RUSSIANBlAS

T8 is a very high requirement for a CV. Anyone who has one at that level is likely competent. Although I had one that just sat there on the wrong side and got squished quickly...

I've yet to be killed by one but I'm only 10 games in. I'm all for stronger Cruisers this time round. Explains why the guy last night was spamming "Kill Mogami first!!!" constantly in chat

There are definitely less DD this time than in Season 4. DD previously have been the only way to fly for most people. I imagine this Season readdresses the balance for bigger ships which I'm rather enjoying but it's probably not ideal. Just get a Bismarck and enjoy the secondary gun fest

Well, to learn to avoid DD torps generally then lol The current state of the game is fine. Torps should stay dangerous, it's rare I get hit by more than one DD when I'm BB driving unless it's via bombers. No hugging islands, not rushing into smoking and varying speed/direction a bit really isn't that hard. If WG cater for those who can't do that...

The only thing I hope is that the BB we've all clubbed with IJN DDs have learnt their lesson and will be more vigilant in the future...

DD are still relevant. I find the Fubuki more of a threat than the Benson due to the IJN ship having better torps. Of course once the DD is spotted then Bismarcks will farm them all day long. I find that when DD go down then the rest of the team usually follows. You need that DD in front to spot for you!

I'm a BB player mainly but sometimes I play my Kami R and I'm often utterly stunned by how some people play. Killing BB at long range in one torp salvo is something that shouldn't be happening that often...

Oh to OP. If you're going into Ranked with a T8 ship you do not intimately understand then you may find it "challenging" after a certain point in the Ranked ladder. Not saying you can't do it but I suffered greatly changing ships in Season 4.

Only prospect of coming out on top in Ranked is being able to hard carry every single game and accepting that you'll still lost something like 40% (nearer 45+% games). Whether that's fun or not is left to the end user. Had a game yesterday where I got 194k damage and we only just scraped through. And another game in my Bis where an Atago simply refused to hunt a Benson with me and stayed at 15km trying to snipe it, he then proceeds to broadside an enemy BB under 10km, not cap and somehow survived the game to win a star... Oh and don't ever give up, even if all your DD yolo within minutes. Make them work for the win!

Never played Tanks and was never tempted. WOWS is the slowest online game I've played and for the better. It's a lot more tactical and relies less on twitch reflexes.

Very rocky start for me, 3 losses in a row now on a 7 win streak. All in the Weapon of the Gods (Bismarck). Similar meta to before, if all DD die early on one side then that team will tend to lose...

As far as BB go it's the Bismarck all the way. It's armour pattern, the sheer might of the secondaries paired with hydro and AA that isn't bad at all. Has a frontal immunity zone just like the NC but it isn't as vulnerable on it's sides. It's guns reload faster and don't hang in the air like the NC's ones. Tirp isn't as strong, the torps don't quite make up for all that secondary firepower even if I have a lot of love for the ship itself. Amagi simply isn't strong enough for me. Excellent power in each salvo but inadequate armour and lack of any sort of party trick (torps, good AA, secondaries etc) makes feel weak in Ranked. Even if she's one of my all time favourites...

Nice review Mouse, as always! I've had this ship for awhile now. Hardly play her, wouldn't use a dedicated captain I use my Atago one for a little extra training. Wouldn't recommend unless you surgically specially want it. Just wait for the Nikolai to be on sale again...

Is the 15% extra Manual Accuracy really worth it on the Warspite? I've gone for CE as it lowers it to about 13km....

It's not so much the 20% increase in power, it's the ease of making torp runs. Would benefit the IJN far more than the USN who only have 1 torp bomber squad unless it's the Saipan. But yeah I haven't played CV since 0.5.12...

Game I was just in, 5 DD and 2 BB each side... Yeah some epic MM all round WG

It is great fun using the Bismarck and a part of me hopes it won't change. But I agree, the sheer power of Bismarck secondaries along with it's placement in the Tiers makes it extremely potent and is probably a bit damaging towards the game. Still though, a good BB player will beat a potato Bismarck user but that's little comfort for all those Cruiser and DD players out there...

Eh what?! God dammn WG... So unlimited amount of BB. Always assumed they'd have kept last seasons MM and enhanced it a bit with the mirrored ships. Ok maybe not so good an idea, is everyone knocking around in Bismarcks and having secondary shootouts? I can't attack Ranked until tomorrow

I'd rather it was Super BB Wars than DD Wars like last season... Makes a change anyway.

It's always been Fighters and Dive Bombers for Air Supremacy. If it was +1 Torp Bombers then the IJN stuff would be insanely op...

I've only got 10 camo for the BB PT mission. Still missing 20 more camo, flags and the 24hr Prem I think.

Well, ok. BB should rightly be afraid of DD when they are in decent torping range. That is under 10km mostly unless the BB guy doesn't understand WASD. The Bismarck's secondary range and accuracy with Manual Fire Control makes her a serious threat to any spotted DD in range. Fast rotating main guns and Hydro-acoustic on top add up to a ship that's formidable against DD. No other BB is as much of a threat to DD than the Bismarck. Can simply play far less conservatively vs DD than other BBs.

I'm convinced the Bismarck will get slapped with the nerf bat after this season of Ranked. A BB shouldn't be a credible threat towards DD, atleast not in terms of balance. Even if I'd want her to stay as she is...

Where does it say guys who ranked high last season would start higher this season?

Damn... WG give me Nikolai as a personal offer...