Verblonde

I didn't either, so thanks for drawing it to my attention, chaps! P.S. Not sure how this happened (I think I owe the people who carried my sorry posterior a big thank you) - Orkan leaderboard:

I think you may be exaggerating somewhat.. FWIW I don't hate CVs (can't play 'em for toffee, but don't hate them), but I do vehemently believe they absolutely shouldn't be in small map/team modes.

Presumably, a while away, but still: https://thedailybounce.net/world-of-warships/supertest-german-premium-tier-vii-cruiser-munchen/

I vaguely recall reading about an incoming T6 KM premium CV. I have a sneaking suspicion that this may well not be met with universal approval in some quarters... (Edit: this: https://thedailybounce.net/world-of-warships/supertest-german-premium-tier-vi-aircraft-carrier-erich-loewenhardt/)

And when it does, reach for a fully tricked-out French DD - going flat-out, things like Marceau, and the T8s, look like they're power-sliding when turning hard - Tokyo Drift stylee. You (well, *I*) may well get blown up, but you'll look mighty fine doing it!

Mediocre player (at best) view: "CVs" is the glib answer to the first part, and largely because of spotting, rather than damage; radar is - IMO - manageable, although it certainly doesn't make life any easier. I don't feel the class as a whole has been neglected (we got the Ikea line recently, for example), but some specific bits of it have been, most notably almost anything that relies heavily on stealth - the IJN top line in particular (although they were on WG's sh*tlist already - torp visibility nerfs etc..). Personally, I feel that the class in general doesn't need anything to make it interesting, provided you like the 'high risk, high reward' play style; but some things do need fettling to make them fun/viable in the current meta. So, what to do about it? Some suggestions (assuming starting from scratch, or close to): Pick the first couple of lines to play carefully, and expect a steep learning curve. The US DDs are the classic first line - decent dakka, usable (short-ranged until T7) torps, long-lasting smoke, and tolerable stealth. Crucially, once they get DefAA, they can do marginally more against planes than just use harsh language. I might be tempted to free xp to T5 (assuming you have enough xp available, and good enough captains); although we're usually sniffy about this sort of thing, I feel the impact of the T4 CV plague is such that this is not an entirely bad idea (although it's a trade off: T5 against T4 CVs is sometimes okay, depending on line; on the other hand, you are dropped straight into +2 MM, although DDs often uptier better than other classes). Practice your anti-CV/anti-radar technique heavily at lower tiers, where you'll be punished less heavily (hopefully) if you mis-judge something. For the former, learn how to maximise your AA (including sector reinforcement and DefAA and how they interact), and when to leave it switched off. Avoid the 'no smoke' lines, especially the French (no heal and lousy stealth), until you're comfortable with DD play. Overall, DDs are still fun and interesting to play, but you have to pick your ships carefully, and the play style is different with the CV/radar heavy meta we have at the moment than it was in years past...

I voted 'yes' as - in an ideal world - the impact of a meister in any ship should ideally be the same as in any other ship. However, I would note that this is, I suspect, an entirely unrealistic hope - unless the game became deathly dull and homogeneous there will always be some ships/classes where the very skilled can have a disproportionate impact. This is probably a good thing for the average player too - it effectively gives us different levels of challenge to take on, depending on mood etc. All of which said, an excessive level of impact difference is undesirable and should be avoided....

Majestic, sir!

The impression I get is that it's largely because much of the time Perth (or Leander) are usually better. The reason I thought it might be worth a lash is that - as you mention - the AA is pretty fearsome, based on a quick look through things in my port. For me, the torps are a bit short ranged...?

Don't forget that damage on its own isn't necessarily going to do the job (although damage is the key reward driver); what you're after is proportional damage i.e. the % of a ship's (full strength, I think) hp that you take off - you'll be better rewarded for, say, taking 10K hp off a DD than you would be for doing exactly the same damage to something like a BB. Kills are good in terms of winning the game (removing guns from the game and all that), and the earlier the better, but I believe they only give a modest bump in xp earnings. Concentrate on trying to stay alive (especially when playing things that get shot at a lot) - the longer you live, the more opportunities you have to contribute to your side winning...

So far, I'm thinking that "fun, but difficult" might not be a bad summary...

Anyone want to take a guess when I started to try to learn to Marceau:

I find it's easier to progress earlier in the season, as most of the competent players tend to still be around; obviously, this doesn't help you this time, but for the next season... The other thing to do is play whatever ship you're especially lethal in - at this stage of the season, it should be slightly more practical to regularly save a star, whilst still trying to win. Focusing DDs (or anything else you can do a high proportion of damage to) early should also help your xp gains too... There will always be an element of luck with the teams you get (last three Sprint seasons, I took anywhere from twenty to fifty-something games to rank out, I think), but you can reduce how important that factor is.

It's a +15% one, that runs for 270 secs with a coal mod. Normal speed shows as 33 kts, so the boost should take you to just shy of 38 kts (37.95). (Had to work it out, because I don't usually pay enough attention to know off the top of my head) Edit: a bit more with signal, but I don't usually mount that on things that aren't DDs...

GA is rather useful to have for doing secondary missions in Coop (if you don't already have something like MA); she gets a speed boost and everything...?

That's a good point that I'd momentarily forgotten about (although I knew there was a reason why I tend not to go for range with DDs)...

My latest 'almighty -up with a forumite present' was witnessed by @rnat who put me (and my Marceau) out of my misery with his shiny Slava...

Not yet - at the moment, I don't have an AFT captain available, and I'm trying the 'dakka' upgrade in the last slot (wondering about changing to range, although I do struggle to hit stuff at that distance with floaty shells)...

Likewise; with the French ones, I do miss the healing potion, and the whole 'visible from the moon' thing takes a bit of getting used to. BTW I was finally able to try out the AA in my last battle with her - the T10 US CV came to visit; daft bugger flew right through my AA bubble - 7 plane kills (with DefAA on, but no BFT), I think. Not sure yet how it holds up when the CV is actually trying to sink you.

I was having a thoughtful look through my port earlier and there wasn't a single thing where I thought "yay - that'll be a great pick on small maps with CVs about!". If there weren't CVs, I would probably be pretty stoked about a T6 Clans season, but as it, nah. Huanghe might be worth a go - creeping smoke and okayish AA in theory, or London (smoke and a heal), or *maybe* T-61, although I suspect that the latter would spend its entire time fleeing from CVs. Beats me why WG couldn't have just gone with an odd tier on this occasion, to buy themselves some time to work out a practical fix for CVs on small maps; not feeling hugely enthused at this point...

I've just picked it up (yesterday, I think), mainly because it's the only interesting coal ship that I don't have yet. Initial impressions: Very unforgiving, especially if you're not already a French DD meister - high skill floor. Splendidly fast, and plenty of dakka (a bit short ranged though, and fairly rainbow arcs); torps take an age to reload. Supposed to have good (for a DD) AA, but no CVs have been daft enough to attack me yet. I'm really not good enough to do well with her yet... At the very least, it's a giggle in Coop. A bit of a shock if you've been almost entirely sneakiness- focused with your DDs.

I suspect, rather than trolling, it might just be a surprisingly good understanding of realpolitik...?

Didn't we have a thread about almost exactly this a few weeks ago...? It certainly wouldn't surprise me - can't have the Germans having better CV secondaries than the glorious Rodina, after all.

True, but you can't do anything about them, so the only thing you can do is focus on (in my case) sucking as little as possible, as well as assessing as early as possible just how bad/insane the latest set of team-mates are...!

A more productive avenue would be to worry more about your own performance, and less about what others are doing; it is only the former you have any control over. If this is your first season of any kind of ranked, I suggest using it as a chance to benchmark where you are and what you need to work on for next time. You don't need to be a good player to rank out in sprint, just slightly persistent (I'm pretty poor - 48% overall WR in randoms - and ranked out in all of the last three sprints, in 20-56 games). There are some things you can do that will improve your chances next time: Play all classes in the time between now and the next season, not just CVs and BBs; it's a lot easier to do well when you have practical experience of everything that may be trying to sink you. As soon as you know the tier that the next event will happen at, practice in randoms in a few 'candidate' ships beforehand to assess which work best for you. Play reasonably early in the season if your schedule allows - later in the season, the bulk of the good players have ranked out, so increasing your chances of getting flakier team-mates (I think there is something to be said for avoiding weekends too, but that may be confirmation bias).