Procrastes

I always feel that a proper Kaiser Wilhelm-era moustache should be mandatory whenever I captain the König Albert. It's the most Manly-Man of all the many Manly-Men battleships currently in the game, in my opinion. Too bad we can't modify the captain's portrait!

At least Situational Awareness is now an inherent ship function, and not a mandatory skill. I actually rather like it - it allows you to refrain from constant zig-zagging in those situations where you are off the grid completely. The fact that you know you are spotted could, for immersion purposes, be thought to represent a message from HQ along the lines of, "Enemy ships reported in the area, possibly a destroyer, proceed with caution."

Yeah. I didn't vote in the pretty badly biased one, since what's the point? A one-point counter skill would probably be taken by a lot of destroyer captains. And then, nearly no one would take the four-point RPF skill, since it could be assumed that it wouldn't work on most destroyers anyway - and therefore, no one would actually take the one-point counter skill, since the mere threat of it would be enough.... ...and that's when WG would introduce the new four-point skill, "We Studied Together at the Naval Academy", which would let you see the other players' skill choices in the battle list. I mean, if we are going up the road of ESP skills, why stop halfway?

I see. Thanks for telling me!

I vote no. I dislike these sorts of clairvoyance skills in general, since they substitute true player skill for a simple click-and-play mechanic. It would take World of Warships in the wrong direction, in my opinion. Incidentally; why the abbreviation "RDF" in the title? I thought the skill was named, "Radio Position Finding". Have they changed its name (again)?

I think we can all remember our first time (when we got a Kraken award). Mine was on the very first time I took my Arkansas Beta out for a spin. Back then, I hadn't had very much success in any of my battleships, with most of my salvoes landing in deep water and my boat getting sunk by the first nosy enemy destroyer to show its ugly face (all of them unlike our own brave torpedo boat heroes, of course). I had little hope for anything other than a repeat performance when I stepped behind the wheel of the Arkansas Beta. Then, when I got an enemy cruiser in my sights, and pressed the fire button, and it just... vanished. Bang - gone. Just like that. I was still kind of in shock, when a Kawachi (or possibly a Myogi) appeared from behind an island and sailed up broadside no more than six kilometres away. Three salvoes later, it was gone, too... and that's pretty much how the battle continued. Some ship sailed up, I pressed the button and made it go BOOM, and then the next, and the next... it was glorious. So, an honest salute to you, Captain Tyke! I know exactly how you feel! Congratulations!

My Budyonny actually looks rather nice in her new, "funky 70's pajamas" - thanks for that colourful description, Metal Moose! It's not for every ship, though.

According to a survey, most males believe they are better drivers than the norm. I guess that goes for online gamers as well.

I thought I could detect a faint whiff of sarcasm in your previous post, Sir. I am glad to see that assessment vindicated!

I'm not sure what, if any, stakes the Danish Nailpolisher's Club have in the online gaming industry...

Did I mention, an open-minded, tolerant and welcoming forum base?

Also, ending up on top of a rock in the middle of nowhere for fifteen minutes, after eating the first torpedo of the battle, wouldn't exactly be a bonus in my mind. I'd rather have the option to get behind the wheel of the next ship in my port.

1. Interesting idea. However, isn't there usually a more limited number of fortresses than players? If so, the Fortress Commander lottery might be a bit awkward. 2. Air bases could be fun! I seriously doubt there will ever be kamikaze planes in the game, though.

The choice between PvP and PvE is a matter of personal preference. Me, I prefer to have real people on both sides - there's just no way they can make an AI player to be even one tenth as entertaining an opponent, as even the worst the vast majority of real people players. I would welcome some well thought-out PvE scenarios though, such as the last Halloween special. They could build some kind of convoy scenarios, perhaps?

Free to play, easy to learn, hard to master - and an overall nice community!

Leberecht Maass: 12 Shiratsuyu: 14 Mahan: 13 Leningrad: 24 Blyskawica: 35Myoko: 11 - 3 = 8 Flint: 23 Fiji: 23 Belfast: 35 Gneisenau: 12Scharnhorst: 40 + 1 = 41. Played her again yesterday. Always fun and it's hard to actually do badly in her. Hiryu (2/2/2): 19 Saipan (Torpedo Bombers): 11

Captain Koala and the Battle of the Ozzian Sea Intercepted a Bayern class battleship due north of Ambush Island. Commenced firing from cover of smoke, and managed to use the experimental smoke generator on the Perth to maintain distance even as the battleship tried to pull away. Set several fires on board the enemy ship before driving it off (it was later reported sunk by an allied ship). Walrus pilot then reported a Fuso class battleship approaching from behind cover of the island, no more than 5400 meters away. I closed the distance and put several torpedoes in the water, noting at least three hits on the battleship as soon as it cleared the peninsula. The Fuso turned too late to avoid my torpedoes, but well in time to prevent if from firing its main guns at me, thereby giving me the opportunity to make a full turn and bring the port torpedo launchers to bear. This time I fired only one torpedo, judging (correctly) that this would be enough to sink the Fuso. Came under fire from an enemy Nürnberg class cruiser, exchanging a few mutually ineffective salvoes before pulling away. Engaged an Emerald class cruiser, and sank it from full health, scoring four citadel hits on it in the process. The gunnery sergeants will have to buy a few rounds of beer in the mess tonight! Joined in the pursuit of the last enemy battleship, and again encountered the Nürnberg. The battle ended after the battleship was sunk, allowing the enemy Nürnberg time to withdraw. We won the battle. Time for tea and biscuits!

Leberecht Maass: 18 Shiratsuyu: 14 Mahan: 19Sims (BL Mk. 7 mod. 2B): 4 - 3 = 1. Staying on target; see post 197 above. Leningrad: 24 Blyskawica: 33 Myoko: 14 Flint: 23 Atlanta: 9 Fiji: 22 Belfast: 33 Gneisenau: 14Scharnhorst: 38 + 1 = 39. I have to hand it to her. Hiryu (2/2/2): 19 Saipan (Torpedo Bombers): 14

You mean, after having launched the St Louis and it became a big success story, they then launched the Bogatyr which is basically a tsarevist St Louis only slightly better in all but armour and better looking to boot? And now they are planning to launch the Oleg, which is basically a premium Bogatyr? No, no, I really can't say that I see a pattern here... Edited: It should be noted that I love the Bogatyr. The Oleg would end up in my port five minutes after I got hold of my virtual wallet.

I actually don't have a problem with Situational Awareness, as it is now - an inherent part of the ship, and not a separate skill that you simply must have or be at an immediate disadvantage. If it goes off, you know that it might be a good idea to start zig-sagging or making other evasive maneuvers. But until it goes off, you can sail on without having to worry about eating a stray torpedo. As for immersion values, it can simulate a radio message from HQ, along the lines of "Enemy ships reported in the area, possibly a destroyer; be advised to proceed with caution." Such messages were actually not uncommon, from what I've heard. But to bring a bunch of other clairvoyance skills to table, well, I really don't see how that would make the game more enjoyable. "How many ships are out there? Are they all looking at me? What do they want? What will they do next? And why don't they ever write to me...?!" I don't even want all this information. If it had been available on the standard HUD, I would disable it. I'm well past 40 and I tend to experience a mild sense of information overload just by opening my email. Just give me a cup of coffee and put me behind the rudder wheel, and I'll be fine. As for Priority Target, it strikes me as an odd skill to have alongside that of the Incoming Fire Alert skill. Why would anyone choose the latter, when the former gives earlier and more informative warning? Both are one-point skills, which means there will be a lot of captains out there to have at least one of them. To sum it up: The more of these so-called clairvoyance skills are added, the more the game becomes a test of reactions and the less it will reward forethought and planning on behalf of the individual player. Personally, I don't think this is a good development - the game should encourage thinking, not dumb it down.

If such battles became the norm, that would indeed be problematic. But I haven't seen that this has happened as of yet. What I have seen, is rather that team members ignore the smoke screens as a means for protection, by sailing around them, or even right through them. Tactical use of smoke is currently underestimated, if anything. But since this is not a game of battleships vs. bots, and battleships have the firepower to potentially instantly sink any other kind of ship with a single salvo, there must be some means for other ship classes to take up the fight. Tactical use of smoke is one such means, and it is currently rather well balanced, in my opinion.

Or we could have a game mechanic that says, shots fired from within smoke do their damage to the ship that fired them, instead of to the target? Please, don't let us remove one of the most team-work based mechanics in the game! Ships can lay smoke not only to cover their own escape, but also to protect their team mates, or as a means of area denial. It is already possible to target a ship that fires from smoke, by following the shells' trajectory.* Doing so takes some skill, though - and, as stated elsewhere on this forum, I don't really see the point of introducing game mechanics that make individual player skill redundant. * Or by launching a spread of torpedoes into the smoke, and waiting for the muffled bang. It never really gets old.

Good poll! I would have voted on it, too, if there had been an option to be neutral on the last question. I don't really care at which tier Basics of Survivability and Basics of Firing Training are, since it will be equal for all. Overall, this new skill system would seem to offer more differentiated builds. As long as this doesn't mean that differences between ship classes are erased, or one or more ship classes become obsolete, added diversity is usually good for this kind of game. I do have one really strong point of opinion: The new Radio Position Finding skill should not be introduced. I am sceptical to all kinds of "clairvoyance" skills, that supply players with information that replaces or supersedes true player skill. A good and experienced player will know when he or she approaches a likely spot for an ambush, and acts accordingly - such as, for instance, by avoiding sailing too close when rounding an island in the middle of the map. That enemy destroyer which is currently undetected, is very likely to be found right there. Getting that information for free is harmful to the game experience of both the involved players - the ambusher loses out on the opportunity to enact a well-prepared ambush, and the ambushee loses out on the opportunity to thwart said ambush and turn the tables on his surprised opponent. In-game captain skills should never replace true player skill. That would make World of Warships lose a vital element of intellectual challenge between players, and make it more like an online game of shuffleboard (or click-and-play, if you like). I sincerely hope that this is not what Wargaming intends.

I also tend to measure my gaming expenditures in the number of beers they will get me at the pub. It helps. Of course, I still go out for a few beers at the pub now and then...

Yes, I've thought about using that heal boost flag on the Leander. For now, I only use those flags on my battleships - and on the Atago. And the Atago has a nice heal, now that I think about it...!