Captains! This time, we decided to slightly change the format of our “Q&A”. Instead of a long list of short answers, we’ll take the most relevant questions one at a time — but in more detail.
One of the questions you’ve been asking especially often lately concerns the new damage system and hits to the bow of ships. We've decided to answer them all in this article. Have a nice reding!
Why can damage to the bow be higher than damage to the side?
This is not a bug - it is intended behavior. It is the result of reworking several interconnected damage mechanics. We’ll go into the details below, but first, here are two important terms:
Penetration - a shell’s ability to overcome a ship’s armor. The higher the shell’s penetration compared to the armor at the point of impact, the more damage the shell will deal.
Damage - the amount of health a ship loses from a shell hit after its armor is taken into account.
How did the system work before?
Originally, damage was affected by several additional rules that were not always easy to notice.
For example, hitting the stern gave the shell a +20% damage bonus, while the stern itself had its own armor value. As a result, the final damage was not always as straightforward as you might expect from the cannon’s stats.
Moreover, the Targeted Fire skill increased damage, rather than the shell’s penetration. It also turned out that this bonus was not limited to shells hitting the bow or stern - it could also apply when hitting the side of a ship.
What did we change?
We decided to simplify the damage system and remove some of these additional rules.
Removed the +20% damage bonus for hitting the stern.
Removed the stern’s separate armor value.
Changed the Targeted Fire skill: it now increases penetration instead of damage.
The last change is particularly important. The Targeted Fire skill now helps a shell penetrate the ship’s armor rather than simply increasing the damage dealt after the hit.
A damage bonus is applied after armor is taken into account, while a penetration bonus helps the shell overcome that armor before the final damage is calculated.
Why can the bow now take more damage?
Changing the Targeted Fire skill from a damage bonus to a penetration bonus has a particularly noticeable effect when hitting the bow.
Previously, the Targeted Fire skill increased the damage dealt by a successful hit. Now, it increases the shell’s penetration before damage is calculated. This means a single shot has a better chance of getting through the ship’s armor, which is especially noticeable when firing at a heavily protected bow.
As a result, with certain combinations of gun and ship characteristics, a single shot to the bow can indeed deal more damage than a hit to the side.
This is not a separate damage bonus for hitting the bow. This effect is a direct result of the changes made to the Targeted Fire skill.
Why did we rework this mechanic?
The main goal was to make the damage system simpler and more predictable, while also making battles more dynamic.
We wanted to remove hidden bonuses and unnecessary layers of protection so that the outcome of a hit depends more directly on things players can understand: the shell’s characteristics, its penetration, the ship’s armor, and the location of the hit.
There was another important reason for the change. Previously, turning your bow toward an opponent was a very reliable way to reduce incoming damage. With the new system, single shots are more effective against bow armor, making it less safe to keep your ship pointed directly at the enemy throughout a fight.
We understand that some aspects of the new system may not be immediately obvious. Going forward, we also want to take another look at bow protection and how it is displayed in the game, so that it is easier for players to understand why a particular hit dealt the amount of damage it did.