup satchets and hurried home to make up this old favourite. Don't forget the dash of vinegar. Mmm.

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October Digest #2

 World of Warships

After a bit of trepidation I finally ran Lisboa and Libertad in Asymmetric today (Wednesday). Had a few games in Co-Op first to familiarise myself with the ship. 

Did well enough in Asymmetric to now feel confident in running the vessel tomorrow to grind out the next Dockyard Event mission tasks. Ran the ship with the anticipated secondary build that definitely helped. 

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Liberty Harbour event began today (Thursday). Unimpressed. Same old lure to get you to spend time and money on something with sweet f-all rewards.

Finished next Dockyard mission tasks in today's session thanks to Asymmetric. Asymmetric is easily my favourite battle mode because it offers just enough of a challenge without the monotony or boredom of Co-Op. But more importantly, I can upskill from 20 to 21 point quicker. Especially when you don't have the necessary Elite Commander XP to just spend your way to the top. Currently upskilling my last Unique commander, Lisboa, to 21 point: hope to complete it by end of the weekend, if not sooner; probably tomorrow (Friday). Then it's back to the coma-inducing Co-Op grind mode for my 16-pt, 17-pt, 18-pt, and 19-pt commanders. 

Don't understand the latest sale event in the Armoury. A bunch of 10-pt special commanders who offer nothing like Seasoned or Unique skilled commanders. Why is WG doing this? The commanders costs coal which would be better spent on ships.

Monmouth and Incheon are now available as doubloon ships.

Another new ship, Indiana, on offer as an Admiral pack or part of a sequential bundle (pot luck). 

Ran Libertad for much of today's grind. Only four defeats: one was neglecting to protect our base which was capped by the enemy; the other three I can't remember how we lost. The remainder were victories. And Libertad figured in the top three for over ninety percent of them. 

Playing her is simple: don't get too close. Make use of her long-range secondaries (over 12km). Keep your distance initially until you can rid yourself (and your teammate) of any cruiser and destroyer threat. Then take out the torp-carrying battleships. Finally just bow in on the remaining battleships and focus on them with your secondaries. 

Always use the F button when loaded; using it on one ship whilst focusing your main guns on another vessel is being efficient as well as effective. 

Beware of crossfires. These can happen when a teammate decides to abandon their front leaving you vulnerable to crossfires. Use the islands to help protect your flank. Try and keep bow in where possible. Have faith in your secondaries to help out. 

Your secondaries are good but so are those of the Schlieffen and Pommern. If paired with either, stick close to them because together you can clear up a flank with ease. Same goes if you're with an Iwami or Napoli or Salem. 

If paired with a cruiser, support your cruiser always. Should they go down first, don't run away. Hang in there and slug it out because you can - your main guns plus your secondaries will back you up. Good positioning helps too. 

Vary your speed always. Libertad's speed manoeuvrability is good; make use of it. Instinct should warn you when torps are coming your way and should start slowing down or turning as a result. You lack hydro so rely on your eyeballs. And know your enemy ship's characteristics. 

Never turn too close to the enemy as they'll hammer your broadside with ease. Came close to dying within the first few salvos a couple of times because I turned while too close to the enemy focus fire. 

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Upskilled Lisboa to 21 points today (Friday) earlier than planned using economic bonuses in Asymmetric. Now I can play him on this tech tree line and exploit his talents. 

Bought the first three Navy 250 sequential bundles. No Indiana but enough resources to happily complete free retraining for de Ruytier who was returned to the Tier X Dutch oven Utrecht. Been playing him on Groningen. 

Decided to continue the trend of returning selected assigned commanders back to their ships and opting to upskill/grind them in Asymmetric. Not sure about running Utretch in Asymmetric however. It's one gimmick is its dual bomber threat, but then the destroyer Tromp does the same job, is more stealthier, and has torpedoes for backup. Paper-thin cruiser armour that crumples easily under concentrated focus fire puts a dampener on gambling with Utretch in Asymmetric. And I sometimes have trouble calculating where to target my bombers. 

Looking forward to trialling Zao in Asymmetric. Always liked her; she is one of my earliest Tier Xs acquired long ago. Saw one player bring her into Asymmetrics today but can't recall how it fared. Weak armour, as with all cruisers, but her long-range torps (lots of them) and her main guns can catch an opponent unawares if careless. Happy to gamble despite that major defect. 

Another ship I'm going to run with her upskilling captain in Asymmetric is the fairly versatile San Martin. She has a good heal, decent torps, and her gunfire can be punishing if the build is right. Kiting is an asset she excels in. 

Day 2 of the Liberty Harbour event saw me activate the Naval Command base. Not that I will be playing the missions from his section as I will be playing missions exclusively from the Operations Base instead. Just need to activate the Fuel Depot section which I expect to do so tomorrow. Doing this will gain access to 20000 Naval Depot Supplies in the Memory Note. After that, I don't know nor care what happens next. Focus is on upskilling commanders in Asymmetric.

Hilarious moment happened as I was completing the third mission task for the Operations base (score 50 rocket/bomb ribbons in a CV). I was in the Tier VI US premium carrier Independence. It was a Co-Op game with a few live players and the rest BOTS. 

Not expecting much from this excursion initially apart from completing the mission task - had a few more bombing/rocket ribbons left to earn. That's when I noticed that the rest of the team had died off and we two survivors were left to face off against four enemy ships. Things started to warm up just then. 

My one remaining teammate was in the US battleship Tier VII tech tree Colorado. He was attending to the enemy carrier to the north. I was in the south east corner avoiding the enemy ships heading my way. I chose a wide sweep but then decided to run diagonally in a more north-westerly direction. This new course would take me through several cap circles. Why not help out, I thought.  

But my new course would take straight into enemy gunfire. I launched all available planes against the two battleships confronting me whittling down their health but it was not fast enough. I was surprised though to still be alive running their gauntlet of fire. The Colorado meanwhile had sunk the enemy CV and was hurrying back to assist. Had no inkling if he would make it in time or if I would still be alive. 

I deliberately held my course however braving the gauntlet while losing over half my ship health in damage. Yet I survived and was about about to head to an unclaimed cap circle when time finally ran out. 

The Colorado couldn't believe what had happened and laughed about it in chat. A few what-ifs were posed. Had my planes sunk the targeted battleship could we have delayed the inevitable? Would the Colorado have made it back to deal to the last enemy ship with its guns? Why had our other teammates given up so easily and died?

Again the lesson stands: play the objective. Or play to the clock. 

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Day 3 of the Liberty Harbour event. 

Completed all the missions required and duly received the next Memory Note - a quantity of credit and, more importantly, thirty thousand Naval Base Supplies - the event currency. Was thus able to fast track through several intermediate stages between Level 1 and 2. Shy one intermediate upgrade to unlock Level 2. Hope to achieve that over the weekend.

Completed the day's missions in a selection of cruisers using their assigned commanders (from the upskilling grind) - Zao, A. Nevsky, San Martin and Salem. Not so confident with cruisers as I am with battleships so needed to run a few games in Co-Op battle mode with each ship. Also ran the Zao CLR simply because I love her cool green camo scheme, not because she's part of the commander upskill grind. 

Had to complete the last stage of secondary mission (earn total of 350 secondary hits ribbons) in the Libertad via Asymmetric. Needed around one hundred plus; funny part was I scored over 350 secondary hits in that single run!!

I am planning to upskill my higher-levelled commanders through Asymmetric mode because it's more entertaining and just a tad challenging. Expecting a lot more early deaths and loads of defeats however. But first I will run the ships through a few games in Co-Op to familiarise myself with the vessel as a few don't have torpedoes.

Other cruisers in the current commander upskill grinding list include Worcester, Hindenburg, Goliath, Castilla, Brisbane, Gouden Leeuw. They should all get in a few games in Asymmetric between now and when the battle mode is withdrawn. 

Zao starts with fast stock torps at 8km. Can upgrade to 12km range but slower speed than stock standard. Accurate HP/AP. But brittle as heck. You're dead if you show broadside so angle bow-in when you can. Use island cover where possible. Played her a lot today. 

A. Nevsky has a very good 12km radar. No smoke. Remember her with good AP but times have changed and she's been overtaken by the current crop of cruisers. Still useful in specific situations. Just a matter of learning what those situations are.  

San Martin has torps but that's all I remember at the moment. Confusing her with St Vincent with the awesome heal. But St Vincent is a battleship. 

Salem has good guns and an excellent rate of fire. Excellent pummeller. Choice of hydro or radar. Played the most after Zao today. Impressed. Seen her in a few Asymmetric games where she performed pretty good especially holding her own when under island cover. Not so useful when caught in the open though. 

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Today I played A. Nevsky exclusively in both Operations (for one of Liberty Harbour mission tasks) and Asymmetric (cmdr upskill grind and Liberty Harbour missions). 

Well prepared for playing cruisers which can proved both frustrating and punishing. One misstep, one miscalculation, one moment of inattentiveness, and you're stuffed. Died so many times it wasn't funny. Those times when I managed to play well enough to survive, I contributed little to nil. Seeing others score ship kills in battleships was disheartening and envious at times. 

But I will persevere because playing cruisers teaches you to be more aware of the situation, mindful of your surroundings, and pay close attention to the mini map and observe closely what your teammates are doing. All of which can be a bit more preserving of your life.  

Probably one of my two best performances today was when I held one flank on my own against five ships - one destroyer, two cruisers and two battleships. Kept them occupied while my teammates dealt to the others.

The other was on one of the ice maps. Spawned in the middle. Sailed for cover behind an island and waited. Didn't have long to wait. Using island cover I sailed by and dealt to those I could. Had help from a Yamato. Together we held the middle and prevented the enemy from capping our base. 

Noticed cruisers get into Asymmetric games quicker. 

If you time it right and play aggressively, you can force your opponents to retire once you survive their initial push. And you can pursue them easier. Especially if you have good backup like a battleship with accurate guns and heavy secondaries. When that happens, you can even go YOLO on opposing battleship. Just remember to angle in correctly. And don't get caught in crossfires.

Puzzled by how accurate the enemy gunfire is even when you're not spotted AND in cover. 

At the start of my session, I was lost when playing Operations initally. Died too quickly. Realised Nevsky has been so power crept it's only use at Tier X is island hugging and using its radar at the right time. It does require a skilled player to use her; sadly I'm not in that category. But I will give it a good crack while Asymmetric is still around. 

October Digest #1

World of Warships

After grinding my five missions for the GQ Johnny tokens today (1 October), I decided to treat myself and took out Lushun as it's returning to the game in the next dockyard event as Lushun B. Earned her in a 2023 dockyard event. Thirty-five phases in total. Once earned however she became a port princess given my focus was on other priorities at the time. But figured it was time to "take her out for a spin..." 

Recall watching a Trenlass video from around the time of her release where he played her. All I remember of that memory was a game filled with lots of Lushun firestarter moments where Trenlass played brilliantly from behind cover and he did well to hold a flank in her. Her deepwater torps are deterrents to heavier vessels although playing her as front-line might require caution given her combined strengths (hydro, 360 turrent rotation, good concealment) and weaknesses (no smoke, slow speed, slower torp reload) might find better utilisation on a flank, farming from cover, or dealing to capping enemy DDs. 

Ran her in a couple of game with Sa Zhenbing at the helm in Co-Op then restored her assigned captain for one final game. Performed to expectation. Took on a Marceau and before that a Kleber (admittedly it's Co-Op) and Lushun more than held her own despite having no smoke. Reminded me so much of Groningen with its MG-like rate of fire. 

And her deepwater torps in double quadruple tubes at 11km present a decent defensive wall against aggressive cruisers or battleships. But its her stealth and gunboat build that marks her for notice.

Keen to see what are the new coal ships. I heard Defence is returning - have it from last year. What are the others however does not interest me at the moment. 

Noticed the new devblog site upgrade. Same old same old content however. New ships released with Update 14.9. Yawn....!

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Was going to skip this Update's Dockyard event but remembered my ultimate goal so participated. Paid for five phases (bare minimum to finish this dockyard event: up three from previous dockyard events). Also forty five phases - much longer than the previous (Laffey) by far. 

Finished the first mission six tasks by playing Karl XIV Johan in Asymmetric. The last mission task (earn 900 ribbons) needed to be done using a destroyer. Thus I took out Groningen because it's good for earning loads of ribbons. Five quick games later and I was done.

This latest Event Pass (German Reunification themed) offers nothing of value as I already have the Prinz E. Friedrich, the halfway reward. No end of event reward ship which is disappointing. One of the 'new' releases would have made a fine reward incentive.

Liberty Harbour event starts 9 October (next Thursday local time). 

Despite the fun of Asymmetric, I have decided this will be my final year playing World of Warships in my current commitment (playing daily). Once I reached 700 ships, I'm done committing to playing every day for several hours. Not the sort of retirement I had envisaged. 

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Mixed day of wins and losses in Karl XIV Johan in Asymmetric. Not too bothered by the outcome however. Still stand by my faith in the Pan-European vessel although I am fully aware of her weaknesses. But maximising her strengths and playing smart even with her weaknesses (AP not that great) can extend ones survivability that little bit longer.

Making full use of island cover to screen yourself from being focus fired upon is essential and helps prolong your survivability. Too often when hammered to death, I was caught out in the open and often presented my broadside making it easy for the accurate enemy fire to score successes. And make no mistake, the bots aim is better in Asymmetric. Couple of times I was killed off by accurate enemy fire before I could sneeze Dixie.

Also remain aware to guard your base. Lost a couple of winning games because our team forgot the enemy were capping our base. 

Play the objectives whatever they be. If you're on a flank and a cap is there for the taking and you're the only one left, take it. Unless urgency requires you elsewhere, take the time to cap.  

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Perseverance pays off. Enjoyed a special moment today (Sat 6 Oct) - a 10-ship-kill game in Asymmetric. 

Had help from my teammates for the most part. And many kills were just me finishing off the severely wounded. But once I was all alone, I remembered to play the objectives and capped twice to help the cause. Ignored the remaining two enemy ships. The enemy managed to cap one back but by then the timer had run out with us as victors. Play the objective.

Not long after, I enjoyed a really good seven-ship-kill game. Again, co-operation is the name of the game. Had great help from a Moskva. Together we took care of our flank, capped it, then moved to the others. Three enemy battleships left - V. Veneto, Richelieu, North Carolina. While the Moskva provided fire support from cover, I raced out into the combat arena, sailing directly for our foe. Secondaries took care of one battleship which had beached itself and loosed off torps on other two to close out the game. 

As a result of this session, I was finally able to upskill the Pan-European Unique commander Swirski to 21-points. 

Perhaps buoyed by this good mood from this session, I've decided to switch Lisboa back to his assigned ship, Libertad, and have him grind from 20-point to 21-point in Asymmetric. 

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Stardew Valley

Currently seeking Perfection for my third character. Finished my second one a few days back. I have several active because I wanted to hook up with every available single female character. Of those, ditzy Hayley is my personal favourite. Yep, I have a thing for blondes. 

Just completing the tasks for the Walnut Room (Mr Qi) so I can earn the necessary Qi tokens to purchase several crafting recipes and finish off the crafting achievement. Just that and the good neighbour achievement are the main achievements left to complete. Everything else is done. As stated, catching the Legendary fish can be done in one day using magic bait with max fishing buff. Having mastered fishing helps too cos you earn the Advanced Iridium Rod as a bonus. 

Once I've completed the Perfection for this third character I will take a break before completing the remaining active characters at my leisure. 

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Other PC games

Steam's Autumn Sale is currently active.. Looking for a new game to take over once I'm done with WOWS. Seen a few YT recommendations. Am interested in a couple already but happy to cast my eye further afield. No firm decision yet made however. Maybe none will be acquired. No rush anyway.

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