Come gather 'round, people, wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
The test team at the present time consists of Benser33, BBR_InsUW, GrieferLord, LJSevern, Normpearii, NYerkovic, Richardphat, War5pite and myself; with AlexCaboose and vk222u also, representing TNF.
The Patch Notes
Here we have seven new event battleships added to the game. To put it in the simplest terms, these are alternative SBB's and it is expected that every attribute applied to SBB's (fixed guns, crew requirements, room limits, etc.) is also applied to these new EBB6's.
These began as hull clones from each nation's 120 EBB and changes were made from there; thusly the unique guns were also cloned and subject to modification. In many cases, the original 120 BB6 gun underwent some alteration as it made sense to do portions of the test team's BB6 project while structuring the new EBB's into a parallel tier.
Specifically with the existing SBB's, there were attributes that were given global overhauls. Turning forces were reduced for all ships. Health numbers were realigned, as were gun reloads. Damages were given some more variation in order to reflect other capabilities and styles of the ships. While some of these changes had been conceptualized for some time, others were enacted due to the expansion of the level 120 BB tier.
EBB Data Sheet
Let's just get this out right now: there are gun range changes that can be seen in harbor. I expect that this is the thing that is most likely to cause some distress. In advance of more detailed explanations to come, and without trying to explain how every little thing works, changes to the range value are often a requirement to compensate for other hidden values that are tweaked to produce the desired result. Further, there were some instances where minor range fixes were seen as necessary. It comes down to the fact that the actual range that is seen in battle dominates the convenience of a value being seen in the harbor. Thorough and repeated range tests - that which we see with our non-fresh eyes - overcome raw values every time.
US Nebraska / US New Jersey
The Nebraska has always had one major balance flaw, and it is now corrected. In exchange for a normalized armor penetration of its shells, it has been given a slight damage buff. Also, to go along with another global tier tweak, health of the Nebraska has been raised a small amount. Reload has been increased; this is something that will apply to every BB6.
The New Jersey also receives the corrected shells of the Nebraska. Official range of both of these ships is a small amount higher than the Nebraska guns have been in the past; I won't go further into that. New Jersey health is higher than Nebraska which is, again, a part of a guideline for the entire tier that was followed wherever possible. Reload of the New Jersey is longer than that of the Nebraska.
RN Queen Victoria / Thunderer
One of the largest BB6 changes happens right here, as the Queen Victoria has its maximum gun angle changed from 30 to 35. As a bit of dull history, this is how the guns were initially conceived by SDE and originally patched to the test server in 2008. At that time, ONF opted to lower the gun angle; this decision is now reversed in the name of balance. Shell penetration has been changed appropriately. QV health has been raised, and reload time has been lengthened.
The Thunderer is a difficult ship, as no concept from the test team took hold without causing balance oddities to crop up during discussion. It is similar to the QV in gun angle and range, fits in its tier when it comes to reload, but likely to appear strange is the damage. Given that this is intended to be a durable ship, and given the expectations of the use of armor, allowing hefty shell damage is severely threatening to balance.
I will say right now that the RN ships are still being looked at rather closely by the test team. There are still discussions in progress and projects being worked out in order to get these ships more closely aligned with the vision for the rest of the 120 BB's.
IJN Amagi / Atago
A great Amagi asset has been its indescribable and over-the-top turning force. This is no more. As every other ship in this tier will experience, turning forces have been brought into line as has been slowly happening to some other tiers. Another minor nerf comes in the reload department, but aside from these, Amagi loses nothing else. The shell damage has been improved a small amount, bringing its salvo a small amount closer to the SN SBB. Penetration is also buffed, fitting in with the plan that only the 45 angle ships in this tier should be given superior punch against armor.
And now for the one you've all been waiting for: Atago. Yes, it's true, this is a BB/CV hybrid, allowing three dual turrets for 60% of typical Amagi firepower. The aft sports a flight deck allowing the launch of up to eight planes. With hangar space of 6500 and overall crew capability of a BB6, though not ideal for any one job, the versatility of this thing is practically unending. Its health is the weakest of the 120 SBB/EBB, but its reload is better than that of the Amagi.
Special thanks goes to Normpearii for drafting the original visual concepts and preparing the initial raw sprite in order to get the hybrid project going.
KM Kaiser / Koenig Albert
The most notable change to the Kaiser is yet another balance of consistency and damage done to its shells. With a 4500 point reduction to its overall salvo, damage is now where it should be, and consistency is properly improved. Turning, like the others, is reduced, and reload follows all the other increases done within the tier. There is also a minor spread improvement with both KM 120 guns.
The one trait that we wanted to give the Koenig Albert was a natural boost to overheat time, and this was accomplished through the creation of a new power plant. The KM BB Engine V has been added and is the correct engine for the KM EBB6. It gives a default overheat time of 40 seconds in a direct contrast to the Kaiser engine, which only provides 11 seconds. With the exception of reload, gun stats are the same for the Albert as they are for the Kaiser.
MN Charlemagne / Clemenceau 1943
The Charlemagne i
