Ministry of Balance Reports: Carrier Changes

Torpedo speed increased from 40 to 42 knots.

Torpedo range increased from 2.4 to 3.0 km.

Zuihō was our first Premium aircraft carrier, and we played it very safe with her. As a result, the ship deserves some improvements to help her out:

This ship has had her ups and downs, and right now, she’s at the bottom of the damage board for Tier V carriers. We’ve decided to help her out with improvements to her torpedo aircraft:

Stock AP bomb damage decreased from 6,450 to 6,200.

Stock & upgraded skip bomb raw HE penetration decreased from 32 to 25 mm.

We recognize that Soviet carriers are very strong in specific situations, but Komsomolets is also lacking in damage output on average and at every skill level. However, she is doing better than Hermes, so the buff only applies to the torpedoes:

Torpedo arming time decreased from 6 to 4.5 seconds.

That covers the changes made to carriers of all nations this update. Some were improved; others were downgraded according to their performance and your feedback on them.

Torpedo damage increased from 6,300 to 6,600.

Upgraded HE bomb damage decreased from 5,250 to 5,000.

Torpedo damage increased from 5,633 to 5,833.

Stock & upgraded skip bomb raw HE penetration decreased from 43 to 33 mm.

Since her introduction, Hermes has been lagging behind her peers in total damage dealt, which also affects the ship’s win rate and battle impact. Hermes dishes out damage equally with both weapons normally, so they have been buffed:

Stock & upgraded skip bomb fire-setting chances decreased from 35% to 25%.

Torpedo damage increased from 3,833 to 4,133.

Torpedo arming time decreased from 6 to 5 seconds.

Stock skip bomb damage increased from 6,800 to 7,500.

A top pick from the beginning for Tier VII CVs, we’ve decided to drop her AP Bomb performance down a notch. This ship has the highest battle impact of any carrier and has earned the attention:

Upgraded AP bomb damage decreased from 7,200 to 7,000.

Torpedo bomber HP increased from 2,100 to 2,250.

Stock torpedo damage increased from 6,033 to 6,367.

Stock HE bomb damage decreased from 5,000 to 4,750.

Torpedo speed increased from 41 to 43 knots.

Upgraded torpedo damage increased from 6,400 to 6,600.

No two ways about it, Weser is one of the best carriers at Tier V and almost always has been. There’s also a fair amount of feedback concerning this ship, so we have nerfed her primary damage dealer—AP bombs.

HE bomb damage increased from 9,400 to 10,400.

This is the first time that we’re writing a developer blog about upcoming balance changes—please let us know what you think in our feedback channels!.

Upgraded torpedo speed increased from 47 to 49 knots.

Stock skip bomb fire-setting chances decreased from 39% to 25%.

Stock AP bomb damage decreased from 6,400 to 6,200.

Upgraded AP bomb damage decreased from 7,200 to 7,000.

Dive bomber HP increased from 2,050 to 2,250.

Pobeda is a situation where she doesn’t stand out in the data but is greatly disliked in your feedback. We’ve made a balance pass on her skip bombs to make them do more direct damage, though less regularly and with fewer fires.

Upgraded skip bomb damage increased from 8,700 to 9,600.

Torpedo speed decreased from 48 to 46 knots.

This iconic ship from the Battle of Midway is lagging behind her opponents in all three main areas, so we want to amp her up some by improving her plane HP and damage output.

Upgraded skip bomb fire-setting chances decreased from 49% to 33%.

HE bomb damage increased from 9,000 to 9,500.

Dive bomber hangar capacity increased from 10 to 12 planes.

HE bomb damage decreased from 9,500 to 9,200.

Torpedo arming time increased from 3 to 3.5 seconds.

Upgraded torpedo arming time decreased from 3.66 to 3 seconds.

HE bomb damage increased from 3,200 to 3,400.

This iconic ship from the Battle of Midway is lagging behind her opponents in all three main areas, so we want to amp her up some by improving her plane HP and damage output.

Even after nerfing, this ship remains a strong performer at Tier VII. Saipan does the most damage on average so we’ll be reigning that in a little: