This year's Jackie Robinson Day in MLB The Show 26 brings an unprecedented wave of new content, including multiple Storylines cards, several Rookie of the Year cards, a brand-new Collection Reward, and a number of Pack guys.

Even without using any Stubs to acquire new players, you'll be able to get plenty of free ones. But for Diamond Dynasty, the real question is: do these new cards actually improve your squad? Which ones are worth using? Let's take a closer look.

D Tier

• 88 OVR Luis Gil: A four-pitch pitcher who underperforms. He can just barely handle CPU opponents, but not recommended for use against human players.
• 88 OVR Smokey Joe: Similar to Luis Gil. Good velocity but lacks pitch mix; poor overall utility.
• 88 OVR Dontrelle Willis: Poor control, fastball only 92 mph, and an unimpressive pitch arsenal.
• 89 OVR Bill Foster: Even slower than Dontrelle Willis, with mediocre control.
• 88 OVR Jackie Robinson: A giveaway card. Mediocre power potential, not much value.
• 90 OVR Willie Mays: Hitting stats are average, 86 speed, overall rating propped up mainly by defensive reaction.

Tier C

• 88 OVR Michael Fulmer: Good pitch mix, but poor per-nine stats.
• 88 OVR Leroy Matlock: Most stats on this card are weak, though he has some extra-base ability. Can be used in casual games.
• 88 OVR Ray Dandridge: Solid defense, consistent contact but no power, not suited as a core hitter.
• 89 OVR Toni Stone: A contact-oriented second baseman, but severely lacking in power.
• 89 OVR Judy Johnson: High contact, no power, defense and speed unremarkable. Barely serviceable.
• 89 OVR Monte Irvin: Can play many positions, but neither offense nor defense stands out. Not effective.
• 89 OVR Leon Day: Has five pitches, but overall pitching stats are mediocre.
• 90 OVR Bullet Rogan: Poor per-nine stats, max fastball only 94 mph, pitch metrics average. Contact is decent but power is low.
• 89 OVR Rap Dixon: Swing is okay, but hitting and defensive numbers are unimpressive.
• 90 OVR David Justice: Very strong against lefties, but defense and consistency are too poor for a long-term starter.

Tier B

• 88 OVR Drake Baldwin: This card is mostly average, but players will use him as a full-time starter rather than platooning, so his ability to hit lefties is a plus. Power numbers aren't the worst, but not good enough either.
• 88 OVR Andy Cooper: Andy Cooper has five pitches and a nice mix: 4-seam fastball, slurve, screwball, changeup, and sinker. This allows for some variety on the mound, so overall he's usable.
• 89 OVR Larry Doby: Larry Doby is excellent as a second-base platoon player. He has a good swing and useful quirks. Good stats against righties, but weak against lefties.
• 89 OVR Oscar Charleston: His swing has always been solid. The rest of his stats aren't the worst, he has some power, and his speed is decent.
• 90 OVR Hank Thompson: Overall power and contact are not as good as Oscar Charleston's, but like Charleston, he's a left-handed power-type batter.
• 90 OVR Scott Rolen: His contact and power numbers are decent, but his swing is somewhat poor; otherwise he'd be in A Tier.

Tier A

88 OVR Willard Brown

Low contact, high power, with acceptable speed and defense. Can perform at All-Star or even Hall of Fame difficulty, especially suited for lower-difficulty players.

89 OVR Ryan Howard

Excellent as a pinch hitter off the bench. Very good against righties with great power, but struggles significantly against lefties and in low-Vision situations.

90 OVR Biz Mackey

Biz Mackey is a switch-hitting catcher with elite defensive stats across the board. All his defensive attributes are around 90, with 93 arm strength, making him the best defensive catcher in the current game meta. His hitting stats aren't bad either.

90 OVR Corbin Carroll

Corbin Carroll has maxed-out speed, high contact, and can hit righties. His home-run power is weaker in lefty-on-lefty matchups, but that's not what he's used for.

92 OVR Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran is a switch-hitting center fielder. His contact numbers are decent, power is a bit low (63 vs RHP), speed reaches 80, making him better suited for a corner outfield spot.

Tier S

90 OVR Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant has 91/77 contact, but high clutch makes up for it. His power vs both sides is around 80, with excellent defense and reaction, and he can play multiple positions. He has quirks like First-Pitch Hitter, Dead Red, and Breaking Ball Hitter, and with his excellent hitting attributes, he performs well on All-Star or Hall of Fame difficulty.

91 OVR John Donaldson

He doesn't have Outlier Slider or Outlier Fastball, but his 101 mph fastball paired with an 80 mph forkball creates a massive speed differential, making him one of the most effective strikeout pitchers in the current meta.

94 OVR Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson is clearly S Tier. His attributes are strong across the board, and after parallel upgrades he reaches 105/106 contact, 81/80 power, combined with speed and defense. He can play second base or even shortstop. He also has two core quirks—Dead Red and Breaking Ball Hitter—that make his swing even more effective. Compared to previous years, this may be one of the best Jackie Robinson cards ever.

This Jackie Robinson Day is the most content-rich in MLB The Show series history. You should prioritize completing Storylines missions to unlock Jackie Robinson Collection Reward card. For players who just want to quickly finish the event program, focus on using the higher-rated Storylines players, while D and C Tier cards can simply serve as filler for missions.

Windrose, a survival adventure game set in the pirate era, not only blends base building and island exploration with intense naval combat. Each player must assemble a loyal and powerful crew and build the strongest ships to survive the brutal naval battles!

As one of Windrose's core modes, naval combat forms the core gameplay loop for players to progress, gather resources, and consolidate territory in this competitive open-world sea. It seamlessly connects sailing, combat, boarding, and looting; players acquire the various resources needed to upgrade their ships, gradually transforming their vessels from small speedboats into magnificent galleons.

But in this chivalrous adventure, will you ultimately defeat the powerful pirate leaders and plunder their treasure, or will you unfortunately become a prisoner? In reality, every battle requires players to precisely control ship speed, positioning, and cannon reloading timing, making naval warfare more tactically deep than simply mindless firing.

Therefore, we'll discuss how to survive intense naval battles and become the ultimate winner, from initial preparation to proper combat, and how to avoid being sunk. Remember, combat in this game, whether on land or at sea, is extremely challenging.

Build a Workshop and be fully prepared

First, once you have a warship, you need to build Shipwright's Workshop. With it, you can craft cannons, full suits of armor, boarding gear, and upgrade these items.

Next, you'll need to collect a large amount of materials, including Wood, Plant Fiber for Fabric, and a large quantity of Copper Ores. You'll need to continuously upgrade these items until the required materials change, as this means you need to progress through the game, and this is a good time to consider setting sail. If you don't have much time to gather materials and level up, Windrose boosting for sale on IGGM might be a lifesaver. A professional booster will help you prepare everything, so you can just start fighting anytime.

Before setting off, there are two more things to craft: a Repair Kit at the workbench, which acts like a bandage for your ship, providing a continuous repair buff over time; and a Grog, also a buff that increases your and your crew's damage, reload speed, or reduces damage taken.

Now that everything is crafted and upgraded, you're ready to set sail.

But don't forget to go to the dock before departure, equip all these items on your ship, and make sure to add them to your hotkeys. Now, you're about to embark on your first battle.

Finding the Combat Rhythm

Now, make sure you drink the Grog at the start of the battle so you can receive the buff. Then, depending on the number of enemies you encounter, you can choose several different approaches to deal with your first fight. However, the key is to find the right rhythm for shooting and movement.

Generally, in the early game, we find that using only the sides of the ship is the optimal choice. Each side has its own set of cannons with independent cooldowns. Therefore, we primarily use the front cannons, then the left-side cannons, alternating between them. This is very effective in the early game.

Of course, if there are many enemies around, you can also use the right-side cannons. Show off your skills! The only thing to note is that this might be disadvantageous when facing a single boss, as you might not be able to turn quickly enough.

However, you might consider using Chain Shot. This is a type of auxiliary ammunition specifically designed to destroy the sails of enemy ships. To use it, simply aim at the sails at a slightly higher position. If you hit them enough times, a debuff icon will appear on the enemy ship. This indicates that the enemy ship's movement speed is impaired, and its movement range will be significantly reduced. You can use this opportunity to shake it off or continue attacking its rear while it struggles to turn.

Here's an advanced tip for multiplayer combat: While you can board and loot all the valuable loot once you've destroyed an enemy ship, be aware that not all ships are worth exploring. In fact, just aim for ships with the Pirate Chest icon; if not, fire a few more shots and send them to the bottom of the sea.

Once you defeat them, you'll not only get the dropped Pirate Insignias, but you can also loot the wreckage and pick up the Repair Kits they often drop, which will help you survive longer in combat.

Building Reputation 

Next, as part of the main storyline, you'll arrive in a place called Tortuga. Here you'll encounter two very important types of NPCs: Bounty Agents and Provisioners. You can turn in Pirate Insignias to Bounty Agents to increase your reputation. Once your reputation reaches a certain level, Provisioners will sell powerful items, including full sets of armor and ship upgrade components.

Provisioners have a variety of materials and items you'll need, including cannons, full suits of armor, and high-level items like Naval Tactics, which provide passive bonuses to your entire ship, such as increased health, increased damage, or even automatic health regeneration when not under attack.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, to unlock items at Provisioners, you'll need a premium currency called Piastres, which is practically essential for trading with all merchants. You can obtain them by killing pirates on land and at sea, or by scavenging lost items floating on the surface. However, the best way to acquire these items is actually by selling the artifacts you loot to merchants.

As the story progresses, once you enter Tortuga, you'll have more opportunities to obtain these artifacts. They can be obtained by killing enemies, appear in some interesting locations, and even Tortuga's inhabitants and pirates will sell them.

After selling them, you'll have enough Piastres to start unlocking equipment and upgrading your ship.

All other equipment is up to you; the only thing you really need is blueprint, the key materials for crafting equipment. Be sure to learn these skills in your journal, then craft them at the dock and equip them on your ship. Make sure to make the most of them.

The beauty of this equipment is that items of blue quality and above gain new passive effects. Ultimately, you'll gain higher damage, faster reload speed, or better damage reduction. Finally, as you delve deeper into the game, you can also upgrade equipment to higher rarities.

So, if you have a piece of equipment you particularly like and appreciate its passive effect, consider saving up some rare materials to upgrade its rarity. This will upgrade blue equipment to purple and unlock an additional passive effect, making it even more powerful.

By increasing your reputation and acquiring new equipment, see what interesting configurations you can ultimately create. Ready to begin your pirate legend in the mysterious waters of Windrose? Don't set sail blindly; take this naval combat guide with you and make your pirate career a breeze from day one.