January Digest #9

World of Warships

Finished the last mission task in the Dockyard event today and collected the last 250 steel available. Played Jean Bart which has proven itself a good ship to use in Asymmetrics. 

Tomorrow I will finish the last level in the Event Pass and collect the final reward, the Tier VI European (Greek) battleship Chios. Will play the specific missions for the three ships collected thus far in the Early Access - Tavuz, Tegetthoff, Chios. Plan to use the European tokens earned to purchase resources. Once done, I will ignore the other Early Access ships (which will cost money anyway) and await the release of this line out of Early Access two or three Updates later for free to grind. 

As for the Commonwealth Unique commander - Collins - as mentioned previously, I will wait for the release of the crates into the Armoury later this year and complete the collection spending coal. Already have a few collection tiles as rewards for various events this Update but not spending money for him at all. 

That's how it rolls with this game. And that's how to play for free (basically) WG's game. 

==================================

As indicated in the post above, I played all three new Early Access European battleships obtained recently today. Here's my assessment so far:

• Yavus. Tier IV. Obtained for free from the Recurring Random Bundles in the Armoury as soon as the new Update was released. First ship obtained on my first attempt. Slow. Hits with the power of the German Moltke battlecruiser class from whence it originated. Has torps (four single launchers) and speed boost (only lasts for 90 seconds). Torps located amidships are paired so two can be loosed in one set. Midships turrets are in alternating alignments unlike the standard configuration. Never really encountered it within the game and it does take some getting used to. No gimmick aside from the additon of the torpedoes; at Tier IV that's uncommon so you get an advantage for sure. Against higher tiers though, this ship plays like a Tier IV and can be easily sunk.

• Tegetthoff. Tier V. Obtained as part of the current Event Pass. Interesting ship. Has the same speed boost as Yavuz well as torps that give good coverage front (handy) and side. You can even surprise an enemy pursuing you by letting loose with single firing torps as you're running away because the side angle extend back to around 40 degrees(?) from midships. Handy trick. Double main batteries bow and stern so all-round coverage. Can kite with a bite. Again the gimmick is the addition of torpedoes at Tier V. 

• Chios. Tier VII. Final reward from the current Event Pass. Simply a Mackensen clone that's been up-tiered from Tier VI to Tier VII. Also given 10+ km torpedoes as well as speed boost that looks to be the trait for this new battleship line. Some changes to the secondaries as well (now 100mm instead of the usual 80mm). AP deals around 11,000 damage per shell. Good at citadel-ing enemy cruisers as well as targeting superstructure damage on battleships. Solid performer thus far so I'm finding. Not so great against top tiered ships though. But it's to be expected. 

Just noticed there is a possible fourth ship to be had for free, the Tier VIII Enigheten. It's part of the sequential bundle package that also includes the Tier IX Gustave Den Store and Tier X Thor. Total cost is 750 European tokens to reach this ship. If you're wanting to include the Tier IX ship, it'll cost around 1800+ tokens in total. European tokens can be earned by playing the set missions for the above three ships. Or by purchasing tokens in the Armoury for doubloons. Or you pay for a quantity in the paid version of the recurring random bundles. 

The Tier VI Laudon can be had as part of a separate random bundle package (2000 doubloons per bundle).  

==================================

Completed the Tegetthoff specific missions yesterday. Today it was the Yavuz. Just the Chios missions to go. Hoping to complete it before Update 15.1 rolls around.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles event being rolled out again. WG does this annually. This year is no different. Same stuff being offered with a price increase. No ships being offered. No. Just characters, from what I quickly saw. Definitely steering clear of this money sinkhole. Definitely not worth it.

Lunar tokens event. Basically you're placed in a group of either 25 or 50 players. Based on your performance in-game, irrespective of what battle mode you're playing, the outcomes go towards the group ranking system. The reward, for now, are tokens and the HIV crates (lol). HIV being the Honour, Integrity, Virtue collection crates, or Unique Commander Collins. Later these seemingly worthless tokens can be exchanged for CAMO or other items when Update 15.1 is operational. But no ships. One more thing: everyone in the group gets something. Hoping to grab a good ranking so I can earn some more European tokens.

Santa crates end tomorrow. Never got one of those really powerful ships - Bremen or Hawaii. Got the Aki and Le Havre though which is fair enough compensation for trying I guess.

The remaining European battleships are available for acquisition but for cash either directly (Thor) or indirectly (Laudon, Enigheten, Gustave Den Store). Still going to wait their release from Early Access in Update 15.2 (March). 

While playing the Yavuz in Co-Op today I was situated on the left flank where we dealt to the threat (lone enemy DD). Anyway, the rest of that enemy flank was making for the middle so I steered Yavuz toward that area, lined up a Myogi and began to whittle it down with AP fire. Launched torps at it once I got close enough. What I didn't know at the time but only saw too late was another set of torps making a beeline for the Japanese battleship. Mine hit first. And thus I claimed the kill. 

Suddenly Yavuz was being pummelled by friendly fire from a Phoenix to my starboard stern. Looked at the map, the Phoenix was running away from the fight. I immediately assumed my ship was the target for the pointless friendly fire because there was no enemy BOT ships in immediate proximity, i.e. I wasn't being threatened or attacked. Barrage continued for several salvos. I couldn't figure out why the Phoenix was doing this stupid act so I calmly commented in chat, "Frustration is common in this game." Thinking that it would defuse the situation. The firing on my ship stopped after that for a few moments, an apology appeared in chat explaining away the actions of a few moments ago. So I replied, "Mistakes are made, dude!" The emphasis on the "dude!" being don't sweat it. Move on. Player however continued to rant and rattle for a bit longer hoping for engagement in chat. But I wasn't playing that game. So I reported him/her/it/they/them, and continued on my merry way. 

==================================

So, a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum...

Was grinding out the penultimate mission specific task for Chios (earn 6000 BASE XP) in Asymmetrics because it was going real slow in Co-Op. Anyway, in one Asymmetric game I was one of two surviving team mates: the other ship was a Scharnhorst '43. We had a tough ask though: knock out seven remaining enemy ships. I decided to plant myself next to an island on the right flank and just use my guns. The Scharnie was stationed over on the left and doing ok for itself. 

I was doing ok managing to protect myself whilst dealing damage to the enemy. But then I got impatient and moved out from my spot. Immediately got focus fired from a Kongo, Chungking, Montecuccoli and a couple of others whose names I forget. Of course I died not too long after exposing myself. 

Thought my remaining teammate would handle the remaining four because he was doing excellent work managing to rack up five kills by the time I died. 

We had the clock on our side and we were accumulating points faster than the other side. But then after knocking off more two ships, teammate decided to park between two islands and remained static. Initially thought that odd but continued to watch thinking he was up to something to help win the game. But after a few moments realizing he was doing nought, I decided to quit the game and try to join a new game before I fell asleep. Then I got the message upon quitting: Early Termination...only BOTS remain...

Huh? BOTS?

Checked back into the game. Player was still active. Quit the game again. Same message....only BOTS are left playing...

A bit gobsmacked to say the least. Ok, so here's the actual proof there are BOT players in the game. Damn!

Other than that incident, it was a pleasant enough experience although five Defeats in a row in Asymmetric with Chios forced a radical change of tactics. Although it has torps and decent enough AP, it's no brawler unless the odds are heavily in your team's favour. And she's no YOLO master, unlike the Paolo Emilio. 

Seen a WOWS YT streamer tonight post a video lauding free ships about to happen in Update 15.1. They were crowing about all the new ships they were gunning for, in particular the top-priced premium steel ship R. Lauria. So I went to WG's devblog site to check out the kerfuffle for myself. Remembered they had made an upgrade on the website. What I was able to glean from reading the devblog. 

It also cleared up why I was playing for Lunar tokens in the first place. And there was a Leaderboard for the event. Apparently the Lunar tokens will be the currency for the new Lunar New Year event being rolled out in Update 15.1 (February). And the Lauria is one of the several rewards only this time it's being renamed Tempesta Nera. 

As per usual WG confuse the issue by over complicating the event. Basically you pick a faction - good or bad - based on the backstory (which isn't too bad). Play the series of missions for that faction. Once completed you get access to the rewards - several ships depending on which prize you go for. Obviously the more complicated the missions, the more prized the reward. 

You gain Lunar tokens several ways with the main ones:

1. Playing the current Lunar Trials in the current Update (15.0). As briefly explained previously, you're lumped into a grouping of 25 or 50 and play your heart out FOR BASE XP. This determines your ranking on the leaderboard for your group. Where you placed after determines your rewards in Lunar tokens. Note: Every member of the groups a reward. Of course, the higher up you place, the greater the rewards.
2. Logging in daily during Update 15.1. Other rewards are gifted free as well. 
3. Playing the event-specific missions where you can earn up to 40,000 Lunar tokens in total. What the cost for the ships though is not disclosed in the Devblog.
4. Acquiring for free through random bundles made available in the Armoury. Small amount however.

You can freely chop and transfer between the two factions (there are sub groups within those factions). First time it is done for FREE. Second and subsequent floppings cost COAL. When you do switch (traitor!) any progress remains so that when you switch again, you can pick up where you left off. How convenient. There are other associated but minor details regarding the event that's not worth repeating. Check out the devblog page for yourself if interested. 

So...am I interested in the upcoming Lunar New Year event? Yes, now I am especially if it's a chance to finally grab a clone of R. Lauria. 

Update 15.1 will also see the return of the "popular" Unbreakable Front. Improved so it states. Never played the battle mode hence why I put the quotation marks. 

Also on the winds of change will definitely be a favourite of mine and a battle mode I am more than familiar with, Operations. Getting a long overdue makeover. Will certainly play a few games when it's released. 

To round out the changes, there is mention of the recalibrating moves in Brawls. To briefly sum up, there will now be three Brawls. First one is basically a torp fest where armaments effectiveness will be reduced except for torps which will reload faster and cause greater damage. Your speed improves (to dodge those torps) as compensation. So, as they claim, torp away.

The second one applies specifically to health pools. You restore your health pool the more damage you do to your opponent. Weird but okay. 

Meanwhile the third Brawl will be the standard familiar unchanged version. Whatever that is. Haven't touched Brawls in a very long while ever since they first introduced it and long before it became part of the permanent battle mode line up in Update 13.6 (July 2024). 

==================================

Starcom Nexus

After so much game time doing it, I realised it made no sense after all doing the grid searching pattern. Made no sense in that any further exploratory discoveries would have found by now. Plus anything hidden would been of minor significance such as finding the planet with geese or the lost island. The focus now should be paying closer attention to the unfinished quests.

Problem is that when given choices on first encountering, whatever is chosen determines subsequent narratives. And if it leads to a dead end, then you're stuffed. But you don't know the future so you respond at the time of the encounter. Example: Araona Home Nest world. Cannot enter. Openly hostile towards our ship because we failed to answer their questions correctly. Plus I inadvertently destroyed the Nest World orbiting battle station after it tried to fry me with its laser batteries. Same situation in being denied access to the Provisional capital home world of the Araona Dispersed Fleet (another sub faction) although they still treat us as neutral. Cannot convince both factions that we're not Phage with whom they were engaged in a long war.

Tonight I managed to research the Sentinel Keys (after obtaining all nine of them) and was therefore able to stop the Sentinel robots from continuing with their open hostility towards us based on our transgressing their Directives 2 and 3. Learned who issued the original directives. Now if only I could make the Araonas stop mistaking us for the Phage.

Meanwhile am slowly going through the remaining active quests. About five left.

Upgraded to the Dreadnought class tonight. Modified it by adding the Axial Ultragun and the Havoc flak batteries (for mining, of course) fore and aft. Might be time to rename her from Jetson to Steel Elefant. Or Grey Bloater.

Next ship class left to upgrade to is the last and most powerful Starcom ship class, the Leviathan class. There are no blueprints available in-game so this will be made-up entirely. Do I go Star Wars Deathstar globular or 40K Gloriana-class gothic-style battleship or something altogether equally made up and ludicrous? Have to wait and see. 

==================================

Tonight was an early session. In it, I had returned to Station Kite. Awaiting me as I popped out of the Nexus Gateway was a small fleet of now-friendly Sentinel ships. And one of them was huge. It dwarfed my Behemoth class vessel. It even dwarfed Station Kite.

No luck convincing the Aroana Nest World that I am not the Phage. In the meantime I am slowly gathering Research points so I can unravel the CMB transmissions. 

As for solving the Temple of the Fallen Gods riddle, I have no clue whatsoever where to begin my search. Planets surveyed cannot be re-surveyed which is a bummer. 

I may reluctantly have to start a new game. Advantage of knowing what I now know will help I suppose but nothing like mystery to pique the interest, as they say.  

==================================

Jigsaw

Finally finished this I started a week ago. Initially it was straightforward doing the tree, the foreground and the water. But then the sky presented more of a challenge throughout. Was hoping to finish in one sitting but that went out the door fairly fast. No worries however. In the end, I just took my time.

==================================

January Digest #8

World of Warships - Another Asymmetric report

The long weekend. Jumped into Asymmetrics again with Mainz, my new favourite German cruiser.

As the game summary above shows, it proved to be an interesting session with a lot more losses this time round. Not worried though because I achieved my daily goals - rewards from both Event Pass and daily coal crates. Also upskilled my captain who is now 12 point. 

Game 1: UNSURE. I believe this was a victory but I don't remember anything about this game as I died pretty quickly and early. 

Strong lineup in terms of firepower and brawling capabilities - double Valparaiso with Ipiranga. The CV was a bonus (depending on player skill of course).

Being paired with a Val I sailed confidently towards the A cap (my torps and accurate cruiser fire and the Val's firepower and brawling abilities). But I got blasted into oblivion around D4 by combined cruiser and battleship focus fire. Still, I was expecting a hard fought win by my teammates. Did not stay to take more screenshots. 

Game 2: LOSS. Made some wrong positional decisions and failed to contribute. As a result I died early. (1) Positioned myself behind the island at E6. This blocked my view of the enemy Budyonny who was free to cap B. (2) Failed to help the Chapayev racing to the middle to help out. Was too slow to come out of my hiding place and he died needlessly. (3) By the time I emerged the cap was taken and I was about to be focus fired by a total of four enemy ships. (4) Should have sailed directly into the cap, contest it against the Budyonny, and then deal with whatever would happen next. But I didn't. And paid for it.

Don't know what happened to the others after becoming a spectator but the GQ Johnny was last man standing in our loss. 

Game 3: WIN. Spawned with a Valparaiso. Again confidentally sailed for the C cap. However as I drew near I got focus fired by a Sinop so decided to use the island cover to close distance and loosed off two sets of torps at the impudent Ruskie. Then loosed off my other two sets at its companion Lyon. 

Flank secured, we moved into the centre where our Carnot did his best but was overwhelmed by numbers (obviously).  

Lost our Pommern on the right flank in the meanwhile. This just left me, Val, and Zeiten left to take out the enemy remnants who still outnumbered us. By effective and combined coordinated fire and movement, we achieved our victory. I contributed further by sinking the enemy carrier Independence and thus eliminated the pesky air threat. 

Game 4: LOSS. Two Brothers map. Interesting because we started off well enough but then one by one our team died leaving me to fight off the remnants. I tried my best but ran out of health.

The image above shows the situation I was left to confront. Took out the two cruisers Kikjduin and Chumphon capping our base. Barely had time to sigh relief when I had to quickly deal to the openly hostile Fiji charging at me. Then without respite the F. Caracciolo emerged through the gap. Loosed off torps but then grounded myself as an almost-full health Colorado appeared. Was unable to loose off more torps as I had to reverse. So used my guns and came "this close" as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, would say to sinking her. Ran out of time. Secondary battery hits from Colorado finished me. 

Game 5: LOSS. Here I made the common mistake of hesitating and dithering. Spawning in the centre can be manageable depending on where one deploys, and how one reacts to the situation. D'oh! After stating the obvious, I dithered by reacting too early to the incoming enemy fire. Then, because I had advanced too far forward, I failed to make use of the island cover to tackle the greater enemy forces coming at me. 

With a glut of target choices I froze. This hesitation cost me time and then my ship's life. I thought that I had help from the Zeiten and Tirpitz. The Val and Kitakaze I thought would hold their respective flanks. But obviously I was wrong because we lost. 

Game 6: WIN. Riposte map. Spawned in the middle. I chose to play aggressively and sailed towards the B cap. 

Doing so meant taking out the enemy cruisers first before tackling the battleships. Managed to complete the first part but died while attempting the second part. Luckily our Pommern came over to help. His assistance won the situation in the middle. 

Game 7: LOSS. Same map as previous game. Spawned on the left flank which is too open making one susceptible to crossfires from the middle. And in my case, I failed to pay attention to the threat posed by the enemy Laudon, one of the new European battleships. It smacked me as I was attempting to take on the threat to my front. I raced to use the island (H6) as cover. But I had suffered a big bite from the Laudon who was in grid G5 (see two images down).

My loss left the Hawke to deal with the Sinop alone. He could have, and should have. But he didn't. This left the remaining two teammates a mammoth task. Hipper is good enough but not in this situation; the Laudon would have smacked him to oblivion. And the Pommern had his hands full with the KGV and Gneisenau.

Game 8: LOSS. Myself and the Toulon took on the middle. I died too soon while tackling the enemy cruisers. Got one but the other escaped. Meanwhile crossfiring whittled my healthpool down fast. Left on his own Toulon had to retreat. But it was too late. Meanwhile the Rooke had decided to play chicken early in the game and sailed north. Massa B was stranded and did his best but was taken out. This left the V. Veneto to deal to the enemy on his own. 

Game 9: LOSS. Died but managed to help secure the centre. Had enormous help from the friendly Ipiranga and support fire from the Sejong. However the situation went from hopeful to dire when our left flank lost out with the enemy wiping out our friendlies and capping C. The A cap was also capped uncontested as both Valparaiso and Ipiranga were clearing the threat in the middle with me. When I left the game, just two friendlies to take one six enemy ships. The results state we lost. 

Game 10: WIN. The island stradding grids F/G5 is a natural barrier and so I simply sailed up to it and just sat there for several minutes. Allowed the enemy to cap. Then waited while the bulk sailed elsewhere before reacting. Took out the inquisitive Eendracht as I emerged from cover. Sailed into the cap and captured it. In the process of capturing, sunk the enemy Ranger, then assisted the team. 

SUMMARY. Mixed outcome as disclosed. Partial listing. 

The record (above) does not match the individual match reports. (1) Relying on memory to make these reports, and (2) my middle mouse is busted so I cannot scroll down the summary list and therefore it only shows the most recent matches. I do know I played more than nine games. 

==================================

World of Warships - A New Day, etc, etc...

Jumped into Asymmetric with Mainz thinking to improve on yesterday's mixed results (post above). Needed a few more Base XP to complete the cruiser task for the Dockyard event.  But started the session awfully. Four losses in a row. Only improved when I stopped taking screenshots for analysis and simply played the game. 

After I had fulfilled the cruiser Base XP requirement (Dockyard event) I switched over to the battleship task. Doubt I will finish it in time and claim the last 250 steel on offer however because 42,000 BASE XP is a tall ask. Paused to decide which battleship to play among my commander upskill group. In the end went with Jean Bart. 

First run in Asymmetric it performed beautifully. Next game not so well because I was too exposed and failed to take out the destroyer early. Plus myself and the Pommern with me were being focus fired from two directions. 

Last game however was another good win and then I logged out.

==================================

World of Warships - Jean Bart

With only eight 18" guns (two turrents in the front), you'd think this ship might struggle in the game because she doesn't possess a "funny button" or has sets of torpedoes or some other gimmick that seems the fashion these days. But nope. She's strong. She's powerful. She's a winner. Just keep her facing the enemy and avoid presenting citadels, know when to push and when not to, and you will be fine. 

Played this ship exclusively to finish the battleship task for the final Dockyard mission (earn 42,000 BASE XP). Managed it without too much trouble in the end. It took me several hours although it did not feel like the usual frustrating grind. Quite the opposite - very entertaining, to be honest.

==================================

Digest January #7

World of Warships: Playing Asymmetrics

Asymmetrics in a Tier VIII ship is completely different to that in a Tier X ship. Lot less stressful but just as much fun. When I say stressful, I am referring to how teammates die so much quicker in Tier X. It is less so in a Tier VIII game except this time round it's you that's dead. Lol. 

Below is a visual record of my session today in Asymmetrics when I entered in the potent Tier VIII German premium cruiser Mainz. But first a result in Co-Op mode. There's greater competition for "kills" in Co-Op. It's always first in, first kill. And so on. Hence why I jumped into Asymmetrics because there's always loads of enemies to take on. Plenty all around.

Fault line map. Spawned south centre with team mates. Don't remember much from this game other than I died fairly early and we lost (see record at bottom of post). 

Now from when I jumped into Asymmetrics. Sunset Isles map game (above). New map getting some rotation in-game. No real opinion regarding it. Just another map. Spawned south centre. Teammate in Nurnberg sailed to cap B. I chose to advance to the opposite side of the island (grid F5) and waited for the enemy Flint fast approaching. While my teammate capped B, and successfully defended it on their own-some, I concentrated on taking out the Flint and and also covering my teammate's left flank. With the cap action dying down (no more immediate threats) the action was elsewhere so it was a quiet remainder of this match. Relatively straightforward win. 

Lineup for next match on the Two Brothers map. Note that enemy BOTS generally spawn between 2 ad 3 tier lowers (depending on the composition of your own team).

Interesting game on the Two Brothers map. Lightning and I sailed south and took out the enemy opposing us on our left flank. Meanwhile a large fleet of enemy sailed through the gap and dealt to the Yorktown and Scheer defending our base. See where this is heading? The Surrey also died. That just left myself and the Lightning to take on the remaining enemy. 

Above shows the situation prior to the enemy's big push up the middle. The Lightning and I were about to deal to the Iron Duke.

It's here when I noticed on the map the enemy Leander capping our base. I left the Lightning and sped back to stop this from happening. Managed to deal to the Leander, Emerald, and Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great). Lightning valiantly took out the Andrea Doria and Kongo but died to secondary battery fire as he was on mid- to low-health. That left me to face just the Furataka which I managed by using my guns. I thought we had won it but then I forgot that the enemy still had a destroyer (not sure if it was the Maestrale or Podvoisky). I had sailed into the enemy base because that's where the Furutaka had posted itself prior to being sunk. So it would take time for me to turn around and sail back to our base which was already being capped. 

This defeat offset all the good work I thought we had done.  

LESSON REMINDER: Protect your base (again!). Do a head count by checking the listing. The enemy destroyer was invisible and remained so because it was outside spotting range. Also, it was obvious the game wasn't finished after sinking the Furutaka. But I was oblivious because I was simply relieved to still be the last man standing. Brain shut down as a result.

Skipped the next game for screenshot; must have forgot in my excitement. Anyway above is the lineup for the following game on the Neighbours map. Team spawned from the northwest. Notable for the inclusion of the North Carolina CLR: I have one and I love it for the unique green camo scheme on this battleship. Also have the Zao version also with the same green metallic camo.  

I thought we stood a chance because I had another Mainz with me. Sailed boldly to the enemy base using the islands to my left as flank protection and bow pointed in. 

Unfortunately my confidence was boldly and brutally defeated as I died while retiring after taking a battering from focus fire. Of little use was firing off my torps (only one hit). I think we lost. Kii was isolated. It had trouble dealing to the Nurnberg. I don't know what happened with the other two teammates to the north who were pursuing the Normandie. 

Immediately after this loss, joined a new game where I spawned on the same map. 

This time I spawned on the left flank. The Iwami (over on the far left) started sailing wide, avoiding the cap. I, however, sailed toward it figuring to at least cap it. The Yorktown was left alone to deal with the central threat. Meanwhile the Pommern and Mainz B (simply a clone of the Mainz draped in black camo) presented a strong force on our right flank. I expected them to cap A and win that flank without too much hassle. 

To my immediate front I got lucky because the Omono (the first ship spotted on my flank) opted to use the island (D7) to mask its movement from me. I had the same plan but I was waiting for the F. Caracciolo which was following behind. Its 18" guns can smack you real hard if you're not careful. The Zara (making up the third enemy on our flank) seemed to hang back so was not the immediate threat. Ignored the situation occurring the centre for now. And I did not notice that our right flank had totally collapsed. And the enemy had capped both A and B now and earning points.

Above shows the situation whereby I took out the Italian battleship with two sets of torpedoes. Meanwhile my teammate sunk the Omono and was about to finish the Zara. I noticed the Fiji (from the centre) rounding the north of the island in grid E6. It was on low health so I finished her off. The Iwami and I finished capping C before moving into the centre. 

In the ensuing combat, we three survived and took out the remaining ships except P. Heinrich which was still lingering at the A cap. Complimented my remaining teammates for their contribution to our victory. It was a good game. The obvious highlight of the session. 

Lineup for the game on the Northern Waters map. As per usual, spawned in the centre (as shown below).

At first glance, there appears to be two options. Both are defensive. The island straddling G5 is useful as cover but it means the enemy cap B. The larger island at grid F6 is the other option but LOS is blocked by the island (under the letter B) which the enemy can use to hide behind while targeting you from the flanks. 

I chose option 3 which was play aggressively and sail into the B cap and sit behind the island there and await the enemy to show up.

Unfortunately I forgot my own mantra - be patient - and raced in front of the island right into a fleet of ships. Dumbly loosed off all my torps and raced to cover. But died on the way. We still won though. Lol. 

Joined this next game but got going fairly late as the animals were needing attention. Notable for the great play by the Cherbourg. My contributed was significantly small because all the damage had been done earlier by the Cherbourg and the two Valparaiso.

Another game (above) featuring another double Valparaiso. Don't remember anything about this game except that it was a win, and I survived. By the end, I had achieved my goal of collecting the three daily coal crates and logged out. 

Above is the record of my Mainz games in Asymmetrics. Cheers.

==================================