Wargaming has released the fifth developer diary for their upcoming F2P naval battle sim, World of Warships.
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The focus of the latest video is the Imperial Japanese armada who were absolutely no slouch during World War II's Pacific campaign. What's great about Wargaming is the sense of history they put into their works; there's a brief history lesson about the various Naval treaties that were signed in the aftermath of World War I that severely limited the amount of displacement (size) and caliber a naval vessel could have.
So, the Japanese had to improvise with "qualitative superiority", which is a fancy way of saying "Guns. Lots of guns."
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The Japanese destroyers are battle-tested and are not super effective against their American tier counterparts. They lack the necessary anti-aircraft weaponry to protect themselves from the US planes. What they do possess, however, are torpedoes. In fact "the most powerful torpedoes of World War II".
Cruisers, on the other hand, are weaponized death machines, the glass cannons of the water (high damage, low armor) and packed with torpedoes. The Japanese cruiser class is the most powerful of the ships in the Imperial navy.
The Aircraft carriers in World of Warships will not be inferior to their American counterparts to preserve a sense of balance. What they lack in survivability like the US ships, the Japanese can make up for it in sheer numbers by operating more squadrons during engagements.
One wonders if Wargaming would ever add the kamikaze as Japan-exclusive unit for the game.
Finally, the battleships (like the famous Yamato) are some of the best craft not only in history, but in the game. "In fact, the only adversary a Yamato needs to worry about in World of Warships is another Yamato."
Watch the full developer diary below. And be sure to sign up for the various Closed Betas that happen on a regular basis over at the official site.