To Pay or Not to Pay

[RU4Reel5050]

To Pay or Not to Pay that is the question.  So far I have not paid for one ship or any doubloons.  Does it make you better at this game if you do buy ships and doubloons? 

So far I am not very good at this game but trying.  Just got to level 5 and getting my brains bet in.  Not sure if I should be buying ships or play on the cheap. 

[Lord_Slayer]

When I started, I was playing on the cheap, and didn't intend to spend much on the game. Eventually that changed and I did start picking up premium ships (really regretting not getting the RU BB Nic now).

As for getting good, just keep at it. We all started somewhere. It took me awhile to get good at the game. I suggest watching youtube 'how to play' videos that can help you.

I also suggest if you do decide to get a premium, do your research on it. Little White Mouse does excellent reviews on the premium ships as they are being released. There are also several youtubers that get videos up of game play from them testing the ships. Remember that WG does not give refunds on ships, unless they have announced a refund for ships due to a game change, as what happened to Belfast and Perth.

I also suggest not getting a premium above your current tier level. Many have done this, and found they are not ready for game play in the higher tiers.

[desmo_2]

No, paying does not make you better.

Premium ships can be fun to play and can increase your captain training.

Premium time increases your XP and silver, so you can grind through the lines more quickly and more comfortably.

Only you can answer the question on whether you should spend money.  Initially I was a free player, but I came to thoroughly enjoy the game and have now spent money on several premium ships as well as special event crates.

[TTK_Aegis]

12 minutes ago, RU4Reel5050 said:

To Pay or Not to Pay that is the question.  So far I have not paid for one ship or any doubloons.  Does it make you better at this game if you do buy ships and doubloons? 

So far I am not very good at this game but trying.  Just got to level 5 and getting my brains bet in.  Not sure if I should be buying ships or play on the cheap. 

No it doesn't make you a better player. A lot of premiums are gimmicky and only shine in the hands of experienced players. 

However, if you love the game, I would highly suggest getting premium time or buying port slots at least. Support the games you love so they stick around. 

[brdhntr]

Spending money will not make you better, asking for help in specific areas (like how to play certain ships, even offer up a replay and ask for tips) will.  Buying ships and doubloons will help keep the game going, so it is a good thing to spend at least a little, if you get value from playing the game (why would you play if you didn't).  Buying premium time is a good way to make the grind a little less burdensome, doubloons to help retraining captains helps to get them to 19 pts faster, and you can use doubloons to demount modules when you sell a ship and move it to the next.  All helpful in the long run, but won't do much for improving how you actually play in a match.  

When asking for help, be prepared for criticism, if no one points out things you are doing wrong, you can't fix it.  Don't be discouraged or upset by someone who may respond with "Get Gud", (it's the internet), just ignore and focus on the helpful responses.  If you ask for help in a reasonable manner most responses will be helpful, and many really good players are willing to help.  

[Shield380]

Premium ships and premium time help the grinds go a lot quicker... the XP and credit boost from premium ships is a welcome addition to any port, but premium ships are not in any way superior to other ships in the game. Everything has it's individual counter, so just keep that in mind.

[S16_Hunter]

My theory on paying is this: Normally for a PC based game I would pay anywhere from $39 - $60 bucks for the game. Eventually for that game there will be "mod packs" or add on's or even a new series etc. and you will pay again IF you like the game.

So my theory is, invest what I would normally pay for a PC based online game.  Anything above that is by choice because you really like the game.

So does paying make you better? NO  

What putting some money into the game does is allow you to progress a little faster if you get "premium account time" or get doubloons to afford Permanent camo's etc.  Can help you gain XP and Gold for other items in the game. Or get a few premium ships etc. 

Paying is not a cure all nor will it make you a better player.

DON"T Rush - getting to the higher tiers is not always the answer,  it's way more expensive in game for t8 and above. Take your time to get there. 

Actually I've even violated my own rules on this game as I've spent way more then I intended to, but I didn't really spend any money till after I hit Tier 6.  For some reason the Christmas crates called my name :) .  did good with them also.

Good luck, still with it, some folks have no invested a dime in this game and have done well. 

[TheDreadnought]

31 minutes ago, RU4Reel5050 said:

To Pay or Not to Pay that is the question.  So far I have not paid for one ship or any doubloons.  Does it make you better at this game if you do buy ships and doubloons? 

So far I am not very good at this game but trying.  Just got to level 5 and getting my brains bet in.  Not sure if I should be buying ships or play on the cheap. 

Welcome!

Just be prepared for the fact that you're going to fight 500 - 1000 battles before you get the basics of strategy down.  It's a subtle game, and there's a lot of nuance to it that is not immediately apparent.

Also, understanding the game mechanics is key.  I'd encourage you to each day pick a game mechanic and read about it:

http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships

Then, once you hit 1,000 battles, do it again.  It will likely help your play quite a bit.

Most importantly . . . have fun!

 

Finally. . . don't rush up the lines.   You only get to experience the climb to 10 once.  Savor it.   As you go up in tier, yes the ships get some cool features.  But the game becomes  a LOT harder.  If you're not ready for it, you're going to get crushed and it won't be fun.  Take your time.

[Wowzery]

You can get a premium ship, but htat doesn't mean you'll be better.  You can buy premium time, that only helps you grind faster and gain more credits.

What helps you get better is learning how to play different classes and even within the classes different nations will play differently.

So, no, paying will not help you win the game.  You might find a nice premium you enjoy playing which suits your playstyle though.  However, you have to learn what your playstyle is first.

It really is an easy game to play, but harder to learn.

[nina_blain_73]

all i can do is echo what has been said so well by others. No, spending money won't make you better, learning and practice will.

And that's from someone who has a ton of premiums.

[Wowzery]

2 minutes ago, _RC1138 said:

So to answer your question directly: yes, if you want to do better, buy the premium boats.

Not my experience.  I do about the same with or without premiums, or when playing my nephews account which has no premiums, except 1 which he got recently.  So, if according to your logic, I should do worse on that account because it has no premium ships or time.

I guess I could make another account, but I suspect even if I did that it would have a higher WR and stats over this account because I know more now on how to play even if I purchased nothing.

[Lert]

Paying does not make you a better player. Taking your time, learning the mechanics, learning the meta makes you a better player.

This is a primer on premium ships, explaining what they are and what they're not. It's an older article but the principles still apply.

[ILIEKCHOCOMILK89]

Doesn't necessarily make you a better player, but it does make the grind just a bit easier. I've personally only bought a few ships (Kutuzov, Scharnhorst, Dunkerque, Gallant), doubloons, premium time, but that's only because I had some money to burn, and I totally do not regret buying any of them.

[Jim_Byrnes]

5 minutes ago, Lert said:

Paying does not make you a better player. Taking your time, learning the mechanics, learning the meta makes you a better player.

This is a primer on premium ships, explaining what they are and what they're not. It's an older article but the principles still apply.

Lert has a point there... I got Atago (very cool ship) and Tirpitz while still grinding Furataka and Kongo and promptly got my a** handed to me on a cold platter! Until I ground Myoko up to getting Mogami and had a captain built up she was a waste of time. Same with Tirpitz who has one of my 19pt captains in her and my play while still evolving is becoming quite respectable....

[Murcc]

Its been beat to death on whether premium ships get better match making or if they perform better than their equal tech tree ships.  The overall evidence seems to suggest they perform equally on average.  Some are better and some are worst, just like every other tech tree ship.  So, paying for a ship will not make your performance better.  Only practice will do that.

World of Warships is a very complex game.  It takes quite a bit of practice and a lot of digging into the mechanics of the game to really get the most out of it.  You only have a few games played, so there is much to learn yet.  Premium ships won't help with that.  Once you have experience across multiple tiers, types, and nations, then you will be able to determine what type of ship you enjoy most.  Then, perhaps you might want to purchase a premium that fits your game play style.  Otherwise, you risk spending money on a premium that you won't enjoy or do well in.

Premium ships by themselves don't offer much above a regular tech tree ship.  Sometimes they have little gimmicks that are different from their tech tree counterpart.  Often this comes at the expense of losing something else so that the ship remains in balance for its tier.  The big thing premium ships offer is the ability to train captains from other ships of the same nation without penalty.  They often accumulate credits and free XP at a greater rate as well.

[Lert]

7 minutes ago, _RC1138 said:

The numbers on myself and others (actually it includes you and Mouse), and the experiment I'm doing, suggests STRONGLY otherwise.

If you're insinuating that you can be a better player just because you put money into this game, you're flatly mistaken, no matter what experiment you're running. Winning more in X premium ship than Y tech tree ship doesn't mean that you're magically a better player when driving X premium ship and a worse player when driving Y premium ship.

If you're inferring causality, it's likely the other way around to what you're thinking: More serious players are generally more likely to invest in the game: time and money. Spending money on the game is indicative of their level of seriousness in the game, and buying premium ships is a consequence of their investment, not a cause.

[Lert]

4 minutes ago, Murcc said:

Its been beat to death on whether premium ships get better match making or if they perform better than their equal tech tree ships.

Even if they did, which I am 100% sure they don't, that doesn't make the player 'better'. It's an external influence, not an internal one. Players operate at a certain skill level, regardless of what they're driving. It's like saying that you're a better carpenter because you have a $40 saw and $20 hammer instead of [edited] hand-me-downs from the 19th century. You can make better furniture sure, but you're not a better carpenter - you just have better tools, your personal skill level remains the same.

Short answer: If you want to win more, get the OP bote of the month and farm. If you want to actually become better, learn the game.

[Murcc]

Lert has very valid points.  Players with more experience and playing time will make a premium ship perform better than someone with little experience.  I suspect that there are more experienced players buying premium ships than inexperienced players.  That would skew the results of the performance level of any premium ship compared to a regular tech tree ship that everyone plays.  

Bottom line:  Invest in a premium ship once you are 100% comfortable with the purchase.  Don't chase after premium ships thinking they are a magic bullet that will make the game better.

[Skpstr]

I'm mostly a free player. I do buy $10 worth of doubloons every couple months or so.

I use them for instantly retraining high-skill captains, demounting upgrades, the occasional respec, and if I run into enough time in a day to play for several hours, I'll buy a day of premium.

As far as premium ships, I only own free ones.

I did recently get a month of premium, which was useful for grinding credits to buy Hindy, but other than the (to me) obscene amounts of credits I was racking up, no difference to playing the game.

[Psicopro]

1 hour ago, RU4Reel5050 said:

To Pay or Not to Pay that is the question.  So far I have not paid for one ship or any doubloons.  Does it make you better at this game if you do buy ships and doubloons? 

So far I am not very good at this game but trying.  Just got to level 5 and getting my brains bet in.  Not sure if I should be buying ships or play on the cheap. 

When I first started playing this game I purchased a lot of Santa crates (2016).  I still sucked in all of the ships I have.  Just pick a good solid cruiser line to work down and learn the mechanics.  Nothing teaches you how to play this game better imo than playing a non-smoking cruiser.  I actually learned how to get gud by playing the Atlanta till I stopped getting deleted in it, but learning that in a Cleveland or a Budyonny is just as good.

[Ann_Darrow]

I bought my Kaga and Saipan only because I liked how they looked.  I guarantee you that I'm still the same sucky CV driver that was fumbling around in Hoshos and Langleys, except that I'm now fumbling around in Kagas and Saipans.

[Slimeball91]

@RU4Reel5050

I like what others have said about taking your time to learn the game, I'll add this.  Most players are trying the game out in the beginning, say the first few hundred games.  Many people walk away after that point.  If you still enjoy playing the game after the first few hundred games I'd suggest you think about spending some of your money.  I wouldn't recommend buying a premium ship, I'd suggest a small amount of premium time, or signal flags to help with XP and captain training.

Don't use the premium time/flags to race up the tiers, but rather grind a few different classes of several different nations up to tier five.  Once you have an understanding of what type of ships/nation you like to play, then you might want to make your way up to higher tiers and learn the game play there.  

If you stick around for a thousand games you'll have a good idea if this game is for you, and if you want to spend money.  The main take away is to remember many people don't stick around long in this game, so don't be in a hurry to spend a lot of money.  That said, I think its fair to spend money to help support the game if you enjoy playing.  Good luck. 

[Lert]

4 minutes ago, _RC1138 said:

I am not: but there *is* tech, *currently* implemented by *many* other game's Developers that can at least raise the statistical probability someone will have a 'good' time in a MM based MP system: specifically called EOMM's and DDA's. What goes into determining a person's place *can* and in some cases *does* include external factors such as how much money has been spent or even WHAT it has been spent on. And nothing is 100%, but priorities can act as a thumb on the button so to speak. And I've gotten ~20k data points I've compiled that already are showing an irrefutable trend towards my assertion: Wargaming uses some form of an EOMM and am also getting more and more confident that it uses a DDA during individual matches. And using myself as a guinea pig, I've noticed some disturbing trends over the last 3 months in relation to money spent. There is *much* more to this system than I think you and others give credit.

Well, I'll be looking forward to your conclusions when you post them.

[Mizzerys_Fate]

With rare exceptions,  a premium ship will not make you a better player.

Gold will not make you a better player.

Time playing the game will help you improve. If you are struggling at tier 5, drop down to tier 4 and play until you are comfortable.

 

Advantages of a premium ship:

Makes more credits.

Allows you to train or retrain a captain faster.

 

Advantages of gold:

Allows you to retrain a captain to 100% on a new ship.

Allows you demount modules, instead of selling them.

Allows you to buy port slots and captains berths.

Allows you to convert experience to free experience.

 

A good way to look at "should I buy x ship" :

If you enjoy playing a type of ship, buy a premium of that type.

For a good example, if you like battleships and are at tier 5, look to purchase Texas or the Italian tier 5 BB. 

That will keep you in a good comfort level while giving you an enjoyable premium.

 

I CANNOT STRESS THE FOLLOWING ANY LOUDER:

Read LITTLE WHITE MOUSE review on a premium ship before purchasing.

You will understand exactly what you are buying...

The good, bad and ugly of a ship...

[Denum]

I spend a bit here and there just to make sure WG is getting a bit of money off me, I fluked out and got a premium ship in the Santa boxes so I'm pretty happy.