November Digest #6

World of Warship

So the Christmas season is upon us with the intro to Update 14.11 beginning today (Thursday). Aim will be to make this last month and a few days as comfortable playing-wise as possible. Which means no lengthy mindless grinding, spending as much resources where possible, and exploiting any and every situation to the max. 

But one wonders if this Christmas season is going to be all sparkles and glitter as promoted...

First up, Liberty Harbour event officially ends in six days. But activity has ceased when I went to the site. No missions are now possible. Caught me by surprise but no biggie because I extracted all I could from the event - got both the ship and the commanders. I've just been cruising since completing the reward tasks earning at least 180,000 credit on average every day. However, one well-known WOWS YT streamer posted that WG did a sneaky by canning the remaining days: caught out a number of those still grinding for the Bridgeport and David Farragut. Many had to spend doubloons to complete the event and earn the rewards. 

The Roussillon is overhyped. According to one reliable YT streamer source, the supposed good dispersion is a lie. Am more interested in the coal compensation and resources available than in the ship itself; it's just another tick for my ultimate goal. So I don't care about the ship. Already paid for the eight phases to make the grind easier collecting the credits, coal, premium days, and economic bonuses along the way. No shame in splurging; anything to make my last month as comfortable as possible. Played through for two more phases so got the appreciated Montcalm compensation (coal). In its defence, one commenter provided an excellent summary on how to play the battleship. Still doesn't matter to me as I already have loads of more than capable French battleships - Jean Bart, Republique, Picardie, Bourgogne, Patrie to name a few. One more isn't going to disrupt or alter game play. 

I now have enough to grab a coal ship from the Armoury. But I am going to wait until after the Update just in case they do release Conrad Helfich into the Collection crates (rumoured).

The new Event Pass commenced today. Chapter One is up for grabs. Play the top progress line and/or pay for the second progress line. Spent to unlock 2nd progression line and collected the welcomed rewards.

The Steel Fleet is now openly listed in the Armoury. And the Valparaiso is sitting there awaiting collection. Did the sums and I have enough for only one steel ship. Interesting in that I saw lots of Valparaiso in both Asymmetrics and Co-Op. 

I could use Voyage tokens accumulated to exchange for steel but I don't have enough nor will it ever happen. And I'd rather exchange what few tokens I have for doubloons instead.

The Santa crates bundles for sale will start over the weekend. Tempting to the greedy and gullible (like moi). Anyway, with the preview, scored eight gift crates from the event pass primarily. Lots of useful resources - Economic bonuses, Elite Commander XP, Free XP, coal, small amount of steel, but no ship. That's the province of the Mega gift crates. The Gift crates remain worthwhile (just) for the resources and value (1 Mega gift crate equals 5 Gift crates).

Played to grab all 24 ornaments to decorate the Christmas tree, and thus scored the attendant rewards. One less event to worry about. 

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Simple and quick session playing just Brisbane for its daily commander upskill grind. Different from yesterday which turned out much longer than usual because I wanted to finish the Christmas tree ornament requirement. 

Thursdays whenever a new Update kicks in with new events is always hectic and busy.

Played Asymmetric because it's quicker entry than the usual Co-Op battle mode. Session included a couple of defeats but balanced out by more victories. Always entertaining and engaging whenever playing Asymmetric; nowhere to really hide when playing this battle mode. 

Brisbane's long range torps are really useful in area denials and/or covering likely approach routes. If any enemy ships sail into that targeted zone and you score hits or even a sinking then well and good. Her HP is useful for farming fleeing ships. But keep your distance or hug an island while farming. Mind you angling in (present a narrow target) becomes mandatory whenever returning fire; you're a much bigger target than an elusive destroyer. And very squishy. 

It is not recommended charging in (YOLO-ing) unless you have a death wish. But if supported by others, maybe risk it. But always remain on guard. Any good BB salvo can, and usually does, one-shot wipe you out. 

Not looking forward to grinding either San Martin or Castilla because their strengths are different and therefore requiring a different tactical approach. 

Zao is also worrisome but manageable because its torp load is similar in quantity and range to Brisbane. In some ways playing Zao reminds me of when I was grinding the commander of Salem. And it remains one of my favourite cruisers despite rarely played and being left behind by many others since. 

Not as familiar with Worcester but it won't really matter because I don't think I'll have the time to devote to its upskilling as I have with Brisbane. I sometimes confuse it with its more famous peer Minotaur. I've never played either all that much which might explain the confusion.

And then there's the rest of which I am only focusing on a select group. Food for thought in 2026.

My primary goal has alway been to reach 700 ships total by the end of the year. And that's still doable despite not having progressed much the past two months. Beyond the end of the year, and if able to reach the ultimate goal within time, the next priority will be stopping daily play; six years is long enough as I've always prattled on endlessly. And as someone who exhibits traits of obsessive compulsive disorder personality, this might be easier said than done. 

But everything is doable if determined and willing. And able.

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Saturday's grind was straightforwardly straight. Played Brisbane in Asymmetric by marching straight in; and got immediate entry. Would have loved to have taken a battleship instead like Rhode Island, Maine, Patrie or G. Kurfurst but then I'd be waiting forever like a lot of other battleship players. Far easier to get in on ANY non-battleship vessel. 

Recommended other cruisers I've noticed playing Asymmetric without too much difficulty - Napoli/Napoli B, Manteuffel, Kushiro, Salem. Even a Jinan works. 

Most Tier X destroyers - premium and tech tree lines - work as well although you do need to modify your gameplan according to the vessel's specific strengths and weaknesses. 

Recall enjoy playing Kitakaze with its fast-firing guns (around 2 seconds), hard-hitting torps, and good smoke. The trick with the torp reload booster is to not use it until you've fired your first torp spread. Very tempting to hit that booster key sooner but if you can resist the urge you will surprise your foes and reap the rewards of twelve torps in total. I run with the third loadout for max damage (23,000 per torp) at 12 km range. Running up against battleships is no longer that much of a concern. 

Noticed tonight another YT WOWS streamer also condemning the latest dockyard offering by WG. Still getting it however because a ship is a ship even if it's considered awful. I mean, I have the Tiger '59 in my port fleet. Never going to sail her unless I have a deathwish. 

From the steel fleet I am locked on getting the Valparaiso as mentioned in an earlier digest post. But am also checking out either Hawaii or Bremen. From the dockyard it's Roussillon. From the Event Pass, there are the two ships on my acquisition list - Nurnberg '44 and Luzhou. 

The rest of my target goal will be made up from the Santa Gift or Mega crates. However, I'm not expecting many rewards this year because there aren't many options left. 

If unable to reach my ultimate goal by year's end then I will continue until completed. I do have just under a full year's worth of premium time available so there is no real urgency in completing the goal although I would like to finish by the end of the year. 

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End of the month post. As per usual played the Brisbane in Asymmetrics. Usual expected outcome. Just waiting on the activation of the other promised happenings - Gift crates and the free Tier IX ship (or compensation), the Advent calendar, and Festive Rewards. Anticipate it will commence Monday (local time) but who knows with WG. They say one thing and do another. 

Splurged using accumulated resources earned thus far. Acquired three supership carriers - Sekiryu, United States, Eagle. This gives me a potential of 4,200 steel when it comes to Festive Reward time. Add the amount of over sixteen and a half thousand steel for my Tier VIII and IX ships and now I have enough to make a choice between Valparaiso and Bremen. But not both unfortunately. 

Played with a Hawaii today in one of my three Asymmetrics games. Player held the middle on the Greece map (we spawned in the south). I was on the right flank with a Valparaiso in my Brisbane. Did my bit but noticed the Hawaii player opting to play aggressively. He/She/It/They/Them/Those did not last long though. To be expected I suppose because it's a new ship. Hope there's improvement over the coming month or so because one YT WOWS streamer swears by it, especially on the centre run through the Two Brothers map. 

On another map (North I think) I was paired with an Aki, a Yamato-clone, and another Steel Fleet offering. Expected it to be more durable and it was still blazing away last time I looked when I died. Seeing more Valparaiso and Black Fleet ships in Asymmetrics due to their availability through the various event offerings. Some play their new ships well while others don't. 

Also splurged with doubloons to nab the halfway reward in the Event Pass. Have not yet played Nurnberg '44. Will sea trial her first in Co-Op before sampling the other PvE battle modes.

Waiting on the release of the Helfich collection crate for coal purchase before purchasing another coal ship. Limited selection however - choice between a carrier or a sub. Er...decisions, decisions...!

Six hundred and seventy-eight ships acquired. Just twenty-two left to go. 

It has always been the chase, the thrill of the hunt, not the actual prize or capture. Maybe I was a fox hunter in a past life. Or maybe the hunted in a real life-and-death game of chasey. 

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Into The Dead

Went with Seb and Diane to resume the Chiefways escape plan. The group is struggling food-wise but have finally reached and hooked up with Otto who has filled them in on his escape plan. It's the one the survivors are intending to follow...for now.

Also met up with the saboteur whose name is Nora. She offers an alternate escape plan which runs contrary to Otto's plan. 

The choice for the player therefore is choosing which escape plan to follow - that offered through company chef Otto or the one insisted upon by the technician Nora who's doing her best to sabotage your efforts to open the vents. It's obvious that one outcome leads to freedom while the other results in certain death if the outcome from the already tried Network plan is anything to go by.

At the moment, the Boiler Unit vent is the most difficult one to activate because of the vent's location, accessing it, and the large number of zombies therein. Using revolvers and carbines along with grenades is one way to clear the area but it's costly in terms of ammunition. 

The bar (Thirty Ought Six Bar) from where the group operates is the closest shelter for actioning the Chiefway escape plan but it is not ideal for food resources. It is also handy to reaching the St Bernadette Hospital where the escape helo is located. A nearby Pogos (the one on 9th Street) offers food resources but is heavily infested by zombies. The team needs to relocate to a shelter that offers the water filtration option however. But as can be seen from the above image, there is only the one suitable shelter location that is within the vicinity of the vent openings. Not sure if it has a water filtration facility. Hopefully that location will have a telescope to scout the surrounding region.

Activating the vents remains a priority for the group at the moment. But can they survive until then?

The team have already lost one member. Rahul, the chemist whom they met up in the Baptist church, went scavenging and got fatally savaged. He eventually turned which was probably fortuitous as the team was struggling to keep itself fed. 

Cooper, the pilot, is with this team and I will try to keep him alive so the group can next finish the airlift escape plan. But they have to finish the oil pipe escape plan first. His survival is a priority at the moment; sacrificing others so he can remain to the end seems the way to go. 

Sidenote: During play with one of the pairings I stumbled upon Hardwick's Trailer in the Harshaw District. It was disguised as a trailer on a dusty lot that disguised an underground shelter. A prepper location, so I immediately thought. The owner, ex-mil, wasn't too friendly however so had to eliminate him in order to loot his stash which didn't yield much. Was hoping for a typcial prepper's stash of months of beans and corn.  

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Unfortunately the team (Dianne and Seb) died out before they could complete the Chiefway escape plan in tonight's session (Saturday/Sunday). Died of starvation, all four of them. They managed to open the vents and were in the process of clearing out the heavily infested Operations Centre but simply ran out of ammo. And then died of starvation. One by one - first Dianne, then Seb, then Cooper, and finally Barb. No success in scavenging for food apart from the odd occasional snacks and alcohol. Which didn't last long anyway. The military drop nearby wasn't located in time. 

Yep, grenades will take out the armoured zombies. And headshots will kill the other zombies. The pistol and carbine are lightweight compared to my preference for both revolver and military-style rifle. Haven't yet used pipe bombs but will test them out eventually.

You can chip away at large numbers zombies rather than attempting to take them all out in one hit. Makes sense anyway because killed zombies do not respawn after being taken out. Apart from the dormant ones that will remain dormant unless awoken. There are certain situations when zombies will respawn but those situations tend to be uncommon. I suspect they return because access was available - a door or gate left open. Which is why I tend to close doors when scavenging unless a specific situation demands otherwise.  

I wonder if they will expand on the city areas for scavenging. More escape plans. Multiple teams operating within the game simultaneously would be an interesting side development. Competing for limited resources always adds a sense of urgency and ruthlessness. 

Notice that you cannot scavenge the same spot if you've managed to upgrade to double scavenging. Which would otherwise prove to be a bonus and save having to redo a scavenge because you've already picked the location clean by going over it twice.

Game glitch tonight occurred when I was respawning Barb after losing her to the Operation Centre clearing operating. Game quit suddenly. Apart from this, and one other incident, the game has been glitch free since installing it weeks ago. Which is good. 

Going to retry with Seb and Dianne. Retrace the steps to get where they are before dying. Hopefully nab more food stocks before tackling Chiefways proper.

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