Procrastes

And lo! Behold: Here cometh the Belfast! Destroyer of Destroyers, Burner of Battleships, and Coolest of Cruisers! Bringer of Harmony to the battle lists! (coming soon to an online store near you!)

I like the various national flags in the game, and I definitely don't want them replaced with some red or green standard team banners.

Your words bring me comfort, good Sir. I thought I was getting delusional, in my old age.

Now that you mention it, a perceived trend to nerfbash - directly or indirectly - small, fast and lightly armoured scout vehicles, is something that sounds vaguely familiar...

I don't know how accurate this is, but lately, I feel there has been a fairly good variation in the composition of ship classes in my matches. Sometimes a lot of battleships, sometimes a lot of cruisers, sometimes a lot of destroyers. I can't see that there is an overabundance of any single class.

I take those shots now and then. Now and then, I actually land a hit on one of them little buggers. I do so love the squeaky, insulted sound they make as they run for cover - it never gets old. (It should be noted that I make the same squeaky, insulted sound, when I am one of them little buggers and a battleship nails me from 20 km away.)

If they put that one out as a premium ship, I'll buy her simply for the name!

I usually don't do this... ...but... Edit: Captain Cosseria, Sir, you made me laugh outright. I doff my hat!

You only learned it from this forum? You must have lead a sheltered life!

That's an interesting observation, I never thought of that! But surely, once out from under the Royal Navy's noses, Langsdorff could have radioed for supplies? Or he could have tried to steal commandeer some, perhaps, by raiding an enemy harbour, or boarding an enemy ship? I seem to recall the Emden doing something along those lines during WW1...

This is well said, and to the point! And I believe that this development is taking the game in the wrong direction.

The best counter to a single remaining enemy ship that tries to stay hidden and run the clock down, is to cap - not to run the single remaining enemy ship down. A well-timed cap is a good, yet strangely under-used, tactic. If there is not enough time left, or allies remaining, to cap in time, then that's kudos to the single remaining enemy ship for a well-timed tactical retreat. I don't feel the need for a magic beeline, just so that I can win by killing instead of capping. Both are equally legitimate ways to win.

Apart from the battleship Scharnhorst, then? Although it could be said, that she is what every heavy cruiser would like to be!

But... but... then, sink the Myoko! Let the poor little Gnu stay alive!!!

I agree, except about the defenestration part. I don't see the merits of flooding the skill tree with stuff that keeps telling people how to play the game. I'd rather just play the game. "Ship to the right - turn and engage!" "Hey, psst, someone is trying to shoot you - better get on that!" "Omg shells incoming - duck for cover!!!" "...STFUP AND LET ME PLAY!!!"

Leberecht Maass: 3 - 3 = 0. Coup de Grace.Shiratsuyu: 15Mahan: 7Leningrad: 24Blyskawica: 33Myoko: 10Flint: 23Fiji: 20Belfast: 35Gneisenau: 7 + 1 = 8. Sailed out in the Eisengnu again this morning, and had a great battle. More dependent on RNG than Sister Scharn, sure, but when you do score a good hit - pow! Scharnhorst: 43Hiryu (2/2/2): 19Saipan (Torpedo Bombers): 11

There is a whole ongoing thread about the possibility of a Radio Silence mechanic. It's an interesting idea!

Having a click-on click-off "Radio Silence" button, on all ships, might be one way to balance RPF. Activating Radio Silence would mean that you could not spot for your team, but nor could you be detected by RPF. Although this would probably just lead to a lot of players maintaining permanent radio silence, effectively tossing the whole spotting system out the window. Considering this, a consumable might be the better option. Whether having this would be dependent on choosing a separate skill or not, would be a balancing issue, I guess. (Or, they could just not introduce RPF.)

As far as I know, naval battles were not usually fought in heavy seas, since it would be almost impossible to hit anything with the guns. Torpedoes probably wouldn't work at all. Fighting like that would be impractical for both sides. Night battles, on the other hand, did occur. Without radar guided fire it would be impossible to hit a ship that wasn't lit up, though - and for precisely that reason, warships tried to avoid having their lanterns lit during times of war. If any kind of ship would benefit in night battles, it would probably be destroyers, who could close in unseen much further than normal, and make really nasty sneak attacks. With the automated spotting mechanics in this game, however, darkness would be mostly cosmetic. Unless they reworked those mechanics specifically for night battles, which might of course be an idea - especially in some kind of PvE scenario.

Fortunately, she doesn't need to expose so very much broadside at all to launch 4+4 swift and heavy-hitting torpedoes at an enemy ship. Either shoot and take cover, or close in and destroy - the Graf Spee is not a ship for protracted long-range gunnery duels!

As far as I know, you are entirely correct. And it sort of worked as well, since she wasn't outgunned by those three cruisers that caught up with her at the River Plate. The reason why Captain Langsdorff decided to scuttle the Graf Spee rather than try to break out - which he might very well have succeeded in doing - was that he believed the (false) radio reports from the Royal Navy, according to which heavy reinforcements were already in place. Langsdorff believed he was facing a battle against hopeless odds, and rather than sacrificing the lives of his crew, he scuttled his ship. This was an act of outstanding moral courage, in my opinion - if not in the opinion of the government in Berlin at the time. For the British, this was a victory of Naval Intelligence rather than the Naval Forces. The philosophy behind the construction of this "pocket battleship" doesn't quite work out the same in the game, since the Kriegsmarine didn't have to calculate with the possibility of the Graf Spee encountering ships from one or two tiers higher than herself. If she had encountered the similarly tiered Dunkerque - the ship that was designed specifically to fight her - it would probably have gone very badly for the Graf Spee. All in all, I feel that WG have made a good job representing these two ships in the game!

Taking a ship back from players, after they have won it by completing in-game missions? OP, are you serious? Because, seriously, that would be a very bad idea. Aside from being unethical, and also leaving aside the legal ramifications, the ensuing avalanche of badwill in the online gaming community would be on a biblical scale.

Well, so did I! Not being obliged to sail in zig-zag all the bloody time felt like a relief, after getting Situational Awareness. Although I grant you that good players (which I am not) could probably find a better use for their skill points than getting SA, since they have it already as a personal skill. As it is, however, I think it is fairly well balanced. Tossing in a bunch of other skills of like brand will upset that balance, but then again, that's what it means to keep the game development going. Since WG seems set on pushing ahead with RPF, I guess we will see how game-changing it really will be. I sincerely doubt it will be game-breaking, whatever people may fear.

When it was a skill, it was an "if you don't pick this you are stupid"-kind of skill. Not picking it meant that you would be at a disadvantage to every player that had it. Taking it wasn't really a matter of choice; it just removed the requisite number of skill points from the pool. When they changed it to being a ship function, it freed up those skill points as well as allowing new players to familiarize themselves with a crucial game element from the very start. If this is catering to the noobs, then so be it. As long as Situational Awareness is in the game at all, having it as a ship function seems to me to be the best way to handle it. The upcoming skill changes are also aimed at broadening the skill choices at the various levels; there will hopefully be fewer "mandatory" or "obvious" choices. I think this is a good thing in itself, if it works out. What I don't like so much, is adding a number of other clairvoyance skills to the table - doing so will lessen the fun and engaging aspect of this game, that consists of out-guessing and out-thinking your adversary.

According to this poll, at least six players are currently happy with the RPF skill. It would be interesting to hear their reasons for this? So far, almost every articulate post on the forum is trying to flame this skill to oblivion... ...oh, right. I see. Joking aside: While I can see how someone would hesitate before exposing himself to the censure of his fellow forumites, my question stands. A nuanced debate is always more fruitful.