Closed Test 15.9 #2: Balance changes for nine ships

Wargaming has announced changes to nine ships in “Closed Test 15.9 #2.” New Jersey ⚓, Aragón ⚓ and Ōta ⚓ receive improvements, while Honolulu ⚓ loses firepower and smoke reserves. Five ships in the upcoming European cruiser branch are also being adjusted.

The changes are due to take effect with Update 15.10. The version number in the test announcement's title does not mean these values are already active on the live server. The ships and their characteristics remain work in progress.

The second list follows our previous balance report

We covered the first round of changes, dated 22 October, in our balance report of 28 October. The new list concerns nine other ships and continues that chronology.

It helps to distinguish between new values, earlier ship profiles and test-client findings. The older articles describe their respective snapshots; the new list adds the changes now announced.

New Jersey: Stronger support with longer effects

The American Tier X battleship receives several improvements to her support consumables. The English names below are the original in-game terms.

The effects applied to New Jersey herself remain at 50% of the respective support strength. Her own main battery reload bonus therefore rises from 6% to 10%, for example. The table should not be read as listing the battleship's full benefit to herself throughout.

Our discussion of the test-client findings on 16 October concerned a possible initial preparation time of 90 seconds instead. That figure relates to the first use of the abilities, not their action time. The new list does not address this preparation time, so it neither confirms nor reverses the earlier finding.

Our take

Stronger effects and longer windows mainly improve the ship's support role. Timing the abilities so that allies can make the most of the extra firepower should matter. The half-strength effect on New Jersey herself remains an important distinction from a purely self-focused buff.

Aragón: Better base accuracy and stronger shells

The Spanish Tier IX cruiser receives improvements to her six 305 mm guns. We introduced her two firing modes in the Aragón section of our 25 October article.

Fire chance increases by seven percentage points. The higher sigma value is also intended to produce a more favourable shell distribution.

The smaller dispersion bonus in the alternative mode belongs in that context: Wargaming attributes the adjustment to the higher sigma value. The reduction from 32% to 27% alone therefore does not describe the mode's overall accuracy change.

Our take

The improvements suit both roles we previously described: sustained HE fire and carefully timed AP salvos against suitable targets. A single percentage cannot establish the combined effect of better base accuracy and the adjusted special mode. A higher fire chance also does not guarantee a fire from every hit.

Ōta: A 3.7-second reload and adjusted Engine Boost

The Japanese Tier IX cruiser's main battery reload time falls from 4.0 to 3.7 seconds. With all other parameters unchanged, that represents a theoretical increase of roughly 8.1% in rate of fire.

Her combination of twelve 100 mm guns, mobility and exhaust smoke featured in our first preview of Ōta and the other 15.9 test ships. The shorter reload strengthens the gunnery side of that concept.

At the same time, Engine Boost acceleration is being reset to the usual values for the consumable. The maximum speed bonus remains unchanged. Without the previous detailed parameters, the size of the acceleration difference cannot be quantified.

The additional firepower is clear to us, while the handling adjustment needs to be considered separately. This announcement does not promise a higher top speed.

Honolulu: Less firepower and fewer smoke reserves

The American Tier VII cruiser is moving in the opposite direction:

The longer reload reduces theoretical rate of fire by roughly 4.8%. Honolulu also loses one of her three smoke charges, while the smoke clouds persist for 20 seconds less.

The comparison with our detailed Honolulu profile of 8 September matters here. It lists 30 seconds of Smoke Generator action time separately from 121 seconds of smoke duration. The newly listed reduction from 121 to 101 seconds concerns how long the smoke persists, rather than how long the consumable emits smoke.

For a cruiser that uses her consumables to secure forward positions, the lost gunnery output is only part of the picture. Fewer charges and shorter-lasting smoke also leave less room for repeated repositioning. The remaining uses will need more careful planning.

Five European cruisers: Buffs from Dragon to Tirfing

The adjustments span several tiers of the upcoming branch:

As in the first round, other torpedo parameters are being adjusted accordingly. Additional individual values are not separately listed.

Dragon, Kralj Petar I and Tre Kronor can fire their guns a little more often. The torpedo improvements extend to Tirfing, which is also intended to respond more quickly to rudder inputs. This supports the emphasis on concealment, torpedoes and mobility discussed in our earlier Tirfing and Kriti analysis.

These values concern the ships' development. How individual ships are expected to become available in Early Access is a separate issue, covered in our Event Pass and Early Access overview. This balance announcement does not announce the regular release of the entire tech-tree branch.

Conclusion

The second list has clear priorities: stronger team support for New Jersey, better gunnery for Aragón and Ōta, and additional offensive options for several European cruisers. Honolulu, meanwhile, has less room to work with in both gunnery and smoke use.

Together with our previous report, this shows how the test ships are evolving. The announced timing remains important: the new values are due to take effect with Update 15.10.

Sources

• Wargaming Development Blog – Closed Test 15.9: Changes to Test Ships #2