Gaijin: “Why can’t we get more people interested in naval?”
Also Gaijin “Let’s just copy paste the same ship 3 times and hope that gets everyone excited to play the event.”
Look. This was a great chance for the developers to put something truly unique in the game as the reward for the new event schedule. First, we had a truly unique and interesting ground vehicle, then we had a plane that (while not unique) had some interesting variation from the model currently in game. Now, we have an exact copy/paste of something there are already two of in game.
No one is going to be excited for this. No one is going to waste time grinding for this. No one is going to be enticed into playing naval because of this.
Naval will continue to be the redheaded stepchild of War Thunder. If the Devs can’t even be bothered to be excited about an opportunity to introduce something new, why should the players care about naval?
That is worse as Gaijin keeps ‘only one configuration for one ship in game’. If Gaijin gives IJN Nagato before the modernization, there are no modernized 16’’ battleship that Japan could get.
This is the best sort of choice for time-locked vehicles, and absolutely a positive for the overall and long-term health of the game. Unique things should never be time-locked; the less unique an event vehicle is, the better. Having a third sister ship as an event vehicle is perfect.
It’s also likely a WWI German ship specifically because we’re at the edge of adding 16" armed and/or cancelled-by-treaty 1920s ships, something the winners of WWI (read: every other Naval tree) can get, while Germany can’t.
“Truly unique” vehicles belong in the tech tree, or at worst as regular premiums.
Yeah the addition of a third Bayern class is a sour taste but we’ve been here before with the Raubtier class Torpedo Boat, Project 68, Type 1936, Fletcher class, Dark class an so on.
It’s inevitable that we’ll get stale decisions at every turns an have event ships that are basically copies of TT/Premium ships.
I can think of quite a few unique ships that would make event ships that would be different & sometimes far outlandish compared to their sisters in the TT’s, Take example an as designed HMS Furious a Modified Courageous class Large Light Cruiser the halfsister to the HMS Glorious as while the main armament would be novel it would likely see many flocking to such a ship (main armament two 18" cannons), Or a Refitted Scharnhorst class Battleship the Gneisenau with the refit plans of 3×2 15" cannons, Or the addition of a modified Kuma class Torpedo Cruiser which would be wicked for the mode (WoWS players PTSD triggering, BS:P players joyful to see its return), Or on the deep end the Project 1143 heavy aviation cruiser Baku as midtier ship that would be had to play but look cool anyway (or it being stuck at 7.0 with a Yakovlev Yak-38 as spawnable bomber/capper on landmass).
Grrh redheaded stepchild I so mildly hate that saying but like one nobody gives a flying [redacted].
I’d love to have even just a second Fletcher, but unfortunately both others were time-limited unlocks, so really we only have one. Of course, that’s better than those two having been something more unique, but still.
No way I’d ever want to see Kitakami as a time-locked vehicle, that’d be awful. Literally every example you’ve listed should absolutely never be time-limited.
I think people need to get over it. I’m not impressed by the SMS Baden, it’s boring, and I think event battleships are fundamentally bad for the game, as are all battleships, but as far as choices go, it’s fine. It’s average. It’s boring, but it doesn’t take anything away from the tree.
Huh I thought there was only one event event Fletcher class (Ariake class in JMSDF service), What’s the second? Barring the Cowell/Bennion for old era premiums an the Fante class for Italy.
In any case I feel that event items should be at least unique in that they’re purely not a copy as what’s the point in grinding something that’s basically the same with no real benefit besides lineup filler an a new name (only thing I’ve heard mention is a different bridge on the SMS Baden).
The examples I gave were for the unique aspect the Furious would be novel but a massive change the the sister even with the light armament.
The Gneisenau post refit would probably have suited this event better but would’ve given the germans one of the best ships so I also see reasons as to why it should be TT as well.
The Kitakami while unique imo is a downgrade to current ships say the Shimakaze since it’s slower, has less armament & is slightly worse as it’s slower single mounts & the torpedoes are per broadside resulting in the need to turn the whole ship to fire the next salvo plus it would be a massive target for HE shells but it would be unique.
As for the Baku depending on BR it would be a unique carrier test ship ntm it’s the most detailed AI in game with every weapon system modelled, But being so large it would be massive target an without a jet it could work in the 5.0-6.0 region but with a Yak-38 it would be 7.0+ an the yak could land an cap points with landmass or bomb ships with its 100kg bombs (an before one says the speed of the aircraft is to much there’s already ships at many BR’s that are extremely dangerous against aircraft).
I can think of also quite a few smaller ships that would make good event ships but the task requirements means it would be to much effort for to little reward (good last example of this is the poxy Project 201K with the only unique feature being the SM-21ZIF mount), That thing is rarely seen due to how the BR is around it ntm somehow still at 3.7 for some daft reason (same BR as the Project 204 somehow an that thing is OP AF), My picks for a DD event include the HMS Swift 1906, HMS Stronghold or HMS Thanet in 1927 configuration for the use of an RAE Larynx guided missile, USS Pringle with a Kingfisher, the destroyer Engels fitted with a 305 mm recoilless rifle, An as designed Chidori class Torpedo Boat.
I could see Monitors & Coastal Defence Battleships as such rewards even as those are more unique an could work for such grinds (although what TT’s as they’re coastal ships yet bringing up those many say bluewater).
I was talking about US ones, and how both premiums are now gone, so really just one left there.
But yes, Italy has a premium Fletcher and Japan had a time-limited one too. So three of five in the game are no longer obtainable. That they’re less unique makes this less bad, but time-limited things are still not good for the game long-term.
This “how does it benefit me personally” is absolutely the wrong attitude; time-limited unlocks are bad for the game, we should be trying to have as few of them as possible, and where they’re unavoidable with the least impact on the game.
Regardless, a “copy paste” vehicle serves to fill lineups, is interesting on that ship’s own historical merits, gets people into a tree they haven’t started or progressed that far through, and so on. Sure, a third Bayern-class is less “useful” to someone who already has the other two and the German tree at a high level, but it’s not really intended for those people (unless they like collecting, in which case they’ll be happy with it).
What I mean is on single ship. I know that Andrea Doria/ Duilio and Conte di Cavour/Leonardo da Vinci both exist. What I meant is Italy needs modernized Doria and Guilio Cesare in their tree. And Japan will need modernized Yamashiro and Mutsu in their tree too.
My thoughts are: The event has tremendously improved due to the change. I love the new event structure so far. I love every vehicle choice, I am happy with the score levels required. To me, the new event is an enormous quality of life upgrade so far.
Why is that? Because I don’t even feel tempted to take part in any of this. Compared to this, a free battlepass seems like a piece of cake and gives stuff that needs no spading at a fraction of the efford.
Another way to look at it is these three event vehicles are basically the three event vehicles we would have gotten in the April crafting event (and of which it was hard to get more than one), basically spreading the high-tier vehicles from those two weeks over the previous nine.
It’s going to be interesting to see what they come up with for the next nine weeks after (which would have been the summer event vehicles before) at which point I assume we’ll be getting close to the multi-week summer event break they promised.
But player burnout is visibly growing with this new event system, we’re gonna see more and more people just noping out, of the event and the game. The old event system needed an overhaul but the longer this new system drags on the more people are gonna just stop caring about it.
The event is set up that selling the vehicle is not really an option any more. That is made sure by the 750000 score requirement. So the other option is to keep the thing. But why keep something that closely resembles free tree vehicles but takes so long to get? There is no profit in it.
Yep, at best it’s a short-term focussed system that actively discourages play in order to encourage you to just give them money not to play (by buying the stars and vehicles). At some future point, sooner or later, everyone will inevitably ask themselves, “hey, why don’t I just NOT give them money not to play?”
Right now it’s masked by the continual flow of new players in, but we’re a 350-person squadron, I can see who’s been dropping out for good so far this year and it’s not the new people.