1.17.5|Mar 16, 2026
View on Steam↗Warships of the Pacific - Patch Notes, 1.17.5
4/5 Significant
Warships of the Pacific introduces new naval designs for the USA, UK, and Japan, alongside a major AI overhaul for Pacific theater strategy and faction influence rebalancing.
Key Changes
- 1New naval designs and tech for USA, UK, Australia, and Japan including Monitors and Escort Carriers
- 2Major AI strategy overhaul for USA and Japan to improve Pacific theater combat
- 3Faction influence rebalance: Warscore and Lend Lease buffed, Puppets heavily penalized
- 4France 'Victors of the Great War' mastery gain debuff reduced to -15%
- 5Fixed submarine detection chance calculations and screen combat behavior
- 6UK Coastal Defense Ship technology and Erebus-class Monitor designs added
- 7Lindberg leader trait air range buffed from 1% to 5%
- 8Division Designer UI overhaul with model thumbnails and 5-entry list view
- 9Naval blockade trade restriction logic fixed to no longer penalize the blocker
- 10Fixed auto-repeat spy operations persistence between save games
All Changes
⚓Naval & Gameplay(15)
- changeUSA: Separated Nevada and Tennessee Class ships from the Pennsylvania Class in the USA naval OOB.
- buffUSA: Carrier Primacy focus now grants the Essex Class carrier upon unlocking the required technology.
- buffUSA: Convoy Tactics focus now grants the Casablanca Class escort carrier design upon unlocking the special project.
- newJapan: Japanese Carrier Submarine special project now creates the I-400 design.
- newAustralia: Added Leander and County class cruiser designs to reflect historical active designs.
- newUnited Kingdom: Added Coastal Defense Ship technology.
- newUnited Kingdom: Added Erebus-class Monitor design based on the Coastal Defense Ship hull.
- newUnited Kingdom: Added HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Reserve Fleet.
- changeBanat: Included the state of Banat in the 'All of Transylvania' option for the Second Vienna Award event.
- newJapan: Added a starting paratrooper template.
- changeNaval Repair: Fleets now more strongly favor dockyards with more repair slots when deciding where to repair.
- newUnited Kingdom: Added British Monitors namelist for ships.
- newUnited Kingdom: Added Erebus-class 1939 refit design for the 1939 bookmark.
- changeI-400 Class: Renamed 'I-400 Class' to the Japanese 'Sentoku Class'.
- fixNaval Blockade: Successfully imposing a naval blockade no longer restricts the blocker's access to trading through those regions.
⚖️Balance(7)
- buffLindberg: Increased Lindberg's leader trait for air range from 1% to 5%.
- buffFrance: Reduced the mastery gain debuff from 'Victors of the Great War' to -15%.
- buffFund the Navy: Reduced 'Fund the Navy' focus duration to 35 days.
- nerfPuppets: All Puppets now receive penalties to faction influence gain ranging from -10% to -75% based on type.
- buffFaction Influence: Increased faction influence gain from Warscore and Lend Lease.
- nerfFaction Influence: Decreased faction influence gain from Scientists.
- buffInitiative: Slightly increased passive initiative gain.
🤖AI Behavior(11)
- changeGermany: Improved German equipment production and decision-making for convoy raiding, force concentration, and lend-leasing.
- changeUSA: Improved naval templates and production prioritization.
- buffJapan: Increased starting paratrooper template size from 2 to 3 paratroopers.
- changeMa Cliques: Ma Cliques will now delay their mutual guarantees focus until the late game.
- changeSinkiang: SIK will no longer become a Soviet puppet unless they fully control all owned states.
- changeUSA: Updated strategy to improve combat performance in the Pacific theater.
- fixBelgium: Correctly unlocks the 'Division d'Infanterie' unit.
- changeAI Research: Increased research weights for naval technologies for navy-heavy countries.
- changeAI Naval Strategy: AI now utilizes 'Fund the Navy' and waits for the bonus before selecting naval doctrines.
- changeAI Naval Training: AI will now train ships more frequently, subject to fuel restraints.
- changeAI Research: Tweaked research weights for Fire Control Methods.
🖥️UI/UX(7)
- newDivision Designer: Implemented equipment category dropdown and reset button in the division designer model selector.
- changeUI Sorting: Special projects are now always sorted to the top of equipment models.
- changeUI Sorting: Implemented a flexible pool priority system for equipment model sorting and removed sorting cohorts.
- newControl Groups: Added more functionality to control group management.
- changeDivision Designer: Division Designer now uses the same model prioritization as the map.
- changeUI Layout: Model selector UI expanded to fit 5 list entries instead of 3.
- newModel Selector: Model selector grid now displays thumbnails of models.
⚡Performance(2)
- fixPerformance: Fixed an issue where the 'RepairNow' button would spam pathfinding calculations.
- changeMultiplayer: Adjusted large lobby handling to smooth out the multiplayer experience.
🐛Bug Fixes(28)
- fixInfantry: Fixed scavenged equipment causing infantry to wear uniforms from other countries.
- fixDecisions: Fixed decision timers failing to progress.
- fixUSA: Fixed jet bomber icons for USA to prevent errors without the prototype vehicles pack.
- fixNew Zealand: Fixed floating geometry on the Big Bob super heavy tank.
- fixTanks: Fixed tank scaling for BfB and other DLC tanks.
- fixJapan: Fixed 'Zuikaku' being incorrectly named 'Zaikaku' in a Japanese focus.
- fixJapan: Corrected naming for Japanese Missile Submarine and Carrier Submarine special projects.
- fixStability: Fixed a potential crash when removing a division template while exiled divisions were in transfer.
- fixFaction Goals: Added triggers to 'Coalition of Liberty' faction goal to prevent incorrect availability.
- fixAustralia: Fixed 'Habsbugs' typo in the Australian focus tree.
- fixDecisions: Fixed timing issues with various decisions.
- fixMaphilindo: Fixed the Maphilindo flag displaying upside down.
- fixChina: Fixed Khotan Ma advisors becoming unavailable when forming China.
- fixJapan: Fixed East Asia Development Board decisions not providing factories.
- fixWarlords: Fixed Warlord 'Reach out' focuses being available for non-existent countries.
- fixParaguay: Fixed Guión Rojo spirit not providing manpower.
- fixJapan: Fixed Grand Banzai Charge tactic being enabled from the start instead of by focus.
- fixSoviet Union: Fixed Sinkiangi puppet control of Pamir locking Soviets out of Gobi Gambit focus.
- fixSpain: Fixed Enrique Líster not receiving Stalinist sympathies after The Popular Front focus.
- fixModifiers: Fixed Belgian and Italian modifiers attempting to use state-based intel on a country scope.
- fixAustria: Fixed Godwin von Burmowski role and Air XP issues; moved to high command.
- fixFrance: Fixed 'Grow the Empire' focus availability when states were controlled by puppet Congo.
- changeFaction Goals: Tweaked 'Develop Joint Research Practices' scaling for better clarity and speed.
- fixUnited Kingdom: Fixed whitespace localization for British infantry weapons.
- fixEspionage: Fixed auto-repeat spy operations not persisting between save and load.
- fixNaval Combat: Fixed screens without depth charges attempting to fight submarines.
- fixNaval Combat: Fixed incorrect calculation of submarine detection chance.
- fixVisuals: Fixed various issues where models were incorrectly showing or missing.
🛠️Modding(3)
- newConsole: Implemented support for sending chains of console commands using '&&'.
- newDebug: Added icon weights display in the designer icon selector when debugging.
- newModding: Added support for SubUnitDefinition-based equipment pools for icons.
Summary
Naval Overhaul
This update significantly expands the naval rosters for major powers. The USA receives dedicated Nevada and Tennessee class ships, while the UK gains Coastal Defense Ship technology and Monitor designs. Japan's special projects now correctly produce the I-400 (Sentoku Class) designs, and Australia receives Leander and County class cruisers to better reflect historical active designs.
AI & Strategic Improvements
The AI has been heavily tweaked to handle the Pacific theater more effectively, specifically improving USA and German production and tactical decision-making. Research weights have been adjusted to ensure naval-heavy countries prioritize relevant technologies, and the AI will now train its fleets more aggressively when fuel allows.
Balance & Systems
Faction influence has been rebalanced to favor Warscore and Lend Lease while penalizing puppets. France receives a notable buff with a reduction to the 'Victors of the Great War' debuff, and the 'Fund the Navy' focus has been accelerated to 35 days.