EsaTuunanen

Smoke attracts metal fishes. You'll want to use it more after having taken out torpedo boats (needs stealth) and when cruiser torps won't reach you. Would be unsporty to not challenge anyone using smoke to do some torpedobeats. Got my first Double Strike during closed beta that way. Fired 2x5 torps evenly spread into smoke of two IJN torpedo boats...

Getting surrounded by multiple cruisers in destroyer is basically guaranteed fast sinking no matter if you're spotted immediately or half minute later. (unless that time is enough to let you slip into some cover to run back to own team) If you made mistake in planning ahead don't blame enemy, but look into mirror. And try to remember next time to consider into what situation agressive pushing will put you. I often let some enemy destroyer get away with low hp, not rush juicy looking BB, or don't go after carrier, because doing that would probably get me cornered and sinked soon at least by other enemies. No doubt sometimes that further agressiveness would pay out, but equally there's chance for not even getting intended target.

My experience has been quite many times the opposite receiving tight two shell "bundle".

Or is it showing left broadside, showing right broadside...? I see too often groups of BBs showing their citadel like that: "Got hit to left cheek? Turn and show right cheek."

That would nerf USN DD guns massively. (or required sacrificing stealth) It's just that at this state of the game "development" bigger changes to one area are going to have notable effect elsewhere. Like what rumoured nerfing of IJN T4/5 DD torpedo range would do to overall game balance in current already BB heavy environment... with latest BB tree even having more secondaries.

And guess what ships would suffer most from shell trajectory buffs? Those which can't take any extra hits and fires. Meaning destroyers (like most IJN DDs need further nerfing) and cruisers which lack "healing" ability. Max range sniping would become more easier (we need more of that?) with long range spammers probably benefiting most. While USN T7-9 cruisers without high firerate or anything special would probably be even bigger losers than currently. And while Des Moines could benefit from it other ships with railguns and lasers would become even more deadlier from their max range. Also I've found whole Survivability Expert not so great for balancing from the start no matter how it's done. Hitpoints of the ships are one thing used for balancing ships between each others and tiers. So ships meeting more than fair share of highter tier ships are already in disadvantage and if ships being more times top tier can further boost hp difference problem just increases. Captain skills just aren't something separate which can be changed without looking how they affect overall game balance.

I guess battleships players have been annoyed by constant hit sounds and as improvement it's been removed...

Svietlana is lot tankier, but five knots slower and less agile. Kinda like faster version of St. Louis. Kuma again is typical fast and agile light cruiser. (with no bow armor to bounce any bigger APs) Marblehead/Murmansk/Omaha is the least protected against anything of Tier 5 cruisers. Huge floating citadel whose armor is good only for stopping HEs while making sure APs won't overpen. (130mm AP citadels from over 9km) With bow, stern and decks made from ultra flimsy tinfoil to add fragility against any caliber HE. So without constantly angling armor against AP shooters and limiting number of enemies who can fire HE at you it's very fragile. (and 203mm/+ larger AP citadels them also through bow) This is how "well" its citadel is protected: Kuma has even softer though maybe smaller citadel. Armor layout viewer is very good for checking vulnerabilities of ships. HE penetrates armor 1/6th of its caliber. AP with caliber 14,3x the armor thickness again overmatches it always going through no matter the angle.

Just remember to angle armor against gunboat destroyers. Gnevny/Gremy citadels side showing Kuma from 10km. And at short range you want to be auto-bounce angled because smaller angling isn't enough.

Could be worse... DD can spawn in center of the rear line even normally.

Or maybe so many BBs tried to run through those shallow areas that eventually bottom got dredged deep enough...

Brawling BBs? Half of those new players are Balless Boats turning bow away from the direction of attack as first action in start of the match, because someone might scratch their paint. Other half is Brainless Boats who suicide and show their broadside to as many enemies as possible, ending brawl fast. Though of course with torpedo protection as only notable weakness of mighty German BBs that threat had to be decreased... (Kaiser and König are already more small caliber HE proof than USN BBs) While 10km range would be rather much for maps of T5 ships, slower reload already balanced Mutsuki's torps otherwise quite well.

Seeing armor of ships is also very good for knowing when it's better to spam AP instead of HE. For example New Mexico and Colorado are mostly proof against up to 152mm HE. So spamming AP into upper decks works lot better than HE when seeing broadside.

With 25mm plating negating any direct damage from up to 152mm HE shells... (but not Mogami's 155mm) Especially New Mexico showing broadside is valid target for even smaller APs. 130mm AP penetrates that 25mm plating easily from 11km and while it has flatter trajectory I would expect Cleveland's heavier shells compensate in penetration. Colorado is similar target with very little thinner than 25mm plating.

What are you expecting when game doesn't have basic intelligence test to get it started? Though you yourself need to tone down on that suicide rush and limit number of enemies you're fighting at once. Ranked is just other name for super random. Because of total failures getting rewarded for the work of better players.

Aim APs to just above waterline instead of top deck. Except for belt armor Omaha has thinner hull plating than your Minekaze.

BBs aren't the only ones often just running through smoke. Though in last match Myoko actually understood to stop behind smoke (even thanking in chat) to stay hidden from two BBs... While own BB just run forward through smoke... though at least armor angled and bow towards enemies. One of which (Fuso) was sailing quite broadside and got finished by two torps fair half minute later. Basically using smoke effectively for protecting team mates would require voice communication because of writing being so slow and in front line in destroyer there just often isn't risk free time to write about giving smoke screen. And even if whole team had voice com half probably wouldn't understand English if even having IQ above that of house plant.

Which is also the most fragile of all ship classes. Expecting to get engine "disability" from any hit being good starting point for planning... At which point you're not running away and dodging so fast anymore and are unable to "cloak" if spotted by destroyer. (+fire decreases stealth) And assuming getting away losing more than around 1000hp becomes fast liability in later game lowering survivability against enemy destroyers. Besides smoke being usefull for using guns to punish foolish enemies. Because usually destroyer can't just nuke that side side showing enemy without giving time to realize what truck is running over him unlike BBs do routinely.

Without spotting help from planes or team mates smoke is very risky because you have no idea if you have whole enemy flank closing in on your position.

Actually those in game nuclear IJN HE shells had smaller bursting charge than USN 203mm HEs. Heck, Cleveland's 152mm HEs had nearly double bursting charge size compared to Mogami's 155mm HEs. Anyway wasn't balancing and historical accuracy already deemed to be arbitrary like you said...

And that's why ships hardly ever go at full speed for longer periods. Fuel consumption simply starts to climb to geostationary orbit for very little speed increase after certain speed. Unless ship is nuclear powered and can just push "pedal to the metal" and keep going without worrying about fuel. Engines/boilers are very low inside of ship. If you had less of those and instead added one turret that would move weight from below waterline to above waterline. Now guess what that does to ship's stability. Also battlecruisers previsely lacked armor to have immunity zone against weapons of their own caliber to save weight and displacement. That big length was simply needed to rise the speed without huge drag increase happening so fast. While trying to heavily armor that longer ship would have been even bigger problem needing displacing more water increasing drag by itself.

With already buffed nuclear IJN HE shells Fubuki is going to be problem for balancing at T6 without further gun buffs. One salvo could take something like third of Farragut's hitpoints. Not to forget Minekaze/Mutsuki in receiving end.

One salvo of those nuclear HE shells could take something like third of Farragut's hitpoints.

And reason for so little cruisers is lots of battleships. Cruisers (except for long range snipers) are simply sandwiched between torps and citadel hits from BBs.

Since last post I've had three detonations and two of them from basically full hp. Similarly other destroyers I've detonated have all blown from high hp except one.