Today in World of Warships is not about sweeping balance changes or a new test ship. Instead, another topic is moving firmly into the spotlight: 5 versus 5 at Tier VIII.
The new Brawl starts today with an unusual life-steal mechanic, and just two days later Clan Battles Season 35, Komodo Dragon, also begins in the compact 5v5 format. For Divisions and Clans, this is currently less about theory and more about lineups.
Brawl starts today: Tier VIII, 5 versus 5, and life steal
The first Brawl round of Update 15.8 starts today and is played with Tier VIII ships in the 5v5 format.
Aircraft carriers and submarines are excluded. The real distinguishing feature, however, is the mechanic behind it: a proportion of the damage dealt restores your own hit points.
That noticeably changes the priorities in battle. Consistent damage helps not only to eliminate the opponent but also directly improves your own staying power. Getting good firing angles and maintaining pressure therefore pays off twice.
In a small 5v5 team in particular, focus fire is likely to become even more important than it already is. Quickly taking a ship out of the game provides more than a numerical advantage; it also means additional regeneration on your own side.
For Divisions, that is a fairly rewarding playground: clear targets, short distances, and very little room to spend ten minutes decorating the back of an island.
Clan Battles Season 35 starts on September 16
Season 35, Komodo Dragon, begins on Wednesday, September 16. Here too, the format is 5 versus 5 at Tier VIII.
Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers are permitted. Each team may field a maximum of one battleship.
That alone makes the season interesting. In a 5v5 format, every individual position matters considerably more than in a larger lineup. An early loss, a poorly positioned cruiser, or a DD without support is much harder to compensate for.
Specific ship restrictions also apply:
- Lenin ⚓ is banned completely.
- A maximum of one ship from Le Terrible ⚓ and Le Fantasque ⚓ combined may be used.
- A maximum of two ships from Cherbourg ⚓, Tallinn ⚓, Vladivostok ⚓, and Borodino ⚓ combined may be included in the lineup.
Wargaming is therefore setting fairly clear boundaries for some of the obvious Tier VIII picks before the season even begins.
What that means for the lineup
Now is therefore a good time for Clans to look at the distribution of roles.
With only five ships on the team, there is much less room for overlapping jobs. Anyone planning for Radar, Hydro, cap control, tanking, or flanking pressure needs to know exactly which ship fills each role and what happens if that particular ship is lost early.
The restrictions also prevent lineups from simply being assembled out of the individually strongest obvious picks. Especially with the fast French destroyers and the limited cruiser and battleship options, the real question becomes less “What is strong?” and more “What works well together?”
Anyone planning to compete in Season 35 can make good use of the two days before the start to try different Tier VIII lineups. The current Brawl is no replacement for actual Clan Battle practice, of course, but 5v5 and Tier VIII at least provide a useful framework for testing teamwork, focus fire, and individual ship combinations.
Conclusion
There is no big new DevBlog bombshell in WoWS today, but there is still something happening on the gameplay side.
The Tier VIII Brawl with life steal should be particularly interesting for its concentrated focus fire and consistent damage. At the same time, Clan Battles Season 35 brings the next 5v5 challenge to our doorstep.
Anyone planning to compete with their Clan should therefore spend less time discussing exotic theory and more time trying two or three workable lineups. In 5v5, it quickly becomes apparent who had a plan and who simply put five good ships next to each other.