[2022] Look they are changing AA

Please remember that this is in Closed Test. As a Concept Test, this may or may not move forward depending on the results of the test.

The section you're asking about is here:

The new mechanic can choose any plane within the squadron (as opposed to the current mechanic of always picking the last plane).


The plane that is picked will be focused until shot down or the specific target chosen may change if the planes leave all AA for some time.

The target can be within the Attacking Group (ie: the first planes in the squadron which will shoot).

The section you're asking about is here:

Because any plane can be selected, the planes shot down in the attacking group are not "replenished".

IE: If a Hakuryu is attacking with a squadron of 12 Torpedo Planes and the first plane shot down is in the Attacking Squadron, then the first Attack will only have 1 Plane.

If the 1 Plane remaining is also shot down before the attack happens, the attack goes on cooldown as the next Attacking Squadron readies up as the new Attacking Squadron.

This DevBlog is about a concept in Closed Testing which is only a conceptual test. I do not have specifics like exact cooldown time amounts.

On Live Server, Continuous Damage is focused on the LAST plane in a squadron (ie: the plane furthest to the right on the healthbar). This change was implemented in Update 0.8.5 to avoid Continuous Damage being spread across all the available planes and thus not shooting down any planes. Plane losses became much more consistent by focusing fire on the last plane.

The Closed Test keeps the "focuses one plane" functionality, but allows it to be any of the planes in the squadron. The plane could be in the middle of the health bar, or even at the front of the health bar (the "attacking" planes which are all the way on the left).

I do believe planes shot down in the "middle" of the healthbar continue to leave that gap there. Basically, each attacking flight retains its squadron integrity so later flights for followup attacks may have some holes in them. The option to send back a squadron that has taken losses would be taken care of by holding F to send only the current "attacking flight" back to the carrier.

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This is a Concept Test and is subject to change or not moving forward at all as a result of the Closed Test.

I believe it is a new selection after each plane kill. The AA is not intended to pick a specific squadron and hammer it so much as poke holes in squadrons which can lessen follow-on strike capability. It can also shoot down a plane in the attacking squadron which would effect even the first strike from the CV.

To clarify this:
The squad will always be split into an 'attack' group and 'the rest'. A CV won't need to be currently striking for the planes to be split. When a squadron completes its attack run, it will function exactly as it does now; the attacking planes become an entirely separate squad as they return to the CV. AA does not split its DPS between every squad in range, so this returning squad still takes full damage until it reaches safe altitude.

Concept Testing is more about a basic test of mechanics. Follow-ons will always be present when mechanical changes occur, but you have to start somewhere.

The "Attack Flight" mitigation is only during an active attack. If the attacking flight receives damage when simply en route to a target, there is no mitigation applied during normal flight.

In terms of animation, yes, but mechanically the planes are divvied into "The planes that will be attacking if you attack something" (ie: the first squad) and "The remaining planes" (ie: the rest of the squads). The "rest of" planes can currently be thought of as a form of "armor" in that they take the Continuous Damage first in order to allow the attacking planes through.

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The proposed test allows Continuous AA to pick planes in any of the squads, including the "attacking squad". If a plane is shot down in the current "attacking squad", then the squad remains unreplenished and will attack with less than a full number. In the above example of 3x3x3 plane setup, loss of a plane in the first squad would result in a 2x3x3 lineup. Attacking would result in 2 planes shooting ordinance before leaving to go back to the carrier.

The proposed Closed Test is not relevant to the single-squad format of Russian Carriers. That doesn't change the usefulness of the test in relation to other CV / AA interactions.

This a Closed Test and does not contain highly specific information about the mechanics like this. As this is a Concept Test, it's primarily about seeing if this is worth continuing with.