Verblonde

Hence why I run TA on Fubuki; you're stealthy enough that the range trade-off for extra speed is practical. (The main reason I have a TA captain about is Asashio/Yudachi though.)

Almost certainly a positioning problem - if you're getting repeatedly citadelled, you're most likely showing too much broadside, as mentioned by others. Also, bear in mind that as you go up the tiers, mistakes get punished more and more severely...

Ahem, can I, can I, can I...

Or even 9 seconds on my Shinonome (no BFT, obviously), but volume of fire was never the IJN torp line's thing (nor the 'dakka' line either, really, until T8) - the idea is to make use of the fairly hefty alpha, and only at choice moments i.e. in desperation or if able to finish something already maimed quickly. You absolutely should use your guns on Fubuki (all the other ships in the same line too, come to that), but - important - pick your moments (firing guns blows your stealth, so only do so judiciously). You are mainly about your torps, but neglecting the guns entirely is ill-advised. FWIW I show 9 gun kills, versus 28 with torps on my Fubuki, implying that the guns certainly have their uses. Fubuki has typical speed etc. for a T6 DD - 35 kts without engine boost activated; I'm not sure if there are any BBs in your MM spread that are faster (it's not like the distressing situation higher tier DDs occasionally face when things like GA switch on their engine boost). Thing is though, it's more about situational awareness and thinking ahead about relative positioning etc. When you're as sneaky as the T6 IJN DDs the speed/agility you have is sufficient, and the difference between 8 and 10 km torp range at that level isn't that significant - if you're trying to get hits (for area denial, longer range can be helpful, but I'll always prefer to do damage if it's a choice).

You're absolutely right about the AA on Shinonome - it's entirely dreadful. That's fairly moot though, as you'll be just as scragged by planes in a Fubuki; it all comes down to 'Just Dodge' and non-specific hiding for both ships. 8 km torps is plenty in the context of a 6.1 km surface detection; I actually run a TA captain on Fubuki, which makes their torps extremely similar (same range, Fubuki's are about 1 kt faster with TA, although the latter do 1.5K or so more damage too). The main plus of Shinonome over Fubuki is that the former gets an extra twin-barrelled turret, so has rather better dakka; the extra alpha can make a difference if you open up at the right moment. Of course, Shinonome is a premium, so you get the plus of usually being able to find a better captain for her (although that's moot for me personally, as I have a 19 pointer on Fubuki too).

Cheer up you lot, it could be worse: I got a chain of bleedin' BB missions! I've spent the last few days swearing my way through the damn things. I now need some serious wire brush scrubbing to get the BB cooties off!

It's enough; you do get single fire torps which help, and the RN line is more heavily about the guns than some of the other hybrid lines. A fully tooled-up Icarus was quite good in the old T6 competitive modes...

Thrash the nuts off her in Coop, and get the T6, where you get 1 km stealth torp window (upgraded) and the defensive hydro. Take it from there.

Free xp to the KM T5 and play (in Coop?) from there? The Germans are vaguely worthwhile hybrids, even if you're not a DD fiend (yay, HE pen buff). Mind you, these missions for collection containers are - IMO - all kinds of optional; so long as you opened the collection (which you will have, assuming you've got a container from the login bonuses), you can complete it entirely via the daily containers although it'll take a bit longer...

You will - it just takes a little time. There might be some legs in playing some of the slightly lower tier ships a bit: the density of radar (all things being equal) tends to increase as you move up the tiers; if you play some lower tier ships, you should get some games with lower radar numbers and such games are a bit easier to try out and refine your anti-radar methodology in. The down-side, of course, is that the IJN torp line has lousy AA and this is especially noticeable as you drop down the tiers, so you'll probably need to be polishing your anti-CV kung fu at the same time (although there is quite a lot of overlap). Maybe T6-T8 are worth a lash? BTW a good captain is probably more important than the tier; by that I mean that whatever you try to practice in, make sure your captain is good enough to enable a full stealth build (i.e. 10 points, at least, to unlock CE).

Skipping Yugumo - IMO - is a mistake; she's one of the better T9s - you have almost class-leading stealth (5.5 km) combined with the powerful 12 km torps (which go at 70 kts with 'zoomy torps' fitted); she also has the merit of being a reasonable 'bridge' between Kagero and Shima, in terms of transitioning from one to the other. Don't forget the guns too - if you can manage the painful traverse, and pick your spots, the alpha can make well-chosen opponents very unhappy. If you used to play Shima a lot in the pre-radar era, the meta has certainly changed, as you appear to have identified; Shima is still very effective, but requires a slightly more circumspect approach than previously. Radars are a nuisance, but can be played around with a bit of practice; the biggest threat to something sneaky (5.6 km spotting distance if you're doing it right - a lot of people in the game appear not to be, if the loading screen is accurate) is usually CVs, as they can spot you for longer than a radar can, as well as moving substantially faster. At least you have marginally less bad AA than Kagero suffers from! The necessary course of action is to focus on improving your anti-radar/CV kung fu; this is mainly an exercise in learning what all the radar ships can do (ranges, duration, and suchlike), and keeping track of the buggers in game - where are they, whose radar is on cooldown and so on. Incidentally, one plus point of Shima's 12 km torps is that they give you a nice visual indicator on the mini-map of where you're vulnerable to the longest range radar (Russians - 12 km). Dealing with radar isn't easy mode, but Shima is still very viable in a radar-heavy environment. Bear in mind that the actual sinking of the radar ships isn't really your job (unless one does something stupid), but rather that of your fatter team-mates once you spot them. Use F3 to draw people's attention to the ships you need sinking. The 20 km torps are not usually selected by competent players, which isn't to say you won't see a lot of them in use; the problem is that they encourage long-range spamming where your chances of hitting much of use are very small (the occasional straight-lining BB excepted). The 12 km ones are a far better choice (or even the F3s, if you're feeling lairy, but they are better left to DD-meisters though) if you actually want to do something useful with them. That said, if you *must* take the 20 km ones, then you want a TA captain: besides making them go faster, it'll give you a sensible 16 km range; overall though, the benefits of the 12 km option are superior (especially since you have to waste 2 captain points to make the 20 km ones vaguely sensible), provided you learn how to play around radar. I don't believe Shima is fundamentally bad (quite the reverse, in fact), but just north of five hundred random battles is not enough to have acquired the necessary skill-set to get the most from her (even/especially if returning from a long layoff).

Weak? I was under the impression that 'the community' felt Shinonome was pretty decent (at least until a CV takes a serious interest)...? I don't play mine as much as I should, but she feels pretty solid to me (enough so that I bought the 'national' cammo for her); admittedly, T-61 is better, but that's true of more or less any T6 DD.

I've seen it mentioned that - for good players - fail divisions are a good way to rack up some serious xp points, by bagging higher tier ships than would normally be available to the 'fail' part of the division. I don't go in for this sort of thing myself (not good enough), but still...

I tend to think the US DD line is worth playing, although I initially disliked it intensely for the exact reason you highlight - you don't get a stealth torp window until T7, and you don't get torps that go at a respectable speed until T9; the reason to play this line though is that it forces you to learn a range of essential skills, mainly revolving around when to use your guns and when not to, and how to make use of cover for ambushes etc. Besides that, the T9 and T10 are - IMO - excellent. The smoke can be very useful for screening team-mates and/or baiting radar, and (especially if you take DefAA) the Americans are one of the lines that copes least badly with an average CV. If you want a hybrid line with longer ranged torps though, the Germans are probably better...

I don't feel that the KM DDs have been especially hammered more than anything else by radar and CVs; they're like most other DDs now i.e. you have to be a bit more circumspect early game. You can still play pretty aggressively with the Germans once the initial stages of the game have been survived. The hydro is still highly effective, especially later in the game, once the radar has been thinned down a bit, and smoke often comes in handy when CVs come calling. I think that the advisability of grinding the KM DD line is a bit dependent on how many DD lines you've already ticked off; if you're already well practiced, then the RN DD line is better - IMO - whereas if you've only done one or two lines prior, then the KM are a good pick.

Not a heroic game, by any means, but for a DD main this isn't disastrous: Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and scrub off the BB Cooties with a wire brush and Dettol... (Bloody BB missions...)

FWIW I've got the KM DDs all the way to T10 (about three-quarters of the way through the LU grind for the latter), and I rather like them - they're (IMO) decent hybrids, with enough differences to make them interesting. The HE pen buff doesn't do any harm either. Their main trick, that largely defines them for me, is the smoke/hydro thing - if you dig that, then press on; if you can't be bothered, then maybe view them as less of a priority. This is quite useful for competitive, when there is a better chance of being supported when making use of hydro (although there are several premium options that provide the same thing, at least at some tiers). The 'big gun' options at T6 and T8 (I think) add another interesting aspect, although Z-39 gives you that too, if you have it; if using the big guns, you probably want a specialist captain (mainly because BFT is much less useful) though.

I'm somewhere in the range of "don't mind to vaguely like" having detonations in the game; not a hill I'd die on though. I run anti-det flags on my DDs in randoms when I have a decent stock of the things, and I try to always run them in competitive. Why? Because if I can eliminate even a 1% chance of knackering my team-mates, I will, at least when the game 'matters' (as much as any game can). I also don't run the anti-det mod, and often take the extra fire/flood signals that increase detonation chance, so my overall chance of detonating in games that matter would otherwise be rather higher. I feel it adds another minor layer of complexity to the game; that, in conjunction with the nod to history, makes the mechanic and associated mitigation measures worth keeping. Just about. All IMO, of course.

This was the Daily Bounce on the subject - a month or so back: https://thedailybounce.net/world-of-warships/supertest-german-premium-tier-vii-cruiser-munchen/

48% overall WR is suggestive that paying most certainly doesn't make you win...! My second most played premium (Harekaze, with 215 battles at time of writing) currently basks in the magnificence of a 42.79% WR!! If it is P2W, mine's broken...

Alas, I fear your tin foil hat may be restricting circulation...?

I suspect it might take a while for anyone to notice, although if they removed anti-det signals at the same time, any half awake DD player should twig immediately! Of course people would complain - someone always complains about *any* change to the game, regardless of how inconsequential! That said, I imagine the bulk of people who benefit the most (the not skilled) never visit the forum, so the wailing + gnashing of teeth would be pretty muted... I'd be sorry to see detonations (and associated nods to RN battlecruisers etc.) go, but not enough to have conniptions over the matter.

I don't understand this - too many, by what metric, and according to whose opinion (and why does that opinion carry more weight than someone who prefers to play solo)? People play the game for their own reasons, and get their enjoyment in a range of ways - provided they aren't harming anyone else, good luck to 'em. Full disclosure: I most commonly play solo, but also reasonably regularly play in divisions; if I have a specific goal at a given time (I dunno - 'x torp ribbons in a T8 DD whilst sailing backwards' or whatever this week's mission calls for), why should someone be coerced into divisioning with me if he/she happens to want to play - say - T6, or T10, or whatever, that doesn't coincide with what I want to be doing? FWIW though, it wouldn't surprise me to see WG introduce some minor economic bribe for platooning - they have it in WOT (although not for dynamic platoons in the game in which they're formed).

I don't mind detonation either (for the 'realism' reasons that @SeaWolf7 mentions); on the rare occasions I do get detonated, I usually just utter minor imprecations and just move on to the next battle - no biggie. It's worth remarking again that they're pretty rare anyway: at time of writing, I'm showing 53 Detonations from 4,767 randoms - that's an incidence rate of 1.1% (plus change). FWIW about 3/4 of my battles were in DDs the last I looked...

Bought 15, mainly for dragon flags (although around five contained cammo); got Mainz though too, which is quite worthwhile. Not unhappy with that. (I had Hipper in port already; edit - Z-39 too)