September Digest #2

World of Warships

Played both servers - one in the morning, the other late at night. So much easier on the latter because I know what I'm doing - most times. Even got a clan invite. But the name of the game for me is playing solo casual and see how far I can go while it's still free to play. 

Above show where I'm at after my first login session.

Notable for my first ever 8-ship sinking on this server. 

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Monday saw me continue playing my Tier X ships with my SEA account. Played HAYATE, Elbing, Z-52, G. HOFFMAN, Daring, Cassard. Interesting moment in the Cassard. Survived the game with my lowest HP count ever. Just 8 HP left, as the image below shows. A seagull dropping would have sunk me if it had struck! 

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Tough resisting the urge to buy anything in the game. Very hard indeed. Rather than constantly fight the temptation I'm going to restrict myself to just the one or two purchases PER UPDATE. It means being careful about what to spend. Also, the spending amount will be no more than AUD10 per purchase. 

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Last night (Tuesday) I began compiling a spreadsheet covering expenditures and rewards received while playing this over a certain period (June 2025 to June 2026). Why? Short answer: to keep me engaged mentally. 

I began recording daily performance a couple of years after joining the game back in 2019. But I only began creating and then maintaining a spreadsheet of every reward (in-game) and expenditure (money) only last year (started April 2025). As a challenge therefore, I will compile using daily text records from those earlier years into a similar spreadsheet. 

And I managed to extract all the information I needed for the month of January 2025. But I have a long way to go though.

This "new" project is sort of like other major wargaming hobby project but one without models and paint. It's a flimsy reason I know but it appeals to my current engagement and motivation crisis beyond just logging in and switching off with PC games. Pixel wargaming is a thing, believe it or not.  

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Today did my one Update spend to unlock level 2 on Event Pass. Did it primarily to acquire the "free" 10-pt Event captain (Jose Padilla Lopez) plus the Tier VI Pan-American destroyer Jurua. which is also my first premium on this account. 

Aim will be to use the Event captain to initially upgrade either the cruiser or battleship line as quickly as possible. Once upgraded, I will transfer in one of the other existing captains from the Early Access destroyer line to continue completing the grind. 

On the SEA account, it was the usual uneventful holiday token grind with Tier X destroyers. Ran just two today - the Pan-Asian gunboats Lushun and Lushun B. Yes, they are good gunboats with 1.5 sec reload. And their deep water torps make them pretty useful against battleships if they're able to approach close enough to loose off their torps. But the downside to playing it is no smoke or hydro or radar. 

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Update 15.8 began today (Thursday). Where to begin..!?

Spent all this time playing my SEA account. 

Festive (Snowflake) event. As per their blog, the more ships you have, the more bonus tokens you are eligible for.

A Tier X ship is worth 125 Festive tokens. 

A Tier IX ship is worth 100 Festive tokens.

Tier VIII = 75 Festive tokens.

And this sliding scale continues on down till you reach the base which is Tier V ships.

Depending on how many ships you have in your port fleet, there is a sliding scale of bonus festive tokens awarded after you've earned 1000 BASE XP on any of those ships.

Today, this huge port fleet advantage enabled me to obtain Kurama for 11,000 Festive tokens. Had to play over twenty ships to claim the reward. Lengthy grind but nothing I've not done many times before over the past seven years playing this game. 

Kept her 6 pt captain and ran in her maiden game. She performed well enough (2 kills) but I can say she is not a brawler. Barely survived a run-in with a BOT Napoli. The 'F' key - the funny button - reduces the standard 16km range to 13+ km in a brief rapid fire burst. Has submarine radar. No smoke nor hydro.  

To access the Festive listing click on Update Navigator and there you are.

Logging in you receive the 11th Anniversary Gift after playing a game.

Now that I have the Kurama, the surplus Festive token rewards (as shown below) hold varying appeal.

Not interested in the Enemy Destruction Effects crate. Same with the Red Steel Titan crate or Supercontainer.

I am however interested in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba crates because collecting the tiles rewards you with the Unique Spanish commander. 

And also spend on the Bonus Package for Super ships. Pity that you're only limited to one per player.

Speaking of Unique commanders, I finished off the Commonwealth one by purchasing forty-five crates with coal. I will leave John Augustine Collins in Reserve for the time being. 

The rest of the listing hold no interest for me. 

New Operations missions now unlocked. 

You receive a reward for participating which seems worthwhile if new or with few ships but it's what it is, a participation award. See Combat Missions (below) for details. 

The new Dockyard Event will be a non-event for me. No halfway ship. Not going for the final reward. Which means I won't be buying the starter packs. Happy to grab the mission rewards and exchange the dockyard tokens though. 

New Event Pass. Halfway reward is Orion '44. Final rewards are just camo. A bit meh to me but worthwhile - again - to anyone low on ships or resources. 

Before I forget, super ships are worth steel instead of festive tokens. 

And finally in this quick review, there is the new Wishing Wharf where you purchase Wharf tokens to exchange for a chance at a new ship.

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SurrounDead

The other day, I "discovered" Lab 1, a place I'd heard about but never came across in my previous travels - until now. Not that I was looking all that hard in the first place. This place is close to the Observatory. Originally headed there to loot a military chopper that had crashed in the area. When I got there I decided to approach it carefully because I remembered an earlier time when I walked into a Coyote ambush by underestimating the situation. 

Immediately marked it permanently on my map so I know where it is every time. 

Anyway, I saw the Coyote soldiers guarding the entrance take on the zombies. So I helped out the zombies by executing the soldiers, then finished the job by wiping out the zombies. 

The bucket list is growing.

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There is a third Safe Zone aside from the main Valley Safe Zone and Ship Safe Zone. I thought it was permanently situated in the far north but in the mode I'm currently playing it's now in the south-east. On the main north-south route in the eastern side of the map. 

Each time I've visited I always pay the Settlement Officer the price for the location of specific loot such as classified containers and/or Coyote outposts. Which yields decent loot. 

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Modelling Corner Global

Relaxing after working on my WOWS spreadsheet project I got this YT notification about some modeller creating a sky table. Curious as to what this involved, I watched him create something awesome for his Gaslands Crimson Skies game. I knew about Gaslands but didn't know they'd gone aerial. 

His design is a 6 by 4 table comprising three 2 by 4 pressboard (or MDF) sheets laid crosswise on a solid table base. 

He rolled out a open water naval mat. 

Then he placed the mirror side wooden panels on top which latch together to keep the shape. Height, he said for this example, was short. He reckons it would look more effective higher though; I suspect he'd be right. 

Once established he followed this with his LED lighting system that consisted of two different coloured reels, one blue and one natural that flickered with sound (thunder and lightning effect) - placed around the table in a random configuration. Then he covered the lighting with cotton stuffing/wool/stuffing. 

Once sorted, on top went the plexiglass overlay (8mm thick I think). And Bob's your uncle. An aerial gaming table. I was floored. What a brilliant idea. It can be dismantled into pieces for travel to conventions and exhibitions. 

The effect is really striking in a darkened room. Envious but in awe at the creativity of certain individuals with a passion. And the models are great too.

His YT channel is SkirmishersGuild. He also has a facebook page. He's from the US. Please support by subscribing to either or both.

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