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So I finally plonked down $34 and got a premium pack for Word of War Ships (since its in closed beta you have to pay to get in). I played it all day yesterday and wanted to report back to MWO world with what I found.
1) that game is going to be good. In terms of content its only 1/2 complete (the russians, germans and british are not there, only the US and Japanese are), and I am sure they will be doing a ton of nerfs/buffs to the weapons/ships but without a doubt its off to a very good start. The graphics, audio (the sound of shells firing, wow), maps and the detailed modelling they have done for the ships is amazingly good.
2)maps are large but not too large. You never spend more than 1-2 minutes getting to where the action (even in the slowest ship) but there is plenty of open seas, narrow straits, islands, ice bergs etc etc to navigate around, hide and to strategize for. I think they've gotten that pretty well balanced out compared to MWO.
3)ship tree is restrictive. You have to "research" class 4 to get to class 5. Unlike in MWO where you can go from a Commando to a Dire straightaway, there is a much more of a "grind"
4)they also have MC, C-bills, XP and GXP (of course there are called their own names) and that operates pretty much the same way. On top of this they also have Commanders that can be also "trained up". So consider it another "currency"
5)match making works much better. Since the matchmaker works based on the class of the ship, you get a much "fair" game. So if you have progressed out to level 7 but want to have fun in a fast, light armored early age cruiser, you can hop in one and have a blast. Unlike in MWO where elo is a big deal I found this to be better. In MWO if you have high elo and you go in with a fun build, your team will probably loose and it will not be fun for anyone
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6)matchmaking is fast. The server had about 3000 players, but I never waited more than 5mts for a game and 90% of the time I am in a game in 1-2 mts. The one time it went to 5mts, they put me in a 1vs1 deathmatch with another similar sized ship in a smaller map. That was fun.
7)the reward/achievement banners and popups look great. For what ever their other faults, games like Call of Duty, BattleField have very addictive reward/achievement popups. Coupled with the right sound effect you really feel like you've unlocked something awesome. WOWS have done a good job with this too. Each critical hit is celebrated with a small flag, I know it sounds cheesy, but it addictive.
8) pay to win - well the "premium" level 4 ship I got sucked. I had so much more fun and better results in the "free" ships. So yes, you can buy a few unique ships if you pay, but they don't feel overpowered. I had flashbacks of how much different this was the case with MWO when the clans first came out. Timberwolves were tearing up non $$ mechs left right and center. Not good times.
so overall, I think that game is shaping out nice. I for one will definitely play it more.