El2aZeR

They've actually been buffed because now a BB/cruiser launches a whole squad of them (yes, that looks exactly as silly as it sounds). However the one-plane-kill-per-fighter rule still applies so technically speaking it could also be seen as a nerf. Every smart CV will just save their own fighter to deal with catapult planes. Trying to fight for air control is borderline useless anyway, having catapult fighters around just makes CVs even less inclined to use fighters to protect their team.

CVs have never been omitted from ranked.

Well, guess you have to punish those dirty op cruisers instead. Clearly there aren't enough counters to cruisers in this game already.

Not really. Generally speaking global spotting from a single CV will get nerfed. There is absolutely no question about that. However it is replaced by much more oppressive localized spotting, meaning that a CV can keep you spotted indefinitely without taking losses if you happen to be the target he chooses to focus on. Currently a CV would either have to sacrifice a strike plane to keep you spotted or use his fighters, neither is optimal since with a strike plane you're missing damage potential and with fighters you risk being out of position when the enemy CV chooses to strike or alternatively losing air superiority even if you just lose a single fighter (yes, losing just one fighter in a squad can put you on the back foot depending on the skill of your enemy). And if you're a Worcester, a Minotaur or anything else that has an AA range longer than their air spotting range, you can actively work to deny spotting over large parts of the map. With the rework the part of the map a CV chooses to be in will be spotted pretty much permanently and he can easily switch flanks thanks to the buffed speed. BUT this is only the case when there is one CV per team. The rework has multiple. Even with just two CVs per team the amount of spotting increases dramatically compared to the current RTS version. Though you don't really need to actively do spotting anymore because your strike potential has gone through the roof. Currently a CV has a "reload" time of around 3-4 minutes depending on the nation you play and how far away your CV is from your target. Reworked CVs get a hilarious reload buff, the attack itself I could usually finish up in a minute while approach takes you about 30 seconds or less even if it's across the map. In addition to that your damage potential has also gone up due to the focus on DoT, even if your target saves DCP until the last wing has hit and survives it will only prolong the inevitable as I can return 30 seconds later to do a repeat performance. And finally you don't have to worry about target selection anymore because both AA and fighters have become worthless. If you do happen to lose some planes, no worries, there is no need to think about that anymore too. This means a reworked CV can technically speaking guarantee a kill on a BB or cruiser every ~3 minutes. DDs depend on RNG, if you're incredibly lucky you can technically speaking nuke 4 DDs with just a single DB squad (although in my experience you will usually kill "only" one DD per squad). So to summarize compared to the current RTS version reworked CVs: - have decreased individual spotting potential but higher overall spotting due to multiple CVs per team - outclass their predecessors completely in terms of damage potential - get free target selection - can no longer deny the enemy CV but on the flipside no longer have to worry about air opposition themselves - can no longer be punished thanks to infinite plane reserves If that doesn't sound like the buff of a century to you, I don't know what will.

Ah, yes, I must have imagined all that fighter combat and scouting done over the years. Just like how I forgot about my planes being able to kill DDs while servicing. Silly me.

I think strafing in itself is fine. It was implemented to make fighters useful against massed strikes where they were previously more or less useless. And while what you're saying is very true, most of it is due to complete ignorance of the average potato. Imo if WG had informed every CV player that strafing exists (you know, via those tutorials we've been asking for and at one point even were promised) as well as making it more telegraphed (by e.g. giving the strafing enemy fighter icon a red outline or sth) the mechanic would be fine. It's fairly easily countered once you realize that the enemy is using it and no one can tell me that dodging is too difficu- *remembers average player skill* Oh. Yeah, nevermind that. I do believe however that implementing strafing out on the other hand was a rather questionable decision.

To track your own personal progress? No pastime activity really gives you any incentive to improve beyond your own personal enjoyment of it. E.g. if you really like to draw pictures, you're gonna want to improve at that eventually. Now obviously the majority of the playerbase isn't as invested in this game as some others, hence why they will never improve out of their own volition. This is where a game developer can force them to either choose to improve or be punished for their incompetence by e.g. in the case of WoWs implementing a harsher economy focused more on team based action rather than pure damage farming. That however isn't possible anymore because it would instantly bankrupt at least 80% of the playerbase.

Hipper I guess. I liked her well enough that I would buy Pringles in an instant if she ever comes up on sale for doubloons.

Well, abysmal average player skill IS one of the big factors as to why CVs are currently so dominant. One only needs to look at the other end of the spectrum to see that it is true, CVs have to sacrifice planes even just to spot at the highest level of play. However no serious skilled CV player will say that it is the only problem that plagues CVs. There are plenty of severe issues with the current iteration, however most of them can also be fixed fairly easily as has been suggested time and time again over the past 3 years.

Not even 30% WR and 40k average damage in the last two days. I suppose if you want to be a team disregarding damage farming then Asashio is a fine pick. For anyone actually looking to win however it is among the worst T8 DDs imaginable.

45% WR and 34k damage is nothing to brag about. If this is more damage you deal on average then I have very bad news for you.

*laughs in Clemson*

It doesn't. Fighters are an on-call consumable, which means if the enemy CV pops a fighter, all you need to do is pop a fighter yourself to negate it (since fighters can only shoot down one plane per fighter two equal strength fighters will cancel each other out no matter who wins the fight). This makes any attempt to protect your teammates completely useless. How about just straight up killing the DD? It's not that hard.

Don't forget to add automated consumable usage and shell type switching to that. Clearly the average player doesn't possess the mental ability to deal with choosing when to activate the correct consumable or use the most effective shell type. We have to automate the process to provide a better game experience!

Meh, was bound to happen. Still faster than the first iteration tho thanks to the captain skills and upgrades added. Meh, doesn't really matter either. Just crossdrop or go for the plentiful stationary targets that infest the live server. So now we have a CV that: - deals more damage with the easiest to use weapon type - has another saturation attack with carpet bombing - some converging torps thrown in for good measure - literally doesn't suffer from any punishment whatsoever Yeah, I see nothing wrong with this. /s

tfw people still believe the rework is some kind of massive nerf Quite frankly the answer is likely never. The fundamental concept is incompatible with giving surface ships reliable means of defense. Strengthening of the current AA system (more damage, more bursts, etc.) will only make the average player fail harder while having no impact on skilled CV players (and doesn't that remind you of something... ).

I never felt that way tbh. Saipan may lack punching power but she has a pretty fast "rate of fire" to mitigate that. It's a weakness compared to others for sure, but not a particularly big one. Compared to having such a huge advantage in air superiority it's too good of a trade. No T7 CV does all that well in T9 MM. Out of the four Kaga is really the only one that can brute force a strike through (which is her gimmick after all). Hiryu T6 TBs evaporate about as fast if not faster than the Saipan ones and the less we say about the Ranger the better.

The thing about counterstrafing is that counterstrafing itself can be countered by strafing out as late as possible, meaning that you're pretty much guaranteed to take tremendous losses at which point your counterstrafe will not deal sufficient damage to the enemy squadron (strafing struggles to kill even a single plane with 3 left, with 2 or 1 strafing becomes completely ineffective), losing you the air fight. That a Saipan can do it for free is just insult to injury. Not to mention counterstrafing can be extremely unreliable at times due to the UI. Lets face it, that Saipan can strafe out without losses is incredibly stupid to say the least.

AL New Years update is gonna be very extensive: - big UI overhaul (tfw Azur Lane devs can manage a UI overhaul but WG can't ¬_¬) - some form of coop play - "all-new drop method + new style of play" with the release of a "dark version of Ark Royal". Can't even begin to fathom what exactly that means. - St. Louis for EN players "hopefully soon", note that St. Louis currently drops on 10-3 in CN/JP - MOAR SKINS (previewed are St. Louis, Eldridge and PoW) Source: Godit AL. I won't have any free time now during New Years with this and the KC Winter Event.

AA sectors only increases the amount of flak bursts on one side, it does nothing for the accuracy and remain easily dodged. WASD is irrelevant because you can adjust your attack without losing too much accuracy unless you fail. Fighters are useless as previously mentioned. DFAA only increases the damage and the amount of flak bursts. Neither of which you need to worry about if you know how to dodge. Ah, so my aircraft can hunt down and kill DDs when servicing. That's good to know.

lolwat Unless you don't run DFAA or any AA skills (which would be hilariously stupid) even Saipan squads won't give you any trouble. The reason why Atlanta doesn't deal well with T9 CVs is because T9 CVs actually have T10 planes thanks to the health upgrade. Saipan doesn't get that, thus her planes are far more squishy in comparison.

Ah, so make bomb patterns easy to predict and more reliable. Genius. Which doesn't address the fundamental problem, namely that a CV can kill you anywhere, at any time, without you being able to do something about it. Jesus Christ.... It isn't about DBs dropping bombs. It is about the design of reworked CVs being fundamentally flawed because it offers no counterplay options contrary to current CVs. That automatically makes reworked CVs even better DD hunters than they currently are.

"When a CV wants you dead, you die. It is only a question of how many planes he is willing to sacrifice." What a joke that statement is.

Indeed, because no matter how you tweak the values it will remain unbalanced. A CV can hunt down and kill surface ships unopposed indefinitely. There are no counterplay options. That is the fundamental design flaw. Congrats, you have made CVs useless against capital ships, meaning they will only go after DDs even more. Also you have probably gotten rid off the majority of CV players that can't be successful with such a nerf.

Nah, this is a fundamental design flaw. No amount of tweaking will make this fair and balanced. Even if you were to cut bomb alpha by half it wouldn't be enough.