Verblonde

I bought it (with 30% off voucher - yay for anniversaries) - it's Ark royal, after all! I suspect mine is going to spend most of its time in Ops and Coop, but what the hell. She's very pretty and has Swordfish and everything.

Although it's a bit dull, if one is thinking of spending money on the game, the first thing to get is arguably some premium account time (if you don't have it already), as that boosts the economic performance of everything you play. Ideally, get it on cheapness of some sort; also, it's generally cheaper per day when bought in larger chunks (although you're more likely to not use it all, when RL intervenes). As to premiums, I'm not the best person to ask about BBs (despite the fact I have almost all of them), due to my being pretty bad in them! That said (and proper BB players may disagree), some thoughts: If you're only going to buy a single premium, there is a case to be made that it not be a low tier one: with practice, you'll get good enough that lower tiers are not something you'll play with the frequency necessary to get the most value from a premium ship. The IJN T4 is okay if unremarkable; wiki entry here: https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Ship:Ishizuchi If you focus on mid-tiers, I find both the T6 and T7 to be useful for Ops (I have the Kobayashi cammo on Ashitaka, which makes the silver earnings top-notch for the tier), although I rarely play them against real people. You also have Kii at T8; the main problem here is that you're having to deal with T8 MM, of course. Other than that, she has better AA than is usual for the IJN, plus 10 km torps, which can be a mixed blessing - occasionally, they're lethal, but more commonly, one gets horribly sunk trying too hard to get into a good launch position! If I were going to pick just one, I would go with Ashitaka (it used to be awful, but got buffed a while ago), even though it's perhaps a bit high tier; in the short-term, use it in Narai and Coop (and maybe the current season of Ranked Sprint). Ashitaka also has the merit of not having torps, so she plays more like the standard silver ships - one can make the case that a consistent play style across silver and premium ships is helpful when polishing one's technique. Incidentally, I've only mentioned currently available IJN BBs as you expressed a preference in that direction - there are lots of other good options from alternative nations, of course.

Nah - I really do suck...!

You'll be happy to hear there are very few truly OP ships in the game, although you can make a case for one or two - GC being a recent example (which does have consistently better results stats for pretty much all players). What does happen relatively frequently is the combination of experienced players, high point captains, and strong ships - this is a dangerous combination, and why I tend to keep banging on about acquiring the strongest possible skill-set (even for a potato like me). With fewer than 200 battles under your belt, you can play whatever you like with an entirely clear conscience (hells, *I* can play whatever I like with a clear conscience, as - after 8.3K battles - I still suck!)

Yes, but just playing the game often generates quite a few free ones, plus you have the option of the relevant daily container too (although I personally value the More Resources ones more highly, for the coal). If you find yourself short, only use them in PvP modes. Also, I've watched the entire film now; the above 'how to BB' feedback is great, so I'll just add a couple of things: My earlier guess about aiming too high seems to be correct - some of the time at least. Like I said, flick your gaze between your target and the mini-map before firing, to check which direction the target is going; at typical BB firing ranges, even a slight change in distance (nearer or further) can make a difference to where you hit a target. The above shows the armour layout on Okt Rev; if your shots go slightly high, you may well hit the blue bits, which'll often result in an overpen (the armour's too thin to arm the AP shells' fuses). If you can adjust your aim to account for the opening or closing of range, you're more likely to hit the yellow/orange bits, so arming the fuses. Bear in mind, of course, that some things are very easy to get overpens with, almost regardless of where you shoot them e.g. that French cruiser you hit perfectly centre-mass later on in the game, DDs etc. I agree with Namolis apropos using Shift to switch between zoomed and wide angle; it makes the change more or less instantaneous, which reduces the time you spend zooming, freeing you up for more important stuff (it's even more useful with things that reload quickly). A minor point: if something is likely to get within range of your secondaries, it's worth ctrl clicking the ship in question to prioritise it - it'll improve your secondaries' performance against that target. As mentioned earlier, don't rely on secondaries unless you're in a secondary monster like MA etc.

My pleasure; I'll write more anon, but @Namolis has done an excellent job already. I'm not qualified to provide the quality 'how to BB' stuff that he's provided. The question of consumables is a bit of a balancing act, particularly if you aren't running premium account. If you can sort out your damage dealing though, you'll make a lot more silver, allowing you to run more premium consumables. Against real people, I usually run a full premium consumable loadout - mainly for the reduced cooldown (the extra charge is nice too) - but I do run premium account. I would urge always running premium DCP though, and maybe healing potion, as those are the ones that keep you alive longer (giving you more time to do damage, so boosting earnings). being frugal isn't a bad thing as such, but it can be counter-productive when it results in getting sunk prematurely.

@TrangleC I have to head out shortly, so I've only been able to get a few minutes into your video - I'll have a proper look layer. That said, I've spotted a couple of things: First (and not relating to the topic directly): you appear not to be running cammo? If you pick the right ones, your detection distance will be slightly better and the dispersion suffered by people firing at you will be slightly worse. Second, and more relevantly, I've spotted something that might help you a bit: quite early, you're engaging an Okt Rev and (as you said) you're aiming at the waterline; however, the ship is moving towards you at an angle of somewhere around 45 degrees (looking at the mini-map). Your left-right aim looks about right, but by the time your shells arrive, the target is rather nearer; the thing goes dark for a moment while the shells are actually arriving, but you get a single overpen with that salvo. My guess is that your shells nearer the back and front of the ship overshot, and one in the middle hit the superstructure - this bit is usually not well armoured, hence the overpen. I'll watch the entire thing later, but if this is typical we may have found one cause of overpens/misses - if a target is closing with you, you often need to aim lower than the waterline, at the point you estimate the ship will be at when your shells actually arrive (you've noticed the timer, I imagine, telling you how long your shells will take to get to the point you're aiming at).

@TrangleC with regard to pens/bounces/overpens etc. you may find the relevant section of the wiki helpful: https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Ship:Armor_Penetration Short version though, if you keep getting overpens, perhaps move your aim to more armoured parts of the ship (if there are any), or switch to HE. Sometimes though, overpens will still do enough damage to deal with smaller ships e.g. DDs (even though the damage they can do is capped in the case of DDs); this is relevant because it usually takes a long time to switch ammo types. The penetration mechanics are worth studying, so you know what to aim at, and with which ammo type.

That's suggestive that you may not be close enough, or that your aim is slightly off; BBs are inherently inaccurate though so it's rare that at least one or two shells won't miss. iChase is pretty good on aiming, and setting up your reticle etc.: https://www.google.ca/search?source=hp&ei=IQ-AXbOMDu7s_Qaar6Yg&q=ichase+how+to+aim&oq=ichase+how+to+aim&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30.1173.3372..3684...0.0..0.164.1706.11j6......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131j0j0i10j0i13j33i160j0i13i30j33i22i29i30.wDFiFTpdwrs&ved=0ahUKEwjzoPO2tNbkAhVudt8KHZqXCQQQ4dUDCAc&uact=5#kpvalbx=_JQ-AXY_EFofaswWcuL3QCg21

You'll be fine for a teaching or casual clan; as for how to join, perhaps start here: https://forum.worldofwarships.eu/forum/507-clan-zone/

Smoke/hydro combo.

Same notes about premiums that match your silver lines apply, which is a point in favour of Sims by the sound of it - Sims is pretty good in a high CV environment (with an AA build - AA Guns Mod 1 still works on her), but her mediocre stealth can be annoying when there aren't CVs about. If it ever returns, she used to be glorious in Dynamo (the Op) too. Slow torps (49 knots) take a bit of getting used to, although a recent buff to their range (now 10.5 km) makes them a lot more usable. You also have a YOLO torp option as well, but I don't run it. Haida is one of my favourite ships in the game (one of only two - I think - DDs with a secondary armament, which can be a giggle), although I'm biased as the real thing is parked about half an hour from where I live. She is very stealthy for her tier, and a very worthwhile gunboat. Single bank of torps, although (unlike Kidd) she can single fire, which mitigates this with some practice. She also has creeping smoke, which can be very useful at times. AA is okay, but unremarkable (Haida is a later Tribal, so doesn't have Cossack's appalling AA). The defensive hydro makes you functionally immune to torps (assuming you can dodge) for a mighty 216 secs with the coal mod mounted! Speaking of coal mods, I also mount the smoke one too. The crucial down-side to Haida is that she's a Commonwealth ship i.e. hopeless as a captain trainer, and you really want at least a 10-pointer in her to work properly. The other T7 premium DD I would flag up is Z-39: she has the same hydro/smoke combination as Loyang (5 km range, and two minute run time with coal mod) and is a good trainer for the silver KM DDs. AA is okay for a DD, and her stealth is surprisingly good thanks to being able to mount the Concealment Mod a tier early. Something to have on the radar: she has 150 mm guns, so BFT captains won't improve your main battery ROF.

Recent history suggests that missions for ships you already have will give silver, not doubloons, alas. I imagine it will be; the crucial question is at what drop rate...!

First bit of advice is the usual 'high tier premiums are a bad idea early in your playing career', which I'll assume you'll be ignoring - well. it *is* 25% off after all! They're both really good ships; when making your decision, perhaps think about the following: *If* you know how to use it, Loyang's smoke/hydro combo is excellent (the latter is basically cruiser hydro - 5.5 km detection range for ships); the down-side is that a lot of higher tier players know how to counter this (Loyang was monstrous in competitive until people worked it out; now it's simply just good) and there's no shortage of radar about these days. Mount the hydro mod (for coal) in slot 2 - it'll increase your hydro run time to 132 secss. Kidd's USP is the AA (for which you lose a bank of torps) and the heal; the former includes DefAA (load the coal upgrade in slot 2 to maximise run time), and the latter gives you exceptional survivability. In terms of dakka, they're similar, although Kidd gets an extra turret (she's a T8 Fletcher after all, and Loyang is a C-hull Benson - *the* Benson). Kidd only has one bank of torps (they're the upgraded Benson torps), versus two for Loyang; the latter has the option of either the same torps as Kidd (two launchers), or faster/shorter range 'YOLO' torps which are riskier to use, but harder to evade. I run the YOLO ones FWIW. Unlike the silver PA ships, Loyang doesn't have DWT of course. Both are good trainers for their respective silver lines. In my view, Loyang perhaps works rather better if your team is hopeless, as she can do plenty of her own damage; Kidd's reduced torp set means she needs supporting ships to do a lot of her damage, and you have to break stealth to use the guns - does one or other play style suit you better. Which one to pick will depend on your own preferences, and whether you have the silver line for each (it's easier to get a good captain for both if you can maximise daily win bonuses with more than one ship); how you play and in which mode will also be relevant e.g. Loyang is very good for competitive modes, whilst Kidd is excellent any time there are planes present (she holds my personal record for plane kills in a single game), and so on...

Atlanta is hilarious but is hard to do well with, and she tends to do best with a specific (and high point) captain. Her formerly glorious AA has been rather neutered of late too, which removes one of her key selling points. At time of writing, she's in the premium shop for 26 UKP and change. I would not advise her as a good early pick for premiums though...

I don't play cruisers that much, but the problem that DDs have with planes is largely spotting: a good CV player is usually required to do you significant damage, as you're small and very nimble = hard to hit. Whilst a CV may not sink you in a small ship, it can keep you spotted and that's what kills you (and consequently what makes poor AA DDs so hard to play with planes around), as the opposing cruisers - assuming they're even half awake - can now shoot you. This explains my DD technique, which is roughly as follows when planes are present: Load up for AA. In initial phases of the game, put an island between you and the enemy fleet (preferably near where you should be to do 'proper' DD things) and wait for the planes to find you. Leave AA off! Sneak out to spot if you know the enemy planes are nowhere near you - don't get too distracted by the AA thing. When said planes get into your 'scary' (using the term loosely) AA aura, unload DefAA on them. Hopefully, you'll kill enough to discourage the CV from trying the same thing for a minute or two, allowing you to be a proper DD for a bit. Leave AA toggled off unless you're actually using it (assuming your AA range is longer than your aircraft spotting distance). There's a bit more to it than that, but that's the essence.

BTW in case it isn't obvious: since the reework, the relative positions of CVs and surface ships vis-a-vis AA and their other interactions have yo-yoed significantly. When the reework was initially launched, CVs were horribly powerful in the right hands (their spotting especially) and things without AA and/or reliant on stealth vanished. CVs were then repeatedly bashed with the nerf bat, probably to excess (although opinion varies dramatically and passionately); recently, AA got changed again, and Hosho got buffed (and Enterprise was removed from sale). Balance is still not right though, and will almost certainly change again (and again?). Having got that out of the way, in general (this week, anyway) CVs are not dominant in most players' hands (in my opinion, and definitely excluding unicums) and playing against sensibly chosen ships.

It varies a lot with nation: IJN generally have weaker AA, with a few notable exceptions (Kii, the dakka DDs etc.); the US AA is pretty monstrous, especially higher up the tiers, with everyone else generally falling somewhere in the middle. Weak AA isn't a universal feature of cruisers; to the contrary, several of the most terrifying AA ships are cruisers (although several of them were dramatically weakened by the reework e.g. Atlanta). Something to have in mind in this context is WW2: although WOWS is not exactly historically accurate in a lot of respects (in much the same way that I'm not exactly a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi!), there is a bit of a reflection of history in many ships AA i.e. pre-WW2 and early WW2, the threat of aircraft was either small, or not fully appreciated yet; lower tier ships (which are generally historically older) generally have no/weaker AA, whilst things from later periods often have AA stuck on just about every available horizontal surface. If you haven't found it yet, have a look at the wiki: (https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships Although it's a bit flaky here and there (newer ships, and some of the most recent reework changes), it's a pretty good start when meditating on ships' characteristics and desirability. The substantial increase in CVs that resulted from the reework has changed the calculus of what to play and how to equip it for a lot of people. For example, I'm a DD main: I have the IJN torp line up to T10 and it now almost never gets played in randoms, as the AA is lousy; in it's place, I've been making much more heavy use of the US DDs (and Groz - T10 Russian) built for AA - the loss of stealth due to planes matters less to them, and with appropriate modules and DefAA you can shred most players' planes (63 is my record - in Kidd - and 55 in non-premium Groz; better players make these numbers look pathetic too). The same sort of logic extends to all classes and nations. Realistically though, this was always the case to a degree although having to worry about CVs is a bigger thing than sometimes in the past. But like everything else in WOWS, skill is the key thing, even when dealing with planes. Again, as I know DDs: even a plane shredder like Groz will get massacred if a) the CV driver is determined and knows his business, and b) if you do something dumb like not ensure there is an island between you and the enemy's surface ships when the planes spot you.

Kind of, although there are some differences: You can buy (with doubloons usually), or occasionally win, perma-flage for your T10 ships - this turns them into (effectively) premiums, as far as silver making is concerned. Some of my best earners are T10s for this reason, but the cammo is very expensive. The best silver generator will vary a bit from player to player: it'll probably be a premium (and/or T10 with perma-flage), but which one specifically will depend on how good you are in each ship. For example, MO is a notoriously good money-maker, but for me it's mediocre as I suck in BBs. Basically, you're usually interested in whatever ship you can reliably do the most damage in, as damage (specifically, proportional damage) is the key driver of rewards. As in WOT, the economy is geared such that higher tiers get more expensive to run, but things like premium account make a significant positive difference to one's in-game finances, as does competence - get blown up early without doing much damage, and you'll probably lose silver; survive longer and do a lot of damage (especially to smaller ships), and you'll probably turn a profit. Unlike WOT, in WOWS you have access to money-making cammo and signals - judicious use of these, especially in modes with better earnings, should boost your silver noticeably. Clans: join a clan and you'll get some economic bonuses (assuming they've developed their base); also of significance, you'll get access to Clan Wars - this can generate a *lot* of silver very quickly with the right ships/cammo/signals.

Not at all - merely observing that I've used all said luck up now! My view is that I can never grumble about SC contents having had that one spectacular find...

@Panocek: +1 for this:

Hurrah for free SCs! Having used up all my luck when I got Kami in one a year or two ago, I'm assuming that my stock of ramming flags is about to become even more bounteous..!

(if you want to @ someone, you need to click on their name on the drop-down that appears below your text when you start typing their name e.g. @TrangleC (no space)) T4 ships only see up to T5 at worst; the only way to face T6 in a T4 is if you enter a division with a T5+ ship. I would strongly suggest that - unless you are a unicum - this is a bad idea. I'm not surprised you've seen a lot of CVs though; because of the even-tiers only thing, people spend longer in each CV, plus - at the moment - T4 CVs are in a pretty good place vis-a-vis balance making them more popular with people who want to pad their stats, *and* most players they face are still pretty green, and are often in ships with poor AA. Incidentally, to counter this, there are also people having a lovely time loading up AA monsters (relatively speaking) to farm said T4 CVs...! Full disclosure: since the reework almost all the ships I play in modes with CVs present tend to be those that can give planes a bloody nose, as this gives you more freedom to move around without getting blapped (although it obviously gimps you for surface to surface). DBW is indeed awful for a newbie (again, I hated it the first time), but mainly because when you get to it the first time, you generally don't have the first idea what to do with it. Once you know how to angle, and how to aim, you can ruin a typical player at that tier's day! I re-bought it once I'd got the hang of the game with more sympathetic vehicles, and found it to be hilarious with a basic skill-set. Your point about occasional 'stinkers' to encourage you to spend (on free xp conversion etc.) to get past them is valid, but is less of a problem in WOWS - true, here, stock ships are often pretty awful, but you have access to PvE which allows you to grind modules easily against weaker opponents and it's very easy to acquire free xp via one's better ships, to research the important modules on your stock ones. You also have Ops - if you like BBs, then T6-7 can be painlessly ground through via them (you can do it in other classes too, although DDs especially are often a bad choice, unless you are a unicum in them).

You aren't alone - BBs are the most popular ships in the game after all. In my view, they aren't that easy to play well though; it's not just a case of parking broadside to the enemy and watching them explode. One of the more useful things you can do as a BB enthusiast is to play the other classes too - that'll give you a good sense of what they're trying to do to your BBs, and how to stop them. I think that's a bit unfair - many of the smaller ships have far more exciting/interesting/tragic histories than the BBs, mainly due to their being used for real a lot more.

There is light, *but* it requires the acquisition of the necessary skills/experience/captains; for example, the T5-6 IJN BBs really are very good (besides being BBs, which - of course - smell), but you do need to know how to play them (I'm still pretty awful in BBs and that's with 8.3K battles across various modes, but it isn't the fault of the ships). One of the strong points of WOWS is that almost everything can damage almost everything else; you don't have the WOT situation where some things are effectively impervious to a noticeable chunk of the opposition. What this does mean though is that you have to take almost every ship on the opposing side seriously, and make more effort with positioning - if you over-extend for example, you will get focused down to metaphorical smoking boots in no time. Captains are the other thing to be mindful of: a decent captain in a ship makes a substantial difference. The ten point skill CE gives a ship a huge edge on the same ship without it, as the former will always spot the latter first. FP on BBs especially can be hugely important - this skill makes it much harder to burn the ship that is it to the ground. BFT increases the dakka on smaller guns and AA, whilst SE adds extra hp; all things being equal, a ship with these will beat the same ship without. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are no mystic ships that will magically make you better/win more, but there are plenty of good ships that will reward you well if you take the time to acquire the necessary skills (and a decent captain to put in them). e.g. I hated Farragut (T6 US DD) the first time I played it, but when I came to it again on my alt account, I loved it - all that had changed was that my skill-set in US DDs was exponentially less bad (and I'm still pretty bad, so this isn't a case of needing to get to unicum standard, you just need to acquire a pretty basic set of skills).