Verblonde

If you want the long version, there are several very long threads from when this matter first started to smell; naturally, they are positively bulging with WG's trademarked tact, diplomacy, and concern for their (paying) customers... Short version is probably yes: more than once, various WG folk have - in such threads - stated that if you sell Moskva before the switch, you'll get the semi-premium version back after said switch (apparently, you only need to have researched it at some point, rather than actually have it in your port). I would suggest caution, and only doing it at the last minute (or not at all) though: Technically, everything we know so far is WiP; so, although unlikely, WG may change their mind. If they were to change their mind, recent form suggests it will not be in players' favour. As with other ships, you'll need to either pay doubloons to demount upgrades, or sell them (at the usual 50% of value rate). The relevance of this will depend on how much you value doubloons/silver. The consensus seems to be not to do anything until the final patchnotes come out, which make it all official.

I don't feel it is, really - WG set up certain expectations and then tried to row back on them; it's not surprising that people would moan (especially with the ham-fisted attempt to justify it with the whole CVs argument, which is obvious nonsense this time). A more sensible - and customer-service orientated - company would leave things as it they were, and find alternative avenues for topping up the 'beer and ladies of negotiable affection' fund...

The key word is 'similar'; there are definitely ships in each class that are more or less optimal for T7 Ranked, and the choice will be different compared to regular randoms for a range of reasons, but the lack of CVs is the big one (with an honourable mention for much less radar to deal with). Having had a quick look at your ships, I would suggest you focus on Maass: besides the fundamental ship being a fairly solid pick for Ranked (smoke/hydro for a start), you're pretty good with it. The other thing that strikes me from your screen shot is that you're jumping all over the place with ship choice - if you want to maximise your chances, try and play the same ship for several games in a row, at least - that'll increase your chances of getting the most from the thing. Other than that, you've probably just had a run of bad luck; we all get streaks both of losses and wins (I'm currently showing a 63.6% WR for Ranked and there is absolutely zero chance I'm that good; I've just had luck that mirrors yours). All you can do is do everything you can to maximise your chances of winning and hope it all evens out over a large enough data set; on the up-side, if one is a competent player, one has rather fewer people to carry in Ranked, compared to Randoms.....

I have a theory to partly explain why Belfast can be such a monster; it's not the consumables combination, or anything like that - it's because there are so many idiots around who won't shoot them, for whatever reason...! I assume it's newbies who haven't seen one before.

Just opened nine in a row after completing the second directive - every last one of the buggers was a 5. RNGeezus hates me. Right, only one rational way to respond to this state of affairs: Virgins, assemble - we're going to take nice little walk up that nice volcano over there...!

So, played five, won the first three; the two losses were a bit of an indictment of my team-mates in those cases - I really shouldn't have been top in either battle...! I was in Haida, and not remotely playing to save a star...

This. The costs for used weapons/planes are in the wiki - as you've probably seen - just below the service cost section.

Without testing to make sure I'm right, I *think* T10 services costs for you should be as follows: Silver T10, no permaflage: 180,000 x 0.75 (for Coop) x 0.85 (15% off for Clan Base) = 114,750. Silver T10, with permaflage: 90,000 x 0.75 x 0.85 = 57,375. Premium T10, no permaflage: 90,000 x 0.75 x 0.85 = 57,375 (again). Premium T10, with permaflage: 45,000 x 0.75 x 0.85 = 28,688 (rounded up). That, of course, assumes that the T10 ships (which are technically 'event' ships, or something like that) behave as premiums as far as service costs are concerned. I can't recall if this has been confirmed as being the case or not (I rarely play most of mine, so it's moot for me personally). If you're concerned about silver at high tiers, it's worth getting hold of at least one T9 'resources' ship, as they are full premiums, and have a higher earning potential as a result (all things being equal)...

So do I, and based on giving the thing a try in Coop so are (almost?) all the existing Russian T5 premiums (I'm not really a cruiser chap, so proper players' mileage may vary); I was thoroughly unimpressed by Mikoyan. I think I would rather play Krispy - at least she's a laugh... The key reasoning to always keep premiums includes to block getting it again (mainly Xmas boxes, or the occasional mission/giveaway), and because it doesn't cost anything to do so, apart from a blocked port slot (and we get up to three of those free each month). T5+ will also get you snowflake rewards if/when they happen. The weekly missions to get tokens for the current event (when people care) is another Mikoyan-specific reason to keep her, although that'll obviously evaporate in a few weeks. Once that's done, my Mikoyan will be relegated to largely snowflake/blocking duties only...

My feeling is that it depends quite a bit on your preferred class, what your aims are, and what the meta ends up being like. If you're a BB main, the argument in favour of buying a T7 premium is perhaps the weakest for the relevant classes; whilst there are some decent T7 BBs available, their performance (even against same-tier opponents) is generally not sufficient to give a significant advantage over anything silver, especially if you're trying to 'learn' the ship whilst playing Ranked. Based on your screen-shot, you already have perhaps the most effective T7 BB (as others have highlighted) i.e. Sinop. Personal aims whilst playing Ranked may have an impact: are you aiming to get to R1 as a primary goal, or will you call it a day at R10 (when you get the flag)? Are you using the thing as an exercise in earning xp for your relevant line's T8, or grinding something else (free/captain xp/silver)? If you're going for the highest Rank possible, you simply choose your best performing ship (which may change as you go up the ranks, depending on any meta shifts); some of the other aims may argue in favour of a premium, especially if you need silver. What the meta ends up looking like may well have an impact too: if we're wall-to-wall BBs, say, the optimal pick may well be different to that facing only one or two per side, and so on. Also, the meta tends to shift with higher ranks, so your pick may be different at the end compared to the start. For my own case (DD main), I will be taking largely premiums: Haida and Z-39. My personal aim is only to get to R10, so I don't need 'best' (although you can make a case for those two according to that metric too); I also aim to earn as much silver/captain xp/free xp as possible, which means ships that I can put 19 point captains in, get reasonable xp rewards with, and plenty of silver (so, premiums again). If my primary aim was R1, Jervis would be a very viable option, and maybe Skane (AA wasted, but you get a heal).... The other aspect to consider is fun: Ranked is usually an exercise in aneurysm-inducing frustration, especially once you're into the higher region without irreversible ranks; you're going to be playing a lot if you want to get to R1 (and even R10), so it'll be a marginally less hideous experience in a ship you actively enjoy... I suppose I could have just answered 'it depends', but I thought something more extended might be vaguely useful to someone...!

Whilst I can't speak for anyone else, my view is that selling any premium is extraordinarily ill-advised; I tend to offer that view in threads when people state they have done so as a warning to others not to do it. There are quite a lot of newer players around at the moment, and learning a new game of the complexity of WOWS is hard enough without having to know which advice is poor, and which less so.

This is very much my plan too...!

This is why - I suspect - more practiced players don't worry too much about Ikea torps: they know that the alpha isn't much of a threat (to big things anyway), and they can deal effectively with DoT effects. A newer player is less likely to be well versed in managing DCP and heal etc. so making them more vulnerable to intelligent attacks that maximise DoT...?

As a keen Pan EU user, I find the extra speed helpful (I think*) for striking targets where other people spotted the torps first e.g. if you shot at a BB, say, but your torps pass through the hydro range of something on the way to the target, the target gets less time to get himself together than if you'd used slower fish. *To explain: I'm getting - I think - more hits with the faster torps, and if it isn't the standard reaction time (where the target does the spotting), there may well be something else going on...?

FWIW this is the thing I found on NA: https://forum.worldofwarships.com/topic/218243-bagrationochakov-missions/?do=findComment&comment=5056324 Edit: am I remembering correctly that NA get their patches a day before the EU server?

According to something I saw on the NA forum, the reset date for all three ships is tied to the patch date, so it should reset after Wednesday this week, if I understand correctly. I could have misunderstood though, so take this with a pinch of salt.

To be fair, trying to play Pan EU with three hundred (and change) random battles is almost certainly going to end badly - no smoke, for a start, quite slow, and low alpha...

My containers have all been 5 and 10 tokens (the vast majority the former) so far; I do have Mikoyan though, thanks to the extra tokens earned by giving Bagration (I had a weak moment, although I refuse to buy the random token bundles) a bit of a thrashing in Coop. Not hugely keen on on Mikoyan, but there is no chance I'll sell her (+1 to the "never sell premiums" sentiment earlier, no matter how pants they are) as having her in port prevents me getting her again from Xmas boxes etc.

Frankly, for most BBs, Ikea DDs are the least of your worries: their torps do very little damage (comparatively), and their guns are a mere annoyance to the fat lads. At time of writing, you are showing 304 random battles; there is nothing wrong with that, but it is very few in terms of learning the game - WOWS is about a lot more than just driving at the enemy and destroying them with enormous guns. Short version: you have a lot to learn, and whilst you're learning that, you're vulnerable. So, some tips that may (or may not) be of help: Don't rush up the tiers, but advance up them in a considered way, and preferably playing all the classes. There are a few good reasons for this, but they do include learning about the game mechanics, and doing so in a logical sequence, such that you aren't having to learn to play against everything all at once. Besides that, unless you've thrown stupid sums of money at the game, you won't have many (any?) good captains yet; lacking a decent captain will put you at a disadvantage before a single shot has been fired. 'Good enough' is open to discussion, but my feeling is that you want *at least* ten points anywhere in the +2 MM bracket (so, T5 and up); this goes double as a newcomer. Take time to learn the game mechanics (especially those concerning vision, and how the various ammunition and torps work); the wiki is a good general-purpose source (https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships), and will also help you with choosing captain builds and how to equip your ships. Watch tutorials on YouTube; they can be invaluable when first starting out (iChase is a good place to start, although be mindful that anything from before the CV reework will be outdated). Join a clan, ideally one that's happy to teach, and even more ideally that uses voice comms - divisioning with other people should accelerate your learning curve (and it'll usually give you some economic bonuses too) as it gives feedback in real time. If you're finding torps to be an issue in your BBs, then there is a good chance you're doing it wrong. A lot of newer players don't evade torps until they detect them; this is often too late (especially with faster ones - my T10 Ikea's do something like 90 kts, and that's without TA) due to fat lads being rather slow to turn/accelerate/decelerate etc. The golden rule, if anything with torps may be within striking distance is to *never* go in a straight line and/or at a constant speed - most torps are evaded long, long before you detect them. Speaking as a DD main, I live for straightlining BBs, so don't be one of them. Concentrate on situational awareness and spend a lot of time looking at your mini-map (make sure 'last known position is on, and all/almost all the range circles, and make it as big as your monitor can reasonably handle); as a DD, my aim is to - as it were - get lost; as a target, your aim is to make that as hard as possible, and not lose track of where I could be when I'm not spotted. If you have a reasonable sense of where the enemy is, it makes it harder for them to ambush you. Learn as much about the various ship types that you'll be facing as possible: what's fast/slow, has torps (how fast, how damaging, what range), uses weird ammo, is especially dangerous with a particular type, runs which consumables (and how likely e.g. when you get to higher tiers, there are ships than can load radar *or* smoke; which one will be picked depends on a raft of factors and you need to plan accordingly), and so on. This is another reason not to rush up the tiers - it's easier to learn a narrower spread of ships, rather than all of them. Learn to manage your DCP and/or heals effectively; in something like a BB (which always has a heal and lots of hp), a more competent player is looking for BBs that pop DCP at the first fire; they'll then slowly count to a suitable number to account for immunity period and then try and burn/flood you again, for maximum damage (this, incidentally, is what the Ikeas in particular need to do to be a serious threat, as their alpha is so low); what BBs should do is let the first fire - at least - burn (unless it'll kill you on its own), and maybe even let a flood run (although that will slow you down, which can be a greater issue). Ideally, pop your DCP when you are not likely to get zapped again right after. Get better at positioning: too far back and you're worthless; too far forward and you'll over-extend and get focused. There's plenty more, of course, but that's a few simple starters. Know though, that virtually all of us were newbies once, and you're in the same boat as many folk at the moment (COVID has seen a big spike in new players); you do have a big advantage though - you've found the forum, and are asking questions. Keep doing the latter and you'll get plenty of helpful advice; just avoid the "this game is broken and needs fixing right away, because I died having not understood something!" type of approach...

Thanks for drawing this to my attention - I'd missed it. Gave mine a run out earlier, and it was a monster (despite the vigorous attentions of a couple of T4 CVs for much of the battle); I think it does have a slightly unsporting advantage at the moment - judging by the Hill (?) I bushwhacked in its smoke, at least some people don't know about the hydro yet... Edit: 31 plane kills too...!

Nah - for a start, it would be horribly counter-intuitive. I think it's probably not needed either; there are better things to mess with.

If I could give more than one upvote, I would, if only for this. Splendid post, sir!

FWIW I think they tacitly acknowledge there is a problem with how CVs interact with everything else - I got a survey a day or so ago basically asking what I thought about the subject and what I would do to fix/improve the situation. That sounds like they're trying to work out what they might change, and how it would be received by players that care enough to fill out surveys... Edited for missing word...!

I can and do quite frequently (and I suck); it's not foolproof, but it's effective enough to not be a one-shot, or even close, which is what some folk seem to be implying. We may all be talking slightly at cross-purposes when we say 'average' though: the usual WOWS numbers benchmark for 'average' is 50% WR; when I say 'average', I'm meaning the usual players you typically find in randoms. Speaking as a bit of a potato, a 50% player is usually a serious threat, whereas the majority of players you actually meet are much less so. If CVs in general, and rockets in particular, were as 'sky is falling implements of Doom' as people on here are suggesting, I would have given up DDs entirely...

IMO (for what it's worth), you want to be jinking hard as soon as the rocket planes have started to bear down on you, and do so unpredictably; it's quite difficult to evade the bulk of a rocket strike if you wait almost until launch before making your hard turn - jinking earlier makes the CV work harder to get his reticle settled. Obviously, a hard turn around launch is desirable, but it usually won't be enough on its own. For an ordinary CV, the best way to deal with this is to go for a DD that's already worrying about a surface threat - it's much harder to keep track of planes if - say - a cruiser is taking an interest in you as well...