Controlling an aircraft carrier is not easy, but effective. How to play aircraft carriers in World of Warships Aircraft carrier control buttons world of warships

Aircraft carrier– the most extraordinary representative of the class of heavy ships in the game. It does not have serious artillery installations, but it does have deadly weapons - air groups.

A successful strategy and well-thought-out tactics can turn opposing ships into pieces. Now let's talk about how to play an aircraft carrier in World of Warships.

Features of aircraft carrier control

First of all, press the “1” key on the keyboard. A top view of the map will open. Here you can set a specific route that the ship will follow. If there is a need to set an arbitrary route, hold down the “Shift” key and mark all control points on the map.

Features of air group management

To get started play on an aircraft carrier in World of Warships– you must press the “2”, “3” and “4” keys on the keyboard.
  • To activate the fighter, press “2” or “3”;
  • Torpedo bombers are controlled using the “3” or “4” keys;
  • Calling bombers – key “5”.

Once the desired air group is activated, you should set a trajectory for the aircraft. To do this, left-click on the playing field and mark the targets on the map. If there is a need to lay out an expanded route in order to hit several targets, hold down the “Shift” key and left-click on all strategic objects.

In order to carry out successful attacks on enemy ships, it is necessary to take care of every combat air unit. If the entire air group is lost, you can use reserve equipment. However, this must be done wisely. After all, the emergency supply of aircraft is limited.

How to properly attack enemy ships with air groups?

In order to attack an enemy ship, you must select the desired type of air group by pressing the “2”, “3”, “4” or “5” keys.

Attack by torpedo bombers

Select a group of torpedo bombers by pressing the appropriate key. After this, move the cursor over the opponent’s ship and press the left mouse button. As a result, the active zone of torpedoes will be highlighted in green. The direction of the attack is easy to change; to do this, simply drag the icon along the outline of the circle.

If more precise aiming is required, then press the “Alt” key. In this mode, you can manually specify the torpedo drop location.

Bomber attack

We call the air group of the required type. And mark the goals on the map. The entire procedure is similar to the previous class of aircraft. Therefore, no difficulty will arise.

In order to start winning regularly and stay afloat for as long as possible, you must always be in the shadows, invisible. This is very important, because an aircraft carrier is absolutely helpless when detected by enemy cruisers and destroyers. This requires discussing in detail the tactical and strategic aspects of the upcoming battle with other members of your team.

Hello brave pilots!

If you don't know how to fly an aircraft carrier, then you've come to the right place!

You will learn important features and the nuances of controlling this ship and you can easily master the class.

This class of ships in WoWs has the greatest combat potential.

It can be called completely special, since its controls are noticeably different from other ships presented in the game.

From this article you will learn:

Peculiarities

Although the aircraft carrier has the greatest potential, it is nevertheless the most vulnerable due to weak armor.

It has air groups, formidable deadly weapons, which more than compensates for the lack of serious artillery installations.

If the player carefully thinks through tactical moves, then the combat ship is capable of smashing any enemy ships to smithereens.

So, to start controlling the aircraft carrier class, press “1” on the keyboard. A map opens in front of you at the top, on which you can set the ship’s routes.

You can do this in any order by using the “Shift” key and marking control points.

We can begin. Therefore, we are learning how to properly control an aircraft carrier.

How to manage air groups?

Now you need to activate the ship, use key 3 or 2. We begin control (key 4 or 3). Then we move on to activating air groups, if we need to use bombers, we use the 5 key, torpedo bombers - 4 or 3.

After activating what is necessary, we set the aircraft carrier’s trajectory of movement. To set goals, you need to left-click on the playing field.

Want to hit multiple targets at once? Click on the designated objects with the mouse while holding down the Shift key.

At the same time, it is important to take care of air units; this is a guarantee of greater success in a naval battle.

If the entire air group is used, other reserve equipment is used, but do not forget that the reserve weapons have limitations.

Air group attack in World of Warships

This can be done simply by pressing keys 5, 4, 3, 2 and selecting the required types of air group. After this, an attack is made on enemy ships.

When aimed at enemy ships, the active zone of action of the shells begins to be highlighted in green.

If it is necessary to change the direction of attacks, you need to drag the hover icon along the contours of the circle.

For the most accurate aiming, use Alt. This manual mode allows you to specify torpedo drop locations.

Careful planning of moves

You want to win the game, right? In World of Warships, constant movement is important, and at the same time you must try not to be noticed by your opponent.

A ship of the class is completely helpless if it collides with a destroyer or cruiser.

That’s why it’s so important to think through the entire strategy before the battle, and even better, discuss the moves with the players from the team.

Ideally, if the ships are comrades, they will guard the ship. This will provide significant benefits to the entire clan at once.

It is important that enemy shells do not hit the armor; this is the most vulnerable side of an aircraft carrier. Also beware of landmines that survive fires and prevent air groups from being used until they are extinguished.

How to manage?

The task is not easy, requiring not only skill, but also experience. The control interface includes many buttons on the keyboard.

If necessary, click “help” by pressing Esc or F1 and see which control buttons are used for what.

The position of the vessel on the map is visible by pressing the space bar.

Perhaps the most specific class of ships are aircraft carriers. On the one hand, this is a very dangerous ship, and on the other, the most helpless. For novice players it is not at all clear how to play it.

Equipment and modules

First, we prepare the ship for battle. To do this, first of all, we upgrade top aircraft. You can even, at first, not download anything else if you don’t have enough experience. Next you need to go into equipment and buy a repair team. In the modernization tab, select reinforced rifle groups. They are located not only on the ship itself, as air defense, but also on torpedo bombers and bombers. In the second slot we put an air group, which strengthens fighters, if any. If they are not there, then we set the planes to reload. It is better to choose the fight for survivability in the third slot. It is more useful to choose a camouflage that will reduce your visibility.

Battle tactics and features

When you enter a battle, you need to evaluate the features of the map and become competent. A good option is to stand behind a large island, because it will be more difficult for destroyers to throw torpedoes. They usually just quickly approach within firing range and fire a salvo roughly at the aircraft carrier, but in this case the torpedoes will simply hit the island. Constantly monitor the mini map to see in time where your and enemy planes are flying. They need to be constantly monitored. Launch the fighters first. They will scout the map and protect your strike groups. You can also protect an allied ship. If the enemy has more fighters than you, then you need to bring them to your ships, preferably to a cruiser.

Aircraft control

To learn how to play an aircraft carrier in World of Warships, take the time Special attention airplanes. For strike teams, the sweet spot is the enemy, but there is no need to waste ammunition on an almost dead enemy. By the way, torpedoes need to be dropped as close to the enemy as possible from the side, but so that the torpedoes have time to cock. It is recommended to first attack the enemy ship with bombs to cause a fire on board. This will force him to use the repair kit. In this case, it is better to launch dive bombers from the stern. Then they will fly in the direction of the enemy's movement, which will increase the chance of a hit. After this, we attack with torpedo bombers, and the enemy gets flooded or fires again, but can no longer be repaired immediately. From such a combined attack, the enemy ship can easily sink. You can generally attack the enemy simultaneously in groups from both sides with torpedoes, so that he has nowhere to dodge.

Ship control

The ship itself is also a combat unit. It is advisable to move it approximately 20 km from the battle formation of allied ships. The ship is a desirable prey for enemies and is almost helpless against them in close combat. So if you are attacked, you can get away from the attack in a cunning way: just rest against the edge of the map and drift sideways, turning the ship at an angle. This will make it harder for you to get hit.

Priority assignment

When enemy torpedo bombers approach you, you need to position them so that your air defense attacks them first. And if an enemy fighter is trying to shoot down our planes, then he will not be able to attack him in the first place. You can also prioritize an enemy ship in order to attack it with your auxiliary cannons as it approaches.

Now you've learned how to properly play an aircraft carrier in World of Warships, but remember that each individual ship has its own unique features. And note that this may not be all the fun in controlling an aircraft carrier, but you can discover the rest on your own.

They are considered the most extraordinary class of technology. They are deprived of main-caliber guns, but they carry weapons on their decks that can send any ship in the game to the bottom in one go - entire air groups, represented by fighter and strike aircraft. This is a self-sufficient class of equipment, capable of performing a wide range of tasks: sinking enemy ships, covering allied equipment from enemy aircraft, providing light anywhere on the map.

Control Features

Many players who play on an aircraft carrier for the first time draw parallels with another formidable weapon from World of Tanks - self-propelled guns. But this opinion is erroneous, and it is based only on the similarity in the picture that the artilleryman and the aircraft pilot see in front of him. In other aspects, only differences appear that make the gameplay on aircraft carriers unique and exciting.

Buttons 1 to 9 on the keyboard are used to control the aircraft carrier itself and its air groups. As the level increases, the number of air groups will increase, which will require the proper microcontrol skills from the air operator. All the necessary control commands are displayed in the interface, so figuring out which button to press is not difficult.

As a rule, an aircraft carrier is given a route for its movement. By holding down the Shift key, you can mark up to 5 control points. General rule for all classes of ships: movement is life. Of course, sometimes it is useful to hide behind an island for a while, or even for the entire battle. But be prepared for the fact that if a destroyer approaches you unnoticed, the chances of survival are close to zero.

We attack correctly: fighters, torpedo bombers, bombers

Based on the title, it already becomes clear that the aircraft carrier carries 3 types of winged equipment. It is necessary to attack enemy ships with torpedo bombers and bombers, and cover your air groups and allied ships with fighters. All three types of aircraft perform reconnaissance functions, highlighting ships on the battle screen and mini-map. Details about the attack of each type of aircraft.

Attack by torpedo bombers

The priority target of aircraft carriers is battleships. They are slow, clumsy, and their air defense weapons are ineffective in most cases. The hardest thing to attack is destroyers, because... they are small, fast and the most maneuverable in the game.

For all aviation, two types of attack are implemented.

Standard – designed for quickly mastering the game on an aircraft carrier. Select a group of torpedo bombers and left-click on the enemy ship. As a result, a green torpedo movement zone is displayed on the screen. To adjust the direction of the attack, you need to drag the icon along the outline of the circle.

Alternative attack - used for precise aiming. In this mode, you need to manually specify the torpedo release sector by holding down the “Alt” button. This type of attack is more difficult, but the effectiveness is significantly higher.

Bomber attack

The procedure is similar to the previous class of aircraft in both conventional and alternative bomb-dropping modes. To increase the chance of hitting the target, you should place a green bomb release sector along the attacked ship.

Fighter attack

Air targets can be attacked by simply pressing LMB on an enemy air group, as well as through “Alt”. In the second case, a green sector of fighter movement will appear on the screen. Air groups that find themselves in the affected area suffer heavy losses, both enemy and allied.

Keep in mind that each class of ship has a point of no return, after which it will be impossible to cancel or correct the attack. The supply of air groups is also limited, so you should not approach ships with a high level of air defense.

Aircraft carrier protective equipment

An aircraft carrier can defend itself from enemy air groups not only with fighters, but also with air defense guns. Their effectiveness varies depending on the ship’s level, and starting from level 8, aircraft carriers have access to the “Defensive Fire” consumable, which increases the effectiveness of air defense and also disrupts the targeting of air groups.

In some cases, an anti-mine caliber (MMC) can protect against destroyers. You shouldn't count on it too much, because... The effectiveness of the auxiliary caliber is low, so a ship can be destroyed with a secondary gun only if it has a small reserve of hit points left.

Commanders!

Today we will answer your frequently asked questions related to the new gameplay of aircraft carriers and tell you in detail about the reasons for making certain decisions.

But first we want to thank all the players who took part in testing aircraft carriers. Your feedback and comments helped us a lot.

Let's move on to your questions.

Why are new aircraft carriers poorly balanced?

The problem is that when you test something in a separate environment, it is impossible to perfectly replicate the environment and all situations of the main server. While the beta test is a great place to get a list of upgrades, prioritize them, and see how the overall concept works, we can't get everything perfect: reloads, timers, and damage for each ship, especially when we're talking about the fine tuning of individual ships against each other and the interaction of many different combinations. We will have to spend some time, probably 1-2 months, fine-tuning them. This is inevitable, but necessary. We will be waiting for your feedback and impressions after the release of 0.8.0. Thank you for your active participation and involvement!

Why can't you control an aircraft carrier and a squadron at the same time?

We have indeed received many requests for direct control of an aircraft carrier at the same time as a squadron. First, it’s worth clarifying: you can control your aircraft carrier while controlling a squadron through a tactical tablet, setting navigation points. Or, if the situation calls for it, you can send the squadron home, switch to an aircraft carrier and control it from the keyboard.

Let's try to figure out why this decision was made:

Firstly, as the players rightly noted, the ship itself plays a relatively small role in battle. The main element of the gameplay is the squadron. This is exactly what we wanted to achieve, as focusing on the squadron results in a richer, more visually epic gameplay experience. Direct control of the carrier is almost never required during the entire battle. The most common tasks, from plotting a course to a corner of the map to “parking” an aircraft carrier behind an island, can be accomplished using a tactical tablet. Moreover, this can be done without being distracted from direct control of the squadron. Most players do this on the main server now, and there is really only one important task left - precise maneuvering in close combat. And this brings us to the next point.

A destroyer that manages to reach an enemy carrier should be rewarded - if the player managed to do this, then he either put a lot of effort into it, or the carrier made a mistake in positioning. The carrier commander has a choice: defend aggressively with his squadrons or give up control of the aircraft and evade using manual control. We firmly believe that adding the ability to simultaneously maneuver in close combat and control aircraft (and thus make it much more difficult to destroy an aircraft carrier, and it will also snarl) will have a bad effect on the balance. This rule also works for other classes: a cruiser caught close by will most likely be punished by a battleship. An unwary battleship could be ambushed by a destroyer and receive a torpedo salvo. And, of course, it will be difficult for a destroyer to survive if a cruiser catches it. The bottom line is this: if an aircraft carrier is attacked in close combat and does not have allied support, then it must make a choice: either maneuver the ship manually, or fight back with the help of aircraft.

Many players have said that they now feel like a squadron commander, rather than an aircraft carrier commander, and this is true. The gameplay change is built around the squadron. Concentrating on it allows you to make the gameplay more dynamic, more interesting and, most importantly, more balanced.

Do you think players can't monitor an aircraft carrier and a squadron at the same time?

Of course they can. Our game is easy to learn in basic terms, but to become a master at it will take a lot of time and effort. The ability to monitor many factors on the battlefield is a very important point that anyone who decides to become a good commander must have. And the class of aircraft carriers in this case is no exception, however, we want the player to concentrate as much as possible on the squadron - the center of the new gameplay. There are very serious doubts that simultaneous direct control of two entities - a ship and aircraft - will bring any benefit and will be in demand.

Could this approach ever change?

Yes. After the update, we will need some time to adjust the balance, and players will need to master a virtually new game class. The players' wish list will obviously be updated, and it is quite possible that this item will no longer be there. And if he still remains, we will return to this issue.

What is this automatic equipment activation? Why is it needed?

As recently announced, we are going to implement automatic activation of emergency command and fighters on aircraft carriers. We recognize that some of you find this controversial, to say the least. There are several reasons that led us to this decision:

We see that players tend to focus on their aircraft. Despite all the available indications (icons, alerts, timers, sounds), many people find it really difficult to tear themselves away from the squadron and devote time to a ship that may be on the other end of the map. This does not mean that we want to please the most inattentive players, but it should be remembered that the essence of the new aircraft carriers is a genre transition from strategy to action.

All other classes control only one “unit” - the ship. A player on a battleship, destroyer or cruiser controls the equipment directly, and this is completely logical, because he makes decisions based on the situation around himself and his ship, without being distracted by anything. With new aircraft carriers, everything is different - there is no point in waiting for a second fire, there is no point in not calling in a squadron of fighters when danger threatens. A battleship makes a choice to activate its repair or salvage crew, destroyers make smokes, cruisers make their support assets, but from the carrier's point of view there is almost zero difference between “something happens, I press a button” and “something happens, a button is pressed.” automatically".

With the right balance settings for Fires, Floods and Fighter Squadrons, the focus will be entirely on player-controlled aircraft (and their loadouts, which of course are activated manually and independently for each squadron type).

So while this mechanic sounds unusual, we believe it can help us refocus the player's attention on what is essentially most gameplay - per squadron - and this leads us to the next question.

asked 27 Dec 18 from Iron (102 points) in category News

Why is there so little depth and dependence on player skill in the new gameplay?

To get this discussion started, we'd like you to imagine: How many battleship battles do you need to play in battleships to understand the mechanics of shooting, angling and tanking, activating consumables, selecting ammo, dodging torpedoes, and overall battle planning? A newcomer to a battleship will most likely begin mastering the class by learning how to hit a target. And then he will gradually move on to a deep strategy and understanding of all other aspects. The first 10-20 fights in a class are just the beginning. This concept should also work with new aircraft carriers. We wanted to make them more accessible in some aspects, but in no case “simplify them to the limit.” There are many tricks built into the design of the new aircraft carriers that you will have to discover and master. Of course, we cannot be 100% sure that everything will be used by players exactly as we planned. But for now, here's the list:

  1. Medium and long-range air defense installations conduct constant fire at the target, adjusting lead every few seconds. Thus, air defense shells constantly explode on the squadron’s path, causing significant damage. Maneuvering among them is one of the first skills the player can develop to prevent excessive aircraft losses. Moreover, for this you should use both maneuvering and speed. Speed ​​control also affects the turning radius.
  2. Executing a target approach is the basis of the carrier game, and each type of squadron has some differences here. However, there are general factors to consider:
    - High speed gives less time for aiming, but the squadron is less likely to be under air defense fire;
    - The choice of target, the choice of squadron type, and even the choice of the part of the ship to attack matters. The latter is especially interesting because missiles and bombs interact with armor (and armor-piercing bombs have corresponding ballistics with the ability to ricochet). Torpedoes, in turn, interact with PTZ;
    - Early approach to attack reduces the spread of missiles, bombs and torpedoes.
  3. Armor-piercing bombs have become more interesting and more difficult to use. Previously, they worked like simplified AP shells that fell from above at a 90-degree angle, ignoring effective armor. Now their flight path and impact angle depend on when you drop them. They can even ricochet off armor! When the dive bombers begin to approach the target, you can drop your bombs earlier, with a higher chance of hitting the deck. Or you can wait and drop them at the last moment when the planes come out of the dive - and it will be more like a broadside.
  4. Air group management. This is a more strategic task - the loss of aircraft slows down the training of the corresponding squadron. Each squadron type has an independent recovery timer, so proper rotation of aircraft types will also benefit the player.
  5. Ship positioning . Going for a rapprochement is very risky, but this reduces the time it takes for squadrons to approach targets;
  6. Individual tactics . While this part will likely evolve as players master the class, we can give you two examples of more advanced tactics that were used during the beta:
    - Thanks to the long range of their torpedoes, Japanese torpedo bombers can try to attack from afar with minimal risk to themselves. In some cases, detection can be avoided altogether. However, such an attack would require a masterful calculation of anticipation;
    - The presence of several links in a squadron allows torpedo bombers to carry out several attacks in a short period of time. As a result, the player may try to provoke an evasive maneuver from the first torpedo salvo in order to catch the enemy on the second. Alternatively, such "feign" attacks can help the player put an enemy ship broadside to Allied artillery;
  7. Barrage fire and air defense sectors. Barrage increases air defense damage, while selecting a sector increases the density of explosions in the ranged aura. We are working on clear in-game visualization of both air defense effects so that the player can see what they are dealing with.
  8. Game around the landscape. Aircraft detection now works similarly to ships and takes into account line of sight. On maps with an abundance of mountains, aircraft have the opportunity to use the terrain as cover to avoid air defense or fly up to the target undetected. Torpedo bombers are the most interesting in this aspect, because their approach to attack lasts a long time and occurs at a low altitude.
  9. Fighter squadrons now function as equipment. This is a great tool for supporting the team, and a good player will look to call in fighters where they will add value. Let's not forget that each type of strike aircraft summons fighters separately, so the player can keep 2 or even 3 squadrons in the air for a while. Fighters also interact with each other adding an element of counter-play. The fighter patrol area is displayed on the minimap for player convenience.
  10. New aircraft carriers with new roles. We have ideas for new aircraft carrier branches with alternative gameplay. It's too early to discuss details right now, but we think this could introduce more comprehensive support-focused gameplay.

So, we want to make the gameplay more accessible and richer and really take away the real-time strategy elements. However, in return we have added many opportunities for tactical depth and skill development. We are fully aware that not all of them may work, and some new ones will appear over time. In the meantime, we invite all players to try the updated aircraft carriers and discover their potential.

What does player feedback mean in all this?

Unfortunately, some of you may have the impression that the new aircraft carriers are being released despite concerns, problems and objections from players. Let's try to figure this out.

  1. Aircraft carriers are being redesigned, in part, because players asked for it. Our responsibility was to answer the question “how will they play now?”;
  2. The gameplay you see is not just the result of our work, it is the result of a beta test. A number of UI improvements and fixes, and many gameplay changes were made based on your feedback:

All primary balance settings

- ​setting up cameras for all types of aircraft

Aircraft inventory interface

Attack timer

Setting up aircraft physics

Interaction of aircraft with map relief;

Without denying wishes and comments for the new gameplay, we see a positive assessment from the players. For example, here are the results of the latest beta test: On average worldwide: 32.1% simply liked the new aircraft carriers (among testers with 10 battles or more, this percentage is higher, 38.3% on average); 50.8% liked the new aircraft carriers , but with a number of comments; only 13.2% did not like the new aircraft carriers (and 4% were undecided); We also cannot agree with the assumption that the redesign of aircraft carriers was liked only by those who do not have experience in the game: results from testers with 1500 , 3000, 6000 and 6000+ battles on the main server are practically the same; However, we do not deny that players with the most battles on aircraft carriers (main server) on average rate the new aircraft carrier gameplay worse - up to 25% negative ratings.

These results highlight the contradictions and challenges that remain to be resolved. But they also clearly show that the new gameplay has so far been enjoyed by the majority of those who have tried it - which was one of the goals of the changes.

We know there will be a lot of work to be done on the carriers, tweaking the balance and seeing what issues are prioritized. At the same time, the beta test was successful, and the path of aircraft carriers should continue on the main server with the direct participation of all players.

Tell me honestly: did you start all this for your console game WoWS: Legends?

So,

We are reworking aircraft carriers to correct the balance, make the class more popular, make the gameplay more dynamic, and fulfill a long-standing request from players. We'll do our best to make the new gameplay fun for you throughout many battles, but we also understand that the work won't be finished with the first release. This will be quite a journey for all of us. Thank you, good luck and see you in battle!