World of Warships is approaching its 11th anniversary, and Wargaming has published a first look at Update 15.8. Alongside the familiar Festive Rewards, numerous anniversary rewards are returning. They will be joined by Japanese supercruiser Kurama, a new Dockyard, and no fewer than three Operations for lower-tier ships.
An important point before we begin: the announced content is still in development. Values, prices, and individual mechanics may change before Update 15.8 is released.
Snowflakes are back
For many longtime players, this will probably be the most important part of the anniversary update: Festive Rewards, better known as “Snowflakes,” are returning.
Tier V–X ships can each provide a one-time reward of Festive Tokens. Superships award Steel instead.
The current test version provides for the following rewards:
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| V | 25 Festive Tokens |
| VI | 35 Festive Tokens |
| VII | 50 Festive Tokens |
| VIII | 75 Festive Tokens |
| IX | 100 Festive Tokens |
| X | 125 Festive Tokens |
| Supership | 200 Steel |
For players with a well-stocked Port in particular, that can add up nicely. Apparently, it will not necessarily be necessary to play every ship individually. As in previous events, additional progression mechanics are intended to help unlock the Snowflakes on other ships.
Kurama for Festive Tokens
One of the event's biggest rewards is set to be the new Japanese supercruiser Kurama.
As things stand, Early Access costs 11,000 Festive Tokens. The Tokens are also intended to be exchangeable for Supercontainers and other rewards.
Whether Kurama is actually worth 11,000 Tokens is difficult to judge meaningfully at the moment. Both the ship and the event economy are still being tested.
Anyone with plenty of Tier V–X ships should therefore avoid spending resources on speculation. The calculation only becomes worthwhile once the final prices and exchange options are confirmed.
Marlborough B is coming to the Dockyard
Update 15.8 also starts a new Dockyard. This time, we will be building the British Tier IX battleship Marlborough B.
A total of 28 construction phases are planned. Of these, 23 are intended to be earnable through combat missions, while five phases must be completed with Doubloons.
In gameplay terms, Marlborough B is based on the familiar Marlborough: 16 guns with a high rate of fire come with rather mediocre accuracy, weak armor, and a decidedly vulnerable citadel.
Every captain can decide for themselves whether a Black version of an existing ship is a thrilling choice for an anniversary Dockyard.
Three new Operations for low tiers
Expanding Operations could turn out to be a much more interesting addition in the long run.
Update 15.8 is set to introduce three new scenarios for lower-tier ships:
- Trial by Fire
- Swarm of Steel
- Beehive
This finally gives many older Premium and Tech Tree ships below the usual high tiers a sensible PvE role again.
That should be particularly interesting for players with large collections. After all, plenty of captains have enough Tier III, IV, V, and VI ships in Port that have spent years working mainly as decorative dust collectors.
New Port and anniversary gift
To mark the anniversary, World of Warships is also getting the new Maritime Parade Port.
An anniversary gift is also set to become available after the first battle of the update. In the current test version, it includes 11 days of Warships Premium Account, containers, and new cosmetic content.
The annual rewards for longtime players are being expanded as well. Anyone who really has been around for eleven years can look forward to additional anniversary rewards.
Our take
For us, two things about Update 15.8 are particularly interesting: Snowflakes and low-tier Operations.
Festive Rewards have traditionally been one of the events where a large Port really pays off. Anyone who has collected plenty of ships over the years can pick up a fair amount of resources with comparatively little effort.
The new Operations, on the other hand, could remain interesting well beyond the anniversary. If Wargaming balances the rewards sensibly, numerous older ships will finally have a reason to leave Port again.
We would still wait before deciding on Kurama. 11,000 Festive Tokens is a substantial price, and while neither the ship nor the final event economy is settled, there is no reason to earmark resources for it yet.
Our tip: Hold on to your ships and resources for now. Once Wargaming publishes the final values for Update 15.8, we can calculate how many Festive Tokens our own Ports can actually provide and which rewards offer the best value.
All content mentioned is based on the current work-in-progress version of Update 15.8 and may change before release.