It’s no secret that World of Warships is a tough game. Sailing on the high seas can be rough, and there’s no shame in seeking help to improve your naval combat skills. To do so, continue reading for the best tips and tricks for beginners in World of Warships.
The 8 best tips and tricks for beginners in World of Warships
1) Perfect your aiming and shooting
When it comes to aiming, you should always factor in the distance to your enemy and how fast they’re moving. Switch to sniper mode (hit the shift key), and make sure to lead your shot—that bullet might take a couple of seconds to land. Test the waters with a single cannon shot first, and if it’s on point, then let the whole salvo loose. But there’s no one-size-fits-all rule for long-distance aiming: It’s all about putting in the practice until you can just feel where those bullets should land.
If you’re up for some serious shooting practice, hop on the St. Luis cruiser. It’s got a bunch of fast-reloading cannons, letting you rain down bullets like there’s no tomorrow.
For the most ideal outcome, aim those high-explosive bullets just above the enemy ship and at the waterline for armor-piercing rounds. As you get better at hitting ships, start focusing on specific parts. Hit the bow, stern, cannons, quarterdecks, and chimneys with high-explosive rounds. Save the armor-piercing shots for the ship’s hull, right around water level.
And when it comes to armor-piercing shots, go for the citadel—that’s where all the important stuff, like the machine room, is tucked away. Nailing the citadel properly with those shots will deal serious damage, even enough to take down a battleship.
Now, there are three ways to let loose with your cannons: a single turret shot, firing in sequence, or a full-on barrage with all cannons blazing. Pick your move wisely, depending on the situation—adaptability is key.
2) Optimizing your positioning is crucial
In World of Warships, where you position your ship is a big deal. It decides what you can see, the angles you can shoot from, and how much enemy fire you’ll catch. Get crafty with your ship’s location by using islands or cliffs to hide and dodge enemy shots like a pro.
Beyond finding the sweet spot for maximum firepower, keep tabs on where your teammates are cruising. Stick close and cover each other’s backs, because teamwork is the secret sauce for success.
Now, if you end up stranded and surrounded by foes, don’t be a hero—fall back and regroup with your allies. Enemies can ping you from a distance, and wandering alone usually ends with you going down in flames. That’s why it’s smart to keep an eye on the map and scope. Stay in the loop, know where the enemies are, and you’ll up your chances of survival big time while minimizing errors.
3) Always keep an eye on the map
In World of Warships, keeping an eye on the map is a recipe for success. You need to stay sharp for enemy locations and other important things. This is especially key for newer players, so until you’ve got a few battles under your belt, make it a habit to glance at your map.
Map awareness is a skill that grows on you as you spend more time in-game. It’s not a bad thing; actually, it adds an interesting strategic layer to gameplay. And here’s a neat trick—check the map while you’re on the move. You can stay nimble while picking up the scoop on enemy strength and positions.
4) Play many diverse classes of ships
Throughout the history of the game, nobody could really agree what the “meta” is when it comes to ship specialization. Some players swear by sticking to one ship type to nail down their skills, while others love dabbling in different ships to unravel their unique bags of tricks.
On the vast seas of World of Warships, plunging into the battlefield feels like stepping into a dynamic arena where every vessel is in constant motion, juggling attack and defense simultaneously. The essence of victory lies in decoding your opponents’ moves. At the match kickoff, you’ve got to scope out the enemy team’s ship roster for radar ships, torpedo boats, and any potential game-changers.
Mastering what a ship can do comes from hands-on experience, diving into the nitty-gritty of attack and defense strategies, armor configurations, detectability ranges, speeds, strengths, and vulnerabilities. It’s a journey that takes time, but sailors who’ve sailed a diverse fleet can effortlessly size up one-on-one duels and intricate strategic plays with just a swift glance at the screen.
5) Pick your engagements carefully
Picking your battles cleverly is a big deal on the battlefield, and it plays out in many ways. For example, if you see your buddy is getting swarmed, jumping in to back them up can go either way. Watch out, though—savvy players might try to pull newbies into fights they can’t win, so steer clear of falling into those traps.
Being strategic about which battles you dive into also sets you up for a solid start in the match. When you control your engagements, you’re the boss of where and how things go down. It’s a sweet skill to have as you climb the ranks and venture into the more intense levels of play.
6) Don’t take your karma score seriously
Wargaming rolled out a karma system where players can toss around upvotes and downvotes for who-knows-what reasons. Supposedly, it’s meant to give you a thumbs-up or a slap on the wrist based on compliments and reports from your last match. But here’s the thing—people can hit you with compliments or reports for anything, or sometimes just ’cause they’re having a bad day. Some toxic players even report folks just because they dared to sail a ship they personally don’t like.
It turns out this system is essentially useless as feedback, and instead of feeling like a champ after a good game, you might end up scratching your head. Some players are so done with it that they’ve slapped on mods to block all those karma notifications and keep their score hidden.
Take a page from their book and just brush it off. Ignoring it will save you unnecessary confusion and keep you motivated to play and improve. Unlike your personal stats, a low karma score might bug new players. Most of the time, the karma system isn’t even about how well you played; it’s more about the whims and fancies of other players who might be just as clueless as you.
7) Improve your fire management
As a captain in World of Warships, it’s essential to be mindful of fire hazards and how to handle them effectively. There are some useful guidelines you can follow to help you stay safe and minimize the impact of fires on your vessel.
Firstly, you should always be prepared for potential fires by keeping your Damage Control Party consumable at the ready. This allows you to quickly extinguish any fires that may ignite on your ship. Monitoring the number of fire zones on your ship is also crucial, and if you have the commander skill Fire Prevention Expert, you’ll have three fire zones instead of four, which will reduce the damage taken from fires.
When it comes to direct enemy attack, aim to avoid damage from high explosive shells, aircraft bombs, and rockets, as they are the most common fire-starters in World of Warships. If your ship catches fire, prioritize extinguishing flames in the most heavily damaged areas first to minimize overall damage.
Remember that burning ships have increased surface and aerial detection ranges, making you more visible to enemies. Exercise caution and try to avoid detection if possible. Use your Repair Party consumable to recover any damage sustained from fires helping you return to battle faster and with more hit points.
8) Avoid rushing into the endgame
Newcomers diving into any MMO often fire off one simple question: How do I reach the endgame the fastest? The World of Warships universe is no different, where the coveted “endgame” usually means sailing a tier 10 warship. Despite seasoned players cautioning against rushing the journey, newbies are often convinced they’ll be the exception and conquer where others stumbled. Sorry, buddy, but that’s not gonna happen.
First off, there’s a hot take that the real fun in Warships only kicks in at the higher tiers, which is far from true. You can have a blast in matches from tiers five to eight that might just trump the enjoyment of tiers nine and 10.
Then there’s this idea that the ticket to success in higher tiers is playing more matches. The tech trees kick off at tier one for a reason. The game is set up to gradually introduce new concepts, capabilities, and opponent skill levels as you climb the ladder. Skipping through tier four and snagging a premium tier nine ship will likely just lead to more frustration for both you and your teammates. You’ll step into matches unprepared for their more advanced gameplay. Your initial struggles are absolutely necessary, whether you play in a private server or not.
