World of Warships
I expect this will be the last post for the month. Nothing special thus far. Same old same old.
Becoming more accustomed and comfortable with the three PvE battle modes and switching from one to the other. Ran a variety of ships today trying to complete a couple of Incapacitation missions for the Liberty Harbour event. The pace earning those ribbons started low at first but picked up eventually.
Today I ran Kitakaze, Salem, Defence, Libertad, San Martin, and A. Nevsky. The last performs well in Operations while all fared good to excellent in Asymmetric. Pointless playing Co-Op as it's always crowded at Tier X level and you don't always get the results you're after because it's always first-in, first-kill.
What surprises me though is the lack of the popular destroyers in Asymmetric, the Marceaus and the Klebers. Or even the Shimakazes. The ease with which you get a game in Asymmetric and Operations in a cruiser and destroyer would be a golden opportunity you'd think. But no, it seems battleships are the preferred flavour rather than having fun in a "fragile" cruiser/destroyer.
Battleships in Asymmetric however remains the most popular choice which is understandable. Of the most popular choices, you'll see regularly C. Colombo, Schlieffen, Libertad, Pommern, G. Kurfurst.
Schlieffen makes perfect sense and is ideal for Asymmetric: it has great secondaries, torpedoes, and can be quite tanky. G. Kurfurst is on the same level (minus the torpedoes). Its firepower can easily one-shot cruisers and even some mid- to low-health battleships; it does well however when not yolo-ing. Pommern is like the younger feisty cousin to Schlieffen; it's also one of my best go-to brawlers back in day when I played her a lot. But you need to be careful playing her.
One needs to understand that the key moment happens early on. The first contact is the peak point when the situation is the most vulnerable for you. Once weathered however it then becomes a question of being able to pace yourself while dealing to the surviving threat for which a Tier X battleships (top of the tier tree) makes perfect sense.
Like I've said previously several times over, getting into Asymmetric in a cruiser or destroyer is so much easier than queuing with a battleship. It's almost instant entry.
The number of times I've played with Napolis, Michelangelos or Salems is a fairly common situation. And there is a simple reason why: the listed ships can handle multiple threats very well. But seeing a San Martin, Aleksandr Nevsky, or even a Defence is uncommon however, and usually down to personal choice.
Oddly enough, I've not used Ohio at all in the current iteration of Asymmetric. Previously it was my favourite go-to battleship for this mode. But as my priority this time around is commander upskilling I've not had the need to take her out. Maybe once done with the Liberty Harbour event, and time willing, I might take her for old times sake?
I am describing the situation at Tier X level of course. Lower levels will be quite different and sometimes more challenging.
Your opponent still hits hard however at those lower tiers. And they are still quite accurate, especially if you don't vary your speed and/or choose to sail in a straight line. Becomes quite evident when you become the target for focus fire, especially out in the open. Even an intervening island might not always work to your favour if you aren't literally hugging that cover.
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Today's grind was all over the place, as per usual. Focused mainly on upskilling A. Nevsky commander. Also played Ark Royal and Kitakaze for the rocket/bombs/torpedoes mission requirement. Only played the one game in Asymmetric with Kitakaze but it did well. Paired with a North Carolina on a flank and we were able to clear our zone before moving to the middle and finishing off the game.
Play style with the Kitakaze in Asymmetric is simple: initially use its quick-firing gunfire long enough for the torpedo load up. Then pick your target - usually a single battleship. Loose off your first set then immediately hit the torp reload booster to activate the second set. This is then loosed off at a second target - again another battleship. Most times it is quite effective...I say most times because you have to time it right (usually before the enemy turn away en masse).
Upgraded to a new level in Liberty Harbour and received John Barry, a 6-pt special commander. Plonked him on my Tier X destroyer Burrows. Because the new skipper is now on a tech tree line ship, one has to either spend XP or doubloons to complete assigned training. Or else play him under the free retraining scheme. In Barry's case, and opting for the free retraining, he has to earn at least three thousand five hundred commander XP before he can fully take apply his commander skill points. Gives me the opportunity to learn about vessel's capabilities.
Researched the Liberty Harbour collection and discovered that the collection tiles associated with the harbour build will NOT complete the collection on their own merits. D'Oh! The shortfall will be made up of excess accumulated Naval Base Supplies tokens. But how many tokens per tile is not disclosed. Typical. So, I was wrong in my previous post. At least by upgrading early, you can then just play and accumulate as much Naval Base Supplies tokens as possible to cover the shortfall. EDIT: 7,500 naval base supplies = 1 collection tile.
I've forgotten about the Blast From the Past battle mode. Meant to join in but got sidetracked with other modes. Not that it matters anyway because I hear it's not doing so well.
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Another commander upskilled to 21 points, the one on Nevsky. Focus for the rest of the grind today was working on upskilling the commander of Salem.
And then there's the completing of the Liberty Harbour missions (managed to Upgrade the Fuel Terminal allowing more Expeditions (free NBS tokens). As a result, ended up running Ark Royal and Libertad. More missions. Upgrade the Fuel Terminal to Level 3 to get bonus boosts. More missions mean more Naval Base Supplies tokens.
Burrows free retraining took only a couple of games. Different playstyle. Slow load up of torps and reload. Decent enough damage nonetheless but nowhere as good as Kitakaze. Its gimmick is the long-running smoke that can be switched on and off. Makes for interesting melees (best hope you have supporting team mates close by; you don't want to be fighting isolated).
Co-Op, as usual, was crowded at Tier X level so resorted to jumping into Operations or Asymmetric. The latter battle mode proved challenging because playing Salem requires focus all the time. In Operations, it's much the same although not as demanding as Asymmetric. It really does depend on the scenario. ECHO: Playing a cruiser meant getting into games was quicker than trying with a battleship.
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Thursday grind was a long one. Started around ten am and finished one am. Played through to finish the Dockyard Event and earned Lushun B. Which then unlocked a (surprise) bonus mission - earn 4000 BASE XP in either Lushun or Lushun B to receive 2500 doubloons AND 2500 steel. Mission unlocked is available for 14 days.
Cannot emphasie enough: play cruisers or destroyers in Asymmetric. You are guaranteed quick entry. In my last game tonight, I saw seventy-odd battleships queuing up. I was playing Salem and got in almost immediately. Earlier in the day I was in the queue with Libertad for over a minute before I got in.
One more thing: playing cruisers teaches you timing and cooperation. Your survival depends on good positioning play and skill in playing but most importantly on the cooperation and support of your teammates. If you can understand that, then you will make a great impact with your team mates who will appreciate it.
In all my Asymmetric game today, I only saw a Marceau once. Laffey was frequent and very useful at times. Even had a Tromp.
Of the cruisers, Jinan was a very popular choice along with the ubiquitous and powerful Napoli. Even Utrecht popped up a fair few times in his 'usual' spot of holding the middle. Got that spot myself a few times. Most times I would reposition to one of the flanks hugging an island while offering fire support to my flank mates. Only once did I stay in the middle retreating all the way before pushing forward as both flanks pressed and collapse the enemy's offense.
Knowing when to push is a very important skill. If the enemy turn to retire, and your teammates are pressing hard from the flanks, push. But don't be in a rush; go slow. Always keep bow-in, and watch for crossfiring. Maneouvre to cover should that happen. Don't be afraid to switch from HP to AP and vice versa; situation will demand what shell type you use anyway.
In the Salem I found that citadel hits are most likely to happen against enemy cruisers presenting broadside by aiming at the enemy ships bow tip at the waterline level. Or just below the forward turrets - up to whatever impact is caused. Sometimes midships to target propulsion. Against battleships I always aim for the superstructure. Both AP and HP.
Battleships - the usual suspects are quite common: Pommern, Schlieffen, G. Kurfurst, Libertad. You get appearances from the likes of Los Andes, Niord, Montana, Yamato, C Colombo, Thunderer. Even ships like Navarin, Kearsarge, Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia pop in from time to time. But no Ohio sighted yet. Which is odd.
Thing is choose battleships with great secondaries and which hit hard with either HP/AP and which has a decent to fast reload. And a degree of manoeuvrability, if at all possible.
Played the premium carriers Ark Royal and Bearn quite a bit today for both the Liberty Harbour and Dockyard Event missions. Bearn because one of Dockyard missions required scoring ribbon hits through bombing or skip bombing; Ark Royal for two roles: torp hits, and bombing or rocket hits.
Focus all day and night was on completing the Dockyard missions. As per usual the 400 Base XP mission task took longest. Eventually was able to complete, and end the long session, because I kept playing Asymmetric which boosts Base XP earnings. Not as much as Randoms, Ranked or Brawls though but definitely more than Co-Op.
In Co-Op was playing Kalmar on the Haven map for the DD torp mission (Dockyard). Paired with a Farragut who suddenly began targeting me with his gunfire. And he kept it up as we moved off, and then began impeding me as we entered the combat zone by blocking or crossing my path. Don't know why. My reaction was quick however; I blocked and reported him for everything possible. No point in reacting in chat. Then left the area to him. Obviously wanted the glory for himself. Got two ship kills despite his best efforts to sabotage my play. If that's happening in Co-Op, then how much worse in Randoms where cooperation is the name of the game but only in one's dreams?
Also completed a few Battle of Trafalgar mission tasks along the way. Will focus on them more tomorrow now that I have Lushun B.
Expect to obtain Bridgeport either tomorrow or over the weekend. The rest of the time will be spending accumulating enough Naval Base Supplies to swap over for the outstanding collection tiles and finally collect David Farragut.
Black Friday mission began today as well. It's actually the name for the bonus Lushun/Lushun B mission.
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Quickly scanned the latest Devblog. Big sigh. New ships. Stupidly dressed in garish camo (as if dressed up fancy camouflage is going to improve your ship's performance or your skill level anyway!).
More interested in the upcoming Christmas snowflake event. No change so I hear which is good. Why change something which happens to be quite popular with the majority.
Completed the Black Friday task using both Lushuns and got the steel and doubloons.
Completed the Liberty Harbour build by spending doubloons and thus got Bridgeport. Learned that each collection tile costs 7,500 Naval Base Supplies tokens. For me, I'm needing nineteen more tiles to complete and grab Farragut for Bridgeport. Already earned four tiles through today's grind.
Now I can finish off the Trafalgar mission tasks.
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Saturday's grind was a bit all over the place because completing some of the Liberty Harbour missions took far longer than planned. And I was limited by the ships selected for the task.
Ran Salem, Utrecht, Gambia then Brisbane, Libertad, Bridgeport, and Castilla. The last worked best for the Incapacitation missions.
Bridgeport is meh. It's gimmick is the main battery reload button. Only for one minute twenty seconds. Like the second branch of the US destroyers (Hughes to Burrows) smoke timer. You can switch on and off. Cuts down reload from around 13 seconds to 6.5 seconds. Prefer Atlanta and Salem because both have quicker reloads.
Forgot Castilla had torps when first playing. Was concentrating more on its F button's burst fire function and did not notice until I was in a melee and and about to die as I was surrounded by enemies.
Four more collection tiles obtained through the naval base supplies token exchange. Thirteen left to go.
Playing the Defence of Naval Station Newport mission in Operations is straightforward once you understand the simple requirement. Which is patience. Don't go chasing the threats if you're a cruiser. Just stay in or around your spawn location and use your guns. Let them come to you. The forts do much the same so why aren't you? You last longer by doing this. Let the others go chasing their tails if they're inclined. And when the big battleships (Satsuma, Yamato, Preussen) come in the main attack, get under cover or move back or forth (don't remain stationary). Followed this tactic whenever I played this mission and managed to survive through to the end. Wins were more common too.
Did better in the Aegis mission this grind round. Still playing cruisers, kept back relying on gunfire and evasion. Choice of teammates means it's pot luck to be honest. Surviving and eliminating the enemy vanguard and then getting beyond the gap is when the problems amplify because of the next two main threats - the captured convoy escorts and a small intercepting force. Things is to deal to both quickly so you can recapture the convoy and escort them to the exit point. Dithering or taking your sweet time shortens the time between the arrival of the big battleships and a second intercepting force (closer to your exit point) puts pressure on your team. And you're outnumbered too so you need to turn the odds in your favour.
Other missions like Cherry Blossom, Raptor Rescue, and Hermes can be straightforward. Survival is the main task. Enjoying a high success rate thanks to everyone understanding what's required.
Been playing The Ultimate Frontier mission in a cruiser so always spawn on the bottom end of the map and have to rendezvous with the others at the base to the north of the map. Taking out the destroyers and small force of battleships and cruisers is the first task. Knocking off the enemy cruisers entering from the right is the second. Heal up if needed. Then survive the several attacks from all over before facing off against the big battleships (usually Maine) and escorts (including a swarm of destroyers).
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Sunday grind. Thankfully short several hours grind. Played Ark Royal, Salem, Castilla, San Martin.
Castilla is an interesting and strong enough ship, strong enough to charge in or hold a flank/middle. Played her in Asymmetric and she did well enough. San Martin is not as strong but useful in her own manner; play carefully however.
Gets frustrating playing carriers which I admit I don't enjoy. However it's necessary in order to complete the Liberty Harbour mission demanding any quantities of bombs/rockets ribbons. Eight collection tiles left to acquire.
Last Battle of Trafalgar event mission to go.
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Finally got the monkey off my back regarding the Aegis mission in Operations. Played the Libertad and was stationed on the extreme left. Instead of playing it passively, decided to go on the aggressive by ignoring the vanguard and sailing towards the intercept force to the north. Had some help from a sub and cruiser. Further backed up by another battleship. Meanwhile the rest of our team took care of the vanguard while our small force dealt to the intercept force. Surprising, our force commander (in the Shchors) was still alive. Then our small force sailed for the map edge to await the enemy battleships (both Yamatos). While the cruiser (Napoli) dealt to one Yamato on its own, myself and the others dealt to the other and the third (G. Kurfurst). Our offensive strategy paid dividends as we were able to recover the convoy and escort it to safety. Just in time as a large third force showed up. And, surprise surprise, our force commander was still alive.
Playing aggressive only works if you get cooperative teammates who understand the mission brief. Noticed that playing aggressively or taking out the intercept and vanguard early helps immensely. And remember a few times seeing a lone teammate in a battleship or sub heading north to tackle the intercept force. So being proactive does work provided the rest of the team is on board or cooperative.
Four more collection tiles left to go. So, probably one or two more days?
Played Salem, Kitakaze, Kalmar, K. Schonberg, Castilla, Brisbane, Atlanta, Libertad to fulfil the various Liberty Harbour missions. That meant playing all three battle modes - Co-Op, Operations, and Asymmetrics.
Kalmar is strong at Tier V. Has no smoke but is a strong gunboat. Decent enough torps but she does not have enough of them.
K. Schonberg is okay. I am running my Hindenburg skipper on her for a while. Once he reaches 19-points I will switch him back to Hindenburg and grind from there.
Loving the Kitakaze. Quick firing guns and potent torps. Just a long loadup and reload. But you have a torp reload booster. Looking forward to playing Harugumo, the Tier X upgrade. Not played Harugumo because she already has a 21-point Yamamoto skippering her. Kitakaze's skipper, once fully upskilled, will be my third or fourth Japanese 21-point captain.
In case you haven't figured it out, I've been running all my upskilling captains on available premiums because it costs nothing to transfer them in and train them. Unlike tech tree line ships. Initially figured to start at lower tiers mainly because running costs are cheap in Co-Op. But lately I've decided to return the captains to their assigned ships primarily to facilitate learning and becoming familiar with the designated ships.
So, for instance, I've been running my assigned skipper for Salem (one of the Doe brothers) for a long time on both Marblehead and Marblehead Lima before returning him to Salem and continuing his upskilling. Lucky I did because I've become so attuned to Salem and know it well now. And it's a reliable go-to for both Operations and Asymmetrics.
Currently upskilling another Pan-American captain for the San Martin. Started him first on the premium destroyer Jurua before returning him back to his assigned ship. Still coming to terms with the capabilities of this ship. Same can be said for my assigned captain on the Spanish Tier X cruiser Castilla.
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Finally completed the Liberty Harbour collection (Tuesday). Relieved and appreciative of what's it's given me: playing higher tiered ships in various PvE battle modes has boosted my playing confidence as well as taught me how to play said ships in such environments.
But not every game was one of gratitude and fun. I got pissed off a couple of times when I logged into Asymmetric. The first time was when I was paired with a Kitakaze. I was in a Libertad. We were on the left flank of the Fault Line map (spawned in the north). Expected my teammate to last a lot longer than he did. Expected him to use his rapid fire to at least knock out the approaching enemy DD. But instead he just sailed straight and he died to a torp strike. Didn't even attempt to dodge. Or fire back. Bot player? Little I could do because elsewhere we were losing the fight. Besides the Kitakaze going down, the lone middle player was also dead. Only the right flank was putting up a fight.
Next game, I immediately jumped on a Kitakaze. Inspired and angered by the Bot player. Scored four kills and survived the game. That victory and performance assuaged my anger somewhat because (a) I sailed straight into the cap and (b) took on the enemy DD, sunk the battleship, then farmed two more while (c) capping.
But it rose again when I spawned in another Asymmetric game on the left flank this time paired with a Scarlet Thunder. We were up against two DDs - Mahan and Akatsuki, two cruisers - Hipper and Edinburgh, and two battleships. Sailed to the threat ready and with a plan but my teammate turned about as soon as he was spotted and fired upon and sailed off toward the middle like he was being pursued by hell hounds.
I stay and managed to score a kill while keeping the enemy threat at bay despite them capping my flank. But I soon realised the flank was now vacant because the enemy were transferring to the middle and other flank. An Alsace was holding his cap all on his own. The other two teammates in that vicinity had already died by now leaving just us three.
The Alsace asked for help in chat to which myself and the Scarlet Thunder (to my surprise) did respond by heading in his direction. Unfortunately the Scarlet Thunder, who was much closer than I, died before he could be any use whatsoever. I did not last much longer despite my best effort to contribute by loosing off a set of torps at the enemy cruiser but it dodged them and the enemy DDs congregating in the middle were able to zap me (I was on very low health) before I could get smoke happening.
Despite these "moments of madness and grief" it was mostly a positive grinding session.
Finished both the Battle of Trafalgar mission scoring the 6-point Cuthbert Collingwood, one of Nelson's admirals (he commanded the other van when they broke the Spanish-French line at Trafalgar), by playing the Marseilles, and the Liberty Harbour collection finally earning the 10 point David Farragut, an historical figure and one of Union's best admirals (David Porter was another), playing Libertad, Kitakaze, Ark Royal.
Also managed to finally complete the last of the Campaign missions in the Zao. Do so love this ship despite it many varied flaws.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) concentrating mainly on grinding Salem to 21 points. Will also likely take out other commander upskilling ships little or hardly used to get a feel for their handling. Ships like Worcester, Hindenburg, Halland, Gouden Leeuw, C. Colombo, Brisbane, and others.
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PS: Just discovered today that once you've earned sufficient collection tiles to complete the Liberty Harbour collection and grab David Farragut who is a Seasoned commander by the way, you can continue to exchange Naval Base Supplies tokens for collection tokens. And then receive as compensation 45,000 credit per collection token. So, a cheap way to earn credits.
