Update 0.11.9 introduces a new ship type into the game—submarines. These are stealthy and cautious hunters that are capable of diving underwater and attacking their enemy while submerged. Their trademark armament is acoustic homing torpedoes.

U.S. and German researchable submarines will be the first full-fledged representatives to emerge (or submerge!) in the game. Read on to learn how to obtain these submarines in Early Access, as well as how to both effectively helm the new ship type and counter these hunters while helming other ship types.

Having analyzed the results of testing submarines in Random Battles, we have taken action to increase their Credit and XP earnings in battle to match the earnings of other ship types.

Early AccessOperation WolfpackPlaying SubmarinesPlaying Against SubmarinesFeatures of U.S. and German SubmarinesResetting Commander Skills

Early Access

German and U.S. Tier VI and VIII submarines are imminently set to arrive in Early Access. You'll be able to obtain them from sequential bundles in the Armory. Two types of sequential bundles are going to be available:

• The first type includes German submarines VI U-69 and VIII U-190, as well as a bonus package for U-190, the 10th U-boat Flotilla flag, and the German Submarines patch.
• The second type includes U.S. submarines VI Cachalot and VIII Salmon, as well as a bonus package for Salmon, the Gold Dolphin flag, and the U.S. Submarines patch.

The submarine bundles will be available for a new temporary resource—Submarine Tokens. In total, you can obtain:

• Up to 2,500 Tokens for participation in the Personal Challenges that await you in Update 0.11.9.
• Up to 1,500 Tokens in exchange for Community Tokens.
• Up to 7,000 Tokens from random bundles available for Doubloons.

The number of Submarine Tokens you can obtain by participating in Personal Challenges and exchanging Community Tokens will be enough to obtain Tier VI and VIII submarines of one of the nations, or to obtain Tier VI submarines of both nations.

Bundles with bonus packages for Tier VIII submarines, as well as patches and flags, will be available for purchase in exchange for Doubloons.

VI U-69, VIII U-190, VI Cachalot, and VIII Salmon can also be obtained from the new Submarines containers. Two such containers will be on offer—one for 50,000 Free XP and another for 2,000 Doubloons.

In addition to Submarine Tokens, random bundles available for Doubloons will also include VIII I-56 and VIII S-189, the Newfoundland permanent camouflage for VIII U-190 and Johnston Atoll permanent camouflage for VIII Salmon, bonus packages for X U-2501 and X Balao, and other rewards. In Update 0.11.9, I-56 and S-189 will only be available in random bundles. These subs will appear in the Armory on a permanent basis with one of the first updates of 2023.

For several updates after the release of Update 0.11.9, we don't plan to make any significant changes to the gameplay of submarines, their settings, or the ways they interact with other ship types unless there is a critical need to do so. This will allow the new ship type to catch on in the game and give players an opportunity to get to grips with the new ship type. In the meantime, we'll be able to collect the most up-to-date and accurate statistics for our analysis. However, small balance changes will be made when necessary.

U.S. and German Tier VI, VIII, and X submarines will become available to research when Update 0.11.10 goes live.

Operation Wolfpack

Players will be able to put the new ship type through its paces in the new Operation Wolfpack. It's inspired by real World War II events that saw submarines actively hunting down convoys.

Players fight at the helms of Tier VI and VIII submarines in a team of seven. Your objective is to break through the lines of escorting warships and destroy the transport ships before they are able to reach their destination point and meet with reinforcements.

Operation Wolfpack will be open to players in Divisions throughout Update 0.11.9. Two weeks after the release of Update 0.11.9, it will become available as Operation of the Week and remain open to all players until the end of the update. We're doing this to ensure that players who earn Submarine Tokens in Personal Challenges only have time to obtain their first submarines from sequential bundles before the start of the Operation.

We'll share more details about the new Operation at a later date.

Playing Submarines

Armament

Torpedoes are the primary armament of submarines. Most submarines are armed with two types of torpedoes—acoustic torpedoes are available at all tiers; alternative torpedoes are available at Tiers VIII and X.

Acoustic torpedoes can home in on a target. To mark a target for homing, you first need to successfully hit it with sonar pings. Doing so highlights a sector on the ship that your torpedoes will home in on, but be aware that the effect has only a limited duration. Hitting the highlighted sector of a ship with another sonar ping extends the duration of the effect and increases your torpedoes' homing efficiency. If a sonar ping hits part of a ship that isn't highlighted, the spot from the previous sonar ping will simply relocate to the new area.

You can hit several ships with sonar pings at once, but only the last highlighted sector will be active. A target with an active sector is the priority, and the sector itself will be marked with a special symbol.

Any acoustic torpedoes you launch will home in on this sector. Torpedoes remember their target and it won't change, regardless of whether you hit another ship with a sonar ping after launching one. If there is no active sector on a ship when you launch torpedoes, they won't home in until a priority target has been marked.

A ping hit sector is nullified if the ping effect duration expires or the "pinged" ship uses Damage Control Party. However, your torpedoes will still remember this target. If you successfully ping the target with sonar again, your torpedoes will resume homing in on it. If you don't want to launch torpedoes at a target with an active homing sector, you can reset it by pressing the G key.

As a rule, acoustic torpedoes have low damage characteristics and chances of causing flooding. They are more effective against maneuverable and lightly armored targets. But keep in mind that maneuverable ships are more difficult to hit with sonar pings.

Alternative torpedoes are similar to regular ship torpedoes and do not home in at all, even vertically. There's no need to use sonar pings with these torpedoes, so you can launch them without revealing your position to the enemy. However, these torpedoes are easier to evade than acoustic ones. They can only be launched from the surface position and periscope depth.

Compared to acoustic torpedoes, alternative torpedoes deal increased damage and are most effective against large, armored targets.

Torpedo tubes mounted on submarines reload differently than those on surface ships. The number of torpedoes that can be reloaded simultaneously depends on how many loaders are available. Different torpedo tubes located at the bow or stern can have different numbers of loaders assigned to them.

In addition to torpedoes, some submarines are also armed with artillery. VI Cachalot, VI U-69, and VIII Salmon have one secondary battery gun mounted. Japanese Premium submarine VIII I-56, available from random bundles for Doubloons, is armed with a 140 mm main battery gun that you can directly control. All submarine artillery fires SAP shells.

Submerging, Detectability, and Dive Capacity

There are three positions available for submarines. You can switch between them using the C and F keys:

• In the surface position, submarines are most vulnerable and exposed, but they can move at full speed, restore their dive capacity, and capture Key Areas.
• At the periscope depth, submarines can move at full speed and become less visible. Descend to this level to assume an attack position quickly without being noticed. Submarines will still be able to detect ships, but at the distance of their detectability by air. You can't capture Key Areas at this depth. Submarines in this position can no longer be detected by Surveillance Radar. However, the Radio Location skill will still show the direction to a submarine in the surface and periscope positions if she is closest to the ship.
• When completely submerged, a submarine can only be detected by other submarines using the Submarine Surveillance consumable or surface ships using Hydroacoustic Search, but only within a 2 km radius. Submarines can't detect enemy ships and can only see already spotted targets within a limited radius (8–10 km on average). This position is most advantageous when you're attacking a target that has already been detected or retreating in case of danger. You can't capture Key Areas at this depth.

The amount of time that a submarine can operate at levels other than the surface level is limited by her dive capacity, which gradually depletes when the submarine is submerged. If a submarine's dive capacity is totally depleted, she will automatically surface.

Keep in mind that emitting pings will help the enemy determine your submarine's location—ping movement effects will be displayed on the water, and the effect of using sonar will be displayed above the submarine. With this in mind, you should carefully assess the situation around you before emitting a sonar ping if you want to avoid detection.

Submarines are effective against all ship types, but they are extremely vulnerable if detected. When delivering attacks, you should act cautiously—constantly assess the situation around you and monitor your dive capacity.

Be aware that emitting pings, as well as suffering from fuel spills, can reveal your submarine's location. Fuel spills appear on the water when a submerged submarine is hit or her modules are damaged. Fuel spills can be repaired by using Damage Control Party. They will also be repaired when surfacing or while on the surface unless there are instances of fire or flooding on the submarine.

Consumables

Submarines are equipped with a limited number of Damage Control Party charges. This consumable can be used to mitigate fire and flooding, repair damaged modules, and clean up fuel spills.

To detect enemy ships and submarines, most submarines, with the exception of VIII I-56, are equipped with Hydrophone and Submarine Surveillance with an unlimited number of charges:

• Hydrophone shows the position of surface ships and submarines at the surface and periscope levels but does not give them the “detected” status. This consumable also highlights the underwater topography around you.
• Submarine Surveillance allows you to detect submarines at the underwater and periscope depths. Detected submarines will be visible to allied ships as well. This consumable takes time to prepare at the beginning of the battle.

U.S. submarines are also equipped with the Enhanced Rudder Gears consumable. The consumable accelerates the diving plane shift time and makes it possible to change your diving depth faster. German submarines have access to the Reserve Battery Unit consumable, which temporarily disables dive capacity depletion and recharging while on the surface.

Playing Against Submarines

Armament

Many destroyers and some light cruisers carry depth charges that are capable of striking submarines prowling about in the depths. To effectively hit a submarine, you need to get as close as possible to her because depth charge damage decreases depending on the distance to the submarine.

The rest of the cruisers and all battleships, with the exception of the Dutch cruisers and hybrids, are equipped with Depth Charge Airstrike. This armament allows you to call in aircraft that drop depth charges on the specified area after a certain period of time. These depth charges have 100% chances of causing flooding. However, a submarine can only suffer from one flooding instance at a time. Carriers are also equipped with Depth Charge Airstrike, which activates automatically if a submarine or signs of her presence, such as oil stains on the water or the effect of using sonar, are detected within the armament's range.

In addition to depth charges and Depth Charge Airstrike, other armament types will also be of help when countering submarines. A submarine on the surface or at periscope depth can be hit with shells, ship- and airborne torpedoes, bombs, and rockets, as well as by ramming. All shells can inflict damage to submarines, even when they don't directly strike the submarine but fall within her vicinity. High-explosive shells, however, are the most effective shell type to deploy against submarines thanks to the shell's large fragmentation damage area.

Detecting Submarines and Countering Their Attacks

Pings emitted by enemy submarines are displayed for your ship and your allies. The effect of using sonar appears on the water above the submarine. These effects will allow you to determine the submarine's approximate location and attack her more effectively.

When a sonar ping hits a target ship, the hit sector will be highlighted, and an indicator will show the direction from which the ping was emitted. Ping hit sectors can be nullified by using the Damage Control Party consumable. New highlighted sectors cannot appear on the ship while the consumable is in operation. Incoming torpedoes will cease to home in on your ship but will continue to run straight, so don't stop maneuvering.

You should not nullify the ping hit sector immediately. Acoustic torpedoes have high detectability, so you should wait for them to appear and nullify the sector when they are not too far from the ship. Otherwise, after the Damage Control Party consumable's action time ends, the submarine will have time to hit your ship with another ping and activate homing again.

You should also keep in mind that even without discarding the sector with the aid of Damage Control Party, acoustic homing torpedoes stop homing in on a target upon reaching a certain distance from it. After reaching this threshold, they travel straight ahead. If you change speed or course at the right time, the incoming torpedoes might well miss you.

The distance at which torpedoes stop homing in on their target depends on the type of the target ship, as well as the number of sonar ping hits on the sector. On average, it ranges from several hundred meters when homing in on destroyers and submarines to one and a half to two kilometers when homing in on battleships.

If a submarine is hit at the periscope or maximum depths, a fuel spill will appear on the water's surface. These spills will help surface ships determine submarine locations and movements.

You can detect a submarine using the Hydroacoustic Search and Surveillance Radar consumables:

• Hydroacoustic Search can detect submarines in any position, but its detection radius for submarines below periscope depth is only 2 km.
• Surveillance Radar detects submarines only at the surface level.

Keep in mind that a submarine can spend only a limited amount of time underwater because of her limited dive capacity—she will have to surface sooner or later. In addition, submarines in the surface and periscope positions are affected by the Radio Location skill. This can help destroyers and cruisers hunting for submarines to determine the approximate direction to the enemy sub.

Features of U.S. and German Submarines

Having talked about the general principles of playing and countering submarines, it's time to learn more about the features of the first representatives of the new ship type in the game!

Resetting Commander Skills

Due to the arrival of a new ship type, you'll be able to reset Commander skills and demount ship upgrades free of charge during the first 2 weeks of Update 0.11.9.

If you have a large number of Commanders and you want to reset all of their skills simultaneously, you can use the automatic free skill reset feature to achieve this.

It's only possible to completely reset all of your Commanders' skills once during the first 2 weeks of Update 0.11.9. It's a one-way trip—you can't roll it back. Once done, you'll only be able to redistribute Commander skill points manually.

After resetting your Commanders' skills, don't forget to redistribute your Commanders' skill points again before you enter a battle.

To automatically reset all of your Commanders' skills free of charge, click the button below.

Just remember—once you do it, you can't roll it back!