El2aZeR

I like the camo tbh even if it's extremely simplistic.

Problem nowadays is that too many ships depend on hydro as either an invaluable survival tool you cannot do without (RN CLs) or as a gimmick (everything German and premium). Thus I highly doubt WG is going to change hydro. Ever. Likewise with radar.

Then please, why isn't hydro a garbage mechanic? So far you have presented no relevant argument.

The stock 20km torpedoes on a Shimakaze run at 62kn with a detection range of 2,5km. That translates into 15 seconds of reaction time barring render time and your own reaction speed. Low tier torps aren't even that fast (barring some exceptions), combined with hydro you can easily get well over 20 seconds before the torps reach your ship, more than enough time to dodge or minimize damage (depending on your class) against any torpedo spread. So yes, my experience is in fact universal. Unless you've [edited] up your maneuvering it is laughably easy to dodge torps with hydro active. If you have a potato computer that's not a problem with the game and must be completely disregarded.

AP bombs are only really viable at T8 as you have lots of ships vulnerable to them in your MM spread. At T9+ HE bombs deal similar or even more damage than AP bombs to BBs while offering a lot more utility in laying fires, damaging AA and killing DDs. See my first post for example, I was able to oneshot that DD with 7 HE bomb hits out of 14. I will have to mention though that such instances are rather rare and that you're incredibly dependent on RNG with USN CVs as these are reliant on their bombs until Midway. IJN CVs don't have that problem since their strength lies in much more reliable TB alpha strike. It should however also be noted that AP bombs are incredibly accurate with manual drop (the aiming circle is a bit larger than contemporary DDs), so if you really hate RNG AP bombs CAN be a viable option although I really don't recommend them past Lexington. CVs below T8 don't have access to AP bombs (which is a shame, really). You can technically speaking take AP bombs on Midway to deal with the majority of T10 cruisers (as these are ironically a lot more vulnerable than any contemporary BB), but these usually have high enough AA that they'll wipe your squads out within seconds, so you'll need to try to bait DFAA before you can strike them. But that's not a question you need to ask yourself right now.

This is actually a common misconception. If you look at the health values you'll see that IJN and USN sport almost the same numbers. Single USN squads are more survivable because they have numbers, nothing more. When attacking the same target you can expect to take largely the same losses. Losses are just more noticeable on IJN CVs because you have more squads to begin with. Hiryu perpetuates this notion because she has T6 TBs. This also isn't true at T9-10 anymore because both Midway and Essex get T8 TBs which are much more susceptible to AA fire. Midway gets a slight edge in fighter control since she does have better fighters, however there are still plenty of ways around that for a Haku. On any tier CV vs CV fights do largely come down to skill, but if you were to assume that both players are equally skilled it is the way you describe, but then it also largely comes down to how good the respective teams are and how much they're willing to support their CVs.

Even normal detection ranges are nowadays often enough to dodge a torp spread depending on your class. Even 2km is a laughable, ridiculously comfortable distance for dodging. Those classes that are incapable of doing so can usually soak a hit or two in stride, more they won't receive if they've taken the necessary actions. Have you perhaps considered that you are not supposed to be able to dodge a well-laid torpedo spread just because you pressed one button? That you deserve to die for sailing so long in a straight line without care? That if a DD has ambushed you in close quarters you shouldn't stand a chance of winning and he should be rewarded with your death for his good play? Yet hydro takes all of that away. Instead, the DD is punished for laying a good torp spread or ambushing you at close range while the guys using hydro are actually rewarded for their idiocy. Sure, it can be used to support your teammates, that doesn't however change anything. Radar too can be used to support, still means it's a garbage mechanic.

The thing is that the fundamental design was actually pretty good and every class still does retain a fair amount of synergy with and dependency on the other classes. CVs & DDs are still needed to scout, cruisers are still needed for air defense and diminishing such on other vessels, BBs are still needed for their high burst damage, etc. Problems only began to arise once WG turned away from their base concept, making so many bad decisions and suddenly striving to make the classes more independent from each other. And ofc the economic system nowadays promoting far more selfish play than it did in the past (although even then it was kinda sketchy), ironically DESPITE factors such as spotting and tanking damage having been added to it. Don't be fooled, rock-paper-scissors DOES actually exist in some remote form in WoWs, but it isn't a fixed system. It is more a rough guideline in which the values are intersecting and can even be swapped around (e.g. Zao is a lot better at dealing with BBs but pays for it by being more useless vs CVs) as everyone is capable of fighting each other to some degree as the setting demands. Counters do exist, but they're a lot less pronounced than one would assume with a RPS system, as e.g. a cruiser fighting a BB doesn't automatically mean that the cruiser is bound to fail. If you think that isn't a true hard-counter RPS system, well, you are right. It's still however the easiest way to explain how the game works to a novice. When implementing an asymmetric role distribution you first have to consider what roles exist in your scenario, as obviously those found in a classic RPG aren't applicable to a naval warfare setting, along with them being compliant with the mechanics you have created. E.g. everyone is a damage dealer because that is what the setting demands (here is where realism is actually a valid argument). Everyone is technically speaking also a tank due to being able to dodge (more or less) with the exception of CVs. This means both damage dealing and tanking potential have to be for the most part tailored to the individual class. If a class is very stealthy and agile, it obviously cannot have amazing armor and a large HP pool to boot. If a weapon has fairly very low alpha strike then it needs to make up for it in terms of consistency. On the other hand, because you have concealment mechanics, you need a spotter which is going to be perhaps THE most important role a class can assume (as healers do not exist). Likewise being able to contest caps makes your value rise by a huge margin. Air defense is a role of moderate to high value depending on the skill of your own team. Vision and area denial are once again very important. Damage dealing and tanking on the other hand are low priority because everyone can do it. And so forth and so on. However, like with classic RPGs, just because a class hasn't managed to get a high value role doesn't mean it is badly balanced. E.g. BBs can actually fulfill pretty much none of the important roles the game offers (or at least originally they couldn't), that's why their damage dealing and tanking abilities have been boosted to disproportionate levels. This makes BBs (those without utility at least) the most worthless class in terms of game impact but having a class that can soak and dish out a lot of damage does have a certain need in the game, which is what makes them viable and, in terms of an asymmetric system, balanced.

Torpedoes can easily be avoided by using a bit of intuition, watching the match timer and WASD hax. Hydro doesn't allow any sort of counterplay. That's a one-button-win mechanic.

That is because in an RPG the asymmetric role distribution is taken for granted. E.g. nobody begrudges the healer for being the most important class and having the most impact on the outcome of a battle. It is simply seen as a reality of the game and rightly so. And it works because every role is needed for any reason imaginable, even the most mundane ones. Sure, you could clear a dungeon with only healers and tanks, but not only do higher numbers of tanks and healers give diminishing returns at a certain threshold (depending on the size and difficulty of the dungeon), it'd take significantly longer than if you had replaced an appropriate amount of healers/tanks with damage dealers instead. That technically speaking makes damage dealers completely worthless in terms of game impact, but because they affect gameplay in a positive way they have reason to exist. Though the level of discussion also has to be considered. I can guarantee you someone would be belittled if he e.g. only played tank and then complains that the mage can put out so much more damage than him, calling the mage overpowered for that reason, completely ignoring that there are numerous disadvantages a mage has compared to the tank that justify this high increase in damage, and finally demanding that his tank should be capable of doing the same without any trade-offs (or alternatively the mage to be nerfed) "for the sake of balance" . Sounds silly, right? Yet that is what we're facing here on a regular basis.

Last time there were such complaints WG essentially said that server maintenance times are fixed. They will not change regardless of whether there is a campaign running or not. And no, you won't be compensated. Don't even try to ask. Besides, there was plenty of time to get at the very least the DoY.

Precisely why it shouldn't exist. One-button-win mechanics in general are garbage and do nothing but water down average skill. With the removal of hydro cruisers can also finally focus on their one true role. The existence of DFAA I can accept due to the (very reasonable) mechanical limitations of AA itself, but even that could be reworked a little. But, as I stated previously, removal of either is extremely unlikely at this point.

Yeah, pretty much. The problem with radar is that it was a shoddy patchwork to a more substantial problem, namely that CVs went extinct. As soon as the CV population recovers even by a little bit (as seen currently) DD play becomes a lot more hostile, having to be extremely careful in watching out for both air threats and enemy radar ships as either of them can send them back to port in a very short amount of time. And as most people aren't used to paying attention to both (or are simply incapable or even refuse to do it) it becomes a cluster-[edited]. Radar, along with hydro, also forces the role of DD hunters on cruisers, raising the skill floor of what was supposed to be the most easy class to play in an already extremely hostile environment for cruisers (*cough* BB overpopulation *cough*) while demanding them to choose an entirely different specialization in terms of consumables, upgrades and captain skills contrary to their original role (air defense). Thus either radar (along with hydro) needs a substantial nerf or even removal or the role of CVs in countering DDs needs to be reconsidered. As the removal of radar/hydro is extremely unlikely at this stage of game development the latter choice is the more viable option, even if it has high potential of causing a plethora of other problems.

Left cap is the only cap from which cruisers can safely give AA cover to capping ships. And that's only if they spec into range + AFT and waste their time hiding behind the big islands. The other two caps are free hunting zones for CVs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is clearly because bots are too smart and powerful for the average player to beat, as demonstrated by some players who have visited the forum recently.

After playing her for quite a while, I have to conclude she's kinda an exercise in frustration. Her strike potential is by no means bad but it's far too reliant on RNGesus to give you big numbers. Trying to split her strike to attack different targets usually ends up with her TBs massacred, causing her to be a lot more inflexible than Taiho. Combine that with the ridiculous service times USN CVs suffer from and I'd say Taiho is still superior along with being more enjoyable to play. That said, her fighters are superb, though. Their only fault is the longer strafe path USN fighters in general have, making them liable to get counterstrafed on a dodge (though I have so far only encountered a single player who was capable of doing so). Essex is closer to be on par with Taiho, but she's sadly not quite there yet. Tbh I found Lexington more enjoyable to play weirdly enough, but it may just have to do with popping same or lower tier BBs left and right via AP DBs.

She'll blow your mind, she comes faster the louder you scream, she'll fix you up, and she camps like an idiot at the map border likes to watch. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I agree though, the artist (tagged "neko (yanshoujie)" on danbooru for anyone who's interested) does amazing work indeed.

Maybe it's some sort of genius marketing gig. Maybe WG knows the intelligence level of the average player, so they make a mission you cannot actually complete, but the average player will keep on trying to complete it anyway. As a result more players will keep playing the game! It makes perfect sense!

They're also stating that IJN DDs are fine which is hilarious at best. Just sayin'.

Let this be a lesson for you kids. Say no to drugs and alcohol.

Aaaand add another 84 to it. "Better CV = instant win" lol

Every time first or second on the scoreboard by a huge margin with a combined plane kill count of 201. "CVs win games on their own" lol