World of Warships

[Thanas]

So, basically, for the game not to become World of Carriers, they would need to increase the effectiveness of AA fire against torpedo bombers?

You could always decrease torpedo accuracy, or make carriers detectable from further away, or give torpedo bombers a longer cooldown...

Having not played at that level myself I can't speak to how balanced or not they actually are, just saying there are lots of different options.

I think the best nerf would be to:
a) reduce the maneuverability of planes. Right now they can turn on the spot. Yes, I kid you not. Planes can make 180° U-turns. Forcing planes to actually maneuver in arcs would do wonders as it means they cannot break of an attack instantaneously, change angle and recommit within a second.
b) boost AA accuracy around 4km range, which would force carriers to actually launch from a distance with wider spreads instead of this "Imma fly right up within 500m and release" situation now.

[Borgholio]

b) boost AA accuracy around 4km range, which would force carriers to actually launch from a distance with wider spreads instead of this "Imma fly right up within 500m and release" situation now.

This is basically the best idea at the moment. Currently carrier pilots are able to hold their torpedoes and manually launch at the 500m mark. That guarantees multiple hits. If AA was accurate enough to down most (if not all) of the squadron if they managed to get to that range, the attack would be survivable.

[Vendetta]

Yeah, the super close launch is the real killer for aircraft. If you didn't turn directly into the squadron at about 4km out you're eating at least two.

If you did then the other squadron that's on a 45 degree angle to the first will get you with some.

You can dodge carrier air wings, but you have to be really really awake to do it.

[Covenant]

It's just frustrating to have so little one can do about it, and the teamwork is nearly zilch because there's no real benefit to shooting down an air wing because the reward for killing planes is so low. One is better off (in a game with crippling economy already) to just ignore them and let the battleships die so you can do some damage and get a better score even with the loss.

Planes could be made into high value targets, I suppose, on top of everything else. Right now the battleships are barely worth protecting.

[Thanas]

Ha, teamwork. Most cruiser captains always ignore protecting BBs, even in higher tiers. Carriers ignore protecting them too. Heck, I play Tier IX and today had a cruiser ignoring a DD in favor of putting HE on a BB. And a CV refusing to spot a DD with a fighter despite people asking for it.

I myself have become egotistical that way too. After getting sunk too many times (with cruisers asking for BB support and then fleeing leaving the slow BB to its fate) I will now happily let half my team get sunk before I place myself at risk for them. Because if I do, all I get is hits and lower profit.

Very rarely are there a few cruisers who willl do as I ask. I gladly get sunk for them. But most of those cruiser-driving assholes? Meh.

[Skywalker_T-65]

I'm still in the low-tiers where, other than the death machine that is the Murmansk, I'm not really in a position where I can do much to help BBs. Certainly not in the Japanese cruisers, where I have absurdly pitiful AA even for self-defense.

I'd certainly make an effort to help if I ever get to a point where I can though. I've gotten sunk enough that I understand the feeling of not having cruiser support, when it's an available option.

[Elheru Aran]

Got the Omaha, finally. Sunk in my first game, embarrassingly enough, against coop. Did a bit better in my second game.

So you have to get the carriers via the South Carolina...? Ugh.

[Thanas]

I'm still in the low-tiers where, other than the death machine that is the Murmansk, I'm not really in a position where I can do much to help BBs..

BZZTTTT WRONG.

You can:
- decrease speed to stick close to BBs in order to provide extra screening and spotting
- not charge off at full speed and leave the BBs behind without cover
- cease firing at BBs in favour of killing DDs.
- every little bit helps against aircraft

[Borgholio]

- cease firing at BBs in favour of killing DDs.

This is almost tied for second as far as a cruiser's job. When I'm in my Phoenix, I tend to focus on destroyers more than anything because as a BB pilot, I know the pain of being nibbled to death by a DD that I can't hit no matter how many rounds I slug at it. It's not fun.

[Elheru Aran]

Well let's see if I can South Carolina my way through some actual PvP...

NOPE

[Skywalker_T-65]

I'm still in the low-tiers where, other than the death machine that is the Murmansk, I'm not really in a position where I can do much to help BBs..

BZZTTTT WRONG.

You can:
- decrease speed to stick close to BBs in order to provide extra screening and spotting
- not charge off at full speed and leave the BBs behind without cover
- cease firing at BBs in favour of killing DDs.
- every little bit helps against aircraft

Well, in this case I was talking in dedicated AA terms. Murmansk really is the only one that has any AA to speak of. Kuma isn't horrible, but other than that...Tenryu/Furutaka can't even cover themselves. St. Louis I don't think has any AA...or very little, at most.

I do all of the above, on the occasions when I do play cruisers though. Since BBs are my primary ships, I do know how it feels to not have support, so I stick around when able. One of my favorite pastimes in Murmansk is DD hunting even.

[Zinegata]

Got the Omaha, finally. Sunk in my first game, embarrassingly enough, against coop. Did a bit better in my second game.

So you have to get the carriers via the South Carolina...? Ugh.

It's really horrible yes. Though it might citadel a St Louis from time to time.

[Nephtys]

St. Louis is a substantially better 'battleship' than the South Carolina. It's pretty easy to lose a duel to a St. Louis due to it's firehose cannons while you're launching what appear to be shells out of a wooden catapult.

[Elheru Aran]

No shit. I really don't know why it's even in the fucking game, unless its purpose is to turn people completely off battleships. The jump from SC to Wyoming is also kinda ridiculous. 9,000 points? I average something like 300 a game. OK, that's only 30 games' worth of play... but I average around 5 games a day, 3 days a week (ish), and I'll be damned if I spend every game in that pedal-boat.

[Venator]

No shit. I really don't know why it's even in the fucking game, unless its purpose is to turn people completely off battleships. The jump from SC to Wyoming is also kinda ridiculous. 9,000 points? I average something like 300 a game. OK, that's only 30 games' worth of play... but I average around 5 games a day, 3 days a week (ish), and I'll be damned if I spend every game in that pedal-boat.

To weed anyone who's not skilled (or just astonishingly, bloody-mindedly dedicated) out of playing key ships (CVs and BBs) at higher tiers, maybe?

In WoT, you have tanks like the AMX 40, M3 Lee, and the Valentine that seemingly exist exclusively to weed out casuals.

Or the SoCal will just get a huge buff or be replaced with an obscure drawing-board prototype at some point in the future...

As far as the actual XP curve - I routinely lag out and still average higher than 300/game. You can try a few things to improve your individual gains. Simplest is acknowledge the insanely short range, be on first line and endure a short life in exchange for dishing out lots of punishment. Heck, find something as slow as you and ram it when you're on red health.

Something a lot harder, but less damaging to your team, is to find a DD or CS who will back off the throttle to platoon with you and handle everything from spotting to screening to interference in exchange for being a gun magnet for them.

[Vendetta]

Actually the first thing you can do to improve your XP rewards is not play PvE. You get many times more for PvP matches. Even donking out and having a horrible loss is probably worth more than 300XP.

SoCal isn't great, sure, but that doesn't mean you can't do work in it, just make sure you angle properly (try to never be broadside on) and make sure you're in a position where you can consistently affect the game (try to stay within 3-4 squares of the middle without actually going into the middle until the late stages. Generally controlling the centre of the map will lead to winning (exceptions are Solomon Islands and Two Brothers). Especially in USN battleships which are somewhat slower than IJN ones.

[Jub]

No shit. I really don't know why it's even in the fucking game, unless its purpose is to turn people completely off battleships. The jump from SC to Wyoming is also kinda ridiculous. 9,000 points? I average something like 300 a game. OK, that's only 30 games' worth of play... but I average around 5 games a day, 3 days a week (ish), and I'll be damned if I spend every game in that pedal-boat.

Your best bets are to just PvE. It also sounds like you have less time to play so premium time and a premium ship to earn credits and free experience with might actually suit you. The premium ships are pricey on the face of things but the crew training and credit gains alone tend to reduce the grind even if you don't take advantage of the free-exp.

[Elheru Aran]

I'd do that if I had spare money, but alas.

[Luke Starkiller]

No shit. I really don't know why it's even in the fucking game, unless its purpose is to turn people completely off battleships. The jump from SC to Wyoming is also kinda ridiculous. 9,000 points? I average something like 300 a game. OK, that's only 30 games' worth of play... but I average around 5 games a day, 3 days a week (ish), and I'll be damned if I spend every game in that pedal-boat.

To weed anyone who's not skilled (or just astonishingly, bloody-mindedly dedicated) out of playing key ships (CVs and BBs) at higher tiers, maybe?

In WoT, you have tanks like the AMX 40, M3 Lee, and the Valentine that seemingly exist exclusively to weed out casuals.

Or the SoCal will just get a huge buff or be replaced with an obscure drawing-board prototype at some point in the future...

You have that backwards, the terrible tanks and ships aren't there to turn people away; they are there to encourage you to open your wallet, buy some gold and convert XP earned on better vehicles to skip over.

[Venator]

In WoT, you have tanks like the AMX 40, M3 Lee, and the Valentine that seemingly exist exclusively to weed out casuals.

Or the SoCal will just get a huge buff or be replaced with an obscure drawing-board prototype at some point in the future...

You have that backwards, the terrible tanks and ships aren't there to turn people away; they are there to encourage you to open your wallet, buy some gold and convert XP earned on better vehicles to skip over.

I had honestly not thought of that. Figures...

I'd do that if I had spare money, but alas.

Random Player 1: "When are they bringing out 4K tank models?"
Random Player 2: 'Why would they? It's a free game. Most of us play on graphing calculators."

[Coaan]

What the others are saying is accurate - PVE is shit for rewards. Completely and utterly.

By switching to pvp, you will double (at least) your potential rewards. If you are any way at all competent, you will find it easy enough to break 1k reward for a decent battle.

Secondly, if you have limited play time then you should probably look into teaming up with some of the boaters here to make your experience a little less terrible. You will be pleasantly surprised how effective having two buddies on your flanks rather than more randos can be.

I've had entire battles decided in my favour because I don't boat alone. It is worth your time to seek out buddies to maximize your play time with and minimize your frustration.

[Dominus Atheos]

Obviously, WoWS is a free-to-play game, and it has to make money somewhere. So while some F2P games are pay-to-win or have microtransactions, WoWS is "pay-to-skip-grinding".

So that means that the game includes a lot of grinding, whether to make a profit at lower tiers in order to play higher tiers, or playing a lot of games in crappy ships in order to get the next better ship; all that can be skipped by paying real money to buy premium time, premium ships, converting free XP, or convert gold to credits.

Whether or not that form of free-to-play is acceptable is up to you.

[Elheru Aran]

I may see if anybody wants to team up. I really don't have the money to be skipping grinding. PvE works, but I can't even get the South Carolina to perform well there (or maybe I'm just a shit player but Jesus fuck).

[Borgholio]

I added a few of you to my contact list already. We should definitely form some divisions together.

[Elheru Aran]

Hmm... well it was a few pages ago, post your names and server? I'm Elheru on WOWS NA...