Verblonde

I would *like* to see the option of a cash refund (on premium CVs anyway, on the grounds that the changes are so radical - much more so than, say, the smoke changes), but I doubt that'll happen. I would *think* that we'll see doubloon refunds offered only, as that will probably annoy an acceptably low number of people, from WG's perspective. I suspect I won't take them up on it though: because of the various well-documented problems with CVs, mine only get taken out in coop, where it doesn't matter if I suck. If the re-work allows me to play my CVs against real people sensibly, I'd prefer to keep them. I arrived in WOWS too late to have the time to be able to get competent with CVs - there are far too many good players out there who take me to the cleaners.

Aye, that'll happen quite a lot - leaving aside blithering idiots, much of the time it's people manoeuvering hard, often to avoid torps, or some other imminent threat (taking eyes off the mini-map and their surroundings as they do so). On the up-side, at least the damage done is modest (certainly compared to ramming an enemy ship, which will often sink both of you)!

I don't feel it does any harm, and there is also the slight possibility that it might make T8 MM a bit less painful - sounds good to me. At the moment, it doesn't seem to count towards missions etc. - I imagine that'll put some people off though.

If you're liking DDs (and torps) I would start with the IJN (as suggested above), and possibly the KM cruisers - the latter are ludicrously fragile, but feel a bit like tubby destroyers (to me anyway) with decent AP, at least in the middle tiers. As others have said, the RN cruisers are not easy mode, but they are great fun; I found them a logical progression from some of the hybrid DDs and KM cruisers in that they're fragile, tend to involve a mix of gun and torp use (mainly the former), and are rather dependent on their consumables (the lack of HE takes some getting used to as well, but they do get single-fire torps, which can be glorious with a bit of practice). I'm still pretty pants in them though...

@Vilodrom others have covered off the crucial stuff; I might add a couple of things: If you're time-poor and/or don't mind spending real money on the game, keep an eye on the premium shop - sometimes, ready-made 10 point captains are available (like now); also, there are several ways to get 10+ point captains free - the easiest is one of the Ops - can't remember which one - that gives you a decent captain for a 4, or maybe 5 star win, plus various chain missions e.g. the current anniversary thing will net you enough tokens for one or more freebies (space captains, or Dasha). 10 points is where (most) captains start getting really valuable for most ships, as that's when you can bag Concealment Expert (CE), which is essential for the majority of ships. When I first started, I was clueless about optimum captain's builds (as you'll see from this thread, there is often disagreement as to what 'optimum' actually is, and your own personal play style will also factor in e.g. many people swear blind that Priority Target (PT) is optimal for DDs at level 1; I personally usually get Preventative Maintenance (PM) instead as the way I play often gets me shot at - doesn't mean I'm right though); I found that looking at the ship entries in the wiki was very helpful, as they all include an indication of which captains skills are most helpful for which ships. When you're thinking about captain builds, another useful resource are LWM's reviews of the various premiums (the more recent ones at least - the captains skills changed since she started writing them) - there is a link from most premium ship entries on the wiki; LWM often doesn't agree exactly with the wiki's suggestions - looking at the differences, and understanding them is helpful in working out how to build optimally for your own captains. BTW more of a long-term goal at this stage in your career: when you get to 19 points, a captain starts generating elite xp that can be applied to any other captain - this is very helpful for advancing less experienced captains...

Excellent form!

@Ze_Reckless - was that you masterfully avoiding all my Asashio's torps just then? Nice moves!

This is new: for once, I'm actually looking forward to an Op! I have a captain who I use on Kidd and Sims - he might do the job (perhaps with a bit of tweaking - I probably have at least one dumb skill pick somewhere); nice to (probably) have Haida as an option too...

I don't own Zao, but I'm quite often on the naughty end of them (as a DD main) - they certainly seem to be a serious threat, at least to my two T10 DDs, and assuming the driver is competent...

It seems to be becoming a theme: I embarrass myself particularly whenever I meet someone from here in game - @BeauNidl3 was just witness to my latest monumental balls-up (thanks for being kind enough not to laugh and point)...

If the rework results in more people playing CVs more consistently, it should make AA builds viable again - this might allow some better balancing, if we're lucky?

Is this one of the codes that needs to be entered via your account online? i.e. click on your name top right on this forum, and the option you need is bottom left on the subsequent drop-down ('Activate Wargaming Code'): I've only ever used the 'send link' method for inviting people...

You're probably right (I'm old + bewildered); whatever it was, it definitely showed as killed by a torp from something that absolutely doesn't have torps...

@affondalaflotta Firstly, I wouldn't worry too much about what most people say in the in-game chat; much of the time, it's insufficiently priapic people who are annoyed because they just did something stupid with their own positioning, or they're just in a sulk because everyone ignored their 'brilliant game-winning strategies'. If anyone is particularly annoying, black/report them. That said, there are plenty of sensible stratagems you can usefully apply to WOWS; however, close adherence to historical naval strategy will often be coincidental! I would start by looking at some YouTube videos, covering off the basics (you may find you already know at least some of it, but it's still worth reprising the basics just to be sure); iChase is not a bad starting point, for example: https://www.youtube.com/user/ichasegaming If you're playing randoms, there is a good chance that a lot of what you are seeing is to do with people not having much of an idea what they should really be doing - you're up to T4 so far, so you're in a tier area where the proportion of people who are still learning the ropes is quite high; even at higher tiers though, there are still plenty of less skilled players running around (guilty!). In an ideal world, people would coordinate a lot more, but in practice, most people are just playing for themselves. You can play in divisions, which increases the likelihood of effective cooperation (which goes at least double if you have voice comms). In general, the best you can hope for is that people at least have a rough sense of what their ship/class is supposed to be doing: DDs: spot, and cap (mainly); ruin people's day with torps, if possible, but not at the expense of the first two. Once their protective screen is gone/mitigated, DDs can tear BBs a new posterior with their torps. Cruisers: second line, usually closely supporting the DDs (not too close though - citadels will kill you); exact detail varies with specific ships e.g. RN CAs will be behaving rather differently to, say, Russians. All cruisers tend to be squishy though, so a lot of hiding behind islands/in smoke will be in order. Cruisers are death to DDs, and should be played as such. If/when CVs start to return (post rework), cruisers will most likely be the primary AA class; in theory they are now, but there are so few CVs about that this is a bit moot much of the time. BBs: they *should* be supporting caps, trying to blap cruisers (and DDs if they get the chance) - especially those with radar, and tanking damage; they shouldn't be driving in straight lines at a constant speed. This class seems to be especially prone to being played by the hopeless, so you'll see a lot camp at the back/run for the borders and try and engage at maximum range, whilst not leveraging their massive hp pools/heals. Positioning is key with these things - extend too far, and you get sunk very quickly; too far back and your hp/heals are worthless (and you won't do much damage with the woeful accuracy the class has). Exactly what this all translates to in specific games will depend on all sorts of stuff e.g. which map, which game mode, is your ship top/bottom/mid tier, how many radars, does the enemy have specifically threatening ships, and so on. So, I've just spent several paragraphs not really answering your question! The specifics will come with experience; you can get that experience faster by joining a teaching clan (or any clan with people happy to teach), watching lots of videos, and simply playing as much as possible (when playing, if you die early, switch your view to other players who you judge to be sensible, and watch what they do - it may be useful, even if only in a "don't do this" sort of way). Also, have a look at the wiki (http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships); besides all the info about specific ships, the sections on game mechanics (vision, especially) will help you a lot.

Do I recall correctly that the game occasionally mis-reports who did what to whom, when whatever the ordnance is hits at the same time? For example, I remember someone posting a screen-shot a while ago showing a Belfast getting a torp kill... Could something like that be in play here?

For the discerning gentleman, might I suggest one of the following styles:

Both! If you like torps, the 'torpedo' line is the obvious one though, despite the problems with your torps being very easy to spot; they are almost unsurpassed for sneakiness, which you can do an awful lot with (captains with CE are essential). That said, the Shiratsuyu (T7 'gunboat') is glorious for fans of torp soup - if you run the TRB (instead of smoke), you can put a positively indecent amount of torps into the water at once - this is one of my favourite DDs in the game at any tier. As an expansion on that idea, lately I've started running Kagero (T8 'torp boat') with TRB in place of smoke as well - with all the radar about at the moment (and since the 'firing in smoke' changes), there is much to be said for this, provided you know when/how to run away - again, you can chuck out enough torps to really ruin someone's day. I too started off massively favouring torp boats; there is much to be said for playing a few hybrids too though, as they give you even more options - for example, at around T7, the US DD line starts getting rather good; although the torps are rather slow, they have decent range (9.2 km), and the down-sides are more than made up for by the splendid dakka. The KM DDs are good fun too - they're a bit chubby, but effective all-rounders none the less.

Whilst (obviously) most BBs will give you cooties, +1 to the suggestion to try German BBs - they're rather less dull than many of the others. Lower tier cruisers can be fun, for the ludicrous dakka, which also has the merit of being useful for honing skills needed for more gun-orientated DDs. Other than that, what @Nautical_Metaphor said! BTW it's currently possible to bag one or more ten point captains from the Arsenal - if you can, do so; they'll make your life a lot easier as (for example) that means you can start with CE from the off, which is really helpful.

I'm afraid it's just a question of memory; with more battles, you'll learn surprisingly quickly. Although not foolproof, I use the following guidelines, as to who gets torps (at mid-higher tiers): DDs: all do; Russians are mostly short-ranged (you'll learn the exceptions as you go). Cruisers: most do; the main exceptions are currently the Americans T6+; again, Russians are short-ranged; Brits can single fire; Japanese have long range (but often fire more to the rear - watch out for cruisers turning away from you at higher tiers); Belfast doesn't get torps. BBs: most don't; the main exceptions are (as mentioned by others) Shinyhorse, Gneis, Tirpitz (not Bismark), Kii, and Mutsu. Also, bear in mind that just because a ship has torps, it doesn't mean that they're all equally threatening e.g. the Russians are fierce at close range, but you're mostly safe at medium range; several of the Russian premiums (regardless of which nation they belong to) have longer range torps than the default; the previously mentioned weird firing arcs on IJN cruisers; some torps have very low speed (several US and Italian ones); a few ships have optional builds, or their torp armament changes drastically with upgrades e.g. Monaghan has either 'guns' or 'torp' options (the latter's torps are much more threatening), and so on... Have a read of this: http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships - amongst other things, it lists all the ships, including their torp (or not) armament. Suggest not trying to learn everything, but just concentrate on those you're likely to meet at whatever tier you've currently got to. Also, suggest playing as many different ships as you practically can, as that'll give you a better idea of what everything can/can't do...

Just for reference: 'random' does not mean 'regular'; if something is truly random, you should expect some clumping...

After a bit of reading (thanks again for the links), it sounds very promising, although still very early days. That's from the perspective of a relatively new player (less than a year, I think) - I have several carriers, but basically never play them in randoms, because I don't want to be a liability to my team, plus the RTS interface isn't very good (I *love* a good RTS game, but this isn't one). Whilst it sucks for the (relatively few) good CV players, this re-work has the potential to be a very Good Thing, *if* WG can achieve their stated aims. If.

@10ThousandThings - many thanks! :)

LOL!

OP: would it not have been sensible, after the first detonation, to equip the anti-detonation flag that you 'won' to prevent subsequent detonations (for at least ten games, anyway)? Assuming I haven't run out, I always run my DDs with anti-detonation flags (if you don't like the flags, there is always to anti-detonation module as an alternative)...

As a matter of interest, has anyone written (with actual words) a decent summary of the proposed changes, so far, for we grumpy old folk who prefer to read stuff?